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Title - Teaching endings for ER verbs
By - J. Briscoe
Primary Subject - Language Arts
Secondary Subjects - Other
Grade Level - FLES through French I
Objective: Students will be able to conjugate all regular verbs ending in ER

Materials needed: none

Time required: fifteen to thirty minutes; can be shortened or lengthened

1. Show students an ER verb in the infinitive form. Point out to them that the verb ends in ER, thus it is known as an ER verb.

2. Tell the students that all verbs in French belong to one of four groups, and that this is the first group. Explain what 'conjugating' a verb is, and tell them that they will soon be able to conjugate (put in all its correct forms) this particular verb - and thousands more, once they have learned this simple song!

3. Hum the tune from "Frere Jacques". Ask students if they recognize it. Have them hum or "la-la" along with you. (You don't have to be musically gifted to do this lesson!)

4. Now, put these letters to the tune, as follows:
E, ES, E
E, ES, E
ONS, ONS
EZ, EZ, EZ
EZ, EZ, EZ
ENT, ENT

5. Show the students the conjugated form of the verb you first gave them; point out the endings. Sing the song again several times, until you feel they are ready to practice conjugating the verbs on their own.

6. Give each student a different ER verb to conjugate. (It doesn't matter whether or not they actually KNOW that verb yet.) Walk around the room while the students do their work, checking and helping as necessary.

7. Have students compare their verbs, working in pairs. Exchange pairs several times, if you wish, to reinforce the READING/RECOGNITION of the new verb conjugation.

8. Sing the song again and then give a quick quiz to verify mastery of the conjugations.

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