Word Cards

Making Word Cards Work

A lot of classrooms are decorated with colourful word cards. They are often pasted on walls or hung from mobiles, and they often look very nice.

But how often do the children really look at them?

At SK Kuala Tembeling, teacher Khairizani Bt Jantan has asked her Y3 English class to make their own word cards. The children's efforts aren't as nice as commercial cards, or cards that the teachers make, but I think the children will learn more vocabulary from cards they make themselves, than from lovely cards that decorate the room, but don't get looked at.

How do you use vocabulary cards in your classes?

Hand made cards

Work in progress, the children will make and add more cards every week

Stephen-Peter Jinks (ELC Jerantut)

Story-telling Competitions

It's story time, again

It's that time of year! Good luck to all the participants, and well done to all the teachers who have helped them practise.

Last year there was a competition with the theme 'Good Health'. It was really hard to find suitable stories for a narrow topic, so I wrote my own. The competition was postponed, so we didn't use it. Here it is for your ESL reading pleasure'

You can read it here:
Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining

It is a Malaysian story, so I would be interested to know which parts ring true for you (as a Malaysian reader), and which parts don't.

Stephen-Peter Jinks (ELC Jerantut)

PAL:  Learning Together Take 2!

The last day of school before the recent holiday was not an ordinary day at SK Perian.  They suffered immense damage from the recent floods and we, the Jerantut cluster mentors, decided that it would be nice to do our second Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) event with them.

Our first event was held at SJKT Jerantut and it was a great success so we did not want to change too many aspects.  However, we knew the areas where we could improve, so we put our heads together to polish up the event.

The way it worked

With the help of the mentees we divided the whole school up into 9 groups of mixed ages and levels.  Each mentor gave a PowerPoint presentation about a topic and students were asked to take short notes on mini white boards.  After each mentor was finished questions were asked and slides were replayed so that the students would share what they had learned and had written in their notes. After all three of us had presented we then played a fun interactive “Bomb Game”.

Student taking notes.

Students helping each other

To make sure everyone had a chance to participate we implemented a rule that once a student answers a question they may not answer another one until everyone in their group has had a turn.  It was amazing to see how the older, more advanced students naturally assisted the younger, lower-level students which is what PAL is all about.

With SK Perian being affected by the flood it was wonderful to do a whole school event and see the students enjoyingthemselves, helping each other and learning all at the same time.  I’d like to give thanks to all the teachers at SK Perian who helped and assisted us before and during the event.  You helped make the event a smooth and enjoyable one!

- Melissa Simon
      ELP Jerantut Cluster

Listening to a year 1 student's answer.

Jinks doing his presentation.

The score keepers.

We have the answer!

Josh doing his presentation

LINUS

Literacy and Numeracy Work in Jerantut

This year, the Level 1 teachers are noticeably more prepared for the upcoming LINUS measurement. All the schools in the TELL2 Jerantut Cluster are offering programmes for pupils who are still struggling with basic literacy and numeracy skills. As the English mentor, I have been helping teachers and Level 1 pupils with English language literacy programmes that the schools are running in conjunction with the Jerantut area Education Office (PPD).

Most schools are using the PPD programme My Little Darling as a booklet as well as electronically, and a lot of the teachers are using group work and putting pupils into much smaller working groups than they would be in the classroom. Many schools are setting aside extra time for the LINUS programme this year, and pupils are receiving more one on one time with teachers to help them achieve basic standards in numeracy and literacy.

Many TELL2 teachers have taken advantage of the visiting mentors and used us as extra helpers to motivate the LINUS groups and get them over the hurdle of the first measurement. It has been quite a lot of work, because many of the children are not achieving because of lack of focus and learning skills, rather than lack of intelligence. The LINUS programme has been lively and noisy, I hope it has been useful as well.

I spent time with teachers at SK Jerantut Jaya, SK Kuala Tembeling, SK Pulau Mansok and SJKC Sungai Jan working on their LINUS programmes, and I've been impressed with the time and resources put into helping these pupils catch up. I would have liked to have taken some more pictures, but all the My Little Darling programme kept me too busy! 

Preliminary work in class, before the main event in the hall

Pupils were put into small groups

Electronic media was also used to keep the pupils' attention

Pupils interacting with the PowerPoint

Stephen-Peter Jinks (ELC Jerantut)

Technology in the Classroom

Techno-teacher beats the flood!

The computer lab at SK Teh has been damaged by recent floods. The lab is still used, though, and teacher Naeiman Bin Che Nazar has set up his own technology tricks for his Year 1 English classes. When I visited last week, the Year 1 class were enjoying a phonics lesson with a reading and writing activity.

Naeiman has attached a clip-on phone holder to the teacher's desk at the front of the lab, and then he used the holder to hold a webcam attached to the teacher's desk computer. He then uses the cam to film and display the text book onto the large screen at the front of the lab. The screen holds the pupils' attention for longer than the whiteboard would, and generally helps to keep the pupils on the same page - or the same part of the page - during the lesson.

