Classrooom routines XII: Can I borrow your pencil, please?

This school year, as we did LAST YEAR, we follow our classroom routines. We include new ones, depending on the topic we are working on.

Now, as you already know, we are revising classroom objects and for that purpose we have included a new one.

On the photo bellow, you can see our magic box full of classroom objects! 

    

                             

We carry on speaking activities and short dialogues, such as: 

You can try it at home too! For kids it's a kind of game, which means they have fun while they SPEAK ENGLISH! 

I HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!    

Classroom routines XI: Prepositions box!

We have started our sixth and last unit. This one is about toys and we are also learning prepositions. The ones we already know are ON/IN/UNDER!
To carry out this routine we play with the box below:

THIS IS OUR PREPOSITIONS BOX!!

The helper asks "Where is the ball?" and the students answer...

IT'S ON THE BOX.

IT'S IN THE BOX

IT'S UNDER THE BOX

We have included a new preposition: NEXT TO!

IT'S NEXT TO THE THE BOX

YOU CAN PLAY AT HOME TOO!

Classroom routines X: English Tablet

Haizea brought her tablet to learn more vocabulary about animals. It is a great resource and we have included in our classroom routines. 

We are also remembering vocabulary from the beginning of the course.

THANK YOU HAIZEA!!!

Classroom routines IX: What animal is it?

Aitor Marinero brought his toy to play in the English class and it has become part of our routines. 

Push it and answer the question!!

The helper chooses someone and asks:

- What animal is it?

- What colour is it?

Two for the price of one!!

THANK YOU AITOR!

Classroom routines VIII: What's on my shopping bag?

We have a shopping bag with real food. The main advantage is to make the learning experience more memorable. Students can touch, smell, see and even taste food and at the same time they are learning how to say it in English. 

This is our shopping bag!

Students started bringing food...

... and food ...

... AND MORE FOOD!!

We carry out lots of different activities using real food and we are also asking our favourite question in this unit: 

DO YOU LIKE...? YES, I DO./ NO, I DON'T.

Classroom routines VII: What's for lunch?

We have just started with our fourth theme and it is about food. For that reason, we have included "What's for lunch?" routine. 

This is our menu poster!

The classroom helper read the menu at the school canteen and we say it in English. The helper sticks the labels and  completes the menu in English! 

And this is TODAY'S MENU!

   

We are also remembering "one potato, two potatoes" traditional song learnt at the beginning of the School Year:

Classroom routines VI :Ready to answer a question?

Our fifth routine is "Ready for a question?". Students who want to answer one question raise their hands and the helper asks the following questions. We started with very simple questions:

      

When they were ready, we introduced new questions. 

       

Now we have included the following question: 

We practice food asking this question!

BUT NOT EVERYDAY! Because it will be quite boring!

We just say it, when we don't remember the answer!

Classroom routines V: How do you feel today?

Our third routine is about feelings. Sometimes we all feel happy, but other times we are just not in the mood and we try to talk about it. It is quite difficult to talk about feelings in a foreign language but it's worth it!

Our poster about emotions!

I always have one of the following faces on the board. I choose it depending on how we feel!

A couple of years ago, Noelia Davila, an English teacher in Ezkaba school, shared with me those funny pictures to practice emotions in the English class . Thank you Noelia, my students love them! 

Have a happy day!!

Classroom routines IV: Who is missing today?

The helper just counts how many students are in the classroom. It is a fast routine and it helps to learn numbers. We count to 25!

We write down how many students are in our class and how many are at home . And that's all! 

Classroom Routines III: What's the weather like today?

"What's the weather like today?" is our second routine. It is really simple, we just look through the window and say if it is sunny, windy, cloudy... Sometimes we also open the window to feel if it is hot, warm, cold, or freezing. The helper has to choose the correct flashcards and stick them on the board.

This is today's weather!

We have a chant to say what's the weather like and we mime the song. Those are the posters we have in our classroom: 

    


In the following video you have a song to practice the weather:

             
  

Classroom Routines II: What day is it today?

"What day is it today?" is our first routine and we keep on doing it since September.

This is today's date in our classroom board!

First of all, the classroom helper moves the pink arrows and choose the correct day and month from the posters.

Days of the week

Months of the year

Once we know it, the helper has to choose and stick the correct labels. Notice that the labels for days are blue and the ones for months are purple. This way is easier to pick the correct one.

Once the date is on the board, we say it all together. As it is a routine we repeat everyday we try to make it different changing our voices, whispering, using funny chants, singing the date... Empower your own imagination!

We also have seasons flashcards!

At the beginning of the school year we watched the videos below. You can watch them again and find more on the net, there are millions and students enjoy learning by singing. 

         

Classroom Routines I: Presentation

I strongly believe that classroom routines help to increase independent learning and create a positive affective atmosphere. 

For that reason we start each lesson choosing a helper to go over classroom routines. We follow our alphabetically ordered list to give students opportunities to practice.

This is the helper's chair.

It could also be understood as "learning by doing" because the helper is the one managing the classroom. I have noticed that being the helper increases their motivation too.

                    

I will post about our classroom routines:

•  What day is it today?
•  What's the weather like today?
•  Who is missing today?
•  How are you feeling today?
•  Ready to answer a question?
•  What's for lunch today?
•   What's on my shopping bag?
•     What animal is it?
•  English tablet!
•  Preposition box!
•     Can I borrow your pencil, please?
•  And the ones we will include!

We go over some routines every day and we keep rotating others. We wouldn't have time to practise all of them just in a 50 minutes session and it will also be quite boring to repeat all of them every single day.