dlllliUl!l!!!!!l!!l!!!

ill Step
2: Click "Crea te" and you
will generate the iPhone 1ex1
~~..,."u

http://www.fakeiphonetext.com/

='----->- messages.

Fakei phonetext is a very simple and user-friendly web tool

that enab les you to create or fake iPhone text conversations.
Step 1: En1 er the conversation as seen in image I. You can
type any names as they will not show up in the chat image
itself.

1 ot111cen11odllylhlv1 \

Mllrltuam2Moro
l-QIDan-OAdo\.

Fake iPhone Text

Step 3: Save your production by

taking a sc reens hm of il and Lhen

crop it using Paim, Picasa or any
oth er software. Another option is
to share th e li nk of your work.

Creale fake IPhone tut conversations

E1Ut1connrntlon:

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,,..1 ,oreo1 tL "'' ltl f ,.. t-lft<-'!-foU-~

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Hope you and your students have fun making

up witty and humorous dialogues with this app!

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join this lively community of

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For young children. there is a great poster to play Hide and seek! along
with teacher's notes. For older students, you will find lesson plans to
compare schools and school rouiines. For adolescenls and adults, you
will find activities to work on lhe topic Bullying.
There are also useful tips to work on classroom language and ideas to
11se positive pedagogy in our classrooms.
We hope you enjoy lhis issue and make the most of it!

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r'
'

I t

he ul timate goa l of language teach ers is to get

their students to speak in the target language

as much as possible. Classroom language will

\ provide the best opponunity to maxim ize the

use of English in the class; it will also motivate
students in their learni ng process and enhance their language
learning skills.

What is classroom language?

Classroom language is a collection of words and phrases used
by both

teacher and students to communicate in the

classroom envi ronmen t It comprises very simple phrases

ra nging from Hello or Good Morning to more complex ones
like How do you spell X? or Can you explain that again, please?
Classroom language is also called Functional Classroom
Language as it fulfi lls different classroom functions such as
ending/starting a lesson, involving learners, managing
classroo m activi1ies, making announcements, etc.
The amazi ng th ing abou t classroom language phrases and
words is th at students do not need to know complicated
structures to learn th em or use them!

Why use classroom language?

There are many advantages of using classroom language in an
English class. Firstly, it increases the amount of English used
in the classroom by red ucing students' need 10 resort to LI to
communicate. It also increases srndents' involvement as it
empowers th em with the necessary language tool to
participate actively and effectively in the foreign language
class. Last but not least, it fos ters rea l communication and
makes the English class a more authentic environment to
learn English.

What to teach?
There is a vast number of classroom language phrases to
teach, so student's proficiency level and age have to be
considered when choosing the most appro priate ones for each
class. If you are teaching true beginners, it is most advisable
to start with very few phrases: greetings and basic instructions
like Sit down or Open your books are the ones you will use
systematically in most of your classes. As the course
progresses, you can incorporate ot her phrases which will be
required to set up different classroom activities, for example:
Can you read this please. Y?; Copy this in your notebook
please; Can you give us an example of that,please? The key

aspect when teach ing classroom language is to do it in a

structu red way.

Classroo m language is also an important tool fo r feedback. It

is always a good idea to include pra ise and encouragi ng
phrases in your daily repertoire: Very good!, That's better, etc.
Vocabu la ry, es pecially the one related to the classroom, is also
part of classroom language and can be taught at any ti me.
For a wide range of classroom phrases, check the following
websites:
www.pearsonlongman.com/young_lea rners/ pdfs/
classroomlanguage.pdf
www.englisch-hilfen.de/ en/ download/ classroom _phrases.pdf

How to teach it?

Teaching and using classroom language migh t be difficu lt for
bo th teacher and st udents. Students might be reluctant to
incorporate the new phrases or even unable to understand
them, and teachers might easily resort to LI when they perceive
these di fficult ies, especiall y if they are not native teachers.
To promote understanding and reduce anxiety, Willis (1981)
recommends extensive use of non-verbal promp ts. Gest ures
might be used at all 1imes to reinforce the meaning of sim ple
instructions: open your book as you ac1ua ll y say Open your
books; givi ng older students a lis t of classroom phrases to stick
in their notebooks or books can also work as a reference;
posters and pictures distributed around the roo m are
especially effective with younger learners.

Ideas to practise classroom language

Of course the most effec1 ive way for your stud ents to learn
classroom phrases is to use them yourself as much as possible
and to create oppo rtunit ies for learners to use them. However,
you can still try a number of activities to rei nforce bo th
meaning and usage of classroom language. Here are some
sim ple ideas you can ex periment in any ti me!

Miming: Play a miming game with yo ur student s. You mime

an instructio n and they call out the instruction. You can
prepare some cue cards with phrases and have some students
do 1he miming too!
Role Play: If you have taught so me classroom language
ph rases in sequence, you can ask groups of students to role
play classroom situations. In grou ps of no more than 4
students, one of them plays the teacher and the others, the
student s. They will have lots of fun!

 Simon Says: This very pop ular game can also be adapted to
practise classroom language. Students do the activity they are
tol d on ly if th e phrase sta rt s with Simon says; fo r examp le,
Simon says wlk to your panner.
Unscrambled phrases: After you have taught some

cl assroom language phrases, you ca n wrile lhem on lhe board

with their words all scrambled and have students write them
in the correct order.
Spot the mistakes: Create a short worksheet wi th a Jis1 of
classroom phrases and words with spelling or vocabulary
mis takes in them. In pairs, stu dents must spot the mista kes.
Flashcards: (alternati ve to the mim ing game) crea te some
fl ashcards ill ustra ting sa me classroom phrases. Rai se them up
and tell your studen ts to call out the phrase/word in the
fla shcard .

Fo r more activities, check th is website:

http://edition.tefl.neUideas/games/15-classroom-language-games/

Sources:
Willins, Jane, Teaching English Through Engfish. l ongman, 1981.
Glyn, Hug hes, Josephin e Moate w it h Tiina Raa ti ka inen, Practical

Classroom English. Oxfo rd, 2011.

Before showing the poster, we will have

to cut out 'windows by the dotted li nes
so we ca n ' hid e' different school thin gs

in each place; we will stick the pictures

of the objects on the back of the poster
with sticky ta pe.

How to use the poster

Show th e poster to your sruden ts and
say: Children are at kindergarten and

they are playing ... But, the classroom is

a mess! There are school objects

evel)'where. Can you help the children

find their things? Invite children to
describe what th ey can see.

After all the stud ents have had th e

chance to speak, the teacher will poi nt

to the doo r on the poster and say: ls

there any school thing behind the door?
Let's have a look! The teacher will invite
one student at a time to d iscover where

the sc hool things a re, and the kids will

name each of the objects.
Once all the schoo l objects have been
uncove red , stu dents can play a memory
game. The teacher will make a gesture
and say: Let's concentrate! Where's the
book? You can turn this game into a
competition.

Extra ideas
Many posibilities: Thi s poster will be
really useful to revise any kind of
vocabulary, just by changin g the
flashcards bei ng used. You can hide
numbers, colo urs, pets or wha tever you
want yo ur students to practice.
Make it last: As you and your
children may want to use this poster
again a nd again, a good piece of advice
is to make it more resistant by sticking it
on a piece of cardboard and covering it
with transparent contact paper before
cutting the 'windows'. It wi ll remain in
mint condition for years !

