English in Camp – Facilitator’s Guide

1. Pre-Camp Considerations 2
a. Number of Participants 2
b. Are they from the same class or strangers 2
c. Age range of participants 2
d. Level of proficiency of participants 2
e. Number of staff available 2
f. Role of Staff 3
g. Length of Camp 3
h. Indoors or Outdoors 3
i. Wet weather provision 3
j. Facilities available 3
2. Group Formations 4
a. Group size 4
b. Group selection 4
3. Camp themes 4
4. Programme 4
5. Activities 4
a. Worksheets 5
b. Ice breakers 7
c. Treasure hunts 8
d. Artisitic creation 9
e. Crafts 9
f. Singing 9
g. Physical Exercise 10
h. Relay races 11
i. Personal reflections 12
j. Group presentations 12
k. Finding information 12
l. Problem solving activities 13
m. Sensory games 13
n. Newspaper activities 13
6. Miscellaneous considerations 14
Worksheets 15 - 46

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 English in Camp – Facilitator’s Guide

ENGLISH CAMPS

1. Pre-Camp Considerations

When organizing an English Camp there are several things that need to be taken into
consideration when deciding the type of materials and activities to be done such as:

a. Number of participants
Usually English camps involve a large number of students.
This will have a great influence on the type of activities
used and the availability of facilities. Consideration on the
numbers of participants should be commensurate with the
facilities available and in particular the number of staff who
can assist in the running of the activities (see Number of
Staff available below).

b. Are they from the same class or strangers?

If participants know each other, then ‘getting to know you’
type of activities will seem irrelevant. These types of activities, however, are suitable
even for participants from the same school but from different classes or years.

c. Age range of participants

This will influence the type of activities planned for the camp. The age range of the
participants should not be so great as older students may feel the activities are childish
and beneath them, whilst younger participants would find the older students activities too
difficult and irrelevant to them. The camp, however, could use two contrasting ages
where the older mentor the younger.

d. Level of proficiency of participants

The activities planned should be aimed at ‘slightly above’ the ability of the participants so
as to give them a challenge which is achievable. If the participants are of mixed abilities
it should be decided how groups are to be formed, there are two alternatives:

i. Mixed ability groups – where participants are able to help each other, the more
able students assisting the less able ones. The advantage of this type of group is
the scope for peer teaching and mentoring, the disadvantage can be that if the
more able participants in the group dominate and ‘overpower’ those under them,
not allowing them a chance to participate and promoting a negative motivation
rather than a positive facilitating atmosphere.

ii. Homogeneous groups of the same ability – where groups are formed with
students who have a similar ability. The advantage of this type of group is that
students can carry out activities at their own level without feeling inferior or
‘overpowered’ by those more able than themselves. The disadvantage is that
their progress may be slow as they are allowed to set their own pace rather than
rise to the challenge of working together with more able interlocutors.

e. Number of staff available

The ratio of staff to participants is variable. Older or
higher ability participants may not need as much
supervision and direction as younger or less able
students. A suggested ratio should be one staff
member to every 10 participants (or one staff to each
group) – but this is not always practical.

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 English in Camp – Facilitator’s Guide

f. Role of Staff
English in Camps is a cooperative activity that cannot be carried out by individuals alone.
It is essential that all staff participating in the camp work together to make the camp an
ideal environment for learning which is enjoyable and efficient. The staff taking part in
the camp should take on much more a role of ‘facilitator’ rather than the one who is
teaching. What this means practically is that the teachers must be constantly among the
students helping, hinting, ‘cajoling’ and generally assisting the students in their tasks and
encouraging them to use English as much as possible. This is particularly important in
large group activities such as relay races or ice breakers where the whole group is
expected to do the same thing at the same time. One teacher will obviously coordinate
this type of activity by using a sound system, but the other teachers should mingle
amongst the participants.

