3.WALNUT TREE
Nogueira
Group 3 (7-8 year olds)
Hi teacher!
Welcome to Walnut Tree, our third cycle.
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New cycle, new objectives!
Take a few minutes to read and internalize the objectives of this cycle as they are the fundamental guidelines that should structure your teaching practices.
Vamos juntos!
THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS CYCLE ARE:
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Begin to show understanding and refer to words and concepts in English.
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Interact with peers as a group response to the teacher's interventions
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Demonstrate trust in the relationship with the teacher and peers by experimenting with the language.
When you see that there is progress in these areas, you can move on to the next cycle. Check the rubric that will help you know if the group is ready to move forward!
WE SUGGEST YOU CHECK THE EVIDENCES WITH WHICH YOU WILL OBSERVE IF YOUR STUDENTS HAVE ACHIEVED THESE OBJECTIVESโ
CLASS PLAN
2. NARRATIVE
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Always try to generate curiosity in your students by eliciting from them any kind of speculation; and when reading with them, make sure you use your body language so that meaning is clear.
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The narrative will always be followed by a simple discussion, in which you will ask specific questions about what they’ve heard or seen.
My class is 25 to 30 minutes long!
We know that some schools work with more frequent and shorter English classes of 25 to 30 minutes. In those cases, we suggest you follow this shortened plan of activities.
To ask your students about the video experiences (jornadas), ask them how they did them, if they are liking them so far, which were their favorites, etc.
Remember
1. STARTING SONG
To start this new cycle we will turn to our starting song. Probably for this moment, the children will already know some parts of the lyrics. Encourage them to repeat the slogans that the song proposes!
Also, you should not forget that in this song the children must run the benches to the sides to free the centre of the classroom and take off their shoes.
Lyrics
If your friends are in the classroom, say hello
If you see your teacher smiling, show your teeth
If you want to show your feelings, give a hug
If you feel like being silly, make some noise
If you want to get together, make some room
Let your heart feel so much better, make some room
Let’s get ready for Vivadi
Let’s have some fun and play with english in our world
Let’s get ready for Vivadi
We are all in this together
We’ll do it you and me
We’ll be a big great family
ALTERNATIVE
STARTING SONGS
2. NARRATIVE
After the starting song, you will introduce the narrative moment. We will be constantly referring back to it in our activities.
Keeping up with the daily routine topic, the next activity is reading a story that relates to it. We remind you that, even if you have audio-visual support, your body language is key to make children understand the meaning of the story and also make it more engaging to them.
You can choose between these options and don't forget how important repetition is. The order you pick the story is not important, as long as you use it more than once.
Choose one of these stories to start the cycle with. You will have several options of stories but it is up to you if you want to repeat the same story along all the cycle, or f you want to read different stories every class or every week.The narrative will always be followed by a simple discussion, in which you will ask specific questions about what they've heard or seen.
For each story, you have a read version that goes in conjunction with the project version. And, in case you do not have a projector, you have the printable version.
Tip: we suggest that you repeat the story you choose for at least two classes, so that children can get deeper into the story and strengthen the sense of meaning of it.
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You can choose some words that repeat throughout the story and tell some students that when they hear
the word assigned to them, they have to change places in the round. For example: tell student A that his/her word is “luck”. Everytime she/he listens to that word, she/he’ll have to change places with another student.
Tip: try this strategy after the third class in the cycle!
ARE YOU UP FOR A CHALLENGE?
Discussion for "The Black Cat"โ
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Do you like cats?
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Do you think black cats are bad luck?
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How did Soot feel?
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Where is your favorite place to vacation? Do you like the beach like Soot?
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Discussion for "Good Luck or Bad Luck"โ
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Do you believe in good luck or bad luck?
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What did you think of the old farmer?
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Did you like the story?
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What was your favorite part of the story?
Discussion for "The Unlucky Merchant"โ
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What did you learn from the story? What is the moral of the story?
