Two of my students, 9, are often playing the Smurf village game when I arrive to teach English at their home in Istanbul. Their parents and I would both prefer our lessons be playful, creative, and imaginative so the children will memorize English more easily. In all of my lessons for all ages, my students' interests and needs inspire my choice of content for the lessons. In this case, I adapt Smurf role plays. First, we draw and describe the colors of the mushroom rooftops of the houses in the Smurf village. Next, we describe the actions of each Smurf character, named for either their personality or their profession:
Sleepy sleeps.
Vanity looks in the mirror.
Harmony sings.
Miners dig for gold.
Farmer plants.
Handy lifts weights.
Timber saws.
Painter paints.
Tailor sews.
Reporter carries the newspaper.
Finally, we role play each of the actions in the living room:
'Be Sleepy!' We nap on the couch.
'Be Vanity!' We look in the mirror.
'Be Miner!' We crawl to the coffee table and remove the gold lid off the box of chocolates. 'Gold!' we exclaim.
'Be Farmer!' We touch the plants in the room.
'Be Handy!' We lift an imaginary weight as if it's heavy.
'Be Timber!' We wield an imaginary axe.
'Be Painter!' We hold imaginary paintbrushes and pretend to paint each other's portrait.
'Be Reporter!' We carry an imaginary newspaper and walk around the room.
