Note: Listening and Speaking section will be in Black and Reading and Writing section will be in Maroon colour.

The class begins with physical exercises and responding to directions given.

The topic ‘Friends’ will be reinforced with some additional information. The following activities like – language game, experiential learning, role play, reading stories, are planned for the week to make learning enjoyable. 

Listening and Speaking

Daily: Total physical response/warm-up exercise (to be done before every session)

Note to the teacher: 
Refer to Week 1, Day 1 of the topic’s detailed asset.

Suggested variation – Once the children are familiar and at ease with the exercises (which has been done for the past two weeks), the following variations can be made to make the exercises interesting and topic related.

Example: As the teacher gives the command ‘Touch your toes’ he/she can ask, “Which is the action word here?”. The children may say, ‘touch’. The teacher can ask another question for the next command. 

Commands:

• Stand up.
• Touch your toes.
• Tap your knee two times.
• Snap your fingers three times.
• Clap your hands four times.
• Blink your eyes five times.

Refer to the given LTM Video Warm-Up exercise given in Week 1, to conduct the above activity.

Refer to the ‘TPR/Warm up exercise’ Adaptations and Strategies given in the Main page of ‘Friends’ if there are any neuro-diverse children in the class.

Day 1

Song – We are Friends

Children learn a new song ‘We are Friends’. The teacher shows the poster and plays the audio file and then discusses the meaning of the song. 

In the school we make friends
He is your friend, she is my friend
And in the end, we are all friends
Yes, we are friends, together we stand.

In the slide and swing we all go,
Laughing and learning we all grow.
We help each other and also share
A true friend is one who cares (2)

Key knowledge the child will acquire: Children learn how true friends care for each other.

Poster: We are Friends

Audio: We are Friends

Refer to the ‘LSRW’ Adaptations and Strategies given in the Main page of ‘Friends’ if there are any neuro-diverse children in the class.

Day 2 and 3

Language Game – Pick and speak (to be done in two sessions)

Aim:

• The children shall pick up a picture card from the basket and make a sentence based on the action shown in the picture. 
• Sentences shall be formed based upon various ‘Friendship’ themes like: friends, feelings, emotions, actions etc.
• This shall encourage the children to express themselves, build up their self-confidence in public speaking, reinforce their vocabulary and promote positive behaviour and values.

 Materials required: 

• Small basket containing the picture cards.
• Picture cards showing various actions/activities involving ‘Friends’.
• The number of picture cards depends upon the number of the students in the class. As many picture cards as the number of children in class can be arranged in the basket.

Procedure: 

• The teacher keeps the basket containing the picture cards on her table.
• The teacher calls out all the children one by one and asks them to make a sentence after looking at the picture.
• The teacher calls out the children one at a time.
• After the child comes up to the table, the teacher tells him/her to pick a picture card from the basket and speak a few sentences about it.
• One by one, all the children get their turn.
• The teacher can help the child by prompting him with short sentence starters and tell the child to complete the rest of the sentence.
• Some examples with the given sentence starters can be added:
  • This picture shows some friends playing football.
  • I help my friend by teaching him to ride a bike.
  • A good friend is one who cheers you up when you are sad.
• The children can complete the above sentences by looking at the picture.
• Looking at the picture cards one by one, the children can form sentences on their own also.

 For example:

1. I love helping my friends.
2. I like shaking hands with my friend after solving a fight.
3. We enjoy laughing together.
4. I like sharing toys with my friends.
5. We enjoy eating lunch together.
6. I love playing on swings or playing hides-and-seek with my friends.
7. I enjoy reading books with my friends.
8. I like to celebrate different festivals with my friends.

Note to the teacher:

1. The teacher may include as many activities the children are involved in with their friends during their school time.
2. The teacher should make sure all children get a chance to participate in the game.

Key knowledge the child will acquire: Children learn to connect activities shown on the flashcards to the values of friendship. It shall also encourage them to speak confidently.

Refer to the ‘Activity’ Adaptations and Strategies given in the Main page of ‘Friends’ if there are any neuro-diverse children in the class.