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Did you like the story?
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What happened at the end of the story? Did the beans work?
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Discussion for "I Am Lucky"โ
Pre reading
Before reading the poem you should ask the students the following questions:
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Rhyme is one of the characteristics of the poem. Do you know how to rhyme? Give me some examples.
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Use flashcards with different types of animals (attachments: butterfly, fish, bird, elephant, kangaroo and octopus) and write in pieces of paper or print the names of the animals and choose words that rhyme with them (Ex: fly, board, fish, wish, moon, trunk, bus…).
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After this introductory activity, read the poem to the students.
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Post-reading
After reading the poem to the class, ask the students to identify rhyming words in the poem. Use the flashcards (or display images on the screen) to show them the rhyming words, e.g. wriggle/giggle, sea/glee.
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Ask students to build their own verses, using some words from the word bank and the sentence frames below:
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If I were a _____ in the _____, I would ________.
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If I were a bird in the sky, I would ___________.
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If I were a ___________, I would be thankful for my ________.
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Discussion
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How much did you like the poem?
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Why are you lucky to be yourself?
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If you were another person who would you want to be? Why?
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Name the animals there are in the poem.
Discussion for "The Story of Aladdin"โ
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Did you like the story?
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Did you watch the movie Aladdin? Do you think they are similar?
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What was your favorite part of the story?
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Do you have a favorite character?
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Do you like disney stories?โ
WORD BANK
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Animals: fish, lion, horse
Places: forest, sea, plains
Actions: be able to, hunt, run, swim, fly
Discussion for "My Lucky Day"โ
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Pre reading
Before you start the storytelling, choose some action verbs from the story and ask the students to match them with pictures or images using the Kahoot website.
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Post reading
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Divide the students in groups.
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Using flashcards of the story or the Wordwall platform, ask the students to organize the story in the chronological order.
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Ask the students to act out their favorite scene with their friends.
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Discussion
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How many main characters are there in the story? Who are they?
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Why did the fox serve the pig a meal?
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Why doesn’t the fox get to eat the piglet?
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Why is it a lucky day for the Piglet?
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What happened to the fox?
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Who do you think is smarter, the pig or the fox? Why?
3. ACTIVITIES
After the discussion, the students will do the following activities that are inspired by the narrative.
Choose the activities that correspond to the narrative you just read.
ACTIVITIES
Inspired by "The Black Cat"
Game: Bad Luck is silly
How: Ask the students to either share verbally or draw something that they have heard is bad luck. After they have done that, ask them to give a silly story of why it’s bad luck.
For example, long ago there was a king and he lived in a castle with 13 floors. One day, he fell off the 13th floor and that’s why number 13 is bad luck.
Online: The activity works the same way online!
Game: Good Luck Charm
How: Ask the students to create their good luck charm. Explain to them what a good luck charm is: something physical that is meant to bring them good luck. You can show them these images to inspire them.
Good luck charms around the world
Online: The activity works the same way online!
ACTIVITIES
Inspired by "Good Luck or Bad Luck"
ACTIVITIES
Inspired by "The Unlucky Merchant"
Game: Good luck or bad luck, who knows?
How: Ask the students to think for 10 minutes about something they experienced or heard that it looked like bad luck or good luck and something changed it. For example how it happened in the story: his son broke his leg, but he didn’t have to go to war. Then they will all sit in a circle and share their experiences.
Online: The activity works the same way online except that instead of sitting in a circle, they will all be on their screens.
ACTIVITIES
Inspired by "The Story of Aladdin"
Game: Gratitude practice
How: Explain to the students that as they discussed, the moral of the story is that in order to have good luck, you must keep the bad for yourself and share the good with others. This means that they will make a “gratitude circle” where they will all sit together and say one positive thing they are grateful for. Each student has the opportunity to say 1 thing they are grateful for. The students must say either one of these 4 phrases:
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“I am truly blessed to have……”
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“I am so happy and grateful for….”
