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By the end of this lesson, students will be able to describe their daily routines using appropriate French vocabulary and present tense verbs. They will correctly use at least 15 daily activity expressions in spoken and written French.

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Students will engage in conversations about daily activities, ask and answer questions about routines, and compare their schedules with classmates using French expressions.

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Students will recognize cultural differences in daily routines between French-speaking countries and their own country, demonstrating intercultural understanding.

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Comment décrivez-vous votre journée typique en français? Cette question guidera notre exploration des activités quotidiennes et nous aidera à développer notre vocabulaire pour parler de nos routines.

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Présentation des expressions clés: se réveiller, se lever, prendre le petit-déjeuner, aller à l'école, déjeuner, faire ses devoirs, dîner, se coucher. Les élèves répètent et pratiquent la pronunciation.

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Révision et apprentissage de la conjugaison des verbes pronominaux au présent (se lever, se laver, s'habiller, se coucher). Focus sur les pronoms réfléchis me, te, se, nous, vous, se.

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The French reflexive verbs - also called reflexive or reciprocal verbs - in common words the French "se" verbs are very common in French, especially for verbs of toiletry: se laver (to wash), se coiffer (to do one's hair), se maquiller (to apply one's makeup), se raser (to shave)...

Yet, French reflexive verbs are usually confusing for students of French: what is this "nous nous", "vous vous" about?

Let's take a closer look.

What is a French Reflexive Verb ?

French reflexive verbs offer a twist on a "base verb". So the first thing to do is to memorize the meaning of the "base verb".

Let's look at an example:

French Base Verb Example

Let's take "raser" as our base verb - to shave another person (someone else, not yourself)

Autrefois, le barbier rasait la barbe de mon grand-père.
In the past, the barber shaved my grand-father's beard.

French Reflexive Verb Example

The corresponding reflexive verb is "se raser" - to shave yourself

Mon oncle se rase tous les matins.
My uncle shaves every morning.
The pronoun "se" is used before the verb to show that my uncle doesn't shave someone else, or have someone shave him: he shaves himself.
French Reflexive Verb Conjugation

Reflexive verbs have a special reflexive pronoun before the verb: "me, te, se, nous, vous, se" (in addition to the French subject pronoun "je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils, elles").

The full conjugation of the pronominal verb in the present tense is:

The reflexive pronouns glide a lot in spoken modern French with the subject pronoun and the verb, so you need to learn their modern glided pronunciation.

French reflexive verbs are explained in my Beginner's French audiobook learning method.

122 French Reflexive Verbs List

The reflexive form is very common in French, and I can't possibly list all the French reflexive verbs here.

The aim of this French reflexive list is to list the very common verbs, so you may learn them, understand them and maybe even use them yourself.

If you feel I missed a very common French reflexive verb (or a few!) please add them to the comment with the English translation and I'll add it to the list.

1. s'abonner à = to subscribe to

2. s'adapter à = to adapt to

3. s'adresser à = to talk to someone

4. s'agenouiller = to get on one's knees

5. s'allonger = to lie down

6. s'appeler = to be named

7. s'approcher de qq'un = to get closer to someone

8. s'appuyer sur/contre/à = to lean against

9. s'asseoir = to sit down

10. s'attendre à = to expect something

11. s'avancer = to get closer

12. se baigner = to bathe, swim

13. se baisser = to lower oneself

14. se balader = to take a stroll

15. se battre = to fight

16. se brosser (les cheveux, les dents...) = to brush (one's hair, teeth...)

