UNIT 06: Why We Tell Stories in the Classroom Props: Visuals for setting and characters, Realia, Masks
rops: Visuals for setting and characters, Realia, Masks for role play, Costumes
 It is an authentic form of communication: The legendary Aesop of ancient Greece is
probably one of the most famous storytellers; his fables are still told to children to teach
moral lessons. In many cultures, storytelling is also a tradition used to communicate
culture from one generation to the next. Children will learn new language as well as
having enjoyable listening practice.
 It introduces new cultures to children: Story, or narrative, is a powerful vehicle for
experiencing culture. Values and concepts of the culture that are embedded in myths and
folktales can be shared through storytelling, story reading, and dramatization. However,
there are many variations in each story that give insight into the different cultures that
these Cinderella stories come from.
 It teaches young learners in an entertaining way: Well-written stories can capture the
interest and imagination of children over multiple generations. Stories like these ignite
learners’ imaginations and creativity while challenging them to learn new language or
understand language in a new context. If teachers skillfully incorporate storytelling into
the curriculum, young learners will pick up new vocabulary and language structures within
the context of an engaging world.
 It helps develop critical thinking skills: Teachers can help students develop critical
thinking skills by asking questions that require students to analyze and make inferences,
and by encouraging them to compare themselves and their cultures with the stories they
have heard.
How we tell stories in the classroom
Reading aloud is usually associated with the storybook, and teachers can point to the pictures and
text while reading the story aloud. However, the storytelling is not limited to the book. A teacher
can tell a story without the book, using other images, costumes, reality, and drama to make the
story come alive for the children. The more engaged you are in the story and the experience of
telling it, the more connected students will be and the more easily they will follow along.
Stories should:
■ be highly predictable
■ be familiar to the home culture
Choose the Right
■ have a high percentage of known vocabulary
Story
■ include repetitive and predictable patterns
■ provide opportunities to apply drama and Total Physical Response
■ lend themselves well to use of visuals and realia to make input
comprehensible
Prepare to Tell a Theatrics: Gestures, Body movement, Dramatic pauses, Character voices, Facial
Story expressions, Speaking slowly and clearly
for role play, Hand or finger puppets, PowerPoint slides or storyboards
Rehearsals: Memorize the text, including questions for students, use cue cards,
if necessary, Practice in front of the mirror, Record/videotape yourself, rehearse
using props, Practice, practice, practice!
Script: Use illustrations from the storybook, Adapt the script to learners’ levels,
create roles students can play, integrate songs or chants, Prepare places in the
storytelling for questions and predictions
Effective Storytelling Activities
 Capture their attention: Use pictures or realia to introduce the story in a fun
and interesting way.
 Connect to prior knowledge and experiences
Activities before
 Review language students have learned
Storytelling
 Pre-teach new vocabulary or expressions
 Ask students to predict what will happen in the story
 Give students a purpose for listening:
 Q & A: Use questions during the storytelling to check comprehension of the
story and keep students engaged.
 Repetition: Repetition of key phrases or chants in a story
Activities during
 TPR (Total Physical Response): Movement and actions can be built into most
Storytelling
children’s stories.
 Create your own ending
 Check predictions: Check the predictions that students made in the before-
or during-storytelling stages.
 Group retelling: Teachers can have students work with them to retell the
story.
 Games: Many different games can be used to check comprehension
following a storytelling.
 Storyboarding: Have students make simple drawings in boxes that show the
plot of the story sequentially, like a comic book.
 Story mapping (story analysis): Teachers can check comprehension of the
Activities after
storytelling by giving students a graphic organizer to map out the plot of the
Storytelling
story or to compare the characters of the story.
 Mini-books: Let students create their own storybooks
 Personalized or parallel story: Have students write a story similar to the one
in the storytelling but with details that draw from their own experiences,
culture, and imagination.
 UNIT 07: Basic Assessment Terms and Concepts 5. Washback: Washback refers to the effects that tests have on teaching and learning.
