Basics simple writing activities

starting-:i: Responding to a text-The learners are given a text to read beforethey write, for example a poem or a letter.. Survey and report-In this technique the writing task is precede

Jill Hadfield

There is a formidable range of materials published worldwide forteachers of English as a Foreign Language However, many ofthese materials, especially those published in English-speakingcountries, assume that teachers using them will be working withsmallish classes and have abundant resources available to them.Also many, if not most, of these materials make implicit

culturally-biased assumptions about the beliefs and values of theteachers and learners

This situation is ironic in view of the fact that the vast majority ofEnglish as a Foreign Language classrooms do not correspond at all

to these conditions Tlpically, classes are large, resources arelimited, and teachers have very few opportunities for training andprofessional development Also, the cultural assumptions ofteachers and learners in many parts of the world may vary quitesignificantly from those of materials writers and publishers.This book is an attempt to address this situation The authorspresent thirty lessons at elementary level, each with the samemethodological framework The lessons are explained in clear,accessible language, and none of them require sophisticatedresources Instead, they call on the basic human resources whichall teachers and learners bring with them to class The languagepoints covered are ones found in a typical elementary course, andthe topics are those which form part of everybody's daily lives, forexample, families, homes, and leisure activities

Most importantly, however, the book offers a framework forteachers who lack training and support The hope and the

expectation is that such teachers will begin by following each step

of a lesson quite closely, but, as their confidence increases, willadapt and add to the techniques presented here, responding to theparticular needs and abilities of their learners

This is an important book: one of the few attempts to address theproblems of the'silent majority' of teachers worldwide who havelittle or no training, and few resources to work with

A L A N M A L E Y

Assumption University

Bangkok, Thailand

English is taught all over the world, by all sorts of teachers to allsorts of learners Schools and classrooms vary enormously in theirwealth and their provision of equipment Learners are very

different from place to place But, whatever the conditions inwhich you are working, there is one resource which is universaland unlimited: the human mind and imagination This is

probably the single most valuable teaching and learning resource

we have Nothing can replace it In even the most'hi-tech'

environment, a lack of imagination and humanity will make themost up-to-date and sophisticated resources seem dull;

conversely, the most simple resources can be the most excitingand useful

We have been fortunate to spend quite a lot of our time workingnot only in hi-tech environments with computers and video, butalso in classrooms where there is little more than blackboard andchalk and some out-of-date coursebooks Some of our mostinteresting learning and teaching experiences (as Confucius said, ateacher is'always ready to teach; always ready to learn') have beennot in the comfortable well-resourced small classrooms of aprivate language school, but in classrooms where only the

minimum of equipment has been available Equally, some of ourmost memorable teaching experiences in'hi-tech' classrooms havebeen when we have abandoned the cassette or video or glossycoursebook and got to work with that most precious resource ofall, the learners'own experience and imagination

Teachers often have to use materials which are out of date, orcontain subject-matter irrelevant to their particular group oflearners For example, we have had great difficulty explaining theconcepts of the fridge -freezer and microwave oven to Tibetans Inthe same way, learners who have spent all their lives in northerncountries might have difficulty with an exercise from an Africantextbook which asks if they prefer yam or cassava So over the lastfew years we have been trying to design materials which can beused in as wide a range of teaching situations as possible

The activities we suggest are as flexible as the human imagination iscreative; they are'teacher resource material'which teachers will beable to adjust to suit their particular environment In thinking aboutuniversally applicable,'lo-tech materials we have come up with a list

of criteria that need to be met The materials will need to:

be usable in large classes as well as small

be suitable for adult learners as well as secondary learners, and ifpossible easily adaptable to a primary context

be centred on the universals of human experience

cover the main language skills and have a useful base of grammarand topic vocabulary

be non-threatening in the demands they make on learners.

be teacher-based'resource material'rather than books for learners.assume that no technical and reprographic resources are available,and be based on the human resource rather than the technical

be culturally neutral, not context-bound, and thus flexible andeasily adaptable by the teachers to their own culture and teachingcontext

be flexible enough to complement a standard syllabus orcoursebook

Simple Writing Activities

This book contains thirty activities, designed according to thecriteria above, for developing the writing skill at elementary level.Each activity has three main stages:

