OAK
TREE
Carvalho
Group 5 (12-14 year olds)
THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS CYCLE ARE:
Make significant contributions to the class atmosphere.
Express ideas and opinions clearly, precisely and convincingly, performing and responding to a wide range of language functions.
Engage in debates on content-related topics and establish connections among claims, arguments, and supporting evidence within oral discourse.
WE SUGGEST YOU CHECK THE EVIDENCES WITH WHICH YOU WILL OBSERVE IF YOUR STUDENTS HAVE ACHIEVED THESE OBJECTIVES
THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS CYCLE ARE:
-
Engage in debates on content-related topics and establish connections among claims, arguments, and supporting evidence within oral discourse.
-
Make significant contributions to the class atmosphere.
-
Express ideas and opinions clearly, precisely and convincingly, performing and responding to a wide range of language functions.
WE SUGGEST YOU CHECK THE EVIDENCES WITH WHICH YOU WILL OBSERVE IF YOUR STUDENTS HAVE ACHIEVED THESE OBJECTIVES
CLASS PLAN
My class is 25 to 30 minutes long!
Remember that if your periods are shorter than 50 minutes, you can try out these shorter plans!
To ask your students about the video experiences (jornadas), ask them how they did them, if they are liking them so far, which were their favorites, etc.
Remember
1. STARTING SONG
As usual, we will begin the class with the starting song.
We suggest you let the kids start this activity by themselves, even with a bit more autonomy than in previous cycles. Once you see they’ve started singing and dancing, you can join the fun.
OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES
CONCENTRATED MODE
If the kids are concentrated, we propose a few activities that will help you manage the energy of the group.
MIRROR DANCING
Ask the children to get in pairs.
One of them will be the dancer and the other will be the mirror.
The idea is that the dancer moves freely to the rhythm of the starting song and the mirror has to imitate the dancer’s moves.
You can tell the children to switch roles halfway through the song so that they all get to act as dancers and as mirrors.
FOUR WORDS EACH
In a circle, start the song by singing the first four words.
The student sitting by your side should sing the following four words, and the next student the four words after that, and so on.
The idea is that the kids listen and pay attention to the words they have to sing out loud.
They win the game if they manage to sing the whole song in this manner!
EUPHORIC MODE
If the kids are euphoric, we propose a few activities that will help you manage the energy of the group.
ADJUSTING VOLUME
Open your hand and raise it as high as you can. While your hand is up and the starting song is playing, sing the lyrics in a loud volume and encourage the kids to do the same.
Then, as your hand goes down, slowly lower the volume making them understand they should lower the volume too. Once they understood the game, play with the volume of the kids singing of the starting song with the use of your hand.
*you can use this resource anytime to adjust the volume of the class by raising or lowering your hand.
CHANGING PLACES
Choose a few of the words that are repeated during the starting song, for example “room” “English” and “Vivadí”.
When the children listen to these words they should switch places with another student or just move to another place in the classroom.
This activity will require an active listening of the song, which will help with the general concentration of the group.
ORCHESTRA
Tell the children to sit in four separate groups. During the starting song, you will be an orchestra director. This means that you decide which group has to sing in different parts of the song.
So, you will point at the group that has to sing and the others will have to remain silent until they are pointed at.
2. HARMONY
After the starting song you will guide a brief harmony exercise based on breathing movements.
This exercise will help the children gain awareness of their body and concentrate in the present moment.
Divide the students into groups of four and tell them to form small circles.They should remain standing throughout the exercise.
Another alternative is to choose one of the following videos from the playlist.
BLOOMING FLOWER
Guide:
“Concentrate on your own breathing, without worrying about anyone else or looking at how your classmate’s are breathing. It is important that you focus on your own body now. Observe the rhythm of your breath and gently, when you inhale, open your arms to the sides of your body and bring them up above your head, like a blooming flower.
When you exhale, bring your arms to your chest like a flower that is closing. When you finish exhaling, your forearms should be crossed in front of your chest and your hands on your shoulders.”
FIRST STAGE:
Individual breathing
1
You will first tell the children to focus on their own breathing and do the blooming flower exercise. Show them how the movement is done as you guide them through it.
