ART AND CRAFTS WITH CHI LDR EN

�·
-- ·
RESOURCE
BDKSFOR
TEACHERS
series editor
ALAN MALEY
ART AND CATS
WITH CHILDR:EN
Andrew Wright
OFOD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
··-·-

OFOD
UNIVERSIY PRESS
Great laendon Steet, Oxford ox2 6DP
Oxford Univesiy Press is a depament of the Univesiy of Oxford.
It hesheUiy's objeive of xcelene in esh, scholsip,
and educaion by publishing worldwide in
Oford New York
Aukland Bangkok Buenos ires Cape Ton hennai
Dar es Salaam Delhi Hong Kong Istanbul Kaachi Kolkata
Kuala umpur Madid Melbone Meico Ciy Mumbai
Naiobi sao Paulo Shanghai aipei Toyo Toonto
OXFORD and OXFORD ENGLISH are eisteed ade marks of
OfodUnivesiyPess in the K and in in other counies
� Oford Univesiy Pess 2001
he moal ihts of the author have been sseted
Database ight OfodUivesiyPess (maker)
Fist published 2001
2008 2007 2006 205 2004
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3
ll ihs eseved. No pat of his publiaion may be eproduced,
stored n a reievalystem, or ansmited, in any om or.by any means,
ithout he pior ni
ssion in iing of OfodUnivesiyess,
or as pessly peited by law, or undrtens aeed ih the appopriate
repoapis ihs oganizaion. Enquiies concng repoducion
ouside he scoe of the above should be snt to the Tights Depament.
Ofod Univesiy es, at he addess above
You must not ulate this oo
k in any ohrbindng or cover
and u must impose is same oniion on any acquirer
hotoong
he Pubisher ans esi
on for he photocopyng of those pages marked
'photcopiable' acoding to he folling condiios. Indidual purchases
may e copies or their n use or or use by ss hat hy teach.
School puhass may make opies or use y sffand udents, but tis
pemission does not extend to addiional shools r bnches
Under no tn
ces may any pat of s book be photocopied or esale
ny websites fed to in s publicaion ae in he public domain and
heir addresses ae pided by Oford Univesiy ess or fomaion ony.
Ofod Univesiy Pess disclaims any responsibiiy for the content
ISBN 0 19437825X
Pinted in Hong Kong
�I

Acknowledgements
I would like to thank:
Julia Sallabank and Alan Maley for their sensitive and thoughtul
guidance in the planning and writing ofthis boo�.
he teachers and children who have tried out the activities in this
book, and helped me to improve hem.
Livia Farago for sharing her ideas.
My wife,Julia, for her support and professional sharing.
My children,Timea and Alexandra, for their ideas, and for their
constant willingness to try out my ideas.
Line illustrations byAndrewWright© Oxford University Press.
The publisher would like to thankthe following for theirpermission
to reproduce photographs:
The BridgemanArt Library pages 1 1 (Rembrandt selfportrait/
Mauritshuis,The Hague), 56 (Facsimile ofCodex
Atlanticus/Private Collection).
Every efort has been made to trace the owners ofcopyright
material in this book, but we should be pleased to hear from any
copyright holder whom we have been unable to contact.We
apologize for any apparent negligence. Ifnotiied, the publisher will
be pleased to rectiy any errors or omissions at the earliest
opportunity.

ToTimea and lexandraWright
�
_I
,
�
�
�
- �

A
�
'
� >
Contents
�
�
�
�
The author and series editor 1
� Foreword 3

�
Inroducion 5
�
How to use his book 17
' Activiy Age Time Aim Page
'
(minutes)
1 Three-dimensional acivities 19
� 1.1 Binoculars and telescopes 4-12 30-40 Present continuous 19
� 1.2 Cars 4-12 80 Instructions; car vocabulary; 0 21
�
road safety
1.3 Clay animal 5-12 30 Body parts; proportions and 23
� shapes; making models
r
1.4 Clayfood 5-12 90 Food; shapes; colours; 25
making models
-
� 1.5 Mobile phone 4-12 30 Present continuous; 27
telephoning
� 1.6 Roll sentences 7-12 45 Writing sentence patterns 28
t 1.7 See hrouh the paper 4-12 30 Descriptions; the face 30
1.8 This isn't a pen 4-12 20 Negative and positive 31
� �tatements; _indeinite article;
�
imagination
1.9 Town and country setting 4-12 90+ hat's this? It's a . . .; can: 33
� model-making
'
�
2 Puppets, masks, and manikins 36
2.1 Puppets 4-12 60-80 Oral luency; making puppets 36
� 2.2 Masks 4-12 60-80 Any; making masks; 39
A
imagination
2.3 Robots 4-12 90 Instructions; maing masks; 43
A acting
�
2.4 Manikin 4-12 120 Describing people; maing 45
I
a igure
� 2.5 Manikin's family 4-12 70-90 Families; discussions; 46
r
cutting and sticking
"

�
�
�
3 Prining 49 �
3.1 Rubbings 4-12 60-80 hat s it? It's . . .; hand-eye 49
co-ordination �
3.2 Printing vegetable poems 4-12 80 Vegetables; poery; 50 �
making patterns
3.3 Prining with everyday 5-12 40 Can; hose . . .? 53 �
objects
�
�
4 Drawing by looking 56
4.1 Drawing by measuring: 5-12 30-40 hese are/hs s . . . ; body parts; 57 �
people measurements; observaion
�
4.2 Drawing sick people 7-12 30-40 Body parts; 59
present coninuous �
4.3 Drawing faces 5-12 40-50 How olds . . . ?; faces; hand-eye 61
�
co-ordinaion; observing
proportion and shape
�
4.4 Drawing epressions 6-12 40-50 Shape and posiion; 64
comparisons; feelings �
4.5 From geomeric shapes 7-12 40-50 Shapes; animals; hand-eye 68 �
to animals and birds co-ordination
4.6 Houses 5-12 50 Syles of houses; hand-eye 71 �
co-ordinaion
�
5 Drawing rom imaginaion 74
�
5.1 My head -12 40-50· Talking about oneself; feelings 74 �
5.2 A poster of ngs 5-12 40 Possessives; aricles; describing 75
�
things and people; co-operation
5.3 mang invenion 8-12 120 Describing a machine; 76 �
imaginaion
�
5.4 Blind dictaion 5-12 30 Insrucions; body parts 78
5.5 mal faces 6-12 30 Faces 79 .,
5.6 Caricatures 6-12 40-50 Faces; drawing cartoons 80
�
5.7 ho is he? 4-12 20 Quesions; descripions 82
of people; speculaing �
5.8 House of the thin woman 5-12 60 istening 84 �
�
6 Colours 86
6.1 Primary, secondary, and 4-12 40 Colours 86
�.
l
tertiary colors
�
�
�
�
/

'
�
�·
�
6.2 Little black monster 4-12 30 Can; vocabulary; persistence 90
�·
of visioi
6.3 Coloured bird 5-12 60 Colours; birds; positions; 91
� making mosaics
� 6.4 Matching colours 8-12 30 Colours 93
�
l
Design 96
7
' 7.1 Advertisements 8-12 90 Likes and dislikes; giving 97
�

opinions; making a poster
7.2 Birthday card 5-12 100 Likes and dislikes greetings; 99
� graphic design; making a card
�
7.3 Coat of arms 4-12 60 Vocabulary; use of symbols 101
7.4 Designing your name 5-12 80 Praising; he alphabet; 102
� hand-eye co-ordination
�
7.5 Picture picnics 5-12 40 Speaking; expressing ideas 104
graphically
� 7.6 Picture symbols in a town 4-12 90-100 Can; designing picture symbols 106
�
7.7 Picture symbols for 4-12 30 L"ke; visual memory 109
language practice
� 7.8 Pop-up cards 7-12 40 Greetings; making a card 113
� 7.9 Postcards 6-12 30-40 Writing personal messages; 115
graphic design
' 7.10 'You and them' books 6-12 20-40 Writing and illustrating a
.
story 116
� 7.11 Zig-zag books 6-12 120 Writing, illustrating, and 118
making a book
'
� 8 Technoloy 121

�
8.1 The overhead projector 4-12 40-60 Questions; descriptions, 121
making shapes
� 8.2 Shadow plays 4-12 3 +hours Speaking and listening; making 126

�
puppets; putting on a play
8.3 Making a video 5-12 4-5 hours Speaking; acting 131
�
�
Appendix: Materials and techniques 136
'
Further reading 142
�
Photocopiable worksheets 145

r
Indexes 163
-
�·
�
'·
' -:��

The author and
series editor
Andrew Wright was a student at the Slade School of Fine Art, the
premier postgraduate art school in Britain. He has continued to
paint, draw, and illustrate his own books. At the same ime, he has
continued to work wih children-boh his own, and those he meets
in schools, drawing, designing, making books, and producing
shadow theare productions. As an art teacher he was, for 1 5 years,
Principal Lecturer in Art and Design at the Metropolitan University
of Manchester. As an author of language teachers' resource books,
he has published two other books in his series: Storytellingwith
Children and CreaingStories with Children. As a storyteller, story
maker, and book-maker, in the last eight years he has worked in ten
countries with over 40,000 children. As a language teacher trainer
he has worked in 30 countries, and was the founder of the lATEFL
Young Learners Special Interest Group.
Alan Maley worked forThe British Council from 1962 to 1988,
serving as English Language Oicer inYugoslavia, Ghana, Italy,
France, and China, and as Regional Representative in South India
(Madras). From 1988 to 1993 he was Director-General of the Bell
EducationalTrust, Cambridge. From 1993 to 1998 he was Senior
Fellow in the Department ofEnglish Language and Literature of
the National University of Singapore. From 1998 to 2002 he was
Director of the graduate programme at Assumption University,
Bangkok. He is currently a freelance consultant. Among his
publications are Literaure, in this series, Byondbrs, Souns
Interesing, Souns Inriuing, Ors, ariations on a heme, and
Drama echniques in Lauage Lear-ing (all with Alan Du), The
Mind's Eye (with Fran9oise Grellet and Alan Du), Learning to
Listen and Poem into Poem (with Sandra Moulding), Short and Sweet,
and he English eacher's>ice. He is also Series Editor for the
Oxford Supplementary Skills series.

