Activities: singular verbs in the present tense

DASKEREL wrote this teaching and practice using Oak's sequence as a source. View the source lesson at Oak National Academy. Oak has not endorsed this material. Check Oak's terms and separate rights for third-party works.

Learning outcomes

Distinguish faire from aller
Translate a complete activity phrase in context

Vocabulary: faire = do or make · je fais = I do · elle fait = she does · faire du vélo = go cycling · faire les courses = go shopping · aller = go

Retrieve previous learning

Write the singular forms of faire for je and elle.

Check: Je fais; elle fait. The written endings differ.

Learn the concept

The Oak source title calls faire ‘meaning go’. That shorthand describes a natural English translation of some whole activity phrases. Faire itself means do or make; aller means go. Thus ‘je fais du vélo’ can be ‘I go cycling’, while ‘je vais au parc’ means ‘I go to the park’. Do not replace faire with aller inside the French activity phrase.

Read the original pair: ‘Lina fait les courses. Sami va au marché.’ Lina goes shopping; Sami goes to the market. The first sentence states an activity and uses fait, the third-person singular of faire. The second gives a destination and uses va, the third-person singular of aller. A written answer can establish this grammatical distinction; it does not demonstrate that a learner recognises the phrases when spoken.

Worked model

Read ‘Lina fait du vélo’ and underline fait.
Identify faire, then translate the complete phrase fait du vélo as ‘goes cycling’.
Compare ‘Lina va au parc’: va is aller and states a destination.

Guided practice

Translate ‘Je fais les courses. Je vais au marché.’ Name both French infinitives.

Hint: Translate the complete expressions, then identify fais and vais.

Check the guided answer

I go shopping. I go to the market. Fais is from faire; vais is from aller. Similar English wording does not make the French verbs interchangeable.

Independent practice

Write your own response to every question before viewing the model answers. Your writing stays in this page session; this activity does not submit, store or grade it. Avoid including private information.

Independent listening practice

Play the short French passage and answer the listening questions. You may replay it. Browser speech is synthetic practice audio; a teacher should also check listening with a natural speaker. The transcript and answer guide appear after you submit an attempt.

Teacher observed practical evidence

A teacher presents an unseen spoken activity and destination with text hidden, then hears a new spoken contrast. Written performance is not listening or pronunciation evidence.

Identifies an activity after an unseen spoken prompt
Distinguishes faire and aller intelligibly in a new response

Find and correct a misconception

“Faire and aller both mean ‘go’ in every sentence.”

Correction: Faire means do or make; certain faire activity phrases translate naturally with ‘go’ in English. Aller is the French verb go.

Extend and reflect

Write two contrasting weekend sentences for a fictional person.

Guidance: Use faire for an activity and aller for a destination; explain the translations.

Where this lesson could lead · French GCSE → Daskerel Education and Workforce Development

This lesson practises: Distinguish faire from aller. French communication can support international learning, services and workplace collaboration.

Next school subject: French GCSE. Check the subject and examination board that fit your school.
Later DASKEREL learning: Daskerel Education and Workforce Development. Explore further study and build evidence from practical work.
Later credential exploration: No subject-specific professional credential is mapped from this lesson. Explore the credential catalogue after choosing a later specialism.
Example career direction: Learning Support Practitioner. Explore organisations and local support.

This is an exploratory route, not a promise of admission, a qualification, certification eligibility or employment. Years 7–9 learning is an early foundation; any later credential may require substantial study, experience or local approval.

Year 7 · Vocabulary and grammar · original lesson pack

DASKEREL beta · internal AI review pending

Read en as in or by in a complete activity phrase

DASKEREL wrote this teaching and practice using Oak's sequence as a source. View the source lesson at Oak National Academy. Oak has not endorsed this material. Check Oak's terms and separate rights for third-party works.

Learning outcomes

Choose a contextual meaning for en
Distinguish an activity phrase with faire from a destination with aller

Vocabulary: en France = in France · en bus = by bus · à vélo = by bicycle · je fais = I do · je vais = I go

Retrieve previous learning

Which French verb means to do or make, and which means to go?

