LET`S GO FOR ENGLISH IN 100 FUN WAYS by Yasna Yilorm

Transcription

LET'S GO FOR ENGLISH
IN 100 FUN WAYS
by Yasna Yilorm Barrientos
Illustrated by Chilean children
Valentina and Gabriela
by Yasna Yilorm Barrientos
Illustrated by Chilean children
1
PÁGINA LEGAL
© Primera edición, Yasna Yilorm Barrientos, 2015.
Editorial Universitaria
Calle 23 No. 565 e/ F y G, Vedado, La Habana, Cuba.
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: http://eduniv.mes.edu.cu
Teléfono: (+537) 837 4538
e ISBN (PDF) 978-959-16-2915-9
ISBN (IaP) 978-959-16-2916-6
Editorial Review Board:
Dr. Ashley Hastings, Shenandoah University
M.S María-Teresa Poblete, Universidad Austral de Chile
M.S Rosemary Painter, Shenandoah University
M.S Emily Miller.
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Yasna Yilorm Barrientos
Licenciada y Profesora de inglés de la Universidad Austral de Chile. Máster en
Ciencias de la Educación, con mención en la enseñanza del inglés a hablantes de otras
lenguas, de la Universidad de Shenandoah, EEUU. Actualmente, candidata a Doctor en
Ciencias Pedagógicas en la Universidad de Matanzas, Cuba. Su línea de investigación está
relacionada con la propuesta de estrategias didácticas desarrolladoras para el proceso de
enseñanza aprendizaje del inglés como lengua extranjera en escuelas públicas chilenas con
estudiantes socialmente vulnerables. Es Académico de la Universidad Austral de Chile en
Valdivia. Imparte asignaturas relacionadas con la Didáctica de la Especialidad y, a su vez,
coordina y supervisa las prácticas pedagógicas de la carrera de Pedagogía en Comunicación
en Lengua Inglesa.
Ha ejercido desde 1995 como profesora de inglés en diversos contextos educacionales.
Desde el año 2004 hasta el 2007 se desempeñó como educadora cultural y profesora de
español como lengua extranjera en diversas escuelas primarias públicas del Condado de
Loudoun en Virginia, EEUU. En el año 2005 fué nominada al premio “Cultural Educator
Year Award” del Programa de Intercambio Cultural VIF (Visiting International Faculty
Program). En el año 2009 se hace cargo de la asignatura “Teaching English to Children”, y
desde entonces ha sido invitada a diversas universidades y a jornadas de capacitación para
profesores de inglés, organizadas por el Ministerio de Educación Chileno.
En el año 2006, como estudiante de la Maestría en Ciencias de la Educación, la autora inicia
una investigación acción participativa, basada en el uso de los juegos en el aula, con
estudiantes latinoamericanos en Los Estados Unidos. Los resultados indicaron que a través
de estrategias lúdicas, los niños pueden mejorar notoriamente el dominio de la lengua
inglesa. Además, se comprobó que el afecto y el sentido del humor constituyen
componentes esenciales para dicho logro.
Después de que la autora acumulara una amplia experiencia en Bélgica, Cuba, Chile y
Estados Unidos, pudo comparar, como estudiante, profesora e investigadora, los diferentes
sistemas educacionales y los procesos de enseñanza aprendizaje del inglés como lengua
extranjera. La principal conclusión que se extrae ha sido que para lograr desarrollar la
competencia comunicativa de los niños, así como también su personalidad, se requiere de
cambios metodológicos profundos y urgentes en el proceso de enseñanza aprendizaje de la
lengua inglesa en el sistema escolar chileno.
Acerca de la obra
Let’s Go for English in 100 Fun Ways contiene 100 actividades interactivas y lúdicas
diseñadas e implementadas bajo diversas prácticas pedagógicas comunicativas conducentes
a la adquisición de la lengua inglesa y al desarrollo de la personalidad de los escolares. El
libro contiene 5 secciones diferentes: I. Estrategias de convivencia escolar, II. Juegos y
actividades internacionales, III. Memorias de la infancia, IV. Proyectos educativos, y
finalmente, V. Nuevas propuestas.
Esta obra presenta los resultados de un trabajo de observación, de diseño e implementación
en establecimientos educacionales de varios años, tanto en Chile como en el extranjero,
proceso en el cual se trabajó con un promedio de 950 estudiantes. En él se comprueba que
los juegos, las canciones, las rimas, la magia, el suspenso, la sorpresa, las mímicas, las
experiencias culturales, las consignas, y el empleo material didáctico multisensorial son
estrategias viables y efectivas en el contexto escolar chileno, el cual requiere urgente transformaciones. En palabras de José Marti, “[...] es urgente poner en la educación más
sentimientos” (1886).
El objetivo principal de este libro es proveer a los profesores que estén interesados y
dispuestos a innovar, una serie de actividades lúdicas que permitan que todos los miembros
del proceso de enseñanza aprendizaje sean comunicadores activos, con valores y gran
sentido del humor. A su vez, se espera que estas propuestas también incentiven a los
profesores a desarrollar sus niveles de motivación, creando sus propias actividades y/o
adaptando las que aquí se proponen. Las actividades sugeridas pueden también ser
utilizadas por los profesoras de otras asignaturas, por lo cual existe la intención de traducir
la obra al español.
Cada actividad va acompañada de sugerencias para los profesores, comentarios y dibujos
emitidos por los niños, los cuales contribuyen no solo a conocer lo que los escolares piensan acerca de las innovaciones, sino que además, ayudan a comprender las actividades y
la forma en que se pueden implementar.
El libro fue revisado y editado por un comité editorial compuesto por profesores de inglés
chilenos, norteamericanos y cubanos de vasta trayectoria y el prólogo fue escrito por el
creator del enfoque metodológico por competencias comunicativas FOCAL SKILLS, Dr.
Ahsley Hastings.
Cabe mencionar que estas 100 actividades fueron aplicadas durante la investigación acción
participativa de mi tesis doctoral, la cual propone una estrategia didactica desarrolladora
para el proceso de enseñanza aprendizaje de la lengua inglesa en escuelas públicas con
estudiantes socialmente vulnerable, y con mucha satisfacción puedo afirmar que los
resultados obtenidos son significativos.
Como toda obra humana, ésta ha sido creada con la colaboración de muchas personas a las
cuales hoy agradezco con infinito amor: al Ministerio de Educación Superior de la
República de Cuba por valorar mi trabajo y publicarlo a través de su Editorial Universitaria,
al comité editorial que contribuyó a perfeccionar este trabajo, a los establecimientos
escolares valdivianos que me abrieron las puertas de sus aulas, a todos los niños que participaron con tanto estusiamo y alegría, a mis estudiantes de la carrera de Pedagogía
en Comunicación en Lengua Inglesa por su permanente colaboración, y muy especialmente
a mi amada familia por su eterna compañía y fuente de inspiración.
“Nuestros niños están motivados. Estas innovaciones metodológicas son
claves para lograr un mejor sistema educacional y un mejor país.”
“Our children are motivated. These methodological innovations are
essential to reach a better educational system and a better country.”
(Parent, personal communication, 2012)
With infinite love and gratitude,
To my beloved husband Richard
To my dearly loved daughters Valentina and Gabriela
To my loving parents and family
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Acknowledgements
First of all, I would like to greatly acknowledge and show my true
respect to the members of the Editorial Review Board: Dr. Ashley Hastings,
M.S Rosemary Painter, M.S María-Teresa Poblete and M.S Emily Miller for
contributing to improve the final version of this personal and professional
project with their valuable expertise and proofreading. My special thanks
to Dr. Ashley Hastings for his teaching and constant support and for
accepting to write the forward of this activity book. It is a true and honor
and a privilege.
My most heartfelt thanks to my dearly loved daughters Valentina
and Gabriela, the treasures of my life for their indescribable love, which
was my source of inspiration at all times. For his ever-lasting love, support
and company, my deepest appreciation to my soul-mate, my friend and
beloved husband Richard. Without the help and support of my family, I
would not have been able to accomplish my dream of making a
contribution to the teaching of English as a foreign language in Chile.
I owe immense debt of gratitude to my dear parents Juan and
Mania for their unconditional love. I especially extend them my deepest
thanks for the innumerable values they have taught me throughout my
life, for showing me the wonderful path of generosity and sensibility for all
human beings, especially for those who are in need, and for encouraging
me to become a committed teacher who feels passionate about teaching
English to children. I am also very grateful to all my family for their
tremendous affect and support.
To all the school principals, teachers, parents and students from
Valdivia, Chile and Sterling, USA who generously allowed me to enter their
classrooms and apply the activities suggested in this book, my deepest
gratitude.
I am particularly indebted to Chilean children who participated in
this project with their meaningful comments and wonderful drawings
that did not only embellish this piece of creation but also provided
important amounts of comprehensible input for the readers. A big and
special thank you to my dear students at Angachilla School for their love
and constant support.
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I also would like to show my gratitude to all of my students from the
English program at Universidad Austral de Chile, who helped me apply
some of the suggested activities in their classrooms, especially to MaríaConsuelo Valencia, María-Paz Díaz, Daniela Bennett, Catherine Vergara,
Katherine Zuber, Javier Zuñiga, Sebastián Avilés, Constanza Ramos, Juan
Ramón Illanes and Antonio Ojeda for their affect and immense support
with comment transcription, glossary and reference list. I also sincerely
thank my colleague Savanna Larsen and my student María-Consuelo
Valencia for their valuable assistance in this book editing.
To all of you, thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Yasna.
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Foreword
Introduction
I. Classroom Management Strategies
1. What about going to the movies?
20
2. It is your choice
22
3. Let’s go home
24
4. Student of the week
27
5. My surprise box
30
6. English suitcase
33
7. Silent cheering
37
8. Today’s menu
39
9. Golden rules
41
10. 1, 2, 3 Eyes on me!
44
11. Whose turn is it?
47
12. Gathering
49
13. Welcome back
52
II. International Games and Activities
1. Yarn web
55
2. Hot potato
58
3. 7-UP
60
4. Magic finger
63
5. Fly swatting
66
6
6. Telephone
68
7. Bingo
71
8. Go for a seat
73
9. Let’s go fishing
75
10. Four corners
77
11. Which one is missing?
80
12. Looking for my match
82
13. Around the world
84
14. Find someone who
86
15. Read my mind
89
16. Survival
91
17. London bridge
93
18. The roulette
95
19. Stretching words
97
20. Winding yarn
99
21. Moving around
101
22. Go for it!
105
23. Follow the leader
107
24. Happy birthday!
109
25. 20 years after…
112
26. All about you
115
27. Who am I?
117
28. Story writing
119
29. What about a cookie?
122
30. Looking for a star
125
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31. Act it out
128
32. Ball tossing
131
33. Guess who it is
133
34. Which one is false?
135
35. KWL charts
137
36. Who is next?
140
37. Lets celebrate!
143
38. Rhyming words
146
39. Can you guess?
148
40. How about me?
151
41. What about you?
153
III. Chilhood Memories
1. Blind hen
157
2. Let’s play in the woods
159
3. Finger spelling
162
4. Payaya
164
5. Azucarcandia
167
6. Hula hoop
170
7. TIC-TAC-TOE
173
8. Hide and seek
175
9. Picking up sticks
177
10. Sea, earth and air
180
11. Raffle
183
12. Jumping rope
186
13. 1, 2, 3 Freeze
189
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14. Rock, paper, scissors
191
15. Darting chart
193
16. Hangman
195
17. STOP!
197
18. Marco Polo
200
19. Hot, warm or cold?
202
20. Don’t say ‘NO’, don’t say ‘YES’!
204
IV. Projects
1. Performing tunes
207
2. Announcements
210
3. Making a ladybug
213
4. DEAR
216
5. It’s English Day!
219
6. Travelling around the world
224
7. Bulletin boards
230
8. English is everywhere
232
9. Are you voting?
234
10. International Night
236
V. New Proposals
5.1 Classroom Management Strategies
1. Who is present?
240
2. Yes, you CAN
243
3. Shhhh, be quiet
245
4. Harvest time
247
5. Team time
249
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6. Lights, camera and action!
251
5.2 Games
1. Just look at me!
254
2. Treasure hunt
257
3. Wind up your robot
260
4. True or False?
262
5. Tapping
265
5.3 Interactive Activities
1. Let’s cheer up!
268
2. Clapping hand greeting
270
3. Find my match!
272
4. Back spelling
274
5. Magic bag
276
Glossary
278
References
286
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Foreword
Dr. Stephen Krashen, the renowned language educator, frequently
states that language teaching is easy, in theory: all you have to do is
present your students with interesting comprehensible input. However, he
adds, this is not so easy in practice. In fact, it is the main challenge facing
every teacher who wishes to use natural techniques to promote true
language acquisition.
How language input can best be made both comprehensible and
interesting depends to a great extent on the teaching context. My own
experience has been exclusively with international students studying
English in colleges and universities in the United States. Therefore, when I
attempt to train others to teach English in environments with which I am
not familiar, the best I can do is to explain the theory of language
acquisition, demonstrate the techniques that I have found to work in my
own teaching, and then encourage them to apply the theory to their own
teaching situations, with my techniques serving as examples to keep in
mind rather than as models to imitate.
In this book, my former student Yasna Yilorm has created a brilliant
and beautiful set of teaching materials that perfectly illustrate the
approach I have always advocated. Her lesson ideas are rich in
opportunities for generating comprehensible input, and the activities
described are intrinsically interesting. Most wonderfully, to me at least,
these materials are so cleverly tailored to their intended audience that they
almost transport me to a Chilean elementary school classroom. Indeed, I
almost feel that I can see the faces of the children as they enjoy the
lessons.
Every activity in this book is described and explained in enough
detail to give teachers a definite sense of direction and purpose, but with
ample scope for individual adaptations and improvisations. There is great
ingenuity (for example, the use of flyswatters with flash cards) along with
careful attention to practical matters (for example, the reminder that
students are not to swat each other).
Not surprisingly, the students who participated in the field trials of
these materials were delighted, as their comments (quoted on almost every
page) attest: “Me gustó,” “Muy entretenido,” and similar expressions of
pleasure are positive proof that the materials are successful, for children
do not enjoy things that they find boring or incomprehensible.
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In my opinion, this book has the potential to inspire excellent
English language teaching, not only in Chile, but indeed wherever English
is taught to children.
Ashley Hastings
December 7, 2014
12
Introduction
I have been deeply in love with teaching throughout my whole life.
When I was a little girl, I spent most of my time playing at being a teacher;
probably because I grew up surrounded by educators: my mother, my
sister, my grandparents, my aunts, uncles, cousins, close friends and, last
but not least; my great grandfather: Pedro Antonio, who lived for more
than a century and devoted his life to education in rural areas in the
South of Chile. In some way or another, all of them generously showed me
their passion, love and respect for the teaching profession.
Travelling also became part of my life at an early age. I was four
years old when I had to leave my country as a political refugee. Meeting
new people, exploring different cultures and experiencing the cruelest
forms of racism greatly impacted my life. I quickly understood how
necessary communicating in a foreign language is and how wonderful
diversity can be once cultural shock1 is over.
As a teacher of English, I have had the priviledge to work with a
great variety of students: different ages, countries, socio-economic
backgrounds, learning styles, needs and interests. Each experience has
been tremendously valuable. However, I am particularly thankful for
having worked as a VIF (Visiting International Faculty Program) educator
for Loudoun County Public Schools. Before leaving my country, I was
aware changes in the Chilean EFL (English as a Foreign Language)
classrooms were necessary. Now, I strongly believe “[c]hange is inevitable”
(Richard Amato; 2003, p. 1).
Hopefully, this book will provide you with 100 interactive and playful
activities under innovative communicative methods and approaches meant
to motivate students and gradually lead them to L2 (second language)
acquisition. They have also been designed to facilitate EFL educators’ job
and encourage them to strengthen their skills as natural teachers. After
observing, designing, applying, and adapting, all of the activities suggested
in this book were implemented in different educational settings from
Valdivia and Futrono: 13 public schools, 9 subsidized schools, 3 private
schools, 2 universities, 2 summer schools and 2 FOCAL SKILLS groups for
children and adults. In total, 950 students participated, at least, in one
1
All the underlined concepts are defined in the glossary at the end of the book.
13
activity and provided their feedback through comments and drawings. The
majority of the participants were students from elementary schools.
However, high school students, university students and adults’
perceptions were also included so as to let the readers know that these
activities can be perfectly adapted to all students’ ages, English levels and
contents, as long as we consider their needs and interests.
The book is divided into 5 different sections: I) Classroom
Management Strategies, II) International Games and Activities, III)
Childhood Memories, Projects and IV) New Proposals. Every chapter offers
a set of games, songs, rhymes, magic tricks, acting out exercises, cultural
and interactive experiences, suspense and surprise effects, hurrays, and
multisensory teaching materials. I strongly recommend readers to focus on
suggestions. All of them were written after implementing the activities in
different educational buildings from Chile. The book also displays pictures
drawn by Chilean children. These do not only provide great amounts of
comprehensible input, but also illustrate their own understanding of each
activity and reveal what is really relevant for them in an English
classroom: body language, close relationships, teamwork, classroom
arrangement, teaching materials, students and teacher’s roles, and most
importantly, a safe and joyful place where humour, happiness and rules
play a significant role. Students’ comments reflect their enthusiasm for
learning, their flexibility to welcome innovations and their positive and
open attitudes towards life and educational contexts. Playing games,
sharing and interacting are definitely their favourite activities; which
proves students do not only enjoy natural experiences, but also appreciate
precious moments in which they can learn through having fun.
Personally, I think the use of games to learn English is very useful. It
attracts students who are not interested in English lessons. It
creates a more playful, relaxed and free environment that does not
cause fatigue and does not require previous knowledge either (6th
grader, personal communication, 2013)2.
Classroom management strategies in section I are first introduced as
research in the Chilean context has proven that a solid and positive
classroom management plan is absolutely required to effectively apply
2 “Personalmente, creo que el uso de juegos para aprender inglés es muy útil. Atrae a los
estudiantes que no están interesados en las clases de inglés. Crea un ambiente más
lúdico, relajado y libre que no causa fatiga ni tampoco requiere de conocimiento previo”
14
these activities. “Classroom management activities helped us pay
attention. Therefore, our lesson was more organized and effective” (6th
grader, personal communication, 2013)3. Contrary to what we expect,
children understand, value and appreciate rules and limits. “I love lessons
when we all behave” (7th graders, personal communication, 2013)4.
Students enjoy being part of classroom decisions and once they are
familiar with rules, they respect them and even force others to do so as
well.
International games and activities in section II were first observed
and applied while working with children as a FLES (Foreign Language
Elementary School) teacher for Loudoun County Public Schools and as a
TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of other Languages) student at
Shenandoah University. Sharing activities with colleagues in a positive and
relaxed environment and observing their performance, are the best
learning experiences I had as a teacher. Thanks to their feedback and
suggestions, my students and I could greatly benefit from FLES lessons.
Learning the basics in FLES really helped me in high school Spanish
courses. We used to talk about the weather and do calendar
activities. We would play Simon Says, Bingo and Seven Up. Even
though it wasn't formal learning, it was still educational
(Meadowland Elementary School student, personal communication,
2013).
Childhood memories in section III stand for special moments in my
life in which playing simply meant happiness, in spite of all the difficulties
my family and country were going through. While sharing games I would
play when I was a child, I could feel children’s sincere empathy. Their level
of interest surprisingly increased just because I was involved in the story I
was telling. Our magic bag was hand-made and was my first attempt to
knit the Telar Mapuche; therefore, it was not the best one, but for my kids,
it was “just perfect”, and they would really enjoy playing with it. When love
is part of your teaching, students are more open to listen and learn from
you. “Games create a pleasant atmosphere where positive emotions and
3 “Las actividades de manejo de curso nos ayudaron a prestar atención. Por lo tanto,
nuestra clase fue más organizada y efectiva”
4
“Me encantan las clases donde nos portamos bien”
15
cooperation facilitate learning” (adult student, personal communication,
2012)5.
In section IV, you can find several projects to be applied inside and
outside the school. Students highly value events in which they can get in
contact with other children, teachers and members of different educational
communities. “We had the chance to visit many countries. Studying
English through music, customs, and food allows us a better
understanding of school contents” (1st grade university student, personal
communication; 2009)6. Projects are fantastic opportunities for learners to
become more curious, open-minded, flexible and more creative. Apart from
enjoying costumes, music, dances and arts and crafts, parents also greatly
appreciate when people visit the school and bring in innovations. “All these
activities have created an eagerness to learn the Spanish language and
respect for other cultures and traditions” (parent, personal
communication, 2006). Projects can definitely strengthen school values
and principles, develop students’ multiple intelligences, social skills,
cultural awareness and self-confidence, as well as unify the school
community.
The last section contains a few proposals to strengthen teachers’
classroom management plan and add more games and interactive
activities to their teaching kits. It is worth mentioning that this book is one
of the results of my doctoral classroom research in which most of these
activities were applied in a public school from Valdivia, under the
implementation of an adapted version of the listening module of the
FOCAL SKILLS Approach. According to research, the impact of these ideas
on motivation and academic achievements is truly promising. At the end of
the research, most of the students could increase their listening skills and,
as a consequence, could gradually produce short and simple phrases and
sentences in a natural way. In the same way, most of them showed
significant signs of interest towards the English language. “If we have
friends from other countries, we will be able to communicate with them in
English” (eighth grader, personal communication, 2014)7. As a final
5 “Los juegos crean un ambiente donde las emociones y la cooperación facilitan el
aprendizaje”
6 “Tuvimos la oportunidad de visitar muchos países. Estudiar inglés a través de la
música, las costumbres y la comida nos da una mejor comprensión de los contenidos”
7
“Si tenemos amigos en otros países, podremos comunicarnos con ellos en inglés”
16
conclusion, it is possible to state that acquisition can absolutely occur in a
country where English is taught and studied as a foreign language, as long
as teachers provide a ‘natural’ environment.
General Suggestions
1. Whenever you see a concept that is underlined, look for its meaning in
the glossary at the end of the book.
2. Activities should be brief and varied enough to take advantage of
students’ attention span at all times.
3. Suspense and surprise effects to introduce activities can wonderfully
impact students’ levels of attention and participation.
4. Always ask for volunteers first, try not to force speaking in order to
respect your students’ silent periods. If you need to do so, use strategies to
make them feel comfortable and at ease. However, since children love
playing, it is very probable that they will all ask for a turn at the same
time. Organize turns appropriately and take profit of students’ high levels
of motivation and interest to strengthen your classroom management plan.
Give turns to students who show good character first.
5. Teams can be divided in different ways: boys and girls, flags, soccer
teams, bands and/or school contents (colors, numbers, days of the week,
etc…). Choose a team captain to help organize teamwork and have
captains rotate.
6. Hyperactive students as well as those who are not willing to participate
can highly benefit from being scorekeepers or leaders while playing at
being the teacher. Share your power and delegate.
7. In each activity, you can encourage, not force, students to produce
longer or more complex statements in order to reach i + 1 learning zone.
8. Provide all instructions and examples through comprehensible input
strategies. Modeling always works well.
9. Encourage healthy competition and develop your students’ empathy.
This is a long process but results will show your students can finally feel
happiness for those who are more successful and help classmates who are
not very good at a specific skill. No matter the results, always give students
a round of applause.
17
10. When playing games in which luck is involved, praise students once
they have called out the answer.
11. Use or make multisensory teaching materials that can reinforce your
own contents, but also school and/or cross curricular ones. When
possible, laminate your pictures to protect them from being destroyed.
Most importantly, teach your students they have to take care of teaching
materials.
12. Flashcards are very effective. Students love them mainly because they
provide comprehensible input. However, it is also necessary to review the
same words through strategies that match different learning styles.
13. Sticky tak is always recommended when working with flashcards. It is
clean, reusable and easy to handle. Be always ready before starting your
class and/or have helpers to make tiny tak balls to be placed on the
flashcards. Also, ask for help at the end of the class to clean the board and
organize teaching materials.
14. When using Communicative Teaching Practices, EFL classrooms
become noisier. To avoid negative reactions, check your classroom
management plan with the students before starting the activity so that
they are aware of misbehavior consequences. Also talk with the school
community so as not to interrupt other lessons.
15. Be firm and apply your classroom management plan to the dot.
However, let your students know that there is always a chance to improve
wrong behavior. Stickers, stamps, coupons and diplomas are great.
Nonetheless, a round of applause and verbal compliments are as valuable
as other tools.
16. Develop and use strategies for classroom arrangement. Students will
get used to routines more easily and will save time to get organized.
17. Incorporate parents or relatives in your activities. At first, one or two
parents will eventually attend. Do not give up. Keep on trying. Also, inform
them of your classroom management plan so that they can help you
reinforce it at home. Also invite them to prepare teaching materials.
18
Classroom Management Strategies
19
What about going to the movies?
“To be motivated to learn, students need both ample opportunities to learn and steady
encouragement and support of their learning efforts” (Thanasoulas, 2002, p.3).
Teaching Materials
A fishbowl, popcorn seeds, a scoop
Getting Ready
1. Make a big flashcard with a picture of a popcorn container from the
movie theatre.
2. To create suspense in the classroom, turn the flashcard slowly and ask
students: Would you like to go the movies? (A positive reaction is
expected).
3. Place popcorn seeds, your fishbowl and the scoop on the table.
Instructions for Students
1. Whenever you do a good job, you will earn three scoops of popcorn and I
will start filling up the bowl; if I have to warn you, you will receive only two
scoops, and if you have more than one warning, I will give you only one
scoop.
2. When the fishbowl is totally filled up with popcorn seeds, we will be able
to enjoy a movie in English.
Suggestions
1. Depending on your goals and interests as a teacher, the prize can also
be an English party, a field trip and/or a lesson outdoors, among other
possibilities.
2. You can also work, for example, with marbles, small yarn balls, or foam
shapes. All of them should be small and visible.
3. While watching the movie in English, it is highly recommended that you
use the MovieTalk technique to help your students understand what they
are watching.
4. If students do not behave well, you can also take scoops away from the
bowl. This strategy is helpful for students to understand that individual
behavior can impact the group in positive or negative ways.
20
5. This classroom management strategy should be used as an on-going
activity so that the fishbowl is completely filled up. However, make sure
progress is visible. If students don’t see the amount increase, they may
wonder if the goal will ever be reached and have high levels of frustration.
Depending on how fast you want to reach your goal, you can have different
sized fishbowls.
6. If you do not have a fishbowl, you may use any container. It should be
transparent so that children can see their progress.
7. The container should not be made of glass. It could break and cause
accidents.
Source: Loudoun County Public School Elementary Teachers, Virginia, USA (2004-2007).
Students’ Perceptions
Laura
“Muy creativa la idea de la pecera con los porotos, porque nos
incentiva a ganar un premio, y así nos portamos mejor.”
Brandon
“Si, es bueno porque es innovador.”
Leonardo
6to básico
Escuela Adventista
Valdivia, Chile, 2011
21
It’s your choice!
“. . . effective teachers can prevent all discipline problems by keeping students interested in
learning through the use of exciting classroom materials and activities” (Long and Frye,
1989, p.3).
Teaching Materials
A set of flashcards with letters
Getting Ready
1. Prepare a set of flashcards with letters that will spell the word you are
aiming to teach; in this case, the chosen word is BINGO.
2. Tell students that you have 5 letters hidden in a bag.
3. Have them guess. As they say the right letters, place them on the board
in the correct order to form your word.
1. To play BINGO, we need to have all of the letters on the board. Every
time classroom rules are not respected, a letter will be removed.
2. If your behavior improves, one, two and even all the letters can be
earned back, and then we can play the game.
Suggestions
1. Students should be encouraged to guess the word as letters are being
placed on the board. This is a great opportunity to practice the ABCs.
2. Of course, if you do not have flashcards, you can write the word with a
piece of chalk or a marker and delete letters with an eraser.
3. I suggest Bingo because it is very popular among students, but you can
certainly write the name of any other fun activity your students really
enjoy.
4. You can also ask students which game they would like to play at the
end of the class. Write that activity on the board accordingly.
5. It is also recommended that you write a vocabulary word related to the
content you are teaching (e.g.banana if you are teaching fruit). This will
encourage content-area vocabulary knowledge.
22
6. Do not forget to give students a chance to improve their behavior. If you
make it too difficult to gain a letter back, and the students are not being
allowed to play the game, it will be really frustrating.
7. Be consistent and do not feel bad if students have not completed all the
letters. You can continue trying next class.
Source: Loudoun County Public School Elementary School Teachers, Virginia, USA (20042007)
“Yo opino que la actividad estuvo bien porque así cada compañero
medía su comportamiento.”
Millaray
“La actividad me pareció muy entretenida ya que tenía el premio de
jugar y aprendíamos con ella.”
Mauricio
8vo básico
Escuela Angachilla
23
Let’s go home!
“Teachers and parents negotiate the boundaries of their respective responsibilities,
sometimes through overt and explicit means, sometimes with subtle nuances of language
and interpersonal behavior” (Miller, 2003, p.3).
Teaching Materials
A doll, teddy bear or a puppet, a piece of paper, a ribbon, a bag
Getting Ready
1. Cut a piece of paper and write a brief biography of your toy (name,
country of origin, age and hobbies). Cut the piece of paper into a strip and
wrap it around one of the toy’s fists like a bracelet.
2. Tell students you will introduce them to a new toy friend. Give the new
toy friend a name and ask students to call out the name and persuade
them to come out of the bag.
3. Take your toy out of the bag and introduce it to the class.
4. After revealing the toy to children, read them the message.
1. Every Friday, a well-behaved student will be able to take the toy home
and introduce it to their family. The toy is expected to be back on Monday.
Suggestions
1. You will need to organize turns so that every student in the class can
take the toy home during the school year. If you run out of time and
everyone does not get the chance to take it home, some students could feel
really sad. This could have a negative effect on children’s EFL acquisition
process since their affective filter could increase.
2. Some very well-behaved students might feel discouraged if it takes a
while for them to be able to take the toy home. Always be conscious of this
possibility and, if necessary, consider children’s personality traits when
selecting a student. Students who suffer from higher levels of anxiety can
feel upset if they perceive that their good behavior is not recognized.
3. Avoid first choosing those students who consistently receive the bulk of
the praise by all the teachers. Keep in mind that the other students could
24
feel that teachers are biased and do not appreciate what other students
have to offer.
4. When telling the class which student is taking the toy home, please
justify your choice. Compliments are very constructive for students’ selfesteem and could have a very positive effect on other students’ behaviors
and attitudes as well.
5. Always make sure your students feel connected with the toy. A gender
neutral one is preferred so that all students can feel motivated to take it
home. If required, you could have two options, one for girls and one for
boys.
6. You can also ask your students to suggest potential toys in order to
address their personal interests.
7. You can use any toy from any country and/or culture. However,
choosing toys from your own or the students’ culture (if different) is highly
recommended. In this way, students will feel that their language, culture
and identity are respected by their teacher. This strategy can especially
help students from rural areas perceive English as friendly and welcoming.
8. It may happen that children destroy, not return or lose the toy. Always
teach students to love and respect their toy. Praise students who bring it
back safe and on time with extra credits.
9. You can invite families to participate by keeping a journal that is taken
home with the toy. On Sunday evenings, families and students can write
comments about the toy’s visit. This activity will also help you keep a
record of family and students’ feelings, emotions, and/or attitudes towards
your activity.
Source: FLES Teachers, Loudoun County Public Schools, Virginia, USA (2004-2007).
25
Eduardo
“Me gustó haber llevado a Minnie a mi casa. Entendí casi todo lo que
decía en el papelito. La presenté a mis muñecas y después Minnie
estaba cansada y la dejé durmiendo. Me hubiera gustado que se
quedara de nuevo!”
Andrea
3ro básico
Escuela Angachilla
“Lo encontré lindo. Jugué con él y me gustó la información en inglés,
muy divertido.”
Sebastián
8vo básico
Escuela Abgachilla
26
Student of the week
“… high self-esteem usually leads to greater self-confidence” (Richard-Amato, 2003, p.111).
Teaching Materials
A medium sized piece of paper, student’s pictures
Getting Ready
1. Make a paper picture frame and decorate it to your students’ liking.
Place it on the wall.
2. Ask students to bring in a medium-sized picture of them.
1. Every Friday, I will choose the student of the week based on different
character traits such as determination, discipline, generosity, honesty and
respect, among others.