The main topic of the following activities is school

objects: pencil, glue, rubber, ruler, bag, book,
pencil case.

' r'
*
/

int roduce the new items of vocabu lary,

teachers can use real objec rs (known as
realia) or the given flashcards, which can be
0

Rhyme: Before playing "Hide and seek", we can

encourage the child ren to fo llow the instru ctions by miming
the act ions and saying this short rhyme:
Hide and seek! Hide and seek!
Close your eyes and p lease don ' t peek !

Count with me: 1.. . 2... 3 .. .4 .. . 5.. .6!

Where's che (ruler)? Oh .. where's it?!

\ really effective tools, bu t we may want

children's au emio n span to last longer, so, in

order to motivate them. we can make attractive huge
colo urful school thi ngs. How? Recycling and reusing
different things li ke empt y boxes, pieces of cloth, card board
tubes, and whatever you think can be useful; for exam ple,
black pencils made of PVC tubes and cardboard paper, a
rubber made out of an empty shoe box or glue bottles made
from shampoo bott les.

After in troduci ng the new words, we ca n pu t th e objects in

differen t places in th e classroom, (or in a bigger room if you
have th e possibility) so everyo ne ca n see th em. In vite
children to play a game: you say the name of an object, for
example A bag! Everybody has to run towards the object and
pick it up. We may want 10 play 1his ga me as a competition.
The game is over when all the objects are mentioned and
found.
With the same objects we ca n play 'Hide and seek'. Wh ile all
th e kids aren' t looking, maybe before the class starts, the
teacher will hide the objects in different places, e.g., under a
desk, in a bookcase, on a books helf, e1c. When everything is
ready, th e teacher wil l ask: Where is the (glue)? And the
one who fi nds it gels a poin t. The winner is th e one who
finds most of the hi dden th ings.
To follow ii up with an individ ual task, we can tell
the child ren we are going to play 'Hide and seek!' in
th e classroom on page 6. Before playing, we can say
the rhyme presented below, so when the teacher asks,
Where's tile pencil? st uden ts find th e object, point at it
and say: There! Then, th e teacher will tell th em
them: Paint the pencil red.

Extra ideas
You can make these crafts wit h the kids or (if you
aren't so crafty') you can ask for the objects to be
built at home, so the child ren will work togeth er on a
family project. Be sure families understa nd what they have
to do by sending an explanatory no te with clear
instructio ns (maybe in !hei r mother tongue).

HIDE AND SEEK!

Listen to your teac her, find the school t h.mgs and colour them:

.C.~

-------

0
CJ

CA.TTRACTIVE EXTRA-LARGE MATERIAL

to improve motivation and promote
learning in your English classes.

----------------------------- - -- - - - ------ - ---- - ---------------------- - ---- ---------~-.

Level: Beginner I Elementary
Age: Children

SCHOOL OBJECTS
1) Find ten words, write and draw them:
1- ..

2- ...

3- ..

4- ..

5- ...................... .. .
6- ... ........ .... ......... .

7- ..

8- .
9!~

........... ................................. ... .

2) And now... Let's have some fun!

Pam and Luke can't do their homework. Can you help them find their school objects?

_ _ _ _ _ _ ____ ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ t

10

Age: Children

SCHOOL OBJECTS
3)

WORDSEARCH

Find and circle the words. They may appear horizontally , vertically
the school objects.

RULER

u 5
E N v
wE N T
p R J c
R T p B
p y
I

DESK
PENCIL SHARPENER
FELT-TIP PEN
RUBBER
GLUE
CRAYONS
SCISSORS
ERASER
NOTEBOOK

c u
z 0
K y

B 5
E B

E 5 A c
I v R E
5 c I 5

v u

x
u

H A

F E t.:
E A H

A R

JJ, or diagonally t?

~ . Then, draw

N L D 5 A G
I F p E c L
x EM L xu
E 5 K L w E
A R 0 0 5 E
wc T T u T
J E R A 5 E
H y p p B I

N R
A u

W A E E c c
E E R N 0 Q
5 F E p w 0
L p p H E 0
T - T_ I .. P
f'.. E N
M G G C A Z R N F
B E R T A D R G y

G R

E B M
0
D T y
E L D
I E R
H L 0
T T 5
0 T F
E v L
u R D
5 0 R
A J I

z z

L L
T E

E R

z v
R B
R c
R
B
B
A
E
A

A
y

0
N

5
R

3) Wordsearch:

11

r
t

1 his project is aimed at elementary and preintermed iate level students. During the
different lessons, students will write an acrostic

\ poem, com pare schools today and twenty years

ago, read a text a nd compare two different types of

schoo ls, make a survey, role-play a dialogue, correct mi sta kes,
and prepare their ow n presentation.

Task , Discussion
Discuss with stud ents the

f - --

fol low ing quest ions: How has

life at primary schools changed
over the lase twenty years? Has
it changed at all? If not, why

'

do you rhink so? Have them

Outcome: Ideal School Presentation and School Slogan

complete the chart on page 14

Linguistic Features:
"Used to"
When I was ..
Wh-ques1 ions

Next, ask students to complete

the sentences on page 14
(activity C) w ith their own
ideas. Then, they can sha re
their opinions in pa irs.

(activity BJ.

j ; ;- - - - --

~""; === ~ ~. . .

====:---=
=-=-----

==

Sim ple past

Would like

Task

First, Second, Then

In this task students read about a traditional school and a

Montessori (t hese are also called "new schools") sc hool. Start
by asking students if they know what Montessori schools are
like. If they do not know, enco urage them to say how they
imagine a non-traditional sc hool looks. Tell studen ts lo read
the texts and check th eir predi ctions. Discuss differen ces
between the two types of schools.

Revision of can

Warm-up
Write s-c-H-o-o-L on the board and ask students to complete
an acrostic poem. You can also use the template on page 14 or

an online resource:
httpJ/www.readwri tet hink.org/fites/resources/interactives/acrostiC/

Then, you can discuss with your students if it stands on its

own as poem or nol.
Exam le:

aCQ.QS,ti.~ ~0~00$
SCHOOL
by:ort.

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h4lllolancibyH

II

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m
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12

lwgh1,llbfl'tJM\clihltt>oMtlay:1i-gGM

2.

Comparison

After that, suggest th e new topic: wha1 schools will be like in

the future. Ask students if they know wha l the Google
compa ny model is. For this task you could use photos from
Google Company. The working space is conceived as a
playground; th ere are slides and wo rkers do not have strict
working schedules. Make stu dents th ink about: subjects,
breaks, teachers, students and classrooms in a school
following the Google company model. Students work in pairs
first and then they share their conclusions with the whole
class.

Comments on the correction:

Line 1: childrens: wro ng plura l. Ch ildren is the plural form.
Line 2: dinner. wrong use. According to context it wo uld be
lunch.

Task 3. Survey: Schools in the past

Explain to your student s that they have to make question s
using the prompts on page l S activity F and they also have

add two m ore questions. Then they go round the class and
carry out the survey. When they have fin ished, they report the

results to the class. Example: Three people say they lwd two

Line 4: can to: can is followed by a bare infinitive.

Line 4: will be: present tense for future reference after time
adverbial.
Line 6: can to: ca n is followed by a bare infinitive.
Line 7: and hour. No conju nction.
Line 7: would chooses: Infinitive after wo uld.
Line 7: diferent Wrong spelling.

breaks during the morning.

