Teaching tip:Using activities with young learners

Make them as personalised as possible.

Make it competitive-they love the games!
They love to mimic so role plays are a must!-modelling your one that you have
created and theirs-make it a performance!
Activities need to be simple so watch your meta language and use clear instructions
when you plan the task.
All activities need to demonstrate a clear aim and be supportive of the overall
learning outcomes and success criteria of the lesson and/or block of lessons.
Try to weight each lesson with a high proportion of oral practice balanced with
some writing depending on age and ability.
Children love cutting and sticking so get the scissors, glue out and enjoy yourselves!

Pelmanism

Aim:

to give practice in reading definitions

Organisation:

small groups

Materials needed:

sets of pictures and corresponding words or definitions on card (1 set

per group of 3-4 children)

1. Make up sets of cards, where one set of cards has pictures and the other the corresponding
words or definitions. You can use the pictures from the picture bank. You will need one of
these sets for each 3-4 children in your class. It is a good idea to use different coloured
card for the words/definitions and for the pictures. This makes it easier to distinguish which
are the pictures and which are the words/definitions.
2. Put the children into groups of three or four and give out the sets of cards.
3. All the cards should be face down. One child turns up one picture card and one definition
card. The aim is to find a picture which matches a word or definition.
4. If the child cannot match the cards, the cards are turned over again.
5. Another child tries to do the same, trying to remember where the first child's cards were,
etc.

6. When a pair is found, the child keeps them and has another go.

Testing the kids vocabulary built up

Here is an idea to see how many words the kids actually know. You can use them
thematically. As in the Cambridge vocabulary list for each level.
1. It is a game played in pairs or more.

For the Starters level:

Write on the board 6 to 8 letters.
Ask the kids to make up a word that starts with that letter.
EX: s
d
t
m
n
k
l
r
sSad
dDog
ttime
and so on
For the Movers and Flyers level:
As the kids level goes higher, I will ask them to make more elaborate words.
I will set up points and rules for the game EX:
Not allowed to make words with 3 letters
4 letters 3 points
5 letters 4 points
6 letters 5 points etc
2. There is another way to play this game.

You give 7 consonants and 4 vowels and ask them to make words within these letters. They
are not allowed to use the letters twice.
Ex:
w
r
m
d
l
k
t
(a
e
o
u)
Word world
market
date late
made etc
3. The third way is to make a longer word with ten or to fifteen letters but
you have to unscramble it. They either have to find it or make up a word
out of these words.

EX: my word is neighborhood

Hhgrooodenibtma
If the kids find it, that is great. If they dont, they will at least make other words
Like bathroom, garden, habit, bath, groom etc.
Let me know if it worked for you.

Teaching Grammar to Young Learners

This is a list of ideas of ways to present grammar to young learners. Some may be suitable
for different age groups or levels.

Use a target structure when telling a story. Get children to add to the story by
creating other sentences using the same structure.

Mini dictations where children draw what you describe and highlight one particular
structure such as present continuous, prepositions, adjectives, etc. Extend this by
giving the children other scenes and asking them to make up sentences like yours.

Large picture posters used with true/false statements, questions, instructions, small
objects to place in the correct location, etc.

The children draw a picture on the board / paper, each contributing one element to
the picture, and then together the class creates a story about it. This story can then
be manipulated (change the person or gender; change the tense, add adjectives
etc.)

Give instructions which involve a physical response (run, jump, sing) and add
adverbs (quickly, loudly, happily). Students give each other similar instructions.

Bring in objects for children to describe to each other, or to feel / smell / taste and
describe. Do the same with sounds or music.

Organise classroom surveys about habits, routines, leisure activities, school

activities, holidays, etc. Children describe each other using the information they've
gathered, for example by producing bar charts, writing a mini-profile or giving a
mini-presentation.

Set up situations for children to act out, using props, dressing-up clothes, etc.
Encourage children to learn the dialogue.

Play repetition games like 'I went to market and I bought'.

Use rhymes and songs which repeat the same structure again and again. Repeat
them until the children have learnt them off by heart. Jazz chants are a good
example of this.

Describe a poster, but make deliberate mistakes which your students have to correct.
Gradually encourage them to correct you with a complete sentence.

