Class: Senior Secondary School 1 (SS1, SS 1, SSS1, SSS 1)
Term: 3rd Term
Week: 9
Age: 15 years
Duration: 45 minutes
Subject: French Language
Curriculum Theme: French Language
Previous Lesson: Exprimer La Simultanéité: En Même Temps and Au Même Moment.
Topic: Situer quelque chose/quelqu’un dans le temps.
Subject Matter: Date, duration and frequency expressions; use of l’imparfait and passé composé in time placement; passive voice forms; oral dialogue using c’était hier, c’est avant-hier, c’est demain; writing a short composition on a future project; changing sentences into required tenses.

Specific Objectives

By the end of the lesson, pupils should be able to:

Cognitive Domain:

Define time placement and identify expressions used for date, duration, and frequency in French.
State when to use l’imparfait and passé composé to place actions in time.
Change given sentences into required tenses using correct time expressions.
Identify basic passive voice forms and state their use in sentences.

Affective Domain:

Show interest in using correct time expressions when speaking and writing.
Show willingness to correct errors and improve sentence accuracy.

Psychomotor Domain:

Use a calendar to state dates and time references correctly in French.
Write a short composition about a future project using suitable time expressions.

Participate in pair dialogues using time expressions such as hier, avant-hier, and demain.
Work cooperatively during sentence transformation exercises and peer checks.

Reference Materials

The following resources were used in planning this lesson:

9 Years Basic Education Curriculum
State Unified Scheme of Work
Recommended French textbook for Senior Secondary Schools (e.g., French for Senior Secondary Schools, Book 1)
TV5MONDE Apprendre le français
Larousse French Dictionary
BBC Bitesize French

Instructional Materials

The teacher will teach this lesson with the aid of:

Calendar (calendrier) showing days, weeks, months, and dates
Audio materials on time expressions (cassettes audio or CDs)
Sentence transformation worksheet (present to passé composé, imparfait, future)
Chart of time expressions (date, duration, frequency)
Short dialogue script for pair practice
Board and markers/chalk for examples and corrections

Rationale for the Lesson

This lesson helps pupils talk and write about events clearly by placing them correctly in time. It supports daily communication because pupils often describe what happened before, what is happening now, and what will happen later.

Prerequisite/Previous Knowledge

Pupils can form simple sentences in the present tense and have basic knowledge of past tense forms and common time words such as aujourd’hui and hier.

Lesson Content/Board Summary

Situer quelque chose/quelqu’un dans le temps (Placing Something/Someone in Time)

Meaning of time placement

Time placement means using time expressions and correct verb tenses to show when an event happened, is happening, or will happen.

Date expressions

The following are examples of date expressions used to place events in time:

Aujourd’hui – today.
Hier – yesterday.
Avant-hier – the day before yesterday.
Demain – tomorrow.
Après-demain – the day after tomorrow.
Le lundi / le mardi – on Monday / on Tuesday.
Le 10 mai – on the 10th of May.

Duration expressions

The following are examples of duration expressions:

Pendant deux heures – for two hours.
Depuis une semaine – since one week.
Il y a trois jours – three days ago.
Jusqu’à – until.

Frequency expressions

The following are examples of frequency expressions:

Toujours – always.
Souvent – often.
Parfois – sometimes.
Rarement – rarely.
Tous les jours – every day.
Chaque semaine – every week.

Using passé composé for time placement

Passé composé is used to describe a completed action in the past, often with time expressions like hier, avant-hier, and il y a.

The following are examples using passé composé:

J’ai étudié hier.
Nous avons joué avant-hier.
Elle est arrivée il y a trois jours.

Using l’imparfait for time placement

L’imparfait is used to describe repeated actions, habits, and states in the past, often with frequency expressions.

The following are examples using l’imparfait:

Quand j’étais jeune, je lisais tous les jours.
Il faisait froid souvent.
Nous allions à l’école à pied chaque semaine.

Passive voice forms (basic)

The passive voice shows that the subject receives the action. It is formed with être + past participle.

The following are examples of simple passive forms:

La porte est fermée.
Le livre est lu par l’élève.
Les règles sont respectées par les élèves.

Oral time dialogue examples

The following are examples of short dialogues using time expressions:

Quand était-ce ? / C’était hier.
Quand as-tu fini ? / J’ai fini avant-hier.
Quand est le test ? / C’est demain.

Writing: short composition on a future project

The following are points to include in a short composition on a future project:

State the project and when it will happen (demain, la semaine prochaine, le mois prochain).
Write 6–8 sentences using future time expressions.
Include at least two duration or frequency expressions.
End with a clear plan or expectation.

