Be the first player to get around the neighborhood in an educational Trick or Treating board game. Earn chocolates along the way, but watch out for empty houses, and homes which give apples, bubble gum, and jaw breakers! The Trick or Treater with the most chocolate wins!!
Step One:
Create a game board, or use an existing game board like the Candy Land game board.
Have 3 or 4 so you can have small groups playing.
Have 25-100 spaces depending on the level of your students.
Step Two:
Color coordinate the game board and write objectives on each space, also depending on the level of your studetns.
Examples:
Grades 1-3--They know only simple things like colors so each color represents how many chocolates they would earn.
Grades 4-6--They understand simple sentences like Go back 3, move forward 2, You get 4 Chocolates.
Grades 7-8--Mr. George gives you a chocolate. Bad Luck, Only apples given here.
Grades 8 and up--I do not have these grades but more complex sentences would work too I assume.
How to Play.
Each group is given a Board, a Dice, and a Score Card.
One player rolls the dice and moves the amount shown. They read the space and do what it says.
If they earned a chocolate they mark it on the score sheet. Who ever has the most chocolate wins.
My students have enjoyed this, it was an excellent way to curb some of their anticipation of the up and coming break from school.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
One Person Card Game
Laying Seige, Sham Battle, or Beleaguered Castle
This is a one person card game to fill up some of the one on one time we often find ourselves with. TV is boring, and sometimes one gets a little tired of reading. Plus the weather right now is wonderful, but soon it will be foggy and dreary, and lets face it we need something to do.
A= Aces
1-48=the rest of the deck in dealing order.
Set up
Step One: Remove all four aces from one deck of regular playing cards.
Step Two: Place these aces in a column in the middle of a table.
A
A
A
A
Step Three: Shuffle the remainder of the deck.
Step Four: A column of four is delt to the left of the aces followed by the right.
1 A 5
2 A 6
3 A 7
4 A 8
Step Five: Continue dealing in this way until the deck is gone. There should be 6 cards in each pile.
1 9 17 25 33 41 A 5 13 21 29 37 45
2 10 18 26 34 42 A 6 14 22 30 38 46
3 11 19 27 35 43 A 7 15 23 31 39 47
4 12 20 28 36 44 A 8 16 24 32 40 48
The object is to build on the foundations, the aces suit sequences up to the kings. A 2 3 4---K
The cards available or open to play are those on the far end of each row. Cards 41-48 at first. i.e those cards whose faces are fully exposed.
Open cards can be played directly onto the foundations(aces), or onto another open card in decending order of rank, irrespective of suit, e.g. a 6 can be packed on any 7.
When one row is empty it can be filled with any available card. There are always 8 available cards for play.
J and J in the kitchen again!!!
Here is an idea for the upcoming Hungarian celebration of the 1956 revolt. This dish is also very Octoberish.
Needed stuff- this is for two people
One squash aka TŐK - this should be gord shaped, skinny on top and fat on the bottom
Cashue Nuts - spelling may be off but U know what I have in mind - 1 pkg
Raisins - small package
Sunflower oil
Brown Sugar
Honey
Garlic - one full large head per person (2)
Red large paprika - fresh
Paprika powder - mild
Aluminum foil
baking pan
ground beef - 250 grams
packaged "steak" seasoning
egg - 1
mushrooms
onion
rice
lettice
Instructions are simple. First chop up mushrooms and raisins in a small bowl. Next cut garlic into good sized bits, about size of little finger nail. Put garlic, raisins and cashues into a bowl, Nuts should be lightly broken up first. Add a big tablespoon of paprika powder to nut mix. Next, prepare ground beef patties by mixing chopped mushrooms and chopped onion and egg plus a two tablespoons of "steak" premix flavoring. Form into patties and put in oven at setting 5 (cook for 30 minutes minimum). While cooking meet, cut squash into half the long way. Clean out seeds. Poke with fork and put in microwave at high setting for about 12-15 minutes. It should be juicy and kind of soft when done enough. Cut several slits into the half sections and drizzle honey over, also pat on a generous amount of brown sugar. Put halves into their individual "dish" of aluminum foil and place in oven. These need to bake about 25 minutes or more. When the meet patties are done the oven can be turned up to "6". Be careful not to tear the foil or you will have one ^&$% of a mess in the oven.
Now do the rice. Nothing special here.
Prepare several large lettice leaves. Now the fun part.
About the time the rice is done everything should be done. So at about rice done minus 8 put the nut mix in a pan with oil and fry. This should start to smell quite yummy and drive off any local vampires. Check the meet and squash for your preference of "done". The "Tők" should be soft and the sugar bubbling. Remove from oven very carefully as the sugar will cook anything it touches including you. Put squash on plate and fill hole with nut/garlic mix. Put extra all over the top of the squash. Put meat patty on plate. Put lettice leaf on plate. Put a quantity of rice on the lettice leaf. Sprinkle red paprika powder on top of the rice. Voila, you have a mini Hungarian flag.
Serve with bread and cold beer. PS- don't eat the skin of the squash.
J and J
Needed stuff- this is for two people
One squash aka TŐK - this should be gord shaped, skinny on top and fat on the bottom
Cashue Nuts - spelling may be off but U know what I have in mind - 1 pkg
Raisins - small package
Sunflower oil
Brown Sugar
Honey
Garlic - one full large head per person (2)
Red large paprika - fresh
Paprika powder - mild
Aluminum foil
baking pan
ground beef - 250 grams
packaged "steak" seasoning
egg - 1
mushrooms
onion
rice
lettice
Instructions are simple. First chop up mushrooms and raisins in a small bowl. Next cut garlic into good sized bits, about size of little finger nail. Put garlic, raisins and cashues into a bowl, Nuts should be lightly broken up first. Add a big tablespoon of paprika powder to nut mix. Next, prepare ground beef patties by mixing chopped mushrooms and chopped onion and egg plus a two tablespoons of "steak" premix flavoring. Form into patties and put in oven at setting 5 (cook for 30 minutes minimum). While cooking meet, cut squash into half the long way. Clean out seeds. Poke with fork and put in microwave at high setting for about 12-15 minutes. It should be juicy and kind of soft when done enough. Cut several slits into the half sections and drizzle honey over, also pat on a generous amount of brown sugar. Put halves into their individual "dish" of aluminum foil and place in oven. These need to bake about 25 minutes or more. When the meet patties are done the oven can be turned up to "6". Be careful not to tear the foil or you will have one ^&$% of a mess in the oven.
