For the “contextual realization” of the material (Jolly &Bolitho, 1998: 97), you can use a rhyme where the target language is illustrated. In our example we have used the rhyme “I hear, I say, I talk” to teach vocabulary about animals and animal sounds or even plurals (Childcraft, 1993).
Rhymes can be a very beneficial resource for a number of reasons.
- they can be used in the EFL classroom in order to promote learning in a motivating and enjoyable way (Williams 1991).
- they can be used “to consolidate or introduce new language” (Brewster et al, 1991: 69).
- They “make learning more memorable… children of all language abilities can join in, which helps build up confidence” (Cant &Superfine, 1997: 23)
- they add variety to the lesson, increase pupil-pupil communication, improve listening skills, attention span and concentration, and lighten up formal teaching.( Brewster et al, 1991 :174)
- they are motivating since they provide authentic texts (Saricobam & Metin 2000)
- they can broaden the learners’ knowledge of the target culture (Saricoban & Metin 2000)
- they are made of prefabricated phrases or “chunks” which are very important in language learning along with the rhythm that accompanies them (Kolsawalla, 1999)
References
David Jolly & Rod Bolitho, 1998, A framework for materials writing, in Materials development in language teaching, Brian Tomlinson, C.U.P., Cambridge
Rod Ellis, 1998, The evaluation of communicative tasks, in Materials development in language teaching, Brian Tomlinson, C.U.P., Cambridge
Dave Willis &Jane Willis, 1996, Consciousness raising activities, in Challenge and Change in Language teaching, Heineman
David Block, 1991, Some thoughts on DIY materials design, ELT Journal Vol. 45/3
Ps.211-216
Michael Breen & Christopher Cantlin, 1987, Which materials? A consumer’s and designer’s Guide, in ELT Textbooks and Materials: Problems in Evaluation and Development, Moder English Publication, Oxford
Hanovi Kolsawalla, 1999, Teaching vocabulary through rhythmic refrain in stories, in Young Learners of English: Some Research Perspectives, Ed. Sheilagh Rixon, Longman
Piotr Kuhiwczack, 1999, Enchantment in the classroom: children’s Literature as a teaching Aid, in Young Learners of English: Some Research Perspectives, Ed. Sheilagh Rixon, Longman
Marion Williams, 1991, A framework for teaching English to young learners, in Brumfit C. , Moon J., &Tongue R., Teaching English to children: from practice to principle, Harper Collins Publishers, London
Arif Saricoban & Esen Metin, 2000, Songs Verse, and Games for teaching Grammar, The Internet TESL Journal , Vol. VI , No 10, http://iteslj.org/
Rod Ellis, 1992, The empirical evaluation of language teaching materials, ELT Journal 51/1, ps.36-42 OUP, Oxford
Rod Ellis, 1993,Second language acquisition research: how does it help teachers?, ELT Journal, Vol. 47/1:6, ps. 3-11OUP, Oxford,
Jean Brewster, 1991, What is good primary practice?, in Brumfit C. , Moon J., &Tongue R., Teaching English to children: from practice to principle, Harper Collins Publishers, London
Shelagh Rixon, 1991, The role of fun and games activities in teaching young learners, in Brumfit C. , Moon J., &Tongue R., Teaching English to children: from practice to principle, Harper Collins Publishers, London
Julia khan, 1991, Using games in teaching English to young learners, in Brumfit C. , Moon J., &Tongue R., Teaching English to children: from practice to principle, Harper Collins Publishers, London
Marion Williams & Robert l. Burden, 1987, Psychology for Language Teachers: a Social Constructivist Approach, CUP, Cambridge
Brewster J., Ellis G., &Girard D., 1991, The primary English Teacher’s Guide, Penguin English, London
Amanda Cant & Wendy Superfine, 1997, Developing Resources for Primary, Richmond Publishing, London
David Nunan, 1995, Language teaching methodology, Prentice Hall
Stories and Poems, 1993, Vol. 1, Childcraft
Michael Breen, 1989, The Evaluation cycle for language cycle for language learning tasks in the second language curriculum, Ed. Robert Keith Johnson, CUP, Cambridge
I SEE, I SAY, I TALK.
