r Puchta.

ri Williams

**
at
*
ELT-ctivities for ug lr*r agd - lZ
l

#
# rd
r r,F
grr,

rrg
,- f< tr*g
-.===
,

 lntrod uction

-l9
coN/ PARlSoNS lntrod u ction
1 Odd out 20
2 Same or different? 22
3 N4e and m friend 24
4 Cars and bicycles 26
5 What they've got i mm Lo
6 Apples and oranges 29

CATEGoRlSlNG lntroduction )1
_J)

1 Find the home for the word 4

2 N,4a rket day
3 Wrd trees fo
JO
4 r nspo rt 40
5 The zoo 4
6 Words, words, words 46
7 Sorting animals 4

SEQU ENCl NG lntrod uctio 51

1 What's missing? 52
2 put i rdr 55
Language friends 57
4 fruit smoothie 60
5 Story time
6 Dsril and draw 66
7 magic spell 69
What's the right rdr? 72

FOCUSlNG ATTENTloN lntrod uti 75

1 How m r there? 76
2 Sq u res, circles nd tria ngles 0
Action stories o.Z-

4 Overlapping songs

EMoRlSlNG l ntrod ucti

-7
/
1 Kim's game
()()

2 irs 90
3 Sing song 9
4 Test ur mmr 94
5 Rmmr the picture? 96
 _! \ ,-t- r\ " tP_,
,;.,.f
. ; ,.} *, dff
T}b**t,i;.
5

EXPLORlNG SPACE lntrod u ction 99

1 The im 100
2 Where's Tom? 102
The classroom 106
4 Little l\4arton 10
5 Find the treasure 111

EXPLORlNG TlME lntroduction 1

,1

1 Exploring time 114

2 How long is minute? 117
N4r than or less than? -l,]9

4 Time words 121

EXPLOR|NG NUMBERS lntrod uction 12

'l Height d weight 124
2 How m pebbles? 127
Fizzbuzz 129
4 Puzzles 10
5 Maths maze 12
6 How old are they? 1

cREATlNG ASSOCIATloNS lntroduction 19

1 Hot and cold 140
2 chair in the middle 142
Frm handclaps to words 14
4 Frm words to story 144

CAUSE AND FF lntrod uction 147

1 Birthdays 14
2 The weather 150
3 What happened next? 15
4 What will happen if you ... ? 155
5 Might d will 157

MAK|NG DEclSloNS lntrod uction 161

] Cars, carS, cars 162
2 Which animal? 166
3 What pity! 16
4 Who's got an idea? 169
5 Se|ecting presents 172
6 plus and mius 175
7 What should we do? 17
rtr F ^"
:j;}_{-;
*._,ff,{,
{.
_
g

t: 11
SOLVlNG PROBLEMS lntroduction
1 Danny's family
12
2 Who r they?
14
will it sink or float? 1

4 Some puzzles
19

5 What do they like?

191

6 How m words?
194

7 lnvitation letters
195

8 Spot the differences

197

9 The secret code

199
'l0 202
The ice rm machine
205
11 The spy

207
CREATIVE THlNKlNG lntroduction
1 Make monster
20

2 l'm rir
210

3 Fu with poems
211

4 20 ways to use rli

2l
5 miming gm
214

6 What r they like?

216

7 That's good idea because,..

21

8 What would happen if ... ?

220

22-224
APPENDlX References and further reading
225-21
Teacher's qu ick-reference guide
As they progress through their years of formal education, children need to acquire far
more than the factual knowledge prescribed curricula. They need to |eave school
equipped to face the challenges of changing and unpredictable world. do this
they will need to develop rg of problem-solving and decision-making skills that
l them to assess w information, understand unexpected problems, and find
appropriate ways of tackling such situations and of evaluating their success.

school curricula, however, are built upon systematic, error-free learning involving
correct answers, the assimilation of facts, and reliance the teacher for assessments
of success. Yet life is not neatly packaged; it requires logical and creative thinkers who
are able to 55, interpret and question evidence, and to use information strategically
in order to make wise decisions and solve unpredictable problems, both at work and in
society generally.

An article in the newspaper'The Times' in 2011 describes the interview process for entry
to Oxford University in the UK. Examples of the questions asked of candidates included
'Why do lions have ms?'d 'What heat does hot air balloon need to lift an
elephant?'These questions do not have correct answers as such, but rather'are designed
to help would,be students to show their potential thinking their feet'. Fr from
anticipating'correctness', the tutors r interested in how logically d imaginatively
interviewee approaches w idea or problem; this is the type of thinker sought
leading universities.

This book is designed to develop both language and the ability to think. lt provides
selection of activities to engage ug learners in purposeful use of language while at
the same time using different thinking skills in order to complete the tasks.

who this book is for

lf you r teacher of English as foreign language to ug learners in primary r
lower secondary school and you would like your students to develop their thinking
skills while having some meaningful language practice, you will find the activities in this
book fit the bill. They used alongside any course book or teaching rgrmm.
You will find it easy to choose activities that are appropriate for your students, either
se|ecting specific thinking skill that you want to develop, or using activity in
order to revise or practise particular language area in way that is more cognitively
chal|enging than the kind of revision or practice activities that you are using otherwise
- or you may just want to break from your usual classroom routine and surprise ur
students with activity that develops their thinking skills.
If you are teacher working at school with an intensive bilingual (as it might called
in some countries) or EsL programme, then you too will find range of activities in this
book that r especially suitable for your teaching context. Teachers working within
such programmes often look for activities that r cognitively challenging while at the
same time offering 'real'content focus (as in CLIL - tt d language integrated
learning-where the focus is the simultaneous teaching of language and the'real'
content would rmIl find in primary or secondary curriculum for subjects
other than EFL). The activities in this book offer students real-Iife thinking tasks, and
involve them in dealing with information in such way that it enriches their own
thinking. They also help the students to organise information, and to develop, structure
and evaluate their w thinking process; it therefore equips them with tools for lifelong
learning.

lf you are teacher trainer working in r- or in-service courses and believe that
language teaching is 'total human experience'(to quote well-known dictum Earl
Stevick), then you m want to demonstrate to your trainees that teaching English as
foreign language 8 beyond the teaching of the language and offer them excellent
opportunities to help their students become better learners and thinkers through,
and while, lrig. lt would advisable to get your trainees to explore some of the
thinking tasks in this book themselves so theY get taste of the approach before trying
the activities with their own students. you may also wt to recommend to ur trainees
some of the books we have listed in the bibliography .22-224.

Why this approach?

The rationale for combining the teaching of thinking skills with the teaching of
language is twofold. The first reason is rd with the cognitive engagement of the
lrr in the task. There is danger when activities are designed for second language
learners of removing intellectual challenge in the attempt to make the activity
linguistically comprehensible. Children are frequently disenchanted over-simple
activities which are designed to suit their language level but are often way below their
cognitive potential and therefore fail to provide challenge. l presenting cognitive
challenge, we aim to keep the learners engaged in the activity. children d to
challenged; they r capable of high level of thinking if encouraged to do so.

The second argument is |inguistic . Materials designed to teach foreign language

gener,ally involve learners using the target language in order to communicate piece of
information to another person. Thus the language is meaningful. This is the basis of the
communicative approach. The activities in this book require the learners to complete
task with reat purpose which is non-linguistic; to invent something, to solve rlm,
to conduct experiment. Language is the means of carrying out the task; the teacher
therefore needs to help learners with the appropriate language for completing the task.
 )||,:.:'!:-l:. t];
'.'"..., ;,".
i i ,]
/ _" _" : " _ :.
"

ln this bpok the children are using the language

for rl purpose, that is, to solve
problems and to think together. They
r therefore engaged in meaningful language
use
which develops their language ability, while
at the same time learning to think.

thinking taught?
This is, of course, the keY question and research
gives mixed results. lt is certainly
true
that thinking abilitY learnt; it
develop and improve; and that the teacher
playan important role in this. ln 1999,
rl McGuinness reviewed the research into
thinking skills on behalf of the Department
for Education in England, and concluded
that pupils benefit from being coached in thinking,
and that Success was due to good
teaching methods, i other words, learning
thinking works well when supported the
teacher (McGuinness, 1999). There are umr
of research articles that document the
success of different programmes of teaching
thinking. list of these found
the website for Kestrel Education under
research articles (www.thinkingschool.co.uk).
ln the uk, kestrel Education, in conjunction
University of t is w engaged i national
with the cognitive Education centre at the t
mt promoting the teaching of
thinking in schools, running seminars and workshops
on the iubject and giving schools
'accreditation' as so called'thinking
schools'.
The manifestation of the growth of the
_
thinking skills movement is evident in the
growing umr of courses teaching
thinking. look at the list of books provided

the kestrel website gives some indication
of what is available. tn this introduction we
only review few key courses.
well-known rgrmm for teaching thinking
is Feuerstein et al.'s lstrumtl rihmf
(190), which was developed i
lsrael
(see Sharron & ult 1996,
and Williams & Burden, 1997, tordescriptions
of this
programme). This is highly structured
at developing the skills of careful analysis,
rgrmm of 14 groups
"r
.*.r.ir., ,.
systematic planning and organisation, and
problem-solving strategies. There is
also emphasis applying the strategies
learnt
in new and unfamiliar situations; this is
ca|led 'bridging'. ih.'progrurme has been
used around the world with range of
g groups and abilities. Evaluations show
positive improvement i thinking
abilities, and point in particular to the importance
of the teacher's rl i coaching or mediating
the thinking proces' (see
. 15 for an
explanation of mediation.) Ih Sornerset Thiking
Skiils urs(lgg et al., 200)
was developed in England based lstrumtt
rrihm"r, unO also shows positive
effects thinking skilIs.

somewhat different approach is taken

in Matthew Lipman's phitosophy i the
Classroom (Lipman et al. 190). His Phitosophy
for Childrenprogramme has
widelY used in rimr classrooms in around
0 countries. The'programme is based
children engaging i philosophical discussions
and working as 'community of enquiry'
where they generate and answer questions
about hilsil issues.
Thus it taps into children's natural curiosity, engages them in search for meaning,
strengthens reasoning and argumentative skills, and enhances their self-esteem as well
as their ability to work as part of community.

There are also umr of different'thinking tools'available. These include Habits

of id, hikig Hats d hikig Maps. Habits of Mind is concerned with having
disposition towards behaving intelligently when faced with problem; it includes
such things as gathering data through all the senses, Iistening, persisting and thinking
flexibly, and applying past knowledge to new situations (see Costa and Kallick,
2009). The six Thinking Hats provide method of thinking constructively. Each of
the six coloured hats represents different mode of thinking: the white hat calls for
information known, the red hat is about feelings and intuition, and the black hat is
about judgement of what won't work. Then the yellow hat is about positive feelings,
the green hat about creativity and new ideas, and finally the blue hat is concerned with
managing the thinking rss (see de , 'l999).

Visual tools, as they are called, are frequently used to help us to organise ur thinking;
people often draw diagram intuitively when they are thinking. We have included
David Hyerle'sThinking Maps here, as we have drawn them in developing ur
activities in this book. Ihikig Maps are visual organisers that help us to represent
the cognitive processes that we use to make sense of our world, such as comparing and
contrasting, understanding cause and effect, and classifying things (see rl, 200S).

Through his research into human intelligence, Howard Gardner (1993) has clearly
shown that there is such thing as single unitary mental capability that
called intelligence, but that there r instead multiple intelligences. Gardner argues
very convincingly that lQ tests and schooling in general usually l draw on two of the
hum intelligences: the linguistic and the logical-mathematical. Grd however,
proposes eight different inte|ligences to account for much broader spectrum of hum
capabilities that our thinking skills draw . application of the Multiple lntelligences
theory to the teaching of teenagers and adults found in Puchta and Rinvolucri
2005.

other issue that is frequently debated is whether thinking should taught as

additional to the curriculum - sometimes called 'bolt ' approach - or whether it
should infuse the curriculum, becoming part of each child's life through every subject
they are taught; for fulI discussion of this issue see Burden and Williams, 199.
Meanwhile, we subscribe to the infusion rh, which provides part of ur rationale
for teaching thinking through foreign language,
 ! #* .aj ;
#sa
*g

What is involved in the thinking process?

Each of the Thinking programmesoutlined
is based theoretical model
is involved in thinking, Different people of what
have rk down the thinking process
different ways; Summr of some in
of these found in Burden
199, As We are unable to outline
and williams
them all hr, we wiIl focus the
The Somerset hikig Skills
model from
Coursedeveloped Blagg et al. (200).
It is based
Feuerstein's lstrumtl rihmf,
and has guided the approach used
in this book.
Blagg and his co-authors differentiate
between what they call ,cognitive
'cognitive strategies', cognitive resources,and
resources are the basic tool kit
that we use in order to
think and to solve problems, There
are four kinds of cognitive resources.
tul udrstdig; this The first is ur
is our understanding of concepts
such as number, size,
shape, position, time, space and
hierarchy. These concepts allow
us to build coherent
model of the world, Therefore we
have grouped umr of our

categories in this book
around these concepts.


The second type of resource we
have is the skl/s d procedures
These include such skiIls as focusing
We use to solve problem.
and scanning, analysing the stages
comparing, classifying, visualising
in task, describing,
and brainstorming. These*skills
enable US to process
information, to distinguish relevant
from irrelevant information, and
to organise, memorise
and retrieve information, All of these
skills r addressed in the activities
in this book.

The third resource we have is our

knowledge d experience.we have
knowledge of the
world and of the symbols, conventions
and rules we use, as well as knowledge
of how to
work with others, This knowledge
enables us to interpret and represent
different ways, to appreciate different
viewpoints, and to work effectively
information in
FinallY, the Somerset model stresses with others.
the importance of developing verbalfools,
include the |anguage, vocabulary, which
language register and language
forms that we neecl .
to communicate Succe'sfully and
e*press our meanings accurately.
approach to teaching thinking and Naturally our
language draws strongly the
that are connected with verbal tools.
cognitive resource'
-
consequently ur approach does
the development of cognitive strategies t include
that focus , for example, understanding
geometric patterns or certain
numerical tasks that do not involve
language.

-
Nisbet and shucksmith (19s6) provide
cognitive resources and cognitive
helpful analogy to distinguish
between
strategies. They refer to soccer
team consisting of
eleven players, each with different.rp.ri.n..
and skill; these are the resources
used tactically the team.
The strategies, hw might
that
-
game to gm. Thus cognitive need to change frm
strategies seen a5'higher
level general control
Processes rd with the selection d
coordination of specific cognitive proce'ses
for particular purposes'. | their
handbook, Blagg et al. (200) explain
strategies seen as'higher
level general control processes
that cognitive
selection and coordination of specific
rl ,ith the .
cognitlie proce'ses for parttcLllar purpose.
10 10 ]

f----l
Blagg et al.'s sequence of cognitive strategies forms the basis of rlm solving
and strategic thinking. This sequence consists of cycle of gathering d organising
information, using all our SenSeS to explore and clarifY information, and then dfiig
the problem, which invo|ves analysing the problem into parts and translating
it into

task with clear goats. The next stage is generating alternative approaches,
which
entails considering possible procedures used in previous problems, and anticipating
difficulties. This is fotlowed ligStg, involving selecting course of action,
planning ways of recording, checking and evaluating work, and preparing to implement
alternative strategies if necessary. Monitoring d checkingcomes next. This involves
assessing efficiency and revising procedures where necessary,

But it is not enough just to solve problem. The next stage is rd with
communicatingsolutions clearly, using precise and appropriate language and logical
evidence to justify points of view. Also necessa ry is transferring d generalising
this
involves considering how the problem-solving techniques used can transferred
to other contexts, and extracting principles that will apply to other tasks. This is
important skill for children to acquire. Blagg et al.'s final step is evaluatingthe strategies
used and the solutions found. Throughout this book we have incorporated such
problem-solving cycle when compiling the notes for teachers,

thr aspect that must not forgotten is the dispositional and attitudinal side.
students need to develop disposition towards thinking where they r positive about
approaching w challenges and problems, and are inquisitive, open-minded, and
reflective rather than impulsive. Thus positive attitudes and self-esteem are important.
0ur be|iefs wilI affect our actions, i particular our beliefs about the nature of our
abilities. Fr example, if we believe that we m better thinkers we are mr
likely to make effort to improve. the other hand, if we believe that ability is
fixed quality in individual while at the same time we have r self-image
of
ourselves as thinkers, We are unlikely to make effort to improve. attempt to
enhance children's cognitive abilities must consider their beliefs about their capabilities.

How the book is organised

This book contains 0 activities designed to teach |gug and thinking. They are
grouped into 1 categories of thinking which roughly follow sequence from basic to
grouped
higher-order thinking ski||s. However these categories overlap, and activity
in category will of course involve m other thinking skills. Fr example, the
spot the Differencesactivity g 197 is in the category solving problems. However
the activity also involves surveying information carefully, giving accurate and relevant
information, recognising the needs of the listener, applying focused listening, following
instructions, and asking clear and relevant questions.

11

]r'*
{' *r* ,&
* t,.i, ** *1' *,1}
tJ r,; ,is j i ;""- r- l'"- !}'".9
:. }," { t 1 t

r,
i.a }.r'] -! ; ] ." ;

The categories r: Making comparisons; ategorising; Squig; Fsig
ttti;
Memorising; lrig space; Exploring time; Exploring numbers; Creating
associations;

Cause d effect; Makig decisions; Sotving
rlms and Creative fhinking. These
categories are based those found in Feuerstein's lstrumtl rihmt
rgrmm and are strongly influenced The somerset Thinking skills course, which
followed from tnstrumental rihmt we have not included some
of Feuerstein's
categories, such as'syllogisms', which involve very little language use,
and we have
added some of ur w with view to the needs of language learners; but
we do not
claim they are exhaustive.
Each section has brief introduction describing the importance of
the main thinking
skill that the activities in the section focus . Then each activity starts
with brief
overview of some key information. You will find description of the
main thinking
skills involved in the activit and short discussion of the skills rd where
this is helpful. you will also find summary of the language f, though
of course
the children should encouraged to use language they have at
their disposal
as creatively as possible. There is also indication of the language
level (e.g. post-
gir, elementary, etc. and its mm European Framework of
Reference level, e.g.
1). suggested time is given; however you might wish to extend

or vary the activity.
under preparation you will find notes of what you need to do before
the lesson. Most of
the activities contain photocopiable worksheets to assist you.
This is followed section called 'in class'which provides lr
steps for you to follow,
including examples of the language that you use i class, d hints

on how to
model the process of solving the particular task. However we would
creative about the way in which you decide to teach the activities.
encourage you to
The steps are not
ts
intended to straitjacket; provided you follow the basic guidelines
teaching of thinking, you as inventive as you wish.
below for the

l1_

we also provide answers where these are appropriate. However

we would stress that
sometimes children m up with alternative solutions which r
often very creative.
provided they justify their
solution this should encouraged. Help them search for
the 'best'answer rather than always focusing on the 'right'answer. -
t
How to s this book lr-
lf you want to find out mr about the thinking behind this book
and get some pointers
as to the theoretical basis of teaching thinking skills, you will
benefit from reading this

introductory chapter as well as the short introductory texts to the 1
of the book. ll however, you are already familiar with the concept
different sections
of teaching thinking ll-
skills and have chosen this book for its practical activities you may prefer
to select
activity for classroom use straight away. t-

12

 obvious starting point when selecting an activity is the table of contents. lt gives you
overview of the 1 categories you will find in the book, each aimed at developing
specific cognitive skil|. Fr concise overview of the activities that also provides
information about the language level, the thinking skills area, the estimated ruig
time, the age of the students and the m of each activity we recommend the teacher's
quick rfr guide . 225-231.

While the order of the activities roughly follows cline from basic to higher-order
thinking skills, the intention is not for you to use the activities sequentially. Quite the
contrary -
in order for the ideas presented in this book to work for your particular
classroom, we would like to suggest that you select activities according to various
criteria that suit your learners. activity may selected according to topic
being followed in class, the |anguage being taught, cognitively chaIlenging way to
consolidate vocabulary, or chal|enge that wiII suit the age gru.

lt was our aim in writing this book to give you set of practical and easy-to-follow
activities for immediate use in your classroom. w you m want to adapt our
suggestions so they suit the needs of your w classes better. fair range of the
activities can varied and used again and again with different topics and different
vocabulary, thus providing rich 5ur of ideas for the classroom while at the same
time giving your students valuable training in cognitive skills.

The thr role in teaching thinking

As th you play crucial rl in developing children's ability to think. The
important point is that the children should free to think without criticism for
producing wacky or off-the-wall idea. lndeed, creative thinking is to encouraged
and all ideas should valued. l addition, it is essential that children do not feel
inhibited about expressing idea because they do not have the language to put it
over correctly; errors are integral part of the learning process and must not
discouraged. You d to accept all contributions, d where appropriate help the
|rr with the language needed to express their idea.

lt is particularly important to allow time for the children to think carefully about
what they r doing; to survey the information given, to plan strategy, and to take
systematic approach to solving the problem. ln m classrooms, children are rewarded
for being'quick' or the first to put their hands up, but unfortunately this often leads
to impulsive guesses or simplistic answers rather than creative or well thought out
solutions. So you will need to constantly remind the class to take time to think.

13
 l

__]

You also have rl as listener, and will need to listen to all suggestions and solutions, l

making it c|ear that they are alI being taken seriously. lt is often necessary to challenge
child, .g. asking questions such as Why do you think this?, How do we k? or
_i
How did you workthis out? ln this way, the students lr that impulsive suggestions
are not enough;they need to backed up with rS5. The fundamental point that
the aim of thinking c|ass is to seek'best' answers and not always'right' ones is so i
important that we are restating it here; it reflects rea|-|ife decisions where we frequently
need to come up with choices for possible solutions so we find the best fit for
given situation. 0 several solutions have been suggested and backed up, the students
gg in selecting the best fit.

Most important is to help your students develop 'thinking habit' where they approach
all tasks in thinking way and develoP the habit of responding to challenges and solving
problems rather than being put off something that appears to too complex.

of the key proponents of teaching thinking, Reuven Feuerstein, provides useful

set of guidelines for teaching something, known as 'mediation theory'. His
procedures

are particularly pertinent to the teaching of thinking, so we outline them briefly here.
Feuerstein argues that effective learning depends on the nature of the interaction
between two or more people. teacher or parent interacts with learner i various
WayS to help him or her move to the next layer of knowledge, skill or understanding.
This is known as the 'zone of proximal development', or ZPD. However, peers also
help each other to progress in this way through their social interactions; thus, talk is
important in the lrig process.

Feuerstein identifies 12 ways in which teachers help learners to learn and ultimately
become fully effective learners, able to learn independently. The most important of
these is conveying purpose and clear intention. states that activity must have
purpose for the lrr, and it is the teacher's ro|e to explain this purpose to their
learners so that the task has value to them personally. second, teachers must ensure
that lrrs understand precisely what is required of them and, equally important,
that they feel willing and able to tackle the task in focused and self-directed way, an
important step towards autonomy.

Other ways in which teachers should mediate r building up feelings of

competence, the sense of 'l can'. This is dilne helping lrrs to take contro| of their
own behaviour teaching skills and strategies to think and solve problems, showing
learners how to set their w goals and evaluate their own progress, and encouraging
learners to respond to challenge, an important life skill. l addition the'thinking
c|assroom'will urg co-operative learning, sense that every individual is valued,
and sense of belonging. Feuerstein's theory of mediation is outlined in williams and
Burden,1997.

14
Here is example of mediation, based on Solving Problems 11; the teacher is
mediating the process of understanding the nature of the problem getting the
chi|dren to think about all the information given.

hr What do you d to do?

Student We must think what m give parcel.
Teacher Right. We d to work out which m to give the parcel to. What you see?
Student Much m.
Teacher Lots of m. Yes. What else?
Student m looking.
hr , what's he looking for?
Student The m to give the parcel.
Teacher What else you see?
Student message.
Teacher How do you kw it's message?
Student The m, er, reading letter. This is the letter.
Teacher . So what do you d to do?

The above is example of what is often ca|led 'scaffolding'. This language is scaffolding
both the thinking and the language. We have provided several examples of this i the
guidelines for the individual activities. Essentially, if class find the rlm difficult,
you ask questions that direct their thinking, help them understand and formulate
the nature of the rlm, and help them to break the problem down into smaller
parts. Fr example you might ask,'What information do we have?','What exactly do we
d to do7' 'What's the first thing we d to fid out', etc.
Learners also need to lr self-monitoring strategies as part of the thinking process;
they need to lr to check solutions, spot their own mistakes in thinking and | w
strategies according|y. These are essential principles of teaching thinking. lt is part of
ur rl to help learners to develop such strategies.

The use of the mother tongue

The question of whether students in monolingual classes should allowed or
encouraged to use their mother tongue in the foreign language lesson is frequently
debated . We would like to briefly touch this issue because of the nature of the
activities presented here. You m asking yourself: tf these activities are mt to
develop students' thinking skills, to what tt are m students supposed to able to
do this i English?

Our own beliefs best described saying that in the foreign language class the
students' mother tongue should used as little as possible, but as ft as necessary,

15
_-;

a |f * ;": ' *\a. *''',*

* *"\,'k''
,a,
; 't fi 1. *_;]1
*r'. '|1,".. '*".. |:
'!.- '

as lg as it facilitates lrig. There is

doubt that the rimr aim of the foreign
Ianguage class is to develop students' L2
competencies, and that works best when
students get fullY engaged in the process
of
decoding relevant pieces of text i the
foreign language (for example when they tisten
to r read story), and when they lr
to use the foreign language to express themselves
in meaningful ways.

unsurprisingly, teachers frequently report that

it is more difficult to get students to use
the foreign language (as against their mother
tongue) as means of communication
wh they are at low language level. lt seems particularly
difficult to get such
students to use the foreign language to express
themselves, especially in phases when
they become personally and emotionally involved
in the learning process, as they do
not yet have the ms to say or write things
appropriately in the L2. This is of course
often the case with Ug learners. Most of
the activities in this book are for post-
beginners and elementary students. We have
developed them carefully and given lots
of practical suggestions as to what you do
to scaffold the students' foreign language
so they gradually gain mr and mr confidence
i using it. lt is up to you whether
You give students the sPace for short discussion in their

mother tongue wh, for
ml, they want to talk about the solution
to particularly challenging activity. We
are convinced that such phases are to the
benefit of the students as long as they are
confined to just occasional use of L.l when needed.

There are various strategies that you
use in order to guide students towards using
the target language mr frequently. The
most important is that you yourself
the language as often as possible, and at the
same time make sure that what you say
use
is comprehensible to the students. This
will often require using language that is l
slightlY above the students' level of competence,
d employing all kinds of means to
aid comprehension, such as mime and gesture,
rli and drawings. lt will also require
you to scaffold the students' language
giving them prompts (in written form
'whisPering' language ',
You think student might want to produce) so that
students have
available to them the structures and vocabulary
they need to express themselves with
growing confidence in the L2.
Students often need to reminded of
the importance of using the foreign language,
especially when they are still at level where
it is much easier for them to communicate
in their mother tongue. Appropriate reactions
(e.g. Sorry?)can useful to encourage
their use of L2 when you r walking round
the class listening to students during phases
_
of pair and group work. very powerful way
of scaffolding students' language at least
-
initially- for you to repeat in English what
student has said in their mother
tongue. Another is to begin the sentence
in English for the child, for ml, '/ see.
You think that ....' However, such support
encouraging the students to try and say as
techniques need to accompanied you _
much as possible in the foreign language,
without feeling of fear. l addition, what
we need to avoid at all costs is students
not even wanting to try because they trust you -
will do the L2 work for them.
,l

 il

The role of errors

Errors are natural part of lrig and are an intrinsic part of the students'
interlanguage, i.e. their developing language system. Errors are not l unavoidable,
but they are signs of the students'learning. They r often referred to as'a window into
the learning process'.

lnterestingly, whereas m teachers still find it difficult to accept the idea that
errors are sign of learning and that the way towards language correctness is long
and winding road alongwhich students need to mk mistakes, research showsthat
students need to get pIenty of opportunities to use lgug and - make errors. We
confidently assert that there is no mr efficient way towards successful communication
other than via the learning that takes place when mistakes are made d occasional
breakdowns in realworld communication ur. lt is such experiences that help
students gradually notice how the efficiency of their communication improved
using the correct form (or word, or chunk of language). lt is tru for learning to think,
and indeed, anything |5.

develop their cognitive skills, students need the freedom to make mistakes, to
experiment with their thoughts, to try out paths that lead to dead ends instead of the
goal. Errors are useful; they help the individual student or the whole class reflect
their way(s) of thinking, and improve and modify their cognitive strategies and their
(learning) behaviour.

yu help students enormously dealing with their learning processes (especially

when they lead to'wrong'answers) professionally, i,e. in non-judgemental way. Those
teachers who discourage students who m u with wrong answers, r v criticize
them or make fun of them, have detrimental effects on their students'self-image
and their motivation (despite their mmtr failure)to carry learning. lnstead, it
is often enough to ask gentle question r give mr hint to l students to
get different perspective on task.5ometimes it may help to simply repeat what the
task is and give the students more time (while making few encouraging remarks or
nodding at them in supportive way). Finally, when u notice that student has got
stuck and there is the dgr of them losing fid i themselves, it may idea
to ask another student to work with him r hr. lt amazing sometimes to see
how skilful students can at helping each other.