Foreword
There was a time when teaching English to young children was
conceived of as maiily a matter of involving them in songs and
games. Songs and games of course remain important for young
learners, but our ideas have evolved considerably in recent years.We
have come to realize that, for these kinds of learners, there is a need
for more than just teaching the language-raher he language is just
one element in a process of helping them to develop as 'whole
persons': an educational rather han just a training process.
This book is one response to this need.The focus is on involving
children simultaneously in activities promoting their personal
development and in helping them to learn the language. rt and
crat activities serve these twin aims in an ideal fashion.While
making things, the children also make meaning. As they explore
shapes, colours, textures, constructions, they are extending their
experience and understanding of the world-and doing it through
the medium of the foreign language.
We are fortunate that, in AndrewWright, we have a unique blend of
experience and expertise in art and in language teaching. For iteen
years Andrew was a teacher of art and design. He has been able to
draw on this experience to inform his later work in language
teaching. As an artist, he has a proper understanding of the
educational value of art and crat in developing children's
understanding and sensitivity. He is passionately concerned that we
should not trivialize art and crat activities just because the learners
are young! As a language teacher and author, he appreciates the
need to structure activities and to provide a framework of
encouragement and support.
The book is a treasure house of imaginative, involving, and above
all, practical activities. It is an invaluable addition to the resources of
anyone involved in teaching younger learners.
Alan Maley

Introduction
Language learning and art, crats, and design
Children learn by doing. hen they are involved in art, crats, and
design activities, language can play a key part. Although much of
what is done in art, crats, and design is non-verbal, for his book
I have chosen activities in which language plays a central role.
The important role of language in art, crats, and design is
evident when children are:
- listening to, and perhaps reading instructions on how to do
something. They are associating the new language directly with
objects, actions, and experiences, rather than merely with
existing experience through translation of the moher tongue.
- making use of their existing language skills (which hey employ
when reading in their mother tongue), for example, when
guessing meaning rom context
- receiving and giving praise and encouragement
- describing, evaluating, and expressing feelings and ideas.
This range of purposes and associated language is not found in
raditional foreign language teaching at primary level, in which
songs, rhymes, and games are the sole diet. However good this
traditional 'food' of songs and games is, it cannot provide the
balanced diet essential for a child's broad conceptual
development.
The value of art, crats, and design at the
lower proiciency levels
Art, crats, and design are particularly important at the lower
levels because they make a child's limited range of lanuage part
of something bigger-something which is strong, rich, and has
material presence. For example, the word 'me' on its own is worth
little or nothing, but written below a self-portrait of a child it
becomes meaningul, and is much more likely to be remembered.
The educational value of art, crafts, and design
When working with children, we are irst of all teachers who are
responsible for the overall development of those in our care. Our
role is to introduce activities, materials, and values which deepen
their awareness and understanding of the world around them, and
their relationship with it.

6 INTRODUCTION
n my opinion, it is not enough for me merely to help the children
to name a colour in English. I should also help them to become
aware of the wondeul varieies of colour which we can perceive
and make, and to deepen their associations wih colour.
Art, crats, and desin activities can help children to:
- appreciate he world around them
- be more aware of he ive senses, and develop skill in using
them
- develop sill in comparing, conrasting, classiying, sequencing,
and organzing
- acquire awareness of arisic form (shape, colour, line, texture,
length, weiht, movement, etc.) and materials, and skill in
handling hem. hey will also become aware of the concepts
represented, and their value. (Consider the value of resh
personal vision based on direct and honest response to
eperience, as opposed to the commonplace, the stereotype,
and the cliche. As an example, think of the immense range of
colours found in the bark of a ree, and contrast this with he
'pass-me-down' colour brown routinely used by children in a
million pictures.)
- understand 'cause and efect', and develop a skill in discovering
hem
- develop a skill in problem-solving
- have a posiive atitude to exploring, and to making sense of
eperience
- have a posiive atitude to themselves, and to others, and to
· working with ohers.
Art is not just a hobby, it is a undamental aspect of human
behaiour which involves intellectual as well as emoional
exploration, expression, and communicaion.
ho is his book for?
1 Clren
his book is for use wih children aged beween four and welve,
and includes aciviies for he whole of his age range.
Clearly, here is a big diference between four- and twelve-year
olds! Very young children:
- are in he early stages of awareness of texts, whereas older
children are usually luent readers
- tend to respond to individual happenings rather than
considering general principles
- are less likely to be interested in adult subject matter and
percepions han older children
- are more likely to need constant adult guidance

INTRODUCTION
- are less able to sustain concentration and a sense of direction
than older children
- have less manual dexterity.
Each child (like each adult) is an individual, with their own
natural speed and focus of development. Some children of four
can use a pair of scissors with great dexterity, for instance, while
ohers can't. I have tended to place the age at which an activity
can be done as he age when children are likely to get some
satisfaction out of doing the actiity, rather than the age at which
they can do it easily.
Most of the actiities can be adapted for use with children of
dff
erent ages and at diferent stages of personal development.
Proiciency level
Most of he activities in his book are possible for beginners
and/or elementary learners of English. Children who are more
proicient in English will enjoy doing the activities at a richer
linguistic level.·
I irmly believe that, from the very earliest days of learning a
second or foreign language, children should experience the new
language through activities which are meaningul and important
to hem.
2 Teachers
This book is for teachers who believe that it is vital for he
children to experience he new language as an important tool to
be used in meaningul and enjoyable activities.
But I'm not an art and crats teacher!
7
Most of the activities require no more skill han is needed to
make a cup of cofee, or boil an egg. Clearly, you have to get
involved in physical activity, but no previous skill and no unusual
artistic talent are expected. It is not so much a personal artistic
skill in the teacher which is required, but an openness to what art
is and can be (see pages 11-12).
But there is already too little tme for English!
Surely it is better to spend time letting he children become
familiar wih he language than to race hem hrough a language
marahon in which you inish the course but most of he children
are nowhere to be seen!
If the activities engage he children, and if they really experience
he language, he quality of learning will out-balance he time
spent on he art and crats activities.

8 INTRODUCTION
Suggesion:Why not ry to combine some art and crats lesson
ime wih Enlish lesson ime? It is widely accepted that p.mary
educaion should be cross-curricular (see page 9).
But he mess!
Only some of he acivities lead to a mess, and even these are not
on he level of a pottery class, or an oil-paining class, in which all
the children are working with ull ins of paint and brushes in
every hand. n any case, the act of cleaning up in art and crats is
very much part of he discipline of he subject, and a wondeul
oppoity for 'language n use'! However, I do understand that
a messy classroom could be a problem for some teachers, so I
have made reference to this aspect in each of he activiies where
it is relevant. See also the Appendix page 136) for suggestions on
reducing mess.
But I haven't got he materials!
Few specialist materials are required in hese aciviies.
It means more preparaion ime!
Many of he activiies will require you to prepare for them to a
certain extent. However, you llbe compensated by the
moivaion of he children!
But we have he coursebook. Isn't hat enough?
hile it is rue hat a good coursebook will provide you and he
children wih a balanced diet of language experience, you miht
9ecide hat he children need some era pracice in a paricular
area, or that hey miht like to embark on a creaive projet of
heir own. is is when he actiiies in his book can help.
Writing and he writen word
Many teachers believe hat young leaners should learn to listen
and speak in English before they experience he writen word.
Others maintain hat encountering writen English early on is not
harmul, and is even desirable.
For hose teachers who are open to he use of written texts in
aciiies, here are a few tehniques for inroducing wriing:
- encourage awareness of print-let he children see you use he
written word
- encourage pre-wring activities in which he children may say
they are wriing, alhouh you may not reconize it as such
- encourage he children to reconize individual letters,
paricularly to be able to write heir name
- encourage he coping of sentences or phrases

INTRODUCTION
- encourage playing with letter shapes, so the children become
familiar with the essential character of letters
- write or type out he children's stories, and read them back to
them.
Writing can be dropped rom, or included in, almost every
activity in this book. It's up to you!
Discrete activities and integrated
activities
9
The character of a resource book for teachers is that the activities
can be taken in any order, and itted by the teacher into his or her
lesson plans. I am very aware that many teachers like the children
to perceive activities as being linked, and part of a more
comprehensive experience. It certainly makes sense for the
children, since· having eperiences which overlap, and relate to or
reinforce each other will help to build up their understanding.
They will also respond more creatively if they feel 'at home' with
the topic. For these reasons, I am including here a suggestion of
how art, design, and language development might be linked with
a wide variety of subjects and activities.
A linking theme can be a story which the children invent
themselves. They can focus on subjects the story touches on as
they progress, for example, how the animals in the story live.
Then you can give hem the opportuniy to produce drawings,
maps, and posters, and even create a small exhibition.
Cross-curricular responsibilities
I believe passionately in the idea that language development, be it
in the mother tongue or a foreign language, should be
experienced as part of the child's overall development. Of course,
cross-curricular work is the characteristic way in which much
teaching of young children has been done over many years.
However, as with all powerul notions, this approach has a good
side and a bad side. The bad side, in this case, is that as a
language teaching specialist I may not be suiciently informed
about, and sensitive to, he concerns of specialists in other aspects
of he curriculum I wish to involve. The following paragraphs are
addressed in particular to those teachers who want to involve art
and desin in their language teaching, but feel less than well
informed about the principles of art, crats, and design education.

INTRODUCTION
Specialist teachers
The ideal situation is one in which an art specialist is willing to
combine their lesson time and resources and, above all, their
vision and experience, with yours.
The advantages of cooperation are as follows:
- your lesson time is efectively 'doubled'
11
- you can draw on the expertise and interest of the other teacher
- you have access to far more resources, in terms of materials and
equipment
- you can provide meaningful activities for the children in which
they experience the foreign language as being important in
diferent ways
- the work can be your contribution to the current drive in
primary education worldwide to develop cross-curricular work.
Even if you cannot join forces with an art specialist, you can still
use the activities in this book, particularly if you follow the
suggestions in the instructions for the individual activities.
Is there right and wrong, good and bad
in art?
Art and design are physical manifestations of thinking and feeling.
If this premise is accepted, we must understand that when we.
evaluate art and design, we are evaluating thinking and feeling. So
the question becomes 'What are good thoughts and feelings?'
Doesn't the answer largely depend on the context? For example, a
cheerul remark may be perfect at one moment, but quite
inappropriate at another. Rembrandt's studies, explanatory
diagrams, and cartoons can all be 'right' in different contexts.

12 INTRODUCTION
However, here are forms of thinking and of drawing which I feel
are always undesirable: boasul, deceiul, slick ideas do not help
many people. Art, like any other human activiy, is ull of such
hings-surely we should not give such attitudes and ideas any
encouragement!
Cliches may be regarded as sensitive, and even profound, by he
uninformed. However, they actually contribute little, because hey
are not derived directly rom experience. They are passed on as
phrases or as images-basically, we all know hem and they tell us
nohing new. To teach children ricks for drawing horses' heads,
for example, prevents them· rom developing a sense of drawing as
a whole. This is rather like only teaching a few ixed phrases in
English, and not helping he children to experience how he
language works. hile a few ricks can be quite useul at times,
the main thrust of our work hrouhout he curriculum must be
in helping he children to develop as thining and feeling people,
not merely manipulators of essenially low-level techniques.
There are some suggestions in he actiities in this book for
helping children to judge he character or shapes of objects. I do
not say hat 'you must draw a bird by drawing wo ovals, one for
its head and one for its body'-hat would be a rick. What I say is
hat every aimal and object has its shape, and hat it is helpul
when reproducing a shape to relate it �o rectanles, riangles, or
circles. here is plenty of opporiy when using his technique
for studying, relecing, and maing decisions-a technique is not
necessarily a rick. Cezanne found cubes in nature, but he also
emphasized he importance of'going back to nature', i.e. of
looing at nare, and indeed all personal experience, and rying
to make sense of it. It is his balance which I believe n. Use a
map, by all means, but eventually you llhave to get of he
beaten track and see what you can discover for yourself.
It can be very easy to assume hat art and desin should always be
pusing foward he roniers of eperience. here are mes when
we need an easily recognizable picture-for example, on road
sins! n some contexts, a well-non and readily reconizable
image can n_ out to be'the best picre'.
t
So, in conclusion, we are let wih the �ane criteria for evaluaing
art hat we would use when evaluaing any oher human ng
and communicaion aciity. Broadly speang, people who are
familiar wih art, and who give it high val�e in heir·lives, are
likely to judge a picture as 'good' f he shapes, colours, lines, and
textures are arranged in a characterul relation�hip wih eah
other. The same is rue f he medium of expre�sion is ·used wih
sensiivity and deliht-but then, hat applies to all ..
communicaion!
·

