Pumpkin Harvest

End of the first half term of learning and time to revisit and reflect on learning. This year we are “harvesting” our primary language learners’ knowledge using our “Pumpkin Harvest” activities and resources.

Let’s harvest learning.

There is a range of activities and resources from beginners, Stage 1 to Stage 3 and 4 learners who are now able to write descriptive sentences with nouns and adjectives, share emotions and feelings, and produce sentences with opinions.

Pumpkin Picking

A sequence of activities for new starters (Stage 1) that encourages language detective skills.

Listen out for sounds, recall and practise basic numbers 1-10 and play with the sounds of the new nouns.

Link this learning to “growing and ripening” sounds and knowledge and play a simple voice control game with sounds.

As the teacher listen to and observe how your young learners are developing their new language learning skills and retaining core language and content. Reflect on the next steps.

Pumpkin Maths

Follow up activities to reinforce numbers and link language learning in a purposeful way to Maths. Practise either addition or multiplication and re-use French or Spanish spoken language. Take this further and practise subtraction and division, extend the target language number range to suit your learners’ knowledge.

Create your own pumpkin vegetable plot diagrams to show their understanding of addition and multiplication. Write number sentences in the target language for your classes to show as pictures.

Pumpkin Pages - Read all about it!

Generate “Pumpkin Pages” booklets that allow you to take a look at the core content children have already met and see what they can remember. Explore some common sound links shared in different target language core words.

Create “Pumpkin Personalities” which allow the children whether they are beginners or more advanced to imagine and create their own written pumpkin personalities and explore how they can use limited language creatively. Share and display the children’s “Pumpkin Pages” booklets as a celebration and “harvest of language learning” display.

Pumpkin Lantern Parades

And finally, read, mime, play charades, design, and write a description of your own “pumpkin lanterns.

In this activity there is a focus on writing descriptive sentences, using feminine nouns and adjectives that agree.

Why not take the activity a stage further in French and the placement of adjectives of size (grand /petit) too and how these adjectives come before the noun.

Parade those lanterns! Get out in the playground and hold a pumpkin lantern display, where the children show each other their pumpkin lantern designs and read aloud the descriptive sentences they have written. Why not film the children too and share them with other classes?

Primary Languages Network members can access these resources in French and Spanish in Seasonal Specials Autumn 1 on the VLE .

Non- network members can download the free resources and activities from the Active Lingo Shop on the PLN website. French Pumpkin Harvest Pack Spanish Pumpkin Harvest Pack