Cats purr.
Lions roar.
Owls hoot.
Bears snore.
Crickets creak.
Mice squeak.
Sheep baa.
But I speak!
Monkeys chatter.
Cows moo.
Ducks quack.
Pigeons coo!
But I don’t know
how foxes do!
Pigs squeal.
Horses neigh.
Chickens cluck.
But I say!
Flies hum.
Dogs growl.
Bats screech.
Wolves howl.
Frogs croak.
Parrots squawk.
Bees buzz.
But I talk!
LESSON 1
LESSON PLAN
Class: D
Lengh of lesson: 45 minutes
Materials: Photocopies of the rhyme. Photocopies of pictures of animals.
Introduction
Purposes
brainstorming
revising vocabulary on animals
revising the plural suffix –s
also, categorizing working independently of teacher, negotiating, cooperating
through goupwork
Skills : listening, speaking, writing, reading
Procedure:
Task 1.
The learners are organized in groups of mixed ability by the teacher. One student is the group “leader”.The teacher asks the learners to make a list of as many animals as they can in 5 mins. using the singular form. When the teacher says “Stop” the group leaders count the words they have written. The group with the shorter list read the list and then the teacher invites the other groups to add more words.
Task 2
The teacher draws a table with two columns on the board. She writes the headings “singular” and “plural” in L1 above each column(or “one” and “many”). She writes “dog” in the first column and “dogs” in the second one. She writes the suffix –s using a different colour: eg. dog-dogs. Then she asks the students to think of more examples of nouns with the –s plural suffix using their list or even their coursebook. The words may belong to other word groups, eg school objects.
Comments
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ACTIVITY SHEET 1 : Lesson plan
Task 1- Warm-up
Purpose: introduction of new vocabulary , introduction of animal sounds in L2-discovery of similarities/differences and comparing, arousing curiosity, enjoyment, cooperating, negotiating
Procedure
The teacher gives out copies of a sheet with pictures of animals. The students work in groups and try to name as many animals as they can, labelling the pictures. The teacher offers feedback and writes the new vocabulary on the board. Then she asks the groups to choose one animal each and imitate the sound it makes. The other group tries to guess the animal The the teacher asks the learners if they know the “English” sounds of the same animals. She mimes and the learners guess again.
Task 2-Listening
Purpose: consolidation of new words, introduction of the plural suffixes and irregular plurals, practice of listening skills
Procedure: The teacher reads the rhyme and asks the learners to tick the pictures of the animals they hear in the rhyme.
Task 3-reading
Purpose: to develop recognition of plural form, cooperation, self and peer evaluation, discrimination between sounds rhythmic patterns, improvement of pronunciation, development of reading skills
Procedure: The teacher hands out photocopies of the rhyme to all the learners. She reads the rhyme once and then she asks the learners to repeat chorally. Then she asks each group to read again.Each group member takes it in turns to read two verses. Then the teacher asks the groups to check their response to the previous task as she moves around to offer assistance.
Task 4-recognition
Purpose: to develop recognition of plurals, discrimination of irregular plurals,
Procedure: The teacher asks the learners to underline the plural nouns on their sheets. Then she writes on the board the suffixes of plural:-s, -es, -ies, -ves .She invites the groups to find which nouns from the rhyme match these suffixes. The groups cooperate and circle these nouns. Then the teacher asks about the “odd” plural words such as mice and sheep and asks the groups to find these words and underline them.
Task 5
Purpose: production and self-assessment and generalization of rules, to build up confidence, take responsibility for their learning, to develop thinking capacity, hypothesizing, problem-solving, risk-taking
Procedure: the teacher asks the groups to make a list of the circled and underlined nouns.T hen she asks them to provide a list of the singular form. The more advanced learners must offer their knowledge to the group. When the groups have difficulties in finding the correct singular form of a noun they are allowed to leave a gap and move on to the next noun. When the learners finish the completion of the lists the teacher gives out a copy with the correct singular-plural forms of the nouns and asks the groups to compare it to theirs. Then she asks the groups to come to conclusions about the use of each plural suffix. The group secretary keeps notes and then one group ( randomly chosen) announces the conclusions to the class. The other groups state their opinions and the teacher helps to fill in the gaps by writing more examples of each suffix on the board.
