We Heart -ay! And a Phonics Freebie

Teaching Phonics and Idioms

My teaching job is a little off the wall. Like most teachers, I was used to teaching classes of around 30 children. Now I teach upwards of 120 every week! My little ducklings are new to English and are desperately trying to catch up with their peers. My job is to help them do just that. And the image above is typical of my classes - lots of different cultures. It's fab!

Differentiating the EAL Classroom

Every one of my children is at a different level in their language acquisition. Some are almost fluent orally but have huge gaps in their grammar. Some have no phonic awareness so struggle to sound and blend. Others are totally new to the language and are in the "silent period", which can last for anything up to two years! Differentiation is taken to a whole new level in my classes..! In Wales we use the "5 Stage Process" to assess our EAL children, where A is new to the language, B is acquiring the language, C is developing the language, D is becoming more competent and E is fluent. I have given every one of my children individual targets according to what gaps they need to fill in order to move up to the next level. That took a while, I can tell you!

My planning is organised in terms of focus. Every week there is a speaking and listening focus, which is the bread and butter of language acquisition. In addition, there is another focus, either reading or writing. This week my focus will be reading. Last week the focus was writing. 

Phonics and Idioms

Luckily for me, most of my children fall into one of five categories, so I only need to work up five medium term plans for each half term. Last week was the first week back to school where I have been able to properly put it all to the test - and it worked!

My level A learners (new to the language) spend some time working with pictures and building up their vocabulary. Most of them are very young so the learning process continues in the classroom - at that age they soak up language like sponges. We made "mmm" sounds when they saw an apple or ice cream, and "ssssss" sounds for the snake. We had such fun.

My level B readers focused on learning speed sounds M, A, S, T, D, I, N, P, G and O. It seems like a lot, but we had started these last school year, so this was refreshing sounds they already knew. I was pleased that they remembered and were able to use the cards to sound out and build CVC words for themselves.

 Although the resources that came with the phonics pack are very good (see the picture above), I found that the children were building words that they didn't know the meaning of. So I made myself a set of visual aids for each group of sounds. The first set is free, and subsequent sets are available at a very small cost. Click below for the freebie.

My level C children worked on the -ay sound. We talked about how we could use different combinations of letters to make the same sound, and brainstormed a few. Then we looked at -ay. They came up with lots of words using -ay. Here are a few:

My level D children are good all round readers and writers, but have gaps in their grammar and find it tricky to understand some of the more subtle nuances in their reading. We worked on idioms, which they absolutely loved! We talked about "raining cats and dogs", and "I'm over the moon". Then we thought about heart idioms, like "I wear my heart on my sleeve" and "my heart is broken". They made fabulous little heart-shaped books to record the idioms and their meanings. Here they are:

How Do You Teach Phonics?

An Update

Only Tuesday and I'm already flaked out...! If I can just make it to the weekend..... Then it's just Monday and I'm on summer break until September 3rd...  But-it's-sooooooo-hard......

A few days ago I blogged about teaching EAL (ESOL) children to read, write and speak English, and the difficulties involved with using phonics. You can see my post and download a free resource by clicking the image below:

I have received some really kind comments about my Monster Match resources. It's great to have feedback from all you wonderful teachers about how you manage EAL (ESOL) children's learning - hmmmm, I feel a linky party coming on....

Without further ado, here is the second resource in the set - Set 1 sounds for letters I, N, P, G and O. All of the Set 1 sounds resources will be available in my TN and TPT stores (I prefer TN because I don't pay commission there) for the very small sum of just $1. The word family resources (when available) will be a little more, simply because they will be longer. I hope you enjoy, and please remember to leave me feedback - every little helps.

 

  

Have a fab day!

How Do You Teach Phonics?

How do you teach phonics?

I am one of those teachers who has never really had to teach phonics widely in class. That job was mostly done by those wonderful teachers in Key Stage 1 (K-1). As a Key Stage 2 (2-5) teacher, I only had occasion to teach letters and sounds to children who had missed out for some reason, or who had additional needs. As such, I was not well versed in using phonics programmes, although I had been trained in various methods and programmes until it was coming out of my ears...

All that changed dramatically four weeks ago when I started my new job. As I travelled around schools in the area assessing children's English language ability, I quickly discovered that all of them - even those who were fluent English speakers - had gaps in their phonic knowledge which meant that it was going to be difficult for them to decode and spell unfamiliar words. As such, I have spent the last four weeks giving crash courses in basic phonic to around 100 children...

It's been great! I am having a ball! But I'm also a bit frustrated. Read on to find out why.