Now do the rice. Nothing special here.
Prepare several large lettice leaves. Now the fun part.
About the time the rice is done everything should be done. So at about rice done minus 8 put the nut mix in a pan with oil and fry. This should start to smell quite yummy and drive off any local vampires. Check the meet and squash for your preference of "done". The "Tők" should be soft and the sugar bubbling. Remove from oven very carefully as the sugar will cook anything it touches including you. Put squash on plate and fill hole with nut/garlic mix. Put extra all over the top of the squash. Put meat patty on plate. Put lettice leaf on plate. Put a quantity of rice on the lettice leaf. Sprinkle red paprika powder on top of the rice. Voila, you have a mini Hungarian flag.
Serve with bread and cold beer. PS- don't eat the skin of the squash.
J and J
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
The Last Poppet Lesson
I have had my students reading Poppet for several weeks now, and reviewing the vocabulary found within the book. Interestingly enough we are just getting it down, but are rather bored with the book.
To finish the book off, and enjoy the poem once again, I brought art into the classroom. I brought with me some paper bags, the ones we used as children to carry our lunches to school. I walked studetns through how to make a paper bag puppet. We made the puppet resembling out favorite animals and wrote the poem used earlier on the back in a sharpy marker. They like how they smell!!
When the puppet was finished we took turns saying the poem, but ending with I am not a mouse, I am a (whatever animal they created). When we all had our turn, we partnered up and practiced... what is your name? how old are you? and what is your favorites?
To finish the book off, and enjoy the poem once again, I brought art into the classroom. I brought with me some paper bags, the ones we used as children to carry our lunches to school. I walked studetns through how to make a paper bag puppet. We made the puppet resembling out favorite animals and wrote the poem used earlier on the back in a sharpy marker. They like how they smell!!
When the puppet was finished we took turns saying the poem, but ending with I am not a mouse, I am a (whatever animal they created). When we all had our turn, we partnered up and practiced... what is your name? how old are you? and what is your favorites?
Kat Woman's Lesson Idea!!!
Tic Tac Toe Review
Make a 5x5 or 7x7 grid on the board.
Write the pronouns at the top of each column (i.e. I, you, they, we, he/she/it) or you can use professions which has been my target vocabulary for the week (i.e. a flight attendant, a nurse, a vet, an architect, a builder...)
Next to each row, you can write different verbs (i.e. see, have, eat, go, do) and for the advanced classes, I put a question mark.
Divide the class into two teams: Team X and Team O. (Interestingly enough, no one wanted to be Team O...I think they equated it with "loser").
Then, give each kid a chance to make a sentence using the grid. The sentence must be grammatically correct (The flight attendant sees airplanes). When a student matches a pronoun or profession with the question mark, they have to make a correct question (Do you eat cake?) Then that team gets either an X or an O in their box. If they get three in a row (up down, diagonal, or across) their team gets a point. The advanced classes were not allowed to help each other, but the lower level classes had a lot of trouble with it, so I let them help each other. They should eventually see how their team not only has to give grammatically correct sentences, but use strategy on where to put their X's and O's.
This game is great because you can use it multiple times for review and every single kid was involved. I got it from Dave's ESL Cafe at www.daveseslcafe.com.
Make a 5x5 or 7x7 grid on the board.
Write the pronouns at the top of each column (i.e. I, you, they, we, he/she/it) or you can use professions which has been my target vocabulary for the week (i.e. a flight attendant, a nurse, a vet, an architect, a builder...)
Next to each row, you can write different verbs (i.e. see, have, eat, go, do) and for the advanced classes, I put a question mark.
Divide the class into two teams: Team X and Team O. (Interestingly enough, no one wanted to be Team O...I think they equated it with "loser").
Then, give each kid a chance to make a sentence using the grid. The sentence must be grammatically correct (The flight attendant sees airplanes). When a student matches a pronoun or profession with the question mark, they have to make a correct question (Do you eat cake?) Then that team gets either an X or an O in their box. If they get three in a row (up down, diagonal, or across) their team gets a point. The advanced classes were not allowed to help each other, but the lower level classes had a lot of trouble with it, so I let them help each other. They should eventually see how their team not only has to give grammatically correct sentences, but use strategy on where to put their X's and O's.
This game is great because you can use it multiple times for review and every single kid was involved. I got it from Dave's ESL Cafe at www.daveseslcafe.com.
From the kitchen of Jon and Jori!!!
Here is something to make your stomach happy. Hope you give it a try. We got all the items at SPAR.
From the kitchen of Jon and Jori:
Chicken-Mushroom Paprikash California-Style,
with carmalized honey carrots, and pepper salad
Ingredients:
(you should be able to find everything at Spar)
for the chicken:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 package Maggi brand Tejszínes-Gombás Ragu
1 175 gram container of Tejföl (like sour-cream)
roughly 4 big white mushrooms
pepper (fekete bors - comes in a packet, not a shaker)
semi-sweet white wine (we recommend Muscat Ottonel)
mild virgin ground paprika (we recommend stuff that is hand-ground by the mayor of your town)
sunflower oil
milk (2.8%)
for the carrots:
Akácméz (honey)
1 package of majoranna morzolt
1/2 pound carrots
1 med-sized white onion
brown sugar (barnacukor)
for the rice:
white rice (risz)
little bit of sunflower oil
little bit of sea-salt (tengeri só) or regular salt
for the salad:
leaf lettuce
half a pale yellow pepper
a third of a big green spicy pepper
more big white mushrooms (as much as you want)
salad dressing (we recommend a creamy light dill - kapros salatóntet)
YOU WILL NEED:
two saucepans, one with a lid (for the rice)
a decent skillet
a gas grill oven with at least three burners
nice knife
wooden spoon (metal will not work well with the carrots!)
INSTRUCTIONS:
1) Carrots: Peel and slice. Put in a saucepan of 1 cup of boiling water (with a little bit of salt). Boil 5 min.
2) Carrots: Chop the onion into medium-fine pieces, and add to the carrots.
3) Rice: Add salt and 1 tbsp of sunflower oil to the water for the rice. (Cook rice as usual.)
