Assessment in 21st C Primary Schools

1) Read the following beginning, circle the words you don´t know

Two friends, Matias and Alejo were walking to the park from the school, it was a beautiful day and they hadn`t homework so they had the entire weekend for themselves to do whatever they wanted!

2) Continue the story. What are Matias and alejo going to do? Remember to use past tenses (Past simple/continuous and Past perfect)

3) Read the following sentences, put them in order

Got / The Park / font / has / a

4^th / Matias / alejo / were / at / grade / and

Chivilcoy / They / from / are

The / school / is / Normal School / Their

were / Joaquin / and / too / Camila / friends

The Learning Environment at a Primary School

The students, the teacher and me entered the classroom almost at the same time, but the students did it making a lot of noise with the same energy they had been using at the recess.

The classroom looked well, clean, with its walls decorated with posters, but it was not plenty of natural light or enough electric light instead.

In order to calm the students the TT counted to 3 and the class got silenced.

First of all the teacher asked for the pending work (an interview) so she collected the homework, then she asked for what they had learned in the last class. At that moment a pencil disappeared and Tt threatened the children by telling them that if the pencil did not appear they were going to be punished

When she went on with the class she erased the board and asked for the day of the week and for the weather and also for the mood of Ss and she wrote down what they said,

At 11.07 o’clock they started the activity on the class book that consisted in a listen and repeat activity in order to learn the pronunciation of words related with camping objects, also they wrote the words on the class book (some students had not the book in that day in particular)

During the class some students made disruptions because their bad behaviour and the teacher tried to solve the problem having success most of the time and continuing the class.

At the end of the class some children stayed there writing in their books and others went outside and everybody including the Tt seemed in a normal mood and with the same energy as usually.

What can we use to teach at primary school

Coursebook: Incredible English 1.

Grade: 3th

Unit 1: Hello, Mr Fixy!

Context and topics: Contextos de la vida cotidiana y escolar/Mi escuela y Mi familia.

I chose this unit with this context, because the activities are questions personal that also serve you for life in school and in everyday life.

Unit 2: The school show.

Context and topics: Contextos de la vida cotidiana y escolar/Mi familia y Mi hogar.

I chose this unit with this context, because the guys learn the family members through questions such as who is this, also through images of people learn to ask who they are. kids also can provide information about the members of the family.

Unit 3: The Pic Nic.

Context and topics: Contextos de la vida cotidiana y escolar/Mi familia y Mis amigos.

I chose this unit with this context, because the boys learn to describe belongings through food and drinks, also learn how to use the appropriate language with his friends request, thanks and apologies.

Unit 4: The toy cupboard.

Context and topics: Contextos de contenidos escolares/El espacio.

I chose this unit with this context, because  the boys learn to give information about the location of toys in a space such as the House, also learn specific the questions as for example where is my, it is here.

Unit 5: Puppets.

Context and topics: Contextos de contenidos escolares/Las actividades humanas.

I chose this unit with this context, because  the boys learn to name and describe the parts of the body through puppets and with questions as it is got red hair, it is got long hair.

Unit 6: At the farm.

Context and topics: Contextos de contenidos escolares/Los seres vivos.

I chose this unit with this context, because  the boys learn to talk about likes and dislikes through animals and with questions as i like / i don´t like / do you like.

Unit 7: At the park.

Context and topics: Contextos de contenidos escolares/Los seres vivos.

I chose this unit with this context, because  the boys learn to talk about outdoor activities with actions of them and animals. for example i can/i can´t / actions (run, jump).  

Unit 8: Clothes.

Context and topics: Contextos de contenidos escolares/Las actividades humanas.

I chose this unit with this context, because the boys learn to describe clothing used with items like t-shirts, jeans and with questions such as for example i´m wearing. 

Unit 9: House and home.

Context and topics: Contextos de contenidos escolares/La organización social.

I chose this unit with this context, because the guys learn geographic coordinates and the places of the town, through questions such as for example where´s/where is it in map 1. images are also used with maps of a town with different parts of the town as such house/park/cinema; etc.

