1. PALM TREE
Palmeira
Group 3 (7-8 year olds)
Hello teacher! Welcome to Vivadi’s first cycle of work. This is the beginning of a journey that we’ll go through together, to help our students acquire the english language!
2. GAME
THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS CYCLE ARE:
-
Understand Vivadí's class routine and distinguish the English class from the other classes.
- Develop a curiosity for the content and start building a relationship with the language.
-
Begin to recognize the class as a safe environment for experimenting with the new 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 EVIDENCE WITH WHICH YOU WILL OBSERVE IF YOUR STUDENTS HAVE ACHIEVED THESE OBJECTIVES
CLASS PLAN
My class lasts between
25 and 30 minutes!
We know that some schools count with more frequent and shorter English classes of 25 to 30 minutes. In those cases, we suggest you follow this shortened plan of activities. It is based on the activities that follow.
The most important is that the essence of the Vivadí Class is respected to make sure that the immersive
atmosphere is not disrupted!
If you have any suggestion don't doubt to tell us!
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, we need to make sure that the English moment is clearly separated from other classes the children have in the same room and the same conditions of learning. To do this, it is essential to modify the space as this helps the students to receive something different (which is, in this case, a different language).
That is why, in favor of creating a new working routine, you will ask the students to clear the tables and benches to free the area in the middle of the classroom. They will not need the desks or the backpacks, nor pencils or notebooks. Also, they should take off their shoes and leave them in a place that you determine. Don’t forget to take off your shoes too! While they do this, you will play the following opening song.
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
*REMEMBER TO SPEAK
ENGLISH AT ALL TIMES!
TRUST YOURSELF!
SUGGESTION:
It would be good if, little by little, the song became interactive. That is to say that the children can be doing the slogans that the song invites to perform, such as giving a hug. This will help them to make sense of what they are listening to and eventually, singing.
OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES
If you want to, show the kids the following video. Gestures are really important in this cycle as children don’t manage the language. In this video, the students will be able to watch and copy a choreography that will indicate with dance steps what the song is saying.
ALTERNATIVE
STARTING SONGS
A FINE FINE LINE
2. GAME
Ask your students to stand next to each other in a line.
When they are forming the line tell them that they know how the character is feeling. When they take a step forward the character is happy and taking a step back the character is sad. When you name any of these emotions, they should jump to the corresponding emotion. Once your students are more comfortable you can add two more actions: when the character is angry, step to the left. When the character is scared, take a step to the right.
* You can guide the game once or twice and then you can pick a helper from the students that will guide the game saying the words out loud. You can even ask the student to choose another three emotions to play and in this way expand the vocabulary employed in the game.
* If you want to connect this game to the students, ask them how they are today and they must reply with the same gestures. For example, if they are happy, take a step forward.
TIP: If the kids are euphoric: you can add movement tasks that involve jumping, twirling, moving arms or hands or making facial expressions.
ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS
The object of this version of the familiar game is not to win, but to see how many rounds you can stay in the game vs. the teacher. Play begins with one, two, three shoot. Everyone makes their choice and makes sure that others can see their choice on screen. If the teacher’s choice beats yours, you’re out. If not, you keep playing.
ACTION RACE
Use actions like jump, hop, clap, run etc.. Have the students split into two teams and sit in lines with a chair by each team and one chair at the other end of the room. One student from each team stands next to their chair and you will call an action, for example: "Jump". Students must jump to the chair on the other side of the room and back, sitting down in their chair students say "I can jump". First one to do it gets their team a point.
FOLLOW THE LEADER
STORY CHAIN
Material: Story Chain
Start a story with an engaging hook. For instance, “One day I was walking through a shady forest. I thought I was alone, but all of a sudden…” Have students raise their hand if they want to tell the next portion of the story. Choose a student to continue the story (just a line or two) and let them choose the next storyteller in the same way. Continue until everyone who wishes has had one chance to contribute. Feel free to jump back and bring the story to a close if it is floundering.
We have provided a few examples.
GUESSING QUESTION GAME
This is good practice for asking simple questions. The teacher hides any flash card behind his/her back and students try to guess what the object is by asking questions: "Is it a dog?", "Is it a ball?", "Is it a book?", etc. until they guess the flashcard. The teacher can also give clues if the students can't guess (e,g, "It goes "Woof woof!").
