Mailboxes | Word cut-outs |Secret messages

Mailboxes
Find a place in the classroom for student "mailboxes", such as a wall or even students' desks, where they can tape small paper bags. Have the students write their names on their bags. Keep small postcard-size papers and pencils available in one place in the classroom. Set aside five minutes each day when students can write notes to one another. For young children, the note can be as simple as their names and a drawing. Collect the notes in a box, then deliver the notes to the correct mailboxes. You may want to set some rules about the content, but try not to discourage the students by making corrections to their notes. Let the students have fun writing and communicating in English!

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Word cut-outs
Give each student a piece of colored paper. Have the students fold the paper in half, then write any word they know in large letters along the fold line. Then ask them to fold the paper along the line again with the writing side facing out. Show them how to cut the paper around the letters of the word, following the shape of the letters. Make sure that they do not cut along the fold. When the students unfold the paper, they will have a funny shape that they can turn into an animal or an insect by coloring it in with crayons. Paste the shapes onto a large piece of paper to create a class collage. The students can also do this with their own names.

Secret messages
Ask volunteers to write the letters of the alphabet on the board. Write the numbers 1 to 26 underneath the letters, e.g. a=1, b=2, etc. Point to various numbers at random and have the students call out the corresponding letters. Next, think of a word that the students know and write the corresponding numbers on the board. Give students time to look at the alphabet and number chart to figure out the word. Then give each student paper and put students in pairs. Have students use the numbers to write their own "secret messages" for their partners to spell out. Students can write individual words or short sentences.