*We suggest you watch this video before the class to be able to explain the exercise more clearly to the students. Let the children repeat this exercise until they manage to coordinate the inhaling movement and the exhaling movement.
SECOND STAGE:
Group breathing
2
Now, the children should do the same exercise but trying to maintain a breathing rhythm in their groups of 4. The idea is that all four students do the inhaling and exhaling movements at the same time.
THIRD STAGE:
Whole class breathing
3
Finally, you will do the blooming exercise trying to maintain the same rythm with the rest of the class. This means that every student should try and inhale and exhale at the same time.
Benefits of the activity
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The rhythmic movements and the synchronization favors a calm atmosphere of the group.
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This exercise clears the mind and sharpens thinking by increasing the flow of oxygen throughout the body, particularly the brain.
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Interpersonal relationship is favored when paying attention to the group’s breathing and seeking a single rhythm.
3. POPCORN TIME
In this section, choose one of the following stories for your students to watch and listen to!
Game: Bleep
How: After you have read the story, choose a word that students aren’t allowed to say. For example in the story “The Two Brothers” students aren’t allowed to say “brothers”. Then read the story again, except that you will ask each student to read a sentence from the story and when they get to the banned word they have to say “bleep” instead. Whoever says the word, is out.
Online: This game works the same way online!
4. GAME
Game: Storytelling Memory Game
How: Students should begin by sitting in a circle. The first person (this can be you, but it does not have to be) starts the story with a fragment like “It was a dark and stormy night,” and then the next person has to repeat what the first person said and add a phrase of their own. For example, “It was a dark and stormy night and no one was around.” Keep going around the circle until someone messes up! Students love this game because they get to work together to be creative with their imagination. You could have someone write down the story, and then hang it up in your classroom for students to remember and get a good laugh! Everytime you play this game, write it down so at the end of the cycle you can read the stories and compare them and see which one was the best.
Online: Instead of sitting in a circle, make a list of the students or use this link to make a random order. The list order is for each student’s turn. You can type down the story to have proof of the activity! Everytime you play this game, write it down so at the end of the cycle you can read the stories and compare them and see which one was the best.
Game: Virtual Show and Tell
Ask students to share household objects that teach the class about their interests, talents, and cultures.
How: Students have 5 to 10 minutes to look for household objects that reflect their interests, talents and cultures. Then they will share with the class.
Game: Class Playlist
How: Allow students to create a collaborative playlist of uplifting music that the teacher can play at the beginning and end of class sessions (replacing the Starting Song and Ending Song).
Online: This activity works the same way online!
5. HARMONY
CLEANING THE HOUSE
PART I
This exercise consists of making different movements with your feet and hands. Use this harmony phase to get the attention of the kids back to themselves by doing the short movement exercises.
FEET MOVES
ROTATION
This means moving your feet 5 times clockwise, and 5 times counterclockwise. To help the children imagine the movement, tell them to draw circles in the air with their feet.
FLEXION AND EXTENSION
This exercise consists of extending your feet to the floor and then flexing it back pointing towards your body. Repeat this movement 5 times with each foot. You can tell the kids to press the floor downwards with their toes and then raise their toes to the sky.
HAND MOVES
PASSIN THE BALL
Alternatively, open your hands and then close them back again. Tell your students that they have to pass an imaginary ball from hand to hand.
ROTATION
Make five clockwise rotations with your wrists and five rotations counterclockwise.
BOUNCING THE BALL
Extend your arms forward with your palms facing down, and then raise and lower your hands 5 times as if you were bouncing a ball against the floor.
TIPS:
You can count out loud to guide the students with the movements and those who want to count aloud with you can do it too.
These exercises are simple and do not require a prior training. The hands and feet are important nerve centers in the body. Therefore, these exercises that appear to be insignificant have a balancing effect.
6. STORYTELLING
It is time to read a story that expands the content we have been working on in our English classes. We remind you that, even if you have audio-visual support, your body language is key to make students understand the meaning of the story and also make it more significant to them.
You can choose from these options with no particular order, but remember how important repetition is. So, if you choose to repeat a story more than once, don’t worry if another story is never told.
Reading 1
Pre reading:
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How would you describe the feeling “sad”?
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What do you usually do when you feel that way?
