Lesson 1: Hi, I'm...! What's your name?

Hi, I'm Mrs Mary! (x2)

What's your name? (x2)

Bye-bye, Mrs Mary! (x2)

Bye-bye! (x2)

Stage 1 – Narrating the background story of Mrs Mary the Puppet

Use L1 and tell Ss that you have called a friend of yours that lives in England and that you have told him/her about your lesson, that is, about the English songs and the musical activities that you are going to be engaged in. You have just received a parcel from your friend (+ parcel in Lf) and to your surprise you have found out that a puppet (+ puppet in Lf) had been hidden inside it without your knowing anything about it. The puppet has confessed that she is in the habit of listening behind closed doors and hence, when she heard about your lessons, she felt jealousy. As a result, she decided to come to your country so as to participate in your activities herself. And now that she lives here, she will be attending your lessons, she will be playing and singing with you in English. Tell Ss that this puppet lives in your bag (+ bag in Lf) and from minute to minute she will show up and they will get to know her, as well as learn her name (+ name in Lf).

Stage 2 – Vocabulary focus i) GREETINGS: Hi!, Bye-bye! ii) INTRODUCING OURSELVES: I'm... !, What's your name?

Present Mrs Mary the puppet to Ss. Let them touch her. The puppet greets Ss “Hi!”. Ss repeat and greet her back “Hi!” and then, she introduces herself to Ss “Hi, I'm Mrs Mary!”. Ss introduce themselves in turns by following Mrs Mary's example e.g. Hi, I'm Helen! etc. During this activity, hold the puppet, walk from one S to the other and ask: “What's your name?”. Next, tell Ss to work in pairs, use the expression “What's your name?” and find out the names of their classmates. When all Ss have introduced themselves successfully, go to the piano and tell Ss that Mrs Mary wants to sing a song. Play the song “Hi, I'm Mrs Mary! What's your name?” and ask Ss to sit on the floor, form a circle and clap their hands rhythmically. Then, pass the puppet to Ss and repeat the song. This time whenever a S holds the puppet, s/he should introduce himself / herself to the rest of the class and once s/he asks “What's your name?”, s/he should pass the puppet to the next S. As soon as all Ss have performed the task, ask them to stand up, form a circle, join hands and move while singing “Hi, hi, hi! Hi, hi, hi! What's your name? What's your name?”.

Stage 3 – Incorporating percussion instruments into our activities & practising rhythmical patterns

Having completed the above activity successfully, it's time you used some percussion instruments e.g. maracas, sticks (claves), tambourine, triangle, bells, scrapers (guiro), castanets.

Present the musical instruments, play them and ask Ss to listen to their sound. Then, label them in English. Don't expect Ss to learn the English words for these instruments now. Just use them when you give instructions parallel to their L1 equivalents. They will learn them through repetition and use. Divide the class into groups and give each group a percussion instrument. For example, Group A will use the tambourine (+ tambourine in Lf). Give them the tambourine. Group B will use the bells (+ bells in Lf). Give them the bells etc. Ask Ss to repeat the song they have just learnt with a percussion instruments accompaniment. All Ss beat 4 quarter notes per measure (ta ta ta ta) and sing the song as much as they can.

Stage 4 – Follow-up activities

Ask Ss to draw something (topic-free). While drawing, Ss could be listening to music (e.g. Johann Strauss “The Blue Danube Waltz”). In the end, put Mrs Mary the puppet back into your bag, and ask Ss to sing her goodbye by following your example “Bye-bye, Mrs Mary! Bye-bye, Mrs Mary! Bye-bye! Bye-bye!” (same tune)

My "Mrs. Mary the Puppet"

Note: It should be mentioned that although native English speakers don't address somebody with a title like Mr, Mrs, Ms etc and their first name, I think that in a nursery school classroom it would sound quite cold to ask Ss to call their teacher with a title and his/her surname. Moreover, calling a teacher with just their first name would also be wrong in terms of politeness and respect. As a result, I prefer using a title plus a teacher's first name when teaching very young learners regardless of the fact that it is not correct in English.  Mary is the orchestrator of activities in One Two Red Balloon and that's why I decided to use the title Mrs. Yet, if you want, you can just call her Mary and sing Hi, I'm Mary instead.