Ask students to bring photos of schools in th e past if they

have some. Oth erw ise , they cou ld visit httpJ/goo.gl/ KG7WM6 .

Explore the different objects, for instance, bells, abacuses,

dunces' hats , canes fo r punishment. If yo u 're doing this task
with pre-ado lesce nts or adolescents, you may turn it in to an
Online Excha nge Project: you may go to e-pa ls.com , sign in and

fin d a partner school for your kids. They can send e-mails or
carry out video calls to learn abo ut schools in other parts of
the wo rld.

Task 6. Presentation design.

Ask stu den ts to design a presenta ti on for th eir ideal school.
They could use powerpoint or cardboard to deliver the
presentation. Go through the ques ti ons on page 15 with them
to make sure there are no doubts. Tell them that besides the
powerpoint or cardboard th ey shoul d explain and expa nd th e
ideas presented there.

Task 7. Oral Presentations.

Task 4. Role play
On page 16 you will find the

cards fo r the role pl<1Y task.

It 's a good idea to revise
prompts and discuss ro les
before actually ca rrying out
the role play. Sometimes
students do not understand
role cards fully and this may
imerrupt the conversation.
Encourage improvisation as
much as possible. The focus
of this activity is on mea ning.
Carry out a feedback session
on students role plays. Focus both on cultural aspects of
interaction, for instance, shaking hands is expected in Englishspeaking countries, and language use. Then, you may go on
with the following task wh ich focusesw on form.

---------

Task 5. Correction
This task is focused on form so as to make students aware of
vocabu lary and grammar mistakes. Studems work in pairs
correcting a presentation script from a st udent on the topic
Ideal Sclzools. Later on, students will have to prepare a similar
scrip t using this one as a model.

Students give their presemations in groups.

Make a copy of the feedback sheet for every group and
multiply ii by the number of students in your class. Encourage
them to listen attentively and give constructive feedback.

Feedback sheet:

Feedback sheet
Group Number: .
Strong point of the presentation (What I liked)
Weak point (What I didn't understand or like)
Extra materials?
Yes / no
Use of language:
You need to work on ............................ .. .

Body posture.
Did my P<1rtoers move efficiently?
Did they cover themselves?
Group interaction.
Did everybody in the group speak? Yes I no.

13

----------------------------- - ----- -- - - - ----- -------- ---- ------------------------ ---~- .

Level: Elemen tary+/Pre-intermediate

Age: Adolescents/Adults

PROJECT: OUR IDEAL SCHOOL

A) Complete thi s acrostic poem.

c
0

L.
B) Complete these webs with your own ideas.
Before

Nowad ays

Relationships

E9uipment

(parent s-teachers;
teachers-students)

in the dass

Relationships

Equipment

(parents-teachers:
teadiers-students)

in the class

Primary Schools
today

1'nnary Schools
Twonty y-. ago
Gaming

Timetables.

during breaks

classes

Gaming
during breaks

Timetables,
dasses

C) Complete with your own ideas. Then, share ideas in pairs.

When I was at school. I hated .

What I loved about my school wa s..

My ... (Geography I Maths I History) teacher used to say that ._.

During th e breaks I used to ..

D) Read about these two types of school.

Montessori Schools

In Montessori schools children work on a project basis. Ages are mixed, so if you are eight you
might share the class with younger or older peop le. The system is like that of a communi ty, older
children sha re knowledge with younger ones. Students fro m age six are all owed to choose tasks
according to their interests. The breaks are every th ree hours. However, at these sch ools chil dren
do not das h to th e playground despera tely, because they feel so engaged in the tasks they are
do ing that somet imes th ey want to stay in the classroom!

Traditional Schools

Children work on top ics or uni ts and they share the class with other pup ils of the same age.
Teachers choose the top ics a11d gi ve students tasks. Breaks are us ually at th e same time every day;
it's the best moment of the day for chi ldren. They run hectically outside.

Glossary

Dash mo,.''' fa <t

----------------------------------------------------------------- -------- --- ------- ---- ---

14

Age: Children/Adolescents

PROJECT: OUR IDEAL SCHOOL

E) Can you imagine a school following the Google company model? What would it be like? Think about
subjects, breaks, teachers, students and classrooms. Tell your classmates.
F) Use these prompts to write questions for a survey about school days in the past. Add two more questions.
What I games I play/ when you were at school?
When /were I breaks? How I many I you I have?
What I teachers I like ?

What subjects I yo u I study?

What I desks/ like?

Was I a libra ry?

Go round the cla ss and carry out th e survey. Then, report results to the cla ss. Exa mpl e: Three people say they had two
breaks during th e morning.

G) Work in pairs. Correct this Ideal Schools presentation script from a student.

"In ideal schools chi ldrens sta n their day at IO a.m. a nd 1hey leave at four in the afte rnoon. First. they start
with a problem-sol ving class and then they have yoga. After th at, they have d in ner and go back to the
class. Students work on interesti ng projects like: invent a helicopter or suggest ways of preparing food for a
space trip. Childre n can to choose subjects when they will be len years old. The classrooms wo uld have airco nditioning, heat ing and wide windows. There wou ld be two or th ree teachers every twenty-five students
and they would not wear uniforms. Child ren can to decide what to wear. The building has slides like in
Google and the breaks a re every half a nd hour. At the end of lh e day, each ch ild would chooses a diferent
workshop like woodwork, potlery, Math games, ga rdening or even cl own acting. And more impo rtant of
all, school would be free! ..
H) Design a presentation for an ideal school. Use powerpoint or cardboard to give a presentation about an
ideal school.
Thin k about
What wou ld the building be like? What would classrooms be like? What objects wou ld there be in and outside the
classroom?

'

What kind of subjects wo uld there be? Make a list.

Would it be free? Would there be a fee? How much per month?
Wou ld there be a uniform? If so, w hat wou ld it be like?What wou ld th e school sloga n be?
Where would the playgrou nd be?
Who wou ld work there?

What woul d be the students profile? What kinds of kids wou ld go here? What wou ld they do? What wou ld they like?
What would they want?

I) Give the presentation in groups and also listen to your partners' presentation.

Key.G) mistakes are in bold: tn ideal schools children s start their day at 10 a.m. and they leave at four in the afternoon. First, they start with a problemsolving class and t hen t hey have yoga. After that. they have dinner and go back to t he class. Students work o n interesting project s like: invent a helicoprer
or suggest ways of preparing food for a space trip. Children can to choose subjects when they will be ten years old. The classrooms would have airconditioning, heating and wide w indows. There would be two or three teachers every twenty five students and they would not wear uniforms. Children
can t o decide what to wear. The build ing has slides like in Google and the breaks are every half and hour. At the end of the day, each child would choose a
dif@r~nt works hop like woodwork. pottery, Math games. gardening or even clown act ing. And more important of all, school would be free!

15
I

-------- - ------ - ---------- - ------- - ------- - --- - ----- --- --- - ------- - -- -- - ---------- -~Level: Elementary+/Pre-intermediate
Age: Adolescents/Adults

PROJECT: OUR IDEAL SCHOOL

Role-play
Student ,
You are the secretary of a Montessori school. Someone comes to enrol his I her child on the school. Fill in
this form and answer questions related to the school.

Name of the child:

Parents' phone number:

Child 's Age:
Child 's interest:
Child I play I mu sical instrument?
Morning I Afternoon shift:

Info about the school

Fee: $350 monthly. With meals: $450

2 teachers in the classroom

Student 2

Your child is nine years old. You want to enrol her on a Montessori school, so you will have an exchange
with the school secretary. You also have some questions about the school system.

