Introduction for “Zoo animals and their Traits“ - Kim Isabell Dinter
The game is called “Zoo Animals and their Traits” because it combines connecting zoo animals with the corresponding traits and facts about them.
Target group and Time
This game is most suitable for children in year 5 till 7 because the vocabulary that is required for this game is quite simple but there are also a few words that are more difficult. The minimum time needed for this activity would be around 10 minutes. The length of this game can be adjusted freely depending on how many cards for each animal one prepares.
Learning objectives
The main objective of this game is to learn something about zoo animals and to be able to describe them. Furthermore, the children practice their reading, explaining and describing skills since they not only need to read and understand single words but as they turn the card around they see the word paraphrased in English. Lastly, the children also learn something about the endangerment of zoo animals, why they are poached and what zoos do against that.
Instructions to set up the activity
- Print out six zoo animal pictures, prepare at least three cards with traits for each zoo animal.
- On the back of the cards: rephrase the words/phrases (functions as a scaffold)
Letting it run
- Spread cards with traits and animal pictures on the ground —> group work: children should talk about their guesses and match the corresponding traits and facts to the zoo animals
- Ask children if all of them know what is meant by every word and repeat them together
- Second level: Spread cards with the word “endangered” on the ground and let the children guess what this word means and if these zoo animals are endangered or not
- Talk about the reasons why these zoo animals are endangered and what role zoos play in relation to species conservation.
Introduction - Eren
This activity teaches students zoo animals in a playful manner.
Target group and Time
The target group is ideally young and in an early stage of learning English since it is a rather playful activity that still requires some basic understanding of English. It should take around 10-15 minutes.
Learning objectives
The students will learn new vocabulary (animals and their features and environment), it will promote their activity and kinaesthetic memory as well as their movement.
Instructions to set up the activity
The activity requires pictures of zoo animals (for sustainability the teacher can paint them on scrap paper). Furthermore, the teacher needs to prepare questions related to the animals. It is important to hold up the correct pictures while asking the questions. The questions are answered by the students imitating the correct animal. For example, if the teacher asks: Which of these two animals has orange fur? While holding up a picture of an elephant and a tiger the students would all roar like a tiger. At the end the teacher will state the correct animal and the students will repeat the name of the animal. The questions should not be too hard for the participants to answer, or it won’t be fun. It should definitely be introduced properly so there won’t be misunderstandings.
Letting it run
The students shouldn’t feel overwhelming pressure of being in the spotlight on their own. A possible difficulty might be that students will not know the answer or how to imitate certain animals for which case the teacher or assistants will have to be prepared to help out.