�
I
INTRODUCTION 13
Copying and colouring-in
Copying is a natural part of development, particularly if it is
selective copying rather t.an an attempt to make a replica.
However, constant copying without relection produces
dependence on others, and the regurgitation of existing forms and
ideas.
Colouring-in printed line pictures is very common: most children
enjoy it. Most children also enjoy eating chocolate and sucking
lollipops, but we all know that such things are damaging to their
health! Colouring-in, like copying, leads to an extremely narrow
concept of art, unless they want to colour-in their own drawings,
which is, of course, quite a diferent matter.
My policy wih my own children is to accept a certain amount of
chocolate eating, and colouring-in of pictures, but to do my
best-not always successully-to ofer enticing alternaives that
are more likely
.
to be beneicial for their minds and bodies.
Responding to the children's work
Talking about pictures in a foreign language is not easy. The most
important thing is not to encourage the children to think that the
main aims in art are photographic realism, slickness, and
neaness. Frequently, asking the question: hat's ths? makes
children think hat malting something naturalistically recognizable
is the only purpose in art.
If you want to compliment a child, say:
hat a lovey picure!
hat an interesting idea!
That's arightening robot!
If you want he child to talk about his or her picture, say:
el me aboutyour picture rather than hat is it?
If you want to respond to he quality of he painting, say:
I love these colours here! They are so rich!
Are the colours and shapes happy/unhappy angry?
If he picture has a design purpose:
el me aboutyour picture.
hat is this picturef
or?
hat o you want them to thinkfeel/do?
Can people see it?
Can people understand it?
If you want to respond to what he/she might do with the picture:
I think your mum and dad will love this picture.

14 INTRODUCTION
o o you want o see ths picture?
here do you want to put it?
Ou can put it on the wal in your kitchen/bedroom.
Can Iputyourpcture on the wal in the classroom?
f you want he chld to get away rom cliches and stereotypes,
say:
. Look at the houss/trees/couslowers through the window. hey are
al speciaL
el me about ths part of the picture (raher than hat's ths?).
Is that May orJenny? Do May andJenny look the same? hat's
the dff
erence?
H you want to respond negatively, I would suggest hat you do so
hrouh questions which help the child to realze for m or
herself what is unsaisfactory:
Teacher: hat doyou want to show in yourpicure?
Child: John.
Teacher: Hs John got af
atf
ace or a thin face?
Child: A thinf
ace.
Teacher: Is thsf
ace af
at or a thinface?
Child: A f
atf
ace.
Teacher: Do you want o make it thinner?
She's an arist!
One of he worst hings we can do to children is to label hem,
and it's just as bad to label them a'good artist' as a 'bad arist'.
When a good artst becomes the class artst, he child is rapped in
hat role, while calling a child a poor artst is enough to make
anyone give up altogeher!
he best way of acnowledging a child's gits is to respond wih
joy to what they produce:
hat a vey pcure! Let's put it on the wall so that other peple
can see it and enjy it (enjy raher than admire).
he polished product
It is very temping to only praise and display work which looks
clever and neat, because his can impress some people, and relect
well on he teacher. ter all, teachers need praise and
acnowledgement, too! However, we must remember hat he
most important responsibiiy we have is to ensure hat our
children develop as rich and responsible individuals: 20
buttelies, neatly drawn by you, and neatly coloured in by the
children, represent 20 minds being led one step nearer to
acceptng he ordinary and the shallow!

INTRODUCTION 1 5
Teach them or let hem discover for themselves?
Both are important. Teaching (i.e. telling, eplaining, and
demonstrating) can be ofered at the point whre the child has a
conscious need for help. For example, if you want the children to
draw butterlies, look at a photograph of a butterly together (or,
if you are lucky, the real thing). Talk about the shape and size of
its wings compared wih its slim litle body, and then ask the
children to draw it.This is when language has a most important
role in guiding and inspiring.
Art for communication
Drawing is usually thought of as a form of personal expression
which other people might or might not understand and enjoy.
However, drawing and desining can also be used as a way of
communicating a speciic idea which is readily understood by
other people. Developing communication skills in children must
be one of the most important of our tasks in school.
Communication skills require an awareness and understanding of
content, audience, and mediu/design. Here is an example:
Desining and drawing picure mbols
Content: What are the most obvious visual features of the
person or hing to be communicated? From which viewpoint?
Audience: What will they recognize easily? What will they
understand and care about?
Mediu/design: Colour or black and white? Size? Needs to be
visible from a distance, perhaps from a moving vehicle, or
from nearby?
Publishing, performing, and displaying
Traditionally, he only receiver of a child's communication in
school was he teacher. I believe it is most important for children
to learn how to communicate with a wider variey of people, and
in a broader context han the classroom. Art and crats lend
themselves to his wider form of communication. They can be
displayed in many places, for example, in the school lobby, the
local bank or store, or a community hall. Publishing (making the
children's texts and pictures available in book form) can lead to
books being put in the school library, and the local bookshop or
cofee bar.
rt and crats can contribute to dramatic performances, too.
Make-up, the creation of masks, costumes, and props, and the
designing and painting of backdrops, all require creative input.
Through all these activities, the children can have the pleasure of
seeing that their work is appreciated. At the same time, they can

16 INTRODUCTION
experience he responsibility of rying to do a good job in heir
communicaion with oher people.
Parents and colleaues
It is important that the parents and your colleagues respect, or, at
least accept, what you are doing! Parents oten criticize he 'songs
and games' approach to primary language teaching, claiming that
althouh he children may be having lots of n, hey are not
makng much progress.You need to make it clear to them that
your approach involves integrated, cross-curricular acivities. Take
every opportunity to demonsrate hat he children are developing
heir language proicieny throuh hese aciviies (see
'Publishing, performing, and displaying', above).You miht also
produce a 'rationale' for doing what you are doing. Here is a drat
version which you might like to adapt:
Language is meaninul to children when it is experienced as
an important part of an aciviy which matters to hem
individually.
Children feel hat creative art activiies are interesting and
enjoyable. hey herefore ofer a powerul way of integrating
language and acion.
he aded advantage ofcreaive art activities s that the relativey
limied anguage proicency of the chidren s not a drawback!

. How to use this book
How this book is organized
Chapter headings: media
I felt hat the best way of grouping the activities was according to
the medium concerned, for example, Three-dimensional aciviies,
rining, and Colours. Since any one activity might contain several
themes and language teaching points, these did not seem to
provide a usel way of organizing the book.
Appendix: Materials and techniques
Suggestions for useul materials to bring to the class, their basic
characteristics, ·and what you miht do wih them.
How each activity is organized
Level
The level given is only an approximation. Slight changes to the
activiy can make it more or less demanding. If the children in
your class have not started writing, leave out that aspect of the
activity. If they have not started using a past-tense form, use a
present-tense form. If you play a bigger role in the activity, giving
iore language, wring useul words and phrases on the board, or
doing brief practice activities, you can help lower-proiciency
children to do the same activity as a more advanced group.
The levels in his book are as follows:
Beginners
This category ranges from children with little or no nowledge of
English to those who have been learning it for about a year. Their
active use of the lanuage will be very limited, and they may not
be able to make ull sentences.
Elementary
These children are able to use English more actively, and to make
simple sentences and questions. They will have a wider range of
vocabulary.
Pre-intermediate
These children will be more capable of recognizing sentence
patterns, and more willing to 'have a go' at generating language of
their own. They are ready to learn structures such as the past
simple and comparatives, as well as unctional language for

1 8 HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
expressing obligation, making requests and suggestions, and so
on.
Age
he age given is only approximate.Younger children can do their
version of the activity, and older children can use a more
sophisicated version.
Ams
Lanuage: hese cover language and skills development. Only
the key language focus is given. he point of doing 'real' activities
is that they invite the use of a whole range of unctions and
language.
Oher: hese involve the ntellectual and social development of
he children.
Tme
A rouh guide only. Please note that many of the activiies can be
done as ongoing projects over several lessons.
Mateils
n general, the materials required are easy to ind.
Preparaion
n most cases here is somehing for you to do beforehand, but
the preparaion is sraihfoward.
n class
A step-by-step guide to.what you do in class. No doubt you will
adjust hese suggesions to your own style, and to he needs of he
class.
Variaions
ltenaive ways of doing the activity.
Folow-up(s)
Some other aciviies you might do, once you have completed the
main activity.
Website
�
This book now has its own website, part of he Resource Books
for Teachers site: ww
.oup.com/elt/teacher/rbt �
It includes all the photocopiable ·worsheets, new aivities, �
aricles, and a gallery of children's art. Please visit it and send in
your ideas and your children's work. �

1
1 .1
LEVEL
AG E
AI MS
TIME
MATERIALS
PREPARATION
IN CLASS
Three-dimensional
activities
Children, particularly young ones, love to get hold of things. The
solidiy of three-dimensional objects gives a reality to the lanuage
hey use in association wih hose objects. Feeling an object as
well as seeing it, and using it for a particular purpose, helps to
reinforce the language associated ih it in he learner's memory.
Binocular$ and telescopes
Looking through binoculars (or a telescope) and reporting what
you see is a perfect situation for the use of the present continuous
to refer to actions taking place at the moment.
Beginners and elementary
-12
Language: to practise the present continuous form of a variety of
verbs of action.
Other: to experience the efect of focusing on objects at a
distance.
30-40 minutes
Cardboard tubes, 10 to 15 em long (two for each pair of
children), coloured paper, glue or sticky tape, scissors, cling ilm,
and a brush for sweeping up aterwards. If you don't have enough
cardboard tubes, let the children make telescopes instead.
Make a model pair of binoculars to show the children. If you have
a real pair of binoculars, bring hem in as well.
1 Show the children your nished pair of binoculars. Look
through them at the children, and identiy who you can see and
what they are doing.
Teacher: I can see Tibor. He's laughing and he's waving!
2 Let one of the children look hrough the binoculars.
Teacher: ho can you see?
Child: Alex.

20
VAR I ATI ON 1
THREE-DIMENSIONAL ACTIVITIES
Teacher: flhat is she doing?
Child: She's smiling.
3 Write sample sentences on the board, for example:
He's laughing.
She's waving.
She's smiling.
4 Brainstorm all the actions the children· can do, and the English
words for the actions.
5 Continue to let more children have a go, using the model
sentences on the board �o guide their answers. Some children
can take over your role of asking questions.
6 Help the children to make binoculars for themselves.
d or 7
blac. ��
v1�9�lt

�(�� plc._r
h� hi I lre' a,
lcD_ �t
Useful language:
T
ake the coloured paper/clingilm.
Put the roll on the pape.
Cut the paper.
Stick the paper on the roll.
Stick the clingilm on the ens ofeach roll.
Stick the two rolls together with sticky tape.
7 The children use their binoculars in pairs, basing their
questions and answers on the model on the board.
Move into the use of the past simple tense when someone does a
sequence of actions. The children identiy, remember, and report
on what happened.

