N’oubliez pas les Verbes qui sont Conjugués au

Passé Composé
Lyrics

N’oubliez pas
Les verbes qui sont
Conjugués
Au passé composé.
~
N’oubliez pas
Les verbes qui sont
Conjugués
Au passé composé…
~
Avec être,
Avec être,
Avec être,
Avec être…
~
Monter, Rester, Sortir,
Venir, Aller,
Naître, Descendre,
Entrer, Retourner, Partir,
Arriver, Tomber, Mourir…

Recommended Resources

 CD player, Grammar through music CD,

 Bescherelle for each student
 Copies of “N’oubliez pas…” worksheets 1, 2, 3 and 4 for each student
 Copies of the “Presentation of the passé composé” rubric for each student

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 The Importance of “Avoir” and “Être” in Conjugating the Past Tense
Introduction
 Hand out a Bescherelle to each student or have students take their Bescherelles out of their desks.
 Write “je suis allé” on one side of the classroom blackboard and ask students the following questions:

1) What pronoun is used here? Answer: je (première personne singulier).

2) What is the infinitive of “allé?” Answer: aller.
3) What is the infinitive of “suis?” Answer: être.

 Then, write “j’ai mangé” on the other side of the board and ask students the same questions as above.
 If students have difficulty answering these questions, review the infinitive and pronoun songs, and corresponding
lesson plans.
 Otherwise, point out two important facts about the sentences you have written on the board:
o First, the sentences are written in “passé composé,” which means “past tense.”
o Second, that verbs conjugated in “passé composé” are always conjugated with the present tense of either
“avoir” or “être.”
 Based on the information above, ask students whether “allé” in the sentence “je suis allé” appears to be conjugated
with the “avoir” or “être.” Students should be able to recognize that “je suis is the present tense of “etre,’ and explain
therefore, that “aller” is conjugated with “être” in the past tense.
 Now, ask students if “mangé” in the sentence “j’ai mange” is conjugated with être or avoir. Students should be able to
recognize that “j’ai” is the present tense of “avoir,’ and explain therefore, that “manger” is conjugated with “avoir” in
the past tense.

Lesson
 Hand out the “N’oubliez pas…” worksheets #1, 2, 3 and 4 to each student.
 Play “N’oubliez pas…” song, for students and encourage them to follow along with the lyrics.
 After listening to the song, re-read the lyrics with students.
 Ask for a volunteer to stand up, close his or her eyes and try to list the verbs that are conjugated in the past tense with
être.
 Ask other students to try this activity.
 Give students the opportunity to work in groups in order to memorize the list of “être” verbs. Give students another
chance to stand before the class and list the “être” verbs from memory.

Conclusion
 Direct students’ attention to the “Noubliez pas…” worksheets 2, 3 and 4. All three worksheets ask students to
complete a similar task: to conjugate verbs into the past tense. Note, that students will need a Bescherelle for this
activity. If students do not know how to use a Bescherelle, review “aller” song, lesson #1 with students. Ask students
to begin.
 Students may require more a number of periods to complete all three worksheets. In this case, be sure to play the
“N’oubliez pas…” song to introduce and to conclude subsequent lesson.
 Despite any marks you assign as a result of your ongoing assessment, all answers to all worksheets should be taken up
as a class, in order to ensure that students are aware of their mistakes, and are given the opportunity to correct them.

Assessment
Anecdotal
 Are students using the Bescherelle without teacher assistance? Which students are helping others?
Correction
 Walk around the class and correct work on a regular basis. Otherwise, collect and grade worksheets as students
complete their work, to ensure that students are on the correct path.

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 Exploring Drama Through Music

Introduction
 Play the “N’oubliez pas…” song. Encourage students to sing along.
 Hand out the “Passé composé presentation” rubric to each student.
 When the song is finished, ask for a volunteer to stand up and close his or her eyes and list the all the verbs that are
conjugated in the past tense with être.
 Have two or three students try this activity.

Lesson
 Then, divide students into groups of 4 or 5.
 Explain to students that they are going to create “actions” to go along with each “être” verb in the “N’oubliez pas…”
song.
 Provide students with an example of what you expect, by pretending to climb up and then down an imaginary ladder;
ask students “which être verbs was I demonstrating here?” Students will hopefully guess: “monter” and “descendre.”
 Now, direct student to the “Passé composé presentation” rubric. Read this rubric thoroughly with students in order to
ensure that the expectations are clear and concise.
 Direct students attention to the “working in groups” rubric, which students should already have in their folders. Read
this rubric thoroughly with students in order to ensure that the expectations are clear and concise, as far as group work
is concerned.
 Play the song over several times, over several days, to allow students to practice their “être moves.”

Conclusion
 Play the “N’oubliez pas…” song to students to begin and conclude each additional lesson, during which they will be
working on their passé composé presentations.
 Collect worksheets or have students place their worksheets in their folders or duotangs for next lesson.

Assessment
Rubric
 Use the “working in groups” rubric to evaluate how effectively students are working in groups.
 When students are ready to present their songs, complete with actions, use the “passé composé presentation” rubric to
evaluate the presentations.

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 Creative Writing in the Past Tense
Introduction
 Play the “N’oubliez pas…” song. Encourage students sing along.
 Ask for a volunteer to stand up and close his or her eyes and list the verbs that are conjugated in the past tense with
être.
 Have two or three students try this activity.

Lesson
 Have students write a story or journal entry in the past tense in their notebooks or on a lined piece of paper.
 To help students generate ideas for the story, place 3 objects at random in a box or bag and bring the box or bag to the
front of the classroom. Explain to students that you would like them to write a story that incorporates all 3 objects that
you are about to pull out of the box or bag.
 Pull objects out of the box or bag, one by one.
 Ask students to start writing as soon as you have pulled the last object out of the box or bag.
 Students do not require a dictionary or Bescherelle for this activity. The point of this lesson is to get students writing
for fun. If students have questions about how to say certain words in French, encourage them to raise their hands and
ask you directly. As students ask you these questions, write the answers down on the classroom blackboard for other
students to refer to, as needed.

Conclusion
 Collect all stories when students are finished.
 Encourage students who are finished early to re-read their work to be sure it makes sense and then have them read
their stories out loud to the class.
 Play the “N’oubliez pas…” song to begin and conclude every subsequent period, during which students will be
working on their stories, or reading them out loud to the class.

Assessment
Anecdotal
 Were all students able to get to work right away? Did students who usually do not enjoy writing, enjoy this activity? If
so, be sure to use this idea into future lesson plans.
Correction
 Did students write their stories in the past tense? If not, you may want to consider writing sentences in the present
tense, onto the classroom blackboard, and having them re-write the sentences in the past tense.
 When students begin to demonstrate a basic understanding of the past tense, repeat the creative writing activity
described above; are they able to write in the past tense now?

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