LOOK AT THE PICTURE AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS:

1) How many pupils are there in the computer room?
........................................................................................................
2) Are they learning biology or surfing the Internet?
........................................................................................................
3) Where are the pupils? (picture 2)
........................................................................................................
4) What are they doing?
........................................................................................................
5) Whats the time?
........................................................................................................
6) Whats in the bookcases? (picture 3)
........................................................................................................
7) Whats the boy in the sofa doing?
........................................................................................................
8) What are the pupils doing? (picture 4)
........................................................................................................
9) What has Miss Brown got in her left hand? (the teacher at the door)
........................................................................................................
MAKE UP SENTENCES:
1) canteen are children in the the. (picture 5)
........................................................................................................
2) lunch they having are. (picture 5)
........................................................................................................
3) school - go they to bus by.
........................................................................................................
4) football play at they school.
........................................................................................................
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5) subject favourite my art is.

........................................................................................................
6) laptop has one a girl.
........................................................................................................
7) not children library are the in quiet the.
........................................................................................................
8) flowers painting Molly is.
........................................................................................................
9) starts at exam the 2.00.
........................................................................................................
Kim's Game

Aim:

to revise vocabulary

Organisation:

whole class

Materials needed:

objects or pictures and large table cloth

1. Collect pictures or, if possible, use real objects of nouns you want to revise.
2. Put the objects or pictures on a table in front of the class. Make sure the children know the
words for all the objects. Tell them to look at the objects for one minute and try to remember
all of them.
3. Cover the objects with a table cloth and get the children to close their eyes. Take away one
or two things and put them where the children can't see them.
4. Tell the children to open their eyes and then take away the table cloth.
5. Ask the children to tell you what has been removed.
6. You can gradually take nearly everything away and see if they can name all the objects that
are missing.
Variation
After step 2, students work in twos to write a list of as many objects as they can remember.

Draw my Monster

Aim:

to give practice in following instructions and revising vocabulary

Relevance to YLE:

colouring-in tasks, Starters and Movers Listening Part 5

Materials needed:

paper and coloured pens

1. Tell the children they are going to draw a monster. They will need paper and coloured pens.
2. Give instructions about what to draw and what colour it is. You should draw a picture of the
monster as well. The children listen to the instructions and do their own drawings. You can
find sample instructions for Starters and Movers below.
3. Check that they have completed the task correctly by showing them your version and they
show everyone else theirs.
4. As an extension, ask the children to draw their own monster. Then they write sentences to
describe it.
5. Once they have done this put them in pairs. They dictate their own monster to another
child.

6. Reverse the roles and they can compare their drawings.

Starters Monster
The monster has a big, green body. It has four long, yellow arms and three short, yellow legs. It has
a small head with six blue eyes and its hair is pink.
Movers Monster
The monster has a round, yellow body. It has six long, thin arms and four fat legs. It has a big,
green head with curly blue hair. It has a mouth and in it there are five red teeth.

Developing Writing Skills

Young learners need to develop their reading skills and ability to recognise words before they can
begin to work on writing skills. The motor skills for writing are still being developed in very young
learners, so plenty of copying is a good way to begin. Young learners enjoy experimenting with
writing and having opportunities to practise.
Copying
Copying is a useful skill, and young learners need to be trained to copy correctly. You will need to
give the younger learner plenty of time to copy. Monitor them carefully, to see that they are doing it
correctly; provide guidance by showing them how to spell words correctly or telling them how well
they are doing. This is important because it will motivate them and give them confidence.
Writing Activities

To help with letter formation skills, use body spelling (where children 'write' with their fingers
on each others' backs) or air spelling (where they 'write' in the air with their arms)

Give your students short gapped sentences, which they have to complete with numbers,
such as:

A dog has ________ legs.

(4)

I've got _______ head.

(1)

or pictures, such as:

________.

I've got a

Ask questions about short texts, with answers that only have to be copied from the text,
e.g.:
Maria lives in London. She goes to school every day at half past six and then goes home at
twelve o'clock.
Where does Maria live?
What time does she go to school?

Do short warmer activities at the beginning of class by writing anagrams of words they
know on the board.

Another warmer is to give mini-dictations of individual words. You could do this in teams
and have a running race to see which group can write the words correctly on the board first.

Use words on flash cards to develop copying skills. Put the cards face down and each pair
turns over a card, copies the word, and then moves on to another word until they finish.

Set up a word gallery on the wall. The children go round the classroom copying down all the
words they can in a given time limit. Then take the words down from the wall see who
copied the most words correctly.

