Higher Colleges of Technology Fujairah Women College English division

Engaging Activities for Primary Students Vol. 1

Done by: Fatima Ali Thuriya Harib

Fun Games for Primary Students

1. ID GAME Attach a picture or name of a famous person to the back of each student. The students then walk around the class asking each other yes/no questions (e.g. Is it a man? Is he American? Is he a sportsman? etc.) They can ask only one question to each student at a time until they have enough information to guess correctly who their person is.

2. A Day in the Life of Put word or picture prompts on the board such as get up time? Breakfast food? Drink? Get to school how? How long? Etc One volunteer student sits at the front of the class and other students find out about his/her day by asking yes/no questions. They cannot move on to the next question until a positive answer is received. For example, Did you get up at 7.00? No. Did you get up at 7.30? No. Did you get up at 7.45? Yes. Did you eat cornflakes for breakfast? Etc. This can be adapted to present questions by asking about the students daily routine. This can then be followed up by repeating the same procedure in pairs. The students can then report their findings to another student. Thus drilling the past simple or present simple depending on which was used in the original activity.

3. Family Tree this activity is primarily to drill the genitive s and also practices the vocabulary of family relationships. It is very easy to prepare, simply draw or find a typical family tree, EFL resource books are full of them (the one I use is from 1000+ Pictures A. Wright, Nelson), with 3 generations represented. Out an enlarged copy on the board or give a copy to each student (or put it on the OHP). Teacher asks, Who is John? The students take turns relating Johns relationship to every other member of the family. For example Hes Barbaras son. Hes Nancys brother etc. 4. Questionnaires Questionnaires in various forms are perfect for drilling just about any language and are very easy to compile (and EFL resource books are full of them). The initial filling in of the questionnaire obviously drills question forms and the reporting back drills the positive and negative forms of whatever structure you choose. Heres an example for drilling the present perfect and past simple: Compile a questionnaire with at least 10 questions such as: Have you ever been to America? When? Where? Have you ever been in a helicopter? When? Where? Have you ever met anyone famous? Who? When? Have you ever been to a language school before? Where? When? This can be done in pairs. When the students have completed the questionnaire they report their findings to another student. As a follow up students write a biography of his/her partner.

5. Find Someone Who (FSW) Like questionnaires FSWs can drill any kind of language and can be easily prepared in just a few minutes. Prepare about 10 sentences. Here are a couple of examples for drilling present continuous for the future and can respectively: Find someone who ... ... is going away for the weekend ... is meeting friends tonight is eating in a restaurant later is changing his/her job in the near future

Find someone who.. cannot swim can speak more than 2 languages can read music can touch his/her nose with his/her tongue You can compile a personalized FSW from the information collected from the questionnaire in the previous section. For example: Find some who went to Florida last year to learn English. Personally, I love using FSWs and find them extremely useful. For example I use one on the first day as a getting-to-know-you activity. I compile very general questions such as Find someone

who needs English for their job / is married / thinks every mistake should be corrected / has been on a language course before, etc. Its a subtle way for everyone to learn each others name and get a little information and, by joining in yourself, you can get an idea of what these students expect from the course and expel the idea of teacher-at-the-front-lecturing that many students bring to the class.

6. Video Clips Running Commentary Here is an idea for drilling the present continuous. Choose a short video clip with plenty of activity and no dialogue. Mr Bean is perfect for this. Put students into pairs facing each other, one facing the screen and the other with his/her back to the screen. The students facing the screen relate what is happening on the video to their partners. After a while change the pairs around. The commentary will go something like this, Hes taking out a loaf of bread; he is cutting slices from it with a pair of scissors; he is trimming the ends with the scissors; he is putting the slices on his lap, etc. There is a genuine information gap here and in my experience the students get very animated during this activity and have a lot of fun.

7. Tick tack toe

Title: Tic tack toe game Unite: My home Language skills: Speaking Grade level: Three

Learning style: Visual Interaction pattern: In pairs Objective: Students will be able to identify the different rooms at home. Students will be able to tell some actions that they do in the different rooms

Target language: The action, the rooms name. For example, I watch TV in the living room Description: The object is to take turns for describing each picture by mentioning the name of the room and the action. This game should be played in pair and each student should choose one shape X or O. Then the students should label the picture correctly in order to put the shape that they have chosen, so the winner who creates a line of three crosses vertically, horizontally or diagonally.

