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French lesson plans for verbs
One repeatable 50-minute structure, and the order to teach the tenses in.
A conjugation lesson plan that survives contact with a class
Conjugation lessons fail in a predictable way: the teacher explains the pattern clearly, the class nods, and nobody can produce the form under pressure a week later. The structure below is built to close that gap. It assumes a 50-minute period and works for any tense, so you can reuse it all year rather than planning each lesson from scratch.
1. Retrieval (5 min). Ten questions on the previous tense, no notes. Use a ten-question worksheet. This is not revision, it is testing — the retrieval is what moves the earlier tense into long-term memory.
2. Present the pattern (10 min). One model verb, the stem rule, the six endings. Nothing else. Do not introduce the exceptions in the same breath as the rule.
3. Guided production (10 min). The grid puzzle format, with clues, done together. Students complete the missing cells while the pattern is still on the board.
4. Independent production (15 min). A twenty-question worksheet, no notes, individually. This is where you find out what actually landed.
5. Correct and diagnose (10 min). Mark against the answer key, and count error types rather than errors. Three students with the wrong ending is a re-teach; three students with the wrong stem is a different lesson entirely.
The order to teach the tenses in
A1 — présent. All three verb groups. Everything else depends on the stem extracted here, so do not move on early. Present tense worksheet.
A2 — passé composé, then imparfait, then the contrast. Teach the two separately before comparing them; comparing two half-learned tenses produces confusion, not discrimination. Passé composé · Imparfait.
A2 — futur simple. Regular stems first, then the dozen irregular ones. Futur simple worksheet.
B1 — conditionnel, then si clauses. The stem is already known from the futur, so this is the cheapest tense you will ever teach. Conditionnel worksheet.
B1/B2 — subjonctif. Forms first, triggers second. Subjunctive worksheet.
Adapting it for one-to-one tutoring
In a tutorial the diagnostic step is worth more than the presentation. Start with a mixed-tense worksheet before teaching anything: twenty questions across six tenses tells you in ten minutes what a placement conversation would take three sessions to reveal. Then spend the session on the one tense the answer key says is broken, and set a preset worksheet as homework so the next session starts with retrieval rather than recap.
Cover work and substitute lessons
A forty-question worksheet with the answer key attached is a complete cover lesson that needs no French from the person supervising. Generate it, print the key on the reverse, and the class has structured, self-markable work rather than a film.
Fragen von Lehrkräften
Do you provide full French lesson plans for culture and topics?
No. These plans cover verb conjugation only. That is the part of French that most reliably fails without structured practice, and it is what this site is built for.
Can I use this lesson plan template for French 1 and French 2?
Yes. The five-step structure is level-independent — the tense changes, the shape of the lesson does not. Use the sequencing section to pick the right tense for the class.
What do I set as homework after the lesson?
A worksheet on the tense just taught for the following night, then a mixed-tense sheet a week later. The delay is what makes the second one useful.