Sentence transformation (required tenses)

The following are common tense changes used for time placement:

Present to passé composé using a past time expression (hier, avant-hier, il y a).
Present to imparfait using frequency expressions (souvent, tous les jours, toujours).
Present to near future or future using future time expressions (demain, bientôt, la semaine prochaine).

Teaching Methods/Instructional Techniques

Discussion, Lecture, Demonstration, Question and Answer, Drill, Guided Writing, Pair Work, Visual Aids

Instructional Procedures

Step 1: Introduction

Time: 5 minutes
Teaching Skill: Set Induction
Teacher’s Activity: The teacher shows a calendar and asks pupils to say today’s day and date, then asks quick questions using hier and demain and introduces the topic.
Pupils’ Activity: Pupils respond with day/date and give short answers using simple time words.
Learning Point: Time expressions help to show when an event happens.

Step 2: Teaching date, duration, and frequency expressions

Time: 8 minutes
Teaching Skill: Explanation
Teacher’s Activity: The teacher presents date, duration, and frequency expressions on the board with meanings and short examples, using the calendar for illustration.
Pupils’ Activity: Pupils repeat expressions and give one example each for date, duration, and frequency.
Learning Point: Different time expressions show date, length of time, and how often something happens.

Step 3: Using passé composé to place events in time

Time: 7 minutes
Teaching Skill: Demonstration
Teacher’s Activity: The teacher writes sample sentences and guides pupils to form passé composé sentences using hier, avant-hier, and il y a, correcting auxiliary use where needed.
Pupils’ Activity: Pupils form and read aloud short passé composé sentences from prompts.
Learning Point: Passé composé is used for completed actions in the past.

Step 4: Using l’imparfait to place repeated actions and states

Time: 7 minutes
Teaching Skill: Explanation and Reinforcement
Teacher’s Activity: The teacher revises l’imparfait usage and guides pupils to combine it with frequency expressions to describe habits and states in the past.
Pupils’ Activity: Pupils produce oral examples using l’imparfait with frequency expressions.
Learning Point: L’imparfait is used for repeated actions, habits, and states in the past.

Step 5: Passive voice and short oral dialogues

Time: 6 minutes
Teaching Skill: Demonstration and Drill
Teacher’s Activity: The teacher introduces simple passive forms and guides quick drills, then leads short pair dialogues using c’était hier, c’est avant-hier, and c’est demain.
Pupils’ Activity: Pupils repeat passive examples and practise dialogues in pairs using time expressions.
Learning Point: Pupils can use passive forms and time expressions in simple speech.

Step 6: Sentence transformation and guided writing

Time: 7 minutes
Teaching Skill: Guided Practice
Teacher’s Activity: The teacher gives sentences to change into required tenses and guides pupils to write a short composition about a future project using time expressions.
Pupils’ Activity: Pupils change sentences into required tenses and write a short text about a future project.
Learning Point: Pupils can place events correctly in time through tense choice and time expressions.

Step 7: Evaluation/Review

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Questioning/Assessment

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher evaluates the learning by asking the following questions:

Define time placement and state three date expressions in French.
List two duration expressions and two frequency expressions.
State two sentences using passé composé with hier or il y a.
Change this sentence into l’imparfait using a frequency expression: “Je joue au football.”

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils answer orally and in writing.

Learning Point: Pupils demonstrate understanding of the lesson.

Step 8: Conclusion

Time: 5 minutes
Teaching Skill: Summary and Reinforcement
Teacher’s Activity: The teacher summarizes time expressions and tense choices, corrects common errors, and gives an assignment: write a 10-sentence composition on a future project using at least five time expressions and two tense changes where appropriate.
Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen, ask questions where needed, and copy the assignment.
Learning Point: Pupils can use time expressions and correct tenses to place events clearly in French.

Lesson Keywords

Temps – time.
Date – a specific day or calendar reference.
Durée – length of time.
Fréquence – how often something happens.
Passé composé – a tense for completed past actions.
Imparfait – a tense for repeated past actions and states.
Voix passive – a form where the subject receives the action.
Projet – a planned activity for the future.

Differentiation

Support slower learners with a time-expression chart and sentence frames for each tense, while faster learners write longer compositions and include both passive forms and correct tense shifts in sentence transformations.

Note for teachers using this lesson plan

Use the calendar often to make time references clear and practical. Focus on accuracy in tense choice and time expressions, and correct common errors with auxiliaries in passé composé and agreement in basic passive forms.