17. se brûler = to burn oneself

18. se cacher = to hide

19. se calmer = to calm down

20. se changer = to change outfit

21. se cogner (la tête) = to bang one's head

22. se coincer = to get stuck

23. se casser (la jambe) = to break (one's leg)

24. se coiffer (les cheveux) = to fix one's hair

25. se coucher = to go to bed

26. se couper (le doigt) = to cut oneself on the finger

27. se décider à = to make the decision to

28. se défendre contre = to defend (against an attack)

29. se déguiser = to put on a costume

30. se demander = to wonder

31. se déplacer = to move (in space, from one place to another)

32. se déshabiller = to get undressed

33. se distraire = to amuse oneself

34. se divertir = to amuse oneself

35. se documenter = to get documentation

36. se doucher = to take a shower

37. s'effondrer = to collapse

38. s'en aller = to leave, go away

39. s'endormir = to fall asleep

40. s'énerver = to get angry

41. s'ennuyer = to be bored

42. s'entendre (bien/mal avec quelqu'un) = to get along (well/poorly with someone)

43. s'entraîner = to train

44. s'enrhumer = to be getting a cold

45. s'essuyer = to dry oneself

46. s'étendre = to lie down / to last a period of time

47. s'évader = to escape

48. s'évanouir = to faint

49. s'excuser = to apologize

50. s'exercer = to train

51. s'expliquer = to explain oneself

52. se fâcher = to get angry

53. se fatiguer = to get tired

54. se fiancer = to get engaged

55. se fouler (la cheville) = to twist (one's ankle)

56. se fracturer (le bras) = to break (one's arm)

57. se frotter = to brush against

58. se garer = to park

59. se gratter = to scratch an itch

60. se goinfrer = to eat like a pig

61. s'habiller = to get dressed

62. s'habituer à = to get accustomed to

63. s'impatienter = to get impatient

64. s'inquiéter de = to be worried

65. s'infecter = to get infected

66. s'intéresser à = to be interested in

67. se lamenter = to lament

68. se laver (les mains, la figure...) = to wash (one's hands, face...)

69. se lever = to get up

70. se limiter à = to limit oneself to

71. se marier (avec) = to get married with someone

72. se maquiller = to put on make-up

73. se mettre (à) = to start doing something

74. se moquer (de) = to make fun of

75. se moucher = to blow one's nose

76. se mouiller = to get wet

77. se multiplier = to multiply

78. se mutiner = to declare mutiny

79. se négliger = to neglect oneself

80. se nourrir = to feed oneself

81. se noyer = to drown

82. s'occuper de = to take care of

83. s'opposer à = to oppose

84. s'organiser = to get organized

85. se passionner pour = to get passionate about

86. se pencher = to lean down

87. se peigner (les cheveux) = to comb one's hair

88. se pendre = to hang oneself

89. se plaindre = to complain

90. se pousser = to get out of the way

91. se précipiter = to hurry towards

92. se préparer = to get ready

93. se promener = to take a stroll

94. se protéger de = to protect oneself against

95. se qualifier = to get qualified

96. se raser (la barbe) = to shave

97. se rasseoir = to go back to one's seat

98. se réchauffer = to get warmer

99. se réfugier = to find asylum or protection somewhere

100. se regarder = to look at oneself

101. se régaler = to really appreciate something (usually food)

102. se réjouir (de) = to rejoyce

103. se rendre compte (de) = to realize

104. se renseigner = to get info

105. se reposer = to rest

106. se retourner = to turn around/back

107. se réveiller = to wake up

108. se ronger (les ongles) = to bite one's nails

109. se salir = to get dirty

110. se sauver = to escape

111. se sentir = to feel

112. se séparer = to separate from

113. se servir de = to use

114. se souvenir de = to remember

115. se suicider = to commit suicide

116. se taire = to be silent

117. se teindre (les cheveux) = to color (one's hair)

118. se tourner vers = to turn towards

119. se transformer = to transform

120. se tromper = to make a mistake

121. se tuer = to kill oneself, to die (by accident)

122. se vanter = to brag

123. se venger de = to get revenge against

124. se vexer = to get one's feeling hurt

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French Reflexive Verbs Exercises

Now we're going to train on these French reflexive verbs.

1. (se coucher) Marie _____________ à dix heures et demie.

Marie se couche à dix heures et demi.

Marie goes to bed at ten-thirty.

2. (s'endormir) Nous _____________ vite après une soirée.

Nous nous endormons vite après une soirée.

We go to sleep fast after a party.

3. (s'habiller) Comment vous _____________ pour aller au restaurant?

