Teacher’s Guide
Mingoville – Learning English Online
1. Introduction
Mingoville is a narrative universe that frames all the themes that are to be taught in 3rd grade
English according to the Danish curriculum. It is a digital interactive textbook that combines the narrative methods known from the entertainment industry and second language acquisition.
Mingoville contains a multitude of activities that range from stories, rhymes and games to
conversations and songs. The activities speak to all senses and intelligences by combining pictures, animation, sound and text. Hence, the application accommodates pupils’ individual language acquisition processes.
Mingoville builds on the following four principles:
• to address pupils’ individual needs for a variety of input with regards to setting, time and
tempo
• to suit pupils’ wide ranges of learning styles and their multiple intelligences
• to improve the pupils’ autonomy and knowledge about their own learning process and the
need for continuous assessment.
• to integrate digital tools and curriculum in a holistic learning environment. Pupils have various ways of gaining access to a new language. Mingoville supports pupils’ different language acquisition styles through a variety of usage opportunities. The application can be used wherever, whenever and at the pace and within the space of time available. Regardless of the pupils’ prior knowledge they will experience the English language in a natural context where it is comfortable, useful and meaningful for them to try out their understanding of the language. They can also track their language acquisition process through activities that they have finished and revisit activities that they are interested in or ones that they may have had difficulties with. Once anxiety levels are lowered and the pupils feel comfortable expressing themselves in English
through Mingoville, they can move on and practice acquired language in communicative non-virtual classroom activities.
2. The Mingoville Universe
Mingoville is the narrative universe where personified flamingos live and language comes alive. We follow the Pinkeltons and their family doctor through 10 missions. The characters introduced are:
Bob
Grandfather Ryan
Grandmother Martha
Aunt Esmeralda
Cousin Kevin Cousin Olivia Uncle Jonathan.
2
Candy Andrea Mother Liz Father Jeff Dr. Phil Good
3. Content
Mingoville consists of various Internet-based materials and learning supplements.
Missions is the structured learning course in which 10 themes (Missions) are covered using a variety of recurrent activities.
The activities in Missions are grouped under three general headings; Stories, Creative Lab and Games. These groups of
activities can be reached through the pupils’ portal interface or within the Missions.
List of Contents
10 Missions 126 activities
10 English ‘sing-along’ songs - Karaoke
Stories – Library filled with interactive stories, interactive scenes and language use activities Creative Lab – Experimental zone filled with creative activities Games – A Game Park filled with educational games
My Book – a unique portfolio that is completed by the pupils throughout the course
Dictionary – An interactive picture dictionary where pupils read, see, hear and also have the opportunity to record their own voice for playback and self-evaluation.
Mobile Fun – a library where pupils can download ring tones and Mingoville icons
Download – Gives the user the opportunity to download supplemental classroom materials for free Teacher’s interface – Planning, evaluation and administration tools for the teacher
In this section you can read more about the different parts.
3.1 Missions
“Missions” is the gateway to the narrative universe that the Pinkeltons inhabit.
Entering through “Missions”, pupils can choose to visit 10 different places in Mingoville, each of which focuses on a new theme.
The missions cover 10 different themes and each mission consists of 12-13 activities. Each activity utilizes a different pedagogical approach. For detailed information about the different activities, read the descriptions in ‘Planning’ which you can reach through the teacher’s portal interface.
Themes that are covered:
1. Family
2. Colours and Clothes 3. Numbers and Letters 4. Nature and Season 5. The Body
6. Food and Shop 7. Time and Travel 8. Animals
9. House and Furniture 10. Sport and Media
3
The entrance to each of the 10 missions is through an interactive overview of Mingoville. By selecting a particular mission corridor, the pupils traverse the town animation and discover themselves in a localized mission setting where activities relevant to the mission take place. A certain problem to be solved by the pupils presents itself during the introduction of each mission. Pupils are given various hints to the solution in some of the activities and in the final scene they are asked to solve the problem.
3.1.1 Progression
The repetition of words in a variety of contexts and ways is important for children who are learning a new language. Therefore, each mission consists of a sequence of activities which ensure that pupils meet the same words repetitiously in varying forms and contexts throughout the mission.
