PETER PAN by J.M.Barrie

This is another classic I had never read before thanks to Walt Disney's Cartoons.

Peter Pan is quite a selfish child who doesn't remember things, but at the same time he has a strong sense of justice and is always quick to help those in danger. The adventures narrated in the book are pretty famous and have been largely developed so I really couldn't imagine my own film.

Maybe this is the reason why I really enjoyed the details of this book. They are at the beginning, when the protagonist are still in the real world and fantasy is more necessary. 

Can you imagine three yawning night-lights or a twinkling little star in the Milky Way screaming: "Now, Peter!"?

Such miracles are possible only if you are a child and J.M.Barrie, the author, sensitively reminds  those who aren't so young anymore.

This book arrived when the Puritan point of view of children (necessarily disobedient like Adam) and their education (in fear of God) started to be replaced by the new Romantic movement's concepts: kids are innocent and childhood is a sacred time of life. Children's literature is seen as a way to expand their imagination and question the ready-made reality imposed by adults.

Is this why sit contains swallows build their nests in the eaves of houses to listen to stories and birds consulting maps at windy corners of the sky?

Once arrived at Neverland everything was already known and alive: the Island was exactly how its little guests have dreamt of it every night.

Another scene I found really hilarious is the one where everyone is looking for the one silently walking a few paces before him, creating a big ring of people moving all around the island the night the children were carried off in chapter twelve.

It was so inspirational that it appeared in Robert L. Stevenson's Treasure Island too.  

Fairies, flying children, pirates, indians, mermaids and Never birds come true for just a short period of everyone's life, until, like the old stars, we become glassy-eyed and stop to believe in our little fairy, killing her.

Many activities related to the story are available online:

FACTSHEETS by Penguin

PETER PAN LESSON PLAN by Great Ormond Street Hospital



MORE BOOKS YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN:

JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH by Roald Dahl

MOMO by Michael Ende

 

Lucy dedicates a lot of time and love to thinking about and writing the posts she shares with all of you. Because she believes that a better teaching is the key for a better future. If you find any help, value or joy in this blog, please consider becoming a supporting reader. A donation, in any amount, will be gratefully accepted. 

                                                   

 

JUMPING IN AND OUT OF SHAPES

I'll tell you a secret: I wrote on the floor of my classroom with a piece of chalk during some of my English classes (!!!!!).

I was teaching opposites using an illustrated book when suddenly I had an epiphany: join two topics to a kinesthetic experience!

So, I started to draw shapes like circles, triangles and rectangles on the floor -avoiding squares, because they are too difficult to define without a ruler and to distinguish from a rectangle by a 4 to 5 year old child.

Later you can add hearts, stars and diamonds.

The funniest thing was my student's first reaction to my unusual behavior:

one immediately erased every single line I had drawn and another warned me she would report me to their head teacher…ahahahah

They weren't expecting an adult to draw on the floor at all!!!

I had to reassure them explaining we were going to clean it after the activity so they finally decided to give me a hand filling the floor with a huge quantity of shapes… 

At the end it was difficult to stop them!

And here we are, with our set ready to be used.

Be sure to leave some space between your shapes and tell them to jump in and out of them.

Do it slowly at the beginning and increase the speed once they've got the different shapes' names.

You'll notice after a while that one or more of your students will feel a strong desire to lead the game, which is exactly what you want!!!

Give it a try and jump!!!

MORE GAMES:

The Ball Goes to....

Phonetics: The S-Game

THE BALL GOES TO…

Hello everyone! I'm back for a little while. I've been busy working in a summer camp here in Madrid and I'm alive! Well…half alive. 

But alive enough to tell you about this ball game I've been taught by a child named Alvaro.

You just need a ball and a quite large area, like a playground or a garden. 

I suppose you can even try an aquatic version of it.

Oh! And at least 4/ 5 children. The more, the better.