Fil note
activities provided in this book. We have
N4ost of ||, we hope you enjoy using the
enjoyed writing them. And we hope that as result you will develop ur own abilities to
teach children to think.

17
 t

L
t

r
rr

N4aking comparisons is of the basic building blocks of decision making,

rlm solving d abstract thought; as such it is sklll that is essential in all

r
aspects of life. lt is necessary, for ml, in reading, which involves mrig
shapes in rdr to recognise words. N4aking comparisons is essential part of
alsorling w information. lndividuals need to lr to organise information
relating it to what they lrd know, this involves comparing w information
l- to old. The very act of comparing things affects the way we perceive something as
we begin to discover qualities in object r rs that we dld not previously
lt-=
l

l-
See.

N4aking comparisons involves using other skills such as focused attention,

!=
l

systematic exploration of lnformation, careful and urt use of labels, d

-
attention to detail. lt often involves using tools suh as mlnd maps to rr1
L=
I

and organise information. At higher leveI, comparing things leads to creative

L
t- thinking and seeing attributes previously not recognised. l\4r complex
comparisons involve recognising and understanding different attributes in
14 object, such as size, shape, lur, taste, r orientation.

N4aking comparisons is skill that developed. lf the ability to mr

F-
ts-= things is inadequate this lead to srius disabilities. Fr ml, if chilcjren
r unable to make comparisons their memories suffer as they t store
information adequately relating it to what ls already stored. This lead to
:{
-= inability to perceive and use mr than piece of information at time,
which in tur lead to impulsive and erratic behaviour.
=
Ei-!
The activities in this section focus making comparisons. wr mriss
r essential part of several of the other activities i this book such as Spot
l!- the differeces (Solving rlms, ). l using the activities i this section it is
important to allow your students time to focus their attention, systernatically
explore the information given, and rrd it carefuIly and accurately.
-=
F:;

19
-
 :;;l ,
;ry*
t l
ru ufifi &

lgg foctls Vocabulary review

iig skills comparing items and recognising category; identifying something
that does not
belong to the category I

g 6-
ll Post-begin er l 1 u pwa rds I

imG 'l5-20 minutes

prealation t
rr of the worksheet for each student.

l class I
1 Hand out the worksheet. Ask students to work in pairs and
match the words with
the pictures writing numbers 1*5.
2 Get students to read out their answers.
Explain to the students that this is 'Odd one out'activity.
Do the example from .
the worksheet with the class. show them how they need to
cross out the odd one
out, in this case boat. sk them why it is the odcl ; in monolingual
classes, use -
the students' mother tongue if needed.

-
4 Ask the students to complete the activity in pairs.
5 Go through the answers, saying each word lrl.

Ua]iation This activity can adapted for other vocabulary items.

Although the urrt activity is designed for students i the
first year of learning G
English, it could adapted to higher Ievels and ages
using more ml

concepts, for example abstract Us or feeIings.

swls 'l 9 hir, bicycle,27 bed,2 table. sofa -1

ice rm,l ml, 29 , 2 peach, 20 Strawberrv

D 4 ,-14 nose,9 mouth,7 ear, 10 hd
-
_
'l
5 r, 1 bus, 24 train, 2 shoe, 1 lrr
F 26 coat, 21 umrll, trousers, -] .i dress, -17

t-r
shirt
G 2 leg, ] rm, ]0 hand, Ogl, 5 head

_
:

-

:-
20 -_
PUchta/Williams I TeachingVoung Lrs"i Helbling Languages :
 dd &m* e&xt l Worksheet
Match the words with the pictures. Write 1-35.
ExampIe
4 "--

tr(4
-'-\<* ,,

Yt *w
\,-\
]
tr^
r,

&
tr ffi, 4l
,
,/ l
" ---..'-
(
/

, [9] ** 9l ,frh
)*J
+", ff\
u,N
{
"L*j
\',,-

./--_

l
/
,,

ryrtr sl

., 4 29
<- "fll ,)

Wl
I?,

"@ t
\_-/
q

2 Gross t the word that is different i each line above.

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l Helbling Languages 21
 lgg foctls Words describing the following conCepts: size, shape, colour, direction, age,
umr
iig sills careful observation of detaiIs; mrig details; focusing the relevant
differences in various objects; abstract thinking
g8 1 12

lGUGl Elementary l HZ upwards

im 20-0 minutes
prenaration the worksheet, r student. Fr step 1, use rl and white sheet of
r, and pictures of, .g., old m and child, large enough to hold up to
the class. Fr step , assemble some pairs of drawings r objects.

ln class
Teach the concept words in the following way:
, for colour, show white piece of r and red piece of
r. Say:
Look. This is piece oJ paper, d thot's also piece of paper. This 's white,
d that 's red. What's different? The colour. The colour's different. This 's
white, d that 's red.
. fr age, show prctures of old m and child.
, for umr, draw circles side of the rd, and circles the
other.
, for shape, draw triangle, circle and square the rd.
. tor size, draw small and large tree the board.
, for directio, drw arrow pointing to the left and rrw pointing
to the
right.
2 practise the words so students use
them with ease.
f
J use drawings r rl oljects to explain the meaning of the words same l
differet. practise them using various examples of objects i the classroom.
Give each student of the worksheet. Do the first ml together with
the students. l monolingual classes, explain to them in their mother tongUe,
if necessary, that they m have to think carefully to see what's the same and
what's different about the two pictures.

l
srs 1) size: differet 7) size: diJJeret l age differet
2) size: diJJeret l colour.. same
J
a
) size: same l shape: sm
) size: same l g: different 9) size. differet / colour different
4) size: sl l colour: different 10) direction. dit'Jeret / coIour: differet
5) size: same lco|our: sm 11) size: same l lr differet
6)
I
size: di|feret / color_rr: differet 12) size: same l mr: diJferent

iltG This activity is based idea f rm The Somerset hikig Skitls Course, 1

Nigel I

Blagg et al.

22 Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l G,] HeIbling Languages

 %.Tr*. r ffi*r*rz} l Worksheet
Look carefully. What is the same? What is different?
Write s (= same) or d (= different).

Size: Size: .... Size

f
lrrl lr,

4 5 6

Size: .... Size: .. Size: ..

Crrlol lr, ll lr Cnlrll lr

Size Size: .. Size:

Sh, lllr

10
"@
@ 8
@
)irti, Sizc, Sizc,
lur: .. lur: Numr:

-l
l
Puchta/Williams I Teaching Yug Learners to Think l Helbling Languages 2

l
 arTd ry frend

lgg lGs This activity use umr of different language items: same, different,,
he/she likes _ he/she is (adjective), he/she is he/she has got
he/she lives i _; vocabulary of rsl features, e.g. lg
hair, red hair, glasses, blue eyes, eIc -
iig sills ldentifying similarities and differences. This activity, if done well, requires
fairly deep level of thinking about comparisons and contrasts. lt
difficult for the students, and also revealing to find similarities that
they have r thought of before. Fr mr advanced classes, mr
sophisticated use of language required, leading to greater depth of
thinking.
Age 10 12

lI lmtr l 2 upwards
im 0 minutes
rrti rr of the worksheet for each student.

l class
Ask two students to m to the front of the class. Write two headings with
the names of the students the board, e.g.
Mark mm
Ask the class to tell you three things about rk; e.g. , tal1,1ikes
swimmig. Write them under the heading Mark.
Ask them to tell you three things about mm, e.g. gir1,\ong hair, good at
tis. Practise the language She's girl. She's got lg hair. She's good at
tis etc. Write language prompts on the rd and practise them so the
students are at ease usig them.
l\4ake sure the students understand the words some d di|ferent. sk what
is different about them? E.g.: Mark is . mm is girl. tiu with
examples till they understand this concept lrl.
4 sk,. What is the same7 E.g.: They are students. They are i class 5.

5 Hand out the worksheet. li they r going to work with rtr.

They need to decide things that r different d things that r the some
d write them i the rrit columns. Help with vocabulary where
ssr, and collect new words the board. Help, if necessary, with the
sIructure We're both.
Ask them to draw picture of themselves and picture of their friend in the
two frames.
Finally ask them to share some solutions with the rest of the class.

24 Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l ] Helbling Languages

 fu* ffi ffiw ffi I Worksheet
Work with friend. Find t things that are the same and things that are
different for both of you.

m:
N
frid m:
)

Things that are different

Things that are the same

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Yug Learners to Think | Helbling Languages 25

 .,l3. llii]l
:;..]]i*, r;

red fu*w*
]l};1:!i}3*il1r|

lgg foctls Vlu|r practice, descriptive words

iig sills mrig and contrasting, recognising same and different; recognising that
v diagrams used for attributes of things; explaining; giving reasons
gG 9*12
1l lmtr l 2wrds; mr advanced users of English will produce mr
soph isticated nswers.
im 0 minutes
prenaration rr of the worksheet fr each student.

ln class
Draw two overlapping circles the board. write dogs at the top of and
cats aI the top of the other. Ask the class what is the same about cats and
dogs. E.g. iml, has 4 legs. Write this in the overlapping part. Ask what is
different. E.g. barks d meows. Write these in the rrt circles. Ask the
students to tell you mr things that r the same and different.
2 \4ake sure they understand the words same d differet.

Hand out the worksheet and ask them to put words in the appropriate places.
lndividual words, phrases r sentences r fi.
when they have finished, ask students to mr their solutions with
partner. See if they want to add more words to their own diagrams.
Ask them to mr their diagrams with different
rS and again see if
they want to add mr words.
FinalIy ask for some suggested answers. Ask the class if they gr. lf someone =
doesn't gr, ask why; encourage creative thinking. This activity =
urg some interesting discussion for mr advanced students.
-
7 Note thr r svrl possible correct answers: accept solution that is
la usible.
=

Isi The students could asked to create their own pairs of objects and ask their
rtrs to complete them. !=
=

=
!!

ts
!=

-
5

26

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think I Helbling Languages -J
{ & fu* l Worksheet
Write what is the same d different about each of these pairs of objects.

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to il G-] Helbling Languages



*r w ffi *ffire

lgg loclt Describing people; us of both

iig skills Observing people's appearances, making comparisons ( analysing what ther
have i mm and what's different about them)
Age -12
ll lmtr / 2 upwards
im 10-15 minutes
rrtiO None

ln class
Ask two students to come to the front. Say to the class what the two have
in mm thinking aloud, so the students get mode| of the kind of
thinking (and talking) you want them to do, e.g.:
mh. Let's see. W'v got mm d Charlie. , d girl. mm's blonde,
d Charlie's got black hair. But let's see what they've got i mm, mh. l
d to look. h. They're both wrig T-shirts. I

Write the following sentence the board:

mm d Charlie are both wrig T-shirts.
Ask another two students to come to the front. Again, start mrig thenl
thinking aloud. urg the class to help you. Help students with Ianguage
if necessary.
After some time, ask students to find things they know the ir of students
J
have got i mm but that cannot seen, for example,They both like
ice rm. rr like this until there r about 10 sentences on the board.
m ple:
_l

They're both wearing T-shirts.

They've both got curly hair.
They both liv i Gr Street.
They're both called Morio. l
They're both wearing shorts d T-shirts. They've both got the sm
They've both got rw eyes. favou rite footba l l cl u : rl. i
They both like ice cream. They're both 10.
They both go to class .
l
5 Ask students to think of pairs of people outside of the class. Tellthem to think
what they've got in mm, and talk about their findings. !
I

rtsi Put students in groups of three. Tellthem that each student should find out
!
five things that are the same about the other two students i their gru. I

!
I

:
i
28 Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l Helbling Languages
 ,,,:*|ii|:,.,

rl
AppIeS rgS

]gg foclls Vocabulary: descriptive words and phrases

iig kill Comparing and contrasting; recognising similarities and differences; using graphic
representation to organise ideas
g 1-12
]l lmtr / 2 upwards. This activity used at different levels; mr
advanced students will produce mr varied and creative vocabulary in their
bu bbles.

im 0 minutes
lG]ti rr of Worksheets and for each student. rig apple and
rg.

l class
Show the apple and rg. Ask for some words that describe them. Get studentS
to complete Worksheet .
Hand out Worksheet ; ask the students to work in pairs and look at the double
ull. Explain that they will write words that describe both in the centre
bubbles, and words that describe only i the side bubbles. So, the words
in the tr r about what is the same. Those at the side r about what is
different. Do one r two together if ssr.
When they have finished, they mr with another pair and see if they
want to add mr words.

sG] possible answer to

worksheet is shown here.
There r m possible
solutions, and these will
depend the
level of English. .-;-\
\--l \ Y/;)
/\-___-/
h r z,----\
r----t; -,-_2
^a

rW,-v---_=-)
\=_--l l
/---\
(- - \
--r (\:
<__// \\\- }
<_ >/ \
V----)
<__j \-
-=l

uariation This activity adapted to mr other pairs of items, e.g. r and bicycle;
rl and bus; lt and iml. At mr advanced level it could used
to describe abstract words r feelings.

iltG The double bubble m comes from David Hyerle's hikig Maps.

PuchtaiWilliams i Teaching Yug Learners to Think l Hetbling Languages 29

 W ffi ffi{ffi*% l Worksheet
1 Write words that describe apple in the bubbles.
I

2 Write words that describe orange in the bubbles.

\-/

-(

0 Puchta/Williams ] Teaching Yug Learners to Think iO Helbling Lan8ua8es

 * ffi ffi{tr% l Worksheet

+,
(

{i

Ql

+J
L

-\.
ll
ll
J
ll

, l

{J

,
)

L


,
tr

g
ct
.

d
,s
bll
\
=
_-
,* I

, /
,
5f
.trtr
l
,tr
=
96
,=
all

lo
lJ
1
(n

Puch/WilIiams ] Teaching Yug Learners to Think I icl Helbling Languages 1

 "-,4&
\,&
,".t
*

we live in world where we constantly classify things; we sort objects when we

put them away, there r detailed classifications of plants, animals and m
other things, and we classify people into different types. l this Way We organise
d trl the world we perceive rud us, leading to greater fee|ing of
security. Children d to lr howto control information byorganising it into
categories. This requires being able to see connections between concepts and is
essential rt of logicalthinking.

Categorising involves discriminating between things, comparing things, and

seeing associations of different types between them. also involves
lt
understanding that there are different ways of grouping things rthr than just
the first that comes to mind, which might |ow-level way of grouping things.
so for example we might group the same set of objects according to colour
(at lwr level), or function (at higher level). we also need to understand
ml relations such as hierarchies. l rdr to categortse things we need to
systematicaIly gather data, examine it carefully, l search for attributes that
form the basis of classification system.

The activities i this section involve stuclents i sorting things according to

different criteria. The activities also involve using visual tools such as v
diagrams to help them organise information.

rI
t
._

 ,,,**
1}1;*
j:.- r":_* _i r! l
Fr# ttr hoffie for the grd

lggG Ioctls Revising lulr

hiig sills categorising, understanding concepts of groups of words;
making associations
between category and movement
g 7-1
ll Post-beginn r l 1 upwards
imG 10-15 minutes
]Glti rr list of words that you have taught that
grouped in semantic
fields. rr blank r slips fr step . or bowl
to collect the slips.

ln class
Brainstorm words the students have lrt that lg to _]
semantic field,
,g,, gr, blue, rg, and invite
ur class to call out mr words that belong
to this field. h write colous the board. rr on
like this with other lexical
sets, spacing out their names the board rd for
step 2.
When you have six different categories the board,
draw, e.g., figure standing l
up udr the category C)L)URS. Ask the students, in pairs, to guess
what u'r
drawing, h add to each remaining category simple picture
with label that
clearly suggests certain movement, e.g. clap your hds
etc. Your board m
then look like this:

COLOURS NUMBERS FOOD

J

t ''
_I

J
a

nd up clap your hands raise ur arms

-
SCHOOL THlNGS FU RN lTU RE --
PARTS F BODY

l
_

!
l
}
hands ur head bend ur knees knock ur desk =
=

4 Puchta/Williams ] Teaching voung rearrrers to ik

r-
l ( Helbling Languages
 lnvite the students to write words from the different lexical sets on little slips of
r. ColIect them in, using ur r bowl.
Draw out slip of paper. Read out the word. The students have to do the
matching movement.
After the students have made the appropriate movement, check their
understanding of the words. Examples:
Point to _. _

Show m ...
Draw ... the board.
im ... .

Uliti 1 Ask student to m out to the front to take over from you.

Uliti 2 1 write the category names large cards and the words small ones.
2 use Blu-Tack r sellotape to fix the category names the walls of the
classroom.
Hand out the cards with the words to the students.
4 Call out student's m. The student stands up, reads out the word their
rd, and fixes it the wall next to the respective category m. rr
like this calling out other students, at time.

ilot0 You may want to introduce the following language so the students can talk about
their choice:
... belongs to...
l'm t sure if ..- is ,.. or ...
ld't know what .., ms.

Puchta/Williams I TeachingYoungLearnerstoThink l @ HelblingLanguages 5

_-

q* fuIarket day

lgg lGs Vulr for fruit and vegetables

Tllining slills Categorising, sorting, concept of sets
AgB 6-9
ll Post-beginner / 1 upwards
im 0 minutes
preparation rr of the worksheet for each student. Bring i some fruit and
vegetables; otherwise some pictures of fruit d vegetables and Blu-Tack r
sellotape. Fr the variation, assemble collection of boxes etc.

ln class
Write the words fruit d vegetables the board. Ask the class to tellyou ms
of fruits and vegetables they know. lf pictures r avaiIable, stick them udr the
appropriate heading tilI students get the idea; make sur they understand the
difference between f ruit and vegetab|es.
Ask the students to work i irs. This means they use the language orally while
discussing where things go, and they help each other with the vocabulary.
Hand ut the worksheet. Read the instructions. TeIl the students to draw the fruit
and vegetables in the right bags. Then ask them to write the umr of each
picture next to the rrt word.
4 FiIl go through the answers as class.

srs 1 Fruit: apples, pears, cherries, peaches, strawberries, kiwi fruit

Vegetables: potatoes, cabbage, 5, carrots, onions, beans, turnips, peppers, lettuce
2 1 potatoes '10 cabbage apples 2 peas 12 carrots 14 onions pears 7 beans
5 turnips 1 peppers lettuce 9 cherries 11 peaches 4 strawberries -l 5 kiwi fruit

ualiation Sorting activities used with other lexical sets that you want to revise with
your students, you may want to give them mr than two categories to sort
things into. They put items in boxes, jars, drawers, cupboards etc.
ilotcs You m appreciate various websites that offer you free images, though do
rmmr to respect copyright laws. Alternatively you may want students to sort
words l.
And if especialIy bright student starts thinking outside the and
wondering whether, .g., tomato is vegetable r fruit, you tell them
it is both, because in biology it is fruit and i cooking it is used as vegetable.

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l Helbling Languages

 ?;f*"rr: ,my l Worksheet
Mr Smith is packing fruit and vegetables to take to market. has got bag
for the fruit, and bag for the vegetables. Draw the fruit and vegetables in

g- OOffi
the correct bags.
, tr . ,

, tr .l
_ '},
%*
',

ffi

2 Now match the pictures with the words. Write the mrs.

:, potatoes , onions ,, |"ttu."

.. cabbage pearS hrris
l,
|],, apples I beans peaches

peaS ] turnips strawberries

l rrots l pepperS ktwl trutt

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages 7

 ,ryffi

,- ,:-, Wrfi trees

lggG foctls This is useful way of reviewing ulr after the students have learnt
umr of new words. lt helps them to rmmr lexical sets, and as it is visua
it helps them to rmmr both the meaning and the spelling of the words.
iig ills Categorising; recognising word classes; mmr Strategy
g 6-
lGUGl Post-beginn er l 1 upwards
im 0 minutes
lGlti rr of the worksheet for each student- ]

I class
Hand out the worksheet. Explain that these r word trees; each of the words

the left belongs to one leaf of the trees.
Look at the animal tree. The word cat is |rd there. Ask what other words

go this tree.
Ask the students to work in pairs and write the other words the leaves

the correct tree. It is important to work in pairs so the students say d use
words.
the j
wh they have finished, ask them to suggest m for each tree. Listen to
all t
suggestions and select for each. some possibilities are iml tree,
clothes
tree, transport tree / vhil tree, food tree.
Fill, ask the class whether they think of any other words to put into t
the
empt leaves. They keep the worksheets and continue to add words
as they
lr new vocabulary. Alternatively they take them home and see what
words -
they find asking other people.

srs Animal tree: horse, cow, sheep, dg, gt, deer, cat
Clothes tree| trouSer5, hat, skirt, jacket, shorts
Food tree: , sausage, pizza, ml. ice rm -
Transport tree; bicycle, car, taxi, bus, trai, truck

-
U]ati This idea adapted to use with different wrd classes, e.g. furniture, -
.
body parts, people, occupations, buildings. lt also adapted for higher
levels of English, using mr sophisticated words. l

The authors have successfully used the activity drawing lrg trees
and
pinning them the wall. we handed out blank leaves which
the students
wrote words, which they then stuck onto the rlt trees with B|u-Tack. -

38 Puchta/WiIliams i Teaching Young Learners to ThirlK 1 @ "l5,-t L."g".K, -

&&/mrd &r*s l Worksheet
write the words onto the correct trees.

NtL r

Puchta/WiIliams { Teaching Young Learners to Think l Helbling Languages

 i

s*rt
i

lgg loctls Vocabu lr of tra srt

iig slills Categorising; recognising categories that overlap, understanding V diagrams
_]
and what they represent; givlng reasons for choices
AgG 1-1

leuel lmtr / 2 upwards.

Timc 0 minutes
]G]ti rr one of the worksheet for each student. Ensure there is range of
small, portable red and blue objects, and if possible red-and-blue , lying
rud in the classroom.

I class _]

1 Draw two intersecting circles the board. Label them red things d blue things.
2 Pick up some red objects and some blue ones from rud the classroom and ask
which circle they go in. Then ask where to put something that is blue and red.
Ask students to m vehicles they know; write them the board as the
students call out names.
4 Put the students into pairs and hand out the worksheet. l

5 Ask the students to write the umr of each picture next to the correct word.
Then ask for answers and check the students know the ms of the vehic|es. ]
Explain they are going to sort them into the three circles: water, air d ld.
Remind them that some vehicles might belong to mr than category. i

Wh they have finished, ask the class for solutions, and build up diagram
together the board. If there is disagreement, ask them to li why they j
think the item should go there. They could use language such as:
l think the _ goes here as it travels _d _. l
l

Wh they finish, they add mr they think of, e.g. tractor, .

Help with the words if necessary d write them the board. l this way mr
l
advanced students develop their diagrams further.

40 Puchta/WilIiams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages

 z bhip io rl r l l us l2 brcycle 2 motorbi[e
1 helicopter 4 tra;n 5 boat frr 9 sl lrr

land
bicycle
train bus car
motorbike lorry

aeroplane

litr
sl

IfiGsi Pairs who finish could look up further items the web
r picture dictionary,
and add these.

Uafiation Venn diagrams could adapted for other lexical sets using
objects, for mr
advanced classes, abstract words; for ml, happy words
and sad words.

Puchta/WilIiams I Teaching Young Learrrers Thi"kl @ Helbling Languages 41

 rmry*r l Worksheet
some vehicles travet land. some travel water, some travel in the
air,
Look at the pictures and write the correct mr next to the words
betow,

@
Li .

.*W

.::
ffi
[a, ' td
-, -= ttr*Fr

J
land
ship

rl

r ]

bus
l

l
bicycle
I

motorbike I

helicopter
1

tra jn a

boat
a
t
frr
!
seaplane l

l

vyaIel
a
latef alr

Write the vehicle names inside the correct circle. Some might t!
belong to
more than circle.
l

Now think of some mr vehicles and write them in the correct

:
circles.
l
ts

42 PUchta/Williams I Teaching voung Learners

H"lblinc Luui =
 frr'*-W* -r l
l -,r ra fr
l---Y--Y
rl1 --l
,arll ,

lgg foctls Names of animals; prepositions of | (i the fi!; vocabulary; cage, field,
oviary, pool, f, dagerous
Structures: lt ds to go i the..., l think the (li) should go i the....; giving
reasons usig because
hiig slilIs Categorising; decision making; using rir knowledge; giving reasons; persuading
gG -12
ll lmtr / 2 upwards. (When using this activlty for students with higher level of
English, ask them to give mr detailed explanations about the decisions they make, and
try to persuade their classmates to gr with them.)
im 0 minutes
rrti Worksheet d for each student. Pictures of animals; scissors, gluesticks (optional).

l class
Ask the class to m animals from zoo. write them the board. Ask them to
act r make the sound of the animals.
Explain to the class they are going to make zoo and that each iml needs to
put i suitable place. Ask them to explain why this is important, e.g, because
li is dangerous. Teach the word dangerous.
Teach the words oviory, cage, pool, field, f,
4 Hand out Worksheets and . Students work in pairs. They drw the animals in
the appropriate places r cut them out and stick them there. Tell them they
add fences if they need to separate of the animals. They can also draw trees
if they wish.
Ask for answers. lf there is disagreement, ask for reasons. Accept rsl
rgu ment.

Depending the level of your students, this part done with very basic
language. Write prompts the board if necessary, e.g:
li is dangerous, so it ds to go i

parrot fly, so it needs to go i the

lf the language level of ur students is more advanced, you introduce more
ml language, e,g.:
The li should go i use

l th i k the rrot shou ld because

src aviary: peacock, parrot, eogle

pools: shar( gui, crocodile
cages: tiger, li, wolf
field: goat, horse, cow, deer, elephant, ml, zebra, girat'fe

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Yg Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages 4

 ,;:{.q.
Tl,,:t: l Worksheet

]

9

r\
.=
g
1





+.


,)


9g,

9 +J i.l
1 r'o\
ly\
F
.= {
i
0)

dE
,

+.
tr
.=
trtr
{
fc;
8

,:
,tr
ff

fio8
;
-bal L-

.

!
J
,
Jn
R*
.g* q \Q,
a

-!

i

2
!

' LrL a

!
l

44 !
Puchta/WilIiams I TeachingYoung Lr to Think Helbling Languages l
1
 ?* -t{ I Worksheet

elephant camel

giraffe crocodile

Gomplete the sentences

1 go in the ir.
2 go in pool.
go in cages.
4 go in the field.

'leaching
PuchtaiWilliams | Young Learners to Think i Helbling LguJg
 W*rdsu %&&rdu &d

[gg foctls Vocabulary revision; talking about word structure and mig; speIling
iig sills categorising; analysing (word structu r), compa ring; giving rss
g 10-12
ll |mtr / 2 upwards I

i
TimG 10-15 minutes
rrti l\4ake one of the worksheet for each student. Fr the variation,
rr
of text for each student or select text from the course book you r
using
with your class.

l class
1 Ask students to call out English words they like. write them the board.
2 Ask students why they like the words. lf necessary give them prompts,
e.g.:
because it sounds i.
because it reminds m of ...
l like ... because l kw hl to spelt it. _i
because it's difficult word.
because it's easy to rmmr.

use the words the board to make sure ur students know the meaning
l
of
the following syllable, plural, u, silent tetter (depending the level
of your ;
class, this could either silent consonant, as the k in k or the
in m, or
it could the 'magic ' as the i cake).
=
l
Hand out the worksheet. Tell students to find out what they have to do. Then
ask
them what they have to do, d write the tasks the rd. Example:
=
. count the syllables
l

. group the us
. ut the letters
. find the plural us
. Ild the words with silent letter

illustrate how to do the r chart in exercise the worksheet, ask students

to count how m words the board have the same number of letters,
'] word with 'l
e.g. -
letter (), word with two letters, word with letters, 2 words
with 4 letters each etc. h show them how they turn their count into
bars r
the r chart: 1 word with letter ms that l 1 square in the first
vertical column gets coloured in,2 words with 4 letters each means that
2
squares get coloured i the 4th vertical column etc. :
]lote The idea for this activity comeS from Janet kr Smith'S book 101 Brai-based =
l str u ct i l St ra tegi es.

46 Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think 1 @ Helb|ing Languages

 \&^lg*
Y 1t-

,wr&* **%
",l 3" -q \
\}. * v "" &
l Worksheet
Look at the words the board. Find out the mr of syllables the words
have got. Count them and write the mr.