Guidelines 1. Mirror learning (what is taught is what is assessed)
 Assessment is a process of identifying learning goals and determining how well
for effective 2. Contribute to learning (for both learners and the teacher)
Assessment, students are meeting them.
assessment 3. Motivate learners and build learner confidence
testing, and  Testing is one type of assessment that formally measures learners’ English language of young 4. Include a variety of techniques for learners’ different intelligences and learning styles
evaluation performance. learners 5. Allow all learners to experience success, while providing advanced learners
 Evaluation involves the use of test scores or assessments for some kind of decision opportunities to demonstrate their proficiency
making. 6. Be contextualized and reflect relevant tasks and language for young learners
 Informal: we provide brief comments like “Good job!” or “Want to try that again?” 7. Take place over time
Informal and when our learners are speaking; and we write on their papers, praising their efforts Purpose and types of formal tests
formal and making suggestions for improvement
assessment  Formal: are less frequent. They are systematic ways that we gauge student Purposes To make decisions about where to place students ■■ To monitor students’ performance and
achievement. We use them periodically (test) achievement and note what else we
 Formative assessment: Formative assessment is the (usually informal) assessment need to focus on ■■ To identify students who need special support ■■ To measure and
Formative and that occurs during teaching and learning report students’ progress ■■ To monitor our own effectiveness as teachers and make
summative  Summative assessment: Summative assessment, as its name implies, “summarizes” appropriate instructional
assessment a student’s learning at the end of a year, a term, a course, or a unit of study. modifications
Criterion- and  Norm-referenced assessment ranks each individual learner in comparison to all Alternative These alternatives to traditional assessment for young learners include: observations,
norm- others who were assessed. Assessment conferences and oral interviews, writing samples, story retellings, projects, portfolios, other
referenced  Criterion-referenced assessment compares a student’s performance to a set of s performances, and self- or peer-assessments.
tests specific criteria, usually related to a curriculum or a course. Formal test The purposes and types of formal tests include diagnosing student learning difficulties or
areas in need of further instruction (diagnostic tests); initially placing students at the proper
 Discrete point assessment focuses on individual items, such as a particular word or
language level (placement tests); measuring and reporting student progress in learning the
grammatical structure, in isolation rather than meaningful contexts. Tests for young
curriculum (achievement tests); and providing an overall picture of a student’s language
learners will be discrete point tests, involving multiple-choice items or filling in
development (proficiency).
blanks as evidence that children have learned.
Integrative and
 Integrated assessment is a more holistic approach to assessing learners’ knowledge
discrete point
and skills, involving the four language skills of listening, speaking, reading, and Rating Differences in the type of assessment also result in differences in the ways in which these
tests
writing through the use of interactive activities such as chants, songs, games, role alternative assessments are scored. Some ways of scoring or rating alternative assessments include:
plays, writing tasks, or projects assessments brief feedback, checklists, and rubrics.
Assessing The major focus of assessment for young learners is on oral language development. Even
Principles of Assessment oral after children have developed some literacy in English, assessment of oral language will
language continue to be important, since much of children’s language learning will involve interacting
Basic 1. Reliability: For a language assessment to be reliable, the results should be accurate
with others orally.
Assessment and consistent
Assessing Assessing reading and writing, with both alternative and traditional assessment, is important.
Guidelines 2. Validity: For a language assessment to be valid, the decisions made by the test must
written
be meaningful appropriate, and useful.
language
3. Practicality: An assessment task is practical if needed resources (including time and
Assessing The best way to assess proficiency in using vocabulary and grammar is within the context of
place) are available for the assessment task
vocab and assessing oral or written language skills, where students demonstrate their ability to
4. Authenticity: A language assessment is authentic if the language being assessed is
grammar understand or use English vocabulary and grammar in meaningful ways. However, because
used in ways that are appropriate and relevant to young learners
 vocabulary and grammar are often tested separately in standardized tests, learners need to Labeling or describing pictures
be prepared for these types of assessments in their classes. Doing word puzzles ■■ Completing sentences with sentence starters ■■
ASSESSING ORAL, WRITTEN AND VOCAB Writing speech bubbles for cartoon characters or characters in a story ■■
Rearranging sentences ■■ Transferring information to or from a graphic
Assessing LISTENING Nonverbally Circling the different sound or the same sounds ■■ organizer ■■ Answering simple questions (one word, multiple choice,
oral Pointing to a picture or object ■■ Pointing to a word ■■ etc.) ■■ Writing a short text ■■ Correcting false sentences from a story
