Pre & Primary Teacher Training

Phase – 3

Lesson Planning and Instructional Strategies

What is a lesson plan?

A lesson plan is a teacher's detailed description of the course of instruction for an

individual lesson. A daily lesson plan is developed by a teacher to guide class instruction.
Planning the material is much more difficult than delivering the lessons. Planning is when
you look at the curriculum standards and develop the content that match those standards
you also have to take into consideration the needs of the children you are planning for.
Luckily, textbooks that are adopted for your subject areas are typically written with this in
mind. All details should be written down to assist the smooth delivery of the content. The
extent of the detail will vary depending on the number of years of experience that the
teacher has and the number of times he/she has taught the lesson. Obviously, an instructor
with several years of experience may have plans that are much less detailed than beginning
teachers. There will be requirements mandated by the school system that employs you
regarding your responsibilities.

Certain key issues must be addressed when planning a lesson:

 Subject title
 Date
 Class
 Topic
 Context
 Learning objectives
 Resources
 Activities
 Differentiation

1
  Contribution to core skills (numeracy, literacy etc....)
 Homework
 Confidential information.

Developing a lesson plan

While there are many formats for a lesson plan, most lesson plans contain some or all of
these elements, typically in this order:

 Title of the lesson

 Time required to complete the lesson

 List of required materials

 List of objectives, which may be behavioural objectives (what the student can do at
lesson completion) or knowledge objectives (what the student knows at lesson
completion).

 In a language class a warmer is required before the context setting. A warmer is

usually a stirrer to energize the class or a settler to help the students to settle down
and focus on the lesson that is going to be taught.

 The context setting (or lead-in, or bridge-in) that focuses students on the
lesson's skills or concepts—these include showing pictures or models, asking
leading questions, or reviewing previous lessons.

 An instructional component that describes the sequence of events makes up the

lesson, including the teacher's instructional input and guided practice. The students
can try the new skills or work with the new ideas.

 Independent practice or recapitulation that allows students to extend skills or

knowledge on their own

 A summary is where the teacher wraps up the discussion and answers questions

2
  An evaluation component is a test for mastery of the instructed skills or concepts—
such as a set of questions to answer or a set of instructions to follow

 Analysis component is what the teacher uses to reflect on the lesson itself —such as
what worked, what needs improving

 A continuity component reviews and reflects on content from the previous lesson

(Kindly follow the mentioned steps when you are planning a lesson for your assignment)

A format for a Pre-primary lesson plan

TEACHER’S LESSON PLAN-1

Please use this format for all lesson plans using equipment handling.

LESSON PLAN NO: DATE:

NAME OF THE TEACHER: TEACHER’S SIGNATURE:

NAME OF THE ACTIVITY:

MATERIAL DESCRIPTION

AGE GROUP:

NO. OF STUDENTS

NATURE OF ACTIVITY

NATURE OF ACTIVITY POINT OF

INTEREST:

CONTROL OF ERROR

LANGUAGE:

DIRECT AIMS:

3
LESSON PLAN- 2

Please use this format for all lesson plans which does not involve equipment handling (e.g.
storytelling, art and craft, etc.)

LESSON PLAN NO: DATE:

NAME OF THE TEACHER: TEACHER’S SIGNATURE:

NAME OF ACTIVITY:

MATERIAL REQUIRED:

HOW IT WILL BENEFIT THE CHILD:

RELEVANT EXPERIENCES:

AGE:

NATURE OF ACTIVITY:

TIME AVAILABLE:

PRESENTATION:

A well-developed lesson plan

A well-developed lesson plan reflects interests and needs of students. It incorporates best
practices for the educational field. The lesson plan correlates with the teacher's philosophy
of education, which is what the teacher feels is the purpose of educating the students. A
broad, thematic lesson plan is preferable, because it allows a teacher to create various
4
research, writing, speaking, and reading assignments. It helps an instructor teach different
subjects and incorporate videotapes, films, and television programs. Also, it facilitates
teaching literature and English together. School requirements and a teacher's personal
tastes, in that order; determine the exact requirements for a lesson plan.

Unit plans follow much the same format as a lesson plan, but cover an entire unit of work,
which may span several days or weeks. Modern constructivist teaching styles may not
require individual lesson plans. The unit plan may include specific objectives and timelines,
but lesson plans can be more fluid as they adapt to student needs and learning styles.

Setting an Objective

The first thing a teacher must do is decide on the lesson plan's focus. The teacher creates
one idea or question they want the students to explore or answer. Next, the teacher creates
classroom activities that correlate with the established idea or question. This includes
individual and group activities. Having established these activities, the teacher identifies
what language arts skills the lesson plan must cover. After the teacher completes these
activities, they must ensure the lesson plan adheres to the best practices used in language
arts. This includes conducting research on what teaching methods result in a high success
rate for students. The teacher must ensure the lesson plan goals are compatible with the
developmental level of the students. The teacher must also ensure that the student
achievement expectations are reasonable.

Selecting lesson plan material

A lesson plan must correlate with the text book the class uses. The school usually selects the
text books or provides teachers with a limited text book choice for a particular unit. The
teacher must take great care and select the most appropriate book for the students.

5
Types of Assignments

The instructor must decide whether class assignments are whole-class, small groups,
workshops, independent work, peer learning, or contractual:

 Whole class—the teacher lectures to the class as a whole and has the class
collectively participate in classroom discussions.

 Small groups—students work on assignments in groups of three or four.

 Workshops—students perform various tasks simultaneously. Workshop activities

must be tailored to the lesson plan.

 Independent work—students complete assignments individually.

 Peer learning—students work together, face to face, so they can learn from one
another.

Contractual work—teacher and student establish an agreement that the student must
perform a certain amount of work by a deadline.

Few samples of lesson plan will aid in understanding

Lesson Plan for Pre – Primary

Name of the Teacher : Date:

Age Group :4-5 years Number of Students :24

Material(s) used: 1) A medium sized doll

Name of the activity: The Parts of 2) A video link to the song, “Head, shoulders, knees and
a Human body. toes…knees and toes” :

3) A PowerPoint presentation.

6
How it is going to benefit the child? :

1) Introduction to the Human Body by showing them a cute little doll to attract their
attention.
2) To be able to identify their body parts with the help of a video link to the song that is
a fun way of learning.
3) Recapitulation with the help of a power point presentation

Presentation:

1) The teacher can get a fair understanding of the awareness that the class has, about The
parts of a human body by showing them a cute medium sized doll and pointing to the eyes
first and asking them to name the body part.

Teacher: pointing to the eyes of the doll, “what is this, children?”

Kids : “ Eyes”

Then the teacher points at the head of the doll.

Teacher : pointing to the head of the doll, “ what is this children?”

Kids : “ Head”

Similarly, the teacher now points to the nose and waits for them to answer again and
eventually points to the other parts like the ears, hand, shoulders, knees, toes and mouth. The
whole process of showing a doll will get these little ones attracted to the subject and also
helps the shy children in the class to interact as it is a fun way to get them involved.

2) Next, the teacher will ask the students to stand up as they are going to sing a song and
also ask them to point to their body parts while singing. The song “head, shoulders,
knees and toes…knees and toes” will be played and the children sing along. This is a
fun way of learning as it involves audio-visual method of learning.

7
Recapitulation: The teacher will now inform the students that they are going to watch a video.
She will make it more interesting for the kids by asking the question “Kids, are you ready to
watch it?” and the kids answer with a loud “Yes ma’am”. The teacher will now show the
Power point presentation and notice that the kids answer the questions very confidently as
they are now familiar with the topic.

NOTE: The Power point presentation can be showed again if required and if there is still some
time left.

Name of the Teacher : Date:

Age Group : Number of Students :

3-4 years old 8-10

Material(s) used:

1. Shapes Flashcards
Name of the activity :
2. Shapes PPT
Introduction to basic shapes ( Circle, Square,
3. Shapes worksheet
Triangle, rectangle, Oval, Heart, Star and
4. Shapes Sensory poster
Diamond)
5. Shapes Song (video Clip)

6. Shapes cards

How is it going to benefit the child?

At the end of the lesson, the child should be able to:

1. Name the shapes

2. Recognize the shapes of the different objects around

8
Presentation:
1. The teacher will sing a song on ‘shape’ and encourage the children to participate.

2. The teacher first introduced to the class ‘shapes’ using flashcards. The teachers will
show a flashcard for each shape and tell the name of the shape. The students then
repeat the name of the shape. The class will then repeat the name 3 times while
clapping each time they tell the name of the shape.

3. The teacher will then use the PPT and ask the students if the objects in each slide are
the same as the shape? At the same time, the teacher and the class will repeat the
name of the shape. This step will ensure that the students understand that objects
around us are in various shapes.

4. The class will be divided in two groups and one group will work with the Class
teacher and another with the assistant teacher.

5. The first group of students will work with one teacher on the simple worksheet with
the help of their class teacher. The worksheet involves matching the shape to an
object of the same shape.

6. The other group of students will work with the assistant teacher. The teacher will
use the shapes poster and let each child run their fingers on the textured edge of the
shape while repeating the name of the shape.

7. Once each group of students have completed their task, the group will swap and do
the other activities.

Recapitulation;
1. To summarize, the class will watch and sing the shapes song together.

2. To end the class, the students are divided into two groups and each group is given a
shapes card. The objective is to find the person with the matching card in the other
group. The first pair who matches together is the winner. This game is repeated a
couple of times with students being given different cards each time.

9
 Lesson Plan for Primary

Name of Teacher: Date:

Topic: Changing water Subject: EVS

Level/ Class: 6 No of students: 20

Time: 40 minutes

Teaching aids:
Charts, work sheets, models, kettle, beaker, Bunsen burner, water, iced cream, iced block, board,
thermometer and lighter.

Aims of lesson:

(a) Main focus/ Target to be achieved: To be able to demonstrate how matter is changed from one
state to another.
(b) General aim: By the end of the lesson, students will understand the nature of matter in its
various forms.