A general guideline for facilitators can be as follows:

i. be punctual ii. to evaluate performance on certain

contested activities
iii. to guide and facilitate group activities iv. to help maintain discipline among
participants at all time
v. to ensure the cleanliness of the activity vi. to help solve problems promptly and
area at all times tactfully
vii. not to leave the activity area without viii. be positive on the objective of the
permission of the organizer camp

g. Length of Camp
The length of the camp can determine the type of activities that can be carried out.
During short half day camps the number and type of activities is quite limited. But longer
sessions can have longer, on-going activities that can connect together for the whole
camp.

h. Indoors or Outdoors
The location of the camp will also influence the type of activities that can be arranged. If
it is in the pupil’s own school then the participants will be familiar with their surroundings
so that more detailed type ‘treasure hunts’ can be conducted, whilst if they are in a
recreation park or camp then new things can be explored. In Malaysia, this factor is also
important as during the day the heat and hot sun can be draining upon both participants
and facilitators if all the activities are conducted outdoors. If the weather is mild then it
may well be much more pleasant and practical to hold the camp outdoors, but if the
temperature is high then it may be much wiser to hold some activities indoors. No matter
if the camp is indoors or outdoors it is essential that plenty of drinking water is made
available for all participants throughout the camp.

i. If outdoors is there a ‘wet weather’ provision?

It is important that provision is made for a ‘wet weather’ programme
so that the aim of the camp is not destroyed simply because of the
weather.

j. Facilities available
This would include availability of teaching aids such as drawing materials, tables and
chairs, sound equipment, food etc.

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 English in Camp – Facilitator’s Guide

2. Group Formations

One advantage that English camps have over normal classroom teaching is that they
naturally lend themselves to small group activities which gives participants the maximum
amount of language practice and enables individuals the opportunity to experience an
atmosphere of cooperation within the group and competition with other groups.

k. Group size
The size of each group will depend upon many factors such as the age of the students,
their language level and facilities available to cater for a certain number of groups. It is
suggested that no group should exceed 12 participants and ideally should consist of
between 8 to 10 students. There should be sufficient members of each group to enable
them to take part in ‘cooperative’ activities and yet small enough that each individual in
the group can take an active part in most of the activities.

l. Group selection
There are two main ways of selecting group members; these are either random or
planned:

i. Random – Groups are formed by a random selection of names which can be

decided by such criteria as people who have birthdays in the same month, or
whose surname starts with the same letter, or same height or any grouping
criteria the organizers can conjure up.

ii. Planned – Groups are formed prior to the camp in terms of age, language ability,
qualities of leadership etc. One way is to select older students with a reasonable
ability in the language, and a ‘cooperative character’ to lead groups of younger
students

Whatever criterion is used to select the groups, it is essential that each group be
encouraged to act together as a team. One way to foster this atmosphere is to give each
one a name, not just a number. The name can be decided on the basis of a theme – such
as animals, countries, planets, plants or anything suitable for the theme of the camp.
Participants can be asked to select their own names or allocated. One activity that can be
planned is to ask each group to make a form of identification that is unique to their group so
that they can be easily recognized. This can be in the form of making a special hat,
armband, a flag, face painting, to make a group rallying call or anything that the imagination
can conjure up (within reason!!).

3. Camp Themes

Whilst the general theme of the camp is simply English, this can be
made more specific and help with cross curricular studies by
arranging all the activities around a particular theme, such as
science, environment, geography, weather, health, national pride etc.

All the activities can then be centered on this theme.

4. Programme

Some activities lend themselves to being conducted by all the groups together, such as relay
races, treasure hunts, physical exercises etc, whilst others can be done separately by each
group one at a time. During a camp it adds much more variety and interest if small group
and total camp activities are included in the itinerary.

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 English in Camp – Facilitator’s Guide

An example could be in a camp which has ten different groups for one day could be:

Arrival and formation of groups (by game or allocation)

Whole camp activity – eg. Physical Exercise
Five separate group activities – eg competitions, problem solving activities, games
Whole camp activity – Newspaper activities
Lunch
Whole camp activity – Treasure Hunt
Five separate group activities – continuation of morning programme
Whole camp activity – Relay races
Conclusion – prize giving, singing etc.

5. Activities:

The number of activities that can be conducted in a camp are limited only by the organizers
imagination and creativity. Whilst an important part of choosing an activity is that it should
be fun, interesting and enjoyable please do not get distracted by conducting games just for
the sake of having ‘fun’ and ‘entertaining’ the participants. Activities should have a
pedagogic (educational) rationale behind them which may be directly or indirectly taught.
For instance Physical Exercise games can be enjoyable and beneficial to the physical well
being of the children, but when they are conducted in English, this allows the children to
increase their listening skills.