Check: Faire means do or make; aller means go.

Learn the concept

En is a small preposition whose English translation depends on its following phrase. ‘Elle étudie en France’ places her studies in France; ‘elle voyage en bus’ names the means of travel, so English uses by bus. Do not give en one English replacement for every sentence. Compare ‘je vais en France’ with ‘je fais du vélo’: the first uses aller and names a destination, while the second uses faire and names an activity. English can say ‘go cycling’, but faire itself does not mean go.

Read the original itinerary: ‘Léa voyage en bus. Elle étudie en France. Le samedi, elle fait du vélo.’ The bus is the travel method, France the location and cycling the activity. Nothing says she travels to France by bicycle. In a listening check, a teacher should say a new itinerary with the transcript concealed; reading the text is not listening evidence.

Worked model

Underline en in ‘Mina voyage en bus’ and ask what follows it.
Bus is the method, so translate the phrase as ‘by bus’.
Compare ‘Mina habite en France’: en France identifies location, ‘in France’.

Guided practice

Translate ‘Il voyage en train; il habite en France’ and explain each en.

Hint: Ask whether the following words name transport or location.

Check the guided answer

He travels by train; he lives in France. En train gives the method and en France gives the location, so the English prepositions differ.

Independent practice

Write your own response to every question before viewing the model answers. Your writing stays in this page session; this activity does not submit, store or grade it. Avoid including private information.

Independent listening practice

Play the short French passage and answer the listening questions. You may replay it. Browser speech is synthetic practice audio; a teacher should also check listening with a natural speaker. The transcript and answer guide appear after you submit an attempt.

Teacher observed practical evidence

With text hidden, the teacher reads a new en phrase and records a listening decision. Separately the learner speaks a new transport-and-place pair; neither outcome follows from the written task.

Identifies method or place in unseen speech
Says a new contextual en phrase intelligibly

Find and correct a misconception

“En always translates as in.”

Correction: Translate en with its context: en France is ‘in France’, but en bus is ‘by bus’.

Extend and reflect

Write a fictional two-line itinerary with en and faire.

Guidance: Use one place, one transport method and one activity; label the meaning of each preposition.

Where this lesson could lead · French GCSE → Daskerel Education and Workforce Development

This lesson practises: Choose a contextual meaning for en. French communication can support international learning, services and workplace collaboration.

Next school subject: French GCSE. Check the subject and examination board that fit your school.
Later DASKEREL learning: Daskerel Education and Workforce Development. Explore further study and build evidence from practical work.
Later credential exploration: No subject-specific professional credential is mapped from this lesson. Explore the credential catalogue after choosing a later specialism.
Example career direction: Learning Support Practitioner. Explore organisations and local support.

This is an exploratory route, not a promise of admission, a qualification, certification eligibility or employment. Years 7–9 learning is an early foundation; any later credential may require substantial study, experience or local approval.

Year 7 · Vocabulary and grammar · original lesson pack

DASKEREL beta · internal AI review pending

Form singular present-tense regular -er verbs

DASKEREL wrote this teaching and practice using Oak's sequence as a source. View the source lesson at Oak National Academy. Oak has not endorsed this material. Check Oak's terms and separate rights for third-party works.

Learning outcomes

Separate an -er infinitive from its stem
Choose -e, -es or -e for je, tu or il/elle

Vocabulary: parler = to speak · je parle = I speak · tu parles = you speak · elle parle = she speaks · regarder = to watch

Retrieve previous learning

Translate ‘elle fait du vélo’ and identify its verb.

Check: She cycles or goes cycling; fait is from faire.

Learn the concept

The infinitive is the dictionary form, such as parler. For a regular -er verb, remove -er to leave parl-, then add -e with je, -es with familiar singular tu, and -e with il or elle. Thus ‘je parle’, ‘tu parles’ and ‘elle parle’ share a stem but differ in written agreement. The endings may sound alike, so written spelling must be checked directly. French present tense can cover ‘I speak’ and ‘I am speaking’ depending on context.

