Backpack

Reza Abedi
 Who
1 likes getting children to discuss in pairs?
2 tries to teach everything in Backpack?
3 likes teaching grammar?
4 thinks reading aloud helps with
pronunciation?
5 thinks writing is the most difficult skill?
6 teaches Backpack exactly as it says in the
Teachers Guide?
Intro including some grammar
There is no doubt that a knowledge of grammatical rules
is essential for the mastery of the language.

(Penny Ur, teacher trainer, and author of Grammar

Practice Activities)

Grammar is not very important. The majority of languages

have a very complex grammar. English has very little
grammar and consequently it is not very important to
understand it.

(From the publicity of a London language school)

Quoted in How to Teach Grammar, Scott Thornbury

Practising Grammar
 Practising grammar Drilling 1
How does the ice cream taste?
It tastes sweet.

wind chimes
popcorn
a pin
drums
Backpack 3, unit 6
Practising Grammar - Drilling 2
One person
Two people likes
Three people in our group fish
Everyone like
No one

EG One person in our group likes fish

Backpack 3
Gap fill
 Complete the sentences. Use
more than or the most.
1 The silver jewelry is __________ the beaded jewelry.

2 Outdoor markets have __________ clothes of all.

3 Birds with beautiful songs are __________ of all.

Backpack 5, unit 4
 Other possibilities

Do it in pairs
Do it in groups.
Do it competitively.
Do it together on the board.
Do it as a dictation.
Hand out the exercise completed with some
mistakes. Children have to identify the mistakes.
6 statements
Some questions
1 What do you do before you eat breakfast?
2 What do you do after you eat breakfast?
3 What do you do after you get home from
school?
4 What do you do before you eat dinner?
5 What do you do after you watch TV?

Backpack 3
What about errors?
 Who do you agree with?
The student must be trained to learn by making as
few mistakes as possible He must be trained to
adopt correct learning habits right from the start.
Louis Alexander

Making mistakes is an important part of language

learning. Only by experimenting with the language
and receiving feedback can students begin to work
out how the language works.
Abbs and Freebairn

Quoted in How to Teach Grammar, Scott Thornbury

That film isnt enough interesting to
watch.
1 No! Wrong!
2 That film isnt interesting enough to watch.
3 Word order!
4 No! Can anyone help?
5 That film isnt ?
6 That film isnt enough interesting to watch?
7 That film isnt what?
8 Good!
9 Teacher says nothing, but writes down error for
future correction.
Speaking
In your groups
 you have 10 minutes
 to talk about
 Australian birds.
Please start
 now!
Dialogues
Shop assistant: Can I help you?
Customer: Yes, please. I want skates.
Shop assistant: Do you want these big skates?
Customer: No, I want little skates.
Shop assistant: Do you want those skates?
Customer: Yes. Thank you!

Backpack 1, unit 8
Shop assistant: Can I ____ ____?
Customer: Yes, please. I want ____.
Shop assistant: Do you want these ____ ____?
Customer: No, I want ____ ____.
Shop assistant: Do you want ____ ____?
Customer: Yes. ____ ____!

Backpack 1, Unit 8
Shop assistant: Can ____ ____ ____?
Customer: Yes, ____. ____ ____ ____.
Shop assistant: Do you ____ ____ ____ ____?
Customer: No, ____ ____ ____ ____.
Shop assistant: Do ____ ____ ____ ____?
Customer: Yes. ____ ____!

Backpack 1, Unit 8
Shop assistant: ____ ____ ____ ____?
Customer: ____ ____. ____ ____ ____.
Shop assistant: ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
____?
Customer: ____, ____ ____ ____ ____.
Shop assistant: ____ ____ ____ ____ ____?
Customer: ____. ____ ____!

Backpack 1, Unit 8
Shop assistant: Can I help you?
Customer: Yes, please. I want skates.
Shop assistant: Do you want these big skates?
Customer: No, I want little skates.
Shop assistant: Do you want those skates?
Customer: Yes. Thank you!

Backpack 1, unit 8
 Find someone who has to
1 make his/her bed.
2 go shopping.
3 clean his/her room
4 look after a pet.
5 help his/her parents.
6 go to bed early.
Backpack 3, Unit 3
 can
like
have
Spelling and Vocab
ACCOMMODATION
cloudy cold windy

warm snowy rainy

Backpack 3, unit 5
cinema ___________________________
city ___________________________
police station ___________________________
toy shop ___________________________
hospital ___________________________

Backpack 2, unit 4
 red

Backpack 1
 Practic yor Speling!

M sistr s a secretry nd sh tpes

lettrs. M grandmothr s a salespersn
nd sh slls cloths.

Backpack 3, Unit 2
lion, elephant, peacock, tiger, zebra,
kangaroo, crocodile, monkey, hippo,
rabbit, snake

Backpack 2, Unit 8
Ranking activities

From shortest word to longest word

Alphabetically
By size
By how much you like/dislike
By intelligence
Classifying activities

By speed
By number of legs
By type (mammal, bird etc)
 Word Class Dictation

Animal Food Sport

 nearby, pet, unfortunately, long, then,
French, dirty, very, first, together

Hi! My name is Monica. Today is a busy day.

