Etiqueta: Year 2022-2023

English sounds, INFANTIL/PRESCHOOL, Kindergarten books

Dear Zoo literacy activities

María Abilleira Pomar

“I wrote to the zoo and they sent me a…”… I would never have imagined how engaging a simple beginning of a story could be. So, Dear zoo has become in a must have book in our classroom library.

“I wrote to the zoo and they sent me a…”……nunca pensei que un comezo tan sinxelo poidera chegar ser tan atractivo para os rapaces. Así que, Dear Zoo pasa a ser un imprescindible na nosa biblioteca de aula.

Why do children love Dear Zoo? Firstly, because of its subject matter. Kids always enjoy visiting zoos, talking about their pets, seeing animals on TV or wacthing animation films like Madagascar.

Por que lle gusta tanto? En primeiro lugar, pola súa temática. Os cativos gozan visitando zoos, falando das súas mascotas, mirando pelis de animais,…

Before reading the book, this book provided a great opportunity for activating prior knowledge while sharing experiences through simple questions like (in their mother tongue):
Who has been to a zoo? 
What was it like? 
What animals did you see there? 
What animal was your favourite? And so on. 

Asemade, antes de lelo, partindo dunha serie de preguntas na lingua materna, permitiunos compartir experiencias e activar coñecementos previos.

Secondly, because of its simple, repetitive and funny language. The lift-the-flaps make it engaging and suspenseful read both ways. After reading it a couple of times, children involved in the story naming the animals in the cages or moving like the animals.

En segundo lugar, grazas a súa linguaxe simple, repetitiva e divertida. As solapas fan que os rapaces sen enganchen a historia grazas ao suspense que provoca intentar adiviñar que hai dentro de cada gaiola. Despois dun par de lecturas en voz alta, todos querían dicir o nome dos animais ou imitar o seu movemento, o que os fixo partícipes da historia.

Thirtly, because of the vocabulary that allows us to talk about. It provided not only the opportunity for learning animal words in a fun way, but practising colours and adjectives, comparing animals or making different conecctions. I read the book aloud, page by page and then I paused and asked children if they were able to name or point to something that was big or heavy or someone in the class who was tall or grumpy. 

Por último, o vocabulario. Dear zoo no só nos dou a oportunidade de aprender o vocabulario dos animais dun xeito divertido senón que nos permitiurepasar as cores e adxectivos. comparar animais e establecer diferentes conexións. Parando en cada páxina, pedinlles que sinalaran obxectos da aula grandes ou pesados ou a alguén que fora alto ou algo gruñón.

Moreover, we focused on how letters sound. Reading is not an aim in kindergarten but teaching letter sounds is one essential step in teaching kids to read. This can be done in various ways, but one of the most effective methods is to use flashcards.

Ademais, centrámonos en aprender o son das letras. Aprender a ler non é un obxectivo de Ed. Infantil pero recoñecer o son das letras é un paso esencial para aprender a ler, sobre todo empregando tarxetas.

 PHONEMIC AWARENESS & WORD RECOGNITION

INITIAL LETTERS & TRACING

3º ciclo, BOARD GAMES, Superlative board game

Superlative board game

María Abilleira Pomar

Today was a funny day! Students in Level 6 were practising the superlative form of adjectives and How+adjective questions with a workgroup board game.

MATERIALS

The players need one board and one set of cards for each group of three or four students; a fact file; counters and a dice for each group.

PROCEDURE

  1. Divide students into groups of three or four.
  2. Give each group a board, two fact files, a set of cards,
    counters and a dice.
  3. They should place the cards face down in a
    pile and place their counters on the pirate ship (START).
  4. Students should take it in turns to throw the
    dice and move round the board. When they
    land on a colour square, they should take a card
    from the pile according to the colour on the square and answer a question. The others should check the answer.
  5. If the answer is not correct, the player misses a turn.
  6. The player who reaches the treasure first is the winner.
  7. Once everyone has finished, put each group together with another group and get them to report back on the answers to the questions.