2. As a tribute, your picture will be placed in the paper frame on the wall
for one week.
Suggestions
1. It is a good idea to pick only one character trait per week and inform the
students ahead of time of the chosen trait. For example, determination is
what the teacher will be looking for during the week. Expecting too much
from them in only one week could be disappointing for you and for the
students. Remember, character traits need some time to be developed.
2. During the week, as a cross-curricular activity, the teacher could focus
on the selected character trait through integrating that focus into different
classroom activities (literacy, math story problems, language arts). This
will help the students better understand the trait you are looking for and
try to emulate it as well as possible.
3. You may also ask the school community to support your initiative by
looking for character traits during classtime, recess, lunch time or after
school activities.
27
4. Also, inform parents/guardians, through a written note, that their child
is the student of the week. At the end of every term, you could even ask
the principal to hand out all of the diplomas in one of the school
gatherings or in a special ceremony.
5. Try to extend the opportunity to every single student in the class. All
children have positive traits that can be highlighted; therefore, they could
all be praised at a certain moment. It is very probable that this activity will
positively increase students’ affective issues.
6. If a parent or student does not want to share a picture, or if they simply
forget to send it, you can ask the child to draw a picture of themselves and
sign it during free time.
7. Taking the pictures yourself is another option but bear in mind you
have parental consent. If pictures are going to be taken during class time,
incorporate it into another activity as to not waste class time.
Source: Adapted from Meadowland Elementary School Student of the Week, Loudoun
County Public Schools, Virginia, USA.
28
Gabriela
“Me gustó porque la Fer fue la mejor de inglés de la semana.”
Pía
“Sí, me gustó porque salió la foto de una compañera.”
Belkys
4to básico
Escuela El Laurel
29
My surprise box
“When students make the connection between their performance and feeling good about
themselves, intrinsic motivation is enhanced and positive behaviors continue” (Allred, 2008,
para 7).
Teaching Materials
Several little green, yellow and red cards, a medium-sized box, little
assorted presents (toothbrushes, stickers, candies, pencils, erasers, note
pads, bookmarks,etc …), ziploc-like little bags
Getting Ready
1. Cut out many little green, yellow and red cards. On every green card,
write “Great Job”. On the yellow cards, write “You can make it!” and on the
red ones, write “Ooops, try again!” Place them in three different ziploc-like
bags.
2. Look for presents and a big enough box for keeping them safe.
3. When you first introduce this classroom management strategy to the
students, enter your classroom with the box pretending it is heavy. Show
them that it is full of surprises and place it on your desk.
1. (Displaying the cards) At the end of each English class, I will give you a
green, a yellow or a red card that will tell you how well you worked during
each lesson.
2. The green card means you did a great job, the yellow card stands for
warning; which suggests you need improvement, and the red card tells you
that definitely have to improve your behavior next time.
3. Once you have 10 green cards, you can trade them in for a surprise.
Suggestions
1. Cards need to be handed out after every class, which implies that at the
beginning of the term, you need to make many cards, especially green
ones. (You will see behavior will notoriously improve after a few lessons.
When students get a yellow or a red card, they usually try hard to get a
green card next time and catch up with the other students who are doing a
good job.)
30
2. Add a picture to every card. It is fundamental that students understand
what cards mean. The final objective of this activity is to help students
assess their own behavior and make changes accordingly. After a few
lessons and depending on your students’ characters and ages, they could
even give input as to what they think they deserve.
3. Instead of writing a note and/or drawing pictures, you can stamp cards
or use stickers to save time.
4. Avoid writing too negative and generalized messages on yellow and red
cards such as “Bad Day!” Students could feel that all of their behavior has
been wrong and could internalize that message.
5. Start filling up your surprise box in advance to be well-prepared when
the school year starts, and keep on filling and/or recycling it during the
school year. Your box should always look full of surprises. You do not
want students to perceive you as being unfair.
6. You are very welcome to buy your own surprises. However, it is also a
good idea to ask parents, stores and/or dentists, for example, to help you
gather presents. Try to incorporate cross-curricular objectives in your
activity, such as the importance of toothbrushing. You could also ask your
principal or head of your department to financially support this activity.
7. Place the box in a strategic spot in the classroom so every student can
see it and remind they have to behave. You can also leave it in another
room of the school. This way it will be easier for you to deliver surprises in
a quiet and organized way.
8. Keep in mind students will need to learn how to make a line to pick
their present from the box.
31
“Sí, me gustó porque cuando uno gana algo se esfuerza más para
lograrlo y estudia.”
Escarlett
“Sí, me gustó porque justo quería un autito.”
Bastián
Escuela Juan Bosch
Niebla, Chile, 2011
32
English suitcase
“Compelling input appears to eliminate the need for motivation, a conscious desire to
improve. When you get compelling input, you acquire whether you are interested in
improving or not” (Krashen, 2012, para 3).
Teaching Materials
A small sized suitcase/bag, books, magazines, CDs, brochures, games,
notebook/journal
Getting Ready
1. Choose or create a special suitcase or bag.
2. Gather different reading and audio materials such as books, magazines,
CDs, games, and/or brochures. You can even include a toy.
3. Place them in your English suitcase/bag.
4. Organize students’ turns based on the number of weekends that are
available to you, so that you can carry out your activity with all the
students.
5. On the first page of the copybook, write a message for students and
parents stating the following information:
a) Greetings and congratulations for being the owner of the English
suitcase for the weekend.
b) A general explanation of what the English suitcase is about, its
origin, and purpose.
c) The amount of time the family will be given in order to enjoy the
suitcase at home.
d) General instructions for writing a comment on the English
suitcase copybook (notebook/journal).
e) Provide an inventory containing the total amount of items and
their names, so that parents and students return the English
suitcase with all the items required.
f) Invite students and parents to briefly share their family
experiences after
enjoying the English suitcase. Ask them to
complete this assignment on Sunday evening and remind them to
sign their comment.
33
6. Introduce the English suitcase to your students by having them guess
what they might find inside.
7. Show and give a very brief description of every item contained in the
English suitcase.
1. Every Friday, one student will be able to take the English suitcase home
depending on how well he has been working on his/her own character.
2. You and your family will have a whole weekend to check the reading
materials found in the English Suitcase.
3. On Sunday evening, please open the copybook (notebook), read the
instructions and, with the help of your family, write a message referring to
your impressions and experiences with the English Suitcase.
4. This English Suitcase is for you and your family to have a good time
through experiencing and enjoying English. It is not an assignment that
will be assessed, and it is not compulsory to check every single item.
Suggestions
1. Turn organization is absolutely required. You are strongly encouraged to
keep an anecdotal record chart to ensure that every week the selection of
students is fair and appropriate.
2. Check the school calendar and do not forget to consider long weekends.
It may happen that some families will travel and will not have enough time
to go over the English Suitcase with adequate dedication.
3. Some students can lose interest while waiting for their turn to take the
English Suitcase home. Keep in mind that if you have forty students in
your classroom, there will be students who will have to wait till the end of
the school year. If you wish, you will probably need more than one
suitcase.
4. Although this activity is intended to reinforce English acquisition for
fun, do not forget instructions should be given to parents in Spanish. Also,
you can let parents and students know that they can absolutely write their
comments in their mother tongue. However, tell them that if they want to
try to do it in English, they are very welcome to do so.
34
5. Include different kinds of items and different topics so that all members
of the family can meet their interests. You can, therefore, include cartoons,
animal documentaries, knitting and/or sport magazines, among other
possibilities.
6. Make sure you scrutinize every single item in the English suitcase to
avoid including inappropriate contents and/or vocabulary.
7. Choose teaching materials that have a basic level of English since most
parents do not probably speak the language. Also, pick items that have
great amounts of comprehensible input so that their content is more likely
understandable to the whole family.
8. The English Suitcase must be special for you, for students and their
families. Using a suitcase/bag that belongs to you, that was made by you
and/or that comes from another place of the world, as possible examples,
can generate positive reactions from students. The effort to make this item
personal may, in turn, help students understand that they need to take
care of it.
9. If parents and students are interested in adding an item to the suitcase,
thank families for their interest and be flexible! However, let them know
that you will need to examine the item and verify that the material is
appropriate for all families and students. If it is acceptable, include the
item and add it to the inventory.
10. Having parents and students write a comment about the activity could
be optional. However, reading families’ comments will give you valuable
feedback as a classroom researcher.
Source: Adapted from Maletín Literario, Ministerio de Educación, Chile (2007).
35
Students and Parents’ Perceptions
Antonia
“I liked the books because I think that they are creative and funny
(for example, the Missing Mitten Mystery). The movie is good because
I liked the main character and her features.”
María-José
7mo básico
“The material is attractive and interesting, specially the books, which
tell nice stories that are appealing and easy to read. It’s an amazing
way of practicing and using the language”.
Verónica
Parent and Teacher
San Luis del Alba
36
Silent cheering
“ … in order to develop the highest possible degree of mental functioning it is very important
that the playful imagination of the right hemisphere of the brain is developed in balance
with the logic, tasks and skills of the left hemisphere of the brain. Both hemispheres need
stimulus and expression throughout our lives” (Jennings, 2004, p.11).
Teaching Materials
None
Getting Ready
1. To catch your students’ attention, greet them through gestures only.
Move your lips as an exaggerated smile, open your eyes wide, pretend you
are clapping hands and pump your arms in the air as if you are winning a
competition, among other body actions. Remember, no words or noise
should be heard.
2. Perform an action that you are good at, for example, play the hula hoop,
jump rope, or play the “trompo”, and encourage students to applaud and
celebrate through “silent cheering”.
3. In order to reinforce the practice of “silent cheering”, invite some
students to show their talents in front of the class. The class should show
amazement and delight through gestures only.
Instructions are given only though non-verbal communication to state, for
example, “look at me”, “be quiet”, “smile”, “come here”, “give him a big
round of applauses”, “raise your arms and move your hands”, etc.
Suggestions
1. Silent cheering should become contagious from the very beginning. In
case it is not and students keep on speaking out loud and making noise,
invite them to be silent in a playful way and through body language. For
example, pretend you are zipping noisy students’ mouths. You can also
pretend to lock them with an invisible key.
2. Do not overuse this classroom management strategy! Some students
can misunderstand its purpose and, then, stay silent with the mouth
tightly closed for a prolonged and unwanted period of time. As a teacher,
you can keep on acting, approach the child and pretend to unlock his/her
mouth with the invisible key.
37
3. Silent cheering is not meant to be an activity by itself. It is rather a
classroom management strategy to be used while carrying out other
activities such as bingo, for example, that is usually very noisy, especially
when students are doing well.
4. Do not forget to share this classroom management strategy with
parents to avoid any misunderstanding at home when students report that
they are not allowed to speak.
5. Also encourage your students to use English through Silent Cheering.
Without making any noises, they can move their mouths, lips and jaws to
say words such as “Yes”, “I did it”, “well done”, etc…
“Me gustó porque cuando todos hablábamos, no podía escuchar y
cuando estábamos todos calladitos, no me molestaban los oídos y
podía escuchar mejor.”
Bárbara
4to Básico
“Con ruido no se puede escuchar y así se hace más divertido.”
Monserrat
5to Básico
Inglés Entretenido, Escuela de Verano, Universidad Austral de Chile
38
Today’s menu
“Surely the most important questions about creativity are: can it be learned?
… And as we learn more about everyday creativity in our own lives. We can
learn how to nurture the creativity of our children as well ” (Ferguson, 1990, p.
186).
Teaching Materials
Flashcards, strips of paper with names of foods on them, sticky tak
Getting Ready
1. Carry out a survey to get to know your children’s favorite healthy foods.
2. Create a set of flashcards with those meals and desserts.
3. Write your classroom contents/activities/objectives on different strips of
paper with colorful font.
1. Guess what! I have a delicious menu for you today!
2. What healthy food do you think we are going to have today?
3. (After placing the pictures and strips of paper on the board in a
disorganized way). Let’s match these pictures with the correct
words/sentences and let’s place them in the right order. Any volunteers?
4. (After matching food and activities/contents and/or objectives). Let’s
start enjoying our delicious menu!
Suggestions
1. When dealing with food issues, give your students something special to
eat to prevent them from getting too hungry, especially if you work with
students who cannot afford having a good breakfast and/or lunch. You
can give out candies or chocolate bars but healthy food is highly
recommended.
2. If you cannot afford buying students’ snacks, always keep in mind that
your school and parents can also assist you.
3. When writing the classroom contents on your strips, use short
sentences and adapt your language to that of your students and parents.
4. You can also write the menu on a special restaurant card that you can
distribute to your students. They can glue the menus in their copybooks
and verify their answers during the lesson.
39
5. To have your students’ attention from the very beginning, you can place
your lesson menu on the board before students arrive.
6. Children normally enjoy dessert time! It is, therefore, recommended to
plan a very special dessert activity to end up your lesson.
Source: Created out of Teacher Ruth Miranda’s strategy to introduce classroom goals. She
introduced them under the word Menu. Teaching Practicum, English Language Program,
Universidad Austral de Chile (2011).
Isidora
“Me encantó, muy creativo y muy bueno porque aprendemos más con
el menu de las actividades”
Escarlett
“Me parece muy bien porque así uno puede entender más la clase.”
Matías
5to básico
Escuela Juan Bosch
Niebla, Chile, 2011
40
Golden rules
“Most experienced educators say the key to creating classroom rules is to keep those rules
few and simple -- and to establish up front the consequences if the rules are broken”
(EducationWorld, 2011, para. 3).
Teaching Materials
Teaching supplies such as glue, scissors, crayons, markers, cardboard,
magazines, etc…
Getting Ready
1. Find out what rules your students think are necessary to have a nice
classroom environment. Surveys and/or ball tossing can help you find out
which rules are important for your students.
2. Share the results with your students.
3. Bring teaching supplies to create a poster in the classroom. If possible,
you can also ask students to bring them from home.
4. Place a big white cardboard on the wall.
1. We will form 4 groups (organize students according to their skills and
interests) in charge of:
a) Writing the most important rules (5 as a maximum) on paper
strips.
b) Drawing the corresponding pictures (2 groups).
c) Cutting out letters and pictures from magazines to write the title:
English Golden Rules and to decorate the poster.
2. Group 1, please stand up and paste your written messages or pictures
on the white cardboard. (Call up all the groups one by one until the poster
is ready).
3. Start enforcing the rules right away!
Suggestions
1. You could also decide what your rules are going to be ahead of time.
However, sharing your power and involving students in decision-making
can help you foster positive attitudes and behavior. This way, students will
feel more ownership for the classroom rules.
41
2. Students and teachers can sign the poster, place their fingerprint on it,
glue a small picture of their face, or write comments such as ‘I agree’, ‘Let’s
respect the rules’, or ‘I made the rules’. These activities will help students
feel more ownership for the rules and thus will be more willing to respect
them.
3. If a rule is not being respected, you can simply point to the poster. Avoid
summarizing and explaining the rules again. Speeches can become tedious
and, therefore, lose meaning for students.
4. The most important rule for the teacher who maintains a classroom rule
poster is to respect the content. If one of the students does not follow one
of the rules, there should be immediate consequences. If you are not firm
from the very beginning, students will regard the poster as mere classroom
decoration.
5. Five rules sound perfect! Not being too ambiguous will help you
accomplish your goals and will prevent students from feeling overwhelmed
with too many duties.
6. A colorful and visually attractive poster can bring happiness and
motivation to the class. Appealing posters also teach students that
discipline is positive and generates many benefits.
7. You can change your poster when necessary. Always consider your
students’ needs and interests.
8. Make sure your students can see and understand the poster from
different places in the classroom. Always inspect written messages to
ensure that language, size, font and colors are easy to read.
9. Use simple language as well as short and positive statements.
Imperatives usually help make messages shorter and clearer. Positive
sentence forms sound friendly and encourage students to accomplish their
goals. They also increase self-security and confidence.
10. Your poster needs to be comprehensible, so always add pictures next
to every message.
11. Using Spanish when introducing rules is a very good idea. Your
students will feel free to express their feelings and points of view.
42
“Es bueno porque en él se presentan las reglas que debemos seguir y
así portarnos mucho mejor. Excellent!”
Alvaro
“Es super entrete tener classroom rules. Nos hacen estar más
concentrados”.
Michelle
6to básico
Escuela Adventista
43
1, 2, 3, eyes on me
“[. . .] teachers' actions in their classrooms have twice the impact on student achievement as
do school policies regarding curriculum, assessment, staff collegiality, and community
involvement (Marzano & Marzano, 2003, as cited in Marzano, 2003, para 1).
Teaching Materials
Flashcards or none
Getting Ready
1. Make a big and colorful flashcard with two big eyes.
2. Tell students you are going to play a teacher versus student game. This
is something that usually motivates students. The challenge to “beating
the teacher” seems to be inspiring for them.
3. Challenge them that you can rhyme better than they can as a class!
1. (Students are noisy and messy)
Teacher: 1, 2, 3 Eyes on me! (Showing the flashcard).
2. Your turn: 1, 2 Eyes on you.
3. Zip and be quiet! (Use non-verbal communication so that students
understand they have to stay silent).
4. Keep on trying and see who is doing the better job: The teacher or the
students?
Suggestions
1. To make this classroom management strategy more effective, give each
child a medium-size flashcard with eyes on it, have them glue an ice-cream
stick on the back of the flashcard so they can grasp it and ask them to
raise it every time they hear “1,2,3, eyes on me”.
2. This is just one way to call your students’ attention and keep them
quiet. You can use other strategies such as:
a) Other rhymes. For example: Teacher: Give me five! Students: All
right!
b) Parts of songs, movie and/or book conversations, poems, among
others.
c) Only gestures such as a “give me five” hand.
44
d) Gestures a child of their age does or gestures that a famous and
popular person uses; for example, a soccer player’s hand wave.
e) Clapping hands (teacher claps twice and students clap three
times).
What really matters is that students understand they need to keep quiet
after they hear the rhyme or see the gesture and, respond accordingly.
3. These kinds of classroom management strategies do not work
immediately, especially in Spanish-speaking cultures where people are
very talkative, often interrupt, and where rules do not have the same
relevance and impact on people as in other countries. Do not give up! Keep
on practicing it as many times as possible!
4. Take cultural issues into account. There might be gestures or nonverbal communication codes some cultures dislike. Do not approve of or
reject. Always do research to diagnose cultural backgrounds. We do not
want children and parents to feel offended!
45
Alonso
“Esto es bacán!”
Martín
3ro básico
Escuela Gandhi
“Si me gustó porque uno se concentra en aprender de una forma más
divertida.”
Constanza
6to básico
Escuela Adventista
46
Whose turn is it?
“[. . .] If a teacher has a good relationship with students, then students more readily accept
the rules and procedures and the disciplinary actions that follow their violations” (Marzano,
2003, p.41).
Teaching Materials
A container, ice-cream color sticks
Getting Ready
1. Look for a set of ice-cream sticks (color sticks are more attractive).
2. Write a student’s name on every stick.
3. Place them all in a container.
1. (Talking to a child and showing the sticks in your container). Choose a
color. It could be blue, green, red or orange (depending on the colors of
your sticks).
2. Let’s choose a green stick. (Reading) It is Juanito’s turn! How are you
today? (Keep on encouraging students’ participation).
Suggestions
1. If you do not have resources, ask children to help you recycle after they
eat ice-cream. They can even color them at home.
2. This strategy can be used not only for promoting participation but also
for facilitating other activities such as calling the roll or for helping you to
learn students’ names in a short period of time.
3. This communicative strategy can be useful to encourage students to
speak. However, it is necessary to keep in mind that this strategy compels
students to speak since it is a Communicative Approach strategy.
Therefore, be friendly and accept when a student is not ready to speak.
4. If you do not have ice-cream sticks, you can also use pieces of paper
with the names of the students. Papers can be placed in a fishbowl and
can be taken out as in a raffle. A sense of humor can be useful by carrying
out a raffle the way it is played in Chile, that is to say, eliminating the two
first papers and praising the third one.
5. Students can also help you pick up the ice-cream sticks.
47
6. The container is very important. It can be decorated and made by the
students themselves. This contribution will lend more influence to the ice
cream sticks, and therefore, increase classroom participation.
7. Depending on your needs and those of your students, you can either
place ice-cream sticks back in the container or leave them aside when you
do not want a student to be called on twice. Just keep in mind, this
decision could increase the student’s level of anxiety.
Fernanda
“Me gusta, porque así todos podemos participar y es entretenido
porque algunas nunca pasan y pasan aquellos con los numeritos.”
Camila
“A mí me parece bien, porque así todos tenemos una manera justa
para participar.”
Macarena
5to básico
Escuela Mexico
48
Gathering
“This is the period in which discipline becomes established: a form of active peace, of
obedience and love, when work is perfected and multiplied, just as when the flowers in
Spring get their colors and prepare a distant harvest of sweet and nourishing fruit”
(Montessori, 1979, p.275).
Teaching Materials
None
Getting Ready
1. Arrange chairs and desks so as to leave an open space for your students
to work there.
2. Think about your students and think about their personal information.
Make a list and include, for example, some traits they could share such as
wearing glasses.
1. If you have long hair, please join me.
2. Sit down on the floor to start forming a circle.
(Continue calling students based on personal information till everybody is
seated on the floor).
After finishing the activity
(Based on what the information you heard) If your favorite color is green,
please stand up and go back to your seat.
(Keep on calling students till everybody is at their seat).
Suggestions
1. If you have your own classroom, always leave an open space for
storytelling or any other activity that requires students to get together and
sit on the floor. This will help you organize students faster and strengthen
class routines.
2. Take some time to decorate your reading or gathering corner and make
it special for your students. Include a carpet or cushions for your students
to sit on and feel comfortable.
3. To avoid mess and confusion, be very specific when calling your
students. For example: “If you are wearing glasses NOW”, please come and
join us.
49
4. Use body language and/or pictures to support your statements. If you
are going to call your students according to some physical traits such as
long hair, show students what you mean by long.
5. Always be careful when dealing with personal information. You do not
want your students to feel offended. Choose very general physical traits
and when referring to traits of a family, do not get involved with sensitive
issues. Mentioning the number of people who live with them is less risky
than talking about mom, dad, or stepparents.
6. Never leave a child or student alone. Try to summon them in groups of
two or three. If such a situation occurs by mistake, be creative and make
him/her feel happy and at ease with a kind word or compliment.
7. Also check to see that it is fine that your students be identified as boys
and girls.
8. Focus on differences and commonalities but keep in mind you should
avoid calling a large group of students at the same time. If so, you could
invalidate your classroom management strategy.
9. When students are sharing during your activity, be very alert and try to
remember important information. You can listen and take notes as well.
Students will feel very happy if you can remember what they have told you
and shared in class.
10. This classroom management activity is a great opportunity for
students to review their content vocabulary. If you are teaching animals,
you can invite students to join your gathering corner by speaking about
animals. For example, “If you would like to be a bird, …”.
Source: Observed in Meadowland Elementary School, Loudoun County Public Schools,
Virginia, USA.
50
Sebastián
“Forming a circle by using students’ characteristics is a useful
strategy to involve them in the activity. I consider that educators can
take advantage of this exercise to teach vocabulary or other language
structures implicitly.”
Alex
4th grade
English Major
Universidad Austral de Chile, 2011
“Me gustó porque había que tener las cosas que se iban diciendo.”
Máximo
Kinder
Hampton College
51
Welcome back
“[. . .] it is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes
the weather. I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of
torture or an instrument of inspiration; I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all
situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated, and
a person is humanized or de-humanized” (Ginott, 1993, in Eqi, n.d).
Teaching Materials
Cards, envelopes
Getting Ready
1. Look for a back-to-school card on the web and print it.
2. Make copies; one for each student in your class.
3. Write him/her the message you need to send.
No prior information should be given to students since this is supposed to
be a surprise for them.
Suggestions
1. When looking for back-to-school cards on the web, it is very probable
that you will see many of them showing a yellow school bus. I would
recommend that you take cultural issues into account so that students
feel valued. In this case, it is much better to make your own card
considering Chilean symbols do not always include the yellow school bus.
2. If you cannot afford printing your cards in color, it is a good idea to
color them yourself. Students will greatly appreciate your dedication!
3. Try to use your own handwriting. The personalized card will be even
more special for your kids.
4. If you are going to send the cards through the mail, double check all
names and addresses very carefully to ensure all students will receive a
card. Do not forget some letters can get lost or be sent back to you for
different reasons. This fact could upset students if they do not receive a
letter. If this happens, make sure you have extra copies that you can
deliver at school.
5. If you cannot afford sending all the cards through the mail, you can ask
the school for some help. You can also ask parents to leave the cards in
their mail box (please keep in mind some parents may not do it for
52
different reasons). One way to avoid all kinds of potential problems would
be to have your own mailbox in your classroom that students can check
every morning.
6. You can send a card at different special moments of the school year.
Back-to-school cards are just an example. You may consider special
national or international celebrations, birthdays, Students’ Day, the end of
the school year, motivation cards, among other occasions.
Virginia, USA.
Valentina
“When I received the letter, I felt very surprised and it gave me a lot
of confidence because if the teacher thought I could do a good job, I
really felt that I would do it!”
Camila
“One day, I went back home from school, opened my home’s door and
noticed that there was an envelope for me on the table. I opened it
and when I read it, I felt very happy. I think it was so nice from the
teacher. The letter motivated me a lot and gave me the strength to
continue working hard and doing my best. I really hope that my
classmates felt the same as me. Thank you very much!”
María-José
4th grade
English Major, Universidad Austral de Chile
Valdivia, 2013
53
International
Games and Activities
54
Yarn web
“It is like a cooperative activity that encourages [children] to give [their] best and work as a
class instead of as individual beings” (Vera, personal communication, 2012).
Teaching Materials
A colorful ball of yarn
Getting Ready
1. Prepare a basket with different colored balls of yarn. Put the basket on
your desk to illicit students’ interest.
2. As a group, decide on one color. Hold up that colored ball while you are
giving instructions.
3. Arrange your classroom so that you form a circle on the floor and ask
students to sit crisscross apple sauce.
1. (Say to one student) Hold this ball of yarn with one hand and put the
loose end of the yarn in the other hand.
2. Introduce yourself. Say your name, age and where you are from.
3. When you are done, throw the yarn ball to another student without
letting your loose end go.
4. Keep on sharing until the whole class has made a web of yarn.
Suggestions
1. I suggest working with naturally dyed balls of yarn to remind students
of the richness of indigenous cultures and the beauty of nature.
2. Using different colored balls of yarn can help you reinforce content area
vocabulary related to colors, fruits and plants.
3. Once your students have formed their web, you can also review other
content area lexicon. For example, students will quickly find triangles,
squares and diamonds, among other shapes.
55
4. While wrapping the yarn around your fingers at the end of the activity,
you can say sequential word lists out loud; for example, the alphabet,
numbers, days of the week or months of the year. Try to do it fast!
5. Challenge your students to guess what letter, number, day or month
will be reached when the yarn is completely wound. Students will feel
motivated to hear the final result and check to see if their guess was right.
6. If students are already seated in a circle before starting this activity,
they can still carry it out while sitting at their desks, or they can stand up
if the floor is too cold or dirty. Students can also be asked to bring a
cushion or a blanket.
7. Try to remember your students’ personal information. This way, you can
use it at the end of the activity for asking students to go back to their seats
as a classroom management strategy.
Source: Recommended by Elementary School teachers from Instituto Tecnológico del Sur,
Valdivia, Chile.
56
“Me gustó caleta. Ojalá que se repita. Me encantó.”
Muriel
“Muy linda la actividad. Se pasó bien. Ojalá que se repita porque
hicimos algo nuevo.”
Jacqueline
7mo básico
Escuela N° 39 Las Animas
57
Hot potato
“Suspense and surprise are acting skills that can contribute directly to improved classroom
management” (Tauber & Mester, 2007, p.157).
Teaching Materials
Any musical device (radio, mp3 player, etc), music, ball
Getting Ready
1. Enter the class with your “magic bag” containing a ball inside. Pretend
verbal and non-verbally that you feel uncomfortable with it.
2. Have your students guess what you have inside. Encourage them to say
as many words as possible. You can give them some clues. E.g., It is small,
round, soft, etc…
3. Once students have guessed that the object is a ball, tell them that it is
really hot and that you can get burned if you don’t pass it around quickly.
1. Stand up.
2. Let’s pretend this ball is a hot potato.
3. Remember that since the ball is hot, you can burn your hands. That is
why you must pass or throw the ball quickly at another classmate while
the music is playing.
4. If you have the ball when the music stops, try to answer the teacher’s
question.
Suggestions
1. The ball should be soft and medium sized.
2. The music should reflect the students’ interests.
3. Depending on the physical space and students’ behavior, classroom
arrangement can vary (in their seats, in a circle, in a line, etc.)
4. If you do not have a ball, you can play with a teddy bear, a ball of yarn,
crumpled paper, as well as other teaching materials.
58
5. Make sure that many different students have a turn so that you can
assess as many as possible.
6. If your students would like to compete, you can gently ask students who
cannot answer the questions correctly to sit.
Source: FLES Teachers (2004-2007), Loudoun County Public Schools, Virginia, USA.
Susana
“Este juego es muy divertido y lo pasé muy bien.”
Catalina
“Me gustó mucho el juego de la ball porque me enseñó muchas cosas
en inglés.”
Anibal
2ndo básico
Inmaculada Concepción
59
7-up
"[. . .] to be motivated means to be moved to do so something" (Ryan & Deci; 2000, p. 54).
Teaching Materials
Flashcards
Getting Ready
1. Ask seven students to stand in front of the class and give them a
flashcard.
2. Each student’s name has now become replaced by a word on the
flashcard. Encourage the rest of the class to greet them by using their
“new” names.
3. Tell the class that they will each select one classmate by putting his or
her thumb down, and then come back to the front of the class without
telling or showing others which student they have chosen.
1. Put your head down; close your eyes and put one thumb up.
2. Wait until your teacher asks you to raise your head.
3. (Talking to the 7 students chosen) Move around and put one of your
classmates’ thumbs down and come back to the front as soon as you are
ready.
4. (Talking to the class) If someone put your thumb down, stand up.
5. Now take turns to guess who picked you, by saying the word on the
flashcard that the student is holding, not the name of the student.
6. If your guess is correct, you trade places. If your guess is incorrect, you
sit down.
Suggestions
1. In the case of a too noisy class, this game is perfect for calming your
students down. You can even turn the lights off to give the classroom a
quiet atmosphere.
60
2. Teach your students not to fold or wrinkle flashcards when they stand
in front of the class. Students usually tend to do so when they feel excited
or nervous.
3. Make sure that different people have a turn. Advise your students to
pick different classmates or encourage them to be good friends and share
flashcards with those who haven’t had a turn.
4. You can use flashcards with images and/or words.
5. The instructions of this game are not easy to understand at first. Bear
in mind you use lots of body language, especially the first time you
introduce the activity.
61
“Estuvo muy entretenido y es una bonita forma de aprender y reforzar
lo que sabemos.”
Mariana
5th grade
Escuela Alemania
“I liked the activity because I think it’s very good to learn more
vocabulary.”
Valentina
2nd grade
Meadowland Elementary School.
Sterling, VA, USA, 2007
62
The Magic finger
“[. . .]…when students are taught using techniques consistent with their learning styles,
they learn more easily, faster, and can retain and apply concepts more readily to future
learning. Most students, with a disability or not, enjoy the engaging variety that
multisensory techniques can offer” (Logsdon, 2007, para. 4).
Teaching Materials
Flashcards, magic accessories (magic wand, rattle, music, etc.)
Getting Ready
1. Have flashcards ready on the board.
2. Pretend you are a magician and give power to your students through an
abracadabra magical spell that goes this way: Abracadabra, please look at
me, you can be powerful, yippee, yippee!!
3. Ask for a volunteer and address that student as your magician
apprentice. Tell that student the class will select a flashcard and he/she
will have to guess it.
4. Ask the student to leave the classroom for a couple of minutes.
5. Ask the class to pick one of the flashcards and keep it as a secret, while
you and the apprentice are outside.
6. Leave the room and share the magic trick with the apprentice:
If the finger is pointing to the top of the flashcard, the apprentice is
supposed to say: “Yes, it is”. If the finger is pointing to the bottom of the
flashcard, the apprentice should reply: “No, it isn’t”.
Also, tell the apprentice student to keep the magic trick a secret.
7. Now, return to your classroom and quietly ask the students to tell you
what flashcard they have chosen.
