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Acquisition of the concepts of "hyponym" and "hypernym"

1/4/2013

This is a fun activity to teach young learners the concepts of hyponym and hyperonym and review vocabulary at the same time. For those who are not familiar with these terms, these are the definitions that are found in Oxford Dictionaries:

1. Hyponym: A word of more specific meaning than a general or superordinate term applicable to it. For example, spoon is a hyponym of cutlery.

2. Hypernym: A word with a broad meaning constituting a category into which words with more specific meanings fall; a superordinate. For example, colour is a hypernym of red.

Children are often confused with these ideas or concepts. This activity will help them to understand that there are some words that belong to a bigger category and vice versa.

Having clarified these concepts, I will carry on with the explanation of the game:
1. Get a ball that you can catch with a hand (ideally a soft ball).
2. Stand in front of your students.
3. Throw the ball to one of your students at the same time as you say a category (hypernym). For instance, throw the ball as you say "animals".
4. The student who catches the ball will pass the ball back to you as he or she says a word
that fits in that category (hyponym). For instance, "dog".
5. When you receive the ball you can pass the ball to another student without changing the
category by saying "another". In this case, the student who catches the ball will throw the
ball back to you saying another animal.
6. You can change the category whenever you want. But I recommend you to play with a
category for a while to make the game more interesting.
7. It is important that students pass the ball back to you and not to another student.
8. You can pass the ball to the same student several times consecutively.
9. Students cannot repeat a word within the same round.

How to get points:
I play this game as a competition between my students and me. I write the points on the blackboard so everyone can see them.

I (the teacher) will get a point if...
1. I hear a student speaking in a language that is not English.
2. A student repeats a word within the same round.
3. A student doesn't know the answer.
4. A student invents the answer.
5. The student says a wrong answer.
6. The ball falls down and it stays on the floor more than 5 seconds.
My students will get a point if...
1. They speak in English during a long period of time.
2. Depending on their age, if they play without failing for a certain period of time.
3. I don't speak in English.
4. When I consider that they are doing a good job.

FOLLOW UP
Once students have mastered how to play the game, you can make it a little bit more complicated. Imagine this situation:

Teacher: "Animals!"
Student 1: "Dog!"
Teacher: "Another!"
Student 2: "Cat!"
Teacher: "Another!"
Student 2: "Horse!"
Teacher: "Another!"
Student 2: "Bird!"

Now it would be the teacher's turn. However, instead of saying "another" or changing the category, the teacher can say another example of animals (hyponym) such as "bear" and throw it to the student. In this case, the student will have to throw the ball back to the teacher saying the category (or hypernym) in which "bear" belongs to. Look at the example:

Teacher: "Animals!"
Student 1: "Dog!"
Teacher: "Another!"
Student 2: "Cat!"
Teacher: "Another!"
Student 2: "Horse!"
Teacher: "Another!"
Student 2: "Bird!"
Teacher: "Bear!"
Student 2: Animals"

After this, the teacher will change the category.

PD:
1. You can carry out the game without naming the words "hyponym" and "hypernym" but it is important that you explain what they mean. These concepts are usually taught in their native language during their "Language Arts" period at some point. You have the decision of introducing these new words or not.
2. These are some of the categories that you can use to play: Animals, parts of the body, numbers, clothes, food, classroom objects, colors, shapes, buildings,sports, languages... You can make the categories a little bit more difficult for higher levels such as things in the kitchen, adjectives, verbs in the past, adverbs...

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"Classmade"- Scrabble

8/3/2013

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"Classmade"- Scrabble
1. Ask your students to sit down in pairs. If you are working with an odd number of students, three students will sit together.
2. Provide your students with a grid.
3.To decide who goes first, students will have to make an addition of the number of letters of their name and surname. The one with the highest number will start.

4. The first student will write one word in the grid. Each letter must fit in each square. The word may be placed either horizontally or vertically, but not diagonally.
5. If both players agree with the spelling of the word, the student who placed the that word will get as many points as letters the word has. Students can use a table like the one below or draw one themselves to keep the score updated. If they are not sure about the spelling of a word, they may use a dictionary to check it.

