Education Matters

ENJOY YOUR ENGLISH - HANDY SAMPLER

2011-07-23T02:43:00.000-07:00

ENJOY YOUR ENGLISH - SAMPLER
The full range of activities for communication using English can be found at http://educationmatters-jpc.blogspot.com

ACTIVITIES & TECHNIQUES TO IMPROVE READING

1. You are listening to an individual pupil read. He reads the text quietly, you help out when he gets stuck on a word. Good technique? Afraid not. In fact, you are probably hindering his reading development because you are asking him to sub-vocalise every word. Sub-vocalisation reduces reading speed considerably. What should you do?

He reads silently, his finger following beneath the text as he reads it. He taps twice when he reaches a word that give him difficulty. You say it quietly, he repeats the word, then moves on as before. Check comprehension with a few questions here and there.

Ask him, if you want, to read a few paragraphs out loud after he has been through the text as described above. Now he will be practising read aloud.

2. Choral reading is a technique we abandon too readily when pupils reach secondary school. However, it remains valuable for the weaker readers. The class, including the teacher, read aloud the same text together. In this way, the rhythm and intonation of the text is dictated by the teacher. Here are some variations:

Teacher reads, class may chorus only the final word of each sentence.
Teacher reads, class may chorus only the final phrase of each sentence.
Teacher reads, class may chorus only the words with Capital letters.
Teacher reads, class may chorus everything after the word and.

3. Most learners enjoy guessing games. Do not let them see the text you are about to read. Read them five words from the first paragraph. Ask them to guess what the paragraph says, in gist. Go through each paragraph in this way. Neither affirm or deny their interpretations. When you have completed the text, allow them to read through it in silence for themselves. Then discuss, paragraph by paragraph, which guesses were most accurate, and which clues led to the correct interpretation.

4. Turn your pupils into 'nonsense' detectives. Read to them the text you are about to study; they should not have seen it before; and it is better if you have read it in advance. As you read it to them, substitute words - one at a time - for some of the words that appear in the text. Try to think of words which sound like the words you are replacing, or use obviously silly substitutes. The student can stop you at any time and say: “That’s a nonsense word. I think it should be…”

5. Pupils get so used to answering questions that they can lose the ability to ask them. In class, regularly reverse roles and invite pupils to question you about the text. Be especially daring and do it with your book closed and their books open. Revenge is sweet.

6. If you are studying a text which is followed by a series of printed questions, get your pupils to cover up the text and try to answer the questions (orally). It does not matter if they are wrong; they are focusing on the essentials of the text through their own intelligence and imagination.

An alternative is to make up the questions yourself. The questions should lead the pupil/pupils through the text. You can read then read the text together to see how accurate or inaccurate the students have been in their responses.

7. Pupils need to work in pairs. One person reads the first sentence, the second person reads the next sentence, then back to the first person, and so on. Pupils are compelled to follow the sentence they are listening to, in order to be ready to read their own sentences. Generally, pupils become supportive of each other.

8. Poor readers often approach text in fear. They have become conditioned to wading through a text, word for word, in what seems an interminable process. Teach skimming and scanning early. Inculcate the idea that not everything needs to be read word for word slowly and carefully. Getting the gist is often enough.

9. Books open. Tell pupil you will give him only a short time to read this chapter. But you only want the answer to a few questions you will ask him in advance. This encourages speed and skimming and scanning.

10. Skimming is an ideal introduction to different kinds of texts. For example, in Home Economics, the class is being introduced to a recipe they have not seen before. In pairs, they are given a copy of the recipe. Quick fire, closed questions are asked: how many eggs? oven gas mark? kind of flour?; weight of raisins? They will not only be looking for the information but building up an overall picture of what the recipe is likely to involve.

11. Pupil's book closed. Tell pupil four or five key words in each sentence. Ask pupil to reconstruct sentence. After each paragraph, pupil opens book and reads the paragraph.

12. Pupil's book closed. Read passage to pupil. But pupil must guess every fourth or fifth word (variable). If the guess is correct, confirm by repeating word; if not, continue with chapter and oral cloze procedure. At end of passage pupil opens book and reads passage to helper as before.

13. Remind or pre-teach these punctuation marks:
. full stop ? question mark ! exclamation mark

Pupil's book closed.
Read to pupil. Stop at the end of each sentence.
Pupil has to say what punctuation mark ends each sentence.
Open book. Pupil reads paragraph to helper.

14. Pupil's book closed. Read each sentence backwards twice.
Pupil must reconstruct original sentence.
After each paragraph, pupil opens book and reads paragraph to helper.

15. Books open. Pupil reads text silently to himself. BUT he must hum quietly but audibly as he reads. The aim is to prevent the pupil saying the words silently to himself as he reads. Sub-vocalisation reduces reading speed considerably. Regular practice in humming while reading reduces sub-vocalisation. Eventually the humming is not required. It is quicker to read by sight than by sound.

16. Books open. Pupil reads chapter to helper. BUT pupil must read each and every sentence three times. Insist on this. When this is done, invite pupil to read chapter to you as fast as he can. He should be pleasantly surprised by his own speed and fluency.

17. Book open. Pupil must cover all of the text except the part he/she is being asked to read to the helper. After pupil has read a section, invite him/her to describe how he would like the story to continue. Pupil then reveals the next section of the story and reads it to see if it actually does go on as he would like it to. Continue procedure until a reasonable amount of reading has been achieved.

18 An A to Z of Way to Explore a Text

a) Look at the apostrophes in ‘this’ sentence.
Write down any word that has an apostrophe. Explain why it is there.
b) Find the common nouns in this sentence.
c) Find the proper nouns in this sentence if there are any.
d) Find the adjectives in this sentence.
Name an alternative adjective for each adjective you find.
e) Find the adverbs in this sentence.
Name an alternative adverb for each adverb you find.
f) Find any words you do not know the meaning of. Find out what it means.
Use it in a sentence to show you can use it appropriately.
g) Name a synonym for these words.
h) Name an antonym for these words.
i) Explain any facts you can find in this paragraph.
j) Explain any opinions you can find in this paragraph.
k) What in your opinion are the three most powerful words in this paragraph?
l) What words are used to create the atmosphere of the story.
m) How does the story hook you from the beginning?
n) Name one or two of the characters in the story.
o) Which character in the story would you most like to be? Why?
p) Which character in the story would you least like to be? Why not?
q) Write a diary entry for one of the characters in the story.
r) What questions would you like to ask the character? Ask them!
s) Write a text message to one of the characters in the story.
t) Does this story remind you of any of your memories or experiences?
u) In your opinion, what are the key moments in the story?
v) Invent an alternative ending to the story.
w) Complete the sentence... One thing I really like about this story is......
x) Complete the sentence... It would be better in this story if......
y) Write a short letter to the author of this story explaining what you think
about the story and the way that he/she has told it.
z) Make up some questions you would ask to check if someone has read the story
carefully and understood the story.

ACTIVITIES & TECHNIQUES TO ENJOY WRITING

1. DIY (Do It Yourself) Story Telling.
Texts are often followed by a series of questions. Invite your students to answer these questions before they see the text, They can then compare their versions with the original. This can be used with almost any kind of text. If no questions are provided, write your own.

2. CHANGE THE FACTS and make any other necessary changes
Select a text that matches the abilities and interests of your students. Underline some of the information in the text. Read through the text and invite students to suggest alternatives to the underlined information. Students then rewrite the text with the freedom to make as many changes as they can while still making sense. You may also invite them to extend the information in the text.

3. BEHIND THE HEADLINES
Select a number of short articles from newspapers and magazines appropriate to the age and interests of the group. Cut the headlines from the articles and have them ready for the activity. Pass out headlines to pairs or small groups of students. They must write an article to accompany the headline. Set limits to the number of words they may use. When ready, compare the students’ articles with the original articles.

4. DEAR EVERYBODY
This is best used with a new group. After you have been with your group a couple of weeks, write them a letter beginning, Dear Everybody... Tell your students something about yourself, your interests, and your hopes for them. Invite students to write their own individual letters back to you. Tell them you will respond personally to each student who writes to you. This may take you a bit of time, but it is well worth doing for a number of reasons, including establishing positive relations and discovering the writing abilities of each member in your group.

5. BE MY SECRETARY
Essentially this activity involves pairing students in the group. Then each student will take it in turn to act as the other’s secretary, and not only write notes as they are dictated but then deliver them to other members of the group. Limit the notes to around 30-50 words. The activity usually becomes fast and furious, so 15-20 minutes is enough!

6. MY PHOTO ALBUM
Give each student a blank sheet of A4 paper and tell them to fold it in half. On each of the four pages they should draw a rectangle which will serve as the frames for their ‘photographs’ Students are then instructed to draw a picture in each of the rectangle of their ‘photo album’. The photos should be about almost anything, but they should be personal, e.g. my family, my house, my best friend, my best holiday place, my hobby, a place I’d like to visit.... When ready, students can show their albums and explain the pictures. They must then write 30-50 words about each photo in their album.

7. EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS
If possible, seat whole group in a circle though this is not really necessary, You start off the ‘story’ by giving the first word. Everyone, including you, writes down the word. A student adds the next word, and everyone writes it down. If the student offers a ‘challenging’ word, you should spell it for them. The next student offers a word, and everyone writes it down to continue to the story. This continues until you feel the class has created a worthwhile story, Of course, this activity is not restricted to narrative texts. As a follow-up, you may invite the students to take the story and individually see if they can write the story and improve it in as many ways as they can.

8. WHO AND HOW OFTEN?
Display these frequency adverbs and phrases where students can easily see them: usually –sometimes – never – hardly ever – often – regularly – frequently - rarely – seldom – occasionally – from time to time – normally - now and then – once in a blue moon.

Invite students to write one sentence of each of these which they describe how often the named individual does whatever it is they do. There should be a different person for each sentence. The people named should be known to the student who uses their name... family, friends, teachers, etc. You may get some surprises, such as ‘Mr. Smith hardly ever marks our homework.’

9. CHANGE THE LYRICS
Find a song that is popular with your students. Write down the lyrics. Give the students in pairs or small groups the lyrics. Play the song several times. As you do, invite students to rewrite the lyrics and, of course, they must fit the original tune. Choose songs that are popular with the students, not necessarily with you. You can find almost anything on youtube. The Beatles, of course, wrote a great number of songs such as Yesterday that are particularly easy to rewrite, but Beethoven’s Ode To Joy can be great fun even when your students don’t understand a single word of German.

10. THE ONE-WEEK DIARY
Invite your students to keep a diary of one week. But this diary will be unusual because instead of writing about the past, the diary encourages them to write about topics that help create a happier future. Each entry should take from a few moments to a few minutes. The diary is for the individual student; it is not for the teacher. Announce one topic each day. The topics are: Monday: A Big Thank You - Tuesday: A Terrific Time - Wednesday: My Fabulous Future - Thursday: Dear... (to someone important in their lives) - Friday: The Weekly Review (students to review the past week and describe two or three things that went really well for them). Remember this is their personal diary which they can share if they choose to do so. AND while they are writing their entries, why don’t you write yours?!

ACTIVITIES & TECHNIQUES TO ENCOURAGE SPEAKING & LISTENING

Oracy is not a subject - it is a condition
of learning in all subjects.

In everyday life we are constantly using speaking and listening to acquire, explore, develop and express knowledge and understanding through discussion with others. The skills of active listening, negotiation, building on the ideas of others to solve problems and develop new initiatives are increasingly valued in the workplace - and therefore should be equally valued in any programme of language development. No true literacy can occur without true oracy.

1. TALKING POINTS
This activity is useful once you have gained the confidence of the group. It helps engage and energise students at the start of a learning session. Ask a student to select a letter from the alphabet. Write the letter large on the whiteboard. Students must now talk about any topic beginning with this letter for precisely 1 minute. Students can then be invited to report what their conversation was about. This can also be used to explore any topic. For example, in teaching Science, invite students to suggest topics. Write each topic one at a time on the whiteboard. Students now have precisely 1 minute to discuss the topic, then report back to the group.

2. BEHIND THE HEADLINES
Collect some short newspaper and magazine articles. Cut off and keep the headlines. Show the headlines, one at a time, to the class. In pairs or in small groups, students try to guess in as much detail as possible what the article contains. Give 3 minutes per headline. Then read the original article to the class. Award points for each detail guessed correctly. Extended this, by inviting students to suggest an article entirely different from the original that the headline would suit.

3. ME – MYSELF – I
This activity offers an original way to introduce yourself to the class but it can also be used later on, but not after they have got to know you very well. Some preparation is advance is needed but usually proves well worth the effort. Select about 10 interesting facts about yourself: where you were born, hometown, favourite subjects in school, family, sports and hobbies, where you’ve travelled, etc. For each of these, prepare a single word, a date, an illustration, a symbol, a flag; in fact, anything you associate with these items. Invite your students to explore what each one stands for and its significance for you. This encourages your students to do most of the ‘work’ in getting to know you.