Concept introduced:

Water can exist in different forms; solid, liquid and gas. At 0o C/F water freezes and becomes solid. At
100o C / 212 o F water boils and changes into vapour (gas).

Vocabulary/ New words introduced:

Melting, freezing, boiling, condensation, evaporation.

10
 Recapitulation: Water is a liquid form of matter.
- Water can exist in 3 different forms; iced block (solid), water (liquid), water vapour (gas)
- Iced block to water is melting
- Water to iced block is freezing
- Water to vapour is boiling
- Vapour to water is condensation

Time Activity Student’s activity/ Anticipated

Teacher’s activity
Allotted Planned Responds Problems

1. Brainstorm students to 1. Students listen to Teacher’s voice

come out with what the teacher as he/she may not be
three states of matter are asks questions. audible enough
to be heard by
2. Ask students to give some 2. Respond by giving
everyone in the
examples of solid, liquid expected answers as
5 Review of class.
and gas. solid, liquid and gas.
minutes previous lesson

3. Solid: Pen, pencil,

book.
Liquid: Water, fruit
juice.
Gas: Air, vapour, oil.

1. Students identify the Flash cards may

Drill words for students to know words on flash not be so eligible
5 the terminologies involved in cards. to attract
Flash cards
minutes
the lesson. student’s
2. Repeat words after
attention.
teacher.
5 Teaching about 1. Show to students iced 1. Students observe The teacher’s
minutes changing state block/ cream removed from while teacher display may not

11
 of matter. fridge. Guide students to displays iced block be seen/
identify the state of matter and iced cream. observed by
of iced block/ cream. students seating
2. Students expected
at the back of the
Freezing of water takes answer will include
laboratory.
place at 0 oC or 32 oF. melting.

2. Ask students to observe 3. Iced block is a solid

what happens to the iced which later melt into
block/ cream. liquid.

3. Let students say what they

have observed.

Put an amount of water in a Students observe the Teacher’s leading

beaker and onto a Bunsen thermometer reading as questions during
burner and heat. the water is being the experiment/
heated and record their demonstration
Place a thermometer in the
reading. may not be so
water in the beaker. Guide
clear.
students to observe the Students observe and
temperature reading on the later infer that they can
Teaching about
13 thermometer and record their see water vapour.
changing states
minutes reading in a table (see appendix
of matter Water (liquid) has
1).
changed into vapour
Let students observe boiling (gas).
which takes place at 100 oC /
Water vapour (gas)
212 oF.
changes into liquid, this
Let students observe the water is condensation.
vapour coming out of the
boiling water. The water vapour

12
 evaporates.

Cover beaker with a lid for

about 1 minute.

Remove cover and show the

surface of cover which came
into contact with the vapour to
students. Let them explain their
observation.

Give worksheet to students to Students receive work

10 answer questions based on the sheets and answer
Evaluation
minutes
lesson taught. questions as instructed.

Appendix 1

Time / minutes Temperature / oC

13
 Work sheet

Fill in the blank lines with the words from the box.

Melting boiling condensation evaporation freezing

1. _____________________ is when liquid water turns into ice.

2. _____________________ is when ice turns into liquid water.

3. _____________________ is when water vapour turns into liquid water.

4. _____________________ is when liquid water slowly dries up and turns into water
vapour.

5. _____________________ is when liquid water is heated to a high temperature and

quickly turns into water vapour.

Fill in the blanks with a temperature from the box.

6. Liquid water quickly turns into water vapour at _____________ Fahrenheit or

________________ Celsius.

7. Liquid water turns into a solid at ______________ Fahrenheit or ________________

Celsius.

8. Explain how melting is different from freezing.

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________

14
 Answers for worksheet

1. Freezing

2. Melting

3. Condensation

4. Evaporation

5. Boiling

6. 212o or 100o

7. 32o or 0o

8. Melting is changing solid substance to liquid.

Freezing is changing liquid substance to solid.

Lesson plan for: Primary

Topic: Parts of the plants Subject: Science

Level/class: 3rd grade No. of students:20-25

Time:35-45 Minutes

Teaching aids:
 Package of seeds
 Parts of the plant diagram
 Parts of the plants activity sheet
 Scissors
 Crayon
 Glue

Aims of the lesson:

(a)Main focus/Target to be achieved: Students will identify parts of the plants and how they
grow.

(b)General aim:
 Students will get knowledge of plants and their parts.

15
  What plants need to grow?
 They learn the basic function of each part of the plant.
 And describe the plants in their words.

Concepts introduced:
 Photosynthesis
 How to plant a seed

Vocabulary/new words introduced:

 Photosynthesis
 Sunlight
 Roots
 Stem
 Leaves
 Flowers
 Soil
 Air
 Seeds

Time Activity Teacher’s activity Student’s activity Anticipated

allotted planed problems
Arrangement of a short activity in which The students
(from the
5 minutes Warmer the students would be given chits of enjoyed the
teacher’s
session papers where the students would write activity as they
point of view)
three Statements/information which are played the game
true or false. by following the
instruction of the
This should be done in pairs where both
question.
the students would come up and hold the
paper in front of them and read it aloud
by moving around in the classroom. They

16
 will let the other students guess if the
statement is.

5 minutes Tell students about what they are going Teacher’s

to learn today and ask students what instructions

are not clear
they know about plants

Draw a plant with all the parts of the The students are Teacher is
plant and also sun. Mark the parts of the drawing the writing on the
plant. Write the words that are new to different parts of board and so
the students by the side of the board. the plants by students get
following the distracted
The teacher also instructs the students in
teacher. very easily,
the meanwhile to draw a plant by
they start to
following the teacher so that they might
talk, fight,
not lose attention.
move from
their place.
The teacher
must become
careful and try
to engage the
students into

17
 a kind of
drawing
session.

10 Keep a Explain kids about plant and their To see and

minutes potted parts(roots, stem, Leaves etc.) The understand the
plant in teacher requested the students to match plant and try to
the up the parts of the real plant with the identify the parts
classroom one they have drawn. of the plant.
and ask
the
students
to identify
the parts
of the
plant.

18
15 Explain kids about how plants grow, The students It is difficult to
minutes were happy to always have
what they need to grow like sun
see the colourful the attention
Light, water. flashcards. of the
students; they
The teacher now showed the students They all learnt the
get bored very
flashcards of light water and sun. parts of the plant
easily…they
by playing the
Now she said that it is the time to do a need to be
roles assigned by
small activity based on the lesson plan. given some
their teacher.
The teacher divided the students into activity to get
groups and arranged a role play by back to the
assigning them the role of different parts lesson.
of a plant. In this way the functions of
the different parts of the plant were
discussed and learnt.

19
10minute Place the Make the students to recall what they Try to identify the
pictures of plants and also
learnt by giving them some worksheets
different their parts.
which comprised of pictures to colour
types of
and fill in the blanks like work out The worksheets
plants.
exercise. were done
seriously by the
At last a song was sung.
students which

I took a little seed one day were evaluated

About a month ago. by the teacher

I put it in a pot of dirt, finally at the end

In hopes that it would grow. of the class.

The song was

I poured a little water
sung.
To make the soil right.
I set the pot upon the sill,
Where the sun would give it light.

I checked the pot every day,

And turned it once or twice.
With a little care and water
I helped it grow so nice.

20
Lesson Plan for Communicative English class

Topic: Different Professions (Role-play)

Age group: 7-8 years

Class Duration: 35-40 minutes

Language level: Elementary

Objectives: To foster students’ speaking skills in the primary classroom by creating a ‘real-
life’ communication setting.

Warmer (5minutes):

The teacher gathers all the children for the Pictionary game. She prepares a bunch of words
and puts them in a bag prior to this activity and splits the class into 2 teams and draws a line
down the middle of the board. One team member from each team is given a pen and asked
to choose a word from the bag. The students are told to draw the word as a picture on the
board and encourage their team to guess the word. The first team to shout the correct
answer gets a point. The student who has completed drawing is instructed to nominate
someone else to draw for their team. The game is repeated until all the words are done.

Context setting (3minutes):

The teacher shows a video from YouTube on the different kinds of professions in
alphabetical order. During the video, the names are listed on the board. Then, a few more is
elicited from the children and written against the alphabets. The teacher should be ready
with a list so that she can give children clues and they can guess the professions. For
example: A- acrobat, B- basketball player, C- Car mechanic, D- dentist, etc…

21
Lesson Delivery:

Activity Duration Method

Form 3 groups of 5 2minutes Each person in the class gets an object

(assuming there are 15 kids and they have to find their group based
in class) through a game on this. The 3 themes for the role play
are: Doctor’s clinic, Ice cream vendor in
park and Shopkeeper and customer.

There will be 5 objects for each theme-

e.g. Doctor’s clinic will have a
stethoscope, medicine box, first aid bag,
toy injection and torch light.

Ice cream vendor will have toy scoops in

different colours, a bell, a cart, cups and
balloon.

Shopkeeper group will have currency

note/coins, grocery bag, toy
fruit/veggies, billing machine/calculator
and shopping trolley

Explain the theme for the 4minutes Each child is given one role. For e.g. the
role play to each group and doctor’s clinic have the following roles:
give them the doctor, nurse, mum/dad, kid and
props/costumes receptionist.

22
 Ice cream cart will have 2 people; the
rest will be parent and children.

Shopkeeper, salesman, the rest will be

parent and children.

The children will enact a dialogue

between these people and each child will
say something. They need to use the
given props and things.

Groups decide their story 10minutes With the teacher’s help, each team
for role play decides how they want to do the role
play

Groups enact their skit 10minutes One group performs and the others
(3minutes given to each observe and watch
group)

Recapitulation 7minutes Discuss important vocabulary and

phrases from each situation. The teacher
has a set of these prepared beforehand
as a chart.

23
Extended activity (if The children can be given a worksheet
needed) where they have to stick pictures/draw
what they want to become when they
grow up.