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“I am truly grateful for…”
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“with all my heart, thank you for….”
After each student speaks, the whole circle must say together “thank you”. This activity is meant for the students to be grateful for what they have and to understand that when they spread happiness, they receive more happiness.
Online: The activity works the same way online
Game: Aladdin the play
How: You will tell the students that they will act out the story (in maximum 10 minutes). Separate the students into groups of 5. Each student will choose a character from the story
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Aladdin
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Aladdin’s mom
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Magician/merchant
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Genie
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Princess/Jasmine
The students have 3 or more classes to organize, add more dialogue (in english) and practice. An example of a structure:
In the first class, the students will re-read the story and assign the characters. They can brainstorm ideas on what to do and think of dialogue (all characters must speak at least two times).
In the second class, they will write the dialogue and “stage” the play (how it will go).
In the third class, they will practice.
In the fourth class, they will present to the class. They are invited, if they have, to bring costumes, props or anything else they wish, music is also welcomed.
Online variation: This activity still works online. You will have to make the groups of students and they will have to go into their own breakout rooms. After the fourth class they can present to the class virtually.
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Game: Spreading happiness
How: put students into pairs and ask them to share with each other good deeds that they have done for others. This way they are reflecting about positive things they have done and at the same time, inspire them to do more good.
Online: The activity works the same way online. You can either put the students into breakout rooms or they can share as a class
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CRAFTS ACTIVITIES!
BRAIN BREAK
It's time to stop and focus on an action to be able to continue with the class.
These short breaks are essential to renew the kids' energy and be more prepared for what follows. You can use this resource at any time during the class if you think it's necessary.
10 Seconds Object
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This activity gets students using their bodies to create freeze frames (like a real life frozen image) that depict an object or a situation. Use this activity to talk about how we can communicate meaning through movement. Break students into small groups and call out an object or scenario (such as the North Pole, peacock, at the beach, washing machine etc.). Count down from ten to zero. While you are counting down, students have to create the object, character or situation using their bodies. When you reach zero, shout “Freeze!”! Give each group a thumbs up or thumbs down depending on if they have represented the stimulus in a way that makes sense. Continue, keeping the pace up to ensure students are engaged and thinking on their feet! You can decide on a “scoring” method that feels right for you (such as giving scores out of ten or choosing one winner per round), or you may prefer not to “score” at all, and just use the activity as a confidence and group awareness building exercise.
As they understand the game, create a way that one team gives the theme to the other. They can write down themes and the teacher draws them, or just let one team choose the other’s theme.
Ribbon of a Sound
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Stand everyone spaced out in a circle and pick one child to make a sound. The next person will mimic this sound and it’ll travel around the circle, one child after the other. Once you’ve completed a full circuit, the next child will then make a different sound that’ll travel around the circle in the same way. You can repeat the exercise until everyone has started a circuit. It’s a great way to energise your class. When you feel they’re ready, you can change the sound for a word or a sentence.
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Mirroring
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Organize the childrens in pairs. Pick a leader in the pair and face each other. Whatever the leader does, the other child has to replicate. It could be speaking, acting out a character or subtle body language. After a few minutes, swap over. This is an easy way to practise focus and observation. You can suggest a theme or a place to guide the brain break, such as: my body, my bedroom, things I like/dislike… After a while you can add sounds to the game.
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Lie about how you got here
The students sit in a circle, and one by one each student lies about how they got to class. This could be by flying car, unicorn, or time travel. Anything goes in this exercise. Encourage students to really tell a story and give detail. A good option is to set a time for each student to speak. After a while they can control each other's time.
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Zip Zap Zoom
Students “pass the energy” around a circle, using an action and variety of vocal commands. In the traditional game, students stand in a circle and send the energy around the circle saying either Zip, Zap or Zoom.