Your info
Cell phone: 11-654-8876

Info about your child

Age: Nine
Name: Hanna Smith
Her interests: painting and pottery. She likes singing
She doesn't like to get up early in the morning

Questions about the school

How much I fee?
How many I teachers I in the classroom?

16

. -~------------------- -- - ------ ------ - --- - -- - -- ------ --- ----- ------ --- - - --- - - ---- ---
Level: Beginner+/Elementary

Age : Adolescents

UNIT: DIFFERENT SCHOOL DAYS - DIFFERENT LIVES

A) The webpage httpJ/www.timeforkids.com/ destination/india/ dayin-l ife
shows a school day in the life ofYoshita. Read about what
happens in the morning, at noon and in the afternoon of this
little girl's life. Then, do the following activities:

1) Complete these sentences:

a) Yos hita's su rname is .

b) She is ................ ..... ......... years ol d.

c) She is from .. ............................ , in Ind ia.

d) She lives with her .................. ... ........ , sister,

.. ........ .................... aunt and cousin.

2) Answer the questions:

a) Is Yoshita's cla ss larger or smaller than yours?

b) What activities ca n she d o after the assembly in the morning?
c) How long is the break?

d) What does she study before her favourite subject?

e ) Does she have lunch at 12:35?

f) What does Yoshita do immediately after she wakes up?
g) Is her school 's finishing time sim il ar to yours?
3) Match the time and Yoshita' activity:

6:30

She does homework.

7:20

She plays in the park.

8:15

She stud ies Eng lish.

8:45

S he is on the school bus.

1:00

Yosh ita says prayers.

3:00

She studies Scie nce.

7:00

Yoshita watches TV.

8:30

She ha s breakfast.

8) Watch the video Amar (all great achievements require

time) on: htt p:J/ vimeo.com/ 19890458 and complete these
activities:
1) Answer these questions:
a) What is Amar's house like?
b ) What ca n you see on the wal ls and shelves of the house?

j,

c) What does

all great achievements require time mean?

d) How many jobs does he have? Why do you think that is so?

:=:=.::-::::::::::=--'- _

, _ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - _j

--------------- - - ---------- - -- - --- - -- - ---- - ------ - ------ - - - --------- - - - - - -----------~- .

Level: Beginner+/Elementary

Age: Adolescents

UNIT: DIFFERENT SCHOOL DAYS

DIFFERENT LIVES

2) Decide if these sentences are True or False:

ITIIJ
ITIIJ

rnIJ

a) Amar lives alone.

b) He st udies Eng lish after delivering t he newspapers.
c) He studi es after retu rn ing from work and before going to bed.

[]]]

d) He goes to school in the morni ng.

ITIIJ

el He wa kes up at 6 am.

3) Complete the sentences with words from the box below:

reads - arrives - studies - bed - delivering

work - lunch - assistant - electrical - bike

At 06:03, Afte r _ _ _ _ _ all t he newspapers, Amar _ _ _ _ _ one of them.

At 08:46, he goes to _ _ _ _ _ as a shop _ _ _ __

At 01:08, Amar _ _ _ _ _ home to get ready for school an d has _ _ _ __

At 02:1 5, he goes to school by _ _ _ _ _.

At 05:40, he works in th e

shop aga in.

Finally, at 10:1 4, Amar retu rn s home and

for school before going t o _ _ _ _ _.

C) Final Project
Compare and contrast Yosh ita's and Am ar's routines on a sc hool day.

Des ig n a poste r.
Inclu de a brief su m ma ry of bot h routines and focus on t he differe nces .
Discuss w ith your cl assmates the rea sons w hy the two days are so different an d com pare them wit h yo urs in
ord er to ap preciate the poss ibilities you an d o ther ch ildren may have .
Finally, pu bli sh you r producti ons on the noticeb oard or the wa lls outside you r classroo m.

________________________________________________________________________________________ t
Key: A) 1) a) Sharma; b) ten/10; c) Noira; d) parents. granddad; 2) a) Personal answers; b) She can do judo, karate or yoga: c) The break is 20 minutes long; d) She studies Hindi;
e) No, she doesn't She has a late breakfast; fl She brushes her teeth, (takes a bath and dresses for school); g) Personal answers; 3) 6:30 - She has breakfast; 7:20 - She is on the
bus to school: 8:15 -Yoshita says prayers; 8:45 - She studies English; 1:00 - She studies Science; 3:00 Yoshfta watcheslV; 7:00- She plays in the park; 8:30- She does
holT\e'NOl'k; 8) 1) a) It is a modest house, perhaps in the ~burbs; bl There is a tro phy (something that Amar won most likely) and some certificates and posters or calendars
with pictures; c) Personal answer, a possible one may be that Amar is a very hardworking child who wants/needs to provide for his family and do his best at school at the
same time; d) He has three different jobs: he delivers papersand works as a shop assistant at two different times. He seems to be the breadwinner of his fami ly. 2) a) False.
He lives with his family. mother and at least two brothers (we don't really know about his father); b)True; c) True; d ) False. He goes to school at 2:15, in the afternoon; e) False.
He wakes up at 3:58 am; 3) At 06:03, After delivering all the newspapers, Amar reads one of them; At 08:46, he goes to work as a shop assistant; At01 :08, Amar arrives
home to get ready for school and has lunch; At 02:15, he goes to school by bike; At 05:40, he works in the electrical shop again; Finally, at 10:14, Amar returns home and
studies for school before going to bed; C) Personal productions.

18

.-~- - - - -- - - - - --- ------- - ---------- - - - - ---- -- -- --- - --- - - - - - ------ --- - -- - - -- - - - - - - - - --

Level: Beginner+/Elementary

Age: Pre-adolescents/Adolescen-

UNIT ON BULL YING: "FOR THE BIRDS"

BEFORE WATCHING
A) You are going to watch a short film called " For the Birds''. What do you think it will be about?
B) Read the following short film's overview and answer the questions below:

Title: "for the bird s"

Director: Ralph Eggleston

Genre: Anima tion/comedy

Runtime: 4 minutes
Country: USA

Company: Pixar

Release Year: 2001

l )Whodirected it?

2) Is it a science-fict ion short film?

3) Where was it created?
4) How o ld is the short film?

C) Use the words from the box to write an imaginary short review about the film " For the Birds"

small bird s

route

wire

big bird

accident

feathers

WHILE WATCHING
A) Match the adjectives to the characters to describe their personalities:
1) snooty
2) goofy/ si lly
a. Sma ll birds
b. Big bird

3)clumsy
4) aggressive

5) pac ific
6) bullied

~-

------ -- --------- - - ---------- ------- _

:: ~:~ -------- --------

-- ------------------------ ----

19
I

--------- - -------- - ------- - - - -- - -- -- -------- - -------- - -----------------------------~-.

Level: Beginner+/Elemen tary

Age: Pre-adolescents/Adolescents

UNIT ON BULL YING: "FOR THE BIRDS"

BJ Put the following events as they happen in the film:
1) The big one flies and sta nds betwee n the o thers.
2) They lose all the feathers and the big bird laughs at them.
3) The smalle r bird s insult a nd mock t he ot he r bird.
4) The birds decide to make him fa ll.
5) The big bird fa ll s to the gro und a nd the others ju mp hig h at great speed.

