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Fun Mardi Gras lesson plan ideas for French class
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It was so difficult to come up with a good Mardi Gras lesson plan last year due to the pandemic – we were still not sure what would be happening for Mardi Gras – would the parades be taking place? Would the French Quarter be open for business? Many residents of Louisiana made the best of a pandemic-colored situation by decorating their houses for Yardi Gras. Some schools were still on remote learning, others were back in person. This made it tricky to come up with Mardi Gras lesson plans!
I always try to have beads ready for Mardi Gras. I tell the students that in order to get beads, they have to tell me a fun fact, something about themselves that I don’t already know, or do something interesting. I’ve had students sing songs for me in French (Black M – Sur ma Route!), do magic tricks, and tell me fun facts. Sometimes the fun fact isn’t really new to me, but I always pretend that it is and happily give them their beads. In the past, I’ve done dancing to Cajun music but students don’t always feel comfortable doing that.
This year, things are more or less back to normal! This means that some of the old standbys like decorating masks, dancing, and king’s cakes are possible again. But for teachers looking for a no-prep, less messy Mardi Gras lesson plan for French class, I have some digital resources that may come in handy.
Mardi Gras lesson plans for French classes
Mardi Gras digital escape game
Are you looking for a fun game to play with your students? This digital escape game will have them looking for information about the history and traditions of Mardi Gras. Students will need to read each clue very carefully and then try to find the right key to unlock the locks and win the game. Topics include krewes, throws, the Cajuns, King’s Cake, and calculating the date of Mardi Gras.
Mardi Gras digital trivia game
If you’ve gone over Mardi Gras facts in class and you want your students to have a little practice, or if you want to teach them about some of the ins and outs of Mardi Gras, this digital trivia game is a great no-prep activity. It’s a PowerPoint/Google slides game that gives students 30 multiple choice questions about the holiday. They work their way through the game, earning doubloons and beads as they go. It’s entirely self-checking, so students can play the game independently. You can also project the game in the front of your class and play together.
Mardi Gras digital stickers and agenda slides
If you want to just add a little bit of Mardi Gras to your classroom, you can use these agenda slides and digital stickers. The agenda slides are editable – you can change the date and text, and there are three sections that you can use for different information: agenda, announcements, objectives, homework, etc. You can use them as a background for remote classes or as a graphic organizer. The stickers are a collection of 12 digital png files that you can copy and paste wherever you want to use them – I use them as stickers on student assignments turned in through Teams. And unlike paper stickers, they can be reused as many times as you like!
Get them all with the Mardi Gras bundle!
If you can’t decide which one to use, or you teach multiple levels of French class you may need more than one Mardi Gras lesson plan or activity! We’ve got you covered…check out the French Mardi Gras bundle of activities – all four Mardi Gras items in one discounted bundle.