Lead-in-This introduces the learners to the topic, and focusestheir attention

Organizing texts-This stage provides controlled writing practice

in preparation for a freer writing task

Creating texts-This stage gives the learners the opportunity touse the knowledge they have acquired in the previous two stages inproducing their own text The teacher provides a context and areason for writing

Writing is easier if the learners are prepared for the task, and iftheir imaginations are stimulated beforehand The purpose of thelead-in is to'warm up'the learners, in other words, to start themthinking about the topic and practising some of the language thatwill be needed when they actually come to write

The aim of this stage is to give the learners controlled writingpractice before they attempt a freer writing task This is importantbecause the language of writing is different from that of speech Inspeech, utterances tend to be short or incomplete, and the

language used is often colloquial, and may break grammaticalrules However, most written language is more formal andelaborate, and follows certain conventions

Greating texts

Introduction

Completion-The learners fill in the blanks in a text or acrossword puzzle with an appropriate word or phrase Thistechnique can give learners practice in a particular language point,for example, place prepositions

Describing a picture-The learners write a description of apicture They may then discuss the best order in which to describethe different elements which go to make up the picture This givesthem practice in organizinga spatial description

foining-Learners join words or sentences using a linking word,such as'and'or'but' This technique helps learners to develop theskill of linking ideas logically and writing more fluently

Matching-The learners have to match the two separate halves ofsentences which are written in the form of two lists This techniquehelps learners to understand how sentences are constructed andwhich words can go with other words

Reordering-Sentences or texts are given to the learners inmuddled order and they have to rearrange them in the correctorder Reordering sentences is useful for teaching word order, whilereordering texts helps learners practise choosing a logical sequencefor sentences

Substitution-In this technique a basic sentence framework iswritten on the board The learner can vary this by choosingdifferent words or phrases at certain pointb This shows learnershow a basic sentence form may be used with slight variations toexpress a number of different meanings

Writing from notes-The learners are given notes to expand intotext This gives them practice in arranging their ideas coherently

It is difficult to write when you don't know who you are writing to,

or why In real life we always have a reason for writing: forexample, to answer a letter, prepare a shopping list, or make notesfor a talk In the classroom there is often no apparent reason forwriting beyond'The teacher said do this for homework' If,however, you provide the learners with a context for creating awritten text, you can make the task much more concrete andinteresting There is a wide variety of techniques which you canuse The ones we have used in this book are as follows:

Writing from a picture-The learners use a picture as a off point for creating a text

starting-:i: Responding to a text-The learners are given a text to read beforethey write, for example a poem or a letter The text acts as a source

of inspiration, and useful words and phrases which they can use intheir own writing Alternatively, they may be asked to use their

own texts from the'Creating texts' part of the lesson

Survey and report-In this technique the writing task is preceded

by a speaking task in which the learners have to gather informationfrom each other and use it to write a report This gives themsomething concrete to write about, and a definite purpose inwriting

Visualization-The learners close their eyes and visualize a scenewhich you describe to them They then write about the scene theyhave imagined They may share what they have written withanother learner

Learners can also act as each other's audience This is the mostimmediate and direct way of providing the writer with a reader.There are various techniques which can be used:

Write and do-The learners write texts, for example, a letter, aseries of instructions, or a description of a scene Other learnersread them and respond in an appropriate way, for example bycreating a tableau of the scene

Write and draw-The learners draw a picture and write adescription of it They either pass their description to anotherlearner who has to draw a picture of it, or the pictures anddescriptions are put up in the classroom and the learners matchthem

Write and guess-The learners write a description or riddle forothers to read and guess the person or object being described.Teachers often set writing for homework, and some of theactivities in this book may be given for homework if time is short.However, they are really designed to be done in class, so that youcan circulate while the learners are working, supply any vocabularl-they need, and correct or explain any mistakes as they arise It isalso an advantage for learners to receive immediate feedback fromone another on their writing

A wide variety of text types is used in this book These includedescriptions, narratives, reports, instructions, lists, poems, andletters This helps to provide interest and equips the learners todeal more effectively with different kinds of writing

Many activities suggest the use of a poster This is simply a textwritten out in large letters, or a picture, on a big sheet of paper Ifyou prepare posters before the lesson, it means that you do nothave the time-consuming task of writing or drawing on the board

Materials

a clothes-line You can then use clothes-pegs to pin your posters tothe string!