Words with syllable:

Words with two syllables:
Words with thr r mr sy|lables:

Fid the s m9 the words the board. you put them in

groups? Write the groups the back of this worksheet, Fr example:

Things to eat: ice rm, beefsteak

People: teacher, pilot, lw
Spos: footba ll, swimmi g

Look at the umr of letters the words the board have got, Classify
them. Use coloured pencil to make bar chart. Ask your teacher to help
.
Numbers rSs the bottom of the hrtumrs of letters r word
=
Numbers down the side = umr of words with 1 ,2, etc.letters

15
14

1
g lf
(J
11

( 10
N q

.
3 7

6
5

4
3
.l
2

z 1

? 4
1 2 4 5 6 7 10 11 ll 14 15 16 17 1
Nmr of letters r word

Find words that r plural and write them here:

5 Find words that have silent letter and write them here:

PuhtaiWillims|hingYoUngLrnerstorrl@ 47
-

%{

lgg fs vocabulary for animals; verbs of animal mvmt:

fty, swim, walk, ru, slitlier
jump, hop, crawl, waddle; /'t;
l think goes i l yl,,oLl |o
iig sills Categorisi ng; rg isi ng overla ppi ng categories;
u ndersta nd i ng V d ia gra
accessing information; using prior knowledge; r. s,
decision making; presenting
so lutions

g 1-12
ll Elementary / 2 upwards
im 0 minutes
prearation rr of the worksheet for each
student. provide access to the internet
r rg of rfr books animaIs.

l class t

Ask students to tell you names of anima|s

they know. Ask them to act r
make the sounds of' each so they understand
the meanings.
sk: How does
. mv? Ellcit r teach movement words:
/f
flies, waddles, slithers, jumps, hops, swims, walks, rs. =
l
Ask the students to mime
the actions.
Hand out the worksheet and explain the
task. Ask students to work in pairs to l
decide where the anima|s go. some wiIl require
grl knowledge; students
could asked to look them up the web -
or in books
4 when they have finished they write answers
to questions 2 and .
5 Ask them if they think of mr
imls to add to the diagram. -
6 Ask fr anSWerS. lf there is disagreement

students could asked to look up
answers at home and bring them to the
sent to look up the information i the
t lesson. Alternatively they could
library r the web.
J-
Fill ask or two students which
animal they would like to and why.
Model the structure twould tike to
_becouse lwould able to
could Then students complete the sentence individually.

-. -

-
-l

-L

48 Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learnerc to r,i Helbling Languages =

l
 |1

sl

l7t
ke
'na
g
crocoA'rle

]lotG Some of these are difficult. Fr example, hippopotamus swim but an

adult doesn't as it is too heavy and generally propels itself along the bottom of
river bed. So it could go in either category. We suggest you ask the children to
look this up if there is disagreement and come to class with suggestion.

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l Helbling Languages 49

 % I Worksheet
1 write the animals inside the correct circle.

ff- l\ -#
ffi
hippopotamus
\g)
d

la
&",
Y

w
crocod]le gooSe salmon oWl bat
--
I

& ''/
{-*')
l- /" ,,. .\
\
I

w
-.'l (
, _,-
( ;j l\\i
&
l
,,,*,,- \ |_., l
tiger duck elephant
a

w,Y
.}a;)
{- 1, I
,g-) -
\r.-a,'
J]J l a

spider sha rk
l

fly l
f,99-q
t
-
I

J
a

l
a

l a

j
J l

swim
J
I

which animals do atl three: fly, move land, and swim?

a

J
,

3 iml in the world fly only? why/why not? a

50 PUchla/Williamb l Ieaching Yug Lrrs lo think | ( HelblinB Lan8Ua8e\

1

I
 l
?_,''
,-

sequences r significant feature of ur lives; events h in sequence,

instructions r given in logical sequence, story usually consists of chain
of events, language is sequence of words, numbers contain sequence, we
rr mealwith sequence of actions. Recognising sequences d beingable
to put things and actions in sequential rdr is important aspect of being
able to function in day-to-day life, and is necessary fr higher-order cognitive
functioning such as rlm solving, and for giving lr, logicaI explanations.

Following instructions involves acting in defined rdr. This activity requires

children to restrain impulsiveness and wait fr the reIevant piece of information,
to decode and interpret the information, to ifr, to rely partial clues, and
clarify ambiguities. Giving instructions entails understanding the needs of the
listener, ensuring clarity of language, and taking logical approach to sequencrng
information.

The activities in this section r different aspects of sequencing; recognising

patterns, putting words and concepts i order, recognising sequences of events,
giving and following instructions, and recognising sequence in str.

51
 Wu ?

lgg fs Vulr revision

iig sill Pattern recognition; sequencing; memorising
g 6-9
[l post-beginner l 1 upwards
imG 20 minutes
prearation create worksheet (see t). it, per student, and cut
each in half.

l class
1 Hand out of the upper half of the worksheet to each
student.
2 Do the first row reading it out rhythmically, togetherwith
the students:

schoolbog - - schoolbag
l
- - schoolbag - - schoolbag - ...
Ask them what is missing, and urg them to complete
the row drawing
the missing picture ( schoolbag). Give them few minutes to
complete the other
rows, lf they t complete some of the patterns, get
them to waIk rud ancl
talk to at least three other students and ask them what drawings L
they have made
and whY. l monolingual classes, these discussions will happen
in the students,
mother tongue. =
l

when they have all finished, ask different students to read out
the solutions to
the class so that they all check their own.
l
h ask student to read out of the rows. when the
student has
finished, the others look at their worksheet and say which
umr they believe
the row was. l

Next, challenge them if they can tell, without looking at

the worksheet, which
of the rows has been rd out. Give them about minute
r so to |ook at the
worksheet and try to rmmr the rows before they put
the sheet face down
the desk. Ask two r three students, in turn, to turn up their
worksheet to read
out r while the other students guess its umr.
Hand out the lwr half of the worksheet and ask them to
create their w
logical patterns using of the words they already know in
English that also
drawn. Tell them to leave one r two frrs free in each
row r pair of rows- !
t
Ask the students to write their name their worksheet.
collect the worksheets
and hand them ut rdml. Tell students to complete the logical
sequences !
the w worksheet. l

The students close their eyes. student reads out rw

of pictures. The others :
listen and check whether it is logical sequence. lf they betieve
it is, they raise
a

both their rms.

a
a

52 !
Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Lners to hik l Helbling LguS l
EXIGnsion As further step r i follow-up lesson, you may want to tell the students that
you r going to read out logical sequence now. Ask them to listen rfull
and knock their desktop if they spot mistake. Ask them to tell you the
rrt word instead.

srs 1) schoolbag -
2) rulr - il
) rubber - penciI
4) penciI-case (the ttr is diagonal )

iltG The worksheet is just an example; the exercise will wrk best if you create your
w, based the vocabulary you want to revise with ur class"

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Yu8 Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages 5

 ll
h?-' %,,{,m,s-t l Wo rks h eet a

lfu *, fu l
a

ffi
|/, \ / L\
]i ]t
bi>l
L-, l.h)l
)llv|
*_____JL--Y-
J a

2
.,
,i
-;,
,* 4@ a

ry <'9-,/ I

l
j

3 :37 i*;*
}tr
-
^*;r

ffi
\!tr" lW
#
l-
J
l

l
i

l
l_
Nm
j
J-
J-
2
--
l
J
--
3

l
l

J a

-r
4 J

J i

J
i
54 Puchta/WiIIiams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages
 w ffi

lgug ls Vu|r, mainly verbs of action

iig skills Seq uencing; rg ising rdr
g 7-9. This activity is suitable for young children as it contains picture prompts to
assist with meanings of the words.
leuel gir / 1 upwards
imG ']
5-20 minutes
prearation rr of the worksheet for each student.

ln class
Write five numbers the board: e.g. sv, twenty, t, , four. skthe class to
tellyou the right order. Write them i the rrt order.
put the students into pairs so they help each other with the words i the
activity.
Hand out the worksheet. Explain they need to decide the right rdr and write
numbers in the boxes to show the rdr.
Fill ask for solutions. Fr each sequence ask individuals to read out their
rdr. Fr each, ask if has different rdr. Continue like this tillyou
have heard all suggestions.
lf someone has different rdr with good rs, accept it. Fr ml, in
no 2 some students will have different routine to their day. The following r
suggested answers:

swrs 1) go shopping, cut vegetalles, cook, eat, wash up

2) wake up, have shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, go to school, eat lunch,
go home, do homework, eat supper, go to bed
) lt, water, grow, pick fruit, eat
) , chiId, teenager, ug m, old m
5) door, get i, start r, drive, arrive, park
6) morning, midday, afternoon, evening, night

]aotG Reading out the swrs provides the children with the opportunity to use and
hear the words several times.

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l @ Helbling Langua8es 55

 ?l';,.i,i. i:i2 r,,i,;ir::|;, l Worksheet
Nmr the pictures in the correct order.

wash up cut vegetables go shopping

0
go to school eat breakfast get dressed
2 have shower go home

eat lunch l
do homework wake up go to bed

pick fruit
--
.. F-

-
J
old m ug m teenager --
J
lt
@
,i
J

door start r
I
get in
^-
J
-i
j
-I
-!
-a
ftr mrig midday evening -i
Teaching Young Learners to Think Helbling
I Languages
 ffi

lgU Is Facilitating the students' awareness of language structures; helping them to

rmmr structures with the help of their'muscle mmr'
Thinking sills Recognising linguistic patterns; applying knowledge of linguistic patterns
Age 6_10
leuel Post-beginner l 1 upwards
imG 5-10 minutes
prearation Decide language r you want to practise, and create cardboard pieces
of that structure (each r. 10 20 cm) i two different colours (see the
examples below).

ln class
sk three (for this example) students to come to the front of the class. Give them
each card in colour, .g. gr. Assuming the structure you want to practise
ts indefinite article + u, these cards could contain the following words.

and on the back of the rd:

house house

d on the back of the card:

rg rg

and the back of the card:

s six s

Ask three mr students to come out. Give yellow card to each of them:

six

Now these students each have to find their match. They g up to the student who
they believe is their match, and (if this is culturally acceptable in ur class) reach
for their hand. The other student checks the swr the back of their rd,
and, if the choice is rrt, they take the first student's hand. They walk back to
the class, and the other students give them big hand. lf the solution is not the
rrt , the first student has another, and then thr go.

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages 5/

 -__.]

mIG1 lndefinite articles / plus us vs.. mr ptus plural a

si house t

--
_
S

_

l
rg
l-
-

_

J

-

al
-
-
-
-
-
-
58 Uht/Wlllim 1 Ieaching YoUng learners to Ihink Helbling Languages
-g
 mI 2 Personal rs
and the back of the cards:

best friends r Claire mm's got w .

lt four-wheel dri.
and rk. lt's fr-whl drive.

mr d l go to the
m my brother, we both love maths. sm class. we both love
maths.

best frid name is Yu'r such naughty m hr, Fido!You're

Sandra. dog. such naughty dog.

Well d, Kylie d James.

mum got new r. Your photos look great!
Yr photos look grt!

srrll my English best fid's m is

Sh ten.
teacher. Sdr, Sh t.

mr and l go to the speaks English and m's m thr.

same class. Spanish. s glish d Spanish

Ms rrll my English
She knows lots of great
m hr, Fido! th. she knows lots of
storjes.
grt stris.

best frids lir

Well done, Kylie and
They're in my class. d rk. h'r i m
James.
class.

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages 59

 f .*

&j r&ffiffiffi*

1ggG loctls Describing process, listening, language of instructions: u[, add, put, switch ,
switch off, pour
iig skil|s ldentifying and sequencing tasks aS part of larger process; memorising
g 1-12
1l Elementary / 2 upwards
imG 20 minutes
preOaration Fr each group of -4 students, rr of the set of pictures on the
worksheet. cut the 8 up so students rrg the pictures in rdr.
Optional: bring in pictures r realia for step 1,

ln class
lntroduce or revise the following words and phrases. Use realia r pictures r
draw the board with labels, as shown hr, to exemplify the meaning of the
words and phrases:

Yr"
ru
l
./1
/ *
\ w
kiwi fruit strawberry cut ldr yogh rt

w
u

d{
t {,m
Fi-l ;l
G
|: . 'r.l'

Yw \

rg juice cup of glass | switch
J
switch off U r

Mime the words and say them at the same time. Then say the words without
-
miming them, and get students to mime them.
Ask students to c|ose their eyes and listen to the words as you say them. Get them
G
to repeat the words and phrases after you with their eyes closed. vr
ur voice,
e.g- whisper one word, say the next in low-pitched voice, sing the next ,
shout the next etc. t

Rub out the words the board. point at drawing and elicit the words from the
students.

_

_
60 Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l lg Languages !
 write numbers against the drawings. Give your students 15 seconds. Tell them to
rmmr each word with its respective umr. Then ask them to close their
eyes. Say umr and ask students to say the respective word.
Put students in groups. Hand out to each group set of the i pictures as
shown the worksheet. Ask them to rrg them i such Way that the
sequence makes sense to them.
Give students few minutes to decide what seems the most logical sequence
to them.
Ask them to present their sequence miming the action and talking about
it. scaffold the students' language prompting words they need. write the
sentences the board.
You will rl end up with set of instructions like this:
Toke , kiwi t'ruit d some strawberries.
Cut the fruit into small pieces.
Put the pieces of fruit i ldr.
Add cup of low fat yoghurt.
dd haff glass of rg juice.
switch the blender.
switch it off.
Pour the smoothie into cups.
Drink your smoothie with friend. Yumm!

sl

tr]

uariation Rather than cutting the pictures up So students can rrrg them physically,
you give them of the worksheet and ask them to put the actions in
rdr numbering them '1-9. This is far mr demanding, as students need to
visualise the sequence rthr than actually trying it out moving the pictures
ru nd_

iltG The idea fr this activity comes frm The Somerset hikig Skills Course, Nigel
Blagg et al.

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l @ Helbting l_angtages 61

 write mrs to put the pictures in the correct order.

-
.

=
,
w,
-t=

=
-

-
-tr.

--
62 PUchla/Williamb 1 Tearhlng Yur Learners to hik j
Helbling Languages
 {' yryr{ry|vwlq. qr{|'
-"a,,..| |,| 1,,,..: |, ;1 i i 1 l,

5*r
ttry*

lggG fGs Language of narrative, past tense, sequencing words: day / night, th, Jew
days later
iig sills Logical sequencing; recognising clues frm the information given, lig
strategy and checking solutions
Age 10-12
ll lmtr l 2 upwards
imG ']5 minutes for each story. However, they can done in different lessons.

rrtiO Decide how m stories you wish to work i the lesson. lVake of
Worksheets and / r fr each gru of three. Cut the stories into strips so
there is st each strip. lnclude the title strip. each set
of strips intact, e.g. with paper clip, r in separate envelopes, so the pieces
don't get lost. llud the illustration with the story. The best way is to stick the
illustration the front of the envelope.

ln class
1 Divide the class into groups of thr.
2 Give each group jumbled story. Ask them to lay the strips the desk.

sk them to find the title; make sure they understand the meaning of the words
in the title.
4 Then ask them to look carefully at the sentences and rrg them into story.
5 Allow 5 r']0 minutes, as needed. Then ask mmr of gru to rd out
the first sentence, mmr of thr gru to read the second sentence, and
so . Continue till they have g through the whole story. Ask who got the
whole story in the right rdr.
sk them in groups to decide what they lrt from the story. Collect suggestions
the board.
Fill you ask them to li anything they did to work out the swr;
e.g. looked for words like th, his, few days later.

continue with other stories.

srs See worksheets next page.

]lotG The stories r frm s's Fables.

puchta/Williams I Teaching Yug Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages 63

 l et
:r" :: ,4. i ,.,,., ,,::,,
Wo r ks
|i.|_ ,.,,,
? r'|,,",l|, |. l l|,;,
l,,,,,,,,
,;:r r.,"'i.,
,||
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l " The m and the bear

r
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Two men were travelling together.
"r


f{ '} They met r and wr afraid.
!{ "../l
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t, \ J- m cl]mbed tree and hid.
,^L - J't"y'r4
The other fell on the ground and pretended to
dead.
l
The r came up and smelt h jm.
J
l

Then it went away.

The thr man descended frm the tree.

l
asked 'What did the r whisper in ur
l
r?'
.^

The man replied; 'Nr travel with m who

deserts you.'

The and the wolf
,.,
was watching the sheep vr night.
-
Three t]mes he called 'Wolf!Wolf!' i the night
and the neighbours r out to help. _

But there was no wolf and the just laughed
.
One night he saw rl wolf. l
-
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cried 'WoIf !Wolf ! Help me!' I

._l
This time the neighbours d]dn't come to help.
-
-
The wolf ate all the sheep.
ll

64 Puchta/Williams l Teaching Vurs to ik I Helbling Languages

-
 r;
';11,"|;:,..r,.;,,;:2,,, Ti|",T".z,i|: l Wo rks h eet
The fox and the bird
/\* _tl'
^{\ l
blrd sat the top of tree with large piece
of meat.

fox saw the meat and wanted to eat it.

The fox said 'you are such beautiful bird. l bet

!; \
you don't have beautifuI voice too.'
!r,
/r' The bird wanted to show off her voice.

So she opened hr beak to sing.

The meat fell out.

The fox quickly ate the meat.

The lion and the mouse

day lion was sleeping.

mouse r him.

The lion woke up.

grd the mouse with his paw.

'Let me go,'said the mouse, ' day l shall

help u.'

The lion let the mouse go,

few days later, the lion was caught jn net.

The mouse r past and saw h]m in the net.

The mouse chewed the string.

The lion escaped.

'Small friends can good friends,' said the

mouSe.

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Yug Learners to Think l Helbling Languages 5

 ffifu &w

1gg itGms Positions: right, left, top of, udrth, bottom; vocabulary of personal and
household items, and shapes
iig sills
I
Following instructions lrl; giving lr instructions in logical sequence,
dsrilig; recognising what ifrmti listener needs
gG 9-12
ll Elementary / 2 upwards
imG 20 minutes for each activity; they could d in different lessons.
rG]ti rr copies of Worksheets and for each student.
j
l class
Explain to the students that u are going to describe picture and they will
j
draw it. Tell them to pick u their and r.
Say: Draw big rectongle, to go rud your picture. Now give instructions sIowly .^

for the students to follow. Fr ml,. l the top right rr there is balt.
udrth the ball there is bicycle. the left of the bicycle there is .

l the top leJt rr there is su. I_Jder the su there is flower.
Repeat the instructions as often as needed. When they have finished, ciraw the

itur on the board as you say the instructions.
Ask the students to tell you the instructions you gv. Collect the words the
board: top, bottom, top of, udrth, to the left of, rr.

5 Hand out Worksheet . Revise the names of the objects.

6 Put the students in pairs. Tellthem to each create their own rrgmt in the
top rectangle, drawing the pictures given. They must not let their rtr see.
L
Now tell them to describe thir rrgmt to their rtr very lrl so their
rtr understand and draw it i the bottom rectangle. They must not let
their rtr see their drawings. They take turns.

Finally they look at each other's pictures and see if the instructions wr lr.

uritis 1 carry out this activity with shapes. These r provided worksheet .
Students rrg shapes the page and describe them to their rtr.
2 The activity also rrid out with other objects that the students select.

-
66 Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages
 Draw the obiects in the rectangle below.Then describe r picture to r
partner.

Draw r rtr picture here.

-;J
-
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PUchtaiwilliams I Ieaching Young learners to TbinK 1 @ tlr ,uugs
- 67
 l Worksheet
,:,mr,r
.3ryl,;;,i'?r: r3r,;
Draw the shapes in the rectangte below.Then describe
r picture to r
partner.
]
-i
J

J
l

J
a

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^*

Draw your rtr picture here.
-
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Puchla/Williams l leaching Young tearners to Think l Helbling Languages L
 &&* ,Y-

1gg lGs Vulr of recipes; boil, add, stir, crush, put _ i _; language of
i nstructions; listen i ng

TltiKing sills Logical sequencing

g 9-12
leuBl Elementary l 2 upwards
imG 0 minutes. Alternatively this activity could last r two lessons, with the second
worksheet completed in the second lesson.
prearation Bring to class picture of witch and recipe book. rr of
worksheets and fr each student.

ln class
Show picture of witch. sk: Who is this? What does witch hv? What does
witch do? Tell the students they are going to write magic spells.
d out Worksheet . Explain: This is witch. Her m is Cackler. She's making
spell. She has got some very big sus. She's stirring oJ the saucepans.
Ask them to do the action of stirring.
Read each sentence to the class i the right rdr, and ask them to umr the
pictures. Read them again as many times as necessary.

Recipe
1 BoiI some water i saucepan. 5 dd hair from horse's tail.
2 Put 25 flowers i the vlater. 6 Put 2 white feathers i the mixture.
dd spider's web. 7 Stir well.
4 Crush 'l5 s d add them 8 Say:'rdr, hey presto!'
to the mixture.
9 The mixture turns into gold!

Now read the sentences again, and ask the class to mime each one. Then all
shout: rdr, hey presto! together.
Tell them they will each make their w spell. Write the board: spell to
Ask for ideas and collect them the rd.
Hand out Worksheet and ask the students to write their own spells. This activity
could done in pairs. Tell them to ask you for any new words they need; this
enables them to imaginative. Write the w words on the board for the other
students to use. lllustrate them where possible.
7 Display their spells on the wall. Give them time to read each other's work.

srs

[
[a
Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages 69
 frr {7,,,6,r: bp*r l Worksheet
Listen. Nmr the pictures in the correct order.

<J>_'=r-,-
t.-+ts -;J'l{

9al
l

,.

70 Puchta/Williams I TeachingYoung Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages

 fr'&i.,_ir". r"6r:l l Wo rks h eet
Write r w spell!

add I stir I crush I boil l put _ i _ | saucepan

spttt to
#Y

I__r
L-
f
-.]

_;]
l-

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l Helbling Languages 71

 ,, {,{.&rr; r;*. l Worksheet
Listen. Number the pictures in the rrt order.

j
J
l

i
J
,i

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70 Puchla/Wrlliams I Teaihlng YoUnB LearnerS to Ihink | Helbling LanguageS -
 l Worksheet

add I stir I crush I boil l put _ i _ I saucepan

sptlt to
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E_J p*r'tu/witllu'-''l.tT*.nineYoungLearnerstoThinkloHelblingLangUageS 71

t
 Wrfu fu ffiyff
l

lggG itGms Language rd with descriPtions of size, length, weight, days, age, speed
iig sills Sequencing; recognising the concept of rdr in length, size, umr, weight, l
days of the week, age, speed; recognising Ur of meanings
g 1-12
l

ll pre-intermediate / ], as the activity involves using some mr

difficult
vocabulary than usuaI, and recognising the meanings of the concepts they

r resent.

TimG 15- 20 minutes

llti rr of the worksheet for each student. Have three objects ready for
l=
step 2.

ln class
lllustrate the concept of rdr. call three students out and stand them in order
of height. say They are i order of size. Marcos is the tallest d Maria is the
sma llest.

Put three objects in row and illustrate the concepts in the Same Way. Say. They
are i order of size. The bag is the biggest d the il is the smallest.

Hand out the worksheet. Ask the students to complete it in pairs. Tell them to ask
the meaning of words they don't know, and collect these words the board.

When the pairs have done as much as they , ask them to find thr
ir
d mr answers.
i!-
5 Finally, ask for answers.

srs 1 tiny - little - large rmus
2 millimetre cetimetre - metre - kilometre
)> li shorl tall gigti
-
4 weightless - light * heavy overweight

5 five - svt - twt- , thirty-four
6 yesterday - today - tomorrow - t week
7 lWd - Wedesday Friday - Saturday ;
early time - late
9 dawdlig - slow t'ast high-speed
l0 t rawl walk - ru - spt il

.=

72 Puchta/Williams I Teaching Yg Learners to Think I @ lig Ld8ugs

L

: Wfur fu* rgfut * rffi# I Worksheet

I_
-
Write the words i order from smallest to largest, earliest to latest and
slowest to fastest.
t_
:; tiny | rmus I little I lrg

t_
-
t_
_- metre I centimetre I kilometre I millimetre

t_
-
t-
r
gigantic I short I tall I tiny

heavy I l]ght I overweight l weightless

twenty-one I thiy-four I seventeen I five

tmrrw I yesterday I next week I today

Wednesday I Saturday I Monday I Frid

early I late | time

fast I high-speed I slow I dawdling

ru | walk I crawl I sprint

Puchta/Williams l Teaching Young Learners to Think l Helbling Languages 73

 chrldren who have learnt to attention r pleasure to teach, but
mr importantly child's ability to focus attention has great vaIue for the
development of their mind. Frm rl age chilclren need to lr how to
focus their attention as key basic cognitive skil! without which umr of
so-called higher-order skills (e.g. comparing, differentiating, categorising and
logical-critical thinking)cannot developecj. lack of abiIity to focus attention
can lead to haphazard and unfocused responses and inabiIity to concentrate.

chiIdren these days r easily distracted the fast-moving pictures that

r mm rt of their sensory environment. He|ping students to focus their
attention in spite of those environmental challenges is key task for you as
teacher. Children need to lr how to gather data using their senses
-
looking, listening d sensing accurately vr sustained period of time and
-
they have to lr to block out anything that might clistract them from doing
that. lf the lesson is challenging and fu, stuclents will mr
rri to'
that ri'; however they aIso need to develop the ability to concentrate when

task is Iess jl.

When Irig foreign language, focusing 's attention is important skilI,

and that is required in rdr to observe d unclerstand things about the

I
w lgug. without, for ml, noticing the importance certain structure
l-
I has meaning r another StrUcture, students t learn how tO rSS
themselves u rately nd m m u icate m ingfu ly.
I

EI so this section contains some activities that will help

ur students lr how to
focus their attention effectively.

1-1
t-
:l
/J
]
j;la:
::j:
l,]] ::r'
-,*- ,, _
,; f*, ffiT
|"rVU l!{,fl!iY ? r
2 9,1t, gE\. !, yt
Y#
3f,--

lgg fs Vocabulary revision; asking for quantities; answering questions

hiig skills Memorising; focusing perception and attention; counting
gG 6-10
ll Beginner / 1 upwards

im 10-15 minutes
lG]ti Use Worksheet or Worksheet ; make per student.

l class
Hand out of the worksheet to each student and askthem to put it face
down on their desk, Make sur the students know the words for the items of
clothing (r shapes, depending which of the two worksheets you have chosen).
Tell them that they look at their worksheet as soon as you clap ur hands.
Tell them they should look at the drawings carefully so that they will able to
answer questions about them ltr. Tell them they should put their worksheets
face down the desk when you clap ur hands second time.
Clap ur hands. Give ur students about 15 seconds to look at the worksheet
before you clap ur hands again. I
Ask them for the umr of objects in the drawings, e.g. How m caps are
there? write the students'answers on the board. Tellthem to turn the worksheet

r and check, then write the correct umr in the beneath.
5 rr in the same way, asking for the other objects in the picture.

srs : 9 caps,4 T-shirts,2 pairs of jeans, skirts,2 belts, dresses,4 jumpers
: circles, squares, 4 triangles, 5 rectangles =

uariations 1 Depending the level of ur class, other structures to used with the
same activity/worksheet could :
l think there are ... (skirts).
Do you think there are more (belts)than (dresses)? -Yes, l do/No, l d't.
l think there are as m/mr/fwr ... th ... . :
4
l'm t sure if there are as m/mr/fwr .., th ... .

.4

:
-

]
76 Puchta/Williams I Teaching Yug Learners to Think l Helb|ing Languages
 Create worksheet for set of words you would like ur students to revise.
Select words for objects that easily drawn. l frm, draw various
numbers of each of these objects, outlines l, in different sizes, rlig
each other.
The students work in pairs. They each do drawing with lots of objects they
know the ms of and asktheir partnerto rememberthe objects in the same
Way.

iltG Robert Fisher, author of Teaching Children to Think, has stressed that focusing
attention and rti is of the most important basic thinking skills that
children need to lr while they r young in rdr to able to develop so-
called higher-order thinking skills later in life.

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l Helbling Languages 77

 *w ww r fu*? l Worksheet

j
l

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tr
--



r_

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-
_
capS t-shits
pairs of
s ki rts belts dresses

ieans JUrrS

lE
d

/ Puchta/Williams
r-
I Teaching Young Learners to thln rO Helbling Languages l-

l

t-
l
qUares triangles rectangles

t--
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Puchta/Williams I TeachingYoung Learners to Think I @ Helbling Languages 79

 q&r, rs d tr&?s

lgg IGs Simple umlrs; asking for and specifying quantity

of things; shapes
hiig sills Noticing; thinking laterally; counting
:
g
ll Post-beginner l 1

im 5-10 minutes =
rrIi the worksheet for each student.

l class
lf ur students don't know the words square,
circle d triagleyet, introduce
t
d practise them.
the first figure from the worksheet onto
the board. Tell students to look
at it- Ask How m squOres are there? lt is likeIy
that some students will
immediately call out answer. lf their answer
they should take their time and think bit.
is other than 14, tell them that tr
)
_) Get students to write their answer t to
the figure their worksheet. tr
4 Ask individual students what thir answers
r:
How m squares are there? Then,

Who agrees with (James') swr?
what do others think?