Instructional Strategies

Classrooms

Montessori classrooms provide an atmosphere that is pleasant and attractive, to allow

children to learn at their own pace and interact with others in a natural and peaceful
environment. In the ideal classroom, children would have unfettered access to the
outdoors, but this frequently is impossible, given modern-day limited space and cost
considerations. In response, Montessori teachers stock their classrooms with nature
shelves, living plants, and small pets, or perhaps a window-sill garden, allowing children to
experience as much as possible of the natural world, given modern constraints.

In the elementary, middle, upper-school years, Montessori schools ideally adhere to the
three-year age range of pupils. It encourages an interactive social and learning environment.
This system allows flexibility in learning pace and allowing older children to become
teachers.

What is Practical Life?

Practical: means basic, useful, purposeful

Life: means the way of living.

Practical life Exercises are exercises where the child can learn how to do living activities in a
purposeful way.

24
Meaning and Purpose of Practical Life

The purpose and aim of Practical Life is to help the child gain control in the coordination of
his movement, and help the child to gain independence and adapt to his society. It is
therefore important to “Teach teaching, not correcting” (Montessori) in order to allow the
child to be a fully functional member in his own society. Practical Life Exercises also aid the
growth, development of the child’s intellect and concentration and will in turn also help the
child develop an orderly way of thinking.

Practical Life Exercises can be categorized into four different groups:

 Preliminary Applications
 Applied Applications
 Grace and Courtesy
 Control of Moment

In the Preliminary Exercises, the child learns the basic movements of all societies such as
pouring, folding, and carrying.

In the Applied Exercises, the child learns about the care and maintenance that helps
everyday life. These activities are, for example, the care of the person (i. e the washing of
the hand) and the care of the environment (i.e. dusting a table or outdoor sweeping).

In the Grace and Courtesy Exercises, the children work on the interactions of people to
people.

In the Control of Movement Exercises, the child learns about his own movements and learns
how to refine his coordination through such activities as walking on the line.
Practical Life Exercises can be categorized into four different groups: Preliminary
Applications, Applied Applications, Grace and Courtesy, and Control of Moment.
In the Preliminary Exercises, the child learns the basic movements of all societies such as
pouring, folding, and carrying.

25
In the Applied Exercises, the child learns about the care and maintenance that helps
everyday life. These activities are, for example, the care of the person (i.e. the washing of
the hand) and the care of the
environment (i.e. dusting a table or
outdoor sweeping).

In the Grace and Courtesy Exercises,

the children work on the
interactions of people to people.

In the Control of Movement Exercises, the child learns about his own movements and learns
how to refine his coordination through such activities as walking on the line.

Practical Life

This area is designed to help students develop

and care for themselves, the environment, and
each other. In the Primary years (ages 3–6),
children learn how to do things such as: pouring
and scooping, using kitchen utensils, washing
dishes, polishing objects, scrubbing tables, and
cleaning up. They also learn how to dress themselves, tie their shoes, wash their hands, and
other self-care practices. They learn these practical skills through a wide variety of materials
and activities.
Although caring for one-self and for one’s environment is an important part of Montessori
Practical Life education in these years, it also presumes to prepare the child for more:
The activities might build a child’s concentration as well as being designed, in many cases, to
prepare the child for writing. For the first three years of life, children absorb a sense of
order in their environment. They learn how to naturally act a certain way, by absorbing it. In
these years, 3–6, the children are learning how to both build their own order and to
discover, understand, and refine the order they already know. The practical life area teaches

26
language in many forms. Fine motor skills used in the pencil-grip help the child develop that
particular grip, in order to smoothly use a pencil in the later years.

Strong concentration and attention to detail are typical traits of Montessori-schooled

children. Practical life schooling in the elementary years and in the high school years
involves many of the same skills, but also begins asserting a greater drive towards
community-service-oriented.

Introduction to Sensorial
What is Sensorial Work?

Sensorial comes from the words sense or senses. As there are no new experiences for the
child to take from the Sensorial work, the child is able to concentrate on the refinement of
all his senses, from visual to stereognostic.

The Purpose of Sensorial Work

The purpose and aim of Sensorial work is for the child to acquire clear, conscious,
information and to be able to then make classifications in his environment. Montessori
believed that sensorial experiences began at birth. Through his senses, the child studies his
environment. Through this study, the child then begins to understand his environment. The
child, to Montessori, is a “sensorial explorer”.
Through work with the sensorial materials, the child is given the keys to classifying the
things around him, which leads to the child making his own experiences in his environment.
Through the classification, the child is also offered the first steps in organizing his
intelligence, which then leads to his adapting to his environment.

Exercise Groups

Sensorial Exercises were designed by Montessori to cover every quality that can be
perceived by the senses such as size, shape, composition, texture, loudness or softness,
matching, weight, temperature, etc. Because the Exercises cover such a wide range of

27
senses, Montessori categorized the Exercises into eight different groups: Visual, Tactile,
Baric, Thermic, Auditory, Olfactory, Gustatory, and Stereognostic.

In the Visual Sense Exercises, the child learns how to visually discriminate differences
between similar objects and differing objects.

In the Tactile Sense Exercises, the child learns through his sense of touch. “Although the
sense of touch is spread throughout the surface of the body, the Exercises given to the
children are limited to the tips of the fingers, and particularly, to those of the right
hand.” (Montessori, Maria (1997) The Discovery of the Child, Oxford, England: Clio Press)
This allows the child to really focus on what he is feeling, through a concentration of a small
part of his body.

In the Baric sense Exercises, the child learns to feel the difference of pressure or weight of
different objects. This sense is heightened through the use of a blindfold or of closing your
eyes.

In the Thermic Sense Exercises, the child works to refine his sense of temperature.
In the Auditory Sense Exercises, the child discriminates between different sounds. In doing
these different Exercises, the child will refine and make him more sensitive to the sounds in
his environment.
In the Olfactory and Gustatory Sense Exercises, the child is given a key to his smelling and
tasting sense. Although not all smells or tastes are given to the child in these Exercises, the
child does work to distinguish one smell from another or one taste from another. He can
then take these senses, and apply them to other smells or tastes in his environment.

In the Stereognostic Sense Exercises, the child learns to feel objects and make recognitions
based on what he feels. “When the hand and arm are moved about an object, an impression
of movement is added to that touch.” Such an impression is attributed to a special, sixth
sense, which is called a muscular sense, and which permits many impressions to be stored in
a “muscular memory”, which recalls movements that have been made.

28
The Designed Material

Montessori’s materials for the Sensorial work came from her own observations and from
ideas and materials from the French doctors Itard and Seguin. Unlike the material used for
Practical Life, this material has either never been seen or never been used by the child in his
everyday life. Having said that, the child will receive no new experiences through the use of
the material. This was purposefully thought through in order to give the child what he
knows, but might not yet realize, and to then refine his knowledge. In order to do this, the
material is presented in a specific way or in a specific pattern: the child learns to match the
similar things, then he is shown how to grade the material based on its quality, and then he
receives the language related to his work. In presenting the material to the child in this way
allows him to fully understand the concept of his work.

All of the Sensorial materials were designed keeping the same ideas in mind.

All of the material isolates the one quality that is to be worked with by the child. This allows
the child to focus on that one quality.

All of the materials have, what is called, a control

of error. This calls to the child to make the
corrections himself.

All of the material is aesthetically pleasing. Such

as with the Practical Life materials, this attracts
the child’s attention to the objects and allows the
child to manipulate the materials with ease.

29
All of the material must be complete. This allows the child who is working with the material
to finish through the entire piece of work without having to stop and find a missing piece.
All of the material is limited. The first use of the term limited refers to the fact that there is
only one of each material in the environment. This calls for other students to build on their
patience. The second use of the word limited is in reference to the idea that not all of one
quality or piece of information is given to the child. For e.g. a child is not given every colour
in the world, but only a select few. This gives the child the key to the information so it peaks
his curiosity and leads him to learn more out of his own interest. Most importantly, all of the
material could be called “materialized abstractions”. This means that though Montessori’s
Sensorial materials, abstract concepts are made into concrete materials. Montessori saw the
importance of the manipulation of objects to aid the child in better understanding his
environment. Through the child’s work with Sensorial material, the child is helped to make
abstractions, he is helped in making distinctions in his environment, and the child is given
the knowledge not through word of mouth, but through his own experiences.
Sensorial

All learning first comes through the senses. By isolating something that is being taught, the
child can more easily focus on it. There are many different Montessori sensorial
materials designed to help the child refine the tactile, visual, auditory, olfactory, and
gustatory senses. For example, colours are taught with colour tablets. The colour tablets are
all alike, except for one detail — the colour in the middle. It helps avoid confusion for the
child, and helps him and her focus specifically on: What is “blue”?

30
Exact phrasing of identifying terms is important, thus, an oval is not an “egg shape”, and
a sphere is not a “ball”. The Montessori Method greatly emphasizes using the correct
terminology for naming what we see. This is readily apparent in the sensorial area, because,
it regularly overlaps into the mathematics area.

The red rods used in the sensorial area schooling are a direct link to the segmented rods
used in mathematics taught to one-through-ten year-olds. The pink tower has a connection
to units and thousands that the child learns later, in the 3-6 curriculum. Even the
trinomial cube will be used in the elementary years to figure out complex mathematical
formulae.

Three Period Lesson

The Three Period Lesson is a teaching technique used to give formal vocabulary lessons.
Language is given after experience of that which is to be named. The three periods support
the three stages of learning.
Presenting Names that are Nouns using colour tablets -

1st Period: Introduction of the names to be learned

1. Lay the primary colours in a row on the table in front of the child.
2. Isolate one and say, "This is blue."
3. Do the same for each tablet in turn encouraging the child to say the name each time.
4. Repeat the names for each tablet in turn with the child.

2nd Period: Practice associating the names with the objects

1. The teacher gives each name in turn asking the child to point out the object named.
This is first done without moving the objects.
2. Then the objects can be moved about to challenge the child and to keep the lesson
interesting. Movement helps the child learn.

31
 3. The teacher can use questions or short commands to which the child will respond by
indicating or moving the object named.