FOLLOW-U P 1
LEVEL
AG E
AIMS
TIM E
MATER IALS
Fold a piece of AS paper. Draw a circle on the fold. Cut out the
circle. Open out the paper, and you will have two round holes.
t
•
｣｢＠ •
I
•
i
Ask: Name ofchild
), hat can you see? ·
he child gives an imaginative reply, for example: I can see ive
pirates.
21
Follow-up this activity with the listening game, in which all the
children close heir eyes and listen to noises being made by you or
by one or wo .children, accompanied by the question, hat am I
doing?
The children answer as appropriate, for example: Ou are walking.
Ou are coughing. Vu are laughing. Vu arejumping. Ou are talking.
1 .2 Cars
The children make cars and hen 'drive' them, using English
while they are makiig the cars, giving directions, and talking
about road safey.
Elementary and above
-12
Language: to revise and practise vocabulary for parts of a car, for
driving, and for giving instructions.
Other: to make a large model; to use knives and scissors safely;
to practise road safety rules.
60 minutes .for making the cars; 20 minutes for playing with
them (or more ifyou have time)
For each group of four children:
One large cardboard box (car body), 5 paper plates (wheels and
steering wheel), 2 aluminium foil cooking dishes or white plastic
yoghurt tops (lights), about lm of thick string, a strip of white
card or a narrow card tray (number plate), wire paper clips, glue,
a crat knife, and scissors.
If you want the children to paint the cars, you will also need
powder paints and water, brushes, aprons, and a plastic covering.

22
PREPARATION
I N C LASS
.?.'�t 1-
51 (er ust�
atck
p�Jfe�
sil(e
Cut a hole in he bottom of each box, big enouh for a child's
body to it throuh it. Cut of he upper laps.
For young children, you will need to do all he rest of the cuting
beforehand, but for older groups, use yor judgement as to how
much they can safely do on heir own.
1 Wih the hole at the top, he children paint he car.
> n,J
ou�r
h. c�u·/t s
sho-/.ers
.nt behinl
h1s r h,rnett
2 Wih he scissors, make a small hole for each of he wheel axles �
· in he sides of he box. Now make holes in the four plates.
Fasten the wire paper clips throuh he paper plates, and atach �
hem to he car.
3 Fasten the wo aluminium foil cooking dishes to he ront of the
cr to represent lihts.
4 Glue he white rectangle of card on he back of he car for the
regisraion plate. Write on it he iniial letters of each child's
name, and a number.
pr..
Q
. pI. t. :,
rel c� ..
(
-- n.�be- ?!.t�
ch all 's ,·' thalr?
____..
.
_
"RoNI
· 5 Glue he h paper plate on he top of he ront of he car to
represent a steering wheel.
6 Make wo holes wih he scissors throuh he upper part of he
car, in he cenre. Pass he ick sring hrouh each hole and

LEVEL
AGE
AIMS
TI M E
MATERIALS
I N CLASS
THREE-DIMENSIONAL ACTIVITIES 23
tie the ends together. There should be.enough string to pass up
he ront of he child's chest, behind his or her neck, back down
he ront of he chest, and throuh he hole in the top of he car.
7 When the cars are ready, make roads in the classroom between
the tables, or wih chalk outside on the playground. Let he
children take turns to be drivers and pedestrians, practising
road safety, and giving direcions.
1 .3 Clay animal
It .is important to give children he opportunity to model objects
in three dimensions, as well as to experience the feel of clay (or
alternative materials-see Appendix, page 136). In this activiy,
each of the children makes an imaginary animal.
Beginners
S-12
Language: to practise vocabulary for parts of the body and for
proportions and shapes.
Other: to make models with clay; to observe and judge size,
shape, and proportion.
30 minutes to make the animal
Enough clay or other modelling material for each child to have a
piece the size of their ist, aprons, protective plastic, or old
newspapers, wet cloths, and a bucket of water, etc.
1 Put a wooden board or a piece of newspaper on each child's
desk (to keep it clean). Give each child a piece of clay.
2 Ask the children to close their eyes, feel the clay, and play wih
it.
3 The children open their eyes. Tell them hat you are going to
help them to invent their own animal. hey will have to get
their clay ready, enouh for each part of the animal. They also

24
FOLLOW-U P 1
FOLLOW-U P 2
have to decide how big each part of the body must be, and how
much clay hey need for it. Say hings like:
Hasyour anin.al got a big head or a litle head?
A big head, Eveyn? OK,you take a bigpiece ofclay.
A small head, John? O, you take a snzallpiece ofclay.
Hasyour ani1nal got a big bod
y or a small bod
y?
T
ake a big/smallpiece ofclay.
How n.any legs has it got? John, sx? T
ake sx pieces ofclay.
4 Organize the order in which the children make their animals.
Avoid intefering wih �eir interpretation of the shape of the
animal they want to make.
Now let's make the bod
y ofthe animal. Has it got a bigfat bod
y, or
a litlef
at bod
y or a longfat body, or a ong thin bod
y? Is it round or
s itiat?
Circulate, talking to he children. Ask hem to talk about the
shape of heir animal's body by giving them a lot of altenatives.
. his makes hem reply with a ull sentence, raher han with
. 'yes' or 'no'.
5 When most of he children are ready, ask them to go on to
make the head, and ater that he legs. Technically, the main
help he children need will be in maing good joints beween
the ff
erent parts by smoothing don he clay where the wo
· parts join. Coninue to use he vocabulary of shape and size.
6 he children can now add exra features, for example, wings,
ears, hons, and teeth. hey can also press he ends of pencils,
and the edges of coins, etc. into heir animals to create textures.
7 Finally, he children can paint their animals, even when he clay
is still wet.
8 Find somewhere safe for the animals to dry.
he children can display heir animals and hen take it in ns to
describe one of hem for another child to ideny.
Child A: It has a small head and a long, round bod
y, and eight
shot es.
Child 3: hs one?
Child A: No, not that one.
�hild B: hs one?
Child A: Y
s!
he children can study how real animals are described, and then
invent a description of heir animal. Here is a descripion of a real
animal which you can give he children as a model:

COM MENTS
LEVEL
AGE
AI MS
TI ME
MATERIALS
PREPARATION
IN CLASS
LIONS
Lions live in Africa.
Lions are vey strong and they can run vey fast.
Lions are yellow and brown.
Lions hunt and eat animals, for example, zebras and deer.
The
·
daddy {male) lion sleeps all day.
The mummy (female) lion hunts and gives the food to the daddy.
The daddy lion has a lot of hair on his head.
The mummy lion doesn't have a lot of hair on her head.
Baby lions are called cubs. They look sweet and they play a lot.
See page 1 39 in he Appendix for advice on the use of clay and
other materials.
1 .4 Clay food
25
The children study the shapes of diferent foods, then make them
out of clay or similar material, and paint them.
ll
5-12
Language: to practise vocabulary for food, and for the shapes of
diferent types of food, for· example bananas, apples, loaves of bread,
cakes, bscuis, sandwiches; round, long, short, thin, lat.
Oher: to observe he diferences between the shapes and colours
ofvarious types of ruit.
·
90 minutes
A variety of foods, for example: bread, cake, sandwich, pizza, hot
dog, orange, lemon, banana, pineapple, apple, pear, etc.
Clay, plasticine, modelling clay, or playdough-enough to give
each child an amount about as big as an egg. (For more about
these materials and how to make playdough, see the Appendix,
page 1 39.) ·
Aprons, protective plastic, or old newspapers, wet cloths, and a
bucket of water.
You can ask the children to bring in some of the types of food.
1 Arrange four tables in the middle of the room. The children's
tables can remain scattered around rather than in a circle.
2 With he children's help, arrange the various foods on the
central tables. n this way, revise or teach the words for them.

26
FOLLOW- U P
Informally, you miht also epress likes and dislikes for the
food.
3 Teach or reise he words for the shapes of the various pes of
food by describing them, and by asking the children to say what
you are describing.
Teacher: It's long and it's curved.
Child: It's the banana.
hen let them take over your role.
4 Put a board or piece of newspaper on each desk for each pair of
children. Add a piece of.clay about he size of an egg for each
child.
5 Now tell the children that they are going to make food out of
the clay. Help each child to decide what to make: ry to make
sure that a wide variety of foods is included. he children can
say what they are going to do by playing the 'describe and
identiy' game: they describe and you ry to ideny he food.
6 he children go to he cenral tables to study he food they
have chosen (wihout picking it up). hey then make the food.
Circulate and talk to each pair of children, helping them to look
critically at what hey are making in relaion to he actual
object.
Is it a carrot? hat is it? hat shape s a banana? Isyour banana
curved and long?
7 Having got the basic shape of he food riht, the children can
add texre to he food, such as tiny holes in he skin of an
orange. hen hey can paint he food quite hickly with a water
based paint.
8 When everybody is ready, invite half the children to walk
around and look at e�erybody else's food, and to identiy the
diferent foods.
Child A: hat's that?
Child B: It's an orange.
(Noe: he focus of his aciviy is to represent the appearance of
pariclar objects, and not to epress feelings about them. So f
it is not absolutely clear, it is quite natural for the children to
ask hat's that?)
9 Collect the foods and nd a place to let them dry safely. Exhibit
the foods with labels, for example:
Julie's orange. It is round and orange.
hs s a pizza. It s ound andlat. It s John's pizza.
he models of food items can be used for various oher purposes,
for example:
- rouping in various ways and eplaining the grouping
- shopping and shopping lists
- parties
- restaurant role play.

LEVEL
AG E
AI MS
TI M E
MATERIALS
PREPARATION
IN CLASS
1 .5 Mobile phone
A mobile phone ofers a natural situation for describing
somehing which the listener cannot see, usng the present
continuous tense.
ll
-12
Language: to practise using the present continuous tense.
Other: to practise using a telephone.
30 minutes to mke the moble phone
For each pair of children:
27
a small juice carton (250 l), coloured paper, sticy tape, a �traw,
squares of gu�ed paper.
Make up one mobile phone before he class:
1 Wrap the box in coloured paper and secure it with sticky tape.
2 Attach a straw for the aerial.
3 Cut out shapes rom the gummed paper and stick them on to
represent the buttons.
1 Show the class the mobile phone you have made and pretend to
have a conversation with someone, perhaps a parent. For
example:
Hello! Is it Mrs Jennings? Is Kate here?es, I think she's here. es,
there she is! hat's she doing? Oh, she's smiling! Nice girl?
Sometimes! Sometimes, she's a nice girl!
John?es, he's here somewhere .. . oh, there he is! He's sitting at the
back of the class. es. hat's he doing? He's smiling as well . . . oh ...
now he's laughing! Oh, now he'sjumping and waving. OJ
<!
Bye, bye!
2 Put some of he useul phrases on he board:
Is she here. es, she's here.
hat's she doing? She's smiling.
She is a nice girl. She sn't a nice girl.
Let one or two children practise doing he same sort of phone
conversation.
This will establish the idea of playing with the mobile and
wanting one.
3 Help the children to make a mobile phone. It is best to do it
step by step, maing sure that every child is keeping up with
you, and does a reasonable job. Make sure you keep to the
same instructional phrases if possible, and use a lot of lanuage
of praise and encouragement.

