Primary Languages in the North-East

Primary Languages in the North-East

First Aid Kit

(for Language lessons)

A collection of standalone activities for those emergency lessons!

Collected by a workshop of colleagues from ALLNE and Network for Languages NE

Spring 2017

Feedback welcome!

Please see a few questions at the end of the document.

Thanks to all of the volunteers for their contributions: Steven Fawkes, Sue Balmer, Jane Linfoot, Liam Stevens, Angela Mason and Nathalie Paris.

Further contributions also welcome - for a potential future edition.

Partners:

These resources were collated following a workshop at Newcastle University organized by ALLNE and Network for Languages NE, responding to a request from Europe Direct North East.

Contact : , Chair of ALLNE.

ALLNE is the North-East Branch of the Association for Language Learning:

ALL is the membership association for teachers of Languages and others in the Languages field.

www.ALL-Languages.org.uk

ALLNE volunteers work with partners in the region to organise CPD opportunities for Language teachers and the annual European Day of Languages competition for Schools in September.

http://www.all-languages.org.uk/community/local/north-east/

Details of events are published in the weekly ALLnet email sent by ALL to all members, and on the Calendar of Events on the ALL website:

http://www.all-languages.org.uk/calendar_events/events/

Introduction

Rationale

The Song for Europe competition (at which these activities were piloted in 2017) is organised by Europe Direct NE and involves Primary pupils (Y4/5) in a day of performing and reviewing others’ performances in other languages.

The organisers had identified that some school groups arrive very early, or had times in the day when they had little to do, and asked us to contribute some short standalone activities in different languages that might fit these gaps.

On consideration we realized that other teachers might find these activities useful in school, especially for those times when the usual teacher is away or there is a problem that needs sorting elsewhere. So these are language activities that take little explanation, with resources and support for non-specialist teachers, some of which can be used by learners with little or no intervention.

Some of the activities are not language-specific; others are given in a specific language but of course the ideas can be applied to other languages.

Copyright

These activities are offered in a spirit of professional, collegiate sharing; copyright for the activity ideas remains with the original author. We have tried to trace the copyright holder of any other content and undertake to acknowledge or remove any item which breaks copyright.

The activities are preceded by instructions for the teacher / adult.

They can be provided as electronic texts on request if you wish to edit them.

Alternatively they may be photocopied.

The activities were piloted at the Song for Europe competition organized by Europe Direct in Durham, May 2017.

Activities

Colours in French ‘Astérix & Obélix: Nos couleurs’ - Colouring sheet

Cognates challenge in French ‘Some French words you might already know !’ - tasksheet

Language Battleships - any language Grids and instructions for pupils

Japanese numbers ‘Kanji 1-5’ – instructions and three extensions

Kanji numbers reference page

Country codes - not language-specific Matching sheet

Reference sheet (i.e. answers)

Adjectives crossword in French Crossword sheet and Answers sheet

Escaleras Instructions and Ladder picture

Harry Potter Spells Quiz - Latin Question sheets / Answer sheet

Learn some Latin Questions sheets

Numbers 1-12 in Spanish Two worksheets

One pen, one paper Instructions

Slam (fruit and colours) Gamesheets

Writing and speaking frames Framesheets

(Spanish and French)

Activity: Astérix & Obélix: Nos couleurs
Language: French
The idea can be replicated in other languages
What you need: Copies of the colouring-in sheet
Coloured pencils / pens
Rationale: Learners read and recognise the colour adjectives
Support for non-specialists:
Vocabulary (alphabetical order):
Blanc – white
Bleu – blue
Chair – flesh
Gris – grey
Jaune – yellow
Marron – light brown
Rouge – red
Vert – green
Other colours:
Brun – dark brown
Noir – black
Orange
Rose – pink
Violet - purple
Pronunciation of many of the colours here (female voice) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8TfQ8RBW54
Or here (male voice): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkQGN86qTag&list=PLuVFX5IlRPoSsnsJghpfM6RlJYHgswx4E
Extension:
1. Ask learners to test each other on how to SAY the names of the colours
2. Ask learners to draw an outline of their own choosing of a character and label it in the same way with colour adjectives.
3. Coloriage website : http://www.coloriage.tv/
If learners have access to computer or other device they can colour in on-screen and then print their work; topics are seasonal.
Notes:
This song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4kNeFGBAcw
Uses the colours in sentences, underlining the position of colour adjectives after the noun
Source: Original document untraced – from a magazine

Activity: Cognates challenge in French
What you need: this sheet
This is a reading activity, asking pupils to guess which English words are similar to the French ones.
Extension:
There are two extensions: Speaking (pronouncing the French words accurately in French)
Research (thinking of / looking up similar cognates).