First, I have to clean my room and feed my
bird. Then I have to go to the nearby
library with my mother. We have to return
some books. Then we are going shopping.
After that, I have to practice the piano.
After dinner, Im going to write a letter to
my pen pal.
Foods in Our Future/Robots win the World Cup
time, same, device, electronic, control, remote, in fact, advanced, today,
day, sunny, to work, television, light, problem, new, cable, big, to solve,
to invent, to light, to trip, wireless, attached, convenient, first, channel,
to change, to turn on, plastic, top, to turn, rubber band, to wrap, jar,
another, use, thing, book, paper, elastic, special, kind, creation, useful,
lens, scientist, stiff, thick, technology, breakthrough, dark, glass, heavy,
color, eye, to change, people, better, animal, farm, to transport,
certainly, paper, instead of, cloth, to race, to sightsee, to travel,
balloon, air, hot, duck, sheep, rooster, passenger, to carry, later, year,
to launch, brother

Backpack 5, unit 7
Find five words you like.
Find three useful words
Find the longest word.
Are any of the words the same in Farsi?
Reading
 The Krinklejup

A krinklejup was parling a tristlebin. A

barjam stipped. The barjam gupped Minto to
the krinklejup. The krinklejup zisked zoely.

1 What was the krinklejup doing?

2 What stipped?
3 What did the barjam gup?
4 How did the krinklejup zisk?
 Backpack 3, Unit 2
A 0000000 Family

Hi, Im Natasha, and I work with my family in the 0000000.

We all work very hard, but every day in the 0000000 world
is exciting. My grandfather is an 0000000. He controls all
the 0000000 lights for the 0000000. My grandmother is a
0000000. She sews beautiful costumes for people to
0000000. My father is a trapeze artist. He 0000000 on a
trapeze and flies through the air. My mother is an acrobat.
She can turn cartwheels and 0000000 very high. My uncle is
a clown. He makes people 0000000. My aunt is a 0000000.
She can keep many things in the air at the same time. Being
a 0000000 family is hard work and 0000000.
Backpack 3 unit 2
1 Where does Natasha work?
2 What are the days like?
3 What does Natashas grandfather do?
4 What does Natashas grandmother make?
5 What do her parents do?
6 Who can turn cartwheels?
7 Who is a clown?
8 What can Natashas aunt do?
 Our Neighbourhood

1 Is the shoe shop next to the cinema?

2 Is the fire station on the corner?
3 Is there a shopping mall in the neighbourhood?
4 Is the toyshop between the cinema and the bookshop?
5 Is the bookshop next to the greengrocer?
6 Is the restaurant on the corner?

Backpack 2, Unit 4
 Our Neighbourhood
1 Is the shoe shop next to the cinema? No
2 Is the fire station on the corner? Yes
3 Is there a shopping mall in the neighbourhood? No
4 Is the toyshop between the cinema and the bookshop? No
5 Is the bookshop next to the greengrocers? Yes
6 Is the restaurant on the corner? No
 Effective or Ineffective
1 using finger to help eyes to follow text E/I/?
2 translating words and sentences into Farsi E/I/?
3 writing down all new words E/I/?
4 finding the sentence that contains the main idea E/I/?
5 studying and writing vocabulary lists E/I/?
6 looking at the task before reading the text E/I/?
7 asking students to read the text aloud E/I/?
8 reading text aloud to students E/I/?
Listening
 Effective or Ineffective
1 Teacher says listen and plays text once. E/I
2 Teacher tells children why they are listening. E/I
3 Teacher asks class to predict vocab they will hear. E/I
4 Teacher asks children to listen and summarise in Arabic.
E/I
5 Teacher asks children to translate each sentence. E/I
6 Teacher plays cassette again and again until children
understand. E/I
7 Children read the tapescript as they listen. E/I
8 Teacher tells children they should have listened more
carefully. E/I
Hi! My name is Monica. Today is a busy day.
First, I have to clean my room and feed my
bird. Then I have to go to the library with
my mother. We have to return some books.

Backpack 3, Unit 3
Dictogloss
Writing
 The process of writing
Pre-writing
First (rough) draft
Revision/reorganisation
Second draft
Editing/checking
Final version
 My Writing 1
my letters
my capital letters
my full stops
my spaces
my sentences
 My Writing 2
Is my writing on the line? Y N
Are my letters too big? Y N
Are my letters the same size? Y N
Are there gaps between the words? Y N
Are there capital letters? Y N
Can I read my writing? Y N
Can my friend read my writing? Y N
 You work for a newspaper and want to interview children
from other countries. What would you ask them? Think of
ten questions and write them down.

Marie

1 Do you like cold weather?

2 ______________________________________
3 ______________________________________
4 ______________________________________
5 ______________________________________
1 Memory game with pictures on the wall.
2 Teacher dictates a list of words. Children write words on separate pieces
of paper. Teacher shows Picture Card. Children hold up the correct
word.
3 Teacher shows a set of pictures. Children write words on separate piece
of paper. Teacher shows picture and children hold up correct word.
4 Use the same word cards as in previous activity. This time teacher calls
out one of the words and children hold up correct card.
5 Teacher conceals Picture Card so children cannot see it. Children guess
what the word is. Teacher shows the word.
6 Teacher fixes Picture Cards on the wall around the room. Teacher calls
out the words. Children point to the picture.
7 Give out a few Picture Cards to each group. Children arrange the words
into alphabetical order.
8 Give out a few Picture Cards to each group. Children arrange the words in
order from least to most letters.
9 Give out a few Picture Cards to each group picture side up. Describe one
of the pictures. Children have to guess which picture you are describing.
10 Reveal the word or picture.
11 Use Picture Cards as a prompt when telling a simple story.
Is Backpack perfect?
Why might an activity be unsuitable?
 What can we do with an activity
that is not suitable?
1

4
1 skip it

2 replace it

3 modify it

4 supplement it
 Good
OK
Needs modification