STEP 3: Co-Construction
The following slides can be used to aid the students in co-constructing the grammatical explanation or "rule". Notice the color coding of blanks. This strategy can help the students to see the patterns that emerge. Try not to give your students the answers, but allow them to work in pairs or small groups to come up with the explanation on their own. In this example, students will likely be able to fill in all the auxiliary verbs (since they are all present tense conjugations of "avoir") and the past participles. In this example, only past participles for regular -er verbs are included. This allows students to first see the general pattern. Other past participles can be introduced immediately following this lesson. At this point, each student will succeed at a different pace. Some students may need more time and assistance to successfully fill in the blanks. That is okay. Give students the time they need. Allowing students to work collaboratively, and with your guidance, they are actively learning. Click the link at the bottom of this page to move on to the Extension Phase.
