The Magic -ed Challenge!

This week in our English lessons, our 6th graders became phonics wizards !
We discovered that the -ed ending in regular past tense verbs has three different sounds: /t/, /d/, and /ɪd/.

Through the activity “The Magic -ed Challenge!”, students learned to listen carefully, pronounce correctly, and use verbs in past tense while playing.
We used three magic cauldrons to sort verbs according to their pronunciation, and everyone practiced saying them in fun sentences.

Objective:
To understand and pronounce the -ed endings correctly in regular verbs.

What we learned:

The rules for each sound (/t/, /d/, /ɪd/).
How to use the past tense in short sentences.
That learning English can be fun, creative, and magical!

Teamwork & Learning by Doing

This activity was created using principles of active learning and teamwork, where students actively participate in their own learning.
According to John Dewey’s idea of “learning by doing” (1938), students learn better when they engage in practical activities.

In The Magic -ed Challenge!, students didn’t just listen — they tried out ideas, sorted things, talked, and worked together.
By working in small groups, they learned to understand each other, help each other correct mistakes, and develop a shared understanding of English pronunciation and grammar.

Research in second language acquisition (Ellis, 2003; Lightbown & Spada, 2013) supports that collaborative tasks increase motivation and improve retention of linguistic patterns, as learners use language for a real purpose.

Through this cooperative game, students:

Improved their speaking skills in a relaxed environment.
Improved their pronunciation.
Improved their social and emotional learning by being responsible for group success.

Teamwork changed a pronunciation exercise into a shared learning experience, where students learned from each other — a key part of effective language education.

Download the Material / Descarga o material

You can download all the printable materials used in this activity for free:
the three Magic Cauldrons Poster and the Verb Cards for classroom games.

Download The Magic -ed Challenge! Materials (PDF)

Esta semana, nas clases de inglés, o noso alumnado de 6º de Primaria converteuse en aprendices de maxia fonética .
Descubrimos que a terminación -ed dos verbos regulares no pasado ten tres sons diferentes: /t/, /d/ e /ɪd/.

A través da actividade “The Magic -ed Challenge!”, o alumnado aprendeu a escoitar con atención, pronunciar correctamente e empregar os verbos en pasado mentres xogaba.
Usamos tres caldeiros máxicos para clasificar os verbos segundo o seu son, e practicamos frases sinxelas de forma divertida.

Obxectivo:
Comprender e pronunciar correctamente as terminacións -ed dos verbos regulares.

O que aprendemos:

As regras de pronunciación de cada son (/t/, /d/, /ɪd/).
Como empregar o pasado en frases curtas.
Que aprender inglés pode ser divertido, creativo e máxico!

Aprendizaxe cooperativa e learning by doing
O alumnado traballou en pequenos grupos, axudándose uns a outros e aprendendo facendo.
Cada resposta correcta lles daba un Galleon, convertendo a clase nun auténtico reto de Hogwarts.

Aprendizaxe cooperativa e learning by doing

A actividade foi deseñada segundo os principios das metodoloxías activas e da aprendizaxe cooperativa, nas que o alumnado ten un papel protagonista no seu proceso de aprendizaxe.
Segundo a teoría de John Dewey (1938), “learning by doing”, a aprendizaxe é máis profunda cando se constrúe a partir da experiencia práctica e significativa.

No Magic -ed Challenge!, o alumnado non se limitou a escoitar: experimentou, clasificou, falou e interactuou.
O traballo en pequenos grupos permitiu que negociasen significados, se corrixisen mutuamente e construísen coñecemento compartido sobre a pronunciación e a gramática do inglés.

As investigacións en adquisición de linguas estranxeiras (Ellis, 2003; Lightbown & Spada, 2013) amosan que as tarefas cooperativas aumentan a motivación e melloran a retención dos patróns lingüísticos, xa que o alumnado emprega a lingua con propósito comunicativo real.

A través deste xogo cooperativo, o alumnado:

Desenvolveu as súas destrezas orais nun contexto seguro e divertido.
Mellorou a súa conciencia fonolóxica e pronunciación.
Fortaleceu as súas competencias sociais e emocionais, asumindo a responsabilidade compartida do éxito do grupo.

En definitiva, o traballo cooperativo transformou un exercicio de pronunciación nunha experiencia de aprendizaxe compartida, na que o alumnado aprendeu xuntos e uns dos outros, seguindo o verdadeiro espírito da aprendizaxe activa.

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