There are some special squares: if the players land on the island, they will miss a turn. The treasure map wil let the players go foward two spaces. On the other hand, if they land on the ship wreck, they will have to go back two spaces. The worst square is the one with a skull… It is the unluckiest square. They should start again!

Click here to download the resources

Superlative board game

Superlative board game cards

Superlative board game fact file

2º ciclo, 3º ciclo, WORLD MISSION

WORLD MISSION 3

María Abilleira Pomar

Are you ready for a new mission?

Little Toad has a terrible flu and the evil Wario wants to keep all the medicines.

Mario must cross the mushroom kingdom in search of the antidote for the disease before it spreads and makes everyone sick.

Every time you beat a level, Mario will get the medicines to heal Little Toad.

3º ciclo, likes and dislikes, ORAL GAMES: liske and dislikes

Oral games in EFL Level 5

María Abilleira Pomar

Games are an essential part of teaching English as a foreing language. They can be used to warm up the class before our lesson begins, during the lesson to give students a break or to reinforce one subject, or even at the end of class when we have a few minutes left. The list of EFL games is endless and they can be used to test vocabulary, practice conversing, learn tense,…

Here you have some games we use for revising vocabulary related to books and films genres. They are also perfect for practicing grammar(likes and dislikes), tenses and speaking and listening.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

This is a previuos activity used to engage and motivate before starting each lesson as an element of our gamification. Students have to answer or ask their teacher a question in order to get “checkpoints” on their passport.

It is a great way of testing what your students learnt about the subject worked on previous lessons. It allows them to learn from their classmates as well as they have to stay focusing on the activity in order to achieve the best results.

When use it? Before the lesson

Why use it? Grammar, vocabulary, oral skills, students’ attention, learn to learn

GUESS WHAT

This is a pair work activity which students have to complete the missing information by asking a series of yes/no questions and giving information about people’s interest.

Oral game from Go far 5! Macmillan

In this pair work activity students will complete the missing information by asking about people’s interest.

When use it? during the lesson/end of the lesson

Why use it? Grammar, vocabulary, oral skills, listening comprehension, speaking

BOARD GAME

This is a really fun way to end a lesson. In this speaking work game, students play a board game where they will practice and review what they have learnt in this unit. Divide the class into pairs and give each group a copy of the game board( better A3), a dice and counters. They then take it in turns to roll the dice and move their counter along the board. When one student lands on a square, he/she has to ask his/her classmate a question. If the student can’t answer the question, he/she misses a turn.

When use it? end of the lesson/unit

Why use it? Grammar, vocabulary, oral skills

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PRINTABLES

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

GUESS WHAT/BOARD GAME

2º ciclo, level 3, level 3

World Mission 2: My favourite subject

María Abilleira Pomar

Here you have our last mission in Level 3

What an interesting mission!This time, they had to write about school timetables and their favourite school day and favourite subject.

It was a great opportunity for us to get to know each other better.

The mission had different levels:

Level 1: Complete your timetable

Level 2: Write a draft

Level 3: Prepare the writing

Level 4: Make an oral presentation

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE WORLD MISSION 2 RESOURCE

2º ciclo, level 4, level 4, Surveys

World Mission 2: A TV interest survey

María Abilleira Pomar

World Mission 2 is completed in Level 4.

In this new mission, students found out about TV interest in their class and wrote a short report.To do so, they had to beat different levels:

  • Level 1: Write a questionare
  • Level 2: Interview a friend
Level 2: Interview
mission-2-presentacion-4oDescarga\t
  • Level 5: Give an oral presentation

CLICK HERE TO DONWLOAD WORLD MISSION 2 RESOURCE

1º ciclo, Abilities, Art Crafts

Can you…? spinners

María Abilleira Pomar

I love using spinners because of the benefits of using then as a learning resource.

  • Spinners provide a fun and exciting way of helpling kids practice vocabulary or structures as they see it more as a game.
  • Word recognition helps develop reading ability faster.
  • They can be used anywhere at home, at school or even in the car.

If you are teaching how to ask about abilities, you can use this Can you…? spinner. It focuses on the vocabulary worked in our unit 2:sing, ride a bike, make models, juggle, play the guitar, do karate, dance and paint, but one blank spinner template is avaliable if you want your kids desing their own wheel.