Comments………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
LESSON 2
ACTIVITY SHEET 2
LESSON PLAN
TASK 1– Review-graph filling
Purpose: to review what was learnt, to identify weak areas that need revision, to help perceive knowledge, risk-taking, classifying, peer correction, learn how to learn
Procedure: In order to carry out a brief review, the teacher asks the groups to provide one example for each plural suffix. Then she chooses one group and asks a group member to write the examples on the board.T he other groups comment on possible mistakes, with the teacher’s guidance. Then the teacher distributes copies of a graph to each student. In the graph, there is a list of the nouns that were included in the rhyme in singular form and five empty columns, one for each plural suffix and one for the irregular plurals. Each learner must provide the correct plural form of each noun and put it under the correct heading ( working individually). The learners are not allowed to look into the rhyme. Then the members of the group exchange papers and check for mistakes (they are free to cooperate and ask the other group members’ opinion while checking their partner’s sheet). The teacher moves around and offers help where necessary. The learners keep notes on the rules that apply to the use of each suffix.
Task 2
Purpose: provision of reference material for reflection
Procedure: The teacher distributes a copy with notes about the rules of the plural suffix. She also sticks one enlarged copy on the wall. She assigns homework: The learners must check the English books they have at home in order to find more examples of each suffix. She asks the learners to cut the pictures with the animals from the sheet they used in lesson 1 (at home), and bring the pictures to class for the next lesson. She announces a test for the next lesson. This can be in the form of a poster ( with the help of the learners).
Comments…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
LESSON 3
ACTIVITY SHEET 3
LESSON PLAN
Task 1 : A revision test
Purpose: To clarify the work covered, to help perceive progress,
Procedure: The learners take the test individually. The teacher collects the tests. If there is enough time, she marks the tests and then she provides feedback on mistakes. Otherwise, she offers feedback in the following lesson.
Task 2:A game: naughts and crosses
Purpose: Enjoyment, consolidation of the new language, development of memory skills, ‘hidden “ practice.
Procedure: The teacher asks the learners to play in pairs. She asks them to get their set of card with the pictures of animals (they are supposed to have cut them at home.) Each pair draws a naughts and crosses grid in the notebook. Each partner chooses his/her sign: an o or an x.
Each learner picks up a card and has to provide the correct singular and plural forms of the word. If he/she provided the correct form, he/she can fill in one box in the naughts and crosses grid with his/her sign. It’s a good idea to use a pencil so that the signs can be erased and the learners can play several times. The winner is the learner who fills in the most boxes of the grid and finally draws the more straight lines with his/her sign on the grid.
Task 3:Rhythmic, choral reading of the rhyme
Purpose: to develop memory skills, enjoyment, to build up confidence, to provide pronunciation practice, consolidate the new language
Procedure: The teacher reads each verse first and the learners repeat chorally. When they finish, the teacher and the learners read together. The teacher points to one learner each time and he/she mimes the sound of the animal mentioned in each verse.
Ask the learners to fill in the self-assessment form.
COMMENTS
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ACTIVITY SHEET 1.1
TASK 1. Look at the pictures in activity sheet 1.2. Do you know these animals? Label as many of the pictures as you can. Can you mime the sounds that they make?
TASK 2. Listen to the rhyme and tick the pictures of the animals that you hear.
TASK 3. Look at the rhyme in activity sheet 1.3 and repeat after the teacher. Then read again with your group ( each member must read two verses). Then, check your answers in activity 2.
TASK 4. Underline the animals in plural form in act. sheet 1.3. Circle the suffix in each noun. How many different suffixes can you find? Can you find all the suffixes that are written on the board? Can you spot any “odd” words without a plural suffix?
suffixes: _____, ______, _______, ________
words without a suffix:……………………………………………………………………………………………
TASK 5. Make a list of the animals that you underlined in task 4. Can you make another list of the same animals in singular? Share your answers with your group members.
