ESL TEACHING: "The Body Parts"

Let’s learn body parts in a fun and easy way! This activity is perfect for preschoolers and young learners. With simple words, colorful pictures, and songs, children can learn and remember body parts while playing. Learning English can be fun!

There are lots of ideas on the web for teaching children about the human body. I chose some of them that I found appropriate also for ESL students.

We started learning by introducing the parts of the body: head, shoulders, knees, toes, eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. Depending on the age or level of the students you are teaching, start with three or four words per class.

Ideas for flashcard games while teaching the parts of the body:

• Simon Says

When you say "Simon says touch your head" students need to touch their head. But when you say "Touch your head", without "Simon", they must not touch their head. If they do they are out of the game. Repeat the game with all the body parts you have introduced.

• What’s Missing?

Place four familiar cards face up in a row. Ask your children to close their eyes. Now, they can open their eyes and guess which one is missing. Turn that card face up again and add one more card to the pile. Ask your students to close their eyes again and turn two cards over. Gradually add few cards more, depending on how many you have introduced at the time, and turn more cards for students to guess what's missing.

• Touch the Ball

You will need one ball per pair of students sitting on the floor and facing each other. The ball is on the floor between them. You give them instructions to touch a certain part of the body e.g. "Touch your head/knees/head...." After some time, you will tell them to touch the ball. The student who picks the ball first is the winner. Now, only the winners play the game. Divide them into pairs again and repeat the game as instructed. Play the game until there is just one pair of students left. The winner is the last student picking the ball first.

• Pass The Card

The students and the teacher sit in a circle. The teacher starts by passing a picture card to the student on his right, saying, “This is a cat.” The student takes the card and passes it to the next student, saying, “This is a cat.” The card is passed around the circle. When the card returns to the teacher, the teacher puts that card aside and introduces a new picture card in the same manner. When the students have learned a few picture cards, the teacher has a few options:
a) wait until a card has reached the halfway mark, then introduce a second card going in the same direction;
b) introduce cards at the same time going in opposite directions,
c) send 3-4 cards around the circle in the same direction with little pause between each. Tip: Four cards are probably the maximum number of cards to work with at one time.

For more flashcard games, check  Simple ideas for introducing language using flashcards.

For the "Follow-up" activity, you can ask children to draw their body or their face using this template

Or you can use this idea for the activity "The Teeth in My Mouth" with styrofoam and colored paper
Instead of using styrofoam, you can also use white beans.

Sing the "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" song

While the song plays, you do all the action and encourage your students to do the same. Repeat the song, singing it a little bit faster, then faster, and faster. Until you can not sing it faster. Students will love it and ask you to sing it more.

If you have already sung "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes," you can sing the "Open Close" song

Sing the "Hockey Pockey" song for level 2 (more body parts)

"All about me" chantThis is a great chant for ESL students to learn. It's very easy to learn when you add appropriate TPR (e.g. ten little fingers - wiggle with your fingers; ten little toes - wiggle or touch your toes, etc.).

All about me

Ten little fingers

Ten little toes,

two little ears

and one little nose.

Two little eyes,

shining so bright.

Two little lips,

to kiss you good night!

We also did some "Skeleton" crafts after introducing words: skull, skeleton, bone, brain, lungs, and exploring the human skeleton through different media.

I created the "Human digestion" labyrinth to help my students understand how food travels through the body.

Looking for more creative ESL teaching ideas? Check this out and get inspired! ESL TEACHING IDEAS

EXSPERIMENT: DUGA U STAKLENCI /Rainbow in a Jar: A Simple Density Experiment for Early Learners

 

The goal of this experiment is to introduce children to the concept of density by observing that solutions with different densities do not mix. Here’s how the experiment went with my group of children:

Materials we used:

• 6 small glass jars or cups
• 1 larger glass jar
• Water
• Food coloring or tempera paint: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple
• Sugar

We poured the same amount of water into each jar or cup and added a different color to each. Then we added sugar, increasing the amount by one tablespoon for each subsequent jar. This way, we created solutions with different densities.

Cilj pokusa je upoznati djecu s pojmom gustoće kroz uočavanje da se otopine različitih gustoća ne miješaju. Ovako je tekao pokus koji sam realizirala sa svojoj djecom.....

Pribor i materijali koje smo mi koristili:

• 6 manjih staklenki ili čaša,
• jedna veća staklenka
•  voda, prehrambene boje ili tempera: crvena, narančasta, žuta, zelena, plava, ljubičasta
•  šećer .  