8. Call the magician apprentice in.
1. Ask the apprentice questions such as “Is it an apple?”
2. (Talking to the apprentice) Answer “Yes, it is” or “No, it isn’t”.
3. We will continue playing until you guess the magic trick.
63
Suggestions
1. Promote an atmosphere of suspense and surprise by using a magic
wand to give power to the magician apprentice. This will help keep the
children focused and highly motivated to try to figure out what the magic
could be.
2. When leaving the room, leave a responsible student in charge of leading
the classroom in selecting the flashcard and its corresponding word.
Sharing power with students is highly recommended for students to
become independent learners.
3. As a classroom management strategy, encourage the class to decide
quietly so that the student who is outside cannot hear any sounds.
4. Stop the game when most of the students have figured out the magic
trick. Avoid having just a few people puzzled and surprised to avoid
frustration. In the case of frustration, it is much better to share the trick.
5. Remind students who know the magic to keep it secret so that you can
continue playing the game with the same or a different class.
64
Laura
“Aprendí, fue un juego bastante divertido y “mágico”. Lo mágico fue
que aprendimos mucho.”
Consuelo
“Fue muy genial y uno puede aprender a hacer preguntas y respuestas
cortas.”
David
6th grade
Inmaculada Concepción, Valdivia, Chile
65
Fly swatting
“Everywhere on earth in all languages throughout history, there is no instance of infants
acquiring speaking before comprehension” (Segal, 2006, p. 7).
Teaching Materials
Flashcards, tak, flyswatters
Getting Ready
1. Show 2 flyswatters to your students. The first time you introduce them
to your students, they will be very curious and will pay attention to you
until they get to know what they are for.
2. Ask for two volunteers.
3. Place a few flashcards on the board.
1. After hearing a word, swat the appropriate flashcard and say the word
out loud.
2. If you are the first one to correctly identify the flashcard, you can
continue playing with another classmate.
Suggestions
1. You can place small laminated paper flies on the pictures to make the
activity more real and more entertaining. However, if this causes violent
reactions among your students, avoid placing them on the flashcards. In
this case, do not use flyswatters. You can find other options such as hand
pointers. You can also look for flyswatters of different shapes.
2. Flyswatters can have different colors to make a clear difference between
teams and to reinforce knowledge of colors.
3. Always remind students flyswatters must not be used to hit other
students, just the flashcards on the board.
4. You can also form two groups and have your students compete against
each other.
66
5. This is an excellent listening activity! However, you can encourage your
students to produce words when they swat the pictures. Other students
can also help say the words.
6. Depending on the level of English, you can also play with dialogue
exchanges or definitions.
7. Students love to compete against the teacher!
Source: FLES Teachers (2004-2007), Loudon County Public Schools, Valdivia, Chile.
“We loved your teaching.”
Austin
4th Grader
Meadowland Elementary School
“Lo encontré entretenido y una buena técnica para aprender sin
aburrirse.”
Catalina
6th grade
67
Telephone
“The higher the level of interest, the higher the intake, the higher the attention, the higher
the retention, and thus; the higher the acquisition” (Hastings, 2003).
Teaching Materials
Flashcards, small paper cards
Getting Ready
1. Cut two sets of ten small rectangular pieces of paper.
2. On one side, write a word, a phrase or a sentence depending on your
lesson objectives. On the other side, write a number. Write exactly the
same content on both sets of cards.
3. Prepare a set of flashcards to be introduced and placed on the board.
4. Ask students to form two groups, to stand up and organize their chairs
in two rows.
5. Place two sets of small paper cards at the end of the rows and tell
students that only the last person of each row is authorized to look at the
cards. Numbers should be placed face up.
1. (Talking to the last person of each row) Look for number “8”. Once you
have read the information in silence, whisper it ONLY in your classmate´s
ear. You are not allowed to stand up and share the information with
others.
2. The message must be shared in English, not in Spanish.
3. The first student of each row, the last one to listen to the word, must
stand up, say the word and point to the correct flashcard. If he/she says
the correct answer, he/she will score a point for their team.
4. When the round is over, everybody stands up and moves one spot
forward. The people in front of each row will have to move to the back.
68
Suggestions
1. Always tell your class that the information must be given only to the
student who is just in front of him/her. Normally, it takes a long time for
students to understand this instruction.
2. In case none of the groups is able to provide the information
appropriately (which is absolutely normal during, at least, the first two
rounds), ask students to start whispering the word from the very
beginning.
3. Play this game with flashcards and/or mimicry to make messages more
comprehensible, to help students feel more confident and thus, ensure
high levels of motivation.
4. If you realize your academic expectations have been too high, quickly
change and/or reduce the information on the cards. For example, I am
swimming can become swimming.
5. Avoid students who know the language better to put pressure on the
students who need more time to think and act! It occasionally happens
that students get really excited about winning and start forcing others to
perform faster.
69
Sebastián
“Aprendimos hartas cosas. Jugamos y nos divertimos mucho, como
nunca, fue como un inglés entretenido.”
Abigail
6to básico.
Escuela Mexico
“I think that it is a very funny game to practice the contents... I like
it very much, the game is very exciting and it is very good to know
better your friends and to have a time to laugh.”
Valentina
8vo básico
Windsor School
70
Bingo
“Communicative language teaching makes use of real-life situations that necessitate
communication. The teacher sets a situation that students are likely to encounter in real life”
(Galloway,1993, p. 1).
Teaching Materials
Boards, chips
Getting Ready
1. Print or create your bingo cards and chips.
2. Distribute flashcards and ask for helpers.
3. Give choices to your students. Ask them what kind of game they would
like to play in their first, second and third round: black-out, top row,
bottom row and/or four corners, among other possibilities.
1. Place your chip bags on the desk.
2. (As an example) Listen to the letters I say and look for them on your
boards. If you happen to have the letter, place a chip on the square.
3. When the board has been completed, say BINGO and share the
information with the teacher so as to prove your answers are right.
Suggestions
1. Distributing chips in big classes can take a long time and can, therefore,
impede the teacher in keeping complete control of the whole group. A good
alternative is to ask your students to make their own chips at home, bring
them in a small plastic bag and keep them under the desk. Plenty of time
will be saved!
2. Since children are usually interested in manipulating small objects, they
could eat, throw, or attempt to put them in their ears as an example. For
this reason, paper chips are strongly suggested.
3. As a way to keep your students alert and focused, you can allow them to
exchange cards before a new game starts. Students highly enjoy this kind
of social interaction. Moreover, this adds a touch of suspense, and
increases their level of interest.
71
4. Pretend you are all participating in a real school Bingo event by asking
the students, for example, how many extra letters, numbers, months, etc…
they need in order to win.
5. Since the bingo game is related to being lucky, take a look at the boards
while playing. If a student feels frustrated because their information has
not been called, the teacher can discretely help this student by calling
their needed letter or number. From a pedagogical point of view, this would
be fair since you are avoiding frustration.
Gabriela
“Si, es muy bueno y muy entretenido; uno aprende las palabras muy
rápido con juegos así.”
Sergio
“Si, porque a los chicos les gusta jugar y así uno se entusiasma más
teniendo más aprendizaje.”
Franco
8vo básico
Colegio Balmaceda
Futrono, Chile, 2011
72
Go for a seat!
"[Humor is considered] as positive, psychologically and physically healthy, and socially
desirable" (Martin; 2007, p.29).
Teaching Materials
Chairs, small flashcards
Getting Ready
1. Depending on the number of students, prepare 4 to 5 sets of small
flashcards to be distributed among your students.
2. Arrange your classroom by placing chairs in a circle.
3. Randomly, give each student one flashcard from each set.
4. Be ready to participate and sit when you first call out the word, phrase
or sentence so that there is always one student left standing.
1. When I name the word or picture in your flashcard, please stand up and
change seats.
2. Be ready for surprises!
Suggestions
1. When starting to play, do not tell students that you will also sit. Just
perform the action and let them realize what will happen. The effect of the
surprise will help you start the activity in a quiet way.
2. In order for students to know which seats are available to sit on and
ensure that there will always be a student standing up, you can ask them
to place their schoolbag on the back of their chair.
3. If you do not want to change your classroom arrangement, you can ask
children to place the back of their chairs facing the desks. However, the
circle is a better option since it creates a reduced empty space in which
you can control every single action.
4. You can also prepare sets of realia such as fruit or school objects
instead of distributing flashcards. Thus, this activity will develop different
learning styles.
73
5. You can ask several students to stand up and change seats by calling
more than one word. Depending on your class’ behavior, you can also call
all of the words. This option is an excellent way to end the activity, but you
would have to stay up and allow all students to find a seat.
Mauricio
“Me gustó mucho y aprendí mucho!”
Natalia
“Me gustó porque era muy entretenido!”
Michelle
3ro básico
Escuela Angachilla
74
Let’s go fishing!
“The miracle of lifelong learning will only happen when learning systems are brought closer
to daily life” (Pastor, 2010, p.27).8
Teaching Materials
10 different colored cardboard medium sized fish with numbers printed on
them, 2 hand-made fishing rods
Getting Ready
1. Create and decorate your 10 fish and fishing rods.
2. Form your circle and have students sit crisscross apple sauce.
3. Place your fish on the floor in the middle of the circle.
4. Divide the class into two teams and invite two representatives from each
group to join you. Give each one a fishing rod.
(Talking to the representatives) Listen to the number I will say and look for
it. The first one to fish the right number becomes the winner of the round
and gets a point for their team.
Suggestions
1. You can sit students differently but remember all students need to see
what is happening. If they can’t see well, I can assure you they will try to
see better by standing up, walking towards the board and/or pushing
others. Fishing is definitely a very funny activity that every student will
want to be part of.
2. You can have different pictures on the cardboard fish depending on your
lesson goals. Using numbers is just one option.
3. Depending on your students’ age, level and interest, you can also review
other content areas such as addition facts.
8
“El milagro de la formación a lo largo de la vida sólo será posible cuando los sistemas de
aprendizaje se aproximen a la vida” (Pastor, 2010, p. 27). [Translation into English by
Yasna Yilorm]
75
4. You can bring a small plastic or paper pool to place fish inside and
make the activity seem even more real.
5. Discourage students from moving the fishing rod too much because the
cord could keep on moving for a long time, making catching a fish very
difficult.
6. Always remind students that fishing rods are not meant for hitting
others.
Laura
“Muy divertido porque es fácil.”
Nicole
“Es una manera divertida de aprender inglés.”
Catalina
Kinder
Escuela El Laurel
76
Four corners
“Teaching no longer means imposing information from the outside but getting inside the
experience of the learner” (Ferguson, 1990, p. 115).
Teaching Materials
4 pieces of light-colored plastic bags, markers, 4 flashcards
Getting Ready
1. Look for a big light-colored plastic bag and cut it into 4 equal pieces.
2. Place each piece of plastic in the four corners of your classroom. You
won’t need any kind of glue. The plastic bag should remain stuck on the
wall due to electrostatic electricity; which will automatically help students
to keep focused, interested and quiet.
3. With a marker, write a different word on each plastic piece. Then, place
flashcards with pictures next to the piece of plastic with the written word
on it to provide students with comprehensible input.
4. Ask for a volunteer to come to the front of the class.
1. (Talking to the volunteer) Turn around to face the board, close your eyes
and count to 20.
2. (Talking to the rest of the students and pointing to the volunteer) While
your classmate is counting, choose a corner and stay there. Walk quietly
so that you are not heard.
3. (Talking to the volunteer) Do not open your eyes. Choose a corner and
say it out loud.
4. (Talking to the rest of the students) If you are standing in the corner
your classmate has just named, please sit down.
5. Let’s continue playing until we have a final survivor.
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Suggestions
1. Before children enter the classroom, try to place the pieces of plastic bag
on the wall to make sure “the magic” will work. It may happen that walls
do not have enough static. In that case, I recommend that you play with
flashcards only and/or bring the written words ready.
2. You can introduce vocabulary in many different ways. However, the use
of magic is highly recommended because children usually respond
positively to incredible experiences.
3. Many students will raise their hands to count after the first round. I
would, therefore, suggest that you pick one of the students who has lost
and is sitting down. This decision will help you to keep all students active
and happy.
4. Tell students that they can change their mind while choosing their
corner. However, it is necessary they understand that when the volunteer
has finished counting, everybody should be in one of the corners. If your
class is too noisy, you can tell your students that if they do not have a
definite corner when the volunteer is ready, they will be out of the game.
5. Instead of counting, the volunteer can also say any sequential content
such as the days of the week, the months of the year, or the ABCs. The
student should speak slowly so that other children have enough time to
switch corners.
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“Entretenido y podemos aprender con un juego creativo.”
Nelson
“Me pareció muy buena forma de jugar y así se puede aprender mucho
inglés. Es una divertida forma de aprender. Very good!”
Kimberly
5th grade
Escuela Angachilla
79
Which one is missing?
“What is important in teaching a second language is to keep the students very engaged. [. . .
] using pictures to teach a language [ . . .] is very useful.” (Hazan, personal communication,
2011)
Teaching Materials
Flashcards, tak
Getting Ready
Introduce your flashcards by placing them on the board.
1. Repeat each word after me.
2. Now, close your eyes and relax for a while. Do not cheat!
3. Open your eyes and stretch. Notice that there is one flashcard missing.
Let’s read all the flashcards again, including the one that is missing.
Follow my lead.
4. Let’s continue playing until all flashcards are gone and let’s see if we
can remember them all!
Suggestions
1. Always point to the flashcards as students read them including the
blank spaces. This strategy will help them to remember specific spots and
make immediate connections with the missing words.
2. Place three flashcards in horizontal rows to ensure that you can
remember exactly where the missing flashcard was located and point to
the appropriate spot.
3. Once the activity is over, you can also challenge students to read
flashcards individually or in groups of two or three. Ask for volunteers, but
do not force anyone. In this game, knowing the English vocabulary is not
enough, a good memory is also required, which means some students may
get frustrated if they cannot remember the word.
4. Play tricks with students by changing the reading pattern without
letting them know. When students repeat mechanically, it may happen
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that they are not processing the word at more than a superficial level, so
this alleviates that risk.
Source: Observed in Andrew Sheehan’s presentation “What really matters in ELT: some
things you already knew, and some surprises!” June 21st, 2011, Universidad Austral de
Chile.
“Estuvo bacán el juego y también aprendí.”
Paz
5th grade
Leonardo Da Vinci
“Es una manera fácil de aprender inglés.”
Juan Pablo
6to básico
Escuela Alemania
81
Looking for my match
“If a child can’t learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn”
(Estrada, n.d., in Selected Quotes on Teaching, n.d.).
Teaching Materials
Five sets of 20 small flashcards with pictures and/or words on one side
but with the same design on the other side, a small plastic bag
Getting Ready
1. Design and create your flashcards.
2. Make classroom arrangements so that your children can sit on the floor.
3. Place your flashcards on the floor in the middle of the circle. The
pictures and/or written information should be facing down.
1. Let’s form two groups: boys versus girls.
2. The first player will turn two cards over and see if they match. If they
do, he/she keeps the cards for his/her team. If not, he/she has to turn
them over again and it is someone else’s turn to play.
3. Continue playing until no flashcards are left. The winner is the team
that has the most sets of matches.
Suggestions
1. To lower the level of difficulty of the activity or to make it shorter in case
you do not have much time, you can allow students to leave one flashcard
face up every time they play.
2. Ask students to say the word of the flashcards out loud every time they
turn over the cards.
3. Both groups could have a leader who saves the flashcards that their
team has won.
4. After the game is over, ask the leaders to collect the flashcards, put
them back into the plastic bags and hand them in to the teacher.
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5. If your class is too large or if it is too difficult for you to make
arrangements, you can prepare many sets of flashcards and carry out the
activity in small groups.
Felipe
“Si, estos juegos nos ayudan mucho para aprender.”
Nachita
“Yo creo que si sirve el juego!”
Loreto
3rd grade
Martin Luther King College
Valdiva, Chile, 2011
83
Around the world
“[. . .] the use of “humor” in classrooms improves classroom climate,
increases student-teacher rapport, increases enjoyment, reduces tension, and even
facilitates learning and makes it a real-life experience” (Loomax and Moosavi, 1998;
Provine, 2002, in Aboudan, 2009).
Teaching Materials
A set of medium sized flashcards
Getting Ready
1. Hold a set of medium sized flashcards that the students are already
familiar with. Mix them up and do not show the pictures to your students.
2. Keep the traditional classroom seating arrangements: many rows of
desks facing the teacher and the board.
3. Ask the first student from the first row to stand up behind the student
who is seated by his/her side. These two will compete against each other
in the first round.
1. (Talking to both students) Look at the flashcard I will show you and
name the object/animal or person on it. The student who gives the right
answer first moves on to compete with the next person in the row. He/she,
therefore, starts “travelling around the world”.
2. Keep on playing until at least one student is able to travel to all of the
countries.
Suggestions
1. This game can last for a very long time. It may even happen that it
becomes a never-ending activity. This could make students feel bored,
sleepy and frustrated; especially if they are not as fast as their classmates.
If you experience such a situation, bring the activity to an end and ask
students how many countries they had the chance to visit. If students
want to elect a winner, tell them that the person who has visited the most
countries wins the game.
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2. Shuffle flashcards from time to time because students can memorize the
order in which you are presenting them.
3. Fast students have more chances to win and this fact could produce
negative attitudes among students who need more time to think to give out
an appropriate answer. Therefore, constantly encourage students to beat
those who always know the answer without hurting anybody’s feelings.
4. To avoid conflicts when the students speak at the same time, tell them
you are the only judge in the classroom. A student can also help you in
case he/she does not want to participate in the activity.
5. If there is a tie, keep on playing till you break it.
Helena
“Si, me gustó mucho, estuvo muy entretenido.”
Camila
“Sí, me gustó porque fue divertido ver quien podía ganar.”
Bernardita
6th grade
Escuela Angachilla
85
Find someone who
“Game-like activities provide pleasurable tension and challenge through the process of
attaining some fun goal while limited by rules. [. . .] The introduction of such rules (an
arbitrary time limit, for example) can add spice to almost any goal-oriented task” (Ur, 1996,
p.281).
Teaching Materials
Small printed out charts, a pen/pencil
Getting Ready
1. Make bingo-style charts, one for each student in the class. At the top of
the card, write Find someone who ……
2. In each grid, write a sentence such as: ….. is from Temuco, ….. likes
listening to loud music, …… has a pet, and other similar examples.
3. Leave a space for students to write the name of the person who replied
to the question with a YES answer:
Find Someone Who ….
……………
tennis.
likes ……………
dancing.
…………… has a dog.
……………
soccer.
goes ……………..
breakfast.
has
………… comes from …………….. likes iceTemuco.
cream.
plays …………… does
have a pet.
not ………………
English.
enjoys
1. Stand up and hold your card with your pen/pencil.
2. Move around the classroom and ask your classmates the questions that
will complete the statements on your charts. If they say YES, write the
name of your classmate in that space to complete the sentence. If the
answer is NO, continue looking for a positive reply.
4. You cannot repeat any classmate’s name on the chart.
5. The five people who complete their charts first will be the winners.
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Suggestions
1. Practice the use of YES/NO questions before playing. It will help
students to use appropriate questions and verb tenses.
2. I would recommend not using charts that have incomplete sentences
such as:
Find someone who …
Name of the Student
Extra Information
likes tennis
has a brother
Students might get confused with the structures they see and acquire
grammar incorrectly. For example, they can think you do not need a
subject in English sentences.
3. The teacher should participate in the game and move around, asking
questions and supervising students in a very natural way. Being an active
member of the class will allow the teacher to check if questions are asked
in English, if questions and answers are well formulated, and if all
students are participating.
4. Telling students the game is over once you have the winners can be very
sad for some of them, especially for those who have made a great effort to
complete their chart and are about to finish. However, if competition is not
encouraged, the level of interest might be lower. One possible solution is to
reward all the students if they finish completing the chart. If you choose
this route, keep in mind you will need to think of an extra activity for fast
people who finish first.
5. Check beforehand that all questions can be answered positively. You do
not want students to spend a lot of time trying to find someone who has
not had the experience mentioned in the paper. Survey your students first.
It will help the teacher to know his/her students’ ages, interests, cultural
differences and life experiences, among others.
Source: Adapted from the textbook: World Link.
87
“This activity is funny and great. Uno aprende mucho de diferentes
formas y una de las mejores para los niños es jugando así es que es
una muy buena idea.”
Fernando
“Esta actividad estuvo demasiado bien porque en vez de pasar materia
y explicar, a través de los juegos aprendes mucho más.”
Sebastián
7th grade
Instituto Salesiano
88
Read my mind!
“[ . . .] the vast majority of vocabulary words are learned gradually through repeated
exposures in various discourse contexts” (Coady & Huckin; 1997, p.225).
Teaching Materials
A wand, a cape, a ball and flashcards
Getting Ready
1. Enter the classroom with your cape and wand. Tell your students you
have magical powers and can read people’s minds. Ask them if they want
your power (a positive answer is expected). Take your wand, ask students
to close their eyes and pretend that you are putting a magical spell on
them by saying: abracadabra, this spell is mine but open your eyes and
now YOU will read minds!
2. On the board, place the flashcards containing the vocabulary that you
need to review.
3. Tell students that you have chosen a word from the board and challenge
them to guess it by reading your mind now that they have magical powers.
1. I am ready. Can you read my mind? What is the word that I am thinking
of?
2. Raise your hand if you have an idea of what the word could be and be
ready to catch my ball.
3. Say your guess and throw me the ball back.
4. If you guess the right word, it is your turn to pick up a new word and
challenge the class to guess.
Suggestions
1. Continue playing until you see that some students are losing focus and
the game is getting too tedious.
2. When you have decided to stop the game, make sure you tell the
students that this will be the last round to avoid students’ frustration in
case they want to continue playing.
89
3. Some shy students could stop participating when they realize that if
they guess right, it will be their turn to be the teacher. You can always ask
for volunteers.
4. You can repeat the spell when necessary and the students can even
wear the cape if they want to.
“YES!”
Pablo
3rd grade
El Laurel
“A mí me gustó porque era muy divertido.”
Rodrigo
3rd grade
El Laurel
90
Survival
“Teachers should [. . .] consider the advantages of games: the ability to capture students'
attention; lower students' stress; and give students the chance for real communication”
(Deesri, 2002, p.1).
Teaching Materials
CD, media player (if necessary)
Getting Ready
1. Review your content material, for example, months of the year.
Macarena Song is a good option.
January, February, March and April
May, June, July and August
September, October, November, December
Hey Macarena!
Do not forget to make the appropriate gestures following the pattern of
Macarena Song.
1. Stand up.
2. When I point at you, you should say the right month of the year as
quickly and clearly as possible. We will follow the correct sequence.
3. If your answer is incorrect, you will be asked to sit down.
Suggestions
1. Through this activity, you can practice content material that has a
sequence such as numbers, ABC’s, days of the week, seasons, among
others.
2. It is important to be very positive when students are asked to sit. We do
not want anybody to feel disappointed. You can use friendly non-verbal
communication. A touch of a sense of humor is always welcome.
91
3. This kind of activity in which speed is required should be applied when
students are already familiar with the lexicon they are mastering. If you
take the time to review the lexicon, student anxiety could decrease
considerably.
4. If students are motivated, you can play the game faster and increase
their challenge.
Adolfo
“Si me gusta, porque es muy divertido aprender jugando porque se
entiende muy bien.”
Sebastián
“Me encantó porque pienso que jugar y aprender está bien divertido.”
Josefa
3rd grade
Master College
92
London Bridge
“Entertainment produces enjoyment, which in its turn adds motivation” (Ur, 1996, p.281).
Teaching Materials
Flashcards/manipulatives (optional)
Getting Ready
Since this activity is mainly for the little ones, do not supply extensive
explanation. Just act-out your expectation as naturally as possible.
1. Design your classroom arrangement in advance to show the kids the
railroad track they should follow.
2. Invite two students to come to the front. Ask them to hold and raise
their hands as if forming a bridge.
3. Call students, one by one, and ask them to make a line behind you and
the bridge.
4. Play the song “London Bridge is Falling Down”. Do not play it so loud as
you have to give your students instructions.
1. Hold your partner’s waist. Now, we are a train. Let’s start travelling! Chi
qui chi qui, chi qui, bu bu. Be careful, walk slowly. It is time to walk under
the bridge.
2. (Talking to students who are holding hands) When the song is over and
students say “My fair lady!”, lower your arms and capture a friend.
3. (Talking to the student who has been captured) What do you see in this
picture?
4. Let’s keep on singing and walking under the bridge! Be good listeners.
Suggestions
1. This is a very challenging activity in terms of classroom management.
Tell the students that in order to get into the train and walk under the
bridge, everybody has to be really quiet and that the train should follow
the rail. Children love pretend play ideas.
93
2. If you wish, instead of showing flashcards, you can also challenge
students to perform the actions that you tell them.
3. Don’t wait until everybody has a turn! If your students look tired and
start getting disorderly, you can tell them they can continue the trip
another day.
“El juego nos educa para aprender inglés.”
Arym
1st grade
Escuela Gracia y Paz
“Lo que más me gustó del juego fue que aprendí como se decían los
animales en inglés.”
Diego
1st grade
Escuela Gracia y Paz
94
The Roulette
“Games have goals that foster motivation” (Prensky, 2007, p.106, cited in Pastor, 2010,
p.53).9
Teaching Materials
A medium-sized cardboard roulette
Getting Ready
1. Make your own roulette using cardboard, pictures, markers, an arrow
and a pin.
3. Show the roulette to students and invite them to spin it.
1. Would you like to play the roulette?
2. Listen to my question and try to guess. What is the weather like in Paris
right now? Is it sunny/ cold/ foggy/ windy/ or cloudy?
3. (After the student has made a decision: cold), spin the roulette and let’s
see if you are right.
3. Let’s look at the arrow. Is it cold?
If so, you are very lucky.
If not, you will try again later!
Suggestions
1. You can place your roulette on the wall. However, a portable roulette is
also recommended in order to carry out a more dynamic and interactive
activity.
2. In spite of the fact that children will need to take turns to participate in
this activity, you can involve all your class by encouraging them to call out
the word that the student has chosen while the roulette is spinning.
3. You can give students points or awards for making good guesses.
Nevertheless, keep in mind that for children, this is only a matter of luck
and some children could feel it is unfair. A solution could be to praise
9
“Los juegos tienen metas, que proporcionan motivación”. [Translation into English by
Yasna Yilorm]
95
students for making attempts to communicate in English such as: “I think
it is sunny in the afternoon”.
4. If your roulette is portable, find a safe way to hold it firmly while the
student is spinning it. Some students can spin hard and the roulette can
fly away and, eventually, get damaged. A good piece of advice is to ask
students to spin the roulette gently to avoid accidents.
5. The roulette is also a simple and easy way to interrupt your lesson when
students are tired, bored, sleepy or unfocused. You can also use it when
you do not feel like moving too much.
“Estuvo divertido aparte que daban dulces.”
Catalina
“Me gustó la forma en la que se comparte con los compañeros.”
Ana
4th grade
Escuela El Laurel
96
Stretching words
“Some of these students need more information through different senses in order for them to
understand what’s going on” (Glas, personal communication, 2008).
Teaching Materials
Rubber Bands
Getting Ready
1. Prepare a set of rubber bands, one for each student.
2. Place them in a safe place in your school bag.
3. Show students your rubber bands and ask them what color they are,
how long they are, what they are for, etc…
4. After reminding students that following their classroom management
plan is compulsory, give each student a rubber band. Do not tell them
what it will be for. Curiosity will help students to keep busy and focused.
1. Leave your rubber bands on your desks and do not touch them please.
2. Look at my rubber band and focus on how it stretches according to the
words I say.
3. Now hold your rubber band with both thumbs and listen to the word I
say.
4. Say the words after me and stretch your band accordingly.
Suggestions
1. When using dangerous teaching materials, you need to overemphasize
your classroom management plan before and during the activity. Rubber
bands can be very dangerous since students tend to use them as
bracelets.
2. Count rubber bands before and after the activity has been carried out.
You should have the same amount of rubber bands both times. If not, do
not let students leave until you have all rubber bands with you.
97
3. In the market, you can find colorful animal shaped rubber bands. These
can be very useful, especially when dealing with animal content material.
Students could stretch the animal rubber band while saying the name of
the animal. This activity would provide students with valuable amounts of
comprehensible input.
-.”
“Si, me gustó la actividad del elásticoPaloma
“Yes, me gustó!”
Nelly
5th grade
Escuela Alemania
98
Winding yarn
“Natural teachers do not work themselves to death. Instead, they put the students to work
(Jones, 2000, p.1).
Teaching Materials
Pieces of yarn of different colors and lengths
Getting Ready
1. Cut many pieces of yarn of different lengths. Roll each piece, form small
balls of yarn and place them in a bag.
2. Wear your bag, open it and ask students to take out one piece of yarn.
Do not mention what they will need to do with it. This surprise effect
should keep them focused and interested.
3. Arrange your room and leave an open and large area.
1. Pick one piece of yarn.
2. Place the end of the thread around your finger.
3. One at a time, each one of you will need to count while rolling the yarn
thread around your finger. Stop counting when there is no more thread.
4. Lucky you if you have a shorter thread.
Suggestions
1. Some students, especially younger ones, can take a long time choosing
the ball of yarn. Therefore, avoid using translucent bags since there are
different sizes and colors. Also, challenge your students by telling them
that when picking their piece of yarn, they cannot look at the bag. Tell
them you will count up to three. When you finish counting, students
should take their ball of yarn out of the bag.
2. You can use any kind of bag, but try to look for a special one to increase
students’ motivation. Tell them the reasons why your bag is special.
Personal stories will help them focus.
3. You can cut pieces of yarn of the same length and color but having
different lengths will bring humor and surprise to the class. Having
different colors will cheer up your activity.
4. Instead of counting, your students can also speak about a topic, sing,
recite, etc…
99
“It is a good activity because you must speak while you are rolling
ball of yarn, then you must think all the time.”
Marcelo
“This activity was not difficult and it permitted me to take time to
think or to prepare my sentences.”
Fernando
FOCAL SKILLS Group
100
Moving around
“Sometimes the pace that most of your students feel comfortable with is not the pace
that all of your students feel comfortable with. Some students need more time to
understand and absorb information than others. Allowing students to study
independently at learning centers lets them go at their own pace” (Busy Teachers,
2014, para 11).
Teaching Materials
Different kinds of teaching materials (books, flashcards, games, realia,
h”andouts, teaching supplies, posters, etc…), pieces of paper, a timer and
a basket or shoebox
Getting Ready
1. Design four main activities that could be carried out in four different
centers.
2. Prepare all the different teaching materials and props that will be
required in every center.
3. Arrange and decorate your classroom. Motivating students from the very
beginning is crucial to achieve success during instruction.
4. Depending on the students’ ages, prepare a brief list of clear
instructions for the activities that need to be carried out in every corner
and place it in the basket.
5. Give each center a name that can be posted on the wall and give
children, as they enter the classroom, a piece of paper with the name of
the center they should visit first.
1. Please listen to instructions first. Do not start working till I say “Go”.
2. All of you are placed in a specific center whose name is on the wall. You
will be given a limited amount of time to carry out the activity/activities for
each center.
3. When you hear the timer, please stand up, leave all materials in the
basket/shoebox to keep the center clean and organized for your
classmates.
101
4. All of you are expected to visit all centers.
5. 1 … 2 … 3 … Ready? Go!
Suggestions
1. If you do not have a timer or your students do not enjoy its sound, you
can clap hands, whistle, play some music or use an hourglass. Music is an
excellent idea. While students are moving from one center to another, they
can sing and even dance. In other words, they can relax.
2. Once the centers have been introduced, you can establish a weekly
class routine. For example, students are informed they will work in centers
every Monday morning. This will provide an organized system in your
class. This strategy could also help your students understand they should
work hard and not necessarily in a hurry. If they are not finished when the
time is up, they will be able to continue next time.
3. Working in centers is not an easy at first. Students can take some time
to understand how they have to move and work, how much time they need
to stay in each center, how to react when they hear the timer and what
directions they have to follow to move from one center to another. This is
why it is necessary to be patient and repeat the routine.
4. Make sure chosen activities can reach a great variety of learning styles,
needs and interests in order to motivate all of your students. This way,
expectations to reach a specific center will increase. You can organize your
centers the way you prefer: per language skill or per intelligence. Interests
and needs should also be considered.