Some French words you might already know !

Challenge 1. English and French have a lot of words in common because of our history; can you guess what any of these French words are in English? Can you spell them?

French word / English word?
Branche
Liquide
Signe
Futur
Paradis
Pur
Beauté
Mystėre
Armée
Populaire
Mouvement
Aventure
Énorme
Précieux
Automatique
Forêt
Intêrêt
Espace
Inspecteur
Complet
Officiel

Challenge 2. But the words are not pronounced in the same way, because French phonics are different from English ones. Can you find someone who speaks French to see if you can say these words well in French?

Challenge 3. Do you know any other French words that look like English ones? Write them here:

Activity: Language Battleships
What you need: a copy of the sheet for each player; the game is played in pairs.
The instructions are given on the sheets for players. In this example we have used language to do with animals, but this can be adjusted, of course, to any language topic you have recently been doing.
Extension: pupils could design their own game instructions by changing the vocabulary set

Your name:

A
B
C
D
1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6

Your challenger’s name:

A
B
C
D
1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6

Hide in your grid a giraffe, an elephant, a tiger and a monkey. Your challenger does the same. You can draw them, or write the word over the squares.

A giraffe takes up 4 spaces – horizontal, vertical or diagonal

An elephant takes up 3 spaces – horizontal, vertical or diagonal

A tiger takes up 3 spaces – horizontal, vertical or diagonal

A monkey takes only 1 space

The animals cannot overlap!

Your challenge is to find where your partner’s animals are. You do this by saying (in your foreign language) the letter and number of a grid reference – A1, C3 etc. one at a time. You mark the squares you have tried on your challenger’s grid with a O.

If you find an animal your partner must tell you what it is (in the foreign language). You then mark your O with the word to show you have found something.

Then it is your partner’s turn to try to find one of your animals.

The winner is the player to find all of the squares for all of the partner’s animals.

Check with someone that you can say the animals’ names well !

Animal / Giraffe / Elephant / Tiger / Monkey
French / Girafe / Eléphant / Tigre / Singe
German / Giraffe / Elefant / Tiger / Affe
Spanish / Jirafa / Elefante / Tigre / Mono
Activity: Kanji 1-5
Speaking and Listening:
What you need: Just this box!
First show your pupils the actions they need to remember to help them learn the sound of the numbers.
These are:
1 scratching yourself
2 pointing to your knee
3 wriggling your toes inside your socks as if you are at the beach
4 pointing to a girl or woman
5 miming walking
Repeat the actions as you introduce the Japanese names for the numbers; which in Japanese are called
1 Ichi (hence itchy)
2 Ni (hence knee)
3 San (hence the beach)
4 Shi (hence a girl)
5 Go (hence walking)
These will need repetition; you can challenge pupils by saying numbers in a random order for them to respond, or ask them to say numbers to challenge you or each other.
NB Shi is also sometimes called Yon
Extension 1: Writing
What you need:
Copies of the reference sheet
Pencils (or brushes and ink are better) and paper
The reference sheet shows the numbers when complete, but children need to see how to create them.
This video clip illustrates how to write the Japanese characters (kanji) and explains what order to do the strokes in. NB The stroke order is important.
The explanation starts about 20 seconds in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3pIxaDGnvU
Extension 2 : numbers up to 10
Show your pupils the actions they need to remember to help them learn the sound of the numbers.
These are:
6 rocking a baby in your arms
7 Miming eating a banana
8 Miming laying an egg (with chicken sounds)
9 Putting a few children in a line behind each other
10 Miming drops of raining falling
Repeat the actions as you introduce the Japanese names for the numbers; which in Japanese are called
6 Roku (hence rocking)
7 Nana (hence banana)
8 Hachi (hence hatching an egg)
9 Kyu (or Ku) (hence a queue)
10 Ju (hence dew)
NB Nana is also sometimes called Shichi
The same video clip covers these numbers also if anyone wishes to pursue writing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3pIxaDGnvU
Extension 3: Numeracy
Japanese numbers are very logical and systematic. Once you know 1-10 you can count up to 99.
To make teen numbers , start with Ju and add the number.
So 11 is ju ichi, 12 is ju ni etc.
To make multiples of ten do it the other way round.
So 20 is ni ju, 30 is san ju etc.
And to make the numbers in between –add the together.
So 21 is ni ju ichi, 22 is ni ju ni etc.
Pupils need to practise the numbers well, and then you can challenge them
To recognize numbers you say eg shi ju san = 43
To work out what a number is called eg 56 = go ju roku
This song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3won-7W3Js
goes up to 20 (NB using yon instead of shi) and illustrates how to write numbers above 10 – vertically rather than horizontally)
Source: Reference sheet from http://japandreaming.com/kanji-numbers-1-10-flashcard-game/