U staklenke ili čaše ulijemo istu količinu vode i u svaku dodamo boju po želji te šećer. Kako bi dobili otopine različitih gustoća, količinu šećera koju dodajemo povećavamo za jednu žlicu po staklenci. 

 

 

For example, add one tablespoon of sugar to the red water, two tablespoons to the orange, three to the yellow, and so on. The children can count the spoons of sugar as you add them. Stir the water and sugar well with a spoon until all the sugar dissolves.

Questions for the children:

• “What do you think will happen to the sugar?”
• “Where did the sugar go?”

Once the solutions are ready, slowly pour them one by one into the larger jar, being careful not to mix them. Through guided questions, help the children conclude that the solutions don’t mix because of the added sugar. The sugar changes the density of the water — the more sugar there is, the denser the water becomes.

Npr. u crvenu dodamo 1 žlicu šećera, u narančastu dvije, u žutu tri itd. Djeca broje dodane žlice šećera. Žlicom dobro pomiješati vodu i šećer kako bi se sav šećer otopio.

Pitanja za djecu: „Što će se dogoditi sa šećerom?/Gdje je nestao šećer?“; „

Kad su otopine spremne, polako ih sipati u veću staklenu kako se ne bi pomiješale. Pitanjima navedite djecu  da zaključe da se zbog dodanog šećera otopine ne miješaju. Šećer je promijenio gustoću vode. Što ga više ima, to je voda gušća.

Our experiment was partially successful. The lightest (red) and the heaviest (purple) layers separated well, while the green layer dominated over the other colors. However, the planned learning outcomes were still achieved.

Since the experiment only partially worked, it may be best to use fewer colors—for example, red, green, yellow, and purple—and to use a narrower glass jar or, ideally, a test tube for pouring the solutions. This will make it easier to layer the liquids without mixing them.

Naš pokus je djelomično uspio. Uspjele su se odvojiti najrjeđa crvena  i najgušća ljubičasta, a zelena boja je dominirali nad ostalim bojama. No, ipak, planirani ishodi su ostvareni.  Međutim, zbog djelomično uspjelog pokusa najbolje bi bilo koristi samo nekoliko boja npr.  crvenu, zelenu, žutu  i ljubičastu te koristit što užu staklenku ili po mogućnosti epruvetu u koju ćete dolijevati dobivene otopine.

Možda će vas zanimati:

Eksperiment: KAKO NASTAJE DUGA
Priča: JAJE KOJE NIJE ZNALO KOJU BOJU VOLI
IDEJE ZA AKTIVNOSTI "Ribica duginih boja"
POKRETNA IGRA: SKOK NA BOJU

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SPRING SONG "THE RAINBOW SONG"
THE RAINBOW COLORS SONG ESL TEACHING IDEAS
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IDEJE ZA UKRAŠAVANJE PISANICA

Prije ukrašavanja pisanica potreno je pripremiti ispuhana jaja, a kako ispuhati jaja pročitajte upute OVDJE.

Potrebno je:

• Ispuhana jaja - postupak možete pronaći
• Plastelin za učvršćvanje ispuhang jaja na štapić
• Štapići za ražnjiće
• Komad stiropora (u njega ćete ubadati štapiće sa pisanicama kako bi se osušile bez oštećenja)
• Akrilni lak u spreju (nije nužan, ali čini pisanice dugotrajnijim te im daje lijepi sjaj) – može i lak koji se nanosi kistom

Postupak:

Pažljivo ugurati štapić kroz rupici na jajetu te fiksirati s malo plastelina.

PISANICE UKRAŠENE POSIPANJEM PIJESKA U BOJI

Potrebno:

• Obojani pijesak različitih boja u većim posudama (npr. pvc podlošci od povrća i sl.), a kako obojiti pijesak pročitajte OVDJE.
• Drvofix (ljepilo za drvo)
• Kistovi

Postupak:
Jaja na štapiću premazivati ljepilom te posipavati pijeskom kako bi se pijesak primio za ljepilo. Kada ste ukrasili cijelu pisanicu, zabosti štapić u stiropor i ostaviti sušiti. Prelakirati lakom, a kada se lak osuši, odrezati štapić i pisanica je gotova. Zapamtite, ne morate odmah premazati cijelo jaje ljepilo, već se možete igrati te dio po dio premazivati i posipati kako bi dobili različite uzorke po želji.

UKRAŠAVANJE SALVETNOM TEHNIKOM

Ovom tehnikom možete ukrašavati i kuhana jaja.