Appendix 1 - Tic tack toe game

8. Order and describe

Title: Order and describe Unite: Lets Eat Language skills: Reading and writing Grade level: Four Learning style: Visual and verbal Interaction pattern: Individually Objective: To be able to identify some types of food To be able to tell time

Target language: Time, characters name or types of food. For example, at seven oclock Alice eats an apple, two pieces of slice and some cheese Description: Basically, this activity based on telling a story where the students should put the pictures of the storys events in the correct order by cut them up. Then they have to write a sentence underneath each picture by labeling the time and types of food which gives brief description. Instructions Procedure (for teachers) 1. After telling the story, give out a copy of some the storys events to each student 2. Ask the students to cut up the pictures and stick them in the correct order as they heard from the story 3. Ask the students to decide upon a time for each picture and draw the hands on the clocks 4. Finally, tell the students to write one sentence for each picture by labeling the time or types of food

Appendix 1: The story

The food that I eat

Alice is a good girl that she likes to eat healthy foods. She always gets up early at five oclock. Then she takes a shower and wears her schools uniform.

At six oclock, Alice takes some cheese and butter out of the fridge to make her breakfast.

At quarter past six, she has her breakfast. And she eats one piece of slice, some butter, cheese and an apple.

At half past six, Alice prepares her lunch box and she puts juice, sandwich and one apple.

At seven oclock, she comes to the school.

At quarter to twelve, Alice eats sandwich and juice for lunch.

At four oclock, she does her homework.

At half past seven, she eats fish, two pieces of bread, soup and juice for dinner.

Appendix 2 - The activity

9. Alphabet Hopscotch

Title: Alphabet Hopscotch Unite: My Clothes Language skills: Speaking Grade level: One Learning style: Physical Interaction pattern: Individually Objective: Students will be able to recall letter names Students will be able to list some words.

Target language: The letter, name the picture that begins with the letter. For example, a for apple. Description: The materials are big blocks to make the hopscotch and small stone that will stay on the squares when thrown and adding some pictures of vocabulary beginning with the same letters in each square. In class, line the children up, so they can face the hopscotch grid and the first child who throws the small stone on a letter should hops on that letter, then picks up the small stone carefully, says the letter in that square and names the object in one of the pictures. After that continue to the end, turn, and hop back to the start. When the child hops on each letter, the class should sing the letter names.

Appendix 1

10. Classifying Pictures

Title: Classify pictures Unite: On the play ground Language skills: Speaking Grade level: Three Learning style: Visual Interaction pattern: Groups Objective: To be able to name playgrounds objects To be able to use there are and there is

Target language: There is /there are, number of the object and the its name. For example, there is one slide Description: Classifying pictures requires a poster that includes two categories there is & there are and sets of singular and plural pictures that represent the objects of the playground. The learners should classify each picture in the right category based on the right usage of there is and there are.

11. Number, color, shape Cards Game

Title: Number, color, shape Cards Game Unite: On the play ground Language skills: Speaking and reading Grade level: Two Learning style: Visual or solitary Interaction pattern: Group work or individual Objective: To be able to identify and name the basic geometrical shapes To be able to make sentence by using the name of the shapes and the colors

Target language: Numbers, color and shape. For example seven blue diamonds Description: The game could be played in groups each player is required to pick up one of the cards that present different shapes with different colors and before turning it to check for accuracy the player should try to come up with sentence such as seven blue diamonds by using the numbers and color of shapes.

12. Spell It Again!

Title: Spell It Again! Unite: Health and Safety Language skills: Writing and reading Grade level: Five Learning style: Verbal and solitary Interaction pattern: Individually Objective: Students will be able to write the words. Students will be able to recognize the syllable of the words.

Target language: accident, ambulance, headache, helmet, riding and sick Rationale As individually, each student will have a small bored that contains four gaps with a slide that presents some pictures. The learners have to use these pictures to write the words, and there will be small index cards that the students have to use them to write the words. The pictures slide contains more than four pictures, if the student wants to get a chance and write more words she/he just has to drag the slide to change the picture and then write the word.

13. Sentence Flap Books

Title: Sentence Flap Books Unite: Animal Homes Language skills: Reading Grade level: Five Learning style: Verbal and social Interaction pattern: In pairs Objective: Students will be aware of the sentence structure. Students will be able to understand the right format of making sentences.

Target language: The animal name, the action that can do. The action that cant do. For example, The kangaroo can jump. It cant crawl. Description: In pairs, the students will have a flap book that contains three flaps per page. First, the teacher is going to dictate new sentence, then the student have to find that sentence by opening different flaps and show it to her. After that, the students should invent their own sentences with their partners by using right structure.