Fun with Welsh!

Curriculum Area

Curriculum for Wales: Languages, Literacy and Communication (Progression Step 2 - Year 2)

This lesson focuses on developing learners’ oracy skills in Welsh through fun, interactive activities. The emphasis is on building confidence, encouraging participation, and learning basic vocabulary in a memorable way.

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Lesson Objectives

By the end of this lesson, pupils will be able to:
✅ Recognise and use basic Welsh greetings and feelings
✅ Respond to and ask simple questions in Welsh
✅ Participate in fun, engaging speaking activities to reinforce learning
✅ Develop confidence in speaking Welsh in a low-pressure environment

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Lesson Breakdown (50 minutes)

1. Warm-Up: Welsh Greetings Song (10 minutes)

🎵 Activity: Sing a simple, repetitive "Bore da!" (Good morning!) greetings song with actions.

• Teacher models different greetings:
  • Bore da! (Good morning!)
  • Prynhawn da! (Good afternoon!)
  • Nos da! (Good night!)
  • Sut wyt ti? (How are you?)
• Pupils echo back the greetings and try using them with a partner.
• Add facial expressions (happy, tired, sad) to reinforce emotions.
• Using flashcards with cartoon faces, students guess the matching greeting and feeling.

📢 Challenge: Pupils greet a classmate using the correct phrase and a matching expression.

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2. Pass the Puppet – Question & Answer (15 minutes)

🧸 Activity: Use a soft toy (e.g., a Welsh dragon or sheep puppet) to create a fun conversation game.

1. The teacher starts by holding the puppet and saying:
   • Bore da! Sut wyt ti? (Good morning! How are you?)
2. Teacher answers with different emotions (e.g., "Rwy’n hapus!" - I’m happy!)
3. The teacher passes the puppet to a student, who asks the next person the same question.
4. The game continues until all pupils have had a turn.

📢 Challenge: Introduce other responses—e.g.,

• "Rwy’n drist" (I’m sad)
• "Rwy’n flinedig" (I'm tired)

🐉 Extension: The puppet “forgets” words, and pupils help by correcting

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3. Movement Game: "Corners of Emotions" (10 minutes)

🏃 Activity: A physical, fast-paced game to reinforce feelings vocabulary in Welsh.

1. Label four corners of the classroom with emotion words (Hapus – Happy, Trist – Sad, Wedi Blino – Tired, Cyffrous – Excited).
2. The teacher calls out a feeling in Welsh, and pupils run to the correct corner.
3. Bonus round: Pupils act out the emotion when they arrive at their corner.

📢 Challenge: A pupil becomes the leader and calls out the emotions!

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4. Pair Work: Mini Conversations (10 minutes)

👫 Activity: Pupils use their new Welsh sentences in a mini role-play.

• Each pair has a cue card with an emotion face.
• One student asks "Sut wyt ti?", and the other answers using their card’s emotion.
• Pupils swap roles and repeat.

📢 Challenge: Pupils add "Diolch!" (Thank you!) at the end.

🎤 Optional Bonus: Brave speakers can perform their mini-conversations for the group!

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Plenary: Magic Welsh Blanket Reflection (5 minutes)

🎭 Activity: A soft blanket is placed in the centre. Each pupil pretends to pick up a “word” from under the blanket and says one Welsh word or phrase they remember from today’s lesson!

📢 Wow Factor: The class chants in Welsh together to "wrap the words into the blanket" for next time!

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Assessment Opportunities

✔️ Informal listening and speaking checks during games
✔️ Observing confidence and participation
✔️ Pupils self-assess by sharing a word/phrase they recall

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Resources Needed

🎵 Simple greetings song
🃏 Emotion flashcards
🧸 Puppet (dragon/sheep)
🚦 Four corner labels for movement game
🎭 Role-play cue cards
🧣 Soft blanket for plenary

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Differentiation & Support

🔹 Scaffolding: Provide visual aids, gestures, and sentence starters
🔹 Support: Pair EAL/SEN pupils with a more confident speaker
🔹 Challenge: Extend answers e.g., "Rwy’n hapus achos..." (I’m happy because...)

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Final Teacher Reflection

✔️ Did pupils show more confidence speaking Welsh?
✔️ Which activities were most engaging and effective?
✔️ How can this lesson be built upon next time?

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Final Thought

This lesson makes Welsh oracy FUN, active, and confidence-boosting! Pupils will laugh, move, and speak—putting Welsh into real, enjoyable practice! 🎉