Numbers and balls

This morning my students had a review of numbers.

I brought a yellow ball in class, I moved all the desks to create a space where they could stay in a circle and I threw the ball to one of them shouting 3!!!

The first part of the game was quite simple, they have to throw the ball to a classmate shouting the numbers in ascending order.

When they got bored I complicated the game in many different ways:

Tell the numbers in a descending order

or

Add 2 (or 3, 4, 5...) to the number you've just said trowing the ball

or

Subtract 2 (or 3, 4, 5...)

or

Don't say the numbers that contain 3 or 4 or 5 etc...

The game is quite useful because apart from using numbers, they'll improve their knowledge of multiplication table and mathematical calculations as well.

Where is the playground?!?©

Where is the Playground?!?!?©

Ok, I discovered that my 8 year old spanish pupils have a problem with left and right.

So, today, I started the class making them raise their left hands than the rights.

Finally I told them to fold their left sleeves (to have a visual reference).

The second step was explaining them how to turn left or right (it's not obvious for them).

Finally we played Simon Says with this (now easy) 4 commands:

Go down 1st (or 2nd...) street

Turn right

Turn left

Go on

Stop

Where is the Playground?!?!?©

This is a game to experiment street directions, let your pupils interact to acquire language skills and practice useful English.

Use the space between the lines of desks as streets (1st Street, 2nd Street, etc...) and write on the blackboard some easy street directions:

- Go down 1st Street, 2nd...
- Go on
- At the 1st, 2nd desk..
- Turn left
- Turn right
- Go straight on

Call on one of them and start asking him where one of his classmate 'lives' and..

Start the game!!!

P.S. Call first one of your best students:

the fact he'll be right will encourage the others on taking part in the performance.

More Activities:

In the Fridge and Tiny Garden

Shapes+Material!!!©

Subject Areas:
Clothes, Furniture,
Materials, Seasons, Rooms.
Language Items:
What is your belt made of?
It’s made of leather/ fabric/ etc.
What are the shoes made of?
They are made of ...
What is the table made of?
It’s made of wood/ plastic/ etc.
What are the curtains made of?
They are made of...

“Is your cap made of silver?”
“Yes, it is”
“No, it isn’t”
N.B. Combinations Material-Furniture/Clothes
made by kids could be really bizarre.

'When do you usually wear a scarf?'
'In which room of your house can you find a sofa?'
'What is it made of?'

Functions:
A visual (and tactile) experience of different materials their world is made of, and talk about it.

Combine seasons with clothes and materials,
Furniture with rooms and materials.

Answer yes or no questions.

More Activities:

In the Fridge and Tiny Garden

Shapes+Material!!!©_Game example:

The proposal of the game is make students learn the different kinds of material, so I prepared some pre cut outlines images of kids bedroom’s furniture. And I gave to each one a small book with the drawings of the furniture. Then I prepared a table of materials, and I brought in class some sheets and yarns. So they trace out on the sheets the furniture they have in their bedrooms with the help of the outlines and stick the images on their books.

When they finish their activity of cut and stick, you can call every one to the blackboard with the book to describe the furniture they completed with the help of the table of materials.

Shapes + Material!!! Possible Book/Activities pages©

Fun in the Kitchen with Gingerbread People

Subject Areas:
Food, Body parts, Clothes, Family tree।
Language Items:
GINGER DADDY
is wearing a pair of striped trousers,
a white belt made of pink icing, etc.

GINGER MUMMY
is wearing a long dress, with two purple buttons
made of chocolate and a white belt made of icing, etc.

What are GINGER DAUGHTER/SISTER? GINGER SON/BROTHER wearing ?
What colour is her SKIRT?
What is her MOUTH made of?

Functions:
Describing people.
Make questions about their appearance, their clothes and colours.
Use types of candies and food.
Listening (the tale of the gingerbread man).

Game examples:
Give your pupils a paper’s template of the gingerbread men, women and kids, this way everyone will be able to draw his own family tree.

Show them a list of ingredients, previously prepared at home, that can be used to decorate their drawings.

Sketch the ingredients on the blackboard, so kids can copy them.
And then call and ask each one about one or two members of his ginger family.

More Activities:

In the Fridge and Tiny Garden
Body parts Cootie Catcher

Gingerbread Boy - The Recipe

The recipe and the instructions for baking the Gingerbread cookies together with your sons and daughters.

Be careful and have fun!

Ingredients:
50g butter or hard block margarine
50g golden caster sugar
100g golden syrup
1 heaped teaspoon ground ginger
200g self-raising flour

For Decoration:
Icing pens
Chocolate buttons

Almonds

Coconut

Azelnuts

Method:

1. Ask your grown up helper to pre-heat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas 4.


2. Put the butter, sugar and syrup in the saucepan. Heat it gently until the sugar has

dissolved. Do not allow the mixture to boil.


3. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in all the flour and ginger until you have smooth

manageable stiff dough.


4. Put the mixture in a bowl and put it aside to cool for 30 minutes.


5. Meanwhile lightly grease your baking sheet.


6. Take the cooled dough out of the bowl. Sprinkle some flour on a surface and roll out until it's about 1/2 cm thick.

7. Use your cutters to cut out your biscuits. If you can't get hold of the cutters cut the

shapes out of card and use them as templates. Lift the cut out figures gently using a fish

knife and place them on the baking tin.

8. Put them in the oven for about ten minutes.


9. When the figures are golden and slightly risen remove from the oven. Let them cool for 5

minutes on the baking tin before placing them on a cooling rack.

Decorate the figures with icing pens and chocolate buttons when they are completely cold.

from www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies

Gingerbread man tale

One day an old woman baked a gingerbread man for her husband.
Suddenly, she heard a voice from the oven.
"Let me out! Let me out!" it said.

She opened the door and the gingerbread man ran out.
The old couple ran after him, shouting "Stop! We want to eat you!"But the gingerbread man ran away singing:
"Run, run as fast as you can, you can't catch me I'm the gingerbread man!"

A horse saw him and said: "Stop! I want to eat you!"
But the gingerbread man ran away even faster singing:
"Run, run as fast as you can, you can't catch me I'm the gingerbread man!"

A cow saw him and said: "Stop! I want to eat you!"
But the gingerbread man ran away even faster singing:
"Run, run as fast as you can, you can't catch me I'm the gingerbread man!"

A fox saw him and said:
"Stop! I want to talk to you!"
The gingerbread man ran on singing:
"Run, run as fast as you can, you can't catch me I'm the gingerbread man!"
But the fox chased him all the way to a river.

The gingerbread man didn't know how to swim.
"I can help you," said the cunning fox.
"If you jump on my tail, I'll carry you across."
The gingerbread man jumped on the fox's tail and the fox started to swim across the river.

But the fox said:"jump on my nose. You are too heavy for my tail."
When they reached the river bank the fox tossed the gingerbread man high up into the air.
Down he fell and the fox gobbled him all up!
And that was the end of the gingerbread man.

Lesson plan based on this same story available here.

Let's go Shopping!!!©

This first activity is a simulation of a 'street market'.

In two days the children drew 5 shop's sign and many different products, then I divided my class of 15 pupils in 5 groups. There were a couple of shop assistants in each 'Shop' and the rest of the children was allowed to roam around with a shopping list, in order to go to the different shops and do their shopping.

 








Below you can read the language skills your kids could improve.

More Activities:

In the Fridge and Tiny Garden

Let's go Shopping!!!©

Let's go Shopping!!!©

Let's go Shopping!!!©