There are lots of really worthwhile phonics programmes on the market. I don't know what you have in the US, but over here lots of schools use Jolly Phonics or Letters and Sounds. Letterland was a great scheme for introducing the alphabet and basic sounds, but not digraphs or split digraphs. Some schools use POPAT. They are all very similar. Over the last two years or so, I have been using a scheme called "Read, Write, Inc". I must admit I was sceptical at first, but having used it successfully at a number of schools. I am a convert. Don't get me wrong, I am not on commission for promoting it or anything, but I thought you might like to know what goes down well over here.

                  

The scheme is suitable for all children, from beginners to phonics right up to those who are proficient and need practice with reading comprehension and writing. As I prefer the freedom to be creative with reading and writing in the classroom, I tend to just use RWI's phonics elements. The programme begins by introducing the first set of speed sounds - the basic 31 sounds. Interesting and colourful books support learning as the sounds are introduced. Once the children are secure with set 1 sounds, sets 2 and 3 are introduced - digraph blends such as -ay, -ee, er etc. As the children read through the books (which get progressively more difficult as they become more familiar with the groups of sounds), they encounter different ways of making the same sounds (eg -air, are etc). There are also "Green Words" and "Red Words" words which can be sounded and blended conventionally, and words which are irregular and have to be learned. The scheme is great fun and the children absolutely love it. I have seen some resources on Amazon if anyone would like to give it a go.

            

So I decided to give it a try with my EAL children. All of them. Even those who could speak English fluently. I found loads of fantastic resources on TPT and TN for teaching phonics, but they were all tailored to teaching phonics to children who have English as their first language. Children who start school with English as their first language know, for example, what a map is, so when they sound out and blend, they have a picture in their heads that they can associate with that word for ever and a day. Not so with EAL (ESL) children who are new to English. They do not know what the word "map" means or what a mug looks like, so they sound and blend in a totally meaningless vacuum. It falls on me to try to illuminate the poor mites, and as I don't speak Polish or Portuguese or Tagalog, I have to resort to acting. Believe me, my miming skills are second to none....! Hence my reason for being frustrated.

We all know that EAL children need visual prompts. Wouldn't life be so much easier if everything came with a picture cards..? So last night I decided enough was enough!. I sat down and started to design something to complement the RWI programme that would help my EAL children to understand what on earth it was that they were spelling out and blending. I came up with this:

It's called "Monster Match" and is based on the first 5 Set 1 sounds - M A S D and T. Top of my summer bucket list is to produce one of these for each group of Set 1 sounds, a resource for Set 2 and 3 digraphe blends, and sentence strips to reinforce learning. After introducing the sounds, children use the cards to build CVC words. Blend the sounds using the sound buttons (one sound) and dashes (digraphe blend) and say the word. Then - and this is the useful part for my EAL kids - match the word to the picture.


Initial sound sorting cards



 

Picture cards
















Picture cards

                                                                                                     

The first set is free, so pop along to my TN or TPT stores to download your copy now.

Happy Sunday!



The Dreaded Summer Dip And Then Some - A Linky Party.

Happy Sunday everyone! Today we have a window of opportunity - to wash and dry the laundry in between showers! It's rained nonstop here for more than two weeks, and some of you may have seen news reoprts of the flooding that's been happening all across the UK. The lawn needs a good cut but it's just too wet - it's already knee high! Today we have a little breathing space - there are a few clouds but on the whole it's looking pretty good. It won't last, we're told. Something to do with the Jet Stream lying lower than usual. My summer clothes are still packed away, which tells you a lot about the kind of summer we've had so far. Hopefully it will all change when the schools break in two weeks.... I can but wish..

 Now you may have noticed that I've been a bit quiet over the last few weeks (nothing to do with the rain...). I started my new job in June and it's been all hands on deck ever since. I just don't seem to have a minute to down tools. I can always tell when things are busy in work because I tend to work things out in my head at night while I'm "asleep".  I have been known to teach a full lesson in front of an interactive whiteboard in my sleep...

Take the other night, for example. A lot of my students will return home to Poland, Portugal and further afield over the next weeks or so, where they will spend the summer, returning in time for the new term in September. This is great for them because it's so important to see their family and friends, and maintain strong cultural links. Not so great for me because they will have lost much of their English language skill due to not needing to use it. This is the summer dip and then some!

So, on Friday night while I was asleep, I had a revelation. My favourite book store was selling off 2012 diaries (for real) for just 25p (around 40c). I dreamed I went out and bought a load. I gave the diaries to the children with instructions to make sure they wrote in them in English every day while they were away. It could be just one sentence or a whole diary entry. This would help them to remember their summer holiday when they got back (we all know that children have no concept of time and can't remember what they did in school today let alone remember what they did 6 weeks ago!) and also keep their English language skills on the boil. A simple idea, but better than a homemade version that would probably end up in the bin or stuffed at the bottom of a school bag. A proper diary is a little bit special, not to mention grown-up...