4) Chicken: Lightly grease the bottom of the skillet with sunflower oil. Put salt and pepper on chicken, then brown lightly until they are cooked through, no pink (~5 min).
5) Salad: Make any kind of salad you like. We suggest leaf lettuce, half a pale yellow pepper, and part of a spicy green pepper (sliced thinly), and/or tomatoes, a sliced up apple, and dill dressing.
6) Chicken: Turn chicken every now and then. Add to the pan the crushed mushrooms, and stir. This should soak up most of the remaining oil.
7) Carrots: Thoroughly drain water. Add 2 tbsp of honey, 1 heaping tsp of marjoram spice, and 1/3 cup of brown sugar. Put them on medium high heat. CONSTANTLY watch and stir! At first they'll be watery, but be careful not to boil away all the liquid. Boil and stir until the water is reduced to syrup.
8) Chicken: In the mean-time... Have your handy kitchen-helper add to the chicken the sour-cream, mushroom sauce packet, and 1/4 cup milk. Simmer on low heat 5-10 min.
9) While these things are simmering, relax and have some wine while your assistant does the dishes and monitors the carrots.
10) Carrot: When carrots have almost no liquid left, take them off the stove, stir again once quickly to distribute the syrup evenly. They should be firm and not mushy! They're done now.
11) Chicken: Add 3 tbsp of wine, and 2 tsp of paprika. Stir. Let the sauce and chicken simmer, and flip the chicken around a lot to coat it. It's done now.
12) Serve with the rice underneath, and sauce on top. Furthermore, we recommend dining on a nice, bright balcony and eating as the sun sets. With fine wine. And a nice table-cloth.
From the kitchen of Jon and Jori:
Chicken-Mushroom Paprikash California-Style,
with carmalized honey carrots, and pepper salad
Ingredients:
(you should be able to find everything at Spar)
for the chicken:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 package Maggi brand Tejszínes-Gombás Ragu
1 175 gram container of Tejföl (like sour-cream)
roughly 4 big white mushrooms
pepper (fekete bors - comes in a packet, not a shaker)
semi-sweet white wine (we recommend Muscat Ottonel)
mild virgin ground paprika (we recommend stuff that is hand-ground by the mayor of your town)
sunflower oil
milk (2.8%)
for the carrots:
Akácméz (honey)
1 package of majoranna morzolt
1/2 pound carrots
1 med-sized white onion
brown sugar (barnacukor)
for the rice:
white rice (risz)
little bit of sunflower oil
little bit of sea-salt (tengeri só) or regular salt
for the salad:
leaf lettuce
half a pale yellow pepper
a third of a big green spicy pepper
more big white mushrooms (as much as you want)
salad dressing (we recommend a creamy light dill - kapros salatóntet)
YOU WILL NEED:
two saucepans, one with a lid (for the rice)
a decent skillet
a gas grill oven with at least three burners
nice knife
wooden spoon (metal will not work well with the carrots!)
INSTRUCTIONS:
1) Carrots: Peel and slice. Put in a saucepan of 1 cup of boiling water (with a little bit of salt). Boil 5 min.
2) Carrots: Chop the onion into medium-fine pieces, and add to the carrots.
3) Rice: Add salt and 1 tbsp of sunflower oil to the water for the rice. (Cook rice as usual.)
4) Chicken: Lightly grease the bottom of the skillet with sunflower oil. Put salt and pepper on chicken, then brown lightly until they are cooked through, no pink (~5 min).
5) Salad: Make any kind of salad you like. We suggest leaf lettuce, half a pale yellow pepper, and part of a spicy green pepper (sliced thinly), and/or tomatoes, a sliced up apple, and dill dressing.
6) Chicken: Turn chicken every now and then. Add to the pan the crushed mushrooms, and stir. This should soak up most of the remaining oil.
7) Carrots: Thoroughly drain water. Add 2 tbsp of honey, 1 heaping tsp of marjoram spice, and 1/3 cup of brown sugar. Put them on medium high heat. CONSTANTLY watch and stir! At first they'll be watery, but be careful not to boil away all the liquid. Boil and stir until the water is reduced to syrup.
8) Chicken: In the mean-time... Have your handy kitchen-helper add to the chicken the sour-cream, mushroom sauce packet, and 1/4 cup milk. Simmer on low heat 5-10 min.
9) While these things are simmering, relax and have some wine while your assistant does the dishes and monitors the carrots.
10) Carrot: When carrots have almost no liquid left, take them off the stove, stir again once quickly to distribute the syrup evenly. They should be firm and not mushy! They're done now.
11) Chicken: Add 3 tbsp of wine, and 2 tsp of paprika. Stir. Let the sauce and chicken simmer, and flip the chicken around a lot to coat it. It's done now.
12) Serve with the rice underneath, and sauce on top. Furthermore, we recommend dining on a nice, bright balcony and eating as the sun sets. With fine wine. And a nice table-cloth.
Saturday, September 23, 2006
What Time Do You... Lesson Plan
This lesson I did with my 5th and 6th graders, to review daily routine, telling time, and using simple present. Including the extra activity below, it took the whole 45-minute period.
*First, make a list on the board of daily routine activities (get up, eat breakfast, have a shower, go to school, go home, watch TV etc).
*Next, write some example questions on the board, leaving two lines between each question:
1. What time do you get up?
x
x
2. What time do you eat breakfast?
x
x
*Demonstrate asking the questions, and giving first person answers. Fill in your own answers.
1. What time do you get up?
I get up at 6:30.
x
2. What time do you eat breakfast?
I eat breakfast at 6:45.
x
*Ask the questions to a couple of students, and then write their answers on the board. Remind the students that in third person, the verb changes.
1. What time do you get up?
I get up at 6:30.
Csaba gets up at 6:15
2. What time do you eat breakfast?
I eat breakfast at 6:45.
Dorka eats breakfast at 7:05.
*Have the students write 10 of their own questions, and fill in the answers for themselves. When they finish this, they should work with their partner, ask their partner the questions, and then write down the answers in third-person form.
This was a good activity for my students because they got to speak some, but the writing kept them on-track. Some of them finished much earlier than others, so I came up with an extra activity: the game Memory (Memória, in Hungarian). I cut up some index cards, wrote the numbers 1-10 and the words one, two, three, etc to make one set (so they have to match 1 with one, 2 with two etc). The game was the biggest hit of the week, other grades even asked to play it.
