Music In the Classroom. Bob Dylan Printable Lesson Plan

Motivation is a key concept in learning foreign languages. My motivation as a language learner was, and still is, music and literature, which I desperately wanted to be able to understand in the language in which they were written. When the time came to choose my dissertation topic for my MSc it was clear to me that music in ESL classrooms should be my focus. The bibliography was almost as sparse as my mood was rotten while I wrote it. No one wants their student years to be over and relocating back to my home country was not a prospect I was looking forward to. Poring over hundreds of song lyrics in order to find appropriate songs, my conviction that music promotes language acquisition became stronger and remains with me today.

Calligraphy Club: Shel Silverstein Handrwriting Printable Poetry Journal Pages

My love for the poetry of Shel Silverstein cannot be denied by any means. His writing is funny, witty, unconventional and speaks straight through to a child's heart. 

This is another Calligraphy club printable, this time including a few poetry journal pages.  Just print, ink up your pens and write away! 

The voice by Shel Silverstein

Calligraphy Club: Handwriting Worksheet - Christina Rossetti Printable

 Another Calligraphy Club Printable, this time featuring a children's poem by Christina Rossetti. 

Christina Rossetti by her brother.
Photo via Wikipedia

The Rainbow 

by Christina Rossetti

Calligraphy Club: Printable Handwriting Practice Sheets with a Poetic Twist!

I' ve been using fountain pens since primary school and I have come to realise that those writing instruments have shaped the way I write. 

To begin with, as one of my students once told me, fountain pens are like toothbrushes, they are very personal. They adjust the ink flow to the writer's writing angle and pace, and they don't require any pressure, which means that one is able to write in a fluent motion. This means that the fatigue caused by writing for a long time is minimised. Moreover, fountain pens cater for both left-handed and right-handed students, not only because of the adjustable ink flow. Many brands have issued fountain pens for children that offer both left-handed and right-handed grips. 

One of the most difficult things to teach a child learning to write is how to hold their pen properly. Fountain pens adress that issue, too. If you don't hold the pen correctly, the ink flow is obstructed and the pen won't write. In other words the writer is "taught" by the pen how to hold it correctly in order for him or her to be able to write. 

Using fountain pens increases motivation to write. Many of my students actually HATE writing. A large number of them believe that their handwriting is horrible and that there is no way to fix that. Using fountain pens reshapes this belief, since it helps them transform the appearence of their writing within a couple of weeks. It gives students the satisfaction that they have accomplished something they thought was beyond their reach. 

You don't have to spend a fortune in order to buy your child a fountain pen. As a matter of act I advise you not to. There are plenty of quality fountain pens in the market that range from 1,50 to 10 euro and are especially made for children. I also advise that you buy cheap bottled ink to refill the pen. It is cheaper and eco friendly. You might also want to invest in a fountain pen correction pen that will last the whole school year.

So you made your trip to the fountain pen store and got your child a pen... Now what? There are many websites that offer handwriting practice sheets that you can use. I for once prefer to make my own, not only because I can choose the font but I can also play around with the content. In order to help my students get familiarised with poetry and songs that I love, I use poems and songs for my handouts. I have also bought a cheap calligraphy notebook that I give to the students that finish early. 

Here is the first calligraphy handout I made for my calligraphy club, featuring a poem by one of my favourite poets: Shel Silverstein. Print and enjoy. There will be more soon. 

How to teach reading in a second language.

Parents often ask me what they can do to help their child become more proficient in the second language. My answer has always been the same; Read to your child, buy books with your child, encourage your child to read alone. Read, read, read and then read some more.  Reading has always been the most neglected skill in the ELT classroom, probably because of its complexity to teach. We tend to underestimate the power of free, voluntary reading, because its benefits are not instantly evident in our conscious learning classroom environments.

At this point we must make a distinction between acquisition and learning. Acquisition refers to the subconscious comprehension of a linguistic system, which is profound and leads to fluency and accuracy in grammatical forms. Conscious learning refers to the explicitly taught rules of a language. In his Comprehension Hypothesis Krashen maintains that L2 (Second Language) acquisition takes place in only one way: when we decipher the message, when we understand what is said or read. In other words we don’t acquire language when we produce it, but when we understand it (1).

Shel Silverstein's Homework Machine in the EFL Classroom!

Who wouldn't want a Homework Machine? Shel Silverstein's poem depicts the frustration all of us have felt at least once in their lives. What if you could actually build one and use it at home with your child or even better in class with your students?

The endeavour is grand but the solution is simple. All you need is a shoe box - or a simple card box-, a cutter and a lot of imagination. I made this Homework Robot to use with my students in class within an hour and believe me Serious Grammaticus, as his name is, became an instant hit among all ages. 