4. DIY (Do It Yourself) to encourage discussion
Texts, particularly those used in school and other places of education, are often followed by a series of questions that systematically test the knowledge of students studying the topic. Now and again, let your students see and discuss the questions before they study the information in the text. You can do this with almost any text, e.g. Science, History, Geography, Law, EFL, and narrative texts. It is often more fun and productive if the students know very little about the information in the text, e.g. when you’re introducing a new topic in History. If your text has no prepared questions, write a series of questions that explore the text yourself.

5. BACK TO BACK LISTENING
This activity can be used in a variety of ways to encourage students to listen actively to each other. Students in pairs are given some pieces of blank A4 people. Students then sit back to back. Student A is then given the task of describing something. As Student A is giving a description, Student B must draw what is being described as accurately as he/she can. Tasks may include: my living room, my bedroom, my dog, my cat, my little sister, my bicycle – in fact, anything that can be reasonably described and drawn. Student A then checks the accuracy of the drawing. Roles are then reversed.

6. SOUND MAPS
Students work individually. Without speaking to each other, for a period of 3 or 4 minutes, students are encouraged to listen carefully to the sounds around them. These may include ticking clocks; birds or other animals; the wind and its effect on trees, doors or windows; traffic; people talking or moving outside the room.

As they hear each sound, students locate the direction of the sound and either write it or draw it onto their paper, placing it in the appropriate position to show where the sound came from.

At the end of the listening time, students are encouraged to talk as a group about the sounds they heard, what might have made those sounds and where they were.

7. WHAT IF…..?
This activity aims to encourage students to use their imagination and to express their ideas to others. It is essential the teacher provides topics in which students may have a genuine interest. If the activity is merely mechanical, the activity will fail. Learners work in small groups (threes or fours). The leader reminds the learners that they have a limited amount of time (2-3 minutes) for this activity. The leader provides learners with a prompt idea (see examples below) which learners are encouraged to develop - however extreme or bizarre their ideas may be.The learner conducts a brief plenary session (again, only a few minutes) during which each group explains their most extreme ideas. Suggested topics: What if… you could take over this school? What if you woke up as a boy/girl tomorrow morning? What if you became President/Prime Minister of your country? What if you could make one wish that would come true?

8. INVITE STUDENTS TO DISCUSS THEIR OWN LEARNING
Your students and you should regularly review the learning that is taking place in their learning. What do they find interesting? What do they find challenging? What do they think of the balance between reading, writing, speaking and listening in your teaching? In what ways could the learning process be improved? Of course there are dangers in opening up yourself to criticism, some of which may be negative. Your feelings as a teacher may be hurt but if you don’t open yourself up to fair, friendly evaluation, you will miss the opportunity to improve yourself as a teacher and to truly engage your students. Passive learners are poor learners.

9. THE COGNITIVE INTERVIEW

The Cognitive Interview is often used by the police to help witnesses reconstruct accurate memories of what they have witnessed. You can use the Cognitive Interview to help your students memorise and recall information. In the traditional interview we start at the beginning, work step by step to the middle and then on towards the end. This method often hinders recall because the interviewee is not only being asked to remember the information but to sequence it in the ‘correct’ order. In a cognitive interview get your students to start by outlining anything they remember that occurs around the middle of the information they have been studying. They should elaborate on any points of interest they recall. They should also be encouraged to move backwards and forwards from any point they reach; for example, “What happened before…?” and “What happened after….?” rather than what happened next.

You could perhaps start by showing your students a short video (grab one from youtube). Then ask them to reconstruct what they saw and heard in as much detail as possible. Use the Cognitive Interview method. You should be amazed by how much discussion it generates.

10. THE SPEAKING & LISTENING MIND SET
This is not an activity; this is a mind set. Encourage your students to talk about practically anything and everything. Ignore mistakes students make when they are speaking. Such intervention breaks the communicative flow and discourages the student from speaking, and eventually, if students don’t speak, they will stop listening to you.

ENJOY YOUR ENGLISH PART 4

2011-07-10T12:25:00.000-07:00

THE ‘RIGHT’ QUESTIONS GET THE ‘RIGHT KIND’ OF RESPONSES
Teachers should seek to promote a classroom where it is more important to “have a go” than it is to “get the right answer”. Hence, all responses should be welcomed – even if students are then informed that their answer lacks detail or needs clarification. When challenging, open questions are being used, there is no shame in not getting things right first time. (It is only closed questions that require a “right” answer.)

Use questions to encourage learners to using lower order thinking skills.
Use questions to encourage learners to using higher order thinking skills.

The best questions

• open up the topic (rather than close it down)
• do not have easy answers
• lead to further questions
• require a considered response
• are a challenge

Bloom's Taxonomy and Questioning

Knowledge Who…? What…? Where…? When…?
Comprehension What do we mean by…?
Application What other examples can you think of?
How could we use that…?
Analysis Why…?
What is the evidence for…?
How does that connect with…?
Synthesis What if…?
How could we improve…?
Can you think of a different way to…?
Evaluation What do you think about…?
How could we improve…?

Allow “thinking time” before expecting answers. Learners under pressure often raise their hands too quickly and say the first thing that comes into their head. In-depth questions require a more considered response. Use “thumbs up” – where students make a thumbs-up sign against their chest – to indicate that they have a response to my more open questions; although still use “hands up” for quick knowledge-based questions. Regularly do not allow thumbs or hands-up at all.
This encourages everyone, or most learners, to work out some kind of response.

FROM GOOD TO GREAT
What makes the difference between good teaching and great teaching?

1. Build Confidence - ‘Believe in yourself’

Build confidence in your students. Inspire confidence and optimism. Convince them they can achieve success. Celebrate success individually and as a group. They can learn to be good enough at anything. Your students have to be able to trust you. Respond seriously to children. Never be judgemental or mocking. Never get a laugh from the group at an individual’s expense. Confidence comes gradually; it takes time. Make building confidence a priority.

2. Don’t be afraid to make difficult decisions

Some decisions are difficult to make but if they are the right decisions, make them and stick to them – unless they turn out to be the wrong decisions. Along with your responsibility, you need to have the authority to make potentially difficult decisions in the classroom. You know what you want your group or individuals to achieve – make the decisions that will help them achieve their goals. When you know what’s right, go for it.

3. Help develop those around you – and yourself

Great teaching means leadership, and leadership involves leading. Help develop the people around you whether they are children or adults, and at the same time don’t neglect to develop yourself. Keep pushing their boundaries, and pushing your own. Get out of your comfort zone regularly. Give lots of constructive feedback. Everyone wants to do it better next time. Everyone has got strengths. Share yours, and learn from the strengths of those around you. Make the most of each other.

4. Communicate well

Being able to communicate well is the essence of great teaching. If it does not come to you naturally, work at it until it does – even if it means getting out of your comfort zone. Encourage those around you, especially your students, to enjoy communicating. Remember ‘you’ are the message, and so is the environment you create for your students. When students come into your learning zone, they should feel it is a warm, welcoming place where they can feel at home. And your learning zone should quickly become their learning zone. Make it easy for others to communicate with you. Start by listening. Help others clarify and express what it is they want to communicate.

5. The best teachers are non-conformists

Being a ‘non-conformist’ does not mean running around causing mischief for its own sake. But it does mean questioning the status quo, looking at how things can be improved, trying other ways of doing things, taking risks, and seeing teaching and learning as an adventure. Non-conformists are willing to look at changes; they enjoy trying out new ideas; they welcome innovation that works. Good teachers get bored easily; they are on the lookout for trying to do the same things differently, and this enthusiasm communicates itself to their pupils who also become more and willing to try doing the same things differently.

6. Enjoy the company of others

You are going to spend most of your life in front of young people, so if you don’t enjoy the company of young people, find another career. Teachers tend to be natural communicators, but if you’re not, it is something you can work of. We can all become who we want to be by behaving as if we were who we want to be until being who we want to be comes as naturally as being who we used to be. If you want to be a kind person, be kind to those around you until ‘being kind’ is ‘you’. Bounce ideas off those around you, colleagues and children. It’s a lot more fun than only bouncing ideas off the walls of your mind.

7. Keep an eye on the bigger picture

There’s a world beyond your classroom. There’s a world beyond your school. There’s a world beyond education. There’s a world. Look outside your world. Look and see what other teachers are doing, what other educators are doing, what you can bring in from the world to your classroom, to your pupils. You, as a teacher, are the most important link your pupils have with the big, wide world out there. You are there to help open their minds, to help them make sense of the world out there, and their place in it. You are not just there to teach ‘your’ subject; you are there to teach them the world, and you start by teaching them – you.

What makes a ‘great’ teacher?

The single most important factor determining the quality of education a child receives is the quality of his teacher/teachers. It is not the ‘school’, not the curriculum, not the resources and facilities, not the management, not the leadership – it is the quality of the teacher.

Great teachers
 set high expectations for all their students. They don’t give up on any of their students.
 are well-prepared and well-organised. They know what they want their students to achieve and they know how to help them achieve these goals.
 engage and enthuse students, individually and as a group. The teacher’s enthusiasm is contagious. Teaching and learning are fun; work becomes play becomes success.
 care about their students as people. They form strong, appropriate relationships with their students. They are warm, caring, and accessible while always remaining objective.
 are masters of their subject, love their subject, and can communicate both knowledge and love of their subject. A great history teacher is a historian.
 communicate frequently with parents. They are part of the network of support for every child in their care.
 spend as much time learning as they do teaching.

TEACHING & LEARNING TECHNIQUES THAT WORK

1. HANDS DOWN – NOT UP

The most common, time-honoured practice in the classroom goes like this. The teacher asks a question. Those students who are confident they know the answer put their hands up. The teacher selects one of them. The student answers. The answer is correct. The teacher asks another question. More or less the same hands go up. The procedure is repeated until the question-answer session is over. Behaviour has been good. A few of the students are content because they have been acknowledged by the teacher. Most of the students have are content because they have been left alone to slumber or daydream until the end of the session. The teacher is content because he has put a lot into the session, and good order has been maintained. But most of the students have learned very little, or at least whether they learned anything or not hasn’t been assessed.

Run the same session again but this time do not allow hands up. The question is asked but this time a student cannot predict whether or not he will be asked to answer. He doesn’t know if the teacher’s finger will point at him. He has to stay alert in case it does. He has to prepare some kind of response even if it’s only “I don’t know,” but if he says he doesn’t know, this will give the opportunity for the teacher to teach the point again. A collective groan will go up. The student is now under peer pressure to respond with something related to the question. And the students himself no longer has the refuge of withdrawing from the class.

Of course the students who do know they answer (these are the students who usually do) are becoming frustrated and annoyed. Why aren’t they being selected to answer? The teacher knows they know the right answer, so why is she bothering with those students who rarely know the answer, who rarely given any kind of answer, who simply want to be left alone? And it’s not fair because now the teacher is deliberately not choosing them to answer.

Run the same session again. Do not allow hands up. Give them time to think out their response but make your choice of student random. How? Several ways are possible. Get a set of lollipop sticks. Write the first name of each student on a lollipop stick. Stick the stick in a jar. Ask the question. Give a little thinking time. Pull out a stick. It’s that student’s turn to answer. When the student has given an answer, pop the stick back in the jar. Next question. Next random selection.

You will still get complaints. Individual students will still feel under pressure. So... pull two lollipop sticks from the jar. Either student can answer. Or both students can support each other in answering the question. Take even more of the pressure from yourself by getting students to draw the sticks when you ask a question.

Prepare for resistance, reluctance and resentment. Few people like change, and that includes teachers as well as students. You’ve all been in a reasonably comfortable routine. Why change things? Because not enough learning has been going on. And you, as a teacher, want to maximise the learning, maximise the engagement of your students, and maximise your own enjoyment. Routine is the great deadener. Take chances. Go for something different. And in this case the hands-down approach will work as long as you stick to it for long enough.

2. INVOLVE EVERY STUDENT

In the ideal classroom we would like to engage every student, and there’s a simple low technology way we can do this. Get your students into the habit of using the mini whiteboard. Mini whiteboards are popular in junior schools but they can be used just as effectively with learners of any age.

Let’s take a straightforward example. You are revising French vocabulary. You call out an English word. Each student writes down the French word on their mini white board. At your signal they hold up their white boards. Students who have no idea leave the boards on the desk. You can make a quick assessment how well that item has been learned, whether it should be taught again, and which students need more revision. Of course, students can work as individuals, in pairs, or in small groups. The key is that every student in the class is being given the opportunity to respond.

Another example. You are teaching algebra. You want to check learning. You write a series of equations on the main whiteboard. After each equation, you give students time to work out their answers on their whiteboards. They then show their responses. You get a lot of relevant information about your students’ learning immediately, and you can plan appropriately.