Use the rule with another regular verb: regarder gives ‘je regarde’, ‘tu regardes’, ‘il regarde’. A subject is essential to interpret a short sentence. ‘Elle regarde un film’ says that she watches a film; it does not reveal how often or what she prefers. Do not apply this -er pattern to irregular faire: ‘je fais’ is not ‘je faie’.

Worked model

Start with dessiner and remove -er to get dessin-.
For tu, add -es: tu dessines.
Complete ‘Tu dessines une maison’: you draw or are drawing a house in context.

Guided practice

Write je, tu and elle forms of regarder and explain the unchanged part.

Hint: Remove -er before adding the subject endings.

Check the guided answer

Je regarde, tu regardes, elle regarde. Regard- is the stem; -e/-es/-e are the endings for these singular subjects.

Independent practice

Write your own response to every question before viewing the model answers. Your writing stays in this page session; this activity does not submit, store or grade it. Avoid including private information.

Independent listening practice

Play the short French passage and answer the listening questions. You may replay it. Browser speech is synthetic practice audio; a teacher should also check listening with a natural speaker. The transcript and answer guide appear after you submit an attempt.

Teacher observed practical evidence

The teacher reads an unseen regular-verb sentence with no displayed script, then separately asks for a new spoken sentence; identical-sounding endings do not validate written spelling.

Identifies the subject in an unseen utterance
Speaks a relevant new singular action intelligibly

Find and correct a misconception

“The infinitive is used unchanged after every subject.”

Correction: A finite verb agrees with the subject: parler becomes tu parles, not tu parler.

Extend and reflect

Write three fictional diary lines, one each for je, tu and elle.

Guidance: Choose three regular -er verbs and mark their stems and endings.

Where this lesson could lead · French GCSE → Daskerel Education and Workforce Development

This lesson practises: Separate an -er infinitive from its stem. French communication can support international learning, services and workplace collaboration.

Next school subject: French GCSE. Check the subject and examination board that fit your school.
Later DASKEREL learning: Daskerel Education and Workforce Development. Explore further study and build evidence from practical work.
Later credential exploration: No subject-specific professional credential is mapped from this lesson. Explore the credential catalogue after choosing a later specialism.
Example career direction: Learning Support Practitioner. Explore organisations and local support.

This is an exploratory route, not a promise of admission, a qualification, certification eligibility or employment. Years 7–9 learning is an early foundation; any later credential may require substantial study, experience or local approval.

Year 7 · Writing · original lesson pack

DASKEREL beta · internal AI review pending

Say what someone likes doing with aimer and an infinitive

DASKEREL wrote this teaching and practice using Oak's sequence as a source. View the source lesson at Oak National Academy. Oak has not endorsed this material. Check Oak's terms and separate rights for third-party works.

Learning outcomes

Conjugate aimer for a singular subject
Keep the second action verb in its infinitive form

Vocabulary: j’aime = I like · tu aimes = you like · elle aime = she likes · dessiner = to draw · jouer = to play · danser = to dance

Retrieve previous learning

Why is ‘je fais du vélo’ an activity but ‘je vais au parc’ a destination?

Check: Faire names the activity; aller states where I go.

Learn the concept

A two-verb phrase uses a conjugated aimer followed by an infinitive: ‘J’aime dessiner’ means ‘I like drawing’. Use ‘tu aimes jouer’ when addressing one familiar person and ‘elle aime danser’ for she likes dancing. The first verb changes with the subject; the second remains the dictionary form. Je loses e before aime, hence j’aime.

A preference is different from a present action. ‘Mina aime dessiner’ says Mina likes drawing; ‘Mina dessine’ says Mina draws or is drawing in context. The first does not prove Mina is drawing now. Use a name if a person's pronoun is not supplied. To test listening, a teacher must play or speak a new sentence with the text hidden.

Worked model

Choose the subject tu and form tu aimes.
Select the liked activity dessiner and keep the infinitive.
Write ‘Tu aimes dessiner.’ Translate: ‘You like drawing.’

Guided practice

Translate ‘She likes dancing’ and explain which verb changes.

Hint: Conjugate aimer for elle.