An alternative to drawings on posters is drawings on smaller pieces

of card (but still large enough for all the learners to see) These areusually known as 'flashcards' They are used in 1l 'Colours' and 24'Daily routines'

After some of the activities you will want to correct the learners'work in order to give them feedback about their progress It can bevery discouraging for learners if their work comes back covered inred ink, and this can have a destructive effect on their creativity,enthusiasm, and confidence In addition, if every mistake iscorrected by the teacher, this robs the learner of a valuable learningexperience-how to spot and correct their own mistakes You canreduce the'big red pen' effect, and help learners to self-correct byusing the following strategies:

Working with learners as they are writing, supplying vocabularyand pointing out mistakes

Getting learners to work together or read each other's work andhelp each other with mistakes

When you correct learners'work, use symbols in the margin toindicate that there is a mistake in that line rather than correctingthe mistake yourself It is then up to the learner to work out whatwas wrong, and what the correct version should be Useful symbolsare:

o

SpTPr

well doneorganizationspellingtenseprepositionword order

WO

Building a lesson

There are four companion books to this one, Presenting NewLanguage, Simple Listening Activities, Simple Speaking Activities,and Simple Reading Activities AII of these also contain thirtyactivities, and in all five books the topics and the languagepresented and practised correspond So, for example, activity I inall five books is about'Greetings and introductions' and activity 30

is about'Describing actions' The activities in each book aregraded, following a basic structural syllabus This means that youcan design your own lesson or sequence of lessons using materialfrom any, or all, of the books, depending on your learners' needsand the time available

Activities

Nice to meet you.

Organizing texts: completion

Creating texts: writing from a picture

The dialogue below; the pictures below, on posters or on the board.Prepare the poster if you are using one

3 Write this gapped dialogue on the board:

F E N H e l l o - O e n - y o u r ?KATE My name'e Nice - meeN -.

F E N L o -you L o o

Greetings and introductions

4 When everyone has finished, write in the missing words on theboard and get the learners to check their work

Cleatlng texts: 5 Put up these pictures Get the learners to copy them and to write inwriting fiom a picture the dialogue

L A N G

T E C H N I

UAGE

Q U E S

Creating texts: writing from a picture.

The jumbled words below; the pictures below, on board.

Prepare the poster ifyou are using one.

YM AMNE

g'THWA E9'MNA

3 Divide the learners into pairs, A and B Ask A to look at the

iumbled words in the first column and to sort them out B shoulc

The alphabet

4 When they have finished, ask A to dictate his or her words to B,who should write them down Then get B to do the same for A Tellthem to make a dialogue from the words

Creating texts:

wdting fiom a pictule

5 Put up these pictures:

Tell the learners to copy the pictures and write the dialogue in thesPaces

Get learners to compare their dialogues with others in the class

Gomment Learners can write their own dialogues using different names, and

dictate them to one another

6

l 1

Organizing texts: completion.

Creating texts: responding to a text

The crossword below a blank version with clues and a version withanswers, on two posters; the poem below, on a poster or on theboard; examples of the objects in the poem

Adapt the poem if necessary Make the crossword posters, and thepoem poster if you are using one

Collect examples of the objects in the poem

50 minutes

1, Give the learners some simple'mental arithmetic'with numbers up

to 20 For example, ask them to add 6 and 4, and t8 and 2 Youcould make this into a competition between two teams if you like

2 Put up the blank version of the crossword Make sure that thelearners understand how to fill in a crossword

Tell the learners to copy the grid, but not the clues

Ask them to complete the crossword on their own, and thencompare their answers in pairs

Put up the version with answers

MO wooden rulers,THREE claee nolebooke,FOUK black pene,

FIVE chocolaLe biscuits,

1 l X p a V e r h a n k i e e ,9EVEN poV caoeettee,

E I G H T c o l o u r e d ? e n c i l e ,

N I N E b u s ti c k e L 6 ,TEN oiicky sweels,Show the class an example of each object in the poem, and ask thelearners to identifr it Tell them they may use their own language ifthey don't know the word in English

7 Read the poem, holding up an example of each object as you readeach line

I Get the class to read the poem in chorus Then ask for a volunteer

to come out and hold up each object as the rest of the class readthe poem

9 Ask the learners to tell you about other things they have in theirschoolbags Tell them they may use their own language if they don'tknow the word in English Translate their suggestions into Englishand write them on the board

10 Ask the learners to write a poem like'In Sam's schoolbag', called'In

my schoolbag'

l 3

4 Tetting the time

LANGUAGE What time is it?

