Category Archives: Writing

Students enjoy practicing verb forms with this powerpoint activity.  It is called “Against the clock.”  On each screen there are subjects and infinitives.  Students are given 6 subject/verb pairs and 40-50 seconds to write the correct verb form,  either on paper or on a mini white board. When the time is up the sentences disappear and the students stop writing. The animation can be  set to do this so that  all the teacher has to do is click once to start. After it is done the teacher can click once more and the correct sentences come on the screen. It is quite impressive how quickly students can write the correct verb forms when they are trying to “beat the clock.”

These are fairly easy to create if you know your way around Powerpoint. You can also download these:

• French Imperfect, Passe Compose and Future
• French Irregular Adjectives
• French Irregular Verbs
• French Passe Compose
• French Pronouns
• French Regular Verbs
• Spanish Adjectives
• Spanish Imperfect and Preterit
• Spanish Irregular Preterit
• Spanish Pronouns
• Spanish Regular Verbs
• Spanish Subjunctive

This is a fun and engaging activity that will help students to practice and review the spelling of  vocabulary. Students work/play in groups of 2 or 3.  Cards with pictures first need to be cut out individually and placed in a pile next to the game board with the picture side facing down.  This is also a good use of Memory/Concentration cards that you have in your classroom.

The first player begins by taking the first card from the top of the pile and looking at the picture. He/she must then write the word for the picture in the grid on the game board (without articles). Players should use pencil so that the letters can be erased if the word is not spelled correctly.  If another player questions the spelling, he/she can either look at the spelling on the reference sheet or ask the teacher. If the spelling is incorrect the word must be erased and the player loses the turn. If the spelling is correct, play continues to the next player. Once it is decided that the word is spelled correctly in the grid, the player counts up the point value of each letter (in the corner of the box) and adds it to the total under the grid.

Players can write the words anywhere in the grid (horizontally: left/right or vertically: top/bottom). If a player uses a letter already on the board he/she doubles the point value of the square of the shared letter. New words do not have to build on existing words. Players can’t add onto a word that is already in the puzzle, but words can begin and end in adjoining squares.  If a player is unable to identify the word or can’t fit in on the board the turn is forfeited. It is best to set a time limit and the deck of picture cards can be shuffled and reused, or the rule can be to go through the deck 2-4 times. The player with the highest total wins the game.

These activities can be made by creating grids in a WORD document or you can download these activities that are ready to use:

• French Places in the City
• French Animals
• French Class Objects
• French Clothing
• French Food and Drinks
• French House, Rooms and Furniture
• Spanish Places in the City
• Spanish Animals
• Spanish Class Objects
• Spanish Clothing
• Spanish Food and Drinks
• Spanish House, Rooms and Furniture