The first activity in each mission takes place in an illustrative setting, called a “Rich Picture”, where the pupils can explore what the different things in the mission setting are called. The opening activity is followed by a number of activities that let pupils experiment with the primary words in each mission. These anchoring activities are followed by more narrative activities which focus on teaching the pupils the vocabulary in a natural context. Finally, the activities aim at involving the pupils more deeply with the vocabulary on a spelling level and a sentence level. Each mission is completed with a song, an interview and a brief evaluation exercise that can be used to assess student language acquisition. Each of the missions progresses in the same manner.
3.2 Stories
Pupils acquiring a language require comprehensible language input. Mingoville contains a wide range of graphically supported, interactive stories with a language level that is at or slightly above the language that pupils will be familiar with when they begin Mingoville. Besides introducing new words in natural settings, the stories encourage pupils to use and develop guessing strategies that help to convey
messages from an early stage.
”Stories” can be reached either through the Portal which leads to Esmeralda’s Library or as
activities in the different missions. Some of the stories are also found in the download section and may be used in class role games and drama activities. Letting the pupils rhyme stories and practice different dialogues is very effective when it comes to language acquisition.
3.3 Creative Lab
In the Creative Lab, the pupils can be… creative! They can colour various pictures, hear songs, sing karaoke and even listen to their own recorded songs. By establishing the possibility for the pupils to use an aesthetic form of expression, they can try out their language using media that pupils enjoy using in a playful low-stress atmosphere.
The pupils can either explore the creative activities themselves by entering Creative Lab from the Portal, or they can use the creative activities included in each mission.
3.4 Games
Mingoville consists of a large number of activities under the “Games” heading. These games function as a way to train different nouns and expressions in a playful atmosphere. By using uncomplicated computer games, pupils are encouraged to connect the English language to actions. The games are not an ends in themselves
but simply another tool used to enhance the language acquisition process.
4
The games contain elements of competition and all have a score board that keeps track of the pupils’ actions in all the games.
The pace and degree of difficulty increases as each game progresses. This is very stimulating for pupils who have difficulty concentrating in other situations or who are quickly bored.
Games can be reached through “Games” on the Portal that will lead the pupils to the Game Park. You can also find the “Games” activities in each mission.
3.5 My Book
My Book is the pupils’ personal book. It draws upon the portfolio thought, as it assists the pupils in their awareness of what they have accomplished and what to focus on in the future. It also functions as an assessment tool between the individual pupil and the teacher regarding the pupil’s learning process as it documents the pupil’s progression.
Upon the completion of a mission, the pupils can evaluate their progress in My Book. They can record sentences learned in a mission and save songs they have recorded in Sing Along.
My Book is also used as a place where the pupils can receive messages from their teacher and see which assignments and activities he/she is to complete.
3.6 Dictionary
Mingoville contains a digital dictionary that serves as a picture dictionary and a personalized tool that allows pupils to reflect upon their language acquisition.
In addition to allowing the pupils to read the words, see pictures of words and hear how words are pronounced, the pupils can also practice spelling and pronouncing the words
by recording their own voice. In this way, pupils can build a personalized personal dictionary.
The pupils can access the dictionary through the portal or while active in any mission activity throughout Mingoville. (dictionary access is represented by an easily recognizable icon)
3.7 Mobile Fun
From the portal users can follow a link to a site where the pupils can download ring tones and Mingoville graphics to their mobile phones. The ring tones are music from the application.
3.8 Download
On the “Download” site you can download supplementary materials for free to use in your teaching. This ensures that pupils get to use the language they have learned in the virtual missions in non-virtual classroom settings.
5
4. How to use Mingoville
4.1 Teacher
Mingoville can be used in various ways. It can be used systematically by following the
recommended order of activities presented in each mission or you can put your own sequence of activities together by mixing the activities as you prefer.
In addition to the content mentioned in part 3, the teacher’s interface includes the following parts:
Planning: If you don’t want to use the planned sequence of activities in “Missions”, you can choose to create your own sequence of activities or modify existing missions. If you decide to plan the course yourself the pupils can see it in their “My Book” organizer. In Planning you can also read more about the different activities.
Evaluation: Evaluation gives you an overview of how your pupils are progressing in terms of time spent on each activity, how they have completed each activity and how many times they have tried each activity. You can use this as an indication of where to focus your effort.
