Tradition and Innovation in the Primary Classroom

1. Tradition and Innovation in the Primary Classroom Iveta Vītola Valmiera, 12 November, 2010

2. unstressed non-threatening happy collaborative, not competitive varied focus varied activities short activities Classroom Atmosphere

3. busy children are not naughty children young children cannot concentrate for long periods children can concentrate better when they are active, not passive. Classroom Activities

4. Adults and children • use their intelligence to ‘work out’ meaning • use language to understand the world • learn by studying books • use their senses to observe the world • make connections between sounds and ideas • learn by exploration, discovery and play

5. Language as a toy • A foreign language is a toy which children use to interact with each other. • Like toy telephones, puppets, stories and games, a foreign language is a new toy which children will learn to use through playing with it.

6. Language as a toy • A young child does not think of a bicycle as transport. • A bicycle is a toy. • The bicycle only becomes transport when the child has learned to ride.

7. Adults and children So, if children can’t learn the way we teach… ...why not teach them the way they learn?

8. Head-up activities Pupils have their heads up looking at the teacher, the board, poster or TV. Head-down activities Pupils have their heads down reading, drawing, colouring, copying, writing, etc. Balancing Activities Stirrers Acting, dancing, singing, racing tend to make pupils excited. Settlers Listening to stories, drawing, colouring, copying. matching, writing, tend to calm and settle pupils.

9. Learning opportunities • We don’t teach young learners, we create opportunities which will stimulate them to learn.

10. Where do children learn English? in their brains!

11. Lower Primary Age Group • Heavily dependant on the teacher • Inquisitive, easily motivated • Short concentration span • Receptive to fantasy and imagination • Just beginning to read and write in their own language • Sensory preferences

12. Sensory Preference Kinaesthetic Visual Auditory

13. Motivate with Mickey Successful Teaching and Learning with English Adventure

14. A Journey through a Unit: Starter 'B'

16. A journey through a unit- Starter 'B' Language presented in context of Disney characters children will recognise Visual, auditory, kinaesthetic channels

17. Focus first on receptive skills Visual, auditory, kinaesthetic channels Personalisation and student – student collaboration

19. Further receptive skills practice – listening Kinaesthetic focus – stickers Song – making language memorable Circle pictures – ‘Can you see them?’

20. Consolidation – story Students act out Visual, auditory, kinaesthetic

21. Production Model Personalisation Multi-Skills Visual, auditory, kinaesthetic

22. Children learn quickly – And forget even more quickly So… RECYCLE!!

23. Review Consolidation of all language covered so far Visual, auditory, kinaesthetic

24. Picture dictionary Visual record of vocabulary

25. Course Components • Each level comprises: • Pupil’s book • Activity book • Interactive Whiteboard software • Teacher’s book • Posters • Flashcards • Audio CDs • DVD

26. Principles behind the Course • Learning a new language is a challenge! • It is also a joyful experience. • Our task as teachers is to provide our classes with a menu of diverse activities which cater for all the intelligences and learning styles. • We need to engage the children’s emotions with a variety of relevant topics and provide a climate of healthy self-esteem.

27. Extras for Teachers

28. Extras... Activity Book Pages correspond with student book pages Motivating practice Varied levels of challenge – caters for mixed abilities

29. Extras... Teacher’s Book Interleaved with student book pages Step by step guide to the lesson with suggestions for extra activities

30. Extras... CD Rom Extra Practice through games and puzzles DVD Contains Clips from Disney movies

31. Extras... Flashcard set Key vocabulary items Teacher’s Book Suggestions for using flashcards

32. Extras... English-Latvian Dictionary Pronunciation, translation

34. Fly High Your primary students’ English language skills will soar with

35. Fly High • Solid skills work • Lower levels feature alphabet skills • Grammar is taught explicitly • Strong listening feature • Variety of activities that are easy-to-teach and motivating for students • Extension activities to supplement class work

36. Working towards a goal

37. Lesson aim:To enable children to talk about likes and dislikes in the context of food. Grammar:I like / don’t like / do you like? Vocabulary:Food items Working towards a goal

38. Vocabulary: What’s in a word?

39. Vocabulary: What’s in a word?

40. Vocabulary: What’s in a word?

41. Vocabulary: What’s in a word?

42. Vocabulary: What’s in a word?

43. Vocabulary: What’s in a word? soup

44. Vocabulary: What’s in a word? salad

45. Vocabulary: What’s in a word? fish lunch pizza soup chicken salad

46. Teaching ALL the class… • Drilling • Take one away • Disappearing drill • Guess the card • Take a photo VA Stir Settle V Stir VA VAK Stir VK Settle

47. Contextualising Grammar

49. Do like ? You Phone a Friend you salad Making Grammar Visible

50. Making GrammarVisible