Each child has to choose the name of an animal and announce his name to the rest of the group.

One child holds the ball and says: " The ball goes to… Dolphin!"

And he throws the ball in any direction. 

This way the kid named Dolphin will run after the ball while the rest of the players will run away in order to be as far as possible from the Dolphin.

Once Dolphin has caught the ball, he will shout: "STOOOOP!!!!" and everyone will freeze. 

At this point of the game, Dolphin can take only three steps holding the ball to get as close as possible to one of the frozen players. Then he will throw the ball toward one of them and if the ball touches the frozen kid he will be out.

The game continues with Dolphin saying:  " The ball goes to…"

It's really fun! Thank you Alvaro!!!




MORE GAMES:

PHONETICS - The S game

CIRCLE GAMES - The Shoe Behind You

PHONETICS - The S game

Spanish is a language where you won't find any word starting with S  followed by a consonant.

This happens because they always write an E before the S.

Therefore you will easily hear words like ESchool or ESpain instead of the original ones.

This problem can't be solved if your students are older than 5, because the exposure to the Spanish pronunciation has already set up that part of their brain predisposed to speaking.

But if you are teaching children younger than that, you still have some hope to influence their S - word pronunciation.

Here I suggest this game, a little noisy but fun, based on the classic hot and cold object hunt. 

First write an S - word on a piece of paper, bring a physical object starting with S or use flashcards.

For example:

Skate / Skeleton / Ski / Skin / Sky / Sledge / Slide / Snack / Snake / Snail / Snow / Space / Spade / Spaghetti / Sparrow / Spider / Spinach / Sponge / Spoon / Sport / Spot / Spray / Spring / Square / Squirrel / Stadium / Star.

Then call out one child and send him out of the room accompanied by a 'witness' to be sure he is not going to peek in while you and the rest of the class will be hiding the S-word anywhere inside the classroom.

Once you have hidden it, call the kid in. He will look for the hidden word guided by the other pupils. They will say the S-word modulating the volume of their voice depending on whether the hunter is close or far from it. 

The hider shouts the S-word when the searcher is headed in the right direction and whispers it when he isn't.

There is a  possibility that they'll start screaming very loud at some point….be prepared!!!

MORE GAMES:
Wear or Carry? and The Shoe Behind You

Lesson Plan: Clothes and More - Part 3

USING VOCABULARY

TIME THE CHAIN

Make a circle with your young learners. Give each kid a flashcard. They have to show it inside the circle. In a chain they will have to say "I'm wearing…" the piece of cloth shown on the card they have. 

Time the entire process and tell them with emphasis how many seconds it took and then something like: "Let's see if we can go faster!" 

Every child has to pass clockwise his card to the next one and repeat the chain. Again time the process and tell them the seconds it lasted (of course, less than the previous time).

Three chains will be enough. Then they'll loose interest and concentration. Celebrate the last performance and step into another activity.

WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?

This game is based on children's natural desire to possess the more cards as possible.

Place all the flashcards on the floor, call out the pupils one by one. They have to choose a card, but to get it they must  say "I'm wearing…" the garments present on the card. 

More games
Clothes Part 1  and Clothes Part 2 
WEAR or CARRY?
Wear or Carry - Tiles

CIRCLE GAMES - The Shoe Behind You

Introducing Time Expressions

My Spanish students know a circle game called "La zapatilla por detrás".

I persuaded them to play it in English introducing some little changes to the original one and I made the most of it to teach the next concept for my classes: Time.

This is how it works:

- Arrange your class in a circle. Everyone is sitting on the floor except for one of them, who stands holding a shoe in his/her hand. 

Let's call him Carlos, to simplify.

- Carlos starts walking around the circle with the shoe while the class is singing a chant. I personally chose " The itsy bitsy spider" because it was a little difficult for them to learn and this way they have already sung it about 100 times!

- At the end of the chant they ask Carlos: " What time are you coming, daddy?"