Admin: In Admin you can manage the information about your pupils and give each pupil their own unique login information.
4.2 Pupils
Once you have assigned each pupil with his/her own unique username and password, the pupils can log into Mingoville. Every time the pupils log into Mingoville, the application loads each pupils’ personal information.
Depending on how you have chosen to use the application the pupils can use it in two ways.
If you have not made any changes, the pupils can work their way through the learning course mission by mission.
If you have planned a sequence of activities, the pupils have to open and check “My Book” to see which activities they must complete and which ones are optional.
6
Some of the activities consist of more than one level, and once the pupils have completed the needed level of an activity, the pupils be asked whether they want to try again, continue (this only shows if there are anymore levels) or exit.
If the pupil chooses to exit the activity, they will be asked to evaluate it using the evaluation tool you see here. When the pupils have evaluated an activity, the evaluation will be stored in the pupils’ “My Book” and in the teacher’s “Evaluation” tool along with the logged information of how the pupil performed.
7
Mission 1: Talking the Family Photo
Theme: The Family.
The setting
In mission 1, the Pinkeltons are situated in Candy’s family’s kitchen where Candy introduces her family to the pupils.
Purpose
The purpose of this mission is for pupils to become familiar with words that relate to the family theme. The pupils will also become familiar with ways of asking and answering
questions regarding themselves and their family.
Problem:
The family is to take the family photo, but little sister Andrea is missing and the family photo cannot be taken before she is found. (Hint: She is hiding behind the water reeds)
Vocabulary
Mother Father Sister Brother
Grandmother Grandfather Aunt Uncle Cousin Parents Children Baby Boy Girl Big Little Young Old Short Long Hairy Bald Angry Cheerful Good Bad Happy Sad
Key sentences and verbs
Greetings
What’s your / your mother/ your father’s / your brother’s / your sister’s name?
My name is… How old are you? I’m … years old
Do you have a brother/sister? Yes, I have… / No, I don’t have… Where do you live? I live in… to be/ to live / to have
Activities
Meet My Family (Rich Picture) Colour My Family (Colour This) Play Memory (Memory)
When Ryan Met Martha (Illustrate the Story) Make a family picture (Picture creator) Pacman (Pacman)
I Am, She Is… (Grammar Demo) Transmogrifier (Transmogrify)
Write Who We Are (Drag and Drop) The Family Song (Sing-Along) Let’s Talk About You (About Me)
Family Lingo Challenge (Point It Out)
Additional material
On www.mingoville.dk you can download free, additional material to use in class.
8
Mission 2: Titel
Theme Colours and Clothes
The setting
In this mission, the Pinkeltons are going to dress for the town party. The setting is an overview of the
Pinkelton’s bedrooms where the host Bob tells the pupils about the clothing his family members own.
Purpose
The purpose of this mission is that the pupils become familiar with different colours and clothing in English and that they learn to describe what they
are wearing and how they look. Another goal is that the pupils communicate what their favourite colours and clothes are.
Vocabulary
Jacket Sweater T-shirt Shirt Tie
Trousers Underwear Socks Shoes Trainers Skirt Blouse Shorts Dress Cap Gloves Jewelry Watch Jeans Hat Scarf Suit Coat Bow tie Grey Yellow Blue Purple Pink Silver Gold Blue White Black Brown Red Green Orange Favourite
Problem
Grandfather Ryan cannot find his bow tie. (Hint: Andrea is wearing it)
Key sentences and verbs
That is… I like…
I am wearing… / he is wearing… I want…
My favourite colour is… to wear, to want, to paint
Activities
See All of Our Clothes (Rich Picture) Colour the Clothes (Colour This) What to Wear (What to Say) Play Memory (Memory)
The Red Sock (Illustrate the story) Catch the Clothes (Catch it)
Transmogrifier: Colours (Transmogrifier) Spell clothes and Colours (Type spelling) Dress Me Up (Opposites)
Write What I’m Wearing (Drag and Drop) Ready to Go (Sing-Along)
Let’s Talk About Clothes (About Me)
Colours & Clothes Challenge (Point it out)
Additional material
On www.mingoville.dk you can download free, additional material to use in class.