Naeiman also uses the webcam to display the text and also to demonstrate handwriting strokes via the big screen. Again, looking at a screen is more interesting for a lot of the children. As well as displaying the text from the book, the teacher also incorporated key vocabulary into a fun PowerPoint presentation for the Year 1 class. The PowerPoint text and images were also copied onto an old-fashioned worksheet for the pupils to practise the words and show how they can match the words to meanings as well as spell the letters out correctly.

Technology tricks

Technology in action

Displaying the text

PowerPoint slide

Old-school; Some things
still stay the same!

Stephen-Peter Jinks (ELC Jerantut)

An Honest Discussion... About Lost Passion

Over the last few months I have had the pleasure of joining teachers in their classrooms and shared numerous discussions about work life in general.    I thought that I would share some of a conversation I had with a teacher recently, and I hope that those of you who can relate or who share similar feelings/experiences will post a comment or engage your mentor in further discussion.  I have decided not to mention any names, so that no one is embarrassed.

Motivation

"I have been a teacher for many years and I have no interest in being an administrator.  The problem is that I have seemed to have lost my passion.  I miss being excited to go into the classroom.  How can I get that back?"   ~TELL2 MTP

I really appreciate the honesty of this individual.  They are not a bad teacher... FAR FROM IT!  They are going through something that we all encounter at some point in any career.  My answer to this teacher is in 3 parts:     1)  Planning,  2)  Experimentation,  and  3) Making classes fun FOR YOU too!!!

Planning:

As time goes by we become more and more comfortable with our classes, our lesson plans, and our materials.  Often, the longer we teach a subject the less time we take in planning what we will do.  This gives us all more time to enjoy our colleagues in the canteen or focus on getting our extra-work done, but it steals from us the excitement of having a goal for the class or trying a new idea, teaching method, or activity.  By taking more time to plan each lesson we are better prepared to try new things and really retrieve better enthusiasm from the students.  This in turn causes us to feel more successful and thereby enjoy a higher sense of accomplishment.

Experimentation
All of us are required to attend meetings, seminars, workshops, and online modules for our jobs.  These are often dry and boring, or full of information that we know or just doesn't really seem to be of any help to us.  But how much of it have we actually applied in the classroom?  Trying new things is exciting, because the results are uncertain.  My advice is to take the time to plan and implement the ideas that you have.  Finding out what works (or sometimes doesn't work) only leads to new ideas on how to make things better.  The more invested we get in the outcomes of our lessons and our methods the more we will increase the excitement and challenge of each visit to the classroom.

Make Classes Fun... FOR YOU too!!!

We are always saying to "Make classes fun," but that doesn't just mean for the students.  Each of us bring unique interests, skills, and talents to the table.  Don't hesitate to incorporate those into the lessons.  Whether it is football, or baking, or cars, or collecting seashells... all of it can be utilized to aid in the classroom.  It has the added benefit of taking the students out of their world and into yours.  It demonstrates how English can be used to discuss things that are fun.  Beyond the book or the exam, involving our interests shows how English can be useful to communicate things in any topic.  It also makes room for discussion and opinion.  "Do you agree?"  The more we are bringing ourselves and our interests into the classroom, the more fun we will have.  The more fun we are having the more fun the children will have and vice-versa.


I again want to thank all of my teachers for their honest sharing and discussions.  As we all go through low points in our motivation, I hope that these short recommendations will be of help to your rekindling the fires.  There is an old proverb, "Better than a thousand days of diligent study, is one day with a great teacher."  If you find yourself lacking the drive to be that "great teacher" at times try improving your planning, experimentation, and making classes more fun ... for you.  Who knows... it could change your outlook overnight.

~Joshua Simon    ELP Jerantut Cluster

Vvvvvvvvv ... van

Haptic Phonics: taking the TPD back to the classroom

Haptic is a word shared by educationalists and touch screen developers; it means the same as 'tactile' or 'kinesthetic'.  

The day after the March TPD workshop, I was at SK Pulau Mansok and teacher Noriza Bt Ibrahim told me that she enjoyed the phonics workshop that the SK Bukit Nikmat mentor, Melissa, and teacher Norakesumawati Bt Yusof led to show us the value of attaching phonic sounds to both meaning and gesture:

• Sound: the pure sound of the phoneme
• Gesture: a hand or body movement that accompanies the sound
• Meaning: the association between the sound and the meanning (e.g. Vvvv is the first sound of 'van' so pupils mimic a steering wheel action when they sound 'v')

Teacher Noriza wanted to teach her Year 3 class the phonic sounds and gestures, and she asked me if I could remember all the gestures. I couldn't remember all the gestures, but I did remember that Mel said that if you couldn't remember a particular gesture, just make up a new one. Teacher Noriza and I decided to let the class choose all their own gestures.

We spent time practising the sounds of the pure phonemes (no 'uh' sounds after consonants e.g. B'uh, D'uh, K'uh etc are NOT pure sounds of /b/, /d/ and /k/) before we introduced the idea of accompanying gestures. The pupils took to it like fish to water, and we had a lot of fun playing with the meanings between the sounds and movements.

Lll ... look!

