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Foreign language teaching

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Foreign language teaching

1 TEACHING THROUGH LITERATURE

QUESTIONSuggest activities to use childrens literature in the EFL classrooms.

ANSWER

Literature has been a subject of study in many countries at a secondary or tertiary level, but until recently has not been given much emphasis in the Primary classroom. It has only been since the 1980s that this area has attracted more interest among EFL teachers. In what follows, I will look at some of the issues and ways in which literature can be exploited in the Primary classroom.

Story maps, story wheels and story outlines serve their purpose, but sometimes a new twist can turn book reporting into a more exciting activity. Try the following ideas for unique and fun ways for students to share their favourite literature:

Can it! A story container will soon become a favourite way of book sharing in your classroom. To make a story container, students need a clean, empty can with the label removed. Supply the students with a label-size piece of construction paper, a supply of craft sticks, construction-paper scraps, tape, and crayons or markers. Have them decorate the construction-paper label with the title, the author, and an illustration from a chosen book. Then have them tape the completed label around the can. Next have students use the construction-paper scraps and craft sticks to create a stick puppet for each important character in the story. To talk about their book, students show their decorated container and talk about each character puppet. After the presentation they store the puppets in the container and display them in the classroom for a soup-er exhibit.

Coat-hanger characters. Transform wire coat hangers into clever character displays. To make a character, a student bends a coat hanger into a desired shape and stretches a knee-high stocking over the hanger, pulling it toward the hook of the hanger. At the base of the hook, she/he secures the stocking with a piece of yarn. Next, she/he cuts craft materials such as yarn, felt, and fabric to create facial features to resemble a character from a chosen book; then she/he glues the features to the stocking. For a final touch, she/he completes a copy of a bow pattern with information about the books main character. She/he cuts out the bow and glues it to her/his project as a hair bow or bow tie. When the glue is dry, have students present their completed projects to the class; then suspend the characters by their hooks.

Reports on file. These nifty file-folder book reports will entice your youngsters to read one anothers favourite books. To make a file-folder report, a student writes the title of her/his chosen book on the tab of a coloured file folder. Next, she/he completes a report form with this information about the book: title; author; illustrator; my favourite character; my favourite part of the story; question about the story. At the bottom of their paper, students write a question about the story on several lines provided. Then, they draw a scene from the story on a sheet of

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drawing paper. Finally they staple their completed form to the left side of the folder and their illustration to the right side. Store the folders in a file box for students to review during free time.

Handy-dandy reports. Give literature a hand with cute book reports. Have each student write the title and author of their book on a hand pattern. Next, on separate squares of white paper, have students illustrate two different characters, an item in the setting, and two objects that were important in the story. Have them cut out the pictures and the hand pattern. Then have them glue one picture to each finger of the hand cutout. Display the completed projects on a bulletin board titled Give a big hand to these books.

Its in the bag. Students will enjoy giving book reports when they assume the roles of their favourite characters. Have each student use markers, construction paper, and yarn to decorate a paper lunch bag to resemble a character from a favourite story. To report on her/his book, the student slips the puppet onto her/his hand and speaks about the story from the characters point of view. After the students have given their presentations, staple the puppets to a bulletin board. To complete the display, post a label near each puppet identifying the character and the story it is from.

Pre-reading word search. Pique your students interest in new vocabulary with this pre-reading strategy. Before the class begins reading a new story, provide several minutes of pre-reading time in which students scan the story for interesting or unfamiliar words. After the allotted time, ask students to report their findings. List their responses on a sheet of chart paper labelled with the title and author of the story. Discuss the meaning and pronunciation of each word on the list before having the students read the story. The children will be more familiar with the storys vocabulary, which will increase their comprehension of the reading material. After reading the story, post the word list in your classroom as a handy reference for students to use with other reading and writing assignments.

Word scavenger hunt. Do not stop the learning when you reach the end of a story and promote additional skills practice with the help of clear bingo chips. Instruct your students to turn back to a designated page of the story. Have them search for compound words, contractions, proper nouns, phonetic blends, or other desired skill words. Instruct each student to cover each word she/he finds on the page with a bingo chip. You can quickly assess each students understanding by glancing at his book and checking the words she/he has covered. Students will love the challenge of looking for the designated words, and you will have provided a simple but effective review.

