Table of Contents Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 2 Managing Young Students .................................................................................................. 3 Ideas for Teaching Beginners ............................................................................................. 6 Lesson Plans........................................................................................................................

8 The First Day ................................................................................................................... 8 Alphabet......................................................................................................................... 10 The Seasons ................................................................................................................... 11 The Calendar .............................................................................................................. 11 The Fall ...................................................................................................................... 12 The Winter.................................................................................................................. 14 The Spring .................................................................................................................. 16 The Summer ............................................................................................................... 17 Animals .......................................................................................................................... 19 Food ............................................................................................................................... 24 Family ............................................................................................................................ 26 Holidays ............................................................................................................................ 27 Halloween ...................................................................................................................... 27 Thanksgiving Ideas ........................................................................................................ 29 Christmas Ideas.............................................................................................................. 31 New Years .................................................................................................................... 32 Valentines Day Ideas .................................................................................................... 33 St. Patricks Day ............................................................................................................ 34 Activities ........................................................................................................................... 36 20 Questions .................................................................................................................. 36 Around the world ........................................................................................................... 37 Go Fish .......................................................................................................................... 38 Listening Bingo ............................................................................................................. 39 Memory ......................................................................................................................... 40 My Grandmother Went to the Market ........................................................................... 41 Picture Bingo ................................................................................................................. 42 Sorting Vocabulary ........................................................................................................ 43 The Name Game ............................................................................................................ 44 Two Truths and a False ................................................................................................. 45 Appendices A: The Rule B: Mother Goose C: Songs and Chants D: Worksheets E: Websites

Introduction This booklet is a compilation of poems, units and activities (and some advice) that I have found useful for young beginning learners. It is not two years worth of lesson plans. Instead, it is a collection of ideas for you to develop depending on your own style and resources. While I have tried all these ideas and found them effective, they are not all my ideas. Over my two years of working with 4th to 7th graders (and even one class of 1st graders) I have had tons of help from other volunteers. Also, many of these ideas are not especially original, but I have included them because sometimes those games and songs we played and sang when we were kids are surprisingly easy to forget. I hope that as you use this booklet you will remember more things from your childhood and get more ideas to pass on to the next group of volunteers. Kate Jacobs

Managing Young Students CONSISTENCEY If there is one thing I have learned about managing young students it is that consistency counts. Generally, little kids dont have the apathy that older kids can develop. They really want to learn and are excited about English class and school in general. However, their enthusiasm can be incredibly overwhelming. Combined with a shorter attention span, a 4th grade class can easily become complete chaos. The good news is that they are receptive to routine and a well managed class. It takes some strength on your part, but set up your classroom rules and stick to them. They will learn. One example of this is that my kids used to always come and crowd around my door antsy to get in. I started telling them that they could only come in if they formed a line against the wall in the hall. The first week or two or even three this took forever. They pushed and shoved and shouted. But eventually, they showed up and immediately got in line and waited for me to let them in. I have done the same thing with insisting that they raise their hands or even insisting that they not talk during tests (this may take awhile!). Also, be consistent with giving grades and docking points for certain things. They will catch on and they will work with you. The Rule I tell my student that there is only one rule in my class: Respect. I made a poster for the front of the classroom that says, Respect your teacher, your classmates, your classroom andyourself! On one of the first days of class we talked about what this means. (See Appendix A: The Rule.) It might seem like this is going right over their heads, but even the little kids understand what it means to respect their teacher and they appreciate when you respect them. When I am having an especially bad day, I remind them that the one thing I ask of them is that they show me respect. Related to this, I dont let my students call me by my first name alone. They should always use Miss. Demand their respect from the beginning and dont let class become playtime with the babysitter. With young children, perhaps more than with older kids, you can still be loved by them while staying in a position of authority. Grades Even though your students are as young as third or fourth grade, I have still found that grades can be used as leverage for classroom management. I give my students a grade everyday and they understand that this will be averaged into a final grade for the catalogue. The idea is that every student starts with a 10 and depending on their behavior can have points taken away. This is a pretty subjective system. Sometimes I make marks in my catalogue so I remember when I had to wait for a certain student to be quiet. Other times, when a student is doing something I dont like, I say, minus one and they know what that means. I also require that the students have their English notebook in class and if they forget it I minus one point from their grade-for-the-day. They seem to understand this and see it as a reasonable consequence. After class I take thirty seconds to quickly run down the class list and give each student a grade. Even if I havent made a mark or verbally told them I was taking away points, I still give them a lower grade if I feel it is necessary. Because the grades are averaged, it is good to be hard on them. Otherwise, all

your kids will end up with 10s when you feel they dont deserve it. A 2 one day means nothing if every other day they have 9s and 10s. If a student is really upset with the grade, remind them that in the next class they start with a 10 again and they have a new chance for a good gradeit depends on them. NOTE: 1st to 4th graders dont get numbers in the catalogue but they generally still know very well what they mean. Remember that if you give a student a 9, that is still a FB, foarte bine. 7s and 8s are B, bine, 5s and 6s are S, suficient, and 4 and lower are I, insuficient. I usually still tell my 4th graders what they have on the number scale but in the end, I put a letter in the official catalogue. Notebooks I require all my kids to get a medium sized notebook. I tell them that this will be their special English book. All their vocabulary, songs and poems go in their notebook. Plus, we frequently color them and draw pictures in them to make them look nice. Sometimes they even get stickers! They should always bring their notebooks to class (yes, they will still forget!) and keep them nice. If they forget their notebook, I encourage them to write on a piece of paper and then copy it into their notebook at home. Some kids really will do this! A lot of my students make really nice notebooks and treasure themthey enjoy flipping through it and remembering what they have learned. If a class isnt taking their notebooks seriously, Ill collect everyones and give them a notebook grade depending on how much of the material they have written down. Homework I see my students twice a week and I usually try to give them homework once a week. It is usually something very simple that I can check in class. Write three sentences with the new vocabulary we learned. Or Draw a picture of the poem we learned. Or Think of five words that start with G. It depends on what you have learned in class that day. I spend 5 to 10 minutes in the next class checking the homework and giving them a homework grade. I dont give numbers, only letters. Even 5th, 6th and 7th grade students who get numbers in the catalogue will know what FB, B, S and I mean. Everyone who has done their homework, no matter how badly, gets a small sticker which thrills them and makes them excited about homework. Test or Projects Most of my lessons are done in units. This is easier for me to think of what to do next and it provides consistency for the students. At the end, I like to give a final test or project. The nice thing about having beginning learners is that these are never that difficult to grade (as opposed to people teaching high school and giving essays and papers). My tests are simple and exactly what we have practiced in class. No surprises. My projects encourage creativity and imagination while using the learned vocabulary and sentence structures. Make the instructions for the projects very clear and grade consistently. These can be displayed in the classroom. Final Grade In the end, all these grades go together to make a final grade for the official catalogue. I usually let them know what their breakdown is: their averaged behavior (grade-for-the-

day), homework and test grades. Then these three are averaged for their final grade. You can have whatever categories work for you. This perhaps sounds like a lot of work, but get your system down and it goes surprisingly quick. I think that the kids, even if they are only 4th graders, appreciate understanding their grades and take English-class-withthe-American more seriously. Show them that they have the direct ability to make their grades better or worse depending how they conduct themselves in class. To really enforce their grades, I put all their grades with the final average on a slip of paper and then paste it in their notebook.