Another example. You are revising important cases. You ask your students to note down on their mini whiteboards which case you are referring to as soon as they can identify it, and then turn their boards face down on the desk. You begin giving key facts about the case. As each student identifies the case, they note the name down, and turn over their boards. The competitive element adds to the fun.

Using mini whiteboards is a simple but highly effective technique. They should be available in every classroom for students of all ages and of all abilities. Involve and engage all of your students.

3. INSTANT FEEDBACK

Wouldn’t it be useful if we could have instant feedback about how well our students have understood a new idea or concept? There is a simple way we can get it.

Get coloured card: green, red and yellow. Cut them up and make sets of three cards, each of a different colour. Make sufficient sets for your largest class. Hand a set to each student.

When teaching a concept, pause regularly and ask your student to hold up the coloured card that shows how well they think they are understanding the concept. Green = fine. Yellow = not sure. Red = not very well.

Adapt your teaching to suit their learning needs. Think of other ways you can use this ‘traffic light’ system. Remember regular feedback from your students will make you a better teacher.

4. HIGHLIGHTING EFFECTIVELY

1. Highlight the key points in each paragraph. Highlight only the essential.
Discourage the tendency to highlight everything. Highlighting is an aid to
memory.

2. You, the teacher, may dictate what is to be highlighted, or students may
choose to highlight what they feel is essential. You can compare what you have
highlighted with what your students have chosen to highlight.

3. Discuss the highlighted items without reference to what is around them. In
other words, students are encouraged to express the central ideas in their own
words.

4. For revision/homework, issue copies of only the highlighted material on which
the work should be based. This can be as simple as wiring up the highlighted
information on the board and asking students to recreate the original in their
own words. Better still is to set the students a question based on topic which
ensures students must explore the meaning/significance of what they are
writing about.

5. Keep a set of highlighters in class for the students to use but also ask them
to keep highlighters of their own.

5. STUDENTS REVIEW THEIR OWN LEARNING

Regularly invite your students to review their own learning with you. This does not mean reviewing what they have learned but how effectively they have learned it. This will involve examining the process of learning and should provide you with useful guidance on the effectiveness of your teaching as well as their learning.

For example: “We have just finished studying the Mormons in the early U.S.A. How well do you think you have learned the topic? How could we learn it better? Can you suggest anything that would help you learn it more thoroughly? How can we confirm we’ve learned it?” Such reviews can be applied to any topic. For example, “We have been studying when to use the past tense and when to use the perfect tense in English. How confident are you in using the appropriate tense? What would help you become more confident in using these tenses appropriately?”

It is essential for teacher and students to establish a dialogue about how the students are learning just as much as what they are learning. Their learning must always take priority over our teaching. Teaching without learning is pointless.

6. ALLOW STUDENTS TO INTERVIEW THEIR TEACHER

Regularly allow your students to interview you about what they/you have been studying. Among other things, it helps you master the material and express it clearly for them. Encourage students to ask tangential questions related to the material. Effective teaching is not ‘jugs and mugs; effective learning is a two-way process.

7. SETTING TIME LIMITS

Regularly set time limits in which classwork should be done. Work to the formula ‘average student + n minutes’. Do not allow the slowest or the fastest in the class to dictate the rate at which work is to be done. Learning to work within time limits is a key skill.

Have extension assignments ready for those who are likely to finish fastest. These should already be up on the whiteboard. These questions should be intriguing. They must not be mere time-occupiers. The more able students welcome a challenge. Pose questions that invite analyzing, categorizing, sequencing, synthesizing, prioritizing, sequencing. Make your students think. It is thinking that keeps them interested. One of the most effective ‘thinking’ questions is that “What if….?” question. Or, when possible and appropriate, personalise the questions: “What would you do….?” and “What would you have done….?”

Encourage students to brainstorm under examination conditions. This means brainstorming plus some kind of organisation of the brainstormed material (numbering is simplest). Again set time limits for the brainstorming. You do not need to move from the brainstorming to a full piece of work every time. The brainstorming has its own value. Above all, it encourages students to think and organize their thinking.

8. THE COGNITIVE INTERVIEW

The Cognitive Interview is often used by the police to help witnesses reconstruct accurate memories of what they have witnessed. You can use the Cognitive Interview to help your students memorise and recall information. In the traditional interview we start at the beginning, work step by step to the middle and then on towards the end. This method often hinders recall because the interviewee is not only being asked to remember the information but to sequence it in the ‘correct’ order.

In a cognitive interview get your students to start by outlining anything they remember that occurs around the middle of the information they have been studying. They should elaborate on any points of interest they recall.

They should also be encouraged to move backwards and forwards from any point they reach; for example, “What happened before…?” and “What happened after….?” rather than what happened next.

Where possible, get students to recall the information from different perspectives, e.g. not the victim but the perpetrator; not Romeo but Tybalt; not the immune system but the antibodies. By doing this, you are not only reinforcing recall but you are freeing the imagination, increasing enjoyment, and strengthening holistic appreciation of what under review. Do not restrict the cognitive interview to obvious topics; it can be used equally effectively with any information that has to be memorised.

9. PLANNING QUESTION-ANSWER SESSION

Effective teaching and learning is largely based on the dialogue between teacher and learners. This in turn is based on questioning that leads learners to explore topics in depth and detail, and questioning that not only encourages learners to understand, appreciate and apply knowledge but to seek to extend that knowledge. Effective questioning is not only a skill but an art form since it often seeks emotional involvement from those involved. In other words, if teacher and learners are not enjoying the dialogue, debate, discussion, only superficial learning is likely to take place. Here are some guidelines but remember the importance of flexibility, be ready to change and pursue avenues of interest that open up during the session.

 Plan key questions that provide structure and direction to the session. Spontaneous topics that emerge are fine but the overall direction of the discussion should be under your control, not the control of the learners.

 Phrase your questions clearly and specifically. Avoid vague and ambiguous questions unless you deliberately wish some of the questions to be vague and ambiguous.

 Offer a range of questions adapted to the range of abilities of the learners in your group. Provide a mixture of open and closed questions.

 All your learners to respond to your questions with questions of their own but try to field these questions to other learners rather than immediately answer them yourself.

 Ask questions logically and sequentially unless you are using the Cognitive Interview.

 Give students time to think before inviting answers – Wait Time. Do not demand immediate answers; this only closes down thinking and reflection.

 Sometimes allow learners to work out in pairs what answer they wish to give.

 Do not always allow ‘hands up’. Let the learners know that you will often choose who is invited to answer any particular question.

Follow up on learners’ responses. Elicit longer, more meaningful and more frequent responses by –

 maintaining a deliberate but comfortable and welcoming silence. This gently pressurises learners to fill the silence by offering more information and comment.

 declaring perplexity over the response – “I’m not quite sure I understand you.” – a little frown often does the trick.

 making a declarative statement – “That’s a very accurate explanation,” or “You’re on the right track but the explanation needs a little more detail.”

 encourage other learners to comment constructively on a response and to elaborate where appropriate.

 allow learners to question you about what is being learned; allow them to consult the text, if there is one, in order to form their questions; their questioning will often be more challenging than yours.

 Elaboration is a thousand times better than mere rehearsal/repetition. Elaborate what you are teaching – through your own experiences, their experiences, previous knowledge, wider context, where the information will take us next. All knowledge is dead unless we bring it alive for our students.

10. MEMORY TECHNIQUES THAT WORK

Many memory techniques are based on three fundamental principles: association, imagination and location.

1. Association is the method by which you link a thing to be remembered to a method of remembering it. Things can be associated by – being placed on top of each other, merging together, wrapping round each other, dancing together, being the same colour, smell, shape, or feeling, etc.

2. Imagination is used to create and links and associations. Imagination is the way in which you use your mind to create the links that have the most meaning for you. The more strongly you imagine and visualise a situation, the more effectively it will stick in your mind for later recall. Mnemonic imagination can be as violent, vivid, or sensual as you like, as long as it helps you to remember what needs to be remembered.

3. Location provides you with two things: a context into which information can be placed so that it hangs together, and a way of separating one mnemonic from another: e.g. by setting one mnemonic in your bedroom, you can separate it from a similar mnemonic located in your kitchen.

Using these three fundamentals of Association, Imagination and Location you can design images that strongly link things with the links between themselves and other things, in a context that allows you to recall those images in a way that does not conflict with other images and associations.

1. Scatter and Splatter your room with subject/topic specific words learners have difficulty assimilating and/or spelling. Information is absorbed unconsciously when we are repeatedly exposed to it. In addition, the physical context where we learn information helps in recalling the information at a later date.

2. The Method of Loci: (for up to twenty items)
Select any location that you have spent a lot of time in and have easily memorized. Imagine yourself walking through the location, selecting clearly defined places--the door, sofa, refrigerator, shelf, etc. Imagine yourself putting objects/labels that you need to remember into each of these places by walking through this location in a direct path. Again, you need a standard direct path and clearly defined locations for objects to facilitate the retrieval of these objects. When you want to recall the information, stroll through the location and visualize the required information.

3. The Image-Name Technique: (for remembering names)
Simply invent any relationship between the name and the physical characteristics of the person. For example, if you had to remember Herman Goering’s name, you might ingrain the name in memory by imagining Goering snoring in bed (for which he was well known.)

4. Devise large Stick Post-It Notes and pop them up all round your classroom. People find it difficult not to absorb what’s in front of them every day. Encourage your students to stick post their bedrooms during examinations. Your students can take down a post-it note when they’re completely sure they have absorbed the information.

5. Doodle for recall. Sometimes allow your learners to doodle while you are revising a topic. They may doodle whatever they wish but you can encourage them to doodle whatever comes into their minds as you revise the material. Make it clear that you will not look at any of their doodles – doodles are personal. Many of their graphic responses (doodles) will appear to have nothing to do with the topic. This doesn’t matter at all. What does matter is that your learners have created responses personal to them.

6. Listen to learn and to remember. Auditory learners relate most effectively to the spoken word. Auditory learners make up around 30% of the population. They tend to listen to a teacher, and then take notes afterwards, or rely on printed notes. Often information written down has little meaning until it has been heard. It helps auditory learners to read written information out loud. Identify the auditory learners in your class and give them appropriate advice.

7. Kinaesthetic learners learn effectively through touch and movement and space, and learn skills by imitation and practice. Kinaesthetic learners can appear slow, in that information is normally not presented in a style that suits their learning methods. Kinaesthetic learners make up around 5% of the population

8. Encourage students to whisper their responses to each other. This helps them encode the information in their acoustic memories. This worked for Einstein and it can work for your students – and for you.

9. Concept cards. Divide a sheet of A4 card into 8 cards. On each set of cards, write in large black print a key word or phrase from the topic area you have been studying. Keep each set secured with an elastic band. Frequently, take out a set of concept cards and hold them up one at a time to the class. “Tell me anything and everything you know about this…concept/idea.”

10. Take your students outside the classroom and teach them as you stroll around the grounds. When the weather is fine, all sit down for ten minutes and continues the lesson. Then get up, stroll, sit, and repeat until class time is over.

11. VARY WRITING TASKS

1. Hop-Step-Jump Vary the amount of written output you expect from you learners by varying the number of words you expect from them and the amount of time you give them to produce their responses. For example, you may pose the question “Did Romeo and Juliet both have to die?” and request 100 words in 15 minutes (a hop) or 250 words in 30 minutes (a step) or 400 words in 45 minutes (a jump). Learner will have to vary the speed of their thinking and the speed at which they get their thoughts on paper. In this way they increase their flexibility of response.

2. Scribble Scribble Give students plenty of practice in coping with time limits by scribbling out their responses as fast as they can within the time you set. Make it clear to them that you are not interested in presentation, spelling and handwriting – though the handwriting should be reasonably legible. This approach helps learners fix what they want to say because they are not distracted by the form in which they have to say it.

3. Essay Exchange Allow learners in pairs to review, proof read and correct each other’s work before it is handed in to you. Allow them to discuss with each other any amendments they have made. When they have had sufficient practice in this, encourage them to critically assess each other’s work, suggest improvements and make amendments to their own work before it is submitted to you. The teacher should not be the only ‘teacher’ in the group; everyone in the group can be a teacher as well as a learner.

4. You Do It Too While your students are writing their responses, you should sometimes write your response, too. Your response must be handwritten and at the level produced by ‘good’ students. Photocopy your effort, then passes copies to pairs of students, and invite them to assess your response constructively. Then open a discussion based on your response. Following this discussion, invite your students to assess and grade their own responses in comparison to the grade they have given you.

5. The Late Review During the last few minutes of the class period, ask students to answer on a half-sheet of paper: “What is the most important point you learned today?” and, “What point remains least clear to you?”. The purpose is to elicit data about students' comprehension of a particular class session. Review responses and note any useful comments. At the beginning of the next session discuss any relevant points and issues that have been raised by students’ reviews.