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Is there any situation that is entirely bad?
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How can you make a bad situation better?
Reading: Sticky Brains
Post reading:
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How was the girl feeling?
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What happened to make her feel that way?
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Who were the people who helped her?
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What were the tips they gave her?
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How can you apply that in your life?
Activity 1
At the end of the book, there’s a session that talks about using your mind to change your brain. “How can I practice this?” brings some tips to help you to cope with that. Organize the kids into pairs or groups, and let’s think about other tips that you can apply in different contexts: at school, at home, at a party…
Activity 2
Tell your students that from now on, you’ll have a gratitude box in the room. Every week the kids must write something they are grateful for in a piece of paper and put it in the box. They must put the date on, and assign it if they want to. At the end of the year, you’ll open that box and read those papers. You can decorate the box if you want to.
Reading 2
Pre reading:
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What do you do when you feel lonely?
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Who do you talk to?
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When was the last time you felt this way?
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What are the activities you like doing by yourself?
Reading: Jack and the magic chalk
Post reading:
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Why was the boy feeling lonely?
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Who were the people he lived with?
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Why couldn’t they play with him?
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What did he find that he liked?
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What happened to his painting?
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How did he feel good about it?
Activity 1: What you can do to cope with loneliness
It’s hard to cope with loneliness sometimes, especially if you’ve been feeling this way for a while. Split the students into pairs or groups, and let’s think about things we can do to cope with loneliness.
Here are some suggestions:
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Get out and about in public
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Spend time with animals
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Find an online group you can connect with
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Volunteer or join a community group
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Try a new or different activity
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Have a conversation with someone you haven't spoken to before
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Take it day by day and focus on the present instead of the past or future
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Express how you feel – try sports, journaling, or art
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Talk to somebody you trust about how you’re feeling
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Take your mind off it for a while by doing something fun
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Keep doing the things you enjoy instead of withdrawing
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Rather than trying to escape the feeling, accept that it’s there
After that, tell them to share their ideas with the rest of the group, and make a list of the classroom.
Activity 2:
Let’s make art! Just like the boy in the story, we are going to use melted crayon to create an abstract art. The results are fantastic!
Video: Crayon melting tutorial activity
7. HARMONY
CLEANING THE HOUSE (part 2)
This exercise, just like the previous harmony exercise, consists of making different movements with specific parts of your body only, that this time you will move your shoulders, your arms and your head.
ARMS AND SHOULDERS MOVES
SHOULDER ROTATION
With your fingers fixed on your shoulders, make five circles with your elbows in one direction and five in the opposite direction. Try to synchronize your respiration with the rotations
FLEXION AND EXTENSION OF THE FOREARM ELBOW
While you slowly inhale, extend your arms so that they are parallel to the floor and with your palms facing up.
While you slowly exhale, bend your elbows by bringing your hands toward your shoulders.
HEAD
MOVES
HEAD TO THE SIDE
Drop your head to your right side first, and hold it with your right arm. Then do the same but to the left side.
HEAD ROTATIONS
Slowly make five head rotations to one side and then five rotations to the opposite side.
Repeat these movements five times.
They favor the development of the thoracic cage and a good ventilation of the lungs, which in turn, increases the flow of oxygen to the brain and improve your overall muscle tone.
These exercises should be done with caution. Make sure that the cervical vertebrae are aligned with the dorsal axis. It is very important that the spine remains erect. Also, remember not to stretch your head too far forward or backwards.
They relieve tension from your head and neck. They have a calming effect, especially if you manage to synchronize the movements with your respiration. Also, they are an excellent way of bringing back the attention when you feel your students are restless and disperse.
8. MOVE YOUR
HIPS!
In this section, students will want to move around after being seated for so long, so choose one of the following videos to dance to!
9. ENDING SONG
Finally, as always, you will sing our well-known Ending Song.
Make sure everyone sings it out loud together. Encourage, especially those kids that don't participate much in class, to see if they can repeat the song phonetically.
Do not forget to put the class back in order while you sing.
To remind your students to access the platform and do the jornadas.
Don't forget
![Dropkick Murphys - Until The Next Time [HD Song Lyrics]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3HGNcXOgTAw/maxresdefault.jpg)