Fr each'wrg'swr, ask (reasonably
self-confident) student to come to
the front and demonstrate to the class how
they got to their answer. But don't I

call out of the students who have got

the right answer.
point out the'right'answer
and give students bit of time to figure it r
out. sk
student who got to that answer to explain
to the c|ass how they got there.

-7
rr in the same way with the other figures
the worksheet.
a
-l

slrs 14 squares
J
circles
7 1 triangles

EJ
llotc l step 5, it is vr important that you show -
non-.iudgemental attitude to the
frequently, tencl to laugh
-,, about what they
::::: as
perceive _::::: ":ryers.,Students
other students'wrong swrs. so make it
d
J
clear here that makilng
mistakes is very important step towards getting
it ri8ht.
_
r}_

r.E

80 Puchta/Williams Teaching Yug Learne t

<
]
i|< | Helbling Languagei ra:=
 %{*% ww**% ffi rr* l Worksheet
How m squares / circles / triangles are there? Write the numbers.

answer:

answer:

answer:

L:- Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l @, Helbling Languages ,|

"; tlR trlS

:
,-i r I

."
l
'

lgg fs Decoding meaning; text rstruti J

Tllining sills Dealing with ambiguity; hypothesising d verifying hypotheses about mig;
using context and mime to decode mig; sequencing l

Age
1I Post-beginner / 1 upwards .=

imG 0-40 minutes

rrti Worksheets and for each student. Decide if of the key words of the

action story need to pre-taught.

l class
F
lf necessary, pre-teach key words with the help of pictures r mim. N.B. it is not
necessary to pre-teach all the words, as it is of the advantages of IheTotal
Physical Rss method used in this activity that studerlts will abIe to guess

the meaning of sentences in holistic way, and graduaIly lr to verify their
hypotheses about mig,
2 Get ur class to stand in circle.

Say the action story below sentence sentence. Each time, say the sentence and
rr oUt appropriate action at the same time. lnvite ur students to imitate

ur actions. After three r four sentences, start again from the beginning.

Say: Do this:
You're walking to the train station. Walk the spot.
h
Your bag's very heavy. Act as if rrig heavy bag as you
r walking.
You're hot d tired. Wipe ur forehead. Look tired.
You sit dw the bag. etc.
You foll asleep.
Suddenly you wake up.
You hear something i the distance.
You jump up, pick the bag up d ru.
late! The trai has left.

r=

82 Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l Helbling Languages -

.
 Repeat the story with the sequence of actions described several times. Wh you
notice that ur students rr out the actions without problems, give them
instructions again in the same rdr, but this time do t rr out the actions
mr.
Gradually lgi to jumble the rdr of the instructions. The students rr them
Ut.

Hand out Worksheet . Start saying of the sentences g 2 - but not

the first - and ask students to point to the respective itur. rr like
this with the other pictures, in jumbled rdr.
Now read the sentences from the action story in the rrt order to ur
students and have them umr the pictures:
You're walkig to the stti.
Your bag's very heavy.
You're hot d tired.
You Joll asleep.
Suddenly you wake up.
You hear something i the distance.
You jump up, pick the bag up d ru.
late! The train has left.

sr
[a


Hand out Worksheet . Ask the students to look at the graphic representation
of the first sentence. Read the sentence together with the students. Repeat
the sentence and elicit the language frm them. When you have repeated the
sentence several times, ask them to hear ur voice saying it i their head.
proceed like this with the rest of the sentences.

Ask them to write the sentences.

]aotG The idea of working with action stories is based James Asher's Lrig
thr Language through tis. You find action stories with photocopiable
worksheets i Gtjtr Gerngross and Herbert Puchta's Do d IJnderstand: 50
ti Stories for Yug Learners.

Puchta/Williams I TeachingYoung Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages

 lrt:?;.$ryr %?"*,,,,ri';:::i, l Wo rksh eet
Listen. Nmr the pictures in the correct order.

zzz
Q -_
(-tJ

/

,

-!
I

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l

!!
lr

l!

84 Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l @ HeIbling Languages

=
ts
 -: ": l worksheet
you 'read'the story?

1Y rW t_ th_ St- .

2Y r h

h and t

4Y the

5 Y_f,

S _ W- u_.

7Y h S i_ th_ d

8 Yu -, th

9 has l

Puchta/Williams I TeachingYoung Lrr5 to Think I Helbting LarrgtlaS 5



;t*
.:ai 8;i

ffiw*- %

lgg Is Fu with song lyrics

hilig si|ls Focusing attention; applying rhythmic patterns
to text
gG 10-12
ll lmtr / 2 upwards
imG 5 minutes
r]ti select two songs that ur class have
already lrd; perhaps Birthday
song , d Gr Bottles as song as
.

ln class
]
I

1 Revise the two Songs with your class,

sing song first and then song .
2 ASk the students t Say the lyrics
of song , keeping to the rhythm of
Then the song.
tap out, together with the class, the
rhythm of song . Ask the students
try to sing the lyrics of song to the to !
rhythm of song (and later, vice versa). !

llotGs We learnt this frm MIario Rinvolucri.

Fr rg of modern and original
songs foryoung students, see Grammar
d Raps, Puchta, Devitt, Gerngross Songs
and Holzmann. l

-l

_

--
-E
-
_E
_

--
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--

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86 PUchta/WilliamS --
l Teaching Yug Learners i i Helbling Languages
r the last two decades r so, the skill of memorising seems to have received
less recognition as important educational activity than it did in the past, Rote
lrig, for ml, is often regarded as something that should avoided,
as if learning m had some kind of negative effect on the child's abilitv to
think, r develop their problem-solving skills and creativity.

hr is lr evidence, though, that developing one's mmr is essential part

of learning, and good mmr skills r required to develop the full potential of
our lris. The very rss of thinking depends largely our ability to hoId
information available i ur minds to look at it frm dlfferent angles d to
combine it with ur prior knowledge (which again wouldn't illl without
having good working mmr). Such lilitis all involve mmr skills, and r
essential for drawing conclusions, solving problems or creating new things, the
most important abilities that education needs to help develop in child.

Developing mmr skills depends the ability to focus attention, organise

irrformation, make associations between the w and the known, chunk the
information we need to rmmr (it ls easierto rmmr twelve_digit umr
if we break it up into four groups of three digits), practise and consolidate r
revise.

Children with poor mmr skills will not lr successfully d they will find it
difficult to think coherently and follow thought process through to its logical
nclusion.

ltisapparentthatgoodmemoryskillsareessentiaIforlearningaforeignlanguage
successfully. This is most evident in the fact that not rmmrig new words
is frustrating experience wh trying to communicate i frig language.

So hr are some activitres that will help ur students develop those all-
important mmr skills,

7
 lggG itGms Vulr practice in content r chosen teacher
iig sills Training the mmr; thinking of strategies to rmmr items
Age
ll Post-beginner / 1 upwards
imG 'l5 minutes; this makes useful ending to lesson
preparation Use the worksheet. Alternatively there are umr of books with pictures for
language lrig. rr of the worksheet for each ir of students. lf
ur students will cutting up the cards, bring in supply of scissors. Schools
m like to cut the worksheets up and laminate them for future use.

ln cIass
Put the students in pairs. Give each student umr: 1 or 2. Hand out the
worksheet. Askthem to cut the pictures so that each item is separate. Then
spread the pictures out their desks. A|ternatively you can cut them fr the
lesson.
Go through the names of the items together, saying: itt ...; Show m ...;
etc.

Explain that they will have to rmmr what is there. Ask them in pairs to say
each m in English together till they memorise them all.
Ask 1s to raise their hands, then 2s raise their hands. Tell 2s to shut
their eyes. No 1s rm one (or more) picture(s) and hide it/them. No 2s then
look at the rmiig pictures and say which is missing.
5 Repeat this rdur with 2s removing the pictures.
6 The process repeated several times. Ask how m wr correct, and see if
they improve as they practise the game.
Finally ask the students to turn the pictures so they r facing down and rll all
the items they started with.
Then ask them to tell you how they remembered them. Wr there
interesti ng mmr strategies? E.g. m m ics, making associations,
visua lisation.

uriti This used for word classes, .g. food, sports, colours, transport, !
fu r itu re, clothes, etc. _

!
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-
Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l Helbling Languages
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rirri 3 ?,i.42r l Worksheet
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Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages 89

 W

1gg foctls vulr related to content r chosen the teacher

iig sills Training the mmr; matching
Age
ll Post-begin er l 1 u pwa rds

im 15- 20 minutes
]Glti Make copies of worksheet r ; for each group of three students.
cut
them into squares so that they r identical when face down.

l class
1 Divide the class into groups of three. Give each gru set of pictures and words.
2 Ask them to match the pictures with the words and to make sure they know
all
the names. They test each other in their groups pointing to picture r
word and the other student saying the m.
Tell them to turn the cards r and shuffle them so they r all face down

the desks, spread out, not overlapping.
li the game demonstrating with gru. Each student in turn turns
vr two cards. |f the picture and word nratches they keep the pair and turn
r
another two cards. lf they don't match they turn them back r. The wir
is
the who wins most pairs.
They rt the game severaI times and see if they improve.

llotG This game is rmll called lmism, lut we have used the m pairsIo
make it lr to the students what it is. This gm used different
occasions to practise different lulr sets.

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90 Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to |

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Puchta/Wiliiams | ig Young Lrrs to hit l ( Helbling Lan8uage5 91

 rs l Worksheet

trousers socks dress shirt :

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Tshirt sweater jacket I

coat
:
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vest shoes
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sandals
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92 uchta/williams Teaching trr Lrrs to t
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TttinK l Helbling ranguages
 %wffi %

lgg fs ruiti and intonation

hiig sills N4mr strategies: rhythm and rhm

Age
1l Post-beginner / 1 upwards
im 5-10 minutes
prearation Select song suitabIe fr ur class.

ln class
1 Pre-teach words of the |ris that the students might not understand.
2 Say the first li of the song in the rhythm that it has when it is sung.

Get ur students to repeat the li i the same way. rr |ike this with the
other lines of the song until the class can confidently recite the lyrics.
Ask ur class to form irl. Walk rud inside the circle, and hum the
melody. Get the students who are r you to pick up the melody and hum along
with you. Walk around the circle several times, until final|y all the students r
humming the melody.
5 Start singing the song. Get the students to gradually join in.
6 When they sing the song well, tell students to dr the last word i each line
and sing it using their ir voice only and rl it with, e.g., sig their
fi ngers.

Depending the class, ur could proceed like this with the last but word,
then get them to additionally drop the firstwords in each line etc.

]lotc we learnt the idea of getting students to pick up tune d hum along with the
thr from Angela rk.

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l @ Helbling Lan8uages 93

tr

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lgg fGs Nouns; language of interaction

ilfig sills Developing mmr strategies
g -12
ll Post-beginner l 1 upwards
im 15*20 minutes
pleparation Ask each student to rig three coins, three paperclips
ancl three buttons to class.
Bring some Spares d rg of objects to
demonstrate the activity.

ln c|ass
Demonstrate the activity with student; sit
down at desk with the student, and
ask the other students to stand around the
two of you, forming circle. you have ]
three coins, three paperclips and thr pencil
sharpeners the desk i front of
yoU.
I
put three of the objects
in sequence in front of you, so that the
student
See e,g,: coin coin
- - PaPerclip. TelI the stuclent in front of you to rmmr the j
SeqUence wel|, starting from left to right (from
their perspective).

=
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J
-l

,-

Tell the student that they look at the

J
sequence as long as they want. wh
,-
they think they rmmr it, they should
nod their head (r simply tell
YoU that theY r readY). Then r u the sequence
l
of ljts. it is now the
student's turn to say the objects in exactIy
the same rdr as they saw them, frm -l
left to right.
-
,d
J
J
-, 1

94 Puchta/Williams Teaching Yug Learne to-Tink| Helbling I-rugs

-
I
 When the student believes they have completed the sequence correctly, rmv
the r so that they check.
lf the student's reconstruction of your sequence was correct, repeat as described
above, but this time use fur objects. rr like this, adding mr obl'ect
each time the student's reconstruction is accu rate.
6 Ask ur students to do the activity in pairs, using the objects they brought to
cl ass.

uariations lnstead of showing sequence of objects, you can:

1 'read it out'to the student without them seeing it. The student reconstructs
the sequence in the same way as described above, remembering it with the
help of their auditory mmr.
2 blindfold the student (r ask them to close their eyes) and ask them to fid
out about ur rrgmt feeling it with thir fingers. Then they say the
sequence as described above.

ilotc This technique is llt for facilitating the students' mmr skills, especiaIly if
carried out repeatedly over period of time. We learnt it frm N4ichael Gridr at
workshop in Winzenburg, Grm.

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages 95

@

:,

fu fu *y?

lgg fGs Language of dsriti,. there is, there,re; prepositions of place: small, large,
to the lejt of, to the right of; vocabulary related to content r chosen the
teacher; listening skills J
iag skills Developing visual mmr skiIls, spatial awareness and direction; giving urt
l
nd systematic descri ptions I

g 1-12
l
l

1l Elementary / 2 upwards
im 10-15 minutes
prearation Select content r, d rt worksheet r use the worksheet provided, I

making for each student.

t=
l class
Pre-teach vocabulary that ur students will need to know. lf you choose the t
ml given hr, it may words like small, large, downstairs, upstairs, i
frt of, hid, widw, bush, pear tree, apple tree, flower bed, to the right of, to
l
the left of eIc.
Give each student of the worksheet. Ask them to look at the pictures
L
rfull, d try to rmmr them visually. This d in various ways.
They for example:
, look at of the pictures first, then close thir eyes, trying to see the picture t

in their mind's , then their eyes again, to mr their rmmrd

images with the s on the page etc. t
, tr the objects i the picture with their index finger and, while they r doing
so, tr d rmmr what the picture looks like.
l
Allow few minutes so that the students can memorise the pictures.
4 Ask them to close their eyes. Describe of the four pictures to them, e.g.:
l Thomas' house, there are three smoll windows downstairs d there's large
widow upstairs. l the garden hid the house there's flowerbed. There's large
bush to the right of the flowerbed. l the garden i front of the house there's pear
tree.

Ask them to their eyes and write Sophie's m under the picture of her house.

Ask the class to close their eyes again, and rr describing the other pictures

i the same way:
l Daniel's house, there are three small windows upstairs d there's large
widw downstairs. t the garden behid the house there's flowerbed. There
are small bushes to the right of the flowerbed. l the grd i frt of the house
lhere's apple tree,

96 Puchta/Williams I Teaching Yug Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages

 Ask them to their eyes, write Daniel's m udr the picture of his house,
and th close their eyes again.
l Megan's house, there are three small windows downstairs d there's large
window upstairs. l the grd hid the house there's flowerbed. There are
smoll bushes to the right of the flowerbed. t the grd i front of the house
there's pear tree.
Ask them to open their eyes, write Thomas's m udr the picture of his house,
and then c|ose their eyes gi.
l sophie's house, there are three small windows upstairs d large window
downstoirs. l the grd hid the house, there's flowerbed d large bush to
the right of the flowerbed. l the grd i front | the house there's pear tree.

Ask them to their eyes d write N/egan's m udr the picture of her
house.
Fill, check their answers getting them to describe Sophie's (Daniel's etc.)
house to you. lt may helpful to write key language the board d help
them with pronunciation fr they give their descriptions, e.g.:

l Sophie's house there is ... u psta i rs

there are... downsta irs

l the grd behind the house there is ...

l frt of the house there are...

There is ,.. to the right of the ...

to the left oJ the ...

Ask students to put their worksheet face down the desk in front of them.
Describre of the pictures to them. students listen and say the m of the
respective ch ild.
Ask students to work in pairs. Each of them looks at the drawings. rtr
describes of the pictures to . says the m of the respective child.

slrc House ] Sophie's house

House2-Daiel'shouse
us-hms'shus
House4-Mega'shouse

ilt The activity facilitates paying attention to detail and choosing language carefully
i order to accurately describe what the students see or rmmr. This is skill
needed, for ml, i asking and telling the way.

Puchta/Williams i Teaching Young Learners to Think I

a Helbling Languages 97
 *.wfu fu w*w*? l Worksheet
Listen. Write the correct names under the pictures.

!]l\
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g Thomas Sophie Daniel

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98 Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l Helbling Languages

We live in space; i rm, home, town, wrld. All individuals need
rfr system with which they can understand and have some degree of
trl r the space they live in. Without this, they uld not live i social
world. Fr ml, we need to fid our way back home, m about in the
worId, build house, gr placesto meet people, drive cars.

lndividuals d to develop sense of position (where they r), distance (how

f, direction (left, right, u, down), proximity (closeness) and perspective, as
well as an understanding of two and three dimensions. At mr ml level,
the ability to imagine change in position of object or person, or in one's
own position, is of the basic building blocks of hypothetical thinking and
probIem solving. tr example, swrig the question'What if the turns
right?'requires skilIs of predicting, visualising, and hypothesising. l addition,
the ability to understand position i relation to sm else, i.e. to put oneself
in someone else's shoes and imagine the positions of oblects around them, is
important rt of higher-order thinking and decision making.

rl developed sense of spatial awareness lead to r grasp of

reality. lf they r ul to see relationships in space, children will have trul
locating events and objects in context, making it difficult to analyse situation
r rlm. Similarly if hildr see their surroundings l i egocentric ways,
i.e. in relation to themselves, and r unable to see them in relation to other
people they will have rfud difficulties in solving rlms.

The activities in this section involve working with different dimensions of spatial
awareness leading to high-order mental manipulation of concepts of space.

99
 ,
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l1gi
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lggG loctls Positions: leJt, right, tw, ot the d

hiig sills spatial awareness; recognising positions - right, teft- d transferring this to
pictorial representation ; problem-solving
gG -9 ]
1l lmtr / 2 upwards -.]

imG 20 minutes
lrti rr of the worksheet for each student.
J
l class I

Ask three students to come to front of the class and stand i rw. Teach the
|anguage: his right, her left, i tw, at the d.

2 Ask students to complete the worksheet.

f
J When they finish, ask the students to check anSWers in pairs. I

4 Drw the itur the board and, as c|ass, go through the steps of working
out the answers. scaffold the thinking processes, e.g.: what's the I
first m we
write dw? (It4ary's at the d) Which d? (Y| don't know.) , who's t to
Mary? (|ane's hr left.) So which d is Mary? eIc. -]

sG1 Paul - Kate - Susan - Peter - Jane Mary

U]iti This activity adapted and used thr occasions with different names

and positions. More advanced students cou|d rt similar problems for their
partners to solve.

al

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tr

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100 Puchta/Williams I Teaching Yug Learners to Thinkl Helbling Languages tr
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?r: ;:r{;i, l;,i,,ii; Wo rks h eet

Jane is at the im with hr friends. write their ms under their seats.
r is sitting at the end of the row. Jane js her left and on tr right. susan
is between peter d kate, paul is at the end of the rw,

Puchta/Williams I Teaching YUg Learners to Think l Helb|ing ranguages 10,t

l:

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::]:::]'i

. rl- - .r." ""F*_-_

,;i

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lggG IGs Prepositions of place: i frt of, hid, the right, the left; names of
buildings in town
hiig skills Orientation in space; directions; visualising position from within picture;
J
mentally rotating image in space
I

Age 9-12
ll lmtr / 2 upwards

im r two lessons of 0 minutes. (Exercise could done i second lesson.)

lG]ti rr of Worksheets d fr each student. t

! class
j
Teach vocabulary i Jrt of, hid, m right, m left.
) Tell students: it to your right. it to your left. it i frt of you. it
I
hid u.
) Ask individuals,. Who's your right? Who's your left? Who's hid you?
I
Who's i front of you?

Ask the students to tell you some names of buildings, .g. supermarket, tower,
l
post office, and write the words on the rd.

Give out Worksheet . Check the students understand the vocabulary: tower, shop,
park, hotel. a

Ask students to complete exercise 1. Ask the students to check their answers with
rtr. I

Ask them to do exercise 2, the first picture. They then find someone who has
drawn the same version of Tom and mr answers. a

Ask them to rt the rdur with the second picture, drawing different
version of m i the centre. I

Now ask students to work in pairs. They use Worksheet to draw their own
l of square with different buildings. They draw picture of Tom in the :
I

centre and ask their rtr where the buildings r, e.g.,. Where's the museum?
lt's behind m.
i
Ask them to swap partners and repeat this with someone else.
9 They tiu to change partners and repeat the procedure.
I

J
i

102 puchta/Williams I TeachingYoung Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages

 \

srs 1) m facing us: Tom has turned to his right:

The tower is behind him. The tower is his right.
The hotel ls his right. The hotel is i frt of him.
The shop is his left. The shop is behincl him.
The park is i frot | him. The park is his le|t,

2) Pic
,l
: Pic :
The tower is hid him. The tower is his left.
The hotei is his right. The hotel is hi| him,
The shoP is his left. The shop is i frt of him.
The park is i t'rt of him. The park is his riht.

Pic 2,. pic 4:

The tower is i front of him. The tower is ,l his right.
The hotel is his left The hote| is i t'rt of hit.
The shop is his right The shop is hid him.
The rk is hid him. The park is his left.

flote This activity was inspired Feuerstein's lstrumtl rihmt rgrmm.

Puchta/Williams | < hing Young Learners to Think | Helbling langUageS 10

 "{,;:z1?
?:t{::,{{;::"i l Worksheet
1 Look at the picture of Tom. Write i frt of him, behind him, his ight,
and his left in the blanks.
The twr is him.
The hote| is
The shop is

The rk is
l

Tom w turns right.

Finish the sentenGes. a
l

The twr is his

The hotel is
j
The shop is
j
The rk is

t
2 choose of the pictures of Tom for and for . Draw him like that i the
square each time. Now complete the sentences.
l

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The tower is The tower is ;
The hotel is The hotel is
The shop is The shop is ;
The rk is The rk is
;

104 =
Puchta/Williams I Teaching YoUn8 Learners to ltlink 1' ll,r Languoges
 ';rl'y|
i, :,,:|,:.r,,r,,::''' :,:,. :;,c,...,l,,",l' :" I WO rkS h eet
3 Now draw r w plan. Choose buildings for r plan. Draw one of the
pictures of m in the centre. Ask r partner where the buildings r in
relation to him.
Example: Whr the lgrd? - lt i frt of m.

supermarket toy shop

ice rm stall rilw station mUSeum post office

,l05
Puchta/WiIliams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l Helbling Languages
--r.

fu ;%ffiffi

lgg lGs Positions: t/ the left/right of, tw, behid, i front of, t to, her let't/
right, Jrt row, at the back

iig sills Understanding of spatial orientation; holding mr th piece of

information in the mind to solve spatial r|m; problem-solving skiIls
of systematically surveying the information, recognising information that is
irrlt, creating strategy, and checking solutions
g 1-12
[I Elementary / 2 upwards
J
I

im 0 minutes
prenaration rr of the worksheet for each student.

ln cIass
Make sur the students understand the phrases rd with position. Ask
student to stand up. Ask the class: 'Who is her right? Who is her left? Who is
i frt of her? Who is hid her? etc. Repeat this several times.

d out the worksheet. Tell students that they need to read the information and
write the names in the desks. ExpIain that they m find this difficult, d they i

will d to tackle it slowly d systematically.

When they have worked it for some time, tellthem to find rtr and work
together to soIve it.
Finally, work with the class to work out the solution. lf we r to teach thinking
strategies, it is important to model problem-solving strategy, e.g.:
What is the first piece | i|rmti have? ; Sus is i the frt row.
What is t? She is tw J d Peter.
Do we kw who is the right d who is the left? No we d't kw, so there
are two possibilities.
What is the t piece of iJrmti? D is to the right of J.
So where is J?
Continue in this way till the rlm is solved.

srs r) wh iteboa d
Peter Susa J D Richa rd
David ry Sarah D Fred
Ch ris D Cla ire l essi
2) 15

106 Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think ] i l|ig Languages

 /-',|rr?:ar'r'&,{z;?3
| !.| :|....,
|.|,,. | | | : I a | |, ,. | | :. |., "|
|. : |,.,| . |,,, |.'|.|'

','i{:
r;:l ;,.rr,|ir, {:r{,.:,r,y?,
l Wo rks h eet
Read the information.write the ms in the correct desks.

Miss Robeftson is arranging the seating in hr classroom. Susan is j the front

row. She js between Jane and tr. D ]s to the right of Jane and to the left of
Richard, r is behind Susan; they r good friends. r other friend Sarah
is next to hr. Srh has Don next to hr. D friend Frd is next to him. r
]s Dvid right. D ]s at the back next to her friend Claire, Claire js next to
Jessica, who is behind Frd. D has Anna hr left and ]s Chris'
right.

I]

2 How m children r in Miss Rrts class?

Puchta/Williams ] Teaching YoUng Learners to Think l (] Helbling LangUages -l07



]gg fss prepositions of place: tw,

t to, opposite, other side ol vocabulary of
buildings in town
hiig sills spatial orientation; recognising spatial orientation from
map; problem-solving
skills (surveying information given, planning Strategy,
checking soIutions). This
activity also involves recognising that solving the
rlm doesn't necessarily
involve using the information in the rdr in which it presented.
is
gG 10-12 :

J
1l Elementary / 2 upwards
im 0 minutes !
J
rlti of the worksheet for each student.
lf possible, bring in pictures of the different buildings i l=
town. lternatively,
draw some of the following pictures the board: bank,
post office,
chemist,aneWSagent,a8reengrocer,abutcher,abaker,aflorist,asupermarket,
station, bus stop.
i

l class l =

Revise the words opposite, tw, t to, the

other side. caIl students out
and stand them i rows. say: Maria is tw Gutr I
d y elc.
Revise names of shops, using pictures if available,
r simple board drawings as
bove. =
l

d out the worksheet. li that this is m of

town called Little rt.
Ask the students to read the sentences and write the L=
names ot the shops the
pla .

Tell them to mr answers with thr student

and work together to solve l=
remaining questions.
Go through the answers, modelling the problem-solving
strategies, e.g.: ;
What do we h to StOrt with? ( m, buildings,
bank.)
what is the first piece oJ ifrmti we use? etc.
;

-.F

108 Puchta/WilliamS 1eathing Young Learners to

l hikl @ Helbling Languages
srs

Ualiation The students could draw their w maps and create similar puzzles for their
rtnerS.

,l09
Puchta/Williams I Teaching Yug Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages
 Read the sentences and write the names of the buildings/places the
l.

The post office js next to the bank,

The butcher is opposite the post office. =

The baker is between the butcher and the florist.
}
The chemist is between the post office and the newsagent.

The florist is next to the supermarket.

The grgrr is opposite the supermarket.

The station ]s in Stat]on Road.

the other side of Station Road is park.

The bus stop is next to the greengrocer,

'Ieaching
1,10 Puchla/Williamb , Young Learners lo hik 1 "tg Lgug
 ryryyyx.lza}
7&,/}w.w/,w/}

Wffi fu-;-.*

lgg fs Language of instructions; directions,. rth, south, east, west; land features, e.g.
lake, d, hill, tree, rock, rui
Tninking sills Sense of direction (north/south/east/west, right/left); following sequence of
instructions map
g 1-12
ll lmtr / 2 upwards
imG 20 minutes
prearation Bring map to class, and compass if ssill. rr of the worksheet
for each student.

In class
Teach directions - North, South, East, West using ur compass or the compass
rose the m.
Hand out the worksheet. li to the class that they d to use the m i
the worksheet to find the treasure. Ask them what features they might find
m,. lake, hill eIc.

Ask them to complete the activity in pairs.

4 Fill ask for answers. N4odel the process of rhig the solution.

sr The treasure is udr the rocks.

uariation The students decide where the treasure is hidden and write their w
i stru ctio ns.

