Universität Koblenz-Landau / Campus Koblenz
Institut für Anglistik (IFA)
SS 2007
Heike Bäcker
Students:
Anne Bödder, Katharina Muth, Lisa Mürmann, Anna Primas, Helene Mackert
Kings and Queens
General Information
The methods we use and present in the following lesson are meant for primary
school pupils. We think the children are in a 4th class because they have already
been confronted with written English and in some of our games they need a higher
level of language than pupils of lower classes.
Our class already knows the words which are used in the lesson.
The object of the lesson is to revise, activate and practice the vocabulary of the last
sections.
Our lesson is divided into three parts.
-1st part is meant as an information for students (adults).
-2nd part is meant for children in primary schools.
-3rd part is meant for teachers.
Kings and Queens – Vocabulary
-
king
queen
prince
princess
throne
crown
sceptre
glove
- royal robe
- ring
- diamonds
- jewellery
- castle
- royal park
- flag
- coach and horses
- butler
- maid
- soldiers / knights
1st part: Information for students
The “What-do-you-know-about-the English-kings-and-queens?” quiz game
Description of the game:
- The students are divided into two groups that play against each other.
- The teacher gives a lecture about the British monarchy with several integrated
questions concerning the topic. The questions are not just random questions
but are linked to the context.
- The task for the students is to give the right answer. If it is a more difficult
question a choice of two or three answers is given, so that they only have to
pick the right one.
E.g.: “Who conquered England in 1066 and then became monarch of a
kingdom with probably the strongest royal authority in Europe?”
-
a) Richard 1st
b) William, Duke of Normandy
The winner is the group that has given the most right answers till the end.
Comment:
The lecture and the questions give a short survey of the British monarchy and contain
topics as:
- the political system in the United Kingdom
- the chronological order of kings and queens in England, Scotland and the UK
(of course only the “important” ones can be mentioned because of the limited
time),
- the political role of a monarch
- royal prerogative
- the residences of the British sovereign
Objective:
Each of the students is a teacher-to-be and has to have the specific background
knowledge about (the British) monarchy when he/she deals with the topic “kings and
queens“. It belongs to the huge field of Area Studies which is important in primary
schools.
The aim is that the students can feel certain themselves about the topic, before they
teach children. Additionally, one should be prepared for pupils` unexpected questions
or interests concerning it.
2nd part: Activities
Making a crown:
Description:
- The pupils get a piece of yellow paper with the outline of a crown on it which
they only have to cut out.
- Then they can decorate their crowns with coloured glazed paper and jewels.
- After finishing their crowns they have to write their names on them so that
everybody has a name tag.
Object:
- The crowns motivate the pupils: they get the feeling of being a real king or
queen. The crown is also a nametag.
Flashcards:
Description:
- The pupils are presented different flashcards which show a picture of the
vocabulary and the word on the blackboard.
- The words on the flashcards have been introduced to the pupils in the last
lesson, so they already know the vocabulary.
- The teacher asks the pupils to pronounce the familiar words. These words are
collected on one side of the blackboard.
- If one pupil reads out a word the whole class has to repeat it together.
Objective:
- Because of presenting the flashcards on the blackboard the pupils remember
and revise the new vocabulary.
- The pupils have to pronounce the new words and the teacher can correct the
pronunciation. It is important that the focus is on pronunciation because in
primary school writing is not in the focus of attention.
My king has got…
Description:
- It’s a game for two or more people.
- The pupils get a piece of paper with a painted king and his royal accessories
on it.
- Each pupil has to circle or to paint five royal accessories which they want their
king to have.
- Now they have to ask each other what their king is wearing, e.g.: “Has your
king got a crown?”
- If the answer is “yes” the other pupil continues asking. If the king has not got
crown the next pupil starts asking a question.
- In the end the winner is the one who has guessed all the royal accessories of
his partner.
Phrases:
- Has your king got a…?
- Yes, my king has got a…
- No, my king has not got a…
Object:
The pupils practise their English by communicating with each other during the game.
So they learn the language in a playful way. By practicing the new vocabulary they
learn and revise it.
Memory game
Description:
- two pupils volunteer to come in front of the class
- each pupil of the class is given a card now ( they are given different types of
cards: picture cards / word cards )
- they can look at their card quickly but they should not tell anyone else what is
on their card
- the two volunteers in front have to find the appropriate pairs ( a picture and a
word card ) by picking pupils from the class and asking them to show them
their cards
- if one of the two players in front finds a matching pair, the two children from
the class have to hand in their cards to him / her
Phrases:
- What`s on your card, (name)?
- There`s a picture of.... on my card.
-
There`s the word….on my card.
Objective: Revision and practicing the words of the section.
3rd part: Ideas for teachers
Role playing
Description:
- The students are divided into four groups.
- Two groups get a story and have to discuss the text and how to present the
story to the class by creating a short role play.
- The other two groups get eight keywords and have to write a short story by
using these keywords. They also have to discuss and to consider how to make
the story understandable for primary school pupils.
Example :
Group 1 + 2:
Please read the story “The green queen” / “The prince who doesn`t want to kiss” and
present it in a way so that the pupils understand it: Pay attention to: speed of sound,
mimic art, gestures, chunks of language, keywords, flash cards, total physical
response, repetitions, instruments.
Group 3 + 4:
Please write a story by using these words: king, queen, prince, princess, castle,
crown, wild horse, dragon.
Think about various possibilities to make the story interesting and understandable for
primary school pupils.
Objective:
The prospective teachers learn how to make the language understandable and
presentable for pupils attending primary school.
By role playing the children learn how to express themselves in English and how to
show emotions in the foreign language. They practice their English by speaking to
each other and support their performance by mimical and physical expressions.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_monarchy