TPR (Total Physical Response) games such as Simon Says and songs like Head, Shoulders, Knees and

Toes are a big hit with children (who enjoy them) and teachers (who think theyre an effective teaching tool). hildren also enjoy hearing and acting out stories and teacher like the conte!tualised chunks of language they contain. "ction stories# as the name implies# are a combination of the TPR and stories and are great techni$ue for getting children to memorise substantial chunks of useful language. Action stories should %e easy to mime %e stories with a beginning a middle and an end %e &'() lines long ontain high'fre$uency verb phrases and other chunks of language Advantages of using action stories Theyre fun and motivating* They activate auditory# visual and kinaesthetic learners Theyre easy for children to memorise They help children learn whole chunks of language at a time Teachers can easily write them so they include the language areas they are working on Example action story +ads shoes +ad is looking for his shoes. ,e looks under the bed. ,e looks behind the curtains. ,e looks in the cupboard. ,e looks in the bathroom. -ou are in front of the washing machine. Take out +ads shoes. .,ere you are#/ you say# .they are clean now./ (+o and 0nderstand 1 2erngross 3 Puchta# 4ongman) Teaching sequence (. %efore you start teaching the action story you will need to pre'teach any unfamiliar le!is. ). The teacher tells the story and does the actions. The children listen and watch. 5. The teacher tells the story and does the actions. The children listen and do the actions. 6. The teacher tells the story but doesnt do the actions. The children listen and do the actions. 7. The teacher tells the lines of the story in a jumbled order. The children listen and do the actions. &. The children tell the story and do the actions. 8. The children do a reading or writing task. Revisiting the action story 9n subse$uent classes you might like to: (. ;ake a video of the children doing the action story ). ;ake a cartoon strip of the action story 5. hange<;odify the story 6. 2et the children to perform the story in groups and award points<pri=es for the best ones. Reading/Writing tasks The difficulty of the reading or writing task you set will depend on the childrens age and proficiency in >nglish. The e!ample tasks on the ne!t page are in order of difficulty# with the easiest first and the hardest last.

P.T.?.

a) b) c) d) e) f) g) h)

Task ( ' Put the sentences in the right order ,e looks in the bathroom. ,e looks under the bed. -ou are in front of the washing machine. ,e looks behind the curtains. .,ere you are#/ you say# .they are clean now./ ,e looks in the cupboard. +ad is looking for his shoes. Take out +ads shoes. Task ) 1 @ind the second half of each sentence +ad is looking under a. the bed ,e looks under b. +ads shoes ,e looks behind c. the cupboard ,e looks in d. .they are clean now/ ,e looks in e. in the bathroom -ou are in front of f. for his shoes Take out g. the curtains .,ere you are#/ you say h. the washing machine Task 6 1 Put the words in the right order shoes. is looking +ad for his ,e bed. looks the under looks the ,e curtains. behind the looks in cupboard. ,e in the ,e looks bathroom. machine. washing the of front in are -ou +ads out shoes. Take .,ere are you#/ say you# .clean they are now./

(. ). 5. 6. 7. &. 8. A.

Task 5 1 orrect the mistakes +ad is looking for his watch. ,e looks under the table. ,e looks opposite the curtains. ,e sleeps in the cupboard. ,e looks in the bedroom. -ou are in front of the cooking machine. 4ook out +ads shoes. .,ere you are#/ you say# .they are happy now./ Task 7 1 write the missing words +ad is looking BBBB his shoes ,e looks BBBBBB the bed ,e looks BBBBBBBB the curtains ,e looks BBB the cupboard ,e looks BBB the bathroom -ou are BBB BBBBBB BBB the washing machine. Take BBBBB +ads shoes. ,ere you are#/ you say# .they are BBBBBBB now./ Task & 1 Crite the story +B B iB lB B B B B B fB B hB B sB B B B. ,B lB B B B uB B B B tB B bB B. ,B lB B B B bB B B B B tB B cB B B B B B B. ,B lB B B B iB tB B cB B B B B B B. ,B lB B B B iB tB B bB B B B B B B. -B B aB B iB fB B B B oB tB B wB B B B B B mB B B B B B. TB B B oB B +B BB sB B B B. .,B B B yB B aB B#/ yB B sB B# .tB B B aB B cB B B B nB B./

(. ). 5. 6. 7. &. 8. A.

