Seaside special two: Design brief for fantastical sandcastles

Design brief for a fantastical sandcastle

A very simple activity but one our children always love is to set up a competition to design their own sandcastles!

Explain to the children how many sandcastle beach competitions you will find on beaches across Europe in the Summer

There is a slight twist though because as we all know the sea washes away the sandcastles from the day before .

Can a second group or pair take the design brief and recreate the sandcastle design that a first group or pair has written?

How similar are the two designs when the drawings are compared?

What’s very important is that the children can write clear sentences to describe the features of their sandcastles in the target language. This means that the teacher can determine the degree of difficulty – 

• beginner writers in a target language we would suggest - noun, verb and adjective  and quantity. 
• moving on writers in a target language  we would expect  adjectives that agree with nouns as well as simple well constructed sentences
• advanced writers n the basic target language we would expect more detailed information – nouns, quantity, adjectives that agree, prepositions and possibly directional language.

Seaside special one .Seashell sounds and sand treasure hunts

It’s nearly Summer and many schools will be talking about and discussing the coast, the seaside, the beach. 

Here's a seaside game based on phonology for KS1 and Year 3 target language learners

Seashell Sounds and Sand Treasure Hunts

Let’s listen to those sea shells....the ones you put to your ear and hear the sea…. 

Our sea shells are special,because we can hear sounds from the target language.

• You need ten familiar items or objects in a tray of sand placed in the centre of the carpet circle you have sat your class in.
• You need to identify in each noun for each object key sounds
• Practise the names of the nouns as you show the children the objects and then bury them in the sand.
• You need the key sounds for Y3 onwards written on cards and for KS1 you will say a key sound to the child sat next to you.

This is a very quiet passing the sound on game .

With a cupped hand whisper clearly the sound that has been passed to you in the same way to the next person. Can the fifth child say the sound s/he  thinks, has been passed on . 

The class decide which object has this sound within the spoken noun (sometimes there may be more than one noun with the sound) and the fifth child must now try to remember where the buried item has been placed. 

They only have one chance to dig for treasure and if they don’t find it they must put the item they have found back in the same place and cover it with sand. 

How many items can the class successfully retrieve?

Le ciel est bleu! Spies,code and clues.Some reading and writing challenges

Le ciel est bleu!

I love working with initial teacher trainees and today was just one of those days .This  morning we were considering steps in progression in the four skills of listening, speaking reading and writing over the learning journey of a KS2 pupil as they progress through four years of consistent language learning. 

The ITTs are non-specialist trainees ,who really want to understand how to make a difference to their future young learners’ ability to manipulate and use target language.

So let me reiterate …… “le ciel est bleu!” Well it could be “el cielo” and it could be ”azul” or “der Himmel” and that would be “blau” etc etc etc.

Reading and very simple responding activities

Games we all play

:

We were considering ways to support children to develop their own independent reading  and writing skills at word and sentence level.We had discussed simple reading and responding activities (such as read and mime, read and select, read and draw etc).

/

Spy missions

We moved on to spy missions – as teams of three on tables being sent off one by to find for example the fruits, the vegetables or the colours  word cards  hidden around the room and coming back to write them down and inform their team so they could create their own  simple noun, verb , adjective sentences. Each team already has the key verb they need e.g "eat", "buy","is".

Can they create their own complete messages?

The always popular " Physical Dominoes"

From work earlier in the year we discussed a  favourite reading and writing game (that many of us have been using for many years) constructing correct sentences from a series of cards that have written on them components of a complex sentence, which can only work correctly when the key punctuation is also taken into consideration. (I can still see how quietly frustrated one of my wonderful colleagues got , when a colleague tried to put the adjective with the full stop next to it in the middle of the sentence just because it agreed with the previous noun!). It’s the creation of a physical sentence that means we are reading and writing.

This brought us to "

the sky is blue!

" and our

breaking

codes and solving clues activities

We discussed simple ways that the young new teachers can help the children to become confident and positive in their use of the written target language with simple games to support sentence construction by de-constructing and rebuilding familiar sentences.

Solving sound and letter clues

It does n’t need to be this sentence of course – it could be any sentence and it could be a much more complex sentence but it combines several stages we had been discussing above  In the first instance we were using it as a simple example of the Physical Dominoes Game .

bleu.

Le ciel

est

 Simply reordering the sentence correctly ….

Le ciel

est

bleu

But then what about if this was linked this to prior learning of phonology? 

Could  the children spot the word by the key sound they heard from the words? 

Could they write the full word from a one or two letter written prompt?

For example at word level could they ......