Activity: Country codes
What you need: copies of this sheet for each pupil
Copies of the Reference sheet so that they can check their answers

Country codes

Use different colours to join up the registration letters, names and languages that go together.

NB Some countries are bilingual or trilingual.

Car registration letter(s) / Original name of country / English name of country / Main language
A / Nederland / Germany / Danish
B / United Kingdom / France / Portuguese
D / Ősterreich / Austria / Spanish
DK / Hellas / Ireland / German
E / Belgique / België / Luxembourg / Greek
F / Portugal / United Kingdom / French
GR / Danmark / Netherlands / Dutch
I / Suomi / Italy / Finnish
IRL / España / Sweden / English
L / France / Belgium / Italian
NL / Sverige / Greece / Swedish
P / Italia / Finland / Irish
S / Luxembourg / Spain / Letzerburgisch
SF / Deutschland / Portugal
GB / Eire / Denmark

Country codes

Reference sheet for checking answers

Car registration letter(s) / Original name of country / English name of country / Main language
A / Ősterreich / Austria / German
B / Belgique / België / Belgium / Dutch (Flemish) / French
D / Deutschland / Germany / German
DK / Danmark / Denmark / Danish
E / España / Spain / Spanish
F / France / France / French
GR / Hellas / Greece / Greek
I / Italia / Italy / Italian
IRL / Eire / Ireland / Irish / English
L / Luxembourg / Luxembourg / Letzerburgisch/ French / German
NL / Nederland / Netherlands / Dutch
P / Portugal / Portugal / Portuguese
S / Sverige / Sweden / Swedish
SF / Suomi / Finland / Finnish
GB / United Kingdom / United Kingdom / English
Activity: Adjectives crossword (in French)
What you need: copies of the crossword for each pupil
Copies of the Reference sheet so that they can check their answers

Adjectives crossword answers:

yes, your adjectives have to agree in gender with the nouns they describe!

Normally you need to add an “e” at the end of the adjective to make it feminine and an “s” to make it plural (unless they are there already). There are some exceptions though, look out for them!!

(NB m means the noun is masculine; f means the noun is feminine; pl means it is plural)

Across Down

5 rouges (m, pl) 1 grise (f)

8 petites (f, pl) 2 petits (m, pl)

9 noirs (m, pl) 3 bleues (f, pl)

10 petite (f) 4 noir (m)

11 verte (f) 6 mignons (m, pl)

12 méchants (m, pl) 7 petits (m, pl)

13 gros (m, pl) 9 noirs (m, pl)

16 bonne (f) 12 méchante (f)

19 marron (DOES NOT CHANGE) 14 méchants (m, pl)

20 minuscules (m, pl) 15 vertes (f, pl)

21 fantastiques (m, pl) 17 énorme (m)

22 blanches (f, pl) 18 multicolores (m, pl)

24 blanche (f) 23 bleus (m, pl)

28 grosses (f, pl) 25 petite (f)

26 brunes (f, pl)

27 grande (f)

Activity: escaleras – ladders
This could run be any language
What you need: a copy of a ladder for each team (2 teams minimum); a pen for each team
Teams of 4 or 5 each have a ladder – A3 or A4 size is good – and 1 marker pen (not a whiteboard pen). The sheet is to be stuck on the wall (or alternatively put on the floor).
Choose a topic e.g. pets, clothes, fruits, classroom object and furniture, sports, lessons etc.
When you start the race, use a stopwatch to judge a limited time or just see how they are going, and stop when most teams have completed their ladder .
The first person in the team takes the pen to the sheet and writes a word on the bottom rung of the ladder. They then put the lid on the pen and hand it to the next person (a bit like a relay race with a baton) who then goes and writes a word on the next rung and so on until the race finishes.
To see which the winning team is, go in order around the teams, starting on the bottom rung and give a point for each new word, not previously written, climbing the rungs of the ladder.