Unit 7 Activities

Pair
“Shopping Game and Role-play”
Estimated time:
40 minutes

Materials:
Cards with pictures of objects found in Unit 7 (6 cards per pair – see below for instructions)
Play money (see below for instructions)

Objective(s):
The students will describe stores.
The students will ask and answer questions about stores.
The students will ask and answer questions about how much things cost (prices).

Procedure:
Beforehand, the teacher/parent prepares both the cards and play money. Students can be involved in this also. To make the cards, glue Language Sleuths vocabulary pictures of stores from Unit 7 on note cards. Pictures can include student drawings, computer clip-art, and magazine pictures. Possible target language vocabulary from Unit 7 includes: Shop, department store, shoe store, small grocery, fruit shop, butcher shop, bakery, bread shop, large supermarket, pharmacy, a stationery store, toy store, book store, music store, sporting good’s store, children’s store, women’s clothing store, men’s clothing store, post office, candy/chocolate store. Enough cards should be created so that each pair of students will receive 6 different cards.

Play money from the target culture can be created on the computer or drawn and photocopied ahead of time. Pictures of money to be used for inspiration are available online by searching for “world currency” or the particular name of a currency (e.g., “Euro”). Be creative!

Once materials are finished in advance, the teacher/parent tells the students that they will get to do two fun things today. First, they will play a guessing game, and then they will use money to buy and sell things with a partner.

The teacher/parent tells the students that the objects they will be guessing are vocabulary from Unit 7, and are pictured on the cards that they will be given. S/he models the following game with a student.

Students play a pair game in which one person has a card with a picture of a store, and the other person must figure out what it is. The student with the card says one thing describing the store, and the other person can either guess what it is, or ask a question. The game continues, with the partners taking turns asking and answering questions until the name of the store is correctly guessed. For example, student #1 might have a card with a picture of a book store on it. Student #1 then tells student #2 that the store does not have clothing in it. Student #2 then asks if it is a grocery store. Student #1 says “no,” and provides another hint, such as, “you can’t buy meat here.” Once student #2 guesses correctly, the partners switch roles.

Once the game is finished and all of the cards have been correctly guessed, the cards are laid out on a desk/table. The students then take turns role-playing a customer and a salesperson. The “customer” chooses a card for the store in which s/he wants to buy something. The students role-play a simple customer/salesperson interaction in the store. For example, student #1 might choose the butcher shop card and pretend to be a customer at the butcher shop. S/he might ask how much the chicken costs, and student #2 must respond as the salesperson (in this case, the butcher). Students should engage in short exchanges using play money representing money from the target culture.

Assessment/Monitoring Progress:
Most students should be able to play the card guessing game fairly easily. The teacher/parent should facilitate during the activity by moving around the room and assisting students with target language vocabulary and structures. It is also helpful to group students so that students with stronger target language ability can help their peers. For some younger students, it may be best to break the activity into two days. On the first day the students play the card game, and on the second day they engage in the role-play.

Because the role-plays are more open-ended, it may be helpful to provide a clear example ahead of time, or even to provide the students with a basic template of what a dialogue should sound like.

If time allows or on an additional day, the shopping role-plays can be performed in front of the class. Props can be utilized, and the role-plays can be embellished upon.

Group
“Mystery Map”
Estimated time:
20 to 30 minutes

Materials:
Several large pieces of paper, taped together
9 note-cards with directions written on them in the target language (see below)

Objective(s):
The students will draw shapes when given directions in the target language.
The students will label buildings in the target language.
The students will create and read a map as a group.

Procedure:
Beforehand, the teacher/parent prepares the large pieces of paper as follows: tape several large pieces of paper together; draw lines to make a 3x3 block grid (9 squares); label letters A, B, and C across, and numbers 1, 2, and 3 down. The grid lines can be drawn and labeled to look like intersecting streets.

The teacher/parent also prepares the 16 note-cards, each with a piece of the directions written in the target language as follows:

In block A1, draw a square.
In block A3, draw a rectangle.
In block B2, draw a circle.
In block C1, draw a triangle.
In block C3, draw two squares.
The square is a supermarket.
The rectangle is a library.
The circle is a department store.
The triangle is a bakery.
The two squares are a post office and a bank.
The criminals are hiding behind some books! Where are they?

The teacher/parent reminds the students of the sleuthing theme and the activities they have done so far. S/he asks them if they like solving mysteries, and if they would help her solve a mystery about a map. The teacher/parent tells the students that they have received information about the town where some criminals are hiding. The students must work step-by-step to solve mystery by listening to directions and clues. When they are finished, they will have created a large map of the town, and will know where the criminals are hiding.

The students take turns listening to the directions in the target language on cards read by the teacher/parent. Each student must follow the directions on the card, and draw the appropriate shape or label the map using the appropriate vocabulary. If group size is large, students can work in pairs to follow the directions, because of the limited number of steps. If group size is small, some students will have more than one turn.

Assessment/Monitoring Progress:
This is mainly a listening activity. The students do not have to speak in target language in order to participate, and most students should have no problem following the directions. The focus solely on listening can be helpful for younger students or students with limited target language ability. It is also less threatening for students who may be uncomfortable producing target language speech. For a further challenge, the students may read the directions aloud instead of just listening to the teacher/parent read the directions. The teacher/parent may also ask the students to describe what they are doing using the target language as they draw on the map.

If time allows, students can embellish the map with drawings of street lights, road signs, scenery, and more target-language labels. They can then take turns describing what is on the map, or engaging in role-plays or other activities involving giving and following directions that they create themselves. Be creative! Advanced students may want to make up a new set of directions leading to where the criminals are hiding. Students can then follow their peers’ directions.