The rest of this document gives examples and explanations about the following activities:

a. Worksheets b. Ice breakers c. Treasure Hunts

d. Artistic Creation e. Crafts f. Singing

g. Physical exercise h. Relay races i. Personal reflections

j. Group presentations –
k. Finding information l. Problem solving activities
dramas etc.
m. Sensory Games n. Newspaper activities o.

m. Worksheets

Whilst any English Exercise can be used or made into a worksheet, it is suggested the
worksheets used in a camp should be slightly different from the normal worksheets
produced in classrooms in that they could have more illustrations or be based on a theme
which is relevant to the camp. This is not to say that they should be any less difficult or
challenging for the students, but they should not be perceived as being a boring interlude in
an otherwise enjoyable atmosphere.

It is suggested that worksheets are not given to each individual to complete, but that they be
given out one sheet between at least two participants. The reason for this is that if
worksheets are given to individuals they tend to simply work on itt by themselves without
reference or communication to anyone else in the group, whereas when they have to share
a worksheet they have the opportunity to cooperate and communicate with each other about
its contents.

If the worksheets are to be used as part of a competition then it is suggested that different
worksheets are given to different members of the same group, ie, if there are twelve

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 English in Camp – Facilitator’s Guide

members of a group then prepare four or even six different worksheets and the competition
is which group can complete all the sheets in the fastest time.

Numerous worksheets can be downloaded from websites for free. Examples are:

www.enchantedlearning.com www.english-to-go.com
www.genkienglish.com www.teachervision.com
www.in2edu.com www.learningpage.com

along with hundreds of others

a. Ice breakers

These are the sort of ‘get to know you’ games that can be as simple as finding out each
others name, school, age, interests etc to fun games like matching pairs or describing
people or objects. Typical activities are:

i. Separate into different Groups

Instruct the entire camp to arrange themselves into different categories such as:
All from the same province
All from the same housing estate / road (for a school of local children)
All who were born in the same month
All who have the same number of siblings
All who like the same sport, colour, pets, pop stars, films, songs etc

ii. Finding information

This can be as simple as pasting some information on the backs of the children and
each must go around asking each other one question about the information they
cannot see with the objective of guessing what is written on their back. The
information could be the name of a famous person, or an animal, a colour or
anything. This can be varied by having pairs of words (or opposites) and the object
is to find not only your own information, but also a partner whose information
completes the pair.

For more advanced students this can be extended to finding out more detailed
information on a worksheet. A small number of questions should be used, and can
be selected from the following:

Is there someone in the class who..?

has a birthday this month
has never missed a day of
school
wears glasses
is taller than you are has a pet
was born in the same month
has a tooth missing
as you
does not like durian can whistle

has been camping is the only child in the family has been outside of Malaysia

ride a bicycle can swim walks to school every day

has more than 3 brothers has seen the same movie at
is left handed
and sisters least 3 times
likes to eat western food
rides a bike to school lives in an apartment
more than Malaysian

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 English in Camp – Facilitator’s Guide

iii. Pair work interviews

Students can be divided into pairs and asked to find out more specific information
about each other. This can be in the form of a worksheet which can find out facts or
opinions. An example of opinions is ‘Tell me about the best / worst:

movie food show on TV

gift you have received thing about school song
place I have been to sport toy
thing about being a girl thing about being a boy thing about Saturday

b. Treasure Hunts

This type of activity can be divided into two main types, indoors and outdoors. It can consist
of physical objects that have to be collected, or information that has to be found out.
Depending upon the English ability of the participants the treasure hunt can be made more
challenging by introducing clues rather than the actual names of objects. For example:

This activity can be conducted either indoors or outdoors.

Find the following articles and when you have collected them all, bring them to the teacher.
This is a race – the team that brings ALL the articles the fastest will get the most points

Description Article

A piece of round decorative metal

A time machine

Something to protect the left foot

Something made of glass or plastic to make things look clearer

Something with wood and carbon (known also as lead)

A writing object that can make things blue

Some papers with words on them

A piece of round metal used to buy things

A piece of string used to secure footwear

A piece of cloth used to protect the feet

A sharp object used to join cloth together

An object used to measure short distances

A book that tells you the meaning of words

A container for writing implements

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 English in Camp – Facilitator’s Guide

A treasure hunt to find information such as

What are the words written on the Park bench located next to the statue?
How many windows are there on the south side of the main building?
What was the name of the Head Teacher in 1935?
What is the date of the school opening?

These types of questions will obviously be made locally and once again can vary in difficulty
depending upon the level of the participants.