• In the first instance – complete the words …. when provided with a sequence of sounds or letters...

ci     

  eu  

  el 

e 

  bl 

l   

(ciel/ bleu/ciel/est/ bleu/ le)

• Secondly given a sequence of letters as above from words in a sentence that are familiar to them, can they write complete the sentence ?

est

ie 

e

eu

(l

e

c

ie

l

est

bleu)

• This would obviously work too with more complex sentences and an increase in challenge e.g.

Le ciel est bleu,car il fait beau .

Breaking codes .

Now what can the children really do? 

• Can the children from a range of sentences that are familiar to them, for example from a rhyme, text or song :

1. Read the sentence/or sentences  you give them?
2. De-construct the sentence/s for a partner or second team, so the team only has sound or grapheme components of the words either in order or to increase challenge in a muddled up order?
3. Can the partner or second team reconstruct the sentence/s by completing the words and if necessary re-ordering the words? 

A celebration fit for a King....fourth blog post.Let's have a party

Let's celebrate the new Spanish King and the coronation with our own street party.We are almost ready for out party!Take a look at the links to the three blog posts about getting ready for "a celebration fit for a King!"

So we now have party hats 

We have some party food and a cake fit for a King!

And we have our firework performance and display ready to go!

Now we need a party dance ...what about "Este ritmo" ? 

ESTE RITMO 

This is a song where the children stand in a circle  they sing and do actions.

Este ritmo se hace con  las manos (clap twice)

Este ritmo se hace con las manos (clap twice)

Repeat

Con el bugui. bugui, ba (clap twice)

Este ritmo se hace con los pies (stamp twice)

Repeat

Repeat

Con el bugui, bugui, ba (stamp twice then clap twice)

Este ritmo se hace con la boca (touch mouth and say “bah-bah”)

Repeat

Repeat

Con el bugui, bugui, ba (touch mouth and say “bah-bah” then clap twice)

Este ritmo se hace con la nariz (touch nose and say “tilin, tilin”)

Repeat

Repeat

Con el bugui, bugui, ba (repeat all actions)

Este ritmo se hace con las orejas (pull ears and say “tolon, tolon”)

Repeat

Repeat

Con el bugui, bugui, ba (repeat all actions)

Este ritmo se hace con los ojos (wink alternate eyes and say “clac, clac”)

Repeat

Repeat

Con el bugui, bugui, ba (repeat all actions)

Este ritmo se hace con el pelo  (stroke head and say “fizz, fizz”)

Repeat

Repeat

Con el bugui, bugui, ba (repeat all actions)

Este ritmo se hace con el culo (wiggle bottom and say “pan, pan”)

Repeat

Repeat

Con el bugui, bugui, ba (repeat all actions)

And of course don't forget a piñata or two..............!

A celebration fit for a King third blog post! Fiesta fireworks!

What a brilliant reason to hold a fiesta!

A fiesta without fireworks just wouldn't be a Spanish fiesta ....so why not try a performance based on our simple firework poem. (A poem that some of our network children will already be familiar with from bonfire night).
It's about learning the poem and adding actions and sounds for the fireworks

azul

rojo

amarillo

verde

İfantástico! İfantástico!

suben

bajen

Hay muchas estrellas

violeta

naranja

oro

argento

İfantástico! İfantástico!

suben

bajen

Hay muchas estrellas

Now you need a firework show for your fiesta

  

 My Favourite Roman Candle Colour Firework

Practise the colours mentioned in the poem and ask the children to make a mental list of the fireworks in the order that they like the colours or in alphabetical order.

Ask for volunteers to come to the front and pretend to be a Roman Candle and burn out colour by colour, so the child starts standing upright and ends up on the last colour crouched down.

A Cognate Catherine Wheel

Look at the language in the target language poem. Ask the children to draw a circle divided into eight equal sections. In each section ask them to record one of the colours as the target language word in  a spiral shape like a Catherine wheel.Give each child a lolly stick and attach the circles to the lolly stick now they have a firework to wave and twirl as they say the poem with you. 

A Class Performance

Learn the Firework poem with the class and then add performance. Groups of children miming the actions of different fireworks. The whole class chant poem and at different points in the poem children perform their group mime of a firework. Don't forget the children's Catherine Wheels for the performance.

With younger learners to the familiar tune of the Farmer's in his Den we created a Bonfire Night firework song - which will work really well for your firework celebrations fit for a King! Don't forget to make this a dance and a performance with different types of sounds and volumes for the colours .It really is very simple ..... but great fun!

FIREWORK SONG

To the tune of ‘The Farmer’s in his Den’

• Group the children into 5 groups by colour. 
•  Each group is to create an action in the style of a firework for their colour.  
• When they sing the song, the fun is in making the colour sound like a firework.
• Everyone joins in with ‘Fuegos artificiales’

  Los Fuegos Artificiales

Los fuegos artificiales

Los fuegos artificiales

İRojo, rojo, rojo , rojo!