*First, make a list on the board of daily routine activities (get up, eat breakfast, have a shower, go to school, go home, watch TV etc).
*Next, write some example questions on the board, leaving two lines between each question:
1. What time do you get up?
x
x
2. What time do you eat breakfast?
x
x
*Demonstrate asking the questions, and giving first person answers. Fill in your own answers.
1. What time do you get up?
I get up at 6:30.
x
2. What time do you eat breakfast?
I eat breakfast at 6:45.
x
*Ask the questions to a couple of students, and then write their answers on the board. Remind the students that in third person, the verb changes.
1. What time do you get up?
I get up at 6:30.
Csaba gets up at 6:15
2. What time do you eat breakfast?
I eat breakfast at 6:45.
Dorka eats breakfast at 7:05.
*Have the students write 10 of their own questions, and fill in the answers for themselves. When they finish this, they should work with their partner, ask their partner the questions, and then write down the answers in third-person form.
This was a good activity for my students because they got to speak some, but the writing kept them on-track. Some of them finished much earlier than others, so I came up with an extra activity: the game Memory (Memória, in Hungarian). I cut up some index cards, wrote the numbers 1-10 and the words one, two, three, etc to make one set (so they have to match 1 with one, 2 with two etc). The game was the biggest hit of the week, other grades even asked to play it.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Sara's FIRE Lesson
Here's one of my lessons that went well. (I used this with 6th graders but you could change the words to make it more or less difficult). First I wrote FIRE on the board and asked them to tell me about fire- what is it? etc. Then I told them that in English we have alot of words that start with the word fire.
I gave them each a paper with a 'fireword' on it (I made it seem random but I gave the harder words to the kids who I knew could handle them and easier ones to the kids who struggle a bit.) I then told them to draw a picture of what they THOUGHT the word was. I left one word out to use as an example- this time it was FIRE TRUCK, I said, "I know what a truck is, it is like a car, and I know what FIRE is so maybe a FIRETRUCK is like a car with fire on it that can drive through fire" and I drew a picture of a flaming car.
After they drew their pictures they shared with the class. "This is FIREFLY, I think it is like a fly that looks like fire." They were all very into their pictures and used lots of color- some drew some very funny ones (I gave some hints- I told the boy with FIRE HYDRANT that hydro=water.)
Next I passed out slips of paper with definitions of each word (from a learners dictionary and simplified) and had them go around the room and find a match. Once they had a match they wrote a sentence using the word. Then they shared their sentence and told the class the definition of the word. (they all thought it was hilarious that a firefly really was like a fly that looks like fire!)
I used: firefly, fire truck, firefighter, fire station, fireworks, firewood, fire alarm, fireplace, fire hydrant and fire eater (this one was also a hit)
-Sara Noel
I gave them each a paper with a 'fireword' on it (I made it seem random but I gave the harder words to the kids who I knew could handle them and easier ones to the kids who struggle a bit.) I then told them to draw a picture of what they THOUGHT the word was. I left one word out to use as an example- this time it was FIRE TRUCK, I said, "I know what a truck is, it is like a car, and I know what FIRE is so maybe a FIRETRUCK is like a car with fire on it that can drive through fire" and I drew a picture of a flaming car.
After they drew their pictures they shared with the class. "This is FIREFLY, I think it is like a fly that looks like fire." They were all very into their pictures and used lots of color- some drew some very funny ones (I gave some hints- I told the boy with FIRE HYDRANT that hydro=water.)
Next I passed out slips of paper with definitions of each word (from a learners dictionary and simplified) and had them go around the room and find a match. Once they had a match they wrote a sentence using the word. Then they shared their sentence and told the class the definition of the word. (they all thought it was hilarious that a firefly really was like a fly that looks like fire!)
I used: firefly, fire truck, firefighter, fire station, fireworks, firewood, fire alarm, fireplace, fire hydrant and fire eater (this one was also a hit)
-Sara Noel
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Poppet Take Two! Picture Dictionary
The second week of Poppet by Dick King-Smith has ended, and I found it went well. I used it with all of my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year students.
The students and I re-read the book listening for words we did not know. At the end of the reading we wrote those words on the board. I then handed out a piece of regular sized paper to each student.
Step by step we went through how to fold the piece of paper so that 16 boxes were formed (that is how many words the children struggled with).
1.Africa 2. Mouse 3. Do not understand 4. Jungle 5. River 6. Lizard 7. Beetle 8. Caterpillar 9. Snake 10. Hole 11. Frog 12. Grass 13. Scared 14 Trunk (elephant's nose) 15. Sneeze 16 Unhappy
Some they knew, but it helped that they shouted the animals out because it helped with the next part of the lesson.
We wrote word 1 in box 1 and then drew what the word meant. So in box 1 was Africa, and a picture of Africa. That one is hard to explain without a map in the room!!!
When the picture dictionary was finished we playes Hangman using the words in our new picture dictionary.
The students and I re-read the book listening for words we did not know. At the end of the reading we wrote those words on the board. I then handed out a piece of regular sized paper to each student.
Step by step we went through how to fold the piece of paper so that 16 boxes were formed (that is how many words the children struggled with).
1.Africa 2. Mouse 3. Do not understand 4. Jungle 5. River 6. Lizard 7. Beetle 8. Caterpillar 9. Snake 10. Hole 11. Frog 12. Grass 13. Scared 14 Trunk (elephant's nose) 15. Sneeze 16 Unhappy
Some they knew, but it helped that they shouted the animals out because it helped with the next part of the lesson.
We wrote word 1 in box 1 and then drew what the word meant. So in box 1 was Africa, and a picture of Africa. That one is hard to explain without a map in the room!!!
When the picture dictionary was finished we playes Hangman using the words in our new picture dictionary.
A Lesson Brought To You By Kat
Lessons on Giving and Asking Personal Info/Describing
A. Here's something that worked well for me last year and this year. You can use it to gauge the level of a class and keep the noisier kids constantly writing and working at their desks. Unfortunately, it doesn't involve much speaking, but it does give them a chance to practice listening and writing...and drawing instead.