6. One Sentence Summary After a short period of teaching, invite students to sum up the main point of the topic in a single sentence. The aim is to enable students to select the defining feature of a topic. Take in the sentences. Mix them up. Read them out randomly and, one at a time, invite students to comment on how accurately each sentence sums up the topic. This works best when you, the teacher, have decided in advance what topic you will ask your students to sum up.

7. The Dummies’ Guide When a text or topic is particularly complex, divide your students into groups. Get each group to take a section of the text and rewrite it for ‘dummies’. In other words, they should simplify the text as far as they possibly can without destroying its essential meaning.

8. Divide a text you have been studying into sections. Students, in pairs, must devise and write questions for the sections they have been given. Their questions must test other students’ knowledge of the text in depth and detail.

9. Help your students get inside the mind of the examiner by giving out past papers from which the questions have been removed. The task of your students is to imagine what questions the examiner actually asked for the particular examination. Students, in pair or small groups, should then generate the written notes and/or plan they would base their responses on.

10. Flash Cards After studying a topic in some depth, prepare blank flash cards for your students. They should complete them with the information they can keep and use as genuine, personalized flash cards.

12. THE CASE STUDY

A case study allows your students to focus on a particular aspect in depth and detail. A case study can be held on practically anything – for example, ‘Was the execution of Mary Queen of Scots politically necessary?’ or ‘How effective are wind farms at producing energy?’ or ‘Is synchronised swimming really a sport?’

1. As teacher, your task is to formulate the question that enables students to focus on the case study. Your task is also to provide students with copies of the material they need to study the case, analyse its important aspects, and reach appropriate conclusions.

2. As teacher, your task is not to lead the discussion. Your task is to help keep the discussion focused and on track but you should intervene as little as possible.

3. A large group should be subdivided into smaller groups so that every student has the opportunity to participate. Each group should choose a chair person whose task is to keep notes and report back at the end of the sub-group sessions.

4. Discussion and analysis of the case follow with the entire group.

5. The whole process should not take longer than 20-25 minutes.

Be prepared for the first few case studies to be messy. Students are learning to work independently of the teacher. They are learning to see the inter-relations between factors in the case themselves rather than always being told what these are. They are learning to co-operate, collaborate, communicate, and see matters from others’ points of view as well as from their own. Limiting the time for the case study will encourage students to distinguish relevant material from the superficial and superfluous. Case studies will allow you, the teacher, observe your students teaching themselves.

13. POT POURRI OF IDEAS

1. PLAY IT AGAIN, Sam

Use music in the background when students are doing written work. Music sets the background noise level and often settles down noisier classes. Do not choose ‘pop’ music with lyrics known to the class. Classical music – Bach, Mozart – have proved most effect. Ignore individual complaints; often it’s best to turn on the music after the class has begun writing. Explain to the class that this is ‘brain music’ that helps them produce better work; it usually does.

2. VARY THE INPUT

Use a variety of texts and reference books in class. For example, if you are teaching an item in science, have two or three more books (for the teacher, not the student) which deal with the topic and read the topic to them. Be ready to explore and exploit any differences. Remember: we are teaching expression of the material as well as the material itself.

3. PREVIEW WORK TO BE DONE AT HOME and IN CLASS

Build an opportunity in class time for students to preview the work they are going to do at home, for example, outlining the key points. Students should not only note their homework in their planners, but also note the time when they intend to do it. For example: 5-5.30pm for a particular item. Of course, they will not always or even often stick to the plan, but it is a way to get them started thinking about their use of time.

Give students the assignment one week in advance. Let them know they will have to do the assignment under examination conditions after preparation week.

4. CLOZE TECHNIQUES

Cloze techniques went out of fashion because they became too mechanical. But a little creative thought can make their use effective and enjoyable. For example, after reading a new passage to students, get them to cloze you verbally, paragraph by paragraph. In trying to catch you out, they will need to focus on the more tricky items themselves.

5. RELEVANCY PRACTICE

Ask students to open their text books to a topic you have been covering in some detail. Write up a question on the board – the question should demand only some of the material. Invite students to work through the material and select, verbally or written, only the information relevant to your question. Then rub out of the original question, write up a new one, and repeat the process. Repeat again.

6. APPLICATION CARDS

After teaching about an important theory, principle, or procedure, ask students to write down at least one real-world application for what they have just learned to determine how well they can transfer their learning. Quickly read once through the applications and categorize them according to their quality. Pick out a broad range of examples and present them to the class.

7. CHAIN NOTES

After studying a topic, write a relevant question on a largish envelope and get students to pass it round the group. Each students must write their answer to the question in around 50-75 words, then pop their answer, unseen by other students, into the envelope. When everyone has submitted an answer, lay the envelope aside until fifteen minutes before the end of the class. Then take one answer out a time and discuss the quality and accuracy of each response.

8. MP3 RECORDINGS

Make MP3 recordings of some of your most important ‘lectures’ and make them available for your students to download and use on their own MP3 players, computers, mobile phones, etc. Your IT department will be willing to help. This means your students can revise anywhere, anytime.

9. TEACH IN LINE WITH THE SPECIFICATIONS

When preparing your students for public examinations, make sure that what you are teaching is in line with the specifications for these examinations. Make photo-copies of the specifications and get your students to paste them into the front of their workbooks. Refer regularly and often to the specifications. No matter how brilliant you are as a teacher, your students will not thank you if they go into an examination and find what they are being tested on is not that you have been teaching them.

10. PROVIDE MODELS OF ANSWERS

Provide your students with models of the answers they will be required to produce under examination conditions. This does not mean providing them with ‘model answers’ they can reproduce verbatim in the examination, but they do need to know what a ‘good’ response looks, sounds and feels like. Get them into the habit of writing their own ‘models of answers’. These should not simply be a reproduction of what’s in the text book, but responses that show genuine knowledge and understanding on their part.

14. COMMENTS NOT GRADES
Most teachers spend hours writing comments on students’ work. They add a grade or level and return the work to the students who immediately look at the grade, glance at the comments, and then forget or ignore the comments. Students are ‘hooked’ on grades, addicted, brain-washed into believing only the grades are really important. And like any drug, the over-use of grades distorts and undermines the learning process.

Consider not giving grades or levels when work is returned. Put the focus on constructive, helpful comments that guide students into appreciating the merits of their work and understanding how it can be improved. Avoid negative comments because your students will simply interpret them as meaning the work is worth only a poor grade and therefore has little merit.

Prepare yourself for disbelief, resentment and protest, particularly amongst students who usually get high grades. They are likely to be more addicted to grades and levels than students who usually get lower grades. The more able students are often the most seriously addicted; they have learned to work for the reward of the grade rather than the pleasure of doing good work for its own sake.
Make sure that you and your students ‘do something’ with the comments you have taken so much time to produce.

Invite your students to discuss why they received the comments you gave their work. Place your students in pairs or small groups to discuss the comments they received and why the comments were fair and reasonable. Several of your comments should invite/instruct your students to do something with the work, e.g. rewrite the second paragraph making it more descriptive; rewrite the first part of the story as a dialogue rather than a narrative; select 10 words and offer synonyms for these words; make 5 similar equations, solve them, then test me (the teacher) on them.

Comments are largely a waste of time unless they move the students farther on.
You do not have to abandon grades completely. You, as the teacher, should be keeping a record of the grades given. But decrease the frequency you give out grades. You can perhaps let your students know that a summative overall grade will be given at the end of each month. This will enable students to track their progress in a more meaningful way than a grade/level for every piece of work they hand in.

Be prepared for protests from other teachers as well as from many of your students. Many of them, particularly managers, are as addicted to ‘grade addiction’ as the students. But few things distort and undermine the learning process as grades and National Curriculum levels. The time is long overdue for us to wean our students and ourselves from them.

ENJOY YOUR ENGLISH PART 3

2011-07-10T12:13:00.000-07:00

13 LEARNING TO LISTEN

i. BACK TO BACK

1. Learners work in pairs. Each partner must not have seen the other’s home
before.

2. Partners sit back to back.

3. Partner A describes his/her living room in as much detail as possible.
Partner B draws a floor plan of Partner A’s living room trying to capture
the room as accurately as possible from the description.

4. After 5 minutes, leader calls time.
Partner A is not yet allowed to see the drawing.
Roles are reversed and the 5 minutes given for the second drawing.

5. On the call of time, partners may see the completed drawing and give each
other a score out of 10 for accuracy. Scores are reported to the leader.

A variation or addition is for the learners in the group to try and draw
the leader’s living room from the description. In this case, leader sits at
a distance from the group, not back to back, so leader cannot see the
drawings till they are complete.

ii. THE EMPTY CHAIR
It is important the leader is the first to answer questions asked of
the ‘empty’ chair. Firstly to model the procedure. Secondly to establish
the level of trust required.

1. The group sits in a circle. Next to the leader is an empty chair.

2. The leader explains that someone he/she knows well is sitting in the
empty chair. This can be his/her father, mother, son, daughter, cousin,
friend, etc. Do not populate the chair with anyone present.

3. The learners can ask the person in the empty chair ‘any’ questions they
want. They must ask the question in the 2nd person – Do you…? Have
you…? When did you…? Would you like to…? Do you think…?

4. The questions are answered by the leader as if they were being answered by
the person in the empty chair.

5. Volunteers from the learners are now invited to sit next to the empty chair
and answer on behalf of the occupant of the empty chair, having explained
who is now sitting there.

iii. SOUND MAPS

Students work individually. Without speaking to each other, for a
period of 3 or4 minutes, students are encouraged to listen carefully to the
sounds around them. These may include ticking clocks; birds or other
animals; the wind and its effect on trees, doors or windows; traffic;
people talking or moving outside the room.

As they hear each sound, students locate the direction of the sound and
either write it or draw it onto their paper, placing it in the appropriate
position to show where the sound came from.

At the end of the listening time, students are encouraged to talk as a
group about the sounds they heard, what might have made those sounds and
where they were.

14 HOW WELL CAN YOU RECALL?

Materials: Find half a dozen newspaper articles that have ‘packed’
opening sentences. Examples, that can be used, follow. Cut out and keep
these opening sentences. Enough lined paper for numbers of teams of 2 or
3 players. Time for game: not more than 5-7 minutes per game.

1. Teams of 2 or 3 form. Make sure each team has at least one player who can
write quickly.
2. Inform the team that you are going to read the opening sentence from a
newspaper article twice and only twice. After you’re second reading, they
must write down as many questions as they can to test the other teams’
knowledge of what’s in each article. (one article per game.)
3. You read the opening sentence twice.
4. Teams have 5 minutes to write down as many questions as possible.
The answer to each question must have only 1 or 2 words.
5. Leader collects in the questions, then asks the questions.
Teams must write down the answers immediately.
6. When all questions have been asked, the team who has the most correct
answers is the winner.

Story Examples

A 3-month-old kitten, named Lucky, had a narrow escape when she jumped
50 feet from a second floor balcony in her home in Nelson Street, got
tangled in a rose bush, picked herself up, shook herself down, then walked
away without a single scratch or even a bruise on her little white nose.

Thirteen-year-old Tommy Buckett of Nelson Road, Whitstable, got the shock
of his life this morning when he discovered a three-inch tarantula that
probably got into his house in the middle of a bunch of bananas his mum
bought for £1 at Sainsbury’s hiding under his bunk bed.

15 WHO AND HOW OFTEN?

Materials: A4 or A5 lined paper; pencils/pens.
Preparation: none
Time: usually not less than 10 minutes, often longer
This activity needs to be carried out with sensitivity.

1. On the left hand side of the white/blackboard write up the frequency
adverbs listed below in large letters.

2. On the right hand side of the white/blackboard scatter the names of the
persons in the group. Leader should include his/her name.

3. Invite group members to create one sentence for each of the frequency
adverbs using a different group member’s name each time.

4. Explain to group that only positive comments are allowed.

5. Allow around 5 – 7 minutes for the task.

6. Circle a group member’s name on the board and invite group member’s to
read out their comments. When the comments have been heard erase the group
member’s name from the board.

7. Comments about the leader should be left to last.

Frequency adverbs

usually – sometimes – never – hardly ever – often – regularly –
frequently - rarely – seldom – occasionally – from time to time – normally
- now and then – once in a blue moon

16 THAT’S MINE!

1. The Leader asks members of the group to find an object from their pockets
or from their bags.
2. Each member must drop the object into the Leader’s box or bag without
anybody seeing what the object is. The Leader must add his/her own object.
3. Everyone sits round a table.
4. The Leader takes one object out of the bag at a time and shows the object
to the group. This includes the Leader.
5. As each object is revealed, each Player must note down the name of the
person to whom the object belongs.
6. When all objects have been revealed, the Leader holds each object up, one
at a time, and asks the owner to reveal him/herself.
7. Players get 1 point every time they have correctly identified the owner on
an object.
8. Objects are returned to their rightful owners.