Coursebook: Incredible English 2

Grade: 4th

Unit 1 - New friends
Context and topic: Contextos de la vida cotidiana y escolar - Mis amigos/Mi escuela

I match this unit with this context and topics because it is about friends. The unit teaches to the children how to name and describe their friends.

Unit 2 - The treehouse
Context and topics: Contextos de la vida cotidiana y escolar- Mi día a día. Contextos de contenidos escolares- Actividades humanas

I match this unit with this two contexts and topics because it describes activities done by children like for example naming different objects in the treehouse in a regular day.

Unit 3 - Come and play
Context and topics: Contexto de la vida cotidiana y escolar - Yo/Mis amigos/Mi día a día

I match this unit with this context and topic because it describes a day playing outside with friends.

Unit 4 - At the wildlife park
Context and topics: Contextos de contenidos escolares - Los seres vivos

I match this unit with this context and topic because it describes a day in a wildlife park observing different kinds of animals.

Unit 5 - At the shop
Context and topics: Contextos de contenidos escolares - Las actividades humanas

I match this unit with this context and topics because it describes a day in a shop. Children are buying things and learning about how a bunisess works.

Unit 6 - Lunchtime
Context and topics: Contextos de la vida cotidiana y escolar - Yo/Mi día a día/Mis amigos

I match this unit with this context and topics because it describes a tipical lunch with friends. It teaches the children about different types of foods.

Unit 7 - At the fair
Context and topics: Contextos de la vida cotidiana y escolar - Mi día a día

I match this unit with this context and topic because it describes a day in the fair for the children. They learn about different games and how things work there.

Unit 8 - At home
Context and topics: Contextos de la vida cotidiana y escolar - Yo/Mi familia y hogar/Mi día a día

I match this unit with this context and topics because it talks about houses. Children learn different things about their homes and how to describe different places there.

Unit 9 - At the pool
Context and topics: Contextos de la vida cotidiana y escolar - Yo/Mi día a día/Mis amigos

I match this unit with this context and topics because it talks about a regular summer day in the pool with friends.


Coursebook: Incredible English 3
Grade: 5

Unit 1 - Hello, kids!
Context and topic: Contextos de la vida cotidiana y escolar / Mi dia a dia

I match this unit with this context because the activities given on it helps the child to know how to do common tasks everyday like Tell the time, Ask for objects and food and how to introduce themselves.

Unit 2 - Saturday morning
Context and topic: Contextos de contenidos escolares / Las actividades humanas

This unit shows activities of writing and description of some objects which are used in sports and manual tasks and also teaches the human feelings, clothes and colours.

Unit 3 - Camping
Context and topic: Contextos de contenidos escolares / Yo

In this unit children learn how to write about themselves, describe the things they have, their abilities and what they like to do.

Unit 4 - Looking at animals
Context and topic: Contextos de contenidos escolares / Los seres vivos

In this unit The animals are the protagonist. The Students has to classify animals into different categories, listen to speeches in order to paint a draw with the right colour and also they learn the characteristics of some animals like Insects, etc

Unit 5 - At the supermarket
Context and topic: Contextos de contenidos escolares / Mi dia a dia

I chose this context to match with this unit because the children learn about the price of things at a supermarket and also about food.

Unit 6 - Our town
Context and topic: Contextos de la vida cotidiana y escolar / Mi ciudad

In this unit the students learn to say the position of important places in a town and describe objects in images.

Unit 7 - At the sports centre
Context and topic: Contextos de contenidos escolares / Las actividades humanas

This unit presents a list of sports that are practised at a sport centre, the students has to read and understand the information given in order to answer some questions, also they learn more basics maths.

Unit 8 - Uncle Bill
Context and topic: Contextos de la vida cotidiana y escolar / Mis amigos

This unit shows a couple of activities to read, write and listen about our friends, where they are from, what they like to do, etc.

Unit 9 - The circus
Context and topic: Contextos de contenidos escolares / Las actividades humanas

In this unit the focus is on things that acrobats and clowns do at a circus, so in the activities the child has to match pictures with actions like a Cartwheel, a somersault, etc. Write the parts of the body and recognise information in posters.