Fuegos artificiales

Los fuegos artificiales

Los fuegos artificiales

İAzul  azul azul azul!

Fuegos artificiales

Los fuegos artificiales

Los fuegos artificiales

İVerde, verde, verde, verde!

Fuegos artificiales

Los fuegos artificiales

Los fuegos artificiales

İAmarillo, rillo,rillo!

Fuegos artificiales

Los fuegos artificiales

Los fuegos artificiales

İNaranja, ranja, ranja, ranja!

Fuegos artificiales

.

A celebration fit for a King.... second blog post.Bring something to eat and drink!

Last year for the Diamond Jubilee we created our own street party food and the ideas poured in from network schools and their creative children!

So this year why not spend a lesson looking at fresh and healthy Summer fruits and vegetables in the target language.
Play some simple memory, pelmanism and challenge games and then ask your children to select at least four items for their own party drink and party kebab create for the celebration fit for a King. 
Perhaps you could display these or ask children to speak about the ingredients in their creations!
Or even better why not make some of them and try them out! 

Create a kebab!

Create a fruit cocktail!

And then don't forget the celebration cake!
Hold a simple class survey about the decorations below and see which two decorations are the ones the class likes the most for their cake fit for a King! 

diamante de choclate

bolitas de colores

coronas de choclate

caramelos

fideos de chocolate (hundreds and thousands)

fresas

So all we need now is music,lights, a party game  and dancing...........................!

A celebration fit for a King...first blog post ! Party hats at the ready!

What an opportunity to have a Spanish street party to celebrate both the end of a school year and a year of learning Spanish and the coronation of a new King of Spain!

So how can we celebrate:

Let's first of all make sure we have our party hats ready for the party!

Source and look at pictures of hats  that people have worn on special celebration occasions. Ask about the colour and ask class to say which hat they like the best.

Turn the pictures of hats over and play a team guessing game ”¿De qué color es?”- you will need numbers on the back of the hats so they can say  for example “Dos, es azul”. Ask a team to guess the colour. Ask what colour the hat is that the class can see, when you reveal the hat . team keeps the hat if they got it right. 

Don't forget hats for the royal family! Follow this Spanish You Tube clip and find out how to make hats fit for a princess!You will need to pause the clip to allow the children to discuss what they see and record their English instructions too - if they want to write down the steps.

Don't forget a crown for the King!

You can create your own simple set of Spanish instructions to make the crown so simple from a paper plate from the  website link here

Or again you could watch this You tube Clip with the class and follow the simple instructions.

Or if you prefer the class can follow this You Tube clip with no words .... demonstrating how to make an Origami  paper hat.

And now you are ready for a class Spanish party hat game......!

Mi gorro tiene cuatro puntas

Mi gorro tiene cuatro puntas,

Cuatro puntas tiene mi gorro,

Si no tuviera cuatro puntas,

¡Ya no sería mi gorro!

• Practise the rhyme above with the class – can they link it to a rhyme they might know in English (My hat it has four corners , four corners has my hat
• Add actions for the  children to do every time the word “chapeau” -hat – is said  , for each number and an action to represent a corner.
• Practise the rhyme. Add the actions .
• Now repeat the rhyme and miss a key  action  word  out .The children should only do the action and not say the word .
• Repeat until all key action words have been replaced by just an action.

Create as street bunting for your celebration fit for a King, designer hat pictures with a Spanish twist .... in the style of Gaudi, Picasso or Juan Miro! 

Hang the bunting across your classroom for the duration of your celebrations.

Now what about the food?........

Steps and stages to the use of monolingual dictionaries

An interesting debate has started this morning on Twitter via @vallesco (find out more here) about children learning how to use monolingual dictionaries in target language learning in KS2 foreign language learning.Fascinating!


As with all things new and certainly in primary languages I think we need to unpack the sequence and stages of the skills required to use a monolingual dictionary. We need to consider the limitations of language and the stages of  skill development so that as many of the children as possible can use a monolingual dictionary in the target language successfully with limited confusion! 

It's surely about steps and stages! 

Do we need to learn from  primary colleagues approaches to introducing young learners to monolingual dictionaries in Literacy?Are there approaches and strategies we can copy and transfer to primary foreign languages and using a mono-lingual dictionary? 

I remember observing a KS1 Year 1 teacher working with the class on dictionary skills. she waited and timed the looking up of words at just  the right time. She supported children to make sure all children were engaged and could access new words and most of all she made it into a special quest... the start of a new  way of exploring words and finding words.