Vvv ... van

Stephen-Peter Jinks (ELC Jerantut)

Junior Mentors in the Making

Early stages in the Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) 

process at SK Pulau Mansok - Junior Mentors

Teacher Noriza Bt Ibrahim and I are in the early stages of a Junior Mentor Programme with the Year 5 pupils at SK Pulau Mansok. We want the Year 5 pupils to take the lead in a crafts-in-English assisted learning project with the Year 3 pupils.

The old dice cubes are looking a bit tired and sad, so it is time for some new ones. This time we will make cubes with the theme of occupations. The finished cubes will represent different occupations that the students study in Years 1 and 2. This craft project will create a useful classroom resource for Year 1 and 2 pupils as well as give a good language review opportunity for the Year 3 and 5 pupils.

But, as with any project, the first step can be the most difficult. We have organised some time with the Year 5 pupils in between all the other school activities that are keeping the teachers and pupils busy lately, and we have made a start on our Junior Mentoring project at SK Pulau Mansok.

And it was a good start, too.

Some of the pupils had difficulty with the final assembly technique, but overall the class produced a sturdy bunch of boxes. The next step will be to reinforce the cube-making process and identify tasks and task leaders for when we introduce the activity to the Year 3 pupils.

Do you want to do something like this with your classes? Talk to your mentor! 

 

Everyone kept on task

After nearly 3 years, the old cubes
are ready for retirement

The finished Product

Someone took notes!

Stephen-Peter Jinks (ELC Jerantut)

Teacher Professional Development (more than just blah-blah-blah)

Teachers taking ideas, and running with them!

In February's TPD I showed teachers how to make large, sturdy paper cubes as a warm-up activity while we waited for everyone to arrive. This month, the teachers from SJKT Jerantut, Zahidah Bt Mauludin and Rukumani A/P Amir Singh took the cubes to another level.

Zahidah explained how they have been using cubes at SJKT Jerantut as letter dice (one for vowels and one for consonants) for a categories game where players fill in names for items beginning with the rolled letter on their game-sheet. Categories included things like places, furniture, food and animals. Once we understood the rules, Zahidah and Rukumani put us into teams and we played the game ourselves. If it is fun for us, it is probably fun for the pupils as well!

It is very encouraging for mentors when teachers take ideas we have shared at professional development workshops and make them their own, The teachers in the Jerantut cluster have lots of good ideas, and we have been very lucky in our professional development workshops that so many of our participating teachers have been able to present their own favourite classroom tips and activities during our monthly TPD workshops.

Thanks, everyone, for not being shy and sharing your ideas!

The things you can do with paper cubes!

Stephen-Peter Jinks (ELC Jerantut)

Peer Assisted Learning at SJKJT Jerantut!

Learning Together

SJKJT Jerantut decided to hold classes Wednesday before Chinese New Year and asked if the TELL2 mentors would join in.  We agreed and decided to organize a Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) event. Our goal was to get the students learning together and then teaching each other what they had learned.  We separated the entire school into 9 groups with students from all years in each team.  

Taking Notes

Next, we gave the students dry erase boards and markers so that they could take notes.  Each mentor gave a Powerpoint presentation on a topic of personal interest.  After each presentation was finished we replayed the slides, but this time called upon the students to share what they had learned and written in their notes.

After all three presentations we wrapped up with an interactive Q&A "Bomb!" Game.  Special attention was placed on the students only being allowed to answer once.  As such, they were constantly sharing notes and helping each other.  In the end, lots and lots of English was learned and used by the students.  I think it is fair to say that we all really had a great time!

~Joshua Simon
    ELP Jerantut Cluster

Silent Segmenting

Fun and Effective Phonics Class

Teacher Noor Aziatul Akma at SK Kuala Tembeling prepared a simple set of phonic words and letter cards for the pupils to practice segmenting and blending the sounds p  a  t  s .   

Everyone got one card, and every card had a word or a letter from the p  a  t  s range. Everyone practised sounding their letter or segmenting their word, and teacher Akma also asked the students to say the segmented sounds silently. The silent segmenting really forced the students to make the correct mouth shapes for the sound - and it worked very well.

Instead of re-shuffling the sound cards, the pupils left their cards on the desk and ran around musical chairs-style while teacher Akma played music on her phone; when the music stopped, the pupils would stop running and practise with the word card at the new desk.

Silent segmenting

Enjoying learning

Stephen-Peter Jinks (ELC Jerantut)

READING ESL (for teachers)

Easy Online Reading!

Last year we had the Traveling Library - a box of books in the mentor's car boot! The books were all easy readers and covered a range of topics and genres. Some of the most popular books were children's books that teachers took home to read to their own children.

I still have the books this year, if anyone is interested, and I also have a collection of Readers' Digest books and some ESL magazines to add to the mix. So, look out for the Traveling Library 2015!

As well as the Traveling Library I also have an easy reading web site that you can access through your phone or home / work computer. I have re-written some interesting magazine or news articles into very easy to read English. As well as the easy version of the story, I have also provided a link to the original article with a vocabulary list of the less common English words used by the original author.

Here is the latest story:READING ESL: oh my goat!

Here is the archive: READING ESL: archive

I hope you enjoy reading!

Stephen-Peter Jinks (ELC Jerantut)