1) I give each of the kids a blank piece of paper
2) Tell them to write numbers 1-11 on one side. I usually tell them to draw lines with rulers so that they write in a straight line.
a. #1 My name is____________________
b. I've got ___________(color) hair.
c. I've got ___________(color) eyes.
d. My favorite color is__________.
e. My favorite food is__________.
f. I like ____________.
g. I don't like ______________.
h. I can _____________.
i. I can't____________.
j. I am _________ years old.
k. My favorite animal is a(n)_________.
Obviously, you can adapt the statements to your class level, but I used mine with a beginning fifth grade class.
3) As they are writing their personal information down on their paper, I'm doing the same thing on the chalkboard so that they can find out a little about me.
4) When everyone is finished, I tell them to turn their papers over and they draw and color their face on the other side. Some kids really get into it and some growl at me for making them draw.
5) When both sides are complete, I collect the papers and mix them up. I read their sentences aloud except for their name and the rest of the class has to guess who it is. This won't be too difficult for them, because the classes usually know each other well. If they can't guess who after ten sentences, then I show the drawing of that person's face. By this time, the kids should know who it is.
The kids loved it...just make sure you leave time to read everyone's.
B. TEN MINUTE GAME:
I used this today when I had five-ten minutes left at the end of class. I gave each student a small piece of paper. They fold it in half and write their name on one side. I put all their names in a bag and quickly model the game. I choose one piece of paper from the bag. Put it in the collar area of your shirt so it's sticking out, but you can't see it. Make sure the class can see it. (It's not really necessary to put it in your shirt, but it's fun and adds flair :)
Then, I ask yes/no questions to figure out who it is. (i.e. is this person a boy or girl? is this person wearing a black shirt? is this person tall? is this person wearing glasses? etc.) The person whose name I drew will go next.
A. Here's something that worked well for me last year and this year. You can use it to gauge the level of a class and keep the noisier kids constantly writing and working at their desks. Unfortunately, it doesn't involve much speaking, but it does give them a chance to practice listening and writing...and drawing instead.
1) I give each of the kids a blank piece of paper
2) Tell them to write numbers 1-11 on one side. I usually tell them to draw lines with rulers so that they write in a straight line.
a. #1 My name is____________________
b. I've got ___________(color) hair.
c. I've got ___________(color) eyes.
d. My favorite color is__________.
e. My favorite food is__________.
f. I like ____________.
g. I don't like ______________.
h. I can _____________.
i. I can't____________.
j. I am _________ years old.
k. My favorite animal is a(n)_________.
Obviously, you can adapt the statements to your class level, but I used mine with a beginning fifth grade class.
3) As they are writing their personal information down on their paper, I'm doing the same thing on the chalkboard so that they can find out a little about me.
4) When everyone is finished, I tell them to turn their papers over and they draw and color their face on the other side. Some kids really get into it and some growl at me for making them draw.
5) When both sides are complete, I collect the papers and mix them up. I read their sentences aloud except for their name and the rest of the class has to guess who it is. This won't be too difficult for them, because the classes usually know each other well. If they can't guess who after ten sentences, then I show the drawing of that person's face. By this time, the kids should know who it is.
The kids loved it...just make sure you leave time to read everyone's.
B. TEN MINUTE GAME:
I used this today when I had five-ten minutes left at the end of class. I gave each student a small piece of paper. They fold it in half and write their name on one side. I put all their names in a bag and quickly model the game. I choose one piece of paper from the bag. Put it in the collar area of your shirt so it's sticking out, but you can't see it. Make sure the class can see it. (It's not really necessary to put it in your shirt, but it's fun and adds flair :)
Then, I ask yes/no questions to figure out who it is. (i.e. is this person a boy or girl? is this person wearing a black shirt? is this person tall? is this person wearing glasses? etc.) The person whose name I drew will go next.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Swedish Apple Pie Recipe from Donna
This recipe comes from Donna, who said "I found this recipe EASY and delicious. I didn't have lemon juice or ice cream or nuts. I even substituted powdered sugar and it came out great. I baked it in a loaf pan for lack of anything else and John could not eat it fast enough!!!"
Donna gets the prize for being the first person to email Laura or Emily something for the blog. Yay Donna! Yay CETP blog! Yay apple pie!
Swedish Apple Pie Recipe
Donna gets the prize for being the first person to email Laura or Emily something for the blog. Yay Donna! Yay CETP blog! Yay apple pie!
Swedish Apple Pie Recipe
"Apple Recipes Online"
Apples, cored, peeled, and tossed with lemon juice (2 1/2 to 3 cups)
1 t. cinnamon
1 T. sugar
1 1/2 sticks butter, melted
1 C. sugar
1 C. all-purpose flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 to 1 C. nuts (pecans or walnuts)
Preheat oven to 350° F. Lightly grease a 9-inch pie plate.
Place apples in pie plate, filling 3/4 full. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar over top of apples.
Combine butter, sugar, flour, nuts, and egg in a bowl and mix well. Batter will be thick. Pour batter over apples and spread evenly.
Bake at 350° F. for 55 minutes, or until golden brown.
Serve with Cool Whip or ice cream.
Makes 8 servings.
Note: Recipe can be doubled and baked in a 9 x 13-inch baking
dish.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Pencil Box lesson for level 5
I have one level 5 class that is behind the rest english speaking wise so I made a real easy I like lesson to help them with vocabulary.
1. I started with handing some 9 students the letters P E N C I L B O X with scrable pieces. I asked the students holding the letters to stand up and tell me the letter. I wrote the letters on the board in the order the students told them. I then put dashes representing the 2 words the letters would spell. Simiar to hangman dashed. I started them out with P_ _ _ _ _ B _ _ , and continued to give them clues until they could see the words PENCIL BOX.
2. I walked around the room and asked simple questions. What color is your pencil box? How many pens are in your pencil box? Where is your pencil box?
3. I made some columns on the board with 6 headings. Color, Pets, Sports, Food, Jobs, Subjects I then asked all of the students like questions. What color do you like? We tallied the answers to see how many liked each color, pet, sports etc.
4. Each student rolled a dice(di). The number they rolled determined which heading they would write about. They followed the same outline but put in the correct number and thing.
Example
Color
In our class 7 students like red. In our class 4 students like yellow.
When we were finished we shared a few out loud.
1. I started with handing some 9 students the letters P E N C I L B O X with scrable pieces. I asked the students holding the letters to stand up and tell me the letter. I wrote the letters on the board in the order the students told them. I then put dashes representing the 2 words the letters would spell. Simiar to hangman dashed. I started them out with P_ _ _ _ _ B _ _ , and continued to give them clues until they could see the words PENCIL BOX.
