Yarn Web

Teaching Materials A colorful yarn ball Getting Ready 1. Prepare a basket with different colored yarn balls. Put it on your desk to call students attention. 2. Decide on a color as a group and hold that colored ball while you are giving instructions. 3. Arrange your classroom to leave enough space to form a circle on the floor and ask them to sit criss cross apple sauce. Instructions for Students 1. (Talking to one student) Hold this yarn ball with one hand and its loose string with the other hand. 3. Introduce yourself. Say your name, age and place of origin. 4. Once you are done, throw the yarn ball at another student without letting the loose string go. 5. Keep on sharing until you all make a yarn web. Suggestions 1. I would suggest working with naturally dyed yarn balls to remind students of the richness of indigenous cultures and the power of nature. 2. Using different dyed colored yarn balls can help you reinforce contents related to colors, fruits and plants. 3. Once your students have formed their web, you can also review other contents such as shapes. Students will quickly find triangles, squares, diamonds and others. 4. While wrapping the yarn around your fingers at the end of the activity, you can say sequential contents out loud, for example, the alphabet, numbers, days of the week or months of the year. Try to do it fast!

5. Challenge your students to guess what letter, number, day or month will be reached when the yarn is over. Students will feel motivated to hear the final result and check if their guess was right. 6. If students are already seated in a circle, they can still carry out the activity while sitting at their desks or they can stand up if the floor is too cold or dirty. They can also ask them to bring a cushion or a blanket. 7. Try to remember your students personal information. This way, you can use it at the end of the activity for asking students to go back to their seats as a classroom management strategy. Source: Recommended by Elementary School teachers from Instituto Tecnolgico del Sur, Valdivia, Chile. when students are taught using techniques consistent with their learning styles, they learn more easily, faster, and can retain and apply concepts more readily to future learning. Most students, with a disability or not, enjoy the engaging variety that multisensory techniques can offer (Logsdon, 2007, para. 4). DRAWING Students Comments: Me gust caleta. Ojal que se repita. Me encant. Muriel Muy linda la actividad. Se pas bien. Ojal que se repita porque hicimos algo nuevo. Jacqueline 7mo bsico Escuela N 39 Las Animas Valdivia, Chile, 2011

Hot Potato

Teaching Materials Any musical device (radio, mp3 player, etc), music, ball. Getting Ready 1. Enter the class with your magic bag containing a ball inside. Pretend verbal and non-verbally that you feel uncomfortable with it. 2. Have your students guess what you have inside. Encourage them to say as many words as possible. You can give them some clues. E.g. it is small, round, soft, etc 3. Once students have guessed the object is a ball, tell them that it is really hot and that you can get burnt if you dont pass it around. Instructions for Students 1. Stand up. 2. Lets pretend this ball is a hot potato. 3. Remember that since the ball is hot, you can burn your hands. That is why you must pass or throw the ball quickly at another classmate while tj

he music is playing. 4. If you have the ball when the music stops, try to answer the teachers question. Suggestions 1. The ball should be soft and medium sized. 2. The music should be of the students interest. 3. Depending on the physical space and students behavior, classroom arrangement can vary (in their seats, in a circle, in a line, etc.) 4. If you dont have a ball, you can play with a teddy bear, a ball of yarn, crumpled paper, among other teaching materials.

5. Make sure that different students have a turn so that you can assess as many as possible. 6. If your students would like to compete, you can gently ask students who cannot answer or recognize pictures to sit. Source: FLES Teachers (2004-2007), Loudoun County Public Schools, Virginia, USA. Suspense and surprise are acting skills that can contribute directly to improved classroom management. (Tauber & Mester, 2007, p.157) DRAWING Students Comments: Este juego es muy divertido y lo pas muy bien. Catalina Me gust mucho el juego de la ball porque me ense muchas cosas en ingls. Anibal 2ndo bsico Inmaculada Concepcin Valdivia, Chile, 2011

