Pamplemousse – Warm Up or Review Activity
EDCI 469 A01 – Methods of Teaching Oral French
Emily Franceschini
What is it?

Pamplemousse is a number counting game that can be played with students of any age. It
is a quick game and so can be used as a warm-up, wrap-up, or somewhere-inbetween
activity. Children love it because it is not particularly difficult and is very fun to play!
What do you need in order to play it?


To play Pamplemousse, you need very little! All that is needed is an open space for
students to stand in a circle – that’s it!
For very young players, it would be helpful to have the numbers 1-10 posted (in French)
somewhere easily visible within the classroom.
How do you play it?

Students and teacher form a circle with everyone standing up. The teacher decides who
will start counting and which direction to go around the circle (clock-wise or counterclock-wise). Starting with the first person and continuing around the room, students
count from one to ten in French. Students have the choice to say just one number, or two,
when it is their turn to speak. When it is time to say ten, the student instead says
“pamplemousse”. Each student has only one opportunity to say “pamplemousse”…if
they are the student who should say ten in another round, they are out and must sit down
with their arms hugging their knees (making a circle like a pamplemousse, which means
grapefruit in French). The winner is the last student standing!
Key French Vocabulary:
Un = one
Sept = seven
Deux = two
Huit = eight
Trois = three
Neuf = nine
Quatre = four
Dix = ten
Cinq = five
Pamplemousse = grapefruit
Six = six