Puchta/Williams ] Teaching Young Learners to Think ,1-11

l Helbling Language5
J

ffimffi fu r%{ l Worksheet

Jill and have fd treasure map.
FoIlow the lnstructions and find the treasure.
whr is the treasure?
Draw line to show the route Jill and took.

j
]

:
t

:
l

:
I

f t 5qu5 *h. h qo th 5qu5 west till qu

'
t

LJr.. tlle pond. Nowgo fu uqiur., soutb to ruir. f

l
tu ,;qbt und qo t'ree 5qu5 west to th full.n kec.
Go ur rqr.u f,h to tl..,e !uk.. Go fu 5qu5 east und th. =
l

fuo squs *h. ritud *ulk for*u/d, f two m

i
uquuru. tsu ;u h7Jd. .r. i .
t

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think | Helbling ru,uug,

im is essential part of our everyday lives, we constantly need to rfr to the
point when things happened r will happen. We divide time up i arbitrary
way into seconcis, minutes, hours and so , so that we impose some order
our world rthr than live in chaos. This enables us to live in social world
and communicate with others about it. l this way we rri at place at
the same time as others, and plan when to leave home to arrive somewhere
punctually, hildr need to develop sound sense of time to trl and plan
their lives i rational way.

hr r umlr of different concepts involved in understanding time. These

include the standard ways of dividing time up, and the notion of speed, as well
as historical time: past, present and future. Understanding time also involves
appreciation of comparatives: faster and slower, longer and shorter time;
and also relative times such as lote, early, ot'ter, bet'ore l addition, there is the
need for understanding of how the sections of time r put together; i.e. how
seconds combine to form minutes, minutes combine to frm hours and so .
thr concept that is difficult for m people to grasp is sense of the actual
length of minute or hour. Also related to time is knowledge of how it is
measured and which instruments r rrit fr which aspects,

Those who have r grs of time tend to centred i the rst, and have
limited orientation towardsthe past orfuture. This lead to impulsiveness
and sense of instant gratification in wanting things at the present rather th
understanding the frequent need to wait. r grasp of time also lead to
difficulty in planning and organising one's day; leaving hmwrk till the last
minute, r not leaving enough time to arrive somewhere punctually, leaving
others waiting.

The activities in this section explore the ways in which time is divided up, and the
concepts of lo gr nd shorter time, as well as some of the voca bu la r associated
with time.

113
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lgg lGs VocabuIary of time: second, miut, hour, day, week, fortnight, mth, year,
century; longest d shortest; lgr than d shorter than; mrs
t
iig skills Concept of time and how it is divided up; understanding Iength of time,
comparing, ordering
!
Agc 7-10 J
1l Post-beginner / 1 upwards
a
J
TimB 0 minutes
rG]ti rr of the worksheet for each student. lf available, have Iarge
l

teaching clock with movable hands r digital teaching clock, and ldr.

ln class l
1 Distribute the worksheet.
2 Ask the students i pairs to ristrm words they know ut time, and l
write them in the big irl. Allow about five minutes for this part.
Ask students to tell you some of their words. Accept rsl response, j
if the link is loose.
Ask them what we measure time in. Give r two examples to get them I
started: miut, hour elc. use the clock d calendar to illustrate, otherwise
write times the board.
].

5 Ask them to complete exercise 2.

6 Ask for answers, starting with the shortest. As each student gives you an swr, 5
write it the board. Ask the class if they gr.
Ask the students to compleie exercise . Tell them they write umrs r
l
words. Do the first sentence together if necessary.
check nswers.
l
9 sk Which is lgr; mth or year? Which is shorter? N4odel the language:
mth is shorter than year. -
l
10 Ask them to complete exercise 4.
11 Ask the students to mr answers with rtr.

-j

=
114 Puchta/WilIiams I Teaching Young Learners to Think I Helbling Languages
srs 2) second minute hour day week fortnight month - year - century
) l There are 0 betondb in miut.
2 There r sixty minutes i / hour.
There r 24 hours in one day.
4 There r sv days in week.
5 There are -l2 mths in r.
6 hr are 100 yeors i tur.
4) l hour ib lgr 1h minute.
2 second is shorter th hour.
week is shorter th month.
4 year is lgr th month.
5 minute is lg,r Ih second.
6 month is shorter th r.

ll0tG The'circle map' used in part 1 is based on David Hyerle's hikig Maps.

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages 115

G--

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{-"ww:rui,-r
,. ,17,:li,|';
" ,?
* l Worksheet
1 Write words about'time'in the big circle.

* "

,l

2 write the words on the line below so the shortest is first

and the longest is
last.
:

month I day I second l r I minute

l

SHoRTEST
LoNGEST
:
Complete the sentences.

1 There r seconds i minute.

:

2 There r sixty minutes in

3 There are hours i one day.
4 There r sv days jn
5 months j year. =
6 There r i century.
=
.
4 write longer th or shorter th in the spaces.

1 hour is =
minute.
2 second is an hour.
week is

month.
4 r is month.
5 minute ]s second.
6 month is r ,

116 Puchtaiwilliams I Teaching VLlr r Helb|ing Languagei

 :
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lgg foclls How often/how m .,. you ...? ... times; numbers
i!fig skills U ndersta ndi ng time; esti mating

gG 9-12
luel Elementary / 2 upwards
im 20 minutes
preOalation Fr the first part of the activity, you need watch that indicates the seconds.

ln class
Tell the students that you r going to ask them to close their eyes for what they
believe is exactly minute. Ask them to focus on themselves l, and open their
eyes | when they individually believe that minute is over. They should
also raise their hands. Ask them to sit quietly and not disturb others after they
have opened their eyes. Tell them that you r going to write the board the
seconds that each of them has had their eyes closed.
Give signal that they should close their eyes. Stand r the board and watch
the class. Whenever someone opens their eyes, write the seconds on the board.
Signal to them nonverbally that they should keep quiet.
f
) When alI the students have finished, repeat the exercise.
4 Give the following (or similar) instructions and ask students to follow them:
Draw flower. Jum.
Say English st. d your ks.
Nm pet. Sing Old MacDonald.
Write English word with six letters. Whisper'Five fresh Jish for Frk'.
Write English word starting with . Take off your shoes d put them
gl.

When the students have had enough practice so that they follow the
instructions even in random rdr without rlm, write them the
board.
Write the following language the board and practise questions with the class
referring to the actions above.
How m ... ? How often ... ?
How m ... u .., i, miut? .,. times.

Ask student to come to the front. Tell them that you r going to ask them to

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Yu8 Learners to Think l Helbling Languages 117

 do action frm the board and they should do it lots of times verv fast.
l

Ask them, e.g.:

How m pets you m i miut? or
How m times you take off d put your shoes i miut? I

h the student does the action. The class coUnts slowly frm ] to 60, and you
or student u have nominated calls out Sloplwhen the minute is r. i
J
,10
Do the activity with several students. Depending the level of your class, you

m want to follow this up with the students doing the activity i pairs,
m irl
of the following lessons.

]lotcs Depending the Ievel of ur class, yoU m want to keep the two question
categories apart and practise l category at time.

The idea of students'inner timing of minute is from N4aria l\4ontessori. The
second part of the activity we have learnt frm GL]nter Gerngross.
=,


.


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puchta/williams
-
118 I Teaching young Learners ti l Helbling LangUages
 && 8 ** &**.*
vr8 ffiffi ffir tr ?ffirl

]gg fs More th, less th, same as; vocabulary of time: second, miut, hour, day,
week, mth, year; half, quarter, numlers including high numbers

iig skills Knowledge of the mts of time and the way these are related;
understanding the concepts of greater, less and same; mathematical
miu lation
g 10-12
ll lmtr / 2 upwards
imG 20 minutes
prearation rr of the worksheet fr each student.

ln class
Revise vocabulary associated with time. sk What do we m;ur time i? EliciI
second, miut, hour, day, week, mth, year.
Ask: How m months ore there i year? ls lv mths mr th year? ls
it less than year? N4ake sure the students understand mr th d less th.
What about 12 mths? (lt's the same as year.)

Hand out the worksheet. Ask students to complete it individually. Then mr

answers with rtr.
Finally ask fr answers and write them the board as the students give them to
U.

srs 1 Thirteen months is mr rh r.

2 Sirl1 betondb ib /fie \l \ minule.
t Hal[ hour i, lexx lh lirly miul,
4 day is mr th twenty hours.
5 Half r is more th four months.
6 quarter of hour is less th twenty minutes
7 Twenty months is less th two 15.
hundred weeks is less th two year5.
9 thousand days is less th three years.
10 Half minute is the sm as thirty seconds.
11 Seventy-two hours is less th four days.
'l2 Three hundred minutes is mrr th four hours.

Ualiati0n mr advanced class can work in pairs to make up similar problems. They
swap these with another pair who answers them.

]lotc This activity was inspired Reuven Feuerstein's lnstrumental rihmt

rgrmm, m pora l Relations.

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Yug Learners to Think l Helbling Languages 119

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q & i r;:,,;1,|,
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write mr than, less than or
,,,"} the sm as in the blanks.

/1
:?
' 1 Thirteen months is year.
;_
,,,]
l, t|.:
{.l {-:J 2 Sixty seconds is minute.

3 Half hour is sixtv minutes. '1

4 day is twenty hours.

5 Half r is four months,

6 quarter of hour is twenty minutes.

7 Twenty months is two years.

hundred weeks is two years.

9 thousand days is three years.

i} 10 Half minute is thirty seconds.

11 Seventy-two hours is four days.

12 hr hundred minutes is four hurs.

])'
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120 Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages

 *
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lgge fGs Vulr associated with time, and names of wrd classes
aig skills Categorising; recognising how words r related in word classes; using
diagrammatic representation fr sorting; concepts associated with
time (divisions of time, measurements of time; different times of day;
seasons; lateness and earliness)
g 1-12
ll Pre-intermediate / 1 upwards
imG 20 minutes
prenaration of the worksheet for each student.

l class
Ask students to ristrm words connected with time. Build up
mind map of these the board.
Hand out the worksheet. Ask the students to work in pairs. Explain that
they r going to sort the words into five groups and give each group
m. Allow enough time for pairs to discuss their solutions.
Ask for suggested answers for each irl. lf there r disagreements
ask them to say why they have put the words there. Listen to alI
suggestions.
Fill ask for suggestions for labels. Write them all up the board.
Ask them to tell you which is the best label and why. There r several
possible answers.

srs Seasons: spring, summer, utum, vlitr

Things that measure time: watch, clock, stopwatch, sundial
Times of dayl parts of the day: mrig, ftr, evening, night
Punctuality: early, lote, prompt, punctual
How time is divided up: second, miut, hour, day

ll0tG The idea for this activity came from Reuven Feuerstein's tstrumtl
rihmt rgrmm.

,l2"|
Puchta/Williams I TeachingYoungLearnerstoThink l @ HelblingLanguages
 l
?t
y|':,,,,.{:}'{{3'y, l Wo rks h eet
l
These are all words to do with time. sort them into groups of four
l
d
write them in the circles. Give each gr m.

hur I autumn I clock I night I s

Summr I early I mrig I winter I sundial prompt evening
I
I I
minute I spring I stopwatch t late I
-

I
I

122 Puchta/WiIliams | hig Young Learrler, T''lnr i"l,g L"",
N4any partsof ur lives r bound u wrth umlrs, and understanding
of numerical concepts is fundamental to pIaying active part i society,
Understanding numbers is mr than simple arithmetic; it involves generating
concepts of quantities, cledLrcing relationships between things, measuring, using
relevant information, comparing, and deducing, ifrrig and generating rules.

key lmt in numerical thinking is being able to rgis patterns.

Recognising umr sequence, for ml, entails, identifying pattern,
working out the changes that ur from to the next, seeing principles,
generalising frm the principles, and predicting the next in the sequence.
thr important skill is estimating as it helps to develop sense of quantity.
Without this we would lost in m situations i daily life from not knowing
how much paint to buy to paint rm, for ml, to not being able to l
the time needed to actually rr out the task.

Numrs rmt much of ur thinking; thus numerical concepts and other

aspects of thinking rl. problems involve manipulating umrs,
and m of the decisions we make entail understanding the consequences of
umrs; what to u, how much to buy, sharing out sweets, how muh to sell
something fr, setting up business. We also need numbers to understand and
rrd information like weights, age r temperatures.

The activities in thls section involve m aspects of umrs, including mr

playful ones. They include recording information, guessing quantities, playing
umlr games, and solving puzzles.

123
 LggG foctts Talking about height and weight; numbers
iig sltills Estimating; comparing; drawing conclusions
Age 8_10
[l post-beginner l 1 upwards
im 10_20 minutes, depending on the umr of students in
ur class
preparation Fr this activity you will need tape measure fixed the
walt to measure
children's height, and scales to check their weighi. Fr the upside
down game in
step ], write some numbers cards, big enough so all
students i ur c|ass
easily see them. the worksheet fr each student. cut it in
half.

ln class
Play variouS gms to revise numbers from 1 to'l50. Examples:
what's the t umr?
say number; students quickly have to say the next umr.
What's the previous umr?
say umr; students quick|y have to say the previous
umr.
you read it upside d?

Start with card. Show it brief|y to your class, but hold

it i such way that
the students can only see it upside down. Get them to call
out the umr_
Stand up or clap your hands

Tell students that you'll say umr. Whr your

umr contains '7',
theY should stand uP; whenever it contains ',1', they
should clap their hands.
(You do m variations of this.)
Back writing (if your students' culture permits)

Ask students to work in pairs. student turns their back

to student . student
uses A's back as 'board'. They first'clean'the rd ( giving
them nice
back rub), then they'write'one of the numbers (using their
index fig As
back. has to guess the umr; and then they swap
roles.
Give each student of the ur half of the worksheet. =
Get them to guess
their own height and their weight. Give them minute for =
that.
Ask students to Say what they think their height and weight
is. lf necessary, write =
ts
language prompts the board:
l think rm (149) m tall.
l'm probably (9) kg. .

124 PUchta/Williams 1 hig Young Learners to hik l Helbling LangUages -

g
 When students say what their guesses
r, comment on them comparing
guesses with what others have their
said, for example:
h' that's interesting, You think you're
... cms. That's taller than James thinks he
thinks he's ... ms. is.

Use the measuring tape and the scales

to check children's height and weight.
Then get them to note their w rrt
figures the worksheet. They
mill around and ask otherstudents fortheirweight then
and height, and note down
other students' names, weights d heights
on their worksheet.
m, how tall are you?
How m kilos are you?
6 collect the worksheets.
7 Repeat the activity after, say, few
months using the lwr half of the
worksheet.
ilI Although this is at first guessing activity,
students will gradualIy lr to use
evidence as basis for their
8UeSSeS. They will Start mrig their own
and weight with others', and draw their height
conc|usions frm the information.

Puchta/Williams l Teaching Young Lrik 1 G) Helbling Languages -l25

l

*fu ?tq{;3. ,t!:i;;|? l Wo rks h eet

Name:

How tall are ? How m kilos r ?

Some of my classmates:

Nm Height Weight

Name: Date:

l
-

Some of my classmates:

Nm Height Weight l-
-l

l
-l

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.
126 PUchta/Williams I Teaching YUg Learners to lhrnk . Helbiing LangUa8es f
 |,;"Yi':'|,'::',|,|,.|. | i I l,,, : |, 1 |,.).
l.!,;),;}i";.&h,

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. W#

1ggG foctls 1alking about quantity: numbers

iig sills Estimating; comparing, checking solutions; drawing conclusions
gG 6-10
ll Post-beginner / 1 upwards
TimG 10-15 minutes
Fr this activity you will need quantities of various objects in
different containers,
rmti
e.g. pebbtes in bucket, Sweets i jar, tennis balls in shopping
bag etc-
maximum about 0 of type of object,
the worksheet for each student,

ln class
1 Revise umrs.
Show students e.g. bucket with some pebbles in it. sk: How
m pebbles are
2
there i the bucket? guess?
to m
write down all the students'guesses the board. Then ask student
to the f rt of the class and count the pebbles,
if you Iike,
4 rr like this for some time, using thr objects and tirs
the students
5 Hand out of the worksheet, for each student. k sure
Then
know what they have to do and understand the language on the worksheet,
ask them to put their worksheets face down the desk in
front of them,
guesses for
Explain that you will only give them about 15 seconds to make their
both pictures. say that there is way they make precise counts. Tellthem
of
that you r curious about whose guesses get closest to the rl umrs
objects.
Tell students to turn their worksheets r, and give them about ]5 seconds
to
to finish,
write down their guesses. Then say: Stop!Give them about 5 seconds
make
They then have to put their pens/pencils on the desks so they t
cha nges.

Ask students to count the numLrers and write them down thir
worksheets,

srs ) 12 triangles / 19 squares / 17 circles

26 of them are wearlng
Bl Th"r" r 2 peopIe the beach. 5 of them r wearing hat /
-1

sunglasses / 1 of them r lying in deckchairs

to thir
ua]iation Tell students to make up similar puzzles for each other and give them
rtners.

"l27
P".htr^,v,,llrmS t f"* Young Learners to Think l ( llig Languages
 J
_-l

w {wffiw W l Worksheet I
How m are there? Write down r guesses.
I
1

2 Then check, d write the real numbers.

I
guesses: rl numbers: I
triangles tri ng les
Squares SqurS I
circles circles
I
I
I
I
I
I
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v

I
I
I
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}
guesses: The rl numbers:
people r wearjng hat people r wrig hat
people r wearing sunglasses people r wearing sunglasses
people r lying i deckchajrs people r lying jn deckchairs }

128 Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages lF

lgg lolts Numbers
iig skills This is challenging activity, rquirig students to know the rdr of numlers i
English and to know their three times table well. They will need to trt
the gm, which requires keeping two rules in their heads.
Age 9-12
ll Post-beginner l 1 upwards. Fr mr advanced students, insist they move faster,
r give them mr difficult umr to wrk with, e.g. seven.
Timc 5-] 0 minutes
Plea]ation You might like to write up prompt sheet, to help you catch mistakes.

l class
Explain to the class they r going to play umr gm. Ask them to say
umlrs i rdr along the rw: as u point to the individuals, student 1 says
, studenl2 two etc. until they get the idea of umrig in rdr.
Now explain that every time the umr divided three they have to say
buzz istead. Start umrig again to demonstrate:
student 1
student 2 two
Student buzz eIc.
Now ask vr to stand up. Students say the umrs i tur: two buzz
etc. lf someone makes mistake they are out of the game and sit down.
Now explain that as well as saying buzz,they must say fizz lf the umr contains
, eg. 1,2, 0. lf the umlr is divisible thr as well as containing
they say fizz-buzz.

fizz-buzz, four, five, buzz, sv, eight, buzz, t, lv, buzz, fizz,
E.g.,. , two,

furt, buzz ...

Ask them to stand up and play the gm again. lf someone makes mistake
they r out of the game and sit down. Continue till you have wir r several
win rs.

uariations This done with umr the students know the game. lt
makes useful 5- r 10-minute activity at the end of the lesson.
You might like to tell the students to shout out when they hear mistake, too.

llotG This is based traditional English game

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages 129

 I

Jj I

I
]gg loctls Numbers; () mr than, _ less th, t to
iig sltills Analysing information given systematically; finding strategy; making logical
ded uctions; checking sol utions
I
g 1*12
I
ll Elementary l 2 upwards
TimB 15 minutes
I
prearation rr of the worksheet fr each student.

ln class I
Hand out the puzzles, d ask the students to rd the rlms and try to solve
them. I
lf they can't solve them, ask them to talk to another student to work it out
together. I
Ask fr solutions. Ask sm with the rrt solution to explain to the class
how they worked it out. I

Answers l\ l ll bt rd - goals, I
2 | bt oted ls,
Sue scored 2 goals.
4 Mike stoted 5 goals_
5 Sm scored goals.
J
6 Wi|l scored 1 goal.
2) 1 Joan gv away 2 sweets.
2 gave away SWeetS. I
) The rdr is llr Black, h.,lr White,
,|r Gr, Mr rw, (r exactly the opposrte,

I
rw, Mr Gr, Mr White, Mr Black).
l\4r
Hint. First u fid that r rw and lr Gr don't live t to r Black,
so N4r Biack l has neighbour and must at one end of the rw.
has to Iive next to N4r White,
Then, Mr White doesn't live t to r rw, so he must live next to tr Gr.
so r Brown is at the other end of the row.
I
4) Simon is 4.
Freddy is 2.
Stephanie is 6.
I
l=
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-t

10 Puchta/WiIliams I Teaching Yug Learners to Think l Helbling Languages .'

 l;,'|,,;,;: ;.1;';,',,,,,,::.;1,.;'.1;;,,
l WO rkSh eet
work t the answers.

Tom, Jane, Sue, Mike, Sam andWjll played game of

football. Mike scored 2 mr goals than Sam. Sam scored
mr goal than Sue. Jane scored mr goals than
Sam.Tom scored 2 mr goals than Mike. Sue scored one
mr goal than Will. Will scored goal.
How m goals did each child score?

Tom scored goals. Mike

Jane scored Sam
Sue Will

Fur hildr hunted fr sweets in sweet hut. Joan found

6 sweets, found Z Sue found 2 and r found 1.

Their parents told Joan and to give some sweets to

Sue and r so they all had the same umr. How many
sweets did Joan and give away?

Joan gave away _ sweets. gave away _ sweets.

r rw, r Gr, r Black and MrWhite l]ve in rw of houses. r Black

doesn't live next to r Brown. r Gr doesn't live next to r Black. MrWhite
doesn't live next to r rw. What rdr do they live in?

Stephanie is thr times as old as Frdd. Frdd is two rs ugr than Simon.
Simon ]s twice as old as Freddy. How old r the children?

Simon is _ Freddy is _ Stephanie is

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think I G-l Helbling Lgugs 131

 I
I

l
I

:
t
lgg ls Language of mathematics, e.g. plus, minus; prepositions of place; umrs or,,
'100 (Worksheet ), 100-1000 (Worksheet
)

iag skills Numil thinking; strategic thinking

I
Age -12 (depending the umr set used)
I
ll lmtr / 2 upwards
im 10 15 minutes
preparalion
I
Make r student of either Worksheet or (ur choice depending
the level of ur students), r develop your w grid and it.

ln class
Teach plus d minus with the help of simple maths tasks, e.g.:
What's three plus five?

What's t mius sv?

Revise the set of umrs you have selected. Then teach the mig of the
following phrases with the help of simple drawings: ^l

-E

ffi l
F

i the house i the udr the tree i the bag top of the l
mu t i

Hand oltt of the N4aths maze to each student. Tellthem that they r l
going to find the path to some treasure. Tell the class that the treasure is either

i the house, i the , udr the tr, in the bag r top of the muti. _l!
point to the first lum of the lvaths maze d tell the students to read
this
lum together with u, from top to bottom. continue in the same wav for l:=
each of the thr lums.
Now li to the students exactly what they have to do. Tellthem that the
_
umrs the worksheet r maze. Say that yoU r going to give them
maths task, e.g. 15 - (fiftee mis three). They will look for the result in the
first lum,12, d cross through the umr. -

-.l:

=
12 Puchta/Williams Teaching Yug Learners to Think I Helbling Languages -l:
 Explain that the next swr will of the numbers in the second ccrlumn.
The numkler will the same level (11) or diagonally aLrove (1) r below ().
Now ask the students which of the umrs in the third column come after
,l,
and so . The umr i the last Ium will lead the way to the trsur.
Now start with the tasks. The students listen d cross out the rrit
umrs as instructed. They then tell you whr the trsur is.

iltGs l monolingual classes, it m ssr to explain i the students'mother

tongue how the lVaths maze wrks.
2 The same grid l used srl times if the students use different lur
r to mark each path differently.
The students later play the Maths maze gm in pairs r small groups. l
this case, ask them to use the blank grid and write i umrs themselves.

puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages 1

'l Listen carefully to your teacher.Think, and circle the numbers.
Find the way to the trsr.

fll
[ffi
4 14 0 5 2 3

9 18 1 20 11 29 Ry
-------z
lt l \

a---"2
12 11 17 19 19 11 .],

-,/\
6 13 13 13 17 ,.!]

8 0 7 7 12 14

2 Complete the sentence with the correct answer.

The trsur is

#
-'--
L_];
/\

W
/'2)

_l]

trJ
/_------i

The treasure is
^
14 Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l Helbling Languages l
 W&mfus *: ** *** l Worksheet
1 Listen carefully to r teacher.Think, and circle the numbers. Find the way
to the treasure.

100 165 100 190 100 12 +

12 111 101 120 22 219 R>

-T*-.-J l
L[, l

,'- //V=-t*

t
200 135 200 190 690 706 t---*'
J
500 900 1000 970 999 82 ,@
\
-!#

350 700 400 750 950 20

2 Complete the sentence with the correct answer.

The treasure js

+
ffiil
#
ryyYYV| \

+
1
Y
Il
_
+
/-4

/ln
trJ
+

The trsur is

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l Hellling Languages 15

 a
I

t
l

lgg foctls Numbers; months, dates; expressing age; comparatives, superlatives

TninKing s:lls Numri| calculations, understanding time and sequence of months;
trsfrrig ifrmti into tabular form l
g B-1,1

ll Elementary / 2
l
Time 0 minutes

]Glti
l
rr of the worksheet for each student.

In class l
Do stick drawings of three children - shortest left, tallest right - and give
them names. Write their ages - 6, 10, 16 - udr them. Ask: How old is ? t
How old is _? Who is the oldest? Who is the youngest?

Model the sentences: _ is four years older th I
is six years ugr th

Revise the ms of the months. .l
4 Hand out the worksheet. Ask the students to try to work out the answers to

exercises 1,2 and . .

when they have finished, ask them to compare answers with rtr. lf they
L
have different answers, they should explain to each thr why they think their l
own answer is rrt.
t
Go through the swrs with the class. Yu m need to ask some students who
r right to explain their solutions to the class.
Now ask them to do exercise 4. They need to mingle and ask others when their

birthdays are, They complete the chart.
L
t
sts r) Fred's-l4/fourteen years old.
Susanne's 1O/ten rs old.

L
Patrick's 7/seven years old.
Danny's B/eight rs old.
Fred's the oldest.
Patrick's the youngest.
2) Susanne's the oldest. Ellie's the youngest.
l

ElIie's /thr rnonths ullgr than Lucy.

Lucy's /thr months ugr than Sus.
Susanne's 6/six months ldr than Ellie. l

) rry's the oldest.

]o's the yoU ngest.
l

1 Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l @ Helbling Lan8uages l

 ffi { .fuw? l Worksheet
Read, think and complete the sentences,

Maria and Simon have four children. Sus ten. Danny's two rs ugr
than Susanne and r older than Patrick. Fred's twice as old as Patrick.
Write their ages.

Frd years old. D years old.

Sus rs old. the oldest.
trik years old. the youngest.

Susanne has two friends. r birthday is in March. lli bithday's in September.

Lucy has ithd j June.They wr all r i the same r.

Who's the oldest? Wh the youngest?

Complete the sentences: write the umrs and ldr r ygr.

lli months (older l ygr) than Lucy.

Lu months than susanne.
Sus than Ellie.

3 r r the birthdays of Jo,Tom and rr.h'r all ten.

Jo Frur 4th d July 17th

Tom Dmr th wh the oldest?
rr August 19th Wh the youngest?

4 Ask six friends: Wh ur birthday? Write the birthdays i the tab|e.

NAME BIRTHDAY

Who's the oldest?

Wh the youngest?

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Yug Learners to Think l Helbling Languages 17

 ,??Y

rL{R5

Arriving at successf ul clusion, for m le in problem solving, often req u ires

the flexibility to Step out of familiar thinking paths and to try something w
and ukw. The keys to being flexille r non-judgemental attitude d
readiness to take rti risks, as we clo not know for sur what the outcome of
following ou r intu ition rthr tha ou r ri m ight . creating associations
will occasionally lead to dead ends, d m require several further rounds of
creative thought before arriving at hoped-for outcome.

creating associations is lut making tis between things that we

do not rmll see connected. Frequently, it is such associations that lead
to new discoveries. l rdr to allow ur creative thought processes to flow,
we need to allow ourselves to think frl and f|exibly. Discovery often goes
hand in hand with surprise effecis, and the joy of finding w things and
lmt of playfulness and fun r essential ingredients for this prOCSS. Making
associations successfully ms letting go of what We r used to thinking, and
lig rrd to take risks, as not vr outcome will successful .

Fr ur students, making creative associations is at the Vr r of applying their

foreign language skills and knowledge. Using foreign language successfully is
not about repeating dialogues from course books heart, or about reiterating
Sentences previously lrt. Stuclents neeclto rrd to take step into the
ukw and take risks. Developing students'ability to create associations helps
them get ready to do just that!

19
 ]

I
lgg foctls Groups of lulr items, according to the teacher's choice
hiig sills N/aking associations between things; creative d imaginative
thinking;
explaining and giving reasons
g -12
leueI post-beginner / 1 upwarcls. older
children at higher levels will able to
prod uce mr soph isticated sol utions.

im 0 rninutes
prearation rr of the worksheet for each gru of three.
l=
ln class
Draw two large circles the boarcl. Draw small circle in

the middle of each.
write the word loud i of the small circles. Ask the students
to teIlyou ms
of things that r loud. As they suggest things, wrrte them in the F
big lrl. Then
wriIe quiet i the centre of the other irl. Ask them to tellyou -ts
things that are
quiet and write them i the other circle.
d out the worksheet. Ask the class to work i threes .
to put the words in the
circles in exercise 1. get them started, ask them to SUggest
ml for
each. Help with the u|r whr needed. .
Ask for solutions. lndividuals could have different interpretatlons;
e.g. ice
rm could associated with cold; it could also associated
with hot as votl
eat wh you r hot.
Ask them to think of more words to put in the circles. Tell
them they as
creative as they like in thinking of things that make them think
of hot or cold;
for example, theY could think lhal btue or white belongs to
-
cotd and that yellow
is hot, r they might associate sound with hor or
cold. These might rs|
associations. Help with ulr whr needed.
Ask them to tell the class some of their w words. Ask
them to explain why the

word makes them think of hot or cold. E.g. l think yellow is hot
because the su is
yellow. Accept any suggestion.