6) A group of b ird s are relax ing on a telephone wi re.

7) A large bi rd arrives.

AFTER WATCHING

A) (OPTIONAL) Complete the chart with information about birds and your favourite animal/pet.

Food they
eat

Place where
they live

What they
can /can't do

Different
kinds of ...

Birds

Favourite
animal :
........................
I

BJ Answer these questions to think about what you have seen:

1) How differe nt a re the protagonists of t he short fil m?
2) Is th e fi lm fu nny or serious at the en d?Why?
3) Why do you th ink the big bird is discriminated aga inst o r isolated?
4) What sim ilar exa m ples ca n you see at school, in your neig hbourho od or cl ub?
5) How can we preven t t hese ca ses of b ullying and d iscri m ination ?

C) No Bullying campaign: As our final project, in small groups, write an acrostic poem using some of the
phrases below, to show your ideas about bullying or discrimination to the rest of the class/school:
Zero Bullying Now

Stop Bullying
Do Not Discrim inate

Word s may hurt

Key: BEFORE WATCHING A) Personal Answers; B) 1) Ralph Eggleston; 2) No, it isn't 3) In the USA; 4) Answers may vary; CJPersonal productions; WHILE
WATCHING A) a) 1), 4), 7); bl 2), 3), SJ, 6); B) 6), 7), 3), 1), 4), 5), 2); ARER WATCHING Al Personal answers; B) Persona l answers; CJGroup productions.

20

~------- ----- --------------------- - -- - --- - ------------------- ---- -------------- ---Level: Intermediate

Age: Adolescents

POEM: DOWN AND UP-HERE I AM

A) What might the poem be about? Base your guesses on the title.

B) What do you think this phrase means?

"After hitting rock bottom, there is no other way but up."

Now, read the text and see if you were right.

" DOWN AND UP-HERE I AM"

I've been down on the floor so many times,
that I can hardly remember what heaven feels like.
I walk down those hall sthat have observed me crawl.
It hurts, and it bums to feel so small.
You took my money and stole my lunch.
You broke my spirit into shattered glass.
I vanish with every second that slowly ticks by.
You put me through hell time after time.
I fear my own tears so I break down in silent cry.
There is no way out not that I can see.
I seek for an explanation there will never, ever be.

Head up hig h~ mamma told me. "They hurt you because they can.
After hitting rock bottom, there is no other way but up~

So, here I stand showing all my pride.

What is left of me is more than enough.
Nothing can take me down now, for this day I rise.
And here are the ashes of the fire I will soon ignite.
There isa subtle light lying beneath my pain.
I am ready to yenstop! and there is nothing you can do or say.

A glimpse of hope has taken me over,

No hatred hides in me.
My desire to forget is stronger that revenge..
I smile and let it go. I si ncerely forgive you.

Denise Laspoumaderes

C) Read the poem again and answer these questions.

1) How does th e wri ter feel?
2) In yo ur opini on, what do you th ink the w riter wants to t ransmit wi th the poem ?
3) How did you feel after reading the poem? Why?

D) Which words or phrases in the text mean the following:

1) to look for: _ _ __ _
2) broke n: _ _ _ __
3) to capture, to seize: _ __ __

4) soft and delicate: - -- - 5) to light up: _ _ _ __

6) to move on hands and knees: _ _ _ __

1) Read the definition of idiom:

An idiom is a group of words that has a special mean ing and which is different from the ordinary meaning of each
separate word. For example, 'under the weather' is an idiom meaning 'ill'.
2) Read the poem again and predict the meaning of these idioms only focusing on the context.
a) to break somebody's spirit

b) a glimpse of hope

F) LET'S DEBATE!
1) Read the article on Bul lying at http:// www.takeasta ndtogether.gov.au/ over14/ facts/index. html
2) Find instances in the poem that show cle ~ rly t ha t this person ha s been bullied.

Idioms: Longman Dictiona ry of Contempora ry Eng lish

Bullying: httpJ/www.takeastan dtogether.gov.au/over14/facts/index.html
Key. A) Students' answers; B) Students' answers; C) Suggested answers: 1) The writer feels sad, lonely, upset, miserable; 2) The many ways in which bullying
can affect a person; 3) Students' answers; DJ l) Seek; 2) Shattered; 3) Take over; 4) Subtle; S) Ignite; 6) Crawl; E) 2) a)To destroy someone's happiness or
confidence; bl Afaint sign of hope;.

21

 --------------------------------------------------------------- -------------- ------~-.

Age: Adolescents and Adults

Level: Intermediate+

UNIT ON BULL YING: "IT HAPPERNS TO EVERYONE!"

A) The text below is a newspaper article about a topic that worries students, teachers, parents and society
as a whole. Read the first part and do the activities:

I A genera l approach towards school bullying

WHY IS EVERYONE
AFFECTED?
0

There is a good chance that I have suffered from it.

Or t hat you have suffered from it. Or eve n that e it her
he or she has suffered from it. It is evident that the
figures might vary according to countries, but
following the information provided by t he Ame rican
Psychological Association, 70% of middle and high
school students have experienced bullying al some
point in t heir lives.
Bullying is not a new t ype of
aggressive behaviour. It ha s bee n
present in society for decades,
although nowadays it has caught
the attention of scientists, school
authorities, govern ment
representatives and the press.
Unfortunately, cases of bullying
have increased in number and
seriousness in the last few years, a
fact that has intensified the
worries of various specia lists.
School is one of the venues where
bullying is more visible, though it
can be fou nd in diffe rent contexts
such as wo rkp laces, mi li ta ry
circles, prisons or even via the
Internet on a virtual level, through
what is known as cyber-bullying.

There is no accurate or legal definition of bullyi ng.

which someti mes makes it really difficult for
authorities to properly identify it. Nevertheless, there
are certain characteristics that are present in all the
cases and serve as a basis for its analysis. Th e first two
important eleme nts ro be identified in the case of
B) Answer the questions:

school bullying are a difference in power between the

bully and the victim (either physical strength or
popularity) and the repetition of the abuse. Bullies
always intend to show their power over the bullied
because of their size, gender, age or popularity, and
they usually do so repetitively.
Bullying does not necessarily involve only two
people. In fact, there arc certa in roles that kids play in
these situations. On the one hand there is the bu lly
(who inte nds to inflict harm or disco mfort) and the
victim (who is the target). On the other hand, those
who are not directly involved also play a role: these
are the kids who assist (who help the bully but have
not started the aggression), the kids who re inforce
(those who, for instance, laugh), outsiders (witnesses
that do not get involved),
bystanders (who walk away,
probably shocked by the scene)
and the kids who defend (those
who get involved either during or
after the aggress ion, defe nd ing the
victim ).
The role of the bu lly can be
played by either boys or girls. The
former ge nerally are phys ica l
bullies (by using direct violence
and being destru ctive) and the
latter are normally associated with
the social for ms of bullying
(psychological and verbal abuse,
like subcte forms of harassment,
rumor-spreading, mali cious gossip
and manipulation of friendsh ips).
The newest form of aggression is
cybe r-bullying, a way in which the victim is
threatened, harassed or humiliated by using digital
technologies, such as the Internet or mobile phones.
Cyber-bullying tends to be the most difficult to detect
by parents or school authorities as it is usually
anonymous and its supervisio n is compli cated.
C) Skim the text and find:

1) What do the underlined ITs refer to?

1) Different bullying contexts.

