GAMES FOR CHILDREN AGED 3, 4 OR 5

When children have between 3 and 5 years, their activities of game usually extend the experiences that liked when they were younger. With their motors skills and socials skills more developed, they enjoy with active games and supervised. Children of nursery education have more capacity for using crayons, pencils and scissors.

They usually have more confidence in their capacities of running, jumping, play with a ball and others interactive games. Sometimes, they take advantage the opportunity to play in teams and to use their big muscles, at open air and under a roof.

At early ages, learning of a foreign language has in common too much things with the acquisition of the mother tongue. The child is displayed to the oral language of a meaningful form that he goes acquiring little by little. The child needs before a period of time to starting to produce his mother tongue.

Then, in the oral comprehension and production we can find activities of TPR (Total Physical Response) and games. These activities contribute to develop the oral comprehension because the instructions that the teacher is saying are in english.

At the same time, children take part and enjoy themselves too much. The activities of TPR follow the method called Total Physical Response: the teacher give some instructions and the pupils response of no verbal form doing suitable actions.

There are many recreational activities. Are included games with movement –like games in circle, with music, walk in row or other different way-, games with material that children have elaborated previously, and representations of stories, songs and chants in group.

The use of english in the class is very important, because expect develop the oral comprehension of the pupils. Then, the more is used the english in the classroom, is better.

If children have difficult in the comprehension, the teacher can use a technique of type “word balloon” (river – río, river), but it doesn't suit to do it systematic because pupils will leave of listen in english soon and they will fix only in their mother tongue.

Games help to practise the new vocabulary through easy dialogues. Furthermore, little children only achieve concentrate for short periods, so it’s difficult to achieve that the activities were extended. The individuals activities provide to the children the opportunity of work only, at their manners and following their proper rhythm.

In all games is necessary to do questions and answers them. The main objective is to achieve that children understand the question. They can demonstrate their comprehension with easy answers of a word, for example, No. Blue. Three. Some pupils will use the complete form, like for example Is it red? Where is the blue teddy?

There are many types of games like for example Games with Flashcards, with Posters, etc.

The Games with Flashcards are divided in two sections. First appear the games that develop the oral comprehension of the words (listening) and secondly appear the games that develop that practise the oral expression (speaking). It’s very important that children realise too much exercises of oral comprehension before than the oral expression.

The games can be used for reinforce the new vocabulary or like exercises to revise the vocabulary of previous units.

For the realisation of the games, the teacher has to use the intonation for emphasises the key words of each game, for example, is it blue?

Listening – Pointing 

Put the cards in different places of the classroom or ask to the pupils that hold the flashcards high. Say a word and ask to children that pointing the correct card.Instead of say the words isolated, the teacher cans include these words in a short sentence I like (bananas). Then the teacher has to say to the pupils that when the listened the key word pointed to the correct card.

 

Stop!

Use about five flashcards. Say a word and after show to the children the cards in order. Children have to shout Stop! When they saw the illustration. The teacher can do it at first and later to go each time more quickly.

Jump 

Ask to children stand up! Show them a card and say a word. Say to children that jump if the word is the correspond with the illustration of the card and that they don’t move if it is different.

Say the name

Share out some cards in the classroom. Ask to the pupils that had the cards that stands up these cards for what everybody see them. Say who’s got (the banana)? And ask to the rest of children that say the name of the partner that had this card.

Speaking – The Echo

 

Ask to children in their mother tongue what is the echo? Ask them that they act like if they were the echo of the teacher. Show them a card and say a word. Ask them that practise the echo repeating the word many times, each time in a low voice.

 

Repeating

Ask to the pupils that they are stand up is their place. Show them the flashcards and say a word. Ask them that repeat the word if it’s the corresponding to the illustration of the flashcard and ask that they are quiet if it’s different.

Little by little

The teacher has to cover the flashcard with a white paper. Then, the teacher is going to discover the flashcard little by little and he says to children that guess what is.

Like a lightning

Show a flashcard to pupils very quickly at first, and next do it each time more slow, until somebody says the word. Repeat it with others different cards like colours, pictures, etc.

To guess

The teacher has to select a flashcard without children seeing and ask them that guess what the flashcard that the teacher has selected is. The child that guess it has to choose the next card.

Who has it?

Share out some flashcards to the pupils. Children that have the flashcards, stand up them for what everybody can see them. The teacher says the name of one pupil and the rest of them have to say a word of the card that this child has.

Words which disappear

Put some flashcards in the blackboard. Point them one to one and children say the correct word. Delete a flashcard of the blackboard, but begin pointing the place where the card was situated for what pupils say the word. Repeat the process sometimes until children say all words without leave flashcards in the blackboard.

Memory

Put five flashcards in the blackboard. Give long time to children for what memorise them, then remove them of the blackboard and ask to children that say the words.

Which one fault?

 

Place five cards in the blackboard. Ask to one or two pupils that go out of the classroom. Move away one card of the blackboard (or ask to one pupil that does it). Say to children that went out that come in again and say which card is fault.

About what am I thinking?

 

Use about four flashcards. Place them where everybody can see them. Think in one of them and give two opportunities to children for what guess about what card the teacher is thinking.

What have I in the right hand?

 

Show to pupils two or three flashcards and ask them that say the correct words. Hide them in the back, shuffle them some times and ask to pupils what card the teacher has in the right hand.

Play the instrument • Furthermore, we can do games with songs.

In `Play the instrument´, when children listen the song, the teacher has to divide the class in six groups and allocate to each group an instrument. Then, the teacher puts the song and when the song arrives to the fourth verse of each paragraph, children play their instruments saying for example in the guitar the sound twang, in the piano the sound plonk, etc.

Pig, pig, pig, … wolf

Children sit down in circle and one of them walks touching to the partners in theirs backs and he says the word “pig”, but in one determinate moment he can say the word “wolf”, then the child that is touched with the word wolf is stood up and he has to run behind the partner that say him this word. The child that said the word has to sit down in the place where the wolf was.

Eating game

The teacher does like if he was eating food, but with the vocabulary that children know, then children have to guess what the food is. Afterwards doing two or three times, the teacher takes out to one child to the blackboard and teaches him one of the flashcards without the rest of the pupils see it. Then, the child repeats this game again like if he was eating.

Pass the balloon

Children stand up and they form a big circle. The teacher puts a bag in the middle of the circle and he gives one red inflated balloon to one child and other yellow inflated balloon to other pupil. The teacher put the music and children pass the balloon in circle but in opposite ways. The teacher stops the music and says for example “Put the yellow balloon in the bag”. The child that has the yellow balloon must put in the bag. Then, the teacher has to check with the rest of pupils if the balloon is correct and he says “Is it the yellow balloon?”

Merry Christmas!

Finally, I’m going to finish the work with a Christmas game, because the Christmas is coming. Then, the teacher puts to children in circle and they start to count the numbers until ten, pointing to each pupil. When say ten, everybody stop to pointing and say for example Merry Christmas (John)!

Munford, H. Y Wagner, B., Bertie Bear 1 Inglés en Infantil. Cyprus: Burlington Books, 2000.

Munford, H. Y Wagner, B., Bertie Bear 2 Inglés en Infantil. Cyprus: Burlington Books, 2000.

Jamieson K., Hello Teddy. Guía Didáctica. 1ª Ed., Hong Kong: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Blair A. Y Cadwallader J., Animal Island. 1ª Ed., Spain: Oxford University Press, 1998.

Reilly V., My friends. Guía Didáctica. 1ª Ed., United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2000.

http://www.abcteach.com/directory/basics/flashcards/ http://www.illinoisearlylearning.org/faqs-sp/playage-sp.

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