9
Mission 3: In the Classroom
Theme Numbers and Letters
Setting
In mission 3, we zoom in on Mingoville Primary School, where Mrs. Pinkelton and her pupils are having English. Mingoville is a very small town with few inhabitants, and therefore, there are only a few pupils in Mrs. Pinkelton’s class.
Purpose
In this mission the pupils are
introduced to many things. The main purpose is to teach the pupils the
numbers from 1-20 and the alphabet. The second purpose is that the pupils become familiar with the tens and dip into what the things in the classroom are called.
Furthermore, the goal is that the pupils learn to rhyme with numbers and that they learn classroom phases that can be used in the non-virtual classroom setting.
Vocabulary
A-Z 1-20
Tens (10-90) One hundred Teacher Pupil
Classroom School
School yard Black board Chalk Desk Ruler Pencil Eraser Book Notepad School bag Lunch box Alphabet Letter Number Plus Minus Equal
Problem
The letter ‘O’ in the school sign is missing and teacher Liz needs the pupils to help her find it. (Hint: It is placed on the basketball basket)
Key sentences and verbs
How do you spell? What rhymes with? How many? There are/is
to count/ to rhyme / to know
Activities
In the Classroom (Rich Picture) Memory (Memory)
Catch ABC and 123 (Catch it )
Let’s Rhyme with Numbers (Give Us a Clue) The Basket (Illustrate the Story) Spell The Numbers (Type spelling) Liz and the Pupils (What to Say) Is or Are? (Grammar Demo)
Write About My School (Drag and Drop) ABC and 123 (Sing-Along)
Let’s Talk About School (About Me) Classroom Lingo (Point It Out)
Additional material
On www.mingoville.dk you can download free, additional material to use in class.
10
Mission 4: Check the Weather Out
Theme: Nature and Seasons
The setting
From Esmeralda’s balcony we view the landscape near Mingoville.
Esmeralda has a ‘magic stone’ that she uses to control the weather in Mingoville. Somehow the stone has disappeared and the weather in Mingoville switches from winter, to spring, to summer, and to autumn in no time at all. Therefore, Grandfather Ryan, Bob, Olivia and Candy are out on the fields close to Mingoville looking for the Magic stone.
Purpose
The purpose of this mission is that the pupils familiarize themselves with the 4 seasons, different kinds of weather and words about nature.
Vocabulary
Winter Spring Summer Autumn Rain Sun Snow Wind Moon Sky Cloud Star Tree Plant Flower Grass Stone Lake Forest Field Sea Fire Earth Water Cold Warm Wet Dry Hot Rainy Sunny Snowy Windy Cloudy
Problem
Esmeralda’s magic stone is missing. (Hint: It’s by the fire pit.)
Key sentences and verbs
It is…
When it’s winter/spring/summer/autumn it … My favourite time of year is…
to shine, to love, to rain, to snow, to blow
Activities
Check the Weather Out (Rich picture) Play Memory (Memory) Pacman (pacman)
Paint the Landscape (Colour This) The Magic Stone (Illustrate the Story) Make a nature picture (Picture creator) Transmogrifier: Weather (Transmogrif) Spelling Weather Words (Type spelling) Ryan’s Childhood (Give Us a Clue) Write About Seasons (Drag and Drop) The Nature Song (Sing-Along)
Let’s Talk About Nature (About Me) Earth Lingo Challenge (Point It Out)
Additional material
On www.mingoville.dk you can download free, additional material to use in class.
11
Mission 5: At the Doctor
Theme The Body
The setting
In mission 5, we visit Dr. Phil Good in his practice, where he has a picture of a flamingo body. Dr. Phil Good is a nice old Mingo who likes to teach the pupils about the body and the
different illnesses a Mingo can get.
Purpose
The purpose of this mission is that the pupils become familiar with the different body parts, illnesses and senses in English. Additionally, the pupils familiarize themselves with how
to describe another person and how they look themselves.