17 CHANGE THE LYRICS

Materials 1. Recording of a popular song that is well-known to the learners.
2. Photo-copies of the original lyrics, or project them on the OHP,
Or write them up on the whiteboard.

1. Make sure the learners can see and follow the lyrics while listening to a
recording of the song. A tape recording is best because it is easy to move
forwards and backwards amongst the lyrics.
2. Invite the learners to help you rewrite the lyrics so that they are amusing
but not offensive. This may take a few sessions because the lyrics must fit
the tune exactly.
3. Once the group is satisfied with the new lyrics, don’t waste them.
Sing them!

Suggestions: Imagine - Yesterday - - Bohemian Rhapsody
(Lyrics easily obtainable via Google)

18 BEHIND THE SONG

Materials: The lyrics of a song that lends itself to the activity.
A recording of the song to play to the group.

1. Divide the class into groups with around 4 learners each.
2. Play the class a song, preferably one they know and like.
(Bohemian Rhapsody is ideal; the head bangers love it!)
3. Do not allow the class to sing along.
4. Explain they will be able to sing along AFTER they devise
a short story explaining the ‘story’ of the song.
Only if they produce entertaining stories will they be allowed to sing
along with the recording.
5. Set 150 to 200 words as the length of each story.
Make sure each group has an efficient scribe.
6. Collect in the stories. Read them out. Enjoy them.
7. Then sing your heads off!

19 REINCARNATED

Materials: A5 lined paper; pens/pencils
Preparation: none

Most people are fascinated by the idea of reincarnation.
This fascination is used here to provoke the imagination.
This is a powerful activity; conduct with sensitivity.

1. Leader briefly explains the idea of reincarnation.
2. Leader explains that everyone in the group, including him/herself, has been
reincarnated into a new life. Their new life can take any form – animal,
plant, object.
3. Everyone is given 5 minutes to think about their new life and scribble down
notes on what it is like. Be insistent the full 5 minutes is taken in
silence, or with background muzak.
4. Leader then invites group members to describe their new lives; or leader
may choose to let group members explain to other group members what their
new lives are like.
5. Activity concludes with Leader describing his/her new life.

20 MY FAVOURITE ROOM

Materials: A4 blank paper; one sheet for each group member
A pile of coloured pencils

1. Group members, including Leader, are given a sheet of blank paper.
2. Members are instructed to draw their favourite room – not their real
favourite room, though they can base the new room on this – but the one
they would like to have; no expense spared. Members may label the room, if
they wish.
3. Members have access to the coloured pencils.
4. Allow around 10 minutes for the drawing.
5. Leader then takes in the drawings, shuffles them, and lays them face down
on the table.
6. Each member, one at a time, picks up a drawing, shows it to the group, and
then describes the room in as much detail as possible.
7. Members may then guess to whom the room belongs.
8. The room’s owner then declares himself.
9. Activity continues until all the drawings have been described.
10. Leader should then collect and keep the drawings. It is not permissible
to destroy or throw away the drawings in front of their owners.

21 WHAT IF.....?

Learners work in small groups (threes or fours).

The leader reminds the learners that they have a limited amount
of time (2-3 minutes) for this activity.

The leader provides learners with a prompt idea (see examples below)
which learners are encouraged to develop - however extreme or bizarre their
ideas may be.

The learner conducts a brief plenary session (again, only a few minutes)
during which each group explains their most extreme ideas.

WHAT IF...

 we decided to drive on the right instead of the left
 the moon was made of cheese
 water was poisonous
 all the grass disappeared overnight
 all our roads turned to rivers
 students had to pay to come to school
 parents could choose the sex, height, eye-colour, etc. of their children.
 people from Earth colonised Mars
 you were able to take over this school
 you woke up a boy/girl tomorrow morning

22 QUICK READING ACTIVITIES

Select a storybook your group are likely to be interested in.
If possible, select a book the group are not familiar with. These
activities are designed to explore the text at several levels. They should
be carried out quickly and only continued while the interest level of the
group is high. Then move on to another activity but it’s best not to do
more than three of these activities in any one session with your group.

1. Read out a sentence pausing to invite the group to predict the next word.
Continue the sentence, then pause again to invite the group to predict the
next word, and so on.

2. Read out half the sentence and invite the group to complete the sentence.
The group should try to predict the remainder of the sentence as accurately
as possible.

3. Read out a sentence two or three times. Then select a word at a time and
invite group to suggest an alternative word that fits the sentence. For
example: The girl ran quickly down the road. First invite alternatives for
quickly, and then for street.

4. Read out a short sentence backwards and invite the group to work out the
correct order of the sentence.

5. Read out a short sentence but jumble up the words. Invite the group to work
out the correct order of the sentence.

6. Read out two sentences but run the first sentence into the second sentence.
Invite the group to suggest where the full stop should be.

7. Discuss with the group the meaning of the word paragraph, and why writing
needs paragraphs. Then read short paragraphs from the story. After each
paragraph, invite the group to suggest what the key sentence/idea of the
paragraph is.

8. Discuss with the group the meaning of the words noun, verb and adjective.
Read a sentence at a time and invite the group to recognise and name the
nouns, verbs and adjectives. You can also read the sentence fairly slowly,
stopping at words and inviting the group to decide whether each word is a
noun, adjective or paragraph.

9. Ask the group to choose a number: 3, 4, or 5. Then read a sentence stopping
at every 3rd, 4th, 5th word according to the group’s choice of number.
Challenge the group to spell each word correctly and give 2 points for
every correct spelling. Continue with about six or seven sentence in this
way.

10. Finger vowels Learners say ‘A’ and thrust their thumb into the air. Then
the index finger for ‘E’. The middle finger for ‘I. Fourth finger for ‘O’.
Little finger or ‘pinkie’ for ‘U’. Play vowel games with words in a
sentence so that learners learn to identify vowels very quickly by signing
them with the appropriate finger/fingers. Try eagle!

23 BRAIN-STORMING - THOUGHT-SHOWERING

This activity gives learners practice in ‘brain-storming’ which is often
called ‘thought-showering’ nowadays. It can be used to generate lots of
ideas in a short time with no pressure to organise or evaluate the ideas.
The leader should remind the group that there are no ‘right’ answers. All
contributions will be received positively. The leader should scribble down
the ideas put forward since the group may wish to evaluate, organise and
discuss them after the brain-storming session.

Set a time limit for each topic. Set a target for the number of topics to
be suggested. Brain-storming can be used in a variety of settings, and for
a variety of purposes. Here are a number of suggestions to get you going:

SUGGEST

1. TEN GOOD THINGS ABOUT: (a) keeping a pet; (b) learning to read; (c)
learning to speak a foreign language; (d) being a girl; (e) being a boy;
(f) being a teacher.

2. TEN WAYS TO USE A: (a) brick; (b) paper-clip; (c) mirror; (d) toilet
roll; (e) penny; (f) computer; (g) a woolly jumper.

3. TEN WORDS THAT RHYME WITH: (a) mud; (b) sheep; (c) jump; (d) fish; (e)
orange.

4. TEN SONGS THAT CONTAIN THE WORD: (a) baby; (b) boy; (c) girl; (d) love.

5. TEN THING TO DO ON A: (a) warm, sunny afternoon; (b) wet, cold, windy
afternoon.

6. TEN DIFFERENT: (a) fruits; (b) TV soaps; (c) players for
Arsenal/Manchester United/ Chelsea.

7. TEN DIFFERENT BIRTHDAY PRESENTS FOR: (a) mums; (b) dads; (c) sisters; (d)
brothers; (e) boyfriends; (f) girlfriends.

8. TEN THINGS YOU FIND IN THE: (a) kitchen; (b) living room: (c) bedroom;
(d) bathroom.

9. TEN WAYS THAT secondary school is different from junior school.

10. TEN REASONS WHY a good education is very important for everyone.

The next stage (which is sometimes appropriate) is to evaluate the ideas
generated by a brainstorming. This is done without identifying who
suggested the ideas being rejected. One possible method of evaluation is
to use “traffic lights” (RED for “no”, ORANGE for “maybe”, GREEN for
“yes”). Another method is to pick a “top three” from the suggestions
stormed, then to consider “reasons why”, “reasons why not”, “who”, “when”,
“what will it cost” .... or whatever.

24 WORD BUILDER

This is a variation on a game that has appeared in a number of newspapers
(in various guises) and has been used to fill many a “wet playtime”.

The leader writes a word on the board (or simply tells the learners).
A word of about 8 or 9 letters is adequate. (Choose longer words to make
the task easier.)

Learners use the letters contained in the word to form as many new words as
they can. Learners may not use a letter twice unless it occurs twice in the
original word. (Optional rule = words must contain at least 3 letters.)

Some learners may find it helpful to write the letters on bits of paper
and physically re-arrange these.

Learners should be encouraged to use a dictionary to check spellings of
which they are uncertain. Or the leader can be used as a dictionary
and/or reference book.

The game continues for a set amount of time. (Anything from 2 or 3
minutes up to 10 minutes)

Learners could be challenged to write a sentence (or a whole story)
using only the words from their list.

25 WORD BUILDER – SPECIAL

WHAT MAKES THIS DIFFERENT FROM “WORDBUILDER”?

One or more of the following rules also applies.

• All words must BEGIN with a particular letter (specified by the teacher)

• All words must CONTAIN a particular letter (specified by the teacher)

• All words must END with a particular letter (specified by the teacher)

• All words must be listed in ALPHABETICAL ORDER

• All words must BEGIN with a VOWEL

• All words must END with a VOWEL

• All words must have a connection to a particular THEME (for example:
animals, holidays, sport)

26 WHO? – WHEN? – WHERE? – WHY? – WHAT? – HOW?

Take 6 playing cards, the larger the better. Cover the value on each card
with a sticky white label. On each card print one of these: Who? When?
Where? Why? What? How?

1. Read the text you wish to explore to your group. Then shuffle the cards.
Draw one card at a time and turn it face up. Invite the group, or pairs, or
individuals to answer the question about the text that is prompted by the
question word on the card. This method can, of course, be used to explore
any kind of text: fact, fiction, narrative, scientific, newspaper article.

2. Using the question cards is especially effective to help students explore
poetry. Even ‘difficult’ poems become accessible when analysed using the
question words.

3. Reverse the process above by inviting your students to respond to each
question word either by a sentence, a given number of sentences, or a short
paragraph. You can also set the kind of text you require, e.g. each of the
responses is to be a line in the poem.

4. Shuffle the cards but after students have responded to each question word,
put the card back in the ‘pack’, reshuffle and draw again. The responses
will quickly become complex and challenging.

5. You might also get your students to make their personal set of 6 cards, or
ask them to create a small cardboard cube and write a question word on each
face of what is now a die they can use to analyse or generate ideas.

ENJOY YOUR ENGLISH PART 2

2011-07-10T06:59:00.000-07:00

10 THE MAGIC OF PLAYING CARDS

Sometimes in these days of computers, MP3s, Youtube, mobile phones, MSN, and similar technology we can forget that a simple pack of cards (or two) can provide hours of fun. And there is no better way to learn than by having fun.

Cards are inexpensive, easily portable and endlessly adaptable. Friends can enjoy a game together, players can play in pairs, groups or on their own. The solitary player can spend the hours playing “solitaire” games while learning, practising and revising at the same time.

Suggested way of preparing the cards

1. Get a set of playing cards. Oversize cards, often made in China, seem fairly
easy to obtain. They are hard-wearing, long-lasting and easier for groups of
players to see.

2. Get a roll of sticky white labels. The labels should be rather smaller in size
than the cards.

3. Stick a label on the face side of each card. This will provide you with 52
playing cards, minus the Jokers, that can then be used to carry the information
you want the players to learn.

4. As you know, there are 13 sets of 4 cards in a pack of cards. These can be used
to group the information in categories of 4. Of course it is not necessary to
use the full pack for every card game but it is essential to have them in
groups of 4 for many of the games.

5. Decide on the information/vocabulary you want your players to focus on, and
write this information – one item per card – in large, clear, black print on
each label.

6. It’s a good idea to start by asking your group of players to ‘sort out’ the
cards. You don’t have to give them any more information than this. They will
quickly realise the cards are in categories of 4 and they will attempt to sort
them out in this way.

7. Offer no advice during the sorting out process other than to explain any items
they are not familiar with.

8. After the sorting our process is complete, sort them out yourself in front of
the players explaining why some cards belong to one category rather than
another.

