S2E26 - Packing My Bag

Objective & content

The evening before camp, Kate reads the kit list and Rosie defends what she has packed: one towel, a little sun cream, four books. Buster lies across the rucksack, and Rosie finally admits why. The episode teaches countable and uncountable nouns with how many and how much, a few and a little, some and any (How many pairs of socks do I need, then?). The vocabulary field is packing for camp (towel, soap, sun cream, sock, plaster, rucksack). Learners listen, then check their understanding with the in-app quiz.

Pedagogical guide

The pairs sit close together in the script: how many socks and how much sun cream, a few plasters and a little food. Start with a sorting activity so that pupils notice the difference before they see the words, and only then add the headings countable and uncountable. The questions reward checking a partner's bag against a list.

Suggested procedure

1. (5 min) Warm-up: pupils say what they take to camp; write answers in two unlabelled columns, things you can count and things you cannot.
2. (7 min) First listen, books closed: why is Buster lying on the bag?
3. (10 min) Second listen with the comprehension questions; pause after He can smell food, though and let pupils guess what is in the bag.
4. (10 min) Grammar: add the headings countable and uncountable, sort every noun from the script, and write the matching how many / a few and how much / a little under each.
5. (8 min) Vocabulary, then pairs: one reads a kit list, the other checks the bag with How many...? How much...? Do you have any...?
6. (5 min) Wrap-up: pupils write one sentence about something they would hide in a camp bag, using some or a few.

Materials & prerequisites

The episode in the PLAY app (audio, slideshow, text and quiz), a student sheet and a teacher sheet with the answer key. Learners need how much and how many from earlier episodes and the present simple.

Curriculum alignment

Cycle 4 (5e), programme axis "Daily life: places, rhythms, seasons": getting ready for school camp.