PLURAL SINGULAR
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Now use the answer sheet .Compare it with your answer to this task.Talk about the use of each plural suffix. When for example is the suffix –ves used?What about-es and –ies? Use the space below to keep notes .
ACTIVITY SHEET 2.1
TASK 1. Fill in this graph. Write the plural form of each animal in the right cell. Use the last column for the words without a suffix.
SINGULAR PLURAL
-s -es -ves – ies –
| cat | |||||
| lion | |||||
| owl | |||||
| bear | |||||
| cricket | |||||
| mouse | |||||
| sheep | |||||
| monkey | |||||
| duck | |||||
| pigeon | |||||
| pig | |||||
| horse | |||||
| chicken | |||||
| fly | |||||
| dog | |||||
| bat | |||||
| wolf | |||||
| frog | |||||
| parrot | |||||
| bee | |||||
| cow |
Now exchange your sheet with the student sitting next to you. Check for mistakes. If you are not sure about something ask the members of your group or the teacher for help.
TASK 2. Can you say when each plural suffix is used? Talk with your group about it. Then use the handsheets 2.2 and 2.3 . What was the easiest part for you? What was the part you had more difficulty with? Can you find more examples for each plural suffix? Do you know other words that do not take these suffixes in plural?
Search your English books.
Share your ideas with your group.
The easiest rule: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
The most difficult rule:
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
More examples:
-s: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
-es: …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
-ies: …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
-ves: …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
words without suffix: ………………………………………………………………………………………………..………………………..
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ACTIVITY SHEET 3
TASK 1
REVISION TEST
NAME:………………………………………………………………………………….
Fill in the missing words.
SINGULAR FORM |
PLURAL FORM |
| fly | |
| mice | |
| duck | |
| bees | |
| cat | |
| bears | |
| pig | |
| monkeys | |
| wolf | |
| frogs | |
| horse | |
| chickens | |
| dog | |
| bats | |
| cow | |
| parrots | |
| lion | |
| owls | |
| sheep | |
| pigeons |
MARK:……………………………………………….
Appendix 7.2
TASK 2:Let’s play!
Cut the pictures with the animals from handsheets 1.2.
Now play naughts and crosses with your partner. Shuffle the pictures. You and your partner take turns to pick up one picture. Can you write the plural and singular forms of the word in the picture? You can use either this paper or your notebook.If your answer is correct you may fill in the naughts and crosses grid. The person with the more answers wins. But be careful!If your partner manages to make a straight line with his sign on the grid, he/she wins!
X O
Task 3: Let’s sing! Look at the handsheet with the rhyme and sing
PUPIL’S SELF ASSESSMENT FORM
Name:………………………………………………………………………………..
1.How well did I do? (Please circle)
very well Quite well not very well
2.Which plural form was the easiest ?
to remember the rule-es -ies -ves irregular plurals
To recognize it when I see it
-es -ies -ves irregular plurals
3.Which plural form was the most difficult?
-es -ies -ves irregular plurals
4.Which lesson did I enjoy the most?
1 2 3
5.Which lesson did I enjoy the least?
1 2 3
6.Which task was the most difficult?
Task ……………..in lesson…………………………………..
7.Which task was the easiest?
Task ………………in lesson………………………………………………….
QUESTIONNAIRE
(translated)
Please tick
1.Did you find the material helpful?
Yes, the material was very helpful
Quite helpful (which task/s? task……………………activity sheet/s………………)
No , the material wasn’t any helpful at all.
2.If yes, which activity sheet did you find the most helpful?
1
Activity sheet 1
Activity sheet 2
Activity sheet 3
Please answer.
3.Which particular task/s did you find the most helpful?
Task…………………… …in Act. Sheet …………………………..
4.Which task/s did you find the least helpful?
Task……………………….in Act. Sheet……………………………
Download the pdf posters with plural rules:
plurals plurals2
