TEDDY’S PICNIC – PREPARING FOR OUTINGS IN THE PRIMARY CLASSROOM
Zhivka Stoyanova Ilieva
The story gives opportunities for vocabulary development and discussion. The topics of food, animals, free time activities, clothes and accessories for outings can be revised and developed. The story sets a context for discussing ecological issues: preserving nature, cleaning after picnics, the problem of being friendly and helping others.
TEDDY’S PICNIC
Teddy lived in a house in the middle of a forest in the mountains. Near his house there was a river.
One day Teddy decided to go on a picnic. He invited his friends Squirrel and Swallow. They started preparing their rucksacks together. (What do you think they would need?)
That’s right.
A ball, a blanket, a basket or a rucksack, sandwiches, an apple or other fruit, a plastic bag for the litter – not to leave anything in the mountain.
They would need some chocolate, some nuts, some water. They would need warm clothes, just in case and raincoats because in the mountain you never know when it would start raining. They would need sunglasses, hats and sunscreen cream.
While they were preparing, a little mouse came by.
“What are you doing?”
“Preparing for a picnic.”
“A picnic? Can I join you?”
“If you wish.”
“I’m going to pack and I’ll be here in a minute.” And the mouse disappeared in her hole. “Chocolate… nuts… and… cheese, of course! How can I go without cheese?! A hat and a jacket, and a raincoat; sunglasses and sunprotection lotion. And that’s all! Ready! Ready! Ready! Here I am! Shall we go?”
On their way the four friends met Rabbit.
“Hello, friends! Where are you going?”
“We are going on a picnic.”
“Can I join you?”
“If you wish.”
Rabbit picked up some berries on their way and was ready for the picnic.
On their way the five friends met Fox.
“Hello, friends! Where are you going?”
“We are going on a picnic.”
“Can I join you?”
“If you wish.”
On her way the fox picked some ripe pears.
Then they met the hedgehog.
“Hello, friends! Where are you going?”
“We are going on a picnic.”
“Can I join you?”
“If you wish.”
On the way the hedgehog picked some nice mushrooms.
(What other characters would they meet? e.g. a badger, a deer etc.)
They walked, and walked, and walked, and stopped on a meadow near a waterfall. They played a few games. They played with a ball, … (what else did they do? free time activities). Then Teddy swam. Those who could not swim just dipped their feet into the foamy water.Swallow flew above the waterfall. The rabbit and the mouse decided to lie in the sun. The fox played and ran around the meadow. The squirrel went into the shadow of the trees gathering some more nuts. The hedgehog picked up flowers, some fruit and some more mushrooms.
A butterfly was playing with the flowers on the river bank. A drop from the waterfall dropped on her wing and she fell off the flower. The rabbit and the mouse saw this and cried “Help!” Everybody startled. Teddy was splashing in the foamy water. They cried again “Teddy! Help!” pointing at the butterfly. Teddy swam towards the butterfly and fortunately she landed on his fluffy ear. Teddy went closer to the bank where Rabbit and Mouse took carefully the frightened butterfly. They laid her in the sun next to them and very soon her wings were dry again and she could fly.
It was already time for lunch. The friends invited Butterfly and her friends to join them for lunch. Everybody sat on the grass and took out of their rucksacks what they had brought: chocolate, nuts, fruit, mushrooms… Teddy had prepared a surprise for them. He had taken secretly a jar of honey. How sweet: perfect with nuts! A few mice, squirrels, rabbits and birds joined the cheerful company (who else joined). What a lunch it was! The birds sang, the others danced. What a beauty! The butterflies perched on the flowers nearby, on the friends’ ears, backs, tails; danced with them. A real party! Then they had a nap. After it they played again, had a lot of fun and it was nearly sunset. So they had to go home.
What a day! Next time the picnic will be on a peak high in the mountain!
They arranged to meet the next day. They met very early and started towards the peak. (What did they take? Do you remember? Nuts, chocolate, …)
As far as food is concerned, the topic of nuts and fruit can be developed. The main character is Teddy (Teddy Bear), so the children usually insist on adding acorn to the nuts.
Since the picnic is near a river, sometimes the students add a dragon fly to the characters which unlocks the topic of insects: ladybird, ant, grasshopper, cricket, firefly, etc.
The lists of words are developed with the help of a few dictionaries and their arrangement in this way aids interdisciplinary relations with Biology.
Nuts (ядки)
walnut / орехhazelnut / лешник
almond / бадем
peanut / фъстък
cashew / кашу
chestnut / кестен
pistachio nut / шам фъстък
brazil nut / бразилски орех
coconut / кокосов орех
acorn / жълъд
Berries (ягодови плодове)
strawberry / ягодаraspberry / малина
blackberry / къпина
blueberry / боровинка
gooseberry / цариградско грозде
black currant / касис, френско грозде
StoneFleshyFruits (костилкови плодове)
peach / прасковаapricot / кайсия
nectarine / гладка/гола праскова, нектарин
plum / слива
cherry / череша
cornel-cherry / дренка
Pome Fleshy Fruits (семкови плодове)
apple / ябълкаpear / круша
quince / дюля
medlar / мушмула
Fleshy Fruits: Citrus Fruits (цитрусови плодове)
orange / портокалlemon / лимон
grapefruit / грейпфрут
mandarin / мандарина
Tropicalfruits (тропически плодове)
banana / бананpineapple / ананас
papaya / папая
pomegranate / нар
kiwi / киви
grape – грозде
fig – смокиня
Insects (насекоми)
fly / мухаmosquito / комар
dragonfly / водно конче
butterfly / пеперуда
grasshopper / скакалец
cricket / щурец
ant / мравка
ladybird / калинка
bee / пчела
wasp / оса
beetle / бръмбар
firefly / светулка
caterpillar - гъсеница
spider - паяк
Storytelling is a powerful means of revising and introducing linguistic material, of motivating the students. It provides context for discussions and drama activities and thus speaking skills improvement. Stories foster interdisciplinary relations to other subjects from the curriculum in the foreign language classroom.
There is such a rich variety of stories and if we still cannot find a suitable story for the class, we can create one.
References:
- Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, OUP, 2000.
- The Oxford-Duden Pictorial English Dictionary, special edition, GAL-ICO, Sofia 1992.
- Английско-български и българско-английски картинен речник, Труд, София, 2000.
- Английско-френски тематичен визуален речник, Библиотека 48, София, 1992.
- Атанасова Т., Ранкова М., Русев Р., Спасов Д., Филипов Вл., Чакалов Г., Българско-английски речник, том І А-Н, трето стереотипно издание с притурка, изд. Наука и изкуство, София 1988.
- Атанасова Т., Ранкова М., Русев Р., Спасов Д., Филипов Вл., Чакалов Г., Българско-английски речник, том ІІ О-Я, трето стереотипно издание с притурка, изд. Наука и изкуство, София 1988.