“Zip”sends the energy in a clockwise direction
“Zap” sends the energy in an anti-clockwise direction
“Zoom” sends the energy to someone across the circle
Every command is done with an action – the easiest being to clap and point to the person the energy is being sent to.
The teacher can change the words “zip” “zap” and “zoom” for other words that are being worked in the classroom.
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Verbal Venn
One student chooses two disparate objects, the other student attempts to find a linking characteristic between those two objects and the word that would go in the middle of the imaginary Venn diagram. For example, player one says, "magazine and oven." A potential answer might be, "Cookbooks: things that you read and things in the kitchen." Student one does not have to have an answer.
Not Three of a Kind
A person names 3 things and the other player(s) has/,have to figure out the one that does not fit in the group. For example: pig, fox, tomato. Pig and fox are animals so tomato is the odd one out.
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4. MOVE YOUR
HIPS!
Use this activity when you feel that the students are too distracted or have been seated for too long. The idea is to break the structure by having the students sing along or dance (whichever works best for your class). The children will probably need to loosen up a bit by now, as they have been sitting for quite a while. There's two playlists: one for choreography, where the students can follow along and another for free dance where they can sing along and move freely. You can choose a song from the suggested playlists.
ARE YOU UP FOR A CHALLENGE?
Print these flashcards of movements and put them in a bag. While the song is playing, the children can pass the bag, take out a card, show the choreographic step to the rest and let the others copy it.
7. HARMONY
Remember to begin this space by playing relaxing music.
Probably by now, the children will already associate this music with Harmony Time, so go ahead and set the mood with our relaxing playlist:
While the music plays in the background,
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ASANAS
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GROUP ASANA
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SWARA
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SAVASANA
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ANJALI
1. ASANA
To start with the harmony practice, encourage the children to copy the following postures.
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Tip: make it a game! Play with the kids to make them copy the posture. You can ask them to freeze and evaluate their postures!
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Bee
Sitting on the floor, place your feet together with the soles touching each other. Grab your feet with your hands and let your knees fall towards the floor. Let your hips open up like the wings of a bee.
Tree
Take a moment to feel both your feet root into the floor with your weight distributed equally on every part of each foot. Imagine you are tree and your roots are spreading through the soil beneath you.
Begin to shift your weight into your right foot, lifting your left foot off the floor.
Keep your right leg straight but don't lock the knee. Bend your left knee and bring the sole of your left foot high onto your inner right thigh. If you feel you can’t do this, you could try bringing the sole of your left foot onto a lower part of your right leg.
Stay a few breathes, and repeat with the left side.
Rabbit face
2. GROUP ASANA
This ASANA segment of Harmony Time involves a group posture.
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Gather the children together and ask them to sit in a circle again. They will have to massage the head of the one who’s next to them.
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3. SWARA
BELLY BREATHING
Children should be lying in the floor in a comfortable and easy position for them. Tell them to remember to breath by the nose. They should put their hands on their tummies and try to expand their bellies when they breath in.
4. SAVASANA (guided relaxation)
Lying face up, with closed eyes.
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The teacher puts a song that will repeat throughout all the classes of this cycle. This will give the students confidence as when they listen to this song, they will know what they will have to do. The aim of this moment is that they stay still and just listen to the song.
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You can encourage them to forget that they are at school, in the classroom, and suggest them to think in another thing or place that they know like for example, their bedrooms.
5. ANJALI
Children sit on their knees and they bring their palms together and near their chests.
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The idea is that you look at the children and the incentives that they also say "Thank you".
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ADDITIONAL HARMONY OPTIONS
8. ENDING SONG
Lyrics
If you enjoyed our time together, sing along
If you can’t wait for next class, high five!
To get ready for what follows, tidy up
See you next time dear teacher, good bye!
It’s not goodbye with Vivadi
The things I learnt today will always stay in me
It’s not goodbye with Vivadi
We are all in this together
We’ll do it you and me
We’ll be a big great family