Problem
Dr. Phil Good cannot find out why little Andrea cries all the time. (Hint: Her dummy/ pacifier is stuck in her throat)
Vocabulary
head hair eye nose mouth teeth neck body throat back chest shoulder arm elbow stomach hand finger bottom knee leg foot toe
broken leg stomach pain headache medicine flu sense sleepy awake sick well fat slim round square tall short ugly beautiful
Key sentences and verbs
I have … eyes/hair My… hurts
to hear, to see, to smell, to touch, to taste
Activities
At the Doctor (Rich picture) Colour the Body (Memory) What’s Wrong? (What to Say) Pacman (pacman)
When Jeff Had a Bad Day (Illustrate the Story) I’d Rather Lose My… (Grammar Demo) Spell the Body Words (Typespelling) Transmogrifier (Transmogrifier)
Write About the Body (Drag and Drop) The Body Song (Sing-Along)
Let’s Talk About Your Looks (About Me) Body Parts Challenge (Point it out) Learn More About the Body (Projects)
Additional material
On www.mingoville.dk you can download free, additional material to use in class.
12
Mission 6: At Jeff’s Shop
Theme Food and Shop
The setting
We visit Father Jeff in his grocery shop next to the Pinkelton’s house. The mission includes a number of activities that can be used as a starting point for communicative shopping activities in class.
Purpose
The main purpose in this mission is that the pupils familiarize themselves with what the different goods in Jeff’s shop are called and that they try
grocery shopping in English. The pupils also learn to categorize different food items.
Problem
Jeff has an ice-cream machine in the shop, but it isn’t working. He needs the pupils to help him figure out why. (Hint: The cord has been unplugged)
Vocabulary
Coffee Tea Juice
Soft drink Wine Beer Milk Butter Egg
Vegetable Tomato Cucumber Lettuce Potato Onion Carrot Fruit Apple Banana Orange Pear
Pineapple Strawberry Watermelon Bread Cheese Jam Fish Ham Sausage Ice cream Lollipop Chocolate Soap Shampoo
Key sentences and verbs
a/an
Can I help you? Can I please have…
I would like some….,please Have you got any… How much is it?
to drink, to eat, to buy, to pay, to like
Activities
At Jeff’s Shop (Rich picture) Catch the Food (Catch It)
‘A’ or ‘An’ Apple? (Grammar Demo) Colour the Food (Colour This) Play Memory (Memory)
Lady Butter (Illustrate the Story) The shop picture (Picture creator)
Spelling Funky Foods Words (Type spelling) How Can I Help You? (What to Say) Write About the Shop (Drag and Drop) What Food Can Be (Sing Along) Let’s Talk About Food (About Me) Shop Lingo Challenge (Point it out)
Additional material
On www.mingoville.dk you can download free, additional material to use in class.
13
Mission 7: At the Station
Theme: Time and Travel
The setting
Uncle Jonathan has settled down as a Station Master at Mingoville Station where he sells tickets.
Purpose
The overall purpose of the mission is that the pupils become familiar with telling the time in English, the different times of the day and the different means of transport. Another purpose is that the pupils experience how one buys a ticket and gets from one place to another.
Problem
Something is wrong at the station and Jonathan does not seem to be able to figure out what it is (Hint: The clock is not working)
Vocabulary
Train Bus Boat Car Road Station Harbour Timetable Ticket Arrival Departure Bicycle Airport Airplane Ship Taxi
Water scooter Platform Clock
Morning Noon
Afternoon Evening Night O’clock Quarter Half Past / to
Key sentences and verbs
What time is it?
It’s….o’clock / It’s half/quarter past/to… I get up at… o’clock I eat at…o’clock
When does the train leave? The train leaves at… o’clock
Where does the train leave from?
to fly / to travel / to drive / to leave / to start / to go / to ride / to arrive / to depart/ to sail / to lie / to close / to open/ so sell / to take
Activities
At the Station (Rich picture) Catch Station Items (Catch It) Pacman (pacman)
Which platform? (What to Say)
When Does the Bus Depart (Show the time) The Trip to San Flamingo (Illustrate the Story) Spelling at the Station (Type spelling) New Gooseville (Give Us a Clue)
Write about Jon’s Station (Drag Drop) Time to Travel (Sing Along)
Let’s Talk About Travelling (About Me) Station Lingo Challenge (Point it out)
Additional material
On www.mingoville.dk you can download free, additional material to use in class.
