Inside: Inside: How to start French class with bell ringers. Daily classroom routines for French class to save your sanity. Daily routines and bell ringers in French class to help with classroom management. Bell work using comprehensible input in World Languages routines for French class to save your sanity.
Author – Allison Wienhold
Published – November 5, 2025
If you are a longtime reader, you know I’ve always loved themed Class Routines & Bell Ringers.
My personal experience has always been as a Spanish teacher. But, I’ve worked with and supported all World Language teachers. In particular, in 2018 I started adding French versions of some of my popular resources by request. Here are a couple of my blog posts for French teachers as well.
Why Have Classroom Routines in French Class?
Classroom routines make everything smoother for teachers, as well as students. As a teacher, a morning routine makes planning for many preps easier. By keeping these French classroom routines consistent across levels, you can use the same resources such as songs across all classes. You can just adjust the conversations and language skills of your French routines.
A French daily routine also help students to be less anxious about coming to your class. They feel more comfortable when they know what to expect each day.
My elementary-aged son is extremely particular and easily stressed by transitions and change. Routines are everything to us. When his school sticks with set routines and schedules, it eases his anxiety by knowing exactly what to expect.
Having a specific beginning of class routine is very helpful. Starting at the beginning of the year, have a specific start of class routine for all days of the week. You might use a French daily agenda templates.
Simple French Bell Ringers & Class Routines to Start Your Day Right
If you teach French, you know how chaotic the first few minutes of class can be. French language learners are coming in from lunch, finishing conversations, or still thinking in English. Having a consistent French class routine helps everyone settle in and switch into French mode. That’s where French bell ringers or French morning work activities come in.
Bell ringers are short, focused tasks that students complete at the beginning of class. Quick bell ringer activities help create structure, save your voice, and get French students using the target language right away. In this post, you’ll find easy ideas for French bell ringers, different types of bell ringers, tips for setting up your class routines, a free Google Slides set to get you started & a set of French bell ringers. These would work for second language high school French students, down to upper elementary French class, or French immersion students in French immersion classes.
What Daily Classroom Routines to Start French Class?
Routine as students enter the room
Do you have a set procedure for what students should do right away when they enter?
For example, this was the routine in my classroom. Students enter the classroom and put away their phones. When we were Deskless, all backpacks were to be placed along the back wall. Then they did the posted daily bell ringer task of the day. There is a projected Google slide instruction to remind students what to do and what they need to start class.
Or maybe, you can greet all the students at the door in the target language. Maybe they state a specific language-specific password as they enter. Due to switching between four preps in a 4-minute passing time, I was not able to consistently make passwords work. If it can work in your schedule, checking in with each student as they enter has tremendous benefits.
Small Talk in French to Start Class
Depending on the level of the class, your small chat can be as quick or long as you would like. It could be as quick as an SEL check-in to see how everyone is doing or feeling. Or your small talk could include any or all of the following: calendar, weather, birthday, plans after school, what you did over the weekend, news, etc.
Instead of doing the typical textbook French 1 unit, I incorporate these topics each day as they are relevant. (While doing a Super 7 verbs unit to start the year in French 1). We started the year in level 1 heavy on the calendar, but then later in the year just sprinkle it in as interesting dates, birthdays, weather, etc happen.
During the school year that I had an every other day Hybrid, A/B students’ in-person schedule, I did not see students each day to do our normal class starters. With our every other day in-person block, we started every class with free reading, and then music. I would highly suggest this if you are also on a block schedule.
Why French Bell Ringers Work
French bell ringers are one of the easiest ways to build consistency in your French classes. When students walk in and know exactly what to do, it sets a calm, productive tone. Instead of wasting time getting organized, students start engaging with French words and ideas right away.
These quick morning tasks also serve as a transition. They give students a moment to learn French culture while you take attendance or check homework. Over time, routines like this build confidence and support your classroom management as well as build a positive classroom community.
If you teach multiple levels or have mixed-ability groups, French bell ringers are especially helpful. Everyone starts class working independently, giving you time to check in with the rest of the group or support students who need extra help.
Bell ringers allow you to introduce diverse cultures, new vocabulary, music, jokes, reinforce previously learned concepts, and create a positive atmosphere. I will share a few new creative bell ringer ideas, as well as my tried & true favorite class starters. Feel free to skip to whatever works best for you for bell ringer activities.
My Favorite French Class Bell Ringers
Mis Clases Locas weekly French bell ringer schedule for each day of the week for secondary students. These are all built on my popular Spanish class routines for different days of the week. The blog posts were written with Spanish examples, but they all transfer to using in French class as well. I prefer a digital product, keeping routines in Google Slides organized in my Google Drive.
- weekend chat – chatting using past tense – French Weekend Chat Slides
- mardi autour du monde – French culture through authentic travel videos – mardi autour du monde slides
- musique mercredi – music videos in French
- jeudi jovial – SEL Check In slides – jeudi jovial slides
- La danse de vendredi – fun weekly French class routine – dancing – La danse de vendredi slides
See more details about these daily themes later in the blog post!