Comment vous habillez-vous pour aller au restaurant?

How do you dress to go out to a restaurant?

4. (se dépêcher) Marc _____________ pour prendre le train.

Marc se dépêche pour prendre le train.

Marc hurries to catch (take) the train.

5. (s'ennuyer) Les enfants ne _____________ jamais.

Les enfants ne s'ennuient jamais.

The children never get bored.

6. (se baigner) Ils _____________ à la piscine ?

Ils se baignent à la piscine ?

They are swimming at the pool?

7. (s'habiller) Les jeunes _____________ d'une manière décontractée.

Les jeunes s'habillent d'une manière décontractée.

Young people dress in a relaxed manner.

8. (se fâcher) Est-ce que tu _____________ souvent avec Paul?

Est-ce que tu te fâches souvent avec Paul?

Do you get mad at Paul often?

10. (se disputer) Les frères, ils ne ____________ pas.

Les frères, ils ne se disputent pas.

The brothers don't quarrel.

11. (se retrouver) Mes amis et moi, on _____________ souvent au cinéma.

Mes amies et moi, on se retrouve souvent au cinéma.

My friends and I often meet at the cinema.

12. (s'asseoir) Avant le dîner, tout le monde _____________ à table.

Avant le diner, tout le monde s'assied à table.

Before dinner everyone sits (down) at the table.

13. (s'amuser) Je _____________ beaucoup à des soirées.

Je m'amuse beaucoup à des soirées.

I really enjoy parties.

14. (se sécher) Vous _____________ les cheveux.

Vous vous séchez les cheveux.

You dry your hair.

15. (s'être fracturé) Je _____________ le poignet gauche.

Je me suis fracturé le poignet gauche.

I fractured my left wrist.

16. (s'approcher) L'autobus _____________ de l'immeuble.

L'autobus s'approche de l'immeuble.

The bus approaches the building.

17. (se salir) La nappe _____________ vite.

La nappe se salit vite.

The table-cloth gets dirty quickly.

18. (se décider à) Nous ____________ aller à la plage?

Nous nous décidons à aller à la plage.

We decide (have decided) to go to the beach.

Reflexive, Pronominal, Reciprocal = What's the Difference?

Let's look at some terms. They look scary but they're not actually very difficult because they are quite logical:

What is a Base Verb?

"Raser" is the base verb and "se raser" is the pronominal form of it.

What is a French Pronominal Verb?

"Pronominal" is an adjective, it means "having a pronoun". As we have just seen, pronominal verbs have a special pronoun before the verb: "me, te, se, nous, vous, se" (in addition to the French subject pronoun "je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils, elles").

Some verbs can only be conjugated in a pronominal form (eg "s'enfuir" to flee) but most verbs have a base verb.

What is a French Reflexive Verb?

"Reflexive" is an adjective, it means "reflecting". It shows that the action is carried out on the person who is doing the action.

"Reflexive verb" is an alternative name for "pronominal verbs" like "se raser". It's very common nowadays to use "reflexive" instead of "pronominal"

What is a French Reciprocal Verb?

"Reciprocal" is an adjective, it means "done by both sides to each other" or "felt by both sides about each other".

A "Reciprocal verb" is a sort of pronominal verb when the verb uses a reflexive pronoun to show the action is reciprocal, such as with the verb "s'aimer".

Ils s'aiment depuis dix ans
They have been in love ("they have loved each other") for 10 years.

So there is a nuance here...

Let's take the verb "se réveiller" which means to wake up.

If you say "nous nous réveillons à huit heures", there could be two translations:

1. Each one of us wakes up at 8AM (reflexive action - we each do it to oneself)

2. We wake each other up at 8AM (reciprocal action - we do it to each other)

How can you tell? Usually from the context of the sentence / story.

Nous Nous, Vous Vous ???

These "nous nous", "vous vous" are very weird for a French student, but they sound perfectly fine for a French native.

In my French Verb Drill audiobook, I went over the conjugations of s'asseoir - drilling your French verbs out of order and with audio is the best way to memorize them!