Some ways to do this are:

“Where is blue?”
“Point to blue?”
“Show me red.”
“Hand me yellow.”
“In this corner show place blue.”
4. This is the longest period and must be kept interesting.
5. When the child can unerringly associate the name with the object, the 3rd period
can start. This may be on the same day or on a later day.
3rd Period: Confirmation that the names have been learned

1. The teacher indicates one object and asks the child, “What is this?” The child says its
name. Repeat for each object.
2. This can be done in any order.
3. If the name is not known by the child the teacher gives it again and continues with
the 2nd period activities until the child is ready for the 3rd period.

Introduction to Mathematics

Math is all around the young child from day one. How old are you? In one hour you will go
to school. You were born on the 2nd.

Children learn to identify the numbers 1-9 using sandpaper

numbers, just like the sandpaper letters that are used for
letter sounds. Many different "manipulatives" such as chips,
buttons, and lids are used to count and to match quantity
with the written numeral. As children become more skilled in
counting objects they are introduced to addition and subtraction where they use these

32
“manipulatives” to figure out their answers. When they have mastered addition and
subtraction, multiplication and division are taught, depending on the interest and ability of
the child. Here again, the child uses real objects to figure out the answer so that they can
understand the process that is taking place; not just memorizing formulas.

Number itself cannot be defined and understand of number grows from experience with
real objects but eventually they become abstract ideas. It is one of the most abstract
concepts that the human mind has encountered. No physical aspects of objects can ever
suggest the idea of number. The ability to count, to compute, and to use numerical
relationships are among the most significant among human achievements. The concept of
number is not the contribution of a single individual but is the product of a gradual, social
evolution. The number system which has been created over thousands of years is an
abstract invention. It began with the realization of one and then more than one. It is
marvellous to see the readiness of the child’s understanding of this same concept.

Arithmetic deals with shape, space, numbers, and their

relationships and attributes by the use of numbers and symbols.
It is a study of the science of pattern and includes patterns of all
kinds, such as numerical patterns, abstract patterns, patterns of
shape and motion. In the Montessori classroom, five families
with math are presented to the child, like, Arithmetic, geometry,
statistics and calculus. More precisely, the concepts covered in the Primary class are
numeration, the decimal system, computation, the arithmetic tables, whole numbers,
fractions, and positive numbers. We offer arithmetic to the child in the final two years of the
first place of developments from age four to age five and six.

Arithmetic is the science of computing using positive real numbers. It is specifically the
process of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. The materials of the Primary
Montessori classroom also present sensorial experiences in geometry and algebra.

33
Little children are naturally attracted to the science of number. Mathematics, like language,
is the product of the human intellect.

It is therefore part of the nature of a human being. Mathematics arises from the human
mind as it comes into contact with the world and as it contemplates the universe and the
factors of time and space.
It under girds the effort of the human to understand the world in which he lives. All humans
exhibit this mathematical propensity, even little children. It can therefore be said that
human kind has a mathematical mind.

Montessori took this idea from the French philosopher Pascal. Maria Montessori said that a
mathematical mind was “a sort of mind which is built up with precision.” The mathematical
mind tends to estimate, needs to quantify, to see identity, similarity, difference, and
patterns, to make order and sequence and to control error.

The infant and young child observes and experiences the world through sensorial
experience. From this experience the child perceives concepts and qualities of the things in
the environment. These concepts allow the child to create mental order. The child
establishes a mental map, which supports adaptation to the environment and the changes
which may occur.

Clear, precise, abstract ideas are used for thought. The child’s growing knowledge of the
environment makes it possible for him to have a sense of positioning in space. Numerocity is
also related to special orientation. In the first plane of development, the human tendency to
make order along with the sensitive period for order support the exactitude by which the
child classifies experience of the world. The Montessori materials help the child construct
precise order. In the class, the child is offered material and experiences to help him build
internal order. It is internal order that makes the child able to function well in the
environment. Order under girds the power to reason, and adapt to change in the
environment.

34
Each culture has a pattern of function in that society. This pattern is absorbed by the child,
and becomes the foundation of which the child builds his life. This cultural pattern is the
context for the Montessori class. Practical life Exercises are the everyday tasks of the home
culture and include the courtesies by which people relate. The child is attracted to these
activities because they are the ways of his people. He is attracted to the real purpose which
engages his intellect. As he begins to work with Practical Life Exercises, he is more and more
attracted to the order and precision that is required. Participation in these activities help the
child become a member of the society of peers in the classroom. Without the child knows it,
these activities are laying out patterns in the nervous system. Repetition sets these patterns
and leads to ease of effort.

The Sensorial Material is mathematical material. It is exact. It is presented with exactness

and will be used by the child with exactness. The activities call for precision so that the child
can come into contact with the isolated concepts and through repetition, draw from the
essence of each and have a clear abstraction. These concepts help the child to order his
mind. He is able to classify experience. Clear perception and the ability to classify lead to
precise conclusions. The Sensorial work is a preparation for the study of sequence and
progression. It helps the child build up spatial representations of quantities and to form
images of their magnitudes such as the Pink Tower.

Spoken language is used to express abstract concepts and to communicate them to others.
In addition to the spoken language, humans came to need a language to express
quantitative experience, and from this came the language of mathematics.

By age four, the child is ready for the language of mathematics. A series of preparations
have been made. First the child has established internal order. Second, the child has
developed precise movement. Third, the child has established the work habit. Fourth, the
child is able to follow and complete a work cycle. Fifth, the child has the ability to
concentrate. Sixth, the child has learned to follow a process. Seventh, the child has used

35
symbols. All of this previous development has brought the child to a maturity of mind and a
readiness of work. The concrete materials for arithmetic are materialized abstractions.
They are developmentally appropriate ways for the child to explore arithmetic. The child
gets sensorial impressions of the mathematical concepts and movement supports the
learning experience. The material begins with concrete experiences but moves the child
towards the abstract. There is also a progression of difficulty. In the presentation of the
material, a pattern is followed. It is used throughout the arithmetic exercises. For the
presentation of the mathematical concepts, the child is first introduced to quantity in
isolation, and is given the name for it. Next, symbol is introduced in isolation and it is also
named. The child is then given the opportunity to associate the quantity and symbol.
Sequence is given incidentally in all of the work. Various Exercises call for the child to
establish sequence.

The mathematical material gives the child his own mathematical experience and to arrive at
individual work. There are some teacher directed activities but these are followed with
activities for the individual. Some work begins with small group lessons; these too will be
toward independent, individual work.

The Exercises in arithmetic are grouped. There is some sequential work and some parallel
work. The first group is Numbers through Ten. The experiences in this group are sequential.
When the child has a full understanding of numbers through ten, the second group - The
Decimal System, can be introduced.

The focus here is on the hierarchy of the decimal system and how the system functions. It
also starts the child on the Exercises of simple computations, which are the operations of
arithmetic. The third group will be started when the decimal system is well underway.

From then on, these Exercises will be given parallel to the continuing of the decimal system.
This third group, Counting beyond Ten, includes the teens, the tens, and linear and skip
counting. The fourth group is the memorization of the arithmetic tables. This work can begin

36
while the later work of the decimal system and the counting beyond ten Exercises are
continued. The fifth group is the passage to abstraction. The Exercises in this group require
the child to understand the process of each form of arithmetic and to know the tables of
each operation. There is again an overlap.

The child who knows the process and tables for addition can begin to do the addition for
this group. He may still be working on learning the tables for the other operations and these
will not be taken up until he has the readiness. The Exercises in the group for passing to
abstraction, allows the child to drop the use of the material as he is ready. He can then
begin to work more and more with the symbols on paper, without using the material to find
the answers. The sixth group of materials, Fractions, can work parallel to the group of
making abstractions and the early work with the fractions can begin even sooner than that.
Sensorial work with the fraction material can be done parallel with the other groups of
arithmetic. The writing of fractions and the operations of fractions can follow as the child is
moving into the passage to abstraction.

The adult is responsible for the environment and the child’s experiences in it. It is important
to provide the indirect preparation of experience with numbers before it is studied. The
arithmetic materials must be carefully presented as the child is ready. Montessori has
emphasized that young children take great pleasure in the number work. It is therefore
important that the adult not pass on any negative overtone onto the child’s experiences
with arithmetic. These Exercises are presented with great enthusiasm. They must be
carefully and clearly given to the child. In this work, it is also important for the directress to
observe the child’s work. From observation, the directress will know if the child understands
the concepts or if further help is needed. As always, the adult encourages repetition and
provides for independent work, which will lead to mastery.

When the child is ready, the absorption is as easy and natural as for other areas of
knowledge. It is empowering and brings the child to a level of confidence and joy in another

37
path of culture. The abstract nature of man is not an abstraction if the child’s development
is understood by the adult.
Montessori & Language - Definition of
Language

Language is the mode of communication

or expression. It is not a subject.
Language is behaviour. It is essential part
is necessary for man to communicate and to reach various levels for achievement. Thus
language is the root of all civilization. Language has been passed on from one generation to
another by the written symbols written by our ancestors or just by hearsay. Language is
what differentiates human beings from all other species. No other species have language.
Language is an intelligent product of mass mind. It is not just an incident, but an intelligent
product of mass mind. Without language physical growth is not complete. Language
requires the vocal chord, the central nervous system, development of the auditory sense
and intelligence. Language is also necessary for the emotional development, so that one can
release the pent up emotions. Hence social development is related to acquisition to
language.

The components of Language

1. Sound – sound is very important to express oneself. There can be language that is
the sign language or code language but these kinds of languages have its own
limitations to nature so sound is absolutely important.
2. Meaning has to be there. Not only meaning but an agreed meaning. When the user
is saying “this is a chalk,” the receiver has to understand. In this manner the child is
given lots of words with meaning. The adult has to see that the child has a large
number of words with agreed meaning in the child’s vocabulary.

38
What are sounds?

Sounds are vibrations. These vibrations are called ethereal waves. These waves are received
by the ether in the ear. These vibrations are extremely of strong quality. Sound that we
make must be acceptable to the ear of the receiver. The measurement of sound is called
decibels. Thus we say high or low decibels.

