Keep this light and playful. Call out one or two body parts and have the class touch them. Does anybody know what we call the bendy part in the middle of our arm? Take a few guesses, then say we will find out together.

This table is the teacher's reference for Senior Infants. What pupils see on screen is one word with one picture and one action at a time; the children do the action with you rather than reading the table. Read each row aloud and use the Example cell as your action script. Touch each part on yourself as you name it, then ask the class to touch it on themselves. Where is your elbow? Find it now!

Add the other words the lesson uses too: head (the top of you), neck (joins your head to your shoulders) and knees/ankles. A doctor and a physiotherapist know the names of all our body parts so they can help us when a part is sore.

Pass round a few mirrors or use one big mirror in turns. Call a part, the class touches it and says its name aloud, then looks in the mirror to see it move. Watch for the common mix-up between knee and elbow (both bendy) and head and neck. Point to your neck. Now your shoulders. Are they the same? No!

This is an observation activity: pupils look closely at themselves and name what they see.

Note: this is not the familiar song. The song uses head, shoulders, knees and toes. Our game swaps in the new target words, so you must call neck, elbow and ankle explicitly and often — do not fall back into singing the song or you will miss the new words this lesson teaches.

An action carousel: call body parts one at a time, then in pairs (shoulders and knees), getting faster. Pupils touch and name each part on their own bodies — no props needed. Mix in the new words (neck, elbow, ankle) with familiar ones. Say the word as you touch it!

Differentiation: slow the pace and stay with three parts for children who need it; add a wrong-on-purpose call (touch your elbow while you touch your knee) for those ready for a challenge.

Drive this interactive activity on the IWB. A picture of a whole child appears with six word labels to drag: head, neck, shoulders, elbows, knees and ankles. Senior Infants cannot yet read these words, so always read each card aloud before it is moved — the children match by knowing the body part and hearing the word, not by decoding text. Call a child up to drag one label while you say the word, and have the rest of the class point to that part on their own bodies and check. Is that right? Where is the neck really?

Reveal answers as the class agrees. This replaces any need for a body outline — the figure is already on screen.

Display-only, oral wrap-up. Call a few parts and have the class touch and name them. Then think-pair-share: each child tells a partner one new word. Revoice the new ones: We learned elbow, ankle, shoulders and neck. A doctor knows all these names so they can help us when a part hurts.

Home noticing prompt: tonight, ask someone at home to name a body part you point to.