It's - o'clock

Numbers

rECHNreuEs Organizing texts: completion

Creating texts: responding to a text

MATERIALS Notes and clock faces, on posters or on the board; diary pages, on a

poster or on the board

pREIARArroN Ifnecessary, adapt the notes to suit your learners'ages and cultures

Prepare the posters if you are using them

TrME GUrDE 40 minutes

Lead-in L Revise times by drawing a clock face on the board, drawing in the

hands at different times, and asking the learners to tell you whattime it is Use:

What time is it?

It's - o'clock

2 Put up these notes and clock faces:

)ue, see you afuer school aN - Tom

H e l e n , m e e N y o u a l l h e c i n e m a a f , - J a m e sTom, meetr me lor lunch aN Helen

J a m e e , t h e m e e N i n q i e a t r - ) u e

Organizing texts:

completion

6

Telling the time

(If necessary teach'see','school','meet','cinema','lunch', and'meeting'.) Tell the learners to match the notes and the clock faces

3 Get the learners to copy the notes and write in the times in words

4 Check the answers with the whole class

5 Put up these notes:

1 a m , - y o u atthe - a t e i q h N o ' c l o c k T o m Tom, -you afLer aN four o'clock )ue

)ue, - me for at lwelve fitleen Helen

Helen, Lhe ie al ten lhirty Mark

6 Ask the learners to copy the notes and fill in the gaps withappropriate vocabulary items from the first set of notes

7 Check the answers with the whole class

Creating texts:

respondlng to a text

I Put up these diarypages:

Meet 1am Teaaeue Cinema Film-b.l5

M e elin a-3.2O T ell Tom

Dinner wilh James Huana Shan reslauranN-7.30

Arranqe lo 6ee 7ue after work-6.OOCasablanca Cafe

Tell the learners to write notes to Sam, Tom, Iames, and Suemaking these arrangements

Ask some learners to read out their notes to the whole class

i 6 t

1 5

lA

My hobbies are - and -

TEcHNreuEs Organizing texts: reordering

Creating texts: responding to a text

MATERTALS Jumbled sentences; letter, on a poster or on the board

IREIARATToN Prepare the poster if you are using one

TrME GUIDE 40 minutes

Lead-in L Ask the learners if they have, or have ever had, a penpal Ask some

questions about their penpals, for example:

What is his or her name?

Where is he or she from?

l e a r n e r a l ' m

1 5 l a m

h o b b i e s a r e m y d a n c i n q o w i m m i n q a n dTell the learners to write them out correctly Remind them thateach sentence should begin with a capital letter and end with a fullstop When they have frnished, get them to compare their answers

in pairs

3 Ask individual learners to read out their answers to the whole class

l'm 2l yearo old.

My name'e 1anjay Jhabvala

I'm from lndia

l'm a poolman,

I live aN 25 City Koad, Delh|

My hobbiee are cyclin4 and football

Wrile and tell me all aboul youreelfl

Ask the learners to rewrite the letter, putting the sentences in abetter order (name, age, country, address, job, hobbies) Draw theletter layout below on the board and tell them to follow it

When the learners have rewritten the lettet ask them to write areply, telling the penpal all about themselves

T 7

r\-/t Gountries

LANGUAGE 'Countries' (for example, India, Greece, fapan) and'food' (for

example, curry, pizza, hamburgers) vocabulary areas

- is/ are from -

rEcHNreuEs Organizing texts: substitution

Creating texts: responding to a text

MATERTALS Substitution table, on a poster or on the board; menu, on a poster

or on the board

pREpARArroN Prepare the posters if you are using them

TrME GUrDE 40 minutes

Lead{n 1, Ask the learners if they have ever tried any of the fbllorving: curry,

pizza,hamburgers, sushi, or chop suey Ask them if thev knowwhich countries these kinds of food come from

Olganizing texts: 2 Put up this substitution table

substitution

TizzaChop euey

J a ? a n Italy,

3 Tell the learners to match the countries rvith the kinds of food, andthen write seven correct sentences

4 Check the answers with the whole class

Collect suggestions from the class and write up a new moreattractive menu on the board Ask the learners what they wouldchoose to eat.

