French creative lessons for World Cup 2026: 6 lessons and resources available 6th January to 31st March 2026
North East and UK schools can access 6 lessons for primary schools (Y5-Y6) which can be delivered in classrooms to French learners by specialist and non-specialist teachers.
These resources include pre-recorded videos and recordings, PowerPoints and lesson plans around the theme of the men’s World Cup in 2026. They aim to assist with transition from KS2 to KS3 by supporting teachers to inspire a love of languages through exciting lessons.
Open to North East and UK schools. Resources will be sent in early January to all schools who register.
Who is it for?
Open to North East and UK primary schools and secondary schools.
For pupils in Year 5 and 6 (ages 9-11) learning French.
Year 7 mentors could also use these in primary schools as part of transition support.
When will it happen?
The six lesson scheme of work will be available to use in classrooms at anytime from 6th January to 31st March by schools who have registered for the activity.
What is the activity?
A scheme of work comprising six lessons have been developed by French teacher and poet, Michaël Vidon and French Teacher and Assistant Professor in Education Francesca Knight, in association with the Institut français du Royaume-Uni. The six lessons have been designed for use in the French primary classroom and can also be used for transition work.
There are a series of pre-recorded videos and sounds, powerpoints and lesson plans around the theme of the men’s World Cup in 2026.
Specialist and non-specialist teachers will be able to use these resources to engage children in a stimulating activity around a theme of interest, the football World Cup.
Pupils will learn:
- French phonics, numbers, colours, nationalities and countries, opinions and preferences
- Cultural facts about French Speaking countries taking part in the World Cup
The sessions include:
- rap, music, speaking, writing and drawing
- football-themed language games
- expressive and creative activities for pupils to play with sounds and meanings
Teachers will:
- feel supported to deliver phonics, especially if they are not French specialists
- learn creative strategies to inspire the love of language
Transition opportunities:
- Local secondary school pupils can visit the local primaries to support students with the lessons
- Primary pupils can continue the project in their secondary schools in September 2026 and who will organise a showcase around European Day of Languages.
After completing the six lessons, teachers will be asked to provide feedback on the resources.
These resources have been developed as part of small-scale bridging project in Seaford, East Sussex with a Secondary schools and its feeder primaries. The lessons will be taught to Year 6 in the Summer term and the pupils will continue the project with their Year 7 teachers in September 2026. Feedback received from Teachers involved in the Express Yourself Festival will contribute to reflection and potential improvement of resources to support the Seaford French Transition project.
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How do I get involved?
Register by emailing info@expressyourselfne.com and please provide all of the following information:
- the title of the activity (World Cup 2026 – French)
- your school name and address
- teacher contact name and email
- how many pupils you expect to be involved and their ages
For those home-schooling, please register for these lessons through your designated school.
The link for the teaching resources will be emailed from 6th January to all who register.
Further information and links
Michaël is French and teaches French at a secondary school. He is a poet, spoken word artist and Spoken Word Educator and producer of multilingual poetry projects. He specialises in multilingual creativity with workshops led in French and mixing a range of languages with English.
Francesca Knight is Assistant Professor in Education at the University of Sussex, she leads the MFL PGCE programme, contributes to the primary PGCE course and advises for the BA Primary and Early Years course. She has a background in teaching children from 7 to 18 French, Spanish and English.
They have worked with Institut français du Royaume-Uni to develop these resources.
- Click here to visit Michaël’s website
- Follow Michaël on social media: instagram | tiktok | Linkedin
- Click here to find out about other French related events, activities and resources in the Festival, as well as resources available from the Institut français.
Who is organising this?
This activity has been developed by Michaël Vidon. It is funded and supported by the Institut français and is being offered free to schools as part of Express Yourself: North East Festival of Languages.
- Contact: Michaël Vidon on his site
- Contact: Francesca here
- Contact: Anne-Lise Gallay, French Language Attaché at the Institut français du Royaume-Uni anne-lise.gallay@institut-francais.org.uk