9. Let us say that you are teaching a group who are fairly near the beginning of
learning English, you might decide on categories such as these: 4 colours, 4
animals, 4 things found in the living room, 4 things found in the kitchen, 4
things to wear, 4 boys’ names, 4 girls’ names, and so on. A more advanced
group will, of course, practise learning and using more advanced vocabulary
but the card games will be similar.

10. The information on each playing card does not have to be limited to single
items. In fact, the labels can be used to carry any sort of information being
studied. For example, a student of Law might put the names of cases and the
legal principle associated with each case on the label. The student then has a
portable compendium to be used anywhere at any time – perhaps on a train, car
journey or during a flight. The only real limit to using cards is your imagination.

SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES – remember to add your own activities

1. CONCENTRATION, also known as Memory, Pelmanism, or simply Pairs

1. The cards are laid down on a flat surface and two cards are flipped face up at
each player’s turn. If the cards match (belong in the same category), the
player keeps the cards and has another turn. If the cards do not match, they
are turned over face down. The aim for each player is to collect as many pairs
(or four cards) until all the cards have been picked up.

2. Players can play as a pair or even as a small group. This often leads to
lively discussion about where the matching cards actually are. The conductor
of the game may insist that all such discussion is in English!

3. In a variation called Zebra, players try to find and choose pairs that do not
belong in the same category.

4. In the variation called Spaghetti, the cards are scattered randomly on the
flat surface. It is fun if they are scattered on the carpet so the players can
sit on the floor, or on a large table so that the players can walk round the
table until the leader gives the signal to choose two cards.

5. The leader can lay out the cards in straight rows which helps memorization.
Alternatively, the leader may scatter the cards between each turn to make
memorization more difficult.

2. BUILDING A STORY FROM THE CARDS

1. Players in pair select two cards at random and connect the cards in a sentence
which begins their story.

2. When it is their turn again, each player can pick up another card. They must
then use the word on the card to continue the story they began with their
first two cards.

3. At each turn, players in pairs pick up another card and continue to extend
their stories until all the cards have been used up.

4. The conductor may set some rules about the stories. For example – your story
happened in the past – your story happens in the future – your story must
include the players themselves so that they use the first person We/I…..

5. When each pair has told their story, they can be asked to join another pair
of players and combine all the cards to tell a single story. This process can
be continued – the 4’s become 8’s and so on – until the group/class has
created one very long story using all 52 words!

3. BEGGAR MY NEIGHBOUR
This is a variation one of the all-time favourite children's card games.

1. This game is best played in groups of four players with the rest of the
group/class gathered round as spectators until it is their turn to play.

2. Players are each dealt 13 cards face down. They pick their cards up but they
must not look at the faces of the cards. One player begins and lays down 1
card face up.

3. The next player, on the left, turn up his card. If this card belongs in the
same category, he picks up both cards, keeps them and lays them aside.

4. If the cards do not belong in the same category, the player to the left turns
up a card. If this card matches the previous card, he keeps all the face-up
cards and lays them aside. He then turns up his next card and lays it down
face up.

5. The game continues until all cards have been won. The winner is the player who
has collected most cards. It is now the turn of the next group to play Beggar
My Neighbour. The overall winner is the player who has collected most cards.

4. EXPLANATIONS AND DEFINITIONS
The level of challenge in this activity depends on the sophistication of the
lexical items on the cards. It is much easier to explain what a dog is than
the meaning of to stroll or amble.

1. The leader shuffles the card and then turns over a card to show the word.
He/she then invites the group to explain in English what the word means. For
example, the group may have to explain what a dog is, which is not as easy as
it sounds!

2. The leader awards points, maximum 10, depending on how good the explanation
is. Remember the whole group can contribute to the explanation.

3. To win extra points, the group must name the three other items that belong in
the category.

4. The group can win more extra points if they can answer a question put by the
leader who, of course, has control over the complexity of the question. For
example, from What is the dog’s name? to What would you have done if the dog
had chased you down the street?

5. The leader may read definitions from a dictionary and ask the group to
identify what word in the playing cards is being defined. Use a dictionary
that matches the ages and ability of the players. Do not ask seven-year-olds
to identify: A domesticated carnivorous mammal (Canis familiaris) related to
foxes and wolves and raised in a wide variety of breeds.

5. MY SHIP SAILS
This is an easy card game for all ages which is most exciting when played
at high speed. The leader of the group should play as well so that he can
dictate the speed of the game.

1. The game leader must select the number of categories to match the number of
players, including himself. For example, if there are 7 players, including the
leader, he will select 28 cards in categories of four, e.g. the 4 colours,
animals, things in the kitchen, etc.

2. Players should be seated in such a way that they can pass one card at a time
to the player on their left.

3. The leader deals 4 cards to each player. Players pick up and look at their
cards without letting other players see what they have.

4. The aim of the game is to try and collect 4 cards from the category. Players
decide which category to collect (although they may change their mind as play
progresses).

5. Each player puts an unwanted card face down on the table and slides it to the
player on the left who takes it up. Try to do this in a rhythm so that all
players are passing and picking up at the same time. When he player has
collected 4 cards of the same category, he slaps them down on the table
calling out: My ship sails! The game continues until all the cards have been
slapped down on the table.

6. ROLLING STONE
This is an easy card game for all ages. Be warned. It can be very
frustrating: just when you think you are about to win….

1. Players are seated round a desk/table so that cards can be passed easily to
the player on the left. The cards are shuffled and dealt out to the players.
Each player picks up his cards, looks at them but keeps the faces concealed
from other players.

2. A player begins the game by laying down 1 card face up.

3. The player on his left must play a card that belongs to the same category. If
he can lay down a card from the same category, he places it down on the pile.

4. When a player cannot lay down a card belonging to the same category, he must
pick up all of the cards from the table. The next player on the left restarts
the game by laying down a card face up.

5. The game continues until the last player is left holding the remaining cards.

7. SNAP!
This is probably the most popular of all simple card games. It can be
played one against one, or one group against another, or the whole group
against the leader.

1. The pack of cards is shuffled and dealt randomly to each player so that each
player has 26 cards. Players must not look at the faces of their cards.

2. One player begins the game by laying down a card face up. On top of this, his
opponent lays down another card face up.

3. If the two top cards belong to the same category, each player tries to slap
his hand over the pile and claim all the cards.

4. The winner is the player who ends up with all the cards in his hand.

8. OLD MAID
‘Old Maid’ is part of a family of card games known as “scapegoat” games.
In scapegoat games, the goal is to avoid having a particular card or cards.
The game is suitable for 2-8 players and it uses the whole pack of 52 cards.

1. The dealer/leader removes three cards from one of the categories, e.g. one of
the four animals. The remaining animal is the Old Maid. The aim of the game
is to avoid being left with the Old Maid (an elderly unmarried lady).

2. The dealer deals the cards as evenly as possible among the group. It's
acceptable for some players to have more cards than other players.

3. Players sort their cards and discard any pairs belonging to the same
category. (If a player has three of the same category, he discards two of
the cards and keeps the third).

4. The dealer then offers his hand, face down, to the player on his left. That
player randomly takes one card from the dealer. If the card matches one he
already has in his hand, he puts the pair down. If not, he keeps it.

5. Play proceeds clockwise, so the player to the left of the dealer then offers
his hand, face down, to the player on his left. This cycle repeats until
there are no more pairs and the only remaining card is the Old Maid. The
game ends when the Old Maid is the only card in play. The person holding the
Old Maid loses that game.

9. I DOUBT IT
In this game players try to get rid of all their cards by deliberately
tricking other players. It is up to the other players to decide whether or
not to call another player’s bluff.

1. The dealer shuffles the pack and deals out the cards to each player in the
game. Three to five players is ideal where there is one pack of cards. It’s
fine if some players have one more card than others.

2. The first player plays one or more cards from his hand, face down, starting a
discard pile in the middle of the table. He says, “One animal,” or whichever
category he is laying down. He may say “Two Animals” – “Three Animals” or
even “Four Animals”. It is interesting that the player must call out the
category, not the individual item on the card.

3. Each player who discards cards can be challenged by any of the other players
who do not believe he has laid down the cards he says he has laid down. In
other words, a player may call another player’s bluff.

4. If the player is challenged successfully, if he is caught out bluffing, he
must pick up all the discarded cards in the pile on the table and add them to
his pile. If he has not been bluffing, the challenger must pick up all the
discarded cards and add them to his pile.

5. The first player to get rid of all his cards wins. The last play is always
made face up, because other players will inevitably doubt it.

10. INVITE SUGGESTIONS
Invite the players to suggest any card games they know that can be played
using word cards. Even better, ask them to invent card games that can be
played using the word cards. Invite players to suggest sets of four words
that can fit into the same category.

11 GAMES USING ORDINARY NUMBERED PLAYING CARDS

PREDICT HIGHER OR LOWER

1. The group get into pairs; include a threesome if numbers are odd.
2. Leader shuffles the pack. Then turns the first card face up.
3. First pair guess if the next card will be higher or lower in value.
4. Leader turns up next card.
5. If pair guess correctly, they win and keep the card, and have another go.
If they guess incorrectly, turn passes to next pair, and so on.
6. Winners are the pair who win most cards when the pack is exhausted.

PREDICT RED OR BLACK

As above, except that pairs win and keep the card when they predict
the colour, red or black, of the next card.

PREDICT THE SUIT

As above, except the pairs win and keep the card when they predict the suit
– hearts, clubs, spades, diamonds – of the next card.

MATCHING PAIRS – in PAIRS

1. The group get into pairs; include a threesome if numbers are odd.
2. Leader shuffles the pack and spreads all of them face down on a table.
3. Leader turns over first card, shows card, then lays it back where it came
from face down.
4. First pair pick up another card.
5. If they can then pick up another card that matches, they keep both cards,
and have another turn. If not, they must lay both cards face down where
they came from.
6. It is the turn of the next pair, and so on.
7. Winners are the pair who have collected the greatest number of pairs when
all the cards have been taken.

MATCHING SEQUENCES – in PAIRS

As above, except teams pairs are attempting to pick up three cards in
sequence; for example, 3-4-5, Jack-Queen-King, Ace-2-3, Ace-King-Queen.

COLLECTING CARDS IN SEQUENCE – in PAIRS
The aim of this game is to collect five cards in sequence,
regardless of suit.

1. Each team (pair) is dealt five cards by the leader.
2. The remaining cards are piled face down on the table.
3. Each team takes it in turn to take two cards from the top of the pile, and
discard two cards that go to the bottom of the pile.
4. The winners are the first team to collect a sequence of five cards.
5. If the playing deck is used up and there is no winner, the discard pile is
then shuffled and used to continue with the game.

12 JUST FOR FUN

JUNGLE SAFARI
1 Everyone sits in a circle.
2 The circle appoints a leader.
3 Each player adopts the name of an animal they might see on a Jungle Safari.
4 Leader notes down the name of each animal.
5 Players have a few moments to practice making the sounds their animal
makes.
6 Leader invents and tells a jungle story which includes the names of the
safari animals
7 Every time a player’s animal is mentioned, he/she must respond with the
sound of his/her animal
8 When the leader mentions the words ‘Jungle’ or ‘Safari’, all players
must respond with the sound of their animals
9 At the end of the story, appoint a new leader and have another go.
10 As a follow-up, players can make masks of their animals and wear them
when they play.
It’s easy to see how this can develop into a full scale drama activity.

SAUSAGES

1 Spin the bottle, or whatever, to decide who the first ‘Sausage’ will be
2 The ‘Sausage’ must sit facing everyone else; they sit in a semi-circle
3 When everyone is ready, players in the circle fire questions at the Sausage
4 No matter the question, the Sausage must reply loudly Sausages!
5 Players are attempting to make the Sausage smile or laugh
6 About 2 minutes, timed, for each Sausage.

HEAD AND SHOULDERS - KNEES AND TOES
This is an old favourite with a twist. It’s especially useful for those
cold winter days when the boiler system breaks down! But can be used as a
happy energiser at any time.

1. Everyone knows the old favourite ‘Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes.’
Tell the learners you are all going to stand a go at it.
2. When some of them protest, say that you are going to introduce a challenge,
a competition (that usually gets them going).
3. Run through the whole thing quite speedily:

HEAD AND SHOULDERS, KNEES AND TOES,
KNEES AND TOES
HEAD AND SHOULDERS, KNEES AND TOES,
KNEES AND TOES
AND EYES AND EARS AND MOUTH AND NOSE
HEAD AND SHOULDERS, KNEES AND TOES,
KNEES AND TOES

4. Now ask learners to face each others in pairs or three.
(Here’s the twist).
Tell the learners they must run through the whole thing again,
BUT
They must call out the wrong body parts!
For example, when they are touching their knees,
They can touch any of the other named body parts EXCEPT their knees.

5. The ‘winning’ pair or threesome, is the one who can go through the whole
thing most accurately (i.e. getting the body parts wrong). The leader (you)
observes and decides on the winners.

