3 Easy Ways to Teach French Transportation Vocabulary in Upper Elementary

Looking for low-prep, engaging ways to teach French transportation vocabulary in your Core French or FSL classroom? Whether you’re introducing le transport for the first time or reinforcing key terms, these three activities will help your students retain the vocabulary and have fun while learning.

These strategies are great for busy teachers who want meaningful instruction without hours of prep—and they work beautifully in both in-person and virtual classrooms.

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🚗 Vocabulary Focus: Le transport

Here are just a few of the transportation terms your students will be learning:

🚑 une ambulance
🚓 une voiture de police
🚌 un autobus scolaire
🚛 un camion de livraison
🚗 une voiture

These words are ideal for beginner French learners and provide a strong foundation for community- and travel-based language units. They also lend themselves well to visuals, movement, and repetition—key elements in effective FSL instruction.

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✅ 1. Play Charades – Le Transport Edition

This classic game is a student favorite—and it’s perfect for vocabulary reinforcement.

How to play:

• One student acts out a mode of transportation without speaking.
• The rest of the class guesses the French term based on the movements.

Examples:
🚑 Sirens + racing hands = une ambulance
🚒 Pretend hose + climbing ladder = un camion de pompier
🚌 Waving students aboard = un autobus scolaire

Charades works well because it combines physical movement with oral language, and it’s easy to adapt for different group sizes.

✔️ No prep required
✔️ Great for review days or energizers
✔️ Perfect as a warm-up before introducing new vocabulary

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🖼️ 2. Let Students Label the Classroom (or Build a Word Wall)

Make vocabulary visual—and let your students do the work! This easy activity turns practice into part of your classroom environment.

Here’s how:

• Assign each student (or small group) one transportation word from your list (e.g., une dépanneuse, une camionnette, un taxi)
• Have them draw or print a picture of the vehicle
• They write the correct French word and decorate a mini poster
• Display their creations around the classroom or on a bulletin board

✔️ Low prep for you
✔️ Students practice writing, reading, and recognizing their assigned word
✔️ Instant classroom visuals for ongoing reference

This activity builds ownership and reinforces vocabulary every time students look around the room.

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💻 3. Use This Ready-to-Go French Transportation Unit

Want everything prepped for you? This Beginner French Transportation Unit includes everything you need to teach le transport from start to finish—no planning required!

It’s designed for upper elementary Core French or FSL students and includes:

🎧 Google Slides™ Presentation with Audio
📓 Student note-taking sheet to support retention
🖨️ Printable worksheets: matching, writing sentences, colour-by-code, and word search
🧩 Drag-and-drop digital activities with moveable pieces
🎲 Dice game for interactive vocab review
🎯 Self-marking Google Forms™ quiz for quick assessment
📋 Board game project with sample + rubric for creative application
🧠 Teacher guide + answer keys to save you time

Whether you’re teaching in person or online, this resource gives you the tools to make French vocabulary engaging and effective.

👉 Grab the Beginner French Transportation Unit here

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💡 Bonus Resource: Online French Games

Looking for more ways to reinforce French vocabulary digitally?
I’ve rounded up some student-approved online games that pair perfectly with units like le transport.

👉 Click here to see the list of online French language games!

These are perfect for center rotations, early finishers, or homework extensions.

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✨ Final Thoughts

Teaching French transportation vocabulary doesn’t have to be complicated. With a few creative strategies—like charades and student-created visuals—plus a ready-to-use unit for structured instruction, you’ll have your students mastering le transport in no time.

Pick one activity to try this week and build from there—you’ll be amazed how quickly your students pick up new words when they’re immersed in meaningful, engaging practice.

👉 Explore the full Beginner French Transportation Unit here