Ideas for Teaching Beginners from Gertrude Kaster, group 12 Use Pictures Drawings Flashcardsmake them yourself or have the students make them! Real objects Teach Nouns Verbs Adjectives Alphabet (flashcards) List nouns that start with that letter Numbers Vocabulary in Sentences I have a ___ I want to go to ___ I ride a ___ Do you like to eat ___? Please give me ___ Activities: Vocabulary building activities Go around the room naming things (ex. Desk, etc.) Go around, point and call out a wrong name, then students correct Songs Poems Puzzles Drawings Word Search Make new words from one long word (ex. Gingerbreadring, red, in) Talk about themselves My name is I have (family) I study (math) I am (a student). I am not (a teacher). Vocabulary Relatives Clothing Shapes Vegetables Animals Weather Days of the week Months Body parts Colors Fruits Directions Furniture Method for teaching vocabulary Hold up item/flashcard Say the word

Students repeat Say and repeat two times Show item/flashcard, say a word, if the word is correct students raise their hand, if the word is incorrect students touch their nose Use new word in a sentence Ex. I have a ___ I see a ___ I ate ___ for breakfast Copy into notebookskeep some record of what they are learning Personal statements I would like to visit the country of ___ because ___ Over the weekend I went to ___ A person I admire is ___ because ___ Picture Stories Make up stories for pictures List names, verbs, adjectives Using two unrelated pictures, create story Role playCharades Conductor & traveler Two people on a vacation Youre in America and want to fly home Playback (for a small group and over several days) Record students conversation or reading Interview One student actor, athlete as interviewee, class questions Cooperative learning Word web Venn Diagram Pair groupings Write pairs on slips of paper (ex. Cat-Dog, Day-Night), students ask questions to find their partners Grouping with playing cards Fillers: Actions songs (ex. If youre happy and you know it) Simon says Pick a letter and students list words beginning with that letter Give category and students list items belonging to that category Story tellingput nouns and verbs on the board. One student begins the story and the next students continues Chants (make them up yourself!) Chalkboard chainstudent writes a word at the top of the chalkboard, the next student writes a word that starts with the last letter of the first word. (ex. Dog, Good, Day) Hot potato questionsthrow a ball to a student and ask a question. The student answers and throws ball to another student asking a question.

Lesson Plans The First Day Level: Beginner Time: 3 class periods Number of Students: about 15 Aim/Goal: to introduce the teacher and students Objectives: students will be able to Call the teacher by name Ask and answer basic questions about identity Materials: paper for nametags DAY 1 Warm-up: roll call. Take roll and have the students say here or present in English. Presentation: make name tags. Give each student a piece of standard sized blank paper and have them fold it the long way so it will stand up in a tent shape. Have students write their name really big on the nametag. Then each student should think of an English word that begins with the same letter as their name and draw a picture of that word on their nametag. Practice: questionnaire. In their notebooks, have students fill out this form about themselves. Name: Age: Parents Names: Siblings: Hobbies: DAY 2 Warm-up: circle memory game. Have class stand in a circle. One student starts the game by saying their name and their English word that they drew on their nametag (ex. Maria Monkey). The next student repeats the name and word and adds their own to the list. They will probably already know each others names but they must remember the English word. Also, it is good practice for the teacher to learn the students names. Presentation: prepare for interviews. Talk about how to ask questions to learn the information that is on their questionnaires from last class. Practice: interviews. Put students in pairs and have them interview each other for basic identity information. They can think of new questions if they want. Application: introductions. Students present their partner and information about their partner to the class. DAY 3 Warm-up: play the circle memory name game again. Review identity questions and information. Presentation: [if you want, explain the classroom rules that you want to enforce for the year.] Teach basic commands for the classroom. Mime the command and then have the kids repeat. Write it on the board. Stand up Sit down

Be quiet Raise your hand Open your book Close your book Listen Sleep Write Draw Walk Run Eat Drink Jump Practice and Application: play Simon says with basic commands. Let kids take turns being Simon.

Alphabet Level: 4th grade Time: 2 class periods Aim/Goal: to learn to pronounce the alphabet in English Objectives: by the end of the lesson, students will be able to Say and sing the alphabet in English List words that begin with each letter of the alphabet Materials: alphabet flashcards DAY 1 Warm-uplearn Twinkle-Twinkle, Little Star (It has the same tune as ABC which you will want to teach them later) Presentationuse alphabet flashcards to teach pronunciation of English alphabet. Make flashcards with the letter and a picture of something that starts with that letter. Show the letter and have the students repeat the pronunciation. Stick the flashcard on the board and write the word next to it. Have the kids write the vocabulary in their notebooks. Work on the phrase (letter) is for (word). OR, if you dont want to make flashcards, have the kids brainstorm words they know beginning with each letter. Practiceteach the alphabet song. I works better if the students can look at the letters as they sing them. Stick the letter flashcards up in order around the room or write the letters on the board. Applicationgive each student a letter and have them draw a word that begins with that letter. Later these can be used as flashcards or you can hang them up around the room to create a visual alphabet. Have students present their picture to the class saying (letter) is for (word). DAY 2More Practice Activity 1go around the room and have students each say a letter of the alphabet in order. Or, put them in a circle and have them toss a ball around. The person who catches the ball must say the next letter of the alphabet and toss the ball on. Activity 2play Around the World with alphabet flashcards. (see activities for how to play Around the World) Activity 3play Hangman with the kids asking for letters in English. If you play as a whole class, it works well to have all the kids names in an envelope. Pick a name and that student gets to ask for a letter. This way they all get a turn and they arent all screaming for a letter at the same time.

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The Seasons Introduction: This is a year long unit. I did these lessons with my fourth grade students both my first and my second year of teaching in Romania but, depending on the level and interests of your kids, it can be adapted for other ages. It uses poems, songs and coloring to discuss the changing seasons throughout the year. Students should be encouraged to make their notebooks as colorful and pretty as possible and all the vocabulary, poems, songs and drawings should be written in the notebook. Start segments one and two soon after school starts in the fall, segment three after Christmas break in January, segment four after spring break in April and segment five in the first week of June before school gets out. Many of the resources and ideas are from the web site www.everythingesl.net. If you dont have access to a copy machine, the worksheets can be copied onto large pieces of paper (like butcher paper or flip chart paper) and displayed so that the kids can see them. They can then copy it into their notebooks with their own decorations. In Appendix: Broken Words worksheet Let it Snow worksheet Snow worksheet Spring Flowers worksheet Spring Puzzle worksheet SEGMENT 1: The Calendar Materials: Broken Words worksheet Large copy of Months poem Soft ball (for extra activity) DAY 1 Activity 1tell the students we will now be learning about the calendar. Write month on the board. Have students think of months and write them on the board in order. Work on pronunciation and have them copy into their notebooks. Write week on the board. Have students think of days of the week starting with Sunday as we do in America. Work on pronunciation and have them copy into their notebooks. Practice saying the months and days of the week in order by going around the room and having each student say a month. Activity 2hand out Broken Words handout (or copy it onto large paper and hang it in the front of the room). Demonstrate how the activity is done with an example or two. Tell the students to finish the exercises on their own (copying it into their notebook if you dont have copies for every student). Circulate to make sure everyone understands. My students had a bit of a struggle getting this but then they liked the puzzle of it. It took longer than this class period so we finished it next time. DAY 2 Activity 1verbally go over the months and the days of the week. Do it as a class, have individuals do it, and go around the room saying them in order. Activity 2sing this song together to the tune of Clementine