Day 4

Interactive game – ‘Helping Hands’

Procedure:

• The teacher divides the children in the class into two groups (depending upon the strength of the class). 
• The teacher begins the game by asking simple questions based upon everyday situations.
• The teacher asks the first group of children, “What would you do when someone is sad or needs help?”
• The children may respond, “I will tell a joke and make him/her smile.”
• Similarly, the second question goes to the second group. The teacher asks, “Can you help a child who falls down?”
• The children may answer, “Yes, I will help him/her get up.”
• Similarly, a set of questions based upon common everyday situations can be asked from both the groups alternatively. 

Given below are similar questions (asked by the teacher) and the corresponding answers (given by the children):

1. A new student is sitting alone. What will you do?
   Ans: I will sit near him/her and start a conversation.
2. Your friend forgets his/her tiffin- What will you do?
   Ans: I will share my tiffin with him/her.
3. Your friend got hurt while playing. What will you do?
   Ans: I will take her to the teacher.
4. Your friend has lost his notebook. What will you do?
   Ans: I will help him/her find the note book.
5. You and your friend want to play with the same toy. What will you do?
   Ans: We can take turns and share the same toy.
6. Your friend drops a pencil. What will you do?
   Ans: I will pick it up and give.
7. Your friend is carrying many books. What will you do?
   Ans: I will offer to carry some books for him/her.
8. Your friend is absent for a day. What will you do?
   Ans: I will share the notes and homework with him/her.  

Key knowledge the child will acquire: The game helps children develop empathy and teamwork, practice sharing and caring, and handle problem solving in everyday situations. 

Refer to the ‘Activity’ Adaptations and Strategies given in the Main page of ‘Friends’ if there are any neuro-diverse children in the class.

Day 5

Game – ‘Together We Can’

Materials:

• A pencil box containing a pencil
• String
• Book
• Ribbon
• Shirt with buttons
• Water bottle
• Glass
• Paper

Procedure:

• The teacher divides all the children in the class into pairs.
• The teacher can tell the children to choose their friend as their partner, but ensures that no child is left alone.
• The teacher explains clearly the tasks to be done in the game and the rules that have to be followed.

Tasks that can be done:

1. Take out a pencil from inside the pencil box
2. Fold a paper
3. Tie a ribbon on a book
4. Button a shirt
5. Tear a paper in a straight line
6. Tie a knot in a string
7. Open a water bottle and pour into a glass

Rules of the game:

• Each child must use only one hand.
• Each child must ask their friend/partner for help to complete the task.
• After the children are seated in pairs with their chosen friend partner, the teacher calls out the task one by one.
• The teacher reminds the children that they have to complete the given task using only one hand and take the help of his/her partner.
• Example: The teacher says, “Take out a pencil from inside the pencil box.”
• The children sitting in pairs start doing the task.
• One of the children in pairs holds the pencil box from the base firmly and his/ her partner clicks open the box.
• After opening the box, the child takes out the pencil from the box.
• After completing the activity, both the children in that pair give a high five to each other and say, “Together we can.”

Children can give a high five to each other as given below:

• The children in pairs face each other with a smile.
• One child raises one hand up (usually the right one) with their palm open and facing the other person.
• The child aims for his/ her partner’s palm and moves the hand forward.
• Both of them gently slap the palms and say aloud, “Together we can.”
• Both the children pull their hands back and smile.

After the children complete task one, the teacher gives the second task and goes on till the children sitting in pairs complete all the seven tasks.

Note to the teacher:

• The teacher keeps all the materials arranged on his/her table before the class.
• The teacher should encourage the children to communicate politely and appreciate each other’s efforts.
• After the game, the teacher leads a short discussion connecting the activity to real-life friendships, highlighting that helping one another strengthens bonds.

Key knowledge the child will acquire: This activity helps children understand the joy of giving and receiving help. The game reinforces values of friendship in real-life situations.

Refer to the ‘Activity’ Adaptations and Strategies given in the Main page of ‘Friends’ if there are any neuro-diverse children in the class.

Reading and Writing

Story Passage

Kuku was a cute brown Kangaroo. He lived with his friends in the green woodlands in Australia. Kuku could walk and even run, but he was afraid to hop like his friends. 

