Promoting creativity in French lessons
using storytelling with year 7.
Alice Ayel
Why telling simple stories?
to challenge and engage pupils.to boost pupils’ independence and
creativity.to enable pupils to understand
stories in the target language. to enable pupils to create their own
little stories using taught language.
Year 7: a simple story about animals.
Objective of the lesson:to know at least 10 animals in
French.to reinforce the days of the week.to be able to understand a simple
story about animals.to be able to write a simple story
about animals.
Starter: to identify new words that will come up in the story.
Students work in pairs to find the meaning of key words they will need to understand the story.
One pupil goes around the classroom and look for 8 words on post-it notes. He/she memorises it, goes back to the other pupil who looks for the meaning of the word in the dictionary.
7W8 / 7W7 / 7T4
1) Main part of the lesson: to listen to the story and learn new words.
Pupils are told the story (all in French).Pupils do not just listen to the story,
they also interact. They are asked: which day of the week it is what the problem is with the animal.
Because the story is quite repetitive, pupils can relate to it as well as the questions asked by the teacher.
7L2 / 7L3/ 7L4 / 7L5 / 7C4
2) Main part of the lesson: to reinforce animal words.
Students repeat and play a memory game about animals.
They classify the animals into masculine and feminine genders.
7W7 / 7W4
3) Main part of the lesson: to write own little story about animals.
Pupils are asked to invent their own little stories using animals.
Pupils write and design their stories in a little booklet made with folded paper.
7T5 / 7T6
Plenary: peer assessment.
In pairs, pupils assess each other’s stories.
They also show and read their stories to the whole class.
7T7 / 7L6
Objectif:
raconter une histoire d’animaux.
Il y a 8 mots dans la classe.Qu’est-ce que c’est en Anglais?• Timide• Bavard• Marrant• Effrayant• Nerveux• Petit• Gourmand• Parfait
Ma surprise!Ecoute l’histoire:
Lundi, je reçois un cadeau.
Quelle surprise !
Mais il est trop timide, quel dommage!
Mardi, je reçois un cadeau.
Quelle surprise !
Mais elle est trop petite, quel dommage!
Mercredi, je reçois un cadeau.
Quelle surprise !
Mais il est trop bavard, quel dommage!
Jeudi, je reçois un cadeau.
Quelle surprise !
Mais il est trop gourmand, quel
dommage!
Vendredi, je reçois un cadeau.
Quelle surprise !
Mais il est trop marrant, quel dommage!
Samedi, je reçois un cadeau.
Quelle surprise !
Mais elle est trop nerveuse, quel dommage!
Dimanche, je reçois un cadeau.
Quelle surprise !
Mais il est trop effrayant, quel dommage!
Alors, le facteur réfléchit bien
et il m’apporte ….
Comme il est parfait, il reste avec moi
!
Fin
Maintenant un peu de répétition !
Un jeupour
s’amuser!
Attention ! un animal disparait c’est lequel ?
Un peu de compréhensio
n !
Ecris les animaux dans la bonne colonne
Féminin Masculin
un chien / une souris / un serpent / un chat / un singe /
une tortue /une araignée /un hamster / un cochon d’inde / un lapin /
un oiseau / un poisson
Solution :Ecris les animaux dans la bonne colonne
Féminin Masculin
•Une souris
•Une tortue
•Une araignée
•Un chien •Un chat•Un serpent•Un singe•Un hamster•Un lapin•Un oiseau•Un cochon d’inde•Un poisson
Invente et écris une histoire:
1. Choose different animals as a surprise.2. Think of problems for your animals.3. Write your story in a little booklet.4. The title is: UNE SURPRISE!
Lundi, je reçois un cadeau.
Un poisson
Mais il est trop timide. Quel dommage!
Mardi, je reçois un cadeau.Un hamsterMais il est trop bavard. Quel
dommage!
Mercredi, je reçois
un cadeau.
Un chienMais il est
trop grand. Quel
dommage!
Jeudi, je reçois
un cadeau.
Un ….Mais il est
trop …..
Quel dommage!
Vendredi, je reçois
un cadeau.
Un ….Mais il est
trop ……. Quel
dommage!
Samedi, je reçois
un cadeau.
Un ……Mais il est
trop ……. Quel
dommage!
Alors, le facteur
réfléchit et il m’apporte….
Comme il est parfait, il reste
avec moi!
Plenary
•What have you learnt today?•How have you learnt it?•What worked best for you?
Examples of stories:
Benefits:
Increased confidence Higher challenges and expectations Willingness to try Enthusiasm Higher achievement- instead of only achieving
a level 2-3, pupils were able to gain level 3-4. Being able to transfer language across topics Enjoyment of the language – teacher and pupil
Conclusions:
You can find simple French stories on the Internet: www.slideshare.net/aliceayel
www.tes.co.uk/resourcesIncrease expectations.Little by little – build up new words
and expressions in the target language.