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Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday Thursday, Friday, Saturday (Repeat above) There are seven days in a week There are seven days in a week Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday Activity 3print this poem on the board or on large paper. Read it to the class. Have them read it with you. This poem not only uses the months but it points to the seasons that will be talked about later. It is quite long so I did not have them copy it in their notebooks. Also, at this point, I didnt make sure that they understood what it meant. It was more of a reading and pronunciation exercise. The Months January brings the snow, Makes our feet and fingers glow. February brings the rains, Thaws the frozen lake again. March brings breezes sharp and chill, Shakes the dancing daffodil. April brings the primrose sweet, Scatters daisies at our feet. May brings flocks of pretty lambs, Sporting round their fleecy dams. June brings tulips, lilies, rose, Fills the childrens hands with posies. Hot July brings thunder-showers, Apricots, and gilly-flowers. August brings the sheaves of corn; Then the harvest home is borne. Warm September brings the fruit; Sportsmen then begin to shoot. Brown October brings the pheasant, Then to gather nuts is pleasant. Dull November brings the blast-- Hark! the leaves are whirling fast. Cold December brings the sleet, Blazing fire, and Christmas treat. Activity 3if necessary, finish the Broken Words worksheet and then go over it as a class, making sure everyone has the correct answer. Activity 4teach the way to write dates in English. Ask the question, when is your birthday? My birthday is April 20, 1980. Write question and answer on the board. Do other questions: When is Christmas? When is Halloween? Supplementary Activityanother game that I did to review this vocab was I brought a small ball or stuffed animal to class and had the kid stand in a circle. Then we tossed (and I emphasize TOSSED here) the ball randomly around the circle and when you caught the ball you have to say the next month or day of the week. This is a good game if the class is well behaved but it can get wild. I was very strict with kids who decided to hurl the stuffed bear as hard as they could at their classmates. SEGMENT 2: The Fall Materials: the months poem A bag of clothes Flashcards of fall weather (you can make them) Pictures of people in the fall (if possible)

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DAY 1 Activity 1begin by reviewing the vocabulary. Say all the months with the kids repeating, then go around the room and have them say the months in order. Do the same with the days of the week. Get out the poem. Read it for them again. Read it as a class. Activity 2go over just September, October, November of the months poem. Read and repeat. Help them understand generally what it means. Have individuals take turns reading a line. Write it in their notebooks. Warm September brings the fruit; Sportsmen then begin to shoot. Brown October brings the pheasant, Then to gather nuts is pleasant. Dull November brings the blast-- Hark! the leaves are whirling fast. Activity 3Write Fall or Autumn on the board. 1. What do we wear in the fall? Pants, long sleeve shirts, sweaters, shoes, jackets Have a bag with clothes. Have students pull them out one by one. Do we wear this in the fall? Yes or no. Make a list of fall clothing for their notebooks. 2. What do we eat in the fall? Apples, pumpkins, grapes, Write market on the board. Have students come up and draw pictures of food that we eat in the fall. Make a list of fall food for their notebooks. 3. What is the weather like in the fall? Rainy, windy, warm, cool, sunny, foggy Look outside. What is the weather like today? Show flashcard of fall weather. Make a list of fall weather for their notebooks. DAY 2 Activity 1go over fall section of the poem again. Review fall vocabulary by showing clothing articles and pictures. Activity 2ask the question, what do we do in the fall? Brainstorm answers. Write the verbs on the board. Make sure students understand the meaning in Romanian. Ex. Go to school, play in the leaves, celebrate Halloween, prepare for winter, celebrate Thanksgiving Activity 3Bring pictures of people doing things in the fall. I had photographs of friends and family in traditional Northern Midwestern fall settings. If you do not have this and cannot find such pictures in magazines, this activity could easily be skipped. Ask students, what are they wearing?, what is the weather like?, what are they eating? What is life like in the fall? Activity 4Give students this writing frame: In the fall, the weather is _________, _______________, and _____________. I wear ______________, ______________, and _________________. I like to eat ________________ and ______________. In the fall, I can _____________, ______________, and _________________. Have students make sentences using this as help. Illustrate the sentences they wrote in their notebooks. Possibly share the sentences and pictures with the class or grade them (or you could make this part a homework assignment). SEGMENT 3:

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The Winter Materials: the months poem Winter weather gear The poem First Snow Popped popcorn Let it Snow worksheet Snow worksheet (Scissors and paper for making snowflakes) DAY 1 Activity 1go over just December, January, and February of the months poem. Read and repeat. Help them understand generally what it means. Have individuals take turns reading a line. Write it in their notebooks. Cold December brings the sleet, Blazing fire, and Christmas treat. January brings the snow, Makes our feet and fingers glow. February brings the rains, Thaws the frozen lake again. Activity 2Write winter on the board. What do we wear in the winter? Use the Shirley Neitzel poem, The Jacket I Wear in the Snow. This poem builds on itself like the familiar The House that Jack Built. Recite one line of the poem and put on that article of clothing. Write the word for that article on the board and have the kids write it in their notebooks. Continue adding more lines to the poem and repeating the previous lines, reinforcing the vocabulary. As you recite, have the kids say the clothing article with you as you touch it. By the end, you should be wearing all the things in the poem and reciting the whole thing while the kids help you fill in the words. (You could also have the kids copy the poem in their notebooks and illustrate it. OR Make a classroom book; each additional line is a new page and different children illustrate the child in the poem with that clothing article. Then you can use the ending where the mother helps the child who has hurt himself.) "The Jacket I Wear in the Snow," by Shirley Neitzel. This is the jacket I wear in the snow. This is the zipper that's stuck on the jacket I wear in the snow. This is the scarf, woolly and red, that's caught in the zipper, that's stuck on the... This is the hat for my head, that matches the scarf, woolly and red,... These are the mittens that hang from each arm, that I wear with the hat... This is the sweater all itchy and warm, that meets the mittens that hang... These are the jeans, stiff in the knee, that go under the sweater all itchy and warm... These are the boots, too big for me, that cover the jeans, stiff in the knee... This is long underwear, bunchy and hot, that is stuffed in the boots too big for me... These are the socks, wrinkled a lot, that are pulled over long underwear, bunchy... *Optional ending: These are the tears that fell from my eyes, that dripped on the socks wrinkled a lot... This is my mother, who heard my cries, and wiped the tears that fell from my eyes, and loosened the scarf, woolly and red, and slipped off the hat from my head,

