4

Teacher’s Book
RAPID ROUTE
Katherine and Steve Bilsborough

Syllabus 2 Unit 5 82
Introduction 6 Unit 6 95
Components 10 Unit 7 108
Tour of a unit 12 Unit 8 121
Optional lessons using the DVD 22 Unit 9 134
Other features of the course 23 Revision stories 147
Ace! Digital 24 Festivals 153
Starter unit 26 Classroom language 159
Unit 1 30 Flashcards and wordcards 160
Unit 2 43 Ideas bank 161
Unit 3 56 Wordlist 163
Unit 4 69

1
 Syllabus
Vocabulary Structures

Starter: Core What’s this? What are these?

Autumn vocabulary: acorn, cobweb, squirrel, pumpkin, mushroom, berry, walnut, chestnut I’m nine years old. How old are you?
It's autumn! Autumn vs summer clothes: woolly hat, raincoat, scarf, baseball cap, mittens, swimsuit, Is Miss Snow a teacher?
swimming trunks, wellies
I usually wear (a raincoat) in (autumn).
Other
I’ve / He’s got a (bike) to (ride).
all around, ginger, go for a walk, place, put on (your show), a game to play, a scarf to wear, a
bike to ride, a sandwich to eat, a book to read, brother, sister, classroom, teacher

Unit 1: Core Let’s (go swimming)!

Sports / hobbies: play golf, go skiing, do karate, do ballet, do archery, play table tennis, go I often play badminton.
The sports ice skating, play badminton, play squash, play hockey, go sailing, play volleyball
Do you (do karate)? No, I never do
Adverbs of frequency: once a week, twice a week, every day, once a month, three times a karate. / Yes, I (sometimes) do karate
dome month, every weekend at school.
Other How often do you (play hockey)?
Sports in history: bow, arrow, hunt, messenger, archer, target, race, runner, marathon I play hockey (once a week).
Highland Games: shot, toss-the-caber, tug-o-war, wooden pole, throw, pull, line, across,
distance, hour hand

Unit 2: Core The (shark) is (faster) than the (walrus).

Sea animals: albatross, walrus, swordfish, whale, starfish, octopus, jellyfish, sea lion, pelican, (Walruses) are (slower) than (sharks).
Super sea lobster, shark, seahorse Which animal has got the (biggest
Superlatives: fat, thin, body, tail, light, dark, skin; The lightest / darkest / biggest / smallest / body)?
animals fattest / thinnest … The (whale) has got the biggest body.
Other
Classifying animals: vertebrates, invertebrates, reptiles, mammal, amphibian, tadpole,
scales, mussel, snake
The Great Barrier Reef: clown fish, Large Green Sea Turtle, White-Bellied Sea Eagle, flipper,
hooked beak, white stripes

Unit 3: Core Were you good at (Maths) when you

School subjects: Art, Spanish, Citizenship, English, Science, Music, Geography, PE (Physical were at school? Yes, I was. / No, I wasn’t.
The cool Education), ICT (Information and Communication Technology), Drama, Maths, History She was good at Science.
Skills for school: learning languages, using computers, reading, playing music, playing Did you like (painting) when you were
school sports, acting, listening to music, painting, talking younger?
Other Yes, I did. / No, I didn’t.
Parts of a computer: router, printer, laptop, hard drive, memory stick, screen, keyboard,
save / print a document, webcam, speaker, move the mouse, PC, connect, use, turn on
Languages of the UK: Wales, Welsh, Scotland, Scots, Ireland, Irish, Celtic

Unit 4: Core I (went) to the (train station). / I (didn’t

Places in town: sweet shop, castle, post office, office block, restaurant, factory, market, bank, go) to the (castle).
The little city bus station, train station, fire station, grocer’s, buy / bought / didn’t buy, come / came, go / How do you get to the (post office)?
went, have / had, see / saw, meet / didn’t meet, drink / drank
Turn left at the end of the road, go
Directions: at the end of, at the corner of, crossroads, bus stop, traffic lights, road, go, stop, straight on.
go straight on
Other
Street maps: street map, grid, horizontal, vertical, coordinate, symbol, key, scale, motorway,
railway line, path, cycle path
Cities in the USA: desert, state, casino, coast city, coloured lights, ski resorts, make films, film
studios, hotels with coloured lights, hot and dry, cold and snowy, hot and sunny, desert town

Unit 5: Core Did you / he see a bird? Yes, I did. / No, I

The world around us: mountain, ocean, iceberg, rainbow, volcano, canyon, plain, forest, didn’t. Yes, he did. / No, he didn’t.
Mystery village, city, island, pyramid Where did you (run to)?
Irregular past tenses: swim / swam, fly / flew, run / ran, hear / heard, wear / wore, find / I ran to the (forest).
island found, write / wrote
What did you (find)? I (found) a bone.
Other
Landscapes: landscape, foreground, background, swirling clouds, steeple, hay, cart, It shows
Yellowstone National Park: bubble, mud, shoot out, growling, spring, steam, geyser, giant,
underground, boils, pool, paint pot, wildlife, come out, amazing, really fun, very exciting,
sounds / looks like, underground

2 Syllabus
Phonics Skills Cross- Cultural
curricular themes /
themes Values
Reading: reading and understanding a story about autumn
Listening: listening for specific information (identify words related to autumn)
Speaking: asking and answering questions about autumn objects and personal
information (What’s this? It’s a cobweb. How old are you? I’m nine years old.)
Writing: writing core language at word and sentence level

Phonemes: Reading: reading and understanding a story about sports objects; identifying people History: The Highland
/sw/ and /sk/ from a description of activities; reading short texts about ancient sports and the Highland Ancient sports Games / The
Games importance
swan, sweater, swing,
Listening: identifying sports and adverbs of frequency (listening for specific information); of
sweet, ice skating,
identifying words with the phonemes /sk/ and /sw/ participating
skipping, skiing,
skateboard Speaking: asking and answering questions about sports using adverbs of frequency (How
often do you play badminton?)
Revision: Writing: identifying and writing sports words and adverbs of frequency; writing about
stockings the Highland Games; writing an article about a sporting event