Potrebno:

• Troslojne salvete
• Bjelanjak jednog jajeta
• Kist

Postupak:

Razdvojiti slojeve salvete od kojih ćemo koristiti samo gornji sloj sa uzorcima. Narežit salvete na male komadiće ili izrežite motive sa salvete kojima želite ukrasiti pisanice. Mažite jaje bjelanjkom te lijepite komadiće salvete. Kada oblijepite cijelo jaje ponovo premažite jaje bjelanjkom te ga stavite sušiti.

UKRAŠAVANJE LIJEPLJENJEM KOMADIĆA OBOJANIH LJUSKICA JAJETE (mozaik pisanica)

Potrebno:

• Komadići ljuskica u boji - obojite ispuhana jaja temperama te ih izmrvite na sitne komadiće (dovoljno velike da ih možete lagano lijepiti, a opet dovoljno male da lijepo prijanjaju uz stijenku jajeta)
• Drvofix
• Kist
• Akrilni lak u spreju

Postupak:
Nanositi ljepilo na jaje te slagati komadiće ljuskica. Kada oblijepite cijelu pisanicu, ostaviti sušiti. Nakon sušenje pošpricati lakom radi sjaja i isticanja boje ljuskica, ali i zaštite boje. Na kraju izrazati štapić.

MRAMORNA JAJA (idealna tehnika za ukrašavanje bijelih jaja)

Potrebno:

• Pjena za brijanje (najobičnija, najjeftinija pjena, nikako ne gel za brijanje)
• Kuhana jaja što svjetlija za najboljii efekt bijela
• Tekuće prehrambene boje
• Potrošna plastična posuda
• Papirnati ručnici
• Drveni štapić

Postupak:

Istisnite pjenu za brijanje u posudu tako da prekrije cijelo dno posude, nakapajte obilno prehrambenu boje različitih boja te pomiješajte drvenim štapićem, ali samo da se boja prošara pjenu. Uronite jaje u pjenu tako da bude cijelo prekriveno išaranom pjenom pa ga odložite na papirnati ručnik gdje ćete ga ostaviti minimalno deset minuta prije nego što obrišete pjenu papirnatim ručnikom. Za bolji efekt, ostaviti pjenu na jajetu što duže. Nakon što je jaje odstajalo prekriveno sa pjenom, možete nježno obrisati pjenu sa jajeta. Ali pazite, nemojte jako trljati da ne ostružete boju. I to je to. Mramorna jaja su gotova.

SVJETLUCAVE PISANICE BOJANE U CRNOM I BIJELOM VINU

 

Postupak bojanja pisanica u bijelom i crnom vinu pogledajte u nastavku:

Za više ideja pogledajte:
Tko sve daje jaje 2. dio: Slikovnice i priče
Tko sve daje jaje 1. dio

Možda će vas zanimati i ovo:
Priča o uskrsnom zecu
Priča: Jaje koje nije znalo koju boju voli
Priča: Čarobno jaje
Priča: Ružno pače
Uskrs: Stihovi i pjesmice

Eggy the Easter Egg ESL story (ESL level 1)

This is Eggy. He is very sad. He doesn't know what color to choose.

Eggy starts to paint himself.

He takes some green

and some yellow too.

He takes some red, orange, and blue.

Eggy is happy now.

You might wanna read this too:
Jumping colors flashcard game
Ideas for teaching The Rainbow Colors Song
Ideas for teaching Spring Song: How is a rainbow formed
ESL Teaching ideas
Eggy the Easter Egg ESL story (LEVEL 2)

Eggy the Easter Egg (ESL story)

 

Easter is coming. And, what do we do just before Easter?

Yes! We dye Easter eggs.

Do you know the story of the Easter egg called Eggy?

Well, once there was an egg called Eggy. He was very sad. He didn’t know what color to choose.

“I like green,” he said.

“And yellow too.”

“I like red, orange, and blue. What shall I do?” wondered Eggy.

So, he took a paintbrush and made some green dots … and some red dots too. Then he took some yellow, orange, and blue.

Finally, Eggy was finished.

“I am so beautiful”, Eggy said happily.

Indeed, he was the most beautiful Easter egg of all.

You might wanna read this too:

Jumping Colors Flashcard Game
Ideas for teaching The Rainbow Colors Song
Ideas for teaching Spring Song: The Rainbow Song
ESL Teaching Ideas

I Go With My Bright Little Lantern (lyrics and video)

 

I Go With My Little Lantern

I go with my bright little lantern,

My lantern is going with me.

Above the stars are shining,

On Earth, that light is me.

La la la la la la la la

la bi-me-la ba-me-la boom.

