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French Passé Composé

Tenth graders move deeper into the French past, learning to form the passé composé with avoir plus a past participle — j’ai parlé, tu as mangé — to say exactly who did what.

Grade 10Le Passé Composé50 minutes1 class periodACTFL / CommunicativeExplicit teaching4 StandardsACTFL
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Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Form the passé composé.
  • ✓Use avoir + participle.
  • ✓Match forms to meanings.
  • ✓Talk about the past.
Essential Question

Last year you spotted the past — now you’ll build it. The passé composé uses a helper verb + a participle. How does it work?

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Match It · Interactive

Match the Passé Composé

Project this and match each passé composé verb to its English meaning — tap the French, then tap the English.

⏳ Match each passé composé to its meaningTry it
Français
English
Now tap the English!
The Lesson · Communicative Flow (Warm-Up · Present · Practice · Speak · Reflect)

50 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Warm-Up — From Spotting to Building

5 min

Last year you spotted the past — now build the passé composé. How?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Say “I talk / I talked.”
  • Ask about the helper verb.
  • Set the goal.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Listen.
  • Notice.
  • Get ready.
2

Present — Le Passé Composé

12 min

Students learn.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Present avoir + participle.
  • Say them aloud.
  • Note the pattern.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Listen.
  • Repeat.
  • Note it.
3

Practice — Match the Forms

14 min

Students practice.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send students to Match the Passé Composé.
  • Match each one.
  • Say them aloud.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Match.
  • Say.
  • Explain.
4

Speak — Speak

14 min

Students speak.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Say what you did yesterday.
  • Use three verbs.
  • Ask a partner.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Say it.
  • Use them.
  • Ask.
5

Reflect — Reflect

5 min

Students close.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Give a passé composé verb.
  • Say its meaning.
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Give one.
  • Say it.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the ACTFL World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages (Intermediate).

ACTFL
Communication 1.2

Interpretive: understand the past tense.

ACTFL
Communication 1.1

Interpersonal: narrate the past.

ACTFL
Comparisons 4.1

Compare past tenses across languages.

ACTFL
Connections 3.1

Connect to events and time.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Verb + participle cards.
  • Sentence frame: “Hier, j’ai ___.”
  • Use a verb chart.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with j’ai parlé.
  • Match one pair at a time.
  • Repeat aloud.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Add être verbs.
  • Tell a past story.
  • Write a paragraph.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Screen / board
  • ⏳A verb chart
  • 💻Match the Passé Composé
  • 🗣️Audio
  • ✏️Notebooks
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

le passé composéthe past tensej’ai parléI talkedtu as mangéyou ateil a finihe finishednous avons danséwe dancedils ont écritthey wroteavoirto have (helper verb)hieryesterday
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
What does “j’ai parlé” mean?
I talked.
QUESTION 2
What does “tu as mangé” mean?
You ate.
QUESTION 3
What helper verb forms most passé composé?
Avoir (to have).

Reflect: Qu’as-tu fait?

Have students write three things they did yesterday using the passé composé. A printable passé composé sheet is in the World Languages library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 French Passé ComposéFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
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Nice work!

Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 French Passé ComposéQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
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Nice work!

Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ French Passé ComposéPrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: avoir, hier, il a fini, ils ont écrit, j’ai parlé, le passé composé, nous avons dansé, tu as mangé
  1. they wrote
  2. he finished
  3. yesterday
  4. we danced
  5. I talked
  6. the past tense
  7. to have (helper verb)
  8. you ate

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. What does “j’ai parlé” mean?
  2. What does “tu as mangé” mean?
  3. What helper verb forms most passé composé?
Answer key — Part A: 1) ils ont écrit · 2) il a fini · 3) hier · 4) nous avons dansé · 5) j’ai parlé · 6) le passé composé · 7) avoir · 8) tu as mangé
Part B: 1) I talked. 2) You ate. 3) Avoir (to have).