{"id":45795,"date":"2016-10-31T22:35:22","date_gmt":"2016-11-01T02:35:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/tpr-activities-for-kids\/"},"modified":"2025-02-04T05:36:25","modified_gmt":"2025-02-04T10:36:25","slug":"tpr-activities-for-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/educator\/tpr-activities-for-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Fun TPR Activities for Kids"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tired of telling your kids to sit down and use their indoor voices?\u00a0Why not harness their energy<\/a> and get\u00a0them fully engaged in your\u00a0lessons instead with Total Physical Response (TPR).<\/a><\/p>\n

In this guide, I’ll share with you 5 great TPR activities for kids.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1. Zumba Lingua!<\/h2>\n

Zumba\u00a0has been dubbed as an \u201cexercise in disguise.\u201d Well, Zumba Lingua is a language exercise\u00a0in disguise.<\/p>\n

Use Zumba Lingua to lead the class in an aerobic routine that incorporates\u00a0vocabulary lessons. You can use this as a culmination exercise that ties together different lessons on directions (left and right), numbers and body parts. So, make sure you have taught these and some other actions to the kids beforehand.<\/p>\n

With that in mind, it\u2019s time to create your own Zumba Lingua routine.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t worry if you\u2019ve never done this before. The routine can\u00a0be as easy and as simple as you want it to be. You’ll just have to come prepared and be familiar with the routine before coming to class.<\/p>\n

First, choose your music. You can find some great examples here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Then determine the actions that will be involved in the routine. They can be as simple as marching in place, doing hand raises, punching left and right, stepping forwards and backwards or kicking left and right. If you want, you can mimic sport movements like swimming, skiing and shooting a 3-point shot. You can even add in some charades-like actions, having students act out “eat your dinner,” “wash the dishes” and “do a magic trick.”<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t forget to narrate during the routine. Count the numbers, shout the actions while you\u2019re performing and repeating them. Encourage the kids to count with you, and be very encouraging of the great job they’re doing.<\/p>\n

The kids don\u2019t need to understand every little word you say in the target language, and you don\u2019t have to talk for every little movement that you do, but you do have to emphasize the vocabulary lessons during the whole routine. Keep repeating the actions as well as the narrations.<\/p>\n

2. Walk the Talk<\/h2>\n

This is a TPR game where you divide the class into two to three groups of equal number, then let the kids form a line.<\/p>\n

Call the kids at the front of each line into a group huddle, and whisper into each ear some action-oriented instruction. Then send them back to their groups.<\/p>\n

Shout \u201cWalk the talk\u2026 go!\u201d and the first student will pass your\u00a0instructions down the line by whispering it to the student behind them. Then the second kid will pass it to the third kid, and so on and so forth.<\/p>\n

The last person in the line runs to the front of the class and performs the action required. The team that\u00a0performs the correct action first gets the point.<\/p>\n

In this activity, everyone will have the chance to receive the message, pass the message along and, finally, act away\u2014this is possible because in each subsequent round the teams rotate roles. The last person in line becomes the first, the first person in line drops down to the second spot, and so on.<\/p>\n

Adjust the difficulty of the instructions according to the linguistic level of your wards. Be creative with your instructions, and you’ll be rewarded with a fun time watching your students come out of their shells. For example, tell them to, \u201cdance the Running Man,\u201d \u201csing \u2018Call Me Maybe\u2019,\u201d \u201cstand on one leg\u201d or \u201cdraw your crush on the blackboard.\u201d<\/p>\n

You’ll notice that, while students are actively playing this game, your instructions will evolve as they pass from one student to the next, much like the classic game of “Telephone.”<\/p>\n

After each round, try to reinforce the learning by reviewing and letting all the kids do the required action as a class.<\/p>\n

3. Weird Vocabulary<\/h2>\n

One of the convictions of TPR is that, by pairing a certain vocabulary word with a certain movement, the memory of that word becomes stronger for students.<\/p>\n