6 Tell them they lur the circles in rrit
colour.

Isi
-
_
At higher level, the words and phrases written
down separate lines to
create 8rU poems.


U]iti This activity used with m different pairs of prompts,
e.g. happy-sad;
red-yellow; fast-slow- lt generate some lively discussion
thinking d creative writing.
d lead to creative -

140 PU(hta/WiIliamb I leat hlng Young Learrrers lo Think t Helbling Ianguages
**& d *d l Worksheet
some of the words are related to cold. some relate to hot.write each word
i the circle you think is best.

.\'(

***
qrrR

snowflake
"j
*,
-{-\
1,rr
--
,+.<\'
^\

Sun
;)

t
,,\

penguin
w* skis swimming costume

$#,
,. f
,/.-.--i ,,-
=-'
.(

?
a .-
tl\ ,,/

----t'1' /-rffi' \.,(

] ,/-.r-{ l ,
,, ; :r'-:-<,uic- il* '!_S
l-
toboggan sunf|owers suntan lotion swimming pool
t.
,/]lllrfi ,i., / .',], ,r,,
!itl]jl li
i'yiil'lllltlla
{

\\,h i\ t g;
"\l.
i, u{:Uli!|U
'\lt '\
ii }\Jlz,1
l i"}_u t\]\#
\; ),l ,ilf
\.{/4ld

lce rm fi r Snowman glacier

Think of mr words that go in the circles, and write them i.

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages 141

,---- :

fu ffiffi
!
J

l
lgg foctls Sentence building; language revision l
Ggiti sills Creating associations; creative thinking; visualising

g -12 I
ll Elementary / 2 upwards
im 10-20 minutes l
lGlIi rr slips of r. Select words r phrases
that need revising, d write
word r phrase on each of the slips. Put them
.l
all into .

ln class
set u circle of chairs, with one chair in the
midclle. Ask student to sit
the chair in the middle, and the others to sit in
the circle. Give the containing
the paper slips to the stuclent in the middle.
He/She calIs of the other students, then
takes out two ot the r slips and
reads out the words r phrases them. The
student who has called tries to
create something meaningful out of the two
words/phrases, however fanciful it
m .
lf the sentence is acceptable, give -rl
signal to indicate this. l this case, t
the student who has said the Sentence and the
in the middle swap their
positions. The stucJent who is now i the
middle draws two mr slips of
and calls another student (not the who was r
in the middle previously) etc.
-
l
But if the sentence is not acceptable, give -rl
signal to say so. l this :
case the student in the middle asks another
student r other students for help. ll
If the student in the middle has asked
three students but of them has
able to m Up with something meaningful,
help them d take ur turn :
sitting the chair in the midclle.

lloIG This is variation of technique we learnt from

N4ario Rinvolucri.

G

_ts

142 Puchta/Williams i Teaching Yug Learners to Thi l G) Helbling Languag-

 Ww fu*w%ffi wffiw&

lgg foctls Speaking and listening

iig slfills Making associations; keeping to rhythm
g 10 upwards
ll EIementary l 2 upwards
TimG 10 minutes
]Glti None

ln class
Ask ur students to stand in tight circ|e, with you amongst them. Tell them
that you'll clap ur hands, then the student next to u ur right is to clap
their hands immediately after u. Then the next student the right will clap
their hands and so . Ask them to clap their hands with as short break as
possible between the individual c|aps. They pass the clapping rhythm rud the
grU .

You will rl notice that the handclaps do t follow r smoothly after

the other, and there are frequent breaks of varying length in between them. So
wh it is ur tur again, act as if you were'catching'the handclap in mid ir.
Ask ur students to c|ose their eyes fr minute and think of set of dominoes
falling after the other. Ask them to observe in their imagination how
smoothly that movement goes, Ask them to transfer the image of the falling
dominoes onto the handclap activity.
Ask them to get ready for the t rud of handclaps. Get each student to
stand with their ld slightly turd in the direction the handclap should
mv towards. They should hold their right hand top and their left hand
underneath, lm up, and start the clapping movement immediately after the
rs before them has started moving their hands. Start the clapping again.
Watch how this change increases the speed, and praise them lot. Practise until
the handclap is passed rud i smooth movement and the activity becomes
lsurl not l frm auditory but also frm visual point of view.
Do the handclap activity again, in lth directions.

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Yug Learners to Think l Helbling Languages 14

 I
l

Frm k&ds &* s&*ryr

a

l
a
I

lgg foctls Speakrng d listening
iag sills king associations
l
G
g 10 upwards
ll Elementary / 2 upwards

im 15-20 minutes t
lGlti None

ln class

1 As warm-up, do handclapping as in step
in the last activity.

2 Sit in circle with ur students. Tell them that
this time you r not passing 2
handclaps rud, but words. you will start,
and say word; the student
right should say worcl that they associate with ur
the word you have said. Then the
next student the right says another word,
and that again should somehow
associated with the wrj before etc. Remind them
of the handclap activity and
tell them to Say the words quickly and smoothly.
After few minutes, do another round of words,
.
but this time they should calI out
words that they believe have nothing at all
to do with the word previously said.
Tell them that u r going to tell them
story. They ifiu Ur story
calling out words. You will integrate any word
they call out into ur story. Here
is part of transcript of such story done
i class.
Teacher: u time there
Student : kig
hr: Right. u time there was
kig. was very happy.
Student: aeropla
Teacher: was so happy because his wiJe
had rl. little, red
"
Student: Cow l
Teacher: So day the kig's wife d the
kig were flig their l, But you
kw what hd? They saw this cow- d
the Cow wc]s rig. She
was very sad.
Student: teocher
etc.
-
ilIG step 4 usually creates tremendous fun and
laughter in class. hr r two
main rss fr that. First, children love stories -
unexpected twists, Secondly, the absurdity and
that offer absurd content and -
unexpectedneSS comes directly
from the children. J

144 Puchta/Williams l hug Lrs il- l
-
to Helbling Languagei
-
 you will rl find that the activity works much
better when it follows the
warm-up handclapping. lt usual|y helps rt rrt and self-confidence
and vrm shyness. lt works in step-by-step mr, and goes from -
verbal to verbal student participation. This increases the likelihood that
shy children who otherwise do not often speak will also take part actively in the
phases of the activity where speaking is essentia|.

U]iti students know well how the activity works, they have go at taking
r the rl of storyte|ler frm u.

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Th'rnk 1 Helbling Languages "l45

 m1 dad ,
taea
{* !*l}:
8rlr

,|r:,'',a a|):|r,
1, {.,,

The educated mind has the ability to understand the effects of one's w
hiur towards other mmrs of society and towards oneself. This ability is
intimately tied u with learning to rssil for one's lehaviour. accepting
responsilility for one's actions, making decisions, and modifying one's actions
if ssr. Understanding the relatronship between cause d effect is
rational and analytical process that is based the ability to mg one's w
impulsiveness and act in self-disciplined way despite the fact that this m lead
to the delay [ gratifiralion

Children who have learnt to understand what consequences their own behaviour
have r mr likely to develop the attltude of thinking before they act, and
of anticipating the different choices they have in determining their owtl actions
d lhiur. Fr example, if chiId wants to buy something they need to
save up for, they might while saving the m feel that they would rfr to
buy something else, something cheaper, because they buy it immediately,
without having to make effort; however, some children will know that if they
give in to such temptation, they r choosing immediate gratification d the
chances r high that they will rgrt it later.

Understanding the relationship between cause and effect is at the r root of

scientific thinking. When children r ug, they often form their own beliefs
about how things work, and m of these beliefs r based tmpulses
rthr than precise olservations. l rdr to develop understanding of
the relationship, they need to lr to ask questions abo1tt how things work,
develop theories, experiment and find evidence so their theories proved
r disproved.

147
Ji
*-

|

Z

lgug loctls Names of the months; possessive's: (Linda)'s birthday is i (Ju)
Deductive thinking; looking carefully for implicit clues d cues; paying attetltic,-
G
iig skills
to details; recognising the nature of the rlm; distinguishing important fr-
u nimportanI i {rmt ion

AgG -10
I
ll Post-beginner / 1 upwards
I
Timc 10-15 minutes
]G] the worksheet for each student. Make birthday chart from big sheet of
poster r landscape with the months of the r written i felt along the
top. few lurd felt pens.
I
l class
1 Teach r revise the ms of the months. l!
2 Ask students what months their birthdays r in.
:
show the chart, and mrk the students' birthdays writing udrth each
l

month the m of each student whose bihday is in that month. lf there is

a
mr than student in month, use different colours fr them. .l
4 d out the worksheet. wait fr the students to rt. Give them plenty of time
to work out what the task is. Elicit what they have to do. lf necessary, help the
a
.l
students scaffolding the discovery rSs through guided questions, e.g..
l
what you see? J
What ifrmti do we have?
What's the problem?
r there clues that could help you to work out what to do?
l
5 Note that they should write all six birthdays the worksheet. They should J
able to work this out themselves.
6 Wh they have finished, mr their answers.
]

sGls Jessica's birthday is i Jr, Eva's birthday is i ugttst,

I

J
r'5 birthday is i February. Daisy's birthday is i October,
Jacob's birthrlay is i ril. Jack's birthday is i November,

]l0tG We learnt this activity from Gi.inter Gerngross.

,l48 Puchta/Williams I Teaching Yug LearnerS to Think I iO Helbling LangUageS

',,_":;,;
,,,":,...;;":1,:;:,'..,;,,,,;,,,;;|;:,r,,|";.:;|;,,,

I WO rkSh eet
Look carefully. When are their bihdays? Write sentences.

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l Helbling Languages



lgge IGs will-tuture for making predictions; language to talk about the weather; express -.
past (i thought...)
iig sills predicting what will happen; looking for evidence
that helps to make predictioils
recording and checking one's predictions
g -12
l! Elementary l 2 upwards
im Lebson l: I5 20 minutes
Lesson 2. 15 20 minuteb
rrti Fr Lesson 1, bring thermometer to class, d make copies of the worksheet tr
each student.

ln class: Lesson 1

Teach or rvis language that students need i order to talk lut the weather.
Fr example:
What's the weather like taday?
lt's ri / widY / su / cloudY / cool / mild / cotd hot
/ / foggy / snowy.
. lt's (21)".

what will it like tomorrow?

. lt'll ri / ...
lt'll ri / sw.
, There'll / there w't thunderstorms / lot of ri / sw.
The temperature will (17)" i the mrig.
The mimum temperature witl .,,

Give each student of the worksheet. FilI in today's weather together With
the class, h ask them individually to predict the weather fr the next day, get
them to write their predictions the handout.
when they have finished, get them to share their preclictions with the class. r
advanced classes say why they make these preclictions: l think it witl ri
because ...; l thik it will hot because ,..
4 Tell students to write their names the worksheets, and collect them.
5 Tell students to make t, next day, of the weather that actually happens then.

150 Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to hi G) Helbling Languages

 ln class: Lesson 2
Hand out the students'worksheets with their predictions. Get them to check their
rditis against their notes of what actually happened the t day, and talk
about their findings. lf needed, write language prompts the board and help
students to use them rrl. Examples.
lthought itwould su / cloudy / ri / ... today.
l thought the temperature would ...
l thought there would sunshine / rain / storm.
prediction was right / wrg.

]lotG Predicting works best when children base their predictions sensory evidence
(fr example they see dark clouds coming up the horizon and thus predict
it'll ri quite soon). hrfr it is good idea to repeat the weather-
predicting activity several times, so that students lr to look fr that
evid .

Puchta/Williams I Teaching YoUng Learners to Think l G-] Helbling Languages 151

 I
fuq:,r,,; r:;.?{::{ l Wo rksh eet I
Name

1 Wht the weather like today?What will it like tomorrow?
I

I
h*&h

rainy windy Sunny cloudy cool
I
f

,",&
t
G

mild cold hot foggy Snowy l


&
-
@"

;: l!
lU

'\

w
t

thunderstorm lcy sunny jntervals showers

2 write sentences about td Write down your predictions

weather. for tomorrow.








l=




152 Puchta/Williams I Teaching Yug Learners to Think l Helbling Languages
 g S ! & *

WFffi rffi *r#ff trtr/

1gU foctls Past tenses; expressing cause and effect using linking words: becouse, as, d so
hiig sills Recognising cause and effect; anticipating the possible effects of actions
g 9-12
ll Pre-intermediate / i
TimG 20-0 minutes
prealation rr of the worksheet fr each student.

In class
Distribute the worksheet. Explain that each statement in the left-hand Ium
leads to something happening in the right-hand column. Ask the students to join
the sentences drawing line between them. lf necessary, do together as
ml. Give them some time to finish.
Wh they have finished, go through each item and ask fr answers. Fr each
item see if has different swr. Let them know that this is acceptable.
key aspect of teaching thinking is that solutions different and creative.
Fr example,for The girl r into the road the suggested answer isThe car stopped
quickly. Howeve1 She got very wet. is also possible. l this case ask the student:
Why?rhe student could well say: /t was riig outside.
Fr exercise 2, demonstrate ways of joining the parts up. .g.:
The girl forgot her umbrella. So she got vr wet.
The girl got very wet as/because she forgot her umbrello.
s she forgot her umbrella, the girl got very wet.

These can written the board as models.

This activity has answers supplied. wr it is possible for student to find an
alternative answer. lf so, ask them to explain why they think this is possible, as
described above.

srs 1) The girl r into the road. The r stopped quickly.

The footbail lrk the man's window. was extremely gr.
The girl forgot her umrll. She got very wet.
The wm left the food the table. The dog ate her dinner.
The children hrd strange noises in the night. They were r scared.
The r broke down far from houses. The drir had to walk.
The driver forgot to lock his r. Sm stole the luggage.
hr was Stranger i the garden_ The dog barked loudly.
The temperature went below zero. The water froze.
The team w the football match. They wr all delighted.
2) The lv sentences joined sigd, because,.?5,50, r d so, as the students
choose. Accept anything that is appropriate.

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages 15

 I

Wfufuwryffi ? l Worksheet l
The left-hand lm shows different things that happened. Each caused
something i the right-hand column to happen.Write numbers to ioin the l
two sentences.

1 The girl r into the road. _ The dog ate hr dinner. I

2 The football broke the m window. _ The drir had to walk.

I
The girl forgot her umrll. _ The water froze.
4 The woman left the food the table. _ Someone stole the luggage.
l
5 The children hrd strange noises jn the night. _ The dog barked loudly.
6 The r broke down far from any houses. _ The r stopped quickly. I
7 The drir forgot to lock h]s r. _ They wr all delighted.
8 There was stranger ]n the garden. _ was trml angry. I
9 The temperature went below zero, _ They wr r scared.
10 The team w the football match. _ She got very wet. I
2 Now write ten lgr sentences, ioining the two pieces of information up.


You start each sentence with the first piece r the second piece.

l
t
l

l
L

I

l

l
L

154 Puchta/Williams ] Teaching Young Learners to Think l (-] lllig tanguages

 What ww hs? f w ***7

lggG IGs f; use of might d will

irig sills Understanding cause and effect; distinguishing definite results of action from
possible results
Age 9-12
1l Pre-intermediate / 1 upwards
im 20 minutes
preparation Prepare of the worksheet for each student.

l class
Explain that the students r going to look al What will h if ... l
monolingual classes, you m d to explain this i their mthr tongue. Give
example: put breakable object the edge of your table and make
action as if to push it off. Ask: What will h if l push it? (lt will fall off.) sk:
What will h if it lalls off? (lt might break). Give mr examples if needed.
Hand out the worksheet. Explain that the pictures the left show different
things happening. The students need to decide vlhatwill happen orwhat might
h, and join each sentence the left to the rlt the right. They
ask you to explain meanings of words they don't know.
Ask the students to give you answers. lndividuals check their w solutions. lf
disagrees they explain why.
Fill askwhy some of them use will d some use might. Explain that r,rzil/ is

definite d might is possible.

sWGlS The folIowing are suggested 5wrs. If the children r creative they could think of alternative
sw15 provided they can justify them.
Whal ill h.rppen iIyou.,,
1 play football irl the street? You might hit window
2 put glass the edge of table? lt might fall off.
leave tap running? There might flood.
4 rL] across the road? r might hit you.
5 forget to lrig ur umrll? You might get wet.
6 don't turn the lights off? You will waste electricity,
7 leave ur bike unlocked? lt might get stolen.
ru every day? Yu will get fit.
9 don't do up your shoelaces? You might fall r-

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l ( Helbling Languages 155

 1,

l I
' I Wo rksh eet
'|"','.,'l'l':'"|,,u,
"",::,|i:" :l.,,, .,,'i",',|,, .,/"|,:|",.,
"|,""", ,"""",",,,,,,,"",:,

I
Write mrs to join the questions and answers,
What will happen if you ...

play football i the strt? _ lt might fall off.
t
t
put glass on the edge of table? _ You will waste electricity. G


tr=

*o.#b.lj
leave tap ruig? _ lt might get stolen.



ru rss the rd? _ Yu might get wet. F

l=

frgt to rig ur umrll? _ You might hit wjndow. r



don't tur the lights off? _ Yu might fall r. =

r.=

leave ur bike unlocked? _ You will get fit.

t=
:
ru vr day? _ There might flood.
tl

l
don't do up ur shoelaces? _ r might hit you.
t=

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Yug Learners to Think l Helbling Languages t=

 .." "a:,.,|,rar,r,r.),:.,arara,||,||r|,a,,,|r|-r|aa||..|-|,|:ira|,a,r.,.|,

lgg loctls Use of f (conditional) with might d witt

iig sills Predicting conSeqUenCes of actions; logical thinking, expIaining, justifying;
rsu d i ng
g 9-12
lGUcl Pre-intermediate / 1

im 0 minutes
]G]ti rr of the worksheet for each student.

ln class
write the board: l left window of m house . puI circle rud it.
Ask the students: what might h? Build up ul m the board with
their suggestions. Accept SUggestion. tiu tillyou have about eight ideas.

rbe ri migl gti.

cat migt), I left wiw mighl lim t

tbrovgb tbe wilw

Sm ,i9l
lbrow smthig
tbro u gh
tbe wtw.

Puchta/Williams j Teaching Young Learners to Think l Helbling Languages 157

 I

Emphasise that these might happen. And they might not.

Now say: The s has set. lt's ight. What will h tomorro|,y mrig? (The sutl
will rise.) What might h w? (We might see stars. We might see the m.
etc.) Yu build up another bubble map.

Emphasise the difference between might d will.

4 Divide the class into groups of three. Hand out the worksheet. Explain that the
students need to fill in the lums according to what they think might h
and what rzil/ happen. Leave ml time. I
Ask for solutions. hr r umlr of possible answers. Accept anything that
is reasonable and backed u with explanation. E.g. student might say,. lf you I
d't water plants, they willdie. However, another student might say They might
die. Ask: Why? d that student, reasoningthat outside it rains, would answer:
They are outside.

6 You could build up mr lul maps as the students give you answers.
r
srs There r definite answers to this. You will, however, find that there r not m examples of
will d far mr examples of might, because might provides much wider variety of scenarios.
E.g. if you play footbaIl every day you willget fitter. ut if you don't water plants, it depends
I
whether they r outside and what the climate is like, d whether they'rc in exposed r
sheltered place, etc, so they might die.

iltG We got the idea of using bubble map frm David rl

I
I
G
}

158 Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think | 1) Helbling Languages

 5w, ffi w l Worksheet
What might h? What will happen?

Things that might h Things that will happen

lf you don't water ur plants ..,

lf you ru in front of r ...

lf you play football every day ..,

lf you lose ur dr key ,..

lf you don't lock the front door ...

lf you leave tap ruig ...

lf you r late for school ...

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Yug Learners to Think l ( Helbling Languages 159

 ry
. .... ...,|.,,.||.|:.,.,,,.,. .,

:"| .,|; rlr|r|,::::||:'.||,|,r|||.:|,

\\ 2
*'
:w
....rar|r:.. ...|.,. -..||||,,|,|:,

We make decisions every day of our lives. We decide what rr to follow, which
university to attend, what to give someone as gift, what to do if we upset
someone r damage someone's property. Making the right decision will have
marked impact on what happens to us next. They r all about making sound
judgements. Bad decisions lead to m of the situations we hear about every
day; businesses failing, banks collapsing, accidents happening.

The process of decision making foIlows number of logical steps; defining the
situation, considering all possible actions, calculating the possible consequences
of these actions, and choosing line of action. This involves being able to
assess the pros and cons of each possible action. inability to predict possible
outcomes of action will lead to r decisions and even criminal behaviour
such as riots, looting and hooliganism. Decisions can taken individuals
or gru. group decision will also entail making suggestions, explaining,
negotiating, and communication.

hr are umr of decision-making models used in business situations, for

example, we introducethe lus-mis model in activity no 6, Plus d minus.
The activities in this section involve the children in umr of different
decision-making situations where they are required to consider consequences of
their actions, leading to improvement in this fundamental life skill.

161
?

, &,}

lgg foctls Different types of cars; people; giving reasons I

iig sltil|s I\4aking assumptions about the needs of people in different Iife situations;
paying attention to detail; understanding important
clues; comparing; matching;
d istingu ish ing im
rt t from u im rt nt i nformation; giving reasons
g 9-12
ll Elementary / 2 upwards
im 0*40 minutes
rr worksheets and ; of each
r student.

ln class
Give of worksheet to each student. Read
the words tr the different
types of vehicles to the students. Get them to practise
the pronunciation, but
don't explain the mig of the words yet.
h
2 Teach the word vehicle

5
f
J Ask students to work in pairs and match the words
with the types ot vehicles
writing the names i pencil underneath the pictures.
4 mr the students'ideas about the types of vehicles.
Help them with the
meaning of the words if necessary.
sGls '1

2 pick-up truck t!
doubIe-decker lus
4 jeep
5 Iorry t
6 vintage r
7 coach
8 Sports r
9 motor home
10 racing r
]'l electric r

12 toy car

d
h give each student of worksheet . N4ake
sure ur students know the
.
mig of all the words and
ru them.
=
6 Tell them to match the words with the pictures
writing the umrs in the hE
boxes.

swrs {

tr] tr]

[il ]

tr] d
]
162 Puchta/Williams -1
I
Teaching Youn8 Learners to r,| Helbling Languagei .
 sk them if they know what they have to do next. lf necessary, elicit from them
that they should think about which type of vehicle is the most suitable for each
of the people in their specific life situations. They use the same vehicle mr
than once if they like. l monolingual classesyou may need to explain this in
the students' mother tongue. They should think carefully d decide which type
would best for which of the people, and write it the line under the rs.
Tell them that you'll give them about five minutes to make their decisions,
When students have finished, iell them to say what their decisions are. Try to
elicit the reasons for their decisions d help them with language if necessary.
Example:
51: l say the v is the best car for the mother.
: . Why do you think it's the best car for her?
52: She havefour chitdren. Wh they gigi the car, have muh ... rm ...
muh take with.
: That's right. Wh the mother goes somewhere with her children, they've got
lots of things to pack. What thigs does she put i the car wh she goes away
with her children?
S'I: Eat for the childre.
: . She takes some things to eat, some Jood. What else?
51: play.
: Things to play with, . She takes some toys for the children. What kind of
toys?
52: Much,

]lotGs 1 |t is imrtt to keep in mind that there r right r wrg answers to

exercise 2. First|y, there are mr types of cars than people, so there r
-t- matches between cars and people. secondly, it's the idea of the
activity that the decisions r made the students. And last but not least,
colleagues who tried out the activity have said that students occasionally come
u with perfectly logical explanations for suggestions the colleagues themselves
would not have thought of. What's interesting for you is to hr why students
have made which decision.
2 The idea for this activity comes f rm The Somerset Thinking Skills Course,
Nige| Blagg et al.

P,,.tta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l Helbling Languages 16

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164 PuchlaiWilliams l Ieathing Young Learners to Ihink t t,g rg"s

 {.,'.',;:ir'':r. {:,.*,;|i, l,...'i:}l',"i l Wo rksh eet
1Matchthepictureswiththepeople.Writenumbers1-9.
1 family going holiday 5 person who collects old machines

2 18-year-old girl 6 an elderly couple

frmr
7 racing driver

4 rs who cares lot about the

8 2-year-old

environment 9 mother of four children

&

make decisions,
wht the best vehicle for each of them?Think, and
people,
Write the type of vehicle underneath the
165
Pucllta/Willms i"*ig r"uin"" to Think I Helbling Languages

l


Wfu*fu ?

lgug foctls Adjectives and verbs to describe animals

iig sills Analysing the qualities of animals; creative/lateral thinking; self-reflection;
decision making; giving reasons
g 10-12
1l lmtr / 2 upwards t
Timc 25-0 minutes
prearation the worksheet for each student. Bring supply of colouring pencils/felt

penS.


l class

d out of the worksheet to each student. [Vake sure
ur students
h
understand the meaning of the worcjs. Get them to practise the
words, especiaIly
the pronunciation.

Explain that each student should now decide colour for
each animal d
make the frm around the animal in that colour. Give G
r two minutes for
that
Tell students to think carefully and decide which of the adjectives/verbs G

the worksheet best match the animaIs or their personalities. sk
them to think
carefully and circ|e the words i the lur of the animals they go
with. Give
students ml by'thinking aIoud', e.g.
. Let m think. mh. best friend's got cat. She's lovely
iml. She's very
friendly (mim circling the world 'friedly' the worksheet). Wh l visit m
fried,
the cat alwayS mS to say hetto. But also, she'S very determined.
(mim circling
the phrase the worksheet)- she always does what she wts.

Give students enough time (4-5 minutes), ancl urg them

to askyou for
other words/phrases they might want to ascribe to the animals.
Ask students to decide which of the animals represents them
r their personality
best. Ask them to complete the sentence the worksheet.
lf necessary, give
them example.
l'm like butterfly. l'm very colourful d l r sit stitl. l like
migrud.
Ask them to report back to the class and give reasons for their
decision. If
SSr, help them with the language they need,

ilt This activity is based idea in Janet Aaker Smith's 101

Brain-based
l stru ctio l Stra tegi es.

,166
Puchta/Willlams I leathing Young Learrrers to Think l Helblin8 Lan8UageS
 Vd?z*r.?,,, ;;,t,,,rrf,;itl? l Wo rksh eet
1 choose lr for each of the animaIs, and make its frame that colour.

dog

Decide which of the words and phrases go with which animal(s). CircIe the
word i the colour of the animal(s).

friendlyIhelpful I cleverIintelligentIcolourful IawakeIbeautiful Istrong

quick I careful l shy I independent I elegant I patient I loyal

has got good mmr | likes being with people I understands people well

loves meat I loves playing I runs and jumps lot I is very determined

fly I can swim well | ru vr fast I has got good sense of smell
sees very well I hears very well I doesn't make lot of noise I is very noisy

h decide which of the animals is most like you. write sentence.

|'m like because

pu.htu/williurs I Teaching YoUng Learners to Think | @ Helbling Languages 167

 t
l

Wfu ww
L
L

lgge ls Numbers; language of playing game
iig skills Numerical skills; adding up numbers; making decisions about taking risk

Age 1-12
ll Elementary / 2 upwards
im 20 minutes
prenaration dice for each small group of students.
ln cIass
I
Make sure your students have good command of the basic language they need
in rdr to play gm:

lt's m tur. lt's your tur. lt's (Sandra's) turn.
Throw the dice.
What's the score?

l'll carry .
l'll stop w.
You may want to introduce rule that students have to use English while playing
the game. So if player says something in their mother tongue, the other
students in the group call it out in English and the player loses their turn.
Put students into small groups. Tell each student to have pen and r ready to
note their sr.
I
sk them to take turns i throwing the dice. Each player throw the dice as
often as they want, adding up their points as they go. They decide to stop
I
their turn after throw resulting i 1,2, , 4 or 5, and keep all their points
and add them to any points they achieved in the previous round(s).
But if they throw 6, they lose all the points they have achieved in this rud,
and call ouI What pity!The turn passes to the next player.
6 The lr who scores 'l00 first wins the game.

Ualiation the students are familiar with the game, they come up with their w
ru les.

]lotG We learnt this activity from Robert Fisher's Head Start: How to Develop your Child's
id.