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and unpinned the mittens that hung from each arm, and unbuttoned the sweater all itchy and warm, and unzipped the boots, too big for me, and straightened the jeans, stiff in the knee, and smoothed the long underwear, bunchy and hot, and pulled up the socks that were wrinkled a lot, when she unstuck the zipper of the jacket I wear in the snow. *Note: my second year of teaching, I managed to get someone from home to send me a copy of this book. I taught the vocabulary and copied it in the notebook first, and then I read them the book and showed them the pictures. I also made flashcards by tracing the pictures in the book and used them to review the vocabulary. DAY 2 Activity 1go over winter section of the poem again. Review vocabulary by going over The Jacket I Wear in the Snow again. Get kids involved by having them put on their winter gear with you as you recite the poem. Or have volunteers come stand in the front of the room, each holding an article of clothingwhen it is their turn, they must fill in the vocabulary word for the item they have. Activity 2snow. Now that we are dressed to go outside, its time to talk about snow. Hand out First Snow by Marie Louise Allen, or write it on the board or a poster. First Snow by Marie Louise Allen Snow makes whiteness where it falls. The bushes look like popcorn-balls. The places where I always play, Look like somewhere else today. Explain what the poem means. Explain the concept of similesshow the students some popcorn. Is it snow? No. But it looks like snow. Have students brainstorm other things that snow is like and write it on the board. (This is kind of difficult but they were surprisingly good at it.) Favorite answers: cotton, clouds, ice cream, whipped cream, pillowsit helps if you know some of this vocab in Romanian. Activity 3Now have them use their words to complete the sentences: The bushes look like____________. And the comparison sentence: Snow is as white as______________. Put their answers together to make a class poem of their own. Perhaps poem can be copied onto large paper and hung in the classroom. DAY 3 Activity 1review vocab. Activity 2Do a snow worksheet. Let it Snow! for younger students and Snow for a little more advanced students. Make sure they understand the new vocabulary. Activity 3finish applying winter vocabulary and themes by drawing winter scenes in their notebooks. They should label all the elements of the picture with the vocabulary they learned. Help them label items that they do not know. They should also write sentences describing what is happening in their picture using this form In the winter, I ______. Optional Activity 4as a final fun thing they can make snow flakes by folding and cutting paper and hang the snow flakes around the room and around the poem they wrote which is hanging on the wall.

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*Note: my second year I got a copy of The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. I read the kids the story and used it as a place to start talking about what we do in the snow. We brainstormed snow vocabulary like: snowball, snowball fight, snowman, snow angels, snow mountain, sled, ski, etc. SEGMENT 4: The Spring Materials: the months poem Sentence strips about how a flower grows Tommy poem Spring flowers worksheet Spring puzzle worksheet Mary, Mary Quite Contrary poem DAY 1 Activity 1go over just March, April, May of the months poem. Read and repeat. Help them understand generally what it means. Have individuals take turns reading a line. Write it in their notebooks. March brings breezes sharp and chill, Shakes the dancing daffodil. April brings the primrose sweet, Scatters daisies at our feet. May brings flocks of pretty lambs, Sporting round their fleecy dams. Activity 2write spring on the board. Make a Venn Diagram with Spring and Winter. Encourage students to think about what you wear in these seasons. What you eat. What the weather is. Have students first make the chart in their notebooks and fill it in with the person sitting next to them. Then have volunteers come to the board and fill it in. Try to review Winter and Fall words. Talk about spring things, especially the weather. Activity 3 teach spring vocab by drawing it on the board and labeling it. Have students also draw pictures and label them in their notebooks. Vocab: plant, flower, seeds, soil, leaf, stem, roots, ground, sun, petal, bud, water, (watering can), grass, bird, robin, nest, eggs, tree, worm, tulip, butterfly, rain Activity 3Do Spring Flowers worksheet to use vocabulary. DAY 2 Activity 1go over spring section of the poem again. Review spring vocabulary. Activity 2handout Tommy by Gwendolyn Brooks, or write it on the board. Read the poem for the students. Have them practice reading it with you. Finally, have them stand up and read the poem while doing motions (pretend to put a seed into the ground, and water itthrow hands up into the air for popped!). Tommy by Gwendolyn Brooks I put a seed into the ground And said, Ill watch it grow. I watered it and cared for it As well as I could know. One day I walked in my back yard, And oh, what did I see! My seed had popped itself right out,

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Without consulting me. Activity 3put students in groups and give them sentence strips about how a flower grows to put in order. Put a seed in the soil. Water the ground. The seed grows roots. The seed grows a stem through the ground. From the stem grow leaves. The plant grows a bud. The bud opens its petals and makes a flower. The flower grows in the sun. DAY 3 Activity 1review Tommy poem with motions. Activity 2present Mother Goose rhyme Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary and have them copy it in their notebooks. Practice reading it as a class and individually. Illustrate the poem in their notebooks. Activity 3make Tommys and Marys garden for the room. Hang up copies of each poem and have students make flowers and other spring things to hang on the wall around them. Optional ActivitySpring Puzzle Signs of Spring worksheet. *Note: Mother Goose Poems are great for memorization. Give students the option of memorizing the poem and reciting it in front of class for a prize. SEGMENT 5: The Summer Materials: the months poem DAY 1 Activity 1go over just June, July, August of the months poem. Read and repeat. Help them understand generally what it means. Have individuals take turns reading a line. Write it in their notebooks. June brings tulips, lilies, rose, Fills the childrens hands with posies. Hot July brings thunder-showers, Apricots, and gilly-flowers. August brings the sheaves of corn; Then the harvest home is borne. Activity 2write summer on the board. 1. What do we wear in the summer? shorts, short sleeve shirts, tank tops, sandals, bathing suits Have a bag with clothes. Have students pull them out one by one. Do we wear this in the summer? Yes or no. Make a list of summer clothing for their notebooks. 2. What do we eat in the summer? Tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries, raspberries, corn, etc. Write market on the board. Have students come up and draw pictures of food that we eat in the summer. Make a list of summer food for their notebooks. 3. What is the weather like in the summer? Sunny, hot, thunderstorms (thunder, lightening, rain) Talk about summer weather and write the vocab in the notebooks.

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4. What do we do in the summer? Go to the beach (sea), go swimming, go on a picnic, go camping, play football/volleyball Talk about summer activities. DAY 2 Activity 1go over summer section of the poem again. Review what we wear, eat and do in the summer and what the weather is like. Activity 2plan a vacation. Have each student think about what they want to do this summer. Where do they want to go? Have them fill in this form. Where: What the weather is like: What to pack: What to eat: What to do: Draw a picture to illustrate the plan. *Optional: give the students your address so they can write you letters or postcards about what they did in the summer.

