Rhymes and action games (ages 6-10)

This is a sheet of helpful language (PDF, 200KB) from the video. Use it to help you do the activities with your child.

You can find rhymes in books and on the internet. Traditional rhymes for children are called Nursery Rhymes. Put some actions with the rhymes so your child has something to do while they learn the words. Choose actions for just the important words in the rhyme. Actions will help children to remember the words.

Here are four stages you can go through when you learn a rhyme together:
1 Copy the actions. (Copy me.)
2 Join in with some words. (Copy me and say these words: ...)
3 Join in with all the words. (Let's do it together.)
4 Do it alone. (Now you do it.)

You will probably need to repeat a rhyme for two or three weeks, and use each stage many times, before your child can say it. If you make the actions big and fun, they will be very happy to do the rhymes over and over again.

Your child will practise more if they are preparing to perform for someone, so you can plan a day for them to show someone what they have learned.

There are two action rhymes here. To help you, these are also on videos.

Two Little Birds rhyme

This rhyme is like a traditional rhyme in English. It practises language from when children first learn English. Children sometimes forget the first things they learn, so it's good to go back to them.
Two little birds, sitting in a tree – [hold up a finger from each hand]
My name's Lucy. [bend one finger as if it's talking]
My name's Lee. [bend the other finger as if it's talking]
Hello, Lucy. [address the first finger]
Hello, Lee. [address the second finger]
Goodbye, Lucy. [put the hand of the first finger behind your back]
Goodbye, Lee. [put the hand of the second finger behind your back]

In the Craft activities section, there are instructions for making bird puppets to use when you say this rhyme.

Jump! Clap! action chant

This is a sheet of helpful language (PDF, 200KB) from the video. Use it to help you do the activities with your child.

Make the actions into a sort of dance as you and your child join in with this. Teach one verse at a time.
Jump! Clap!
Bend your knees!
Go forward!
Go back!
Do it again, please!

Jump! Clap!
Nod your head!
Turn left!
Turn right!
Touch something red!

Jump! Clap!
Sit on the floor!
Arms up!
Arms down!
There isn't any more!

When your child knows this well, you can use the different phrases from it to play a game. Take it in turns to blindfold each other (put a scarf around their eyes) and give instructions to move around the house or garden. Go forward. Go forward again. Turn left. Go forward, etc.

Running dictation

Write a sentence on some paper and put it in a different room. You can choose one from your child's course book. Your child should go to the other room, read the sentence, come back to you, and remember the sentence to write it out.

They can go back to the sentence as many times as they like, but they must try not to make mistakes and must be as quick as they can. Time them, then give them another sentence to write – but quicker! You can write more than one sentence if your child finds this easy. You can have a time limit or limit how many times they can read your sentence.

Here are some example sentences:
My favourite colour's red.
Where's my ball?
The big doll is under the red chair.
Today it's hot and I'm wearing a T-shirt.
I like dogs. I don't like cats.
My toy snake is green. It's got a long body.
He goes to work at eight o'clock. He works in London. He goes on the bus.

Run!
Put picture or word cards for animals, colours, numbers (any words you want to practise with your child) in different parts of your garden where you can see them all. You and your child – or children, this one is good with more children – stand in the middle of the garden. Call a word and race to get to the picture or word card.