An example of a Treasure Hunt used at SK Taman Rakan, Cheras

Number of pupils: 5 – 6 in a group Station: Around the school compound

Pupils are given a list of items and questions that they have to find and answer. Pupils will
have to search for the items around the school compound. They are given 45 minutes to
complete the task. The group that manages to answer the questions correctly and find the
most objects required will be the winner.

How many coconut trees are there in the school compound?

1.

How many cars are there in the school compound that belongs to the teachers of
2. SKTR?

What is the colour of Pn. Zuraidah’s car and who is she?

3.

What is the colour of the headmaster’s car and what is the cars plate number?
4.

Find 4 different types of leaves around the school and name the plants. Leaves must
5. be shown to the teacher in charge at the end of the game.

Find 4 hoops which are yellow, red, blue and green in colour.
6.

Find the teacher who is in charge of “Bilik Rawatan”. Ask for her name and signature.
7. (Clue: she teaches in 1 Tabah.)

Find a piece of paper with Pn. Lily’s name written on it.

8.

Name a plant that can be found in “Taman Sumber Sains” that can be used as a
9. traditiona medicine. (Clue: It’s good for people with high blood pressure)

Count the number of fish in the “Taman Sumber Sain” pond?

10.

Name the type of fish in the “Taman Sumber Sains” pond

11.

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 English in Camp – Facilitator’s Guide

When organizing treasure hunts where the groups have to move around the camp location
to find the clues or objects it is advisable to direct different groups to different clues first so
as to avoid a mad rush of participants to the same clue. If there is a standard worksheet
which is to be used for all the participants this should not be given out at the commencement
of the activity. The worksheets should be distributed around each clue area and group one
should be directed to the first clue to pick up their worksheets, then group two should first go
to the second clue spot, group three the third etc. The groups should then continue the
treasure hunt from this point forward.

c. Artistic Creation

This type of activity is best done on longer camps when there is sufficient time and
resources to allow the students to make a good quality product. This particular activity is
also best used when the camp has a specific theme, such as Pollution, Integration, Crime
etc.

Designing your own poster

Topics:

Do not litter Beautiful Malaysia No Aedes, No Dengue

Anti Drugs English Camp is fun Teacher’s Day Celebration
Green and Clean is beautiful National Day Celebration Vision 2020
Don’t start smoking Safety in School Safety at home

Design your own uniform / logo / banner etc for your group

d. Crafts

This is similar to Artistic Creation but includes such things as making models or using skills
to make handicraft objects such as clothing, jewelry, trinkets, souvenirs etc.

e. Singing

The variety of songs available for camps is enormous and can range from simple little
rhymes to singing modern pop songs. The songs chosen should have some relevance to
the theme or activity that is being practiced. There are two main types of songs that can be
used in camps, the first being ‘silly songs’ or ‘action songs’ that the children can easily pick
up and enjoy singing or the second type are songs which may be no less fun, but have
meaning and significance in the lyrics.

Examples of songs are:

‘Silly songs, nursery rhymes and action songs: Meaningful songs;

The wheels on the bus We are the World

Head, Shoulders, knees and toes It’s a Small World
The little green frog The Happy Wanderer
Old Macdonald had a farm I have a dream
The Hokey Pokey Oh Malaysia

A useful website for songs for children is www.onestopenglish.com

Other than specific songs designed to teach grammar, such as ‘Jazz Chants’ songs are not
very useful for teaching communicative English as the words and grammar are usually
chosen not so much for their linguistic accuracy but how they fit into the tune.

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 English in Camp – Facilitator’s Guide

Songs can be presented by giving the words to the participants and then singing them
together, or can be presented as a puzzle for the children to work out the words.

f. Physical Exercise:

Aerobics and stretching exercises, where the instructions are given in English.

Language needed is mainly

bend cross face hold jog jump lie

lift move place pull push reach run
sit stand stretch swing touch turn walk

i. Pair Activities:

Tug of War –
face each other, cross legs
and join hands then pull each
other over.

Gladiator – face each other, cross legs and hands at the back and push each others
shoulders.

Scorpion – stand back to back with legs spread forwards and backwards. Hold each
others hands at the back and pull the opponent forward.

Anchor leg – stand back to back with one leg entwined round the opponents leg. Try
and pull each other.

ii. Group Activities:

Circle – hold hands and face in one direction and then tell them to face the other
direction without letting go of hands

Spaghetti – small groups of 8 to 10 who stand in a circle and entwine their hands
together so as to make a complicated knot. The task is to undo the knot without letting
go of each others hands.