7-up

Teaching Materials Flashcards Getting Ready 1. Ask seven students to stand in front of the class and give them a flashcard. 2. Replace the name of the seven students chosen with a name of a flashcard. Encourage the rest of the class to greet them by using their new names. 3. Tell them that they will each have to pick only one classmate by putting his or her thumb down and then come back to the front of the class without telling or showing others who they have chosen. Instructions for Students 1. Put your head down; close your eyes and put one thumb up. 2. Wait until your teacher asks you to raise your head. 3. Stand up if someone put your thumb down. 4. Take turns and guess who picked you by saying the name of the flashcard, not the name of the students. 5. If your guess is correct, you trade places. If your guess is incorrect, you sit down. Suggestions 1. In case your class is too noisy, this game is perfect for calming your students down. You can even turn the lights off to give the classroom a quiet atmosphere. 2. Teach your students not to fold or wrinkle flashcards when they stand in front of the class. Students usually tend to do so when they feel excited or nervous.

3. Make sure that different people have a turn by advising your students to pick different classmates, or by encouraging them to be good friends and share flashcards with those who havent had a turn. 4. You can use flashcards with images and/or words. 5. Instructions are not easy to understand at first. Make sure the first time you use lots of body language. Source: FLES Teachers (2004-2007), Loudoun County Public Schools, Virginia, USA. One of the popular methods for quick fact learning is the use of flashcards. (Marten, 2008, p. 1)

Estuvo muy entretenido y es una bonita forma de aprender y reforzar lo que sabemos. Mariana 5th grade Escuela Alemania Valdivia, Chile, 2011 I liked the activity because I think its very good to learn more vocabulary Valentina 2nd grade Meadowland Elementary School. Sterling, VA, USA, 2007

The Magic Finger

Teaching Materials Flashcards, magic accessories (magic wand, rattle, music, etc.) Getting Ready 1. Have flashcards ready on the board. 2. Pretend you are a magician and give power to your students through an abracadabra magical spell that goes this way: Abracadabra, please look at me, you can be powerful, yippee, yippee!! 3. Ask for a volunteer and call him/her the magician apprentice. Tell the student he/she will have to guess a flashcard that they will pick. 4. Ask the student to leave the classroom for a couple of minutes. 5. Tell the class, that while you are outside with the apprentice, they will need to pick one of the flashcards and keep it as a secret. 6. Leave the room and share the magic trick with the apprentice: If the finger is pointing at the top of the flashcard, he/she is supposed to say: Yes, it is. If the finger is pointing at the bottom of the flashcard, he/she should reply: No, it isnt. Tell the apprentice student to keep the magic trick a secret. 7. Now, return to your classroom and quietly ask the students to tell you what flashcard they have chosen. 8. Call the magician apprentice in. Instructions for students 1. Ask the apprentice questions such as Is it an apple? 2. (Talking to the apprentice) Answer Yes, it is or No, it isnt. 3. We will continue playing until you guess the magic trick.

Suggestions

1. Promote an atmosphere of suspense and surprise by using a magic wand to give power to the magician apprentice, by using a rattle or by playing sounds; that will keep children focused and highly motivated trying to figure out what the magic could be about. 2. When leaving the room, leave a responsible student in charge of leading the classroom to select the flashcard and its corresponding word. Sharing power with students is highly recommended for students to become independent learners. 3. As a classroom management strategy, encourage them to keep quiet so that the student who is outside cannot hear any sounds. 4. Stop the game when most of them have understood the magic. Avoid having just a few people puzzled and surprised to avoid frustration. In that case, it is much better to share the trick. 5. Remind students who know the magic to keep the secret so that you can continue playing the game with the same or a different class. Source: FLES Teachers (2004-2007), Loudoun County Public Schools, Virginia, USA. DRAWING when students are taught using techniques consistent with their learning styles, they learn more easily, faster, and can retain and apply concepts more readily to future learning. Most students, with a disability or not, enjoy the engaging variety that multisensory techniques can offer (Logsdon, 2007, para. 4). Aprend, fue un juego bastante divertido y mgico. Lo mgico fue que aprendimos mucho. Consuelo Fue muy genial y uno puede aprender a hacer preguntas y respuestas cortas. David 6th grade Inmaculada Concepcin, Valdivia, Chile.