Encántame usar as ruletas polos beneficios que teñen como recurso educativo.

  • As ruletas proporcionan unha forma divertida e emocionante de axudar aos nenos para practicar o vocabulario e as estruturas xa que o ven máis como un xogo.
  • O recoñecemento das palabras axuda a desenvolver a habilidade lectora máis rápido.
  • Podémolas usar onde queiramos; no cole, na casa, no coche,..

Se queres traballar na aula como preguntar polas habilidades , podes empregar este recursos. O vocabulario empregado é o que estamos a traballar na aula pero tes unha versión en blanco se queres que os alumnos deseñen eles mesmos a súa ruleta.

GET THE FREE PRINTABLE

2 versions are included.

Version 1: This is probably the most basic way to make a spinner! Simply poke a pencil through your card game disc and spin it like a top. The good thing about this method is that every child in your class can have their own spinner. However, I have found that the hole in the middle of the card quickly starts to widen and the disc falls down.

Versión 1: Esta é probablemente a forma máis básica de facer unha ruleta! Simplemente insira un lapis a través do seu disco de xogo de cartas e víreo como unha buxaina. O bo deste método é que cada neno da túa clase pode ter a súa propia ruleta. Con todo, descubrín que o orificio no medio da tarxeta comeza a alargarse rapidamente e o disco cae.

Version 2:This is one of the easiest and most effective ways to make a home-made spinner, and my personal favourite! Cut out the top and bottom part of the spinner.Punch a hole through the middle (top and bottom part) and insert a brass paper fastener through the holes on both top and bottom part and children can play with their classmates.

Versión 2: Esta é unha das formas máis fáciles e efectivas de facer unha ruleta caseira, e a miña favorita! Recorta a parte superior e inferior da roda xiratoria. Faga un burato no medio (parte superior e inferior). Insira o cravo a través dos buracos na parte superior e inferior e os rapaces xa poderán xogar cos seus compañeiros.

Winter Project

Polar Bear. What do you see?

María Abilleira Pomar

Winter is here, and with it comes an opportunity to incorporate meaningful winter activities in our classrooms! 

I’m excited to share with you some amazing winter themed resources for your classroom! Here you have some activities to introduce this topic in kindergarten. 

WINTER LITERACY ACTIVITY

Read!

Children love Eric Carle’s books because his books always offer children the opportunity to learn something about the world around them through simple stories and wonderful illustrations.

Below is an adapted book based on Eric Carle’s “Polar Bear. What do you hear?”. Upon reading, learners can identify animals, winter activities and numbers.

WINTER MOVEMENT ACTIVITIES

For added fun, use these winter activities yoga to stretch together as a class!

Get ready to roll, slide, clap and bounce in this winter snowman brain break and movement activity “Snowman Dance”. Kids movement activity for winter and January music and movement activities by Sandra at Sing Play Create.

WINTER MATH ACTIVITIES

Make practicing visual discrimination and counting lots of fun with this winter themed activity

SNOWFLAKE ART CRAFT

A great snowflake crafts for kids are simply by buttons, take a sheet of cardboard, carve it out in the shape of a snowflake, stick a white sheet to it, then just stick some beautiful button to it or the glittered buttons

WINTER SONGS

Little Snowflake brings together the same team that created the Twinkle Twinkle Little Star video to tell a short story of a snowman brought to life by the magic and beauty of snowfall. As he tries to ice skate, he learns the value of perseverance and teamwork. Along the way, we get to learn and review parts of the body (head, nose, hand). I hope you love it!

Good books to read in winter

Must-Read Books About Winter for Kids

María Abilleira Pomar

It’s winter!

Winter is here packed with terrific surprises-snow days, building snowmen, having snow fights and drinking hot chocolate by the fireplace. It’s time to snuggle on the sofa and read a great book on chilly winter days.

Chegou o inverno cheo de fantásticas sorpresas-días de neve, construcción de monecos de neve, loita de bolas e chocolate quente ao carón da lareira. É tempo de aniñarnos no sofá e ler un bo libro nos fríos días do inverno.

