TEACHING TIP! Courtesy of Mrs. Yogesveri Tangavellu (SJKT Bentong)...

Reading

'Jigsaw Reading' is always a popular activity amongst the pupils.  It's an activity that encourages team work and focuses attention on meaning; pupils have to understand what they are reading in order to correctly arrange the text.

For all it's advantages a major disadvantage of this activity is the preparation time especially with large classes or more complex texts.  Mrs.  Yogesveri Tangavellu has found an ingenious way to combat the amount of time spent on preparing this particular reading activity...

In this instance the text was 'Ben the Bottle' from the Year Three textbook.  The story was broken down into seven parts and these sections of text were written in random order on a piece of A3 paper. Boxes were drawn next to each sentence.

The class was divided into groups and each group was designated a piece of paper.  Individuals from each group then took it in turns to approach the board, read the sentences on their teams' paper, find and number the next sentence.  The first team to correctly sequence the text wins!

This was a great way to simplify a popular reading activity.  The preparation time to include this reading task in an English lesson is minimal so please give it a try and share your experience!

LINUS Classes at SJKC Khai Mun Pagi!

Every week in Khai Mun Pagi the Year Two LINUS pupils spend some time with their mentor Charlotte Lewis.  Mr Foong Tow Choong and Madam Choong Wei Ping wanted to offer their pupils some extra support so weekly sessions were organised with the mentor.  These sessions give the pupils the opportunity to review and revise the basics of phonics, segmenting and blending in a more focused environment. Extra time is spent on making the sounds and recognising the graphemes.  As groups are smaller errors can be corrected more effectively and individuals have more opportunities to be actively involved in the learning process.

There has been a great increase in confidence amongst the participating pupils and this is having a direct effect on their improvement.  Pupils are now quick to try new sounds, face challenges and work together to complete activities.  The sessions have only been taking place for a few weeks but now these pupils can cope in a learning environment where there first language is completely absent and can follow directions and commands in English.

The nerves and reluctance that were present during the first sessions have gone.  The pupils are experiencing a new sense of conviction and self assurance.  Due to the simplified lesson content and hands on activities learning English is not as daunting as it once was.  

Large sets of grapheme cards are used to teach the pupils new sounds and their corresponding actions, smaller sets of cards are used for a variety of activities.  Activity examples include identifying the grapheme after hearing the sound, asking each other for certain sounds to collect a set and making simple CVC words. Once time has been spent preparing these materials there really is no end to the ways in which you can use them to support teaching and learning.

The process is in the initial stages but if the pupils continue to engage with the material and grow in confidence their English language abilities are sure to improve greatly.  This is an exciting project and all successes will be recorded and shared amongst the TELL2 teachers so that the LINUS pupils from all participating schools can improve their language schools and further their enjoyment in the subject.

If you have any tips, questions, activities or materials you would like to share relating to LINUS then please get in touch!

TEACHING TIP! Courtesy of Mdm. Yee Lai Charn (SJKC Perting)...

Classroom Control

Madam Yee's Year Two class are an energetic and enthusiastic group!  When it's time for pupils to volunteer to answer a question or take part in an activity their response is overwhelming and at times a little disruptive...

Madam Yee has found a way to combat this problem.  

This may appear to be just an envelope but it is actually a successful tool in combating the problem of over enthusiastic pupils!

All the pupils in the class have their names written on slips of paper which are folded and put into the envelope.

When it's time to choose an individual pupil the teacher chooses a name from the envelope.

Pupils eagerly anticipated who would be called upon and disagreements over who should be chosen came to an end.

A great tip for those teachers who's pupils' energy and spirited interest can sometimes prove to be disruptive...it's also a simple and objective way to include those who avoid centre stage :)