THE NEVER-ENDING SENTENCE

1 Everyone sits in a circle
2 Leader begins with a name, for example ‘Fred’
3 Moving clockwise, each player in turn must continue the sentence by adding
one word e.g. FRED bought some old shoes….. etc. The word ‘and’ may only be
used 4 times in any sentence. Players must try to avoid completing the
sentence but it must make sense at all times.
4 A player may challenge at any time if they believe the sentence no longer
makes sense. If this is a wrong challenge, the challenging player must start
a new sentence
5 Each player is free to end a sentence if he/she believes it is grammatically
correct to do so, by simply calling out ‘FULL STOP!’
6 The leader will disqualify any player, including him/herself, who takes more
than 5 seconds to add the next word.

SPEEDWORDS

After explaining the activity, the teacher gives notice of a topic or
theme (e.g.: numbers, animals, names, something you eat, words beginning
with a specific letter, etc.)

1. All students stand.
2. One by one, the teacher points to each student.
3. Each student has to say a word that fits with the theme - without repeating
any previous suggestions.
4. If the suggestion is a valid suggestion, all other students clap twice and
the student making the suggestion sits down.
5. If the suggestion does not fit with the theme or has already been suggested
by a previous student, all other students silently wave their hands in the
air, the student remains standing and makes another suggestion. (The teacher
may point to another student and returning to this student soon afterwards).
6. The activity continues until all students are seated.

ENJOY YOUR ENGLISH PART 1

2011-07-10T01:48:00.000-07:00

ENJOY YOUR ENGLISH

In 1977 I was teaching English as a Foreign Language in Turkey. At that time we had four and half months’ holidays. I needed money; I needed a summer job. I was lucky and ended up in Canterbury working on Pilgrims’ first-ever summer course for young people. It was great fun, and, every summer for the next fourteen years, I returned to England and worked on Pilgrims’ courses, for both children and for adults.

From the beginning Pilgrims was unique. It gathered a group of talented innovators who explored ways in which the learners were the subject matter of the courses. There is nothing more interesting to people than their own lives and interests. Pilgrims was also driven by an energy and enthusiasm that communicated itself to learners of all ages and abilities. Younger students often came back year after year, and grew up with us. Mature students, too, returned again and again, often planning their summer holidays round their weeks at Pilgrims. We became a company of friends just as much as teachers and learners, for in truth we all learned from each other.

When I returned to England on a permanent basis, I no longer had time to work at Pilgrims during the summer. But I continued to use lots of the ideas we use at Pilgrims in my classes in English schools. And most of them worked with pupils and students at all ages, all levels and all subjects. A good idea knows no boundaries.

In the summer of 2010, after a break of 20 years, I found myself once again leading a group of teachers on a course at Pilgrims. What they wanted to know was... what happens in British schools? What strategies and techniques do you use that we can use, regardless of age, ability and the subjects being studied? In other words, how can we teach English in our countries in ways that are experienced by native speakers in your schools and colleges?

Teachers across the world recognise the barriers are breaking down. Young people, in particular, are exposed to so much ‘real’ English that this is what they want in their classrooms. The young, and the not-so-young, are hungry to use English, not in artificial situations but where their English helps them communicate in enjoyable ways. The key word, of course, is ‘enjoyable’. We learn much faster and at greater depths when we enjoy what we are doing; when what we are doing is meaningful fun.

This is what Enjoy Your English offers. Communication through enjoyment. Communication through play. Teach me and I will learn for now. Let me play and I will learn forever. And while you and your learners are playing, forget the errors, forget the mistakes; all that stuff can be corrected at appropriate times, but not during the activity itself when the aim is to release the energy and enthusiasm that encourage permanent learning.

Above all, enjoy the activities yourself – even when they go wrong, even when they don’t work – just remember that you, just as much as your students, are learning, too. Learn together!

Jean-Paul Creton

ENJOY YOUR ENGLISH

1 STARTERS
i. Getting into Lines and Groups
ii. Talking Points
iii. From the Answers to the Questions
iv. Right Word – Wrong Word
v. Behind the Headlines
vi. Headliners
vii. Bravo for You
viii. Acronymic Fun
ix. From the Answers to the Questions
x. Colour Me

2A DEAR EVERYBODY
2B DEAR EVERYBODY – WELCOME
3 ME AND MY SECRETARY
4A ME – MYSELF – AND I (1)
4B ME – MYSELF – AND I (2)
4C YES – NO – YOU’RE OUT!
4D PHOTO ALBUMS

5 PICTURE THIS
i. Pictures to Words
ii. Pictures to Words to Stories
iii. Pictures to Words to Stories to Texts

6 INTRODUCING AND EXPLOITING A TEXT
i. Do It Yourself Story-Telling
ii. Change the Facts
iii. An A to Z of Ways to Explore a Text

7 BITS AND PIECES TELL A STORY

8 TAKE YOUR PICK - WORDS TO SENTENCES TO STORY

9 CREATING YOUR OWN PUZZLES

10 THE MAGIC OF PLAYING CARDS
1. CONCENTRATION
2. BUILDING A STORY FROM THE CARDS
3. BEGGAR MY NEIGHBOUR
4. EXPLANATIONS AND DEFINITIONS
5. MY SHIP SAILS
6. ROLLING STONE
7. SNAP!
8. OLD MAID
9. I DOUBT IT
10. INVITE SUGGESTIONS

11 GAMES USING ORDINARY CARDS
1. PREDICT HIGHER OR LOWER
2. PREDICT RED OR BLACK
3. PREDICT THE SUIT
4. MATCHING PAIRS – in PAIRS
5. MATCHING SEQUENCES – in PAIRS
6. COLLECTING CARDS IN SEQUENCE – in PAIRS

12 JUST FOR FUN
i JUNGLE SAFARI
ii SAUSAGES
iii. HEAD AND SHOULDERS - KNEES AND TOES
iv. THE NEVER-ENDING SENTENCE
v. SPEEDWORDS

13 LEARNING TO LISTEN
i. BACK TO BACK
ii. THE EMPTY CHAIR
iii. SOUND MAPS

14 HOW WELL CAN YOU RECALL?
15 WHO AND HOW OFTEN?
16 THAT’S MINE!
17 CHANGE THE LYRICS
18 BEHIND THE SONG
19 REINCARNATED
20 MY FAVOURITE ROOM
21 WHAT IF.....?
22 QUICK READING ACTIVITIES
23 BRAIN-STORMING - THOUGHT-SHOWERING
24 WORD BUILDER
25 WORD BUILDER – SPECIAL

26 WHO? – WHEN? – WHERE? – WHY? – WHAT? – HOW?

I Right Kinds of Questioning – Right Kinds of Responses

1. STARTERS

i. GETTING INTO LINE/GROUPS
This starter has life in it as long as you (the leader) are very
imaginative about the criteria for the groups.
Keep it all fairly fast and fun.

GET INTO GROUPS THE PEOPLE WHO….

1) GOT OUT OF BED ON THE LEFT THIS MORNING.
2) SOMETIMES TALK TO THEMSELVES
3) HAVE SCOTTISH/IRISH/WELSH RELATIVES
4) CAN SING THE FIRST TWO LINES OF THE NATIONAL ANTHEM.
5) CAN SPELL THE WORD – MISSISSIPPI
6) CAN DO THE MOONWALK.
7) CAN SPEAK LIKE DONALD DUCK.
8) HAVE BEEN DUMPED BY THEIR BOY or GIRLFRIEND – EVER.
9) CAN RUB THEIR HEAD AND TUMMY IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS.
10) LIKE JUSTIN BIEBER (or some such celebrity).

ii. TALKING POINTS
Useful when you’re late, out of breath and want to start instantly.

1. Enter class. Say: “Okay, somebody choose a letter between A and Z. Choose
one of the called out letters, e.g. M. Write M on the board.
2. Say, “Right. Give me a noun that starts with M. Write the words on the
board as they are called out (that leaves you in control of what appears on
the board).
E.g – Man. Utd, Marshmallows, Mickey Mouse, Mental, etc.
3. Explain – “Right, choose two of these words and start a conversation with
your partner that lasts 1 minute. I’ll time the minute. At the end, I’ll
call out, ‘Choose two more.’ You have to start the fresh conversation using
these words immediately.”
4. Students start buzzing. You have time to think what comes next.

Rationale: Explain briefly to learners that in real life we are often
called upon to start talking about subjects that come out of the blue.
This exercise can give confidence in holding conversations about anything.

iii. FROM THE ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS

1. Group is divided into teams of 2, 3, or 4.
2. Leader gives the answer to the question.
3. Each team must devise 3 questions to which the ‘answer’ could be the answer.
4. If desired, leader can devise the ‘official’ question to each answer, and
the team who gets closest to the official question win an extra point.
5. Answers can range from the simple to the difficult to the obscure.

iv. RIGHT WORD – WRONG WORD

1. Explain to players the nature of the Magic 7. Human beings with an average
memory can keep 7 items in their short-term memory. After that, things
begin to get increasingly difficult.
2. Ask the players (all together) to walk around the room (though this can be
done seated) looking at things. Each player must choose 7 things, pointing
at each item, then call its name out loud.
3. Players return to their seats. Then in pairs, 2 players walk together round
the room, taking it in turns to call out the names of the things they had
chosen earlier.
4. The ‘winning’ pairs are those who remember all of the names.
5. An extra challenge is to name the items in the correct order.

v. BEHIND THE HEADLINES
Select a number of short articles from newspapers and magazines
appropriate to the age and interests of the group. Cut the headlines
from the articles and have them ready for the activity.

1. Group and leader sit round table
2. Leader lays the headlines face-down on the table.
3. Explain you are going to pick up a strip and read out the headline.
4. ‘Teams’ have 1 minute to discuss and decide what the article is likely
to say.
5. Then one team at a time volunteers to describe what’s in the article.
You may show the group the size of the article.
6. Leader then reads out the article.
Whole group decides how well a team did on scale of 0-10.
7. Repeat until headlines (or enthusiasm) are exhausted.
8. Distribute randomly one headline to each pair of students.
Each pair must write the opening two or three paragraphs to the article,
but their article should have nothing to do with the original article.

vi. HEADLINERS
This activity gives learners the opportunity to explore how headlines draw
attention to a story or article. It then gives them the opportunity to
produce their own short, dramatic newspaper stories, and headlines that can
accompany them.

1. Collect a number of short dramatic stories from tabloid newspapers. Examine
each story with the group showing how the headline is used to grab the
reader’s attention.

2. Point out the features of such headlines:
(a) they are short
(b) they use abbreviated language, especially for famous people
(c) they focus on the item that will be of most interest to the readers
(d) they are often dramatic
(e) advanced learners should note how the British love puns (a play on words)
and alliteration.

3. Explain to learners you will now read them a short story from a newspaper.
In pair or small groups, they must devise an appropriate headline to go
with the story.
4. Whole group discuss and evaluate the suggestions.
5. Continue the activity to a total of 5 stories and headlines.

vii. BRAVO FOR YOU!

1. Everyone forms a circle facing inwards with enough room for everyone to
take one step forward.
2. Leader steps forward and announces cheerfully… “I’m going to -------------
today/tomorrow/this weekend.” This must be a very positive statement.
3. Everyone in the circle steps forward and echoes the leader by announcing very
positively: “He’s going to ------------- this afternoon/today/tomorrow/on
Saturday!”
4. Everyone returns original position.
5. Student on leader’s right steps forward and…..”I’m going to-----.”
Process is repeated as above until everyone has taken in turn.

This is a bonding exercise. Learners usually catch on pretty quickly, and
it can be repeated, perhaps once each week, until it becomes a regular feature
of the group’s behaviour.

viii. ACRONYMIC FUN

This activity helps learners develop enhanced memory skills. The
mnemonic memory method is a popular one with “linguistic learners”.
Learners can also use this method to help them learn or practise difficult
spellings.

1. Organise learners into small teams – 2, 3 or 4 in each team.
2. Write a word vertically down the left hand side of the board.
You can use this to practise spelling lists, if desired.
3. Avoid words with Q, X or Z. Allow ‘proper’ nouns.
4. Challenge teams to invent a sentence in which each word begins with the
letters of the given word. For example, apple might produce:
5. Award points to every team who can produce a sentence, and one extra point
for the most imaginative sentence.
6. Add new words to the list until you have seven or eight words in your
vertical list.

ix. FROM THE ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS

1. Group is divided into teams of 2, 3, or 4.
2. Leader gives the answer to the question.
3. Each team must divide 3 questions to which the ‘answer’ could be the
answer.
4. If desired, leader can devise the ‘official’ question to each answer, and
the team who gets closest to the official question win an extra point.
6. Answers can range from the simple to the difficult to the obscure.

x. COLOUR ME

1. Initially learners work individually. They select a colour pencil or crayon
and make a coloured blob on a scrap piece of paper. If pencils and crayons
are not available, they can simply choose a colour and write down its name.