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 English in Camp – Facilitator’s Guide

g. Relay races

Using relay races can be a way of involving the entire camp together and adding to the
competitive element and fun. The relay race can be a physical activity such as running,
either as a straight race or with obstacles or tasks to be completed on the way. They can be
fun races with dressing up or moving in a funny way. They can equally be mental as well as
physical with word games or sentence puzzles where words have to be passed around until
the problem or sentence is solved. The variety of races is limited only by imagination

Rank things in alphabetical order – forwards or backwards!!

Put words into different grammatical categories – nouns verbs etc.
Match opposites, comparatives, superlatives etc.
Make correct grammatical sentences out of a series of words.
Spell words with individual letters

It is important that the type of activity for relay races needs to be one where the students can
race one at a time – or in pairs and complete a part of the task very quickly and run back so
that the next person in the team can then carry on the race. Giving a group a single
worksheet and saying ‘Complete this in the fastest time’ is not a relay race and will usually
result in the ‘clever’ kids getting the correct answer quickly and their team winning every
time.

One technique for using worksheets is to have the groups line up in teams and have just one
worksheet placed a distance away from the teams. At the shout ‘Go’ one person runs
forward to the worksheet and starts to complete it. After only a few seconds – depending
upon the difficulty of the task – the leader shouts ‘Change’ and the one completing the
worksheet has to run back and the second person carry on where the first left off. Carry on
this process until one team has successfully completed the worksheet.

Memory Relay:

Have the groups line up in teams and have one facilitator for each team. The facilitators
have a piece of paper that they can either show (or for more advanced students read) and
the first person runs to the facilitator and has to remember the words and then run back to
the second person in the team and tell them the words. The second person then runs back
to the facilitator and repeats the words. If they are correct, they are sent back and the third
person in the team runs forward and receives a new set of words and continues the game
until all the list has been completed.

If the second person gets the words wrong or simply forgets some of the list, then they will
be shown the list again and then take the words to the third person. The team cannot
progress to the next set of words until one person gets the words right.

This type of activity is ideal for cross curricular vocabulary and can be as easy or as difficult
as you want to make it for instance a primary one list can be:

1 red blue green

2 arm leg head
3 up down across etc

For secondary pupils this can be:

1 Venus Mars Pluto Saturn Uranus

2 Preposition Verb Participle Adjective Adverb
3 Tibia Fibia Ulna Radius Femur

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 English in Camp – Facilitator’s Guide

h. Personal Reflections

This is not so much a part of the group competition but participants can be given an
opportunity to make a journal or write down things they have learned or experienced at the
camp

i. Group Presentations

This can be in the form of short dramas or sketches which the group
should be given time to work out. This could be used, for instance in
conjunction with the poster activity where they could be asked to
produce a 30 second TV commercial to accompany their poster
campaign, or it could be a short drama illustrating the theme of the
camp

j. Finding Information

This can be as simple as looking up dictionaries or reference books to examining time

tables, flight information or working out a tourist itinerary. At locations where they have good
computer facilities and particularly internet connection then activities involving search
engines and other programs are ideal for this type of activity

k. Problem Solving activites

This can be in the form of giving groups different scenarios and asking
them what they would do in such situations, or can be puzzles or logic
problems that the group has to solve together

Groups can also be asked to come up with solutions to hypothetical

situations such as:

What would you do if:

You discovered a fire in the school

You were approached by a stranger to go with them in their car.
You saw your friend stealing candy from a shop
You were being bullied by older and bigger boys at school

l. Sensory games:

i. Kim’s Game:

A traditional memory game where the participants look at a number of common objects
(usually around 20) for one minute and then attempt to recollect all the objects they have
seen. This can be varied in the following ways:

Traditional way: Show 20 objects for one minute and each individual has to write down
as many objects as they can remember

Group Game: The number of objects can be more and the group as a whole has to try
and recollect the names of the different objects. In the event of a tie with two or more
groups finding all the objects, the quickest time can be declared the winner.

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 English in Camp – Facilitator’s Guide

An alternative to using real objects can be simple pictures or just words in English. This
is especially useful if the camp is centered on one theme such as animals, environment
etc where the objects would be too big and impractical to bring to the camp.