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Animals Level: 4th grade Time: 8 class periods (one month) Aim/Goal: to name and describe animals Objectives: by the end of the lesson, students will be able to Identify animal vocabulary Use adjectives to describe animals Make comparisons between different animals Materials: Farm animal flashcards Animal Go Fish cards Slips of paper with animal description (see DAY 2, practice) Animal Memory Game Pages of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? DAY 1 Farm Animals Warm Up & Presentation: Old MacDonald Had a Farm CowMoo CatMeow SheepBaa ChickenCluck PigOink HorseKneigh MouseSqueak GooseHonk DuckQuack DogWoof Sing song. Stop between every verse to write the animal name on the board and have the kids copy it in their notebooks. Helps to also have flashcards to reinforce meaning. Hold up flashcard as you sing verse. Practice & Application: Play Go Fish (see activities section) DAY 2 Farm Animals continued Warm Up: sing Old MacDonald again Presentation: review/teach little and big. Review/teach numbers 1 10. Review/teach colors. (Verbally review or copy new material in notebooks based on the level of your students.) Practice: give each student a slip of paper with something to color in their notebook. (for example: two big dogs. OR three little mice. OR five orange cats and two black cats.) Application: have students present their pictures to the class. If they need help, prompt them with questions like What do you have? Or ask the classmates, What does she have? DAY 3 Zoo or Jungle Animals Warm Up: Mother Goose Poems. Little Boy Blue

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Little Boy Blue, come blow your horn, The sheep's in the meadow, the cow's in the corn. Where is the boy who looks after the sheep? He's under a haycock, fast asleep. Little Bo Peep Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep And can't tell where to find them. Leave them alone, And they'll come home, Wagging their tails behind them. Have students choose one poem to copy into their notebooks and memorize and recite for the next class to win a prize. Presentation: learn animal vocabulary. With the students help make a long list of animals on the board. Let each student choose one animal to add to the list. Teacher writes the English word and the student can write the translation on the board. This keeps them moving around a bit. Make sure that all the animals that are in your animal memory games are on the list. Heres my list: (plus the farm animals) Turtle Camel Fox Zebra Beaver Kangaroo Frog Hippopotamus Butterfly Whale Skunk Crocodile or alligator Rabbit Tiger Bear Snake Bird Elephant Penguin Peacock Jaguar Toucan Lion Monkey Opossum Octopus Ostrich Raccoon Lizard Parrot DAY 4 Warm Up: have volunteers recite Mother Goose poem for a prize Presentation: None Practice: have students make their own Animal Bingo cards. (see Picture Bingo in activities) Application: play Bingo DAY 5: REVIEW Divide the class into groups and give each group a station. The different activities can be Go Fish, Bingo or Memory (a new game, see Memory in activities). Set a timer and after 10 or 15 minutes, have the groups rotate stations so all kids get a chance to play the games. DAY 6 Warm Up: learn and sing Baa Baa Black Sheep

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Baa, baa, black sheep, Have you any wool? Yes, sir, yes, sir, Three bags full. One for my master, One for my dame, And one for the little boy Who lives in the lane. Baa, baa, black sheep, Have you any wool? Yes, sir, yes, sir, Three bags full. Presentation: quickly review colors Practice & Application: make a classroom copy of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Write the words of the book on different pages. Give each student or group of students a page and have them illustrate the animal featured on the page. On the last page that says, I see some children looking at me! have each child draw their own face. Put all the pages together and read the book to the class. It is very repetitive and catchy so have the kids read with you. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Pg 1: Brown bear, brown bear what do you see? Pg 2: I see a red bird looking at me. Red bird, red bird, what do you see? Pg 3: I see a yellow duck looking at me. Yellow duck, yellow duck, what do you see? Pg 4: I see a blue horse looking at me. Blue Horse, blue horse what do you see? Pg 5: I see a green frog looking at me. Green frog, green frog what do you see? Pg 6: I see a purple cat looking at me. Purple cat, purple cat what do you see? Pg 7: I see a gray dog looking at me. Gray dog, gray dog what do you see? Pg 8: I see a black sheep looking at me. Black sheep, black sheep what do you see? Pg 9: I see an orange fish looking at me. Orange fish, orange fish what do you see? Pg 10: I see a pink pig looking at me. Pink pig, pink pig what do you see? Pg 11: I see a teacher looking at me. Teacher, teacher what do you see? Pg 12: I see some children looking at me! DAY 7 Warm Up: read Brown Bear, sing Baa Baa Black Sheep Presentation: adjectives. Tell students An elephant is very big and stretch your arms out. But a mouse is very little, and put your fingers close together. Use this as

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a way to introduce vocabulary. Let the kids suggest adjectives that they want to know. Write English words on the board and let students come up and write the Romanian translation. Some helpful adjectives: Big Small Little Tall Long Short Soft Hard Pretty Ugly Fat Skinny Hairy Scaly Furry Slimy Explain how to make comparisons in English using er. (The elephant is bigger than the mouse.) Practice: have two students each pick an animal name. Have another student make a comparison. Encourage them to be silly and to use different adjectives. Application: have each student write two animal names and one adjective in their notebook. Then switch notebooks with a partner and make the words into a comparison sentence. They can write the sentence in their partners notebook. DAY 8 Warm Up: Quick draw. Say animal comparison sentences and have students quickly sketch the scenario in their notebooks. When they are finished they can hold their picture above their head for all to see. OR you can say several sentences in a row and then give stickers to kids who finish and got the drawings correct. Presentation: Have one student come up to the board and quickly draw a bear. Say, A Bear is Big. Write Big above the bear pictures. Have another student come to the board and draw an elephant. Encourage the student to make it just bigger than the bear. Say, But an Elephant is Bigger. Write Bigger on the board. Have another student come to the board and draw a whale. Encourage this student to make it outrageously big. Say, But a Whale is Biggest! Write Biggest on the board. Explain how we use these endings in English. Do other examples with other adjectives. Practice: have each student write down three animals and an adjective in their notebooks. Switch notebooks with a partner and have the partner put the animals in order. Application: have each student do their own set of drawings in their notebook. Below the drawing they should write a description. (for example: a fat chicken, a fatter pig, the fattest hippo) ZOO PROJECT Intro: learn the song Going to the Zoo (if you know it) Verse 1 Mamas taking us to the zoo tomorrow Zoo tomorrow, zoo tomorrow Mamas taking us to the zoo tomorrow And we can stay all day Chorus Were going to the zoo, zoo, zoo How about you, you, you You can come too, too, too

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Were going to the zoo, zoo, zoo Verse 2 Look at all the monkeys swinging in the trees Swinging in the trees, swinging in the trees Look at all the monkeys swinging in the trees And we can stay all day Verse 3 Look at all the crocodiles swimming in the water Swimming in the water, swimming in the water Look at all the crocodiles swimming in the water And we can stay all day Assignment: Design a zoo. This can be done individually or in groups. Encourage creativity. Descriptions should accompany the zoo animals. This is the biggest bear. Or This is the longest snake. Or The peacock is prettier than the bird. Display zoos around the classroom if you can.

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Food Level: 5th graders Time: 2 class periods Aim/Goal: to learn to use food vocabulary Objectives: by the end of the lesson, students will be able to Identify food vocabulary Use food vocabulary in a shop setting Materials: food vocabulary flashcards Printout or poster of food poem DAY 1 Warm-up: poem Food, food wonderful food. Food, food delicious food. Food, food makes me feel good. Food wonderful food. Hamburgers, pizzas, French fries and hotdogs, All taste very nice. Corn and potatoes, Fried chicken, tomatoes, And black beans and rice, Spaghetti and meatballs, And bacon and eggs, All smell so divine. I want to eat all the time. Food, food wonderful food. Food, food delicious food. Food, food makes me feel good. Food wonderful food. Chocolate and ice cream, And strawberries and cream, Taste good and sweet. Mangos and apples, Papayas and pineapplesOh, I love to eat. Cherries and grapes, Bananas and dates, All taste so divine. I want to eat all the time.