VARIATION: You can provide your students with this alternative grid. Depending on the color of the square where they write the letter, they will have the possibility of doubling or tripling the points for that letter, as well as doubling the points of the word.

FOLLOW UP: Once your students have finished playing, ask them to fill in each square that is left with a random letter. When all the grid is full of letters, each pair will exchange their grid with another pair's grid. Now the scrabble has turned into a wordsearch!

6. Students will take turns to play. If a student can't think of a word in around 30 seconds, he or she will miss his or her turn.
7. When there is not more space in the grid or students can't think of more words, they will add up all the points.
8. The student who gets more points will win.

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Learning English using your favorite songs

3/3/2013

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Several months ago I discovered a great website called Lyrics Training that can be use with ESL students to learn English. Lyrics Training is a web application that allows you to read and listen to the lyrics from music videos and can be used as a fun and interactive way for language teachers and trainers to introduce new vocabulary and grammar to their students in a classroom setting. Lyrics Training allow students to fill in the lyrics as they go along, and the difficulty level they choose decides how many words in a sentence are missing and they must fill in. This online language tool in particularly useful for students of foreign languages who want a fun and entertaining way to learn the correct pronunciation of words and it will improve their listening skills as students must identify words form a song.

Before starting to play, players will need to select the game mode. The options are "beginner, intermediate, and expert". The difference among them is the number of blanks that have to be filled. Those students who are slow at typing or who have lower listening skills may choose the "beginner" level first, if they don't want to stop the song every 5 seconds. It is a good idea to repeat the song but at a higher level each time. Songs are also classified according to their difficulty in "easy, medium, and hard".

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The Finger Family

17/2/2013

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This lesson plan is aimed to pre-kindergartens or children who are 3, 4 or 5 years old. Students will learn basic vocabulary related to the family members (daddy, mommy, brother, sister, and baby).

Flashcards
1. Show each flashcard to your students and say the family member that it represents.
2. Let students repeat what you have said.
3. Repeat several times until students remember the vocabulary.

The worksheet - Rings craft
1. Print one worksheet to each of your students.
2. In order to save time, cut each of the family members yourself.
3. Prepare some cardboard to create the rings and reinforce them.
4. Let the students color the family members.
5. As they finish coloring, stick the ring to the picture with glue or tape. Make sure they fit your
student's fingers.

Download here

The "Finger Family" song
Daddy finger, daddy finger, where are you?
Here I am, here I am. How do you do?

Mommy finger, Mommy finger, where are you?
Here I am, here I am. How do you do?

Brother finger, Brother finger, where are you?
Here I am, here I am. How do you do?

Sister finger, Sister finger, where are you?
Here I am, here I am. How do you do?

Baby finger, Baby finger, where are you?
Here I am, here I am. How do you do?

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"PASS THE WORD"

9/2/2013

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This game is based on the Spanish TV contest "Pasapalabra". In the TV contest, contestants have to guess 25 words that begin with each of the letters in the alphabet. The host will read the definition of each word and the contestant will answer. If the contestant doesn't know the answer or isn't sure about it, he or she will pass saying "Pasapalabra". Two contestants take turns. Each one has a different set of questions. When one passes or fails the questions it will be the turn of the other player. The player who guesses more words wins. Contestants have to answer the questions within a particular period of time.

How to use this game in your ESL classroom:
I have tried this game with my students in elementary and middle school and they absolutely love it. This game is especially amusing if there are not too many students in the classroom. Otherwise, they will have to wait more time till it is their turn to play. Since I usually don't have more than 10 students per class, this activity fits perfectly in my classroom.

1. Divide your students in two groups. Each group will line up.
2. Explain to them that they are going to play a game that is called "pass the word" and provide them with the instructions that I mentioned above. In our case, if students doubt or don't know the answer, they have to say "pass the word" to pass. Since it is a team game, each member of the team will have the opportunity to answer one question. After its turn, he or she will go to the back of the line and will wait until it is its turn again.
3. Each group will have a different set of questions and will take turns when the other team fails or passes.
4. Each team will have around 5 minutes to answer all the questions. The time will vary depending on the student's English level.
5. When the time is over, the team which guessed more words will win.
6. The teacher will be responsible for registering students' answers.

pass_the_word_in_english_2.pdf
File Size:	15 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

pass_the_word_in_english__verb_edition.pdf
File Size:	25 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

Follow-up activity: Let students create their own set of questions. Each team can create one set. Next time, you will be able to play with those new questions (you will safe a lot of time!!)

