Making a drama out grammar (5)

Simile Silhouette Sentences

This activity will fit really well with our UKS2 work on grammar and sentence structure.It's an activity where we consider adjectives, adverbs and nouns and the gender of nouns.

In a simple form we can create with our young language learnersa drama and grammar sequence activities using nouns, adjectives, adverbs and creating spoken, performed  andwritten similes!

At the end of the sequence of activities the challenge is to create a "spoken simile silhouette poem" based on a specific groups of adjectives or adverbs. 

The children can use the language recorded on the board/flipchart or you can encourage the children to use other familiar language or access new language in the bilingual dictionaries.

            

Revisit a sequence of adjectives or adverbsthat you may have taught the children. 

    Ask the children to help you capture andwrite these in a large thought bubbles on one side of the board/ flip chart inthe target language e.g. colours, sizes, how something feels (soft,hard, roughetc) ,actions (fast, slow, quickly etc)  a class create mimes and physical actionsfor these words in your thought bubble.

In pairs add sounds to the words andactions.

In pairs investigate (using  bilingual dictionaries) objects that arelinked by shape, touch, smell, feel, visual look to the adjectives or adverbsin your thought bubble. Brainstorm familiar nouns and encourage the children tofind at least three unfamiliar nouns that the class can use.

Take feedback and add these in a second thoughtbubble on the other side of the board/ flip-chart .

Investigate with the children the gender ofthe nouns. 

Record on your board if the nouns are “le/la” in French,” el,la” in Spanishor “der,die,das” in German.

Ask the children to create as a mime or physicalsculpture one of the nouns  when you callone of the definite articles above( “le/la” in French,” el,la” in Spanish or “der,die,das”in German). The noun must be from the correct gender .

Make this a pair game .One partner createsa mime or physical sculpture one of the nouns when you call one of the definite articles above( “le/la” in French,” el,la”in Spanish or “der,die,das” in German). The noun must be from the correctgender. The other partner  must guess thenoun and say the correct definite article before the noun.

Now introduce your class to the magic “similespell word”. In French we use “comme” in Spanish we use “como” and in German weuse “wie”. Model the word as a spoken word – just like it’s a special word froma spell. Write the word in between the two thought bubbles.

In pairs ask the children create spoken similesilhouette sentences. They must add performance and sounds to express themeaning of their sentences too!

 One child is responsible for the performance ofthe first part of the sentence (adjective /adverb)and the other child isresponsible for the  performance of secondpart of the sentence (noun).Both children speak the sentence. Hold “view ins”to see the sentences they create.

Adjective/ Adverb

comme wie como

Noun with correct definite article

Remember! The challenge is to create a "spoken simile silhouettepoem" based on a specific groups of adjectives or adverbs. The children can usethe language recorded on the board/flipchart or you can encourage the children touse other familiar language or access new language in the bilingualdictionaries.

• Children work in pairs and the poems mustbe composed of at least five sentences.
• Give the children time to practise theirpoems and performances.
• Encourage the children to think of how they willpresent their physical performance e.g. they can stand back to back, facingeach other, at different sides of the room , one child could kneel and onechild could stand etc.

There is potential with this activity todevelop a creative written record of the poems.

I would suggest:

• Black and white photographs with subtitlesof target language to “add the colour” to the photos
• Poster painting maps , where the childrenmap a journey of pictures on the poster of the target language sentences and symbols to explain the adjectives,adverbs, nouns.