A further alternative can be not just to remember the articles presented, but to remove
some and work out which ones are missing.

ii. Feel / Smell / Taste / Listen / Smell

This is similar to Kim’s game except that participants use other senses to determine the
names of the objects. Once again this can be conducted on an individual basis or as a
group. Objects used can be plastic animals or similar toys which are models of larger
items. Different smells and tastes are always enjoyed by all participants and can diverse
as tasting different vegetables and fruits to smelling detergents and yoghurt. It should be
obvious that no dangerous, harmful or disgusting products should be used for this
activity and facilitators should be aware of cultural restrictions (such as Hindus who do
not eat beef products) so as not to accidentally expose participants to things that would
be against their beliefs.

m. Newspaper Activities

Lots of different activities can be carried out with newspapers such as creating a collage of
information or creating their own newspaper.

Examples are:

Scavenger Hunt

Using a Newspaper, find the following items and cut and paste them on to a piece of paper:

1. A city outside Malaysia

2. A local singer
3. A headline story that is good news
4. A telephone number
5. A job
6. Something that you can see in a classroom
7. A picture of a Malaysian leader
8. An athlete in action
9. Something you can ride in (picture or word)
10. Your favourite TV show.

Jobs

1. Turn to the Appointments page in the newspaper

2. Cut and paste the names of 5 different jobs as advertised

3. Next to each, write what a person does in the job. Eg. Chef – cooking

4. Write what job you would like to do when you grow up.

Paper Chase

Find the following items in the newspaper. It could be a word, phrase, a headline, picture,
advertisement, a cartoon etc and it can be anywhere in the newspaper. When you have
found the item, cut it out and paste it on a big sheet of paper.

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 English in Camp – Facilitator’s Guide

A city outside Malaysia A local singer A headline that is bad news

A foreign actor A team sports result A place you like to visit

A picture of a happy person An expert in something Conflict in a foreign country

An article about the police A job in construction A comic strip with an animal

A number written as a word A word with 4 N’s A health issue

A word with 12 letters A country in Africa A musical instrument

Something that :

moves uses electricity is hot

you can smell is sticky is sweet

is slippery is soft is smooth

is round you can find in a the jungle you can see in school

tastes good that you can read is made of wood

People Places and Things

Take three sheets of paper. Label one PEOPLE, another PLACES and the third THINGS

Look through the newspaper.

Cut out 5 pictures that show different kinds of people. Paste them on your PEOPLE paper

Cut out 5 pictures that show places. Paste these pictures on your PLACES paper.

Cut out 5 pictures about THINGS. Paste these pictures on your THINGS paper
6. Miscellaneous considerations.

English camps can be a fun activity that motivate students and allow them a maximum
exposure and use of English which is more than they would get in a classroom environment.
Whilst some teachers may be reluctant to venture organising such an activity, I hope that
this guide will now spur them on to see that it is not as difficult to organise as they may think.
In addition, the benefits far outweigh the inconveniences of organising the camp.

It should be remembered that organising a camp should not be an individual affair and that
the organisation should be an opportunity for teachers to work together as a team to help
their students become more proficient in English. Teachers may argue that there are not
enough English teachers in their year to organise such a camp, but this can be overcome by
asking other teachers from other years to cooperate. An example could be that a camp
could be organised for year four children on one weekend, using teachers from year four
and year five and then at a future date the same camp can be conducted for year five pupils
using the same teachers again.

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With the introduction of English being used as the means of instruction for maths and
science at various levels in the syllabus, English camps are an ideal platform for the three
subjects to cooperate together and produce activities that can practice all three subjects.
This would provide more variety and personnel to help conduct the camps and would once
again provide an ideal environment for the ‘not so confident in English’ maths and science
teachers to use the language for real communication and devise different activities that can
help them with their own teaching in the future.

Another concern for all educators is naturally finance. Who is going to pay for all these
activities? If the school does not have sufficient budget to pay for the worksheets, activities
and prizes then the pupils could be charged a nominal fee to help offset the expenses of the
camp. When large numbers of pupils are involved this amount, individually should not be
very much. But when considering the cost of activities there are hundreds of things that can
be done that cost nothing but a bit of creativity and imagination on the parts of the
organisers.

Finally, another very real problem (which I am sure will not happen with your school, but can
happen in other schools!!) with conducting English Camps is that the expectations of
participants can be raised and then dashed when they return back to their normal lessons
the next week to find they are the boring routine lessons they usually have. The principles of
enjoyment, small group work and cooperative learning can be transferred to the classroom
and should be a continuity of an environment conducive to language learning for the pupils.