I
168 Puchta/Williams I Teaching Yug Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages
 _ Y 8 &

w c." *# trffiK ffiffi

ftg'q
&, #*f

lgg fos Describing situation; giving reasons; making suggestions; listening

hiig skills ldentifying rlm situation; identifying possible consequences of action;
brainstorming and evaluating possible solutions; giving rsS; deciding which
solution is the best; cooperating with partner
gG 1-12
ll Elementary / 2 upwards
Time 20 minutes
rlti the worksheet fr each student.

ln class
Hand out of the worksheet to each student. Tell them to look at the
pictures and say what the problem is in each of them. urg your
students to suggest various answers for each picture. Accept these in -
judgemental way, and write them the board.
lf necessary, he|p the students with language writing the problems the
board. Fr example:
What about picture 'l? What's the rlm?
Vase. The playing i the house d vase break.
Uhuh. The was playing d he broke the vs. (writes it the board)
The mother gr.
, you think the problem is that the boy's mum's gr. (writes it down)
Where's the mother?
she m i i miut.
. other idea?
Yes, the cat break the vase.
l see. So the fud the rk vs the floor. The cat broke it.
Yes, the problem is that the mother say the broke it.
You think the boy's mum doesn't liv it was the cat that broke the vs.
l see.
When you've discussed all the rlm situations with the class, go back to each
of the situations and decide together with the students which of the suggestions
'the rl rlm' is, in other words which describes the rlm most
accu rately.

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Yug Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages 169

 f

Ask the students to make suggestions how to solve the problems. Again,
G
Urg the class to m up with mr than SUggestion for each
rl-
l
and write them on the rd. lf necessary, write language prompts the rd
for m ple:
l
He/She/ l hey shou ld . , .

l think he/she/they could ...

lt would good idea to ...

Fill, ask the students to look at the various suggestions the board. Get I=

them to work in pairs. Each ir looks at rlm situation and decides

h
which of the ideas suggested they think would work best. Tell them to expIain
their reasons fr choosing the idea.
lf necessary, help the students with language. write some prompts the rd:
We hv discussed the problem of ...
We think the m/rs should ...
we thik this is the best solution because...
llotG The idea for this activity Comes frm James ll d Robin Fogarty Blueprits
for Thinking i the Co-operative Classroom, .126.

tr

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170 Puchta/Williams I Teaching Yug Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages ts{
 'l?ffiu%",,r:zY-
|,,,,,|
rr &*m? l Worksheet
1 wht the problem in each picture?what should the people do?Think of as
m ideas as .
2 h choose the best idea. Say why think it the best idea.

9-tt,-**
::

"l71
Puchta/Williams I TeachingYoung Learners to Think l Helbling Languages
 3
.E

t-
% Wy%w*
t

lgg loBlls Talking about what someone |ikes and is interested in; making suggestions,
saying what presents one would give to somebody; giving reasons
iig sills lmagining the outcome of decision; planning; making decisions; giving rss

for making decisions; expressing l in words; using visual tool ( mind
m) as thinking tool
gG 10_12
1l Elementary / 2 upwards
Time 40-50 minutes
lG]tiO None

l class I
Ask ur students to think of four people that m lot to them. These could
include members of their family, friends, fictional or rl heroes etc. Say that you
r also going to do the same for yourself.
Ask them to write the names of these four people piece of r. Do the
same with the names of the people you have selected. Ask the students to put
their piece of paper face down their desk.

Read out the four names you have written down. Start creating mind map
showing the names of the four people that m lot to you. Give ur students
bit of information if necessary so they know why these people r important to
you. colleague created the following mind map.
Ask the students to do the same with their four people. Tell them to write word
of their w choice in the centre of the mind map.

Sophiat I
(9ht")

172 Puchta/WilIiams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages I

 Say that you'd like to give each of the people in your mind map
present, Start
5
with of the people and think of what this rs likes. Give an exampIe. As
you speak, make notes Ur mind map and add small drawings. The colleague
who created the mind map page'172said the following (and, while speaking,
completed the mind map as shown below):
doughter Sophia is 4. She lvs stories. l ft read stories to her. Mum loves
goingfor walks. She likes nature. She loves birdwatching- James, m husband, is
great Iootboll J, His favourite team is rl. best Jriend claire's hobby is
music, she plays the guitar d she sings i choir,

Clative
)oleS
(hstt)
(best QviertA)

people close to wre

Sophiat
(9h

Give ur students few minutes of thinking time. Ask them to think about
suggestions for presents for the four people in your mind map. Tell them that
it is important to think carefully before we u r make Someone present, lf
necessary introduce d practise language, e.g.:
l thik ur ... might like ...
t think you could give ... .. ,

Why don't you give him/her ... ?

You could give him/her ...
ld give him ...
h tell them to make suggestions. Example:
S1: Your husband likesfootbalt. Hisfavourite team is F rl. Why d'tu
give him rl T-shirt?

Add all the students' suggestionS to yoUr mind map.

9 Look at all the suggestions and say: . l'm goigto mk m decisions w, l'm
going to get m ... ... etc.

pucntj/wiialTls I Teaching YoUng Learners to Think l Hetbling Languages 17




^E

10 Ask them to work i groups of four and tell each other some mr about the
people i their mind maps, e.g. what they like, what they r interested in etc fr
Tell them to add words and drawings to the mid maps as they r talking.
... is interested i ...
He/She likes ...
His/her hobby is ...
He/She often ...,

11 Ask students to work i pairs d look at each other's mind maps, then make
suggestions to each other ut presents fr the people i their partner's mind
m. Tellthem to add all their partner's suggestions to their own mind maps.

12 Ask them to make their decisions. Give them two minutes to think carefully alout
all the suggestions. Then get them to say, for example:
These are m decisions: l'm goingto get m ... ... etc. I
Extension You could gei ur students to write short text about the rsts they'd give to
the people. If necessary, read out mode| to ur students. Fr m|:
bestfriend loves comics. l'm goingto give him comic book, m Surm.
sister's m is Emily. She's 1. Her hobby's ...
I
ilotG We learnt this activity from Robert Fisher's Heod Start: How to Develop your Child's
id.

I
I

ll

I
I

174 Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l HelbIing Languages

 W&% ffi %

langag6loctls rg of language items could used in this activity depending the level of
the students, lt lends itself to could, would, might, e.g.: We would getfit. We might
sd too muh m-
hiig siIls Weighing Up pros and cons (pluses and minuses); predicting positive and negative
results of actions; making decisions, This task models important decision-
making strategy.
g 1,12
ll Elementary / 2 upwards
imG 0 minutes
]G]ti of the worksheet for each student. Alternatively, the students the
four tables frm the board.

ln class
Explain to the class (in mthr tongue if ssr) that they are going to lr
use well-known decision-making strategy called
plus and Minus.

2 Write on the board: fast sports car. Udr it write two headings; plus (+/ and
mius ().
Explain (in English): wts to buy Jast sports car. There are rss why
this is good l d there are reasons why it is t good l. Give m
rs lor the idea.
possible responses: witl hove fu. His friends till like it.
Write these udr the plus heading.
Then say: Give m rs against the idea-
Possible responSes from studentS: /r Use; too muh petrol. lt is dangerous to drive
fast. lt is expesive,
Write their suggestions udr the mius heading.
continue to build up the list of pluses and minuses, using the students'
suggestions, however fanciful. Help them with the language if necessary.
t the end, ut the umr of pluses d the minuses, and see which is the
la rgest.

Tell the class they r going to create their w plus and minus lists. Split them
into groups. Hand out the worksheet.

pucbt/wittiums I TeachingYoung Learners to Think l Helbling Languages 175



of ideas, \\h
working in groups allows for mr creative thinking and rg
language if necessal-"
they r working, walk from gru to gru d help with
AskthestudentstocoUntthepIuspointsandtheminuspoints.

FinallyasksomegroUpStoreadtheirsolutionSout.ThesoIutionscanbe
displayed the wall.

make suggestions as to
U]i Fr mr advanced classes, you could ask the students to
the board d asI
what topic they would like to assess; write their suggestions
them to choose two to work .

(eMt) technique, lateral d

]lotG The idea is adapted from the P!us, Minus, ltrstig
hikig Programme,
creative thinking strategy used i Edward de Bono's CRT

176 *r.'iliu. "*r,gug Learners to Think l Helbling Languages

 Yr.Y.*r*,**
lji&;&*z* i

'',l?,yi,t,?.2t3
r;ziT *r; l Wo rks h et
Y and r friends are trying to decide what to do at the weekend.
There are four suggestions. Make plus-minus list for each, d then make
decision.

. go shopping together . go fr picnic

. go fr long bicycle rid j the country go to the im.

ur decision is to

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Yug Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages 177



a,

Wfufuw* ffi?
tl=,

1gg foctls might, will, could, should; expressing reaSons usig because l!
iig skalls predicting outcomes of actions; thinking
of solutions; making decisions about
actions
g 9-12
ll Pre-intermediate / '1 upwards
im 0 minutes to do the cIass activity. The worksheet could given in follow-up
l esso .
prearation rr worksheet for each student. you use the worksheet here
or create
simiIar using different incident.

I class
Explain situation to the class. Fr example.
You d yourfriends are ridingyour bikesfast, of you crashes into parked

car d damages the car.
Draw circle on the board. Write inside it The car is damaged.
Ask the students: what will h? Build up mind map as i the worksheet,
using all their replies. Help with language if necessary. .g.:
The driver will return d see the damage. The driver might very
gr. lt will
exPensive. The driver might tett the police. The police might visit our
rts. our
parents might stop us from riding our bikes. eIc.
2 Stress the difference between ill d might.
TeIl the class they now need to decide what they should do. write
in circle:
what we should do.
Build up mind m using the students' ideas, e.g.:
. write t apologising
wait lor the driver to rtur
. r away
. go d tell our parents
. write dw the car umr. eIc
Now ask them in groUps to decide which is the best action to take. They
will d
to give each other rss.
N4odel: l think we should ... because . ..
Fill, ask each grU to give you their solution with rS, .g.:
We think we should .,. because ...

write the solutions the board.

17 Puchta/Williams I leaching Young Learners to k | Helbling Lan8uages

 7 you could take vote as to the best solution.

The worksheet could completed next or in separate lesson. rrg the
students in groups of fur so they discuss the consequences and possible
solutions, and work as fr. When they have finished, ask for answers as
before, and write them the board. Again, you could take vote the best
solutio .

Ualiation This activity could repeated using different situations. You ask the students
to brainstorm situations from their w experience that they could discuss.

Puchta/Williams I TeachingYoung Learners to Think l @ Helbting Languages 179

 "*,m?" 9|r;.71t.$,',,, r: r3r7 l Wo rksh eet
1 yu and your friends kick football into window
of lghr hs
and break it,what might happen?write in the circles.

r
l

tF

lr
footbaIl breaks
window
t
t .

L
2 Now decide what you could do about it.
t

t
r

what we could do
t
I=

-ts

l!

3 Now decide which of these actions you should take. r=
h
we th jnk we should
=

because
G
-

180 Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think @ Helbling Languages

I
 in order to
This section brings whole rg of different thinking skills together
finding out
solve problems, We constant|y face problems in our day-to-day lives:
planning
where place is, working out what to do if machine breaks down,
to solve
complicated schedule, managing business meeting. what is needed
problems is strategic r tactical thinking that applies m of the different
up with
skills we have already cliscussed to focus the rlm and m
appropriate solution. Most problems have m possible solutions; there
isn't

generally right answer but several answers, of them perfect, from which
presented at
We choose the best for the rtiulr situation. N4ost rlms
school, however, look fr correct swr rather than being related to the
more ml realities of life.
put off
Solving problems also requires the right disposition: not being
positively, believing that solution is possible,
rlm, facing the challenge
remaining lm and focused.

The focus of the activities in this section is helping children to develop

problem-solving strategies. The simplest is uderstad - l - do - riw
This will entail
sequence. The first step is recognising the nature of the rlm.
The second is
surveying the information given carefully to see what is known,
jumping to
making systematic plan to solve the rlm. This involves t
hasty conclusions r making wilcl guesses, and needs time fr careful
thought,
putting the l
Scientists, for example, take time this step. The third stage is
into action. lt is important to observe what happens, spot dead ends, and
reform

One'S Strategy accordingly. The fil step is reviewing what

happened.

They are both

This section provides umr of problems for children to solve,
chaIlenging and fun. lt is essential that the children r allowed
time to think
valuable, lt is
carefully and l what to do, ancl that all answers are considered
also important that you model the stages of the problem-solving process, and to
guidelines.
help you clo this we have provideci number of models in the

181
 f-
l

* f .g l
r" &ffi,

l

lgtlg fGs Vocabulary of family members: mother, father, s, d u ghte r, roth r, si ster;
I
possessives's; structures to itrdu peopIe to another: This is m _ / r
she is called
iig skalls Recognising cIues from pictures where information is missing; memorising
G,
ifrmti given, and using it to solve rlm h
Age 7-9

ll Post-beginner / 1 upwards h
imG 20 minutes
rrti rr of the worksheet for each student.

l class
Draw family of mother, father, son, daughter, using stick figures; label them
Peter, Jane, John, Susan. Teach the vocabulary mother, father, s, daughter,
husband, wife, brother, sister.
2 Ask: Who has brother? Who hos sister?
)
J Hand out the worksheet and ask the students to fill in the blanks.
4 Ask for answers. Ask them how they know.
5 Now pair them, d ask them to draw their w families on the worksheet and
tell their partners in English who the family mmrs r. lf necessary model the
language: This is m brother. This is m sister etc. when they have finished they
repeat this with thr student.

6 lf they want other family words, write these the board.
-
t!
srs 1 ri- Danny's mother
2 Tim = Sarah's|ather
N4aria = Tim's wife

4 Tim - N4aria's husd
5 Sarah = Maria's daughter
6 D - Tim,s son
7 Maria's s - D
Tim's daughter = Sarah


r:

=
,

182 Puchta/Williams I Teaching Yug Learners to Think l Helbling Languages

 l
*,r,{,,t""" !"" !mr*r* Worksheet
1 Here is D with his family. Finish the sentences.

Sarah is D sister. Maria is D1 .Tim is

Srh 2.
, rj isim .Tim is
ri 5 is ri daughter.
isTim's son. ri son is calIed
7 .im daughter is called 8

2 Now draw r family.TelI your rtr who they are.

Pucbta/wiiums I Teaching Young Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages

 t
l

wfu yfug? ^:

]gg foctls Vocabulary of family mmrs: mother, father, s, daughter, brother, sister,
gra d mother,, possessive 3

iig sills Deducing missing information without picture clues; holding information in l
mmr

AgG _11 .l
ll Post-beginner / 1 upwards
:=
imG 0 minutes l
rlti rr of the worksheet for each student.
t =

ln class

1 Draw picture of family the board, and teach/revise the names of
family members: mother, father, husd, wife, s, daughter, brother, sister,
gra dm ot h r, gra dfa th r, gra d d u gh te r, g ro d so ,
t
Hand out the worksheet, and ask the students to work out who each
rs is
using the information given. Ask them to complete the sentences.
Ask them to mr answers with neighbour. lf there r differences,
t
ask
them to explain why they think their answer is rrt.

4 Go through the answers together.
5 Ask them to draw picture of the family in the provided.

6 Finally, ask them to complete exercise , and then go through the answers
together.
t
srs 1) 1 Jane = Jim's slster
2 Jim = 's s
- m's yuife
4 Jane = Tom's daughter
5 m = jim's father
) The wm isJ gra dmother. Jim is the woman's grds.

.-

184 Puchta/Williams I TeachingYoung Lrrshik

1 @ Helb|ing Languages t
 l Worksheet
,{.?,t:
''tr ?,?,lq::,rli:

Tom arrives home. ss"r m husband.'Jane SayS,'HeIlo, Dad.'

Jim ss"r m father.'CompIete the sentences.

1 Jane is Jim 4 Jane ism

2 Jim is 5 Tom is Jim

ism
2 Draw picture of the family. Write their names.

r arrives and woman gets out. says, ' mother has rrid.'
The woman is Jane's .Jjm]sthe Woman'S

,l
Puchta/Williams I Teaching Yg Learners to Think | @ Helbling Languages 5

}
**;r:ji,
*,",,'#

B..eIE 9_ __1 _ * __.f _\
.]-,*: WxI lE R , KfreTj
__

lgge fGs Making predictions (wilfutur); hypothesising, verifying one's hypotheses;
vocabulary for various materials and objects G
iig skills Thinking about the outcome of scientific experiment; applying '5
ts
knowledge about the world; predicting; hypothesising; testing and checking 's
pred ictions; d rawi ng concl usions h
g 6-
leuel Post-beginner / 1 upwards
Time 20-0 minutes
rrIi of the worksheet for each student, r if you want to use other materials/

objects in the experiment, create ur w worksheet to .

transparent (and steady!) bowl of water, and various materials/objects for
students to test for sinking or floating, e.g. sheet of r, cork, coin,
matchstick, stone, pencil, an eraser, balloon, an empty plastic bottle, t
rur ball, Styrofoam, wood etc (see worksheet).

l class
Show your students the materials/objects you have prepared. Ask them to name F!

them. Teach and practise the words they do not know yet.
t!}

Draw on the board bowl of water. Take two objects ( that would float on
water, the other that would sink), and ask students fr their predictions. Fr
exampIe:
: , w hv look at these two things here. Do u remember what they are
called i English?
51:. Cork.
: Good. piece of cork. What about this?
52: i.
: That's right. So we've got piece of cork d i. Look. lf l put the cork i

the bowl of woter (mimes it usingthe drawingon the board), will itsink?
(makes gesture of rk going udr) Or float? (shows how cork is floating t-
surface of bowl of water) Will it sink or float?
31:. Float.

: lt'llfloat,
you think? . (Writes float t to the word cork the board.)
What about the i? Will it sink or float?
51: Sikl
S2,. Float!
: Uhuh.Youthikit'll sink-adyouthinkit'll float.oK.We'll seelaterwho's
right.
-
t=

186 Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages -
 Give each student of the worksheet. Give them time to think and
write
down their predictions.
present the bowl of water. lnvite individual students to come to the front and
take one of the objects/pieces of material. Ask them: What do you think will
h? and get them to answer with /f'l/ sink r lt'll float,
5 Then ask them to put their chosen object in the water and see if they are correct,
predictions-
6 Get the students to look at their worksheet and tick r cross out their
Ask questions such as:
How m of you got this right?
How ut you, (Nm)? Did you get it right or wrong?

,'| urg the students to think of other materials/objects. Tell them to

tsis
choose l those objects/materials that can tested in bowl of water,
Get them to draw pictures of those objects/materials the back of their
worksheets and again make their predictions. These could checked in
follow-up lesson, as students would need to bring their objects/materials to
class.
have
N.B. you may want to check, however, what the objects are that students
written down, to make sure they r safe and easily brought to school-
(lt might not good idea, fr example, if student decides to find out if
his parents' wedding rings sink r float.)
2 ln good classes, the activity used to introduce r practise past tense. ln
follow-up lesson, quickly revise the words for the objects with ur students
and write them the board. Then ask questions, e,g.: what hd to the
rubber batt? Write lt sk l lt floated the board and get students to repeat
the sentences. Repeat ur question and elicit the correct answer from the
students.

ilt when we tried the activity out with gru of children, they found out that the
group took
sheet of r sank after some time. However, of the boys in that
piece of r and folded it into boat. was proud to show to classmates
and teacher that in this way the paper didn't sink, but floated.

| 187
ffig LearnerstoThink @ Helblinglanguages
 W *r ffi*? l Worksheet

Write lt'll sink or lt'il float.
Name:

@

lt,Il

cork

t

pencil

t
? ,... .. ,.|,,|,"

\f
rallloo

lL

sheet of r

.
-l

plastic bottle

EL
r
matchstick _
full plasf bottle
188 l h
Puchta/Williams Young Learners to I hink l Helblin8, Languages
 % W

1gg ls Vocabulary of family members: mother, father, s daughter, husband, wife,

grandmother, grandchildren, cousin; understanding question forms: Who is ....?,
How m does .-.. hv?; possessive 's
iig sills problem-solving skills; manipulating several pieces of information mentally. NB
These puzzles are not easy to solve; they become increasingly complex, and this
activity is therefore suitable for older children.
AgB 1_12
1l Post-beginner / A'l upwards
Timc 20 minutes
rrti rr of the worksheet for each student.

ln class
1 Revise the ms of family memLrers.
2 Hand out the worksheet. Ask the students to solve as m problems as they
sk them to mr answers i small grus. lf they disagree they should say
Why.

4 Fill go through the answers. Question is particularly difficult. Model the

rl|m-sli g process.

SWG]S 1)4
2)6
) Martha
4) Mark
5) 1 brother d 2 sisters
6) Liz
7)5
) Hls s

tsi Fr more advanced classes, each student could asked to write puzzle like the
ones the worksheet slip of r. They hand them in. Pull out puzzles at
rdm, read them out, and ask the class to solve them.

iltG Puzzle is traditional English rhyme.

puchta/Williams I TeachingYoungLearnerstoThink l HelblingLanguages 19


l
{{ly.,ffiws:*
l Wo rks h eet ,
,l
you solve the puzzles?
l
G

R and r r brother and =

l!
sister. R has three rthrs. How
many brothers does r have? -1rrr,r I
,lJ' G
t!
=
sue has three sisters and two
brothers. How many chiIdren does
su mother have?

l=

m mother js rth daughter.

Who is m grandmother? tc=

4 rk son is called paul, ul son is George. who is Grg grandfather? t

5 Dv]d mother has four children - two girls and two boys. How many brothers
does David have? How m sisters does he have? El

6 D grandson js called Sam. Danny has daughter called L]z and SonS.
Who ]s Sm mother?

7 r says, 'l have eight grandchildren.' of the grandchildren is called chrjs.

chrjs has brother and one s]ster, How m cousins does chris have?
La

8 John is looking at photo.
says:
t
a-

Brothers d sisters, l have .

That m father is m fthr s. ts
Who js the photo of? d

f-
=

=
4
190 Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languaps- t=
lgg lGs Using the present simple to express likes; vocabulary of sports; has/have got; ...'s
favourite toy(s) is/are ,..
iiu sldll Recognising the nature of problem; exploring information systematically;
planning how to solve the rlm, comparing; hypothesising; analysing
Age 8-,l,|

ll Post-beginner / 1 upwards
TimG 15-20 minutes
prBparation rr worksheet similar to Worksheets and below, r use one r both of
them. Make of each worksheet r student.

ln class
Ask the students to wrk in pairs. Tell them they r going to solve puzzle. Tell
them to look carefullyat all the information given, and remind them that solving
puzzle sometimes requires quite bit of time, so they should not hurr, but
think carefully.
Hand out of the worksheet. Make sur the students understand the
language in the instructions. h give them enough time to discuss their
strategies in pairs and work out the solutions.
J Ask the students to read out their solutions.
4 lf there r students in ur class that cannot do the activity, ir them up with
someone who has successfully solved the puzzle and ask them to explain how
it works. Alternatively, get students to talk about how they solved the puzzle (in
pairs or as whole class activity).

srs
2 CIaudia likes footballand volleybal|. 4 Beth /ikes swimming.
Simon likes riding his bike d football. 5 N,4r likes volleyball d swimmig.

1) 2 Harry has got 2/two caIs and hamster.
Alex and mm have gl hamster d 2/two dogs.
4 Olivia has got dog.
2) Charlie's favourite toys r computer 80m d model l.
4 O|ive" favourite toy is puzzle.
5 Jack's favourite toys are model l d helicopter.

U]iti You could use numbers as symbols instead of the icons suggested hr.

iltG children love writing secret messages. This activity draws on that sense of
fu .

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages 191

 I

Look at the drawings and the symbols.Then read the sentences,
work out what each symbol means then complete the sentences.

t\r11

a

(
a

:* -

Claudia

t

1 likes footbaIl.
2 Claud]a l]kes and volleyball.
Simon ljkes rjding his bike and
4 Beth swimming.
r d

d

d
]


192 Puchta/Williams I Teachin8 Young Learners to -4
Ihinf Helbling Languages
bd
-
J
8d?, ?*7 r,,q,*? l Worksheet
Look at the drawings and the symbols.Then read the sentences,
-r

Complete the sentences about the children.

Pets

;--\l

9\7
Q
rr **+ Amy *++ Emma +0t
1 m has got cat and two hamsters.
2 rr cats and hamster,
l and Emma have got and-.--.
4 olivia dog.

Favourite toys

-z-^1f. 1,/'
J.'-

t.\
:-
l\l!,.. ) '
l. .-i ) } /):
7J \l
*=- / \ --=)
\l


{

Oliver Lucy charlie vo h V*

1 Lu favourite toy is model l.
2 h favourite toys are computer game and helicopter.
hrli favourite toys r and
4 lir
5 Jk and helicopter.

Think l 193
u;ms l Teaching Yug Learners to @ Helbling Lan8uages
 I
I

w ww&d?
I

lgg foctls Revision of vocabulary; spelling skills l
iig skills Analysing; moving letters around in one's visual short-term mmr;
risk taking
Age

]l
im
Post-beginner / A'l upwards
10-15 minutes
t
rDrti Write words in block letters big sheets of paper; examples:

HoLlDAYS CHOCOLATE lNTERNET F L L
MOBlLE PHONE coMPUTER l R DAY HAN DBAG
There should enough space between the letters so students
easily cut out
the individual letters of the word. Bring in one pair of scissors
r gru of 4-5
students.

l class
l block letters, write the word ELEPHANT the board. Ask students to
USe
umr of letters from the word in rdr, and try to make
as m new
words as possible. Give them some help if necessary. Examples:
HEN NET TEN LET ANT PEN
2 Put students in groups of four r five. Give each
8rU of ur words.
Tell the students to cut up their word. The students should try
and make as m
new words as possible out of umr of the letters frm their
word, used in
order.

Whr grU thinks they've found w word, they

rst it to you
standing in li, with each student holding letter. lf the word
is correct,
the group write it down piece of paper. lf wrd they want
to present
has mr letters than there r students in group they can'borrow'as
m
students as they wish from another group.

U]iti The task is mr difficult if the students don't cut the letters
up but have to
visualise the words contained in the big word.

194 Puchta/Williams l Teaching Yug Learners to Think t irrg L"g""g,

 "),ltrA- "r4},,?*::, - ,qj/; }l,

wwffi r'

lgge lGs Language of letters; expressing time: f 1 m; expressing date: 17th March
iig sills Working out what information the rdr needs, and spotting what is missing.
g 1-12
ll lmtr / 2 upwards
im 20 minutes
]G]ti rr of the worksheet fr each student.

In class
Revise expressions of time and date, e.g. School starts ot 9 m. Christmas is
25th December.
2 Hand out the worksheet. Explain that i each letter there is some information
missing. They complete the letters as they wish.
3 Ask for some answers. Accept reasonable answer.
4 Ask if thr is anything in the letters they do not understand.

tsi The students write invitation letters to each other.

]lotG The idea for this activity came from Feuerstein's lnstrumenta| Enrichment
rgrmm.

Puchta/Williams I TeachingYoung Learners to Think l Helbling Languages 195

 I

r&&* *&&*rs l Worksheet

I
ln each of the letters there is some information missing.
Fill in the missing information as choose.
I

Dea r Pavla

! wl like fo invife you

to m irth party at m Dq, kirsly

r 15th t /,ri .r
} }, atl- lZ3O

l you m.
Maria
l go shoppilrg.

t co|h\e tih ?
Li,t


l h well. Could
Dr Jill
| r and visit
at lz
Would you like to m to =

| r loolting fwd to play at m house \Th

seelng . l!

!


? l got w foofDoll f -
Iry
ithd
m
9 Ou m qd ploy footbolf
with m ot lOom

Puchta/Williams | higrn
l HeIbling Languages
 _iri;a**;.