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Presentation: teach vocabulary. Use flashcard that you can make. Choose from this extensive list. Hamburger Pepper Bacon Pepper Sugar Chocolate Eggplant Meat Ice cream Cabbage Bread Strawberry Garlic Soup Mango Cucumber Cheese Apple Peas Jam Papaya Olives Egg Pineapple Orange Pizza Cherry Apricot French Fry Grapes Watermelon Hotdog Banana Honey melon Corn Date Milk Potato Nuts Water Chicken Lemon Wine Tomatoes Onion Oil Black beans Carrots Vinegar Green beans Pear Peach Rice Cake Coffee Spaghetti Salt Meatballs Practice: have students take turns putting flashcards in envelopesfruits, vegetables, meats, grains, dairy, desserts. DAY 1 Warm-up & practice: make a word web around the words fruit, vegetables, meats, deserts. Play My grandmother went to the market and brought me a with the food flashcards. Application: have half the class be shopkeepers and half the class be shoppers. Individually make out inventories or shopping lists. Then match sellers with shoppers and have the students practice a dialogue of buying and selling.

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Family Level: 5th graders Time: 2 class periods Aim/Goal: to learn how to describe family relationships Objectives: by the end of the lesson, students will be able to Identify different members of the family Describe their relationships Materials: pictures of family members A family tree Family relationships worksheet DAY 1 Warm-up: show pictures of your family and your family tree. Presentation: teach family vocabulary and have kids write it with Romanian translation in their notebooks. Practice: show my family tree and ask possession/vocab questions. Ex. Who is Johns wife? Ex. Who is Jerrys daughter? Ex. Who are Jennys cousins? Application: students create their own family tree in their notebook and they draw pictures of their family members. They must present family trees to class, describing their relationships people have to each otherpractice accurate possession. DAY 2 Warm-up: total physical response. Arrange in a family tree and talk about their relationship to each other. One child will be the father, one the mother, another the sister and another the grandfather. Ask kids, who is your cousin? A problem might be that kids will get upset when they are another classmates wife or husband. If you can get them to accept it as fun, its a good, silly exercise. Practice: possession/vocabulary worksheet Match the phrases in the first column with a phrase in the second. My mothers father is my brother. My fathers sister are my grandparents. My fathers son is my aunt. My fathers brother is my sister. My mothers parents is my grandpa. My fathers daughter is my uncle. Answers: My mothers father is my grandpa. My fathers sister is my aunt. My fathers son is my is my brother. My fathers brother is my uncle. My mothers parents are my grandparents. My fathers daughter is my sister. Application: students describe their own family with comparison sentences like these.

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Holidays Halloween Level: 4th grade Time: one class period Aim/Goal: to introduce students to the holiday, Halloween Objectives: by the end of the lesson, students will be able to Use Halloween vocabulary Say what one does to celebrate Halloween Describe what they would do for Halloween Materials: Halloween vocabulary flashcards Large Halloween poem Halloween sentence strips Warm-up: read poem for the classbe sure to shout BOO! at the end. Then have the class read the poem together (and they can write it in their notebooks). They will enjoy shouting BOO at the end too. October brings us Halloween A spooky time its true When Jack-o-lanterns flaming eyes Seem like theyre watching you The black cats howling at the moon A witch goes flying by And in the distance you can hear a goblins mournful cry October brings us Halloween A spooky time its true When Jack-o-lanterns flaming eyes Seem like theyre watching you Be careful or before you know A ghost will scare youBOO!! Presentation: show the students picture/flashcards of Halloween vocabulary. Write the word on the board and stick the picture next to it. Have students copy the words in their notebooks. Go over the poem and see how the vocabulary is used in the poem. Cat, moon, witch, goblin, ghost, jack-o-lantern, spooky, eyes, candy, mask Practice: read this passage to the class, October 31 is Halloween. Children like Halloween. Children wear costumes and masks. They go to their neighbors houses. They knock on the door. They say, Trick or Treat! Their neighbors give them candy. The children say, Thank you. Then divide the class into small groups and pass out strips of paper with the sentences of the story. Each slip should have one sentence. Students should put the sentences in order. Make sure they understand what children do on Halloween.

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Application: draw pictures of what children do on Halloween. Encourage children to be creative and spooky. Have them write sentences describing their pictures.

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Thanksgiving Ideas Activity 1: Have students see how many words they can make with the letters in Thanksgiving Activity 2: Thanksgiving Turkeys. Practice shapes by having the students draw a large circle for the body of a turkey. Draw a small circle for the head and a triangle for the beak. Draw two narrow, long rectangles for the legs and small, narrow triangles for the toes and long, narrow ovals for tail feathers. Have students finish writing this sentence on each of the turkeys tail feathers, I am thankful for Activity 3: Musical Turkey Practice colors by singing, Have You Ever Seen A Turkey to the tune of The More We Get Together Have you ever seen a turkey, a turkey, a turkey? Have you ever seen a turkey with feathers so bright? There's red ones and brown ones, and yellow ones and orange ones Have you ever seen a turkey with feathers so bright? Have the students trace their hand, with thumb and fingers extended wide, to make a profile view of a turkey. The thumb is the head and each finger is a feather. Add legs and a beak. Students should color their turkey as the song indicates. Activity 4: Funny Bird A turkey is a funny bird, Its head goes wobble, wobble, All it knows is just one word, "Gobble, gobble, gobble." Activity 5: Over the River and Through the Woodssing a couple verses of the traditional Thanksgiving song. Over the river and through the wood To Grandfather's house we go. The horse knows the way To carry the sleigh Through white and drifted snow. Over the river and through the wood, Trot fast, my dapple gray! Spring over the ground Like a hunting hound, For this is Thanksgiving Day. Over the river and through the wood -Oh, how the wind does blow! It stings the toes And bites the nose, As over the ground we go.

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Over the river and through the wood, And straight through the barnyard gate. We seem to go Extremely slow -It is so hard to wait! Over the river and through the wood To have a first-rate play. Hear the bells ring, Ting-a-ling-ling! Hurrah forThanksgiving Day! Over the river and through the wood -Now Grandmother's cap I spy! Hurrah for fun! Is the pudding done? Hurrah for the pumpkin pie!

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Christmas Ideas Activity 1: Twelve Days of Christmas Learn the song. Have each student (or pairs of students) take one part of the song. They should make a picture of their gift. Then sing the song again, each student should sing his/her part, stand up and hold up the illustration. On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me A partridge in a pear tree. On the second day of Christmas Two turtle doves On the third day of Christmas Three French hens On the fourth day of Christmas Four calling birds On the fifth day of Christmas Five golden rings On the sixth day of Christmas Six geese a laying On the seventh day of Christmas Seven swans a swimming On the eighth day of Christmas Eight maids a milking On the ninth day of Christmas Nine ladies dancing On the tenth day of Christmas Ten drummers drumming On the eleventh day of Christmas Eleven pipers piping On the twelfth day of Christmas Twelve lords a leaping Activity 2: read The Twelve Days of Christmas and talk about the description of Santa. Draw pictures of him with rosy cheeks and a fat belly. And, of course, sing carols and make Christmas cards!