Well planned for steps and the stages in the skill development of accessing a target language mono lingual dictionary will support our learners from beginners to moving on to advanced learners.As a class primary languages' teacher you will know when to reinforce, move on etc and which content and contexts lend themselves to you revisiting the steps. Slow and sure steps,revisiting the activities,making activities games with a purpose will help to develop secure understanding and skills.

Step One (beginners- very limited language)

Seeing the target language word and identifying it non-verbally as the object or descriptive word or verb etc.Organising the words alphabetically .Able to recall target language words they want to define or find out more about  able to look up words alphabetically.

Why? Well isn't there a skill to seeing that the word has meaning and that the picture defines the meaning or helps us to understand the true meaning of the word and it's use in a sentence.Won't this enable the learners to see that as well as collecting vocabulary and content ,we are looking for reinforcement of what we think the meaning of a word or phrase or sentence may be?

How  can we help the children to achieve this first step? 
Here are a few suggestions that come to mind that work and are very familiar activities in the primary languages classroom to practise and learn vocabulary! 

Matching words and pictures

• playing games such as Splat as pair,table and class games 
• generating a Splat game of their own- where the children have to decide which words , which picture definitions and also perhaps which alphabetical order or pattern they want to lay out their game.

Developing dictionary skills with pelmanism card games 

• simple pair pelmanism games, where there has been prior discussion of how we make visual definition pictures in our heads of the meaning of words.
• a pelmanism card gallery- simply laying out the cards from the game above as word-picture and again encouraging the children to place the words in alphabetical order.
• a pelmanism card gallery challenge.Ask the children to turn over the picture cards- picture side down- and leave just the words in alphabetical order.Show the class a picture card. Can they recall the word, say it  and locate it? Which is the fastest and the slowest pair to do so?  

Word ladders

• constructing a velcro class ladder of target language nouns/adjectives/ verbs and pictures that the Year 3 (stage one learners) can access and arrange.Muddle them up at the end of the day and let the children try it again the following day.  
• an alphabetical velcro class ladder - with a mix of nouns,adjectives and verbs takes this a step further...simply add A at the top and Z at the bottom

Picture dictionaries

• target language picture dictionaries in the reading corner and accessed as table top books or for independent reading
• mini book picture dictionaries made by the children- in alphabetical order 
• lift the flap picture and noun/adjective /verb books constructed by the children and shared with others in the class- of course in dictionary alphabetical order!

Lightbulblanguages (@vallesco) have now created two mono-lingual picture dictionaries on numbers and colours with can be accessed on-line as a turning page book. Inspriation perhaps for your own class turn the page online dictionaries too? Take a look monolingual dictionaries in Spanish

Step Two (moving on learners- able to understand and use simple present tense sentences)

Looking up the target language word and being able to locate it alphabetically and understand a simple definition.

Why? May this help our learners to be able to describe an item for which they don't know the word? May it hep our learners to check spelling of the key word?

How  can we help the children to achieve this second step? 

Here are a few suggestions that come to mind that work! 

• Matching meaning:matching the nouns/adjectives and verbs with very simple present tense target language descriptions(for example we teach animals in Year 3 and animal noises ... so in at the end of year 3 or in Year 4 let's revisit familiar language creating simple descriptions)

e.g.

le chien  
il a quatre pattes et fait ouaf ouaf!

• Play this as a challenge game of  "The word in the corner" Give a table or a pair a  key description.Can they read it?Can they identify the target language word and locate it in one of the corners in the room where you have blu-tacked in each corner four or five key words.Each correct selection wins points!
• Now swap the activity around. Give the children key words and send them on a treasure hunt for meanings  to collect the meanings of the words that are posted around the room.  
• Make it a spoken challenge ....like Call my Bluff .Offer three descriptions and only one matches the key noun/adjective or verb.These can be very different descriptions where two are obviously wrong but as the children develop their knowledge of language, pop two descrptions in which are quite similar but only one is correct  

e.g.
le chien  
il a trois pattes et fait ouaf ouaf!

le chien  
il a quatre pattes et fait ouaf ouaf!

• Create Call my bluff flap books- three descriptions on top of flaps and only one flap reveals the picture of the noun/adjective /verb.This is a  pair to pair challenge - where one pair creates a call my bluff flap game for the other pair and vice versa. Share the flap books and the challenges with the whole class via a class display.
• Again increase the degree of challenge by asking the children to create three very similar descriptions but only one being exactly correct

Link this to wonderful story books where the children are posed a question and have to anticipate the key noun or adjective that is revealed under a flap or on the next page.

Step Three (advanced learners- UKS2 secure young language learners)

Looking up the target language word in a monolingual dictionary and being able to understand simple definitions and find out the grammatical information about that word to use it correctly).