5. Include free playful activities such as games, puzzles and crosswords in
one corner. Students will be more open to go through more complex
activities if they know there is a place to relax.
6. You can organize this activity with other colleagues or older students so
that there are helpers in every center to check student’s work, guide them
and solve any problem. This way, it is also possible for you to stay in one
of the centers and lead “Guided Reading”, for example. If you are the only
teacher, make sure you find your own strategies to quickly move from one
center to another.
7. To avoid noise interference from one center to another, you can separate
them with screens. Students will enjoy this scenario since it provides a
touch of suspense and surprise.
8. For listening activities, it is necessary to provide students with
headphones. If not possible, keep in mind that many of our students have
102
electronic devices at home. If parents can help, they could bring some to
school. Always be prepared in case a couple of students forget their
materials.
9. You can work with centers in different ways. For instance, at the
beginning of the class, you can hand out tickets, coupons, codes,
passports (every center is a country for example), and other similar
possibilities.
10. Centers work for all students, but they are especially useful with large
classes and hyperactive students. There is a routine and at the same time
lots of chances to move and carry out different kinds of activities during a
limited period of time.
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“Me gusto todo, muy bien organizado, entretenido y educativo. Me
&.”
gustó mucho el sector de reciclaje&
Matías
“Me gustaron mucho las actividades, me divertí y aprendí sobre
algunas cosas como el reciclaje. Además, vi una obra de teatro que me
encantó. Espero que vuelvan de nuevo. ¡Gracias por venir!”
Emilio
8vo básico
Escuela Balmaceda
104
Go for it!
“[. . .] the child [. . .] is simply building up competence by listening via
comprehensible input. His first words in the second language are not the beginning
of his second language acquisition; rather they are the result of the comprehensible
input he has received over the previous months” (Krashen, 1985, p. 9).
Teaching Materials
2 sets of flashcards
Getting Ready
1. Place two desks and two chairs at the front of the class. Chairs should
face the class, not the board.
2. Pick two students who will be the captains of their teams.
3. Give captains a set of flashcards to be placed face up on the desk. They
will be in charge of cleaning desks and checking if all flashcards are on the
desks.
4. Organize two teams and choose a scorekeeper.
1. I need two volunteers, one from each group.
2. (Talking to the volunteers) Stand next to the desks, facing your
classmates. I will say a word and you will have to find the right picture. As
soon as you find the flashcard, hold it and show it to your classmates.
3) The first student who identifies the picture obtains a point for his/her
team. The winner is the team who will have the highest score.
Suggestions
1. Since this game requires concentration and speed, it is important to
review content materials with the flashcards before playing the game.
Thus, students will feel more confident to participate.
2. Encourage children not only to identify the flashcards but also to utter
words or produce sentences.
3. Change scorekeepers and captains. Children love being leaders and play
at being the teacher.
4. Say the words two or three times. Then, encourage your children to do
so.
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“Si, me gusto, es diferente!”
Tabita
“Sí me gusto porque es movida.”
Nicolás
5th grade
Helvecia School
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Follow the Leader
“Teachers who share warm, personal interactions with their
students, who respond to their concerns in an empathetic
manner and who succeed in establishing relationships of mutual
trust and respect with the learners are more likely to inspire
them in academic matters than those who have no personal ties
with the learners” (Dörnyei, 2008, p. 36).
Teaching Materials
CD, CD player
Getting Ready
1. Arrange chairs and desks before your students come into the class.
Leave enough space to form a circle.
2. Play the music as your students come in and invite them, through
verbal and non-verbal communication, to form a circle right away. Starting
the lesson with plenty of energy and rhythm can motivate your students to
get involved with the lesson from the very beginning.
Listen to the lyrics and follow me!
Suggestions
1. Cha Cha Cha Slide by DJ Casper is highly recommended. You can find
this song on youtube.
2. You can use different kinds of songs to make your students dance.
However, songs in which students have to follow the leader are highly
recommended. Students can feel shy at the very beginning; thus, having
someone to follow will decrease anxiety levels. Moreover, imperatives are
usually short and, therefore, easier structures to be acquired.
3. You can carry out this activity at the beginning, in the middle of the
lesson or at the end in order to say goodbye in an enthusiastic way.
4. A large room with removable seats is perfect. Nonetheless, if you have a
very large and noisy class and removing chairs can make you waste too
much time, you can definitely play the song and make students follow the
leader and stay next to their seats.
5. Do not force people who do not want to participate. They could help you
with the tape recorder/computer, they can be the judges or they can just
sit and observe. By listening and observing, acquisition can also occur.
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6. Before dancing, you can also teach students a few steps such as stomp,
hop, remove freeze, clap, and other commands in order for them to feel
familiar with some main words and actions. Body language and flashcards
can help you reach this goal; however, it is necessary to keep in mind that,
when involved, students can learn to a greater extent. They can learn the
steps by listening to the lyrics and by following you as long as you provide
an abundant amount of comprehensible input.
7. This TPR activity can be very exhausting for you and, even for the
children. Therefore, provide your class with quieter activities after dancing
so that everybody can rest and recover.
Millaray
“The Cha cha cha slide song was AMAZING. Dancing in the class helps
students to learn vocabulary through one thing they do everyday:
listening to music. This kind of activity (songs) helps to create a
meaningful learning as it is completely related to the students’
context.”
Erwin
“The activity is very motivating because students forget that they are
in classes, but they continue learning.”
Daniela
3rd grade
English Teaching Program
Santo Tomás University
Puerto Montt, Chile, 2011
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Happy Birthday!
“[ . . .] when students lose themselves in characters, plots and situations, they are more apt
to experience low anxiety, increased self-confidence and esteem, and heightened
awareness” (Richard-Amato, 2003, p.230).
Teaching Materials
Chairs
Getting Ready
1. Decorate your classroom with a few balloons and, as your students
come into the classroom, play the happy birthday song. Students should
immediately show signs of interest since they will recognize the song but
they will not know what birthday is being celebrated.
2. Place a chair in front of the class.
3. Tell students you are going to celebrate birthdays by exchanging
imaginary presents.
4. Provide an example with one of the students by acting out what will
happen. Through observation, students will begin to comprehend the
activity.
1. I need a volunteer. Please sit down. Today is your birthday!
2. I need another volunteer. Please give an imaginary present to your
classmate and wish him/her a happy birthday.
3. (Talking to the first volunteer) Say “thank you”, open your imaginary
present and give a brief comment about it! For example, I love it, It is a
very nice present, or It’s lovely, thank you.
4. Who else would like to celebrate his/her own birthday and receive an
imaginary present?
Suggestions
1. You can arrange your chairs differently, for example, make a circle,
especially if you have very shy students who could feel uncomfortable
standing alone in front of the class.
2. Encourage your students to use lots of non-verbal communication to
perform the activity: For example, ask them to carry the present by
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showing the class it is heavy or tiny. Also, the person who is celebrating
his/her birthday should open the present and show signs of happiness
while opening it and surprise when seeing it. This activity will help them
learn how to use body language.
3. If your class has negative leaders who could spoil the activity with
inappropriate comments, give students a list of presents they can offer.
4. Do not force students to participate. Some of them could feel
uncomfortable or embarrassed. Give them some time to become
accustomed to the activity and provide a relaxed classroom atmosphere so
that students feel at ease and, therefore, willing to participate.
5. Avoid asking students questions such as: Who would like to give a
present to …? It may happen that no one raises his/her hand and, thus,
students’ feelings can be hurt. Since this is an affective activity, you
should act as a guide and facilitator at all times.
Source: Observed in Dr. Matamala’s Drama Sessions, 1997, Centro Cultural EL Austral,
Valdivia, Chile.
110
“I think it was a very interesting activity because the students can
develop their imagination and put their ideas into an activity that is
also about sharing and expressing their feelings.”
Valentina
3rd Grade
English Teaching Program, Universidad Austral de Chile
“Me gustó entregar regalos imaginarios porque uno no tiene que ir a
comprar.”
Gabriela
Kinder
Hampton College
111
20 years after …
“Teachers [. . .] have found that using a drama activity [. . .] has caught and held the
attention of the students and stimulated their creativity” (Gauder, 1990, p. 245).
Teaching Materials
Props (all kinds of clothing and accessories)
Getting Ready
1. Arrange your classroom. You will need a large space for your students
to move. A big circle without chairs is a nice idea.
2. Before starting, carry out some breathing and relaxation exercises for
your students to relax and focus.
3. Also, look for some soft music to create a pleasant atmosphere.
1. Put your heads down. Close your eyes and relax.
2. Imagine twenty years have passed. You are now around 30/40 years
old. How are you? /Where do you live?/Where do you work?/ Are you
married?/ etc …
3. Open your eyes and stretch. Twenty years have passed and you have
changed a lot!
4. Via facebook, you have been invited to a get-together party with your
classmates from school.
5. Start walking around the classroom without speaking.
6. As you hear three claps, stop and talk to your classmate who is next to
you. Greet each other and exchange personal information.
7. When you hear three claps again, stop talking and begin walking
silently again.
Suggestions
1. To facilitate your students’ performances, you can provide a set of 5
personal questions for students to ask each other.
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2. As a teacher you need to constantly move around in order to check if
students are exchanging information in English and not in Spanish and to
support them in improving production. You can also perform the activity
so that students do not feel the pressure of being permanently observed
and corrected by the teacher.
3. Props certainly help students to develop non-verbal communication
skills and strengthen confidence. Therefore, you could ask them, as a
homework assignment, to look for one prop that could characterize them
in the future and then, bring it to the class.
4. Bring some props from home just in case. In fact, it would be great to
have a prop box in the classroom and invite students and parents to fill it
in with different clothes and accessories such as wigs, glasses, bags, etc…
Keep in mind your students will need some time to understand how to
work with props in an organized and productive way.
5. Do not force students who do not want to wear props. They can just use
body language or just speak at the beginning if they happen to be too shy.
Source: Observed in Dr. Matamala’s Drama Sessions, 1997, Centro Cultural EL Austral,
Valdivia, Chile.
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Valentina
Juanito
“Everytime I remember the past, I think of those English classes at
the University as they were innovatives. We had a lot of fun and they
were distractives.”
Joseph
“La actividad fue bastante entretenida y desafiante dado que la
persona se enfrentó a una situación ella o el tuvo que improvisar.”
Jorge
CORFO, Universidad Austral de Chile
Valdivia, 2012
114
All about you
"Thinking is a process of interaction between the child and the environment" (Gargiulo &
Kilgo; 2011, p.12)
Teaching Materials
None
Getting Ready
1. Ask students to make a big circle.
2. As a member of the group, start the game by saying a sentence. For
example, “My name is ……”
1. (Talking to one of the two students on your left or right side) Repeat my
sentence and add another one.
2. (Talking to the rest of the class) Listen carefully! Repeat all the
sentences you hear and, then, add an extra one. You cannot take notes.
Just listen.
Suggestions
1. If you have too many students, you can ask them to make two or more
circles. Memorizing so many sentences could become too challenging for
some children.
2. It may happen that the activity gets tedious or too complicated,
especially for students who are seated at the end of the circle and have to
memorize and repeat more information than the first ones. If your
students look unmotivated or bored, attempt to simplify the activity and
help them to remember the sentences through association with the
speaker or the previous sentence. You can also invite the whole class to
repeat all the sentences together.
3. It is an excellent idea for the teacher to be part of the memory game,
especially if you start and end up the activity. Students will feel more
secure and confident. Moreover, it is always very funny for students to see
how well teachers do in difficult situations.
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4. Since this is a game based on repetition, it is very probable that
students repeat incorrect pronunciation, lexicon and/or structures. In this
case, the teacher and group captain should gently intervene, hopefully
through indirect correction, but do not let the mistakes be repeated over
and over; it could cause fossilization.
5. Encourage sense of humor or non-verbal characterization; however, if
inappropriate attitudes are expected from a specific group of students, I
would recommend not to do so.
Source: Adapted from Roberto Matamala’s Drama Sessions, 1997, Centro Cultural EL
Austral, Valdivia, Chile.
“Lo considero entretenido, didáctico y útil para aprender. Requiere
rapidez mental para realizar las frases bien y rápido. Creo que es
divertido y eficaz.”
Alejandro
“Creo que es un juego muy bueno porque ayuda a la pronunciación y
la memoria.”
David
FOCAL SKILLS Children’s Group
116
Who am I?
“Correction of errors should always be made in context and in a non-threatening manner”
(Ariza et al, 2003, p.232).
Teaching Materials
Pieces of paper, pens, a fish bowl
Getting Ready
1. Cut small pieces of paper, one for each student.
2. Put pieces of paper in a fish bowl.
1. Take one piece of paper out of the fish bowl.
2. Write five sentences to talk about yourself.
3. Work individually and silently.
4. Write your name at the bottom of the paper.
5. When you are ready, put your thumb up and return your paper to the
fish bowl.
6. I will read every piece of paper. Listen and try to guess which classmate
we are talking about.
7. Let’s see if you are right or wrong.
Suggestions
1. Teaching materials can really make a difference in your students’
learning process. Having pieces of paper in a fish bowl can be much more
motivating than just distributing and collecting them.
2. If you do not have a fish bowl, you can use any kind of container that
could be attractive to your students, for example, a hat. What matters is
that you intend to capture their attention.
3. Although suspense is always welcome, it is also advisable to tell
students this is a guessing game and that they should not write too
obvious sentences.
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4. You will doubtlessly find mistakes while reading the sentences. When
possible, correct them naturally, with sense of humor and with a positive
attitude so as not to intimidate your students. For example, students can
have a lot of fun correcting mistakes such as “I have one eye”.
5. Guide the students’ writing process. Move around your classroom to
help them.
6. Encourage students to write their sentences in English directly based on
what they have learned so far. Advise them not to write the sentences in
Spanish first and not attempt to write complex structures if they are not
ready to do so.
Source: Adapted from a French lesson in Athénée Royal de Wolumé Saint-Lambert,
Brussels.
Juan
“It is good because I made sentences in different tenses and I had to
recognize them.”
Marcelo
“It is very good but I must know vocabulary for playing it. I
recommend it!”
Ana-María
FOCAL SKILL Adult’s Group
118
Story writing
“A language experience story is a group-authored story written about a shared experience. [
. . .] Children adore reading and rereading what they have ‘authored’ ” (Linse, 1983).
Teaching Materials
Sheets of paper, pen/pencils, timer
Getting Ready
1. Bring blank sheets of paper, one for each student.
2. If you have time, you can place the papers on the students’ desks before
they enter their classroom.
1. Clean your desks. You will only need a piece of paper and a pen/pencil.
2. When I say “Go”, start writing a story. Do not stop till you hear the
timer.
3. When you hear the timer, stand up and move to any other seat. Leave
your piece of paper on the desk.
4. When you hear “Go”, read your new story and continue writing it till you
hear the timer again.
5. I will let you know when you have to start ending up your story.
6. Ready? 1 … 2 … 3 … GO!
Suggestions
1. You can tell your students they can use sense of humor but remind
them that they are in a classroom and that content should always be
appropriate.
2. If you do not have or do not want to use a timer, you can clap hands,
use a whistle, play music, and other similar strategies.
3. For the first round, give students a certain amount of time to write their
sentences (1 or 2 minutes).Then, ask them if they need more time.
4. Ask them to write legibly. Some students could have a really hard time
trying to figure out what others have written and this could affect their
own performance.
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5. Observe your students attentively during the activity. When they look
tired, puzzled, or bored, tell them there will be two more turns to finish
their stories.
6. Depending on your students’ needs, interests and/or on the objectives
of your lesson, you can also have students write a dialogue, a poem, a
recipe, etc…
7. To avoid frustration, you can tell your students that they do not have to
complete an idea before hearing the timer. Ideas can be interrupted; it is
part of the game!
8. Once stories are ready, storytelling techniques are highly suggested to
increase students’ levels of motivation.
9. After ending up the activity, you could use the Focused Rewrite
Technique to keep track of students’ progress.
10. It is also a good idea to collect all the writing pieces and select the ones
that make more sense. It may happen that some of them are illegible,
unclear, incomplete and/or inappropriate.
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David, Alejandro, Yasna
“Actividad Dinámica. Potencia recordar acciones o eventos del
pasado, frecuentemente familiares. Ayuda a desarrollar un argumento
o historia completa, describiendo una serie de pasos. Nada negativo.”
Jorge
“La actividad resultó bastante entretenida. Fue durante las primeras
clases y yo estaba acostumbrado a estudiar idiomas de una forma más
tradicional. Creo que fue la primera vez que pensé que ello se puede
hacer ambas cosas a la vez: aprender y reírse de buena gana.”
Felipe
121
What about a cookie?
“ [. . .] a student learns when he is having a good time, when concepts are related to his
own life experiences, when he is free to differ, agree or request information, [ . . . ]”
(Waissbluth, 2013, p.202).10
Teaching Materials
1 tube-like pack of cookies, wrapping paper, ribbons, pieces of paper, tape
Getting Ready
1. Buy a cookie pack.
2. Measure it.
3. Based on the length and width of the cookie pack, cut as many pieces of
wrapping paper as you need, depending on the amount of questions your
students will need to answer.
4. Cut pieces of paper and write or print, for example, questions about
personal information on them.
5. Glue the pieces of paper on the inner side of the wrapping paper, in the
middle of it.
6. Wrap the cookie pack with all the wrapping paper pieces and twist both
ends with ribbons.
7. Tell your class you have a present for them and invite them to unwrap
it.
1. This present has many wrapping paper scraps. Who would like to start
unwrapping it? Is there a volunteer?
2. (Talking to the volunteer) Remove the first wrapping paper, read your
question out loud and try to answer the question.
10
“ [. . . ] un alumno aprende cuando está entretenido, cuando los conceptos se relacionan
con su experiencia de vida, cuando interactúa con sus pares, cuando tiene la libertad de
discrepar, disentir o consultar temas, [. . .]” (Waissbluth, 2013, p.202). [Translation into
English by Yasna Yilorm]
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3. We will keep on unwrapping the present till we get to know what it is.
Who would like to be the next volunteer?
Suggestions
1. You can start asking students what they think the present will be.
Guesses will lower students’ levels of anxiety.
2. In order to respect students’ silent periods, you could include jokes,
stories and tongue twisters that could be read only by volunteers. Fun
riddles are also very motivating.
3. When students find out what the present is, I would suggest you to give
them a 5 minute break for them to share the cookies.
4. Make sure there is one cookie for each student. Also, always have
something extra to eat such as a fruit in case a child is allergic to
chocolate, for instance.
5. It is advisable to help students unwrap the present to prevent them
from seeing the present beforehand. It may happen that some students are
not very careful or that wrapping paper scraps are not well tied up.
6. Instead of gluing your questions, use a piece of tape that could be easily
removed. This strategy could allow you to reuse the same wrapping paper
with other groups of students or to review other content material.
Source: Observed in a lesson taught by Loreto Barrientos, student attending Learning
Teaching Strategies Course at UACh, 2011.
123
"El ejercicio que realizamos con las galletas fue una experiencia
realmente buena y creativa, ya que nadie esperaba galletas de
premio después de una actividad. Esto nos ayudó a fomentar nuestra
capacidad de participación dentro de las clases. Además, hay que
señalar que ayudó a la interacción de la profesora con los alumnos, ya
que también esto formó parte de una muestra de cariño para sus
alumnos."
José
"Encontré que el auditorio y yo, por supuesto, estuvimos muchísimo
más dispuestos a realizar actividades donde por un momento nos
olvidábamos que estamos en clases de inglés y lo hacíamos de la
forma más natural posible porque teníamos un estimulo muy
apetitoso. Ese ambiente era contagioso y nos sentíamos de muy
buena forma cuando cumplíamos nuestras metas. Actividades como
estas hay que fomentar en clases de Inglés.”
Julio
1st grade
Ingeniería Comercial, Universidad Austral de Chile
124
Looking for a star
“Games contribute to vocabulary learning if they give students a chance to learn, practice
and to review the English language in a pleasant atmosphere” (Thanh & Thu, n.d).
Teaching Materials
Paper stars, timer
Getting Ready
1. Do some research on your students’ personal information.
2. Cut two sets of about ten middle-sized stars, one color each, for example
red and yellow.
3. Write or print questions/exercises on the inner side of each star.
4. Divide the board into two. Place red stars on one side and yellow ones
on the on the other. This classroom decoration will catch your students’
attention to start the class.
5. Divide your class into two groups.
1. (Talking to group one) Please stand up and form a row.
2. When I say “Go”, the first student of the row will quickly walk towards
the board and will pick up a star.
3. Give it to me and I will read you the question. As soon as you are ready,
answer it out loud and move to the end of the row and it will be your
classmate’s time to play. Each time you answer a question appropriately,
you get a point for your team. If you do not know, just say “next” and
quickly move to the end of the row. It will be your classmate’s time to
answer it.
4. Time will be over when the timer rings. The teacher/score keeper will
count your correct answers and write the number on the board.
5. Now, it is group two’s turn.
6. The group that gathers the highest amount of correct answers will win
this game.
125
Suggestions
1. I would suggest that you have different kinds of questions and/or
exercises so as to reach all learning styles and intelligences. For example,
you can ask students to sing, answer a question, recognize a picture,
perform an action, draw a picture, feel objects and guess what they are,
among other possibilities.
2. Another version of this game would be to have both groups competing at
the same time. This would imply some changes, such as having the two
first students of both rows going for a star, coming back, reading the
questions and saying “ready” if they know the answer. The first student to
say ready can answer. If the answer is correct, he/she will give a point to
his/her group. Then, both students can move to the end of the row and it’s
time for two other classmates to answer.
3. Do not write directly on your stars. You could use them for another
class and/or activity.
4. Be careful with long queues. Especially at the end of the row, students
could get bored. As a consequence, it is very probable that some students
start pushing others. A very practical idea could be to have small groups of
students that could rotate. Teamwork, cooperation and partnership can
become very effective learning tools if used appropriately.
5. This kind of game can develop in students a strong desire to compete
and win. Therefore, some students can be very rude with students who are
slower to answer or just cannot answer a question. Make sure you warn
your students that this kind of behavior is unacceptable and could make
them lose points instead of winning them.
126
“Me pareció muy creativo e interesante la forma de enseñarnos, una
alternativa muy didáctica.”
Antonia
“Ingeniosa, una mejor forma de aprender.”
Vasny
3rd grade
Martin Luther King
127
Act it out!
“[ . . .], there is an intimate relationship between language and the child’s body. Utterances,
usually commands from adults, are used to manipulate the orientation, location of the
child’s entire body” (Asher, 2003, p.2-3).
Teaching Materials
A book
Getting Ready
1. Change traditional classroom arrangement and provide your students
with an open space for them to move freely from side to side.
2. Ask your students to stand up and lead some breathing and relaxation
exercises for them to feel comfortable moving their bodies.
For example, the beginning of the breathing and relaxation session could
start as follows:
a) Close your eyes and breathe deeply.
b) Make big circles with your head to relax your neck.
c) Now, open your eyes. Lift your shoulders for a while and when you
hear “Ready”, you can let them relax.
1. Now that you feel more relaxed, choose a place in the classroom and
stay there for a while till you hear instructions.
2. Do not move and keep on breathing slowly and deeply.
3. Listen to the story you hear and act it out when you hear the main
actions.
4. Once the story is over, close your eyes and start breathing slowly and
deeply again.
5. Once you hear your teacher’s voice, open your eyes and follow
instructions.
Suggestions
1. If you cannot make classroom arrangements, your students can still
carry out this activity next to their seats.
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2. Do not force students to join breathing and relaxation activities. They
can also stay in their seats and observe others. If you can show them these
exercises are positive, fun and relaxing, they will probably ask for an extra
chance to join.
3. If this is the first time you attempt a breathing and relaxation exercise,
let your students work with their eyes open. This strategy will permit them
to listen and see what the actions are about. Moreover, it could be less
intimidating for them.
4. If your story includes vocabulary or structures that are unknown to
your students, you can carry out a storytelling activity before asking them
to interpret the story through their bodies.
5. Some students could feel embarrassed to express ideas through body
movements. In this case, you can ask for volunteers to model the activity,
and then, gradually incorporate the rest of the class.
6. As a post activity, you can ask your students to work in groups and
create a new ending for the story and then perform it. While one group is
performing, the rest of the class could try to guess the different endings.
Source: Adapted from Roberto Matamala’s Drama Sessions, 1997, Centro Cultural EL
Austral, Valdivia, Chile.
129
Valentina
“I think it is really important to provide comprehensible input when
telling a story. By using body movements, not only can we help
students understand the story, but also get involved in it.”
Pamela
4th grade
English Language Major, Universidad Austral de Chile
“Me gustó porque no hay que hablar y hay que actuar.”
Helena
Kinder
Hampton College
130
Ball tossing
“ [ . . .] teachers should also incorporate contents and materials that the students’ appraisal
systems might categorise as potive – that is, novel, pleasant, relevant, comprehensible and
with potential for identification” (Glas, 2013, p.140).
Teaching Materials
Different kinds of balls, flashcards or manipulatives (optional)
Getting Ready
Look for a medium-sized ball.
1. How are you today? I am happy to be here!
2. (Looking for a volunteer) What about you?
Suggestions
1. The ball should be soft and light, so that children do not get hurt.
2. You use different kinds of balls, not only to catch the attention of your
students, but also to keep on teaching or reviewing content material such
as colors, sizes, texture, sport games, etc …
3. Ball tossing helps students focus on the content you are teaching in an
unconscious way. In general, most of the children want to catch the ball.
Therefore, their intrinsic motivation increases and they are more willing to
participate.
4. Ball tossing can also be used to play tricks on students. It can be used
to surprise students in an entertaining way. For example, you can tell
them you are about to throw the ball but then, you don’t and pretend it is
stuck in your hands. The key point in here is to use the ball as an
instrument of surprise and humor.
5. It may happen that some students feel intimidated with ball tossing
because they do not know the answer or they simply feel they are not
ready to speak. My suggestion would be to not throw the ball to students
who do not want to participate from the very beginning as it does occur in
the Communicative Approach. Give them time to understand what is going
on in the classroom, the teacher’s question or instructions and listen to
131
different possible answers. Flashcards, manipulatives and body language
are always of great help!
6. If the ball is going to be a recurrent teaching material in your classroom,
make sure you find different strategies to introduce it in different ways.
You can personify your ball, give it a name and make it speak and interact
with the children, or you can hide it in weird places to catch your students’
attention from the very beginning of the class. For instance, place a ball
under your sweater as you had a hunchback and do not mention anything
to your students. You can, then, have them guess what object you have
hidden, which can be a very challenging activity for your students.
Valentina
“Encontré que es una forma didáctica de aprender inglés, ya que no es
fácil. Ojalá siempre hiciéramos clases así, nos entretendríamos y
aprenderíamos mucho.”
“Lo de la pelotita es entretenido cuando a alguien le toca le quedan
las palabras en la mente.”
Bárbara del Pilar
“La pelota me encantó porque todos pueden participar si uno quiere.”
María-Constanza
6th grade
Escuela Alemania
132
Guess who it is!
“If communication is [T]he aim, then it should be [T]he major element in the process” (Brumfit
& Johnson, 1994, p.167).
Teaching Materials
Boards with pictures, flashcards, chips
Getting Ready
1. Design a board with different squares.
2. Add pictures of different people within each square.
3. Make copies, one for each student.
4. Make a set of cards, one for each picture in the board. Give names to
people.
5. Give each student a board and a set of chips.
1. I need a volunteer to choose one of the cards.
2. (Talking to the volunteer) Do not tell anybody about your choice!
3. (Talking to the class) You will have to guess what picture your classmate
has chosen. Ask questions related to their clothes, physical
characteristics, and/or professions.
4. When you know the character, ask the following question: Is it Pedro?
Suggestions
1. You may use famous people to be placed in each square. This is also a
great opportunity for you to introduce positive leaders in the world. Just
make sure you are very neutral.
2. You can also work with your own student’s faces. School staff could also
be part of the game. Encourage your students to say nice things about the
members of their school community.
3. Help students to ask at least three questions before trying to identify the
character right away.
133
4. Invite students who have guessed appropriately to the front to choose
another character. It is an excellent idea since it could increase some
students’ motivation and enthusiasm. However, since some other students
could feel intimidated with this strategy, do not overuse it or just look for
volunteers at first. We do not want students to feel nervous about
participating because it would mean going to the front. Always tailor your
activity to your classroom.
5. Yes/No questions and descriptions of people should be taught in
previous lessons. If students feel more confident to ask questions, they will
definitely enjoy the game to a greater extent.
Source: Observed in a Symtalk workshop conducted by its author, Maurice Hazan. Loudoun
County Public Schools, VA, USA. 2011
Karla
“Lo encontré entretenido porque había que saber inglés para
preguntar.”
Fernando
6th grade
“Adivinar es entretenido.”
Monserrat
7th grade
Taller de Inglés Entretenido, Escuela de Verano, Universidad Austral de
Chile
134
Which one is false?
“Second language acquisition is primarily emotionally driven and emotion underlies most, if
not all, cognition” (Schumann, 1998, p. 10).
Teaching Materials
Pieces of paper, pens/pencils
Getting Ready
1. Cut small rectangular pieces of paper, one for each student in your
class.
2. Give each student a piece of paper.
1. Take a pen or a pencil.
2. On the paper I gave you, write 4 sentences about yourselves. 3
sentences should be TRUE and one should be FALSE.
3. Do not share your sentences with your classmates.
4. When ready, put your thumb up.
5. (Talking to one student) Please read your four sentences.
6. (Talking to the class) Guess. Which sentence do you think is false?
Suggestions
1. Move around the classroom and support your students during their
writing process.
2. You can also encourage peer-editing once the activity is over. Ask
students to exchange their sentences and have them improve their written
communication.
3. Advise students to write sentences using the English they already know.
When instructions are too open, students will tend to translate and they
could make more mistakes. Let’s avoid sad feelings because writing is full
of corrections.
135
4. Tell your students not to write too obvious information such as I have
got blond hair and, in fact, it is black. There should be challenges for
others to find out what sentence is false.
5. When students know each other, this activity can become more
challenging. However, it is also an excellent way to get to know classmates
deeply.
Source: Activity learned in the Textbook Inside out. Pre-intermediate Level by Philipp Kerr.
“Es una actividad interactiva de grupo divertida y que sirve no solo
para desarrollar la escritura, sino también que aprendimos a escuchar
y a especular cual podría ser falsa.”
Daniela
“Esta actividad permite desarrollar el lenguaje escrito y también la
creatividad para que los compañeros no adivinen rápidamente la
opción falsa. O si se desarrolla con frases relativas a la vida de la
persona, además permite conocer más de ella.”
Sandra
136
KWL chart
“[ . . .] most of the materials that ordinary people seek for entertainment and enlightenment
are authentic. People enjoy authentic materials and eagerly devote hours of their time to
reading or viewing them. They provide a depth of interest and a breadth of variety that
cannot be found in even the most outstanding textbook series” (Hastings & Murphy; 2002,
para 2).
Teaching Materials
Paper, pens/pencils
Getting Ready
1. Design a chart in which there is a column for K (know), one for W (would like
to know) and a third one for L (learned).
See the following pattern:
K
W
L
2. Introduce the topic of the lesson. For example, healthy food.
3. Organize your students in different groups.
1. Write 3 healthy foods you know.
2. Then, write three healthy foods you would like to try. Draw quick
pictures.
3. At the end of the class, you will complete the last column to see how
much you have learned.
137
Suggestions
1. You can also have your students complete only one column in the
poster that you leave on the wall till all the columns have been completed.
If the topic sounds interesting, cooperative learning should occur.
2. This KWL chart can also be used for guided reading activities. Children
are especially curious about stories their parents or friends read with
them.
3. To make the activity more natural, you could even ask these three
questions orally without necessarily having to complete a chart.
4. To keep good track of your students’ learning progress, you could ask
them to complete each row with related ideas. For example,
K
Many people think
pizza is fast food.
W
Is Pizza healthy?
L
It is healthy depending
on the ingredients.
5. When working with the little ones, guided drawing is recommended.
6. When working with older students, you can encourage them to add
quotes in the Learned column. This strategy will also help them respect
other people’s ideas and avoid plagiarism. You could suggest and
introduce APA style.
7. This activity is an excellent strategy to assess students’ learning process
and measure their progress.