Weird Vocabulary is a TPR teaching technique where you use exaggerated or funny movements in order to make a word more memorable. First, you create a link between a word and a very specific movement. Then, you have your kids repeat the word and movement together. After that, you can try to always accompany that\u00a0<\/em>word with\u00a0that\u00a0<\/em>movement in future classes.<\/p>\n

\u201cMovements,\u201d in this case, can refer to hand gestures, body language, dance moves, eye movements, body orientation and facial expressions.<\/p>\n

For example, a TPR-animated German lesson on the topic \u201coccupations\u201d might involve pairing a movement with each specific profession. A koch\u00a0<\/em>(chef), for example, could have this gesture<\/a>.\u00a0Every time you say \u201ckoch<\/em>,\u201d do the gesture. When the kids repeat after you, they should also be moving their arms and squinting their eyes accordingly.<\/p>\n

Next, to make this even more interactive, you can lead some drills based on this. For example, you can do the chef gesture and have your kids shout out the profession\u2014or alternatively, you can say \u201ckoch<\/em>\u201d and have the kids act it out.<\/p>\n

It’ll be very obvious who still hasn\u2019t fully gotten the lesson, because you\u2019ll notice when your kids all jump to act, as well as when they hesitate or look around before moving. If there seems to be some confusion, repeat your words and movements again.<\/p>\n

4. Boot Camp<\/h2>\n

This TPR activity is best done outside of class, perhaps on the playground or in the gymnasium.<\/p>\n

Arrange your class into a small platoon, and play a drill sergeant who barks out orders aggressively yet humorously. Feel free to\u00a0dress for the role, complete with whistle and hat.\u00a0Treat your kids as new recruits, teaching them vocabulary through TPR, military style.<\/p>\n

But\u00a0hey, don\u2019t be too hard on the class and expect military precision from your kids. Make it as fun as possible. Start with the basic facings and marchings to teach them \u201cleft,\u201d \u201cright,\u201d \u201cstart\u201d and \u201cstop.\u201d<\/p>\n

Proceed with exercises, like doing jumping jacks and push ups, making sure to count in the target language and encouraging your kids to count with you. Don’t limit yourself to military commands. Increase the complexity of orders by commanding your platoon of cuteness to \u201craise your right hand,\u201d \u201copen your mouth,\u201d \u201cclose your eyes,\u201d \u201chug the person on your left” and so on.<\/p>\n

You can also assign them tasks, like \u201cpick up the leaves on the ground,\u201d “pick up a rock,” \u201cthrow the trash into the bin\u201d and \u201cform one circle.\u201d Make sure they keep marching and counting as they perform these tasks.<\/p>\n

In Boot Camp, a proper context for\u00a0the target vocabulary is created because they’re veiled as commands.<\/p>\n

5. Imaginary Field Trip<\/h2>\n

If in the previous activity you were a drill sergeant, think of yourself as an \u201cimagination director\u201d for this one.<\/p>\n

This is an imagination activity. You direct your students\u2019 imaginations by setting the context and giving instructions as to how they\u2019re going to act. Think of it as improv or live theater, where you give their stage\u00a0instructions out in real time.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s say you want to teach kids about different animal names in the target language. Have\u00a0your kids take an imaginary field trip to the zoo!<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what you could do: Choose three students to play \u201cstudents visiting the zoo.\u201d The rest of the class will be assigned different animals to play. You\u2019ll have somebody play an elephant, a bird, a kangaroo or any other animal you want to discuss.<\/p>\n

The activity beats looking at pictures of animals on slides. Because they’ll have the firsthand experience of moving among and sounding like an animal, their acquisition of the vocabulary will be much more efficient.<\/p>\n

As you assign roles, tell the kids playing the animals what they need to do. For example, to the lion you say, \u201croar if somebody touches your head,\u201d to the kangaroo, \u201cjump once when a student takes your picture,\u201d and to the horse you can say, \u201copen your mouth when they feed you.\u201d Then instruct the three kids you chose as zoo guests to do these exact things to the animals.<\/p>\n

When you have given everyone their marching orders, shout \u201caction!\u201d This signal tells the\u00a0whole class that they should do what you instructed them to do earlier.<\/p>\n

