Early Starts: Tasks for Young Learners

CEFR: A1 – A2

“Me Books”: Writing about myself and the world around me

 

Tip: When students write about their own lives and experiences they will remember the new language better. Make new topics RELEVANT to the learners’ lives. Ask for TRUE, not only CORRECT texts.

Me-books are personal treasures where the learners write about themselves and the world around them.  At beginners level (A1) the kids learn to talk about themselves, their hobbies, their likes and dislikes, their families and friends, their pets and similar topics of interest. As they progress, their texts become more and more personalized. In mixed ability groups me-books are a perfect tool to allow each learner to write at their own skills level. 

Make sure the texts are not written into a homework book that will only be read by the teacher. Carefully designed me-books instill a sense of ownership to the learners. They will treat them with care and put a lot of effort into their entries. By sharing the me-books regularly in class, students learn from each other and set higher standards for themselves.  

Click on the images to see them in full size.

		Click on the picture to read the Me-book

Writing Games: Matching pictures and texts

Funny Creatures:

Students are asked to draw a funny creature that constists of parts of different animals. On a separate sheet they describe their creature in detail (thus practicing the words for body parts, colors and the genitive ‘s (It has a lion’s head…) Collect the drawings and the texts and put a letter (A-Z) on each drawing and a number on each text-sheet. Then post all the sheets on a wall. The students now read all the texts and find the matching creature. They write the letter + number combinations on a sheet. The student with most correct answers wins a little prize.

The same activity can be used as an online reading game using hot potatoes. I’ve scanned a few of the pairs and put them into Hot Potaoes:

Try this: Hot Potatoes Matching

 

 

Tip: Showing your good work to others “in public” can make you proud. Good work will be noticed and appreciated. Other learners will follow the good examples.

 

Writing simple books with bookr

  

Origami Storybooks

Have a look at the examples below. Print one of the pages and learn how to fold the books.

Follow this link to learn how to fold these simple books. A3 paper works best, but A4 will still be readable.

 

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