AT THE FAIR by Enric Lluch

This cute illustrated book talks about a small young man, Alex, who is at the fair with his parents.

He is 4 or 5 and can't resist the temptation of having everything he comes across in this amusing colorful place. So, when he sees the balloons, of course he wants one. And when he sees the toffee-apples kart, he can't resist having one.

His parents are nice and they buy him both things, but the problems start when he sees the ice-cream stand. 

He hasn't got any empty hand, but he demands for his strawberry ice-cream as any 4 year-old child would do. He hasn't realized that to hold the cone he will lose something else. 

Well, I suppose you can imagine the development of the story.

And don't have any doubts: your students will enjoy it! Especially because they will recognize themselves in the protagonist, but also for the topic and the appetising items that appear in the story.

You can emphasize the part where Alex becomes very naughty about the ice-cream, and ask your students if they sometimes behave that way too. You'll be amazed by their honesty!!!

Anyway, they will also learn a good lesson!

This book is edited by Algar Editorial and belongs to the collection 'First Steps' that presents positive messages about kids' environment throughout easy texts and full-page pictures, but not only that!  There's a little cartoon that appears on the top left corner of the left pages that will entertain your children once more.

Enjoy it!

ALSO SEE: WITCH HAZEL

DOES HE/SHE/IT LIKE...? Students Start To Use 'DOES'

I'm teaching a lot of grammar these days! Related with food, of course! 

So this is a new activity I've designed for my students to learn how to use the verb 'like' in the 3rd person.

Here in Spain it is quite common that very young children might know the meaning of the verb 'like' and could use it to ask someone if he/she likes something.

But the introduction of the 3rd person in a question, with a verb different from to be or have got,  is a little bit more complicate for them, and they start to study it at the age of 7.

This is a simple 'interview' activity. Each table can be cut in two halves. One half presents the name of the boy/girl/pet and ticks on the food items that he/she/it likes or doesn't like. The second half hasn't got any tick because the student who takes it will interview the other one with the first half, to know where each tick must be placed.

This way they will use these grammar structures:

Does he/she/it like…?

Yes, he/she/it does.

No he/she/it doesn't.

The words for food items you'll find in the tables (and the names of boys and girls) are the essential vocabulary that your students must know to take any of the LEVEL A1 exams. 

The second part contains interviews about sports, games and other verbs, to use the -ing form.

But in the meantime you  can buy this first part on my brand new e-shop:

http://childreneslworksheets.bigcartel.com/

MORE GRAMMAR: To Be and Have Got

MORE EXERCISES ABOUT FOOD: Food Sentences

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DOES HE/SHE/IT LIKE...? Los niños empiezan a usar el auxiliar 'Does'

En estos días estoy enseñando mucha gramática relacionada con comida. Así que esta que os presento hoy es una actividad que he diseñado para mis estudiantes, para que aprendan a usar el verbo 'to like' en la tercera persona singular.

Es una actividad que se basa en 'entrevistas'. Cada ficha se compone de 2 partes: en una hay indicado con un 'tick'lo que al niño/niña/mascota le guste o no le guste. En la segunda mitad la faltan esos datos, que serán recopilados a por parte del niño entrevistador a través de preguntas y respuestas que utilizan las siguientes estructuras gramaticales:

Does he/she/it like...?
Yes, he/she/it does.
No, he/she/it doesn't

Os recuerdo que los nombres de comida utilizados en esta actividad son presentes en la lista de vocabulario que los niños necesitan conocer para poder decir de tener un nivel A1 de inglés.

La segunda parte presenta fichas con verbos en la forma -ing.

MÁS GRAMÁTICA: To Be and Have Got

MÁS EJERCICIOS SOBRE COMIDA: Food Sentences

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

To Be and Have Got: Worksheets for Children

I've already presented an exercise in a previous post called

I finally found the time to complete the activity by adding the interrogative and negative forms of the verb.

But not only that! Here you can see 3 more pages about HAVE GOT and its affirmative, interrogative and negative forms. 

Like the very first one these worksheets they are based on three easy steps.

First: (Visual memory + craft activity) cut out the verb and shuffle it.

Second: (Visual identification + craft activity) paste the pieces of the 'puzzle' in the right order.

Third: (Writing + challenging activity) write the verb faster than your classmates.  

Have a great time!

WORKSHEETS TO BE and HAVE GOT

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TO BE and HAVE GOT: Hojas de ejercicios para niños

Ya os presenté una ficha sobre el verbo 'To be' en un post anterior:  TO BE OR… TO BE 

Por fin encontré el tiempo de completar la actividad con otra dos páginas en las que se presentan ejercicios para aprender respectivamente su forma negativa e interrogativa.

Además he añadido 3 páginas más relativas a la construcción verbal 'Have got' y sus formas negativa e interrogativa.

Cada hoja de trabajo se basa en tres puntos claves:
- El 1er ejercicio activa la memoria visual y la capacidad manual del niño.
- El 2do recurre a la identificación visual y, otra vez, a la capacidad manual del niño.
- El 3ro es una actividad escrita asociada a un reto, para que resulte más interesante.

HOJAS DE TRABAJO TO BE and HAVE GOT

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

EAT GOOD FOOD! by Stephane Husar and Loïc Méhée

Cat & Mouse, Eat Good Food

Here we are! Time goes by and food is the third subject I'm teaching over the next month. Again Cat and Mouse come to help me presenting some fruits and vegetables in an amusing way. 