language Responding to simple commands (as in basic TPR or a or picture ■■ Self-assessing using an editing or proofreading checklist ■■
song like “Head, Revising from written comments ■■ Responding to a writing prompt ■■
Shoulders, Knees, and Toes”) or following oral directions Describing a picture ■■ Writing a range of texts ■■ Summarizing a story
■■ Selecting the appropriate picture ■■ Drawing or or other text
coloring a picture ■■ Matching two pictures or a word Assessing VOCABULARY Matching pictures with words ■■ Labeling pictures ■■ Unscrambling
and a picture vocab words■■
■■ Indicating Yes/No with thumbs up/down■■ and Providing missing letters in words ■■ Completing word puzzles ■■
Numbering or putting pictures in sequence grammar Sorting words by content
Speaking or Supplying missing words in a listening cloze ■■ Selecting GRAMMAR Uses single words ■■ Uses chunks of language (two or more words) ■■
writing the appropriate verbal response ■■ Predicting what Uses phrases ■■ Uses simple sentences ■■ Uses coordinated sentences
comes next ■■ Retelling major episodes in a story (using and, but, or, etc.) ■■ Uses complex sentences
■■ Filling in a graphic organizer (as a class or in small
groups or pairs) ■■ Identifying and correcting mistakes in
a story retelling ■■ Providing short answers to questions
■■ Completing a cloze activity
■■ Taking dictation
SPEAKING Repeating key words or phrases (to assess pronunciation and vocabulary)
■■ Chanting or singing a song from memory or written text ■■ Engaging
in information gap activities ■■ Using classroom language
■■ Retelling story episodes with pictures ■■ Repeating only true
sentences ■■ Describing a picture ■■ Playing a guessing game
■■ Answering questions ■■ Presenting a project to the class ■■
Participating in role plays
Assessing READING Circling the right sound or word ■■ Sorting or grouping words into
written categories ■■ Matching pictures with words, phrases, or sentences ■■
language Matching dialogs with pictures or names of characters ■■ Reading and
coloring or labeling a diagram or picture ■■ Filling in words ■■
Rearranging letters in words or words in sentences ■■ Rearranging
phrases or sentences of a known story or text ■■ Completing sentences
■■ Following written directions ■■ Answering T/F, multiple-choice, or
Wh- questions ■■ Predicting what comes next ■■ Finding specific
information (scanning) ■■ Getting the main idea (skimming)
WRITING Copying letters or words ■■ Unscrambling letters to spell a word ■■
Filling in missing words (to assess vocabulary or grammar in writing) ■■
 - You can easily see all students from the front of the room.
- All students can see the front of the classroom including any
presentation tools you may use, i.e., screen for projecting
presentations, TV for videos, flip charts, white board.
- You can walk through the room with ease to check on students and
monitor their progress during activities.
- The seats can be moved to be conducive to pair and group work.
- There is a designated area for supplies needed for various types of YL
UNIT 08: Classroom management activities (markers, crayons, paper, scissors, glue).
 Emotional atmosphere: In addition to the physical environment, the teacher
Teachers as Time ■■ Activities ■■ Transitions ■■ Student behavior ■■ Conflict with and can manage the classroom climate by creating a positive emotional
managers among students ■■ Atmosphere in the classroom ■■ Student feelings and atmosphere, one that is comfortable for YLs to speak out in English. Ideally,
emotions ■■ Teacher’s own behavior ■■ Teacher’s own feelings and emotions ■■ the atmosphere should be engaging and motivating. The key is to build good
Students’ use of L1 (native language) ■■ Teacher’s use of L1 relationships with students.
Managing the pace  Managing time: The teacher should keep the class moving from activity to Managing the When teaching English to young learners, teachers also have to manage the
of class activity and interject fun activities throughout the class period. language used in language spoken in the classroom—both student and teacher use of L1 (native
 Managing activities: Planning the materials and instructions for all activities class language). It is important for teachers to remember that their goal is to create an
ahead of time will help you keep the pace of your class. English-speaking environment.
 Using transition activities: Moving from one activity to the next takes
planning and some creativity.
Managing behavior  Starting the class with a greeting Effective Classroom Management Activities
with routines  Designating classroom helpers (“helping hands”)
1. Starting the class
 Taking attendance (“roll call”)
2. Designating classroom helpers (“helping hands”)
 Establishing the date and day
3. Taking attendance (“roll call”)
 Establishing objective(s) 4. Establishing the date and day
 Cleaning up the room Add English to 5. Establishing objectives
 Giving homework Classroom Routines 6. Preparing attention getters (T: eyes on me!.. Stud: eyes on you!)
 Ending the class and Procedures 7. Preparing brain breaks
Managing behavior  Be sure you know the school rules and incorporate them into your 8. Cleaning up the room
with rules classroom. 9. Giving homework (introducing the next class)
 Clearly communicate the rules and co-construct rules with students 10. Ending the class
whenever possible. Class structures plan
 Be sure that the rules incorporate consequences for both positive and
negative behavior.
 Enforce rules consistently and mediate conflict with and among students
fairly.
 Involve parents or family members to help manage YLs’ behavior.
Managing the  Physical environment: The first aspect of the physical environment is the
classroom climate room and seating arrangement.