I.S.P. DR. JOAQUN V.

GONZLEZ

Multimedios aplicados a
la enseanza del Ingls
Final Individual Task
Florencia Surez
01/01/2016

Animalize it

Florencia Surez

2016

Animalize it
Setting
Age group: 6-7
Number of students: 21-25
Language level: Elementary
Context setting: Bilingual school- 1st grade
Language areas: Animals and parts of their body
Colours
Numbers from 1 to 10
Basic descriptive adjectives (big, small, etc.)
Action verbs (run, fly, walk, eat)
Tricky words (have, to, lives, etc.)
Other objectives: Group animals according to a category
Describe animals (writing and speaking)
Express ones ideas
Foster creativity
Physical location: Computer lab (20 computers)
Whiteboard lab (25 desks)
Classroom
Duration: 6 lessons
Description of the project: In this project, the teacher wants the students to:

Make their thinking visible by playing a guessing game.

Organize information according to a criterion in order to develop higher order
thinking.

Foster their memory skills.

Use their logic to justify impossible combinations.
Be able to express themselves using the language.

Animalize it

Florencia Surez

2016

Lesson 1
Students will go to the whiteboard lab. There, we will play a game using the
whiteboard in which the teacher will show students just a part of a picture as if it were
a puzzle.

Every time the teacher uncovers a flap from the picture, students will be asked
questions like:
What colours can you see?
What do you think it is?
What makes you say that?
Where do you think it is?
Students will have to guess what it is by describing what they can see, making
inferences and justifying their answer. After students answer all the questions, the
teacher will show the whole picture.
The same will be done with different pictures of animals. Teacher will ask students
what all these pictures have in common and students will elicit the topic of the unit:
Animals.

Animalize it

Florencia Surez

2016

Lesson 2
In the classroom, teacher will display pictures of different animals and will ask students
to name them one by one to check what they know and help them with the
pronunciation. The animals that will be included will be:
-

Bear
Sheep
Pig
Horse
Cow
Mouse
Frog
Hippo
Lion
Tiger
Duck
Hen

Students will mention other animals that they know and were not included in the
presentation. In groups of threes, they will have to create crazy sentences by using
each letter of the animals whose spellings are tricky (horse, cow, mouse, hippo, lion
and tiger), for example: COW: Come On, Wally!
Students will write the crazy sentences on a poster where they will also stick the
picture of the animal. Then, they will share their posters and crazy sentences with the
rest of the students. The posters will be displayed in the classroom.

Lesson 3
On the whiteboard, teacher will show students pictures of different animals. She will
explain to students that they will have to group the animals according to what they can
do, where they live, how big they are, etc.
Students will go in pairs and put the animals in the correct bubble by dragging them
into the circle.

WALK

FLY

HOP

Animalize it

Florencia Surez

2016

Then, students will invent crazy criteria to classify the animals. For example, fat
animals vs thin animals.

Lesson 4
In the computer lab, teacher will explain to students that they will have to create their
own animals using BuildYourWildSelf.com. The website will be already linked to all the
computers. Students will work in pair since there are not enough computers for all of
them, but each member will have to build an animal for his/her own.

Once they finish, teacher will print all the animals.

Lesson 5
In the classroom, students will look at the pictures of their animals and they will write
sentences about them in their Writing copybook. Teacher will introduce some tricky
words and fixed phrases to do so, such as:
-

My name is
I have
I can/cant
I eat
I need
I live

Teacher will monitor and help if necessary.

Animalize it

Florencia Surez

2016

Lesson 6
Each student will stick his/her animal on a colour page and then on an ice-cream stick.
Teacher will record a video of each student showing his/her animal and talking about
it. The video will last about 30 seconds each. Students can use their Writing copybooks
in case they dont remember something. Teacher will place a green screen at the back
so that the habitat of each animal can be included in the video through a
picture/video. Teacher will use Sony Vegas Pro Editor to edit the background of the
video.

Edition made using Sony Vegas for the show Star wars last year.

Lesson 7
Option 1
Every year in November, Year 1 and Kinder 5 gather together to share different activities and
forge a link between Kindergarten and Primary school. The aim of this is to show future
students what children do and learn in primary.
Year 1 students will show kinder 5 kids their videos and what they have learnt about animals in
1st grade. The activity can take place in the classroom by using a projector or in the Whiteboard
lab.