PD: Questions can include definitions, opposites, synonyms or translations from Spanish that you have been learning or reviewing in the classroom. Students can also play without checking the time.

For more advanced students....
I have found this website that includes a software that imitates the TV contest. It is aimed to students in high school. Hope you enjoy it! CLICK HERE

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Phonics for English Language Learners (group 1)

8/12/2012

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In this section, I am going to introduce the kind of activities and games that I carry out with my 4 year-old students. I only have 30 minutes of class three times per week so it is important that students are engaged in the classroom in order to produce as much output as possible from them. When I started teaching this class I didn't have any curriculum to follow so I designed my own lesson plans getting resources and ideas from the internet and books. In one of these attempts of finding interesting activities for my students I came across with the "Jolly Phonics" method.

This method is thought to teach phonics to native speakers of English but I consider that it can also be implemented in ESL classrooms. I believe that in order to follow it, teachers need to spend around 10 hours per week applying this method. Since I only have 1h 30 mins per week, I cannot get the same outcome as if I had 10 hours, but I am happy with the results :)

Here is a description of how I use "Jolly Phonics" to support my teaching.
1. Teach one sound per week (group 1: s-a-t-p-i-n/ 2 months)
2. Each week, review the previous sounds so students do not forget them.
3. Sing the letter song
4. Realize picture worksheet and tracing worksheet
5. Play games

Lesson plan (example /a/)
1. Introduction to the new sound.
- Show how the letter looks like
- Say that it sounds like "a, a, a". Let the students repeat it.
- Show around 5 pictures that represent words that begin with the /a/ sound ( not with the letter a). For example: "apple", "ant", "arm", "astronaut" and "alligator". Say the word at the same time as you show the flashcard. Let the students repeat the word. Make sure students hear the /a/ at the beginning of the sound. Show the flashcards several times to helps students remember the vocabulary.
2. Review of previous sounds and vocabulary.
3. Introduction of the song
- Sing the song of the /a/ sound. Play several times and help students remember the lyrics and movements.
4. Picture worksheet or tracing worksheet.
- Students sit down on their chair and work on their worksheet. One day I do the picture worksheet and another day the tracing worksheet. They listen and sing the song as they color and trace.
5. Phonics/ Vocabulary games:
We play one or two of the following games per day depending on how much time we have left.
1. Letter race:
- Divide students in two groups.
- Place the letters that they have learned and some that they have not learned yet on a table.
- The first student in each team will start playing. They shake hand before starting.
- Say a letter sound. Eg. /a/
- Students have to go to the table and look for the letter that makes that sound.
- If they get the right one they give it to you. If they get the wrong one, they can try again
until they find the correct one. Give students as many opportunities as they need. Always
recognize students' effort.
- Don't make the game a competition. Tell students that the most important thing is to find
the right letter; how fast you find it is not important.
2. Picture race:
It has the same rules as the "letter race" but the teacher will say a word such as "apple" and students will have to pick up that word.
3. Letter/picture race:
This variation of the previous games is suitable for more advanced students. The teacher will say a letter sound and student will have to find a picture whose name begins with that letter sound. You can also play the other way round. You can say the word and students will have to find the initial sound of that word.
4. Lucky dip:
- Students sit down in a circle
- Put some pictures and letters in a bag or box.
- Ask students to pass the bag to each other at the same times as they say "pass"
and while the music is on.
- When the music stops, ask the child who has the box to close his eyes and open it. The
student will get a picture or letter and will have to say the name or the sound.
- If the child is correct, he will keep the picture. If he is wrong, he will put the picture into the bag and the game will continue.
- Play until there are not more flashcards left.
5. Bingo:
I created a bingo set with pictures and letters that belong to group 1 (s-a-t-p-i-n).