Phonemes: Reading: reading and understanding a story about fast and slow animals; identifying Science: The Great
/ʃ/ and /tʃ/ animals from a description of their characteristics; reading short texts about the Classification Barrier
classification of animals and sea animals on the Great Barrier Reef Reef /
jellyfish, squash, bush,
Listening: identifying words related to sea animals and adjectives to describe animals Looking
toothbrush, witch,
(listening for specific information); identifying words with the phonemes /ʃ/ and /tʃ/ after the
sandwich, beach,
environment
torch Speaking: asking and answering questions to identify sea animals (Is it a shark? No, it’s
bigger than a shark.)
Revision: Writing: identifying and writing words related to sea animals; writing descriptions of sea
shark animals, writing about classification, writing a holiday brochure

Phonemes: Reading: reading and understanding a story about a mystery visitor; reading short texts ICT: Languages
/gr/ and /br/ about ICT and the languages of the UK Computers of the UK /
Listening: identifying words related to school subjects, procedures in ICT (listening for Respecting
grandad, green,
specific information); identifying words with the phonemes /gr/ and /br/ other
grapes, grass, brush,
people’s
brother, brown, bridge Speaking: asking and answering questions about what people were good at (Was she
language
good at Art?); asking and answering questions about likes and dislikes in the past (Did you
and culture
like acting when you were younger?)
Revision:
feather Writing: identifying and writing words related to school subjects; writing about likes and
dislikes in the past; writing a page of a guide book

Phonemes: Reading: reading and understanding a story about an adventure in the past; reading Geography: Cities in
/nd/ and /nt/ short texts about street maps and cities in the USA Street maps the USA /
Listening: identifying words for places in a city, directions and things on a street map Keeping
weekend, England,
(listening for specific information); identifying words ending with the phonemes /nd/ and cities clean
pond, sand, hand,
paint, restaurant, /nt/
tent, instrument Speaking: talking about actions in the past (He went to the sweet shop.); giving directions
(Go straight on. Turn right at the crossroads.)
Revision: Writing: identifying and writing words related to places in a town; completing and
often writing directions, writing a postcard

Phonemes: Reading: reading and understanding a story about a trip to a mystery island; reading Art: Yellowstone
/pl/ and /bl/ short texts about landscapes, and Yellowstone National Park Landscapes National
Listening: identifying words for places in the country, actions in the past (listening for Park /
played, plain, plates,
specific information); identifying words with the phonemes /pl/ and /bl/ Protecting
plants, blackbird,
Speaking: asking and answering questions about actions in the past (Did you play tennis animals and
blanket, black, blue
at the weekend? No, I didn’t.); asking and answering questions in the past with where and plants in
Revision: what (Where did you run to? I ran to the island) danger of
please Writing: identifying and writing words related to the world around us and irregular past extinction
tense; writing an e-mail about a National Park

Syllabus 3
 Vocabulary Structures

Unit 6: Core What do you want to be when you

Jobs: secretary, firefighter, singer, journalist, photographer, flight attendant, businessman, grow up?
Fancy dress businesswoman, TV presenter, architect, pilot, mechanic I want to (be a pilot).
Household verbs: turn down, turn up, sweep, stand on, pick up, drop, clean, touch
You must (clean the carpet).
Other
You mustn’t (drop the lamp).
History of firefighting: Roman times, ancient Egypt, modern times, leather hoses, buckets
of water, wooden pumps, modern hoses, fire brigades, fire alarms, bucket brigades, fire
engine, spray, foam, well
Unusual architecture: lotus flower, temple, boat, unusual, steel, designs, India, peaceful, pray

Unit 7: Core You should (sit down).

Health: sick, stomach ache, toothache, cut, cold, sore throat, cough, headache, dizzy, bruise, You shouldn’t (walk).
The super doctor broken leg, earache, I feel, I’ve got
Can you help (me / him / her / us /
Household tasks: wipe the sink, make the lunch, lay the table, fold the washing, fix the bike,
them) (lay the table), please?
put away the dishes, pick up the toys, hang up the clothes; I / me, he / him, she / her, we / us,
they / them
Other
The senses: smell, taste, sight, hearing, touch, look, feel, sound, perfume, bins, rubbish,
tongue, salty, sweet, nasty, whisper, traffic, skin
Doctors and nurses: jeep, ambulance, stretcher, breathing equipment, remote, canal,
vehicle, nurse, phone, computer, stretcher, plane, boat, air ambulance

Unit 8: Core Is there any (sugar)? / Are there any

Cooking verbs and nouns: salt, sugar, milk, butter, flour, boil, add, fry, chop, peel, mix, (lemons)?
The w tches' weigh There’s some (flour), but there isn’t any
kitchen Quantities: litre, millilitre, kilogram, jug, jar, gram, teaspoon, tablespoon (sugar).
Other There are some (eggs), but there aren’t
Weights and measurements: measuring tape, height, length, width, metre, centimetre, any (lemons).
capacity, container, scales, weight, weighs, holds; It is (30cm) wide / long. He / She is (1m
How much (sugar) is there?
40cm) tall
Jamaican food: kidney beans, baking powder, make small balls, garlic, coconut milk, There are (200 grams) of sugar.
vegetable oil, discs How many (tomatoes) are there?
There are (ten) tomatoes.

Unit 9: Core I’m going to (see a play).

