Activities to accompany Sing and Learn Italian CD

With many thanks to Silvia Onorati for preparing these activities.

The Sing and Learn Italian CD (including flashcards for each of the songs) can be purchased through Child’s Play.

For further information call: Sarah Edwards, Child’s Play, NSW, mob: 0407 425 155or Co.As.It. Multimedia Centre, 67 Norton St LeichhardtPh. 9564 0744

Teaching and learning activities for:

Oggi, oggi Arlecchino Vorrei un gelato

Objective: Using LanguageOutcomes: Listening and Responding1.UL.1: A student recognises and responds to words, phrases and simple sentences in spoken Italian

Reading and Responding1.UL.2: A student identifies and responds to features of written Italian

Speaking1.UL.3: A student uses known words in Italian to interact in everyday activities

Writing:1.UL.4: A student demonstrates developing writing skills by recognising and copying Italian

Objective: Making Linguistic ConnectionsOutcomes:1.MLC1. A student recognises the diversity of languages systems1.MLC.2. A student explores ways in which meaning is conveyed in Italian

Objective: Moving Between CulturesOutcome:1.MBC.1 A student demonstrates awareness of cultural diversity1.MBC.2 A student identifies cultural practices in the Italian–speaking communities

Oggi, oggi

Stage 1: For teaching weather and seasons and the difference between Australia and Italy. It can be also used to introduce Christmas’ traditions in Italy.

Teaching and learning activitiesPresent the flashcards and brainstorm the possible song’s scenario. Introduce the target sentences to the students, and ask them to repeat after you.

Play: Coccodrillo mangia mangia

Match each sentence with an appropriate gesture. Play a miming game. Have four students standing up back to back. Call out one sentence, e.g. Fa molto freddo. The students, without looking at each other, have to mime it using the appropriate gesture. If they make the wrong gesture they are out of the game. The last one in the game wins. Repeat until all the students have played it.

Play: Testa giù, pollici su. (heads down, thumbs up). Select the students who will hold a flashcard each. Have the others at their desk with their head down and their thumbs up. The students holding the cards walk silently around the classroom picking a student each by touching their thumbs. The teacher asks: Chi è stato? The selected students have to guess who touched their thumbs. The students holding the cards must be called by the name of the card they are holding, e.g. Piove, Fa freddo...

Play the song as a listening exercise. Write on the board what the students could detect from the song, e.g. city’s names, weather expressions.

Prepare some flashcards with the written weather expressions, e.g. Fa molto caldo; Piove, etc. Divide the students into groups; each group has a set of flashcards. They have to match as many flashcards as they can in a given time. The group with the most flashcards wins the game.

Give the students the script of the song and read it with them. Play the song and sing along.

Sing the song making a dance which reinforces the language structures through the gestures.

Draw the students’ attention to the Natale flashcard. Discuss what the weather is like at Christmas in Australia and in Italy. Show the students a map of the world and discuss the seasonal differences in the two hemispheres.

Introduce the new language, e.g. ė inverno, fa molto freddo. Practise the language structures, then cut out the target sentences out, e.g. ė molto fa inverno freddo, asking the students to un-jumble and match them with the appropriate picture’s flash card.

Using just the music track, the students sing the song substituting the words oggi, oggi with ė estate, ė inverno, etc.

Photocopy and reduce the pictures flash cards and the jumbled sentences. The students cut and paste it in their book.

Arlecchino

Stage 1: Can be used to teach adjectives and cultural identity. Possible link Celebrations.

Teaching and learning activitiesSet the scene talking about the Carnevale tradition, when Carnevale is and what children do on Carnevale. Show pictures of Italy during Carnevale. Show the flashcards with the Carnevale characters provided in the kit. Discuss it. (Have an illustrated map of Italy to

show where they come from). Show the children rubber masks of Arlecchino, Pulcinella, etc (Co.As.It.). Match it with the corresponding flash card. Match it with a body gesture relating it to the song e.g. touch your tummy for Pulcinella.

Play Testa giù pollici sù (see previous songs) either with the masks or the flash cards.

Game: Prepare a set of flash cards (reduce it and photocopy it on cardboard) with the Carnevale characters for each child. Sit on the floor in a big circle. Each child has the flash cards in front of them. Call out one of the characters the children have to pick the right card say it and do the body gesture. After a while the children can call out the cards taking turns.

Play the song twice reading it with the children. Children sing it following the written text. Add gestures. Sing it again standing up and dancing. (The dance has to incorporate all the appropriate body gesture e.g. laughing for scherzare).

Word process the target language in the song’s verses. E.g. Mi chiamo Arlecchino. Sono birichino. The children sit on the floor. Read the target sentences to the children and with their collaboration, match it with the picture’s cards.

De-structure the text e.g. Mi chiamo sono di Bergamo birichino Arlecchino sono. Sit in a circle and group the cards as nouns, verbs and adjectives. Interact with the children in doing so. Children have to un-jumble the language and reconstruct the song’s verses. It can also be done in small groups.

Role-Play: Children wear one of the masks and have to introduce themselves as characters.

Book activity: Give the children an envelope containing the same de-structured language as the cards in the previous activity, guide them when grouping the cards on their desk. Once the cards are grouped the children have to un-jumble it and glue the words in they book in the correct order.

Vorrei un gelato

Stage 1: For teaching fruit and food. Possible COGS links: My local place, Services and products

Stage 3 and 4: The song can be also used for teaching how to make a polite request.

The activities need to be modified according to the Stage.

Teaching and learning activitiesSet the scene by talking about gelato as a typical Italian dessert and or students’ favourite summer treat. Ask the students about their favourite flavours, make a list of them in Italian on the board.

Show the gelato flash cards (provided when the CD is purchased) to the class. Ask them to guess the flavours and compare them to the flavours written on the board, add the ones not mentioned by the students if necessary.

Play coccodrillo mangia mangia using the gelato flashcards.

Arrange the flashcards on the floor, play the first verse of the song, then press pause. Ask students to find amongst the flashcards, the flavour mentioned in the first verse. Repeat until the song is finished.

Discuss with students the ingredients needed to make a gelato.

Prepare some new flash cards with the main gelato flavours’ ingredient including a picture of pistacchio, vanilla seed, cream, mint leaves (you can also use realia). Play a matching game, matching gelato and its main ingredient e.g. limone with gelato al limone. Each student chooses a match and presents it to the class, e.g. È un gelato al limone.

Play: What’s missing? Students sit in a circle, the teacher arranges the flashcards on the floor. A student goes outside the classroom; the class decides which cards are going to go missing (maximum of three). Once it has been decided, the student outside comes back into the classroom and tries to identify what it is missing.

Read the song with the students modelling the reading. Sing it again.

Role-play the song. (Vorrei and Che gusto preferisci should be learned as a chunk and not analysed).Student 1: Vorrei un gelato.Student 2: Che gusto preferisci? (teacher assists)Student 1: Un gelato al cioccolato. Grazie.Student 2: Prego.

Art activity You need A3 cardboard, a picture of a cone, coloured paper, glue and scissors, light brown water paint. Draw a cone for the gelato, students paint it and cut it out. Students

glue it on their cardboard. With teacher’s assistance the students cut out the coloured paper and arrange it as a gelato on the cone.

Word processing The students type the label for their gelato using a word processing program on the computer. Make sure that the words or sentences the students have to reproduce are written on the board. Teach them how to type their words or sentences in a table format.(It will help when they cut it out).

Labelling. Students label their art work, e.g. Ė un gelato al cioccolato. Sing the song again using just the music track.