14
Mission 8: In Jonathan’s House
Theme: Animals
The setting
We visit Uncle Jon once again, but this time we enter his home within the station building. Uncle Jon used to be a sailor. On his trips around the world, he met many animals that he has brought with him home to Mingoville. Some of the pets are pets, some are stuffed and others he only has a picture of. The pupils will be
introduced to animals through the activities in this mission.
Purpose
The main purpose in this mission is that the pupils become acquainted with types of animals and that they become able to talk about their own pets, about what animals look like and of the actions commonly associated with certain animals.
Vocabulary
Cow Horse Parrot Spider Dog Cat Mouse Pig Fly Fish Chicken Bird
Crocodile Snake Tiger Lion
Elephant Monkey Polar bear Whale Shark
Problem
One of his animals is missing and as usual the pupils have to find out where the animal is. (Hint: It is hiding beneath the gate in the floor)
Key sentences and verbs
Do you have any pets? I have a…
An (animal) is… An (animal) can…
to fly/ to eat/ to look / to live
Activities
In Jonathan's House (Rich picture) Paint the Animals (Colour This) Jon’s Pet (Give Us a Clue) Play Memory (Memory)
How Jon Lost His Leg (Illustrate the Story) The animal picture (Picture creator Pacman (Pacman)
Spell the Animals (Type spelling) New Gooseville (Give Us a Clue) Write about the Animals (DragDrop) The Trip to Majaica (Sing Along)
Let’s Talk About Animals (About Me) Animal Lingo Challenge (Point it out) Animals Project
Additional material
On www.mingoville.dk you can download free, additional material to use in class.
15
Mission 9: Olivia’s New House
Theme: House and Furniture
The setting
In “House and Furniture” we visit Olivia, Kevin and Esmeralda in their new house near the stream that runs through Mingoville. The little family has just moved to Mingoville from another city.
Purpose
The main purpose in this mission is that the pupils are exposed to what the different rooms and furniture in the house are called. It is also a goal that
the pupils become at ease describing their own room and home. Additionally, prepositions are formally introduced for the first time.
Vocabulary
House Garden Stairway Balcony Kitchen Bedroom Bathroom Living room Dining room Window Door Wall Floor Table Chair Sofa Closet Bed Lamp Painting Mirror Cooker Fridge
Water pipe
Prepositions Under Behind Next to Above in front of in on
Problem
In the new house, a piece of the water pipe is missing and the little family cannot find the missing piece. (Hint: It is on top of the house)
Key sentences and verbs
What do you have in your room? In my room I have… I live in a…
to play, to sleep, to shower, to sit,
Activities
Olivia’s New House (Rich picture) Catch the Furniture (Catch It)
Spell Our Furniture (Type spelling)
Feathers in the Chimney (Illustrate the Story) Colour the Furniture (Colour This) The Old House (Give Us a Clue)
Under, On & Words Beyond (Grammar Demo) Writing About My House (DragDrop) We Are Moving In (Sing Along)
Let’s Talk About Your Room (About Me) House Lingo Challenge (Point it out)
Additional material
On www.mingoville.dk you can download free, additional material to use in class.
16
Mission 10: Kevin’ s Room
Theme: Sport and Media
The setting
In this mission, we visit Kevin in his room. Kevin is a reporter for the Mingoville Times and he loves to
watch and write about different sports events. His room is filled with different kinds of media and sports items. Therefore, it functions as a starting point into the world of sport and media.
Purpose
The purpose in this mission is that the
pupils are exposed to the sports in English and that they learn how to talk about what they like to do in their free time.
Kevin is quite a media-freak. When visiting his room, pupils will learn that the Danish words for the different media are similar to those in English.
Vocabulary
Football Badminton Swimming Dancing
Horseback riding Basketball Skateboard Radio Television Computer Mobile Stereo Poster DVD CD Video Internet Link/URL Ipod
Newspaper Camera
Adjectives Fast Slow Strong Weak Scared Brave Bored Surprised Lazy Active
Problem
The problem is that Kevin has forgotten who FC Mingoville is playing against the coming Sunday.
Key sentences and verbs
What is your hobby?
