When teaching French, guiding your students from the present tense to the past tense is a natural progression. If your students have already mastered the present tense, they are likely eager to start expressing themselves in the past tense. Generally, the past tense, specifically the passé composé, is often seen as more accessible than the present. This is mainly because the conjugation of the auxiliary verbs "être" and "avoir" is usually well-anchored in students' memories from the early stages of their learning.
However, some students may find it challenging to memorize the past participles. The variety of endings and grammatical exceptions can make this task somewhat daunting.
To approach this topic smoothly and effectively, we propose a gradual pedagogical approach. You could start with simple exercises focusing on the most commonly used verbs in the passé composé. Then, introduce more complex activities, such as dialogues or short stories, to help students practice what they have learned. Memorization exercises, such as flashcards or interactive games, can also be very helpful in helping students internalize the past participles.
I. Discovery:
▶ Corinne went to summer camp. Listen to the conversation with her father who wants to know how she spent her first day at camp. (Free)
II. Toolbox:
A list of verbs conjugated with ÊTRE in the passé composé. Review the verbs conjugated with "être" as the auxiliary in the passé composé. The verbs presented in the illustration form a coherent story, making them easier to remember. Reflexive verbs are also included. Explain that the past participle of verbs conjugated with "être" agrees with the subject: add an "e" for feminine and "s" for plural. (Free sheet)
III. Exercises - Writing in the Passé Composé (Premium)
To help your students master the passé composé, it's essential to provide them with a variety of writing exercises.
IV. Practice: (Premium)
Put the text in the passé composé.
Answer questions using the passé composé.
Describe what Andréa did over the weekend. Suggest other scenarios: the day of a single mother, a father with a large family, a farmer, a busy businesswoman, etc.
V. Systematization (Premium)
Quickly convert sentences to the passé composé orally as in the example: "I like this movie a lot." -> "I liked this movie a lot." -> "I didn’t like this movie." Remember that putting a sentence in the passé composé can be a real challenge for a beginner or intermediate student: the sentence loses the rhythm the student is used to. The two elements of negation only aggravate the problem. The automation exercise should be done orally, first slowly, then increasingly faster.
What did he/she do? Imagine scenarios. Several possible answers.
Listening: The student will hear 10 sentences. Do you hear: a. A sentence in the present? b. A sentence in the passé composé? Check the correct answer.
At Home:
Ask the student to write these sentences as a dictation at home.
That's it! We hope you and your students will enjoy it! See you soon, Agnès Espace Prof Fle
You can find the entire MODULE 12 - Le passé composé 96 pages) here
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