Primary Teachers' Guide to Autumn-Themed Foreign Language Activities
Just by looking out of the window now it is very clear that autumn is in full swing, which is why our Autumn 2 SOW for Years 3 and 4 celebrates all things that this season brings us. From bonfire night to the crisp golden tones of the leaves, let our languages learning guide your classes through the seasons.
Leaf Stepping Stones: This can be used to practice both numbers and colours - write numbers on coloured cut out card leaves and secure with blu-tac on the floor and create stepping stones. Then, ask the children to walk around the room standing on the leaves. When you call out a number or a colour if they are stood on or next to a leaf with that number or colour written on it, then they are out! Ask a volunteer to take your role and call out the numbers and colours.
Harvest Sounds: To practise sounds in numbers and colours in the target language, on one side of cut-out card leaves, write a key sound from target language that you have been practising. On the reverse, write out the full word for the item. Divide the class into teams and stick all the leaves with the sound side up to the board or flip chart. Take it in turns in teams to guess what is on the reverse of the card. Turn the card over and if the team guesses correctly, then the team wins the leaf! The team with the biggest pile of Autumn leaves at the end of the activity has won the harvest.
Autumn Action Activity: Ideal for practising simple actions and commands associated with harvest time, such as to smell, look for or taste. Create actions and play simple games such as Simon says or last farmer standing, where children freeze-frame in their own chosen action and if you say that action the children in that particular freeze-frame must sit down. Who will be the last farmer standing?
Leaf Letters and Harvest the Word: For this brilliant spelling game, split the class into groups and ask each group to select three favourite target language words, and then with a focus on accurate spelling and write out the words in rough. Check the spelling and transfer the words letter by letter onto leaf shapes. Cut these out and muddle up the three words and pass this pile to the next table. The challenge is to identify the three words and reassemble the letters. Ask the team to pass the pile (with all the leaf letters muddled up again) on to another table and the challenge can start again. When the game is over, a great way to finish off this activity is to create a display of the favourite words of the class as leaf letters on branches of a tree.