Learning English Using Stories

OT4 Story-based Activities

Name of student: Laura Yovkova Enev

Name of the Story: A Hole in the Bottom of the Sea

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1Qn2bcZRTo
Target Students: (underline)
EI (3 to 6 y.o) CI (6 to 8 y.o) CM (8 to 10 y.o) CS (10 to 12 y.o)

Pre- While After

- Project
- Who lives under the sea?
(Introduction to different sea
creatures by using flashcards
to work on vocabulary or
grammar.
- Drawing pictures of different
sea creatures and learning
their names.
- Learn about the effects of ocean
pollution on sea life (awareness
activity about nature and our
planet).
- Find out how the food chain works
under the sea (Science/Social
studies).
- Under the sea roleplay (mini
theatre).
- Learn the song from the YouTube
video and sing it.
- Research extinction of different sea
creatures.
- Discover the ocean ecosystem
- Project
- Oral presentations about
different sea creatures.
- Creating a giant mural
(arts & crafts) to be hung
in the school’s hallway or
classroom (awareness
about animal extinction
and pollution.
- Present the mini theatre
role play to the smaller
children in P3-P5.
 Learning English Using Stories

Project: Sea Creatures

I have chosen the song “A hole in the bottom of the sea”. It has
a very catchy tune and it introduces an interesting topic: sea life. The
project surrounding the song is called “Sea creatures”. This project is
for children from 6 to 8 years of age. Some of the activities proposed
will touch on different subjects such as music, art, science or social
studies and English.

One of the first activities proposed is to introduce the children

to as many sea creatures as possible. To begin the first activity, I
would ask the children if they know of any sea creatures and their
names. I would then write them all on the blackboard. Afterwards, I
would ask them if they know some of the ones mentioned in the song
such as: the eel, squid, shark, crab, snail, and weed. To help the kids
remember them, I would use flashcards or posters. During this
activity we can also work on vocabulary by using crossword puzzles,
word jumbles or word searches. I would also ask the students to draw
one of their favourite sea creatures. We can also use arts & crafts
materials to create them (lots of ideas on Pinterest).

Once the song has been played, there are many activities that
can be done in the classroom. One of them includes researching the
internet on how the food chain works under the sea, which creatures
feed on the others, etc. This is an activity that would probably take up
a few sessions. The classroom would be divided into small groups of
3-4 students and each group could do research on one or more sea
creatures. Another activity is to find out how pollution and
contamination affects sea life. This is another activity that would last
a couple of sessions. The teacher can bring different materials and
objects from home such as plastic bottles, cans of coca cola, plastic
bags, cups, etc. and ask the students to investigate how all these
 Learning English Using Stories

things have a negative impact on sea creatures and the environment.

Another activity is to do a role play on “save our planet”. The class
would be divided into two groups: one would be the sea creatures and
the other the humans polluting. The teacher can give the students a
script that they would have to either learn (doesn’t have to be
memorized word by word). The students can bring props from home
or make them during Arts class.

For the final activity, the students can do oral presentations and
talk about the sea creatures they’ve researched. Another activity
could be to create a giant mural of the sea and its creatures. The
mural could be split into two parts: polluted and unpolluted sea life.
The mural could be hung up in the school’s hallway to raise
awareness about pollution, the environment and our planet. Finally,
another activity could be to present the roleplay or mini theatre act to
the smaller children in the other classes (P3-P5).

(word count: 498)