Why?The children will have been using bi-lingual dictionaries to find words from English to the target language and for cross reference of words and will have been developing these skills throughout KS2. Now is the time to begin to share with the children the treasure trove of information about words that can be fond in a monolingual dictionary in the target language . they can make comparisons and see similarities between the mono lingual use of dictionaries in English communication and  in foreign language communication.

Maybe we need to start here with a monolingual child friendly picture dictionary that is context driven.....

...... before jumping off at the deep end and looking at monolingual dictionaries for children. Just one between the class allows the chldren to make the step between games to practise dictionary skills and applying skills to a monolingual dictionary.

Introduce the children to mono- lingual dictionaries, sharing a visual from a mono lingual dictionary on the big class screen or whiteboard.

Can the children help you by becoming "word spotters!"(The children may also need access to some bilingual dictionaries to support them to understand all the words in the definition) Circle the word being defined, underline the words we immediately recognise in the definition, nominate a bilingual referee - that's a child who checks  in a bilingual dictionary any key  words we struggle to understand in the monolingual dictionary definition. 

When the children are introduced as a whole class to the "class monolingual dictionary" which can be kept for reference alongside the other class dictionaries,again share by big screen or large copy a page .Go structure spotting. Identify and discuss other key points such as (plural in brackets) (gender and definite article)( how do we denote if the word is a noun/adjective or verb?).Keep a tally of how many verbs, nouns, adjectives you can see on the page.

Let's make our own!
Let's consolidate the skills and the specific format knowledge we now have .... 
alphabetical , 
short precise definitions, 
grammatical category identified
plural spelling shared

Can the children make their own mini books as mono-lingual dictionaries focusing on specific content e.g. clothes or food would be good content. 
Allow them to write very simple sentences using language they have met through their language learning career so far.

e.g

It has two sleeves and  buttons. I wear it when it's raining : rain coat 

or 

It has two sleeves. It is warm and woollen. I wear it when it is cold : jumper

Ask the children to make sure their monolingual dictionaries look the part! 

Is it alphabetical?

Can we see if the words are nouns,adjectives, verbs etc. Can they add the plural spelling .Add challenge....can they write an example sentence to explain the word's use?

Step Four (advanced learners, ready to move in to KS3)

Monolingual  dictionary explorers!

Looking up the target language word in a monolingual dictionary and being able to understand simple definitions and find out the grammatical information about that word to use it correctly and independently.

Your class is now ready to go off on an key word expedition to find key words and come back and share these with the class!

They must be set tasks to find a useful adjective, a useful  new noun and an exciting verb. 
Send them off to the monolingual dictionary in pairs or small groups in the reading corner.

Can they read the definitions? 

They must return from their expeditions with completed word cards that they have written out clearly- that have on them the nouns or adjectives or verbs as they found them in the dictionary, plus a separate card with the definition written out in the target language. 

Now they must act out the definitions and ask their class mates to read and match the key words and written descriptions from the visual performance they watch?
Can they then share a spoken sentence or a sequence of sentences that contain their noun, verb and adjective?

Real transition and next steps forward

This is probably a note to self and also a reference blog for a cluster of primary schools and one of their local high schools, who are working together to generate real and purposeful transition.
These are practical points from a real scenario.I think that is important to understand should you read on,as it's a record of what is really happening and can be achieved and a solution for one set of circumstances .Below is a link to a blog which shares links to other possible solutions ....

transition and possible ways forward

A real way forward 

Today I have had the pleasure of considering the Year 7 Autumn term and the resources that the secondary department started to use last year.During our shared cluster/dept meeting in spring it became obvious a review would help to maximise the resource.The HOD does not want to just go over old ground and wants to extend and challenge the new Y7 arrivals from KS2 in September but also wants to be secure that all pupils get the same start.I am certain that there are teachers out there who recognise this scenario too. 

Transition does not happen overnight. 
Today though in this transition project the momentum is gathering pace and the primary and secondary schools together are taking over the reins.
Great news!

It's taken us three years and then "some" to get to the point where there is not just dialogue but effective action to address what primary into secondary language learning is beginning to look like.The "then some" are the five or six years prior to this that the y practice local primary schools and myself have been working toward what good primary practice looks like in their individual schools and circumstances (staff, timetable, resources). You will also notice that I wrote "beginning to.." as  things will continue to change and the organic nature of change is important. The last three years have been crucial......

