Presenting has got/ hasn't got

The lesson aim is presenting has got and hasn't got and their use in sentences. Also, revision of body parts. This is a lesson I did in the third grade.
1. As a warm-up activity and a revision from the previous lesson I did a body parts domino. I printed the pictures and words on pieces of paper and I asked the students to arrange the domino on the floor. I asked them to read the words and then perform some activities connected to the body parts ( shake your head, touch your toes etc.)

2. Then, to introduce the use of has got/ hasn't got I put drawings of monsters on the board and created a gallery in the classroom. I gave the instructions to the students and asked them to listen and stand next to the drawing/ monster being described. I recorded some of the students from the other grades describing the monsters and I asked them to make the drawings for me. Not all the work needs to be done by the teacher, students can help too.

3. I the next activity I distribute sentences to students and their task is to look at the pictures and match the sentences with the correct picture. Make sure that you help the students when necessary. Read and explain the sentences and elicit the use of has got/ hasn't got from the students. Ask them to copy one example in their notebooks and then ask them to draw a monster as a group and describe it using the target grammar points and vocabulary.

Learning about shapes and the world around us

The first grade students are only 5 or 6 years old, not many of them have attended kindergarten so they get their first learning experience at school. When we learn about shapes I like to use different colorful pictures to make the students more aware of the shapes that surround us. In this way not only do they learn the shapes (circle,triangle,rectangle,square) but they also learn many other words/ objects that come in the shapes mentioned above.

1. First I put the shapes on the board and I present the words, asking the students to repeat the pronunciation after me several times.

2. Then I distribute different pictures to each student of objects that come in one of the shapes. I encourage students to name the shape of the object and if possible the object itself. I'm there to help them and guide them. Each students comes to the board and puts his/her picture in the correct category.

3. After we put all of the pictures on the board I ask the students to name the shapes in the order they are arranged. 

4. Finally I tell students to bring me one of the shapes so that we can clear the board. By the end of the lesson almost all of the students remember the shapes in English.

Writing recipes / Decorating the English corner in the classroom

When we learn about food we often like to try different recipes and do some cooking in the classroom. With the fifth grade students what we did first was making some pancakes - not entirely healthy food but there were some homemade ingredients :)

Then, we discussed the procedure and the students presented the recipe.

On the next lesson the students worked in groups and wrote the recipes on pieces of paper and decorated them accordingly. 

When their recipes were ready we used them along with some photos from the previous lesson to decorate the English corner in the classroom

You can see more from the lessons here:

https://www.facebook.com/emilija.emi.79/media_set?set=a.811293152326028.1073741901.100003360511923&type=3

https://www.facebook.com/emilija.emi.79/media_set?set=a.809153969206613.1073741900.100003360511923&type=3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7d_ojabJHf0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1NF1C_yCT4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SmL4LEgSMI

Running dictation - Make testing fun!

From my teaching experience I can see that spelling is one of the most challenging parts of learning a foreign language. Students often find it very difficult to remember the words and the teacher should constantly try to find various ways to make this as simple and as fun as possible for them. I'm not very keen on testing but still it is part of the whole teaching process. What I like to do when I want to revise/ test vocabulary spelling is "running dictation". 

There is no need for any extra preparation for this lesson. You can put two posters / sheets of paper on the board, one for each group. Give a marker to each group and choose a set of pictures. Make sure that you give the equal number of pictures (words to be written on the poster) to the groups. 

I wanted to revise rooms in the house and furniture vocabulary but you can do it with any topic that you like. 

Here's how it goes:

1. Put the posters on the board.

2. Divide the students in two groups,distribute markers and put the pictures on the desk next to the groups facing down.

3. Once they hear the teacher say; "Start!" the students need to choose a picture from the pile, run to the board and write the word for that picture on the poster. Then they have to run back and allow to another member of the group to choose a picture and run to the board to write the word. Both of the groups run to the board at the same time but they write different words. What I often do is distribute the pictures to the groups and once they finish writing the words I switch the sets. In this way both of the groups get a chance to write all of the words on the board.

One thing you have to be prepared for is a noisy classroom. Students get really excited and they like to cheer for their classmates - but it's all part of the fun :)

4. When the students finish writing all of the words on the board go the posters and check the spelling together with the students. In this way they become more aware of what they need to practice further.

You can do this in one lesson and according to the results you can do the same dictation using the same words on the next lesson. I've noticed that students try really hard to remember the correct spelling of the words and almost make no mistakes in their second attempt. 

I hope you find this useful!