Weekend plans: see a film, buy clothes, have a party, see a play, see an exhibition, make a I’m not going to (make a cake).
The super centre cake, read a book, go shopping, play computer games, meet a friend, visit family, go for a walk
What are you going to do this
Special clothes: apron, wetsuit, elbow pads, gloves, casual clothes, knee pads, walking
weekend?
boots, smart clothes
Other Who are you going with?
Making a pair of shoes: decorations, sequins, buttons, coloured shapes, cut out parts, What are you going to wear?
punch holes, shoe laces, sew together, put (the laces) in, insole, heel, sole, upper, pattern,
shoemaker, leather
Scouts in the UK: scout, cliff, abseiling, orienteering, cross-country cycling, harness, rope,
helmet, gloves, boots with strong grips, compass, get from one place to another, instead,
mountain bike, member, fresh air

Rev s on Story 1 Review: sports words, adverbials, school subjects, free-time activities, sea animals, adjectives. Do you go skating? I always / often /
sometimes / never (go skating). How often does he / she (go sailing)? Were you good at (Maths)? He / She was good at (Maths).
Did you like (reading) when you were at school? Yes, I did. No, I didn’t.; A shark is (faster) than a walrus.; the fattest

Rev s on Story 2 Review: places in a city, directions, places in the country, irregular verbs, jobs, actions. I went / didn’t go (to the bank).
Did you see (a bat)? Yes, I did. No, I didn’t. Where did you (swim)? What do you / does she want to be when you grow / she grows up?
He / She wants to be (a journalist). You must (clean the house). You mustn’t (touch the vase).

Rev s on Story 3 Review: ailments and illnesses, housework, food and cooking, weights and measurements, free-time activities, clothes and
accessories. You should / shouldn’t (sit down). Can you help me (wipe the table)? How much flour is there? How many eggs are there?
There is / There are … Is there / Are there any … ? Are you going to (see a film)? I’m (not) going to (see a film). Who are you going with?

Fest val 1: Core: lantern, lights, new clothes, fireworks, candle, gold
D wal Extra: Hindu New Year, colourful, Festival of Lights, India

Fest val 2: Core: midnight, skyscraper, Times Square, Scotland, Big Ben, London, kiss
New Year's Eve Extra: ‘Auld Lang Syne’, acquaintance, New York, New Year’s Resolution

Fest val 3: Core: story-teller, author, book token, fancy dress

World Book Day Extra: organize, book signings, invite, St George’s Day

4 Syllabus
Phonics Skills Cross- Cultural
curricular themes /
themes Values
Phonemes: Reading: reading and understanding a story about a fancy dress party; reading short History: Unusual
/fr/ and /dr/ texts about firefighters in history and unusual buildings Firefighting architect-
Listening: identifying words for jobs and verbs related to housework (listening for ure /
frog, fringe, freckles,
specific information); identifying words beginning with the /fr/ and /dr/ phonemes Respecting
fruit, frying, drummer,
art and
bus driver, drinking, Speaking: asking and answering questions about future jobs (What do you want to be
architecture
drawing, dress when you grow up? I want to be a journalist.); describing obligations at home (You must
Revision: clean the house.)
home Writing: identifying and writing words related to jobs and household tasks; writing a
page of a guide book about a building

Phonemes: Reading: reading and understanding a story about illnesses; reading short texts about Science: Doctors and
/ɵ/ and /tr/ the senses and doctors and nurses in different countries The five senses nurses /
Listening: identifying words for illnesses and phrases related to housework (listening for Under-
thin, throws,
specific information); identifying words with the phonemes /ɵ/ and /tr/ standing the
thermometers, three,
importance
throat, triangle, train, Speaking: asking and answering about illnesses and giving advice (What’s the matter? I’ve
of a first aid
tree, traffic lights got a cold. You should use tissues.); asking for help (Can you help her pick up the toys, please?)
box
Revision: Writing: identifying and writing words related to health and household tasks; writing a
waiters news article about the flying doctor

Phonemes: Reading: reading and understanding a story about cooking; reading short texts about Maths: Jamaican
/ɔː/ and /ɑː/ weights and measurements and Jamaican food Weights and food /
Listening: identifying cooking verbs and nouns and words related to quantities (listening measurements Under-
torch, uniform, horse,
for specific information); identifying words with the phonemes /ɔː/ and /ɑː/ standing the
storm, farmer, park,
importance
market, shark Speaking: asking and answering questions about food (Are there any carrots? No, there
of hygiene in
Revision: aren’t.); asking and answering questions about quantities of food (How much milk is there?
the kitchen
are There’s 1 litre of milk.)
Writing: identifying and writing words related to cooking; writing a recipe

Phonemes: Reading: reading and understanding a story about a birthday party; reading short texts Science: Scouts in the
/ʊ/ and /uː/ about how shoes are made and scouts in the UK How to make a UK / Under-
Listening: identifying words for weekend plans, and special clothes and accessories pair of shoes standing the
hook, cook, wood,
(listening for specific information); identifying words with the phonemes /ʊ/ and /uː/ importance
book, look, balloons,
of fresh air
teaspoon, food, moon Speaking: asking and answering questions about future plans (Are you going to see a film
Revision: this weekend? Yes, I am.); asking and answering questions about future plans with what
hopped and who (What are you going to do? I’m going to ride a bike. Who are you going with? I’m
going with my brother.)
Writing: identifying and writing words about weekend plans and special clothes; writing
a blog about an outdoor activity