What do you like to do in your spare time? I like to…
To play, to swim, to run, to jump, to write, to listen, to watch, to dance,
Activities
Kevin’s Room (Rich picture) Catch the Ball (Catch It) Pacman (Pacman)
Kevin Became a Reporter (Illustrate the Story) Play Memory (Memory)
The Interview with Bob (What to Say)
I Play, He Swims, We Run (Grammar Demo) Transmogrifier (transmogrify) Write About Action! (DragDrop) Run Jump Have Fun (Sing Along) Let’s Talk About Sport (About Me) Action Lingo Challenge (Point it out) Sports Project (Project)
Additional material
On www.mingoville.dk you can download free, additional material to use in class.
17
6. Types of activities
6.1 Stories
6.1.1 Rich picture
Description
The physical setting of each mission is introduced in the Rich Picture activities. Within these scenes, the pupil can select individual items by clicking on them to hear and/or read what the things are called in English.
Purpose
The purpose of this activity is to introduce and begin enlarging the pupil’s vocabulary. Words and expressions introduced here will be repeated and learned throughout each particular mission.
Progression
The activity progresses from level one, where fundamental/ basic nouns are introduced, to level two, where expressions connected to the current theme are introduced.
6.1.2 Illustrate the story
Description
Short stories involving Mingoville characters are told by a character in this activity and then retold by the student using images. The stories are divided into 16 page defined parts, with each page accompanied by an illustration that supports the pupil’s understanding of the story line and assists them in the retelling of the story.
Purpose
The purpose of this activity is to prepare the pupil to follow longer sequences, to decode what
they hear and act according to instruction. Additionally, the purpose of this activity is to strengthen the pupil’s awareness of English language intonation.
Progression
Each story consists of three rounds. In the first round, the story is told and the pupils have to follow along by listening, browsing the text and observing the pictures. In round two, the story is told without the accompanying pictures. Pupils decode the text themselves and subsequently drag the correct illustration onto the page. In the third round, the story is told with the pictures situated where the pupils have placed them. 6.1.3 Give Us A Clue
Description
A story with interruptions asking for help is told by one of the characters in Mingoville. The narrator stops from time to time and encourages the pupil to help continue the story by selecting a correct keyword or answer the narrator’s questions.
Purpose
The purpose of this activity is to encourage pupils to develop strategies to find out what a person is talking about without fully understanding all of what is being said. Without the pressure of having to respond to a real person, pupils take the risk of describing things they do not exactly know the words for.
18
6.1.4 What to say?
Description
A conversation between two characters is heard, seen and interacted with in this activity. From time to time, the dialogue stops and the pupils become involved in the storytelling process by choosing how characters should respond to questions. These responses allow the conversation to continue.
Purpose
The purpose of this activity is to present authentic language to the pupil. This enables the pupil to engage in dialogue with classmates using similar language. Moreover, the purpose is to enhance the pupil’s awareness of the different sentence patterns.
6.1.5 Grammar demo
Description
Small graphical illustrations and text teach pupils basic elements of grammar. The pupils observe grammatical changes to words and usage in the English language. The different aspects shown in the demos are incorporated in other activities following the grammar demo.
Purpose
The purpose of this activity is to create rudimentary grammatical awareness for pupils.
6.2. Games
6.2.1 Colour This
Description
In this activity, pupils are instructed to colour various things in a variety of colours within the Rich Picture setting.
Purpose
The purpose is for the pupil to decode instructions to complete the assignment, and for the pupil to try out vocabulary and hypotheses of concepts that they have learned in a playful atmosphere.
Progression
The activity is divided into two levels. In the first level, we operate with a simple command, based on an item or object. e.g., “Paint the rock.” In the second level, pupils must colour specific items with specific colours as per a more focused command addressing the item and the colour in a sentence. e.g., “Paint the flowers using a nice red colour.”
19
6.2.2 Catch It
Description
In this game, one of the Mingoville characters is placed in a setting where different items, including text and sounds, fall from above and must be caught. The pupils move characters and make sure the images, words or sounds are caught in a wagon.
Purpose
The purpose of this activity is to consolidate vocabulary and concepts introduced in the mission.
Progression
The activity progresses in speed and with the numbers of objects falling.