Check the guided answer

Elle aime danser. Aime is the third-person singular form; danser remains the infinitive.

Independent practice

Write your own response to every question before viewing the model answers. Your writing stays in this page session; this activity does not submit, store or grade it. Avoid including private information.

Independent listening practice

Play the short French passage and answer the listening questions. You may replay it. Browser speech is synthetic practice audio; a teacher should also check listening with a natural speaker. The transcript and answer guide appear after you submit an attempt.

Teacher observed practical evidence

A teacher asks about a new activity with the transcript hidden and listens for a spontaneous aimer plus infinitive response; a written answer cannot certify speech.

Understands a new spoken preference
Answers intelligibly with aimer and an infinitive

Find and correct a misconception

“The second verb changes with the subject: ‘elle aime danse’.”

Correction: Conjugate aimer but retain the infinitive: ‘elle aime danser’.

Extend and reflect

Write three fictional learners’ preferences and what they actually do today.

Guidance: Keep preference and present action separate; use names when pronouns are unknown.

Where this lesson could lead · French GCSE → Daskerel Education and Workforce Development

This lesson practises: Conjugate aimer for a singular subject. French communication can support international learning, services and workplace collaboration.

Next school subject: French GCSE. Check the subject and examination board that fit your school.
Later DASKEREL learning: Daskerel Education and Workforce Development. Explore further study and build evidence from practical work.
Later credential exploration: No subject-specific professional credential is mapped from this lesson. Explore the credential catalogue after choosing a later specialism.
Example career direction: Learning Support Practitioner. Explore organisations and local support.

This is an exploratory route, not a promise of admission, a qualification, certification eligibility or employment. Years 7–9 learning is an early foundation; any later credential may require substantial study, experience or local approval.

Year 7 · Reading · original lesson pack

DASKEREL beta · internal AI review pending

Use one French present form for English simple and continuous senses

DASKEREL wrote this teaching and practice using Oak's sequence as a source. View the source lesson at Oak National Academy. Oak has not endorsed this material. Check Oak's terms and separate rights for third-party works.

Learning outcomes

Read a singular -er present form in context
Avoid inventing a second French continuous tense

Vocabulary: je regarde = I watch / I am watching · tu dessines = you draw / you are drawing · elle joue = she plays / she is playing · maintenant = now · souvent = often

Retrieve previous learning

Which ending does tu take with a regular -er verb?

Check: The written ending is -es, as in tu regardes.

Learn the concept

A French regular present form can describe a habit or something happening now. ‘Elle regarde un film maintenant’ naturally means ‘She is watching a film now’; ‘Elle regarde souvent des films’ means ‘She often watches films’. The verb regarde is unchanged. The time expression and situation guide the English choice, rather than an invented extra French ending. English -ing does not require adding -ant to a beginner's present-tense French sentence.

Read ‘Je joue au tennis le samedi. Aujourd'hui, je joue au tennis avec Sami.’ The first is a routine on Saturdays; the second describes today's activity. Both use je joue. A reader should cite the clue le samedi or aujourd'hui instead of claiming the verb form alone proves timing. Without a clue, both translations may be defensible.

Worked model

Read ‘Tu dessines maintenant’ and circle maintenant.
Choose the present continuous English reading because the action is happening now.
Translate ‘You are drawing now’ while retaining French tu dessines.

Guided practice

Translate ‘Il parle souvent français; il parle français maintenant’ into natural English.

Hint: Let souvent and maintenant decide the English aspect.

Check the guided answer

He often speaks French; he is speaking French now. Both French clauses use il parle; the adverbs supply the distinction.

Independent practice

Write your own response to every question before viewing the model answers. Your writing stays in this page session; this activity does not submit, store or grade it. Avoid including private information.

Independent listening practice

Play the short French passage and answer the listening questions. You may replay it. Browser speech is synthetic practice audio; a teacher should also check listening with a natural speaker. The transcript and answer guide appear after you submit an attempt.

Teacher observed practical evidence

The teacher says new sentences with contrasting time clues while text is hidden and records what the learner hears; a separate spoken answer states a routine and a current action.

