Staying Healthy

Lesson Plan Overview

• Year Group: Year 10
• Subject: French (GCSE Level)
• Topic: Qu’est-ce que tu feras pour garder la forme? (What will you do to stay healthy?)
• Learning Objectives:
  1. Complex Structures Focus: Learn and use "avant de" followed by the infinitive.
  2. Grammar Focus: Practise blending present and future tenses in spoken and written French.
  3. Speaking Focus: Develop confidence responding to unseen opinion-based questions.
• Duration: 60 minutes
• Class Size: 19 students
• Curriculum Link: Focus on GCSE French Specification, developing grammatical accuracy and the ability to discuss future actions related to health and fitness (AQA/Edexcel curriculum strands on grammar, opinions, and fluency).

Lesson Breakdown

Starter Activity (5 minutes): Mind Map Warm-Up

• Objective: Students activate prior knowledge related to health and fitness vocabulary.
• Instructions:
  • Students write down 5 actions they currently do to stay healthy in French (e.g., "je mange des fruits," "je fais du sport").
  • After 2 minutes, pair students up to briefly compare their lists and add ideas they hadn't thought of.
  • Teacher elicits responses on the board to create a class mind map of actions associated with "garder la forme" using the present tense.

Introduction to Complex Structures (15 minutes): "Avant de" + Infinitive

• Objective: Teach students how to use "avant de" followed by the infinitive and model its application with future tense references.

• Teacher Input (5 minutes):

  • Write the sentence starter "Avant de + infinitive" on the board.
  • Explain its meaning: “Before [doing something]” and note that the infinitive form of the verb always follows "avant de". For example:
    • "Avant de manger le petit déjeuner, je ferai du jogging."
    • "Avant de commencer mes devoirs, je ferai une promenade."
  • Highlight that this phrase can blend future plans (je ferai...) with routines (je fais...).
  • Explain the importance of varying tense to show higher-level grammatical ability, which is rewarded in the GCSE marking scheme.

• Guided Practice (10 minutes):

  • Provide students with 5 partial sentence starters:
    1. "Avant de faire mes devoirs, je…"
    2. "Avant d’aller à l’école, je…"
    3. "Avant de me coucher, je…"
    4. "Avant de faire du sport, je…"
    5. "Avant de sortir avec mes amis, je…"
  • Task for students: Complete the sentences with future tense verbs, either from a vocabulary bank (for lower-level students) or independently (for confident students).
  • Peer Work: Once complete, students swap with a partner and critique their sentences (e.g., Do the verbs agree? Are tenses used correctly?).

Speaking Activity (20 minutes): Opinions on Health Habits

• Objective: Build confidence answering unseen opinion questions about health using "je pense que..." and mix verb tenses.

• Activity Setup (5 minutes):

  • Teacher distributes conversation cards to pairs. Each card has one unseen opinion question (examples below).
  • Example questions:
    • "Qu’est-ce que tu penses des cigarettes?"
    • "Qu’est-ce que tu feras ce weekend pour garder la forme?"
    • "Est-ce que dormir est important pour la santé ?"
    • "Quels sports pratiques-tu en ce moment ?"
    • "Que feras-tu pour manger plus sainement ?"
  • Demonstrate how to structure an opinion-based response using "je pense que..." or "à mon avis..." followed by a justification in the present or future tense. Example:
    • "Je pense que les cigarettes sont très dangereuses parce qu’elles causent des maladies."
    • "Ce weekend, je ferai du yoga avant de courir au parc."

• Speaking in Pairs (10 minutes):

  • Students take turns asking and answering questions using the cards, aiming to provide detailed responses (2-3 sentences).
  • Encourage peer correction for grammar and pronunciation.

• Class Discussion (5 minutes):

  • Call on 2-3 pairs to share their favourite questions and strongest responses.
  • Provide oral feedback to gently correct common errors (e.g., incorrect infinitives after "avant de").

Writing Task (15 minutes): Personal Health Plan

• Objective: Consolidate present and future tense usage, as well as "avant de" structures, in a short piece of writing.

• Task Instructions (10 minutes):

  • Write a paragraph of 6-8 sentences about how you plan to stay healthy. Include:
    1. 1-2 sentences in the present tense describing what you currently do.
    2. 2-3 sentences in the future tense describing what actions you will take.
    3. At least 2 examples using "avant de" + infinitive. Example:
       • "En ce moment, je vais à la salle de sport deux fois par semaine. Je mange aussi beaucoup de légumes. Avant de manger le déjeuner, je boirai de l’eau pour rester hydraté. Ce weekend, je ferai du vélo avant de regarder un film avec mes amis."
  • Students can consult vocab banks and model sentences from the board if needed.

• Peer Review (5 minutes):

  • Students swap paragraphs and provide two stars and a wish feedback:
    • 🌟 One thing they wrote well.
    • 🌟 One phrase they found interesting/difficult.
    • 💭 One suggestion for improvement (e.g., “try to use another future tense verb”).

Plenary (5 minutes): Self-Reflection and Error Spotting

• Objective: Reflect on progress and evaluate use of grammar/mixed tenses.

• Instructions:

  1. Write one thing you learned (e.g., "avant de structures").
  2. Write one thing you found challenging (e.g., "mixing present and future tenses").
  3. Collect 2 example sentences (from the speaking activity or writing task) with errors. Display them on the board anonymously, and as a class, discuss why they are incorrect and how to fix them.

Homework (Optional/Extension)

• Write 3 sentences using "avant de" to describe healthy activities you will do in the next week. Students should include at least one incorrect sentence deliberately. In the next class, peers will work together to identify and correct the mistakes.

Teacher Notes

• Differentiation Strategies:

  • Provide additional scaffolding (e.g., sentence templates, word banks) for less confident students.
  • Challenge high-achieving students by encouraging them to combine "avant de" structures with other complex grammar, such as subordinate clauses ("parce que," "pour que").

• Assessment:

  • Observe fluency and grammatical accuracy during the speaking activity.
  • Check student understanding during peer reviews in writing tasks.
  • Informally assess learning through reflective self-evaluations and plenary corrections.

• Resources Required:

  • Conversation prompt cards
  • Vocabulary banks
  • Sentence starter sheets

This lesson plan meets GCSE standards by integrating opinion-based discussions, complex grammar usage, and skills in communication, reflecting the requirements for top marks in language exams.