Syllabus 5
 Introduct on
About Ace!
Ace! is a six-level course for children learning English from
Primary 1 to Primary 6.
The course combines a high level grammar and vocabulary
syllabus with fresh, modern visual appeal and all the rich,
imaginative context of a true story-based course.
The context for the Ace! course is The Ace School and
the Ace! characters are all school pupils. In each cycle we
experience the daily life and learning of a different age
group of pupil characters. And just as the Ace! characters are
given a chance to shine, pupils learning English with Ace! are
also inspired to flourish.
The language and skills practice in Ace!, shaped in line with
the requirements of the Cambridge English: Young Learners,
Cambridge English: Key and Trinity examinations, have been
carefully chosen and crafted to benefit all children in higher
level learning contexts, whether they intend to sit external
examinations or not. While the syllabus is fast-paced and
comprehensive, lessons are carefully staged, the approach
to practice and recycling of language is thorough, and
the methodology is clear and supportive for teachers and
children alike. The course empowers the children to achieve,
and at the same time places importance on the fun and
enjoyment of learning at primary school.
Ace! has an inviting, highly motivating concept and a wealth
of story genres, which set the theme for each unit. The
stories act as a springboard into meaningful presentation
and practice of grammar and vocabulary, and extensive
development of all four skills: listening, speaking, reading
and writing. The course places strong emphasis on literacy,
with the inclusion of a wide variety of text types and a
regular phonics focus. In addition, importance is given to the
development of the whole child, through the incorporation
of Key Competence aims in the Ace! syllabus, as well as rich
cultural input, the highlighting of values, and a
cross-curricular lesson in every unit throughout the course.
To bring the Ace! world to life, the course offers a complete,
up-to-date suite of learning and teaching materials,
including a comprehensive Teacher’s Resource Pack, an
External Exams Practice CD-ROM, and course-specific digital
components.
Ace! 4
In Ace! 4, we follow the adventures of the characters Jeb,
June, Rory and Rose, who are all pupils at The Ace School.
In the Starter Unit story, our characters’ teacher, Miss Snow,
tells the class that they must prepare a special summer show
and they need to find a place to do it. She gives out the
four magic tools which the children received in Ace! 3. June
has a magic microphone to sing songs, Rory has a magic
pen to write stories, Jeb has a magic laptop to find out
things on the internet, and Rose has a magic book. At the
beginning of each unit, Rose opens her magic book to reveal
a fictional location which sets the scene for the unit. The first
vocabulary set is presented in the context of this location
with a song. The unit theme continues in the illustrated story
of the unit and the subsequent lessons.
We join either Jeb, June, Rory or Rose as they present a
lesson which is appropriate to their magic tool. Rory presents
6 Introduction
the unit story in Rory’s story, June presents a song in June’s
tune, Jeb brings to life cultural information from his laptop in
Jeb’s web and Rose presents cross-curricular information in
Rose knows about … in the cross-curricular lesson.
The preparations for The Ace School summer show are told
in the Revision Stories where the four characters explore
the castle where they will put on the show and meet a new
friend, resolving problems along the way.
Stories
As a story-based course, Ace! 4 has storytelling at the very
core of its methodology.
The value of stories is widely recognized in Primary English
Language Teaching. Children come to the primary classroom
already equipped with an understanding of stories and the
way they work. This familiarity with narrative conventions,
as well as an expectation of the pleasure and enjoyment
that stories bring, empowers them with confidence and
motivation from the outset – an ideal starting point for
pupils learning English at this level.
In addition, in a fast-paced course like Ace!, stories are
the perfect vehicle for the presentation of new language
structures, due to the meaningful, visually supportive and
very immediate context they naturally provide.
The emphasis on stories is also invaluable in the
development of children’s literacy skills, as it furthers
familiarity and understanding of the functions of text, as
well as promoting a positive attitude to books and reading,
which is key to academic success.
Stories are a way of immersing children in the target culture,
which is a significant part of learning a foreign language and
of considerable benefit to children preparing to sit external
exams. They are also a useful framework for developing Key
Competences, particularly raising awareness with regard
to the target culture, as well as inter-curricular themes and
citizenship.
In Ace! 4, the preparations for the summer show constitutes
a story thread which runs throughout the level.
The unit stories pick up on the theme of the fictional
location that Rose has discovered on opening her magic
book. The stories have a rich and varied range of contexts,
characters and genres to appeal to the imagination and
diverse interests of every child in the class.
The carefully staged methodology and impressive package
of story materials in Ace! 4 make it possible to exploit each
story’s full potential. The unit stories are told initially using
the storycards. The teacher can choose to tell the story using
the guide script on the storycards or using the Audio CD. The
children then listen again, following the story in their Class
Books. The children are then encouraged to reproduce the
story dialogue by acting it out in groups or as a whole class,
with the aim of developing oral fluency and confidence,
as well as competence, in speaking English. As a follow up,
animated versions of all the unit stories on the DVD bring an
entertaining extra dimension to the storytelling experience
and the children’s learning.
Three stories at the end of the Class Book invite the children
to share in the adventures of Jeb, June, Rory and Rose within
the context of the summer show preparations. These stories
provide a motivating vehicle for reviewing the language
presented and practised in each school term.
Vocabulary and grammar
Ace! is a high level English course and therefore incorporates
a greater amount of vocabulary and a wider range of
grammatical structures than would be expected in a
mainstream English language course. The language syllabus
for Ace! 1 to Ace! 6, has been specifically designed in line
with the syllabi of the Trinity examinations, as well as the
Cambridge English: Young Learners and the Cambridge English:
Key (KET for schools) examinations. The path towards the
goal of entering these external examinations has therefore
been taken into consideration in the design and coverage
of the Ace! 4 syllabus. At the same time, equal emphasis
has been placed on the importance of teaching a practical,
well-balanced, high frequency language syllabus, which is
appropriate for all children learning English at this level.
In Ace! 4 twelve new core items of vocabulary are presented
in Lesson 1 of each unit, with a further six to eight core
words taught in Lesson 4. All the new core vocabulary is
grouped in semantic sets which relate to the unit topic.
The vocabulary is presented through listening activities,
including memorable songs and chants, and then
practised through the retelling of the unit story, motivating
communicative games and activities. Flashcards and
wordcards are provided in the Teacher’s Resource Pack for
ease of vocabulary presentation, practice and reinforcement.
In addition to the new core vocabulary, four to five words
are also presented in order to facilitate understanding and
practice in the cross-curricular lesson and the culture lesson
of each unit.
Each unit of Ace! 4 also presents and practises two new
core structures. The first of these grammatical structures
is presented through the story in Lesson 2, with Lesson 3
providing a clear focus on how the grammar works. There is