In "nous nous" the first pronoun is a subject pronoun. The first "nous" replaces a subject.
The second "nous" is the reflexive pronoun.

So, if in your sentence you use nouns for the subject, you don't necessarily have to use the first pronoun.

Compare:

Philippe et moi, nous nous rasons.
Here, the first "nous" is redundant. It's supposed to replace "Philippe et moi", but since you say "Philippe et moi" in this sentence, you don't need a subject pronoun.
We do use it this way for emphasis, and also just because we are so accustomed to the "nous nous", "vous vous", that it's kind of easier for us to say it this way!
So I would say it's quite common to use both a noun subject AND a subject pronoun AND a reflexive pronoun for the "nous" and "vous" forms of French reflexive verbs.

However, you could also say:

Philippe et moi nous rasons.
That would be more upscale French actually. You're more likely to find this in writing.

In spoken French, since we like to use "on" instead of nous, you'll also hear:

Philippe et moi, on se rase.

All these sentences mean the same thing: Philippe and I, we shave.

It could also mean Philippe and I shave each other... but it's a bit less likely!

Tips About French Pronominal Verbs

Understanding the meaning of the "base verb"

The meaning of most pronominal verbs has some connection with the meaning of the base verb, so when you've learnt the base verb, automatically you'll have some idea what the corresponding pronominal verb means.

Unfortunately, there is a fairly small number of "idiomatic pronominal verbs" (about 40 common ones), for which the meaning of the pronominal verbs doesn't have a clear connection with the meaning of the base verb.

This is one reason why French pronominal verbs are sometimes confusing for English speakers.

For example, "emporter" means "to take something away; to take something with you" but the corresponding pronominal verb "s'emporter" means "to lose one's temper, to become angry".

Il s'emporte souvent - he often loses his temper (But even then, there might be some vague connection with the English expression "to get carried away"?)

Pronominal verbs are much more common in French than they are in English

Another reason why these French verbs can be confusing for English speakers is because their counterpart in English may not be reflexive or reciprocal.

For example, none of the examples above (se raser, s'aimer, s'emporter) is reflexive or reciprocal in English.

In English, we simply say: "my uncle shaves every morning", "they have been in love for ten years", "he often loses his temper".

Conjugation with "être" in compound tenses

All pronominal verbs use the auxiliary verb être to form their compound tenses (e.g. the passé composé):

you will need to make the past participle of the pronominal verb agree with the subject of the verb in gender and in number, unless it's followed by a direct object.
1 - Camille s'est coiff ée (Camille combed herself) - this construction is very common.
2 - Camille s'est coiff é les cheveux (Camille combed her hair) - lots of French people don't know that rule...

My last point is complicated, I'm so sorry...
When the reflexive pronoun is also an indirect object, there is no agreement.

Example: we say "parler à quelqu'un" (to talk TO someone).
So parler is followed by an indirect object.

When you say: ils se sont parlé, the "se" is a reflexive pronoun and an indirect object - therefore, no agreement, no S at parler...

I bet the vast majority of French people would make that mistake though! (Thank you to Siddharta for suggesting this rule in Disqus ❤️)

How to memorize French reflexive verbs?

Let's take the example of "se moquer". The connection with "to mock" is not hard, it's what we call "a cognate", a word that is the same between French and English.

But why should it be reflexive? You don't mock yourself someone...

Furthermore, how often to you use "to mock" in English?

Most of the time, you'd say "to make fun of someone, or to pick on someone"... You may then have a hard time remembering the French translation is "se moquer de quelqu'un"...

So cognates are a double edge "friend" - you think you already know the word, and it's easy to remember its meaning when you read it, but because you think you know it, you don't spend time learning it, and when you need to use it yourself you often forget "it's kind of the same as in English"... except that it's not exactly the same... So at the end, you should spend more time learning cognates, not less!

My tip - when memorising a pronominal verb, try to use it in a sentence, and memorize that sentence. It will be easier to remember that this particular verb is used in a reflexive way in French.