“You are a Kangaroo, you should try to hop,” said his friends.

“What if I hop too high and fall down?” Kuku cried. 

His friends tried their best to encourage Kuku to hop. But Kuku never hoped, as he was very scared.

One day a hunter came to the woodlands with a large net. He saw Kuku walking while all the other Kangaroos were hopping away as fast as they could.

“Let me catch this one,” said the hunter, tossing his net. Kuku turned and saw the hunter. He just wanted to save himself. He started hopping as fast as he could to escape from the hunter.

He hopped so fast that he was ahead of his friends. The hunter had to return home without catching him. “Hurrah! Kuku can hop!” shouted Kuku’s friends. Kuku was the fastest hopper since then.

Day 1

Introduce the Concept – Action Words

Procedure:

• The teacher can start the session by telling a story ‘How Kuku started hopping’ by showing the story flashcards and poster to the students. 
• Then, the teacher can ask a few questions about Kuku. (Who is Kuku? Why is Kuku not hopping? Why does the hunter want to catch Kuku?)
• Then, the teacher can ask the students to stand up and hop like Kuku. 
• Allow the students to hop around for some time and let them have fun.
• Then, the teacher asks the students, “Children, can you all tell me what ‘action’ you are doing right now? Students may answer ‘hop’ or ‘hopping’.
• Then, the teacher writes the word ‘hop’ on the blackboard and explains, “Hop’ is an action word”.
• Then, the teacher can ask the students to ‘stand’ and write ‘stand’ on the blackboard.
• Then, the teacher can ask the students to ‘walk’ and write ‘walk’ on the blackboard.
• Then, the teacher can ask the students to ‘sit’ and write ‘sit’ on the blackboard.
• The teacher may explain that the words hop, stand, walk and sit are called action words
• Then, the teacher will tell the students that the following day they will learn more on these action words. 

Note to the teacher:

• The teacher must read and practice telling the story prior to the session. 
• The teacher must keep the required materials ready.
• The teacher must watch the video about the ‘Action words’ to learn the procedure to introduce action words.
• The teacher can show the action words video to the students later, but on the first day, the teacher must introduce the concept using a story and real actions.
• The teacher must rearrange the classroom for this activity and ensure enough space is available to conduct the activity smoothly.
• Children who face difficulty to ‘hop’, should be given peer support. If they feel uncomfortable even with support, then those children should be exempted from carrying out this action. Instead, they can show the same action with the help of a pencil on the table. 

Key knowledge the child will acquire: Students will be introduced to the concept of action words. 

Poster: How Kuku started hopping?

Vocabulary with Picture card: Action words

Vocabulary with Picture card: How Kuku started hopping?

Click and watch the videos. These videos are to be shown to children during the activity. When there are children with hearing impairment in the inclusive class, use the video with Indian Sign Language (ISL).

Video: Action words

ISL Video: Action words

Refer to the ‘LSRW’ and ‘Activity’ Adaptations and Strategies given in the Main page of ‘Friends’ if there are any neuro-diverse children in the class.

Day 2

Reinforce the Concept – Action Words

Procedure:

• The teacher can do a quick oral review of the story ‘How Kuku started hopping’. 
• Then, the teacher can ask the students to hop like Kuku and ask them what action they are doing?
• Then, the teacher writes the word ‘hop’ on the blackboard and explains that ‘hop’ is an action word.
• Then, the teacher can ask, “Why did the hunter think that he can catch Kuku easily?”
• The students may answer by saying, “Kuku was walking slowly and it was easy to catch him.”
• Then, the teacher writes the word ‘walk’ on the blackboard.
• Then, the teacher shows the flashcard of the hunter ‘throwing’ the net and asks, “What is the hunter doing in this picture?”
• The students may answer ‘throwing the net’ or ‘catching Kuku’ in the regional language or English. 
• Then, the teacher can ask the students to show the actions ‘throw’ and ‘catch’.
• The students show repeat the actions, and the teacher can write the words ‘throw’ and ‘catch’ on the blackboard. 
• As a fun follow-up activity, the teacher can ask the students to form a circle and play a game. The teacher will tell one simple action, and the students have to do that action (hop, stand, sit, walk, throw, sleep, eat, drink).  
• This fun activity can be done in the regional language if necessary.

