International Mother Language Day / Borrowed Words Detective Relay
Borrowed Words Detective Relay
Teams race to match everyday English words, like kangaroo, pyjamas and tsunami, to the languages they came from, discovering how languages share and borrow.
How to run it
- Make word cards (kangaroo, koala, pyjamas, shampoo, tsunami, safari, robot, chocolate, kindergarten, yoghurt, piano, ballet) and matching language cards.
- Use the true origins: kangaroo from Guugu Yimithirr, koala from Dharug, pyjamas from Urdu and Persian, shampoo from Hindi, tsunami from Japanese, safari from Swahili, robot from Czech, chocolate from Nahuatl, kindergarten from German, yoghurt from Turkish, piano from Italian, ballet from French.
- Place the language cards at the far end of the yard and give each team a pile of word cards.
- One runner at a time races a word to the language they think it came from, then the group checks answers together.
You will need
- word cards
- language cards
- world map (optional)
- cones
Make it easier or harderYounger children match pictures to a country flag with an adult; older children find each language on a world map.
SafetyMark a clear running lane and a slow-down zone near the cards.
My Time Our Place · Outcome 4, Outcome 5Children investigate word origins and use teamwork to test their ideas.
Fits these theme days
International Mother Language DayAround the World DayInternational Literacy DayGames DayTeamwork Day
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