28
LEVEL
AGE
AI MS
TI M E
MATER IALS
ut the piece ofcooured paper on the table.
ut he bx on the pap.
Fod the paper round the box.
hat's good. hat's right.
4 Encourage the children to play wih the phones, making use of
the sentences you have put on the board.
S The children will soon want to deviate rom his conversaion.
Ask them to work in pairs to invent a new conversaion,
rehearse it, and then act it out for the class. While they are
pracising, the children can sit back-to-hack. When performing
in ront of the class, they- can sit urther apart.
1 .6 Roll sentences
he children write and illusrate sentences in srips which can be
rotated around a cardboard tube to make new sentences. These
rolls allow he children to manipulate sentence patterns, which is
especially helpul for the many children who learn best by being
able to touch and move something. Parts of he sentence should
be illusrated rather han writen.
7-12
Language: reading and wriing; pracising sentence patterns he
children are familiar wih.
45 minutes
A cardboard roll of any diameter, about 20 em long, for each
child or pair of children. he alternative to cardboard rolls are
lenghs ofplasic or metal piping..
A large cardboard roll to use as a class example.he largest ones
are used for carpets - whih can be m�y meres long!
A large number of sips ofpaper, and sicky tape to fasten them
around he roll.

PREPARATION
IN CLASS
VARIATION 3
THREE-DIMENSIONAL ACTIVITIES 29
fyou are able to obtain a large roll, prepare some strips of paper
by riting on them the words of sentences such as I like chocoate,
I have got a dog, and stick them around the roll, as shown n the
illustration.
), 30
h..
s go� -
1 f you have made a roll, show it to the class. Ask two children to
hold eiher end of it. Ask another child to turn the circular
strips of paper, and to read out some of the sentences which are
formed as he words and pictures create new combinations.
2 Ask he class to tell you some of the sentences they have just
heard, and write them on the board. Invite the children to
suggest alternative words for each part of the sentences they
have remembered.
3 Each of the pairs, or groups of three, makes a sentence roll,
guided by the sentences and alternative words written on the
board. Because each part of the sentence is on a strip of its
own, each child can contribute at the same time by writing the
appropriate words, or drawing the appropriate pictures.
4 Pairs or groups visit each other and play with their sentence
rolls, discussing which is the unniest sentence.
ny pictures, words, and phrases can be written on the strips of
paper. The strips can be rotated to ofer ideas for storytelling.
Alternatively, a complete text can be written out, cut into strips,
and rotated around the roll until all the words are in he right
sequence.

30
LEVEL
AGE
AIMS
TI M E
MATERIALS
PREPARATIO N
I N C LASS
1 .7 See through the paper
Here are two ways ofusing boh sides of the paper at the same
time! In the irst case, he children draw on one side ofthe paper,
hold it against a window, nd write on the other side. n the
variation, they pierce a picture with a pin, and on the other side of
the paper write down he word for the object which has been
pierced.
Beginners and elementary
-12
Language: to pracise using descriptive words and phrases,
spoken or written; to learn/revise the names of facial features.
Other: to develop appreciaion of the variety ofthe character of
materials, and of heir potenial.
30 minutes
n A4 sheet of plain white paper for each child.
For he variaion: a pin, and a reproduction of a paning, for
example on a postcard, for each child.
Try he acivity and he variaion before the lesson. hey are
much easier to do han to describe!
I
1 Draw a face on a piece ofA4 paper. As you do so, describe
each part: Here s thef
ace. Here are the eyesone ye, wo yes, . . .
2 hen you have done he drawing, test the children's memory
of he vocabulary for he facial feares.
3 Gaher the children around in a semicircle, so hat hey are
facing a wndow.
4 Place the paper against he window, wih the picture of he face
against the glass.You and he children will see the drawing
quite clearly hrouh he paper. Ask again what each feaure is
in English.Write he answers down, on he back of the paper,
nd on top of the feares.
5 Ask two children to sit at he ront of the semicircle, one with
hisher back to he window, and one facing himher. Ask he

child facing the window to hold the paper with the words
written on his/her side.
3 1
6 The child with his/her back to the window can now see the
drawing, but not the words! He or she should point to the
diferent facial features and, touching the paper, say the name
of each feature. The child on the other side will see he inger's
shadow touching the facial feature, and will be able to check
the word given with the word written.
Shl c. �e. h. P'c-k
hlj� h. ptper �
h. J l r{" on l. �
- t. C.l only
• �0 See he
�� pic-A.. o,
P-ck . �� ..
.
.
.
.
.�. plper.
H. ot�r
f -- p t -
s
fh. pact.r� a l
t�r,s > 1 tr. 1e.
VARI.ATION 1 Give each child or pair of children a reproduction of a painting
LEVEL
in which there are at least ive things which the children can
useully name.
2 The children should pierce through the objects, one by one,
with a pin.
3 Next to the pinhole, on the other side of the paper, the children
should write the word for the object, for example, window.
4 The children can then sit in pairs, facing each other. Child A
with his/her back to the light can see he picture, but not the
words. Child B can see the pinpricks of light and the words
written on the back.
5 A points at an object, covering the pin-prick hole with his or
her inger, and says the word or phrase for it. B sees the
pinprick of light disappear, hears the word, and checks it with
what is written.
1 .8 This isn't a pen
The children play with the idea that objects are not what hey
seem, but something else! Art and design essentially involves
seeing a medium both as itself, and as something else, at the same
time.
This idea is natural for children (who will happily sit in a
cardboard box and say it is a house) but more diicult for adults
to grasp.
Beginners and upwards

32
AGE
A I M S
TI M E
MATE RIALS
IN CLASS
4-12 for the introductory activity.
8-12 upwards for the variation, as young children do not ind it
easy to fasten one object to another.
Language: to practise negative and positive statements in the
present tense, and the indeinite article:
This isn't a pen. It's a knife!
This sn 't a piece o
fpaper. It's an umbrella!
Other: to encourage the children to be imaginative.
20 minutes
A pen, an A4 sheet of paper, something to fasten things together,
for example glue, string, staples.
A rubbish collection, as described in the Appendix, page 1 37.
1 Show the children the pen and ask them what it is.
Teacher: hat's this?
Child: It's a pen!
Teacher: No, it isn't! (pretending to use it like a knife) It's a
knif
e!
Then balance the piece of paper on your inger, like an
umbrella. Tell them: This isn't a piece o
fpaper! It's an umbrella!
2 Tell the children to work in pairs. They should each take an
object they have with them, imagine it is something else, and
demonstrate it to their partner.
3 Some children should demonstrate theirs to the class as a
whole.
4 The children can then make animals and objects out of items
rom your rubbish coll.ection. Remind them that Picasso's
famous bull was made out of a bicycle saddle and handlebars!
:,
h.1. Ie bar
� �
SI�Il p/�sh. botl. pt"c}I..Sd (..
/
If they have started writing, the children can write captions
under their rubbish sculpture:
7lis is a bull.
The head is a bicycle saddle.
The horns are bicycle handlebars.
This is a gira
f
e.
The neck is a cardboard roll.
The bod
y is a turnip.

VARIATION
COM M ENTS
LEVEL
AG E
AIMS
TIM E
he legs are pens.
he head is a botle.
Use the plural form. For example:
Teacher: hat are these? (showing your ingers)
Child: Fingers.
33
Teacher: NoJ thy aren'tingers! (making each thumb and
foreinger into circles and putting them over your eyes) hy're
glasses!
As and when the children need it, this is a very good way of
teaching new vocabulary.
1 .9 Town and county setting
For many children, experience comes alive when ;hey can hold
and move something. Ifyou have your own classroom, consider
making a lands
'
cape or a townscape, and letting the children play
with it. Language will be used in the making of the place, when
describing it, and when living out imaginary events that might be
taking place in it.
-12
Language: hat's this? It's a . . ..
Ju can drive on this road. Ju can stop here. Ju can go into this
house.
Vocabulary of natural and man-made features in a landscape.
Daily routines. Prepositions. Past-tense adventures. Dramatic
dialogues.
Other: to make models; to help children develop awareness of
their surroundings.
90 minutes + to prepare the setting. ter that, many
activities can be based on it.

34
MATERIALS
PREPARATION
I N CLASS
VAR IATIONS
hese are the materials for a simple setting, but your and the
children's imaginaions should not be limited by this list!
One large table, or two desks togeher, to provide a support.
A piece of white card or thick paper to provide he basis for the
setting.
Thin card to be cut, folded, stuck, and painted for houses,
bridges, rees, bridges, boats, etc.
A collection of cardboard boxes to be used for cars, buses,
buildings, etc.
Paints, glue, scissors, crat knives.
· Aprons, protecive plasic, a broom, etc.
Copies ofWorksheets 1 .9A and B (pages 145-6).
Make sure there are a couple of spare desks or a large table in the
room, where the model can be kept safely for some weeks.
1 Discuss wih he children what hey might like to make: a
mixture oftown, country, and sea or lake gives lots of lexibility.
Talk about what should be in he seting: natural features (hills,
rivers, etc.), man-made features (roads, bridges, railways, old
and modern buildings, for example, a castle, a supermarket, a
farm). Help to organze who should do what. Make sure hat all
he children keep to a similar scale, so hat he supermarket, for
example, shouldn't be smaller hn a ree.
2 Get the children started. Depending on their age, you miht�
like to give outWorksheets 1 .9A and B.
3 hile he children are painting the seing, showing he roads
and rivers, and maing he objects, use language in he
following ways:
Idenng:
hat ths? It's a ...
Look eveybod
y!John s nzaking a ...
Encouraging:
It's very nce/beauti
ul/wel-mae!
Helping:
Is it the right size? oo big/oo smal?
Cut it like ths.
The most pracical way of making a seing has been described
above. However, here are oher very practical methods, and they
are summarized here:
Sand
Nursery and infant schools oten have a sand ray in he
classroom, or a sandpit outside he classroom. Wih damp sand,
he children can make roads, nn
els, hills, and ponds. Toys can
be used for bildings, cars, and people, or they can be made rom
card.