Source: FLES Teachers (2004-2007), Loudoun County Public Schools, Virginia, USA
138
“Esa actividad fue muy educativa en todo sentido, me sirvió tanto
como alumna y como futura profesora. Y lo más significativo es que
es una actividad muy simple, pero al mismo tiempo una actividad que
incluye muchos procesos de aprendizaje. A mí me gusto tanto que lo
anoté de inmediato como posible actividad para mi futuro como
profesora.”
Marisela
"In my opinion, the KWL Chart is very useful. It helps to let students
identify what they know and are looking forward to learn, and finally
to give both the teacher and students a feeling of achievement."
"En mi opinión, la KWL Chart es muy útil. Ayuda para que los
estudiantes identifiquen lo que saben y esperan aprender, y
finalmente para darle tanto al profesor como a los estudiantes un
sentimiento de logro."
Stefanie
4th grade
139
Who is next?
“It is very difficult to remain on task and be attentive when the input received is totally
incomprehensible” (Ariza et al; 2003, p.39).
Teaching Materials
Rectangular pieces of paper
Getting Ready
1. Cut out rectangular pieces of paper, one for each student.
2. On one side of the paper, write, for example, a description of an animal.
3. On the other side, write the name of another animal.
4. On another piece of paper, write the definition of the animal you just
wrote on the previous card.
5. Turn the paper and write another definition.
6. Complete all papers following the same pattern.
1. (Distributing cards) All of you should look at the name of the animal
written on your card, except for one student. (Talking to Juan) You should
read your description.
2. Listen to the description very carefully. If you happen to have the animal
your classmate is talking about, raise your hand, say the name of the
animal, turn your paper down and read your definition.
3. Then, it will be one of your classmates’ turn to identify the animal, say
its name and keep on working the same way till everybody has had a turn.
Suggestions
1. Check your cards very carefully at home. Make sure every animal has a
definition. If you forget a definition, the activity will not work and you will
probably feel very uncomfortable in front of your students. If possible, I
would recommend that you carry out the activity with other people before.
140
2. Add a picture next to the animal to provide comprehensible input. Even
if students have practiced the lexicon before, some of them might have
forgotten the words.
3. This interactive activity requires a lot of concentration and students
depend on one another. Practicing once or twice will be helpful for
students.
4. After you have carried out the activity, encourage your students to do it
again but faster. If they feel more confident, it will be more efficient.
6. All kinds of content can be taught or reviewed through this activity. For
example, past tenses, stories, dialogues, among others.
7. With the help of a monolingual dictionary, students could prepare the
cards in the classroom. Apart from learning language content, they could
learn how to use a dictionary appropriately.
8. In case someone is absent, you can play as a teacaher or one student
could participate with two cards.
Source: Observed in North Virginia Community College, Sterling, Loudoun County, Virginia,
USA. 2007
141
“I liked this activity because I had to listen to my classmates and had
to listen to me. I learned and I could review the conjugation of verbs.”
Fernando
“This activity is good because you listen to verbs and then you can
remember the verbs.”
Marcelo
FOCAL SKILL Group
142
Let’s celebrate!
“To bring children and books together successfully, children have to experience the
pleasures of reading. They have to hear stories, make predictions, visualize characters, talk
about plottwists, imagine story settings, emotionally respond to characters, and think with
new information” (Robb; 1999, p. 6).
Teaching Materials
Paper, a few presents
Getting Ready
1. Write a note to parents and tell them that you are organizing a very
special activity to celebrate Christmas or any other event with your
children. Inform them that you need a very cheap present (setting up a
price is a very good idea) that could be fine for any student in the class.
Most importantly, also ask them to wrap the present.
2. Write a story in which the words ‘left’, ‘right’ and ‘across’ are frequently
named. Write your story based on your students’ interests. You could also
refer to Christmas or any other special time.
3. Through different activities, practice the words ‘left’, ‘right’ and ‘across’
beforehand. Thus, students become familiar with the vocabulary.
4. Arrange your classroom and form a circle.
1. Please keep your present in your hands.
2. Listen to the story I tell you and every time you hear ‘left’, ‘right’ or
‘across’, follow the directions and give your present to the classmate on
your right: the one on your left, on your right or across.
3. When the story finishes, you can keep the present you have in your
hands.
4. If you happen to have your own present, you can exchange it with
another classmate.
5. When each one of you has a present, wait for my instructions and then,
open it.
143
Suggestions
1. Ask parents to send the present a few days before the activity, to make
sure all students receive a present.
2. Just in case, buy a few presents. You do not want to have a kid without
a present or a kid with no chance to participate.
3. If you are working in a school in which parents cannot afford any kind
of presents, ask the school for some help and buy a few candies you could
also wrap.
4. Apart from setting up prices, you can also define the kind of present
that is required. For example, chocolate (if all your students can eat them,
of course).
5. Students love to be part of the story. Therefore, you can use their own
names and experiences. Always check that all of the students will be
named and appreciated in the story.
6. Before starting the activity, ask students to identify who is on his/her
left/right side and, especially, who is across.
7. If everybody has chocolate bars or candies, you could give them a break
to eat their snack. Encourage sharing!
8. You can carry out this activity at any moment of the year, to celebrate
something or to praise your students’ job.
Virginia, USA. 2007
144
“Yes, I liked it ‘cause I received a chocolate! Noh, it is a joke, it was
good and positive to learn English.”
Josefina
“I enjoyed the activity for learning English.”
Javier
6to grade
Windsor School
145
Rhyming words
“The repetitive nature of most children's songs and rhymes help students learn vocabulary
and the rhythm of the language” (Brown; 2006, para. 6).
Teaching Materials
A red apple
Getting Ready
Arrange your classroom and leave a large open space to invite students to
form a circle and sit on the floor crisscross apple sauce.
1. I will give one of you a red apple and while we rhyme words, you should
pass the apple to the friend on your right side.
2. If you have the apple when we finish rhymes, it is your turn to tell
others what your name is.
3. Let’s start! Take the apple. The rhyme goes like this:
Little apple from Perú
Tell me tell me: “Who are you?”
Suggestions
1. This activity is specially meant for the little ones. If you would like to
adapt it to older ones, Hot Potato is a great possibility.
2. Depending on the content you are teaching, you can change the
questions. Always check if your new lyrics rhyme. Rhyming catches
students’ attention and is also useful for retention.
3. Although the original song in Spanish says Perú, you can change the
country. It will help your students to gain cross-curricular knowledge. You
can also replace the word apple if you need to reinforce other contents.
4. Since you are dealing with food, it is always positive to bring them
something to eat; especially if it is healthy food.
146
5. You can use a manipulative or a real apple. I would recommend that
you use a false one since children tend to ask for it at the end of the
activity. It is not advisable either to show students we can play with food.
Source: Observed in North Virginia Community College, Sterling, Loudoun County, Virginia,
USA. 2007
“Si, me gusto jugar con las manzanas porque me diverí mucho y
también me gustan las manzanas!”
Sebastián
“Yo opino que jugar en inglés está bien porque nosotros aprendemos
mucho más así, también aprovechamos de jugar.”
Josefa
Master College
147
Can you guess?
“[. . .] self motivation, rather than external motivation, is at the heart of creativity,
responsibility, healthy behavior, and lasting change” (Deci, 1996, p. 9, as cited in Mateos,
2012, p. 8).
Teaching Materials
Any personal object from home
Getting Ready
1. Ask students to bring a special object from home and a bag to hide it in.
2. Arrange your classroom to form an open circle.
1. (Talking to a volunteer) Keep your object in your bag and give a hint
about it to your classmates. For example, “It is a school object”.
2. (Talking to the rest of the students) Ask questions about the object in
order to guess what it is.
3. The first one to guess can show his/her object hidden in the bag for
others to start guessing.
Suggestions
1. To avoid any kind of difficulties, give the students some ideas about
which object they could bring. For example, agree on a specific size or kind
of object.
2. If you have students with a lower level of English, you can adapt this
activity by teaching a few structures through modeling. For instance, show
your object and tell the students: “It is small and round”; “I use it to pay my
bus ticket”; “What is it?”
3. In case a student has forgotten to bring an object, just ask him to look
for something he/she has in his/her pocket.
4. Since students will introduce something special, it is not always
necessary to hide and guess objects. Most of them will just be very happy
to introduce what they have brought. In this case, classmates can ask a
few questions after the presentation as in Show and Tell. Just make sure
they have enough language tools to communicate.
148
5. Be careful with some objects that are special. This is an affective activity
and some students can become very emotionally involved. In this case,
parents can be of great help in choosing the object at home. If students
start crying, just try to help the student finish the presentation and ask for
a big round of applause.
6. Some students may think that this is a great opportunity for them to
show an expensive toy or jewelry. Prepare your students for this activity so
that they understand it is not meant for showing off but rather for sharing
personal and significant experiences.
Source: Source: Observed in Meadowland Elementary School, Loudoun County Public
Schools, Virginia, USA. 2007
149
“It was a beautiful experience because we could share very personal
experiences with our classmates and we could also know our
classmates’ interest and dreams. It created a good atmosphere among
the students.”
Karla
“Even though this is an activity that requires a “medium” or high
level of English, it is the one that I have enjoyed the most. You can
use it as a warm-up, as a way to summarize contents or just as an
affective activity.”
Camila
4th grade
Valdivia, 2011
150
How about me?
“[ . . .] knowing a word well involves knowing a range of aspects of the world, including its
mening, form and use” (I.S.P Nation; 2008; p. 5).
Teaching Materials
Paper, tape, pencils/pens
Getting Ready
1. Cut rectangular pieces of paper, one for each student.
2. Cut pieces of tape, one for each student. Before starting the activity, roll
them and place them on your desk.
1. Put your heads down and close your eyes.
2. When I say ready, you can open your eyes and stretch.
3. All of you have a piece of paper on your backs. Take a pencil/pen and
stand up.
4. Move around the classroom and gently write a positive adjective on each
of your classmates’ papers placed on their backs.
Suggestions
1. Please tell your students that positive adjectives are expected. This is an
affective activity not only meant to acquire adjectives but also to increase
students’ self-esteem.
2. Also, check if they are all using their pencils gently. Some of them could
start punching other students’ backs.
3. Avoid using markers since they could damage students’ clothes.
4. You are very welcome to participate. On one hand, you will be able to
supervise your students’ work and see if all adjectives are positive and
appropriate. And, on the other hand, your students will appreciate that
you value their character.
151
5. I strongly recommend you play some soft and pleasant music while
papers are being placed on students’ backs. It will relax them and help
them strengthen a positive attitude towards the English class and their
classmates.
7. When everybody is ready, then, tell them they can go to their seats and
savor all the compliments.
8. Encourage them to keep the piece of paper and read it when they feel
down.
9. Place some dictionaries on your desk to be double checked by your
students in case they do not know a word or just cannot remember one.
Source: Observed in CORFO courses, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, 2011.
“Buena actividad, genera confianza, Amistad y vibras positivas. Ayuda
a conocerse uno como persona y saber cómo el resto percibe cosas de
ti.”
Lorena
“Es un juego lúdico que facilita el trabajo en grupo al comienzo
cuando las personas no se conocen, fortalece la confianza, permite
atreverse a hablar y preguntar.”
Patricio
Valdivia, 2012
152
What about you?
“[. . .] students are actively engaged in constructing meaning and making sense of the
interesting world presented to them through the vehicle of the target language” (Curtain &
Dahlberg; 2010, p.283).
Teaching Materials
Pieces of paper, a whistle
Getting Ready
1. Leave enough space in your classroom for having two circles, a small
one inside a bigger one.
2. Divide the amount of chairs into two.
3. Make a small circle with half of the chairs. These should not face each
other. Turn them so that people do not look at each other.
4. With the rest of the chairs, form another circle around the small one
you have just formed. This time, chairs have to face people who belong to
the small circle.
5. Plan classroom arrangement strategies to invite students to join the
circles and then arrange the classroom.
1. (Students are already seated) Please talk to your partner introducing
yourselves. When you hear the whistle sound, you should stop the
conversation.
2. (Talking to students who belong to the inner circle) Once the first
conversation is over, you should move one place to the right and, then,
share personal information with another classmate.
3. (Talking to students who belong to the outer circle) Once the first
conversation is over, you should move one place to the left and, then,
share personal information with another classmate.
4. Are you ready to start?
153
Suggestions
1. If you do not have time to arrange seats and desks before students
arrive, plan an efficient classroom strategy for your students to get
organized and make the circles. Give students specific roles to play during
classroom arrangement.
2. Apply the same strategy when you are done with the activity.
3. Instead of using a whistle, you can play music, clap hands or make a
gesture, depending on your own abilities and/or students’ characteristics.
4. Move around the classroom to help your students, listen to their
conversations and also make sure students speak English. However, try
not to interrupt conversations.
5. When giving instructions, tell students how much time they will be able
to speak (1 minute, for example). If not, they might feel frustrated if they
are suddenly interrupted, especially if students have a higher command of
the language.
6. If you have an uneven number, arrange one conversation of three
people, one from the inner circle and two from the outer one.
7. You can adapt this activity to your students’ language levels, needs and
interests. For example, instead of exchanging personal information, they
can read short stories to each other or play brief games.
8. Ideally, all students should meet each other. However, this will depend
on the amount of students you have, time constraints and student’s
motivation.
Source: Observed at CORFO lessons, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, 2010
154
“Me gustaron mucho los círculos rodantes, ya que con ellos se rompe
el hielo inicial en un curso. Permiten desarrollar mejor el lenguaje
hablado y generar confianza entre quienes participan.”
Sandra
“I think the circles activity is a very good one in terms of reinforcing
relationships among the students, because they get to work with
some of them they haven’t worked with. However, as a teacher, you
have to have a very good classroom management in order to keep
your class under control. That way, this activity can be very fun and
interesting to the students.”
Fernanda
4th grade
155
CHILDHOOD MEMORIES
156
Blind hen
"Children love touching everything. They are able to experience their world through their
hands. Their sense of touching can be developed more effectively if eyes are blindfolded.
They are challenged to recognize an object with their fingers” (Wolf, 1979: p.25).
Teaching Materials
A blindfold and manipulatives
Getting Ready
1. Look for realia or toys related to the contents you are teaching.
2. Choose a volunteer to come to the front of the class.
1. I will cover your eyes with this blindfold. You are not supposed to see.
Just in case, keep your eyes closed.
2. Hold this object. Touch it and try to guess what it is.
Suggestions
1. The blindfold can be a scarf, a piece of fabric, a handkerchief, a birthday
mask, and similar options. However, it is preferred to use paper masks
with rubber bands for sanitary issues. Avoid sharing hats and caps.
2. Always check whether your students can or cannot see through the
blindfold. After covering the student’s eyes, show him/her a few fingers
and ask how many fingers they can see. This exercise will promote
enthusiasm for students and get them more involved. It is also an
entertaining way to review numbers.
3. Since students cannot see, it is advisable to first provide students with
an exercise in multiple choices. Giving them different options will increase
confidence in the student, and you, as the teacher, will be respecting the
basic Second Language Acquisition stages.
4. Children love this game. Give your students enough room so that they
all can see the item. This is important because it will increase enthusiasm
and participation of all students in the class.
Source: Adapted from Childhood Memories.
157
“Es bueno porque pude aprender más tocando porque es más fácil.”
Beatriz
“Me gustó porque nos reímos y aprendimos, me gustó mucho
aprender inglés.”
Graciela
5to básico básico
Leonardo Da Vinci
158
Let’s play in the woods
“[ . . .] this activity is great to get
children to relate something they are learning in a fereign language
to their own knowledge and cultural background. Also, the fact that
they can actually understand the meaning of the song thanks to this is
very motivating” (Paredes, personal communication, 2013).
Teaching Materials
A sheet of paper with a picture of a wolf on it, crayons
Getting Ready
1. Draw or print the picture of a wolf wearing clothes.
2. Tell students to place 5 crayons on their desks and identify the colors
they will need, one by one.
3. Based on the Spanish game “Juguemos en el Bosque”, display the
following lyrics on the board and invite students to chant them:
Students: Let’s play in the woods while the wolf is at home.
Students: Wolf, are you there?
Teacher: Yes, I am putting on my blue pants.
1. Sing along with me and very carefully listen for what piece of clothing
and what color of clothing the wolf is putting on.
2. As soon as you hear the color, look for the right crayon and color the
piece of clothing accordingly.
3. Continue singing and coloring until the wolf is fully dressed and ready
to come out to the Woods.
Suggestions
1. While students are coloring, teachers can continue singing and act out
as if they were playing “Juguemos en el Bosque”. You can use a wolf
puppet, non-verbal communication and/or wear a mask to look like a wolf
in order to make this teaching experience more authentic.
159
2. Students can be given as little as10 to 15 seconds to color. Make sure
you count out loud and slow enough so that everybody can complete the
activity. Arts and crafts activities in the English classroom need to be
guided. If not, they become art lessons instead of English ones.
3. When the wolf is fully dressed, students will probably be very excited
waiting for the wolf to come. Collect handouts as quickly as possible,
pretending that you are in a hurry because the wolf is coming. Then,
encourage your students to be quiet. If the wolf does not hear any noises,
he will leave and everybody will be safe.
4. To prevent little children from being scared, a good idea is to introduce
the wolf puppet to the children a few days before playing.
5. Also, the wolf could be introduced as a positive character so that all kids
could feel comfortable.
6. If students want to play this game in Spanish, accept and come to an
agreement with them. You do not want them to feel their own culture and
language are not being considered.
Source: Adapted from Childhood Memories
160
“Me gustó que la profesora actuara.”
Gabriela
“Era entretenido pintar rápido el lobo.”
Juan José
Hampton College
Kinder
161
Finger spelling
“When preparing your lesson, [ . . .] you may need need a light filler to provide relief after a
period of intense effort and concentration” (Wright, et.al, 2006).
Teaching Materials
A plastic plate for each student, sand
Getting Ready
1. Gather sand.
2. Give a plastic plate to each student and place a portion of sand on every
plate.
1. Using your finger, write the letter/s you hear in the sand.
2. After checking if your letter is correct, erase it from the sand board by
gently moving the plate from side to side and then, write the next letter.
Suggestions
1. Distributing teaching materials such as plates and portions of sand
could make you lose precious teaching and learning moments. Encourage
your children to bring those teaching materials from home in Ziploc bagslike and leave them in their child’s English box.
2. Powered products could be a dangerous teaching material to work with.
That is why, sand is strongly recommended. It is easy to handle and
children’s fingers will not get dirty.
3. When using this kind of material, it is extremely necessary to reinforce
classroom rules. Some students could try to eat or blow the sand.
Source: Observed at Wessex School preschool sessions, Valdivia, Chile, 2004.
162
“La sémola tomaba formas de todas las letras y así repasábamos y no
necesitábamos estudiar tanto en la casa.”
Michael
“Me gustó porque cada uno tenía su material y podíamos participar
todos y pasarlo bien.”
Marcelo
3ro básico
Escuela Holanda
163
Papaya
"Culture is who we are. It is a wellspring of imagination, a source
of belonging at a time of change and a force for innovation in an age of limits” (Bokova,
2014, in Howson and Dubber, 2014, p.2)
Teaching Materials
Small pieces of paper, ziploc-like plastic bags, dice
Getting Ready
1. Divide your class into small groups.
2. For each group, cut small pieces of paper and write words related to the
content you are teaching, for example, infinitive forms of irregular verbs.
Fold them in two.
3. Place each set in Ziploc-like bags.
4. Form groups and deliver one plastic bag and one die per group.
1. Open your plastic bag and place all the pieces of paper on your desk.
2. Roll the die one at a time to decide who will start playing first. It could
be the highest or the lowest number.
3. Hold all of the pieces of paper in your hand. Turn your hand over and
open your fist, your palm facing upwards. Throw all pieces of paper in the
air at once. While pieces of paper are floating in the air, turn your hand
over again. The more pieces of paper that land on the back of your hand,
the better; this will give you the chance to identify more past tenses and,
therefore, win more points. If your answer is correct, you can keep the
piece/s of paper. If not, you must return it/them back to the pile.
4. Now, it is someone else’s turn to play.
5. The winner is the student who has the largest amount of paper.
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Suggestions
1. It is necessary to fold pieces of paper in half to make them fall more
easily onto your hand. If they are not folded, they might never reach your
hand and they will just keep floating.
2. You can also teach other contents through this activity, but since
irregular verbs are so difficult to master and students do not generally feel
motivated to do so, teaching and learning them through humor and games
will help students acquire them more naturally.
3. Students can also prepare their own bags with words. Writing verbs can
help them get familiarized with irregular verbs. I would recommend that
you start only with 10 verbs. When they have acquired those 10, you can
introduce another set.
4. Appointing a captain per group will help organize group work. Sharing
the power with students will also challenge them to be more independent
to make their own decisions.
165
“Es entretenido y una manera de alegrar un poco más las clases.”
Yisela
“Si se aprende porque uno piensa. Me gusta aprender así.”
Sebastián
8vo año
Colegio Balmaceda
166
Azucarcandia
“Games increase learners’ proficiency in practicing grammar communicatively. With the help
of grammar games, students can develop their ability in using language as they are given a
chance to use language in the situations which have a purpose” (Deesri, 2000, p. 3, as cited
in Yolageldili and Arikan, 2011, p. 223).
Teaching Materials
Pieces of paper
Getting Ready
1. Take your paper with action words written on it. Fold them.
2. Choose a few students (four is a good number) from the class and ask
them to stand up and come to the front.
3. Pick up a piece of paper and hide it flat between both hands. Ask
students in the front of the class to place their hands the same way you
are holding your hands when playing azucarcandia.
4. With your hands tight, say the following rhyme to your students:
Azucarcandia, azucarcandia,
Where are you hiding? Where are you hiding?
Here? There?
Where?
And, secretly, pass the piece of paper to a student by dropping it into their
hands.
5. Tell the four students who are participating not to show that they have
the piece of paper and not to move their hands.
6. Choose one student from the rest of the class to answer the question.
167
1. (Talking to the class) Tell me: Where is the piece of paper? Who is
holding it?
2. If your guess is right, the student who has the piece of paper will have
to open it and follow directions such as (sing, dance, jump, etc…)
If your guess is wrong, one of the students will have to carry out the
action.
Suggestions
1. If you play this game in other countries in which there is a variety of
cultures, beliefs and/or religions, inform students, in advance, that the
hand position is not related to prayer in this game.
2. An abundant amount of non-verbal communication is suggested when
saying the game’s rhyme with students so that they can understand what
the game is about.
3. To avoid students feeling upset and embarrassed to perform alone in
front of others, give them many options such as group work.
4. Add a touch of humor when students are performing the actions. For
example, “count up to 30 and jump on one foot at the same time”. Humor
provides a positive atmosphere to students.
5. Advise students who are in the front not to show others that they are
holding a piece of paper. This way, guesses will be more challenging.
6. Encourage students to pick different classmates so that everybody can
be incorporated into the game. Depending on your students’ attitudes, you
can even set this up as one of the rules of the game.
168
“Todo me gustó. Me divertí y eso.”
Laura
5th grade, Domus Mater
“Porque me gustó jugar.”
Gabriela
Pre-Kinder. Mi Rincón
169
Hula hoop
“ [ . . . ] linguistic knowledge is not conscious knowledge. The linguistic system – the sounds,
structures, meanings, words, and rules for putting them all together – is learned
subconsciously with no awareness that rules are being learned” (Fromkin et al; 2003, p.13).
Teaching Materials
One hula-hoop, flashcards (optional)
Getting Ready
1. Arrange your classroom and leave an open space, big enough for hulahooping without hitting others.
2. Enter the classroom holding your hula-hoop. This will catch your
students’ attention right away.
3. Move to the open space in your classroom. Start hula-hooping and
encourage your students to start counting how many hulas you can make.
4. Hula until you lose the game.
1. Are you ready for your own turn? Is there a volunteer to play this game?
2. (After you pick a student) We will keep on playing until everyone who
wants to hula-hoop has a turn.
Suggestions
1. If you are good at hula-hooping, stop the game when students start
showing difficulties with bigger numbers or when it is getting too long.
2. Do not force anyone to hula-hoop. Some students may not be as good as
others. Girls could be better. If so, make sure your next activity can
motivate boys as well. Anyway, keep on telling the students that it is just
an exercise for practicing numbers and that it does not matter if they
reach a small or a big number.
3. You can also combine your teaching materials: hula-hoop, rope and/or
yoyo. Students love and appreciate choices. They see more chances to be
successful. Variety will help you reach more students and it will make
your teaching more democratic as well.
170
4. If your class is enthusiastic and has a good attitude towards
competition, you can form groups. Students can count the numbers they
reach as points. It is an excellent way for them to reinforce other content
areas such as Mathematics in this case.
5. You can reinforce other contents such as days of the week, months of
the year, ABCs, seasons, among other themes that can be named in a
sequential way.
6. If you are short of time or if your students are really good at hulahooping, tell them that they have to stop hula-hooping when they reach a
specific number or letter.
7. Always remind students that your hula-hoop is only for hula-hooping
and not to throw around because someone can get hurt.
171
“Sí, es divertidos jugar y me gustó cuando contamos las vueltas. Very
good!”
Gabriela
Pre-Kinder
Jardín Mi Rincón
“Si, si me gustó saltar al hula hoop y contar los números en inglés:
one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, tens, etc….”
Fernando
Kinder
Martin Luther King.
172
TIC-TAC-TOE
“Games have become crucially important for English language learners and teachers not
only because they provide enjoyment and relaxation, but also as they encourage students
to use their language in a creative and communicative manner (Yolageldini & Arikan; 2011,
p.1).
Teaching Materials
Flashcards, sticky tak
Getting Ready
1. Place on the board nine flashcards, related to the content of the lesson,
in three horizontal rows of three flashcards each as when playing “el gato”.
2. Write TIC-TAC-TOE on the board and challenge your students to guess
what the game they will play is about.
3. Divide the class into 2 teams and assign letter X to one group and letter
O to the other one.
4. Ask for a first volunteer from Team X to come to the board and start
playing Tic-Tac-Toe.
1. Choose a flashcard and identify its name out loud. If your answer is
right, take out the flashcard and place either X or O depending on the
group you belong to. If it is wrong, you lose a turn and the other group can
play.
2. The first team that can form three matching letters, such as XXX or
OOO in a horizontal, vertical and/or diagonal line, should say Tic-Tac-Toe
out loud and, therefore, wins the game.
Suggestions
1. You do not necessarily have to work with flashcards. You can challenge
students with questions, commands, riddles, tongue twisters, etc …
2. Depending on the objectives of your lesson, you can play other versions
such as asking both groups to ask and answer questions to each other. If
answers are right, then winners are allowed to play Tic-Tac-Toe by
marking X or O.
173
3. Since this game is not only a matter of knowing the vocabulary in
English but also an opportunity for students to show their logical
intelligence through the selection of appropriate strategies, some students’
affective filter can increase while being in front of the class. Always
encourage your students to try to do their best!
4. Since this is teamwork, it may happen that some members of the group
show students who are playing their discontent by giving them negative
comments. Since this attitude is considered unacceptable behavior, tell
students that if they have a negative attitude towards others’ performance,
teams will lose turns.
Source: Memories from Childhood.
Fernanda
“Las mujeres nos ganaron pero igual uno aprende tal vez ganando o
perdiendo.”
Javier
“Es más entretenido que decir las palabras solas.”
Nicolás
8th grade, Colegio Balmaceda
174
Hide and seek
“ [ . . .] the essencial element in developing fluency lies in the opportunity for the meaningful
use of vocabulary in tasks with a low cognitive load” (Nation; 1994, p.viii).
Teaching Materials
Classroom Realia
Getting Ready
1. At the beginning of the class, ask students if they want to play “la
Escondida” in the English classroom (A positive answer is to be expected).
2. Ask for a volunteer to hide in the classroom.
1. (Talking to the person counting) Face the board, close your eyes and
count up to 20.
2. (Talking to the student who is going to hide) Silently find a place to hide.
Go, hurry up!
3. (Talking to the person counting) Ready? Now you get to twenty seconds,
find your hidden classmate.
4. (Talking to the person counting) Where is your classmate? The student
is supposed to say: He/she is behind the computer.
5. (Talking to the rest of the students) Do you all agree? Encourage peer
correction if necessary.
Suggestions
1. In order to save time and avoid accidents, give students a set of possible
safe places in which they can hide, such as, “under the teacher’s desk”,
“behind the jackets and schoolbags”, and similar places.
2. If you want to reinforce other subjects, you can ask your students to say
the months of the year, the days of the week, the ABCs, etc… instead of
saying numbers while counting.
3. Students need to be told that they should count slowly to give enough
time for the student to hide.
175
4. While the person counting is looking for his/her hidden classmate,
encourage the students to count up to twenty so they can continue
reviewing the numbers.
5. To involve and encourage all students, ask the class to help the person
counting find the hiding student by using the words cold, warm and hot,
depending on how close the finder is.
6. Be careful! Some children could leave your room because in their minds,
this game is usually played outside.
“Sí se aprende jugando, si me gustó!”
Karen
“A mí me gustó la escondida y mi opinión es si”.
Mirko
3ro Básico, El Laurel
176
Picking up sticks
“To prepare learners to perform in authentic settings, they must be allowed to practice in
social settings” (Egbert; 2005, p.6).
Teaching Materials
Different colored plastic sticks
Getting Ready
1. Look for a set of different colored plastic sticks in an arts and crafts
store.
2. Arrange your classroom so that the students can sit on the floor and
form a circle.
3. Choose a small group of leaders who will act as score keepers.
1. Have a student drop all the sticks at once in the middle of the circle.
2. (Showing the sticks) Each colored stick is worth a different amount of
points:
Red sticks: 5 points each, blue sticks: 10 points each, green
sticks: 15 points each, purple sticks: 20 points, and so on.
3. When it is your turn to play, try to remove as many sticks as possible
without touching the other ones. You have to stop playing if the other
sticks move!
4. After picking up a stick, say its color and the amount of sticks you have
out loud. For example, children can say: “2 blue sticks” or “I have 2 blue
sticks!”
5. After all the sticks are gone, add up your points in silence.
6. Share your final score with your class.
7. The leader should verify results and write the scores on the board.
8. The student who has the highest amount of points is the winner of the
game.
177
Suggestions
1. If you have trouble finding different colored plastic sticks in the arts and
crafts store, you may use kebab sticks and color them. If so, make sure
you cut off pointed ends to avoid an accident.
2. To facilitate counting, you can display important information on the
board, such as colors and points or you can hand out an instruction sheet.
This way, students will be able to clarify their doubts without spending a
lot of time asking questions about points.
3. Encourage students to say longer sentences such as “It is blue” instead
of just identifying the color. Your students will, then, gradually be moving
towards the i+1 learning zone.
4. Make sure students count in English and not in Spanish. You can ask
team leaders to be in charge of verifying if rules are being respected.
5. The amount of points each stick is worth can change and your students
can decide this. This strategy will allow them to get quickly involved in the
activity.
6. You can switch leaders every round so that everyone gets a chance to
drop the sticks, count the points and encourage the use of English.
7. With younger children, you can adapt this game by placing sticks on a
desk and by asking them to pick the right sticks. For example, “show me
two yellow sticks”.
178
“In my opinion, the activity was interesting because we could
practice numbers, verb ‘to have’, make and answer questions using Do
and Does.”
Fernando
“I think that the picking up sticks is very funny and I can remember
contents from other classes.”
Ana-María
FOCAL SKILLS Adult’s Group
179
Sea, earth and air
“Buiding up a useful vocabulary is central to the learning of a foreign language at primary
level” (Cameron; 2008,,p.72).
Teaching Materials
A set of flashcards, a rope
Getting Ready
1. Place chairs in a semi-circle before students arrive.
2. Divide the semi-circle by placing a rope through the middle of it.
Introduce two flashcards to the students and place one on either side of
the rope. React naturally and do not say anything. Students will start
speculating about what will happen and they will quickly focus on the
lesson.
3. Ask for volunteers to stand on one side of the rope. Three to four
students can comfortably play with one meter of rope.
1. As you hear one of the words from the flashcards, jump to that side of
the rope.
2. If you jump to the wrong side or do not jump when you need to, you
must go back to your seat and another classmate will have a turn.
3. There are no necessarily specific winners. Just try to survive as long as
possible.
Suggestions
1. Do not force students who are not good at jumping or who do not have
good coordination skills to participate. They could also be part of a jury
who determines who the winner is for each round of the game.