Animalize it

Florencia Surez

2016

Multimedia resources
Whiteboard
The interactive whiteboard is an instructional tool that allows computer images to be
displayed onto a digital board. In the school I work in, if you want to use the
whiteboard lab you need to book the room in advance. So, I will have to check the
availability of this room at least one week before.
The reason why I have chosen to use a whiteboard in my project is because it allows
students to manipulate the elements on the board by using their finger as a mouse,
dragging and moving the items on the screen. It not only adds interactivity but it also
fosters collaboration among students as they have to work cooperatively in order to
perform the activity.
The advantages of using this tool are that information is presented in an unusual
context. Besides, it provides visual aids to represent vocabulary items. Finally, students
can not only manipulate elements but they can also work cooperatively with their
peers.
Its disadvantages are the availability of the room and the fact that technology may not
work properly.
Plan B:
Puzzle: Teacher can do the same activity using the animal flashcards and covering part
of them so that students guess what animals they are.
Classification: Teacher can do the same activity by drawing bubbles on the board and
telling students to place the animal flashcards in the correct bubble.

Build your wild self

Build your wild self is a free website where kids use different animal parts to create a
"wild self". The activity will take place in the Computer lab. So, according to our
timetable, we can use that room once a week for one period (40 minutes). As a
consequence, in order to save time, teacher will have to explain the activity and open
the website in all computers before going to the Computer lab.
The reason why I have chosen this tool is because it allows students to try different
choices before making up their minds on the animal self they want to create. In other
words, kids can choose how they want to customize their creatures and they can make
changes without erasing but by clicking on a different item.

Animalize it

Florencia Surez

2016

The advantages of using this tool are that it has an appealing graphic design and it is
user-friendly, that is to say, it is easy to use.
The disadvantage is that you need Internet connection.
Plan B
Students can draw their wild self on a piece of paper.

Video/Sony Vegas Pro/Projector

In order to make a good quality video, teacher will have to take her camera. However,
if you dont have a camera you can either use a cell phone or tablet. As the students
have to be recorded individually, while one student is being recorded the rest has to
cooperate and be quiet or do another activity. Luckily, in the school I work in, there are
two teachers per classroom, thus, one teacher can go to record the video with a
student while the others are working in the classroom. In my project, I have included a
green screen to change the background of the video. I think it will make it more
interesting for children to see themselves in a different place. Besides, it will include a
visual aid that will help kinder 5 kids understand the video better.
The reason why I have chosen this tool is because it will avoid face-to-face interaction
with the audience. Children feel more comfortable when they talk to a technological
device than when they talk to people.
The advantages of this tool are that it increases student motivation, it enhances
communication skills and it develops the learner autonomy.
The disadvantages are that the teacher will need time to edit the videos either at
school or at home and a projector will be needed to show the students productions.
Plan B
Students will describe and talk about their animals in a face-to-face presentation.

Rationale for choices

In a digital era, when most of (or all of) our students are digital natives, technology can
be a potential tool to improve and enlarge their learning, as well as motivate them. By
using different technological devices properly, we can make knowledge not only
significant but also meaningful.

Animalize it

Florencia Surez

2016

Throughout the activities suggested, the elements of the learning process are
presented through different multimedia resources, creating a unified experience about
the topic. This process is called transmedia storytelling, which is a concept developed,
among others, by Henry Jenkins.
The concept of collective intelligence is also developed in this project since these new
interactive structures enable the circulation and creation of knowledge cooperatively
among students.
In order to design the activities only few elements of gamification were included. They
are the possibility students have to make choices and decisions to create their wild
selves.
Finally, students can make their thinking visible by accounting for their answers and
expressing what they know and think about the puzzle pictures, which is really
beneficial to the development of their thinking processes.

Resources as seen by the students

By observing my students, I have noticed that they work better in pairs when there is a
technological tool linking them. They can work collaboratively and in a friendly way.
What is more, multimedia resources, when used properly and meaningfully, can foster
motivation. Students pay more attention when the teacher-student link is mediated by
technology.
Finally, students feel more confident when they have to talk to a camera than when
they have to talk to a person. They are really keen on video making as they love
watching Youtube videos and this activity can provide a possibility to pretend to be
youtubers for one day.