�
.,
FOLLOW-U P
Papier mache
This material can be used to make a very durable and lexible
setting (see the Appendix, page 137, for how to make it). Hills,
rivers, houses, trees, etc. can be made and painted most
realistically. But, of corse, it takes longer to do.
Saltdough
This can be used for objects, such as houses (see the Appendix,
page 140, for how to make it).
iniature enironments
35
A cooking tin or baking tray can be used to hold a miniature
garden: earth, a clod of grass, lowers, stones, even a miniature
pond. he children study life in heir garden, recording it in an
objective way, or making up stories about imaginary people who
live there.
Use he setting for:
- idenng . .
- imaginary dialogues, for example, giving directions
- building up a soap-opera community: daily rouines, jobs,
hobbies, shopping, stories.
·

LEVEL
AG E
AIMS
2 Puppets, masks, and
manikins
2.1
Many children 'come to life' when the focus is taken of them,
and hey can speak unse(consciously hrouh a puppet, a mask,
or a maniin (a model of a human being). he puppet, mask, and
mn can remain with he child throuhout his or her study of
English. As the child learns more and more language, so he or she
can say more and more about the puppet. In he irst week of
English, he puppet can simply acquire a name. As he months go
by, he child can talk and write about what it does every day, what
pets it has, what its favourite food is, and so on.
In his section, a few pointers are given for how his relationship
miht be achieved. In Drama with Children by Sarah Phillips (in
his seriessee oher itles in he Resource Books for Teachers
series on page 143), here is an extensive secion on making and
using puppets, while in heir book �yVung earners (also in this
series),Vanessa ley and Sheila Ward have some useul
suggesions for maing and using animal masks. I have ried not
to overlap wih the many excellent suggestions given in hese
books.
Puppets
his aciviy focuses on he making of puppets, and ideas for
using hem. Home-made· puppets have wo advantages over
ready-made ones: irst, here is he n of making hem, and then
the challenge of creaing characters for them.
I suggest hat he children should make animals raher han
'people' puppets. f he children like he idea of invening an
animal, they could also invent the name of he species: a cross
between a dog and a cat, for example, can become a 'dat' or a
'cog'! Inventing an animal ofers he advantage of not having to
be paricularly realisic. On the oher hand, many young children
prefer he comfort of a nown animal as heir 'English pet'. Be
open to boh possibilities.
ll
-12
Language: to pracise oral luency, followed by written luency
and accuracy. If the puppet is kept and used as a basis of more

TIM E
MATERIALS
PREPARATION
IN CLASS
PUPPETS, MASKS, AND MANIKINS 37
work in the uture, a whole range of language items and unctions ·
can be practised with it.
Other: to make and work with puppets.
60-80 nutes
Scraps of paper, cloth, cardboard (including rolls), wool, cork, etc.
glue, sring, sticy tape, and a stapler, one A3 sheet of paper for
each child, copies ofWorksheet 2. 1 (page 147) for ideas on
making puppets out of scrap material.
Make a puppet ofyour own to take to the lesson.
1 Show he children your puppet. Get hem to ask the puppet
questions with he English they have. The puppet can ask he
children questions, too (you ask the questions through the
puppet).You may like to write questions on he board. Also, get
the puppet to speak to individual children.
Here are some simple questions:
Hello, what's your name?
How old areyou?
Haveyou got a brother or a sster?
hat'syour hobby?
hat's yourfavouritef
ood/music/sport, etc.
Doyou like swimming?
For invented animals:
hat is yourf
ather? hat s your mother?
hat areyou?
More demanding questions to ask and to answer:
hat didyou do this morning?
here do you go f
oryour holidays?
hich television programmes do you watch?
hat makes yourightened/angry/sad?
hat do you want to do/have/be?
hat dfi
culies doyou have?
2 Tell the children that you want each of them to make a puppet
rom he materials provided. They should inish the puppet by
drawing or painng the eyes and other details. If their pens
don't draw on he material they have used, they may have to
stick paper onto he puppet, and draw and paint on hat.
The children must try to make their puppets in 30 minutes.
(You can, of course, allow much more time if you wish, and let
the maing of puppets become a signiicant topic activity. Very
young children are not likely to respond to the idea of a time
limit.)
While the children are maing he puppets there is an
opportuniy to use language to help and encourage them:

38
FOLLOW-U P 1
PUPPETS, MASKS, AND MANIKINS
hat's nice. �l one. Cut it care
uly. Glue it well. Tie it wel. Ths
.
can be the head. hese can be the egs. Is this hs head? Are _these hs
legs?
3 As the children inish their puppets, hey can show them to
each oher. Encourage hem to imagine he character of heir
puppets, and to speak to each oher hrouh them.
4 When all he puppets are ready, ask he children to sit in a
circle. Invite one child to say, throuh his or her puppet, who
he or she would like to meet rom amongst the other puppets,
for example:
Child: I would like to meet Mary's puppet.
5 hese wo children and their puppets should then sit opposite
each oher in he cenre ofthe circle. One half ofthe class
(making up one half ofthe circle) sits behind one child, and he
oher half of the class sits behind he oher child. It is a good
idea to ask each ofhe wo children to show heir puppet to
heir half of he class before going any urher.
6 he two children hen begin heir conversaion, using whatever
Enlish hey have, and asking you for any words hey need.
he children siing behind each child can also ask he oher
puppet questions. his is an opportuniy for you to help the
children to realize the range of subjects which they can attempt
wih their limited amount of English. It is also a preparaion for
he individual work that comes in he next step.
f you use wriing wih the children, is would be a time for
written support.
Allow only a few minutes for his step (unless it is going very
well) because children do not nd story-maing easy hrouh
dialogue alone-hey need some acion as well. his will be
highlighted in he follow-up.
7 Each chld in he circle now turns to a neihbour and begins a
conversaion wih m or her, in the role of their own puppets.
8 Each pair of children now joins anoher pair and a conversaion
takes place between he four puppets.
9 llhe children now walk about he room and meet each
other's puppets.
10 Each child should now make a study of heir puppet through
drawing and wriing. Give he children a suggested minimum
number of items of informaion which you feel hey are capable
of wriing.
hey should do heir inal illusration and wriing on he 3
paper so hat it can be displayed and the puppet characters can
be referred to in uure lessons.
Haing established the character of their puppets, it would be ·
natral to use hem again, perhaps in a play. Here are some
storylines which you miht give to the chldren:

FOLLOW-U P 2
VARIATION 1
,.
VARIATION 2
VARIATION 3
COMM ENTS
- A loses something and B helps him/her to ind it.
- A has something which B wants to have. hat does B do?
hat does A do?
- A and B are in a frightening place. What happens? What do
they do?
- A wants to do somehing. B does not want him/her to do it.
What does A do? What does B do?
39
- A is hungry, but is ussy about food. B tries to ind what food
A would like to eat.
The puppets can write letters to each other.
Make speciic puppets to link in with a story the children know,
or which you are going to tell them.
Depending on the age of the children, they might be very happy
to bring in heir own teddy bears� dolls, toy dogs, etc., and to
invent stories for hem. They could teach their teddy bears
English. But it is unwise to assume hat hey will be happy to give
their teddy a name-some people keep their teddies for years and
only ever refer to them as 'teddy'.
In any case, you can always bring an old teddy bear of your own
to school. I have an old toy dog with one ear, and an old teddy
bear with a hole in its hroat because a man nailed it to a wall! He
was a scrap merchant in Amsterdam and he nailed or tied any toy
he found to the wooden and wire-netting walls of his yard. I
found my teddy there one winter with snow on its head and chest,
and rust running through he snow like blood. He sold it to me
for lOp!
The puppets can be made rom playdough and saltdough, which
are two wondeul media-so easy to prepare, so adaptable, and
so satisying to use. If he puppets are approximately 1 0 em high,
or long, a town or village setting can be made for hem at another
time, and a soap-opera tpe of story can be based on hem.
See he Appendix (page 139) for how to make your own
playdough and saltdough.
The youngest children will need a lot of help in making a puppet,
and you may decide hat it is better to use the simplest ype, for
example, a wooden spoon which they can draw on.
2.2 Masks
Masks release creativiy, and a willingness in children to 'have a
go' wih he language. In he activity given here, I have suggested
a range of things you can do, rather than concentrate on only one
activity.

40
LEVEL
AG E
AIM S
TIM E
MATERIALS
PREPARATIO N
I N CLASS
PUPPETS, MASKS, ND MANIKINS
Here are suggestions for maing human masks, animal masks,
and fantasy masks. For dramatic reasons, it is probably better to
have a balance between he diferent nds of mask in he ·class as
a whole.
I would suggest that all ages of chldren should begin wih a paper
plate into which you have put he two eye-holes.
Althouh four- and ive-year-olds love masks, they normally
cannot make complicated ones like the older children can.
Encourage the older ones to use all he materials hey can ind to
create unique characters.
ll
-12
Language: to pracise accuracy and/or luency, depending on he
acivity you choose. Essenially, you can pracise any language
feature, grmm
ar, or area of vocabulary you wish.
Oher: to use imagination to create masks with character.
60-80 inutes
See Worksheets 2.2A and B for what you need for he masks.
Paper plates, sring, scissors, or a crat nife; video camera and
ripod if available; mirror.
Prepare a mask by following the insrucions in Worksheets 2.2A
and B pages 14-9). Use the uiding marks given at he top of
Worksheet 2.2A in order to mark where he eyes should be, and
then cut he eyes out. The secret is to make a hole in he middle
of the eye wih the point ofyour scissors, make about six cuts
rom he hole to the edge of he eye hole, and then cut out the
pieces. It is even easier if you use a crat nife.
1 Show the children how to make a mask, using he paper-plate
mask you have prepared as an example. Eplain, preferably by
demonsraing, how to make variaions ofhair, hats, etc.You
miht like to hand out copies ofWorksheets 2.2A and B to
groups of children, to give them ideas about what hey miht
make. Give help where necessary, especially wih cuing out
he eye holes.
2 Tell he children about the character of your mask, hen
encourage them to tnk abou� who heir masks represent, what
heir names miht be, how old ·they are, etc. Get hem to use
whatever hey have learnt to say in English.You miht decide it
is helpul ifyou rite all he basic things hey can say on the
board.
3 hen heir masks are ished and itted to their heads, he
children can walk around he room talking to oher children,

using the language you have written on the board. But to begin
with, you might just tell he children to walk around, and say
Hello to lots of oher children.
·
You can control he conversations if you like. Here are some
suggestions:
- Tell the children to walk round the room and to talk to at
least ive children, asing: hat's your name? How old areyou?
You can then work hrough the basic question types they
know.
- Write various times of the day on the board, for example,
7 o'clock, 8:30. The children walk around, asking each other
hat doyou do at .. .? and answering I usualy ...
- If the children now he phrase ou must . . ., ask them to
make up three rules of behaviour. Tell hem to wander round
he room, wagging heir ingers at other children, saying, Ou
must get up ative o'clock every morning/not play pop music/eat
your vegetables).
Use as many·questions as you wish until he children have built
up a sense of the individuality of their mask's character. Then
give hem a diferent situation, in which hey can continue to
use the same questions. Sit at he ront, wearing a mask, and
tell the class to ask you as many questions as they can. Don't
wear a human mask-it's potentially disturbing for he children.
You are very important to them! Wear a pleasant-looking animal
mask, or a fantasy mask.
4 Ask the children to work in groups of four or ive and make up
a story. They should begin with a mime play, i.e. a play wihout
words. They should perform their mime play for you (or for
other groups), then write a simple narration and dialogue for
he play, rehearse it, and perform it for the class.
Alternatively, you might prefer to write a story structure like
this on the board:
A.A B .
"
(s h� C Co t es
qt.rre u ��,. , hr�jherself '
A t�& G
,
�
., < la er
t,lk.
�OM . hI� �·
? �
"AA c
£ D Mer.
. ' u. lw.�. '�
�

