Guest blogger: Shea Rate
In a Grade 3/4 classroom, introducing French verbs doesn’t have to mean worksheets or memorization. One of the most effective ways to build language skills is to weave French naturally into students’ daily routines and activities, making it part of their world rather than just another subject block.
Recently, we explored action verbs by combining them with physical movement and art. During our daily warm-up, students chose a French verb like sauter (to jump), danser (to dance), or marcher (to walk), and then demonstrated the action while saying the word out loud. We turned it into a mini "Simon dit" game, which helped reinforce listening and comprehension while keeping the energy up.
Later, during an art activity, we described our drawings using simple present-tense sentences: "Le chat saute" or "L’enfant court." Without explicitly announcing a "French verb lesson," students were already conjugating and using verbs in context.
By embedding French into active and creative tasks, students connect the language to real meaning. It becomes something they use, not just something they study. The bonus? They’re having so much fun, they hardly realize they’re learning grammar at all.
Here are some fun videos that help you teach verbs while students are still having fun!
50 fun action verbs in French for kids and beginners! This video is great for showing a variety of action verbs (e.g. sauter, danser, marcher etc.) through animations, which helps with visualization and retention.
French Verb Quiz for Kids | Learn 40 Daily Action Words in French! Engaging and interactive; students can test their understanding of action verbs in a fun quiz format. It supports comprehension, and could be used after you do your warm-up or art activity.