Coursebook: Incredible English 4
Grade: 6th

Unit 1 - Playing outdoors
Context and topic: Contextos de la vida cotidiana / Mi día a día / Actividades humanas / Los cambios de la naturaleza

I match this unit with those contexts because the activities given are all related to doing sports and different activities outside; such as football, go camping, tennis, surfing, and more. Also, as the unit refers to everything related to being outdoors, it is included the various kinds of weather too (rainy, sunny, cloudy, etc.)

Unit 2- Art
Context and topic: Actividades humanas / Mi pais / yo

I match this unit with those contexts because the unit is all about different types of art (paintings, music, sculptures, etc.) and  the differences from one country to another. It also has vocabulary to express the child´s own abilities (I can sing/ I know how to play the piano)

Unit 3 - Health
Context and topic: Yo / Mi día a día / Actividades humanas

I match this unit with those contexts because it talks about what it takes to have a healthy life and as well as vocabulary about different pains one may have, such as headaches, getting sick, feeliong dizzy, etc. It also teach the students some methods to know whether you are healthy or not, and names  healthy aliments (fruits and vegetables in general).

Unit 4 - On the farm
Context and topic: Los seres vivos/Actividades humanas/Mi país

I match this unit with those contexts because, as the unit is all farm related, there is planty of vocabulary regarding animals (farm animals, such as cows, horses, chickens, etc,), plants (vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, letucce, pumpkins) and people (the farmer, for example), and what kind of products does farms provide. I included "Mi pais" because teachers can ask about the diferent type of crops in the farms all over the country.

Unit 5 - Animal life
Context and topic: Los seres vivos/Mi país

I match this unit with those contexts because in this unit students will learn about different types of animals that come from different places and have special characteristics (Lions, jiraffes, rhynos, zebras, crocodiles), and even maybe from their own country.

Unit 6 - Safety
Context and topic: Mi día a día/ Mi barrio/La organización social

I match this unit with those contexts because it focuses on the rules that people must follow within a society (respect the traffic lights, use helmet if you are riding a motorbike, know what the traffic sings mean, etc.) All that knowledge will be very usefull for the students who will be constantly dealing with rules outside their houses. Also, it says what to do and not to do in order to be a better cityzen.

Unit 7 - At school
Context and topic: Mi escuela / Yo

I match this unit with those contexts because this unit is all about school vocabulary (chalk, classroom, teacher, backpack, pencil, etc.) , their subjects (Maths, Art, History, etc.), their pros and cons, how to express the students preferences in one subject or their lacks in another, and whether the students have a favourite one or not.

Unit 8 - Underwater life
Context and topic: Los seres vivos / Mi país

I match this unit with those contexts because it is focused on the animals which live underwater (Sharks, octopuses, fish, whales, etc.) Teachers can specify which of all the underwater fauna are the most commo in the countrym and in which part are located as well. In the unit it will also say parts of the landscape, such as rivers, lakes, mountains, the sea and the coast.

Unit 9 - Technology
Context and topic: Mi día a día / Mi familia y mi hogar

I match this unit with those contexts because the vocabulary given in the unit is well known by children nowadays. For example, Tvs are very common in every children´s house, as well as computers, cellphones, cameras, and more. Students will easily relate with the subject, as they practically are surrounded by technology, in their house, at school, and everywhere.

There is no information of what resources the teachers are using in 1st and 2nd because they write their own activities.
Authors: Juan Cruz Villegas, Emilio Delvilano, Angel Berretta, Nicolas Latanzi

What Do EFL Teachers Teach?

For this post I went to see two different English classes at Ep 68 one of them in 6th grade and the other in 4th grade

On day 1 at 6 grade I saw the activities they did that consisted in their book "Incredible English" after the lesson I spoke with the teacher about how she knows what to teach and about the coursebook, She explained to me that She chooses the content by reading the Curricular Design. also she gets some ideas by attending to your courses but in fact she is able to decide what she wants to teach.

English Curricular Design for Primary School

About the coursebook this teacher follows them but she add activities that she writes or from another sources, the students could get an original book and also there is available a photocopy of it

Incredible English

On day 2 at 4th grade the activity consisted in a listening from the audio provided with the coursebook because Incredible English comes with a Cd which has audio material that is necessary to complete some activities in the book.