So I got up yesterday morning and rushed down to the book store only to find that they'd sold all of their cheap diaries (perhaps someone had the same idea as me)! Not to be thwarted, I scoured the town and managed to find some for the same price. They're not as bright and interesting as the ones I'd originally seen, but they'll serve the purpose.

How do you deal with the dreaded Summer Dip? I'm throwing my first linky party, so join up and leave your tips.

A New Beginning

I must apologise for going AWOL this week. I have been rather quiet on the blogging front for several reasons:

1.  I had a choir rehearsal on Wednesday
2.  I had a band rehearsal yesterday, followed by a gig in the evening
3.  I started my new job...

Yup, the job.

It's taken up most of my time this week, as well you might imagine. Since Monday it has been a whirl of meeting new people, visiting schools, arranging appointments, trying to work out the new Blackberry, finding out who deals with the stationery order in the office, making initial assessments of children and deciding which approach to take. This is no mean feat. Turns out I have around 368 children in the borough who may need my input. That's one big class.... I think I might need to clone myself six times over... :o)

I have enjoyed my first week, even though it has been hectic. I feel like I've been working there for ever. I have managed to assess just 10 children, and taught 9. This evening I am sitting at my laptop trying to work out lesson plans for students in one class between 11 and 16 years, all of whom have different levels of English and different needs. I am also trying to get my head around tomorrow - a school visit in the morning where there are around 60 children needing my help, followed by a visit to a secondary school and an assessment visit to another primary school. Just as well that I like being busy and am a self-starter... Think I'll probably be able to come up for air round about the end of July - oh, hang on, that's the end of term...!

Already I have come up with some great ideas for resources to help the children, all of which I'll make available to you when they are ready. Everything from teaching basic language patterns and phonics, through to developing good grammar and descriptive passages, to being able to use English in an everyday setting, and the tricky area of tenses of irregular verbs. It's going to be a challenge...

No-one said it would be easy - and that's the way I like it!

The other thing on my mind this week is losing weight. With summer just around the corner, it's time to get into shape. Not that I'm obese you understand - I just need to lose a few pounds. But it's always those few pounds that make you feel ugly and uncomfortable in your clothes.. I've tried... I'm a lover of the gym and in the past have hit the place almost every day of the week. But I can't seem to muster up any enthusiasm - I've lost my mojo... But I need to get it back quickly! It's difficult to find time, but I need to try. I don't eat rubbish. I'm a vegetarian so meat and meat derivatives are totally out. I don't eat much bread, and hardly ever have chips. I never have fried food. My one vice is the occasional chocloate treat. So where am I going wrong? Help!!! All advice gratefully received.

Have a good week everyone! Oh, and happy Father's Day to all dads out there.

It's here - the dreaded interview. Dun dun dahhhhh

I've been awake all night. Partly due to the horrendously stormy weather outside - it's shaken the house to the core, the contents of the recycling bin have blown around the garden and the cover has flown off the patio furniture. It's all very Wizard of Oz!

But I've been awake for another reason. In my semi-conscious state I've been teaching all night! I do that when I'm feeling a bit stressed. It's my interview today.

Now I don't normally mind interviews - I always look at unpleasant things in terms of moments out of my life, the present that all too soon becomes the past. And what can they do to me anyway - shoot me?

But this one is slightly different. Those of you who followed my earlier ramblings will recall it's for a specialist post. I'll be teaching language to children with little or no English. Don't get me wrong, I love this kind of work, but when I applied for the job the advert failed to mention that I would be teaching secondary (middle) students...

I'm sure it will be fine - I managed to get an interview so they must think I have something to offer. But I've been stressing over teaching the sample lesson. I know it's an artificial environment that's been created just for interview purposes, but there are so many unknowns, like how many kids, what are their ability levels, what does the interview panel want to see?

I decided to approach it in the same way that I teach languages - after all, that's what got me the interview in the first place. The lesson is on tenses, and there we have problems of a different nature:

• I am a strong believer in teaching languages in a fun, accessible way, not by sitting children down and overtly preaching grammar at them.
• tenses is a huge area - how can you do a decent lesson with teacher input and independent/group work in 30 minutes...?
• how do you explain to children what past, present and future is when they have little grip on the target language?

I know I have to keep it simple - after all, 30 minutes won't change the world. I finally settled on the verb "to be". I am going to TRY to set the scene with flashcards (bilingual and visual), then follow it up by modelling "is", "was" and "will be" through a mini weather report. I will get the children to use actions to help consolidate their understanding, then model how each tense is written. They will then have a mini activity to complete using picture prompts and word flashcards. I am crossing my fingers that this will work....

In researching and preparing my lesson I discovered that there was very little out there to help, so I will make my resources available here for anyone who might find themselves in a similar position.

I'll be sure to let you know how it all goes....

Have a good day y'all