;,
: j:
'*rl]f

__:_1_]:'
** g f,_ __ _fr+ff
5}
ryBY t fi r

lggG lG Clothing; colours; structures: l m picture there is... The boy/girl has ...;
vocabulary,. stonding, sitti g, walking, rryig, wearig
iig skills Surveying information carefuIly; giving accurate, lr and relevant information;
recognising how much information is needed listener; concentrated listening
and acting information; asking lr questions
gG 9-12
IGUGl Elementary / 2 upwards
Time minutes to complete both pairs of pictures.
prBnaration the worksheet fr each ir of students. Cut each sheet up into the two
pairs of separate pictures. Clip the pairs together so thr is with matching
, to make it easier to distribute to the irs of students.
You might like to give each pair of children the same pair of pictures. s
alternative, you could give half the c|ass set of pictures and half the class the
thr set.

ln class
1 Revise vocabulary fr cloihing if necessary.
2 Put the students into pairs. Give each student picture frm the pair, and
student the matching . TelI them they mustn't let their rtr see their
picture. They should hide it behind book.
Explain that there r six differences between the pictures. They have to describe
their pictures r carefully to each other and identify the differences. Emphasise
that they mustn't speak too loudly r the thr pairs will hr their answers.
They r allowed to ask each other questions.
t the end, ask the students to tell you what differences they have found. The
others can check whether they r rrt.
Each pair then have go with the other pair of pictures. Askthem to assess
whether they wr mr successful the second time.

srs 1 stdig/ bike; girl's , black/white

girl's hair, loose/tied back; gloves/no gloves
, t-shirt design/plain; girl socks/ socks
2 girl, sandals/trainers; girl's t-shirt Ld/Nw Yrk
girl wearing/holding bag; , troiners/sandals
/ ; girl's hoir lk/ld

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages "l97



%fu ffiw*{% l Worksheet

198 puit,,tulwiltiurs I Teaching Young Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages

 --
-
& ,^ @r-. ** *
*
*
g 5 g
sWwwW@Ww.

lgg foctls Decoding the meaning of sentence written in code

hilig sil!s Logical thinking; deductive thinking; applying rules carefully
Age 10-12
1l Elementary / 2 upwards
Time Lesson '1: 20-0 minutes
Lesson 2: rud 0 minutes
PrGaration the worksheet fr each student.

ln class: Lesson 1

Write the folIowing message the board and ask the students to guess what it
m nS:

HPPY BRTHDI
Elicit from the students that the message is HAPPY BIRTHDAYI Tell them that the
message is in code. The key is that all vowels r left out. Give them another
message to decode, for example:
THS lSSGE S FR CLVR CHLDRN
When they've come u with the sentence This message is for clever childre, ask
them to use the same code to write sentence slip of r.
Ask student to m to the front of the class, quickly check their sentence
and rrt it if necessary. Then ask the student to write their message the
board using capital letters. Ask the class to decode the message. rr like this
with several students.
Give each student of the worksheet. Tell them to read the story. Make sure
students have understood what the story is all about.
Give them few minutes to decode the message. lf necessary, scaffoId asking
questions that guide the students in their process of wrkig out the code.
m ples.

Whot's the problem?

Why 't they understand the st the r?
Who do they osk?
Does that rs kw what to do?
What does he/she say?
whot does that m?
How could you fid out what it ms?
r there clues?
swr WE ARE YOUR FRlENDS

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l @ HeIbling Languages 199

 l class: Lesson 2
Discuss with ur class what message the people earth should send to the
people in the spaceship.
Students then encode their message, and draw picture of the next situation
in the story, m with humans holding r with the message they want
to send to the people from the spaceship.

l
I
I
I
I
I

200 Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l Helbling Languages

"fu*
r:r:r,*; r:&*. l Worksheet
\$/h the spaceship landed, people on rth were r worried. h didn't want to
w go r it. h wr scared, They stayed away frm it and looked at it from far
away through their telescopes. h saw word written the Space ship. It said'LIMSY'.
Nobody knew what it meant. h people Went to the biggest liary in town. h looked
in all the dictionaries. h couldn't find the word Limsy. They checked th intefnet too.
But they couldn't find it.
Fr thr days and nights, nothing happened. h the furth day, the door of the
spaceship opened. out m some little green m. on their heads, they had little t.
h climbed down ladder. h they set foot the ground, two of the little gfeen m
stepped forward. They put up large r. hr was message on th banner. It said:

!ffi;* \/./-

h people of th earth looked at th message on the r. h didn't understand it.

professor
h they hd idea. They asked the oldest and most intelligent person in town,
'iseman.
The professor looked at the r through hr big telescope. She didn't say
word fr half hur. h sh said, 'It's easy. It's code"
code?' the people said. 'Can you please explain the code to us?'
'Of course,' the professor said. 'Just look at the spacecraft. flhat does it say?'
'LIMSY,'the people said. 'But that's nonsense!'
'Nonsense?' the professor laughed. 'Nonsense? That's not nonsense! That's the key to
the code!'
''ht do you m?' th people said. 'Please tell us!'
'Look!' the professor said. 'If you write out the alphabet, and th you start with the
word LIMSY and write the rest of the alphabet except for L-I-M-S-Y, you get the code.'
h people did what professor'\x/'iseman said. h wrote on big piece of paper:

Normal D F G I J L N R S U z

J U Y Z
Code L l S D F G N R

h looked at the letters and shook their heads. 'sorry, professor. But we still
don't understand th message!'

G you find t what the message the r is? write it hr.

P,rcrltalwi.s I TeachingYoung LearnerstoThink l tig Lggs 201

 lgg foctls Describing the functions of machine
and how to use it
iig sills Lateral thinking; analytic reasoning;
evaluating ideas; selecting the best solution
for rlm
g 1-12
[l Elementary / 2 upwards
im 0 minutes
]]ti the worksheet fr each student.

l class
rst rlm situation and create
simple drawing the board that
to exp|ain the situation. Example: helps

lmgi it's 'l0 o'clock at night. t'm

driving hm Jrom friend's place.
Suddenly m car stops, l've ru out
of petrol. The t Jilling stotion is
far away. What could l do?

2 Ask students to make suggestions. Help
them with language if necessary d
write their suggestions the board. Examples:

Yu could walk to the t
filting station.
You could h sm d ask
for help.
You could go hm bus.
You could stop thr car.
You could wait for sm to help you.
Yu could sleep i the car.

202 Puchta/Williams l Teaching Young Learners il ( Helbling Languages

 Look the suggestions d ask ur class to find advantages and disadvantages fr
each of them. Examples:
Walking to the nearest Jilling station:
dvtgs: you do that your w,
Disadvantage: it might take lg time

4 When you've gone through all the suggestions with ur class, ask them to say
which they think is the best suggestion.
5 Give each student of the worksheet. Tell them to look at the picture. Say
that Leo has got problem - ask the students to guess who Leo is and why he
has got rlm.
6 Tell them to read what Leo says, Make sur they understand the message.
7 Tell them that they should especially think of and show thr things in their
pictu r:
how switch it and turn it off
what ingredients needs and whr to put them into the machine

what kind of ice rm the machine produces and where it comes out.

Give them 10 minutes to draw their ice rm machines.

9 Put allthe ice rm machines the wall and urg students to talk about
their machine. Help them with language if needed.
10 l the next lesson, tell students that inventors often work w invention for
long time. Tell them to take their ice rm machine off the wall. Give them
another of the same worksheet or blank sheet of r and encourage
them to improve their machine.
11 students then write few sentences their worksheets.
12 Display all the students'creations the walls of the classroom.

]aotG The idea for this activity is based suggestion that comes from Jane Pofahl's
Creative d Critical Thinking (lntermediate).

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages 20


,?* {{:: t|{*t;2 r*-?$,r: l Worksheet F
1 Look at the picture; can guess what L problem is?

2 h read what he says.

-=
l
tr
R},{
tr
Hi! m Leo, and l make the best ice rm in the world.

But ]'ve got big problem. Please help me?
It trril!d such beautiful day. lt hot and sunny, and tr
lots of ch]ldren want to buy m ice rm. But my mhi
rk down. l can't make ice rm any mr!d
-
Sunday, so ] 't get mechan]c to look at my machine.
l need ur help. you please design the perfect ice rm
tr
mach jne for me? lf you help me, l'll give
u big ice cream r
day for whole r. Please, please, please help me!

3 Draw the perfect ice cream machine for Leo.
Use the questions to help you.
t_
How you switch it ?
How you turn it off?
What ingredients do you need to
make the perfect ice rm?
a Where do you put them into the machine?
what kind of jce rm does the
machjne make? -
where does jt come out?
L;
l{

-]-
204 <
Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Lrs Think
; Helbling Languages =

,?* {{:: t|{*t;2 r*-?$,r: l Worksheet F
1 Look at the picture; can guess what L problem is?

2 h read what he says.

-=
l
tr
R},{
tr
Hi! m Leo, and l make the best ice rm in the world.

But ]'ve got big problem. Please help me?
It trril!d such beautiful day. lt hot and sunny, and tr
lots of ch]ldren want to buy m ice rm. But my mhi
rk down. l can't make ice rm any mr!d
-
Sunday, so ] 't get mechan]c to look at my machine.
l need ur help. you please design the perfect ice rm
tr
mach jne for me? lf you help me, l'll give
u big ice cream r
day for whole r. Please, please, please help me!

3 Draw the perfect ice cream machine for Leo.
Use the questions to help you.
t_
How you switch it ?
How you turn it off?
What ingredients do you need to
make the perfect ice rm?
a Where do you put them into the machine?
what kind of jce rm does the
machjne make? -
where does jt come out?
L;
l{

-]-
204 <
Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Lrs Think
; Helbling Languages =
 .*;]tgg ,.:]*;rr:
]ir- r ]:*];
'i]:i|
!& *?
;1: fu %ww

[gg foctls Va rious

Thinling sills Surveying information carefully; understanding the nature of problem; dealing
with ambiguity; spotting clues; working out Strategy; checking and reviewing
sol utions; assessing solutions

gG 1_12
ll Pre-intermediate / 1 upwards
im '15 minutes

lrti rr of the worksheet for each student.

ln class
1 Hand out the worksheet.
2 Explain to the students that spy has package and has to pass it on to another
spy. l monolingual classes, you may have to do some of this in the mother
tongue. has letter in code telling him which m he needs to give the
package to. Teach the words spy d code.
put the students into pairs. Tell them to look
carefully at the information in the
letter and work out what they have to do; they need to take their time. Don't give
hints, as allthe information is there. Tellthem to quietly put their hands up
if they solve the rlm.
4 Give the pairs some time to think and wrk out their strategies.
5 lf the class gets stuck, don't give anSWerS. You need to model the problem-solving
process. sk: What do you d to do? (Work out which m to give the
rl
to.) What you see? (Words and lines.) What goes the lis? (Words.) r they
whole vlords? (Parts of words.) you recognise words? ... Now, try gi.
6 lf they r still stuck, ask u see patterns?
7 Fill, ask for solutions, and ask students to explain to the class how they
worked it out.

sr rh lry. g to ll
qo, ll markef stall.
mwt h r, put i k ito
bi, , wrote i felli9enf lelter
7utit in an enve|ope.

9irls /4n rou}td ;n t

l9rUd

Snaw white th , wrfr.

T_hat__ ill hal es eating vegetables.

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to @ 205

F

r: W{ l Worksheet
t
The spy needs to give parcel to the right m. has letter in code telling
him which is the right m. Who is it?

*lg*

,



lt

* J,J-,-"*
d
\

n,,- 8

_r"' *th markef sfll,

flh mantvenf _r9, pvt _k Jo

leffer
ir., p"n, wrot" "n _-telli9enf
on) pu,tit _ , envel
-h
girls ra^ in t

ployg-,
thr wr{s,

_ il _, eatigvegefables,

206 Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages

 Much frml education focuses analytical thinking, following
logical
arguments to arrive at correct anSWer. However it is also imrtt
to clevelop
the kind of thinking that focuses lrig ideas and generating
different
possi bi l ities, often l led creative th i ki ng.

l anecdote about walt Disney, of the most creative

minds of hum
history, associate of his reportedly said something
lg the lines of,'The
amazing thing about walt was that he was not just
rs; he was like three
people i : Walt the Drmr, Walt the Realist,
and Walt the Criticl'

This anecdote goes to the very r of the creative process.

| rdr to create
something W We need to go into mental state that activates
ur imaglnation.
The key to imagining things successfulIy is non-judgemental
attitucle; creating
story in group, for ml, does not work if unusual
ideas r shot down.
l the creative phase, unusual ideas, known as'out of the
box'or'blue sky
'thinking, are required. creativity often works
best when p|ayfulness and humour
r part of the process, and important aspect of creativity
is the awareness of
ownership, the feeling of having created something w.
Therefore, developing
students'creativity is also an important way of helping them
to m mr
self-confident

lf architect is to build stunning new building, they have

to think beyond
what has thought of lfr them. But their idea
will mr castle in
the air if it is not followed up realist phase, where
the dream is put into
concrete l of action. Careful structuring and
lig - translating the drm
into step-by-step realisation is what is needed next.
-
And finaIly, the dream needs to evaluated carefuIly. We
need to look for ways
of improving the dream, of finding flaws i it, so that it can
m solid reality.

27


,
fuk* y&"%&tr

lgg loctls Body parts; numbers; has, is called.
lliig sltills Thinking creatively with unusual information; synthesising and using w
information; creating and using table
g 6_
ll Post-beginner / 1
im 30 minutes
prearation Bring in dice for each pair of students (see note). rr of the
worksheet for each student.
l class

1 Revise body parts. Teach the new words; e.g. hr, wing, tail-
2 Tell the students they r going to make monsters. Hand out worksheet for

each student and dice for each pair to share. Check they understand the words
legs, eyes, etc. Teach the word dice d the phrase: throw the dice. Explain that
they will throw the dice fr each body rt, e.g. if they have chosen /egs and
the dice shows 6, they write next to /egs. Complete table the board if
necessary as example, asking individual students to come to the front and
throw the dice.
When they have thrown the dice sv times they draw their monster in the

using the information in the tab|e. They then colour their monster.
4 Finally they complete the text filling in the blanks.

5 Display their monsters around the rm.

When dice have not availab|e, the authors have successfully used hexagonal
pencils; the children wrote numbers 1 to each of the six sides of pencil,
which was rolled on desk.
This activity was inspired ll & Fogarty's Blueprints for Thinking i the
perative m.
Cl ssroo

208 Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages

J
1 Throw the dice. Fill in the table.

Monster parts Nmr

legs
eyeS
horns
wings
hands
rS
ta ils

2 Draw your monster.

Fill i the gaps.

monster is called . lt has _ legs and _ hands. lt has

eyes and ears. lt has wings and horns. lt also has tails.
- - -
Puchta/Williams I Teaching Yug Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages 29

l

r w*

:

!
lgg fs Language fun; metaphorical use of language
hiig silIs Creativity; metaphorical thinking; visualising; dealing with ambiguity; lateral -
!
thinking; kinaesthetic skills
g 10-12 -
r
ll post-begin er l 1 u pwa rds

im 20-0 minutes
lr
preparation haIf-metre piece of string for each ir of students.

l class
lntroduce words of feeling, e.g. hoppy, sad, tired, scared, gr, bored d
enthusiastic, d practise them in various ways, for example getting students
to show the respective feeling when you say of the words.
Ask ur students to work in pairs. Give each pair piece of string. Ask rtr
to close their eyes. lays out the piece of string the desk i frt of so that
it expresses of the feelings.
With her eyes closed, should feel the piece of string in frt of her, and try to
guess the feeling that wanted to express.
ls it happy? No, it isn't.
gr? Yes.

lntroduce umr of nouns describing things that seen in tur, e.g.

cloud, tree, flower, star, river, muti.
Ask ur students to think of their own feelings right now, d choose of
the us the board. lf their feeling is, e.g., happy, and the word they have
chosen is, e.g., star, they should draw picture of star that expresses happiness.
Give them five minutes for this.
t

Ask each student to m to the front of the class, show their picture and say
Sentence, .g.:
l'm river d l'm bored.
UritiO When the students have finished their pictures, collect them all in. Put them
wall and have the students stand r sit around them i horseshoe rrgmt.

lf necessary, give them language such as:
Maria, l think you are this c!oud. Yu are feeling hoppy today.

ilotEs The idea of using pieces of string to express feelings is based ris -
Andrew Wright.

210 Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think I @ Helbling Languages


Ol
r WIt }m5
lq.| r'
" -*)"
i

lgg fGs Listening fr details in m

iig sills Creativity; language play, visualising, dealing with ambiguity; understanding
nother person's thoughts
g 10 upwards
lI Post-beginner l 1 upwards, depending the poem u choose
imG 0-40 minutes
rlti select m, or use of the two poems below. Note that m 1 uses far
mr advanced vocabulary than poem 2.

l class
Ask the students to have lk piece of 4 r and ready. TeIl them
that that you r going to read out m to them. Tell them roughly what the
m is all about. lf necessary, pre-teach key words.
Tell them that while they r listening they should make as m drawings
evoked the m as possible. They should draw all r the page, not in
linear rdr. Ask them to draw fast d not to Worry about what their drawings
look like. TelI them not to Wrr if theY r not able to hr r draw everything.
They imaginative with their ideas, however unusual they may .
]
J Read the text at vr slow, but natural, .
4 Tell them that u r going to read the text out again. Sk them to work in pairs.
They should sit shoulder to shoulder, each student looking at their own and their
partner's drawings at the same time, while you r reading oUt the text again. Tell
them that whenever they recognise part of the text in their partner's drawings,
they should point at it. lf the artist agrees with this, they nod their head, if not,
they shake their head. Tell them it is important that they point and look at the
drawings at the same time.
After reading the poem out, u may ask the class what they liked r did not like
about the activity.

]lotG This activity offers various advantages:

it helps those students who feel they would Vr make quick sketch
of
Somethin8 to rm their block and do quick drawing,
. it simultaneously activates various sensory and intelligence rs,
it is good listening training,
. it teaches new words
. it helps them deal with ambiguity, and above all ...
it's great fun!

PU( hta/Williams I Teaching Young tearners to Think 1 lg Languages 211


__

l.dilIiam's Toys The Animals] Smm t

1

William has dump truck The m is bright,

And piles of blocks. and there's rt tonight.
Wil|iam has some stamps The lion and the duck 4
f
And coins r dancing rk']rll.
And thirty-seven rks, The pig and the snake
racing r, dancing r, r eating lots of cake.

lion that rr The cat is rll cool,
wiIliam has helmet She's swimming in the pool.
That his uncle Arthur wr. The hippo and the fox
has penciIs. has soldiers. r wearing url socks.
has rs. has bats But the sheep is asleep.
And mitts and balls, 'Oh, wow!'says the cow,
tril and seven cowboy hats, 'The m is bright
Gu ns that sq u irt, and there's rt tonight!'
turtle and guinea pig,
set of trains, some cars and rs, (Puchta/Gerngross)

And shovels, small d big.
Paints in pints, and brushes,

telescope, clock
That comes apart, tugboat
And set to make dock

With lighthouse and lir.
Some glasses without glass.
arrowhead that william found
And william took to class.
Marbles, checkers, packs of cards,
And books, and books, and books.
shells from summer beaches,
And stones frm summer brooks.
Leaves, now dry, butterfly
Pinned neat|y to board.
motorboat that's rk,
silver rubber sword.

An ambulance that winds and winds
make the siren's noise.
lt=
WiIliam says he's bored because
he needs some other toys.

(Karla Kuskin)
F
212 Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l He|bling Languages
L
 &
|i.

ffi ww%ffi % wwwry

lgg IG -ing {making, mdig etc.); you ..

lliIdg sills This activity involves thinking creatively.
AgB age
ll Elementary / 2 upwards. r advanced students will use mr advanced
la nguage d vocabu lary.

imG 10 minutes
rrti rig of paperclips to class. lf you want to demonstrate mending glasses,
you'll d rk pair of glasses suth as sunglasses: the rli attach
the handle to the glasses (practise first, to sur you do it).

l class
Give every student paperclip. Divide the students into groups of four. Ask them
to think of twenty uses fr paperclip. Tell them to use their imagination. Ask
for r two examples to get them started, e.g. hairclip, mdig pair of
glasses, making hole, lig ils, clipping to m belt, mkig kl,
making earring. Demonstrate some uses if possible.
When they have finished, ask groups in turn to telI you use. Continue getting
one idea from each gru tillthey have run out of ideas.
You teach the language: Yu mk ... ;You use itto ... to express
their ideas. t lower level you just accept individual words and phrases.
Finally, take vote on the most creative idea.

Ua]iation This activity used with objects- rur bands, erasers, pencils, pieces
of r etc.

puchtaiWilliams I Teaching Yug Lrrs to Think l @ Helbling Languages 21

 G

-E
",,... -
rR!Ilg gr
a
-E

*;_.,f

[gg foctls Revising questions; guessing questions and swrig them

_
Tninking sills Creativity, interpersonal skills (especially empathy); the task involves thinking
about how to SeqUence the mim to V information clearly, recognising the _
amount of information another rs needs, and wh mr information is
d
needed _
g 1-12

lul lmtr / 2 upwards _
TimG 10-15 minutes
_
rrti None

ln class
write six questions the board and check the students'understanding. Fr
m |:

-
) What's your telephone umr?
) What's your favourite colour?

) What's your favourite food?
d) What's your favourite pet? q

) What are your hobbies?

f) What are you good at?

TelI the class to work i pairs. Ask them to have and r ready. rtr
seIects question from the list, and asks the question through mim only.
answers the question also means of mim or by'writing'the answer r


'drawing'a simple picture As back with finger. Advise the students to'write'
in capital letters.
when the first question has answered, makes note (using and r
lE
d

this time) of the question they asked and the anSWer they believe they got, while
makes note of what they believe the question was, and of the answer they -
gV.

4 When each ir of students have completed all the questions and answers (and _
they have asked and answered three each), they mr notes.
d

Ulati This activity used with alI kinds of other questions. ExampIes: -
. Who's your Javourite
How old are you?
friend?
lE
4

Wh's your birthday?

4l
. where's your favourite singer frm? _
al
_
1l
214 Puchta/Williams I leaching Young Irr lo Think | Helbling Languages .
ilotc Kinaesthetic children often find it hard to see objects in their mind's . This
exercise is ideal fr them because when someone 'writes' r'draws' something
their back, they can mr easily bridge the gap between their strong kinaesthetic
awareness and their less developed visual one. Regular use of such exercises
therefore contribute significantly to the child's cognilive development.

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Yg Learners to Think l @ Hetbling Languages 215

 _

_
fuwfuw ?

-
else's
lggG loctls Describing someone's physical r; imitating sm
r u nciation/in tonal ion .
in this case
iig sills visualising rs; using clues to hypothesise r make deductions,

Age
using rl clues to make visual hypotheses
11-12
t
ll lmtr / 2 upwards
" imG 15-20 minutes
you r using,
prearation Select listening dialogue, e.g. from the urs book
l class

Asawarm-up,askthestudentsiftheycanimitateSomeonewhosemother
language, You could
tongUe is English saying word r Sentence in their w
also ask them to think of famous English-speaking
person ( real character or tr
what it would sound
fictitious , .g. from rt the students know) and
like if this rS said wrd r Sentence in the StUdents'
mother tongue, tr
play ur dialogue twice. lf ssr, work the Ianguage so that the students

understand it. F
lf ssr, introduce language to describe someone's physical r,
,g,:

l,ott
l ,hort tr

I roung
ota
I F
tg btack/short fair/etc./ hair. _
big/small s.
q small/wide mouth. _
=
tthink he/she... has got
small/big ears. =
l
gree / row /etc. es.

=
l

smiles lot.
=
looks grum. !

etc. -a

a
t
216 Futrltsl ig yg Learners to Think l Helbling Languages
 Tell the students that you r going to ask them to close their eyes d imagine
that they see the speakers while they are listening. Write down the names of
the speakers the board, and ask students to telI you what they think each of
the people looks like.
Askthe studentsto listen again with their eyes closed and select of the
speakers. They should then imitate what they believe the body posture of this
rs is, and say word or sentence as if they wr the other person. Play the
tape, and give them some time to practise for themselves before you ask them to
say the words/sentences in front of the whole class.
You may want to extend the activity and get two students to act out the dialogue,
each in the rl of their imagined speaker. Give them or two minutes to
rr for this and ask them to look at the printed dialogue in their course book
- but if the course book gives illustrations of the characters, it may better
idea to write the dialogue on the rd so that the students mr easily
access their w imagination.

ilIGs This activity works best if the students do not have an existing mental image of
the character they are supposed to identify with. It is best used with characters
that r not represented through pictures i the course book.
This activity is based on an idea from ri Rinvolucri.

Puchta/Williams I TeachingYoung LearnerstoThink l @ HelblingLanguages 217

 -
-

-
Y&*'g d dea ,8 **
1

4

lggG loctls Talking about ability; giving rss to explain why something is great idea "
iig kills APPreciating somebody else's ideas; listening attentively; creativity; rsig; -
operative thinking skills t1

g 1-12 J

1l Elementary / 2 upwards

im 20-0 minutes

-
rrti None

ln class -
Give students few examples of great things humans do, e.g. design houses, 1

fly to the m, cook deliciousfood etc. Ask students to think of mr examples.

write the students'suggestions the rd. l\4ake sure the list contains at least
10-15 examples, such as.
_

Humans ...
play musical istrmt
-
rgrm computer
fly helicopter
tell jokes

-
tell stories
drive car
cook spaghetti.
2 Ask students to brainstorm list of animals. write these animals the boarci.
-
)
J Tell students each to pick of the animals as their best friend and to imagine
l-
that this iml has hum abilities. Ask them to select three of the abilities
the rd and do drawing that shows the animal doing them.

_
This is m best fried.

His m's Croc Croc. _
fly l.
<
play the guitar. _=
cook spaghetti.
-
_=
(J -r,rA

_=
fl
_!_

218 Pu(hla/Williamb | hing Young l earners to l hink | Helbling tanguages -:_

 i,,.),,l|a,|a;:ll*,|1||ir/|,|:;||lrr|.,|/r,).a||||r|:,l)ra

l,,ir;,|,,;;;, i;iir.:,...r:r.,.r,r,,;,.,.,,.|,.|,, _:..;

'.,

Ask one student to m i front and rst what their'best friend'can do.
Wh they mention the first thing their friend do, say why this is good idea,
d invite the students to m up with their own suggestions as to why this is
good idea, as well. lt is important that you scaffold the students'language as \,ve
see in the ml hr_
S l: lhis is Croc Croc.
He's m best friend.
fly l.
: That's good idea. lt's good idea because you go with him d see the
world.
let's7lnd mr rSS why this is good idea. (Glvig another
( the class)
example) Thot's good ideo because he fly to fri d see hisJamily.
What else?
52: That's good ideo because holiday with Croc Croc.
: That's right. g holiday with him.
. What else?
S That's good idea, he flig you to school.
: fly to school. tmgi that! Croc Croc d landing their
l i front of the school every mrig!
rr like this with the other two abilities that ur student's'best friend'
has. h ask other students to m to the front of the class and do their
presentations.

tsi wh ur students r familiar with the language needed, you ask them to
continue making 'That's good idea' comments, working in grus.

ilotGs The ability to accept ideas that others have m up and expressing one's
appreciation of someone else's ideas is important social skill.
This activity is based idea ll and Fogarty's Blueprits
for Thinking
i the Cooperative Classroom.

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Yug Learners to Think I

( -'' ellig Laguages 219
 -
__

"- Wt fvLd happen f 7

_

-
t

lgg This is challenging task, requiring pre-intermediate language level. lt is good
way to use the would form in meaningful situation. 1

Structures: What would h if ,..?, would, comparatives (e.g. happier, fitter)
lliig sills Thinking creatively; thinking about cause and effect; imagining possible
consequences; expIai i ng soI utions
-
AgG 11_12 _
_
ll Pre-intermediate / '1 upwards
TimG This activity could take one or two lessons. d

lG]ti Fr each student, rr of the worksheet, and have supply of Iarge
sheets of paper for step 4. d

ln class _
1 Tell the class that they r going to imagine the world as different place.
_
2 Write What would h if there were cars? i ir| the board.
))
Ask the class for suggestions, and build up mind map using their suggestions.
An example of partiaIly completed map is shown, but it is important to use the
students' ideas, however fanciful. -



l't visit so / l"r, \ ls ill
m places {
gollr,fio2
Wl
ul't go
t{ tr were {ilter -
lar no rr?
' <
bap7ier
We Wul

walk more
<
_
..
\ less fat,./

d

feelings- How would you feel? - and add their answers to the map.
Ask for their
Hand out the worksheet, and tell them they will make mind maps in pairs. Ask
-
each pair to choose What f question frm the worksheet, and complete the
mind m. They could pick u large piece of r from you to complete it -
, so the map expand. hr is no need for complete sentences: notes are
appropriate fr mind maps. r{

-
{
220 Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages -E
 5 Ask some of the pairs to present their mind maps to the class.
6 Display the mind maps around the room.
7 They could work one of the other mind maps frm the worksheet in another
lesson.

U]iti Ask the class for suggestions for thr What lf questions and write them on the
board. Fr example, What if imls could falk? Now ask them to wrk i pairs,
choose their w What if? question and create their own mind map together.

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think l @ Helbling Languages 221

 Wfuwffiffi fuwWffi ---? l Worksheet
Think, and make mind map.

what would
happen if
there wr
telephones?

what would
happen if
U Wr
metres tall?

what would
h if you
could fly?

Puchta/Williams I Teaching Young Learners to Think I G) Helbling Languages

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offers devised to develop key 114

thinking d language ski||s i ug children.

-
selection of activities, organised in categories from basic to higher-order thinking skilis, engage
young learners .-.
in meaningful use of language while enhancing cognitive abilities through real-|ife thinking tasks. bJ
fun and
ll tasks careful|y match both the cognitive and language |evel of the students and will create hours of
motivation for both teachers and lrrs.
,,4
k
ldeal for use in ELT classes, bilingual programmes and CLlL-based curricula, .4
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