Story wheels. Put a spin on sequencing skills with story wheels. To begin, ask students to name the beginning, middle and ending events from a given story. List their responses (in the order they occurred in the story) on the chalkboard. Then have each student illustrate the events on a story wheel. To make a story wheel, a student uses a pencil and a ruler to divide each of two paper plates into four sections. Students write the title and author of the story in the top right quadrant of one plate. Then they rotate the plate one-quarter turn clockwise, label the top right quadrant beginning, and draw a picture of a corresponding event there. In a similar manner, she/he labels the next quadrant middle and illustrates the problem of the story. Then she/he labels the final quadrant ending and illustrates the ending of the story. To make a wheel cover, they draw a large dot in the centre of the second plate where the four lines intersect. Next students carefully cut away one section of the plate, leaving the dot intact. Then, they erase the pencil marks remaining on the plate and personalize it as desired. Then, using a brad, they attach the wheel cover atop the wheel. To use the story wheel, the student turns her/his wheels so that the second event is showing. She/he tells what happened before and after the

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second event. To check her/his answer, she/he turns the wheel forward or backward to reveal the other events. Continue having students turn their wheels to a determined event and having them tell what happened before and after the event shown. Your students will be on a roll with sequencing.

Story four-square. Review sequencing skills with a game of story four-square. After reading aloud a chosen story, have each student fold a sheet of drawing paper into fourths and open it. Starting in the upper left section, have her/him label the top of each section with one of the following words: first, next, then, finally. Instruct the student to retell the story in sequence by drawing a picture and writing a brief sentence in each square. Students who have trouble expressing themselves verbally will have the drawing as a visual prompt to help them organize their thoughts. The retelling of the story will come in four easy, sequenced steps.

Character mobiles. Decorate your classroom with a classy cast of characters. Ask each student to select a character from independent or class reading and then use construction paper, markers, and yarn to decorate a paper plate to resemble the characters face. Next have him/her write the title, author, and characters name on separate cards. On three additional cards, instruct students to write three different traits about their characters. After the student has hole-punched her/his paper plate and cards, help her/him use yarn lengths to connect the cutouts as pictured. Suspend the completed mobiles from the ceiling for a dazzling display.

Reading Olympics. If you are ready for some all-star readers, hold a Reading Olympics in your classroom. Determine an appropriate time limit for the contest; it can be a weeklong event, or it can last for an entire grading period. To prepare for the event, establish a number of pages or an amount of time for home reading that each student must complete to qualify for a bronze, silver, or gold medal. Document each students progress by sending home a recording sheet where the following information can be read: date; title of book; number of pages read and time spent reading. Remind students that a parent or other adult must initial each entry on the sheet. At the end of the time period, collect the recording sheets and total the page numbers or minutes of reading time. Then make a medal for each deserving student. To make a medal, spray-paint a cardboard circle bronze, silver, or gold. After it dries, use paint pens to decorate the medal. When the decorations are dry, use a permanent marker to write the students name and achievement on the award. Next punch a hole in the medal, thread a length of ribbon through the hole and tie the ribbons ends. Present the medals at a special Olympic Medal Ceremony to which parents have been invited. Your students will feel like reading champions, but the real reward will be the time they spent at home with their books.

Make friends with a book. Help your students select the best in literature by providing them with some references. You will select short-story books, beginning chapter books, a selection of stories to read aloud to your students and a list of favourite authors. Your class is sure to find several favourites among these teacher-recommended titles.

Life-size library figures. Invite your youngsters to enter the world of books by enlarging library-book characters onto a poster board. Colour, cut out, and laminate each figure. Display the characters in your classroom or in the hallway. Then add conversation bubbles encouraging students to read.

All aboard! Mount a construction-paper engine on a classroom wall. Provide each student with several coloured copies of a boxcar pattern to take home. Each time the student reads a book at home, have her/him complete the information on the boxcar, cut it out, and return it to school. Mount the boxcars on the wall to create a train. As the train grows throughout the year, so will your students reading abilities.

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The growing caterpillar. Motivate students to read independently by challenging them to achieve a group reading goal. To create this display, cut a supply of large construction-paper circles. Add pom-pom eyes, a nice mouth, and pipe-cleaner antennae to one circle to resemble a caterpillars head. Mount the caterpillars head on a classroom wall. Tell students that for every book a student read, a segment will be added to the caterpillar. The student must write her/his name, the authors name, and the title of the book on a construction-paper circle, then have a teacher or parent initial the circle to indicate that she/he told them about the book. Reward the students with a special party in their honour upon completion of their goal. Your students will be amazed at how fast the bookworm grows.