thorough listening, speaking, reading and writing practice of
the structure in the Class Book and Activity Book.
A second grammatical structure is presented through a song
in Lesson 4. This is then practised through an engaging,
communicative pair work activity in Lesson 5, and followed
up with reading and writing practice in the Activity Book.
Skills
Ace! 4 has an integrated approach to language and skills
development. The Class Book and Activity Book work
closely together to develop the four skills. Through a
variety of enjoyable tasks with a very systematic approach,
the children progress from listening practice to speaking
practice, from speaking practice to reading practice and
from reading practice to writing practice.
Over the Ace! series as a whole, care has also been taken to
ensure that children preparing for Trinity and Cambridge
English examinations develop the required level of skills
competency, as well as familiarity with examination task
types.
Listening: Ace! 4 recognizes the particular importance of
listening in the early years of language learning. All new
language is presented with clear models on the Audio CD
for aural recognition. Listening to songs, chants, stories, and
cross-curricular and cultural texts also helps the children
internalize the language and expose them to native speaker
pronunciation. In addition, listening activities in the Activity
Book help to prepare pupils for practical, everyday tasks in
English.
Speaking: In Ace! 4 speaking practice builds carefully and
effectively from simple word-level production to
sentence-level production and above.
Attention is also paid to the development of both accuracy
and fluency. Spoken accuracy is developed through
activities which encourage repetition following a model
provided on the Audio CDs, as well as through songs and
chants, the retelling of stories and controlled practice games.
The controlled practice games afford children plenty of
opportunity for repetition of core language within a clearly
defined framework.
Contexts which children can easily relate to, as well as
suggestions for teacher-led discussions provided in the
Teacher’s Notes, allow frequent opportunities for the
children to draw on the whole of their productive repertoire,
thereby promoting fluency and confidence in speaking.
The development of communicative competence is of
paramount importance in Ace! 4. With this aim, Lesson 5
of each unit includes a pair work activity from the back of
the Activity Book. This enables the children to practise new
vocabulary and grammar in a meaningful way.
Further optional communication games are detailed in the
Ideas bank section.
Reading and writing: Pupils learning English at a higher level
need to be able to make good progress quickly with regard
to reading and writing. This is particularly true for those
studying in bilingual projects or with the intention of sitting
external examinations.
Ace! 4 takes a very systematic approach to reading and
writing to allow this to happen. New language is always
practised aurally and orally before the children are asked
to read and write. Pupils begin by reading at word level.
Only once they have practised reading new words, do they
progress to writing them. They then read these new words
within sentences, and gradually progress from reading at
sentence and paragraph level to writing at sentence and
paragraph level. This process occurs twice in each unit,
firstly with the new vocabulary presented in Lesson 1 and
the grammar presented and practised in Lesson 3, and
then again with the vocabulary and grammar presented
and practised in Lessons 4 and 5. As the unit progresses,
the amount of guidance and scaffolding for writing steadily
decreases, for example from gap fill completion exercises
to whole sentence writing. In this way the children grow in
confidence and independence with regard to their writing.
In Lessons 8 and 9 of each unit of Ace! 4, the reading practice
builds to more extended texts. The short paragraphs about
culture in English-speaking countries all use known, recycled
language and are supported with photographs and audio.
Using these texts, as well as the Activity Book follow-up
activities, as clear models, the children are then enabled to
produce a short, simple piece of personalized writing about
their own lives and culture.
Introduction 7
 External examinations for young learners
At this higher level of English language learning, many
young learners in Primary 1 to Primary 6 are entered for
external examinations such as the Trinity examinations, the
Cambridge English: Young Learners examinations (Starters,
Movers and Flyers) and the Cambridge English: Key for schools
examination (KET). The syllabus of Ace! 1–6 reflects the
language and skills requirements of these examinations.
Trinity Examinations: The Ace! series aims to prepare pupils
to enter the Trinity Grade 2 examination by the end of Ace! 2,
the Trinity Grade 4 examination by the end of Ace! 4 and the
Trinity Grade 6 examination by the end of Ace! 6.
Cambridge English: Young Learners Examinations: The Ace!
series aims to prepare pupils to sit Starters by the end of
Ace! 3, Movers by the end of Ace! 5 and Flyers by the end of
Ace! 6.
Cambridge English: Key for schools examination (KET): The Ace!
series aims to prepare pupils to sit the Cambridge English:
Key for schools examination (KET) by the end of Ace! 6.
Practice tests for the Trinity, Cambridge English: Young
Learners, Cambridge English: Key for schools (KET), as well as
Cambridge English: Preliminary for schools (PET) can also be
found on the Ace! External Exams Practice CD-ROM.
Culture
Ace! values intercultural education as an essential part of
language learning. It is important for children to understand
and reflect on the differences and similarities between
their own and other cultures in order to develop Key
Competences, in particular Competence in Social Skills and
Citizenship and Competence in Interaction with the Physical
Environment. The Culture lessons throughout the Ace! series
raise the children’s awareness of being part of a global
community by helping them to develop an awareness of the
people around them, as well as a stronger understanding of
the culture behind the language they are learning.
There are regular culture lessons in every unit throughout
the Ace! course. Ace! 4 focuses on international English-
speaking countries. The cultural information is presented
through engaging photos and extended reading texts on
the Class Book page in Lesson 8, as well as an interesting
cultural fact in Lesson 9. At the end of Lesson 9, the children
are encouraged to apply their newly acquired cultural
knowledge to perform a dialogue between Jeb and a
character from the cultural context of the unit.
The follow-up activities in the Ace! 4 Activity Book give
the children the opportunity to consolidate what they
have learned. They are also encouraged to reflect on the
target culture and draw conclusions about similarities and
differences by producing their own text and illustration,
personalized with ideas and experiences from their own
culture.
In addition to the cultural input in Lessons 8 and 9 of Ace! 4,
further intercultural learning is provided through the three
Festival Units located at the end of the Ace! 4 Class Book.
These are intended to be used at the appropriate times of
the year: Diwali, New Year’s Eve and World Book Day. The
lessons include new themed vocabulary, a fun festival song,
activity worksheets and craft projects, all of which can be
used to create an intercultural festival atmosphere in the
classroom. Details can be found in the Festivals section.
8 Introduction
Phonics
Ace! has developed a system which employs aspects of
Phonics teaching which are of benefit to primary children
learning English, making sure that they are fully adapted to
the children’s needs. Like the UK and USA Phonics system for
native speakers, the Phonics lessons in Ace! teach children
skills to help them to read better in English. The Phonics
lessons in Ace! also include an element of pronunciation
practice, as children need to be able to recognize and say
a letter sound before they can attempt to recognize and
read it in text. In addition, the words used to exemplify each