Fly Swatting

Teaching Materials Flashcards, Tak, Fly Swatters, Getting Ready 1. Show your flyswatters to your students. The first time you introduce them to your students; they will certainly feel very curious and will pay attention to you till they get to know what they are for. 2. Ask for two volunteers. 3. Place a few flashcards on the board. Instructions for Students 1. After hearing a word, swat the appropriate flashcard and say the word out loud. 2. If you are the first one to identify the flashcard in a correct way, you can continue playing with another classmate. Suggestions 1. You can place small laminated paper flies on the pictures to make the activity more real and more entertaining. However, if this can cause violent reactions among your students, just avoid placing them on the flashcards. In such a case, do not use fly swatters. You can find other options such as hand pointers. You can also look for flyswatters of different shapes. 2. Fly swatters can have different colors to make a clear difference between teams and to reinforce knowledge on colors. 3. Always remind students flyswatters cannot be used to hit other students but flashcards on the board. 4. You can also form two groups and have your students compete against each other.

5. This is an excellent listening activity! However, you can also encourage your students to produce words when they swat the pictures. Other students can also help say the words. 6. Depending on the level of English, you can also play with dialogue exchanges or definitions. 7. Students love to compete against the teacher! Source: FLES Teachers (2004-2007), Loudon County Public Schools, Valdivia, Chile. Everywhere on earth in all languages throughout history, there is no instance of infants acquiring speaking before comprehension (Segal, 2006, p. 7). DRAWING We loved your teaching
Austin 4th Grader Meadowland Elementary School Sterling, VA, USA, 2007

Lo encontr entretenido y una buena tcnica para aprender sin aburrirse Catalina 6th grade Inmaculada Concepcin Valdivia, Chile, 2011.

The Telephone

Teaching Materials Flashcards, small paper cards Getting Ready 1. Cut two sets of ten small rectangular pieces of paper. 2. On one side, write a word, a phrase or a sentence depending on your lesson objectives and on the other side, write a number. Write exactly the same content on both sets of cards. 3. Prepare a set of flashcards that stand for the messages on the pieces of paper. 4. Introduce your flashcards. 5. Ask students to form two groups, to stand up and organize their chairs in two rows. 6. Place two sets of small paper cards at the end of the rows and tell students that only the last person of each row is authorized to look at the cards. Numbers should be placed face up. Instructions for Students 1. (Only for the last person of each row) Look for number 8. Once you have read the information in silence, whisper it ONLY in your classmates ear. You are not allowed to stand up and share the information with others! 2. The information must be shared in English. Not in Spanish. 3. The first student of each team, who receives the message, can stand up and try to share it by pointing to the correct flashcard. If he/she says the correct answer, he/she will score a point for their team. 4. When the round is over, everybody stands up and moves one spot forward. The people in front of each row will have to move to the back.

Suggestions 1. Always tell your class that the information must be given only to the student who is just in front of him/her. Normally, it takes a long time for students to understand this instruction. 2. In case none of the groups is able to provide the information appropriately (which is absolutely normal during, at least, the first two rounds), ask students to start sharing the message from the very beginning. 3. Play this game with flashcards and/or mimicry to make messages more comprehensible, to help students to feel more confident and thus, ensure high levels of motivation. 4. An interesting cross-curricular objective to be met through this activity is to trespass information in an appropriate way to ensure an efficient process of communication. 5. If you realize your academic expectations have been too high, quickly change and/or reduce the information on the cards. For example, I am swimming can become swimming. 6. Avoid students who know the language better to pressure students who need more time to think and act! It happens that students get really excited about winning and start forcing others to perform faster. Source: FLES Teachers (2004-2007), Loudoun County Public Schools, Virginia, USA. The higher the level of interest, the higher the intake, the higher the attention, the higher the retention, and thus; the higher the acquisition (Hastings, 2005). DRAWING Aprendimos hartas cosas. Jugamos y nos divertimos mucho, como nunca, fue como un ingls entretenido Abigail 6to bsico. Escuela Mexico, Valdivia, Chile.

I think that it is a very funny game to practice the contents... I like it very much, the game is very exciting and it is very good to know better your friends and to have a time to laugh Valentina 8vo bsico Windsor School, Valdivia, Chile.