2) Why is bull ying being discussed nowadays?

2) Professionals work ing on the topic.

3) What different people does this aggressive behaviour

3) People's roles when involved in bullying.

involve?

4) Forms of bullying.

41 Why do bu llies behave as they do?

5) Can you think of ways to control cyber bullymg7

._ ___________________ ___________________________ _______ _____________________ __ _____________ ,

22

.-~--------------------------------- - - --- ------ - ----------- ----- -------- - -----------

Level: Intermediate+

Age: Adolescents and Adults

UNIT ON BULL YING: "IT HAPPERNS TO EVERYONE!"

D) Find a synonym for the follow ing words in the text :
1) children

2) secondary school
3) difficu lt .
4) opposed
5) try

E) Now, find antonyms for these words:

1) p sychological ..... . .. .. ... . . . . .. . .. ... . . . . ... . . . .. . . . . .

2) pa rticula r .......... . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3) active

4) directly
5) fortun ately ..

F) The connectors in the box are used in this part of the article. Find them and decide whether they express
opposition, addition or reason :

I although

or

nevenheless

as

though

and

but

@Ppositio_n_: - -

IAddition :
IReason :
I

Seve ral attempts have been made in order to fin d

a pro file of bu lli es and of vic tim s. Even though
there are no unive rsa l profil es, a number of
characte ristics can be ident ified. Bullies arc
generally lo ud and assertive, may be popu lar and
self-confid ent, with a tendency to be aggress ive and
hostile in their relationshi ps. Many scientists have
assured that bullies come from dysfu nctional
fa milies and probably are victims of some so rt of
violen ce within their own homes. On the co ntrary,
bulli ed kids are ofte n phys ica lly smaller, quiet,
introvert and sensit ive. It is believed that bu llies
have the certainty that their victims wi ll not react
aggressively when attacked, and remain passive
instead.
W hat should be considered of great importance is
the fact that bullying carries short and Jong-te rm
consequences fo r both bullies and victims: While it is
common for bullies to have a lack of empathy towards
others and to develop a manipulative personality,
bullied kids may expen ence low self-estee m, shyness

and feelings of isolation. In addition, victi ms arc also

prone to depression and some other psychological
conditions.

Perhaps the most relevant question in the presenr

day is wheth er there is a soluti on fo r th is problem
or a way to eradicate it. Firstly, what must be
acce pted is that, as a social matter, bullying w ill not
disappear automatica lly by ignoring it. Jc needs
plan ned intervention. The whole soc iety must know
about its existence; the school commu ni ty must
recognise it as dangero us behaviour and inform
about it without fear. Also, schools must provide a
psychological team specially tra ined fo r dea li ng
wit h both bullies and their victims, in order to
provide them with a pro fessiona l treatment.
Bully ing has grown to such an extent that some
national governments have started campaigns in
order to fig ht against it. This is the case of Ca nada,
the Uni ted Kingdom and the Un ited States, which
have started to pass anti-bullying laws. Wha t is your
country and your community doing abou t 1t?

~-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------;
23

---------------------------- --- -------------------- - ----- ---------------------------~-.

Level: Interm ediate+

Age: Adolescents and Adults :

UNIT ON BULL YING: "IT HAPPERNS TO EVERYONE!"

G) Answer these questions:
1) Do you agree with the "profile" given to describe b ullies and victims? Why?/Why not?
2) What consequences can bullying have on the victi m?
3) Do you agree with this idea: "Bullying needs planned intervention"? Why?/Why not?
4) What is your community doing about th is problem? Has anyone taken any measures to prevent it?

H) The following are connectors used in this second part of the article. Find them and decide whether they
express opposition or addition:

on the contrary
E

- in addition

even though -

also

ition:

A dition:

_ _ _J

I) Complete the missing vowels to form words that usually go together:

1) pr_s_nt d_ ay

4) n_ t _ _ n_ l g_ v_ rnm_ nt

2) r_ l_v_nt q__ st_ _ n

S) pr_ f_ss __ n_ I tr_ _ tm_ nt

3)v __ l_ nc_

6)p_ss l_ws

v_ ct_ m

J) Add one of the prefixes given in the box to form new words

inter

in

ir

mis

over

un

un

un

l ) _ _ certainty

4) _ _ develop

7) _

2) _ _ relevant

5) _ _ experience

8) _ _ popular

national

3) _ _ common

6) _ _ inform

KJ Read the article again and choose the sentence that best adapts to what has been discussed in the text.
1) Bullying affects
a) every high school student.
b) only students who deserve it.
c) more than half of high school students.

3) At school, bullying

2) Bullying happens

4) According to the roles played by kids, bullying

a) in ma ny real and vi rtual contexts.

a) happens only once.

b) is always practiced by kids who are the strongest.
c) com monly displays a difference in power between kids.

a} does not consist on ly of the bully and the victim.

b) only in schools.

b) is ignored by those ind irectly involved.