6.2.3 Memory
Description
This activity builds upon the well known game memory. In this version of memory, the cards either show text, a picture or a loudspeaker icon indicating that a sound will be played. The pupils have to match: text with a picture, text with a sound or a picture with a sound.
Purpose
Through this activity, pupils interact with vocabulary as it is presented in varying forms: sounds, text and pictures. This playful combining of forms encourages pupil ownership of vocabulary.
6.2.4 Pacman
Description
In this version of Pacman, the pupils have to eat the letters that spell different nouns included in the different missions. In the process, they must beware of the ghosts moving about in the corridors who want to catch them.
Purpose
The purpose of Pacman is that pupils are made aware of how to spell the words in a playful atmosphere where they have to think and react fast.
Progression
As the pupils advance through different rounds, the ghosts move faster. This demands that pupils think fast about how words are spelled and navigate according to where the letters are placed.
6.2.5 Type spelling
Description
Teacher Liz or Dr. Phil Good guide pupils though a game of type spelling and tell the pupils what to write. The main focus is on nouns. Therefore, there is also an
illustration of the things that the pupils have to write. If the teacher so chooses, pupils can also see the word they have to write in a text bubble.
Purpose
The purpose of this activity is to support spelling awareness skills.
Progression
The length of the words increases as the activity progresses.
20
6.2.6 Dragdrop Writing
Description
Teacher Liz guides the pupils through a game of Drag and Drop Writing in a
classroom setting. The pupils are to write different sentences by dragging different words into boxes on the blackboard.
Purpose
The purpose of this activity is to allow pupils the opportunity to enhance sentence pattern
awareness with the help of a recognizable template. Additionally, there is no need for students to consider spelling while completing this activity.
Progression
The activity progresses as sentences increase in length.
6.2.7 Point It Out Challenges
Description
In this activity the pupil has to click on the things the host tells them to click on in the Rich Picture scene.
Purpose
The purpose of the activity is to enable the teacher to evaluate how much the pupils have learned in the individual missions. The activity presents itself as a challenge to the pupil.
Progression
The activity consists of two levels. In the first level, the pupils will be told exactly what to click on. In the second level, they have to extract the item to be chosen from a sentence.
6.2.7 Show the time
Description
In this activity the pupils first try to set the clock on their own. Then they have to solve some practices where they have to tell the right time.
Purpose
The purpose of the activity is to let the pupils train the numbers and learn the time (in English) in a fun and playful way.
21
6.3 Creative Lab Activities
6.3.1 About Me
Description
Pupils are interviewed for an article in the local newspaper, Mingoville Times. The pupils are asked 6 different questions that they can answer by choosing among
possible answers or by typing their own. The questions and answers are collected in an article that is automatically saved in the pupils’ “My Book”. Afterwards, the article
can be used by the pupils in classroom interview sessions or shared with classmates.
Purpose
The pupils are given the experience of listening and actually producing language themselves by interacting directly with a computer animated character. Furthermore, pupils will learn how to express themselves and ask questions in “face-to-face” dialogues in English relating to the topics covered in these ‘About Me’ interviews.
6.3.2 Sing Along
Description
The pupils can hear songs with varying degrees of complexity related to the mission using a karaoke machine. The songs are each different in genre, from rap to rock to house. Once they have heard the song, they can sing the song themselves, record it and save it in “My Book”.
Purpose
By singing the song, the pupils spontaneously learn English grammar, intonation and the vocabulary in each mission.
6.3.3 Transmogrifier
Description
In this activity the pupils have to drag different adjectives onto a magic box in order to transform or describe a situation surrounding the character Magic Mingo.
Purpose
The purpose of this activity is to enlarge the pupils’ concept formation and knowledge about different adjectives by connecting the adjectives to pictures/animations.
6.3.4 Picture Creator
Description
In this activity the pupils have to make their own picture by dragging the picture elements from the (certain) mission on the screen.
Purpose
The purpose of this activity is to let the pupil play and explore with the language in a fun way.
6.3.5 Projects
Description
The pupil read about a specific topic (e.g. sport, animals or the body) and get encouraged to find more information about the topic on the internet.
Purpose
The purpose is to “dispatch” the pupils to the internet, to let the pupils try to find some specific information’s on an English page.
22
因篇幅问题不能全部显示，请点此查看更多更全内容