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New Years Level: Middle School Time: one class period Aim/Goal: to think about resolutions for the New Year Objectives: by the end of the lesson, students will be able to Sing the traditional New Years song Auld Lang Syne Understand the concept of a resolution and articulate their own Materials: print out or poster of lyrics to Auld Lang Syne Pictures or descriptions of people to make resolutions for Warm Up: talk about Christmas vacation and what they did for the holidays and sing Auld Lang Syne Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And never brought to mind? Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And auld lang syne? For auld lang syne, my dear, For auld lang syne, We'll tak a cup o'kindness yet For auld lang syne! Presentation: explain the concept of making resolutions. Practice: consider what will happen this year in your personal life. What decisions have you made for the coming year? Look at pictures of people or describe people and have the class decide what their New Years Resolution might be. (for example: this is Lisa. She got a D in biology last semester. resolution: do homework. OR this is Brian. He is always tired and falling asleep in class. resolution: go to bed earlier.) Application: have students make resolutions. Have them think about different areas of their lives like school, parents, TV, friends, money, travel, love sports, English, etc. They can finish these sentences: I will I am going to I would like to I hope to I am thinking about I will not I am not going to I intend to I promise I will I will definitely

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Valentines Day Ideas Activity 1: listen to Beatles songs. Give the students the lyrics with words missing and have them listen and try to fill them in. When they have the complete lyrics you can sing the song as a class. Activity 2: practice rhyming words. Make rhyming love poetry. Experiment with the standard, Roses are red, violets are blue, chocolate is sweet, and so are you. Try to think of different endings for the poem. Activity 3: rhyming words continued. Give students sets of four words, three of the words should rhyme and one shouldnt. Have students find which word doesnt belong. Activity 4: idioms. Give each student a heart idiom to illustrate literally. Print the idiomatic phrase at the bottom of the illustration. Then have other students match the definition of the idiom to the picture. OR talk about idioms and their meaning and then play pictionary, drawing the idiom literally and the class must guess which idiom it is. to have a heart of gold - to care about other people to have a big heart - to be giving, caring to be cold-hearted -lacking in sympathy to wear your heart on your sleeve- to let everyone know how you feel about someone to cross your heart and hope to die -to promise to cry your heart out - to cry a lot and feel really badly about something to eat your heart out - to be jealous of someone from the bottom of your heart - to really mean something to have a change of heart -to change your mind to have a heart - to be compassionate, to care about other people to have your heart in your mouth- to be scared or nervous to have your heart set on something - to really want something to set your heart at rest - stop worrying about something to be soft hearted - to be sympathetic to take something to heart- to have your feelings hurt by something someone else says or does And make Valentines!

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St. Patricks Day Level: 4th grade Time: 2 class periods Aim/Goal: to learn about the holiday, St. Patricks Day Objectives: by the end of the lesson, students will be able to Identify St. Patricks Day vocabulary Answer questions about the origins of St. Patricks Day Materials: St. Patricks Day vocabulary flashcards copies of reading Warm-up: read poem to class. Practice reading it all together. Let individuals read it. Have kids copy it in their notebooks. St. Patrick's Day Leprechauns peeking, Around a willow tree, Pussy willows waking, Longing to be free. Colleens and shamrocks And castles old and gray, Put them all together To make St. Patrick's Day. Presentation: St. Patricks Day vocabulary. Use flashcards to teach vocab and have kids copy words into their notebooks. Leprechaun Rainbow Pot of gold Parade Church Snake Shamrock, four leaf clover Castle Practice: St. Patricks Day reading and questions. Have kids read in pairs and complete questions. (photocopiable format in appendix) St. Patrick is the saint of Ireland. He lived in ancient times. He heard God tell him to go to Ireland and teach people about God. He made many churches. He did many miracles. One legend is that he made all snakes leave Ireland. Now the Irish celebrate St. Patricks Day every year on March 17. It is a holiday for Ireland and for spring. People wear green, have parades and tell stories about leprechauns. A leprechaun is a very little man who has a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. If you can catch him, the gold is yours! People also wear shamrocks. Most shamrocks have three leaves. If you find one with four, you have good luck! What country is St. Patrick for? Why did he go to Ireland? What animal did he make leave Ireland?

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What color is for St. Patricks day? What is the name of the little man with a pot of gold? How many leaves are on a lucky shamrock? Application: another poem. Make shamrocks to wear. Draw St. Patricks Day pictures. St. Patrick's Day Oh, my mother isn't Irish And my father isn't too, But today I feel as Irish As the really Irish do. For today I wear a shamrock That is green in every way And though I am Romanian, I am Irish -- for today! For intermediate students: green idioms. Illustrate the idioms and match the illustration with the idiom. Then match the definition to the idiom and picture. give someone the green light- give permission to go ahead with a project to have a green thumb - a have a talent for making things grow green with envy -very jealous, full of envy wearing of the green - to wear green clothing on St. Patricks Day to be green around the gills -to look very sick green-eyed monster - - to feel jealous to be green - to be inexperienced at something grass is always greener on the other side - a place that is different seems better than where we are now folding green- paper money

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Activities 20 Questions Level: Beginner-Intermediate Time: 10-20 minutes Number of Students: anywhere from 5-15 Aim/Goal: to practice asking identity questions Objectives: students will be able to Ask yes/no questions Discover descriptive information to identify a personality Materials: none Procedure: One student (or the teacher) thinks of a person that everyone knows. This will most likely be a celebrity but it could also be someone more common like the school director, another teacher, or the PCV. The rest of the class takes turns asking yes or no questions about the personality in order to discover who it is. Ex. Is it a man? Is he/she famous? Is he/she a singer/actor/politician? Is he/she alive? Is he/she old? Is he/she blond? The student who finally guesses the correct identity gets to think of the next person.

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Around the world Level: beginner Time: 15 minutes Number of Students: whole class Aim/Goal: to practice vocabulary Objectives: students will be able to Quickly identify vocabulary Materials: flashcards Procedure: have two students sitting next to each other in one corner of the room stand up. Show them a flashcard. The student who correctly identifies the card first moves to stand next to the next student who should stand up. The other student who lost sits down. Show another card to the students who are standing and the one who answers first moves on. This should move very, very quickly. If there is a tie, the class can help decide who should move on or if another flashcard should be shown. Otherwise, the class should be really quiet till it is their turn. If a student moves several desks away from their original seat and then they loose a match they should not return to their seat but sit where they are, replacing the student who moves on. Continue till all the students have had a turn or you run out of flashcards. Variation: If you dont have flashcards you can say a word to the students in Romanian (or in English) and they have to translate it. This only works if you know the translations yourself. Another Variation: The format of this game can be used with any English level depending on what you are learning. For content courses, you can ask geography or history questions. Or for intermediate learners, say a word and they must say the opposite. Anything works.