Check out my French audiobook method to learn French: structured around an ongoing novel, you'll learn French grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and expressions in context, and remember everything longer.

Fun French Reflexive Verb Practice

Many toiletry related verbs in French are reflexive. So here is my short video - featuring the Sims - to learn reflexive verbs in context as well as bathroom vocabulary.

French Transcript and English Translation of the Video

Notre Sim dort.
Our Sim is sleeping.

Maintenant, elle se réveille, elle se lève, et elle va dans la salle de bains.
Now she wakes up, she gets up and she goes into the bathroom.

Elle va aux toilettes, elle fait pipi et puis elle s'essuie et elle tire la chasse.
She uses the bathroom, she pees, then she wipes herself and flushes.
Elle se lave les mains avec du savon liquide, et puis elle va prendre une douche.
She washes her hands with liquid soap, then she takes a shower.
Elle se déshabille et puis elle rentre dans sa douche et elle se lave avec du gel pour la douche : elle se frotte bien.
She gets undressed and then enters her shower and washes with shower gel: she scrubs herself energetically.

Et puis elle se lave les cheveux avec du shampoing.
And then, she washes her hair with shampoo.

Peut être qu'elle se rase, on sait pas !
Maybe she shaves, we don't know!

Elle se rince les cheveux et pendant tout le temps de sa douche, elle chante !
She rinses her hair and during all the time of her shower, she sings!

Avec les Sims, c'est magique. Elle ne s'essuie pas, elle ne s'habille même pas ! Un tour et elle est prête !
With the Sims, it's magical. She doesn't dry herself, she doesn't even get dressed! A spin and she is ready!

Elle se lave les dents avec une brosse à dent et du dentifrice.
She brushes her teeth with a toothbrush and toothpaste.

Elle se regarde dans le miroir. Normalement, elle devrait se coiffer les cheveux, se sécher les cheveux et puis se mettre de la crème, et se maquiller: se faire les yeux, et se mettre du brillant à lèvre.
She looks at herself in a mirror. In the normal life, she should comb her hair, dry her hair and moisturize her skin, and apply make-up: do her eyes and put some gloss.

Mais encore une fois, un Sim n'a pas besoin de faire tout ça.
But once more, a Sim doesn't need to do all that.

Maintenant, elle va dans sa chambre, et elle va se changer : peut être qu'elle va se mettre en tenue de sport, ou bien tout simplement en jean et en T-shirt, ou encore elle peut se mettre une robe.
Now, she goes to her room and changes: maybe she'll put a sports outfit on, or just a jean and T-shirt, or else she can wear a dress.

If you enjoyed this video, please press like, and share it with your students and teachers - I think this makes a fun video to use in the classroom, don't you ? Let me know what you think - I read all the comments and your feedback is very important to me.

Subscribe to French Today's YouTube Channel to learn French vocabulary and grammar with the popular video games The Sims and Minecraft in French.

Final Notes About French Reflexive Verbs

Avoiding the passive voice

We have seen that pronominal verbs are used much more in French than they are in English.

However, there is an unexpected bonus: quite a few of them can be used to avoid "the passive voice" in French.

An example of the "passive voice": white wine is drunk by Richard. Compare this with the "active voice": Richard drinks white wine.
le vin blanc se boit froid - white wine is best drunk cold.
French people do not like the passive voice and have a number of ways of avoiding it. If you can avoid the passive voice with a pronominal verb in the way that the French do themselves, your teachers (and examiners!) should be mightily impressed.

For example, you could use it like this:

How do you Call Reflexive Verbs and Pronominal Verbs in French

In French, we call them

"un verbe pronominal / des verbes pronominaux"

ou "un verbe réfléchi".

The pronouns are called "des pronoms réfléchis".

In conclusion

The key to mastering French reflexive verbs is to practice, but practice with audio!

The reflexive pronouns glide a lot in spoken modern French with the subject pronoun and the verb, so you need to learn their modern glided pronunciation. French reflexive verbs are explained in my Beginner's French audiobook learning method.

