Associate CPD review and ready for Christmas! For Jo,Jose and Emilie !

We are all working so hard to make primary languages successful.This strikes me every time I look at Twitter and Facebook!

My favourite CPD every half term is when my wonderful colleagues and I get together to consider ways forward over the next 6 weeks with the schools where they teach once a week to support the schools with their development of language learning.

Yesterday evening we met ....and here is a resume of some of the meeting especially for Emilie,Jose and Jo G who weren't able to attend.

We have an organised long term and medium term plan that takes us from Nursery (in some instances) right up to Year 6 and we have built in flexibility for schools and classes that are beginners in Y6 or are moving on not yet advanced learners etc in Y6.Our CPD this year has very much become additional and extra and how to enhance what we do and keep in line with the new DfE POS.

Jo G, Jose and Emilie take a look here for ideas to use during the run up to Christmas please- plus note the possible learning objective link too (from DfE POS).Different activities are suitable for different ages/ stages and classes,so take your pick and link this in to the work we are already doing. 

Christmas greetings song as bell ringers

DfE POS : listen attentively/join in/respond/ speak in sentences

Ding dong bell

- exploring the sound patterns of the greetings song above and some simple writing activities to make Christmas decorations/ play a game

DfE POS:explore the patterns and sounds /speak sentences/read carefully / write from memory

(this is not normal pen and paper writing though!)

Christmassy conversations with puppets beginners/moving on/advanced

DfE POS: speaking sentences, engaging in conversations,describe people and places

Open and reveal four corners Christmas present style

DfE POS: Ask and answer questions

3D Art with a Christmas meal twist

DfE POS : speak in sentences , write from memory (we thought last night that the children could then try to write down the performance they have seen as text)

We looked at this picture for the Christmas 3D Art by the way !

Triaramas with speaking and writing attitude

We linked this to out Y6 normal Christmas lessons on festive meal sketch and looked at how ee can develop listening,speaking,reading ,writing here

DfE POS : read carefully and show understanding/write from memory/ develop accurate intonation and pronunciation when reading aloud

Twinkle Twinkle Little star with a grammar twist

Well first of all as you can imagine listening to Joanne sing was a pleasure and then we had a go at changing the first line in French with new nouns, verbs and adjectives that precede a noun.Half the fun again was listening to Joanne sing the new lines and fit them to the rhythm!

DfE POS : understand basic grammar

And  finally some of us felt that we could really enjoy and extend our Y6 learners with the ideas in

the magic of Christmas

Assesment update :

Steph Pierre shared with us the assessment she has been carrying out in one of her schools.Steph is an ex HOD and native French speaker and has a very clear way of recording and processing the progression in skills  linked to our in house model .We will be sharing this in local CPD next year too with Steph and other associates in the team sharing their  hands on real work.Note to Emilie and Jo G - email Steph and ask for a copy!

Inspectoon report 

Joanne, Janet W and Andrea have all been seen recently by inspectors and have had very good feedback and a special well done to Andrea! Andrea has joined us to cover Catherine whilst on maternity break! Congratulations Catherine! Andrea was inspected in her second week at the school where she covers Catherine.What a success .Well done Andrea!

What is so wonderful about my colleagues is how hard they work and it did make me smile that Andrea went home to make paper puppets based on my

paper puppets

to use with KS1 today in Spanish whilst they practise their song el granja de mi tio!

 At about 9,30 last night i was sent this picture from Andrea............

Hope the children and Andrea enjoy this today!

DfE project update:teacher led CPD 

This year our associates are working hard with me on our 

DfE project

 with WSTA.We had news to catch up on based on their work in the local networks and how they are beginning to move from teachers to trainers for teacher led CPD. Jayne,Claire and Emilie are already up and running as network leaders and Ana and Emilie are busy training teachers in French and Spanish. Steph has written some of our resources in French and Spanish to share with BC FLAs at meetings etc .Barbara is putting sound files in to German,Joanne is singing and performing for us so that we have creative materials to share and Jo G and I are meeting this morning to review progress in KS3 plus to finalise Joe Dale on Monday! 

Huge thanks to them all! Here's to next term!

Building purposeful links with a school abroad

A week or two ago  I shared on Twitter the fact that Latchford Year 6 had gone on their annual visit to Malaga to meet their partner aged children in their link school.I wrote this blog about the school's preparations for the visit Year 6 on their way to meet their Spanish friends.

I received this email at the start of the half term from the Year 6 class teacher at Latchford St James CE Primary School and current Primary Languages Co-ordinator on her return from the school visit to their link school in Malaga. 

Hi Janet, just to let you know that we had a great trip again and our children made many new friends. They had the opportunity to visit the market in Malaga where they all bought things, using their Spanish, our food in the hotel was ordered entirely in Spanish and when two groups lost their room keys, they went to reception and asked for new ones, again in Spanish. The kiosk on the beach was a great hit and since the lady spoke no English the children had to use their Spanish. It was so nice to hear them with their new friends and we were complimented everywhere for their behaviour and use of language . A fantastic experience for them.  Tina 

What a brilliant start to my half term! It's the joined up thinking I really like. 

Why? Well Tina is supported and indeed was accompanied by the Spanish language assistant José on this visit .Thorough out the  year José and Tina have been organising language learning to prepare the children for the visit. The previous language coordinator also went on the visit to continue the teacher to teacher contacts between the schools and to support Tina.

The children have had opportunity this year to prepare for their visit.They worked with Tina and José on familiar routine language they might need on their school visit.They created their own Spanish market in their classroom.... 

...but what better way to consolidate this language and cultural understanding than to actually visit the market in Malaga! Tina tells me in her email that all the children had "the opportunity to visit the market in Malaga where they all bought things, using their Spanish".

In class they had skyped and emailed their Spanish friends to find out about what they liked to do as hobbies and pastimes.

but then they were able to spend time with their friends, speaking Spanish, supported by the teachers and of course José.Tina tells me in her email "It was so nice to hear them with their new friends and we were complimented everywhere for their behaviour and use of language."

And now they are back!

They have made new friends and have gained confidence in their ability to communicate in a foreign language! 

And in a week's time they will be able to share their world with their new Spanish friends,when they come to Warrington to visit Latchford CE for the week! Together the Spanish and English friends will explore the our local community, culture and school including the English seaside ....not sure it will be as warm and sunny as Malaga though!

The children have used their language learning to communicate.They have opened their minds to a new culture and way of life.They have been able to explore and celebrate their own knowledge of Spanish,which they have been learning  since KS1 at school and they have made new friends.

The teachers have real reason and purpose to engage  with Spanish language and culture and bring so much new knowledge and ideas back to school in England with them.

The children have participated in school life in Spain and they all went on shared excursions.They return to school with exciting stories for their younger friends at school about Spain, Spanish school and culture  and why it's so very important to be able to communicate in another language.

The school visit is a culmination of substantial progress in learning a target language over six years. It's inclusive and supportive and is an integral part of the annual calendar of both schools - an urban town centre primary school here in Warrington and a Spanish primary school by the seaside!