2. Instead of a rope, you can also use a piece of masking tape. Just make
sure that you will be able to peel it off quickly after you finish your lesson.
3. If students ask you to declare a winner, you can invite those who have
survived the longest to play a final round.
180
4. If possible, plan this activity in advance and ask students to wear tennis
shoes or other comfortable shoes.
5. If the lexicon has been well acquired, you can place two words on each
side of the rope and challenge your students to listen to four words
instead. Have high expectations.
6. To add a touch of humor and ensure that all students have a turn, you
can speak more quickly, which will imply that even the best English
students and jumpers will make mistakes.
7. If a student would like to play without jumping, you can play extra
rounds where jumping is not required and just moving is accepted. This
way, all students will be able to enjoy the activity no matter their skills
and/or interests.
181
“Mi opinión del lazo es que es una forma de aprender y quiero jugar
todos los días.”
Kimberly
“Si me gusta porque así puedo aprender inglés.”
Catalina
3rd Grade
Colegio Gandhi
182
Raffle time!
“Communicative games give language learning a whole new meaning. Learning takes place
[. . .] while the students are engaged in a self-motivating activity (Shameem and Tickoo,
1990, p. vii).
Teaching Materials
A fishbowl, small pieces of paper, a prize
Getting Ready
1. Look for a fishbowl or any appealing container.
2. Show it to the students and tell them that there will be a raffle at the
end of the class. Anxiety levels should decrease.
1. I will give you a piece of paper.
2. Listen carefully to my question and write your answer on the paper.
3. Once you have answered, write your name on the piece of paper, fold it
and place it in the fishbowl.
4. I will choose one piece of paper. If the answer is right, the student who
wrote that answer, will get the prize.
Suggestions
1. You are welcome to choose the prize you find most appropriate for your
students. However, school supplies that could be used in the English class
or teaching materials to reinforce contents such as books, sets of stickers,
among others are highly recommended.
2. You do not necessarily need tangible prizes. A free-from-homework
coupon and/or one extra point for a test are also valuable options.
However, giving a prize is important since this is what a raffle is about.
3. Avoid saying the name of the students before reading the answer. In
case it is wrong, the student who has answered could feel embarrassed.
4. Before reading the answer to students out loud, read it in silence. If the
answer does not make sense, do not share it with students. This activity is
meant for increasing students’ engagement, positive attitudes and level of
participation!
183
5. For the same reason, ask challenging but not extremely difficult
questions.
6. To make the selection of the winner more entertaining, you can tell
students that two pieces of paper will be taken out and that the winner will
be the third one if the answer to the question is right. This way, you will be
providing a more natural environment, which should help students to
produce naturally.
7. Some children can feel unmotivated with the raffle results, especially if
they do not win. They may feel that winning is not a matter of knowing the
contents but a matter of luck instead. Therefore, it is necessary to check
that questions are well-answered. This fact will give students more
credibility.
8. Since luck is a main factor in this activity, this should not be overused.
9. The raffle is an excellent way to carry out formative assessment and also
review more difficult and complex contents.
10. If students are too noisy or impatient, you can play the raffle after one
activity. Waiting till the end of a lesson could be tiring and even tedious.
Always evaluate students’ reactions.
11. Deliver papers at the moment of playing the raffle. Papers are likely to
be lost or destroyed.
184
“La rifa la encontré entretenida y divertida.”
Krishna
6th grade
Escuela México
“In my opinion, this activity was actually engaging, because, as
students of English Language Teaching, not only gave us the
opportunity to think about what would be the best activity in order to
engage all of our future students, but also it was fun due to the fact
that it had a really nice reward for us, which will be used as a
teaching material.”
Flora
4th grade
English Teaching Major, Universidad Austral de Chile
185
Jumping rope
“ [. . . ] teachers’ gestures facilitates students’ comprehension because they capture and
maintain students’ attention” (Alibali & Klatsky, 2003, p.200).
Teaching Materials
A jump rope
Getting Ready
1. Enter the classroom with your jump rope. Children should show signs
of interest.
2. Show students a picture of a cupcake and tell them it is a very special
dessert in some English-speaking countries.
3. Start jumping and singing the following song:
Strawberry cupcake, cherry on top
Who’s my best friend? I forgot.
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, …..
4. When you stop jumping, stop saying the alphabet and try to find the
name of a student that starts with that letter.
1. Who would like to try?
2. Come and let’s see who your best friend is.
3. (Talking to the class) Let’s help your classmate to say the alphabet as
he/she jumpsthe rope.
4. (After the student has stopped jumping) Who is his/her best friend?
186
Suggestions
1. Some students, especially boys, are not so good at jumping rope. To
avoid frustration, find different ways of participation such as being a
judge.
2. Open a wide space so that no student gets hurt while jumping rope.
3. This game is a good way to foster cross-curricular objectives if your
intention is to teach students that we all should be friends. In this case,
play the game by identifying friends or classmates instead of best friends.
4. Regarding cultural issues, you are welcome to introduce any other kind
of food as long as it rhymes. If you do not want to refer to a specific
culture, you can just say “cake”.
5. Some students can be really good at jumping rope and, therefore, can
play for a very long time if you do not stop them. This fact could also
intimidate those who are not very good at it. To avoid this from happening,
you can tell students that everybody has to stop when all the ABCs have
been told. In this case, if you are working with letters, they will need to
find someone whose name/nickname/last name starts with letter Z.
6. If the students cannot identify a classmate’s name with their letter, they
can refer to middle and last names and even to other friends who are not
in the class. You can also tell students to find English names to keep on
reinforcing the language at all times.
7. To avoid long turns, you can also tell students to stop at the first letter
of their best friend’s name. However, this may be dangerous since it can
hurt some children’s feelings if their names are never called out. To avoid
this kind of situation, one of the rules of the game can be that each name
can only be called out once.
187
“Sí, me gustó saltar la cuerda y jugar mientras aprendía inglés.”
Miguel
“SI porque hicimos cosas divertidas!”
Andrés
1st Grade, Master College
188
1, 2, 3, freeze!
“Teachers should provide activities in the classroom that offer opportunities for active
involment of the students” (Herrel & Jordan; 2008, p. 5).
Teaching Materials
A tambourine
Getting Ready
Play your tambourine, move and sing as follows:
Run, run, run
Run, run run
Everybody has to run!
Run, run, run
Run, run, run
Everybody has to freeze!
1. Stand up.
2. Perform the action you hear me sing and play my musical instrument.
3. When I stop playing my musical instrument and say freeze, you should
all freeze like statues.
4. If you move, you will have to sit down.
Suggestions
1. You can use any musical instrument. However, if you cannot play a
musical instrument, a maraca or a tambourine, can be an excellent option
to incorporate musicality in your EFL classroom and, thus, especially
motivate students whose musical intelligence is more developed than
others.
2. The use of the kultrün is also encouraged to develop and/or reinforce
our students’ awareness of cultural issues and positive attitudes towards
differences. Moreover, musical instruments can become positive teaching
materials by welcoming students from different cultural backgrounds.
189
3. It is an option to ask students to sit down if they move. You can
absolutely disregard the use of this strategy depending on your class’
attitude and/or behavior.
4. When students freeze, moving around the class and checking if students
are moving or not is a great idea in order to motivate them to continue
participating in this activity. Children enjoy being challenged!
5. This song and rhythm and calling out activities that students are
already familiar with will help them feel more secure, more confident and
at ease while performing.
6. This activity can be used in different moments of your lesson. It can
help you to introduce a topic, assess students’ lexicon understanding and
acquisition and/or as a closing activity. It is also very useful to calm
students down and bring silence back.
Martin
“Me gustó bailar.”
Paloma
“Me gustó hablar inglés.”
Isidora
Pre-Kinder, El Laurel
190
Rock, paper, scissors
“Learners are active constructors of meaning and users of language, rather than passive
receivers of vocabulary and information” (Curtain & Dahlberg; 2014, p.xxi).
Teaching Materials
None
Getting Ready
1. Place your right arm and hand behind your back and through nonverbal gestures tell your students you are hiding something.
2. Challenge your students to guess what object you are hiding by asking
them a few questions, such as: Is it paper? (showing students your hand
in a horizontal position); is it a rock? (showing them your fist); are they
scissors (showing only two fingers from your hand). Students will
immediately guess it is “cachipún game” and will, probably feel
enthusiastic about it.
3. Divide students in two teams by cutting the class group into two.
1. I need a volunteer from both groups.
2. (Talking to both volunteers) Face each other and place your arm and
hand behind your back.
3. Remember the rules:
a) Scissors can cut paper
b) Paper can sink the stone
c) The stone can break scissors.
4. Ready to play ‘rock, paper, scissors, go’? The team who scores more
points wins.
5. One, two, three, go!
Suggestions
1. I highly recommend the use of games, songs and rhythms that students
are culturally familiar with. These can become really successful teaching
experiences because children are likely to feel emotionally identified while
playing or singing them.
191
2. Although this activity is perfect if you are teaching school supplies, you
can use it at any times to cheer your students up, calm them down or
motivate them if they feel tired, distracted or bored.
3. You can also use this game as an organizational strategy for turn
taking. For example, if we have two teams to play a board game and we
need to know who is to play first, ‘rock, paper, scissors, go’ is an excellent
solution! It is fun, it connects students with their own culture and keeps
them in contact with the target language.
4. Students will probably play ‘cachipún’ instead of ‘rock, paper, scissors’,
especially at the very beginning. Keeping a positive attitude towards
students’ native language and culture is always good to maintain a
respectful classroom environment. When students’ identity is involved,
make corrections but with a humor and affect!
“A mí me gustó el cachipún porque es entretenido al igual que en
inglés. Es divertido!”
Marcela
“Si, me gustó mucho y aprendí a decir varias cosas más.”
Enzo
4to básico, Escuela Chile
192
Darting chart
“Games and game-like activities are among the most natural means available for
developing a context for communication with young learners” (Curtain & Dahlberg; 2010,
p.364)
Teaching Materials
A dart board, darts
Getting Ready
1. Buy or make a dart board.
2. Place the game of darts on the board. As soon as students see it, they
will raise their hands to be volunteers.
3. To start the activity, take a dart and make an attempt to hit the target.
If you are working with numbers, tell students which number you got.
1. Who would like to play against the teacher?
2. (Showing the student the place where they should stand) Do not move
from here! Hold the dart and take a turn.
3. Depending on the number you reach, either you or the teacher is the
winner.
Suggestions
1. You can form teams as well. However, students love playing against the
teacher, especially in this kind of games in which they could be stronger
than him/her. It can become quite a challenge to beat the teacher.
2. It may happen that some students are not very good at playing this
game and, therefore, cannot reach the target as easily as others. In this
case, they can move closer to the board and try to hit the target again.
They will probably feel more motivated.
3. If others feel it is unfair, help them to understand this is just a game.
Encourage the whole class to empathize with the player. Have them say, as
a group, a number out loud. If the number is not reached, give the player,
together with the students, a big round of applause anyway.
193
4. Give each student more than one chance to play. Self-confidence should
increase.
5. Dart boards usually have numbers. If you want to review other
contents, you can tell your class that numbers stand for a question or an
action or you can make your own board. In this case, you will need darts
that can stick to a board since magnetized ones are hard to find. You can
buy small softballs. They work perfectly as well!
Cristofer
“Si se puede aprender jugando y yes me gustó!! Ja Ja.”
Scarlet
“YES porque fue muy entretenido y es más BKN aprender jugando”.
Emanuel
5to básico, Escuela Francia
194
Hangman
“Children bring to language learning their curiosity and eagerness to make sense of the
world. They will tackle the most demanding tasks with enthusiasm and willingness”
(Cameron; 2008 p.246)
Teaching Materials
Board, marker, cardboard and flashcards (optional)
Getting Ready
1. Enter your classroom and draw a hangman on the wall as well as blank
spaces for letters that stand for a word.
2. Write one or two letters only.
1. Look at the letters and try to guess the word I plan to write.
2. Raise your hand and say a letter to complete the word. If you are right,
the letter will be placed in the right spot. If not, one part of the hangman
will be removed.
Suggestions
1. Instead of drawing your hangman, you can make one with cardboard
and place it on the board. Make sure all the body parts can be easily
removed.
2. Having a cardboard hangman with removable pieces allows you to carry
out a series of other different activities such as removing parts when
students misbehave, taking the hangman home as the class mascot
and/or building up a human being when studying the parts of the body.
3. I recommend you to first display all the alphabet letters on the board. If
you can, use flashcards instead of writing the letters on the board, since
you can easily remove them when a good answer is provided.
4. Also, always review letters before playing hangman. Not having an
appropriate command of the ABCs could prevent students from
participating.
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5. Since the hangman is usually a living being such as a person or an
animal, removing parts of his/her body could be considered as an offensive
or aggressive attitude for some children and parents. Also, it could
encourage some of them to laugh when one part is removed. This situation
could negatively impact disabled students for example. A possible solution
could be to use an object such as a school building, a house, a toy, a
landscape, among other possibilities.
6. If you realize it is getting hard for students to figure out the word, you
can give them hints. For example, “It is an animal”.
7. Once the word has been found, check if all students can understand the
word without translating.
“The class activity was amazing. I like activities!”
Carlos
“El juego me pareció simple, entretenido y con alto nivel de
aprendizaje. Fue buena experiencia.”
Roberto
2nd grade
Instituto Salesiano
196
STOP!
“All languages have words. Language emerges first as words, both historically, and in
terms of the way each of us learned our first and any subsequent languages. The coining of
new words never stops” (Thornbury;2008, p.1).
Teaching Materials
Paper, pencils
Getting Ready
1. Based on the traditional “Stop Game”, prepare a chart with several rows
and, at the top, write the different topics you would like to review with
your students.
2. Hand the sheet out.
3. Agree, with your students, on how many points will be given to each
right answer.
1. I will silently say the alphabet. Student X, please say stop whenever you
want.
2. As soon as you hear my letter, start completing your chart with words
that are connected with the topics and that start with the given letter.
3. When you are ready, please say STOP! Say your words out loud for the
teacher to verify if they are correct. If not, the class can continue playing
until we hear someone else say “STOP”.
4. If the answers are right, all of you need to count your points, write them
down and keep track of them.
Suggestions
1. The word “review” should be highlighted because this is a game
especially meant for students to work with words they know.
2. Bilingual dictionaries (found in public schools) can also be allowed but I
would recommend pictionaries or monolingual dictionaries instead,
depending, of course, on the students’ command of the language. What
really matters is that students understand the words they select. However,
197
allow students to use dictionaries only when it is not a review lesson or
when you see students are getting too frustrated because they cannot find
the required words.
3. In order to lower students’ levels of anxiety, you can also invite them to
work in groups. They will probably feel more secure since they will have
more chances to feel successful.
4. It is going to be necessary to have a score keeper or a judge to determine
what group said “Stop” first. I strongly suggest giving each group a stop
sign they should lift and show when they say Stop. This will allow the
teacher and/or scorekeeper to be more objective and assertive.
5. Although you know what topics your students need to review, you can
also invite them to select the main topics. Include different levels of
difficulty: easy and challenging topics.
6. Review the ABCs before playing. This will allow the game to become
more fluent. Quickly reviewing some crucial words from the main topic will
also be great support for students to feel more confident and allow the
game to be carried out smoothly.
7. Stop the game when you see students getting tired, bored or too
frustrated.
8. You can also divide the class into different groups and invite students to
play on the board. This strategy can be very appealing for students but it
is necessary to be aware that some kids could feel a lot of pressure. In this
case, play this version of the game only if you think your class is able to
handle it without hurting others.
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“Yo creo que es una forma divertida de aprender, y muy sencilla, ya
que se aprender jugando, y a quien no le gusta jugar?
David
8vo básico
“The stop game was a very funny game. It is a challenge for your
vocabulary!”
Ricardo
FOCAL SKILL GROUP
199
Marco Polo
“Students are intrinsically motivated to learn, to undertake challenges, and to solve
problems” (Deci & Ryan; 1985, p.11).
Teaching Materials
A blindfold (scarf, piece of fabric, handkerchief, birthday masks, etc…)
Getting Ready
1. Arrange seats in a semi-circle and leave an open space in the middle of
the circle.
2. Show students a picture of Marco Polo. Say “Marco” out loud as if you
were calling him and ask your students to say “Polo”. Repeat this exercise
a couple of times.
3. Cover your eyes with a blindfold and ask your students to be quiet. The
feeling of not knowing what is going to happen should help them follow
instructions carefully and appropriately.
4. Ask a student to become the teacher and choose one student at a time.
5. Say “Marco” out loud and place your hand behind your hear. Your
assistant should choose a student to say “Polo” a few times to help you.
6. After you hear “Polo”, move around the open space trying to follow the
voice you have just heard.
7. Once you have found the student who has said “Polo”, you can touch
him/her and say his/her name.
1. (Talking to the student whose voice you have recognized) Would you like
to come to the front and cover your eyes? Say the first name of an
important and famous person in the world.
2. (Talking to the rest of the students) If you know the last name of that
person, raise your hand. If it is your turn to answer, say the name out
loud three or four times.
3. (Talking to the rest of the class) What other famous people do you
know? Any volunteers?
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Suggestions
1. To avoid dealing with controversial characters that could cause a
conflict among your students and; therefore, interfere with your classroom
environment, give students a list of important neutral people. These could
be related to English literature, music, movies, etc. This is an excellent
way to reinforce cross-curricular content material!
2. You can also play the Marco Polo game to review other contents such as
infinitives and past forms, adjectives and comparative/superlative forms or
singular and plurals, among other possibilities. For example, if you say
“speak”, one of your students should respond “spoke”.
3. Prefer paper masks with rubber bands instead of hats and caps for
preventing head lice. You can also ask your students just to close their
eyes.
“It was a good activity to develop production and voice projection.”
Student
“The Marco Polo activity was a very fun way to exercise verbs and
past tenses. It can also be useful for any vocabulary learning like
opposites.”
Student
3rd Grade, English Teaching Program, Universidad Austral de Chile
201
Hot, warm or cold?
Provide maximum opportunity to students to speak the target language by providing a rich
environment that contains collaborative work, authentic materials and tasks, and shared
knowledge (Kayi; 2006, para.18).
Teaching Materials
An object
Getting Ready
Prepare for the activity by silently hiding the object in the classroom.
1. Could I have a volunteer to come to the front?
(Talking to the volunteer) Please sit down and close your eyes.
2. Could I have a volunteer to hide the object?
(Talking to the volunteer) Silently hide this object in the classroom.
3. (Talking to the rest of the class) Be a good listener and observer in order
to help your classmate find the object.
4. (Talking to the rest of the class) When your classmate is far away from
the object, you can all say “cold”. When he/she gets closer, you can say
“warm”. When he/she is really close, you can all say “hot”.
Suggestions
1. Give students a list of possible places where the object could be hidden.
Some students could take a long time trying to find it and others enjoy
hiding objects in remote places.
2. Some of the students could get so enthusiastic about helping their
classmate that they could start yelling. Before playing the game, let them
know how loud they can get.
3. This is an excellent way to start and introduce a lesson. For example, if
your lesson is called “School”, you can hide the eraser.
4. To avoid an accident, check if objects are not dangerous.
202
5. Some children can take a long time looking for the object. Have a
student keep track of time and give each student around 30 seconds to
find the object.
6. Depending on your students’ enthusiasm and learning rhythms, you
can also incorporate other words such as “freezing” and/or “very hot”.
7. I strongly recommend that you use this activity on a special occasion.
For instance, to celebrate “Students’ Day”, you can bring a bag of candies
and your students will be more than happy. They will not only feel excited
about hiding objects and trying to find them but they will also feel
appreciated. Give them a few minutes to eat their treats.
Karla
“Yo recomiendo este juego porque divierte a todo el que está incluido.
Aprendimos Hot, Cold y Warm.”
Sebastián
“Muy bueno porque me comi un PANCHITO y aprendi a jugar Cold,
Warm or Hot?”
Claudio
FOCAL SKILLS Children’s Group
203
Don’t say ‘NO’! Don’t say ‘YES’!
“To improve their second language proficiency, English language learners [. . .] need a solid
knowledge of vocabulary” (Fols; 2008, p.12).
Teaching Materials
A ball
Getting Ready
1. Prepare a set of Yes/No questions your students are familiar with.
2. Plan an exercise to review some expressions that could replace the
words YES and NO as possible answers.
1. I will throw this ball to one of you. Then, I will ask you questions. You
can answer with all kinds of words as long as it makes sense, but you
cannot use the words YES and NO.
2. Listen to this example: Catch the ball Marcelo.
Teacher: Are you from Chile? – Student: Of course!
3. You cannot answer with expressions that have already been used by
your classmates.
Suggestions
1. You can also play this game with teams. If they answer YES or NO, they
might lose a point. Children love challenges!
2. Since concentration plays an important role here, some students may
easily forget the essence of the game and answer YES or NO. Use a lot of
humor if this happens. Keep a positive attitude and do not allow
derogatory comments against students who have answered YES or NO.
3. To make the game easier, at first, you could write, on the board, some of
the expressions we could use to reply a question. You can erase them from
the board little by little.
4. This activity can be more challenging if you ask questions that are
related with your students’ personal lives. You can, therefore, make them
answer a short questionnaire before, so that you exactly know their likes
and dislikes, for example.
204
5. Encourage students to ask questions as well. It is an excellent
opportunity for them to practice YES/NO questions in an implicit way.
6. If expressions are new to your students, you could allow them to reuse
some of the expressions that have already been used.
“It is very funny!”
Student
“Very good and incredible!!!”
Student
1ro Medio
Hampton College
205
PROJECTS
206
Performing tunes
“Music acts as a balance to the many linguistic and logical tasks we do during the day. It
represents a refreshing shift into a different domain and provides a way of opening up to
new perpectives in life” (Amstrong, 1999, p.71).
Teaching Materials
CD player, props, paper, paints, brushes, markers
Getting Ready
1. Look for a song that could be appropriate for the ages of your students
and corresponds to their interests and needs. The song chosen for this
project was “The Wheels on the Bus”.
2. Develop your vision for the performance of this song. Think about dates,
invitations, a possible stage, the performance and props.
3. Present your proposal to the school principal to facilitate your students’
presentation. Keep in mind you will need assistance and you may also
need some financial support.
Suggestions
Follow these steps:
1. Depending on the number of students, arrange a certain amount of
chairs as if they were seats on a bus. Remember you need a bus driver in
the front.
2. Distribute roles according to students’ interests. At the beginning of the
process, they can play different roles.
3. Have students sit on the chairs. I gave my students a few props such as
glasses, moustaches, hats, etc… for them to start creating a new character
with a special personality. Diversity is one of the cross-cultural objectives
that I intended to promote.
4. Play the song and ask students to move as if they were on a real bus.
What matters is that students learn the song in the bus itself, not in pre
and post activities. Immersion activities will help them acquire the
language because it provides a natural environment.
5. When the song and performance are ready, measure the length of the
bus. Bring white cardboard that matches it. Also, provide students with
some paints and ask them to wear white smocks.
207
6. Encourage children to decorate the cardboard to make it look like a bus.
Help them write positive words, phrases or sentences in English. They can
also print their hands.
General Suggestions
1. If you cannot perform this kind of activity within your English lessons,
you can absolutely create an English Club where students could have
more time and space to practice, and you, as a teacher, could have more
freedom to carry out other activities.
2. If so, parents can be very helpful in these situations. When having
presentations, delegating is a requirement.
3. If you are going to present your activity to the school community, send
invitations and start performing far in advance.
4. Try to perform on the same stage in which students will finally present.
5. Always check that technological devices work well and that every kid
has his/her own costume.
6. It may happen that some children do not want to perform. Do not force
them. They can be presenters or be in charge of the CD player, for
example.
7. Give students a certificate or an award. When children perform, it is
necessary to praise them immediately.
8. After the presentation is done, students should know what to do to
clean up and put everything away.
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“Me gustó mucho y aprendí muchas cosas.”
Daniela
5to Básico
“Yo creo que la canción fue divertida porque me gustan la mayoría de
las canciones con mímica y esa era una de ellas.”
Arturo
6to básico
Taller de Verano, Inglés Entretenido, Universidad Austral de Chile
209
Announcements
"The first requirement for the use of learner-centered activities is a relaxed and friendly
atmosphere in the group [of learners]" (Klippel, 2006, p.7).
Teaching Materials
A microphone, an amplifier, speakers
Getting Ready
1. As your students enter the class, say hello with the help of the
microphone. This should immediately call students’ attention.
2. Introduce yourself. Say what day it is, mention weather conditions,
share the teaching menu with them and wish them a great day!
1. (After you have given announcements) Who would like to be a volunteer?
Many hands are expected.
2. We will have announcements every Monday. Students who would like to
participate can write their names on an enrollment list at the end of the
lesson.
Suggestions
1. Organize the activity in advance. Frequency, number of students,
length, turn taking, etc…
2. Place strips containing the information you will say on the board,
especially the first time you carry out this idea.
3. While speaking into the microphone, I would suggest you to act as if you
were on a TV program, adding a touch of humor as well. Motivation levels
usually increase when students see their teachers in different roles.
4. Some students can get easily intimidated with some activities that
require being in front of the class. Therefore, do not worry! You can also
offer them choices:
a) Read their message. However, little by little, challenge them to do
it as naturally as possible. This will help your students develop their
social and communicative skills.
b) Work in groups of two so that they can feel more confident.
Notwithstanding, always motivate them as individuals. It can
210
happen that very shy students hide behind others who are more
sociable. This situation could be favorable for some but intimidating
for others.
c) Create specific scenarios that make the activities more real. You
can invite your students to create a cardboard TV and/or wear
costumes. These strategies can also help less outspoken and less
sociable students.
5. This is a very simple and short activity that you can even carry out
every single day. However, depending on your students’ levels, you can
raise your expectations and organize more complex activities such as
reading the news.
6. If you do not have many volunteers, keep on doing it. Enthusiasm will
catch on!
7. This is an activity that could be proposed to the school principal to be
carried out every Monday morning. It could be part of other school activities
in which all the school community participates.
211
“Es bueno porque
aprendizaje.”
así
aprendemos
más
y
mejoramos
nuestro
Rebeca
“Igual es bueno porque introduce y no es como la típica clase en la
que empieza a hablar el profesor.”
Eric
7mo básico
Escuela Balmaceda
212
Making a ladybug!
[ . . .] young learners require hands-on learning experiences with concrete objects, the early
language classroom must have a wide reality variety of objects and materials available, as
many of them as possible from the target culture” (Curtain & Dahlberg; 2010, p.335).
Teaching Materials
A “Ladybug” recipe book, lettuce leaves, red apples, raisins, small
containers of manjar (dulce de leche), green grapes, paper dishes, a
teaspoon
Getting Ready
1. Since children will be eating in this activity, ask your principal for
formal permission.
2. Ask parents to sign a note in which they authorize their children to eat
the foods you are going to offer during the activity.
3. Have all of the ingredients ready before you start your lesson. For
example, separate and wash lettuce leaves, cut the red apples into two
pieces, count and place raisins and grapes in different bowls and open the
manjar (dulce the leche) containers.
4. Before students enter the classroom, ask some team leaders to help you
organize your classroom into different centers and place the ingredients on
different tables. Also, place an instruction sheet with pictures in each
center.
5. Leave an open space and invite them to sit on the floor criss-cross apple
sauce.
6. Read the “Ladybug” recipe book called “Un bocado especial” (Tatler,
1996) to your students as a storytelling activity so that students
understand the instructions mainly through pictures (See suggestions
below).
1. Stand up and make a line.
2. (While distributing paper dishes and teaspoons) place the ingredients on
your dish in the same order mentioned in the book. Centers will remind
you of the ingredients.
3. Listen and see what I will do:
213
a) First, I place one piece of lettuce on my paper dish.
b) Second, I place one half of the red apple on the piece of lettuce, as
if it were the ladybug’s body.
c) With the help of my teaspoon, I spread tiny amounts of manjar
(dulce de leche) on different parts of the red apple. I also need to put
some manjar (dulce de leche) on the front part of the apple and on
both sides.
d) Then, I put a raisin on every manjar (dulce de leche) spot and a
grape in the front part of the apple, as if it were the ladybug’s head.
You can also follow the same pattern to make the ladybug’s legs.
e) Finally, you can eat your ladybug dish.
Suggestions
1. If you cannot obtain financial support to carry out this activity, you can
ask parents to cooperate by donating the required ingredients. If so, you
will need to collect food in advance to have enough time to buy some extra
ingredients in case some children do not bring theirs.
2. If you cannot find the book, you can make your own. Just include the
steps you will follow to make the ladybug. Remember to make a big and
colorful book! It is also possible to carry out this project without reading a
book. You could also use any book related to insects, food or body parts to
reinforce content material. All these alternatives work perfectly if students
are motivated and your activity is well organized.
3. Once students have completed their ladybugs, you can let students eat
them but there are other options as well. Students can take them home,
the teacher can take pictures or an expo can be organized so that other
students can watch it. If this is possible, it would be great to make other
bugs or animals with different food.
4. Organize your class to clean desks and pick up fruit or vegetable pieces
from the floor.
5. If you do not have or do not want to use manjar (dulce de leche), any
other sticky substance can be used. Raisins and grapes can also be
replaced by other similarly shaped pieces of food.
214
“Lo pasé muy bien!”
Daniela
5to básico
“Me gustó mucho la actividad porque la encontré muy creativa para
uno aprender distintos tipos de comida.”
Valentina
6to básico
Taller de Verano
215
DEAR
“To make reading easy for students, the bottom line requirement is an inviting classroom
library, organized so it’s simple for children to find books and return them” (Atwell; 2007,
p.37).
Teaching Materials
Books, cushions, blankets, timer
Getting Ready
1. Gather and or create a large assortment of books in English.
2. Construct your library in your classroom in a visible corner.
3. Organize a simple and easy way for students to choose a book, register
and then select another book.
3. Tell students that when DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) takes place,
they will need to bring a cushion, a blanket or a piece of clothing
comfortable enough to sit on. This strategy will make your children happy
since they will not only be allowed to sit in a favorite spot of the classroom,
but also bring a belonging from home; affording them comfort and
security.
1. Take out your cushion or piece of clothing.
2. Look for a comfortable and safe place in the classroom.
3. Sit down and read until you hear the timer ring. You will have
approximately 10 to 15 minutes.
4. Close your book, return it to the library and quietly go back to your
seat.
Suggestions
1. Books should be understandable to the students. Always read them
ahead of time to make sure that the level is appropriate for your students
and to verify that there is enough comprehensible input through pictures.
2. If you do not have books available, you can use magazines or students
can use books that they created in class.
a) You can start creating them away in advance. Students and even
parents can help you to make the pictures.
216
b) You can also ask the school for some financial support.
c) Some schools in developed countries sometimes throw books away
when they recycle their libraries and are willing to donate the books
that they are not using anymore. Do research, contact schools and
let them know that you are interested in the books their school does
not need anymore. Look for financial support to cover the shipping
fee.
3. If you do not have enough books, students can work in groups or
partner read.
4. To reinforce Free Voluntary Reading (FVR), you can recommend reading
web pages to students and ask them to choose a book, download it and
bring it to the class when DEAR has been scheduled.
5. In case you are not able to build your own library, you can reserve the
computer room and students can read from the web. Always recommend a
specific web page which offers many alternatives for students.
6. If your class is too wild, you may tell your students in advance what
places can be picked for reading. This way, you can avoid accidents.
7. If students constantly fight for places, you can also tell each one
individually, where they should sit. However, please do not forget that the
ideal situation is to allow them pick their favorite place.
8. The teacher MUST read as well! Students need to see the teacher as a
model. However, he or she should also be vigilant and maintain control of
the class while they are reading.
9. Mind your body language while reading. Show students you are
interested and motivated to read.
10. You may sit next to the library in order to receive and rearrange books
when students are done reading.
11. You do not need to do reading comprehension exercises. The main
point in this activity is to encourage reading for pleasure. However, if you
wish, you can do some brief, simple and entertaining exercises in which
students demonstrate their understanding -- such as role playing.
12. If you have enough room in your classroom, you can tell students to
leave their cushions in a corner of the floor and use them for reading time
and other activities that are held on the floor.
13. It may certainly happen that you do not have your own classroom.
Therefore, build up a portable library or ask the head teacher of the class if
217
you could install it during EFL lessons. If cushions will be kept at school,
also address the head teacher.