Phonics focus in Ace! are known words from the same unit,
grouped semantically to aid memory and recall.
In Ace! 4 the Phonics lesson of each unit raises awareness
of the relationship between the sound and the spelling of
individual letters and letter combinations in English. Pupils
are also taught to distinguish between two letter sounds or
two groups of letter sounds.
Songs
Songs are an invaluable way of practising new language, as
they naturally include plenty of repetition and greatly aid
memory through their use of rhythm.
Each unit of Ace! 4 contains two songs; one in Lesson 1
and one in Lesson 4. These present and practise the new
language of the lessons and cover a wide variety of musical
genre, specifically designed to encompass the diverse range
of musical styles children enjoy in the real world.
Cross-curricular focus
The Ace! course embraces the opportunity to transfer useful,
practical English language to a range of different areas of the
curriculum including Art, Music, Science, Geography, History
and Maths. The areas chosen reflect and build on the kind
of subject matter that the pupils are working with in other
classes.
In Lesson 6 of every unit of Ace! 4, we join Rose at The
Ace School, who presents the key content. Full colour,
photographic, cross-curricular cards are provided in the
Teacher’s Resource Pack for presentation purposes for each
cross-curricular lesson of the course. The cards provide
step-by-step teacher’s notes for easy presentation of the
cross-curricular concept.
For teachers who have access to an Interactive Whiteboard,
an interactive version of the cards can be found on the
Ace! 4 iPack.
The cross-curricular content of the lesson is then
consolidated and practised through listening activities and a
personalized communication game in the Class Book, as well
as follow up activities in the Activity Book.
Values
Learning about values is a key feature of the Ace! series as a
whole.
In Ace! 4, the values focus is presented in every Lesson 9 by
Jeb. The Jeb says … feature integrates socio-cultural aspects
of learning and helps to promote self-esteem, as well as
positive attitudes, tolerance and respect towards others. The
Teacher’s Notes for Lesson 9 outline the Ace! 4 Values routine,
which involves the teacher monitoring and rewarding good
behaviour and practice with regard to the values.
Revision
In Ace! 4, the core vocabulary and grammar of the unit is
revised in each Lesson 10. The children are asked to Show
Miss Snow what you know … and have to demonstrate
what they have learned to The Ace School teacher through
a series or quiz questions and vocabulary and grammar
challenges. These questions are designed to elicit all the unit
language from the children.
The language review in the Activity Book is accompanied by
a self-evaluation My work section.
Following each sequence of three units, there is also a more
extensive revision section. The revision sections are each
based around a story in the Class Book featuring the Ace
School course characters. Two pages of follow-up exercises
per story appear in the Activity Book. These revision story
lessons review the core and secondary vocabulary and
grammar from each term. Details can be found in the
Revision stories section of the Teacher’s Book.
Optional lessons
Each unit includes two optional lessons, details of which can
be found in the Optional lessons using the DVD section and
in the lesson notes which follow. The first optional lesson
comes after Lesson 3 and reviews the main vocabulary from
the unit and provides reinforcement of the main grammar
point presented in the previous lesson. This is also the
suggested point for showing the animated version of the
story on the DVD. The second optional lesson follows Lesson
6. It gives ideas for extending cross-curricular content and
language taught in the cross-curricular lesson, and for a
project based on the cross-curricular topic. This is also the
suggested point for showing the real world film clips from
the DVD.
Testing and evaluation
Children’s progress can be evaluated through formal testing,
ongoing assessment and self-assessment. For formal testing,
there are nine unit tests, three term tests and one
end-of-year test on the Teacher’s Resource CD-ROM, which
together cover the target language from the course. All
these tests are available as printable or editable documents
so you can choose to adapt the material to suit your class.
For ongoing and self-assessment, there are evaluation grids
and portfolio material on the Teacher’s Resource CD-ROM,
which allow you to continuously assess your pupils’ progress
and provide them and their parents with feedback.
You will also find practice papers for the Trinity and
Cambridge English: Young Learners, Cambridge English: Key for
schools (KET), and Cambridge English: Preliminary for schools
(PET) examinations on the External Exams Practice CD-ROM.
Multimedia
Ace! has a fresh, innovative and fully integrated approach to
multimedia in the classroom, allowing teachers to create a
tailored digital solution to best suit them and their school
facilities. The Ace! digital tools include the iPack, Teacher’s
Resource CD-ROM, DVD and Oxford Online Learning Zone
website. Details of these features are provided in the Ace!
Digital and Optional lessons using the DVD sections of the
Teacher’s Book.
Key Competences
The inclusion of the Key Competences in the curriculum is
designed to integrate the formal learning specific to each
subject area with less formal learning. This helps pupils to
see the relationship between different subjects and use
skills learned in one area in different contexts. The Key
Competences encourage the activation of resources that the
learner already has. Foreign language learning contributes
directly to the development of competence in linguistic
communication as it increases, enriches and complements
a pupil’s communicative capacity. When language learning
is based on the development of the four communicative
skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing), it helps
to develop this Key Competence in the same way as the
study of a native language. A more detailed explanation
of how learning a foreign language can develop the other
Key Competences can be found on the Teacher’s Resource
CD-ROM, along with ideas and worksheets for further
exploitation of each Key Competence.
The materials in Ace! 4 offer many opportunities for the
development of the Key Competences. These are clearly
highlighted and explained throughout the teacher’s notes.
Parental involvement.
Learning involves a cooperative relationship between
home and school, and it is important to establish clear
communication with parents to encourage home support.
The following are suggestions about possible ways of doing
this:
• Keep parents informed about what their children are
learning and their progress. School blogs can be an
effective way to keep parents up-to-date, as well as highly
motivating for children. Please make sure, however, that
the children in your classes are protected at all times
when they are online. Ensure that the school blog has
a password, so that it is only available for the people for
whom it is intended. In addition, teach children about
internet security. Screen what they plan to post before
they post it and, make sure that they don’t reveal too
much personal information, especially not telephone
numbers, addresses or personal e-mails.
• Set children homework to tell their parents the unit story,
sing them a song in English or tell them about life in
the English-speaking countries, for example. Encourage
parents to play the Songs CD, at home or in the car, to
motivate their children.
• Inform parents of the values their children are learning,
and ask them to encourage their children to employ them
at home too.
Introduction 9
 Introduct on
Class Book
• a starter unit introducing Jeb, June, Rory, Rose and Miss Snow
their class teacher
• nine teaching units of ten lessons per unit providing the core
material
• three pages of festival materials
• three revision stories featuring the course characters
• a clear syllabus summary showing the main language learned
in each unit
• a songs CD with all the songs and chants from the course

