Holly老師的英語新天地

以下來個幾組完整的Part2及Part3 Questions之參考答案，幫助考生腦力激盪囉！加油J

Describe a child game or toy that most sticks in your mind.

You should say:

  what was the game

  how you played it

  why it sticks in your mind

and explain how this game influenced your younger days

Notes:

Helpful Ideas and Useful Words and Expressions

Game 1: The Eagle and the Chicks

• Ø  The game that sticks in my mind is an old Chinese game called “The Eagle and the Chicks.” It is fun, and easy to play and a perfect outdoor game for kids.

This game needs at least five kids to start, and the more kids participating, the more fun it is. Choose a kid as the eagle and another kid as the mother hen. The rest of the kids will be the chicks. In the game, the eagle tries to catch one of the chicks so he will be no longer the eagle, and the mother hen tries to protect the chicks from the eagle.

The chicks will line up behind the mother hen one by one. The first chick behind the mother hen will hold on to her waist or cloth, the one behind the first chick will hold on the first, and so on. The eagle can catch the chick by tagging the chick, and the mother hen can protect the chicks by spreading her arms shoulder high. When the chasing begins, the eagle is free to run anywhere to catch the chick. The mother hen will try to be in front of the eagle to protect the chicks.

The eagle has to go around the mother hen to catch the chick and he will try to avoid any contact with the mother hen. To help the mother hen, the chicks will try to run out of the way of the eagle. The chicks don’t have to be in the line all the time. They may run out of the line and play tag with the eagle.

If the eagle catches a chick, this game will be over and that chick will be the eagle in the next game. Children derive great satisfaction in the teamwork by making themselves and others laugh and be happy.

Game 2: Chinese Yo-Yo

• Ø  Yo-Yo is a popular kids game in the world. When I was a child I played Chinese Yo-Yo very often. The Chinese Yo-Yo is played with a string. Two ends of the string are attached to two sticks. So the player moves the two sticks to control the Yo-Yo. This game greatly enhances children’s intellectual ability. It is said that many people are inspired to develop their interest in science subject by this. It trains your thinking and manual control skill while having a lot of fun. Boys always enjoy playing this game. That’s why it becomes more and more popular even today.

Game 3: A Kite

• Ø  When I was a kid, to have a toy as a birthday gift almost never happened. In those days, kids had no expectation to get toys on birthdays. While toys were really seldom seen, we created our own toys o play many games. Flying kites has always been popular. But we created our own.

Follow-up Questions

1. Do young children still play this game today? // How popular was this game in your childhood?

2. Do you want your child to create his/her own toys as you did?

Part 3

1. How do you think a child can benefit from playing a child’s game?

2. Are there any differences between a boy’s game / toy and a girl’s game / toy?

3. Are the games / toys city children play any different from those children in the country play?

4. Has it always been like that? What are changes in children’s games today?

5. How do you feel about electronic / robotic toys that can be seen everywhere nowadays?

6. Are there any disadvantages to electronic toys? // If so, what are they?

7. Do you think that children in the past were less happy than children nowadays?

8. If you could choose, would you prefer to be a child living in the present age or in the past?

9. What do you think are the differences between games and sports?

10. What are the advantages and disadvantages of children’s sports?

Reference:

1   How do you think a child can benefit from playing a child’s game?

²  The joy of playing games is universal because it constitutes a source of entertainment. Children derive great satisfaction in the teamwork by making themselves and others laugh and be happy.

²  It can train their intellect and improve their mental and physical well-being.

²  Learn group skills, including cooperation and conflict resolution.

²  Follow rules designed by others as well as create their own rules to follow with peers.

²  Use new skills to organize objects, ideas, and skills in logical and interconnected ways.

²  Incorporate a growing ability to symbolize using letters and numbers. Draw them into everyday activities and games.

²  Develop special interests, skills, and hobbies.

5   How do you feel about electronic / robotic toys that can be seen everywhere nowadays?

²  Today’s most popular dolls are powered not by a child’s own imagination, but by a computer microchip buried beneath a tangle of synthetic blonde curls.

²  Thanks to the artificial intelligence programme, robotic toys or virtual pets will let you know how they are feeling and provide feedback on the care you provide. Their state-of-the-art sensors allow them to see and hear everything around them. The more you teach them, the smarter they get!

²  There is also a kind of interactive pet. They are claimed to be “the smartest ones you’ll ever meet!” The pet asks a child questions and “understands” the answers. He can even recognize and remember a child’s name.

²  These virtual pets aren’t the only entrants into the vast new powered toy arena. Some of them even employ voice-recognition technology, allowing them to carry on a limited conversation with a child. The doll asks questions and if it hears a wrong answer, it asks the child to try again.

6   Are there any disadvantages to electronic toys? // If so, what are they?

• Ø  Electronic toys cause children to miss learning opportunities. For now, parents are dazzled by a toy’s memory or response, most parents seem to be embracing that world, perhaps believing that a toy’s virtual intelligence will somehow boost the natural intelligence of their child. Some early childhood educators believe they rob kids of important learning opportunities.

l  As dolls and toys become more animated, the child is put in a responsive mode. The child is responding to what the toy does. That’s very different from imagining and creating an entire world through play.

l  And since play is the work of young children — the primary way they make sense of their environment — Interacting with a toy that tells them what to do is the opposite of how most playtime should be spent.

l  If you have a little girl who says to her doll, “Mommy’s going to give you a bath and then put you to bed,” The little girl is in charge, deciding what’s going to happen. An electronic toy is much more restrictive, because the toy decides what’s going to happen, not the child.