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 English in Camp – Facilitator’s Guide

How many famous bears do you know? Draw

a line between the name of the bear and the
reason why we remember this bear.

A famous story book bear

1. Smokey A.
who likes honey.
A famous baseball team
2. Panda B.
named after a baby bear.
A black and white bear from
3. Pooh C.
China.
Bears who discovered
4. Cubs D.
Goldilocks.
A famous bear who want to
5. Ursa Major E.
prevent forest fires.
A bear named after a
6. Three Bears F.
president.

7. Care Bear G. A cartoon bear.

A group of stars are named

8. Teddy Bear H.
after this bear.
A bear who has a lot of love
9. Yogi bear I.
and cares about children.

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Add to each list, words that belong to the

same color family:

green yellow
spinach lemon
guava banana
………………………… …………………………
………………………… …………………………
………………………… …………………………

blue red
Sky strawberry
sea stop sign
………………………… …………………………
………………………… …………………………
………………………… …………………………

black white
hair clouds
crow paper
………………………… …………………………
………………………… …………………………
………………………… …………………………

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Look at the dots carefully

Connect all the nine dots with four straight lines.
Do not take the pencil off the paper.
You may not retrace any line before beginning the next.
All four lines must be connected, one following the other.
The lines may cross one another if necessary

. . .
. . .
. . .

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Help Mr Bean and his family to decide

the objects they need.

Mr Bean wants to make

a table for the house

Mr Bean wants to cook

lunch for the family

Mr Bean wants to write

a letter to his friend

Mr Bean wants to plant

vegetables in the
garden

paper nails pen spade stamp

saw hoe sandpaper pot hammer

ladle pail knife envelope gloves

stamp frying-pan wood plates cooker

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Read each sentence, then fill in the

last sentence to describe what you
would do.
It’s raining in my backyard.
It’s raining across the street.
It’s raining in my town.

So, I

I saw a stranger.
I saw a parked car.
I saw a police office.

So, I
I heard a door slam.
I heard an alarm clock buzz.
I heard the telephone ring.
So, I

I smelt egg frying.

I smelt toast burning.
I smelt coffee brewing.
So, I

I heard an ambulance.
I saw a doctor down the street.
I saw some smoke from a building.
So, I

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Take a trip and fit the names of

the places into the sentences
We have to go to the ……………………… to withdraw money
for the trip.

We wish to see the various traditional dances on display

in the ……………………… .

We send postcards to our friends and relatives at the

……………………… .

We can board an electric train at the ……………………… in

Kuala Lumpur.

We need to refill our car tanks at the ……………………… .

Our Muslim friends worship in the ……………………… .

We have to go to the ……………………… if we want to fly to

different places.

Let’s visit the animals in the ……………………… .

We should report a theft at the ……………………… .

museum police station zoo

mosque post office railway station
airport bank petrol station

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Can you find the names of 14 animals in this puzzle?

z h t m c a b o y n d e r j a p e o n
a e o a o g a a e e a f a a t a l e h
y m e d b e a r e o a g d p u n e z e
g l h g r o d x q l x g g r r t p n r
h o o n a x r y d m z a l l t h h h d
g i r a f f e z z n n b q e l e a j e
m e s p a z e m o u s e d e e r n h n
n n e d r b e y o s y z x x p j t y q
p e a c o c k y p n q w e n q f p q r
a d p a h l s d o n k e y y r a o e z
m y n a h a g e a p r e g r s n o x o
o a b s d g h n m a e r y d e p a n n

1. 8.
2
9.
.
3
10.
.
4
11.
.
5
12.
.
6
13.
.
7
14.
.

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Read the descriptions below and try to

guess the vegetables.

It’s green first. Then, it turns

red.

It’s Popeye’s energy-giving food.

It’s long like a string of beads.

It’ best cooked in curry and looks

like a finger of a lady.

It’s rabbits’ favourite.

It’s sweet and grows underground.

It’s usually eaten raw and goes

will with ‘nasi lemak.’
it comes in various shapes and
colours and is known locally as
brinjals.
It grows from green peas and is
often added to fried noodles.

spinach okra chilli

cucumber aubergine bean sprouts
carrot long beans sweet potato

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FOOD AND FITNESS

How much do you know about keeping fit? Do this quiz with a partner. Read the
following statements and say whether they are true or false.