La la la la la la la la

la bi-me-la ba-me-la boom.

Jumping colors/Flashcard game idea for ESL teaching

A fun and active ESL flashcard game to teach colors! “Jumping Colors” gets kids moving, learning, and laughing while practicing vocabulary.
This game will boost color memorizing in a fun way while teaching "Colors" to the ESL students. You can also use it as an intro lesson when teaching "The Rainbow Colors Song".

Arrange two sets of plasticized flashcards "Colors" on the floor in the shape of two squares or circles, making sure to leave enough space in the middle where the students will stand.
If it's only one child who will play this game, then you need to form just one circle. When you say the color, the child's task is to jump to the matching color/flashcard on the floor as quickly as possible.

When it comes to a larger group of students, playing in pairs is faster and more interesting, and can also work as a competitive game. In that case, divide the students into two groups/teams. One child from each group takes turns. When you say a certain color, students need to jump to the appropriate flashcard as quickly as possible. The child who first jumps to the matching color gets one point for his team or two points, but loses one point if jumping on the wrong color. You should adopt the rules of the game depending onthe students' age and level.

RELATED ESL TEACHING IDEAS:

SPRING SONG (HOW IS A RAINBOW FORMED" ESL TEACHING IDEAS
THE RAINBOW COLORS SONG ESL TEACHING IDEAS
ACTIVITY IDEAS ON THE "THE RAINBOW FISH" STORY

EXPERIMENT: Kako nastaje duga?/"How Is A Rainbow Formed"

Ovo je jednostavan eksperiment kojim djeci možete predočiti kako nastaje duga i uvesti ih u očaravajući svijet fizike. Aktivnost također spada u STEM aktivnosti, a više o STEM-u možete pročitati u Što je stem?.

This is a simple experiment that can help children understand how a rainbow is formed and introduce them to the fascinating world of physics. The activity also falls under STEM learning.

Uvod u eksperiment/INTRODUCING THE EXPERIMENT

Prije izvođenja eksperimenta pitajte djecu što znaju o dugama: kada se pojavljuje i kako nastaje. Možete pogledat i različite edukativne video materijale na youtube kanala kao npr.:

Before starting the experiment, ask the children what they know about rainbows — when they appear and how they are formed. You can also watch a few educational videos on YouTube channels, for example:

Neposredno prije izvođenja eksperimenta, uz slikovne aplikacije, objasnite djeci da duga nastaje prolaskom bijele sunčeve svjetlosti kroz kapljice kiše gdje se ta svjetlost lomi i razdvaja u boje dugina spektra te da jednostavnim eksperimentom i vi možete stvoriti dugu.

Right before starting the experiment, use visual aids to explain to the children that a rainbow is formed when white sunlight passes through raindrops, where the light bends and splits into the colors of the rainbow spectrum. Tell them that with a simple experiment, they can create a rainbow themselves.

For the experiment, you will need:

• a CD placed at an angle in a glass container filled with water (to imitate a raindrop)
• a flashlight
• black and white paper to reflect the rainbow (optional: the light can also be reflected on a wall)

 Place the paper vertically in front of the container with the CD. When you shine the flashlight onto the CD, the rainbow will be reflected on the paper, just like in the pictures.

Za eksperiment ćete trebati:

• cd položen pod kutom u staklenu posudu s vodom (imitacija kapljice vode)
• ručna svjetiljka
• crni i bijeli papir na kojemu ćemo reflektirati dugu (opcionalno: svjetlost se može reflektirati i na zidu)

Papir položite okomito ispred posude s cd-om. Kada uperite svjetlost prema cd-u duga će se reflektirati na papiru kao na slikama.

Nakon odrađenog eksperimeta i razgovora o istome predlažem likovnu aktivnost crtanja flomasterima ili drvenim bojicama "Kako nastaje duga"s ciljem dokumentiranja usvojenih znanja ispoznaja.

After completing the experiment and discussing it, I suggest an art activity where children draw with markers or colored pencils on the topic “How a Rainbow Is Formed.” The goal of this activity is to document their newly acquired knowledge and understanding.

Možda će vas zanimati
Priča: JAJE KOJE NIJE ZNALO KOJU BOJU VOLI
IDEJE ZA AKTIVNOSTI "Ribica duginih boja"
POKRETNA IGRA: SKOK NA BOJU

You might also be interested in:
SPRING SONG "HOW IS A RAINBOW FORMED" ESL TEACHING IDEAS
THE RAINBOW COLORS SONG ESL TEACHING IDEAS
JUMPING COLORS FLASHCARD GAME