2. I walked around the room and asked simple questions. What color is your pencil box? How many pens are in your pencil box? Where is your pencil box?
3. I made some columns on the board with 6 headings. Color, Pets, Sports, Food, Jobs, Subjects I then asked all of the students like questions. What color do you like? We tallied the answers to see how many liked each color, pet, sports etc.
4. Each student rolled a dice(di). The number they rolled determined which heading they would write about. They followed the same outline but put in the correct number and thing.
Example
Color
In our class 7 students like red. In our class 4 students like yellow.
When we were finished we shared a few out loud.
Lakes, Rivers, and Oceans Lesson: Middle School
On the board I wrote Lakes Rivers Oceans.
On slips of paper I had the 5 biggest lakes, the 5 longest rivers and the oceans.
1. Caspian Sea 1. Nile 1. Pacific
2. Superior 2. Amazon 2. Atlantic
3. Victoria 3. Chang Jian 3. Indian
4. Huron 4. Mississippi 4. Southern or Antarctic
5. Michigan 5. Yellow 5. Arctic
I had the students first guess which ones where lakes, rivers, and oceans. Once we were in agreement we then played a guessing game to see which ones were the biggest/longest to the smallest/shortest. I also put the sizes on the board later.
We followed this with a writing activity. We set some standards 1. Read and understant the lesson. 2. Answer in complete sentences. 3. Practice out loud. 4. Share with the class. 5. Listen!!!
The assignment
Invent a water vehicle.
1. Describe which type of water your invention will use. 1 senence.
2. What does your invention look like? 4 sentences.
3. What special things can your invention do? 5 sentences.
I give some examples and explain that the students should do a minimum of the specified sentences, but may do more it they wish.
On slips of paper I had the 5 biggest lakes, the 5 longest rivers and the oceans.
1. Caspian Sea 1. Nile 1. Pacific
2. Superior 2. Amazon 2. Atlantic
3. Victoria 3. Chang Jian 3. Indian
4. Huron 4. Mississippi 4. Southern or Antarctic
5. Michigan 5. Yellow 5. Arctic
I had the students first guess which ones where lakes, rivers, and oceans. Once we were in agreement we then played a guessing game to see which ones were the biggest/longest to the smallest/shortest. I also put the sizes on the board later.
We followed this with a writing activity. We set some standards 1. Read and understant the lesson. 2. Answer in complete sentences. 3. Practice out loud. 4. Share with the class. 5. Listen!!!
The assignment
Invent a water vehicle.
1. Describe which type of water your invention will use. 1 senence.
2. What does your invention look like? 4 sentences.
3. What special things can your invention do? 5 sentences.
I give some examples and explain that the students should do a minimum of the specified sentences, but may do more it they wish.
Poppet by Dick King-Smith Elementary level 3 and 4
I have been reading the book Poppet to my level 3 and 4 students. It is a month long lesson that will be added to each week. This is part one of this lesson.
PART ONE
I started the lesson with simply reading the book out loud. It is a book about a baby elephant making friends with a mouse and finding out why elephants are afraid of mice. We then answered some simple questions like who is this? What is this? etc.
There is a chant that came with the book which helps the students with I am I am not statments. The chant goes as follows:
PART ONE
I started the lesson with simply reading the book out loud. It is a book about a baby elephant making friends with a mouse and finding out why elephants are afraid of mice. We then answered some simple questions like who is this? What is this? etc.
There is a chant that came with the book which helps the students with I am I am not statments. The chant goes as follows:
What is a mouse?
Are you a mouse?
No, I am not a mouse.
I am a frog.
What is a mouse?
Are you a mouse?
No, I am not a mouse.
Are you a mouse?
No, I am not a mouse.
I am a lizard.
What is a mouse?
Are you a mouse?
No, I am not a mouse.
Are you a mouse?
No, I am not a mouse.
I am a beetle.
What is a mouse?
Are you a mouse?
No, I am not a mouse.
Are you a mouse?
No, I am not a mouse.
I am a caterpillar.
We took turns saying this chant, then we drew a picture of out favorite animal in the book. When the students are finished their name goes into my jar. The last 10 minutes of class I choose a name and they go around with a puppet doing the chant to their classmates. The classmate then answers No, I am not a mouse. I am Csaba.
Bicycle Lesson Plan: Middle school age
I have tried this lesson with my level 8 students and it worked well so I thought I would share it with you. Again my level 8 students did well, but I also felt it would work with my level 6 and 7th students too.
I started the lesson with Bicycle Math Marathon:
I started the lesson with Bicycle Math Marathon:
One day at a bicycle marathon, 4 cyclists started at point A. They picked up 10 more at point B. At point C, 23 cyclists were waiting to join the pack. Onto point D, they collected 12 speedy cyclists. At point E, 17 individuals joined the pack. Then 2 poor souls dropped out due to dehydration. At point F, 29 more joined the troop. Finally, at point G, 3 stragglers entered the group. How many total individuals finished the bicycle marathon?
The students who completed the word problem correctly recieved a starburst. We then wrote on the board all the words that meant to add, and all those that meant to subtract. In the end they all had the correct answer.
I followed this with breaking into 5 groups of 2 students, handing out objective slips and setting standards for the lesson.
1. Read and understand.
2. Answer the questions in complete sentences.
3. Prepare to share.
4. Share out loud.
5. Listen when it is not your turn.
The objective slips
A) Imagine you are an inventor and have invented the greatest bicycle machine ever. Describe what it looks like and what special things it can do.
B) There are many things a bike is good for. Imagine all the things you can do with a bike. Name 10 things and describe how it will work.
C) There are unicycles, bivyvles, and tricycles. Design a pentacycle, and new kind of cycle with 5 wheels. Describe what it looks like and how it works.
D) Design the fastest and best bicycle you can possibly imagine. What does it look like, and why is it the fastest and the best?
E) Unicycles are traditionally used in circuses. Design a circus act that could be used with a bicycle and then a tricycle.
The students both had to speak when sharing. Most decided to have one read the objective while the other shared what they came up with.
Bicycle Lesson Plan: Middle school age
I have tried this lesson with my level 8 students and it worked well so I thought I would share it with you. Again my level 8 students did well, but I also felt it would work with my level 6 and 7th students too.