I post new articles every week, so make sure you subscribe to the French Today newsletter - or follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Please react! Leave a comment, make a suggestion, share this article... Your engagement really encourages me to create more free French lessons!

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List of common French reflexive verbs - "se" verbs. We use the reflexive form in French when one does something to oneself.

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En paires, les élèves créent des dialogues courts où ils décrivent leur routine matinale. Encouragez l'utilisation de connecteurs temporels comme 'd'abord', 'ensuite', 'puis', 'enfin'.

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Les élèves travaillent en groupes de 3-4 pour créer une présentation sur Padlet comparant les routines d'un adolescent français typique avec leurs propres routines. Ils doivent inclure au moins 10 activités différentes.

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KS3 French Worksheet - Daily Routine | agreenmouse.com

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French Daily Routine Worksheet - Gap-fill exercise linked to video clip. Convert infinitive verbs into 1st person + tell the time in French. A Green Mouse

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Exercices de correspondance entre images et expressions. Compléter des phrases simples avec le vocabulaire appris. Cartes à trier selon l'ordre chronologique des activités.

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This “Hobbies Match-Up Activity Sheet” from our collection of French worksheets for kids will help your child in several meaningful ways. Firstly, it introduces essential French vocabulary related to hobbies, which are common topics of interest for children. By learning these terms, your child can expand their vocabulary and become more confident in discussing their interests in French. Secondly, this activity promotes cognitive development through matching exercises. Your child will need to pair French words with corresponding images, enhancing their memory and association skills. This type of exercise is crucial for reinforcing language learning, as it helps children to better retain and recall new vocabulary. Lastly, using this “Hobbies Match-Up Activity Sheet” encourages independent learning. Your child can complete the worksheet on their own, allowing them to practice and review the material at their own pace. This self-directed approach to learning fosters a sense of responsibility and motivation, which are key components of successful language acquisition. Check out the below resources for more support: French Greetings Worksheet French: Basic Phrases Activity Sheet

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Rédiger un paragraphe décrivant la routine d'une célébrité française en utilisant la troisième personne. Inclure des détails sur l'heure et des expressions d'opinion (j'aime, je déteste, je préfère).

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In this series on teaching French writing activities, we've already discussed using templates to model good writing, as well as the importance of French transition words to decrease choppiness. This post will continue the writing discussion with 25 ideas for great French writing projects and French writing activities to use all year long for your middle school and high school students.

Without further ado, here are some ideas:

French Writing Activities (Level 1)

For level 1, I focus primarily on speaking and communication skills for at least the first half of the year before adding in a whole lot of writing. Sentences or short paragraphs are fine, but avoid long compositions until they are more confident and competent with their communication skills.

That said, here are a few shorter projects:

Postcard project (Level 1)

Students pretend they are on vacation in a Francophone country. Pass out an index card and have students draw/print and paste photos of the scenery on one side and describe their vacation on the other.

Teach them a little bit of passé composé to help them talk about where they went and what they saw. (Je suis allé . . ., Nous sommes allés, J'ai vu, Nous avons vu, C'était amusant, intéressant, un voyage fantastique). Don't teach them the whole verb conjugation - only teach that "Je suis allé/e" means "I went", "Nous sommes allés" means we went, "J'ai vu" means "I saw", "Nous avons vu" means "We saw" and "C'était" means "It was ". Ex. I'm in Switzerland. There are so many beautiful mountains hers. The weather is cold and today it's snowing. Yesterday we went to the Alps to go skiing. Etc.

Social Media Profile

Have students write their own Facebook profile or other social media profile. They can answer questions such as: Where do you live, what do you like to do, what is your profession, etc.

Secret Valentines

Select another student's name for each student (boys to boys, girls to boys, girls to girls) and have them write super cheesy valentines to their secret valentine. Tell them that the whole point is to write the cheesiest valentine. Students give you the valentines when they are done and you pass them out. They try to guess who their secret valentine is.

Grab your free list of Valentine's vocab in the Free Resource Library.

All about Me Writing Project

This one is great for an end-of-year project. Students describe themselves, their families, their likes and dislikes, etc. Get this free template in the Free Resource Library.