Put the learners in groups of three or four and ask them to designtheir own international menu

When they have finished, get them to swap menus Each groupshould then discuss what they would choose from their new menu.Write these speech bubbles on the board if you think they needsuPport:

a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a o a a a a a a a a a l a a

Comment If appropriate, change food items and their countries of origin to

suit your learners'culture and general knowledge

M m m l t h i n k l ' l l lr y -

Whal about you?

e o u n d s d e l i c i o u e

t 9

LANGUAGE 'Countries' (for example, Canada, fapan, China) and'nationalities'

(for example, Canadian, fapanese, Chinese) vocabulary areas.TEcHNreuEs Organizing texts: completion

Creating texts: responding to a text

MATERIALs Lists and sentences, on a poster or on the board; letters, on a poster

or on the board

eREIARATIoN Prepare the posters if you are using them

TrME GUrDE 40 minutes

Lead-in 1, Ask the learners about the nationalities of famous people they are

likely to know; for example, pop stars, sportsmen and women, andpolitical leaders

Otganizing texts: 2 Put up three lists, for example:

Thailand Kueeian French and ArabicVenezuela Moroccan Kussian

Morocco Chinese JapaneseRueeia Mexican Thaifuk the learners to match country nationality, and languages

3 Put up some gap-fill sentences like the ones below Tell the learners

to copy them, filling in the gaps with words from the lists:

Carlos is - He comee from Acapulco

9 u R o n q R o n q i e t h e l i v e s i n S h a n q h a i Aeqonio is a - He livee in Caracae

J a m e o i e a -from M o n l r e a l H e o p e a k o - a n d -

Maria ie and comeo from Luqano She opeako

a n a _

J a m i l a i s -,from M a r r a k e c h ) h e e p e a k s a n d -

Explain that the sentences in both letters are in the wrong order.

Go through the first one with the whole class, asking the learners toreorder the sentences

Get them to do the same with the other letter, working on theirown

Ask for volunteers to read out their letters to the rest of the class.Suggest corrections if necessary

Ask the learners to choose one of the two letters and write a reply

to it They can use language and sentence patterns from the letters

to help them

a a t a e a a a a a a a a a a a a

If you feel that your learners are not familiar with the onesprese.rt"d here, substitute different countries and nationalities, andadapt the letters

H i l

I like music and frlme I soeak and -

M y n a m e ' o J e a n l ' m 2 3 y e a r e o l d I ' m C a n a d i a n I l i v e a t 2 6Avenue de Ternes, Vontreal How aboul vou? Lel me inlroducemveelf

21

Organizing texts: reordering.

Creating texts: write and guess

Five sentences about objects in your classroom; description, on aposter or on the board

Prepare the sentences; prepare the poster ifyou are using one

40 minutes

7, Write the first parts of the sentences about your classroom in acolumn on the left-hand side of the board and the second parts injumbled order on the right-hand side, for example:

T h e b l a c k b o a r d i e o n lh e c h a i r

My ba6 io nexL Lo lhe door

T h e I a b l e is n e a r L h e w i n d o w Ask the learners to match the two parts to make sentencesdescribing the classroom

2 Put up this description:

(1) On the lable ie a va6e with one red rose in it (2) The room iequibe bi7 (3) There are r,wo windows oppooite the door (4)

L a n q i n q f r o m N h e c e i l i n q , o v e r l h e t a b l e a r e s o m e b a l l o o n e , ( 5 )Next to lhe cake ie a card eayinq'l love you' (6) 1eLween thewindows is a r,able (7) ln fronL of Lhe vase is a biq cake

Organizing texts:

leoldering

Locating objects

Ask the learners to read the text Explain'vase','rose','balloons','cake', and'card' if necessary Ask them what is going to happen inthe room

3 Get them to start drawing a picture of the room Ask them how thetext could be reordered to make it easier Number the sentencesand get the learners to decide what the best order would be tomake the description clearer