• Ø  Electronic toys also stifle kids’ imaginations.

l  Toys programmed with computer scripts result in “scripted play.” The programme is devised by the manufacturer, but not the child powers the play. Young children tend not to stray from the script that is embedded in the toy. For example, if a robotic dog demands to be fed, most children will try to feed the dog, rather than take him for a walk or pretend he is a wolf. Similarly, kids who play “Lion King” simply choose roles from the movie and often do little more than act out the scenes they’ve already seen on the screen. Playing a generic game about lions is more likely to lead to creative, original play.

l  Children also get bored more easily with scripted play than with play that springs from their own imaginations. That’s why a basic set of wooden blocks is probably a better investment than a toy with lots of bells and whistles; a cloth doll is a better buy than a computerized doll for precisely the same reason. Simply put, the less the toy can do, the more the child can do with it. And the more the child can do, the longer she or he will stay immersed in play.

Additional Topic-related Questions

1    How can children learn from their play?

²  Play is one of the most powerful vehicles children have for trying out and mastering new skills, concepts, and experiences. Play can help children develop the knowledge they need to connect in meaningful ways to the challenges they encounter in school.

²  Play also contributes to how children view themselves as learners. As they play, they resolve confusing social, emotional, and intellectual issues by coming up with new solutions and ideas. They experience the sense of power that comes from being in control and figuring things out on their own (something children often do not get to do in real life). This helps them develop a positive attitude toward learning.

2   What are changes in children’s playtime today?

²  Many of the changes in childhood that have occurred in recent years are undermining the quality of children’s play. “Playtime” is being shortchanged in school as more emphasis is placed on teaching “the basics” at younger and younger ages.

²  Today’s children and parents have busy lives so there is less free time outside of school. For safety and economic reasons, the culture of neighbourhood kids playing after school is becoming a thing of the past.

²  When children do have playtime, they often choose to watch TV instead — an average of four hours a day — not to mention the additional time they spend watching videos or playing videogames.

3   What can parents do to promote creative play for their children?

• Ø  Parents can do a lot to help their children develop play that supports their social, emotional, and intellectual development. Here are some suggestions:

l  Encourage and value play that is appropriate to the age, individual interests and needs of children.

l  Help a child bring his own experiences into his play. Children’s play is usually more creative and less imitative when it grows out of their daily lives. For instance, providing empty food cartons and a simple toy cash register after a trip to the supermarket can help the child start recreating his experience through play.

l  Watch the child as he plays to see what he is working on and what interests him. This can help provide ideas about what play materials and other input might further develop his play.

l  Choose new toys carefully. Toys that can be used in many ways usually promote the most valuable play. They give children many opportunities to invent new uses for them over time. Too many toys, or a constant barrage of new ones, can prevent children from doing this.

l  Find ways to interact regularly (but not always) with the child as she plays. Getting involved with kids as they play — as long as you’re not interrupting or taking over — shows them that adults value play.

l  Try to have regular, uninterrupted playtime in the kid’s life. This tells him that play is important. It also helps him develop the skills he needs over time o become involved in meaningful and satisfying play. For children who are heavily dependent on television, develop this routine gradually and help children figure out how to begin their play.

l  Make thoughtful choices about the role of media in kids’ life. What and how much children see in the media can have an enormous impact on their play. TV takes time away from play activities and media content greatly influences play. So, try to develop rules — for example, about screen time and screen content.

4   What’s funny in entertaining games?

²  The joy of playing games is universal because it constitutes a source of entertainment. Children derive great satisfaction in the teamwork by making themselves and others happy.

²  It can train their wisdom and improve their mental and physical wellness.

²  It lets children show off their smarts without showing off. It was never the same game twice, and it gave you a way to get revenge on your bossy older sister without getting in trouble with your parents.

5   What life skills can children learn from all their games?

²  Cooperation / Teamwork — Taking turns and working with others; respecting other family members including extended family

²  Responsibility — Playing by the rules; taking care of the materials and putting the game away to it will be ready next time

²  Perseverance and Patience — Waiting for your mm or for that “special card” or throw of the dice; sticking it out to the end; trying again

²  Honesty — Playing fair; being able to admit mistakes and learn from them

²  Understanding / Accepting both winning and losing — Knowing that we can try to win, but sometimes we will lose, and being able to cope with wins or losses tactfully and graciously

²  Making choices and accepting the consequences of the choices you make

6   What Is the Importance of games and toys in the development of children?

²  Games and toys certainly don’t have to nib kids of their playing alone time. I believe games and toys have little relevance to healthy child development. Play, however, figures prominently in healthy child development.

²  Play that is child-initiated, child-controlled, and open-ended allows and encourages children to process information and to make sense of their world. Any toys and games that help facilitate this mode of play are a plus. Child development professionals frequently express concern that kids don’t spend enough time playing in mixed-age groups. Too much of a child’s play time is spent in reactive play (video and computer games) as opposed to creative play. And not enough time is spent playing alone.