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SENTENCE BUILDING |
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INSTRUCTIONS |
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1 |
Give each student a word
from a phrase you have in mind. Point to the first
student and say THERE. Point to the second student
and say IS etc until you have built up a sentence e.g.
THERE IS AN APPLE ON THE TABLE. |
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2 |
Point to the first
student again and elicit THERE. Then to each student
in turn to make up the sentence. |
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3 |
Repeat 2 so that the
sentence is more fluid. |
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4 |
Now ask the class, "Can
anyone remember all of that?" Encourage, help and
congratulate. |
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5 |
Allow others to say the
whole sentence too. There will be plenty of
volunteers. |
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RATIONALE |
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1 |
The Bob Wilson Method
posits that children are hard-wired to learn and
pick up syntaxis and language rules. This is why
this method is called holistic as opposed to metacognitive
like phonics for example. |
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2 |
And so, sentence
building gives them examples of language structures
that they internalise naturally. |
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3 |
Sentence builiding is a
great way to teach vocabulary as well as question
formation and other grammatically complex
structures. |
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4 |
Teach them real and
useful utterances such as ANA ISN'T HERE TODAY or
YEAH, THAT'S REALLY COOL. |
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5 |
Teach them trememdous
set pieces such as ONCE UPON A TIME. |
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6 |
I often hear teachers
complain about poor listening skills among their
student.. When they
play this game, they learn how to listen intently! |
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SPELLING CHALLENGE |
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INSTRUCTIONS |
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1 |
Put two chairs back to
back in front of the class. Ask for two volunteers
to sit in the chairs. |
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2 |
Tell the two students to
close their eyes. |
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3 |
Spell out a word e.g.
B.L.U.E. |
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4 |
The first of the two
students to say the word wins. |
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5 |
You can play best of
three, winner stays on. Later you can have a
champions' league. |
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RATIONALE |
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1 |
With English it is very
useful to help students to visualize letters and
words in their minds. |
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2 |
English spelling is very
irregular and so phonetic rules have only a limited
use. This game helps students own their vocabulary
and to make a strong link between spelling and the
sound of the word. |
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3 |
This game is hugely
popular among the students and so creates very
positive emotions towards the subject. |
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4 |
This is a fun way to
prepare students for any upcoming vocab tests they
might be facing. |
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STORY TIME, ACTING OUT and RETELLING |
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STORY TIME |
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1 |
Telling stories is a
primeval human activity and children love it! |
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2 |
I use classic fairy
tales. They tend to involve animals and are packed
with hidden meanings that children enjoy detecting.
I have been using story books from the Ladybird read
it yourself series. I picked up the box set cheap in
TK Maxx. It is also easy to tell these tales from
memory and you can ask children to close their eyes
and imagine a big castle etc. |
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3 |
This year I am using
traditional African folk tales and next year I will
choose tales from another culture. Aesop's fables
are also marvellous. |
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4 |
Interact with your
audience. For example, in a story from Africa I keep
asking the children, "What sound do lions make?"
which is followed by a huge and glorious roar from
the crowd. You hand signals to get them to respond.
Pantomime techniques are fantastic. We tell the
story together. |
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5 |
To improve your
storytelling technique, watch this great storyteller
Zinse
Agginie
https://youtu.be/gIk7ppDMKRg |
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ACTING OUT |
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1 |
Ask for some volunteers
to help you act out the story in front of the class.
Help them find the language they need. |
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2 |
Then allow small teams
some minutes to prepare their own versions of the
story. Next, everyone sits back to enjoy people's
interpretation of the story. |
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3 |
Note down key phrases
which emerge from the story in order to practise
them with the students and use them in a script. In
this way, the students will develop a repertoire of
key phrases for the story. |
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RETELLING |
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1 |
Ask for two or three
volunteers to come to the front of the class and
retell the story. Feed them with language when they
seem to need it. |
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2 |
This is a fantastic
activity for getting them using the past e.g. "and
then the lion said..." and also real life
interjections and connectors such as SO, |
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3 |
Do this activity often
and watch them develop their speech. Also, the shy
ones will get braver and everybody will gain
confidence. |
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MUSICAL STATUES |
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INSTRUCTIONS |
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1 |
Tell the students that
when they hear the music, they have to be an angry
teacher or a fast rabbit or a crocodile swimming in
the river etc |
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2 |
When the music stops,
they must freeze because if they move they will have
to go and sit down. |
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3 |
A shy student who
doesn't want to join in can tell you what the
students have to do eg be a very old person. |
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4 |
This is a fun way to
prepare students for any upcoming vocab tests they
might be facing. |
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RATIONALE |
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1 |
This is a great
listening exercise. |
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2 |
They get the chance to
be creative. |
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3 |
The students can end the
session on a high note. |
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