True / False

1. If you take more exercise, your appetite will increase and keep you
from losing weight.

2. Exercise changes fat into muscle.

3. A good way to lose weight is to take exercise which makes you

sweat heavily.

4. Vitamin pills can give you an extra burst of energy.

5. Physical exercise is not necessary for losing weight. Dieting alone

is enough.
6. To burn up the calories contained in a 110g bar of chocolate you
must walk over 2 hours at 6.5kmph.

7. A high protein, low carbohydrate diet is ideal for losing weight.

8. People who do not eat meat, fish or poultry are not as healthy as
those who do.
9. When dieting you should avoid starchy foods such as bread and
potatoes.

10. Eating between meals is bad for you.

11. A large lunch will not cause you to put on as much weight as a
meal of the same size eaten in the evening.

12. If you diet is varied you must be getting proper nourishment.

13. A glass of wine or a glass of whisky will help you sleep well.

14. Most people need eight or nine hours of sleep a night.

15. Sleeping less than five hours a night shortens your life expectancy.

16. Laughter helps you keep fit.

Answers:

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1. False. This is a common misunderstanding, but in fact moderate physical exercise does
not stimulate the appetite. Research even suggests that an increase in physical activity
in normally sedentary people may actually make them want to eat less.
2. False. Fat does not change into muscle any more than muscle changes into fat. Fat
comes from the calories you consume in excess of those you need. If muscles are not
used they may shrink. When you exercise, muscle tissue develops while fat tissue
diminishes.
3. False. you lose no fat tissue through sweating, only fluid which is replaced quickly by
normal thirst.
4. False. Vitamins do not contain energy. They help to metabolise food into energy. Most
people get all the vitamins they need if they eat a well-balanced diet. There is, for
example, sufficient vitamin C in 1kg of oranges for the average person for a whole week.
There is therefore no point in taking extra vitamins, and an excess of vitamins A and D
can be harmful.
5. True. but with diet alone you lose muscle tissue as well as fat. When you exercise as
well, most the weight lost is fat.
6. True. This size bar of chocolate contains about 550 calories and walking at this pace
you burn about 250 calories an hour. You could alternatively cycle at 13 Kmph for 50
minutes to obtain the same result!
7. False. It is calories, not carbohydrates, that make people fat. Some carbohydrates,
such as bread and potatoes, actually contain fewer calories per ounce than beef steaks
or roast beef.
8. False. Dairy foods, eggs, and some vegetables are perfectly acceptable alternatives to
meat or fish.
9. False. You would be cutting out very good sources of several B vitamins, vitamin C, and
other nutrients by eliminating such starchy food as peas, potatoes, bread and cereals
from your diet.
10. False. It is what you eat, not when you eat, that make you fat. Light meals and snacks
of fruit, nuts or cereals are probably better for you than three large meals a day.
Biscuits, cakes and chocolate are disastrous whether eaten between meals or at
mealtimes.
11. True. You body has a biological rhythm and does not metabolise food in the same way
at every point in the cycle of roughly 24 hours. Food eaten before 3pm will be consumed
by the organism, whereas food eaten in the evening will stock up the body’s reserves, ie.
become fat.
12. False. Just variety is not enough. To provide the body with the calories, proteins,
vitamins and minerals that it needs to keep you fit, you should have the following number
of helpings from the four major food groups each day:
Two or more servings from the milk group (milk, yoghurt and other dairy foods)
Two or more from the meat group (meat, poultry, fish, eggs and alternatives such as
dried beans, nuts)
Four or more from the bread group (bread, cereal, noodles and other grain products)
For or more from the vegetable group (vegetables and fruit).
13. False. Alcohol helps you fall asleep, but it also stops you dreaming in the first part of the
night. As the amount you dream overall is the same, the second part of the night will be
more agitated, with nightmares and so on. A glass of warm milk or a few deep breathing
exercises would be much better for you.
14. False. The average need is seven hours a night. If you sleep more than nine hours a
night your life expectancy will be considerably shortened.
15. True. Most people sleep too much rather than too little, but people who sleep less than
five hours run the same risk as those who sleep more than nine hours.
16. True. Laughter dilates the neuro-vegetal centres and releases adrenalin which
stimulates the pulse, the circulation of the blood, etc.

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