I started the lesson with Bicycle Math Marathon:
I started the lesson with Bicycle Math Marathon:
One day at a bicycle marathon, 4 cyclists started at point A. They picked up 10 more at point B. At point C, 23 cyclists were waiting to join the pack. Onto point D, they collected 12 speedy cyclists. At point E, 17 individuals joined the pack. Then 2 poor souls dropped out due to dehydration. At point F, 29 more joined the troop. Finally, at point G, 3 stragglers entered the group. How many total individuals finished the bicycle marathon?
The students who completed the word problem correctly recieved a starburst. We then wrote on the board all the words that meant to add, and all those that meant to subtract. In the end they all had the correct answer.
I followed this with breaking into 5 groups of 2 students, handing out objective slips and setting standards for the lesson.
1. Read and understand.
2. Answer the questions in complete sentences.
3. Prepare to share.
4. Share out loud.
5. Listen when it is not your turn.
The objective slips
A) Imagine you are an inventor and have invented the greatest bicycle machine ever. Describe what it looks like and what special things it can do.
B) There are many things a bike is good for. Imagine all the things you can do with a bike. Name 10 things and describe how it will work.
C) There are unicycles, bivyvles, and tricycles. Design a pentacycle, and new kind of cycle with 5 wheels. Describe what it looks like and how it works.
D) Design the fastest and best bicycle you can possibly imagine. What does it look like, and why is it the fastest and the best?
E) Unicycles are traditionally used in circuses. Design a circus act that could be used with a bicycle and then a tricycle.
The students both had to speak when sharing. Most decided to have one read the objective while the other shared what they came up with.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Lesson: Time Stretchers
We all have those times when your lesson plan, no matter how good it looked on paper, falls a little short in practice. Or when half the class finishes an assignment ten minutes before the other half. Or when you just get sick of grammar and need to finish with something fun.
So in this entry, 11 ways to kill 5 or 10 minutes, while still using the time semi-educationally. None of these mini-activities require any prep work. I’ve done them with my 4th through 8th graders, but I think they could be adapted for higher levels.
1. Hangman, 2. Bingo, 3. Simon Says, 4. I Spy
I don’t think these little games need explanation, but if you want to brush up on the rules you can use these links: Hangman, Bingo, Simon Says, I Spy. From my own experience, they only work as time-killers if you don’t use them every lesson.
5. The Minister’s Cat
Use the name of someone in the class, yourself, or the class’s form teacher. The first student starts with the letter A, “Csaba’s cat is an awesome cat.” The next student repeats and adds an adjective with B, “Csaba’s cat is an awesome, bouncy cat.” If the repetition part is too difficult, skip it .
6. Word Boxes
Draw a four-by-four grid. Label the columns A, B, C, D, and the rows E, F, G, H. The students should draw the same, and try to fill each grid box with a word which begins and ends with the two relevant letters. For example, where E and A intersect, they could write able or extra. Where D and G intersect, they could write god or dog. See who can fill the most boxes within a set time.
7. Word Chain / Chained Sentence
Give the students / groups a word to start with, for example ‘wash’. The word chain builds on the last letter of each word. For example: wash, house, energy, yes, sheep, pillow, wind, dog... etc. No repeating words. See who can make the longest chain within a set time. Eighth grade and older are capable of making complete sentences this way - ex: We enjoy your red dress.
8. Say Something ____
Do in groups or with individual students. Name a category (“say something green, say something fast, say an animal on a farm”). Start with a group or student, they have 5 seconds to say an appropriate word. If they can’t, they’re eliminated from the game. Change the category after 5 or 6 groups / students. Play until only one is left.
9. Line Up Games
This is a good reward for a class who’s sat quietly all hour. Have them stand and divide them into groups. Put each group in a different area of the room (go outside if you can). After explaining the game, have the students in each group line themselves up in order of: height, birthday, name day, length of hair, number of siblings, length of name, alphabetical by name, alphabetical by mother’s name, etc. The group to do it fastest is the winner.
10. Sylvia’s Board Game
Have the students line up in two or three lines so that the first person of each line is standing at the chalkboard. The basic idea of the game is that you say something and the students see who can write it the fastest. Things you can say: numbers or letters, vocab words, verb tenses (for example, you say ‘do’, the student write ‘did’), or have a volunteer say words in Hungarian for the students to write in English.
11. When all else fails: Quiet Homework Time
If you’ve assigned homework, let them work on it in class. If they have homework from their other English classes, offer to help them with it.
So in this entry, 11 ways to kill 5 or 10 minutes, while still using the time semi-educationally. None of these mini-activities require any prep work. I’ve done them with my 4th through 8th graders, but I think they could be adapted for higher levels.
1. Hangman, 2. Bingo, 3. Simon Says, 4. I Spy
I don’t think these little games need explanation, but if you want to brush up on the rules you can use these links: Hangman, Bingo, Simon Says, I Spy. From my own experience, they only work as time-killers if you don’t use them every lesson.
5. The Minister’s Cat
Use the name of someone in the class, yourself, or the class’s form teacher. The first student starts with the letter A, “Csaba’s cat is an awesome cat.” The next student repeats and adds an adjective with B, “Csaba’s cat is an awesome, bouncy cat.” If the repetition part is too difficult, skip it .
6. Word Boxes
Draw a four-by-four grid. Label the columns A, B, C, D, and the rows E, F, G, H. The students should draw the same, and try to fill each grid box with a word which begins and ends with the two relevant letters. For example, where E and A intersect, they could write able or extra. Where D and G intersect, they could write god or dog. See who can fill the most boxes within a set time.
7. Word Chain / Chained Sentence
Give the students / groups a word to start with, for example ‘wash’. The word chain builds on the last letter of each word. For example: wash, house, energy, yes, sheep, pillow, wind, dog... etc. No repeating words. See who can make the longest chain within a set time. Eighth grade and older are capable of making complete sentences this way - ex: We enjoy your red dress.
8. Say Something ____
Do in groups or with individual students. Name a category (“say something green, say something fast, say an animal on a farm”). Start with a group or student, they have 5 seconds to say an appropriate word. If they can’t, they’re eliminated from the game. Change the category after 5 or 6 groups / students. Play until only one is left.