The coursebook was chosen just because it has lot of useful activities so the teachers at Ep 68 agreed to use the same book (almost for 4, 5 and 6th grade at morning I guess)

That´s all folks!

The Daily Lesson Plan

I went to see two different classes in different day and different classroom, one observation was in 4 A and the another one in 6 A

The Class on Tuesday 7 started singing a song to say hello (This is the way I say hello I say hello I say Hello) then They wrote in the blackboard the date and how the weather is

First They checked the homework which was about wrong answers to how much objects are in a picture so the students had to write the correct answer Ex: It´s got 2 Flowers (but really there are 3 flowers in the picture) so the real answer is No, It´s got 3 Flowers, but the students could also write a negative sentence for example: It hasn´t got 10 Flowers.

After that the first activity of the day was on page 17 of their workbook, the activity was to take an eraser and put it in different places of a picture and write a sentence of where the eraser is for example: "The eraser is in the box"

I can say that in this class The Teacher had taught using topics from the context "Vida cotidiana y escolar" and they are studying the syntax of questions and answers through tasks like making connection between pictures and text, the teacher had not a Libro de Temas, She does a simple list with the activities of the day and in this class the time was not enough to complete all the activities so the teacher said to me that She will does those activities next class.

Example of a Map Grid.

On Friday 10 on 6 A We worked with activities from their book, first The Students did an activity which consisted on The Teacher asking for places in a map so the Students had to answer which the waypoint information from a grid then the same activity was done between the students.

Next activity consisted in some questions by the Teacher asking for places to do different activities (Swim, A Picnic, etc) and the Students had to recommend to her a place (the Beach, Park, etc) and again the activity was done between students without help.

The final activity was to write some sentences in the notebook.

In this class I asked again for the Libro de Temas but again there´s only a list of activities, in this class the context was again Vida cotidiana y escolar and they learned doing interviews, using pictures, translating information and simulating real situations.

School Culture at EP 68

In our building we can found four educational levels working in the same place, I mean the kindergarten, primary school, secondary school and of course the TTC or the tertiary level also is here

In my visit on May 18 I came to the school at the first hour in the afternoon, I met the headmaster of EP and I met the teacher of 4 B Maria M Clavin.

First We waited for all the students were inside and in place to greet the headmaster and the teachers, then I went with the teacher to the classroom where the students had been waiting for us, Maria Marta introduced me to her students, she explained to them that I´m a student too and I was there to watch the class because I was writing for an assignment.

When The teacher done writing the name of the students They started to remember what They were doing in the last class speaking English all as possible, sometimes asking about the meaning of certain words (What is it? /Yes, very good!)

We started with the first activity listening and singing a song (My Treehouse) We did it two times to understand all the song, then We sang the song again without the music.

When this activity was completed, The teacher started with another one, now the students has to write the name of things what are in the song using pictures. When The Students done in their books They checked their answers in the whiteboard.

In order to what I saw I could say the duration of the class normally is enough to complete two activities, the behaviour of the children is good because The teacher did not had to pause the class most of one time for a bad behaviour or anything and the classes most of the time are nice and funny and the students in 4 B enjoy learning English with fun activities like songs.

So that is what I can tell you about my adventure and some of the School Culture at EP 68

Thanks!

Best Program for Teaching English to Young Learners

I think that the most important for a young learner is learn progressive and with not much difficult because They are in the first stage of learning, so I prefer for the children the FLES programs in order to give them the most important knowledge even though the immersion programs and two ways programs are the best option to gain more important English skills these should be options you can choose.


How kids would learn English

They would have English as a subject in the same way like maths or literature, having 4 hours per week, exams every month and special classes for example with a educational exit to some place where people speak English or any place and speak english between them.

Teacher's training

They should be capable to teach English speaking in order to use it in the most common way, They also have to use the whiteboard but giving the same importance to speaking and writing.

Teachers also should be trained to know that the most important thing is to never stop searching resources and always learn the most new educational methods.

Children using an educational software
in an interactive whiteboard

Resources

I think that it is the most important to make classes more interesting and useful, some resources can be for example: movies,English speech audio clips or interactive whiteboard content.

Thank you!