 In these three years there have been: 

• primary meetings of cluster teachers with myself
• feedback to the HOD
• meetings with the secondary staff with myself
• reviews of progress
• access to shared learning tools (the High School belong to our network and can access all the webiste materials and resources)
• shared emails 
• a "re-look" and changes to the  Autumn Year 7 materials at the High School
• discussion of materials with HOD and myself 
• sharing of Year 7 resources with Year 6 teachers
• year 6 performance and sketch project 
• year 7 taking the performance and sketch project and creating their own opportunities to develop and extend this
• shared department and cluster meeting with real examples from KS2 and real examples from Year 7 and 8 that sparked exciting dialogue and real commitment to see the links.
• a Summer 2014 Year 6 celebration project to be revisited and built upon in Year 7 Autumn first three weeks.... and don't forget the sketches from the sketch and performance project too!

It's not racing ahead. It's small sensible steps.It's not asking KS3 colleagues to approach language learning in a primary manner or to ask KS2 colleagues to set up listening comprehensions "secondary " style. It's been about fitting jigsaw puzzle pieces together and making room for additional pieces of the ever evolving picture..... It's getting exciting.

Reading this it may seem a naive blog but since the mid 1990s I have been working in both primary and secondary language learning. Each has it's own identity.What is required is a scaffold and someone to support the building of the scaffold. Different solutions will be needed for different local challenges and additional rungs and support keep on being required. KS3 does have the challenge of drawing together different primary school approaches etc but this happens or has happened across other subject areas too. 

So my review of Autumn Y7  today tells me that we don't necessarily need to throw the baby out with the bath water.That resources and approaches  in KS3 to meet the new POS requirements can fit alongside good primary practice.

How? Well,as always take simple strategic and achievable steps:

Next academic year KS3 needs to be (and some of this is already happening):

• Be aware of the contexts and content your KS2 colleagues deliver
• Understand how primary look at phonology - songs, rhymes, phonics activities
• Understand be aware of the stories and exposure to text
• Understand and be aware of primary creative outcomes and the writing that will take place
• Understand and build upon the learning tools such as games to develop recall, memory , participation, communication

Next academic year KS2 needs to promote(and some of this is already developing):

• the use of bilingual dictionaries
• understanding of basic grammar - nouns, adjectives and some common verbs
• the development of memory and recall
• quality exposure to the written word
• offer primary creative learning 
• provide a platform in year 6 to secondary language learning- through shared learning or reviews of prior knowledge and skills

So today we are at our next point in this evolving journey and what the first term in Year 7 can really look like from September 2014 within this cluster.

I have been able to identify with the HOD at the High School September's next steps:

• provide all year 7 staff next year with access to a brief resume of prior learning
• apply the shared knowledge of prior learning sensitively and intelligently to the Y7 Autumn term learning resources (knowledge gained from cluster meetings,emails,access to  JLN SOW)
• celebrate prior knowledge and skills and look for age appropriate revisiting and consolidation of learning through the spoken and  written word- familiar content in the existing secondary resources with unfamiliar twists! 
• encourage and support continued use of bilingual dictionaries to create independent learners
• continue to promote creative outcomes 
• support the pupils to access secondary style listening comprehensions and to identify and apply skills of listening they have been developing in KS2
• promote and encourage extended writing in age appropriate ways
• expect and support the pupils to use prior learning particularly using memory and recall and see the links with new knowledge
• have confidence to revisit and extend and also to move quickly through areas in which the pupils are very secure

Now we need to see what will happen next and how we will need to tweak , re-adjust and move on again next year!

Eye in the Sky Poems

This morning thanks to the BBC Twitter service I received the link to this wonderful hexacopter view of Brazil , the country and the football stadia!

T

ake a watch of the fantastic birds eye view of Brazil with the "Hexacopter"!

The link is below

Bird's eye view of Brazil

In our new KS2 POS we are required to encourage children to develop their ability to use bi-lingual dictionaries. I can see a purposeful opportunity here.

The ideas below are transferable so you may like to use a similar idea when the children watch a clip about a city , a school visit, another major sporting event such as the Tour de France.

Below are listed the sights and images I saw as I took the "Hexacopter Ride". 

trees,jungle,motor bikes, motorway, beach, sand, sea,monuments, boats, football pitch, stadium, footballers , lake, river, skyscrapers, city , factory,statue, boat ,

Going on a hexacopter ride

Before your children can take the hexacopter ride with you via the BBC link, ask the children to find out what a selection of the mystery nouns are in the target language.Write them clearly on your whiteboard with the correct definite article .

