Chain Games

By Eliana Fernandez Malla- Dominican Republic and Jekaterina Mazure- Latvia
Material          : Flashcard
Organization   : Whole Class
Time               : 20-25 minutes
Aim                : To practice or revise a new vocabulary set
Description     : Children sit in a circle. They learn a new vocabulary set (For example.   Vegetables)
Preparation     : You will need to prepare flasscard of the words you want the children to learn
Procedures:

1.  Introduce a set of words you want the children to learn, for example fruit and vegetables through flashcard. After practicing the pronunciation, stick the card on the board (you might want to write the word under the card)
2.  Ask the children to sit in a circle. explain they will have to use the flashcards to try to remember a list of words 
3. Introduce the phrase. “My auntie went to market, and she bought an apple’. The first child should add to the list, using another word from the flashcard, in the following way: ‘My auntie went to market and she bought an apple and some carrots’. The activity goes on with each child adding to the list after having repeated all the items before  
4. Repeat the activity, but this time take the flashcard off the board and erase any writing
5. Note:You can help children who are struggling by mouthing the words in the list

Alternatives :

1.  It is not necessary to teach a set of vocabulary first. The children can add whatever they like to the list from words they remember. This takes much less time
2. Another alternative is to start the next item in the list with the last letter of the previous item. For example. I went to market and bought an apple, an elephant, some trees and a snake 
3. Add a rhythm. A model the rhythm by slapping your kness (gently) twice, clapping (twice) and then clicking the fingers on each hand in turn. Get all the children to take up the rhythm. Then say your own name on the first click and one of the children’s names on the second. The child then says their name on the first click and another child’s on the second, Once the rhythm has been established, introduce a word family, for example, fruit. The activity starts again, but this time you say a fruit with the first click and a name of a child with the second. For example, ‘Banana, Peter’. Peter then has to say, For example, ‘Apple, Justina’, and soon.

Reference
Crazy Animals and Other Activities for Teaching English to Young Learners