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A fun way to review the present continuous (young learners)

7/12/2012

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This activity is great to introduce the present continuous in a new school year. It is also an excellent way to review essential vocabulary such as daily routines and food. I have carried out this activity with students who have a slight idea of the present continuous' pattern so it works as a review of it very well.

For this activity you will need:
1. Flashcards with verbs (words) : dance, sing, have a shower, sleep drink, eat .... (daily routines).
2. Flashcards with animals (pictures or words): giraffe, owl, cat, dog, bear ....
3. Flashcards with food or drinks: water, orange juice, pasta, pizza, muffin...

Instructions:
1. Divide the flashcards in three groups according to their category (verbs, animals, and food and drinks).
2. Let each student choose one flashcard from groups 1 and 2. In case they pick "eat" or "drink" they will also pick a flashcard from group 3.
3. Students will represent the combination of flashcards and will write the a sentence in the present continuous. If they picked "bear", "eat" and "pasta", they would represent and write "the bear is eating pasta".
4. Do the activity first in front of the students so they can see what exactly they are expected to do.
5. If necessary (depending on your students' age) go around and check which flashcards they got and write the sentences on the blackboard so they can copy them.
6. The final result is so lovely! Check my students' work below!

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Teaching "I like" and "I don't like" to young learners

6/12/2012

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Teaching "I like ______" and "I don't like _______"
1. "YES" and "NO" game:
1. Tell students that the left side of the classroom corresponds to the
answer "NO" and the left side corresponds to the answer "YES".
2. Ask students to stand up and go to either side of the classroom.
3. Ask students a question that follows this pattern: "Do you like...
apples?" If the answer is positive they will have to run to the "YES" side
and if the answer is negative they will run to the "NO" side.
4. Once each student has chosen one option, you will point at one side and
students will have to say all together a complete answer following this pattern:
"I like apples" or "I don't like apples". Then you will point at the other side.
5. You can play several times.
6. You can use different verbs such as "to be" or " to have" once they have learned the pattern.

Teaching "I like it" and " I don't like it"
I have done this exercise with my four year-old students and they just love it.
1. You will need to prepare these materials:
- Ice-cream sticks, happy faces and sad faces made of paper (one for each
student)
- Tape
- Flashcards with pictures of food (see example)
2. Students will color the happy face in yellow and the sad face in red.
3. You will build up the craft of each student using some tape to stick the faces to the ice-cream stick. (see example).
4. Students will sit down on the floor with their sticks and they will be ready to
listen to the teacher's instructions.
5. The teacher will pick up a flashcard and will show it to the children saying: "Do you like ________?"
6. Students will answer to the answer raising their craft and showing the happy face if the answer is affirmative and saying " yes, I like it" or they will show the
sad face if the answer is negative, at the same time as they say " no, I don't
like it".
7. Repeat several times.

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Activities to teach spelling to young learners

6/12/2012

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I would like to present some of the games and activities I usually carry out during my ESL classes to help students learn the spelling of words they just learned. I have tried these games with students who are in 3rd, 4th and 5th grade but I consider that they can also be implemented with students who are a little bit younger or older. Some of these activities require moving around the classroom and standing up, so depending on the age of the students and classroom setting, the lesson can be more or less successful.

PD. Before I play the games, I tell them that we are going to practice the spelling of the new vocabulary so it will be easier for them to know how to write the words in order to win the game. I let them read and review the vocabulary on their own for 2 or 3 minutes. After that time, they are ready and willing to play and have fun.

1. ABC game:
I only carry out this game during the first weeks of school when students do not feel very comfortable saying the ABC. Students stand up and the stay behind their desks. In case of having a small group, children can form a line with their backs on the wall.
1. The student who is on the left side or is the first on the line will start saying the first letter
of the ABC.
2. Then, the next student will say the following letter of the word and so on.
3. If a student says the wrong letter or repeats the same letter, they will be out of the game
too and must sit down.

