Miranda

The Enormous Turnip is a super simple story for children learning English as a second language. Instead of using a book to read from I prefer flashcards as you the (teacher or parent) are free to adapt the language you use according to the abilities of the children.

With storytelling whether I am using a book or flashcards I try to always include some theatrical props to add extra interest and encourage group participation. With the Enormous Turnip I made a little shovel, an envelope full of seeds (rice) and a watering can. I also include mask cut outs which I stick to plastic spoons for the children to hold for role play work.

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You can create a mini role play by simply using props similar to the ones I use in the video and involve children by asking them to sow the seeds and water them instead of yourself. Or , if you have enough children in your class, add to the fun by asking them to interpret the story characters . Give them a mask and tell them in turn to pull the “flashcard”!

I also find a great exercise after I have told the story is get the children to act it out!

1. Play some relaxing music to the children

2. Tell the children to lie on the floor and make themselves as small as possible

3. Tell them that you are the farmer and using the little shovel indicate digging holes around the children

4. Sow the seeds

5. Water the seeds (make some whooshing water sounds)

6. Tell the children to imagine they are tiny turnip seeds growing slowly under the earth

7. Growing bigger and bigger and bigger until they become the most ENORMOUS TURNIPS! (bodies and faces)

Great fun and an interesting way to repeat key vocabulary.

Happy Teaching

Miranda Flynn Legge

To make the monkeys, mummy and doctor I downloaded some drawings from the internet, coloured them in and laminated them. It is a good idea to laminate as the plastic not only protects your characters but also enables you to stick double sided tape to the back so they can then be attached and removed easily from the felt board.

At the end of the lesson I distribute to the class paper monkey finger puppets which the children colour, cut out and stick to their fingers ready to sing the song again all together during the next lesson. The children seem to really enjoy making their own finger puppets and it is a great way to involve and engage children in learning numbers and new vocabulary.

Happy teaching!

Miranda Flynn Legge

Here is an example video of how I introduce simple colour flashcards (with my young Italian students ) with the help of a friendly Witch Puppet who adores munching on the colour red!

In my next post I’ll give you some more ideas on games to play with children using colours and flashcards.

Happy Teaching

Miranda Flynn Legge

Ever find you have an unruly class? Your children don’t seem to be learning much? Try adding some sparkle into your ESL lessons and grab children’s attention by using total physical response activities.

By engaging children physically and emotionally they find it easier to understand language. And by associating movement, song and dance with language children are much more likely to absorb and repeat it naturally.

Try a simple game for Introducing “emotions” or as I call it “funny faces”:

Lets get those faces warmed up…

Ask the children to find a space in front of you standing or sitting and tell them to start giving their faces a good massage , cheeks, forehead, nose, mouth, chin, ears (get the children to repeat the words as you say them).

Now scrunch your faces up to make them as small as possible, open wide, open your mouth, stick your tongues out, wiggle them around, pretend to chew a gum, pretend to chew 10 gums all together, pretend to chew 100 gums!

Make some tongue rolling sounds with a Rrrrrrrrrr. Blow some raspberries.

Now ask the children to copy you and to make appropriate faces that describe each word for example:

happy, surprised, furious, sad, angry, shocked, frightened, sleepy, cold

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Ask the children to be as dramatic and exaggerated as possible. Great fun!

Make up some simple flashcards and ask the children individually to mime an “emotion” flashcard while the other children guess which emotion he is trying to describe. Children love miming games as they also encourage the less extrovert children to participate.

Happy teaching

Miranda

A simple game I play in class to introduce colours

Traffic Light Game

Young children love this game both being the Ferrari and the traffic Light.

Level: beginner

Age group: 3 -5

Can be played in a one to one context

Time: 5 mins

Aims: To introduce and practice colours red, yellow, green and Stop, Be careful, Go

1. Cut out some squares 10x10cm of different coloured paper and use them as flashcards. Elicit the colours red, green and yellow.
2. As you hold up each flashcard and call out the colour ask all the children to run and touch something “red”, “yellow” or green in the room it could be someone’s clothing or an object in the room. Do this a few times until the children are familiar the colours.
3. Explain to the players that when you hold up the red flashcard and call out red the children must stop and freeze!
4. When you hold up the yellow light and call out yellow the players must start hopping
5. When you hold up the green flashcard and call out green the players can run (but no bumping into others!).

Alternative Game: to practice Stop, Be careful, Go

Explain to the children that they are all cars and mime a steering wheel using your hands and beep on the horn. Now hold up the red flashcard and tell the children that when you hold up read and call out stop they have to freeze! When you hold up the yellow light and call out be careful the cars must go very slowly and when you hold up the green flashcard they can drive very fast (but no bumping into others!).

 

Fruity Prepositions with Pippo the Puppet

When introducing prepositions (in, on, under, in front of, behind)  a puppet can be useful and engaging for children.

Fruity Instructions

Bring to class some fruit props (orange, pear, banana, apple, kiwi, etc) children tend to become very excited about real fruit, but plastic fruit is fine and easier to store away for future exercises:-) Place the fruit on your desk or on the floor in a circle where all the children can see it. Use an empty box (puppet size) and give your puppet instructions to carry out.

Example:

“Hello Pippo!”

