The end of the year is chaos and everyone is just counting down the days until summer. Grades are in, classrooms are packed, there are field trips galore, the kids don’t want to do anything and they’re sick of movies. You need something to keep them engaged… and maybe learning something (maybe).

My go-to, fun, low-prep end of year activity is…

Random French Trivia Unfair Game!

I know… I’m still working on the title….

This game is a mix of the Unfair Game from the Comprehensible Classroom and the scoring from the Lucky Reading Game by Senora Chase (another one of my favorites). I play it with all of my classes. It’s very easy and so so fun!

Supplies:

Whiteboards & markers (1 per group or per student depending on the variation)
Decks of cards with Jokers (I recommend at least two decks)
Random French Trivia questions. See below for a few ideas. I have an old set of trivia questions that I have added to and repurposed for this game but it’s easy to find questions online, this site has 199! There is a mix of multiple-choice and open ended questions on vocabulary, grammar, but mostly culture. I added questions based on what we have covered in class to make sure they got at least a few correct but most of the questions are completely random and that’s the fun. They might know it, guess it, or learn something new!
Set up:
Students sit in groups facing each other.
Distribute whiteboards & markers (pro-tip: distribute markers after directions to make sure they listen)
Shuffle cards and spread them out face down on a table at the front.
Game Play:
Ask a random trivia question. Groups work together to come up with the answer and write it on their boards.
Count down and have all students hold up their boards.
All groups that got the answer correct send up one person to choose a lucky card (NO PEEKING!) to bring back to their groups. Each card is worth a certain amount of points. You can decide if points should be kept a surprise until the end. Group with the most points at the end of the game wins!
Scoring:
ACE = 20 points
JACK, QUEEN, KING = 15 points
# Card = # of points (ex. a 3 is 3 points, a 7 is 7, etc)
JOKER = 0 points

the twist…. Black cards are positive points… and red cards… NEGATIVE POINTS! MWAHAHAHA! Because life’s not fair and that’s the name of the game.

That’s it! No really, that’s the whole game. SO easy! I. LOVE. THIS. GAME.

The kids get very into the competition of it. Everyone stays motivated and “in” the game when the points are random. A team might not be able to answer as many questions correctly but if they get all black cards, they still have a chance at winning the game. Of course you can use this game at any point in the year with actual review questions but I love trivia and it feels lighter (but still academic) on the last day.

I have actually played this game at a bachelorette party with trivia questions about the bride (can’t take the teacher out of the girl🫣) and it was a big hit, so try it on your friends!

Some variations to keep it interesting:

⭐️ Everyone writes: All students have a whiteboard and write the answer. Everyone in their group has to have the same answer written down or no points even if one person is correct. This keeps everyone involved and accountable.

⭐️ Add rejoinders: When someone whines about their points or game rules an assigned volunteer calls out (in their whiniest voice with a foot stomp for good measure) C’est pas juste! (That’s not fair) and another volunteer (or the whole class would be fun) responds with C’est la vie! (That’s life). It’s a good life lesson and an opportunity for some TL phrases.

⭐️ Keep or give: I added this twist with my high school class since we had played the unfair game before. BEFORE choosing a card groups can decide to keep their points or give them to another group, but they won’t know if they are giving positive or negative points until they pick a card.

Question ideas:

Draw the French flag and label the colors in French (Before asking this question I have them choose the best draw-er in their group)
When is French independence day?
Louis XIV was known as the ___ king. A) Moon B) Great C) Sun D) Best
How did Marie Antoinette die? A) Guillotine B) Cancer C) in battle D) poison
In which museum would you find the Mona Lisa?
In what war did Jeanne d’Arc fight?
What was Jeanne d’Arc’s job? A) Queen B) Warrior C) Artist D)Musician
What artist painted the famous Water Lillies painting? A) Van Gogh B) Picasso C) Marie Antoinette D) Claude Monet
What is the Michelin book? A) a restaurant & travel guide book B) a book about tires C) a comprehensive history of France D) a cookbook
What is the motto of France?
What farm animal is the symbol of France?
Where was Napoleon Bonaparte born?
What is the capital of Belgium?
Name the countries that border France.
On what continent is the country of Senegal located?

I hope you try this activity out with your students! I promise you will love it and it’s so easy to do. You can replicate it every year (and even use the same question set if it’s big …they probably won’t remember all the answers anyways). Let me know what you think!

shop here: CI Cuentos Store Madame French Toast

Join our Facebook group here: French Toast Cuentos World Language Collaboration