This is how you can make one of your own. 

Materials:

1. card box (a shoe box is the easiest way)
2. cutter 
3. glue
4. markers
5. blank cards 
6. thin cardboard 

Instructions:

1. Cut two holes on the front of the box, one on the top (input hole) and on the bottom (output). Make them large enough for the blank cards to fit.  

2. On the inside of the box, make a cardboard pathway connecting the input hole to the output hole. Make the short one first then the longer one. Glue them in place. 

3. Decorate the box whichever way you like. I made mine into a robot, Serious Grammaticus!

4. Prepare your cards. One the front side of the card write the questions. On the back side write the answers. The cards will instantly flip when you drop them into the INPUT hole and come out with the answer face up!

Uses:

You can use the Homework Machine in many different ways. 

1. Math
addition cards
tables
subtraction
multiplication
division

2. Language arts
parts of speech recognition
plurals
persons (my brother and I= we, Helen=she,etc.)
irregular verbs
spelling: Correct your teacher, error identification
vocabulary translation 
dolch words

Do spend the time making the Homework Machine with your child, I assure you you are going to have a blast. If you do find the time please send me a picture, I would love to see what you came up with!

Η Δραστηριότητα της Κυριακής 

Ο Serious Grammaticus, το ρομπότ που μας βοηθάει να μαθαίνουμε παίζοντας, είναι μια εύκολη κατασκευή που μπορείτε να φτιάξετε με το παιδί σας στο σπίτι. Στην τάξη μπορείτε να τον χρησιμοποιήσετε με πολλούς και διάφορους τρόπους, για να διδάξετε από μαθηματικά, γλώσσα (μητρική ή ξένη), ακόμα και ιστορία. Το πιο σημαντικό είναι να δείξετε στα παιδιά σας ότι η φαντασία μπορεί να μεταμορφώσει ακόμα και το πιο βαρετό γραμματικό φαινόμενο σε παιχνίδι. 

Student Poetry Projects Using Powerpoint - Εργασίες Μαθητών της Έκτης Δημοτικού της Σχολής Χιλλ.

Don't you just love it when your students take initiative and transform what you have given them into something of their own? 

 I was trying to go through my last year's materials, in order to tidy up my messy computer, when I came up with projects made by my 6th Grade students. It all started when I made PowerPoint presentations of their grammar poems, which the students loved. Some of them were acquainted with the use of technology and offered to make presentations of their own. I have included three of the presentations that they made, and I must admit I am really proud of the work they have done. I have more Student Projects in one of the computers at school, which I am going to include in a later post. I hope you like them as much as I do. This is what happens when children try something off the beaten track. 

• The first presentation is contributed by Irene M. (12 years old.) It was presented during our Earth Day celebration. 

• One more presentation by Irene M. 

The last presentation of the day belongs to Kostis G. (12 years old) 

I am looking forward to this new school years projects. I am sure my new students will amaze me as always. 

Poetry Club: New Poetry Video - Νέο ποίημα από το English Poetry Club της Σχολής Χιλλ!

It has been a very busy and prolific year for our 6th Grade Poetry Club. This is the last video of the year, now my students have one each. These videos are also part of my goodbye gift to them, a PowerPoint Show including pictures, their videos, projects, and of course their Year Book. Stay tuned for more. 

Saying Goodbye: End of Year Powerpoints

I have found a valuable teacher helper in PowerPoint, especially since we got interactive whiteboards in our school. I have used it  for presentations,obviously, but also to make interactive board games, even to make the poetry videos for our Poetry Club. The ways that one can use PowerPoint are endless, one may even say that it has become obsolete by now, however I find the possibilities it offers intriguing. This year I have used PowerPoint to make interactive goodbye gifts for my classes. In this post I will try to explain how. 

To begin with, you need a version of PowerPoint, it doesn't have to be the latest one. You will also need a template that you can find online. I used one from fppt.com. Then I used text boxes to create my first slide menu. Here is what it looks like:

First slide: Our Class

OUR PHOTOS SECTION

Then, I made a second slide containing all the students' names. Using a hyperlink I connected it to the first slide. Then I went back to the First Slide and using again a hyperlink I connected the "Our Photos" text box to the Second Slide. I have changed the student names in the photo that follows. 

Second Slide: Our Class Photos
(linked to 1st Slide)

Afterwards, I made twelve slides, one for each child, to contain a collage of their photographs. Each  page was then linked to the second slide. Each text box with the child's name was linked to the child's page. So when you click on M******'s box, it takes you to his personal photo page, and back to the main Our Class Photos page. For the photo collages I used a free photo collage maker that I found online.  Here is what their photo collages look like:

And here is what a child's personal page looks like:

Sample Personal Page. Each child
has its own photo page,
which is linked to the
second slide: Our Photos.

