Five-Minute Activities for Young Learners

2.10 How do you come to school?
Level
**
Language focus
but, because
Skills focus
Listening and speaking
Thinking focus
Distinguishing between contrast and reason
Teaching approach
Promote accuracy – correct errors
Interaction
Whole class activity, suitable for large classes
Procedure
1 Read out a sentence stem from Box 34.
2 Choose one child to complete the sentence with but.
3 Then choose another child to complete the same sentence with because.
4 The sentences could describe how the children really come to school, or
they could be fun and imaginative, e.g. on a donkey.
Box 34
Coming to school
Sentence stem
Sentence stem
Fun ideas
pattern 1
pattern 2
I always catch a bus to  Usually I come to
Sometimes I run to school,
school, but . . .
school by car, but . . .
but . . . because . . .
because . . .
because . . .
Usually I swim to school,
I never take a train to
Often I come to school
but . . . because . . .
school, but . . .
on foot, but . . .
Occasionally I fly to
because . . .
because . . .
school, but . . .
I sometimes ride a
Occasionally I come to 
because . . .
bike to school, but . . .
school on a motorbike,  Sometimes I skate to
because . . .
but . . . because . . .
school, but . . .
because . . .
Often I come to school by 
helicopter / jet / space 
ship, but . . . because . . .
Follow-up
Ask the children to write their own sentence stems and read them out to their
classmates. They then choose a classmate to complete the sentence stem with
but or because.
Journeys
43

---