4 Go through their suggestions when they have finished (2,3,6, 1,7,

5, 4 is the best, though 2, 3, 6, 4, 1,7,5 is possible) Ask the learners

if any of the sentences can be joined with-and'

Creating texts:

wlite and guess

5 Tell the learners a riddle about an object in your classroom and askthem to guess what it is, for example:

It's next to the windoq on the wall above the table What is it?another example:

It's on the table next to the door

6 Get the learners to write five similar riddles about objects in theroom, without mentioning the names of the objects

7 When they have finished, put the learners in pairs and get them toread their riddles to each other Their partners should guess whatthe objects are

I Ask for volunteers to read one of their riddles to the whole class.and let the class guess what the object is

p

23

LANGUAGE 'Feelings'vocabulary area (for example, hot, thirsty, h"ppy)

And, or, but

rEcHNreuEs Organizingtexts:joining

Creating texts: survey and report

MATERTALs Notes; a list of eight to ten adjectives in the'feelings'vocabulary

area

pREnARATToN Prepare your list of adjectives

rrME GUrDE 40 minutes

Lead-in 7 Ask a few learners about their feelings, for example,'Are you

happy? Write their answers on the board in the following patterns:[Name] is - and -

[Name] isn't - or -

[Name] is - but -

For example:

Vark ie hoN and thirely

Anna isn't anqry or bored

Kale is hunqry but haVpy

2 Explain that'and'is used to join two feelings that are similar, forexample, two bad ones or two good ones In a negative sentence'or'

is used instead of 'and' 'But' is used to join two contrasting feelings

6;;;;i;i;;i;i;;1iliil''i'' #,ii il;;;;;;;' on the board:

T i m l h u n q r y l t h i r e t yMarial not anqryl coldAnnal tired/ Nhirelyl haVpytsenl Liredl exciled

1aral nol Liredl boredAsk the learners to expand them into sentences using'and','or', or'but'

4 Ask the learners to make two sentences, one to describe themselvesand the other to describe the person sitting next to them

a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a

Greating texts:

suryey and report

5 Write the'feelings'adjectives you have prepared on the board Askthe learners questions about their feelings using the adjectives, forexample:

Who is huppy today?

How many of you are hot?

How many of you are cold?

Write the totals on the board, for example:

H a ? p y 3 2Hot 37

C o l d 1bored OAn7ry O

6 Tell the learners to write the results as a survey, for example:

ln Claee Three t oday, lhirtry -t wo Veople are happv ThirIy - oevenpeoVle are hot, bul one ?eroon ie coldl No-one ie bored or an6ry

z )

1-0 Famities

LANGUAGE 'Families'vocabulary area (for example, mother, father, brother)

On the right; in the middle; on the left

H e / s h e ' s a - .rECHNreuEs Organizing texts: reordering

Creating texts: writing from a picture

MATERIALS Photographs of learners' families; board drawing of your family;

description, on a poster or on the board; sentence frames

pREIARArroN At the end of the previous lesson, ask the learners to bring a

photograph of their family to the next lesson Make a sketch for aboard drawing of your family Spend a little time preparing whatyou're going to say about each member of your family Prepare theposter if you are using one

TrME GUrDE 40 minutes

L Draw a picture of your family on the board As you draw, talkabout each member, for example:

This is a picture of my family This is me ldraw sefl -in themiddle, look, and here is my husband standing next to meldrawhusband) On the right are my husband's parents [draw parents)This is his mother, and this is his father They're both teachers etc

2 Putup this text:

( 7 \

o a o y q o n (7) Next io Felicily, on t'he far riqht of Nhe VicIure, are my wife'e

c o u s i n e , L y n n a n d J o h n (B) Al the end of Nhe row, nex| lo tlugh, ie a ourprioe queot'-my

s i s l e r S u s a n '(9) 0n lhe riqht' ie my wife'o family-her mother and f ather areet'anding nexN No her'

( O ) e u e a n li v e e i n A m e r i c a , b u | e h e c a m e o v e r f o r N h e w e d d i n g 'Ask the learners to read the text and to try to draw the photo Askthem if it would be easier if the sentences were in a different order.Discuss how the text could be better arranged so that the readercan visualize it better

