Programa Lenguas Extranjeras Primaria

Encuentro Aulas Abiertas

Primer encuentro
Gazzaniga, Enzo Andres

AIM: I wanted my students to practise reading, because the textbook they were using
didn’t have many reading comprehension tasks and the school library didn’t have any
elementary or beginner level reader books.

ACTIVITIES: I watched some videos on youtube.com, where they explained how to

make a 6-page book with an A4 sheet of paper. The good thing was that you didn’t even
need a blank sheet of paper, you could re-use (+ recycle) one that had been used on one
side only.
In the first class I told them to use the vocabulary we had learnt about animals to
think of a story in 6 strips. They had to choose the characters and decide what happened
in the story. Then, in any piece of paper they had to sketch the first draft of their story. I
told them not to devote too much time to the decorative aspect of it, just the storyline.
In the second class we had a ‘reporting’ session, where everybody had to tell
their story and their classmates had to check that their stories weren’t similar/identical. I
wanted variety! Then we started writing down the narration, or speech bubbles in other
cases. In this case the only rule was “One phrase per page”. We used dictionaries, and if
they used a new word, they had to make an explanatory footnote.
In the third class I handed out A4 sheets of paper for those who hadn’t brought
their own and they followed my instructions (“Fold it like this”, “Crease it there”) to
make the books. I was giving the instructions and at the same time making one book
myself, so about 70% could follow me and were successful. I had to go around,
checking and correcting the ones who had got lost at different stages of the explanation.
Then they had to think of a cover for their storybook and draw it, or they had to glue a
piece of cardboard (brought from home) to it and write the title of the book.
In the fourth class they finally got to make the final version of the book. We
made an index for students to keep track of the ones they haven’t read yet.
One story in particular was about a little chicken called Rodolfo, who was eating
at the roadside when a bike passes by and hits him. He then becomes friends with the
cock, who finds him a place to recover from his injuries.

FEEDBACK
I think this was a really good activity, because students felt they could let their
imagination fly and it was clear they enjoyed telling their own story to the rest.
Apart from the production of language, students had different opportunities to
show their expertise: some are good at drawing, others at colouring, some others at
inventing stories, etc.
Programa Lenguas Extranjeras Primaria
Encuentro Aulas Abiertas

Segundo encuentro
Gazzaniga, Enzo Andres

Storytelling was something I always felt I needed to know more about, and the
two professionals who gave their talks really made everything worthwhile. I found this
meeting extremely helpful to my daily practice, but as I was leaving the meeting I had
more questions than answers as to how I was going to use what Maley and Cookson had
given us. I think that both of them were excellent narrators and performers, I just had to
see what to take from them and how to adapt that to my classes.

I sat down and made a list of grammar points and vocabulary items we had
worked with. Then I started writing a story trying to include well-known vocabulary as
well as some new items, and having in mind the tips that Alan and Paul had shared with
us. I included lots of rhyme and repetition, and then I started thinking how to use an
instrument as part of the story too. So the main character was called “Gonzo Bongo”,
and his instrument was an old plastic Sancor cream container! I also tried to think of
questions to ask students so they could predict what was going to happen. For the visual
part I made students draw different animals, I got flashcards for those items that were
important to illustrate and then watched some videos on youtube.com about drawing
(because I’m terrible at it) in case they needed some meanings explained.

The day I was going to tell a story in front of a large audience finally arrived,
and I was quite nervous, I must admit. But everything worked so well that I was truly
amazed I could use almost all the tricks Maley & Cookson had mentioned. As I told the
story the kids were looking at me with eyes wide open, and participating with comments
or banging the ‘bongo’ when the story called for it. In one of the classes the story took
longer than expected because they were really eager to participate, and the bell rang. So
I asked them if they wanted to go on next class or continue during the break, and they
answered by raising their hands: 90% of the students showed me they were enjoying the
storytelling experience so much, they would willingly miss their long-awaited break.

I could share my impressions with just a few colleagues and they were
fascinated. This was a very rewarding teaching and learning experience. I really hope
I’m able to make it a regular part of my teaching practice.