Note to the teacher:

• The teacher must keep the required materials ready.
• Students may answer in the regional language, but the teacher can introduce the English word and write it on the board.
• The teacher must rearrange the classroom for this activity and ensure enough space is available to conduct the activity smoothly.
• Children who face difficulty to ‘hop’, should be given peer support. If they feel uncomfortable even with support, then those children should be exempted from carrying out this action. Instead, they can show the same action with the help of a pencil on the table. 

Key knowledge the child will acquire: Students learn new action words and become more familiar with the concept. 

Refer to the ‘How Kuku started hopping’ flashcards given from Week 3 Day 2 of ‘Friends’ Reading and Writing segment.

Refer to the ‘LSRW’ and ‘Activity’ Adaptations and Strategies given in the Main page of ‘Friends’ if there are any neuro-diverse children in the class.

Day 3

Introducing New Action Words

Procedure:

• The teacher can show the flashcards of various actions and encourage students to tell what action they see in the picture.
• The students may say some words in the regional language, but the teacher must tell the English word for these actions.
• The teacher can write these words on the blackboard.
• The teacher must explain that action words tell us what someone is doing. 
• Then, the teacher can do a fun follow-up activity. 
• The teacher can ask one or two students to come in the front. The teacher will tell one action word, and the students can enact that action.
• This activity can continue until all students get the turn to enact an action word. 

Note to the teacher:

• The teacher must watch the video prior to the session to learn the procedure to introduce the concept.
• The teacher must make a list of fun actions that students will enjoy enacting such as writing, running, jogging, jumping, swimming, eating, sleeping, talking, driving, flying, cycling etc.

Key knowledge the child will acquire: Students will become familiar with new action words.

Refer to the ‘Action words’ flashcards given in Week 3 Day 1 of ‘Friends’ Reading and Writing segment.

Refer to the ‘LSRW’ and ‘Activity’ Adaptations and Strategies given in the Main page of ‘Friends’ if there are any neuro-diverse children in the class.

Day 4

Revise the Concept – Action words

Procedure:

• The teacher may show the video of ‘Action words’ to revise the concept.  
• This can be followed by a few probing questions.
• Then, the teacher distributes the worksheet.

Note to the teacher:

• If it is not possible to show the video, the teacher must revise using the real objects found in and around the classroom or by using flashcards. 

Key knowledge the child will acquire: Students will revise a variety of action words.

Worksheet: Action words

Worksheet: Action words (Enlarged)

Refer to the ‘Action words’ video and flashcards given in Week 3 Day 1 of ‘Friends’ Reading and Writing segment.

Refer to the ‘LSRW’ Adaptations and Strategies given in the Main page of ‘Friends’ if there are any neuro-diverse children in the class.

Day 5

Write the Action Words

Procedure:

• The teacher shows the flashcards of five of the ‘Action words’ to revise them once again.  
• Then, the teacher will stick these flashcards on the board.
• If sticking the flashcards is not possible, then, the teacher can write these action words on the blackboard.
• Then, the teacher distributes the worksheet where the image of these five actions are given.
• The students must look at the action in the picture and write the correct action word on their worksheet.
• The students can refer to the flashcards or blackboard for the correct spelling of these action words.

Note to the teacher:
The teacher can move around the classroom to help students who need more help.

Key knowledge the child will acquire: Students will become more familiar with writing some of these action words.

Worksheet: Write the action words 1

Worksheet: Write the action words 1 (Enlarged)

Worksheet: Write the action words 2

Worksheet: Write the action words 2 (Enlarged)

Refer to the ‘LSRW’ Adaptations and Strategies given in the Main page of ‘Friends’ if there are any neuro-diverse children in the class.

Teacher Resource Document

Source and Attribution of images All images used in the above Assets and Aids are originally created.

This digital material has been developed by the Sri Sathya Sai Vidya Vahini Inclusive Education Project, a unit of Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust, Prasanthi Nilayam, as a collaborative offering in the service of our nation.