The Montessori language programme should be structured with the following aspects. All
activities are related to these five aspects which are:

a. Sounds
b. Agreed meaning
c. Talking
d. Listening
e. Reading.

When the child comes to the Montessori environment the child should be given a lot of
sound awareness at 2years of age and a lot of words which the child is familiar with.

How the child is introduced to language at an early age

When the child arrives in a Montessori classroom, he already has a completion of the
spoken language. During his first three years of life, the child has been constructing his
language and now, in the Montessori classroom, he will be consolidating what he knows.
Because the child's will is being constructed, he can consciously begin to explore language.
This is the perfect time for the child to gain the correct tools in his home language.

To teach the child correct oral language, Montessori split the learning into two groups. The
first group she called: "The Enrichment of Vocabulary". In these activities, the child learns
new words on a daily basis through formal lessons and classified groups. The second group
of oral work is called: "Language Training". In these Exercises, the child experiences a great

39
variety of language experiences. He learns through the many forms of literature, Exercises in
self-expression, and games to learn the grammar of the language. Through both of these
groups of Exercises, the child's later learning in reading will be facilitated by the recognition
of words. This is the foundation for all other language expressions.

The purposes in Montessori's Oral Language lessons are vast. Children will gain clarity in
speech, a large expansion of vocabulary, a familiarity in various aspects of language such as
correct usage of the language, artistic expression, and a large range of language, awareness
of the language structure, and most importantly an appreciation and enjoyment of
language. Through all of the Exercises, the child is also being indirectly prepared for the
written language work of creative writing and later, total reading.

In the Oral Language lessons, materials are used from the classroom to aid the child's
learning. Some lessons call for objects directly in the class room; other lessons call for
classified cards, different pieces of literature, and even the directress as a language model
and source for learning. Because the directress is such an important part in the child's
growth in the Oral Exercises, it is important for her to remember to do these lessons on a
daily basis with every child in the class.

How is the child introduced to sounds?

Children are introduced to sounds through the sandpaper letters. They trace each letter as
they say its sound ("ssssssss" for "S"). Later they start putting these sounds together to form
words with the moveable alphabet, a large set of individual plastic letters. Even children
that have trouble writing can spell words with the moveable alphabet if they have learned
the letter sounds. At the same time paper, markers, coloured and regular pencils, crayons
and chalk are provided so that children can constantly use their writing and drawing skills to
express themselves. Each day the children also draw and write on a journal page. They are
free to draw or write about whatever interests them. At the end of the school year we send
the journals home to you as a written keepsake of their early writing experiences.

40
Writing

Writing is a complete act that requires intellectual process combined with manual dexterity
and is the ability to express thoughts with graphic symbols. Activities that make this possible
were of special interest to Montessori, who realized the great importance of indirect
preparation: the child had prepared his hand and his mind to then be able to write. When all
of the components of language come together and the child realizes he can write is what
Montessori called an “explosive phenomenon”.

Why is handwriting best learned now?

During the time when writing is introduced to the

child, the child’s sensitive periods are helping the
child investigate his environment. The child is
attracted to order in anything, and there is order in
writing, such as how to make the letters, the order
in sounds represented by letters, and the order in
the structure of the language as a whole.

The child has been prepared for writing through his past experiences in the classroom,
which begins with the sound games, to help the child realize that words are made up of
sounds. Then the child worked with the Sandpaper Letters to help the child become aware
that each sound has a symbol.

With the Moveable Alphabet, the child was able to put a thought into symbols first by
“writing” a single word, then a phrase, then a complete sentence and finally a story. The last
direct preparation the child will have before he begins to write will be his work with the
metal insets. This will help the child to learn how to correctly hold a pencil, it will make the
child practice different strokes, help the child learn about pencil pressure and will make the
hand ready for handwriting.

41
The refinement of the senses also aids the child in learning to write by the child’s
heightened interest in the nuances of perceptions. Clear perception helps the child write
better and to assess his own work. Refinement of movement is also very helpful for the
child who is learning to write. He is interested in the movement of making the letter. The
child’s hand is flexible and malleable and his movement is not yet set. Touch is still quiet
irresistible and the child will make conscious attempts to stabilize his movement as he
begins to work with the writing exercises.

The child’s absorbent mind helps him to absorb the images of the letters and also helps the
child absorb the importance of writing. It is important in the culture and the child will take
that in. This contributes to the child’s deep desire to write. The children will come to realize
that writing is not just any marks put on paper but is made of special marks. Knowing these
special marks helps the child to do “special writing”.

Communication is a human tendency and writing gives the child this satisfaction. Mastery of
writing is developmentally important because it is a major part in the child’s adaptation in
the environment and gives the child another level of independence. Writing with the
Movable Alphabet will come a few months before handwriting and somewhere in the
beginning of handwriting, the child will begin to read. From thereon, writing and reading will
develop parallel to each other and will support the development of each other.

After the child has learned to write, development exercises will help the child bring his
handwriting to a very high level. His writing will be legible, beautiful, and unique. All of the
children will learn to write but each does so in his own way. Uniqueness is fixed when the
mechanism of writing is well established. What is set in the child tends to remain fairly well
intact throughout adulthood and highlights how important the preparations are, so this
childhood acquisition will be correctly set.

42
The skill of writing is a practical skill that also enables the child to write creatively. Through
these handwriting exercises the child will be able to make his own personal expressions and
put his own thoughts on paper.

Reading

Reading should be an exciting discovery for the child and can occur in a similar way as the
child discovered writing. He may be looking at what he has written and realize that he can
read what he wrote. When reading is discovered and not taught, the child can have a
lifelong love for reading.

Reading allows the child to connect with the thoughts of

others from the past and the present. It helps the child
develop his personality and his intellect. The child will
read to get information in the same way they see the
older children and adults of their society do. Once the
world of books is opened to the child, the sky’s the limit.
Some children are so excited by the ability to read, they
will want go on reading and will do so at school and at
home whenever they get the chance to do so.
For the child who reads, we must provide a number of good books. We need to be sure we
have a great variety. Children enjoy books about people, other places, about animals and
birds and flowers, about events from the past and about everyday life. The child recognizes
the enormity of information possible to get from reading. In today’s world, “the age of
information”, the ability to read means the child will be able to read all the things of interest
to him.

In today’s developed countries, knowing to read and write is important for the development
of an individual. Literacy is part of the human’s whole adaptation. He must be able to write
the language, read the language and without reading, the person is not totally independent.

43
Montessori viewed the written language as part of the child’s heritage. With this view, the
adult has a responsibility to the child to give him the home’s language. Mastery of writing
and reading makes it possible for the child to see the wonders that come from the thoughts
of others and the enjoyment that comes from finding out those things we are highly
interested in.

Some children will come to read in an “explosive period” when reading all of a sudden
happens to the child. If this does not happen, there are two stages of reading. The first is
when the child learns the mechanics of reading. The child will be given the experience and
keys needed to master the language. The first key being that a sound can be represented by
symbols. By seeing the symbols and putting the sounds together, the child can come to
finding a word that has meaning. As the child practices reading he will master the
mechanics, and will move to greater ease of reading.

The second stage is when the child reaches the level of total reading. This means the child is
“interpret reading”. At this level the child doesn’t read word by word, but reads phrases and
sentences and gets the full understanding of these. The reading program offers the child
grammar and syntax that helps him interpret what he reads. At this level the child not only
understands the meaning of the words but grasps the whole meaning of the text.
The indirect preparations for reading are the same as for writing in the preparation for the
mind. Everything the child has been working with up until this time with Practical Life and
Sensorial materials help the child to read. Indirect preparation in the language area is also of
extreme importance while reading. The directress is another major role in the child’s
learning to read. By doing the Sound Games, Sandpaper Letters, and the Moveable
Alphabet, the child is getting direct preparations for reading with the help of the directress.
And when some of the children start reading with the words they create with the Moveable
Alphabet, it is then time to begin teaching them the reading Exercises.

Some children will only begin reading by stages but once a child starts to read, they will
begin to read almost anything. There are many interesting things to read at all stages of the

44
exercise and by offering the child enjoyable activities, reading is mastered through positive
experiences. In the end, our goal is to create a child who can use reading for both practical
and pleasurable purposes.

Environmental studies in a Montessori Environment

The young child is curious about everything and needs to explore and discover. The
Montessori 3-6 learning environment is designed to encourage each child to move, touch,
and manipulate. The child has freedom to work independently, based on their own
initiatives with gentle and respectful guidance from their teacher.

Montessori 3-6 learning environments are inviting, attractive indoor and outdoor spaces
with an intriguing array of learning materials, books, plants, animals, art and music
materials, gardening and nature activities.

The Montessori environment contains specially designed, hands on materials that invite
children to engage in learning activities of their own individual choice. Under the guidance
of a Montessori teacher, children in a Montessori classroom learn by making discoveries;
cultivating concentration, motivation, self-discipline, and a love for learning.

Geography

Children are first shown a globe with the land masses coated with sandpaper and the water
painted blue and smooth to the touch. This gives them a tactile introduction to the
continents. This is followed by work with the world map puzzle. They learn the names of
each continent and note the differences in size and shape. The next step is the individual
continent puzzles where the children learn the names and placement for the countries in
each continent.

45
Art and Craft

Arts and Crafts are pretty much incorporated into the Cultural and Practical Life areas of the
classroom. Here, the children learn to cut, paste and be creative. The children also learn
about different artists and their art. The children also get to work on group or individual
projects related to the unit study they are working on in the Cultural area. For example, if
they are learning about insects, they might decorate or draw butterflies or any other insect.
This area is where the children express themselves through art.

Art and Craft in a Montessori Classroom is a way for children to express their thoughts and
creativity. Children get to express their feelings the way they see things visually and their
views of it. They write stories and feel productive while drawing pictures.