French Writing Activities (Level 2)

Instagram Posts

Students take photos and write Instagram posts describing what they did over the summer, winter break, spring break, etc.

Personal Narrative

All about Me Project (with or without the template). See above.

Describe a Typical Day

Students describe their daily routine (great for reflexive verbs and time). If you want to add an extra fun element to this, offer extra credit if they act their days out in front of the class as funny people. Student A is behind Student B and is the arms and does all the actions while Student A talks. This is really funny as they try to brush teeth, hair, etc. Students love this activity.

Collage People

Students cut out pictures of different activities and paste them (or they can draw them) onto an outline of a person. They then write about the person that they have created, describing their likes and dislikes.

How to Project

Write instructions explaining how to make or do something (could be a recipe or a simple craft).

Create a Pamphlet

Make a pamphlet or brochure for a gym/weight loss program.

Passé Composé Projects

One Crazy Family

Write about a crazy family and all the crazy things that they did all week long. Have them act out the actions in front of the class with props.

Ex. The Cartier family is really crazy. On Tuesday, Marta ate worms and crickets for dinner. On Friday night, Louise and Rose rode elephants and parked them in the supermarket parking lot. What a mess!

Postcard project (Level 2)

Students pretend they are on vacation in a Francophone country. Pass out an index card and have students draw/print and paste photos of the scenery on one side and describe their vacation on the other. Can be used with just passé composé or passé composé and imparfait.

Your Life As a Kid

Write about what your life was like when you were a kid. Students leave the name off and attach a photo from when they were little. Post them around the class with a number next to each essay. Students try to guess who each person is.

Famous Person's Life

Write about the life of a famous person.

Penpal Letters

Connect with another class in a Francophone country and have your students correspond with other students throughout the year. Collect the letter and mail them in one big envelope to save on postage (or even better, correspond via email).

Letter for Next Year

Write a letter to next year's students telling them about your teacher and what they should expect from French class.

French 3, 4, 5 Writing Activities

Passé Composé vs. Imparfait Projects

Class Story

Write a class story. Begin with a starter sentence like: It was a dark and stormy night. Students in class take turns adding on sentences. To get more touches with the language, divide the class into groups and let them brainstorm their own stories and then write on the board as they go. Share and correct the stories as a class afterward.

Life in the Past

Compare and contrast life today with life 50 years ago.

Photo Prompt

Use a funny photo as a writing prompt. Ex. What happened to cause this event?

Photo Writing

Show a picture with lots of things happening in it. Have students write as much as they can about the picture for 2-5 minutes.

Retell a Fairy Tale

Students write out a traditional fairy tale but change some of the details to give it a funny twist.

Change the Ending

Write the ending to a story that the class is reading before you read it.

Famous People

Students research a famous Francophone and write a resume based on that person's life. I like to have them add an audio-visual element to the presentation (showcasing their art, music, etc.).

Movie/Book Review

Students write a review critiquing a movie or book.

Blog Post

Students write a blog post about a topic of their choosing: exercise, sports, fashion, healthy eating, etc. Have them use info. that you are studying (specific verb tenses or grammar points, transition words) in their posts.

Journal Writing

Have students write once a week in Spanish journals (either in class or at home). Be sure to tell them not to write stuff that is super personal because you will be reading it.

Journal Writing with Prompts

Give students a new prompt for each writing session. Base the prompts on the season or specific grammar points that you're studying. Ex. (For Halloween) Describe the best Halloween costume that you ever wore. Ex. (For imperfect subjunctive) If you could change one thing about your school, what would it be?

Controversial Opinion Piece

Students present one side of a debate for a controversial topic. As the teacher, you may wish to select certain topics to choose from or you may decide to give students permission to choose (just have them check with you first before they start to write).

Future Plans

Describe what your life will be like in 10, 20, or 30 years.

Conditional

Have students answer any of the following writing prompts: 1. What would you do if you won $1,000,000? 2. What changes would you make if you were the principal of your school? 3. If you could have any special power, what would it be and why?

