French Level 3, Activity 03: Comparatif et Superlatif / Comparative and Superlative (Face-to-Face)

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

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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. 

Comparative and Superlative / Comparatif et Superlatif

Description

In this activity, students will practice superlatives and comparatives by drawing in partners and playing a board game.

Semantic Topics

Superlatif, comparatif, drawing, board game, descriptions, jeu de société, dessiner

Products

Board games

Practices

Playing board games with family or friends

Perspectives

Scrabble is the most popular board game in France, followed by Trivial Pursuit!

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.

Idaho State Content Standards

COMM 1.1: Interact and negotiate meaning (spoken, signed, written conversation) to share information, reactions, feelings, and opinions

COMM 2.1: Understand, interpret, and analyze what is heard, read, or viewed on a variety of topics.

COMM 3.1: Present information, concepts, and ideas to inform, explain, persuade, and narrate on a variety of topics using appropriate media in the target language.

NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements

  • I can compare familiar people, places, and things.
  • I can use exaggerated language to describe topics familiar to me.
  • I can express my preferences when given a choice between two things.

Materials Needed

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Warm-Up

Students will draw their partner and describe them to the group using one comparative and one superlative:

1. Begin by introduced the Can-Dos for today's activity.

2. Tell the students to choose a partner and grab a white board.

"Pour la première activité, choisis un partenaire et prends un tableau blanc."

3. "You are going to draw your partner with 1-2 exaggerated feature(s)."

"Vous allez dessiner votre partenaire avec 1-2 aspects exagérés."

4. "Then, show the drawing to the group and describe your partner using a comparative and a superlative."

"Puis, montrez le dessin au groupe et décrivez votre partenaire en utilisant un comparatif et un superlatif."


Par exemple: “Ses cheveux sont plus longs que les miens” (comparatif) et “Elle est la moins timide” (superlatif). (For example: "Her hair is longer than mine" (comparative) and "She is the least shy" (superlative).)

Main Activity

1. Lay out the board game in the middle of the table and place the statement cards in a pile face down.

Placez le jeu au milieu de la table et faites une pile avec les cartes, face vers le bas.

2. Have the students choose a game piece and place it at the start.

Les étudiants doivent choisir un jeton et le placer sur la case départ.

3. Choose a student to start by rolling the die.

Choisissez un étudiant qui débutera la partie en lançant le dé.

4. Move the game piece the same amount of spaces as the number on the die.

Avancez le jeton selon le nombre indiqué sur le dé.

5. Pick a statement card.

Piochez une carte.

6. Create a statement using the comparatif or superlatif to compare the two nouns on the space they have landed.

Créez une phrase en utilisant le comparatif ou le superlatif afin de comparer les 2 mots indiqués sur la case où se trouve le jeton.

  • Par exemple: Si un étudiant arrive sur la case qui demande de comparer une maison et une voiture en utilisant l’adjectif chère/cher.  Il pige une carte indiquant “plus... que.” Il a deux choix lorsqu’il crée sa phrase. Il peut dire: “une maison est plus chère qu’un voiture” ou “une voiture est plus chère qu’une maison.” (For example: A student lands on the space that asks them to compare une maison and une voiture using the adjective chère/cher. They draw a statement card that says “plus….que.” They have two choices when creating a statement. They could say, “une maison est plus chère qu’une voiture” OR “une voiture est plus chère qu’une maison.”)

7. If the student has correctly said the statement, then they stay on that space. If they have incorrectly said the statement, then they move back to the space they were on before they rolled the die.

Si l’étudiant a dit correctement sa phrase, il laisse son jeton sur la case. S’il n’a pas dit correctement sa phrase, il retourne à la case où se trouvait son jeton avant de lancer le dé.

8. Continue going in a circle taking turns.

Continuez à jouer à tour de rôle.

9. The first student to reach the end first, wins!

L’étudiant qui atteint la case Fin en premier, gagne !

10. Continue playing for the rest of the activity.

Continuez à jouer jusqu’à la fin de l'activité.


Consignes en français: 

  •  Choisissez une pièce de jeu.
  • Lancez le dé.
  • Déplacez ta pièce sur le plateau de jeu.
  • Tirez une carte de la pile.
  • Créez une phrase complète en utilisant les deux mots et l’adjectif dans le carré.
  • Si vous le faites correctement, vous pouvez rester là. Sinon, vous devez retourner au carré précédent.
  • La première personne qui arrive à l'arrivée...gagne!

Wrap-Up

Ask the following question(s) to finish the activity:

  • Comparez deux des cours que vous suivez ce semestre. (Compare 2 classes that you're taking this semester.)
  • Compare votre domicile présent à votre domicile d’enfance. (Compare your current home to your childhood home.)

Cultural Resources

French Equivalents to English-speaking Boardgames

French Wheel of Fortune

Quebecois Jeopardy

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 compare familiar people, places, and things.
  • I can use exaggerated language to describe topics familiar to me.
  • I can express my preferences when given a choice between two things.
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