42
VAR IATIO N 1
VAR IATION 2
VAR IATION 3
VAR IATIO N 4
VARIATION 5
VAR IATION 6
5 Once the children have performed heir play, ifyou have a
video camera you can record it on video (see 8.3).
Snd up
Ask he children to k about he character they have made, and
to stand up and behave like himher/it.
Teacher: Sand
.
up everybod
y who likes pp music/can ie a
bicycle/has got a bicycle/hasf
our legscan ly/likes wornts!s in love
with a monster, etc.
Interiew
1 Tell the children hat a visitor will come to the class. Put the
cildren in pairs or groups, and ask hem to prepare quesions
for he visitor wich miht be asked by he character heir mask
represents.
2 You go out of he room, put on a mask (and perhaps wearing a
coat and scarf, carrying a bag, etc.), hen come in and sit down.
he children proceed to ask you questions.
Shopp�g
Show he children pictures of food and objects (or he clay food
made in acivity 1 .4). Pracise the names of he foods and objects,
and give a price for hem. Pairs write shopping lists on behalf of
he characters hat heir masks represent, and based on the
pictures you have shown he class. Give he pictures of food to the
children who play he part of shopkeepers. One child rom each
· pair ries to remember he shopping list and hen, wearing his or
her mask, goes shopping and ies to 'buy' all he ns he or she
remembers. he ild rens to his or her parner, who checks f
hey have remembered to buy eveng on heir shopping lists:
Haveyou got .. . ?
is, I have. No, I haven't.
Boasng
llhe sudents mill about in he classroom, wearing their masks
and boasing about what they did yesterday/last wee/when hey
were one year old, etc.
Hoidays
Taing ther characters into account, he children discuss in
groups where they want to go on holiday, and what they want to
do. he children in each group ry to agree on one holiday
togeher which lllet hem all do whatever hey want.
A pry
he chilren plan a party: when, where, what games hey miht
play, what music hey miht play, food, k, decoraion,
invitaions. hey decide who is responsible for what. hen, of
corse, hey hold he party, wearing heir masks.

VARIATION 7 Diary
The children write the diary of one of the characters.
VARIATION 8 Letters
The children exchange letters: pen pals.
VARIATION 9 Describe and identiy
Display all the masks on the classroom wall, or on tables. The
children work in pairs. Child A ns of one of the masks. Child
B asks questions to ind out which one it is.
FOLLOW-U P Once the characters are established, he children can continue to
use the masks in uure lessons, playing out a 'soap opera' of
individual incidents, dramas, and stories, and incorporating new
topics, unctions, and language as they are learnt.
LEVEL
AGE
AI MS
TI M E
MATERIALS
PREPARATION
IN CLASS
2.3 Robots
Robot masks are particularly useul for imperatives, and for
justiying repetition of simple language. Giving orders seems very
natural when your head is inside a cardboard box!
ll
-12
Language: to practise giving insructions.
Other: to make robot masks; to stimulate the children's acting
abilities.
90 minutes to make the robots and to try them out
A piece of corrugated card or heay wallpaper measuring 60 em x
20 em for each robot mask (alternatively, a cardboard box which
is just big enough to it on a child's head, or a paper bag), a crat
knife, scissors, glue, sticky tape, silver foil, egg cartons, yoghurt
cups, etc. for eyes, antennae, etc.
Photocopy Worksheet 2.3 on page 150 for each individual or
group, if you would like them to have reference copies.
1 The children work on their masks, in.pairs, groups, or
individually, painting and sticking on eyes, antennae, etc. Give
them the photocopied instructions if you wish.
2 Tell all he children who are dressed as robots that you are
programming hem. Use the language they know: Stand up! Sit
down! Stand up! alk! Stop! Say hello! Sit down! Stand up! Go to
the door! Open the door! Close the door! Go to your seat! Sit down!
•

44
FOLLOW-U P 1
FOLLOW-U P 2
FOLLOW-U P 3
FOLLOW-U P 4
FOLLOW-U P 5
3 Teach the children (or revise): Gof
owars. Go backwars. Go to
the right. Go to the e
t. Go slowy. Go qucky.
Make a circle of children. Ask two robots to stand in the circle.
Ask their two conrollers to stand behind hem. Tell the wo
conrollers hat hey must not let their robot bump into the
oher robot. he conrollers hen tell their robots what to do,
using he commands you have taught hem. Oher pairs can
take over the roles.
Story-ming
You or a child describe what one or several children must
perform: &u stand up. Ju walk along thepath.Vu walk over the
bridge. &u walk up the hiU.Vu walk own the hl.Vu walk through
the swamp. &u walk into the cave. Vu see the lion!Vu run! etc.
Insrucion manual
The children write a robot insruction manual, puing in all he
things they want robots to be able to understand. They take trns
to be the teacher robot, telling other robots what to do.
Robot rle
he robots make up ules for humans to obey. hen, in groups of
four, hey create science-iction scenes to peform.
Humn pets
1 n groups of three, Robot A talks to Robot B about his human
pet, C. hey hen swap round. Each group creates a drama to
peform for he other groups. ·
2 he robots rite journals, letters and stories about heir human
pets. f he children want natralism, hey can do he wriing
rom the captive hum�s' point ofview raher han rom hat of
he robots!
Display and storage
It would be a pity f the robot masks were to be spoilt. I suggest
hat you hread a srong piece of sring rouh them all, and
hang them across a wall.

LEVEL
AG E
AI MS
TIM E
MATERIALS
PREPARATIO N
I N CLASS
2.4 Manikin
In this activity the children, as a class, help you to create a ull
sized manikin of a man or woman, and begin to establish his or
her character with the lanuage they have. As they learn more
language, so they invent more formation about their manikin.
This class character can become a key focus for the inroduction
and practice of lanuage points in uture lessons. he manikin can
have a family, riends, job, home, hobbies, problems, hopes, joy,
and sadness.
My experience is that young children do not automatically want
to have an ordinary child as heir pretend character-a princess is
more likely. But many children like the character to be grown up,
perhaps because they feel that he or she can do more things.
ll
-12
Language: to practise describing people.
Other: to use the imaginaion to make up a character; to make a
ull-sized human iure.
60 minutes to make he mn; 60 minutes to invent his
or her character, and complete the drawing and wriing
Old clothes, etc: trousers, shirt, socks, shoes; newspaper (or other
material for stuing, for example, foam rubber), thick card, felt
pens, wool (for hair), glue, n string, needles and thread, or a
stapler.
Cut a head shape out of the card.
shirt o r tr.eks..it
�-----
�
-�,�so� ha�dr
1 All the children contribute to making balls of old newspaper,
then stuf them into the clothing.
2 You will have to roughly sew or staple the socks and the shirt to
the trousers.
3 Begin by discussing with the children what sort of character
they want. Either you or a child should then draw and cut out a
face. Alternatively, a mask can be used, or a face can be drawn

46
VAR IATION 1
VAR IATION 2
LEVEL
AGE
AIMS
TIM E
MATER IALS
PUPPETS, MASKS, AND MAN_IKINS
onto a stff
ed stocing. To begin wih, you miht show them
what you have found for hair. Make holes in he neck, and
fasten thin, touh sring to he neck and shirt.
·
4 As you make the character, invite the class to use he language
they have to invent characterisics for him or her-their name,
age, job, home, birhday, etc.
5 Each child then draws he character in their own book, and
writes down he characteristics established. (Ifyou are going to
spend a lot of time on hese characters you might like to let he
children have a separate book for their own character, and all
he addiional details and events of his or her lif
e.)
You miht also decide to make a large drawing wih writen
details. is could be used as a wall poster.
A possible alternaive is for each child to invent a character.
However, young children probably gain far more rom working
togeher on he creaion of one character. As ime goes on, more
characters can be invented: oher family members (wifehusband
and baby), neighbours (young and old), customers (if he or she is
a shopkeeper), members of he social services (policeman, nurse),
and pets.
Instead of starting wih a person and developing a whole
community, you can start wih a pet-a cat, for example-and
then add a family. Or you can start with a goblin or wih a visi�or
rom space.
2.5 Manikin's family
his activity follows on rom he creation of the character
described in 2.4, 'Manin'.
Beginner and elementary
-12
Language: to pracise describing people and family relationships.
Oher: to learn to discuss and agree wih oher people (especially
in he follow-up).
30 minutes to decide on the members of the famlly
20-30 minutes to make he 'photograph'
20-30 inutes for the family ree
A sheet ofAS paper, and another 6 em X 1 0 em sheet for each
pair or group of hree; two large sheets of paper (Al or A2), one
black and, f possible, one coloured; glue.

PREPARATIO N
IN CLASS
FOLLOW-U P
Ifyou are not familiar wih family trees, practise drawing one
before the lesson to see how it works.
47
1 The class decide what sort of family the character has. The
number of people in the family can be decided by the number
of pairs or groups of children there are in the class with each
responsible for one character.
2 Draw a family tree on he board, and encourage the children to
base their suggestions on the structure of the tree.
-
-
e o
= �
I J

-
-
i
h
w
1
- �
i
@
-
- -
- -
I
L
I '
-
-
3 The class should discuss and agree on each character to
become part of he family.
4 Each pair or group becomes responsible for making a picture of
one family member on the AS paper, cutting it out, and sticking
it on to he black paper as part of a family 'photograph'.
5 Meanwhile, you can draw the family tree on another large piece
of paper.
6 Each pair can also be asked to draw a much smaller portrait of
the family member for whom they are responsible. This can
hen be stuck on to the family tree, named, and given a date of
birth appropriate to the age of that person.
7 Each child makes a copy of the family tree in their book.
Once the family is established it can be used to provide the basis
of any language practice. This could either be focused on speciic
language points, or more generally provide an opportunity and
stimulus for creative use of the language hey have acquired.
Here are some of the topics which might be developed through
the family:
Discussing and designing a lat
Furnishing he lat
Deciding on and buying a pet
Problems in keeping a pet
Describing the person's hobby

48 PUPPETS, MASKS, AND MANIKINS
Planning a picnic
Going on a picnic
Planning a party
Having the party
Christmas
Birthday
Being ill
Having an accident
Being burgled
Losing and looking for the pet
Planning and maing a local history project.

LEVEL
AGE
AIMS
TIME
MATER IALS
PREPARATION
3 Printing
The children's world is full of printed material: books, comics,
papers, packets of food, and clothes. In the activities in this
chapter, the children explore the efect qf printing with diferent
objects on diferent surfaces.
3.1 Rubbings
The children rub dark-coloured crayons on thin white paper
which is pressed on an irregular surface, for example, a wooden
loor. The resulting textures invite objective identiication and, for
children at elementary level and above, subjective interpretation.
ll
-12
Language: for the identiication activity: hat is it? It's . . . ; for
the interpretation activity: all the lanuage at the children's
command.
Other: to make 'rubbings' of objects on paper; to develop
hand-eye coordination.
30-40 minutes for the identiication �ctivity
30-40 minutes for the interpretation activity
For each pair of children: one A4 or A3 sheet of thin, white, or
lightly-coloured paper, and some dark-coloured crayons or soft
pencils.
Make a rubbing of an object the children can identiy and name
in English, for example, a coin, the surface of an old table or
chair, the sole of a shoe, the cover of a hardback book. Ifyou have
never done a rubbing before, just remember to keep the paper
still, and make all your lines go in one direction.

