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Oxford English 5

9 New Year Countdown

Learning outcomes Materials:
¨ Big Book 5
The children are able
¨ Activity Book 5
to …
¨ Flash Cards B3 -, -, B5 -
 do the countdown
¨ Phonics Flash Cards B5 /p/,
from ten to one;
/s/, /r/, /u/, /q/, /f/, -
 wish others Happy
¨ Song Poster B5
New Year;
¨ Audio CD 5
 identify the sound
¨ Oxford Reading Pen
/f/ and words with
¨ Hand Puppets
the beginning sound
______________________________
/f/.
Teacher’s Resource CD-ROM

Language items fireworks, seven, eight, nine, ten, a clock* ¨ Activity Sheets B5U9 -

¨ Phonics Song Poster B5

It is time to do the countdown. / Happy New Year!
______________________________

Text types Stories, calendars# ¨ A big calendar

¨ Pictures of countdown activities

Word actions

fireworks seven eight nine ten a clock*

1. Revision: Watch carefully


2. Warm-up: New Year’s Eve

3. Time for a Story

4. Time to Say
Word game 1: Listen and find
Word game 2: Beautiful fireworks
Sentence game: Happy New Year!

5. Time to Sing

6. Time to sound
- Sound and actions
- Phonics song – The sound /f/

7. Time to Do: Activity Book 5, Unit 9

8. Wrap-up: Let’s do the countdown

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Teaching Steps:
1) Revision
Watch carefully R Flash Cards B5 -

 Quickly go through the Flash Cards for the target words from Unit 8 (i.e. a bowl, chopsticks, a
fork, a knife, a plate, a spoon and a cup*) with the children to refresh their memory. Then put
the Flash Cards away.
 Do the corresponding actions for two of the words. Ask the children to watch carefully and
remember them. Then they should tell you the two words in the same order.
 You may repeat the two actions if the children cannot give the correct answers.

2) Warm-up
New Year’s Eve R A big calendar

 Show the children a big calendar. Point to the dates marked in red. R Pictures of countdown

 Explain that the red dates are public holidays. Tell the children that they do not need to go to activities from the Web

school on public holidays.

 Point to the first day of the year on the calendar. Tell them that this day starts a new year.
People usually celebrate on New Year’s Eve, the last day of a year (i.e. 31 st December), to
welcome the New Year.
 Show the children some pictures of countdown activities around the world, for example,
excited crowds in streets, fireworks displays, etc.
 Try to do the countdown with the children

3) Time for a Story

 Show the children the Big Book. Ask them what they can see in the flat. Let them guess what is R Big Book 5, pp.28-30
going to happen. R Oxford Reading Pen

Narrator: It is New Year’s Eve. There is a party at Jimmy’s house. R Hand Puppets
Jimmy suddenly points to the clock.
(Teacher: [point to p.28] Can you find the clock on this page?)
Jimmy: It is time to do the countdown.
Achoo: Oh, it is time to do the countdown.
Narrator: Everyone gathers around the television.
Announcer: Let’s do the New Year countdown!
All: Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one!
[turn the wheel on p.29] Happy New Year!
Jimmy: Wow! The fireworks are beautiful!
Molly and Jimmy’s sister: Yeah!
(Teacher: [point to the upper part of p.30] Can you find the fireworks
in this picture?)
Narrator: Oh! Where is Achoo?

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Get Set, Go! Oxford English 5

(Teacher: [point to the upper part of p.30] Can you find Achoo in this
picture?)
Molly’s little brother: Ah… ah … ah … choo!
Narrator: Oh no! Achoo is caught in the balloons!
Achoo: Help!

 Jimmy’s family and Molly’s family are having a party to celebrate and welcome the New Year.
They share the joy together. Ask the children if they celebrate happy events with their family
and friends, e.g. birthdays, Christmas, etc. Ask them to share with the class what they normally
do with their loved ones to celebrate these events.

You may play the Oxford Reading Pen game with the children. The following questions will
be played randomly:
(Introduction) Narrator: It is time to do the countdown. Touch Jimmy or Achoo to do the
countdown with them.
Jimmy/Achoo: Yeah! Let’s do the countdown. Touch the green words on p.29 to answer.
Jimmy: Ten, nine, eight … oops! What is the next number?
Jimmy: Six, five … oops! What is the next number?
Jimmy: Three, two … oops! What is the next number?
Achoo: Ten, nine … oops! What is the next number?
Achoo: Seven, six … oops! What is the next number?
Achoo: Four, three … oops! What is the next number?

