Language learning activities
From Medway Y4 SoW
Wildfire
Sit the children in a circle of chairs with the teacher as part of the circle. The
teacher makes a statement and asks a question to the
child to the left e.g “Je m’appelle Mme/monsieur x. Et toi?” They have to
answer the teacher and then pass on the question and elicit an answer from
the child next to them who has to pass it on until it gets back to the teacher.
See how quickly the class can do this and still manage to make out the words.
Passing a soft ball or even a screwed up piece of paper helps concentration.
#Pass the Quoit is a variation of this game.
Wildfire- Extension
When they are confident with this, divide them into 2 equal teams still in the
circle. The teams start with the two children nearest the teacher and will finish
opposite the teacher. The teacher asks a question e.g “Je m’appelle m/mme.
X Et toi?” and the class pass it round. The child at the end answers by
standing up and saying their answer e.g “Je m’appelle…” and their name.
Standard repetion strategies
Teacher says words – pupils listen
Teacher says – pupils repeat
Teacher/pupils say the words fast, slow, loud, soft
Teacher/pupils say the words with varying emotions - use mood dice or
emotion puppets
Pupils say as a group and then in smaller groups and eventually alone
Graded questions
Differentiate the same vocabulary set to 3 levels.
Yes/No question - c’est bleu? Oui ou non?
Option question - c’est bleu ou rouge?
Open question – c’est de quelle couleur?
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Place the cards around the room at a height they can be seen by all pupils.
The pupils stand and familiarise themselves with the position of each item.
The caller (teacher or able pupil) says a word and the class point to the card.
Those who point to the correct card remain standing, those who do not sit
down.
Last person to remain standing is the winner.
Depending on the ability of your class, you may wish to invent your own rules
towards the end of the game to speed things up: time limits, standing on one
leg, etc
FLASHCARDS
Slow-reveal – reveal picture slowly
Kim’s game – display pictures, close eyes, remove one, guess which one.
Wiz-wizz – flash it quickly
True or false - Pupils repeat word/phrase ONLY if it matches the flashcard.
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Fruit salad
Pupils seated in a circle, choose a set or vocab and give each pupil one
word/phrase. Repeat the sequence until all pupils have a word (there should
be at least two of each word). Teacher in the middle initially, when pupils are
more confident with the vocabulary use a volunteer). Call one or two words
and pupils must change places, not allowed to sit back in own seat. Caller
must try to sit down.
NOUGHTS AND CROSSES (TIC TAC TOE)
Start with whole class – divided in two, teacher draws frame on board and fills
it with flashcards or words, pupils must ask for the words in French in order to
gain the square. When confident that pupils will not work too often in English,
let them work in pairs. Much eagle eared invigilation needed here!
EXTENSION VERSIONS OF Os Xs (similar to battleships)
Put coloured flashcards over the squares so pupils can identify their chosen
square. Have numbers/vocabulary listed on board for pupils to ‘find’.
Teacher has a grid marked with numbers/vocabulary, pupils guess which
number/item of vocabulary is under the coloured square. If correct number
marked O or X and crossed off list. Great as a memory activity and for getting
them to use all the numbers.
GUESS WHAT
A child or the teacher chooses a flashcard or object and hides it. The class
have to guess what they have chosen by going through the vocabulary. The
person answers yes or no until someone guesses correctly and then they get
to go up and have a turn.
SLAP
divide the class into 2 teams, display flashcards on a wall or board. Call out a
word and 2 people have to slap the word (use fly swatters for great effect)
whoever wins get a point for their team.
LOTTO
Get the pupils to draw bingo grids onto whiteboards or scrap paper. Fill with
numbers. Teacher has a filled in ‘master’ card and pupils call out to guess
what is on it. Alternatively play it as straightforward lotto and call out random
numbers or pick out from digit cards.
TALK WALL
A talk wall is a sequence of pictures (stickmen style) to prompt sentences.
e.g name written, 3 dogs, 1 cat, fish with cross through it, 1 boy, 3 girls
prompts> Je m’appelle …, j’ai trois chiens et un chat, je n’ai pas de
poisson. J’ai un frère et trois sœurs.
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Storylists to reinforce gender
Tell a story in English using the vocabulary from a particular topic e.g a little
girl visited a bakery and a cakeshop…. Choose only words of one gender and
use a boy or girl in the story accordingly. Stories for the Y4 vocabulary are
available to download from the Medway website.
I went to the shops….
The children sit in a circle. You begin by saying, e.g. ‘A Calais il y a un
supermarche’.
The child next to you repeats ‘A Calais il y a un supermarché et un marché’.
The aim of the game is to remember what the previous people have said and
be able to think of a new place to add to the town description.
Mad dash
Hand out cards call out vocab and time how long it takes 1 person to collect
them
Pass the word parcel Pass round a bag containing text cards/flashcards when music stops the child
had to choose one and read it aloud, teacher models back correctly if
necessary and whole class can repeat if they wish.
Graffti board
Provide a space for pupils to write up any French words they know. Explain
about how you will mark on corrections and that this is a positive thing. You
want to encourage any writing.
Echoing
Throw a soft item to a child saying the vocabulary. They repeat as they throw
it back. Confident pupils can pass it on saying a different word.
TPR (total physical response)
In 2 teams –hand out flashcards. Call out the vocabulary and whoever has it
has to jump up and scores a point for their team.
In pairs – using mini flashcards they hold up the card then they hear the word.
Robot
Give directions to a pupil who has to move around the room.
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