This is a full lesson plan for practicing shapes with the 3rd graders that requires no preparation, only drawing skills. Most ALT's like myself are former artists who weren't good enough to hold a job as an illustrator, so this should be a good application of your $45,000 Animation degree.
They can use pencils, but if they have coloured pencils, crayons or markers, all the better.
First, review the vocabulary of every shape you want them to use.
Then, make sure they know the phrase "What shape do you want?" (As per the Let's Try 1 textbook.)
Then, use the provided powerpoint. Have students yell out the shapes freely as they appear on screen, and encourage them to guess the character as soon as they recognize them.
Next, clear the black board. Ask each student, one by one, the target phrase - "What shape do you want?" Gradually build a character on the blackboard out of the shapes that your students suggest. Try and problem solve - I used stars to make whacky hair styles, beards, triangles for mouths, circles and rectangles for eyes, stars for the body. Whatever you like. When you've done one round of the class, ask them to name your original character.
Then, hand out pieces of paper that you stole from the staffroom printer beforehand. Have students make pairs, play Janken to see who goes first, and then take turns asking the other, 'what shape do you want?' and spend the remainder of the class (bar 5 minutes for sharing) having the students in pairs build characters from the shapes their partners suggest.
Bonus: You can also allow your students to suggest 'how many' shapes they want, and what colour, if they want a challenge.
In the last 5 minutes of the class, pin all the designs to the blackboard and have the students look at them and discuss, and to try and come up with names for their new characters.
Make sure not to drop all your Serotonin on the way out <3
Dang you didn't have to call me out like that in the first paragraph LOL
Great activity though thank you!