Bingo!
Teaching Materials Boards, Chips. Getting Ready 1. Print or create your bingo cards and chips. 2. Distribute flashcards and ask for helpers. 3. In order to share the power with your students, ask students what kind of game they would like to play in their first, second and third round: black-out, top row, bottom row and/or four corners, among other possibilities. Instructions for Students 1. Place your chip bags on the desk. 2. (As an example) Listen to the letters I say and look for them in your boards. If you happen to have the letter, place a chip on it. 3. When the board has been completed, say BINGO and share the information with the teacher so as to prove your answers are right. Suggestions 1. Distributing chips in big classes could take a long time and could, therefore, impede the teacher to have a full control of the whole group. That is why, a good option is to ask your students to make their own chips at home, bring them in a small plastic bag and keep them under the desk. Plenty of time will be saved! 2. Since children are usually interested in manipulating small objects, they could eat them, throw them, or intend to put them in their ears, as possible examples. Paper chips are strongly suggested. 3. As a way to maintain your students alert and focused, you can allow them to exchange cards before a new game starts. Students highly enjoy this kind of social interaction for they add a touch of suspense that increases their levels of interest.

4. Pretend you are all participating in a real school Bingo event by asking, for example, students how many extra letters, numbers, months, etc they need in order to win. 5. Since bingo game is related to being lucky, have a look at the boards while playing. If a student feels frustrated because the information he/she has not been called out, the teacher can discretely help him/her by calling his/her needed letter or number out loud. From a pedagogical point of view, this would be fair since you are avoiding frustration. Source: FLES Teachers (2004-2007), Loudoun County Public Schools, Virginia, USA. Communicative language teaching makes use of real-life situations that necessitate communication. The teacher sets a situation that students are likely to encounter in real life (Galloway,1993, p. 1). DRAWING Si, es muy bueno y muy entretenido; uno aprende las palabras muy rpido con juegos as Sergio Si, porque a los chicos les gusta jugar y as uno se entusiasma ms teniendo ms aprendizaje Franco 8vo bsico Colegio Balmaceda, Futrono, Chile

Go for a Seat!

Teaching Materials Chairs, small flashcards Getting Ready 1. Depending on the number of students, prepare 4 to 5 sets of small flashcards to be distributed among your students. 2. Arrange your classroom hopefully placing chairs in a circle. 2. Give each student one flashcard of each set at random. 3. Be ready to participate and sit when you first call out a word/phrase or sentence so that there is always one student standing. Instructions for Students 1. When I name the word or picture in your flashcard, please stand up and change seats. 2. Be ready for surprises. Suggestions 1. When starting playing, do not tell students that you will also sit. Just perform the action and let them realize what will happen. This surprise effect will help you start the activity in a quiet way. 2. In order for students to know which seats are available to sit on and ensure that there will always be a student standing up, you can ask them to place their schoolbag on the back of their chair. 3. If you do not want to change your classroom arrangement, you can ask children to place the back of their chairs facing the desks. However, the circle is a better option since it creates a reduced empty space in which you can control every single action. 4. You can also prepare sets of realia such as fruits or school objects instead of distributing flashcards. Thus, this activity will also benefit tactile students and not only auditory, visual and kinesthetic ones!

5. You can ask several students to stand up and change seats by calling more than one word. Depending on your class behavior, you can also call all of the words. This option is an excellent way to end the activity, but you would have to stay up and allow all students to find a seat. Source: FLES Teachers (2004-2007), Loudoun County Public Schools, Virginia, USA. If there is harmony between (a) the student (in terms of style and strategy preferences) and (b) the combination of instructional methodology and materials, then the student is likely to perform well, feel confident, and experience low anxiety. (Oxford, 2003, p.2-3) DRAWING Me gust mucho y aprend mucho! Natalia Me gust porque era muy entretenido! Michelle 3ro bsico Escuela Angachilla, Valdivia, Chile.

Lets Go Fishing!

