...Aprendiendo a enseñar inglés...: The Little Red Hen

Hello everyone!

Myself and Ana Eugenia have prepared the following set of activities to use with the book The Little Red Hen.

We hope you like them!

Activity 1

In this activity we will present the characters of the book to the children. The Little Red Hen, the Plump Pink Pig, the Small Skinny Rat, the Sleepy Stripey Cat. To do so the teacher will use puppets to introduce them: What’s this? It’s a hen. It’s the Little Red Hen. What’s this? It’s a cat. It’s the… The teacher will encourage the children to talk about the animals, prompting them as necessary. For example: What colour is the Little Red Hen? Has she got a beak? What are these (looking at wings)? How many legs can you count?

Following this, the children will play a game. Who am I? Taking turns they will mime the different characters. The other children will have to guess which one of the characters the student is acting out.

Activity 2

In this activity the children will work with different animal sounds (onomatopoeia). The teacher will give them a worksheet in which they will have to connect the animal with its corresponding sound. Once they have finished, the teacher will correct it, inviting different students to share their ideas. He/she will then ask the children which of the animals appear in the story.

Activity 3

In this activity the teacher will read the story to the children. Before reading he/she will show them the book and ask them if they are familiar with the story. He/she will then ask them to predict what is going to happen and they will share their ideas with the class.

During the reading the teacher will tell the students to find out in which order the animals appear in the story. They will also have to find out what food each animal eats. The teacher will read the story for the children, using gestures and body language to facilitate comprehension.

Following the reading the students will say which order the animals appeared in and what food each animal ate. The teacher will also ask some general comprehension questions such as: Where does the story take place? What does the Little Red Hen find? What does she do with the corn? What does the Little Red Hen make? Do the other animals help the Little Red Hen? Do the other animals eat bread?

Activity 4

In this activity the students will be given a worksheet which they will have to cut out and put the process of making bread in the correct order. Before starting the activity the teacher will ask the students to name the various objects on the worksheet (flour, plant, grain, wheat…). Then the teacher will ask the students to work in pairs to put the pictures in order. Once the children have finished, the teacher will chose volunteers to put the pictures in order on the board, encouraging them to use as much English as possible. The rest of the class will correct the activity and glue it into their notebooks.

Activity 5

In this activity the teacher will discuss the different values that the story treats. He/she will ask the children if they think the animals deserved not to get any bread. A discussion will follow with children sharing their opinions. The teacher will also ask them how they would feel if their friends behaved in the same way. This part of the activity will be carried out in the mother tongue.

Following this, the teacher will ask the students how they think the story could have been different and nicer for all the animals. What would have happened? Then, between all of them they will rewrite the story imagining that the other animals wanted to help the Little Red Hen.

Who will help me to plant the corn? We will.

Who will help me to cut the corn? We will.

Activity 6

In the final activity the students will act out the story. To do so, the teacher will first read the story again so that the students remember it. Then they will form groups, with each student being designated a role, and the teacher will give them out a copy of their character to colour in and cut out. This will then be placed on card and the teacher will make “head puppets”.

Once the children have completed their puppets, the teacher will allow them time to rehearse before getting each group to come to the front of the class and act out their version of the story.