Some 3 months have gone by since I first introduced a Y5 class to –ER verbs, and now, as Y6, they are in a mixed-age class with Y5s who've never met them before so it's revision for one set of children and new learning for the others.
I used many of the ideas from this blogpost before getting them to sing along with Je Parle à Mon Chien by Alain le Lait. I then adapted an idea I found on the internet (can't find link) to create a game - Les Verbes Volants - to practise and reinforce their learning in an exciting way. Here's how it goes.
Pronoun cards, in order, are placed at each end of a short line of tables (or on the floor) - I gave them to children to hold rather than blu-tak them down. Two piles of conjugated verbs, minus the pronouns, are placed face down near each end of the line of tables (opposite sides) or beside the lines of children holding the pronouns. Two children were chosen and each was given a straw. We did a countdown from 3-0 and then each child turned over the top card from the pile nearest to them. They had 3 seconds thinking time before we did another countdown after which they had to put their card on the table/floor and, using the straw, blow it along to the matching pronoun. When it reached the pronoun-holder, they had to pick it up, read the phrase and we had to agree that it was correct before awarding points. It's a great game to play in teams and, as a variation, fewer points could be awarded if the person with the straw chooses to confer with their team before starting their run.
Apart from a couple of children who are confident and able, most of the children in this class lack self-esteem and are reluctant to challenge themselves so the start was hesitant. However, after seeing what fun it was to play, it proved to be really popular, with most of the children clamouring to be chosen.