14. DEAR can also be carried out when students look tired, bored,
unmotivated or too noisy. It will definitely help them to break the routine
and have fun while reading an interesting story.
15. It would be great for students to be able to write the books they have
read on a wall poster. There are lots of fun ideas such as a paper library or
tree or a passport they could make.
“Sí, me gustó porque lei, conversé, y aprendí cosas en inglés”
Matías
“Sí, me gustó porque pude aprender todo en inglés y por todos los
dibujos que estaban allí.”
Dayana
5to básico
Escuela Alemania
218
It is English Day!
“Teaching does not mean to traspass knowledge, but to create spaces for its own
production or construction” (Freire, 1997)11
Teaching Materials
All kinds of teaching supplies (paper, glue, scissors, staples, etc …) and
teaching materials such as authentic and multisensory materials and
realia (manipulatives, games, flashcards, movies, songs, among others).
Audio-visual aids will also be required.
Getting Ready
1. If you have a proposal, share it with your English Department or with
your colleagues. You cannot be in charge of everything. Ask for help and
delegate!
2. Design a proposal of your ideal English Day at School and write it as
clearly and organized as possible.
3. Schedule an appointment with the Principal of your School and inform
him/her about your proposal. Ask for formal authorization and also for
assistance, including financial support.
4. If your proposal has been accepted, ask the principal if you can inform
the school faculty so you can inspire other teachers and ask for help and
support.
5. Start working ahead of time, far in advance to organize committees and
check on team work.
Proposal
Teaching Practice Students from an English Teaching University Program,
under the supervision of their teacher, visit a school and carry out a series
of activities so that students can be in contact with the language during a
prolonged period of time, promote a positive attitude towards other
cultures and enchant them with the English language.
A few considerations
11
“Ensinar não é transferir conhecimento, mas criar as possibilidades para a sua própria
produção ou a sua construção” (Freire, 1997) [Translation made by Yasna Yilorm]
219
1. Pick a weekday and use all the rooms in which English is going to be
taught. Depending on the number of rooms and on students’ ages,
different activities will be carried out.
2. So that all students can visit all rooms, prepare 15-20 minutes
activities.
3. Organize turns so that all teachers and students know the sequential
order of rooms that they will need to go to throughout the whole activity.
Some possible activities:
a) Singing spot: Karaoke.
b) Puppet Show
c) Going to the theatre!
d) Dancing spot
e) Music Show
f) Games
g) Movie Time!
h) Cooking Time!
i) Playing Computer Games in English.
General Suggestions
1. There is no specific “English Day” celebration. Your proposal could be a
simple idea such as asking all teachers in the school to say “Hello,
Goodbye, Thank you and Please” every Friday for example or it could be a
more complex event in which a series of various activities occur during a
school day or even throughout a week. Just consider this proposal as a
possible version of what an English Day could be.
2. Your proposal could be based on your own creativity and teaching goals
and/or on your school policies. However, it is necessary to tell your school
community that students’ needs and interests regarding the English
subject are to be a priority during the whole event.
3. Your school community disposition and flexibility should also be
considered. However, if your idea is clear, coherent, creative and
convincing, above all, school members should value what you are
proposing and should show a good attitude to support you!
4. Make sure this activity is very well-organized. You need to consider
room and technological equipment availability, classroom arrangements,
220
students’ visits to every classroom, among other important issues. The
school community should be well-informed because it is probable that
some activities will cause unusual noises in the classrooms. We do not
want anybody to feel upset and uncomfortable. Have all this information
included in your written proposal.
5. Make sure that in every location, students become valued participants.
Incorporate each of them so that they do not only listen to the language
but they can also produce it. The Dancing and Singing Spots are perfect
for them to prepare a short presentation to be performed as a closing
activity at the end of the journey.
6. You will need to praise students for the participation. Provide them with
positive feedback at all times: stickers, stamps, rounds of applause,
certificates and a participation diploma handed out during the closure
activity.
7. Children can also be perfect helpers! Create committees in which they
can participate, under a teacher’s supervision, according to their skills and
interests.
8. You can survey students in order to know their different interests such
as best singers, bands, music, favorite movies, songs, actors, food, among
others.
9. Always prepare a plan B in case of any inconvenient situation.
10. To celebrate English Day, you can absolutely carry on the next activity:
Travelling around the World.
Celebration proposed by: Miss Yelor.
Idea designed by: Miss Yilorm.
Organized by: Teaching Practice Students, Miss Yelor and Miss Yilorm.
Implemented in Escuela Manuel Balmaceda, Futrono, on November 24,
2011 by 45 students from the English Teaching Program, Universidad
Austral de Chile.
Source: Adapted from Loudoun County Public School Elementary Teachers, Virginia, USA
(2004-2007).
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“Me gustó mucho todo lo que hicieron, lo hallé muy divertido.”
Marcelo
“Fue muy divertido todo lo que hicimos. Gracias por haber venido!
Ricardo
“A mí me gustaron las actividades de inglés porque fueron súper
interactivas y también entretenidas pero hay algo que me gustó
mucho más y es que todos los alumnos nos unimos para jugar y
apoyar a los universitarios. Gracias!!!! y suerte en su carrera.”
Anónimo
“Me encantaron las actividades porque son entretenidas nos ayudaron
a aprender a aprender mucho más, te diviertes y son buenas las clases
así.”
Camila
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“Con toda esta experiencia cultural, me doy cuenta que el mundo es
genial.”
Katalina
“Fue una experiencia asombrosa”
Hector
“Yo creo que esto no se da todos los días y que lo disfrute mucho.”
Antonio
8vo básico
Colegio Balmaceda
223
Travelling around the world!
“Language, that is our total communicative ability, allows us to develop human qualities by
learning from vicarious and symbolic (as well as direct) experiences, to help formulate our
thoughts, and to convey them to someone else. Without language, none of the this is
possible” (Fantini, 1997, p.10).
Part I: Creating your own passport!
Teaching Materials
Five real expired passports, a list of written instructions
Getting Ready
1. Talk to the Principal about your project and formally ask for permission
orally and in a written format.
2. Look for at least five real expired passports.
3. Give each group a passport and prepare a few exercises for them to get
familiar with the lexicon. A crossword is a good idea.
4. Give students a list of written instructions with pictures and clear
examples for them to use when making their passports.
Suggestions
1. Always keep the school and parents informed.
2. First, carry out your activity with approximately four classes in two days
(two classes per day). If you are successful, in the future, you could
increase the amount of classes that can participate. Ideally, it could even
become a school activity.
3. In order to save time and avoid giving an arts and crafts lesson instead
of an English one, it is recommended to work only on the lexicon section of
the passport with students during one of your own lessons and to ask
them to make their passports at home.
4. In case you believe it is a good idea to make the passport during one of
your English lessons because it can motivate students or because it can
ensure you that all students will have passports, you will need to guide the
activity in English at all times. For example, take out your scissors and cut
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five pieces of paper. When you hear the timer, everybody should be ready
for the next instruction.
5. As a cross-cultural objective, teach students the importance of carrying
a passport when travelling abroad. This will also facilitate the second part
of your activity since showing the passport will be a requirement.
6. If you do not have access to expired passports, you can print fake copies
from the web.
Part II: Getting ready for the visits!
Teaching Materials
List of instructions, board, marker
Getting Ready
1. Organize the activity from the very beginning till the end. Think
about dates, committees, number of students per committee, classroom
arrangement, materials required and tourists’ visits. Do not forget to
organize personal and written communication with the school community.
2. Prepare a written handout with clear instructions to be followed by the
students during this English project. This handout needs to be shared
with the school community, not only with students.
3. Introduce the activity. Provide general ideas and dates. The level of
motivation should be high but it is necessary to find out students’
particular interests and skills. Leadership skills should also be detected at
this point.
4. It is very important to let students know that the activity will take place
during two days. They will be hosts and will, therefore, need to receive
visitors and, then afterwards, they will become visitors.
1. As a class, please select a country. Give some proposals and then, we
will vote.
2. During two weeks, you have to do research on the country you have
selected.
3. We need to form different committees to be in charge of: airport check
in, tourists’ reception, geographical features, historical facts, music and
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dance, food, sports, among other topics that will then be displayed in
different stands.
4. I will write the committees on the board. Please let me know, by raising
your hand, what committee you would like to be part of.
5. Your presentation per committee should include:
a) classroom decoration. You can decorate the classroom with
posters, brochures, maps, stands displaying arts and crafts,
music, among other things.
b) an oral presentation to provide information about the country
(capital, inhabitants, languages, geographical features, food,
weather, music, folkdance, etc…) and to show pictures/videos to the
audience.
6. Your oral presentation should be:
a) 5 minutes long and should be repeated when new visitors come
in.
b) coherent and well-organized.
c) well presented. Behave as naturally as possible.
d) creative, dynamic and entertaining. You may bring all the
necessary props and costumes.
e) culture-based. Extra cultural displays to show dances, typical
food, sports, etc.. are expected.
Suggestions
Receiving visitors:
1. Advise students that this is a formal activity. They will need to know
that you expect a positive attitude and appropriate behavior from them.
Keep in mind that the students will have to wear costumes and dance,
among other duties and some of them could misbehave.
2. Recommend that students place their stands around the classroom to
provide tourists with enough space to move around easily and comfortably.
3. Tell students that this activity must not consist of copying, pasting and
then memorizing. On the contrary, based on what they have read, they
have to express ideas with their own English, using simple structures and
lexicon. For example, Brazil is in South America/ The capital is Brasilia/
People in Brazil speak Portuguese. Let students know that if they just
memorize facts and structures, they will probably make mistakes.
4. Remind students that they need to write citations following a specific
format such as the APA.
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5. Make sure you find a way to check that everybody is working on the
project and that everybody will show up while decorating. A good idea
would be to leave 5 to 10 minutes of your lessons to talk about the project,
check if students are working and answer questions as well as meet
parents.
Visiting other places:
6. Organize visits to the other countries in smaller groups so that students
can easily walk between the classrooms.
7. Tell students that at the entrance of each classroom, passports need to
be shown to a police officer.
8. Design a written activity to be completed while students are not visiting
any countries. The library is a good place for them to stay quiet and busy.
Part 3: Travelling around the world.
Teaching Materials
Passports, classrooms, stands, props, costumes
Getting Ready
1. Give enough time for your students to set up their classroom. However,
limits are always necessary. If you do not fix a precise starting time, they
will not be ready when you expect them to be.
Instructions for students
1. As visitors, you will have the opportunity to travel to two different
places.
2. Be good listeners and enjoy.
Suggestions
1. Make sure a team of teachers supervise students at all times. This is an
activity you cannot carry out alone.
2. Regarding evaluation, you may give your students two different grades.
a) Decoration of the classroom.
b) Performance as hosts. You may consider their:
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* adequate use of Verbal and Non-verbal communication.
* use of understandable English.
* fluency.
* motivation and creativity.
3. Since this activity is supposed to promote natural immersion, you do
not need to assess it. However, compliments and rewards are great ways to
recognize jobs well done.
4. Tell students that classrooms must be cleaned and organized after
presentations.
(2004-2007)
228
"… Vivimos una muy buena experiencia al aprender diferentes
culturas de los países, todo hablado en inglés, el hecho de hacer esto
de una manera más didacta hace que a uno como alumno le queden
todo este tipo de situaciones y/o aprendizajes en la memoria y al
momento de estudiar sea un poco más fácil poder estudiar… Pasamos
por diferentes países y estudiarlos desde la mirada de su música,
costumbres y cultura, crea una mejor percepción. Desde mi punto de
vista, pasar por este tipo de actividades hace enriquecer aún más los
conocimientos entregados por los docentes."
Byron
2ndo año
Ingeniería Comercial
Universidad Austral de Chile
“Fue una experiencia inolvidable. Me encantó mucho. Gracias!”
Student
2ndo Medio
Colegio José Manuel Balmaceda
229
Bulletin Boards
“A bulletin board is important because it helps students and teachers to work together and
it also may be useful for parents because they can get information through it” (Illanes,
personal communication, 2011).
Teaching Materials
A Bulletin Board, Teaching supplies (paper, scissors, glue, stapler, pins,
etc…), cardboard, flashcards, cards, art crafts, pictures, etc…)
Getting Ready
1. Write a formal proposal to your school principal to decorate the school
bulletin board once a month. In this way, students can be in contact with
the foreign language and learn about it not only in the EFL classroom but
within the school community as well.
2. Choose a topic and design your bulletin board display.
3. Send a note home to ask for materials related to the topic (pictures,
cards, art crafts, maps, etc…)
4. Work out the materials needed. Cut them out, glue them on cardboard,
make decorations, and so on.
Suggestions
1. Many schools do not have a bulletin board. Then, plan its design and
implementation and present your proposal to the principal in order to
obtain one.
2. Topics are free but they could be connected with school content
material, values, and cultural issues. Displaying information about
English-speaking countries is a very motivating idea to start designing
your bulletin board.
3. Students often appreciate when the teacher’s power is shared with
them. Thus, it is an excellent idea to let them choose their own topics and
organize information and picture displays from time to time. If so, prepare
activities in which children are permanently in contact with the English
language.
4. I would recommend that you implement your bulletin board on your
own, when students are not in the school. On the one hand, the surprise
effect in the morning when they see the bulletin board is very positive,
especially if they feel identified with the topic and they have brought the
materials. However, on the other hand, it may happen that some students
will interrupt your job and they create chaos.
230
5. Depending on your students’ level of interest and behavior, you could
invite them to participate as helpers and organize turns. In this case,
teacher’s supervision should be a requirement; school authorities and
parents should be informed and students authorized.
6. One week (5 days) is enough for a topic to be displayed. Being in charge
of the bulletin board can be time-consuming and some students could
start destroying it.
7. Bulletin Boards have multiple uses! Student work, projects and pieces
of art, for example, can be displayed on them. Displaying their work will
make them feel proud, validated and appreciated.
(2004-2007).
“Me gusta porque deja información que a veces no tenemos y es
bonito igual, le da color a la escuela."
Kimberlin
6to básico
Escuela Angachilla
“Hay hartos dibujos y cosas que son faciles. Es lindo!”
Danira
6to Básico
Escuela Angachilla
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English is Everywhere
“[. . .] the imaginative resources of a group are always greater than those of only one
student [ . . ]” (Ur; 2008, p.15).
Teaching Materials
Paper, markers
Getting Ready
1. Write a formal proposal to the school principal to be authorized to label
the school with English words.
2. Observe your classroom and decide what objects or parts of the
classroom should be labeled.
3. Visit the school and decide what rooms could be labeled.
4. Cut small rectangular pieces of paper.
5. Write the names of the objects and rooms you will label.
Suggestions
1. When writing your proposal, consider a brief description of the activity,
its objectives, the materials required and especially, benefits to the school
community. Mention possible costs as well, in case the school can help
support you financially and accomplish your activity.
2. You can carry out this activity by yourself but involving students will
definitely increase their learning expectations. On the one hand, students
will feel motivated if they are part of the project and on the other hand,
their enthusiasms and interest should allow them to complete this task in
a natural way, and therefore, language content material should be
acquired in an easier way.
3. If you decide to carry out this activity with students, it is very important
to ask for help. You will need assistants for supervising students,
especially when it is time for them to visit the school and take notes of the
rooms that could be labeled.
4. A few students from different groups should visit the school, identify the
spots that should be labeled and, then, finally, label them. The more
classes that are involved the better, so that all students can feel part of the
community.
5. Make sure that you, as a teacher, check all labels to avoid that any
spelling or lexicon mistakes are displayed.
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6. Students can write with their markers but it is preferable to print words
with appropriate fonts and sizes so that all school members can
understand written texts.
(2004-2007).
“Me gustó porque haciendo la actividad aprendimos inglés; fue más
fácil y lo pasé muy bien.”
Exequiel
“Me gustó la actividad porque era divertido y aprendimos inglés.”
Camilo
3ro Básico
Escuela Angachilla
233
Are you voting?
“The ‘Are you voting?’ activity is very useful. It helps to develop cross-curricular objectives
such as civic conscience, responsibility and decision making (Zuñiga, personal
communication, 2012).
Teaching Materials
A ballot box, pens, pieces of paper, desks, chairs, pencils, a sheet of paper
Getting Ready
1. In order to motivate your students, make some classroom arrangements
so to help contextualize a voting scenario before your students enter the
classroom:
a) Place a ballot box on your desk.
b) Place four student’s desks and chairs in front of the class in a
horizontal line.
1. I need four volunteers to play the role of election monitors.
a) The person in charge of table one will collect Identification Cards,
look for the name of the student on his list, check the ID number
and ask the voter to sign.
b) The person in charge of table two will give students a voting ballot.
c) The person in charge of table three will open and close the ballot
box. He or she will also take the votes out of the box.
d) The person in charge of table four will be responsible for writing
the names of the candidates on the board and mark each vote with a
vertical line next to the right candidate.
2. I will call four students. Please make a line. Visit all tables and follow
directions.
e) Go back to your seat.
f) Once the voting process is over, we will count the votes out loud.
Suggestions
1. Students can help you make the ballot box and the voting ballots. They
can also arrange the as well. Levels of interest and motivation increase
when students are involved. A great idea is to get ready during recess.
Some kids will be very willing to help you.
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2. You can carry out this activity to reinforce different topics: those you are
teaching, giving instructions, numbers, and citizenship, among others.
3. You can give students some clear instructions on what voting is them to
be better prepared. For example, we should vote only once, every vote is
secret, blank and null votes, etc…
4. Try not to incorporate political or religious views. We don’t want to hurt
our students’ feelings. Students will enjoy voting for the favorite fruit or
the hobby, for example.
5. Try to laminate your cards so that they cannot be destroyed easily. Most
importantly, educate your children to take care of the labeling.
(2004-2007).
“Me gustó votar porque hubo empate.”
Vicente
“A mi me gustó porque ganó la ropa que dibujé.”
Joaquin
Kinder
Hampton College
235
International Night
““All these activities have created an eagerness to learn the Spanish language and respect
for other cultures and traditions” (Pisani, personal communication, 2007).
Teaching Materials
All kinds of teaching supplies, props (costumes, flags, arts and crafts,
etc…), technological devices (CD player, microphone, speakers, data show,
etc…)
Getting Ready
1. Design your proposal to celebrate an international night in your school
building.
2. Meet your principal and share your proposal. Hand in a written
document with all the activities you have planned.
Possible activities to be carried on in an international night
1. Room decoration with flags from different countries.
2. Stands with arts and crafts from different countries.
3. Opening: Anthem of your country with all the kids on the stage.
4. Fashion show: students will show costumes from different countries.
5. Dances, songs and poems showing different countries cultures.
6. Closure: A special song.
7. International dinner.
General Suggestions
1. I strongly recommend that you prepare this international night with
your English Club children. A once a week meeting is enough for getting
ready for the event.
a) You have a smaller amount of students.
b) All of them are very motivated.
c) Parents collaborate in all the activities.
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2. I recommend that you end up the presentation with a special song or
poem in which the concepts of diversity, peace and children can be
reflected. A beautiful scenario with candles/flashlights could be created.
3. Once the presentation is over, you can invite students to enjoy the
international dinner, which needs to be prepared by parents and teachers
who are able to cooperate. Encourage helpers to bring the dishes ready
and to place, next to each plate, a small card which indicates the name of
the dish and the country it comes from. The international dinner should
work as a self-serve activity. That is why I strongly suggest that you carry
out this activity in the cafeteria of your school if chairs are removable.
4. There is no way you can carry out a project of this kind without the help
of the school community. You will need help to organize the event and,
especially, to implement it. As a good leader, organize committees and
delegate tasks based on each activity you will present.
Source: Carried out in Meadowland Elementary School, Loudoun County, Virginia, USA
(2004-2007), under the supervisión of Mrs.Seck, School principal.
Tatler. S. (1996). Un bocado especial. USA: Celebration Press.
237
“For these shows, the students’ excitement was high. All of the boys,
my younger son included practiced and danced and were very proud
of their accomplishments.”
Parent
“The result was an outstanding event that showcased the culture and
clothing from Kenya, Korea, India, Sweden, and many other countries
and finished with a potluck spread of native dishes from many
cultures.”
Parent
3rd and 4th grades
Meadowland Elementary School
238
NEW PROPOSALS
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
STRATEGIES
239
Who is present?
“It does not matter when you take attendance; it is how you take attendance. What is
important is that students do not lose class time” (Epperson & Rossman; 2014, p.78).
Teaching Materials
Attendance book, a pencil
Getting Ready
1. Enter the classroom pretending that you are looking for someone in a
crowded place.
2. Tell students: “I am looking for my fourth graders from class A. Have
you seen them? (It is very probable that students will start telling you:
Here! Here we are!)
3. Start singing the following lyrics to the tune of Frère Jacques:
Teacher: Where are my students? Where are my students?
Encourage students to reply:
Students: Here we are! Here we are!
Teacher: Good morning my dear students! Welcome to my class!
Students: Thank you teacher! Thank you teacher!
1. Good morning students! Is everyone present in this class?
Teacher: Where is Juanita? Where is Juanita?
Student: Here I am. Here I am.
Teacher: Good Morning Juanita! Welcome to my class!
Student: Thank you teacher! Thank you teacher!
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Suggestions
1. When calling the roll in the traditional way, I suggest teaching your
students to reply “Here we are” as a group or “Here I am” as an individual.
2. You can add a touch of suspense and humor to your lesson by repeating
the question you first asked. For example,
Teacher: Where are my fourth graders from class A? I cannot see you!
3. You cannot sing this song twenty, thirty or forty times in one sitting.
Students will probably get tired and bored. However, you could choose
every fifth student and repeat the refrain every 15 minutes or when you
notice that students are getting tired or unfocused. Eventually, you can
even mix different strategies to call the roll to keep your class from
becoming tedious by spending too much time on one activity.
4. The first time you teach the song, you can teach the students the song
lyrics using posters.
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“Si, me gustó al 100%.”
Sebastián
5to básico
Escuela Alemania
“La canción estuvo muy buena.”
Annais
6to básico
Escuela Adventista
242
Yes, you CAN!
“It is important to point out to students how much progress they’ve made and let them know
that you will provide futher practice so that they will ultimately reach the objective”
(Epperson & Rossman; 2014, p.119).
Teaching Materials
A paper mouse, a colored ice-cream stick, cardboard
Getting Ready
1. Print a large sized figure of a mouse, cut and color it.
2. Glue the colored ice-cream stick to the back of the mouse so that you
can firmly hold on to it.
3. Make a one meter cardboard athletic track that contains around four
hurdles depending on the amount of objectives you have set up for your
lesson.
4. Trace a line in the middle of the track and then cut it down the line so
the mouse can easily slide towards the goal.
5. Place the track on the board and challenge students to run a race! At
the beginning of the lesson, the mouse should be at the start of the track,
ready to participate in the race. In every hurdle, write a main objective of
the class such as “Identify farm animals”.
1. Look at the athletic track the little mouse has to go through. If we do a
good job, we will be able to learn new content and jump hurdles till we
reach the final goal: speak in English!
Suggestions
1. You can also use the athletic track for explicit classroom management
issues such as: If you do a good job, the little mouse will jump hurdles and
move forward towards the final goal; if not, he will move backwards. If
students reach the goal because of good behavior, they can receive a prize.
2. This is an excellent way to introduce students to the content of the
lesson at their own level of understanding as children. This strategy will
motivate students to try and reach objectives little by little.
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3. Make sure objectives are reachable so as not to frustrate students. Their
self-esteem can be strengthened if they understand their learning process
and can see that it is possible to improve.
4. It is not necessary to exclusively use a mouse, you can display a variety
of different runners according to the subjects you are teaching such as
heroes. Instead of a character, notes such as “3rd grade A” can also be very
useful. Students may feel more involved in the race since they feel
identified with their inner groups.
“A mí me gustó mucho porque jugamos a decir palabras en inglés y
fue muy divertido y me gustó el ratoncito que llegó a la meta.”
Sebastián
5to básico
Escuela Alemania
“A mí me gustó mucho el ratoncito porque nos avisaba cuando nos
iban a dar los premios.”
Marcelo
3ro básico
Escuela Angachilla
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Shhhh, be quiet!
“Language learning is hard work ... Effort is required at every moment and must be
maintained over a long period of time. Games help and encourage many learners to sustain
their interest and work” (Wright, et.al., 1984, in TEFL Games, 2015).
Teaching Materials
Any doll, a doll bed, a blanket
Getting Ready
1. Hide your doll in the classroom.
2. Before starting the lesson, place your doll bed and blanket on your
desk.
3. Ask your kids to keep silent and start looking for your doll. When you
find it, hold it like a sleeping baby. Do not say a word. Just pretend it is
real and needs silence because it is resting.
4. Place the doll in the bed and cover it with the blanket.
1. (Whispering and tiptoeing) Shshsh! Our doll is sleeping. Let’s keep quiet!
Suggestions
1. You can use any stuffed animal. It can be a teddy bear, a toy, a puppet,
even a pet such as a turtle.
2. A neutral stuffed animal is recommended so that all students, boys and
girls, can identify with him/her easily.
3. In order for students to accept the doll as an important and loved
member of the classroom, it is necessary to introduce it as soon as the
school year starts and make it participate in as many activities as possible.
4. Make sure you, as a teacher, do not forget the stuffed animal is real for
students. Always take good care of it! A good piece of advice is not to leave
it in inappropriate or dangerous places. Students’ feelings could be hurt
since they believe it is real or, on the contrary, they could lose total
interest in it and magic could vanish.
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5. When students are noisy, just quietly remind them that their doll is
asleep! No words are required for students to remember they should be
quiet. Approaching Minnie and making a Shhhh be quiet gesture should
be enough.
“Yo opino que la Minnie es muy floja pero nos ayuda a estar callados.”
Nicolás
“A mí me gusto trabajar con la Minnie porque ella siempre estaba
dormida y nos hacía callar.”
María-Elena
3ro básico
Escuela Angachilla
246
Harvest time
“By providing students with authentic reasons to communicate in English, they are given
opportunities to practice their English communication skills in a low-stress environment”
(Herrell & Jordan; 2008; p.97).
Teaching Materials
A paper apple tree, paper apples, tak, a basket
Getting Ready
1. Make a big paper apple tree and many red and/or green paper apples.
2. Place the paper apple tree on the board or on a visible spot of the wall.
1. Whenever you do a good job, the tree will grow an apple for you.
2. If you misbehave, an apple will fall off the tree. However, you can get it
back if you improve your behavior.
3. If, by the end of the week, the tree is full of apples, we will be able to
harvest.
Suggestions
1. Do not forget students can get apples back if their behavior improves. It
is important to teach students that we can all make mistakes and that we
all have the right to apologize and do a better job. It could be very
frustrating for students to realize all apples are falling down off the tree.
2. You are free to decide which surprise you will give the students.
However, to make the activity more authentic, giving students real apples
is an excellent idea. Moreover, you would be encouraging students to
prefer healthy food.
3. Do not make too many apples. It could be too difficult for students to
grow them. Goals should always be achievable.
4. Students will probably enjoy picking apples. However, depending on
your students’ interests and content of your lessons, you can implement
other alternate activities such as filling a school bus with children going on
a field trip, uploading songs into an MP3 or filling up a backpack with
school supplies.
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5. This activity could vary depending on your creativity. For example,
instead of taking apples out, you could simply decide not to add extra
apples, keeping in mind that to reach a goal, the tree must have at least 10
apples. This could be a good way to avoid frustration and demotivation.
“A mí me encantó, fue lindo xq’ nos portamos bien.”
Betzaida
7mo básico
Escuela Balmaceda
“Me gustó la actividad porque mientras mejor hacíamos las cosas,
más manzanas íbamos agregando al árbol.”
José Tomás
Kinder
Hamptom College
248
Team time
“It encouraged partnership and feeling comfortable with your classmates. It also
encouraged creativity” (Cárdenas, personal communication, 2014).
Teaching Materials
Pieces of paper
Getting Ready
Cut out small rectangular pieces of paper and deliver them to students.
1. Work with the partner who is next to you and on one piece of paper
clearly write a question of any kind and on the other one write a possible
answer.
2. Do not write your names.
3. As soon as you are ready, put your thumb up and I will collect the
papers.
4. (Shuffling cards) Each one of you will be given a piece of paper. Read it,
stand up and look for your question or answer, that is, for a match.
Suggestions
1. To make shuffling easier, you can have cardboard paper.
2. Students will be very enthusiastic about shuffling. Invite them to
participate.
3. Move around the classroom to make sure students exchange
information in English and sit down as soon as they have found their
match.
4. If you need to group students quickly, students love working with
candies wrapping paper showing different fruits or different colors.
5. To incorporate culture, I have also carried out this activity with pieces of
natural yarn dyed with different herb plants, as our Mapuche people do.
Students love choosing colors or plants! Being aware that they have been
dyed sounds magical to them.
6. When using teaching materials, be very well organized. You can place
your candies or pieces of yarn from different colors in different plastic
bags. This will facilitate your job.
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7. If using colors, students should be able to identify them easily. Avoid
colors that may have different shades. Students might get confused!
8. While students are writing their sentences, move around the classroom
so that you can verify if content is well-written and appropriate for a
classroom.
“I liked it because it gives you the chance to pair with people you
haven’t worked with before, which can strengthen our classmates’
relationships.”
Maritza
“In my opinion, the activity is very interesting and useful. First of all,
we all have the possibility to participate in a didactic way and to work
with classmates that we have never worked with. We can share
opinions and know a little bit more about our classmates’ interest.
This activity can be used for any topic and based on different
contexts. In conclusion, it is a great strategy to arrange couples of
work within the classroom”. :)
Felipe
4th grade
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Lights, camera and action!
“People can indeed acquire a [foreign] language naturally, if given the opportunity to do so
[. . .]” (Hastings; 2003).
Teaching Materials
None
Instructions for teachers
Use verbal and non verbal communication to perform as a movie director
and say: Lights, camera and action!
Suggestions
1. Use this technique to start an activity. Students know the concept in
Spanish, so expect them to react right away.
2. You can also use it to calm students down, to stop an activity or to
motivate students when carrying out role-playing activities.
3. Use plenty of comprehensible input. Although students recognize the
concept, it is necessary to show them the classroom lights, then, pretend
you are holding a camera and, finally, through an arm movement, say
“Action”.
4. Focus on verbal and non-verbal communication and work hard on it.
This technique will work perfectly if students see you perform it naturally
and confidently. Make sure you can be heard by all students.
5. You could also implement this activity with teaching materials such as
flashcards or a hand-made cardboard camera. The latter will make the
activity more real and students will know how to react as soon as they see
the camera.
6. After some practice, work on just pointing to objects and performing the
actions. Students will quickly say the words for you.
7. Students will particularly enjoy performing as movie directors. Give
them the chance to do so.
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“Light, camera and action me parece bacán como le sale a la Miss
Yasna Yilorm.”
Student
“El juego Light, Camera and Action me parece muy divertido porque
es muy diferente a los juegos que acostumbramos en clases
normalmente.”
Angela
7th grade
Angachilla School
252
NEW PROPOSALS
GAMES
253
Just look at me
“'There is a common perception that all learning should be serious and solemn in nature,
and that if one is having fun and there is hilarity and laughter, then it is not really learning.
This is a misconception. It is possible to learn a language as well as enjoy oneself at the
same time. One of the best ways of doing this is through games” (Su, 1995, p.35).
Teaching Materials
Flashcards, 2 chairs facing each other, a timer
Getting Ready
1. Place two chairs in front of the class and do not anticipate information
to students. Classroom arrangement changes can incredibly impact
students’ levels of motivation and enthusiasm in a positive way.
2. Quickly divide the class into two big groups by telling and showing them
which group of students belongs to group 1 and which group of students
belongs to group 2.
1. I need a score keeper and two volunteers from group A first. Who would
like a turn?
2. (Standing up behind a chair) Please choose a chair and sit down.
3. (Talking to the scorekeeper) This is the timer. I will let you know when to
play it.
4. (Talking to the student who is facing you) I am going to show you a set
of flashcards. When you see the picture, perform the action only. Do not
say a word. However, you can utter sounds.
5. If you do not know how to perform an action, say “next”.
6. (Talking to the other student) After looking at your classmates’ actions
and gestures, say out loud the word and/or expression learned.
7. You will have 2 minutes to attempt to say as many words as possible.
8. If there is a word/expression you do not know, say “next”.
9. When you hear the timer, stop playing. The teacher will count the
amount of flashcards you got and the score keeper will write the number
down.