Teaching Children to Draw

From picture-books toddlers learn that shapes have names and represent objects. They
begin to label familiar shapes found in their scribbles, then begin to use simple shapes to
construct simple objects, especially faces.
As children get older, they add detail and complexity to their drawings. Faces attach to
bodies, and ways are found to represent more objects. At around age 5, depending on the
child, a sense of pattern emerges, with houses, trees and families telling familiar stories, and
the symbol-library does its job well.

Problems begin at about age 10, when reality and appearances become important. The
rocket taking off or the beautiful dress or the horse doesn’t look right - the symbolic
language no longer works. Some children become obsessed with drawing fine details at this
stage, some will do a great deal of drawing in an attempt to get it right, and most will give
up in disgust.

46
Handle with Care

Drawings represent the child's experience of the world. We must be careful not to invalidate
this by the way we respond. Inappropriate responses may include imposing our narratives -
our stories or ideas - on the drawing, for example "Oh, that's a nice dog. Oh, it's a horse?
Well it looks like a dog...”; criticism of lack of realism, and unrealistic expectations - have you
noticed how we always expect children to draw from memory even things which they may
be quite unfamiliar with? - And importantly for older children, criticism of realism, when we
label their awkward attempts at realistic detail as 'tightness' and lament the loss of childish
innocence.

Of course we fear that we might inhibit a child's natural creativity, but it is important to
remember that if children are not taught to draw, their creativity will die a natural death.
Art skills - drawing, painting, sculpting what you see - can and should be taught to children.
You have to know the rules before you can break them: no-one would suggest that you can
play great music without years of music lessons, but somehow they don't apply the same
logic to art.

The difference between drawing a square house with 4-square windows and a chimney and
drawing the 'real' shape of a house is an immense leap of understanding. Learning to draw is
far more about seeing than about making marks on paper. This is essential: to teach your
child to see this way, you must first learn about it yourself. Do the beginner's lessons on this
site. Read Betty Edward's 'Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain'. You must understand
how an artist sees the world to foster this vision in your youngster.

Don't expect instant results

The process of learning to draw is a lengthy one, measured in years, depending upon a
child's fine motor skills and cognitive development. Pushing a child too quickly will only
result in unhappiness for all concerned, while gentle nurturing will allow their natural talent
to blossom.

47
Kids love dressing up and pretending to be other people. Masks can be a fun and easy
craft project to stimulate the imagination and eliminate boredom. Help children flex their
creative muscles with these fun and easy ideas for mask-making crafts.

Animal Masks

1. Children can make animal masks and then use them to act out their favourite fairy tales
and fables.

Make a lion mask by colouring a paper plate yellow or tan. Use orange and brown
construction paper, cut into strips approximately 2" wide by 3" long to make the mane---cut
fringes into these strips and then glue them around the edges of the mask. Add eyes, a nose
and a mouth by cutting out construction paper or drawing them in. Using the same paper
plate base, you can also make a bear. Add on a face and ears, and colour him brown (or
black and white for a panda, or all white for a polar bear). Paper plates in other colours can
be used to make a pig, mouse or dog mask as well. Just add the appropriate facial features
and ears with construction paper.
Emotion Masks

2. Help children learn to express their emotions and distinguish facial expressions by
creating emotional masks. Cut several circles out of various colours of construction
paper. Help children talk about different emotions and how those emotions look on
someone's face, and then draw those types of faces on their circles. For example: Anger
can be a red mask with pointed eyebrows and squinted eyes. Happiness can have wide
eyes and a big smile on bright yellow paper. Sadness can be blue, with a frown and a
tear coming out of the eye. Glue a craft stick to the bottom of each mask so your child
can hold it up in front of her face. Then read children a story using different emotions
and use the masks as a visual aid, or have them use their masks to talk about how they
feel in different situations.

48
 Teaching Dance

Teach dance to any age group (children through adults). Dance as a

technique helps to burn up the excess energy and helps children to
focus and concentrate. It is a skill that motivates a child and
encourages rapid skills of development both mental as well as
muscular. Successfully introduce mime, gymnastics, stretching
techniques, and theatre strategies to students as they progress in
the dance techniques.
Use a short story that relates the pre-existing experiences to
create interest in an activity and progress gradually. (This photo is of Rachael at age nine.)

Here’s a sample.

Chapter 1 - Rachael Goes to a Dance Recital

Rachael’s mother had exciting news to share. "Rachael, your cousin Laura is going to be in a
dance recital. Would you like to go and watch her?” she asked.
"Will I have to dance too?” Rachael wondered.
"No, we’re just going to see Laura this time." replied her mother
Rachael, who was four years old, wasn’t sure what a recital was, but agreed to watch her
cousin dance.
On recital day, Rachael and her mother drove to the auditorium. It seemed so large with lots
of seats and many, many people. She was very surprised to see her Nana and Grandpa!
"Where’s Laura and Aunt Sally?” asked Rachael.
"They’re back stage getting ready,” Nana replied
"Oh, where is backstage? Can I go there too?”
asked Rachael.
"See that place down in front with the curtain
across it?” asked Laura’s brother, Tommy. “That's
called a stage and when they open the curtain
you'll see the kids do the dances they learned.”

49
“Behind the stage, he continued, are the dressing rooms where they put on or change their
costumes. Only dancers and helping parents can go there now.”
“After the performance we’ll go backstage to give Laura the flowers we bought for her. You
can see what it’s like then.” said Rachael’s mother.

Suddenly, the auditorium lights dimmed and Laura’s dance teacher, Miss Clara, walked out
on stage. She thanked everyone for coming and reminded the audience not to use flash
cameras as they might startle a dancer and cause them to fall. She went on to say the show
would be about an hour long with an intermission half-way through.

“So with no further ado,” she announced, “let’s watch these wonderful children dance!”

Rachael’s eyes grew large as the first group entered, dressed in the most beautiful costumes
she had ever seen. The children formed into rows and waited for the music to begin. They
all seemed to know exactly what to do and looked very happy with big smiles on their faces.
“But I don’t see Laura!” cried Rachael………
Continue in dance steps to complete the story.
Teaching Music

Teaching music to children will provide a new set of skills that will help to enhance their
overall abilities. Knowing where to start teaching music to kindergartners is the first step to
making sure.

1. Prepare the curriculum. Before you introduce any

musical concepts to children, you will want to prepare
your own curriculum. This should include a step-by-step
program that will introduce them to the basic concepts

of music and will allow them to explore music. The basic

concepts should also include songs that they can learn
and supplements that will help them to learn the
concepts more thoroughly.

50
 2. Start with rhythm. Begin teaching music to kindergartners with concepts that are
easy to grasp. Defining basic rhythms, both by the note values and symbols and by
how to count, will help with an easy introduction.
3. Adding this in with counting and clapping or with using rhythmic instruments will
allow them completely grasp this concept.

a. Add in the melodies. After children have rhythm down,

add simple melodies. Teaching them children's songs or
folk melodies will provide a strong basis for later
musical concepts. The easiest way to do this is to play
something,
b. and then have them repeat it by singing. You can do this
until the song is memorized.

c. Show them how the melody works. If the copy and repeat option for
melodies doesn't help the children to tune in, you can add in more
supplements for helping them to learn the different pitches. Having visual
displays, movements that they can do or games that help them get to each
note will help them to define the tones that they are using.

Storytelling

Story time is very special for the children. They look forward to the story telling sessions.
Stories are one way by which children increase their vocabulary and also knowledge. They
also learn about the different emotions which are involved in that particular story.

When we are teaching the pre-literate children we need to revert to time-honoured story-
telling skills and use visual aids, dramatic tone of voice, mimicry, gestures, and mime to
bring the story alive. One doesn’t have to be good in acting to keep a group of children
enthralled. Though the modern children are brought up by watching television, but they still

51
enjoy the human contact when stories are being narrated. When telling a story, it is
important to create a close and intimate atmosphere. The children sit in a semi-circle facing
the adult. This should ensure that the adult’s face, hands, and visual aids are visible to all the
children.

Why are stories important?

 It is always better to tell stories than to read it from a book.

 Stories create a better interaction with the children.
 Good eye contact.
 Drawing the required pictures and writing will later encourage the children to read
and write.
 It also encourages the children to read books later on.
 It also encourages the children to tell stories.

Benefits acquired from storytelling

From the beginning the child should be encouraged to join in with the story where there is
repetition. By the second and third telling the adult can leave a bit out or alter the story,
which will have the double value of checking on listening comprehension and encouraging
the children to speak.

The children learn and pick up a lot of vocabulary from the story telling sessions.
They also learn about the various stories of the past and as it will be said in past tense they
will hear it and understand them naturally, which is a good preparation for active use of
grammar when the children are older.

52
The children eventually take interest in reading story books.

Drama (Role play)

Drama or Role playing has been around as a learning tool

for a long time. Without defining it as such, many of us
use role play as a basic tool of life.

The importance of role play in children's development:

"There’s a lot happening during playtime. Little ones are

lifting, dropping, looking, pouring, bouncing, hiding, building, knocking down, and more.
They are learning key scientific concepts, such as what sinks and floats; mathematical
concepts, including how to balance blocks to build a tower; and literacy skills, such as trying
out new vocabulary or storytelling skills as children “act out”
different roles.

"And when your children play with you, they are also learning —
that they are loved and important and that they are fun to be
around. These social - emotional skills give them the self-esteem

53
and self-confidence they need to continue building loving and supportive relationships all
their lives." (Taken from the Zero to Three website)
Rebecca Parlakian and Claire Lerner begin their article about the importance of play to a
child's development by reminding parents and care- givers that, "Play is learning. Playing
with your child is not only fun, it's one of the most important ways you can nurture
development. "Play" doesn't necessarily mean an organised activity or a dedicated period of
"quality time." Play - and learning - can happen anytime you are with your child."

Sometimes babies and young children want to play on their own but enjoyable play includes
the possibility of play companions - adults and other children - joining in without taking
over. Practitioners need to be playful companions who sometimes follow a child's lead and
sometimes introduce a new element into a familiar game.
Adult playmates can ease any tensions and role model social skills when babies and very
young children want to play together but are struggling with space, turn-taking and what
this game is all about today.