Pick one student (or ask for a volunteer) to be the leader or you can be the leader for the first round. Then pick a theme, for example: physical activity, gestures or expressions. All the players will have to mimic what the leader does. For example, jumping, dancing, laughing, etc.
MINGLE
Material: Questions
Meeting online has put a damper on spontaneous conversations with and among your students. Spice up the conversation with your students by asking new and interesting questions.
STAND UP QUESTIONS
Have the students put chairs in a circle, with one less than the number of students. The student left standing has to ask the others a question i.e. Are you wearing glasses? If the answer is yes, then the students with glasses have to stand up and quickly switch chairs, giving the one standing a chance to sit. If the answer is no, the students remain sitting. Lots of fun, and the kids seem to love it and always ask for it. Be careful that they don't get too excited and knock over any chairs.
After watching the video, play the following game!
SEE AND GUESS
You will start making a facial expression that shows a feeling that relates to the story that has just been told. For example: a sad face.
The student that guesses the feeling will come to the front and you will tell him a feeling to make with his/her face. If the student doesn’t understand the word in English show the face to him taking care that none of the other students see it.
After a few rounds, the game can be changed to listen and guess.
In this case, the children will have to guess the feeling by listening to a sound that relates to the feeling. That is to say, the kid that goes to the front will have to emulate the sound of a feeling for the others to guess. For example: a kid can cry to represent sadness.
3. EMOTIONAL VIDEO
Invite the children to sit together looking at the screen in the class. Introduce the moment, with the assistance of the character explaining that they will watch a video and they must focus on the scene going on.
You can choose between the different options. They are both great! (this can be prepared from the first moment to avoid wasting time and prevent the kids from dispersing).
*If you don't have a projector: we recommend that you act what happens in the video. You should create a situation in which two people laugh wildly.
4. STORYTELLING
TIP: It is usually advisable to practice how you are going to do this, including mime, or actions you plan to use to convey meaning, the way you are going to use your voice, eg: for different characters or to create surprise or suspense, and the places you are going to pause or ask questions to encourage the children to show their understanding or predict what’s going to happen next.
When you tell the story make sure that everyone can see and hear you and the illustrations. As you tell the story, it is a good idea to maintain frequent eye-contact with the children, in order to help them stay focused and attentive. You also need to give them time to look and think.
MORE STORYTELLING
OPTIONS
ASL: How are you feeling?
Before you read the story, make a circle, project the video below or show your students some ASL (American Sign Languages) words. Challenge them to tell a classmate how they are feeling using sign language.
CRAFTS TIME!
In My Heart: A Book of Feelings,
by Jo Witek,
Illustrated by Christine Roussey
Create Your Own Feeling Words Book: Help your students label and understand different feelings.
Create a book of feeling words and together draw a person next to each word whose face shows that feeling. Remind your students that you can often tell how someone is feeling by looking at their face and body clues such as a smile, hunched shoulders, or furrowed eyebrows.
You can also draw or cut out faces from magazines, paste them on to small pieces of paper, and write the name of an emotion next to each image. Put the pictures in a bag and have your students select one picture to act out! Guess what the feeling is, then switch!
No Ideas Allowed!
by Natalie Milgram
Pre reading
Ask your students to come up with ideas about the infographics below. They are supposed to describe what they think the images suggest in relation to how our brain works. If they help, show them this paragraph: “Generally speaking, the left side of the brain tends to control many aspects of language and logic, while the right side tends to handle spatial information and visual comprehension.”
The Color Monster,
by Anna Llenas
Pre reading
Before reading the text, help your students to activate their prior knowledge of the topic with the Feelings Quiz!
SIMON SAYS WITH THE COLOR MONSTER
Activity
CONCENTRATED MODE
If the kids are concentrated, we propose a few activities that will help you to manage the energy of the group.
Encourage the children to act the story out dividing the characters among them!
Assign the characters to them and give them something to identify the character.
*You can print a flashcard of the character or make one of your own. The flashcard may be hanging on the student.
EUPHORIC MODE
If the kids are euphoric, we propose a few activities that will help you manage the energy of the group.
Assign a different word, that appears many times in the story, to each kid and tell them that whenever they listen to that word (that may be “laugh” in “The Lost Laugh, for example) they have to do something such as snap their fingers or touch the floor. In this way, you will encourage the children to listen actively to the story.