4) Time to Say
Word game 1 – Listen and find R Flash Cards B5 -

 Use Post-it notes to cover the words on the Flash Cards. Stick the Flash Cards on the board. R Post-it notes
Say the words as you do the corresponding actions with the children.
fireworks: hold both fists in front of your chest, then raise both hands up and outwards
swiftly with your fingers spreading
seven: show seven fingers
eight: show eight fingers
nine: show nine fingers
ten: show ten fingers
a clock*: put up one arm straight as the minute hand and extend the other arm sideways as
the hour hand so that they form a right angle
 Stick the Flash Cards around the classroom. When you say a word, the children should find the
correct Flash Card as quickly as possible. Then they should point to the photo and say the
word as they do the corresponding action.
 When the children can easily name the pictures, you may uncover the words on the Flash
Cards and introduce their written form.
 When the children are familiar with the written form, you may write the words on the board

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one at a time with some letters missing. Ask the children to tell you what the missing letters
are. Give them some hints by showing them the Flash Cards.

Word game 2 – Beautiful fireworks R Flash Cards B5 -

 Show the children the Flash Card ‘fireworks’. Tell them that they are going to draw a picture R Activity Sheet B5U9
of fireworks. R A big piece of paper
 Ask a child to pick a Flash Card. R Crayons
 The child should then say the number on the Flash Card and draw the same number of
fireworks with a crayon on the big piece of paper.
 Let every child come out to draw some fireworks on the paper according to the number on
the Flash Card they pick.
 Show your appreciation of the completed work and ask the children what they think, if they
like the fireworks, etc. You may display it in the classroom.
 You may also introduce the supplementary word ‘a clock’ in the games. Let the children put the
word sticker next to the picture on p.28. Ask them to do Activity Sheet B5U9 .

Sentence game – Happy New Year! R Flash Cards B3 -, -, B5 -

 Stick the Flash Cards for the words ‘one’ to ‘ten’ in order on the board. Tell the children to R Achoo Hand Puppet

pretend that it is New Year’s Eve today. Let Puppet Achoo say Wow, it is New Year’s Eve R Three alarm clocks

today. The New Year is coming. I’m so excited! Are you excited too?
 Adjust the time to 11:59 on an alarm clock and show it to the children. Let Achoo look at the
clock and say Wow, it is time to do the countdown. Oh, which number should I start
from?
 Encourage the children to help Achoo by saying Ten. You may give them a hint with the Flash
Card. Let Achoo say Oh yes! Let’s start from ten. Can we do this together?
 Point to the Flash Cards one by one as you do the countdown together. Ten, nine, eight,
seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. Let Achoo say Mmm … I forgot what I should
say then! Encourage the children to help Achoo by saying Happy New Year!
 Show the children three alarm clocks, each showing a different time (with one showing 11:59).
Point to each clock and ask Is it time to do the countdown? Point to the clock with the
right time last.
 Give out the Flash Cards to some of the children. Ask a child to come out and hold Achoo.
He/she should point to the clock showing 11:59 and say It is time to do the countdown.
 Then the class should start to do the countdown together. As each number is said, the child
holding the corresponding Flash Card should stand up and show his/her Flash Card. The other
children should do the corresponding action. When you count to one, ask the children to greet
each other by saying Happy New Year! Then show the Flash Card ‘fireworks’. Encourage
them to do the action for the word ‘fireworks’ together.

5) Time to Sing
 Stick the Song Poster on the board. Chant the lyrics with the children. Teach them the actions. R Song Poster B5

R Audio CD 5, tracks 41-43

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Let’s Do the Countdown R Oxford Reading Pen

It is time to do the countdown1. ( 1 point to a clock)

Ten2, nine3, eight4, (2 show ten fingers)

(3 show nine fingers)

(4 show eight fingers)

Seven5, six6, five7, (5 show seven fingers)

(6 show six fingers)

(7 show five fingers)

Four8, three9, two10, one11. (8 show four fingers)

(9 show three fingers)

(10 show two fingers)

(11 show one finger)

Happy New Year12 ! (12 put up both hands with your fingers spreading to imitate
the fireworks)

1 2-11 3

 Sing the song and do the actions with the children.