“Can you show the children a banana, please? Very good Pippo.” (Pippo picks out and holds up the banana for the children to see, get the children to repeat the word and use lots of applause of encouragement both for Pippo and the children)

“Where’s the pear, please Pippo?” (Pippo picks out and holds up the pear for the children to see, and again have the children to repeat the word)

When the children become familiar with the fruit have Pippo select an incorrect fruit and get the children to correct him. Then ask for a volunteer to help Pippo choose the correct fruit. Get the other children to applaud and encourage, if the child is unsure Pippo can always hint:-)

Now give Pippo preposition instructions :

“Pippo can you put the apple on the box/chair please?”

“Pippo can you put the apple in the box/chair please?”

“Pippo can you put the apple under the box/chair please?”

etc

Again as the children become familiar with the prepositions , have Pippo make mistakes and get the children to correct him.

Have a competition between a child and Pippo as to who can be the quickest in putting the banana under the box/chair. The child always wins, of course!

With older children this game works well with one child competing against another but be careful with younger children as they can end up in tears, especially if they don’t win.

A tried and tested lesson that guarantees laughter and group participation even for the shyest of children:-)

Have Fun!

Get children actively involved in English lessons using a little English friend. A great teaching assistant!

Greeting “Peter” and introducing him to your class:

• Hello Peter!
• Good morning Peter!
• Peter, where are you?
• Peter ? there you are!
• How are you today?
• (Ask the children to say hello)

Ask “Peter the Toucan” some general questions:

• What’s this?
• What’s that?
• What’s your favourite food?
• What’s the weather like?
• Where’s your pen?
• Where’s your red bag?
• Which do you prefer – the red or the green?
• Which do you want?
• Why are you happy/sad/tired/angry?

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Puppets are positive creatures that bring about positive responses. They fascinate and engage both children and adults in a special way. Children are willing to suspend belief, and react to a puppet as if it were real. They find it motivating using puppets in “pretend play”  as they stimulate creativity and help develop imagination and vocabulary, preparing them for the real-life situations they will meet later on.Today many parents and teachers also find use for puppets for educational activities to teach children about letters, numbers, people, problem solving and safety issues. As an ESL teacher I use them to enrich storytelling, elicit new vocabulary, sing songs and even introduce classroom rules!

The Three Little Pigs (finger puppet play for young children)

Hello Parents and Teachers .I wrote this extra simple mini play for a class of 4-8 year old Italian students. I tried to make it very short, simple and comprehensive for both children learning English as a second language or very young children who are still unable to memorize long pieces of dialogue. I also used finger puppets and got the children to make simple prop houses made out of cardboard, sticks and straw. I hope you find this post useful and I would love to hear any feedback

2- 10 Characters

1-4 Narrators

Mummy pig

Timmy pig

Tommy pig

Jimmy Pig

Wolf

Brick/Hay/Stick man

SCENE 1

Mother pig’s kitchen

Narrator A Mummy Pig has three baby pigs called Timmy, Tommy and Jimmy… AND JIMMY!

Timmy likes singing

Tommy likes fishing

Jimmy likes sleeping

Mummy pig You are too pig for my little house. You must build your own houses

Timmy pig /Tommy pig Goodbye Mummy 

Jimmy Pig /Timmy pig Wake up Jimmy!  

Tommy pig Jimmy Pig Goodbye Mummy!

Mummy pig Goodbye little pigs. Be careful of the big bad wolf. He’ll eat you!

SCENE 2

Along the road

Narrator 2 Tom meets a man

Man Hello Timmy Pig do you want some straw?

Timmy Pig Yes please! I want to build a house. Thank you! 

Narrator 2 Tommy meets a man

Man Hello Tommy Pig do you want some sticks?

Tommy Pig Yes please! I want to build a house. Thank you!

Narrator 2 Jimmy meets a man

Man Hello Jimmy Pig do you want some bricks?

Jimmy Pig Yes please! I want to build a house. Thank you!

Timmy pig This is my new house

Tommy pig This is my new house 

Jimmy Pig This is my new house

SCENE 3

Timmy’s house

Narrator 3 Oh no…here comes Mr Wolf

Wolf I’m hungry, I’m very very hungry grrrhhhh !

I smell pigs , yummy yummy

Wolf I’m hungry, I’m very very hungry grrrhhhh !

Little pig , little pig, let me come in

Timmy pig No, no no Mr Wolf! Go away go away !

Wolf Huff, puff, huff, puff ,huff, puff,

Ha Ha Ha!

SCENE 4

Tommy’s house

Narrator 3 The wolf comes to the stick house

Wolf I’m hungry, I’m very very hungry grrrhhhh !

Little pigs , little pigs, let me come in

Timmy pig /Tommy pig No, no no Mr Wolf! Go away go away !

Wolf Huff, puff, huff, puff ,huff, puff,

Ha Ha Ha!

SCENE 5

Jimmy’s house

Narrator 3 The wolf comes to the brick house

Wolf I’m hungry, I’m very very hungry grrrhhhh !

Little pigs , little pigs, let me come in

Timmy pig /Tommy pig / Jimmy Pig No, no no Mr Wolf! Go away go away !

Wolf Huff, puff, huff, puff ,huff, puff,

Ahhhh, I’m tired!

Narrator 4 The pigs put a big pot of boiling water on the stove

Timmy pig /Tommy pig/Jimmy Pig  Mr Wolf, we are ready now! 

Narrator 4 The wolf slides down the chimney and falls into the big pot of boiling water

Narrator 4 Timmy, Tommy and Jimmy live together in Harry’s house and are very happy.

THE END