Apple, banana, cherry, orange, strawberry, tomato, potato, carrot, lettuce and mushroom are the items that your very young learners will recognize on the book's colorful pages. As always, the structure is repetitive and easy to remember. 

With food, you can always introduce the verb 'like' , for example, playing the I LIKE IT!  game.

And once your kids have got confident with the vocabulary, you can also set up a little make-believe market with fake money (using numbers from 1 to 10) to start teaching more complex expressions like 'I would like…' , 'May / Can I have…' 'how much is it?' 'Here you are' etc.

This book also includes a CD you can use to do some listening drills. 

Actually it contains lively sounds and my pupils enjoyed it very much.

Word Chain - Activity to help children learn vocabulary

This game is challenging enough to perform with any  group of children of any age. And it's useful if you want to review some vocabulary you've previously introduced.

First of all, we must choose a topic. This morning I was reviewing the parts of the body with a little girl. I started saying: "I have got a head, pointing to my head".

Then she had to repeated what I said and add another body part: "I have got a head and two hands". 

When it came my turn again I repeated "I have got a head, two hands" and I added "10 fingers". Then she said: "I have got a head, two hands, ten fingers and…" etc.

The game can last several minutes if the level of attention is good.

If someone forgets the sequence you can put him out of the game or start again with a new chain.

You can combine different verbs and topics 
"I like chicken" , "I like chicken and..."
"I can play tennis", " I can play tennis and..."
"I'm tall", " I'm tall and..."
etc.

When I played this game with 4-5 year-old children I placed flash cards on the floor to help them remember words.

Enjoy it!

More games: 

THE WORD EATING SNAKE  
I LIKE IT! A GAME   
JUMPING IN AND OUT OF SHAPES

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WORD CHAIN - Una actividad oral para ayudar a los niños a aprender vocabulario

Este es un juego que reta mucho a los niños y consecuentemente consigue centrar su atención durante mucho tiempo.

Como primera cosa hay que elegir un 'topic'.
Si estáis revisando las partes del cuerpo se puede empezar diciendo:"I have got a head" señalando vuestra cabeza.

El estudiante seguirá diciendo: "I have got a head and 2 hands".
El siguiente dirá: "I have got a head, 2 hands and ten fingers".
Otro repetirá todo lo dicho añadiendo una ulterior parte del cuerpo y a seguir hasta que alguien falle.

Evidentemente las posibles combinaciones son varias:

"I like chicken" , "I like chicken and..."

"I can play tennis", " I can play tennis and..."

"I'm tall", " I'm tall and..."

etc.

Si queréis jugar con niños de 4-5 años, mejor ayudarles con 'flash cards', puestas en el suelo o la mesa en el orden en que se nombran.

Más juegos: 

THE WORD EATING SNAKE  

I LIKE IT! A GAME   

JUMPING IN AND OUT OF SHAPES

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

Writing Tip nº4: THE FAIRY-TALE SALAD

If you've been reading my latest posts about books, you would certainly have  noticed a common theme (imprint?): the fact that some characters of a fairy tale, in some way, land in another one and meet its protagonist, giving birth to new tales or even novels.

It's the case of Hansel and Gretel in Gidwitz's book 'A Tale Dark and Grimm', but also of 'Witch Hazel' who moves from the story of Snow White to Hansel and Gretel.

But he most famous example, I can think of, is certainly the story of the ogre 'Shrek': a worldwide known case of fairy-tale salad.

Chapter twenty of 'The Grammar of Fantasy' by Gianni Rodari talks about this possibility of mixing different fairy tales to create new adventures and new developments of old and well-known stories. 

It's interesting because young readers have to deeply know the characters' inner worlds and the landscapes they move in to do this experiment of literature.

It's a good excuse for an accurate text analysis.

So, let your children think about what could happen if Little Red Riding Hood met Tom Thumb in the wood and if Pinocchio arrived at Granny's house: the Wolf would get every single tooth of his mouth completely destroyed!

WRITING TIP NUMBER 5

WRITING TIP NUMBER 3

WRITING TIP NUMBER 2

WRITING TIP NUMBER 1

WITCH HAZEL by Enric Lluch

Witch Hazel

Witch Hazel is a little bored of poisoning apples in the Snow White tale and decides to visit Witch Bosslady to be relocated.

She is definitively a peculiar witch. She lands with her broom in the airport and uses the bus. She loves squid sandwiches, pays for the apples she's going to fill with a ton of poison and doesn't like arguments. She suffers chilblains and is very greedy.

Bossy Witch relocates her in Hansel and Gretel's story because the witch in charge is ill. Witch Hazel has to read the book to know what to do and finally she flies towards the chocolate house. 

For a little while everything happens according to the story we all know. Hansel is being kept prisoner in a cage and Gretel is going to light the oven. 

Due to the heat coming from the oven, the house starts to melt and… that's it! Witch Hazel manages to completely mess up Hansel and Gretel's tale because… she read only half the book!!!

Not a scary witch at all, is she? 

Edited by Algar Editorial, this incredibly illustrated book is part of a collection of ten titles called The Chest Full of Monsters where you'll find, besides Witch Hazel, all those creepy creatures, who usually scare our young readers, presented in a humorous way and unusual situations.  

For a more interactive experience The Witch, The Vampire, The Bogeyman and the Zombie are available for iPad too. You'll be able to choose among five languages, English, German, French, Spanish and Catalan, and also, to record your voice while reading it: it could be an alternative solution to teach pronunciation.

The publishing house gives us the opportunity to try The Zombie for free.

Don't miss it!

Some Witchy Printables