Distinguishes habit and current-action clues in speech
Speaks two contextually distinct present actions intelligibly

Find and correct a misconception

“French must have a different present verb form for ‘is playing’.”

Correction: French ‘elle joue’ can mean ‘she plays’ or ‘she is playing’; context supplies the reading.

Extend and reflect

Create two sentences with the same verb but different time clues.

Guidance: Explain in English why a reader should translate one as routine and the other as happening now.

Where this lesson could lead · French GCSE → Daskerel Education and Workforce Development

This lesson practises: Read a singular -er present form in context. French communication can support international learning, services and workplace collaboration.

Next school subject: French GCSE. Check the subject and examination board that fit your school.
Later DASKEREL learning: Daskerel Education and Workforce Development. Explore further study and build evidence from practical work.
Later credential exploration: No subject-specific professional credential is mapped from this lesson. Explore the credential catalogue after choosing a later specialism.
Example career direction: Learning Support Practitioner. Explore organisations and local support.

This is an exploratory route, not a promise of admission, a qualification, certification eligibility or employment. Years 7–9 learning is an early foundation; any later credential may require substantial study, experience or local approval.

Year 7 · Reading · original lesson pack

DASKEREL beta · internal AI review pending

Read about advocacy using penser à and penser que

DASKEREL wrote this teaching and practice using Oak's sequence as a source. View the source lesson at Oak National Academy. Oak has not endorsed this material. Check Oak's terms and separate rights for third-party works.

Learning outcomes

Distinguish thinking about a person from stating an opinion
Apply singular -er endings in a short presentation

Vocabulary: penser à = to think about · penser que = to think that · je pense = I think · tu penses = you think · elle pense = she thinks · l'éducation = education

Retrieve previous learning

Supply je, tu and elle forms of penser.

Check: Je pense, tu penses, elle pense; penser is a regular -er verb.

Learn the concept

Malala Yousafzai advocates girls' access to education. In this original practice statement, ‘Elle pense à l'éducation des filles’ means ‘She thinks about girls' education’. The preposition à links penser to its topic. ‘Elle pense que l'éducation est importante’ means ‘She thinks that education is important’: que introduces the following clause. Unlike conversational English, French retains que in this construction. These model sentences teach language; they are not quotations from Malala.

The verb penser is regular: je pense, tu penses, elle pense. Read ‘Je pense à Malala’ as thinking about Malala, not ‘I think that Malala’. The Oak source also draws attention to the letters ien in bien. To assess hearing or pronunciation, the teacher must present new speech and observe a response; a printed passage cannot establish either skill.

Worked model

Choose a topic noun, ‘l'école’, after penser.
Add à before the topic: ‘Elle pense à l'école’.
For a complete opinion clause, replace à with que: ‘Elle pense que l'école est importante.’

Guided practice

Translate ‘I think about education’ and ‘I think that education is important’.

Hint: A noun topic follows à; a full claim follows que.

Check the guided answer

Je pense à l'éducation. Je pense que l'éducation est importante. À introduces the topic; que introduces a complete opinion clause.

Independent practice

Write your own response to every question before viewing the model answers. Your writing stays in this page session; this activity does not submit, store or grade it. Avoid including private information.

Independent listening practice

Play the short French passage and answer the listening questions. You may replay it. Browser speech is synthetic practice audio; a teacher should also check listening with a natural speaker. The transcript and answer guide appear after you submit an attempt.

Teacher observed practical evidence

With the transcript hidden, the teacher says an original new topic sentence and an opinion sentence, records comprehension, then observes a separately produced spoken contrast. The teacher may model bien for pronunciation feedback.

Distinguishes à and que after hearing new speech
States a new opinion intelligibly using penser que

Find and correct a misconception

“Je pense l'école est importante is complete because English can omit that.”

Correction: French uses que to introduce the opinion clause: Je pense que l'école est importante.

Extend and reflect

Write two original sentences about an education issue without attributing invented words to Malala.

Guidance: Use penser à for the issue and penser que for your own opinion. A factual claim about Malala needs a reliable source.