Creating Our Own Proverbs

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One of the best things about teaching is what children say that just astounds you. Sometimes the discussion and conversations you have with children can just completely blow you away. Don't get me wrong they often make you chuckle and laugh but when faced with a more serious conversation, I am always amazed at the depth some children show.

Today I had an amazing morning with Year 2 looking at proverbs.

I introduced the idea of a proverb as - A proverb is a simple and concrete saying, popularly known and repeated, that expresses a truth based on common sense or experience. They are often metaphorical.

We also discussed a couple of examples, including:

Don't count your chickens before they have hatched. 

We discussed the meaning behind this beyond the literal and examples - England fans who think we will win the World Cup because we won our opening game. 

I then shared this document which had examples of famous proverbs but only the first part to them. You can download this here:

The children were then given the opportunity to complete the proverb with their own ideas. The children were aware of some but the challenge was to make sure the saying then had a message. I was blown away by some of their ideas but more their meanings. Take for example:

Take for example the first one in the top picture:

Beauty is in the eye of death.

Now, this might seem dark, but when I questioned the student, she explained that when someone dies we tend to only remember the beautiful things about them.

AMAZING!!!!

Once the children had created their proverbs, they were challenged to create a video on Adobe Spark Video where they could orally explain the meaning behind their proverbs. 

Here is an example:

We then looked at the real proverbs and compared them to our own. This website was really useful - https://www.engvid.com/english-resource/50-common-proverbs-sayings/

I would recommend trying this activity with your pupils, it will not only surprise you but restore your faith in humanity with their outlook on life.