2. Sparkle:
1. The teacher reads one spelling word aloud.
2. The student who is on the left side of the classroom or the first in the line will start the
word by saying the first letter.
3. Then, the following student will say the next letter of the word and so on.
4. When the word has been spelled correctly, the next student in line says "Sparkle."
5. Those students who are next to the student who has said "Sparkle" will be out of the
game (luck plays an important role).
6. If a student says the wrong letter, they will be out of the game too and must sit down.
7. The student who wins will get a "life" that can be use when someone who is next to them
says "Sparkle" . However, the "life" cannot be used when the student misspells the word.

3. Spell it out and guess:
This is a good activity to review spelling of new and old words and to improve students' behavior in the classroom
1. Students are divided into two or three groups depending on the number of students in the classroom.
2. The teacher will pick one vocabulary word from the "spelling bag" and will spell it out.
Eg. H-E-L-I-C-O-P-T-E-R.
3. Those students who know the word will raise their hand.
4. The teacher will only select those students who raise their hand to say the answer
5. If the word is right, that team will get a point.
6. The team which gets more points will win.

4. Spelling detective:
I recommend to carry out this activity when students feel more or less confident with their spelling words, for example, as a review for a spelling test of right before moving to a new a spelling list.
1. Write on the board a enumerated list of no more than 10 spelling words.
2. Let students read and focus on this list for 1 minute.
3. Ask students to close their eyes for 15 seconds.
4. Erase one of the words and rewrite it with an incorrect spelling (not very noticeable)
5. Ask students to open their eyes and find the word with the incorrect spelling.
6. Students will write the word correctly on their own dry-erase board or in the notebook and
show it to the teacher.
7. Continue playing until you have reviewed every word.

5. Spelling Hangman:
1. Organize students in pairs. Each student will have a dry-erase board or a piece of paper.
2. Each student will choose a random word but they will not tell it to each other ( the teacher
will tell students how many letters the word should have). Each student will draw as many   horizontal lines as letters the word they have chosen has.
3. A small bag or box containing the spelling words will be placed on the table.
4. The first student to begin playing will pick one word from the bag and say it aloud.
5. The other student will spell it out.
6. If the student spells it out correctly, he will have the chance to say one letter he or she
thinks the word chosen by their opponent has. If the students spells the word incorrectly,
he or she will miss their turn without saying a letter.
7. The student who guesses the opponent's word will win.

I will add more games and activities related to the teaching of spelling soon!

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Tired of carrying heavy and big speakers to your classroom? Read this :)

25/11/2012

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I would like to present you the "Altavoz Easy Sound shockwave MP3", an item that I acquired several weeks ago on the internet. One of my cousins recommended this speaker to me to use at work. As you know, I teach English as a extra-curricular activity in schools in Pamplona, and therefore, I have to go to several schools on the same day. Carrying heavy and big speakers to different classrooms for 8 hours is very uncomfortable and exhausting for me because I don't have a car where I can leave them.

Consequently, I have to carry and walk with them all the time. This speaker is about the size of a salt shaker so I just put it into my bag.

These are the key features of this product:

Stand Alone MP3 Music Player with volume & track skip features

Plug into your player or just turn it on and rock the house

Powered by In-built Li-Ion battery with 2 hours plus playing time

Delivers 5 Watts

Weighs 265 grams

Supplied with unique 3 way cable with USB, Mini-USB and 3.5mm audio plug

Perfect for Ipods, iphones, ipads, tablets, MP3 players, and of course, mini data projectors, no power needed

Turn your desk into a speaker instantly

I did some research on the internet looking for the best price and these are the websites I recommend you if you are interested in buying it :)
- PUNTRONIC : 23.01 Euros (Spain)
- MINIPROJECTOR: 49.50 Dollars (US)

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My name is Beatriz Paternain. I am an ESL specialist who graduated in 2012 with a Master's of Education in TESOL and World Languages Education from the University of Georgia

Acquisition of the concepts of "hyponym" and "hypernym"

"Classmade"- Scrabble

Learning English using your favorite songs

The Finger Family

"PASS THE WORD"

Phonics for English Language Learners (group 1)

A fun way to review the present continuous (young learners)

Teaching "I like" and "I don't like" to young learners

Activities to teach spelling to young learners

Tired of carrying heavy and big speakers to your classroom? Read this :)

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