I love having some themed books for each season and holiday on display to read in my lessons.

Encántame ter cada nova estación ou festividade unha escolam de libros preparados para ser lidos durante as miñas clases.

Here you have some of our favourite winter books.

Aquí tendes unha lista dalgúns dos nosos libros favoritos sobre esta estación.

Snow by Uri Shulevitz

This is a cute book about a little boy with a dog believes that one snowflake can mean much more. It’s a simple text with great illustrations. The pictures tell more of the story. This book a great addition to your library. 

Este é un lindo libro sobre un neno pequeno cun can que cre que un floco de neve pode significar moito máis. É un texto sinxelo con excelentes ilustracións. As imaxes contan máis da historia. Este libro é unha gran adición á súa biblioteca.

The First Day of Winter by Denise Flemming

This book gives a fun twist on The Twelve Days of Christmas. The story takes you on a 10 day snowman building adventure.

Este libro dálle un xiro divertido aos Doce Días de Nadal . A historia lévache a unha aventura de construción de bonecos de neve de 10 días.

Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathan London

Froggy wakes up to snow and wants to go out and play. He learns what to wear to stay warm in the cold weather.


Froggy espértase con neve e quere saír a xogar. Aprende que poñerse para manterse quente no clima frío.

Winter Seasons by Alie Busby

In this child-centred book Winter Seasons by Alie Busby (one of 4) the season is explored inside and outside through the senses and play. This is another book ideal for toddlers and young preschoolers.


Neste libro Winter Seasons de Alie Busby (un de 4), centrado nos nenos, explórase a estación por dentro e por fóra a través dos sentidos e o xogo. Este é outro libro ideal para nenos pequenos e nenos en idade preescolar.

That’s not my Snowman by Fiona Watt

This is a wonderful book which includes bright pictures with patches of different textures. Designed to develop sensory and language awareness, babies and toddlers will delight in turning the pages and touching the textured patches.

Este é un libro marabilloso que inclúe imaxes brillantes con parches de diferentes texturas. Deseñado para desenvolver a conciencia sensorial e da linguaxe, os bebés e os nenos pequenos deleitaranse ao pasar as páxinas e tocar os parches texturizados.

The Snowman by Raymond Briggs

One December morning, James is thrilled to wake up to see snow falling. He spends the whole day making his perfect snowman; he has coal eyes, an old green hat and scarf and a tangerine nose . . .  just like the snowman from his favourite story. That night, something magical happens- the Snowman comes to life! He and James take to the skies on a magical adventure where they meet someone very special.

Unha mañá de decembro, James emociónase ao espertar e ver caer a neve. Pásase todo o día facendo o seu boneco de neve perfecto; ten ollos de carbón, un vello chapeu verde e unha bufanda e unha nariz mandarina. . . como o boneco de neve do seu conto favorito. Esa noite, sucede algo máxico: o boneco de neve cobra vida! El e James toman os ceos nunha aventura máxica onde coñecen a alguén moi especial.

Winnie in Winter by Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul

Winnie is tired of shivering in the cold and looking out at her garden covered in snow. And Wilbur is tired of frozen fur and whiskers. So Winnie uses a little magic to bring summer and sunshine to her house. But when her house becomes swamped by unwelcome visitors, she summons back the snow to make them disappear.

Winnie está cansada de tiritar de frío y mirar su jardín cubierto de nieve. Y Wilbur está cansado de la piel y los bigotes helados. Así que Winnie usa un poco de magia para traer el verano y el sol a su casa. Pero cuando su casa se ve inundada por visitantes no deseados, convoca a la nieve para que desaparezcan.

It’s Winter by Linda Glaser

A child observes the coming of winter and its effects on the weather, animals, and plants.Simple text and bold, beautiful paper sculpture convey the animal life, plant life, weather, colors, clothing, and feelings associated with the winter season.


Un neno observa a chegada do inverno e os seus efectos no clima, os animais e as plantas.O texto simple e a fermosa escultura de papel en negrita transmiten a vida animal, a vida vexetal, o clima, as cores, a roupa e os sentimentos asociados coa tempada de inverno.