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Go Fish Level: Beginner Time: 10-15 minutes Number of Students: 3-6 Aim/Goal: to practice vocabulary and questions in English Objectives: students will be able to Identify vocabulary Ask and answer Do you have? questions Materials: GO FISH cardscan be made with pictures of any vocabulary on playing cards. It works best with about 24 pairs. Pairs of pictures need not be identical as long as they are of the same object (for example, the pair can be two cars but they dont have to be the same make or color). Also, works well with colors. Procedure: Deal five cards to each player in a small group and scatter the rest face down, like fish in a pond, on the table. Players put any pairs they have face up in front of them. The first player chooses another player to ask, Do you have a [clown]? He must ask for a match of a card he has in his hand. If the player has the card asked for she says, Yes, I have a [clown] and gives the first player the card. The first player puts the pair in front of him and can ask another player for a card. If the player does not have the card asked for, she says: No, I dont have a [clown]. Go Fish! The first player then picks a card from the fish pond. His turn is now over and the next player can ask a question. Play continues until all the cards are matched. If a player runs out of cards in his hand, he picks another card from the fish pond and continues playing. The player with the most pairs wins.

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Listening Bingo Level: Beginner Time: 5 minutes for one round Number of Students: Whole class Aim/Goal: to actively listen to English sentences Objectives: students will be able to Listen to English sentences and distinguish certain words Materials: some kind of markers or playing piecesbeans work well Procedure: Have the students make a grid of four squares by four squares or five by five on a piece of paper or in their notebooks. Then write vocabulary words on the board. Choose several more than are needed to fill each box of the grid with one word. Tell the students to choose words they like from the board and write one word in each box of their grid. They will have left over words and thats OK. All the students grids should be different; there is no right order for the words. (This is tricky for beginners the first time you play.) Give each child some kind of markers or playing pieces. Small beans work well although many will inevitably end up on the floor of the room. Begin play by making up sentences with the words on the board. Use one or two words per sentence. Depending on the level of the students, repeat the sentences as necessary. Try to remember what words you have used. Students should listen and when they hear a word they have on their board they should mark it with a bean. They continue listening until they have a full row (four or five depending on the size of their grid) of beans. Then they yell BINGO! The teacher checks the students board to declare him or her the winner. Then all students should clear their board and the game can start again. Play should move quickly with frequent BINGOs.

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Memory Level: Beginner Time: 10-15 minutes Number of Students: 2-6 Aim/Goal: to learn vocabulary Objectives: students will be able to Correctly identify pictures of vocabulary Match vocabulary pictures with the written word in English Materials: small pairs of cards, one half of the pair being a picture of a vocabulary word, the other half being the word written in English. This can be done with any vocabularyanimal vocabulary works especially well. In total, there should be about 18 pairs. Procedure: A small group of students should mix up pairs of cards face down and arrange them in rows, still face down. The first player then turns over two cards. If they are a match (a picture and its word), the player takes the cards and turns two more cards over. If they are not a match, all the players should get a chance to see what and where the cards are and then they are turned face down again. The next player then turns over two cards and play continues until all cards are matched. Students should be encouraged to keep the cards in neat rowseven when cards are removed making holes in the rows all the cards should be left in their original position. This will make it easier to remember cards that have been revealed. The student with the most pairs is the winner.

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My Grandmother Went to the Market Level: Beginner Time: 10-15 minutes Number of students: small groups, around 5 Aim/Goal: to learn vocabulary Objectives: students will be able to Identify vocabulary Materials: pictures/flashcards of vocabulary Procedure: The first student in a small group picks a card with a vocabulary picture on it and says this sentence inserting the English word for their picture at the end: My grandmother went to the market and bought me a [boat]. This is supposed to be a silly sentence (whose grandma really gets them these things?!). The student then puts the picture face up on the table. The next student picks a card and says the sentence with both words at the end: My grandmothera [boat] and a [kite]. He/she then puts the picture face up next to the other picture. The game advances with the list of purchases getting longer and more ridiculous. End the game when you want or the vocabulary cards run out. Variation: To make it harder, stack the used pictures on top of each other. Students must remember what order the vocabulary has been said in. If a student makes a mistake he is out. The game continues until only one player is left.

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Picture Bingo Level: beginner Time: five minutes or less for one round (initial class preparation: 20-50 minutes) Number of Students: whole class Aim/Goal: to identify vocabulary Objectives: students will be able to Identify pictures of vocabulary words Materials: paper and markers or crayons Some kind of markers or playing pieces (beans work well) Procedure: Game Preparation: on a piece of paper, have students make a grid of four squares by four squares or five by five. Write vocabulary words on the board, more than is needed to fill every square in the grid with a word. Vocabulary should be easy to draw (animals work well). Write each vocabulary word on a slip of paper and save them in an envelope. Students should choose vocabulary words to illustrate on their grid. Each square should have one picture. The picture should clearly be a single vocabulary word (no sea creatures that could be a fish or a whale) and they cannot write any English words on the grid. Playing the Game: the teacher picks one slip with a vocabulary word on it from her envelope and says the word to the class. Students look for a picture of the word on their boards. If they have the picture they should mark it with a bean. Play continues until one student has a full row of beans and shouts BINGO! The student should then tell the teacher the vocabulary they have in a row and the teacher can double check to make sure all the words were called before declaring the student the winner. The class then clears their boards and they can play a new game.

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Sorting Vocabulary Level: beginner Time: 10 minutes Number of students: small groups, around 5 Aim/Goal: to learn specific vocabulary Objectives: students will be able to Understand vocabulary Organize vocabulary into categories Materials: household furniture vocabulary written on slips of paper envelopes with rooms of the house written on them Procedure: Students mix up the vocabulary slips. One student chooses a slip. If he/she knows which room the furniture goes in, he puts it in the envelope saying, The bed goes in the bedroom. If he doesnt know, he can ask his classmates for help, Where does the bed go? Students take turns until all slips have been sorted. Variation: This activity can be done with almost any vocabulary. Food sorted into different groups (fruit, vegetables, grains, sweets, milk, meats) works especially well.

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The Name Game Level: intermediate Time: 30 minutes Number of Students: whole class Aim/Goal: to practice describing people Objectives: students will be able to Describe people so that they are identifiable Speak and think quickly Materials: blank slips of paper Procedure: Give the class several minutes to write the names of people they all know on individual slips of paper. Obviously, many of the names will be celebrities but they can also be people in the school or local community or people from history and current events. Put all the slips in a bag and divide the class into two teams. The first student from the first team has 60 seconds to pick a slip of paper from the bag and describe the person. When the team guesses, they should pick another slip so that the team guesses as many as possible within the time limit. Each identity correctly guessed is a point for that team. Then the second team gets a turn. Play continues until all students have had a turn to describe people in the bag. The team with the most points wins.

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Two Truths and a False Level: Intermediate Time: 15-20 minutes Number of Students: groups or as a whole class Aim/Goal: to practice writing sentences about oneself Objectives: students will be able to Differentiate between a true and a false statement Write true and false statements about themselves Recognize a false statement about someone else Materials: none Procedures: Individually, each student should write three sentences about his/herself. The sentences can be about anything or they can have a theme (Christmas, things you did over summer vacation, food). Two of the sentences should be true and one should be false. They can be in any order but dont let the other classmates know which one is false. The false statement should not be too obvious students want to trick their classmates into thinking that the false sentence is true. Students then take turns reading their sentences while the rest of the group or class tries to guess which one is false.

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