5 French grammar learning centre ideas
French grammar stations are perfect for all ages. You can rotate, differentiate and your students have the opportunity to move about the classroom and learn from their peers.
Often, learning centres are used with younger students, but older students benefit from them as well. In my French classroom, I have utilized learning centres in many ways, but I love using grammar centers the most. In this blog post, I will outline ways that will help make using French grammar stations successful in your own classroom.
So many teachers ask me about French grammar and making it authentic. Just as I would make literature or writing centres, I use grammar learning centres. I’ve successfully used French learning centres with middle school, junior and primary students.
What kinds of activities will work from a grammar learning centre? Honestly, most projects and activities will work as independent centre work as long as you provide structure. Just be sure to plan ahead.
Some helpful tips for planning French grammar learning centres:
- Has six to seven stations. It is not necessary for students to complete each station. The great part about offering learning centres is that you can assign activities to students based on their needs.
- Disburse students around the classroom or school. I will often have a few centres in my classroom, a group in the hall and maybe the library. Be creative and ask your co-workers if they mind if students are working in a space outside of your classroom.
- Set a timer. I tell students they have 10 minutes for each station, and I time them. You may need to adjust the time depending on your tasks and your students.
- Have a tracking sheet. Create a quick table to track each student’s progress through the centres. You can also create a slip for each student in which you record which centres they will need to visit.
The tasks at the centres shouldn’t be too rigorous. They should be a task that can be completed independently. They should be engaging and allow students to experiment with the French language.
Here are five ideas for activities that make great learning centres:
1. Rocks in a bag. I use small, flat rocks and write a verb on them with a permanent marker. Then, I place them in a small pouch. Students reach in and pull out a rock. They then use a recording sheet to conjugate the verb.
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| Rocks in a bag grammar activity |
2. Clip cards. Clip cards are a hands-on and engaging way to get students to practice their grammar skills. Your students will use the clip cards to identify the correct vocabulary for a provided image or phrase. Each card has 4 possible responses. Students will ‘clip’ the correct answer using a clothes pin or a paper clip on each card. Then, they will use a provided recording sheet to write and submit their responses. Check out THESE grammar clip cards that I have created.
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| French grammar clip cards |
3. Write the room. Print or create a series of 16 numbered cards, each with a different verb or grammar concept. Then, hang them around the room. Provide students with a tracking sheet and instructions and have them find each card and answer the question. Check out THESE write the room grammar activities.
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| write the room verb activity |
4. Word wall. Use vocabulary that you are currently studying and ask students to sort between adverbs, adjectives, and nouns to create an interactive word wall. Students can practice their part of speech with pictures, group writing, or individual sentences.
5. Video. If you have computer access, ask students to find a grammar video to share with the class. Often, these will be songs which are fun to share after centre time.
French grammar learning centres will take a bit of thoughtful planning and set-up, but they are easy to use and easy to scaffold and differentiate. Also, the benefits to students and teachers are wonderful. They make a quick assessment strategy, skills practice and provide teachers with important data. But, most importantly, students enjoy learning centres. They get to work with their peers and feel confident completing independent tasks.
If you are looking for more ideas for vocabulary or grammar station resources, check out my The French Nook shop on Teacher’s Pay Teachers.
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