50
IN CLASS
VAR IATION
FOLLOW-U P
PRINTING
1 Show he children your rubbings, and ask them to identiy
hem. This is an example of when it is acceptable to say hat's
ths?)
.
Teacher: hat's ths?
Child: It's a table?
Teacher: A good idea, but no!
Child: It's theloo.
Teacher: �s. �1 done!
2 Demonstrate how to make a rubbing. One or two children hold
the paper on a suface. Rub the sot crayon or pencil across it,
always in the same direction, in order to create consistent
'shadowing'.
3 Paiwork. The children make as many rubbings as hey can in
he classroom or (if allowed) elsewhere in he school.
4 he rubbings are exhibited, and the children take it in turns to
ask quesions:
Child: Is it a esk?
Child: No.
Child: Is it a wall?
Child: �s.
The children can write down their idenication, perhaps giving
alternatives for oher children to select rom:
It's a wall.
It's aloo.
It's a table.
he children make a rubbing which produces irregular tetures,
and can be intepreted in a variety of ways. hey hen work out
what hey ink he various shapes are, and tell other children .
about hem. Wriing can··be used at his stage.
3.2 Printing vegetable poems
LEVEL Beginners
AG E -12
AIMS Language: to learn he vocabulary for vegetables, and make up
poems. H you don't want he children to eperience writing, let
hem create oral poems-children are masters of oral poetry!
Oher: to learn about prining; making patens and responding
to hem.

"·
TI M E
MATERIALS
PREPARATIO N
PRINTING 5 1
40 nutes for he prnng and 40 nutes for the poey
s many vegetables as you can obtain (don't worry about what
will print well and what ill not-it is part of the children's
learning to ind out!); one 3 sheet ofwhite or lightly-coloured
paper for each child; a thin but opaque bag to put some of the
vegetables in, so that the children can feel them through he bag;
liquid paint, a vegetable nife, aprons, plastic sheets, water, and
cloths; shallow containers such as plates-about hree for each
group of-5 children-each with a piece of sponge or foam rubber.
1 Put a little liquid paint in each container.
2 Cut wo or three vegetable cross-sections per child. You can cut
he vegetables straight through, or at an angle, producing a
more elongated shape. Here are some examples of basic shapes:
3 Practise printing with one or two vegetables so hat you will be
able to demonstrate wih conidence. Press he cut surfac·e of
he vegetable into he sponge ull of paint, and hen press it
on to he paper. Note that each loading of colour will produce
more han one print, particularly if you print lightly.
4 Write out samples of poetry on a large sheet of paper:
Carrots and peas, please!
Carrots and peas? ·
Carrots and peas!
Carrots.
Peas.
Carrots and peas!
Carrots and peas!

52
I N C LASS
PRINTING
1 Help the children to enjoy the unusual sight of vegetables in the
classroom! Show the vegetables, say the names for them, and
drop them into the bag. Then challenge the children to feel the
bag and identiy the vegetables.
2 Praise the beauty ofthe vegetables, because that is what the
whole lesson is about!
hat a lovel
y carrot! I love £ts f
at top and its thin little bottom!
hat a lovel
y vegetable!
Let's nzake pictures with these beautiful vegetables/
3 Put the children into groups of 4 or 5, and distribute the
materials to each group.
4 Ask the children to draw two lines across their sheet of paper.
Tell them that the two lines are paths which must join together.
Show them two diferent ways of doing this (see the examples
in the illustration).
5 Now tell the children to choose two vegetable shapes. They
must print one of their vegetables carefully along the top path,
then repeat with the other vegetable on the bottom path. Then
they must decide what to do when the two paths meet: is it a
happy meeting or an angry meeting? Be as open as possible to
solutions and designs which do not coincide with your own
idea ofwhat is 'correc�' or 'good'!
6 Once all the children have made their prints, have a display,
and ask the children to talk about their pictures.
This s a carrot and this s a potato. They are walking along, then
they meet and they becomefriends.
This is a cabbage and this is an onion. hey are walking along, then
they meet. They ight, and the cabbage wins. That s why there is no
onion on the last bit o
fthe path.
7 Now for the poetry! Children have a wonderful ear for word
play, and take great delight in it. The 'poetry' should revel in
the sounds and rhythm of the words for vegetables, rather than

VARIATION
LEVEL
AGE
AI MS
TI ME
MATERIALS
PREPARATION
PRINTING 53
. attempt the more sophisticated features of poery. hythm,
pace, alliteration, and similar sounds can all be focused upon.
Read out he examples you have prepared. Emphasize he
character of he words and phrases wih your voice and body
this is very important-and get he children to copy you.
8 Once you feel that the children have got the idea of playing
with he sounds, rhyhms, and juxtapositions of the words, ask
them to make up heir own vegetable poems, and perform them
for other children. Encourage them to touch the prints in heir
pictures with their ingers as they say their names.
The magic tree
1 Cut he vegetables as before, but with a greater variety of
shapes, for example, a cross, a triangle, a square.
2 Ask the children to make a picture of a magical tree, using the
diferent shapes.
3 Encourage he children to talk about the tree and its magical
powers, and to create more pictures, for example, of animals
and the myhical creatres that might live n he tree, or visit it.
4 Follow up with a writing activity, and display he children's
pictures and texts on the walls.
3.3 Printing with everyday objects
In this activiy, ordinary objects such as bottle tops and paper
clips are used for printing, and the children create pictres.
5-12
Language: to practise using can and the present simple tense;
using whose.
Other: to develop awareness of the potential of everyday objects.
40 minutes
n assortment of manufactured objects including, for example,
rulers, wire, screws, hammers, coins, lids, bottle tops, paper-clips,
coloured paints, shallow containers, pieces of sponge or foam
rubber, one A3 sheet of paper for each pair of children, and one
for you, aprons, plastic sheets, cloths and water. Copies of
Worksheet 3 .3, page 1 5 1 .
Fix a sheet of A3 paper on the board. Make one or two copies of
Worksheet 3 . 3 (examples of machines) and pin them on the wall.

54
I N C LASS
PRINTING
1 Look at the collection of objects, and where possible name
hem.
Teacher: hat's ths?
Child: It's a bottle top.
Teacher: hat's ths?
Child: It's a piece o
fwire.
2 Ask 2 or 3 individuals to choose objects:
hat doyou want to try?
Ask hem to experiment with the objects by irst of all pressing
them into a paint-loaded. sponge, and then on to the paper on
he board, so hat all he class can see. Demonstrate the efect
of overlapping and creaing patterns with hem.
3 Disribute the paper and objects. Ask he children to
eperiment wih he objects for a few minutes on their own
paper, maing interesing patterns.
Teacher: hat's interesting/very nce/special, etc.
Noe: Remain open to resh ideas, and encourage he children
to be as experimental as possible. That may mean hem doing
ings you don't expect, and inevitably their ingers and clothes
llget inky or 'painy'! Encourage hem to dab with heir
inger ends. f they want a subject, suggest a caterpillar, as this
can be painted in any number of ways!
Show your excitement and deliht in he variety and the thick
and hin sensualiy of he colours, and in he conrast of round
and square, shap and smudy. Your excitement is of greater
vlue than a hundred techniques!
4 Display all heir eperiments, nd then tell he children hat
they are inventors. Say hat you would like hem all to desin a
machine which can do at least ive special thngs. Discuss for a
few minutes he sort of hings the machines miht be able to
do.You miht like to draw he children's attenion to he
examples on the wall.
5 he children now work in pairs on an 3 sheet of paper to
create heir machine. Encourage hem to choose shapes, and
create tetures, which it in wih the machine they want to
make.
At tis pont, you miht want to show them the examples in he
illustraion.
Go round he classroom looing at he children's work, and ask
about the ive things he macoes can do.
Teacher: hat can your machine do?
Can your machine oive things?
Child: It can make an ce-cream. It canly veyf
ast. It can shout.
It can show a vieo. It can bush a og.
�

VARIATION 1
VARIATION 2
PRINTING 55
6 The children now write down, on an AS piece of paper, the ive
things their machines can do.
7 Display all the machines with the inventors' names on. Display
in a different location all the texts which have special titles
instead of names, for example, The ice-cream machine. Make
sure that each machine has a diferent title.
8 The children now try to match each picture with its title with
the ive things it can do.
Follow this up by questioning the children.
Teacher: �hose is this machine?
Child: It's John's and Harry's.
Teacher: hat can it do?
Child: It can jump over houses. It can ly to the moon. It can make
sausage and chips. It can sing karaoke. It can swim.
The children make a garden scene, printing with anything they
can collect from nature: leaves, lowers, bark, twigs, stones.
Encourage them to experiment to obtain the efect of different
kinds of vegetation: forest, hedge, bush, grass, pond, etc. Make
sure the children have some dark areas or clearly diferent
colours, otherwise the whole effect will be too similar.
The children might like to add some wildlife, or some fairytale
characters. Encourage them to talk about the creatures in their
picture, and .about their daily lives.
A goblin lives in the tree. Its baby is a little squirrel. The little squirrel
hasn't got a mummy and a daddy. The goblin is its daddy now.
Fix the largest piece of paper you can ind on the wall. A long
frieze of black paper would be good. Make available one or two
sources of thick paint or ink. Give each child at least ive small
pieces of plain paper, for example, 1 0 em x 15 em. The children
then use any object they have to print with. If writing is allowed,
they can write, for example: This is my toe/inger/pencil/money.
All the printings can then be displayed on the frieze.

4 Drawing by lool,ing
Instead of looking carefully at nature as a rich source of visual
inspiration, children often just look at each other's drawings. The
result is that they tend to work with a very limited range of visual
forms in their pictures, which oten, for example, involve trees
shown as round green blobs with brown sticks in the bottom.
Art is not only a form of emotional expression. As many of
Leonardo da Vinci's drawings show, it also ofers an opportunity
for a cooler, more intellectual examination of experience.
Leonardo remains a particularly good model for us, because his
enquiries led him to make use of writing as well as drawing!
This chapter ofers a collection of activities in which the children
are encouraged to look, to study, to think and feel, and inally
to communicate their understanding of what they see.
Nobody can represent the total complexity of information
contained in even the most modest of objects or settings. Artists
who have drawn what they saw have always selected, and their
selection has been partly inluenced by the work of others. And
just as it is impossible to do a picture of the 'whole truth', so it is
impossible to be completely original in one's selection of what to
paint. We are inevitably inluenced by other paintings we have
seen-even young children have seen literally millions of pictorial
representations of things. So just leaving them to paint is a naive
approach.We are more likely to help the child to develop if we
ofer a variety of thoughtul approaches to selecting rom the
ininite amount of information which ills our retinas.
Ofering ways of seeing is not the same as ofering tricks for
drawing horses' heads, which is limiting to say the least. The ways

ART AND CRAFTS WITH CHI LDR EN

ART AND CRAFTS WITH CHI LDR EN

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to ART AND CRAFTS WITH CHI LDR EN

Similar to ART AND CRAFTS WITH CHI LDR EN (20)

More from Pedro Craggett

More from Pedro Craggett (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

ART AND CRAFTS WITH CHI LDR EN