Clicking on the name takes you back to the second slide: Our Class Photos. Clicking on the tiny house picture on the bottom right-hand corner takes you back to the main menu, the first slide. 

ALL ABOUT US SECTION 

For this section I used a freebie from Teachers Pay Teachers, which the children filled in. I found it through the following blog:

http://theartofteachingut.blogspot.com/2011/06/dr-seuss-all-about-me-book.html

Once the children filled the handout in, I scanned it and using a flipbook maker, I turned it into a flipbook, which I embedded in the PowerPoint presentation. 

OUR POEMS SECTION

When you click on the Our Poems tab on the first slide, you are taken to the page below.Each box contains the name of one of my students. Each box is also a link to the child's poem page. 

This slide is linked to
the first one.
It contains links to the
children's poem pages. 

There are twelve Poem pages all linked back to the above slide. This is what they look like:

Personal Poem page.
Linked to the
 "Our Poems" Page. 

The headline is a link to the "Our Poems" page. 

OUR BOOKS SECTION

In this section I have included projects that the children have done based on the books we read together this year. Clicking on the "Our Books" tab on the first slide takes you to the following page:

Each photo is a link to a Flash Flipbook containing the children's work.

GALLERY SECTION 

Clicking on the Gallery cloud on the first slide takes you to this page. Here I have included a Flash photo flipbook, containing photos, projects, games in an exe file. It also contains video presentations of the children's work. 

The final product resembles a DVD menu. 

You might also like:

Saying Goodbye: End of Year Activities. 

Saying Goodbye: End of Year Activities - Αποχαιρετώντας τους μαθητές της έκτης δημοτικού της Σχολής Χιλλ

Former Student Graffiti
Outside Our School:
Hill, here begins and ends
a fairytale. 

• Coming from a family of teachers, I thought that I had a pretty good idea of what  teachers do and how. Teachers wake up early, have long holidays, correct a lot, study a lot, prepare a lot, talk about their students often, some of them are obsessed with their job. No one told me that teachers also say goodbye.

• I work in a relatively small, family school, with a long history in education. We, teachers, know all the students by name even if they are not in our class. From Kindergarten to 6th Grade, we watch them play, learn, form friendships, develop skills and preferences, we know where they like to have lunch and which their favourite band is. We somehow take it for granted that these children are always going to be around. Children grow up fast, and unfortunately so do we, and one fine morning they simply... graduate.

• Saying goodbye to your students leaves a bittersweet aftertaste. You can't help feeling proud of them and what they have become, even a bit proud of yourself for helping a tiny bit, optimistic about their future and certain that whatever they choose in life is going to be the right choice. Graduation in our school is not just a ceremony. We have only a few weeks ahead of us before the school year ends. This year I have two classes graduating so that means I have to get busy!

Memory Boxes

It was while I was studying abroad that I bought my first Memory Box. It was a simple cardboard box, in which I kept memorabilia from my time in Scotland. I still have that box, full of photos, tickets, notes, though I haven't opened it in a very long time. But when I do open it, I know that whatever I have kept in there is going to take me back in time. This is why this year I have chosen to do Memory Boxes with one of my 6th grades.

Memory Boxes by 6th Grade,
Hill School  students.
Αναμνηστικά κουτιά από τους μαθητές
της 6ης Δημοτικού της Σχολής Χιλλ. 

Memory Boxes by 6th Grade,
Hill School  students.
Αναμνηστικά κουτιά από τους μαθητές
της 6ης Δημοτικού της Σχολής Χιλλ. 

I asked each child to bring a cheap, decorated shoe box in class with their name on it. In the box they have a simple notebook and a pen, so the children can write a few things in their classmates' notebooks. We also started adding photographs, letters, poems, and small keepsakes.

What kind of things can you add in a Memory Box? 
a. Photos
I asked the children to bring photos of when they first met.

b. Drawings
I asked them to draw a picture of how they think each of their classmates is going to look like in ten years time. 

 

c. Songs/Lyrics
Each child dedicates a song to each of their classmates. They write a few of the song lyrics in the notebook in the box. 

d. I will never forget the day that... The students complete the sentence. 

e. Acrostic Poems for their classmates' names.

f. Acrostic Poems for our School's name.

Αcrostic poem about Hill School by 6th grade student Kostis G.
Ποίημα με θέμα τη Σχολή Χιλλ από τον μαθητή της έκτης δημοτικού Κωστή Γ. 

g. Goodbye Cards with their names on, signed by their classmates.

h. Lucky charms or small items that remind them of each other.  
... and so much more! 

                                             

Coming up:

6th Grade Year Books 

Click here: 
End Of Year PowerPoints