If it was a girl they would say " What time are you coming, mummy?" 

- Carlos answers: "at 8 o' clock", for example, and the kids in the circle start counting until 8 while pretending to be asleep. At the same time Carlos is walking around them to decide who he is going to drop the shoe behind.

- Once the counting time is done, the kid who finds the shoe behind his back has to stand up and try to catch Carlos chasing him around the circle.

Carlos in the meantime will run away to take the place of his chaser. 

- If Carlos gets the seat before being caught then it will be the chaser's turn to walk around the circle and drop the shoe. 

There are a couple of rules in this game that will help to keep it under control:

1st: Don't let them run freely in the classroom. They have to run strictly around the circle. This way they won't hurt themselves or break something.

2nd: The pupil who is being chased has to complete two circles before trying to sit.

This way it'll be more challenging and engaging.

I hope you have a good time!

---> Quiero leer este post en español.

Lucy dedicates a lot of time and love to thinking about and writing the posts she shares with all of you. Because she believes that a better teaching is the key for a better future. If you find any help, value or joy in this blog, please consider becoming a supporting reader. A donation, in any amount, will be gratefully accepted. 

                                                   

 

Lesson Plan: Clothes and More - Part 2

 FIXING VOCABULARY

-YES / NO game

Arrange your class in two lines, that will start behind a line drawn with chalk on the floor. Calculate approximately 1,5 / 2 meters from that line and write the words YES  AND NO on the floor, near you.

Start showing a flashcard of shoes (for example) and say: " This is a pair of SHOES  / I'm wearing SHOES" . The first two kids of the lines will have to run toward the word YES. The first who arrives on the YES gains 1 point for his team.

Then show another card with a skirt (for example) and say: "This is a SWEATER! / I'm wearing a SWEATER" . The first who arrives on the word NO will get the point. 

Make the most of it asking what it is really shown on the flashcard and give him a second point!

P.S. Initially you'll notice that someone might get confused about what to do. They will jump on YES if they are really wearing the indicated garment, explain the rules again and keep playing, they'll soon correct the performance.

O O O O O O O  I         YES

 

O O O O O O O  I          NO

More Games:
Clothes - part 1  and Clothes - part 3 

WEAR or CARRY?
Wear or Carry - Tiles

Trying a Reading and Math program - K5

K5 Learning has an online reading and math program for kindergarten to grade 5 students.  I've been given a 6 week free trial to test and write a review of their program.  If you are a blogger, you may want to check out their open invitation to write an online learning review of their program.

Months of the Year - Song

How do you teach your Pre-K students the months of the year? 

They can't read or write so what about teaching them a nice song?

Here you can find a couple of them very easy to learn and teach. 

http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/kids/songs/months.swf 

(Jazz Version)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9O0_GhNvCc 

(Rock Version)

To make it easier: clap your hands to keep the rhythm.

I usually repeat the first verse several times, during the first class.

The next class, I repeat the first verse again and introduce the second one.

Again, I repeat both several times. 

The third class, I sing the first 2 verses and, finally, teach the last verse.

Once you have taught  the whole song, repeat it many times, during coloring activities for example, to keep your children from chatting in their native language.

They will be singing it in a couple of weeks.

More Fun Activities:
The S Game and The Shoe Behind You

Lesson Plan: Clothes and more - Part 1

In my experience children are usually more interested in food than in clothes. 

To teach them  how to say what they are wearing is the 'mission impossible' of pre-school teachers.

That is why I'm going to tell you some games related to it that will make it easier.

1 - Let's start with VOCABULARY INTRODUCTION games.

- THE TREASURE CHEST, part 1:

If you have a basket, a chest or a simple box in your classroom don't be afraid to fill it up with all kinds of clothes. Ask your students' parents to bring old garments and costumes left at the bottom of their children's closets. Then take your time and let pupils go digging in the box to choose their favorite outfit. 