1. Select a maximum of 10 of these items ,depending on the age and stage of the language learners. Some of the images pass by very quickly and but some of them are repeated- so it's best if you watch the video first and decide what is best for your class.
2. Set the scene. Explain that the hexacopter takes you on a journey overhead and that this journey is across the country where the World Cup is taking place .What might they expect to see? Explain to the class how anticipation of the meaning of possible unfamiliar language can support understanding. 
3. Read through the nouns with the children. Can they use prior knowledge or clues such as cognates/ semi-cognates to determine the  meaning of the nouns?
4. Give out bilingual dictionaries -three to a table if possible.Each table should also be given three noun cards  from the list of images you have selected that they must locate in the bi-lingual dictionary. Ask a volunteer to remind the class in which part of the dictionary we will find the target language nouns and how we can then cross reference the meaning by finding the English meaning and checking for the correct target language noun.As there will be a cross over in nouns that tables have found , you will be able to take feedback and verify the most suitable/ correct meaning.
5. Give each table five of the key nouns.It';s up to them as you take the hexacopter journey to pick up and wave the noun that represents the image they can see!
6. Now give pairs a set of all the noun cards.Ask them to lay them out in front of them on the table.Give them chance to recall the meaning on the nouns.(You can differentiate the task by reducing the number of nouns or making sure that nouns are cognates/ semi-cognates). 
7. Now let the class take the hexacopter journey one more time.This time they need to create a ladder of the noun cards in front of them from top (first image they see)..... to bottom(last image they spot).
8. Ask the children to take a final hexacopter ride and to jot down on rough paper or mini whiteboards the colours they can see as they follow the hexacopter journey. They must try to write these in the target language.

• Take feedback from the children after the activity- what colours have they seen?Add this information to the class whiteboard or flip chart.
• Can the children link the colours to the nouns? If the children are at an advanced stage in their language learning can they identify how the spelling of the colour will need to change to match the gender of the noun(masc/feminine/neuter/singular/plural).

Making a performance with the music in the clip

Working as a table again ask the children to listen to the music used for the clip.They must decide how they can create a spoken rap or poem to the rhythm of the music, using the nouns and the colours they have identified in the clip.

Explain that the children need to write a poem/rap that they can say and perform with the clip and the music as their background.

Play the music and the clip as they work on their nouns, colours and rhythm to help them to make sure that their performance is in synch with the music etc. The children should name the images/items as they appear on the screen - so they need to make sure that what they write is in a correct order.

You can decide to have the clip on screen or just conceal the clip and have the music playing for the duration of each performance as this will once again increase or reduce the challenge.

Keeping a written memento of the hexacopter ride: a hexacopter poem

The children can then create their own hexacopter poem of the views of Brazil and the images and colours they have seem .A simple diagram like this allows the children to add their image nouns and colours and to insert a flag or picture of the country in the centre. 

Language Learning and Drama

Language Learning and Drama

Why do I think they link so well together?

I was trained as an English / Drama and MFL teacher in the 1980s. An unusual combination at the time that I have never regretted. My personal passion for theatre comes from my love of literature in all languages and my wonderful AS Level in Theatre Studies many moons ago! I always remember the power of the texts and performances. My A Levels (German, French and English Literature ) were made all the more vibrant by Theatre Studies and a clear message that Antigone wasn’t written in English , that Mother Courage didn’t speak English and that pantomime had its modern day European origins in Italian satire! I wanted to read the texts in their original language to find out more about how they should be interpreted!

Theatre, the Arts and communicating ideas to others through performance and setting up an emotional dialogue have always been a passion of mine. 

As a modern foreign languages’ NQT many years ago I had the good fortune to work with a Performing Arts Department in an inner city  secondary school.The exploration of text and film through performance and the challenge to link language learning to the sequences of learning activities developed was an amazing opportunity. I remember how we focused on a five minute introduction to a film and took it frame by frame…asking the children to describe, anticipate  , translate into dance , Art , music , drama and target language  communication what they could feel and see! The pupils had limited language skills and often in class didn’t see the relevance or point of French and German , but put in this new context they rose to the challenges set them and explored and produced creative performances with language elements. This steep learning curve has informed my language teaching ever since!  

You can probably realise from the statement above that I love to explore theatre and drama on an intellectual level but that through my love of teaching and learning I have seen how “Performing  Arts “ are such a powerful tool to harness in the realms of language learning

Performing Arts embraces Art, Dance, Music, Theatre, mime, Opera, Ballet etc.

We are set the challenge to introduce children to “great” literature so in my opinion we need to provide the children with the tools to explore and bring to life this literature.Drama and dramatic devices and the use of these as parts of language learning can help us provide both a support and a springboard for the children as we do this!   

As a Primary Languages AST sponsored by my secondary school’s Performing Arts Department I was allowed the freedom to explore the beneficial links between drama and language learning- and it’s not all “lovey dovey” as some people may fear! My findings were reinforced when in 2004 I became a Primary Strategy Consultant and worked alongside the primary literacy team to promote the use of role-play and drama in exploring texts with young children.

