Let’s just talk for a second about teaching and trying to do french literacy games and literacy centres last year (2020-2021… aka, mid-pandemic but trying to pretend that things could be fine in a school with hundreds of people).
I’m not sure where you were or what your rules were, but let me just say that where I was, the rules SUCKED! No sharing, no playing, no fun!
I mean, no one at my school got COVID-19, which was a big plus, but OUF! Was it hard to teach effectively. My students still did a version of literacy centres, but let’s be honest – they were nowhere near as fun as usual.
This year, I am SO excited that my students can share and play together again, so today I wanted to share three of their favourite games to play in partners/small groups during literacy centres so far this year.
LITERACY CENTRE 1: QU’EST-CE QUE C’EST?
This fun French literacy game is simple to play, and students can easily play in partners or in groups. It’s also easy enough to differentiate that everyone can play!
To prep it, just print the board game and cards. You can laminate for durability if you want. This game does need to be printed in colour in order to work.
One at a time, students will draw a card. They say the name of the object on the card, then move their marker to the next square on the board that’s the same colour as the border on the card.
I love this one because students can say what’s on the card with as much or as little detail as they like. I also often play this one with my small groups.
HERE is the link to the bundle – there’s lots of different themes to choose from! So far this year, Halloween has been the big favourite. I love hearing their little giggles and gasps as they draw new cards!
LITERACY CENTRE 2: RHYMING SORTS
I find rhyming activities awesome for literacy centres, because it’s a skill that just about everyone can do by themselves.
By this age, most of my students can rhyme. I do these sorts with each of my small groups before putting it as a centre, because there is a lot of vocabulary to review with this one.
To prep it, just print, laminate and cut apart the cards. Your students will need a pocket chart as well. They’ll draw a card, say the two words, and then decide if they rhyme or not.
It’s so simple, but it provides students a great opportunity to work together and problem solve when deciding if two words rhyme or not! Click HERE for this resource!
LITERACY CENTRE 3: RHYMING PUZZLES
This is a resource that I LOVE and so do my students! It’s another way for them to practice rhyming, in a way that’s self-correcting.
Prep the mats and puzzle pieces by printing, laminating, and cutting apart the puzzle pieces (not the mats!).
Students will use what they know about rhyming to help them solve the puzzle. Each puzzle piece has a rhyme “clue” to help students know in which rectangle to place each piece on the mat.
Students will say the name of the object in each rectangle, and find the object that rhymes with it on the mat. They will cover each object on the mat with the corresponding puzzle piece to build the picture.
Like I said before, it’s great for self-correcting, because if the picture doesn’t look right, students can rearrange the pieces until it does and then figure out the rhyme!
I also print the black and white version for my students to use like a recording sheet after they solve the puzzle. This generally allows the activity to last for the entire centre time.
Want to give this resource a try? Click HERE!
CONCLUSION
Now that our students can work together, let’s make it happen!
It’s something that I didn’t realize how much I took for granted — and how much they need it. My classroom is such a happier place this year, now that my students can play together! I am SO excited that, even though we are masked, my students can go back to learning these important social skills, alongside their literacy skills.
If you’re looking for more French literacy games or centre ideas, don’t forget about my Free French Resource Library! There are tons of freebies in there, including a whole section for literacy centres.
You can sign up by clicking HERE and entering your name and email, or entering them in the box below. Once you sign up, I’ll email you the password.
Enjoy!
PS – Want more ideas for French literacy games and centres? Check out this blog post, all about the one resource every French primary teacher needs to make literacy centre life easy!