Activity Book
• ten pages of activities per core unit, including a pair work
activity; a Book Club feature; follow-up to the cross-curricular,
phonics and cultural lessons; unit review and self-evaluation
• activity ideas for fast finishers at the bottom of each page
Class Book • follow-up to the revision stories
• follow-up to the festivals
• one pair work activity per unit
• bilingual dictionary and grammar section

Teacher’s Book
• an introductory section, including descriptions of the
methodology and concept behind the course
• a full description of the syllabus
• an annotated Tour of a unit
• clear, succinct teaching notes for each lesson
• teaching notes for two optional lessons per unit (one DVD
lesson and one cross-curricular lesson)
• optional extra activity ideas
• cultural notes
• references to Key Competences
• full answer keys for Class Book and Activity Book activities
Activity Book
• transcript for each lesson
• references to worksheets on the Teacher’s Resource CD-ROM
• an Ideas bank with games, activities and ideas for how to
exploit the extra resources further (flashcards, storycards, etc.)
• a list of the unit flashcards and wordcards
• useful classroom language and a wordlist

Audio CDs Audio CDs

• recording of all the songs, stories and listening activities
including test listenings

Teacher’s Resource CD-ROM

• evaluation material
• nine unit tests, three term tests and one end-of-year test
• two worksheets to supplement the starter unit
• one story worksheet per unit
Teacher’s Book • two vocabulary and grammar worksheets per unit
• one cross-curricular worksheet per unit
• six festival worksheets (two per festival)
• full transcripts and answers for tests, and full teaching notes
and answers for worksheets

10 Components
• notes for Key Competences and worksheets
• three DVD worksheets per unit (two mini book worksheets
and one cross-curricular worksheet)
• PDF version of the printed Teacher’s Book (English) as well
as PDFs of Guía Didáctica and Llibre del professor

External Exams Practice CD-ROM

• practice tests for the following external exams: Cambridge
English: Young Learners, Trinity and Cambridge English: Key Teacher’s Resource CD-ROM

Teacher’s Resource Pack

Flashcards
• 198 flashcards for presenting the key unit vocabulary (Flashcards Set 1:
Lesson 1 vocabulary; Flashcards Set 2: Lesson 4 vocabulary)

Wordcards
• 198 wordcards to accompany the flashcards – see the end of this
Teacher’s Book for the list of wordcards
Flashcards
Storycards
• 72 large, full-colour storycards depicting the nine stories from
the course in Units 1 to 9
• all the cards have the story text and comprehension questions Wordcards
on the back

Cross-curricular cards
• 9 large, full colour cross-curricular cards for presenting the
cross-curricular theme for each unit. Each card includes teacher‘s
notes on the back.

Poster
• 'Essential English' poster containing useful language and grammar tips
Clock
• this is a large, full colour clock with moveable hands for teaching
the time
Storycards
DVD
• animation of each unit story
• one cross-curricular video clip per unit

iPack
Presentation and practice material for Interactive Whiteboards
and data projectors that includes the following:
• stories
• songs and chants
• audio
Clock
• poster, flashcards, and cross-curricular presentation material Cross-curricular cards
• Activity Book activities

Oxford Online Learning Zone

• interactive website content for students to use at home
or in the classroom

Poster
Components 11
 Tour of a Un t
Lesson 1 Key vocabulary
Lesson 1 teaches and practises the first key vocabulary set of twelve words. It shows
Rory, Jeb, Rose and June, the course characters, in a story world setting. They enter this
world through a magic book related to the unit topic. The children learn about the
magic book in the Starter Unit story of Ace! 3.

Class Book The spor ts dome

presentation
of the key
Lesson 1
1 Read and number. 2 3
4
7 1

vocabulary. Numbering
play badminton

play volleyball
7

activity
play table tennis
9
play hockey 6
8
play squash 5

practising play golf

go ice skating go sailing 10 11

Key vocabulary the key do archery

go skiing
do karate

do ballet
12

contexualized vocabulary. 2 Write.

¼et’∫ play squash.

in the children’s
1 7

2 8

fictional world 3 9

entered through 4 10

the magic book.