9. Line Up Games
This is a good reward for a class who’s sat quietly all hour. Have them stand and divide them into groups. Put each group in a different area of the room (go outside if you can). After explaining the game, have the students in each group line themselves up in order of: height, birthday, name day, length of hair, number of siblings, length of name, alphabetical by name, alphabetical by mother’s name, etc. The group to do it fastest is the winner.
10. Sylvia’s Board Game
Have the students line up in two or three lines so that the first person of each line is standing at the chalkboard. The basic idea of the game is that you say something and the students see who can write it the fastest. Things you can say: numbers or letters, vocab words, verb tenses (for example, you say ‘do’, the student write ‘did’), or have a volunteer say words in Hungarian for the students to write in English.
11. When all else fails: Quiet Homework Time
If you’ve assigned homework, let them work on it in class. If they have homework from their other English classes, offer to help them with it.
Lesson: How was your summer?
A good second week lesson plan idea.
Since I have had the pleasure of teaching last year I was unable to conduct a get to know you lesson. I took this opportunity to jump right in and start with the learning. This activity went well with all of my students ages 4th grade to 8th grade. Of course a few tweeks here and there were needed according to the levels of each class.
On the board I wrote out the following questions... How was your summer? What did you do this summer? Where did you travel this summer?
Underneath each question I also wrote examples of appropriate answers. Example: I had a wonderful summer. I played computer games this summer. I traveled/travelled to Lake Balaton this summer.
We reviewed and checked to make sure we understood all of the questions.
Students paired up and talked about their summers for 10 minutes using the board as a helper. Only ENGLISH was allowed during the talking period. The only time they were allowed to use Hungarian was when they were asking how would I say foci in english.
As they were discussing I went around and passed out paper and took some time to listen and discuss with them. On the paper the students were to write 3 to 5 things their partner did over the summer. I also went around to help with sentence structure and adding and subtrating a few things like rode a to He bike, or taking the from He played the football.
The pairs then took turns telling the other students what there partner did this summer. Having it written down really helped for those who had first day jitters.
Welcome to a wonderful teaching year!!!
First of all a warm welcome to all new CETPers, and a welcome back to our old friends. Orientation went well, there was plenty of bonding, great dining, exciting dancing, and a little learning. I hope everyone is settled and happy in their new homes. If you are bored please feel free to call one of us, that is what we are here for, a talk here and there, a chance to visit on the weekends, and plain support! I hope the first day of teaching went well, and ideas are brewing in your brains. Please feel free to email Emily or myself, Laura with any cool ideas for teaching, cooking, free time, and of course weekend adventures.
Friday, June 09, 2006
Last Week Writing Activity / Game
This is something I did with my kids last week. It’s pretty quick and simple, I did it with 4th through 7th grades (with some variations, below).
First, say a couple sentences about what you are doing in the summer. “I am going to America” is a good starter. All the kids will copy with “I am going to Balaton, I am going to Italy, etc.” On the board, write three or four example sentences like:
In the summer, I will go to America.
In the summer, I will swim in the Tisza.
In the summer, I will visit my grandparents in Törökszentmihály.
or, for the younger kids who don;t know future yet:
In the summer, I am going to America.
In the summer, I am eating ice cream.
In the summer, I am playing with my dog.
Have each student write 8 or 10 or 15 sentences about their own summer plans (if you want to use Variation 3, below, it’s important that they write on loose paper, not in their notebooks). When everyone is finished, go around the room and have each student read one sentence. The other students have to listen and if they wrote the same sentence, they can a check next to it. The first person to have 6 or 8 or however many checks is the winner. It’s fun because they will argue with you about if “I visit my grandmother” and “I visit my cousin” are the same or not.
Generally, this activity has taken between 35 and 45 minutes.
Variation 1 - with younger students, you can have them write only 5 or 6 sentences, and also draw pictures to go with them. When I did this, I never got to the game part because they drew for the whole hour.
Variation 2 - with one class, I had them draw a board with 16 squares, 4 by 4, and write a sentence in each square. Then as the students read off their sentences, we played bingo with the boards.
Variation 3 - my best idea yet. At the end of each class, I collected all the papers. If I can manage to not lose them between now and next year - presto, instant lesson. The plan is to hand them back in September and have a lesson like “So what did you actually do this summer?” Hopefully, it’ll be interesting for the kids to read something they wrote months ago.
Even those of you who are going home or switching schools could still do this and leave the papers as a gift for the new teacher. It would be nice because in addition to a free lesson, he/she would also get an idea of their writing abilities.
Good luck, everyone. Have a great last week!
First, say a couple sentences about what you are doing in the summer. “I am going to America” is a good starter. All the kids will copy with “I am going to Balaton, I am going to Italy, etc.” On the board, write three or four example sentences like:
In the summer, I will go to America.
In the summer, I will swim in the Tisza.
In the summer, I will visit my grandparents in Törökszentmihály.
or, for the younger kids who don;t know future yet:
In the summer, I am going to America.
In the summer, I am eating ice cream.
In the summer, I am playing with my dog.
Have each student write 8 or 10 or 15 sentences about their own summer plans (if you want to use Variation 3, below, it’s important that they write on loose paper, not in their notebooks). When everyone is finished, go around the room and have each student read one sentence. The other students have to listen and if they wrote the same sentence, they can a check next to it. The first person to have 6 or 8 or however many checks is the winner. It’s fun because they will argue with you about if “I visit my grandmother” and “I visit my cousin” are the same or not.
Generally, this activity has taken between 35 and 45 minutes.
Variation 1 - with younger students, you can have them write only 5 or 6 sentences, and also draw pictures to go with them. When I did this, I never got to the game part because they drew for the whole hour.
Variation 2 - with one class, I had them draw a board with 16 squares, 4 by 4, and write a sentence in each square. Then as the students read off their sentences, we played bingo with the boards.
Variation 3 - my best idea yet. At the end of each class, I collected all the papers. If I can manage to not lose them between now and next year - presto, instant lesson. The plan is to hand them back in September and have a lesson like “So what did you actually do this summer?” Hopefully, it’ll be interesting for the kids to read something they wrote months ago.
Even those of you who are going home or switching schools could still do this and leave the papers as a gift for the new teacher. It would be nice because in addition to a free lesson, he/she would also get an idea of their writing abilities.
Good luck, everyone. Have a great last week!
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