Dinosaur Roar

So unlike most of the books and stories we've been doing this year, today's post is actually about a poem. The children were disappointed that there wasn't going to be a plot, but then they got very hyper... because.... well, roaring dinosaurs everywhere!

Topic: All types of dinosaurs!

Age: 4-7

Vocabulary: Adjectives mainly (fierce, meek, fast slow, slimey, clean, tiny, fat, weak, strong, short, long, sweet, grumpy, spikey, lumpy) and some misc (roar, squeek, above, below) Plus the phrase "gobble, gobble, nibble, nibble, munch, munch, scrunch".

Procedure:

• Sing your hello song, fiercely, meekly, then roar and squeek it!
• Pre teach the words of the poem, through TPR. I suggest no more than six per lesson.
• Before you start warn the students that it isn't a story, but a poem.
• Open the book. I like to start by counting the dinosaurs on the inside of the cover. We count different colours each time, 'How many blue dinosaurs are there?'. I tell the poem and we count the tiny dinos on each double page spread. If you have pre-taught some of the adjectives then make sure you elicit them with the action as you go. I like to check they have understood any not yet pre-taught words, by looking at the pictures and asking them what they think it means in L1.
• Worksheet time! Try this lovely colouring page from the Dinosaur Roar website: http://www.dinosaurroar.com/downloads/DinosaurRoar-Printable-001.pdf 
• Before you watch the video I would suggest an 'interest-gatherer'. Recite the chorus and do the actions and check the meaning. It goes like this: Oh the dinosaurs, big as trees, the dinosaurs, brains like peas, jaws and claws and teeth and bones, they used to growl and groan and moan.
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I like to pause the video, when it shows the lava and the dinosaur turning into a fossil to see if anyone can explain the video in L1. The kids are generally dying to show off their dinosaur knowledge.

Extensions:

http://www.dinosaurroar.com/downloads/DinosaurRoar-Printable-008.pdf - matching pairs

Drawing dinosaurs competition

Pattern completion worksheet can be easily made by drawing big and small, long and short and fast and slow dinosaurs like those in the book.

Then here are some other dino videos for your dinosaur fans.

A simple rhyme.

 This could be good for a game of musical statues, (now everbody, run fast/slowly/fiercely!)

Stegosaurus tells us a bit about himself - for the older children.

What's your favourite dinosaur?

Meg's Eggs

So here's a little Easter themed lesson. I haven't got the book, so I have made my own flashcards with Meg, Mog and Owl and then three big easter eggs. The easter eggs are cut in half and have hinges so that I can open them up to show the dinosaurs inside.

Topic: Easter! Meg, Mog and Owl, who my kids will remember from their Halloween lesson, are hungry, but Meg's spell to rustle up some eggs goes a little wrong...

Age: 4-9 years

Vocabulary: Meg, Mog, Owl. Egg(s) dinosaur(s) Stegosaurus, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Diplodocus. "I'm hungry!" "Who are you?" "It's too big!" "I'm going to eat you! (optional)"

Procedure:

• Sing your hello song and say Happy Easter!
• Talk about the significance of eggs at Easter (new life) and the Easter Bunny. You will need to use some L1 here, but I think it's totally worth it, since the Easter Bunny and Easter egg hunts don't exist in Italy.
• Review or pre-teach the three main characters with flashcards. It's a good idea to associate an action with each name (meg's point hat, owl can fly, mog's a cat), so that you can elicit the names as you tell the story.
• Tell the students the story of Meg's eggs, with the book or with props (as in my case). See if you can elicit the types of dinosaurs when they emerge from their eggs (there is a dinosaur expert in every class no matter the age!) When Meg says the spell, I like to make up my own simple ones that the students can join in with.

Abracadabra three eggs please!

Spiders, frogs' legs 1,2,3!

Abracadabra!

Abracadabra make my dinosaurs small!

Their big and hungry and very tall!

Abracadabra!

• Top Tip - if you haven't got a book it's hard to get the visual laugh at the end. I ask the kids what they think Meg's second spell has done and then tell them to wait and see if they are right when we watch the video.
• Worksheet time! There are quite a few possibilities here. I've opted for an easter egg hunt worksheet.

For the Primary school students

For the nursery school students

• Finally finish the lesson with the video. You could pause and elicit some of the vocabulary if you so wished.

Extensions:

I haven't got much this week, I'm afraid as it's a one off lesson. There is an absolute multitude of Easter egg colouring worksheets and Easter cards to make online.

This and more HERE

And then there's this adorable nusery rhyme that the nursery school kids will love since it goes well with actions. I think it's the having to be still before hopping around like mad that floats their boat! Plus you will never get it out of your head again. Sorry about that.

We're Going on a Bear Hunt

We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Micheal Rosen was published in 1989 and is real classic. It's rhythmic, repetitive, chantable and full of fun noises. Some report being very scared by the book when they were very small, so maybe don't go over the top with the terror! If this story had a moral it would probably be 'Leave the bears alone!'

Just don't buy the tiny board book like I did!

Age: 3-9

Topic: A family go for a walk to look for a bear. They traverse different terrains only to discover they're actually scared of bears.

Vocabulary: forest, river, mud, grass, snowstorm, cave, bear. (The adjectives are optional) A good teaching moment for mummy, daddy, baby, brother and sister too. Repeated phrases: We're going on a bear hunt, we're going to catch a big one, what a beautiful day, we're not scared, oh no! and We can't go over it, we can't go under it, we're going to have to go through it!

Procedure:

• Sing your hello song whilst being scared and very much not scared!
• Preteach the landscape vocabulary with flashcards. Play some flashcard games. For the first lesson 'say yes when you see the...' is excellent.
• Tell the story with the book. Omit the adjectives at your discretion. I think 'thick oozy mud' is quasi onomatopoeic but teaching it actively would be too much for my students.  Watch the master at work here. You cannot get better story telling instructions than this:

                               

• Worksheet time: I drew a cave, with a forest, river, grass, mud  and a snowstorm for mine, and asked the children to draw the bear in the right place.  Or you could use this:

Printable HERE

• Finish with the animated pictures from the book video.

Extensions:
Teach the family vocabulary with this song:

One printable jigsaw HERE

Printable worksheet HERE

Teach some prepositions of place by making a simple over/under worksheet.

Like this one, but bigger, and printable...

One of my favourite worksheets ever but most definitely for students who can read. Printable HERE

This story is just asking for a board game craft.

Or collage!

HERE