Talk to the students during the whole activity, giving them instructions on what to do. You can even jump into the scene and give an example of how to act like an elephant!\u00a0This will be a riot, so don\u2019t expect your class to be docile creatures. They can really have fun with this, like touching and feeding the animals just to get some reactions. The kids, who have notorious imaginations anyway, will only be too happy to comply.<\/p>\n

You can set different scenes for the class to suit\u00a0the vocabulary you’d like to teach. You can have a vocabulary lesson targeting nouns, for example, by setting up a scene where your kids ply their wares as you instruct them to pick up and sell certain items that are targets of the vocabulary lesson.<\/p>\n

What’s TPR and Why It’s Great for Teaching Kids<\/h2>\n

TPR\u00a0is a second language teaching approach<\/a> developed by Professor James Asher<\/a> of San Jose State University in California.<\/p>\n

The principles behind this teaching approach are simple yet effective, especially when it comes to teaching languages to children.<\/p>\n

It’s action-oriented<\/h3>\n

The method is based on the coupling of language and physical movement.\u00a0<\/strong>That is, language is learned through action-oriented commands that aid in linguistic comprehension.<\/p>\n

Many kids love TPR because, instead of being told to sit still and be quiet, they’re being told to \u201cjump, run and swim!\u201d The kids, instead of passively listening to a lecture, often become actively engaged in the lesson.<\/p>\n

It comes naturally to kids<\/h3>\n

Asher believes that the acquisition of a new language follows the same principles and processes involved in learning a first language<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

When he closely observed parent-child interactions, he noticed that parents often talk to their kids with action-oriented phrases like \u201cthrow the ball,\u201d \u201cdrop the stone,\u201d \u201cclose your eyes.\u201d Children then demonstrate their\u00a0comprehension by performing the requested actions.<\/p>\n

Asher modeled TPR on\u00a0this simple, natural interaction.<\/p>\n

It lets you lead the way<\/h3>\n

A TPR class is steep with drills. The teacher gives one command after the other.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Through direct observation, students initially learn the meaning of words. They reinforce this learning with action. Wondering how this actually plays out?<\/p>\n

For example, to teach the word \u201cjump,\u201d you’ll initially perform the action while saying, \u201cjump!\u201d You’ll have to repeat the word while also repeating the action. (Jump! Jump! Jump!) Next, you’ll point to a student and ask her to do the same thing, “jump!” Inform the class that their classmate Erica jumped by saying, “she jumped!”\u00a0Then ask the whole class to perform the action.<\/p>\n

You can then build vocabulary phrases using the word. Try coming up with creative and novel combinations like \u201cjump three times\u201d or \u201cjump high.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the use of direct observation, repetition and visceral firsthand experience, your students can rapidly learn the meaning of the word for “jump.” With the association of a physical action, linguistic memory will be enhanced.<\/p>\n

It’s focused on comprehension<\/h3>\n

With TPR, comprehension comes before production.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Focusing on correctly-enunciated words and perfect grammar can be intimidating to kids of any age or skill level.<\/p>\n

Before doing any drills on pronunciation and grammar, you can first use TPR activities to ascertain that the class has indeed understood the message that\u2019s being communicated. (And this is very easily done by observing what actions are being performed in response to your prompts.)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There\u2019s so much life in those kids, and TPR simply channels their\u00a0energies in the most educational way.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tired of telling your kids to sit down and use their indoor voices?\u00a0Why not harness their energy and get\u00a0them fully engaged in your\u00a0lessons instead with Total Physical Response (TPR). In…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":134,"featured_media":250106,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"slim_seo":{"title":"5 Fun TPR Activities for Kids | FluentU General Educator Blog","description":"TPR activities are great for kids, especially kids with high energy levels. Use these 5 fun TPR activities for kids to get them moving and help them develop their language skills. With options like Walk the Talk and Boot Camp these activities will help to engage young learners."},"footnotes":""},"categories":[225,226],"tags":[],"coauthors":[24],"class_list":["post-45795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-educator","category-language-teaching-activities"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45795","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/134"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45795"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45795\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":246179,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45795\/revisions\/246179"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/250106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45795"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=45795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}