The first week back at school, and I am already tired. If I’m being honest, I haven’t exactly kept the promises I made to myself before the school year started. I haven’t gone to the gym, and I’ve been staying at school until 5 or 6 every day.  I’ll do better next week. Please check in on me and keep me accountable!
This year, I have big classes. My smallest class is AP French with 24 students, and I have two sections of French 1, each with 37 ninth graders. On top of that, students will be switching in and out of classes for the next couple of weeks, so I’m trying not to get too far into the curriculum just yet.

And honestly, that’s probably a good thing.

After a long summer, it’s completely normal for students to forget some of the French they learned last year. So instead of jumping right into new content, I’m focusing on getting them comfortable hearing and using French again.

Here are three of the activities I’ve been using to ease them back into French.

1. Chit-Chat

I start with a simple question and make sure everyone understands what I’m asking. Then I give students a little time to think about their answer before they turn to a partner and share.

After that, I ask for volunteers to share their answers with the class.

This is a great opportunity for me to help students review vocabulary they may have forgotten. When they get stuck, I simply provide the French word they need and keep the conversation going.

The goal isn’t perfect French. It’s getting them comfortable with listening, understanding, and speaking again.

2. Image-Based Vocabulary

For the second activity, I show students a picture and give them a limited amount of time to write as many French words as possible on their whiteboards.

When time is up, I reveal the points slide.

Students check their words to see which ones were the “lucky” words that earned points. Because they don’t know ahead of time which words will be worth points, there are different winners each time.

I love this activity because everyone is doing something. They’re thinking, remembering vocabulary, writing, comparing their answers, and having a little friendly competition—all without feeling like they’re taking a vocabulary test.

3. The Rank Game

I tried this one with my French 3 and AP French students. These students have been together for at least three years, so there is already a strong sense of community and trust in the room. That makes this game especially fun.

Here’s how it works:

One student comes to the front and becomes the ranker. I give that student a topic or category with four options.

For example, the card might have four foods, movies, activities, or places.

The rest of the class writes A, B, C, and D on their paper and then tries to predict how the ranker will put the four choices in order.

Once everyone has made their prediction, the ranker reveals their actual ranking.

Students check their answers and get one point for every correct position.

We play for several rounds, and the person with the most points wins.

This one was a lot of fun. The students were engaged, laughing, and trying to figure out what their classmates would choose. And, of course, they were also reviewing vocabulary and using French along the way.

Rank game- French Spanish Scoring sheet

Slow and steady

The first week back doesn’t have to be about covering a lot of content. Sometimes students just need a chance to get their French brains working again.

For me, these activities are a way to ease students back into the language without putting too much pressure on them. They’re low-stakes, social, and give me a chance to see what students remember—and what they’ve forgotten—before I move on to new material.

And right now, that’s exactly what I need.