c) m ment1fic rncles

c) never involves defenders

~~~~~~~~ ~

---------- ------- ----------------------------- -- ----------------------------------- -------'

24

9-=----- ---- ---------- ----- ---- --- -- -------- ------------ ------- --- ---------- ------- --
Leve\: Intermediate+

Age: Adolescents and Adults

UNIT ON BULL YING: "IT HAPPERNS TO EVERYONE!"

SJ Taking into account that bullying is practised by both

genders,
a) boys are more likely to gossip negatively.
b) boys do not use technolog ical devices to bully.
c) girl s have a tendency t o abuse p sychologically.

6) While trying to find a profile for bullies, scientists have

discovered that
a) t hey have a very supportive fam ily backg round.

b) they have fluid and harmonic relation ships.

cl they show strong and confident personalities.

7) Whil e trying to find a profile for bullied kid s, scientists

have discovered that
a) their personal ities are not as flamboyant as those of

bullies.
b) they always react viole ntly against the bullies.
c) have problems in their own fam ilies.

8) One of the conclusions when considering the

consequences of bullying is that
a) bullies do not experiment any type of problems in the
future.
b) bullied kid s might face serious psychological conditions.
c) neither bu llies nor bullied kids suffer much.
9) The best way to get rid of bullying is
a) to hide it from society.
bl to organ ise plans of action.
c) to ignore the matter.

10) It is very important to have teams of psychologists

within schools because
a) bull ies and bu llied kids need professional assistan ce.
bl parents and children will denounce bullying cases
without fear.
c) this measure will force governments to organise a fight
against bullying.

(
L) Final task - Prevention Campaign
1) In pa irs or small groups, make a poster about bullying. Incl ude some of the information from the newspaper article
and some ideas to prevent this problem in your school and your commu nity/town/city. Try to add pictures or images to
catch the reader's attention.
2) Share the prod uct ions with your class mates and discuss t he differen t aspects that each group has chosen.
3) Publish th e posters on the school's wa ll s or noti ceboa rds, so that everyone can see them.

References
Beaty. Lee A. and Alexeyev, Erick B. (2008). The problem of school bullies: who r rhe m earch re/ls us. Adolescence; Vol. 43, No. 169, Spring 2008. ProQuest
Social Science Journals. Sa n Diego, Libra Publishers. 11 pp. http://nJ bullying.org/ documtnU/beatyadol~sc-research3-08.pdf

CCL-CCA (2008). Bullying in Canada: How intimidation affects learning. Canadian Council on l earning - Conseil CGnadien sur l 'apprentissage. March
20th 2008. 8 pp. www.ccl-cca.ca/pdfsfl!Ssonslnl.earmng!M.Jr-20-08-8ullying-ln-Unad.pdf
Family lives (20 14). Bullying advke. http-J lbully1ng.co.ukl
Graham, Sa ndra (2014). Bullying: A module far teachers. American Psychological Associa tion. Washington DC. 8 pp.
http://www.apa.org/educalion/\ 1 2/bullying.asp~ ?itein: l

PREVNet. Canada's authority on research for bullying and prevention (20 14). http://www. prevn~t.ca/

t _-_:~: ~~:t~~~t::~::~~~,-~,~~:~;:~'.'~~: :~:~~~~:11~:_~:- ------------------------------------.

Key: BJThey refer to "bullying; 2) Because it has caught the anent ion of scientists, school authorities, government representatives and the press. And
because cases of bullying have increased in nu mber and have been more serious in the last few years; 3) It involves the bully/bullies and the victim/victims
(not just two people, It can be a group), among others; 4) Sul lies always Intend to show their authority over the bullied because of their size, gender, age or
popularity; S) Personal Answers; C) 1) school, workpl aces, military circles, prisons or the Internet; 21 scientists, school authorities, government representatives;
3) the bully, the victim, outsklers, bystanders, the kids who reinforce and those who defend: 4) direct violence, psychological and verbal abuse (harassment,
rumor-spreading. malicious gossip), cyber-bullying (threats, harassment, humiliation); DJ 1) kids, 2) high school; 3) complicated; 4) contrary; SI try;
E) 1) physical; 2} general; 3) passive 4} indirectly; S) unfortunately; Fl Opposition: but, although, though, nevertheless; Addition: or, and; Reason: as;
G) 1) PeMnal answers; 21 Bullied kids may experience low self-esteem, shyness and feelings of Isolation. They are also prone to depression and some other
psychological conditions; 3) Personal answers; 4) Personal answers; H) Opposition: on the contrary. even though; Addition: in addition; also; I) 1) present day;
2) relevant question; 3) violence victim; 4) national government; S) professional treatment; 6) pass laws; J) 1) uncertainty; 21irrelevant; 3) uncommon;
4) overdevelop; S) inexperience; 6) misinform; 7) international; 8) unpopu lar; Kl 1) c); 2) a); 3) c); 4) a); S) c); 6) c); 7) a); 8) b); 9) b); 10) a).

25

Fehruar~ 14th

Saint vruentine's

Dag

Background
Saint Valentine's Day is a celebration that takes places worldwide
on February 14th. Despite the fact that it is celebrated in many
countries, it is not considered a holiday in all of them. Valentine's

Day is also called the Day of Romance. It is named after Saint

Valentine, a Christian martyr and Roman Priest, who was martyred
on or around February 14th in the year 270 AD.

What do people do?

Valenti ne's Day is an occasion for people to show their inner
feelings of love and friendship to their most beloved ones. Some
people even invite their couples for a dinner out while others
choose that day to get married. On this day, people exchange
cards and presents. They generally give greetings cards, flowers,
chocolates and jewellery as gif{s.
It should be noted out thal the celebration is not exclusively
co nnected to romant ic love. In some countries, it is also
considered a time to appreciate friendship. For example, in
Finland, Saint Valentine's Day is more connected with "Friends'
Day" People tend to remember Friends rather than just focus on
romance. Similarly, in Guatemala, Va lentine's Day is also known
as "Day of Love and Friendship".
Some symbols which can be associated with St. Valetine's
festivity are hearts, red and pink roses, images and miniatures of
cupids, cupids' bows and arrows. Cupid is genera lly depicted as
a small winged angel with a bow and arrow. In mythology, he
uses this arrow to strike the heart of people and thus, make them
fal l in love.

2. Tell students to investigate the origins of Saint Valenti ne's Day. Copy
the following questions on the board and have them look for the
answers at home.
a) Who was Saint Va lent ine?
b) When is Sa int Valentine's day celebrated?
cl What do people do on this day?
d) Why do some people say that Valentine's Day has a pagan origin?
e) Where is this day celebrated?
f) What does Cupid look li ke?
3. The following class, check answers orally and make a mind map on
t he board summarizing students' findings.
4. As a follow~up, you can have students imagine and discuss the
following questions:
What would Sa int Valentine look like lf he were ..
a) a heavy metal singer?
bl a romantic singer?
c) an animal?
d) a mythological creature?
5. After the previous discussion, students w ri te a complete description
of thei r version of Saint Va lentine. If students are fond of drawing, they
can accompany t heir written descriptions with a picture.

Extra reading for teachers

To learn more about Valentine's Day History:
http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/common/valentine-day
http://www.cbn.com/spiritual life/ChurchandMinistry/churchhistory/
st_ valentine_the_real _story.aspx

Level: Beginner
To get videos and more detai led explanations for the celebration:

Tasks
1. Stick a picture of Cupid on the board.
Ask students to describe him physically. Then,
have them mention any symbols connected
to Saint Va letine's Day.
2. Tell students t hat in the past, it was very difficult for some people who
were in love to communicate with each other. Have students invent an
alphabet with symbols and write encoded messages for other partners
to guess.
Demonstrate th is activity by showing your alphabet code and writing a
message using those symbols.
3. If students are fond of decorating and writing, you can have them
design Valentine's cards for thei r friends and families.

For Adolescents/Adults
Level: Any
Tasks
1. Brainstorm any information stud ents may know about Saint Valentine
and Saint Valentine's Day.

26

http://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day

..

The following article refers to how the author managed

to use positive pedagogy in his classrooms in Spain.
/

r
t

eaching is an activity permea ted wit h the human

factor, and because teachers are human beings,

\ they deal with all kinds of people everyday,

incl uding workmates, parents, school authorities,

publishing represen tatives and advisors, as wel l as students.

As classrooms become more crowded , it is a good idea to

establish lasting work gu idelines that consolidate in ti me. This
can be besl achieved th rough positive emotiona l approximation
strategies involving affection instead of pu nishment. However,
with 25 students per class, it is someti mes di fficu ll to use positive
teaching.
The main objecti ve of pos itive pedagogy is to ma ke knowledge
and feeli ng go ha nd in hand in ord er to increase students'

