THE MIXED UP CHAMALEON

The mixed up chamaleon.

I have choose this story because it's a tipical folktale, and one member of the group has tell it and we perfommed it in class.

PRE-TELLING:

Children are given a ticket before getting into the class. They have to give it to the zoo worker to get in. Once they are inside the class, the pre-telling starts.

-Zoo worker: Hello everyone, welcome to my zoo.  As you can see there are a lot of... Oh! Where are the animals? I can’t find them. Can you help me?

She starts looking for the animals and encourages the kids to do the same. When a child finds an animal, he or she has to put it in the cage. When all of them have been found, the zoo worker sings this song to get their attention and make them quiet:

"Shh, be quiet please sit down, please sit down, please sit down.

Shh be quiet, please sit down, listen, listen, listen".

-Zoo worker: Thank you! Here are all the animals. Do you know their names? Let’s say the names together…

She takes every toy and teaches the name to the children. And now, open your eyes, close your mouth and prepare your ears to this story…

TEACHING :

Once upon a time, there was a chameleon that lived in the forest. He was a very special animal because he could change the color of his skin.

When he was on a leaf he turned green and when he was on the sand he turned yellow. When he was hungry, he ate flies. He caught flies with his long tongue. He really liked flies. But he was not happy.

-          I don’t like being a chameleon. I’m sad.

One day, he was bored and he decided to go to the zoo. When he arrived to the zoo, he was walking and walking and he saw the, fish? Turtle? Elephant?

-          Oh look! It’s an elephant!

-          Hello everyone! I’m the elephant, I’m veeery big. I have a looong trunk. I’m veery happy. And my color is grey.

And the chameleon sang a song about the elephant. Let’s all try to sing along! Everybody stand up and dance with us!

“ Grey grey  the elephant is grey

Grey grey the elephant is grey.

Grey grey the elephant is grey

The elephant is grey, grey, grey”

-          -Wow! The elephant is very strong. I like him a lot! I want to be an elephant too!

And suddenly, there was a flash and a bank (lights off and music) he turned grey like the elephant and a trunk grow from his nose and he was happy.

Then a fly flew over his head, he was really hungry, but he couldn’t eat the fly.

“Try to catch me, try to catch me

You can not, you can not

You’re not a chameleon, you’re not a chameleon

Now you’re sad”

-          I can’t eat. I don’t like being an elephant.

The chameleon was sad again, and he kept on walking to a lagoon where he saw a, Giraffe? Polar bear? Flamingo?

-          Oh look! It’s a flamingo!

-          

    Hello everyone! I’m the flamingo, I’m veeery elegant and beautiful. I have  looong legs. I’m veery happy. And my color is pink.

-          And the chameleon sang a song about the flamingo!

“ Pink, pink the flamingo is pink

Pink, pink the flamingo is pink.

Pink, pink the flamingo it is pink

The flamingo is pink pink pink ”

-          Wow! The flamingo is very beautiful. I like him a lot! I want to be a flamingo too!

And suddenly, there was a flash and a bank, (lights off and music) and he turned pink like the flamingo and his legs grew longer and he was happy.

Then a fly flew over his head, he was really hungry, but he couldn’t eat the fly.

-          I can’t eat. I don’t like being a flamingo

The chameleon was sad again, and he kept on walking to a lake where he saw a fish

-          Oh look! It’s a fish!

-          Hello everyone! I’m the fish, I’m veeery small. I have short fins. I can swim. I’m veery happy.  And my color is orange.

“Orange, orange the fish is orange 

Orange, orange the fish is orange

Orange, orange the fish is orange

The fish is orange orange orange”

-         

      Wow! The fish can swim. I like him a lot! I want to be a fish too!

And suddenly he turned orange like the fish and his legs became fins and he was happy.

Then a fly flew over his head, he was really hungry, but he couldn’t eat the fly.

“Try to catch me, try to catch me

You can not, you can not

You’re not a chameleon, you’re not a chameleon

Now you’re sad”

-          I can’t eat. I don’t like being a fish

The chameleon was sad again, and he kept on walking to a terrarium where he saw a turtle

-          Oh look! It’s a turtle!

-          Hello everyone! I’m the turtle , I’m veeery small. I can live inside my shell.  I’m veery happy . And my color is green.

“Green, green, the turtle is green  

Green, green, the turtle is green

Green, green, the turtle is green

The turtle is green, green, green”

-          Wow! The turtle can live inside his shell. I like him a lot! I want to be a turtle too!

And suddenly, there was a flash and a blank (lights off and music) and he turned green like the turtle and a shell grew on his back and he was happy.

Then a fly flew over his head, he was really hungry, but he couldn’t eat the fly.

-          I can’t eat. I don’t like being a turtle

The chameleon was sad again, and he kept on walking to a really cold area where he saw a polar bear

-          Oh look! It’s a polar bear!

-          Hello everyone! I’m the polar bear, I’m veeery big. I can live in cold places and I’m very strong.  I’m veery happy .  And my color is white.

“White, White, the polar bear is white

White, White, the polar bear is White

White, White, the polar bear is White

The polar bear is White White White”

-          Wow! The polar bear can live in cold places. I like him a lot! I want to be a polar bear too!