Make 'Spelling Cards' with your class. The children draw a picture to represent a word and
draw blanks to indicate the number of letters, giving the first letter to help the others. Swap

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cards, and students in pairs write their answers in their notebooks. The right answer is on
the other side of the card so they can self-correct.

H---B-------

At higher levels, use visuals from the Sample Papers booklet, or other similar pictures, to
get the children describing pictures.

Name: _______________________________________
Date: __________
Exercise One
This timetable shows what has Jamie done the previous week.
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Use the timetable shown to answer the questions that follow by using Past Simple.

noo
n

Englis
h test
at
school

Have
lunch
with
Jess

Play
football
with
classmat
es

nig
ht

Cinem
a with
friend
s
Questions:

Sunda
y

Dance
lesson
in town
Go to
a
birthda
y party

1) What did Jamie do on Wednesday?

2) Where did he go on Friday?
3) Where did he go on Monday night?
4) Who did he have lunch with on Tuesday?

5) What test did he have on Monday?

6) Did he have a karate lesson on Saturday?

7) Did he do anything on Thursday and Sunday?

Exercise two:
Find nine parts of the body in this word square and then write them down

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__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

Exercise three:
Complete by using the verb to be in the correct form. Negative or
affirmative.
1) Michael Jackson _______ a singer. ()
2) I _____ _____ teacher. (x)
3) Bill Clinton _____ _____ from Italy. (x)
4) What _____ your name? ()
5) Spain _____ in Europe. (x)
6) ______ you from Spain? Yes, i am. ()
7) Tony Blair and Paul McCartney _____ British. ()
8) How old _____ your sister? ()
9) She _____ _____ a nurse, she ______ a doctor.
10)Demi Moore and Sharon Stone _____ actresses. ()
Exercise four:
Put the verbs in brackets in the correct form.
1)

My friend Cathy _has got__ (have got) a horse. It ______ (be) a beautiful

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animal with big eyes and a long tail. Its name is Bella and it _________ (love). It
_____________ (not bite) people. It __________ (eat) apples and hay, but it
_____________ (not eat) meat. Cathy ____________ (ride) her horse every day
after school. The horse __________ (sleep) in the barn at night. Cathy
___________ (love) her horse and ____________ (take) care of it.

2)

Yesterday I __got up____ (get up) at 7:00. I ____________ (wash) my face

and I ____________ (put on) my clothes. Then, I ___________ (drink) a glass of

milk and I __________ (eat) a sandwich. After that, I __________ (go) to school. In
the afternoon I __________ (do) my homework and I __________ (play) basketball
with my friends. After dinner, I ___________ (watch) TV and I _________ (go) to
bed at 9:00.
Exercise five:
Sum up and then write them down:
a) 1+3= ___ ____________________
b) 7+2= ___ ____________________
c) 4 2= ___ ___________________
d) 3 3= ___ ___________________
e) 13 6= ___ __________________
f) 2 x 3= ____ __________________
g) 62= ___ ____________________
h) 4x2= ___ ____________________

Exercise six:
Can / Can't / Could / Couldn't: circle the correct choice

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1. I never learned how to swim, so I ____ swim very well.

a. can b. cant c. could d. couldnt
2. I __________ speak Swedish, but maybe Ill learn someday.
a. can b. cant c. could d. couldnt
3. A cat ________ climb trees.
a. can b. cant c. could d. couldnt
4. Elephants _________ climb trees
a. can b. cant c. could d. couldnt
5. When I was a child, I ___________ drive a car.
a. can b. cant c. could d. couldnt
6. In 1800, nobody _____ travel into space yet.
a. can b. cant c. could d. couldnt
7. When I was a baby, I _____ sleep all day long.
a. can b. cant c. could d. couldnt
8. Now that I'm an adult, I ___ sleep all day. I have to work.
a. can b. cant c. could d. couldnt

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Answer key:

X
M
X
Z
Z
X
H
Z

N
O
S
E
Z
X
E
X

X
U
X
Z
X
Z
A
X

Z
T
X
H
A
N
D
Z

X
H
Z
X
Z
Z
Z
F

L
E
G
E
X
E
X
O

Z
X
Z
A
Z
Y
X
O

A
R
M
R
X
E
X
T

Ex. 3
1. Is
2. Am not
3. Is not
4. Is
5. Is
6. Are
7. Are
8. Is
9. Is not, is
10. Are
Ex.4

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