Sample Activities from Backpack

(with downloadable handouts)

 

Here are seven activities (including two assessment activities) that show the variety of materials for students and teachers in Backpack . (All handouts are from Backpack 2, Unit 5.)

(These materials are available for download to Macintosh and PC users in Adobe Acrobat® PDF format. Visit the Adobe site to download and install the Adobe Acrobat Reader™.)

 

Click on the links under "Materials" to download the handouts for the activity. All the handouts are in color, but you can print them in color or in black and white.

Click on an activity to "jump" to the description.


Activity 1: Fluency and Pronunciation

 

 

 

Activity 1: Fluency and Pronunciation

 

Objective: Feedback/fluency & pronunciation. Students show they understand the meaning of the new vocabulary and language.

 

Materials:

  • Copy of page 51 from Student Book 2.
  • Pictures of shopkeeper, factory worker, chef, scientist. (From stickers in Student Book 2.)

 

Activity:

  • Cut out each character.
  • In pairs or individually, students produce sentences about where the characters work. (For example: "A chef works in a restaurant .")
  • If correct, students place the character on its corresponding place in the illustration on the bottom half of Student Book 2, page 51.

 

 

Activity 2: Vocabulary Expansion

 

Objective: Brainstorming for vocabulary expansion. Connection with theme-related words linked to students' lives and prior knowledge.

 

Materials: Word map and occupation survey chart. (Word map is from the Level 2 Teacher's Edition, page 52; the chart is from Student Book 2, page 55.) This activity uses the Word map.

 

Activity:

  • Brainstorm seven words related to the occupation “firefighter” and write them in the word map.
  • Students read their choices out loud and see how many of their words match those of others.
  • Repeat activity other occupations studied in the unit.

 

 

Activity 3: Collecting and Sharing Information

 

Objective: Collecting data, interpreting information, sharing information with others.

 

Materials: Word map and Occupation survey chart. (Word chart is from the Teacher's Edition, page 52; the chart is from Student Book 2, page 55.)   This activity uses the Occupation survey chart.

 

Activity:

  • Interview classmates, using the conversation model shown on the book page “What does your mother/father do?”
  • Fill in the chart.
  • Using the information on the chart, students produce sentences. (For example: “Angela's father is a factory worker.”)

 

 

Activity 4: Role Playing

 

Objective: Role playing. Connection with real life. Production of a puppet show. Exhibiting what has been learned.

 

Materials: Finger puppets: eight of specific occupations, eight with no faces on them. (From Student Book 2 cutouts.)

 

Activity:

  • Cut out and color the figures.    
  • Glue the tabs together to make finger puppets.  
  • Each student puts on a finger puppet and walks around telling others what they do and where they work, based on the occupation of the puppet they are holding. (For example: "I am a chef. I work in a restaurant.")
  • Students draw and decorate faces on one of the faceless puppets and act out real roles. (For example: “Hi, I'm Mr. Martinez. I'm an accountant. I work at City Hall.”)

 

 

Activity 5: Learning Awareness and Motivation

 

Objective: Learning awareness. Emotional satisfaction of having learned. Motivation to keep studying.

 

Materials:

Now I Know! journal chart and Journal stickers (from Student Book 2, page 61 and sticker section)

 

Activity:

  • Cut out the objective statements.
  • Individually or in pairs, students give an example of each objective.
  • For each correct example given, students are given a Now I Know! to keep in their journal.

 

 

Activity 6: Assessment 1

 

Objective: Oral assessment.

 

Materials:

 

Activity:

  • Use game board from Student Book 2, page 60, and the numbers on the handout.  
  • Cut out number cards and place them in a pile face down.  In pairs, students take turns choosing a card and moving ahead one or two spaces on the board.
  • Describe the places, using the language modelled. (For example: "A teacher works in a school.")

 

 

Activity 7: Assessment 2

 

Objective: Oral and linguistic assessment. Critical thinking skills.

 

Materials: Strips with sentence subjects and objects. (From Workbook, page 49.)

 

Activity:

  • Ask and answer questions about what people do, based on the occupation cards (subject).
  • Put subject cards face down on one side of a table and object cards face down on the other side of the table. Turn over one of each. If the cards match, the student keeps them.  The one with the most matches wins.