And suddenly, there was a flash and a bank and he turned white like the polar bear and his hands became claws and he was happy.

Then a fly flew over his head, he was really hungry, but he couldn’t eat the fly.

“Try to catch me, try to catch me

You can not, you can not

You’re not a chameleon, you’re not a chameleon

Now you’re sad”

-          I can’t eat. I don’t like being a polar bear

The chameleon was sad again, and he kept on walking to an area with tall trees where he saw a giraffe

-          Oh look! It’s a giraffe!

-          Hello everyone! I’m the giraffe, I have a veeery long neck. I can eat  leaves from veeery tall trees .  I’m veery happy . And my color is yellow.

“Yellow, yellow, the giraffe is yellow

Yellow, yellow, the giraffe is yellow

Yellow, yellow, the giraffe is yellow”

The giraffe is yellow yellow yellow”

-Wow! The giraffe has a very long neck. I like him a lot! I want to be a giraffe too!

And suddenly, there was a flash and a bank and he turned yellow like the giraffe and his neck grew longer and he was happy.

Then a fly flew over his head, he was really hungry, but he couldn’t eat the fly.

“Try to catch me, try to catch me

You can not, you can not

You’re not a chameleon, you’re not a chameleon

Now you’re sad”

-          I can’t eat. I don’t like being a giraffe. I’m so tired and hungry. I was happier when I was a chameleon. I wish I could be myself again!

Suddenly there was a flash and a bank and he turned a chameleon. He was happy to be himself again. Then a fly flew over

-          I can finally eat you!!!!

POST TEACHING:

Once the story is told, it's time for the animal domino. A teacher explains the activity, but before playing the game she asks about the story.

-          Kids, did you like the story?

-          Is the Chameleon happy when he is like the elephant?

-          Is the Chameleon happy when he is like the flamingo?

-          …

-          Is the chameleon happy when he is himself?

-          Do you want to play a game?

-          Let's play the animal domino

She hands out the domino pieces and leads the children through the activity. They have to stick the pieces in the blackboard until the game is completed.

The actors say goodbye and the performance ends.

 Finally here is the real version of: THE MIXED UP CHAMALEON

Hope you like the story, the performance and the pre, the telling and the post telling style.

Ester C.

STORYTELLING AND TEAM WORK

Storytelling!

Perform the storytelling was really great, I thank my teacher Laura. The storytelling as I had say in another post is really important. 

We transmit much through the simple act of telling a story and we have so many options to teach it how valuable appreciate literature and everything we learn through it.

On the other hand I could not be more pleased with my work group, we have cooperated all together and we have been pretty tight included the foreign ERASMUS student and also we practice more English with her.

UNIT 2: ACTIVATING CHILDREN'S LITERATURE

It's time to stories now!

                   Folktales, modern tales, tales of yestarday and today.

                                                     

     The art of story telling: Pre-telling, telling and post-telling.

Storytelling is an art and we can not underestimate. You have to know how to tell stories because this is good for both: students and for us as teachers.

We have operate each of our faces as teachers know how to use the voice, gestures, selection of the story, knowing that possibilities offered by this story ...

• Storytelling is interactive, that means that it involves a two-way interaction between a storyteller and one or more listeners. The responses of the listeners influence the telling of the story. In fact, storytelling emerges from the interaction and cooperative, coordinated efforts of teller and audience.

• Storytelling uses actions such as vocalization, physical movement and/or gesture. These actions are the parts of spoken or manual language other than words. Their use distinguishes storytelling from writing and text-based computer interactions. Not all nonverbal language behaviors need to be present in storytelling. Some storytellers use body movement extensively, for example, whereas others use little or none.

•  Storytelling presents a story that means that Storytelling always involves the presentation of a storya narrative. Many other art forms also present story, but storytelling presents it with the other four components. Every culture has its own definition of story. What is recognized as a story in one situation may not be accepted as one in another. Some situations call for spontaneity and playful digression, for example; others call for near-exact repetition of a revered text. Art forms such as poetry recitation and stand-up comedy sometimes present stories and sometimes don’t. Since they generally involve the other four components, they can be regarded as forms of storytelling whenever they also present stories.

•  Storytelling encourages the active imagination of the listeners. In storytelling, the listener imagines the story. In most traditional theatre or in a typical dramatic film, on the other hand, the listener enjoys the illusion that the listener is actually witnessing the character or events described in the story.

 TO APPLY ALL OF THESE INFORMATION AND REFLECTIONS: 

Have a look to these videos, with simple thnigs our storytelling can be perfect.

THE WATCH.: MICHAEL ROSEN

    CHOCOLATE CAKE: MICHAEL ROSEN

Hope you like it! Remember sometimes teachers we are like actors and our audience are our children.

Ester C.

SPEAKING: PRONUNTIATION GET SOME CLUES

TODAY IS PRONUNTIATION TIME

         Getting somo clues....

                         Tongue twisters and Jolly Phonics

To speak, it is very important to be understood, the pronunciation. The pronunciation is based centrally in imitation, but we can't do boring classes, or make English classes like repeation classes. So an alternative to those "kinds of repetition" is: apply to the pronunciation puns, maxillary jaw exercises, some theoretical explanation of concepts and lot of practice including tongue twisters.

