CLAP YOUR HANDS (AND OTHER ACTIONS)

As the school year wraps up (and these little ones have been conquering more English than I ever thought they would due to our limited time) we've reached the fun topic of ACTION VERBS. For this mini-unit, I used CLAP YOUR HANDS by Lorinda Bryan Cauley. The book includes all sorts of fun actions for the kids to do, clapping hands, stomping feet, roaring like a lion, etc. And the adorable illustrations are filled with delicious details ideal for gazing. I highly recommend this book for teachers looking to get their kids up and moving. 

We followed this book by introducing the basic phrases, "I can" and "I can't." Then using flashcards for the following action words, we decided what "we can" and "can't" do. 

Swim
Fly
Hop
Run
Walk
Spin
Ride a Bike
Tiptoe

After this, we followed with a rousing game of TEACHER SAYS. This one can be a challenge to explain to young ESL learners, so I've found the best way to approach it is to model the activity right away. Once the children understand how it works, they LOVE this game. I usual don't play "elimination style" right away, and never at all with the littlest ones. 

We finished our activity with a modified version of RED LIGHT GREEN LIGHT or the Italian version UN, DUE, TRE STELLA! Instead of just moving towards the "leader", students had to complete the actions I called out.