(. ). 5. 6. 7. &. 8. A.

(. ). 5. 6. 7. &. 8. A.

(. ). 5. 6. 7. &. 8. A.

More Action tories

Dilence +ont shout +ont stamp your feet +ont talk to your friends +ont clap your hands +ont play %e $uiet* ;ystery animal 9ts got a long tail 9ts got wings 9ts got four legs 9ts got a trunk 9ts got fur 9ts got an enormous head 9ts a monster -es# we can* Ce can swim Ce can touch our toes Ce can ride a bike Ce can speak >nglish Ce can do sums Ce can use a computer %ut we cant fly ,ome 2et home from school Take off your jacket Play with your little brother ,ave a snack +o your homework Turn on the TE Catch a cartoon 2o to sleep on the sofa %usy day Cere climbing a tree Cere throwing a @risbee Cere laughing with our friends Cere kicking a ball Cere playing hide and seek Cere hot and tired Cere drinking water "hhhhh* %ad tummy -oure hungry >at an apple >at a banana >at some spaghetti >at some pi==a +rink a milkshake -ouve got a bad tummy 2etting ready Turn off the alarm clock 2et out of bed Put on your t'shirt Put on your shorts Put on your socks Put on your trainers Put on your cycle helmet ?pen the door Dhout .?h# no*/ (Foin 9n ( 1 2erngross 3 Puchta# 0P)

9ce'cream 9ts hot Put your towel and flip'flops in a bag +rive to the beach Put your towel on the sand Take off your shorts and t'shirt Put on your flip'flops Calk to the sea Fump in* %rrrr* 9ts cold The apple tree >at an apple Geep the pips Take a yoghurt pot @ill it with soil Plant the pips in the soil Cater it 4ook after it day after day %e patient 9t grows into a little apple tree The bee -oure reading a book " bee lands on your book -ou jump up -ou climb on the wardrobe -ou look behind the curtains The bee is on your nose (+o and 0nderstand 1 2erngross 3 Puchta# 4ongman) ,omework Take off your coat Dit down at your desk 4isten to your teacher ?pen your schoolbag Take out your activity book Turn to page (6 ?h no* The homework was page (6 and youve done page 6H* %roken window Cere playing in the park 9 kick the ball hard 9t flies through the air rash* ?h no* 9ts broken a window* The neighbour comes out of his house. ,e looks really angry. Ce run away fast Ce climb a tree Ce hide in the branches

The cowboy Put on your boots and your cowboy hats 2et on your horse 2o for a ride -oure tired Dtop your horse 2et off Dit down on the ground ?uch* -ouve sat on a cactus (Foin 9n 5 1 2erngross 3 Puchta# 0P) The supermarket 2o into the supermarket Put a coin in the trolley Push the trolley around the supermarket -oure hungry Put some crisps in it Put some ice'cream in it Run to the checkout ?h no* -ou havent got any money* The dream -oure swimming in the sea -ou see a shark -ou swim $uickly to the beach -ou walk along the beach " bird lands on your shoulder I ome with me it says -ou fly through the air with the bird Duddenly# youre falling -ou wake up from the dream The present 9ts hristmas morning Take your the first present Dhake it 0nwrap it 9ts a bowl Take your second present D$uee=e it 0nwrap it 9ts a rubber ball " bowl and a ball 1 how strange* -our +ad brings in your third present 9ts a puppy*

Alistair Jones - February 2012 alistair@cambridgeschool.com Cambridge School, Valls Oriental