End of Year Projects for Upper-Level Students

French Fairy Tales: Students write and illustrate fairy tales using complex verb tenses and transition words. Give them a specific amount of transition words to use (10-15), and specific verbs (must use at least 3 conditional, 5 preterite, 5 imperfect, 3 subjunctive, etc.). Get the instructions, rubrics, and samples to show your students

Write a Chapter: Write an additional chapter from a book that you've read this year. Include elements in the style of that particular author. My favorite book is "Le Petit Nico". In each chapter, Nico gets into some sort of problem but manages to find a way out of it. This also works well for "Le Petit Prince".

Hope you found these ideas helpful and inspiring! Have a great writing project that we should all know about - let me know in the comments so I can add it to this post.

Want more? Check out the other posts in this series about writing: Teaching French Writing Using Templates and How to Use French Transition Words to Improve Student Writing.

Happy Teaching!
~Sherry

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25 French Writing Activities, French Writing Projects

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In this series on teaching French writing activities, we've already discussed using templates to model good writing , as well as the importance of French transition words to decrease choppiness . This post will continue the writing discussion with 25 ideas for great French writing projects and French writing activities to use all year long for your middle school and high school students.

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Interview en chaîne: chaque élève interroge un camarade sur sa routine et rapporte les informations à la classe. 'Marie se lève à 7h et prend son petit-déjeuner à 7h30.'

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Pendant les activités de groupe, observer l'utilisation correcte du vocabulaire et la pronunciation. Noter la participation active et l'entraide entre élèves.

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Quiz éclair de 5 minutes: montrer des images d'activités quotidiennes et demander aux élèves d'écrire l'expression française correspondante. Correction immédiate en classe.

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Test écrit de 20 points incluant: conjugaison des verbes pronominaux (5 pts), vocabulaire des activités (10 pts), rédaction d'un paragraphe sur sa routine (5 pts).

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Daily routines - Daily Routines Quiz - Daily routines - Chinese Daily Routines - Daily routines - Daily routines - Daily Routines - Daily routines

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Les élèves complètent une grille d'auto-évaluation sur leur capacité à utiliser le nouveau vocabulaire et à conjuguer les verbes pronominaux. Échelle de 1 à 4.

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Discussion collective: 'Qu'avez-vous appris aujourd'hui?' Les élèves partagent une nouvelle expression qu'ils ont retenue et expliquent comment ils l'utiliseront.

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Chaque élève écrit sur un papier: 1) Une activité quotidienne qu'il fait le matin, 2) Une activité qu'il fait le soir, 3) Une question qu'il a encore sur cette leçon. À remettre en sortant.

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Moment de réflexion: 'Comment vos routines se comparent-elles à celles d'un adolescent français?' Encourager les élèves à partager leurs observations sur les différences culturelles.

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Rédiger dans un cahier sa routine du week-end en français (minimum 8 phrases). Utiliser au moins 5 nouveaux mots de vocabulaire appris aujourd'hui et les connecteurs temporels.

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1. The document is a French worksheet for grade 4 students. It covers introducing oneself with name, age, place and nationality. It also covers writing numbers from 1 to 10. 2. The worksheet contains exercises like putting words in the correct order to form sentences introducing oneself. It also contains a grid with numbers 1 to 10 in French that students need to find. 3. The worksheet asks students to answer questions in French like where they live.

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Compléter les exercices interactifs sur la conjugaison des verbes pronominaux. Recommandé: 15-20 minutes de pratique sur des sites gratuits comme Conjuguemos ou Lingolia.

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Le Present (reflexive verbs) || Conjuguemos

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Practice your French verb conjugations for the Le Present (reflexive verbs) with graded drill activities and fun multi-player games.

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Préparer une présentation de 2 minutes sur la routine d'un membre de sa famille. À présenter la prochaine fois sur Padlet avec photos ou dessins. Inclure au moins 10 activités différentes.

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Lire un court article sur les habitudes des jeunes Français (fourni par l'enseignant). Identifier 5 activités mentionnées et noter les différences avec ses propres habitudes.