In this first phase you will only ask them, after they have got dressed up: " What are you wearing?". Certainly they aren't going to know, so you will tell them and make them repeat the words you have said.

- JUMP!

I have a little step in my classroom next to the wall and I used it to facilitate the learning process. I made my students line up on the step, in front of me. Then I showed them clothes on flashcards, one by one, saying: "I'm wearing trousers!" If they really were wearing trousers they had to jump down off the step. 

They loved it!!!

After a couple of times you can say only the first part of the sentence: "I'm wearing…" and let them finish the sentence with the name of the picture shown, while jumping. 

Great results achieved!!!

P.S. If you don't have a step in your classroom they can jump anyway, for example inside or outside a circle drawn on the floor.

- THE TREASURE CHEST, part 2:

During this second time, after the jump game, you will lead the dress up game asking them what they want to wear. It will be a good way to activate their memory and have them making an effort.

More Games:
Clothes part 2 and Clothes part 3 

WEAR or CARRY?
Wear or Carry - Tiles

SHOW PECULIAR THINGS!

I would like to talk about a tip I wrote down during the last Cambridge University Press event I attended.

How can you help your students to remember new vocabulary or new structures? 

The equation is: Memory = Repetition x Interest.

Since I'm pretty sure you spend your time repeating things many times I'm going to focus on the INTEREST.

One option is to keep in mind this slogan 'MAKE IT PERSONAL!' constantly. It means you should avoid abstraction and try to contextualize every new element, particularly referring it to your pupils' experience and background.

The second option you have, a complementary one, I would say, is to SHOW PECULIAR THINGS. A curious picture will certainly grab or increase their attention and feedback. 

Here you have a couple of examples that may inspire your creativity. 


Enjoy them!

More Activities:
In the Fridge 
Tiny Garden
Gingerbread People

IRREGULAR DOMINOES

Here you are! Is it already time to get your students to learn irregular past tenses? Every real teacher knows that to contextualize words is always better than to memorize them. But the official school program says clearly: KNOWLEDGE OF IRREGULAR VERBS!!!  All together and in one month!  

Don't you feel some pity for those 7 or 8-year-old pupils of yours, who are going to spend their afternoons trying to remember boring verbs?

I usually do and that's why I prepared this customizable domino to print and play.

It works quite well, apart  from waking up the competitive spirit, that sometimes overheats the classroom a little more than I expect.

Once they have played several times, give them an extra point if they can say a sentence using the verb on the tile. 

That way you'll achieve two goals in one activity. Furthermore they will acquire not only the above mentioned  'knowledge of irregular verbs', but also their proper use in the real world.

That's something more useful, don't you think?

DON'T MISS IT!!!

CARD SET 1

CARD SET 2

I design series of activities based on a communicative method that will help children to practice the grammar they're learning at school.

Many ESL activities, I see, are nothing more than 'fill in the blank' exercises that only teach kids how to fill in blanks and miss the whole point of learning to speak and understand a new language.

It's much easier and more fun to learn by doing, and you'll be surprised at how quickly you'll see valuable results!!! 

You can get my activities on my online store:

http://childreneslworksheets.bigcartel.com


More grammar games here: To Be or...To Be

IRREGULAR DOMINOES - SET 1

DON'T MISS IT!!! 

YOUR STUDENTS WILL APPRECIATE IT ;O)

IRREGULAR DOMINOES - GAME EXPLANATION

IRREGULAR DOMINOES CARD SET 2

I design series of activities based on a communicative method that will help children to practice the grammar they're learning at school.

Many ESL activities, I see, are nothing more than 'fill in the blank' exercises that only teach kids how to fill in blanks and miss the whole point of learning to speak and understand a new language.

It's much easier and more fun to learn by doing, and you'll be surprised at how quickly you'll see valuable results!!! 

You can get my activities on my online store:

http://childreneslworksheets.bigcartel.com