Drama and dramatic devices promote in language learning:

• Better and more confident communication skills
• Deeper and more reactive understanding of text
•  A purposeful reason to explore how to memorise and recall language
• An understanding of why intonation and pronunciation matter and how these can enhance character
• Importance of dialogue and actions
•  Inclusive participation
• Platforms upon which to develop independent creative writing
• Dialogue reinforcement 

In Key Stage One we are already promoting listening and joining in, participating and using actions to convey meaning. Take a look at these blogs (bear explorers, growing sunflowers with numbers  and pirates). The bogs may give you your ideas of ways to use drama and dramatic devices to explore language content.

In Key Stage Two we are looking at ways that we can develop links between drama and grammar to make the learning of grammar creative and physical and to engage the learners in such a way that the application of grammar is a memorable process.(Making a drama out of basic grammar can explain more!).The ideas are easily transportable to KS3 too.Work with a drama teacher can help KS3 MFL colleagues develop some creative reinforcement and performances of grammar points in the target language.

We work with Art (take a look at Matisse and the Cut Outs ) (3D Art Renoir) to explore language content and contexts and generate opportunities to develop creative performances that enhance the children’s language and context understanding.

We encourage children to explore language learning through the use of their bodies to generate creative performances (Here are two examples:  colour mimes and word association  and body parts and movement)

We have created a sequence of simple plays for the children to explore as both reading comprehensions where they need to add the stage directions once they have understood the text and where they also now need to add the performance to communicate the humorous meaning.

We are exploring the use of drama to engage with poetry. Take a look at the blog of a verse from a famous poem by Jacques Prévert to link with our UKS2  café theme drama and mystery in the cafe

Sometimes we take it much further and the use of dramatic devices linked with other ways of exploring the performing arts can generate a whole creative performance using target language text. Take a look here Physical Pop Up Poems

In Key Stage Three and beyond

In Key Stage 3 MFL teachers are required to explore authentic texts …once again drama and the use of dramatic devices can be ways to bring this to life for all learners. Some of the techniques promoted above n the KS2 blogs may help with this. From 1985 to 2002 as a secondary  MFL teacher dramatic devices such as freeze frames, conscience alley, mime, hot seating  all allowed the pupils to explore language learning and content purposefully.

Sketches and the use of drama allow language learning  to be exclusive from an enthusiastic performance of numbers ,names and feelings by Year 7 in a whole year group performance to a  Come Dine With Me sketch with Year 9 disillusioned low ability boys , drama was a means by which everyone could engage.

Finally at the start of this blog post I mentioned Mother Courage and still in my memory is the way my lower sixth were able to engage with Leben des Galilei because of the way we performed key dialogues and monologues….The preparation and though behind the performances led to improved use of German , questions about grammar that cleared up sticky points and an observation and accuracy of pronunciation and intonation…because just like my Drama teacher taught me , they wanted to convey their understanding of the  true meaning of the text!

Hope you enjoy finding your own links between language learning and drama and that you find them really useful effective motivators of young language learners!

Pirates Ahoy with Year 2

This half term with Year 2 we are exploring the theme of pirates ....linking this to the children's work on the coast and/or the seaside.

It's all going to be about "acting" and being "dramatic" and we are going to use simple well loved games and activities to do this:

Hide and Seek

Hot and Cold

Simon says (Pirate says..)

Beetle Drive

Splat

Joining in with songs

I

n Spanish we will learn the chorus to el pirata Barbaroja ....with actions of course!

In French we will listen and join in with "Voilà les pirates" !We will be listening out for the phrase "Voilà les pirates"...joining in and freeze framing as we hear it marching around the classroom and singing the chorus!

We will be describing pirates in games of Simon says (Pirate says), acting out the pirate's equipment and playing a good old fashioned Pirate Beetle drive. We will use this song 

el pirate valiente

 to help us with this in Spanish plus this wonderful poster of a " real " pirate from e-ducativa.catedu.es. Find out more 

here

In French we will use the t

ête 

à

 modeler website pirate fancy dress picture and instructions

here

We will listen to

le petit matelot

 and listen out very carefully for the pirate's clothes and equipment on the rhyme! As we hear the items we will pretend to put them on or hold them etc! And we will use this lovely rhyme with actions (see the PDF based on the story from  

la petite boule blanche

 si j'etais un pirate ... to become real pirates!

Once we are pirates then we need to hunt gold and collect our gold in our pirates' sacks! How will we do this ...?

Well we can hunt sounds and words.

We will hunt key nouns we have learned during the year by playing hot and cold or hide and seek ,looking for pictures on coins hidden around the classroom that represent the key words we know.And sometimes we will make this even more challenging for our pirates by hunting key sounds in the words represented by the pictures!