Role Play can be one of the most important activities for young children; it not only
stimulates their imagination but can help with their social development. Literacy, numeracy
and other curriculum activities can all be planned as part of a role play situation. Whenever
we project into the future in a kind of 'what if' scenario we are indulging in a role play of
some sort, we are projecting ourselves into an imaginary situation where, though we cannot
control the outcome, we can anticipate some or all of the conditions and 'rehearse' our
performance in order to influence the outcome.

54
Role Play Activity: Planting Season

Suggested items to collect:

 Plant pots
 Bean or Gram seeds/ any other kind of seeds
 Watering cans
 Paper to make a poster / colours

Activity
 Fill the pot/s with soil from the garden
 Plant the seeds
 Water them
 Monitor their growth progress
 Make a chart/ poster on germination.
 EVS activities: Discuss environmental issues/ making our earth green
 Math activities – Counting, addition using seeds, flowers and leaves

There are endless variations of this role play:

Baking Day

Visit a supermarket which can all incorporate activities from other curriculum areas.

Children's games that involve role play generally have no rules except to stay in character,
and require no specific props. They are normally restricted to young, pre - pubescent
children, and aside from their straightforward purpose of fun can sometimes also serve the
purpose of allowing children to explore adult roles and relationships. Play can reveal a lot
about a child's psychological state, perception of gender roles, home life and interpretation
of the world that is around them.

55
Role Play Activity in a Young Learner’s class

1. Playing House: the main aim is to explore familial relationships. Children can act like
a family and also explore other family
arrangements with each other. It also deals with
gender roles.
2. Shopkeeper and playing customer: This is
interpretation of basic social interaction and can
be an insight into the income status of the child's parents.
3. The Three Little Monkeys (song)
Three little monkeys swinging in a tree, (hold hand up with 3 fingers in the air)
Teasing Mr. Alligator, Can't catch me! (shake finger, use voice to sound like you're teasing)
Up crept Mr. Alligator quiet as can be. (whisper this line, pretend to creep around)
SNAP! (use arms like an open alligator mouth, snap them together on the word SNAP)
Two little monkeys swinging in a tree, (repeat actions throughout all of the verses)
Teasing Mr. Alligator, Can't catch me!
Up crept Mr. Alligator quiet as can be.
SNAP!
One little monkey swinging in a tree,
Teasing Mr. Alligator, "Can't catch me!"
Up crept Mr. Alligator quiet as can be.
SNAP! (pause) MISSED ME! (teasingly)

Grade Level(s): Kindergarten, 1, 2

Subject(s):Arts/Music

Description: Singing and dancing has been

a tradition in many cultures. A simple song can brighten a student’s mood or the classroom.
An example of a mood lifting song is the The Three Little Monkeys.

56
Goal: Students will learn a song and improve their motor skills.

Objectives: The students will be able to perform the song and dance without help from the
teacher or peers.

Background Information: Young students love to learn actions to new songs. The song
included in this lesson is similar to a chant and it allows the students to put some creative
actions with the words. The students can take the words from this song and put new
actions with it or the students could take a song they already know and make up actions to
match the words.
Concepts: The students will be able to:
1. Sing and do the actions for The Three Little Monkeys.
2. Make up actions to a song they already know.

Materials: None

Procedures:
1. Teach the students the words of the song.
2. Teach the students the actions of the song.
3. Practice the song with the actions until all of the students feel comfortable.

Certain factors must be remembered by the teacher while conducting role play with
children:

 Role playing can become ineffective if children are unclear about what they are
supposed to do. Generally, remove technical content except for the very basic
information needed

 Role playing briefs should contain enough information for both parties to engage in a
believable and relevant conversation, which should be in line with the objectives.
Give as much detail as is necessary - too little and there won't be enough to sustain a

57
 conversation, too much and children will be swamped with information, most of
which they either won't need or won't remember.

 Avoid giving children task of role playing attitudes alone. If you want somebody to
role play an angry customer give them something to be angry about. Behaviour, just
like acting, is all about specifics. A well written brief will help to keep the role play
focused and on track.

Project Approach

In today's world, teachers have a long wish-list for

their students: They want them to be globally
competent, problem solvers, critical thinkers,
literate and collaborative, to name just a few. But
those characteristics cannot be taught through
traditional instruction.

Project-based learning (PBL), slowly displacing traditional forms of teaching, has evolved as
a way for teachers to help their students become what the world will one day demand of
them.
What Is PBL, anyway?

Project-Based Learning is an increasingly popular approach to teaching that allows students

to explore real-world problems and challenges through working and collaborating with
other students in small groups.

Just as in the real world, the challenges involved in the projects require students to use a
spectrum of skills, which helps them fine tune their critical thinking ability, gets their
creative juices flowing, and involves using knowledge from a breadth of curriculum.

58
While standard lecturing and text book reading may be part of PBL, the majority of the
projects focus on active and engaged learning, which studies show help students retain a
deeper knowledge of the subjects they're studying.

In addition, PBL also helps students polish their organizational and research skills, build
teamwork ability necessary for the real world, and become better communicators.
Furthermore, instead of traditional grading rubrics such as tests, PBL typically culminates
with a presentation to an audience other than the
teacher and classmates, and oftentimes includes
producing a finished product, such as a Website.
This generally makes the work more meaningful for
the students, who in turn, put more effort and
enthusiasm into their work.

Most importantly, PBL allows students to better

understand how academic work can connect to
real-life experiences.

Projects

59
How it works:

Create a Project: Choose a topic and specify the goals and target age range.

Add Members: Assign students from your class or collaborate with other members around
the world.

Start Creating: Add pages, and fill them with text, lists, pictures, multimedia, interactive
discussions, votes, and more.

Communicate: Keep project members updated with the project calendar and message
tools.

Explore: You can also visit thousands of existing projects for ideas, or to find a project you
want to join.
Why Integrate into the Classroom?

Projects provide a flexible framework for engaging students in exploring curricular topics
and developing important 21st century skills, such as communication, teamwork, and
technology skills. In addition, students are motivated by the fun and creative format and the
opportunity to make new friends around the world.

Advantages of the Project Method:

Provides practice: students are able to see the relevance to the real world of what they are
learning.
Provide variety for students and teachers - they get out of the classroom and 'into' the
environment.
Integrate the 'four skills' of reading, writing, speaking and listening in a natural way.

Provide a sensory rich learning experience. Learning is enhanced when students see as well

60
as listen (audio-visual) - they remember even more when they can also use their senses of
touch, smell and taste. Provide practice across the curriculum e.g. Art, History, Geography,
Biology etc.

In addition, projects in the natural environment -

Provide practice in academic skills such as note making, labelling, classifying, referencing,
etc.

Take place in a natural and enjoyable setting. This helps to lower emotional barriers
which sometimes get in the way of effective learning.

Develop in the students an appreciation of and sensitivity towards the natural world.

A project helps in applying theory into practice as well as integrating the different subjects
in the curriculum.

The basic outline of an environmental project is as follows:

a. Preparation. As a teacher, think about how the

students will benefit *linguistically* from the
project. You will need to balance the length of
the activity against these benefits. For example,
drawing a tree contains little or no linguistic
benefit, whereas collecting leaves and identifying
them in a field guide contains considerable
benefits. Make a list of vocabulary, structures
and functions which the students will practice during the project. The teacher may
point to the beneficial qualities of planting trees.

61
b. Put together a 'green box' full of equipment that might be needed: directional
compasses, maps, clipboards, collecting jars, reference guides, etc. so that you don't
need to hunt around for things at the time.

c. Introduce the project. As far as possible let ideas for projects emerge from the
students themselves. Just asking 'How could we learn English outside the classroom /
using trees / using flowers, etc.?' is often enough to get them started. Explain what
you're going to do and how it will benefit the students.

d. Language practice. For example, if the students are going to study flowers or trees
you could first show them how to use a reference guide to enable them to identify
the different species. If you were going to study insects you could ask them to read a
description of an insect and label a diagram. If they were going on a country walk
you could ask them to plan and describe the route they will take, learn the Country
Code, and speculate about what they might see, etc.

e. Field work. This is the activity itself. Make sure that children are properly supervised.
Set a time limit for the end of the activity. Establish boundaries and no-go areas.
Make sure they retain a proper respect for living things: for example not picking wild
flowers, returning specimens to where they were found.

f. Reporting. Once back in the classroom, compare and contrast findings. Write
reports. Draw and label diagrams. Produce maps and graphs, etc.

g. Personalization. This is to help your students see the relevance to them of what they
have been studying. Ask them how they felt about the project.
Ask them about favourite plants, animals, colours, shapes, textures, etc. Ask them
about their home environment: how is it the same or different?

62
 h. Extension. If possible, set the project in a larger context. Eg. studying trees could lead
onto a discussion about the rainforests, global warming, sustainable development,
etc.

Some examples. . .

Projects in the natural environment don't have to be complicated and can be used to
practice almost any item of language. Here are some examples:

 WHAT DO YOU CALL..? / HOW DO YOU SPELL..? Plan and go on a country walk while
the students ask questions.

 SHOULD / SHOULDN'T. Learn and act out the Country Code (video'd) e.g. 'You
shouldn't pick wild flowers.'

 THERE IS / ARE.... SOME / ANY.....+ PREPOSITIONS. Draw & describe a scene. e.g.
'There are some birds in the tree.'

 DESCRIBING LOCATION. Make a plan of the school grounds and write about it. e.g.
'The school is approached by a long avenue lined with trees.'

 COMPARISON & CONTRAST. Measure trees / race sticks in a river / compare and
contrast leaves, insects, flowers, etc. e.g. 'Taller/shorter/shortest
/faster/slower/slowest, most/least colourful, etc.',

 DESCRIBING COLOURS & TEXTURES. Scavenger hunt (created by your students);

natural collage & sculpture. e.g. 'Find something red/blue/smooth/furry, etc.
Where's the large furry caterpillar?'