5 11

6 12

4 Finished? Draw and write about three sports you do.

Ace AB4.indb 4 07/11/2011 15:06

Active Activity Book 4

production Active production
of the key of the key Activity
vocabulary vocabulary suggestions
through a through a song. for fast
pair work finishers
speaking
Class Book 4
activity.

Flashcards and
wordcards for
presentation
and practice.

Clock

Flashcards Set 1

Flashcards • Then they do a pair work activity relating to the picture

• Use the flashcards to present and practise key
vocabulary.
• Alternatively, use the digital flashcards on the iPack for
presentation via an interactive whiteboard.
Class Book
• The children listen to the recording, point to the
corresponding item in the picture and then repeat the
vocabulary in chorus.
• The children listen to the recording and say which
word is missing.
• The children listen to the song and gradually join in
singing themselves. Play the song several times.
that prompts them to actively produce the vocabulary.
Activity Book
• In the first activity, the children practise recognizing the
vocabulary by reading and writing the correct number
next to each item.
• In the second activity, the children write each of the
key words next to the pictures.
• An activity suggestion for fast finishers keeps all
children engaged. This feature is present in all lessons.

12 Tour of a unit
Tour of a Un t
Lesson 2 Story
Lesson 2 teaches and practises the vocabulary presented in Lesson 1 through a story,
and introduces the grammar point presented in Lesson 3. The story is based on the
same context as the imaginary world. The children also practise the language by acting
out the story.

Story
Key structure 1
consolidation
Lesson 2 Rory’s
story

and vocabulary 1 Remember the story. Write.

through a
karate play often Do those

contextualized 1 Do you play 2 No, I don’t but I 3 These

listening activity.
golf, Mrs Potter? play badminton after work. clothes are too small
for you, Billy!

in the children's 4 And are my

old karate clothes!
5 you
play table tennis?

story from the 2 Read and write. karate cereals racket morning working scarecrow
always table tennis golf clubs blackbirds

imaginary world.
alway∫
Class Book
Farmer Evans (1) goes for a walk around his farm in the
(2) . The (3) are eating his cereals again. Lucy gives her
old (4) bats to Farmer Evans, but he never plays table tennis. Mrs Potter

presentation of gives her old (5)

work. He gives his old badminton (6)
old (7)
to Farmer Evans. Archie often plays badminton after

clothes too. Now he’s (8)

to Farmer Evans. He’s got Billy’s
in his barn. He’s

the key structure making something. It’s a new (9)

aren’t eating his (10) !
, Miss Flower Pot! Now the birds

through a Children M s s F l o w e r Po t
story. Story is review the
3 Read and write.
1 2

presented via story in the I (1)

love like don’t like funny

the story. I think the story is (2)

sad scary exciting

storycards. Book Club

My favourite character is

My favourite Storycard is number .

.

feature.
Finished? Write three sentences about when you play sport, 5
e.g. I sometimes play hockey at school.

Ace AB4.indb 5 07/11/2011 15:06

Activity Book 4
Opportunity
to act out
the story.
Storycards for story
1 M ss Flo we
presentation. r Pot Storycard
1

Class Book 4
Script $ CD1
11

First picture:
Second picture
Narrator: :
It’s a lovely morni Farmer Evans:
ng. Hmm. Farmer
Farmer Evans Smith’s got a
always goes

Extra story
for a walk on scarecrow. They
his farm in never eat
Unit 1 Story the morning. his plants.
Today, the
blackbirds are
eating his
1 Remember the story. Read and match. cereals again.

worksheet
1 Farmer Evans a is putting some golf clubs in the recycling box. Farmer Evans:
Go away birds!
2 Lucy b are eating Farmer Evans’ cereals. Shooo !
3 Mrs Potter c always goes for a walk in the morning.

for literacy
4 Archie d has got a scarecrow.
5 Billy e is throwing some table tennis bats in the bin. Questions
6 Miss Flower Pot f often plays badminton after work. Look! It’s a farm.
What can you
7 The blackbirds g is a scarecrow. (A field, some see?

development.
birds, some plants
, the sky, etc.)
8 Farmer Smith h is getting very tall. This is Farmer
Evans. What’s
(He’s going for he doing?
a walk.)
2 Find the words and write. Look at the pictures and write the numbers.
Is it in the morni
ng or in the evenin
2 3 a b c (It’s in the morni g?
o ng.)
e n r (Point to the birds.)
s a b What are the
(They’re eating birds doing?
the cereals / plants
Is Farmer Evans .)
happy to see
(No, he isn’t.) the birds?
5 6 d e f
l e s
f r
a c e

1
3 Write about yourself. Use always, sometimes and never.

I always go for a walk

in the morning. Ace SC4 SO.indd
2 4 © Oxford University
Press

I often play badminton.

20/10/2011
15:55

I never play table tennis.

4 Teacher’s Resource CD-ROM © Oxford University Press Photocopiable 3

Story worksheet Storycards

Storycards • In the second activity, the children complete a

• Use the storycards and audio to present the story the summary of the story with words in a word pool.
first time. • There are three Book Club review activities to develop
• Alternatively, use the digital storybook on the iPack for literacy skills. In the first one, the children indicate how
presentation via an interactive whiteboard. much they enjoyed the story and say what kind of
story it is by copying words from a word pool. In the
Class Book second activity, they write the name of their favourite
• The children listen to the story again and read along. character from the story. In the third activity, they write
• The children listen to frames from the story out of the number of their favourite storycard.
order and say the frame number, to consolidate their
Optional
memory of the story.
• The optional story consolidation worksheet offers
• The children act out the story, either as a whole class or
reinforcement of the story to focus on developing
in small groups.
literacy skills and awareness of narrative.
Activity Book
• In the first activity, the children practise recognizing
and saying the vocabulary from Lesson 1, within the
story context.

Tour of a unit 13