Other Creative Bell Ringer Ideas for French Class
The best French bell ringers are short, simple, and consistent. You don’t need anything fancy to make them work. Here are a few ideas that you can rotate through your daily routine:
Word of the Day in French Class – Mot du jour
Choose a new French word, French idioms, or expression each day. Have students write it down, illustrate it, or use it in a sentence. This builds vocabulary and keeps them curious about the language. Project the word on the board, English translation, and context in a sentence. As an extension, students could write or say the new phrase on their own. For upper levels, it could be a new rejoinder or cultural idiomatic expression. Or there could be a new phrase each week that is posted on a board, or used as the password to enter class for a quick bellringer activity.
Picture Prompts or Picture Talk
Display an authentic image related to a particular theme or topic you’ll cover in class. Ask students to describe the picture. Then the teacher can crowdsource and work to describe the image in greater detail. This visual approach not only sparks creativity but also reinforces language retention. This is a great way to incorporate authentic resources and the diversity of the French-speaking world.
News Articles or Headlines
Start novice French class by projecting an authentic news headline in French from a French-speaking newspaper. For upper-level classes, this could be expanded into reading a short authentic news article. This helps students stay current with what is happening in the world. This could also be culture facts.
Special person Interviews
Another bell ringer for novice Spanish class is a Special Person interview. These were originally developed by Bryce Hedstrom. They use comprehensible language to build a positive classroom community and get to know each other. You can learn more about how I use them in Spanish class in this persona especial blog post.
Question of the Day – Question du jour
Post a question on the board or in your French daily slides. Students can respond in a notebook, on a white board, or digitally. Example prompts:
- Comment ça va aujourd’hui ?
- Qu’est-ce que tu as mangé ce matin ?
- Quel est ton jour préféré de la semaine ?
This is a great way to review basic present tense verbs and encourage full-sentence responses.
Quick Quizzes
Develop a set of short, fun quizzes covering previously learned material. These quizzes can be on paper or using technology like Blooket, GimKit, or Quizlet Live. Or you could do a quick game of 1, 2, 3, ¡JUMP! or The Marker Game as a formative assessment or review. Quick assessments like these review essential concepts for students, especially on a Monday. They also give the teacher a better feel of where students are at. These make great exit tickets as well.
Themed French Class Bell Ringers
If you have been following my blog for a while, you know I love my daily themes for bell ringers. As you can see, I like alliteration. If you have access to a classroom library, I would highly suggest starting Tuesday & Thursday with Free Voluntary Reading aka silent reading. If, not, you can follow my schedule below.
My Current Favorite French Class Bell Ringers
- Weekend Chat – French Weekend Chat Slides + blog post ways to mix up weekend chat to practice passé composé in different ways. There are a variety of ways included that saves you weeks of work.
- + Mix it up with a printable set French Weekend Chat Find Someone Who! I suggest double-sided printing these lesson plans on sheets of paper. Great for a one day no prep product for a non-french-speaking substitute teacher. These are similar to a French chat mat to practice French speaking and writing with an interactive learning experience.
- mardi autour du monde slides + blog post of how to use travel videos in class
- musique mercredi – blog post about using music Wednesday
- ** musique mercredi resource in progress – submit your suggestions here
- jeudi jovial – SEL Check In slides – jeudi jovial slides + jaja jueves using jokes blog
Want ready to Go French Bell Ringers?
If you are short on time, you can get ready-to-go class starters bundle for French Class for the whole semester. Weeks of ready made bellringers for French class.
It includes the following Bell Ringers for French Class so far. (The plan is to add music for Wednesday to the bundle as well).
- Monday – Weekend Chat
- Tuesday – mardi autour du monde
- Thursday – jeudi jovial
- Friday – La danse de vendredi
Other Daily Theme Ideas for French Class Bell Ringers
- lundi – lundi livre (FVR free reading)
- mardi – mardi manie musicale
- mercredi – mercredi manie musicale, miau mercredi (cat jokes)
- jeudi – JEU-di (play games)
- vendredi – vendredi voyage (use my French travel slides)
Tips for Success with French Bell Ringers
Here are a few practical tips that make bell work run smoothly:
- Keep activities short — aim for 3–5 minutes max.
- Model what you expect early in the year. What you allow will continue.
- Stay consistent with your bell ringer routine so students know the expectations.
- Mix it up: don’t do the same thing every day
- Use Google Slides to project & keep things easier for you.
- Encourage upper level students to respond en français as much as possible.
- Make it fun! Incorporate music & dancing to get students moving.
Whether you teach middle school, high school, or homeschool French students, these ideas work across all grade levels. They’re quick, adaptable, and help make your French lesson flow naturally.
Incorporating bell ringers into your French class routine can be a game-changer in terms of student engagement and learning outcomes. These brief activities not only set a positive tone for the lesson but also provide valuable opportunities for language practice and cultural exploration. Experiment with different bell ringer ideas to discover what resonates most with your students and create a vibrant and dynamic language-learning environment.
Want a Free Sample of my Favorite Bell Ringers for French Class?
Just enter your email below & I will send you the google slides freebie! Free daily bell ringers & example class routine slides. For best deliverability, I suggest using a non school email address.
