French Level 1, Activity 10: Jeu de devinette / I-Spy (Face-to-Face)

Created Feb. 7, 2024 by Amber Hoye, Justin Snyder, Emily Blackburn, Camille Daw, Mimi Fahnstrom

Did you know that you can access the complete collection of Pathways Project French activities in our new Let’s Chat! French pressbook? View the book here: https://boisestate.pressbooks.pub/pathwaysfrench 

Please Note: Many of our activities were created by upper-division students at Boise State University and serve as a foundation that our community of practice can build upon and refine. While they are polished, we welcome and encourage collaboration from language instructors to help modify grammar, syntax, and content where needed. Kindly contact pathwaysproject@boisestate.edu with any suggestions and we will update the content in a timely manner. 

I Spy / Jeu de devinette

Description

In this activity, students are going to practice their prepositions. The instructor will read out the steps below, and the students will draw what you say on their whiteboard. Students will also play a game of "I Spy" to practice using prepositions.

Semantic Topics

Prepositions, items, places, school supplies, I spy, prépositions, endroits, fournitures scolaires, jeu de devinette, commands and the imperative, l'impératif, structure of directions, la structure des indices

Products

Games, board games, schoolyard games, games to play in the car

Practices

Different games will be played (practiced) in different social settings, board games (jeux de société) are often played with friends and family, games like I-Spy are often played during car rides and played by young children

Perspectives

A fun and interesting way to pass time and bond with others

  • How do you think one's social life is valued in French culture, based on the fact that most French people also really enjoy board games and other similar activities?

NCSSFL-ACTFL World-Readiness Standards

Standard 1.1: Students engage in conversations or correspondence in French to provide and obtain information, express feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions. 

Standard 1.2: Students understand and interpret spoken and written French on a variety of topics.

Standard 2.1: Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the practices and perspectives of the cultures of the francophone world. 

Idaho State Content Standards

  • COMM 1: Interact with others in the target language and gain meaning from interactions in the target language.
  • COMM 2: Discover meaning from what is heard, read or viewed on a variety of topics in the target language.
  • COMM 3: Utilize appropriate media to present an idea to an audience.

NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements

  • I can understand simple instructions.
  • I can name items that I see everyday at school. 
  • I can explain the location of an item. 

Materials Needed

Would you like to make changes to the materials? Access the template below:

Warm-Up

1. Introduce the Can-Dos for today's activity.

2. In this activity, students are going to practice their prepositions.

3. The instructor will read out the steps below, and the students will draw what you say on their whiteboard.

4. When you finish reading through all of the steps, ask the group to turn their whiteboards around. Show them the key (the blue-green paper) with the correct drawing.

Maintenant, nous allons dessiner sur les tableaux blancs. Je vais lire chaque étape et vous allez dessiner ce que je dis sur votre tableau. Après toutes les étapes, nous allons montrer au groupe nos dessins. Voici un guide pour vous aider si vous en avez besoin d'un.(Now, we are going to draw on the white boards. I am going to read each step and you are going to draw what I say on your board. After all of the steps, we are going to show the group our drawings. Here is a guide to help you if you need it.)

  1. Dessinez un cercle au centre de votre feuille.(Draw a circle in the center of your page.)
  2. Dessinez un petit triangle dans le cercle.(Draw a small triangle in the circle.)
  3. Dessinez un rectangle en dessous du cercle.(Draw a rectangle below the circle.)
  4. Dessinez une ligne entre le cercle et le rectangle.(Draw a line between the circle and the rectangle.)
  5. Dessinez un coeur à gauche du cercle.(Draw a heart to the left of the circle.)

Main Activity

I-spy (jeu de devinette)

1. In this game, students describe the placement of items using the "prépositions de lieu."

2. You will place all of the school supplies randomly on the table.

3. Students will take turns getting others to guess the item they have in mind by describing its location relative to other items.

Lors de ce jeu, les étudiants doivent décrire l’emplacement des objets en utilisant les prépositions de lieu. Placez les objets scolaires sur la table. Chacun leur tour, un étudiant devra décrire l’emplacement d’un objet et les autres devront deviner quel est l’objet en question.

Exemple:

Étudiant: “Moi, je vois quelque chose à la droite de la calculatrice et en dessous des ciseaux.”(Student: "I see something to the right of the calculator and below the scissors.")

Un autre étudiant dans le groupe: “C'est le sac à dos!” etc.(Another student in the group: "It's the backpack!" etc.)

Wrap-Up

If there is extra time, then play the Halloween in Québec video.

Cultural Notes

Board games are played in similar cultural situations in France as compared to the United States. They are often played at social gatherings as a way to bond, be competitive, and pass time.

End of Activity

  • Can-Do statement check-in... “Where are we?”
  • Read can-do statements and have students evaluate their confidence.
  • Encourage students to be honest in their self-evaluation
  • Pay attention, and try to use feedback for future activities!

NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements

  • I can understand simple instructions.
  • I can name items that I see everyday. 
  • I can explain the location of an item. 


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