6) Time to sound
Sound and actions R Big Book 5, p.31
 Use a Post-it note to cover the word ‘fireworks’ on the Phonics Flash Card. Show it to the R Phonics Flash Cards B5 /f/, -
children. Guide the children to say /f/, fireworks. R Oxford Reading Pen
 Repeat the steps for the words ‘finger’ and ‘five’. Tell the children that these words begin with R Achoo Hand Puppet
the sound /f/. R Post-it notes
 Say the following words one by one. Ask the children to tap their knees when they hear a word
with the beginning sound /f/:
pencil, five, fireworks, dance, cookie, room, finger
 Repeat the game by changing the order of the words or adding more words.
 Once the children can differentiate the target sound from the other letter sounds, let Puppet
Achoo show them the Phonics Flash Card /f/. Play the sound by pointing to the letter on the
Phonics Flash Card with Oxford Reading Pen. Ask the children to listen to the letter sound.
 Let Achoo say the sound /f/. Tell the children ‘f’ makes the sound /f/. ‘f’ is the letter
name and /f/ is the letter sound.

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 Write the letter f in the air with the children. Say the sound /f/ as you do so.
 Remove the Post-it note from the Phonics Flash Card ‘fireworks’ and ask the children if they
can spot the letter f. Repeat the same steps for ‘finger’ and ‘five’.
 Let the children put the word stickers ‘fireworks’ and ‘five’ on p.31.
 Show the children the Phonics Flash Cards. Give them one of the following instructions. Point
to the first letter or the word when giving the instructions:
Say the letter name/letter sound/whole word.
 Give the instructions at a varying pace to make the game more fun.
 If time allows, ask the children to create an action for the sound, e.g. pretending to be a gentle
breeze by waving their hands gently while they are saying the sound /f/.

Phonics song – The sound /f/ R Big Book 5, p.31

 Stick the Phonics Song Poster on the board. R Phonics Song Poster
 Play the phonics song by touching Achoo in the Big Book with Oxford Reading Pen or playing R Audio CD 5, tracks 44-46
the Audio CD. R Oxford Reading Pen
Fireworks, finger and five R Activity Sheet B5U9
Begin with the letter f.
‘f’ makes the sound /f/.
‘f’ makes the sound /f/.
 Ask the children to do Activity Sheet B5U9 .
Optional activity
True or false R Phonics Flash Cards B5
 Before the lesson, put a ‘tick’ and a ‘cross’ on two separate pieces of paper. /p/, /s/, /r/, /u/, /q/, /f/, -

 If time allows, you can review the sounds /p/, /s/, /r/, /u/, /q/ and /f/ with the children first. R Two pieces of paper
 Put a line of tape on the floor. Put the ‘tick’, which represents ‘true’, on one side. Put the R Black sticky tape
‘cross’, which represents ‘false’, on the other side.
 Hold a Phonics Flash Card and say /f/, fireworks. If you say the correct word, ask the
children to stand on the ‘true’ side. If you say the wrong word, ask them to stand on the ‘false’
side. Encourage them to say the correct letter sound and word.

6) Time to Do
 Ask the children to do Unit 9 in Activity Book 5. R Activity Book 5, pp.36-39

R Oxford Reading Pen

7) Wrap-up
Let’s do the countdown R Audio CD 5, track 42

 Play and repeat the track as background music. Ask the children to sit in a circle. Say It is
time to do the countdown.
 Randomly point to a child who should then say ten. Then point to another child and he/she
should say nine. Point to eight more children so that the words eight to one are all said in

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descending order. Then all the children should say Happy New Year! together.
 You may ask a child to come out and lead the countdown.

Language Point to Note

Pronouncing ‘countdown’
Some children may pronounce the word ‘countdown’ by stressing both syllables. You may remind the children that the
stress is on the first syllable.

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Get Set, Go! Oxford English 5

Unit 9 Activity Sheet 1

Name: Class: Date:

Write the missing letters. Say the words.

t_ _

n _ _ _

e _ _ _
_

s _ _ _
_

a c _ _ _
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Get Set, Go! Oxford English 5

Activity Sheet B5U9

Unit 9 Activity Sheet 2

Name: Class: Date:

Look at the things on the fish and say the words. Colour the fish if the

word has the beginning sound /f/.

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Get Set, Go! Oxford English 5

Activity Sheet B5U9

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Get Set, Go! Oxford English 5

Learning Record

Name: Class: Date:

Unit 9 New Year Countdown

Language items

 fireworks, seven, eight, nine, ten, a clock*

 It is time to do the countdown. / Happy New Year!

*Supplementary word

Ratings
Remarks
   

Listening

 able to understand the target words

 able to understand the target sentences

Speaking

 able to say the target words correctly

 able to say the target sentences fluently

 able to use the target sentences in context

Reading

 able to read the target words

 able to read the target sentences

Writing

 able to write the missing letters in the target sentences

Phonics

 able to identify and say the sound /f/

 able to identify words with the beginning sound /f/

 able to associate the sound /f/ with the letter f

Comments:
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________

Ratings

 always  often  sometimes  rarely

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