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The Best Pet A1

The Best Pet A1

  • Level: A1
  • Topic: Describing pets
  • Learning Outcome: Can describe pets and their abilities.
  • Grammar: 'can' for ability
Key Language:

Actions for Pets: jump, fly, swim, talk, help, cuddle, take care of, defend, move fast, live up to, make noise, eat, hide, relax, dance, fight

There’s a Pet Day at Lisa’s school! Pupils can bring their own pet, or they can present an animal they really like, and think is cool! After the presentation, they will vote for the best one. But what does it mean to be the best pet? It is the friendliest one? The funniest one?  The cutest one? The most useful one?

Transcript

The Best Pet – Transcript
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Aim of Activity

10 minutes

To check understanding of the main ideas in the video by asking multiple choice questions. The questions use the grammar of to be, can, have – 3rd person singular has.

Steps for Students

  1. Choose the right answers according to the video. There is only one answer correct.
  2. Check the answers with the class.

TO PLAY INDIVIDUALLY ON YOUR OWN DEVICES:

  1. Open quizizz.com
  2. Enter join code
  3. Enter your Quizizz name
  4. Start the quiz

 

Use the link to start the live quiz: ACTIVITY 1

Play either with all learners together on interactive whiteboard (you don´t need to have an account) or learners can play individually on separate devices –  e.g. tablets, mobile phones. You need to sign up with your Google account, Microsoft account.

To play on interactive whiteboard (no account needed)
  1. Click the Preview
  2. Switch off power ups, timer, memes in Settings Consider whether the special effects are motivating or distracting for your students. You can change your settings at any time.
  3. Start the quiz. For each question there is only one answer correct.
To play individually on students ‘devices (you need to sign up)
  1. Sign up with QUIZIZZ
  2. Close the web page
  3. Use the link: ACTIVITY 1
  4. Start a live quiz
  5. Choose Classic
  6. Go to Advanced settings
  7. Activity settings
  8. Switch off/turn on power ups, memes, etc. Consider whether the special effects are motivating or distracting. You can change your settings at any time.
  9. Ask your learners to open join my quiz.com
  10. Share the join code with your learners

TIP!

After playing the quiz – you can use the Flashcards option for revision of the answers.
Flashcards show questions implying the content from the video.
Click View options if the learners need some help. Learners predict the answers.
Flip the flashcard to see the right answer.

Optionally play the video again to revise the answers.

 

 

 

  • Today it is pet day.
  • really smart
  • dance
  • He isn´t dangerous.
  • Fluffy
  • soft fur
  • make funny noises
  • They eat bamboo.

Aim of Activity

10 minutes

To practise descriptive vocabulary.

 

 

 

Steps for Students

  1. Open MENTI on mobile and enter the code
  2. Type just 3 entries to describe The Best Pet in 3 Words
  3. See the result on the board (the biggest words are the most frequent)
  4. Make sentences from the word clouds.

Example: The parrot is colourful. The parrot is a bird. The parrot can make funny noises.

 

For this task learners will need their own devices, e.g. tablets, mobile phones.

Prepare The Best Pet word cloud presentation:

  1. Sign up for free on MENTIMETER with Google or Facebook (if needed, follow the 4 picture steps in “Help with the activity” attachement)
  2. Join the shared links for the presentation templates
    The Best Pet A1 – Activity 2.1
    The Best Pet A1 – Activity 2.2
  3. Start with the My Presentation option
  4. New presentation – Type the name, e.g. The Best Pet
  5. Slide type: Word cloud
  6. Your question: DESCRIBE THE BEST PET IN 3 WORDS
  7. Entries per participants: 3
  8. Let your students enter the answers on their tablets/mobile phones by going to MENTIMETER and typing the code
  9. The words size is changed according to the number of votes. The word with the most votes is the biggest.

TIP! 

Learners write any descriptive words relevant to animals without any visuals. From the word clouds they make as many sentences as possible.

Not available

Activity attachment

Help with the activity
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Aim of Activity

5 minutes

Practising and developing pronunciation of key language from the video focusing on the short vowel sound /æ/

as in CAN, HAS, PANDA, ANIMAL, RABBIT, PARROT and as in CAT, RAT, HAMSTER, CAMEL, BAT, CRAB

Steps for Students

Task 1
  1. Click the link: The Best Pet A1 – Activity 3
  2. Listen and choose the word that you hear.
Task 2
  1. Write down more words containing the short vowel sound /æ/
  2. Share them with your class
Task 1

Click the link: The Best Pet A1 – Activity 3

Do this activity on the interactive whiteboard with the whole class or learners play individually on their own devices.