63
  PRESENT CONTINUOUS / 'GOING TO' FUTURE. Record daily rainfall / temperature /
wind speed & direction, etc. Write a daily school weather forecast. e.g. 'It's raining /
the wind's blowing from the West / It's going to be bright and sunny this afternoon /
it'll be bright later.''

 DIRECTIONS. Create a nature trail. Plan and go on a country walk. e.g. 'Go through
the woods and turn left down the grass track.'

 DEVELOPMENT. 'USED TO'. Contrast past maps and photos with the present scene.
e.g. 'There used to be green fields here but now there is a road.'

 PREDICTION. Contemplate the effects of time upon a scene. 'By 2005 the road will
have disappeared. The trees will have been re-planted.'

 PAST NARRATIVE (i.e. First, next, then, etc. + past verbs). Describe a walk. e.g.' First
we walked across a bridge, then we saw a rabbit, etc.'

 INSTRUCTIONS (First, next, then, etc. + imperative verbs). Follow instructions to

create a sun dial. e.g. 'First take a piece of card and cut a hole in the centre. Then…'

 CLASSIFICATION. Collecting, sorting and identifying leaves, flowers, insects, etc. e.g.
'Evergreen trees can be divided into four basic types.'

To help our candidates plan a project based activity the following example has been
included.
Steps for a project

 Purpose
 Planning
 Execution
 Evaluation

64
The project should involve the following:

1. Observe – Look at the world around you. Watch things closely, and that will make you
curious about why or when or how something happens. That leads to the next step…

2. Problem – The questions that come up during your observations – the why’s and the
how’s are the second step of the scientific method. Your problem is usually stated as a
question.
3. Hypothesis – A guess at the answer to the question. A hypothesis is an “educated guess”.
You take what you already know about the subject and use it to guess the answer to your
question. You could be right. You could be wrong. It doesn’t matter, because you’re going to
find out in the next step…

4. Experiment – Test your hypothesis. Come up with an experiment to find out the answer
to your question. This is the trickiest part of the scientific method, because an experiment
has to be designed with controls and variables in place.

5. Conclusion – The solution to your problem. When the experiment is complete, your
question will be answered, and your results will help you reach your conclusion.

A project should have a time frame of 7 days to 4 weeks. Apart from that your project
should be age appropriate. Practical application of the project is also of importance.
A project for the Elementary Class

Leaf Collection Project (Group project – groups of 2/3 students)

Class/ Grade: 2
Age: 6-7 years
Time for completion: 2 weeks.
Previous knowledge on which the project is based: Types of plants e.g. trees, herbs,
shrubs and whether they are evergreens or seasonal trees.

65
The project aims to integrate EVS and Language. Skills that are involved are assimilation of
previous knowledge with application and writing / labelling.

Leaf collecting is a good way to learn about the plants that grow in your area/
neighbourhood.
Collecting leaves will also help you to learn about -
 Different types of plants
 Colours through the colours of the leaves
 Conservation of trees

Assignment: Students are to create a leaf collection booklet containing leaves

from 8 different trees. Label them and write the types of plants they were

 Materials needed:
 Scrap book
 Glue
 Pen/pencil
 Labels
 A small packet to keep the leaves in

Process:
1. Go around your neighbourhood and collect 8 different types of leaves
2. Identify the leaves- that are names of the plants/trees, types of plants / trees.
3. Label neatly.
4. Write 5 lines on how to save the trees.

Important note:
(Please instruct your students that if the leaves are collected from the neighbours’ gardens
then they need prior permission before picking those leaves. Ideally the collection needs to
be from the leaves that are on the ground and not plucked from the plants. That is one way
of teaching that plants too have life).

66
Computer Aided Learning (CAL)

In the early 90’s, education started being affected by the introduction of word processors in
schools, colleges and universities. This mainly had to do with written assignments. The
development of the Internet brought about a revolution in the teachers’ perspective, as the
teaching tools offered through the Internet were gradually becoming more reliable.
Nowadays, the Internet is popular in foreign language teaching, as both educators and
learners are embracing it.

No doubt that computer is a great tool to improve student’s learning. Computer-assisted-

instruction increases motivation by providing a context for the learner that is challenging
and stimulates curiosity (Malone, 1982).

Activities that are intrinsically motivating also carry other significant advantages such as
personal satisfaction, challenge, relevance, and promotion of a positive perspective on
lifelong learning (Keller and Suzuki, 1988; Kinzie, 1990).

The fantasy context increases learning, apart from using computer programs, that
involvement in fantasy is often highly intrinsically motivating.

Pedagogical points of view of CAL:

 Children feel positive about activities using CAL
 Feel a sense of independence.
 Satisfaction able to control the technology.
 Higher level of motivation.
 Increased enthusiastic collaboration and quick learning using computer.

67
Main Categories of CAL

DRILL

SIMULATION

TUTORIAL

GAME

CAL based programmes are useful because:

a) They present the educational material in a navigable form.

b) They provide repetitive drills to improve student’s command of knowledge.

c) They provide game-based drill to provide learners enjoyment.

d) Assess student’s capability with a pre-test.

e) Assess student’s progress with a post –test.

f) Routing students through a series of instructional programs.

g) Recording student’s scores and progress for later inspection/ evaluation.

68
Teaching through technology is not only an effective teaching tool for the teacher, it also
introduces the learner to the digital world which not only supplements textbook content,
but also makes it come alive.

As a teacher using technology in the classroom one can use the following to engage the
young learners and make learning more effective.

Animations
Animation can be a child-friendly way of integrating technology in the classroom. This is an
effective way of engaging the audio visual learner and keeps a class of mixed learning styles
effectively attentive.

Presentation

PowerPoint for young learners. This makes contexts clear and recapitulation effective.

Video Tutorials

These can be used either to create video tutorials for learners who are into home school or
for those who are unable to attend school for reasons beyond their control.

69
Digital Stories

Stories are important for young learners, and they are ideal for their imagination to come

alive. Digital stories include animation as well as the film version and can be an ideal option

to activate the schema and help the learners to connect to technology from a young age.

Digital Posters

For the pre-adolescents, there are the Digital Posters that encourage creativity and gives

scope for the imagination to find an outlet. KerProofanf Glogster Digital Paper is a good tool

for creating digital posters.

Online Whiteboards

Interactive whiteboard tools – like Scribbler, Spaceneck, Sketchlot and Pixiclip– allow the

teacher to create board activities and record what’s done on the board for later lessons. It is

effective when a substitution teacher has to take the class.

Podcasting

Students can record dialogues at school using recording devices and then listen to them

later. Teachers can use the Podcasts to develop the listening skills in young learners.

Blogs
Blogs are a good way of showing parents what their children have
been doing in class. The young learners enjoy more of digital writing
and are more comfortable with the key board than the writing tools.
This is good way to encourage them to write and share their work.
Texting
This may not be encouraged in institutions, but if permitted, can be a fun way to introduce
informal writing to the students.

70
Video

YouTube has a special education section, called YouTube Edu that can be used by the
teacher as a supplementary material – reference as well as an audio visual aid.

Technology in language teaching

Technology in language teaching is not new. Technology has been around in language teaching
for decades. Tape recorders, language labs and videos have been in use since the 1960s and
1970s, and are still in classrooms around the world.

Computer-based materials for language teaching, often referred to as CALL (Computer Assisted
Language Learning), appeared in the early 1980s.

Early CALL programs typically

required learners to respond to
stimuli on the computer screen and
to carry out tasks such as filling in
gapped texts, matching halves and
doing multiple-choice activities. The
CALL approach is one that is still
found on many published CD-ROMs
for language teaching.

An access to Information and

Communications Technology (ICT)
has become more widespread, so
CALL has moved beyond the use of
computer programs to embrace the
use of the Internet and web-based
tools.

71
The term TELL (Technology Enhanced Language Learning) appeared in the 1990s, in response
to the growing possibilities offered by the Internet and communications technology.

Although the use of ICT by language teachers is still not widespread, the use of technology in
the classroom is becoming increasingly important, and will become a normal part of ELT
practice in the coming years (Dudeney, G. & Hockley, N.).

Attitudes to technology

Many people are afraid of modern technology, and, with the increasing presence of the
Internet and computers, the term technophobe has appeared to refer to those teachers who
might be wary of these new developments. On the other hand techno-geeks are technology
enthusiasts. More recently, the term digital native has been invented to refer to someone who
grows up using technology, and who therefore feels comfortable and confident with it –
typically today’s children. Their parents, on the other hand, tend to be digital immigrants, who
have come late to the world of technology, if at all. In many cases, teachers are the digital
immigrants and our younger students are the digital natives.

"A large part of the negative attitudes teachers have towards technology, is
usually the result of a lack of confidence, a lack of facilities or a lack of training,
resulting in an inability to see the benefits of using technologies in the classroom.”.

Implementing ICT in the classroom

Teachers have varying levels of access to computers and technology, and teach in all sorts of
contexts to all sorts of learners. First of all, we need to find out about our learners’ IT
(Information Technology) skills and degrees of exposure (e.g. by means of a questionnaire),
and then start with the simplest technologies in the classroom. For learners with very low IT
skills or literacy issues, use simple word processing tasks. Once they are comfortable with this,

72
basic email or searching the Internet can be introduced. Try to pair up more technically
experienced learners with the novices for any ICT-based class-work, so that the more
experienced users help the less experienced ones.

Which ICT tools and activities are suitable for young learners? Many of today’s young learners
are more tech-savvy than their teachers! Ask your young learners what tools they already
know or use, and start off by using those. Many teenagers will already be familiar with email,
instant messaging and chat, and perhaps even with blogs. For younger learners, use some of
the ready-made materials and websites available on the Internet. There are also plenty of web
quests (mini-projects in which a large percentage of the input and materials is supplied from
the Internet) on a range of topics available for younger learners. Web quests can be teacher-
made or learner-made, depending on the learning activity the teacher decides on. Use Google
to search for ELT web quests.

73