Area of Interest: Diverse communication settings
Skills: Listening and Speaking
Competences: Discourse competence
Age Bracket: 0 – 5
Time Commitment: Under 30 minutes
Affordability: €
Materials:
Picture cards of common animals (or printed images),
Small soft toys representing animals (optional),
Simple musical instruments like drums or shakers (optional).
Expert recommendations:
This activity helps very young children learn animal names and sounds in the minority language while engaging in storytelling. It builds vocabulary through repetition and physical engagement, making learning playful and memorable.
For very young children (0-2), focus primarily on the sounds and gestures. For older children in this bracket (3-5), gradually introduce more vocabulary and simple phrases. Keep sessions short and playful, and don’t worry if children mix languages – this is normal and part of the learning process.
Available Languages:
No translations available for this item.
Step 1: Preparation
- Gather 4-5 picture cards of animals that are common in the local area
- Choose animals whose sounds are easy for young children to imitate
- If possible, include animals that have different names or make different sounds in the minority language compared to the majority language
Step 2: Introduction
- Sit on the floor with the children in a circle in front of you
- Show each animal picture one at a time, clearly pronouncing the animal’s name in the minority language and making its sound as it would be expressed in the minority language
- Have children repeat both the name and sound
- While you introduce the animals, you can also associate them with gestures (like flapping your arms for birds, scratching for cats, long ears for donkeys, etc)
Step 3: Simple Story Creation
- Begin a very simple story in your minority language using 2-3 animals. For example: “One day, the [animal name] went for a walk. Then they met a [second animal name].”
- Each time an animal is mentioned, encourage children to make the animal’s sound, do the animal’s gesture and/or say the animal’s name (if they can).
Step 4: Interactive Elements
- Ask simple questions in the minority language like “What did the [animal] say?”
- Let children take turns choosing which animal appears next in the story
- For older children in this age group (4-5), introduce additional details like “Was the animal happy? Sad? Hungry?” and let the children suggest ideas for the story.
Step 5: Movement Break
- Have children stand up and move like each animal
- Combine movements with sounds
- Use simple commands in the minority language like “hop,” “walk,” “run”
Step 6: Closing
- Review each animal’s name one last time
- Let children say goodbye to each animal in the minority language
You can repeat this activity over time introducing new vocabulary, sounds and gestures every time. As you advance in the year curriculum (and depending on the children’s age), you can also introduce numbers to the story. For example by showing 2 dogs, 3 cats, 4 donkeys, etc. This will be specially helpful if the plural form in your minority language is irregular or quite different from the national language.