Baby Beetles Expert Teacher's Lesson Notes
Book 1 Story 7 Hiding
Preparation
Items to prepare
Lesson notes
Hiding storybook
Word and phrase picture cards (all Baby Beetles)
Expert Pupil's Page
Baby Beetles puppets
Baby Beetles toys, reward stickers (optional)
Optional Extras: empty box
Key vocabulary
Phrases: I’m hiding, the cat walks away/runs away, let’s play a game
Nouns: fence, wardrobe, box, game, hiding place
Verbs: hide, shout, watch
Other core words: again, open, suddenly, better
Set the context, revise the film
The song presents the vocabulary for hiding, but the film does more. It shows a story. This unit will develop these three steps and focus on prepositions of place that are a natural part of hiding vocabulary. The three key steps are:
The cat spoils the hiding game by showing where each Beetle is hiding.
Baby Beetles change the game and hide from the cat.
They surprise the cat, which runs away, so now the Baby Beetles can play again.
Prepare the pupils watch by revising a gesture of hiding, for example covering your face and eyes with your hands.
Show the Hiding film then invite the pupils to do the action each time they hear the phrase I am hiding in the song.
Extend and change the focus here or introduce this extension later, if you prefer:
Show the film again and this time, invite the pupils to stand to watch the film. Let them jump in the air each time they hear the word Boo!
Praise everyone
Present the new key words
Use the character puppets and flashcards.
Invite the class to sit in a circle.
Ask the pupils to suggest names of hiding places to the puppets (in English) to help the Baby Beetles think of places to hide. Encourage them to think of words they know already, such as tree or house. This is a hard challenge, so be prepared to show them the two flashcards and elicit the words for the images.
Match a word to each puppet and place the two cards with two puppets. There are now two puppets without a hiding place, so use this approach to add new words. For example, suggest the tree for Ring Ring and the house for Zoom, then show the Splish Splash puppet and present the card for fence. Next show the Tick Tock puppet and the card for wardrobe. Each time you present the word and puppet, use the same phrasal structure, so that the pupils hear the new words in context and understand the concept of a hiding place as the overall term for all these locations. For example Where can Ring Ring hide? Where is his hiding place? Ring Ring can hide behind the tree.
Remove the known word and card for house and add the word and card for box.
Expand your use of English to explain more, using English terms that the pupils know, mixed with new ones from this unit. For example, The Baby Beetles are playing a hiding game. They are hiding. Where is Zoom hiding? Accept answers of one word only for now, such as tree and then repeat the word back to the pupils, but this time set it in the correct sentence structure: Yes. He is hiding behind the tree. Use the right prepositions of place for the other nouns too:
in the wardrobe;
in the box;
in/inside the house;
behind the tree;
by the fence.
Invite the class to sit down for story time.
Praise everyone.
Story time
Click here to go to Storybook 7
Create an atmosphere of excitement around and focus on the story with a new phrase that you will repeat in every new story session, so that it becomes a chant and establishes a routine.
Baby Beetles storybook,
It is time to take a look!
Start by showing the first image and allow the pupils a couple of seconds to scan the image and understand the scene from the picture before you start to read.
Note: Refer to the tips on story reading outlined in story 1.
Prepare to show the story pages.
Display the noun flashcard images to point at during the story.
Point to the key images in the story as you read.
Invite the class to sit where they can see you and the screen easily.
First reading – understanding to engage (key words and story steps)
Make sure the key steps are clear, so that you can use them in activities later to reinforce vocabulary, as outlined above:
The Baby Beetles are hiding.
Zoom is looking for them.
But the cat shows Zoom where each Beetle is hiding, so it is not a good game.
Baby Beetles change the game and hide from the cat.
They shout Boo! and the cat runs away.
Now, the Baby Beetles can play the hiding game again.
Now it will be a good game!
Read the story highlighting new key words
Highlight the problem that the cat shows Zoom where his friends are hiding. Highlight the solution, which is that the Baby Beetles hide from the cat instead, and then surprise it so it runs away. Now they can play better.
Second reading – focus to engage
Invite the class to join in with simple but key phrases in the text: Shshsh! I’m hiding! The cat walks away.
Read the whole story again, this time reading the text on each page only once, so that the progress of the action steps is clear.
Third reading – action to engage
Invite the class to crouch or kneel down, as if they are all hiding.
Ask them to join in with the action for Shshs! of placing a finger vertically across the lips and to repeat the phrase said by each character with you, for example, “Shshsh!” says Ring Ring, “I’m hiding!”
Praise everyone
Song time
You are welcome to repeat the song activity from the PLUS lessons or the try this version.
Ask the pupils to point to their ears and explain that you are all going to listen, not look. Then ask them to kneel down and bend over with their faces in the hands so that they look like stones on the ground in the garden.
Explain that they need to listen carefully and then sit up quickly to say Boo! with the song. They then settle down again to wait for the next repeat of Boo!
Play the song and join in.
Extend the activity
Change the action. Ask the pupils to stand up straight and respond to the music. There are three repeats of the phrase I am hiding! I am hiding! before the expression Boo! Ask the pupils to crouch down a little further for each repeat of I am hiding and then to stand up straight again when they hear Boo!
Praise everyone
Expert Pupil's Pages
Item: Hiding!
Instructions: colour, fold, unfold to play!
Invite the pupils to tiptoe to the tables.
Hand out the pupil's page and pencils.
Invite the pupils to prepare the hiding page by colouring the tree, fence, ball and car on the front of the sheet and keeping the back of the sheet clean.
