You might be wondering: what is a “lapbook du printemps”?
Well, it’s a set of activities for your students to work with spring-related vocabulary, farm vocabulary, and life cycle key concepts.
Now your question could be: so why call it a “lapbook” and not a “trousse d’activités”, for example?
That’s a good question! The activities I’ve created are all paper-based and most are interactive. Your kiddos will be keeping these foldables and mini-book together by pasting them onto a file folder, turning it into a lapbook. That should keep them from losing paper pieces and mini-books.
If you prefer, you can have your students glue the paper pieces onto a regular notebook instead of using a file folder.
But read on to see which exercises are included in this resource!
Lapbook du Printemps
I’ve included the following spring-themed activities in the file:
- mini-books to practice the names of fruits and vegetables in French: these mini-books are foldable and they come in different versions so you can choose the one you prefer. I’ve included instructions on how to fold the mini-books in the file, but if you need a photo tutorial, click here.
- matching activity to practice the names of farm animals in French: your students will matching words to images. There are two versions of the cards.
In the first one, the names of the farm animals will be at the top. Once the card is inserted into the pocket, students can only see the words. They have to read the word aloud and visualize the animal it refers to. Then, they slowly remove the card and check to see if the animal is the one they had in mind.
In the second version, the names of the animals will be at the bottom of the card. When slowly removing the cards from the pocket, students will first see the animal and they have to say its name before revealing the word.
- writing prompts: “What does the farmer say?” and “Le jardin au printemps”.
For the first prompt, introduce or review key farm vocabulary words and discuss with students the things a farmer would say. Then, kids fill in the speech bubble. This task works for all level students because they can write as much as they are capable of. If they’re struggling, they can write just a couple of words or a very simple sentence. If they’re gifted, they can complete more than one bubble. Just remember to make extra copies if necessary.
There are two versions of flip book. Students can use the version with the pre-selected images and write their story according to the pictures. The images should encourage writing about sequencing. The second version gives students more freedom to create. They have nine images to choose from in order to create their own garden/spring story. I’ve included other suggestions of use in the file.
- write about the life cycles of a butterfly and a frog: these foldable flaps (or petals)I’ve included two options of foldable flaps in the lapbook du printemps: a “liftable” flap and a “petal” flap.They’re both fun and effective. The difference might be in how much you expect your students to write about life cycles.But before I explain the different uses, I would like to point out that I have not added any words to the flaps. There are only images. That has been the best way I have found to allow for more flexible use by the teacher.If you’re introducing life cycles to younger students or to students who are new to the language, you might just want to focus on the names of the stages which a butterfly and a frog go through.
Butterly: l’oeuf, la chenille, la chrysalide, le papillo
Frog: l’oeuf, le têtard, le têtard avec pattes, la jeune grenouille, la grenouille adulte
Under each of the “petals”, students should write the name of the stage the image illustrates. They can write on the petal itself or on the notebook/lapbook under the petal.
The petal flap might also be easier for younger students to cut and paste.
This type of foldable allows more “room” for students to take notes as they can write sentences under the flaps describing the stages in the life cycle.
Choose the foldable that best meets the needs and skills of your students.
To learn more about lapbooks, visit the French lapbooks page.
I hope your students have fun putting together this “lapbook du printemps”!
Merci beaucoup!
Lucy 🙂
Read: French Spring Videos and Resources
Read: Au Printemps Slideshare and FREE Spring Printables
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