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10. Then, it’s time for players from group B to participate.
11. The winner is the team which gathers the greatest amount of
flashcards.
Suggestions
1. Some students doubtlessly feel better when acting out and others are
better at remembering and delivering the words and/or expressions
learned. You can, therefore, give them the chance to choose which place
each student should have or help them decide according to your student’s
needs.
2. When introducing words before starting the game, you can display the
written words and/or expressions on the board. Make sure they are placed
next to the picture to increase vocabulary retention.
3. Depending on your students’ skills, you can either leave the words
and/or expressions on the board or remove them. A good option consists
in leaving the words and/ or expressions available on the board during the
first two rounds and then, you can challenge students to play with no
vocabulary available.
4. You can divide your class in many other different ways. However, due to
the game complexity, easy to carry-out strategies to form groups are
recommended to quickly start providing instructions. Boys and girls is also
a nice option.
5. The timer can be replaced by a watch and a whistle or a clapping hand.
6. Students enjoy being in charge of the timer or the watch and some beg
to be the score keeper.
7. As the activity moves on, keep on assessing the amount of time you will
give students and provide less or more minutes accordingly. Challenging
students with fewer minutes could motivate your children, especially
because this is a cooperative activity.
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“The game is funny and we studied. I am very happy!”
Paulina
“I liked this game. We learnt new words and other things.”
M. Solar
5to básico
Windsor School
256
Treasure hunt
“Games encourage, entertain, teach, and promote fluency. If not for any of these reasons,
they should be used just because they help students see beauty in a foreign language and
not just problems that at times seem overwhelming” (Uberman, 1998, in TEFL Games,
2015).
Teaching Materials
A short book, four copies of each book, blanket, four envelopes, tak
Getting Ready
1. Set up an attractive and comfortable reading corner in your classroom.
2. Make four copies of the book and cut pieces of paper containing
different parts of the book.
3. Place the pieces of paper in the envelopes, one story in each envelope.
4. Make tiny tak balls and place them on your desk.
5. Ask students to join you and sit on the reading carpet.
6. Read the story to students following different storytelling strategies.
7. Divide the classroom into four spaces, set up physical limits and let
students know about them.
8. Make four groups of students and ask each team to move to one of the
corners of the classroom.
9. Ask them to sit and wait patiently.
1. Put your heads down and close your eyes.
2. Do not move and do not cheat (while placing, at random, all of the
different parts of the story in each one of the four corners).
3. Ready! Put your heads up and open your eyes. Stretch!
4. In different spots of your corners, I placed, at random, all the parts of
the story we read together. Pieces of paper can be on the walls, chairs,
windows, desks, among other places.
5. As a team you have to look for all the different pieces of paper and
organize them chronologically.
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6. As soon as you are finished, say “Ready” and read the story to your
teacher.
7. The winner is the group of students that has organized the story in an
appropriate way in a shortest time.
8. Is everything clear? Then, when I say “Go”, you may stand up and start
looking for the pieces of paper.
Suggestions
1. You can implement your reading corner with a small library, a special
carpet, a rocking chair and motivating posters, among other teaching
materials.
2. You can even ask your children to bring in cushions to sit more
comfortably on the carpet. This way, this cozy place could be used for
many other activities.
3. If you do not have your own classroom, you can carry or leave a
“reading blanket” in your school.
4. The Reading Carpet itself can be part of your classroom management
plan. If you teach your students a routine to get ready for storytelling, it
will then be enough to show them and/or spread the reading carpet for
them to know how what they have to do.
5. You can also carry out this activity with songs, news, essays, and/or
cartoons. Just look for different motivating ways to introduce your
authentic materials. For example, a song could be introduced through a
karaoke exercise so that students can first see the lyrics.
6. To save time, you can also ask the groups themselves to hide other
groups’ pieces of paper while you count up to fifteen. For instance, while
two groups put their heads down, the other two can hide the papers.
7. Use plastic eggs for Easter or for any other occasion to hide the papers.
Students will feel more enthusiastic about looking for eggs than for papers.
Do not forget, though, to bring children a chocolate egg.
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“Me gustó buscar los huevos porque fue fácil para mi.”
Alejandro
Kinder
Hampton College
“Sobre el juego de armar grupos y encontrar partes de una lectura
para luego buscarlos y completar el párrafo. Me parece muy motivador
porque incentiva a la curiosidad, al trabajo en equipo, al trabajo de
lógica al unir las oraciones, pronunciación, además se comparten
conocimientos entre los compañeros por ejemplo de vocabulario.”
Claudia
CORFO Program, UACh
259
Wind up your robot!
“It is important to ease as much as possible the tension of performing the commands in front
of their peers” (García; 2007, p. I-4).
Teaching Materials
A board, a marker
Getting Ready
1. Tell students that you are tired and need a robot urgently. Students will
immediately show a great deal of enthusiasm.
1. (Talking to your robot) Do not move! I need to wind you up first (acting it
out!).
2. Ready? Stand up, run, stop, walk backwards, stop, come here, turn on
the lights,go back to your seat.
Suggestions
1. When telling the students that you need a robot, set up a suspensesurprise atmosphere so that children can calm down and focus.
2. Winding up the robots engages students in the activity. Children enjoy
this game and, therefore, feel comfortable, at ease and happy. We should,
thus, expect acquisition to occur.
3. Use a great deal of humor when giving instructions. To accomplish such
a purpose, contradict yourself by saying Sit down/Stand up; and combine
actions that can make accomplishments more difficult and more fun, by
saying, for example, jump and draw an elephant! Do not stop jumping!
4. It is very probable that all students will ask for a turn; especially the
first time you play it with your children. If you attempt to give everyone a
turn, the activity may become boring. Therefore, I highly recommend to
use this activity as a classroom management strategy and use it as
positive reinforcement for good behavior.
5. You can also challenge students to be the robot’s owners once they are
more familiar with the content being taught. However, let them know they
have to give appropriate commands. For example, you can give them a list
of actions to be mastered. Do not forget to add pictures in order for
students to understand at all times.
260
6. If you have students who are not that kinesthetic, you can adapt the
activity by asking students to bring a little toy and move it according to the
teacher’s commands while remaining in their own seats. In order to
prevent students from comparing and fighting about their toys, you can
make little cardboard dolls and distribute them to students.
“Sí, me gustó porque aprendí algunas palabras.”
Fernanda
Escuela El Laurel
Valdivia, Chile
“Me gustó porque fue muy entretenida.”
Tiare
4to básico
Escuela El Laurel
261
True or False?
"The optimistic energy that comes from humor will enable [people] to embrace difficulties
with resilience" (Morrison; 2008, p.2).
Teaching Materials
Medium-sized flashcards and/or manipulatives
Getting Ready
1. Ask your students if they are cold or hot, hungry or thirsty, tired or
energetic, among other examples. Use non-verbal communication so that
students can match statements and actions.
2. Then, quickly say statements such as “I am cold” and perform the
actions. Suddenly, say statements and do the wrong action. Students
should immediately show interest and respond through a smile and will
intend to give an appropriate answer.
1. I will show you flashcards and say words.
2. If the words correspond to the picture, you repeat the word. If not, you
keep quiet.
Suggestions
1. This game requires teacher’s sense of humor through the use of nonverbal communication in order to work successfully. For instance, when
students repeat the word in a mechanical way without checking whether
there is a match or when they are right, the teacher should let students
know with gestures and compliments.
2. One interesting strategy to make the activity more fun and dynamic is to
say true matches for a couple of times (four to five would work
appropriately) so that students get used to repeating. Suddenly, say a word
that does not match the picture. It is very probable that at least some
students will repeat the wrong word, which will cause lots of enjoyment
among students, especially younger ones.
3. It may happen that one or a few students start giving wrong answers
when they understand this situation can be fun. These students can be a
great help to make the activity more entertaining and thus, lower the
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affective filter. However, make sure they do not constantly interrupt or
intimidate others.
4. Avoid playing this game when students know the content very well
unless you have tricky strategies and strong histrionic skills to make them
make a mistake.
5. You can challenge your students with more difficult exercises such as
placing flashcards upside-down, which will be funny and, therefore,
appreciated by them.
6. During the “getting-ready” section of the lesson, encourage students to
correct wrong matches by orally providing the appropriate statements
instead of telling you that you are performing the wrong action.
7. Students can also play at being the teacher. After presenting the activity
for a couple of times, they can absolutely have a turn to perform the
activity in front of the class.
263
“Si, me gustó porque era muy bueno para aprender.”
Alexander
“Si, me gustó porque teníamos que adivinar cosas.”
Kevin
3ro básico
Escuela Holanda
264
Tapping
“It is also important that students perceive communicative activities as a legitimate learning
strategy. Positive attitudes to learning activities are essential if the desired outcome is to be
achieved” (Shameem & Tickoo; 1999, p.viii).
Teaching Materials
Four or five sets of medium-sized flashcards
Getting Ready
1. Make groups of four students. Keep students, who are close to each
other, together so that desks can be joined.
2. Deliver sets of flashcards.
1. Spread all the flashcards all over the desks.
2. As soon as you hear the letter or word your teacher will shout out, place
one of your hands on the right flashcard.
3. If you pick the right flashcard, you can then keep it.
4. Once all flashcards are gone, you can count how many you have.
Suggestions
1. If your students respond well to classroom rules, you can also use mini
toys instead of flashcards. Real cards work perfectly as well.
2. Shuffle cards in front of students or ask them to do so. It will make the
game more real.
3. The amount of points can also be registered on a paper so students can
play more than one round.
4. Give students different tasks to keep the game organized. For example,
for shuffling the cards, delivering them, counting and registering scores.
5. To avoid behavioral issues, this activity is highly recommended to be
carried out when working in centers.
6. Depending on the class’ behavior, your students can either tap or just
point at the cards.
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“A mí me gustó porque me gustan los colores en inglés.”
Sofía
1ro básico
Domus Mater
“A mí me gustó porque aprendí inglés.”
Antonia
3ro básico
Instituto Alemán
266
NEW PROPOSALS
INTERACTIVE ACTIVITIES
267
Let’s cheer up!
“If students are interested in the class, many discipline problems disappear” (Renaud et al;
2007, p.13).
Teaching Materials
Board, marker, paper
Getting Ready
T: Time to cheer up! A-N (Show the letters through flashcards, for example)
S: AN
T: G - A
S: GA
T: C-H-I
S: CHI
T: L-L-A
S: LLA
T & S: ANGACHILLA SCHOOL!
T & S: We like English. Yes, we do. That is why we are so cool!
Wo, pe do, wo, po, pe do, Wooooooooo!
(Everybody waves hands and/or jumps)
Suggestions
1. You can introduce the ABCs and new vocabulary before. However, it is
not a must. Since this activity requires lots of body language, it gives
students the great chance to acquire language content.
2. You may write this cheer on a poster and paste it on the wall while
students become familiar with it. Keep in mind, though, the text should be
comprehensible to students.
3. This activity can be used every morning, in the middle of the class when
students are bored or tired, or at the end to finish the class with plenty of
energy. It can also be used in the school community events such as
ceremonies or spelling before a contest to support participants.
4. Since this activity highly motivates students and relaxes them, you
could also use it before a test or when facing any kind of tense or difficult
situation.
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5. This cheer could be adapted for any kind of school. As long as it
rhymes, and, therefore, becomes more interesting for the students, you
can make all the necessary changes.
6. You can also use pom-poms or flags to make the cheer more real.
7. I do strongly recommend that this cheer be used at all school levels and
is shared with parents as well. This is a great opportunity to motivate your
school community to enjoy English and understand its importance as a
common means of communication.
“¡Es genial!”
Francisco
4to
Taller de Inglés Entretenido, Escuela de Verano
“Fue un grito que rimaba bastante y era muy divertido en el momento
de entonarlo con el curso.”
Natalia
8vo
Escuela Angachilla
269
Clapping hand greeting
"[The learning of a foreign language] involves an alteration in self-image, the adoption of
new social and cultural behaviors and ways of being, [...]" (Williams; 1994, p.77).
Teaching Materials
None
Getting Ready
Share some basic instructions with students. Ask them to stand up and
invite them to participate by waving your hand to say hello.
1. Hello! (Placing both hands around your mouth).
2. Clap your hands (Carrying out the action).
3. How are you? (Placing both hands around your mouth).
5. I am fine! (Placing both hands around your mouth).
7. And you? (Pacing both hands around your mouth).
Suggestions
1. You can greet students and ask them to stand up without making any
noises, just by using gestures and maybe whispering. Silence is not what
most students expect when starting a lesson; therefore, a sudden change
could positively impact them.
2. If students are not familiar with the lexicon yet, you could change
gestures. For example, instead of clapping hands, encourage your students
to wave hands.
3. While greeting your students, make sure you move around the
classroom. It will help them to keep alert.
4. After having practiced two or three times, challenge your students to say
hello in many different ways: faster, more slowly, as if you were
270
happy/sad/ tired, whispering and finally soundlessly to bring them back
to their seats.
5. You can add a touch of humor by challenging your students to say hello
with one eye closed, by jumping high or by standing on one foot.
6. This activity can also be carried out in the middle of your lesson if you
realize your students are tired, unfocused or demotivated. You can also
end your lesson with this activity to say goodbye to your children.
7. To make it a little bit more complicated, you can have different actions,
such as jumping, snapping fingers, tapping feet, etc…
“Sí, me gustó porque es divertido! XD XD XD.”
Miguel
“Me gustó jugar para aprender inglés.”
Vicente
3ro básico
Martin Luther King College
271
Find my match!
“[. . .] game[s] can be used as learning activities, reinforcing new knowledge or expanding
emerging knowledge and skills” (Collier,1996, p.3, as cited in Hui Chin Li, 2008, p. 117).
Teaching Materials
Flashcards, word strips, tak,
Getting Ready
1. Make medium-sized flashcards with pictures that stand for the lexicon
you are teaching.
2. Write the corresponding lexicon on the word strips.
3. Introduce flashcards to students by displaying them on the board one at
a time.
4. Show students the words and ask them to place them next to the
appropriate picture.
5. Divide the class in two groups.
1. (Talking to Group A) Put your heads down and close your eyes.
2. (Talking to four volunteer from Group B) Come to the board. You have
one minute to shuffle the word strips. Then please sit down!
3. (Talking to Group A) Put your heads up, open your eyes and stretch.
4. I need two volunteers from Group A. Please come to the board. You have
one minute to place the word strips next to the appropriate pictures.
5. Let’s check matches all together.
6. Now, it is Group B’s turn.
Suggestions
1. Once the game is over, check with students if the flashcards match the
right word strips. It is a great opportunity to practice Yes/No questions
naturally.
272
2. Apart from checking how many right matches each team has made, you
can also measure, with a watch or timer, how long they take to make all
the matches. In fact, you will need to add this strategy after a few rounds
since children will quickly learn the matches and figure them out at the
shortest time. This challenge will motivate students to do a better job next
time they play, helping them, this way, to internalize content under study
in a more rapid and effective way.
3. To innovate your activity,
a) you could also make students rearrange pictures instead of
rearranging words.
b) All pictures and/or strips could be placed upside down to make it
harder and more fun.
c) All pictures and/or strips could be placed face down and students
could play a memory game trying to match words and pictures
appropriately.
“Yo aprendí mucho, pero muchísimo.”
Vicente
“Me gustó porque aprendimos muchas cosas nuevas.”
Valentina
2ndo básico
273
Back Spelling
“Often students feel more comfortable taking language risks with their classmates than
they do with the teachers” (Westbrook; 2011, p.5).
Teaching Materials
Chairs, flashcards, pieces of paper, pens
Getting Ready
1. Make flashcards with words and corresponding pictures on them.
2. Ask students to work in groups of two and sit as if they were in a train,
one behind the other. Make sure students do not face the teacher.
3. Tell them that the student who is driving the train (the conductor))
should have a pen and a piece of paper and should not turn around. The
student who is closest to the teacher (the passenger) can turn around and
look at the flashcards when asked.
1. (Talking to the passenger) Look at this word and, with your finger, spell
it on your classmate’s back. Do not speak.
2. (Talking to the conductor) Feel the letters and write them down on your
piece of paper. When finished, you can say: “Ready!”
3. I will check if the spelling is correct. If so, your team gets a point. If
incorrect, it’s time for another group try.
4. The round will be over when one of the groups has spelled it correctly.
5. The conductor and the passenger can switch roles between rounds.
Suggestions
1. This is an excellent way to share the power of the classroom with
students. The teacher facilitates the understanding of the lesson, but
students are in charge of their own learning process. Moreover, cooperative
work can be really useful for students to feel more confident.
2. Flashcards should be big so that words and pictures can be clearly
seen.
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3. Remind students to be gentle when spelling on their partner’s back
because it may happen that some of them could cause pain.
4. Depending on the level of your group, you can also challenge your
students to spell many words and then, form sentences. Make sure
sentences are funny and/or interesting so that students can enjoy the
activity and relax.
5. You can also have your students spell their own words. If so, you must
constantly check if they are spelling words that are appropriate for the
classroom.
6. Always show the picture at the end of a round. It will help remind
students what the words mean.
“Me pareció divertida y eso -. PD: Fue BKN sentir en mi espalda las
letras.”
Aracely
“Fue entretenido y me gustó. Quisiera repetirlo seguidamente todas
las clases, ja, ja, ja…. ”
Victoria
5to básico
Escuela Mexico
275
Magic bag
“Culture is communication” (Ribes, et.a., 1983).
Teaching Materials
A bag, flashcards/realia
Getting Ready
1. Wear a strange/unusual/different/attractive bag. Do not tell your
students why you are wearing it.
2. Continue your lesson without removing the bag. This fact should attract
your students and therefore, increase their level of interest.
3. Write Boys versus Girls on the board. Students should show
enthusiasm right away!
(Talking to a student) Inside my bag I have an elephant, a tiger and a dog.
Think about the animal you could pick out. If you are right, you can get a
point for your team.
Suggestions
1. You can also use a bag that is special for you, for example a bag made
by yourself. That should make the game special. Students usually
appreciate what natural teachers can do.
2. Wearing a bag that represents the students’ culture is an excellent idea.
3. All children will probably ask for a turn and even for extra ones. As a
consequence, make sure you are focused enough to remember who has
had a turn and who has not.
4. Remind students that they cannot feel the objects inside the bag and
that they cannot change their mind once they have made a decision. This
could be unfair for other students.
5. If necessary, you can show your students what you have inside the bag
and review the contents before playing.
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6. To keep your students focused and enthusiastic, I strongly suggest you
involve all the students when playing this game. For example, when the
student has made a decision and has named his/her option, you can
invite all the students to call out the word several times in order to cheer
their classmate up.
7. When students’ choices are not right, remind them that this is just a
matter of luck!
8. Since luck is a main factor in this game, you can avoid having two
groups competing against each other. Some students might find it too
unfair.
9. Having boys competing against girls is an easier way to quickly identify
students and, therefore, smoothly move around the classroom. However, if
you do not have an equal number of boys and girls, you can divide the
class based on their favorite animals, songs, football teams, etc …
“Me gustó porque hicimos acciones.”
Paz
“Me gustó porque era como estar de pesca.”
Student
1ro básico
Colegio Domus Matter
277
GLOSSARY OF TESOL-RELATED TERMS
ACQUISITION: “Acquisition involves the subconscious acceptance of
knowledge where information is stored in the brain through the use of
communication; this is the process used for developing native languages”
(Krashen, 1982).
AFFECTIVE ACTIVITY: "Affective activities" emphasize the cultivation and
expression of children's affection. Through experiences, perceptions and
exploration, children can enrich their spirit by learning from positive
interactions between other people and himself/herself, people and society,
and people and nature. The cultivation of characters, respect and care for
life, interpersonal communication and cooperation, and gratitude are
benefits of these activities (Taipei Nanhai Experimental Kindergarten,
2009).
AFFECTIVE FILTER: The affective filter is seen as a ‘screen’ that is
influenced by emotional variables that can prevent learning. Besides, it
prevents input from reaching the language acquisition part of the brain.
According to the author, the affective filter can be prompted by many
different variables including anxiety, self-confidence, motivation and stress
(Krashen, 1982).
AFFECTIVE ISSUES: Affective issues are variables that relate to success
in second language acquisition. According to Stephen Krashen, these
variables are three: motivation, self-confidence and anxiety (Krashen,
1981).
ANECDOTAL RECORD CHART: The anecdotal record chart is where a
researcher keeps track of all the observable behaviors concerning a certain
investigation and lists all variables that are relevant for the research
(Saskatchewan Education English Language Arts, 1992).
APA: American Psychological Association (APA) Style is an academic
format that consists of rules or guidelines that a publisher observes to
ensure clear and consistent presentation of written material (Houghton,
et.al, 2005 ).
AUTHENTIC MATERIALS: According to Peacock (1997), the definition of
authentic materials is the materials that have been produced to fulfill
some social purpose in the language community. Martinez (2002) defined
that “Authentic would be material designed for native speakers of English
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used in the classroom in a way similar to the one it was designed for” (p.1)
(Chen, 2003).
AZUCARCANDIA: Several children have their palms semi-closed in front of
them forming a recipient where one child may drop a ring secretly. One
student has to guess who has the ring; thus, every child must pretend
having received it so it is difficult to tell who really has the item.
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT: According to Evertson and Weinstein
(2006), classroom management “seeks to establish and sustain an orderly
environment so students can engage in meaningful academic learning”,
additionally, they claim that “it also aims to enhance student social and
moral growth” (p. 4) (Houghton, et.al, 2005).
CLASROOM MANAGEMENT PLAN: A set of solid rules, procedures and/or
classroom management strategies to be used throughout the whole class.
CLASSROOM RESEARCH: Teachers who are concerned about solving
problems through changes that mainly benefit students are ready to start
a clasrrom research. In order to be considered classroom researchers, they
also need to meet the following requirements: “The first is to be humble
and recognize that you have much to learn from your students and their
communities. Second, approach your teaching always with a sense of
inquiry, framing questions about your students and their needs to guide
your teaching. Finally, have a willingness to share your story” (Hubbard
and Power; 2003, p.xvi).
COMMUNICATIVE APPROACH: “The communicative approach is based
on the idea that learning language successfully comes through having to
communicate real meaning. When learners are involved in real
communication, their natural strategies for language acquisition will be
used, and this will allow them to learn to use the language” (Houson,
et.al., 2014).
COMMUNICATIVE TEACHING PRACTICE: Communicative Teaching
Practices refer to the methodologies or approaches that teachers use to
promote communicative exchanges in their English as a Foreign Language
Classrooms. Besides, these practices “make use of real-life situations that
necessitate communication (Galloway, 1993).
COMPELLING INPUT: Compelling means that the input is so interesting
you forget that it is in another language. It means you are in a state of
"flow" (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). In flow, the concerns of everyday life and
even the sense of self disappear - our sense of time is altered and nothing
279
but the activity itself seems to matter. Flow occurs during reading when
readers are "lost in the book" (Nell, 1988) or in the "Reading Zone" (Atwell,
2007) (Krashen (2012, para 2).
COMPREHENSIBLE INPUT: “The Input Hypothesis claims that humans
acquire language in only one way- by understanding messages, or by
receiving ‘Comprehensible Input’” (Krashen, 1985, p.2).
CONTENT AREA: It refers to a defined domain of knowledge and skill in
an academic program. The most common content areas in public schools
are English (or English language arts), mathematics, science, and social
studies (or history and civics) (The Glossary of Education Reform; 2014,
para. 1).
COOPERATIVE LEARNING: “Collaborative learning is a method of
teaching and learning in which students’ team together to explore a
significant question or create a meaningful project. A group of students
discussing a lecture or students from different schools working together
over the Internet on a shared assignment are both examples of
collaborative learning” (Concept to Classroom, 2004).
CRISS-CROSS APPLE SAUCE: It is a sitting position where kids have to
keep their legs crossed for a certain activity in the classroom.
CULTURAL SHOCK: "...cultural clues, the signs and symbols which guide
social interaction, are stripped away. ...A difficult part of this process for
adults is the experience of feeling like children again, of not knowing
instinctively the ‘right’ thing to do." (Piet-Pelon & Hornby, 1992, p.2).
DEAR: D.E.A.R. is an acronym that stands for “Drop Everything and
Read,” It was first developed in the United States and it consists of a
month-long celebration of reading designed to remind children of all ages
to make reading a priority activity in their lives (DEAR, 2013).
EFL: EFL is an acronym that stands for English as a Foreign Language.
EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION: Extrinsic motivation is defined as “motivation
promoted by factors external to the individual and unrelated to the task
being performed” (Ormrod, 2006). The outcomes of extrinsic motivation are
external and are tangible. Things such as praise and monetary rewards are
examples of extrinsic motivation (University of Michigan, n.d.).
FLES: FLES is an acronym that stands for Foreign Language in the
Elementary School.
280
FREE VOLUNTARY READING (FVR): Free Voluntary Reading a technique
created by Stephen Krashen (2003) where students read for pleasure for a
short time in class. “‘Voluntary’ implies that there is no student
accountability: no questions to answer, book reports to write, words to
look up. Students have the right to get up and exchange books whenever
they wish, much like we do when we go to a bookstore or library”
(Andrews, n.d.).
FOCAL SKILLS: FOCAL SKILLS is a unique approach to language
program design. It’s a set of well-researched ideas, principles, and
techniques. FOCAL SKILLS uses a simple, intuitive design in which skillfocused modules build on each other, enabling rapid language acquisition
through massive amounts of comprehensible input using authentic
materials (International Center for FOCAL SKILLS, 2012).
FOCAL SKILLS MOVIETALK TECHNIQUE: The FOCAL SKILLS Movie
Technique enables teachers to provide large amounts of high-quality
comprehensible input to ESL students. This particular technique uses
authentic movies to bring an immense variety of meaning into the
classroom. By narrating and paraphrasing at the appropriate level of
complexity, the teacher can create a rich stream of comprehensible input
that is directly related to what the students are seeing and hearing (GLES,
2011).
FOCUSED REWRITE TECHNIQUE: “The Focused Rewrite Technique
(FRWT) is a method of providing feedback on written work to second
language students. Its purpose is to promote the acquisition of highintermediate proficiency in the written language” (Hasting & Murphy,
2002).
FOREIGNER TALK: It is a “register of simplified speech (. . .) which is
used by speakers of a language to outsiders who are felt to have very
limited command of the language or no knowledge at all” (Ferguson, 1971,
p. 143).
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT: “Formative Assessment is part of the
instructional process. When incorporated into classroom practice, it
provides the information needed to adjust teaching and learning while they
are happening” (Garrison & Ehringhaus, 1999).
FOSSILIZATION: “Fossilization refers to the process in which incorrect
language becomes a habit and cannot easily be corrected” (Houson, et.al.,
2014).
GUIDED READING: “Guided reading is a strategy that helps students
become good readers. The teacher provides support for small groups of
281
readers as they learn to use various reading strategies” (Saskatoon Public
Schools, 2004, in Mc Millan, n.d).
INDIRECT CORRECTION: “(. . .) indirect strategies refer to situations
when the teacher indicates that an error has been made but does not
provide a correction, thereby leaving the student to diagnose and correct
it.” (Bitchener, Young & Cameron, 2005, p.193) In the majority of
instances, teachers should provide indirect feedback that engages students
in cognitive problem-solving as they attempt to self-edit based upon the
feedback that they have received (Ferris, 2004, p. 60).
INTRINSIC MOTIVATION: Intrinsic motivation is technically defined as
the, “internal desire to perform a particular task” (Ormrod, 2006). Thus
intrinsic motivation is more one’s own wants to do well on a task, with or
without rewards. The rewards are all internal; they are about feelings of
self-worth and self-efficacy (University of Michigan, n.d.).
I + 1 LEARNING ZONE: “Language is acquired when learners understand
messages (comprehensible input). They must be exposed to messages a bit
beyond level of proficiency, i.e. i+1” (Ariza, et al., 2003, p. 183).
“It must be comprehensible in that it is near the student’s actual
development (i), but then it includes concepts and structures that the
student has not yet acquired (i+1)” (Richard- Amato, 2003, p. 58).
KULTRUN: “Mapuche ceremonial drum, which plays an important part,
along with the trutruka, in ceremonies such as the Nguillatún (Ray, 2007,
p. 281).
LEARNING STYLES: Learning styles are understood as “educational
conditions under which a student is most likely to learn.” (Stewart &
Felicetti, 1992).
MAGIC BAG: This teaching material can be any kind of container that is
special for you and/or the students. You can use it for saving stickers,
coupons, stamps, crayons or any other teaching materials.
MANIPULATIVES: Manipulatives help students make the leap from
intuitive to logical thinking, from the concrete to the abstract (Hartshorn &
Boren, 1990).
MODELING: act of showing students, through non-verbal communication,
how to perform during the lesson and/or a specific activity.
282
MULTISENSORY TEACHING MATERIALS: Multisensory Teaching
Materials involve the types of resources used in the classroom to reach
students whose learning styles are auditory, visual, tactile, and
kinesthetic.
NATURAL APPROACH: “The Natural Approach (NA) is a method of foreign
language teaching which aims to apply the principles of natural language
acquisition into classroom context. The language acquisition theory
underlying NA suggests that we acquire any new language in an amazingly
simple way: by "understanding messages" in the target language” (Oocities,
2009).
NATURAL ORDER OF ACQUISITION: Learners acquire parts of language
in a predictable order. For any given language, certain grammatical
structures are acquired early while others are acquired later in the process
(Krashen, 1982).
NATURAL TEACHERS: Instructors who apply communicative teaching
practices in English classrooms.
REALIA: “[. . .] the word realia means using real items found in the world
around us to help teach English. Using realia, helps to make English
lessons memorable, creating a link between the objects, and the word or
phrase they show. [...]. The use of realia is only limited by your
imagination and possibly practicality too. Using realia stimulates the
mind, and makes the vocabulary more memorable than a picture would.
Students can, touch , smell, and with a food item, taste it. Realia saves
time, as recognition of an object is often immediate; elicitation of
vocabulary becomes much easier as simply holding up the object with a
raised eyebrow, will usually result in the desired word being spoken” (TEFL
Survivar, 2010).
SCORE KEEPER: An score keeper is “an official who records the score
during a game or contest” (Merriam-webster, 2013).
SHARE POWER: Believe in your students and delegate tasks as a guide
and facilitator. Instead of doing the whole talk, teacher can share their
power and help students become independent learners.
SILENT PERIOD: The silent period hypothesis is the idea that when a
language is learned, there should be a period in which the learner is not
expected to actively produce any language. This is based on observations
283
of a listening period in infants when they learn a first language (Houson,
et.al., 2014).
STICKY TAK: Sticky tak is an easily removable and reusable adhesive
squares. They serve as an alternative to pins or tape as they are nonpermanent (Pritt World, 2014).
STORYTELLING: Storytelling is an ideal teaching and learning tool, for it
takes seriously the need for students to make sense of experience, using
their own culturally generated sense-making processes (Bishop and Glynn,
1999).
STRATEGY: A strategy is “an elaborate and systematic plan of action”
(Audio English, 2013).
SYMTALK/ QTALK: It is an approach to language learning developed by
Maurice Hazan that offers visual, auditory and/or kinesthetic learning
opportunities. It uses colorful symbol cards and students perform
immediately in the target language by learning vocabulary in a
communicative setting (Qtalk Publishing, 2007).
TECHNIQUE: A technique is a “a practical method or art applied to some
particular task.” (Audio English.org, 2013)
TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE: Total Physical Response (TPR) is a
language teaching method built around the coordination of speech and
action; it attempts to teach language through physical (motor) activity. It
was developed by James Asher and it draws on several traditions,
including developmental psychology, learning theory, and humanistic
pedagogy, as well as on language teaching procedures proposed by Harold
and Dorothy Palmer in 1925 (Ludescher, n.d.).
TROMPO: Spinning top.
UNACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR: When determining classroom rules, keep in
mind you should establish rules for acceptable behavior (you are working
with children and with playful activities. Therefore, some inappropriate
behavior is expected) and for unacceptable behavior (aggressive and
negative attitudes; study and follow your school building procedures).
UNCONSCIOUS WAY: Students do not realize they are acquiring the
language. They get involved in activities because they are interesting and
funny. Therefore, they forget they are in a classroom.
284
285
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LET`S GO FOR ENGLISH IN 100 FUN WAYS by Yasna Yilorm

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