Learners listen to the word and choose the one that they hear. The words have similar pronunciation but only some of them contain the sound /æ/

Task 2

Learners think of more words containing the short vowel sound /æ/

 

Task 2

e.g.: ant, antelope, alligator, lamb, man, hand, have, back, fat,

Aim of Activity

45 minutes

To practice grammar, vocabulary and speaking.

Steps for Students

  1. Choose any pet/animal
  2. Go to National Geographic website
  3. Look up as much information as you can
  4. Make an Animal Profile using CAN/HAS/IS
  5. Present your animal
  1. Learners choose any pet or animal and make a profile using as much information as possible including verb phrases CAN/HAS/IS and adjectives. They may use the internet to look up some interesting facts.
  2. Use the National Geographic website and go to ANIMALS
  3. Learners individually present their Best Pet to the class

Must-use-words:  verb phrases IS/CAN/HAS

TIP!

According to the learners´ level the Animal Profiles should include:

  • animal type (mammal, bird, fish, reptile, amphibian)
  • appearance – colour, body covering (hair, fur, scales, feathers)
  • size
  • diet
  • where it lives (habitat)
  • length of life
  • some surprising information

Not available

Aim of Activity

45 minutes

A group work speaking activity to drill the grammar focus of the verb phrases – to be forms, can, have in 3rd person singular and vocabulary focus – adjectives.

Steps for Students

  1. Make pairs and sit opposite each other
  2. Choose a card
  3. Talk about the animal using the phrases on your card
  4. Guess the animal

Example:

Learner 1: This animal can go for walks, it is smart…
Learner 2: Is it a dog?
Learner 1: No, it isn’t. It has lovely feathers, it can talk, it is funny
Learner 2: Is it a parrot?
Learner 1: Yes, it is.

Play the game PET PROFILES
  1. Choose a card with a pet profile
  2. Read out an individual specific characteristic using IS/CAN/HAS and a matching phrase for the other teams to guess

Example:

Team 1 gets a card (parrot) and reads one specific characteristic: This animal can go for walks.
Team 2 guesses or take another clue: It is smart.
Team 3 guesses or take a clue.: It is funny.
Team 4 has a guess: Is it a parrot?

Note: Some of the characteristics are in common for more animals. It is better for the teams to to wait for more clues than to answer incorrectly and get minus points.

 

Level 1 – The Best Pet Read and Guess Cards – PDF printed and cut out

Level 2 – The Best Pet Complete the Phrases Cards – PDF printed and cut out

Team game PET PROFILES: The Best Pet Read and Guess Cards

Task instructions

Cards are prepared for different pair work or group work activities according to the level of the learners or to be played from the basic level to the more difficult one. You can use them for the team game too.

Level 1:
  1. Learners are divided into pairs – they sit opposite each other in two rows.
  2. Learners from one row get a card from the teacher and read the information from the card to his partner who sits opposite.
  3. The other learner guesses which animal is being described.
  4. After that learners in one row move one place forward and continue all over the same describing and guessing with the new partner.
  5. Learners continue until they have replaced everyone in the class.
Level 2:
  1. One learner gets a card from the Complete the phrases Cards set.
  2. He/ She uses the verb phrases in the same way as in the basic level completing adjectives or verbs according to what he/she remembers about the animal.
  3. The other learner guesses the animal, then they switch roles.
Team game PET PROFILES:
  1. Divide learners into 4 teams.
  2. One team chooses a card and reads out one specific characteristic of the animal as a clue.
  3. All the other teams guess the animal.
  4. The more clues they need for the right answer the less points they get.
  5. For each wrong answer there are minus points.
  6. Then the other team continues saying the clues for another animal.
  7. Each team plays 3 rounds.

Suggested pointing system:

1 clue needed + 3 points
2 clues needed + 2points
3 clues needed + 1 point
Wrong answer – 2 points

TIP! 

  1. For an online lesson divide your learners into pairs in breakout rooms.
  2. Send the Pet profile cards to the learners and assign each of them via chat one pet to describe.
  3. Then change the breakout rooms and they continue taking turns as above mentioned.
  4. Similarly use breakout rooms for the team game.

Not available

The BOOST Project (Building Open Online Series for Teaching) aims to improve the digital readiness of teachers of English as a foreign language to students aged 8 -14 by providing an open-access series of engaging native-speaker content videos linked with a Resource Pack of ready-made activities to stimulate production of the language in online learning.

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