After imitating the sound and learning the correct biology for producing it, now is the time to practice the use of that sound or sound pattern. You can use minimal pairs (pairs of words which differ in only one sound like mop and pop or pop and pep) to highlight one sound or phoneme that you are teaching. If you want to add a little fun to pronunciation class, try tongue twisters. There is no end to the tongue twisters you can find or write, and not even native speakers are good at them, so the pressure is off your students to perform flawlessly.  You can also teach the natural rhythm of English through songs and poetry. 

A tongue twister that I really love is: "I saw Susie sitting in a shoe shine shop. Where she sits she shines and where she shines sits".

I would like to speak also of a reality that is done in some bilingual schools to teach pronunciation and phonetics without using the typical picture of phonetic alphabet.

JOLLY PHONICS BOOK'S

JOLLY PHONICS METHOD

What is Jolly Phonics and whats's his relation to pronuntiation?

Jolly Phonics is a fun and child centred approach to teaching literacy through synthetic phonics and pronuntiation. 

With actions for each of the 42 letter sounds, the multi-sensory method is very motivating for children and teachers, who can see their students achieve. The letter sounds are split into seven groups as shown below.

It's a very lovely method and very systematic and also it's an approachment to the music they are having fun but they are learning pronuntiation and phonetics too. This method have so many educational and fun materials apart from the sons about each letter of the alphabet.

A simple example for the first group of letter in the order that is teach:

How to teach with Jolly Phonics

Songs of the first group of Jolly Phonics teaching.

                                                     Have fun and have a good pronuntiation! Remember our students are listening to us everyday and everywher!

Ester C.

UNIT 1: REFLECTIONS- LISTENING AND SPEAKING

HI EVERYONE! 

Today we are going to speak about...

LISTENING AND SPEAKING

Sometimes we want to our students to listen and then speak like we do it but how to do this in a different way?

Today I will talk about how to get some fun and interesting skills that we saw in class. As through two videos, one a story and a song we can work around this. I'm going to show you the story and the song and then I will give you some ideas some suitables games and activities (like exercises) to work hard in listening and speaking.

• THE VERY HUNGRY CATTERPILLAR:

The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a children's picture book designed, illustrated and written by Eric Carle. It features a caterpillar who eats its way throught a wide variety of foodstuffs before pupating and emerging as a butterfly.

The story: The Very Hungry Catterpillar.

With this story we can work : the numbers, the development of the caterpillar to butterfly , food , days of the week, the antagony of night and day (sun and moon) and finally the concept of hunger or what it means to be hungry .

Some suitable activities and games for how to learn Speaking:

-True or False: After hearing the story the teacher may ask questions of understanding the story . They must speak and tell what they have understood, justifying each answer. If the students are older (5 years) we could ask them to do it themselves questions or to their class-mates.

-The sentence round or Describe and draw: There are also two more activities very suitables to do after the very hungry catterpillar.

Some suitable activities and games for how to learn Listening:

-Mime what happened.

-Listening grids

-Questions gallery

• SIMON SAYS:

Singing it's a very nice and practical way to work the pronuntiation:

My reflection of this is that we have to:

Give our students the main opportunity that is to imitate, they also are reviewing the parts of contains and they make appropriate English sounds

With this Simon Says version we can teach: the parts of the body, actions, and music instruments.

"Debbie & Friends" recorded a live concert at Berklee College of Music's CAFE 939 in Boston. Here there are performing their "Simon Says" game song. We had a great time sawing it in class! 

The song: Simon Says

Some suitable activities and games for how to learn Speaking:

-Sentence round

-Three things about me (about the game-song)

-Find a friend who can (actions from the game-song)

-Agree or desagree (some statements about the Simon says)

Some suitable activities and games for how to learn Listening:

-The Gym sequence 

-Listen and respond

-Colour dictation

Follow the route.

  

                                                                 Hope you liked it as I liked!                               Ester C.

UNIT 1: LISTENING AND SPEAKING - READING AND WRITING

This blog is divided into various units.

This first unit comes on as the title says: Listening and speaking (including pronunciation) on the one hand, and reading and wirting on the other side.

This entry is therefore explanatory so what try the following entries, which revolved around this Unit 1.

Hope you like it, this unit is full of thoughts, many ideas and content.

Ester C.

500 ACTIVITIES FOR THE PRIMARY SCHOOL

How important are good resources for teachers?

Today I'm going to talk about a book that we use in class, the book is titled: 500 Activities for the primary school. It is a book written by Carol Read. 

This book is one of the best investments you can make for teaching. Not because you had to purchase compulsory in college, but because it is a very good book. In which, everything is very well structured, with well-selected and classified activities. In this book we find activities to teach in a totally different way than we are used to do it.

It is a good tool since perfected aspects of teaching. I think it is a book to have it for when it teacher, and I'm sure I'm going to use not only in years of practice I have left and at the university but I will use when in the near future as a future  Teacher.

Remember Good investment, economic and academic work well. Every effort pays off.