Animal Actions Game

Year Reception | Duration: 30 minutes | Class size: 20

---

Unit: Giraffe Sentence Adventures

Lesson 2 of 4
Theme: Animal Actions: Verb Charades

---

National Curriculum Links (English - Reception)

• ELG: Communication and language

  • Understand how to listen carefully and why listening is important.
  • Learn new vocabulary.
  • Use new vocabulary through the day.
  • Speak in full sentences, using conjunctions.

• ELG: Literacy - Comprehension and Writing

  • Engage in storytimes and understand the knowledge about print, rhyme, and vocabulary.
  • Form simple sentences and describe events.

• Development Matters

  • Children use talk to connect ideas, explain what is happening and anticipate what might happen next.
  • Children understand ‘why’ questions, like: “Why do you think the caterpillar got so fat?”
  • Know that print has meaning and that language can be broken down into words, sentences, and sounds.

---

Learning Objectives

By the end of the session, pupils will:

1. Recognise and understand verbs (action words) in context relating to animals.
2. Develop listening and speaking skills through active participation in group activities.
3. Formulate simple sentences using verbs, e.g., "The giraffe sways."
4. Work cooperatively in pairs, promoting social and communication skills.

---

Resources

• Picture cards of animals and their common actions (e.g., giraffe swaying, lion roaring, monkey jumping, elephant stomping).
• Whiteboard and markers.
• Sentence stem templates on paper: “The ___ [animal] ___ [verb].”
• Space cleared for movement in the classroom.
• Soft toy giraffe as a “talking token” (optional for turn-taking).

---

Lesson Breakdown

Starter (5 minutes)

• Recap: Brief remind from Lesson 1 on the animals and verbs introduced, using visual prompts (animal cards).
• Engage: Teacher models one action and sentence. For example, the teacher acts like a giraffe swaying, then says, “The giraffe sways.” Emphasise the verb by clapping as it is spoken.
• Invite a couple of volunteers to imitate other animals briefly to excite interest.

---

Main Activity (20 minutes)

1. Verb Charades (15 minutes)

   • Explain the rules clearly:
     • One child at a time will pick an animal action card without showing it to others.
     • The child will act out the verb silently (no words or sounds).
     • The class guesses which verb the child is acting out.
     • The teacher then encourages the group to say or repeat a simple sentence describing the action, e.g., “The monkey jumps.”
     • Use the talking token to allow turn-taking, ensuring all children get a chance to participate.
   • Teacher supports with clues if guessing is challenging (e.g., describing the animal or the action).
   • To stretch learning, encourage children to describe how the animal moves (e.g., “The lion roars loudly” or “The elephant stomps heavily”).

2. Paired Sentence Work (5 minutes)

   • After the charades game, children pair up using their favourite animal verbs from the game.
   • Each pair receives a sentence stem paper: “The ___ (animal) ___ (verb).”
   • Pairs work together to fill in blanks and verbalise their sentences to each other and optionally to the class.
   • Teacher circulates to support sentence structure, pronunciation, and reinforce verb use.

---

Plenary (5 minutes)

• Group discussion: Invite pairs to share one sentence they created aloud with the class.
• Revisit the key learning: “Today we have learned about action words called verbs. Can you say one verb we acted out?”
• Praise efforts and reinforce vocabulary by repeating several verbs together with actions.

---

Assessment & Feedback

• Formative assessment:

  • Observation during charades and paired work to check understanding of verbs.
  • Listen for correct sentence formation and verb usage.
  • Note children who may need extra support or challenge.

• Self and peer assessment:

  • Encourage children to clap or cheer when peers correctly act or say verbs, building confidence and supportive atmosphere.

---

Differentiation

• Support:

  • Visual prompt cards with pictures and simple words for children who need help remembering verbs.
  • Partner stronger speakers with less confident peers during sentence creation.

• Challenge:

  • Encourage some children to extend sentences with describing words, e.g., “The giraffe gently sways.”
  • Ask advanced learners to think of alternative verbs or multiple verbs for one animal’s actions.

---

Extra Tips for Teachers

• Use enthusiastic voice and exaggerated movements to model verbs vividly to engage the children’s imaginations.
• Emphasise turn-taking and listening skills to cultivate respectful communication.
• Ensure all children are physically able and comfortable with acting; provide alternative seated options if needed.
• Link actions to the storybook "Giraffe Sentence Adventures" to deepen familiarity with characters and narrative context.

---

This lesson actively promotes foundational English skills through physical activity and peer collaboration, aligned with the Reception Early Learning Goals on communication, listening, vocabulary development and sentence construction. It builds confidence in language use in a fun, meaningful way consistent with the National Curriculum focus on purposeful, talk-rich learning environments.