Help pupils to fold along the centre fold line and then cut the tabs to the centre only.
Hold up a completed sheet to hide and reveal the behind the different objexts. Say Boo!.
Using the sheet to explore unit phrases
Invite everyone to hold their sheet closed, then ask Where is the cat? Lead the class in opening the sheet and using the format The cat is behind the ...tree.
Praise everyone
Using the page with the story
Each story page is a prop to be used in the classroom to support more play with English. Use the pupil's page for a response activity.
Re‑read the story and invite the pupils to point to the cat on their sheet each time they hear the word cat in the story. Check which pupils are listening and responding and which pupils are copying the others! Revise the word cat with the flashcard if you need to, then make a note of the responses for evaluation purposes.
Praise everyone.
Flashcard Game
Explore using the word behind.
Invite the class to sit in a circle.
Lay out the four character flashcards and the cat card.
Place a picture card over the Zoom card and ask Where is Zoom? Use the picture cards for tree, car, fence, house, wardrobe, garden, swing, seesaw
Lead the class in answering using the structure Zoom is behind the tree.
Change the character and the object to explore lots of combinations. Accept single word answers naming the noun, such as ‘tree’, and praise the pupil, but then repeat the whole phrase with them so that they practice using whole phrases.
Extend the activity if you have time and encourage more participation from the pupils.
Invite a volunteer to choose the next picture card and character, for example to take the fence and put it on the cat card. Help the pupil to ask Where is the cat? and to answer with the class The cat is by the fence. Note that the definite article ‘the’ is necessary here.
Repeat only a few times, as the activity will be extended with the puppets later in the unit.
Praise the class.
Note: use these combinations:
in + house, garden, wardrobe
behind + car, tree
on + seesaw, swing
by + fence
Catchphrases
Story highlights
Invite the class to join in with some story catch‑phrases.
Make this a simple and quick activity.
Use the phrases Shshsh! I’m hiding! Boo!
Invite the pupils to sit in a circle and explain that each pupil in turn should say one phrase as follows:
Pupil 1 Shshsh!
Pupil 2 I’m hiding!
Pupil 3 Boo! and so on.
Add an action for each phrase: Shshsh – finger across your lips; I’m hiding – hands covering your face; Boo! – arms raised up in the air.
Lead the class for the first turn, then run the phrases around the circle twice or three times, trying to speed up a little each time.
Let them all applaud themselves at the end!
Praise everyone!
Where’s my hiding place? Flashcard game
Invite the pupils to sit where they can see you.
Hold up one of the character cards from the earlier flashcard game and hold a hiding place picture card behind the character.
Slide the picture card slowly out from behind the character and see how quickly the class can name the hiding place.
Use cards such as wardrobe, box, house, tree, fence.
Practise a few times so that they can follow what to do and continue while it is still interesting for them to guess.
Praise everyone.
Re‑telling the story with key‑word focus
Re‑tell the story with the puppets and key‑word flashcards.
Invite helpers to come to the front and to hold the character puppets in the story, and the cat flashcard.
Invite the rest of the class to point at the right puppet or card when they hear the matching word.
Read the story even more slowly than before, allowing enough time for each pupil to react and for the volunteers to hold up the matching card or character puppet when the name is heard in the story.
Praise everyone.
Page and text
The Baby Beetles are in Zoom’s garden. Zoom says, “I like hiding! Let’s hide!” So they all run and hide.
Ring Ring hides behind a tree. The cat comes to see. “Shshsh!” says Ring Ring, “I’m hiding!” So the cat walks away.
Splish Splash hides by the fence. The cat comes to see. “Shshsh!” says Splish Splash, “I’m hiding!” So the cat walks away.
Tick Tock hides in the garden. The cat comes to see. “Shshsh!” says Tick Tock, “I’m hiding!” So the cat walks away.
Zoom watches the cat. He sees Ring Ring behind the tree. He sees Splish Splash by the fence and he sees Tick Tock in the garden. “Boo! Boo! Boo!” he says.
The Baby Beetles sigh. Hiding is not fun with the cat. Then Zoom has an idea. “Let’s play a game with the cat!”
They run into Zoom’s house. They want to hide, but where can they hide?
Tick Tock looks inside the wardrobe. “This is no good,” says Zoom. “We need a better hiding place!” They all hide again.
The cat comes to look. It walks around and around. Then it stops.
Suddenly, the Baby Beetles open the box! “Boo!” they shout. “Miaow!” The cat runs away fast! “Hee! Hee!” Now hiding is fun! So the Baby Beetles hide all over again.
Game activity with the song
Explain that you will play the song and that everyone can mime being the cat looking for the Baby Beetles. Tell the pupils that you will stop the song music suddenly and they should all jump in the air as if surprised, like the cat.
Play the song and encourage them to mime walking carefully like cats and then jump when they hear that the song has stopped. Restart the music and continue to play while it is still fun.
Rhyme time with the puppets
Hold up then hide the first three puppets in an empty box (to represent the box/chest in the story) or behind a chair as you read their names. Then hold up the Zoom puppet and say:
Ring Ring hides
Splish Splash hides
Tick Tock hides too
Zoom looks,
Zoom sees,
Zoom says
Boo!
Invite four volunteers to hold the puppets.
Read the rhyme again and guide them to place the first three puppets in the box.
Invite all the class to join in and say Boo!
Repeat the rhyme with new pupils as volunteers.
Praise everyone.