3 Get the learners to write down the order they think would be theclearest

4 Collect suggestions from the class Working out from the middle

t o w a r d s t h e le f t a n d th e n to w a r d s t h e r i g h t ( 1 , 3 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 8 , L 0 , 9 , 6 ,7), or towards the right and then towards the left (1, 3, 9, 6,7,2,4,

5, 8, 10) are probably the best

6 Get the learners to work in pairs, describing their photographs toeach other

27

blue red

e e a a p V l ePut the learners in pairs and ask them to think of as many otherthings as they can which are the same colours as the things on theflashcards Supply vocabulary if they need it

Write the learners' suggestions below the flashcards

'Colours'vocabulary area (for example, blue, red, green).

What colour is the -?

It's -

Organizing texts: reordering

Creating texts: responding to a text

Eight flashcards of the illustrations below; poem with lines injumbled order, on a poster or on the board; poem with lines in thecorrect order, on a poster or on the board

Make the flashcards Make the posters if you are using them

Organizing texts:

reordedng

4

W h a N i s pink? A r o o e ie pink

b y l h e f o u n l a i n ' e b r i n k What ie red? A Voppy'o red

W h a t , i e b l u e ? T h e o k y ie b l u e

W h a t r i s w h i t e ? A e w a n iE w h i L eWhaI ie yellow? Teare are yellow

W h a l ie q r e e n ? T h e q r a o o io q r e e n

W h a L i s v i o l e t ? C l o u d e a r e v i o l e lWhal ie oran1e? Why, an oranqeAsk the learners to put the lines in

e a i l i n q i n t h e l i q h L

ln iNo barley bed

l n t h e e u m m e r N w i l i 4 h t

J u e t , a n o r a n q e lWhere Lhe cloude froat lhrouqh.Kich and riVe and mellow,WiIh emall flowers belween.the correct order

ln ite barley bed

W h a l ie b l u e ? T h e o k y ie b l u e

W h e r e t h e c l o u d s f l o a t t h r o u q h WhaN io white? A ewan is whiLe

S a i l i n q i n L h e li g h t

What is yellow? Tears are yellowKich and riVe and mellow

W h a t ie q r e e n ? T h e q r a o o io q r e e nWith emall frowere belween.What, is violetr? Clouds are violet

l n t r h e e u m m e r N w i l i g h t

W h a L i s orange? W h y , a n o r a n q e

J u s t r a n o r a n q e lAsk the learners to write their own poem on the same pattern,using the words and ideas they collected in the Lead-in Show themhow the pairs of lines should be structured:

Whatr is -? ie/ are

Tell them that their poems don't have to rhyme!

I Ask for volunteers to read out their poems to the rest of the class

29

Organizing texts: substitution.

Creating texts: write and guess

Exercises, on a poster or on the board

Make the poster if you are using one

40 minutes

7 Describe two or three of things in the room, for example:

It's square and brown with four legs

It's small and round and red, with money inside

Get the learners to guess what you are describing (table, purse)

2 Write a substitution table on the board like the one below Ask thelearners to write five sentences from the table

r o u n d

red

I h i c k

b l a c k yellow

1 2

shapes J-

t-Greating texts: 4 Put up these exercises:

write and guess

A Ioin these short sentences into one longer sentence using'and':Itr'o yellow ll'o lonq.l|'e curyed

l t ' s r o u n d a n d q o l d l t h a e a h o l e i n L h e m i d d l e Ask the learners to do them

5 Check the sentences with the whole class Ask the learners if theycan guess what the objects are (A banana, board, coin; B pencil,needle, ring)

6 Put the learners into pairs and ask them to make up some riddles

of their own like the ones in the exercise

7 When each pair has made up at least two riddles, join the pairs intogroups of four and ask them to read out their riddles for the otherpair to guess

3 l

13 Parts of the body

'Parts of the body'vocabulary area (for example, foot, head, knee).Organizing texts: joining

Creating texts: write and drawDrawing and description of a robot, on a poster or on the board;two pieces of paper for each of the learners

Make the poster if you are using one

40 minutes

7 Call out parts of the body, for example,'Foot!','Head!','Knee!'Tellthe learners to point to that part of their body, as quickly as theycan Increase your speed as you go on

2 Put up these pictures and descriptions and ask the learners tomatch them