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represent a teenager who wants to stay out longer in the evening. One person plays the
teenager- the others help him/her finding the arguments.
represents the parents who want their offspring to stay at home and do their homework.
Two people play the parental role- you might add in step parent or two!
observe Group 1's role play and take notes on what was successful and what was not in
terms of argument and of communication.
observe Group 2's role play.
Tell the groups to start their role plays, explaining that the "passive" people in groups
1 or 2 can take over from the "actors" by simply tapping them on the shoulder and changing places
with them.
Get Groups 1 and 3 together for a feedback session
" " 2 and 4 " " " " "
Other conflict situations:
Pocket money
Where to go on holidays
Peer group problems
Handing over the key to a flat ( which you have promised to look after) to a stranger who says s/he is
a close friend of the owner of the flat who is out-of-reach on holiday.
Abbreviations
by Henk van Oort, Holland, ( Primary- ages 10-12)
Give your kids 5 of the problems below as home work:
In the following lesson ask them to come up with the answers and discuss these:
Problem
Example:
Solution
365 D
26 L of the A
4 S of the Y
12 S of the Z
9 P in the S S
366 in a L Y
1001 A N
7 W of the W
90 D in a R A
24 H in a D
2 W in an F
7DS
32 T in an H M ( in A )
Alphabet
Seasons of the year
Zodiac
Planets, solar system
Leap year
Arabian Nights
Seven Wonders of the World
Degrees in a right angle
Hours in a day
Weeks in a fortnight
Deadly Sins
Teeth in a human mouth (in Adults)
3 C in T L
An S 's 8 L
Messages
by Henk van Oort, Holland, (Primary, 9-12)
This is a concentration exercise which leads into whatever language work you want the kids to do.
The only language work in the activity is in their comprehension of your instructions and the two
phrases they call out.
Tell all the children to sit very quietly in a big circle. One child sits in the middle of the circle: the
observer.
The children in the circle hold hands. One child, eg Mary, says " I am sending a message to eg:
Peter". At the same time she pressures the hand of the person to her left as secretly as possible. This
child then applies slight pressure to the hand of the next child and so on round as far as "Peter", who
calls out " message received ".
The task of the "observer" in the middle is to call out anytime she sees pressure being applied. She
then gets to sit in the circle and the student caught squeezing takes the hot seat.
( Editorial comment: think I'll try this exercise as an observation task on my next INSET teacher
training course!)
End with a choral reading by the whole class with each person putting in his or her gap filler! Expect
happy, auditory chaos the first time they try this!
Note: gap-filling or "lacunair", as we say in Belgium, doesn't have to be sedately boring.
1. Hand out one blank A4 sheets to each student. They have to cut the paper into strips, 10 or
12 from each A4.
2. Each group writes opinions containing `should' and `because'. Example: I think they should
spend less on defence because the army is big enough. One opinion per strip.
3. Collect the papers facedown in a pool.
4. Each group now draws 6 or 8 strips from that pool.
5. The task of the group, directed by the group leader, is to get a set of consistent opinions,
which satisfies the group as a whole for each slip by arranging swaps with other groups.
HINT: This needs discussion inside the group in order to sort out received slips one by one
into "agree" and "disagree" piles. Example:What do you think, Jan? Or We should put it here,
then? Each group SORTS its received slips by discussion one by one into Agree & Disagree.
Then there is negotiation between groups, as in the Happy Families game, each group trades
its unwanted slips for agreeable ones. Example: Give me this and I'll give you that. Or. What
will you give me for this?
NOTE You may wonder about the benefits gained from inserting a written phase before
discussion. In my experience the product then has added value and becomes more
informative, with time for reflection. It increases the zone of comfort, especially for the teacher
anxious of the verbal rough and tumble. Participants can add a personal touch in interpreting
the theme and this without compromise to their spontaneity.
It is no coincidence that the process resembles brain-storming that is a sequence of ideas
riding piggyback on one another storming, sorting, valuing, formatting the way you want it.
speakers READ out their information picture, SPOKEN QUESTIONS are asked (from
memory) and SPOKEN ANSWERS from owner group are given as their members see fit.