Teaching Materials 10 different colored cardboard medium sized fish with numbers printed on them and 2 hand-made fishing rods (2 rubber hooks, 2 pieces of nylon cord, velcro to be placed on the fish and on the rubber hook, and 2 wooden sticks). Getting Ready 1. Create and decorate your 10 fish and fishing rods. 2. Form your circle and have students sit criss-cross apple sauce. 3. Place your fish on the floor in the middle of the circle. Instructions for students 1. Listen to the number I will say and look for it. The first one to fish the right number becomes the winner of the round and gets a point for his/her team. Suggestions 1. You can sit students differently but make sure all students can see what is happening. If they cant see well, I can assure you they will try to see better by standing up, walking towards the board and/or pushing others. Fishing is definitely a very funny activity every student wants to be part of. 2. You can have different pictures on the cardboard fish depending on your lesson goals. Having numbers is just an option. 3. Depending on your students age, level and interest, you also review other content areas such as additions. 4. You can bring a small plastic or paper pool to place fish inside and make the activity seem even more real. 5. Encourage students not to move the fishing rod too much because the cord could keep on moving for a long time, making catching a fish very difficult. 6. Always remind students fishing rods are not meant for hitting others.

Source: FLES Teachers (2004-2007), Loudoun County Public Schools, Virginia, USA. El milagro de la formacin a lo largo de la vida slo ser posible cuando los sistemas de aprendizaje se aproximen a la vida (Pastor, 2010; p. 27). DRAWING Muy divertido porque es fcil Nicole Es una manera divertida de aprender ingls Catalina Kinder Escuela El Laurel Valdivia, Chile, 2011

Four Corners

Teaching Materials 4 pieces of plastic bag, markers, 4 flashcards. (Getting Ready) 1. Look for a big plastic bag and cut it into 4 equal pieces. 2. Place each piece of plastic in the four corners of your classroom. You wont need any kind of glue. The plastic bag should remain stuck on the wall due to electrostatic principles; which will automatically help students to keep focused, interested and quiet. 3. Show students four flashcards with pictures. 4. Challenge them to find out what each card means or suggests. With a marker, write a different word on each plastic piece. Then, place the flashcard with the picture next to the piece of plastic with the written word on it to provide students with comprehensible input. 5. Ask for a volunteer to come to the front of the class. (Instructions for Students) 1. (Talking to the volunteer) Turn around towards the board, close your eyes and count up to 20. 2. (Talking to the rest of the students) While student X (your volunteer) is counting, choose a corner and stay there. Make sure you walk quietly so that the student who is counting cannot guess which corner you have chosen. 3) (Talking to the volunteer) Do not open your eyes. Choose a corner and say it out loud. 4) (Talking to the rest of the students) If you are standing in the corner student X has just named, please sit down. 5) Lets continue playing until we have a final survivor. Suggestions

1. Before children enter the classroom, try to place the pieces of plastic on the wall to make sure the magic will work. It may happen that walls do not have enough static. In that case, I would recommend that you play with flashcards only or bring the written words ready. 2. You can introduce vocabulary in many different ways depending on your personal skills, preferences and students interests. However, the use of magic is highly recommended because it can have a positive impact on students motivation and attitudes towards the EFL lesson. 3. Many students will raise their hands to count after the first round. I would, therefore, suggest that you pick one of the students who has lost and is sitting down. This decision will help you to keep all students active and happy. 4. Tell students that they can change their minds while choosing their corner. However, make sure they understand that when student X has finished counting, everybody should be in one of the corners. If your class is too noisy, you can tell your students that if they do not have a definite corner when student X is ready, they will be out of the game. 5. Instead of counting, student X can also say any sequential content such as the days of the week, the months of the year or the ABCs. Make sure students speak slowly so that other kids have enough time to move. Source: FLES Teachers (2004-2007), Loudoun County Public Schools, Virginia, USA. Teaching no longer means imposing information from the outside but getting inside the experience of the learner. (Ferguson, 1990, p. 115) DRAWING Entretenido y podemos aprender con un juego creativo Nelson Me pareci muy buena forma de jugar y as se puede aprender mucho ingls. Es una divertida forma de aprender. Very good! Kimberly Escuela Angachilla 5th grade Valdivia, Chile, 2011