motivat ion an d facili ta te class work.

In lhis arl icle we present true cases and exam ples that we
have pu t into practice in real classroom situations wi th
stu dems fro m preschool up to sixth grade. It is wonh

mentio ning that all the st udents res ponded well to the positive
stimuli they were exposed to.

Basic principles
These are the fundamentals of this pedagogical approach:
Always highl igh t student s' quali ti es and posi tive actio ns.
Pay attenti on to negative aspects such as misbehavio ur,
answering bac k, etc., bu t do not dwell 100 much on them.
Pro mote joy and optimis m to generate a pleasa nt
enviro nme nt.
Approach the st udents ' emotional and psycho logical
world, building bridges towards them.

Teachers shou ld leave aside the fear of ridicu le and sense of

ser iousness, at times excessive and typical of the adult world,
in order to get closer to children and understand th eir wo rld.
It is also necessary for us to develop feelings of empat hy to be
able to walk in our studen ts' shoes. and get to know how they
think or what they find amusing. In this way, stu dents will
feel loved and valued at the same time.

Tribes. Co nsid ering that any member of a group li kes being

positively si ngled out. we give our stu dents positive and fun
labels. For example, in our fi rs t grade class we have several
teacher "co usins" as they share one of their surnames with
their teachers. Other labels include "strong grandpa'',
"rocker'', "sarge'', which students carry with pride and they
even cry if they are deprived of them when they misbehave.

It is impo rta nt to note that th is approach is not intended to

Greetings. II is useful to crea te special greetings to

distinguish our class from the rest of the classes in the school.
The easiest way is to co mbi ne claps for students to exchange
among themselves and with their teacher on certain
occasions. There is also a simple and motivating ritu al that
students do following th e teacher's orders. If the stude nt has
done something good, the teacher says "praise yourself" and
s/he immed iately gives him/herself fou r pats on the back.

boost th e st uden ts' ego, overvalue it or turn it into the centre

of the teaching process.
It is all about gelling the stude nts' attention and affection
focusing on positively developing thei r bes t qualities, and
trying to create a happy and coherent working environ ment,
where fun and entertainment are comb ined with work and
concen tra ti on.
It is essential to point out tha t there are no bad stude nts, but
hu man beings influenced by various facto rs such as fam il y,
social environ ment, etc.

If we know how to connect with the students' emoti onal

wo rld , we will give a step forward in terms of coordinating
with their inner world a nd turning them into partners that
respect us, but also feel us emotionally close.

Recognition. Recognising students' work is a great way of

giving positive stim ulus. There are several ways of doing this.
What stu dents li ke most is having their drawi ngs dis played on
the whiteboard screen or on a wall. Th is is simple to carry
out; first scan the drawing, then save it as a .jpg file and
finally set the image as wa ll paper lO be shown for several days
on the whi teboard to honour its author.

Practical aspects
Here are some actions and strategies we have applied to work
in a posi1ive environme nt in several primary schoo l courses.

28

Praise. We all like being praised and, as teachers, we ca n

always find something positive to praise our st uden ts for, like
a ni ce draw ing, a good idea or a well-told joke. Saying how
smart th ey loo k in a certain outfit and as ki ng if they are
attending a birthday party is also good praise. Physical
applause touches the heartstrings of any student. We usually
give our students ten claps for several reasons: making a nice
drawing, explaining some topic or having 1heir desks tidy.

Stu dents' drawings are shown during several days on the

whiteboard screen. All th e children want to see their artwork
used as wall papers.

Gifts. Students, especially ch ildren, do not necessarily

appreciate traditio nal or expensive gifts, but the way gifts
make them feel. So what can we give them as presen ts? The
list is endless an d may include stickers, bright stones, etc. In
our experience, giving out old compu ting magazines
containi ng pictures of computers and other devices usually
auracts primary school students of all ages.

Rituals. Throughout history, civilizat ions have reinforced

the bonds between their members by performing ceremo nies
and rituals. We ca n do so mething si milar wi th our st ude nt s in
an easy an d fun way. For exa mple, with our first grade group
we have a motto saying that we come to school "to work,
suffer and have snacks" which we chant from time to time for
children's joy, visitors ' amazement and, above all, fo r mutual

understanding among stud ents. We have another ritual that

consis ts of touching a column facing our classroom window.
The paint is a bit peeled off, making it stand out from the rest
of the structure. So whe n a s1uden t has done something good.
s/ he goes out a nd tou ches the peeled off pa rt of the column
wh ile 1he oth ers watch. This ritual is quite simple but high ly
stim ulating fo r students.
All the aforement ioned acti vi ti es a re easy to carry out and it is
worth impleme nti ng th em.

Box

1:

Creating our own medal gallery

Since ancient times, giving out medals and badges has proved
to be one of the bes r ways to mo1iva te people.
You can also create your own gall ery of rewards consisting of
medals or badges made with the computer and then
lami na ted.

Then click on the Wordchart ico n to write down the tex t.

From the Wordart Gallery, choose th e following text style
~or~,

that fits well with th e emoticon beca use of its curved shape.
Then 1ype the word outstanding .
The size and shape of the text ca n be modified by clicking
on th e small circles a round it and adapti ng it to the emoticon's
circula r sha pe.
Click on the text with
the lef1 button and there
appears a toolbar to
ch ange the tex t format.

Use a ny word processor or illustration program. In this case,

we chose Microsoft Word 2003; wi th later versions the
proced ure is practicall y the same.
Click on the AulOShapes option on the drawing toolba r at
the bottom of the screen, and th en select Basic Shapes from
the pop-up menu.

o aoo
' oOAt>
o ooo

,.....~~.,___,

OEJ> C O

eoo"
"''o<.r

Ll""=;;;..i...:....;.
' .=
D'-""4 ""\ () {} 0
I/I

M:J, (

Choose the smiling face as a central image.

Once inserted, click on th e image with the right button of
the mouse and choose Format AutoShape in order to modify
fill colour, line style, e-tc.

(~BJ
- ...
=-~
~~ = :.-

Once th e necessary
changes have been made,
the image and text may
look like this:
After printing a nd
laminating it, yo u ca n add
a cord so th at it can be
hung from the neck. This
is just a simple reward
carried ou t in a few steps.
Wi1h more time and
pati ence, more elabora te
ones can be made.

In conclusion
Based on our experience, we coul d co nfirm that positive
teachi ng is, in the short and long term, much more effective
than using punishments and reprim a nd s, even if we ca nnot
avo id app lying them on some occasi ons. There is always a n
opportuni ty to give our students praise or a little gift to
reaffirm their personality and foster good behaviour while
learning Engli sh.

Francisco Garcia Gimenez

1tanslated by Mariela Stan:

 - -- ------ ------- -------- - ------- - - -- - ----- -- - ------------------ - --- ------- - --- -----~- .
Age: Children/Adolescents

GAME: FUN TIME!

RULES
To play this game, you have to put your counter in the START space and follow these rules:
Throw the dice and move to the number you get.
If you land on a space with a question, you have to complete the question with the missing word. You have to complete
it correc tly, if not you miss a turn.

If the space says go to number ... , you have to go forward to th e numbe r it says and answer the question. You have

to answer the question or go back to the place you were. If it says go back to number... , you have to move backwards
to the number it says. For instance, if you land on number 3, go to 10 and the other way round . Do the same in numbers

17 and 23.
You need the exact number to reach the end space. If you answer the last question, you win the game!

CARDS

1- My _

__

is Sarah.

CJ)

2-Goto
numbers.

7- How many_ _
have you got?

3-Goto
number 10.

4- _ _ _ lgo

8- Can you _ __
me a pen,
please?

9-Goto
number 15.

10-Goto
number 3.

13-Go back
to number6.

14-Goto
number 20.

15- The teacher

is writing on the

to the toilet,
please?

5- What's the
- -- like?

11 - Open your

- - -

on page 31.

16-0pen
the ~

CJ)

- --

17- Goto
number 23.

18-Go back
to number 12.

22to me and repeat.

23-Goto
number 17.

please.

21- Do not use

your
in class.

CJ)
24-Go back
to number 19.

20please.

25-What's
this?

- --- --- ------ --- -- -- -- ------ -- ----- ----- --------- -------- --- ----- ------- ------- --- ------ -t
Key: 1) name, 4) Can/ May, S) weather, 7) pencils, 8) lend/pass. 11 ) book, 1S) board, 16) door 20) silence, 21) cell phone/ phone, 22) listen, 25) A

classroom.

30

'

"

'
I

I
I

I
I

,.,..,.---

I
/
/

31

At

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