Take one transitional object that relates to a certain character in the story that you’ll tell and ask the children to pass the character to each other symbolizing the movements that the character is doing.
The character will explain to the children that they will listen to a very interesting story. Make the character create an atmosphere that generates curiosity for them to feel eager to listen to it.
Choose the story that you think your students will adapt to the best. The idea is that you read this story to the children interpreting it to the fullest, with a lot of gestures and different tones of voice. Think that children will probably not understand the words you use.
There will be video support that will help children imagine what you are saying. But in any case, we want you to concentrate more on yourself and your performance than on what will be projected or shown.
*If you don't have a projector: it is convenient that you read with nuances, while another person acts what happens in the story.
5. MOVE YOUR
HIPS!
Change of rhythm!
Children need to express themselves and move freely (especially after staying seated for some time).
Music is a universal experience. Listening to music helps children regulate their emotions and improve learning in the classroom. Choose one of the songs listed below to start the MOVE YOUR HIPS session. You may also suggest that your students pick a song they are fond of.
CONCENTRATED MODE
EUPHORIC MODE
If the kids are concentrated, we propose a few activities that will help you manage the energy of the group.
FREE DANCE
Let them dance one of the following songs on our Spotify list (or Youtube list) that is also aligned with what we have been experiencing in the class. Just select a song that they will enjoy and press play to let them move freely around the space.
If the kids are euphoric, we propose a few videos that will help you manage the energy of the group.
CHOREOGRAPHED DANCE
Play either one or both videos so that the students can mimic the motions. This way the students are listening to a song in English and matching the words with their actions.
After listening to the song, ask them:
How did this song make you feel?
6. HARMONY
Mindfulness and body awareness is a structural part of our English program. That's why we include a specific section that is directly related to these practices. The most interesting thing is that children will acquire qualities of the English language through these practices.
To set the mood, press play on this playlist that will help everyone relax:
Meanwhile, go ahead and start
with the following activities:
1. ASANA
2. SWARA
3. SAVASANA
4. ANJALI
1. ASANA (Postures)
We will start with the asanas, which means postures. Try these three different positions with your students.
Each position will be related to the story previously read. You can explain to the kids why they connect to the story.
FACE POSTURES
First, encourage the kids to loosen up the face, to relax the muscles with the help of the hands.
You can raise your eyebrows, move your mouth, open your mouth and show your tongue, etc.
Now you are going to make some face postures and the kids should copy you. This should be fun!
Fish face
Happy face
The face is essential within integral
yoga for two reasons:
-
It is the site of greatest density of muscles of the whole body;
-
The face is a zone that reflects another organ or system in the body (The same thing happens with the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet).
HAND POSTURES
Anjali mudra
Join your palms and take them to your chest.
Gyan
Look at your right hand. Bring your right thumb and second finger together.
Now, look at your left hand. Bring your left thumb and second finger together.
BODY POSTURES
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Child
Start with your knees on the floor. Sit on your feet and bring your belly to rest between your thighs and your forehead to the floor.
Frog
Windmill
Start form a standing position and spread wide your legs. Now separate your arms from your body and feel the air passing through them as if you were a windmill.
2. SWARA (Breathing)
Then we will continue with a moment of breathing.
When there is complete silence, begin to exaggerate the inhalation and exhalation.
While you inhale say "Breathe in" and exhale "Breathe out".
Repeat this 4 or 5 times!
Important: inhale through your nose! and exhale through your mouth!
3. SAVASANA (Final relaxation)
Children should lie on the floor with their eyes closed (ideally) while they listen to a very quiet song.
*Turn off the lights so that their senses register in a different way.
Final Relaxation
4. ANJALI
Tell the kids to sit on the floor, and put their hands together in front of their chest
To end the harmony moment encourage the kids to repeat "Thank you"
MORE HARMONY OPTIONS
7.ENDING
SONG
With this song, you will rearrange the classroom as you found it at the beginning of the class to continue with the rest of the day. This way there will be a clear closure to conclude the English class.
It is important that in this cycle you sing along with the children loudly and that you make each gesture and word that the song indicates so that in subsequent cycles the students can begin to sing by themselves.
ALTERNATIVE
ENDING SONGS
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, goodbye!
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
Once you finish singing the song and rearranging the classroom tell the kids to say bye to the character as well.
To remind your students to access the platform and do the jornadas.
Don't forget