French Chat Mat: Chores
Talking about household chores is a practical, everyday topic that helps French learners build useful vocabulary and practice high-frequency structures. The French Chat Mat: Chores gives students the language support they need to talk about responsibilities at home, describe routines, and ask or answer questions about who does what.
With clear visuals and student-friendly sentence starters, this chat mat helps learners stay in French while communicating about real-life tasks.
Why Use a Chores-Themed Chat Mat?
Chores are an ideal theme for novice and intermediate learners because they:
- Reinforce high-frequency verbs like faire, aider, mettre, and sortir
- Encourage conversation about routines and responsibilities
- Support interpersonal speaking tasks
- Connect to cultural comparisons about family roles in francophone countries
- Fit well into units on daily routines, family, or the home
A chat mat helps students access vocabulary quickly so they can focus on meaningful communication rather than memorization.
What’s Included in the French Chores Chat Mat?
A well-designed chat mat might include:
Common Household Chores
- faire la vaisselle
- sortir la poubelle
- passer l’aspirateur
- faire la lessive
- ranger ma chambre
- mettre la table
- faire le lit
- plier les vêtements
- arroser les plantes
- garder mon frère / ma sœur
Useful Verbs & Phrases
- Je dois…
- Je fais…
- J’aide à…
- Je n’aime pas…
- Je préfère…
- C’est ma responsabilité de…
High-Utility Sentence Starters
- Chez moi, je…
- Dans ma famille, je fais souvent…
- Normalement, je dois…
- Je partage cette tâche avec…
- La tâche la plus difficile est…
Support Vocabulary
- les fréquences (toujours, souvent, parfois, rarement…)
- les lieux de la maison
- les personnes (ma mère, mon père, mes frères, etc.)
Visual Icons
Icons representing each chore make the chat mat accessible and easy to use for novice learners.
Classroom Activities Using This Chat Mat
Here are some engaging ways to use it:
1. Partner Interviews
Students ask each other what chores they do at home using the mat for support.
2. Chore Chart Comparison
Compare family chore routines—Who does what? How often?
3. Create a Family Chore Map
Students describe which family member is responsible for each task.
4. Debate: Best and Worst Chores
Students use sentence starters to argue which tasks are easiest or hardest.
5. Cultural Perspectives
Discuss typical household responsibilities in francophone families and compare them with students’ experiences.
A Practical Tool for Real-Life Communication
The French Chat Mat: Chores helps learners communicate about everyday responsibilities in meaningful, authentic ways. With built-in support for vocabulary, structures, and complete sentences, it’s perfect for classrooms, tutoring, or independent study.
Building Proficiency for World Language Learners: 100+ High-Interest Activities
Discover over 100 dynamic activities to make world language learning interactive and fun. I wrote this book with some of my favorite activities for educators aiming to build proficiency with high-impact strategies.
Learn more and get your copy here.
5 Weeks of No and Low Prep Fun
Need quick, engaging activities for your class? This free guide includes 25 no-prep and low-prep ideas to save time while keeping students excited about learning.
Download your free copy now.