2. Learners then, without talking to anybody else, scribble down the answers
to the following questions. Assure learners that nobody will see what they
have written so they should not worry about spelling, handwriting, etc.

3. THINK OF YOUR CHOSEN COLOUR.
(a) How does it make you feel?
(b) What food does it like to eat?
(c) What animal could it be?
(d) What would be a good name for it?
(e) What games or sports does it like to play?
(f) What is its favourite song?

4. Learners, in groups of 3 or 4, now share their responses.

5. With the help of the group, each learner now shares one of his answers to
a question with the whole group of learners. Learners could also use their
‘colour answers’ as the basis of a poem or a piece of artwork.

2A DEAR EVERYBODY

After you have been with your group a couple of weeks,
write them a letter beginning,

Dear Everybody…

In this letter you should express some of your genuine thoughts and
feelings about how you are all functioning as a group. You do not have to
avoid anything negative, but you should express those thoughts in a
positive manner. For example, instead of, It annoys me when some people
turn up late, write, Things would be better if we all arrived on time,
including me!

Invite the group, writing as individuals, to suggest activities the group
might enjoy doing. Although the group may be going along very well, it
will function better if some of the ideas come from them, and it will
relieve you of some of the burden of what you’re going to do next.

Let the learners know that if they write to you, you will write back
individually. It’s a lot of work but it provides real satisfaction for
those who receive your individual reply.

Let the group know you’d like to do a Dear Everybody once a term, but
you’ll be happy to receive individual letters from them at any time.

2B DEAR EVERYBODY - Welcome

Of course, a letter to your group can equally be used near the beginning
of the course. The level of English can easily be varied to suit the
levels and composition of your group. For example, a welcome letter to a
group of ‘EFL’ teenagers might begin:

Hi, there!
I am very happy that you are going to be in my class. My name is Susan and
I am going to be your teacher. I hope that you will enjoy our time
together. I have been teaching for five years, and I enjoy teaching
teenagers from different countries very much.

3 ME AND MY SECRETARY

Essentially this activity involves pairing learners in the group.
Then each learner will take it in turn to act as the other learner’s
secretary, and not only write but deliver his/her letters. The activity
usually becomes fast and furious, so 15-20 minutes is enough!

Materials: A pile of A4 lined paper, cut in four to produce A6 notelets.
Pens/pencils at the ready.

1. Learners are paired with a friend. Or younger learners are paired with
older.
2. Explain to learners that they are going to write brief letters to anyone
in another pairing. However, in the pairing A and B, if A wants to write a
letter to X in the pairing X and Y, A must dictate his letter to B who will
not only write it down but deliver it as well.
3. B then returns to A, and dictates a letter to someone in the group that A
will write down and deliver.
4. Meanwhile, X is dictating his reply to Y, who will write it down and
deliver it to A, who, having completed and delivered B’s letter, must
respond to X’s letter.
5. This reads a lot more complicated than it actually is in practice
– though learners quickly get tied up in knots as they attempt to keep up
with the flow! Leader urges everyone to try and keep up with the pace!

4A ME – MYSELF – AND I (1)

This activity offers an original way to introduce yourself to the class
but it can also be used later on, but not after they have got to know you
very well. Some preparation is advance is needed but usually proves well
worth the effort.

1. Select about 10 interesting facts about yourself: where you were born,
hometown, favourite subjects in school, family, sports, hobbies, where
you’ve travelled, etc.
2. For each of these prepare a single word, a date, an illustration, a symbol,
a flag; in fact anything that you associate with the facts.
3. For example, if your favourite sport is rugby, you can draw a rugby ball.
If you have two children, draw two stick kids. If your favourite holiday
spot is Bermuda, draw a yacht or the flag of Bermuda.
4. Put the items on the white-board or an overhead transparency.
5. Now get the learners to explore and guess what each item represents through
a question-answer session with you.
6. Give them clues when the going gets tough.
7. Extend the conversation when students become engaged by a topic.
8. When your items have all been explained, get the students in pairs to
prepare one item each in relation to themselves.
9. Students then present their item to the class who interrogate them and try
to work out the meaning of the item.
10. Finally, each student should prepare a short written introduction to
themselves and present it to the class.

4B ME – MYSELF – AND I (2)

Prepare ten statements about yourself.
Five of the statements should be True and five should be False.
Write the statements up where all your students can see them.
Explain five are True and Five are false.
Your students may then ask you 10 questions for each statement.
Then they must decide whether the statement is True or False.

4C YES – NO – YOU’RE OUT!

Keep a note of who has had a chance to take the hot chair. It’s not
a good idea to give every member of the group a ‘go’ during one session.
Leader goes first to model the procedure. Explain at the start that this
game depends on complete honesty.

1. The ‘hot chair’ is placed in front of the group.

2. Members of the group raise their hands and ask the ‘hot-chair’ questions
about what he/she did the day, including evening, before. The hot-chair
must only answer YES or NO, and must answer in complete honesty.
For example:
Did you have breakfast yesterday?
Did you watch TV last night?
Did you come to school yesterday?
Did you drive to school yesterday?
Did you have a cup of tea yesterday?

3. The aim of the game is to stay in the game,
so if the hot-chair answers YES, the questioner stays IN;
if the hot-chair answers NO, the questioner is OUT.
The leader may also eliminate a player who cannot ask his/her question
within 10 seconds of it being their turn.

4. Five minutes is allowed for each game.

4D PHOTO ALBUMS

In this activity, participants do not have the support of a pre-set
topic nor of controlled structures, but they do have the support of their
memories and of their imaginations.

1. Each player takes a sheet of A4 paper and folds it in half to produce their
personal photo album.
2. Players draw rectangles of various sizes to represent the photographs.
3. No actual drawing is allowed inside these frames. This is an exercise in
visualisation.
4. Players, including the group, leader, are given time to visualise the
contents of their photographs. They should briefly label each photograph,
e.g. Me at the Tower of London.
5. A player then takes the hot seat or is ‘interviewed’ at his place at the
table.
6. Leader, through questions, encourages players to ask for lots of
information about the contents of each photograph.
7. If there is no time for all players to be interviewed, they should at least
have time to describe their photographs to a partner. Remember – these
photographs can be very personal.

5 PICTURE THIS

i PICTURES TO WORDS

1. Players form a partnership in pairs.
2. Each pair is given a picture/photograph from a magazine. Each pair is given
a different picture, one picture for each pair. Try to supply a range of
pictures.
3. Partners then take it in turns to point to an item in the picture and name
the items until each partner has chosen and identified 7 items each. They
are not permitted to choose the same items.
4. Each partner must then attempt to name – out loud – the 7 items chosen by
their partner.
5. An extra challenge is to name the items in the correct order.

ii PICTURES TO WORDS TO STORIES

1. Partners are then challenged to devise a story that combines their 7 items
and tell each other their story.
2. Players are invited to tell their story to the group.
3. Partners are then invited to combine their words, 7 + 7, to produce a
single story.
4. Partners may then combine to tell their story to the group.
5. A final challenge is for the group to combine ALL the words into one longer
story that makes sense.

iii. PICTURES TO WORDS TO STORIES TO TEXT

1. Combine each pair into groups of four players.
2. Each group must produce a story that involves all four pictures in order
from the first to fourth picture.
3. The group must produce a written text to accompany each picture.
4. Each group may then mount their illustrated story on the Picture Wall.

6 INTRODUCING AND EXPLOITING A TEXT

i DO IT YOURSELF STORY-TELLING

The importance of these activities is that they can be used to introduce
and exploit any text on any topic at any level. Of course you will choose
texts that match the capabilities of the players, remembering to
choose texts that will offer them some degree of challenge. They can
also be used equally well with native speakers as with language learners.
To illustrate the procedure we will use a text written for native speakers
of English.

My Dear Friends,

I hope this letter gets to you and that you can help me. I would like to tell you where I am but I haven’t the faintest idea. I suppose I should begin by telling you who I am.

Call me Harry Miller. Let’s say I am 45 years old and a bachelor. I have lived in this city most of my life. I have been working for the same company since I was fifteen years old. I’ve been sitting at the same desk for twenty years with the same grey people around me doing the same grey jobs.

I live in a dark little flat on the fifth floor of a drab Victorian tenement on the outskirts of the city. I take the same bus to work every morning and I return by the six o’clock bus every day. I have never spoken to any of my neighbours and they have never spoken to me.

I am not entirely alone. I have my cat – Oscar – who has been my only companion these last twelve years. We love to sit in the little park across the street on a Saturday morning. Together we watch the pigeons strutting so purposefully about their pointless business. Our life together has not been exciting but it has been enough until something happened.

I once had a hamster but Oscar took a dislike to him and terminated him. I also had a little terrier but he had an unfortunate encounter with the No. 206 bus. My budgie flew away and a piranha ate all my tropical fish.

I remember coming home from the office about six thirty as usual. The bus was three minutes late. I purchased a pork pie and a portion of chips. It was, as usual for the time of the year, chilly. Light rain was falling. The lift was out of order and I was out of breath after climbing the spiral staircase. With frozen fingers I was just fishing in my waistcoat pocket for my key when I noticed something amiss: the front door was slightly ajar. My heart skipped a few beats. Was that tobacco I smelled in the air? I have never smoked in my life. Oscar hates it.

Slowly, nervously, I edged the door open. I heard a voice saying, “Come in, Harry. I’ve been waiting for you. I’ve been playing with Oscar. I’ve been longing to see you.”

Nervously I stepped into the room. Then I felt a blow on the back of the head, and I remember noting until I work up here, tied in this chair.

Questions: Answer these questions in complete sentences.

1. How old is Harry Miller?
2. Is Harry married or is he a bachelor?
3. Where does Harry work and what kind of work does he do?
4. Describe Harry’s home in about fifty words.
5. Who is Oscar?
6. How do Harry and Oscar spend the time on Saturday mornings?
7. What time did Harry get home that day?
8. What did Harry buy on the way home?
9. Why did he feel nervous when he reached his front door?
10. What noises did he hear coming from his front room?

a) Players use their imaginations to answer the questions. It is helpful to
ask them not to number their answers as this will encourage continuous
prose. Players may answer the questions individually, in pairs, or in small
groups. Players complete the questions to produce their own versions of the
text.

b) Players may then be combined, if desired, in pairs or small groups. They
are then instructed to combine their texts to produce a single version of
the text. This will involve negotiation and compromise.

c) Players can then be invited to read their versions of the text/story.
Leader then introduces the original text in which players now have a level
of investment.

ii CHANGE THE FACTS and make any other necessary changes

Select a text that matches the abilities and interests of your learners.
Underline some of the information in the text. Read through the text
and invite learners to suggest alternatives to the underlined information.
You can also invite them to extended the information in the text.

Example
Jon got up at 7 o’clock. For breakfast he had tea and toast. He decided
to take the bus to school because it was raining. He got to school at 10
minutes to 8. His first lesson was English. Jon really enjoyed the English
lessons. His English teacher came from Canada. Her name was Miss Summer.
Jon thought she was very pretty. He answered three questions in class and
got all of them correct. After his English class, Jon had History. After
the break he had Sports for the rest of the morning.

iii An A to Z of Way to Explore a Text

a) Look at the apostrophes in ‘this’ sentence. Write down any word that has an
apostrophe. Explain why it is there.
b) Find the common nouns in this sentence.
c) Find the proper nouns in this sentence if there are any.
d) Find the adjectives in this sentence. Name an alternative adjective for
each adjective you find.
e) Find the adverbs in this sentence. Name an alternative adverb for each
adverb you find.
f) Find any words you do not know the meaning of. Find out what it means. Use
it in a sentence to show you can use it appropriately.
g) Name a synonym for these words.
h) Name an antonym for these words.
i) Explain any facts you can find in this paragraph.
j) Explain any opinions you can find in this paragraph.
k) What in your opinion are the three most powerful words in this paragraph?
l) What words are used to create the atmosphere of the story.
m) How does the story hook you from the beginning?
n) Name one or two of the characters in the story.
o) Which character in the story would you most like to be? Why?
p) Which character in the story would you least like to be? Why not?
q) Write a diary entry for one of the characters in the story.
r) What questions would you like to ask the character? Ask them!
s) Write a text message to one of the characters in the story.
t) Does this story remind you of any of your memories or experiences?
u) In your opinion, what are the key moments in the story?
v) Invent an alternative ending to the story.
w) Complete the sentence... One thing I really like about this story is......
x) Complete the sentence... It would be better in this story if......
y) Write a short letter to the author of this story explaining what you think
about the story and the way that he/she has told it.
z) Make up some questions you would ask to check if someone has read the story
carefully and understood the story.

7 BITS AND PIECES TELL A STORY

Preparation: Get a small bag and fill it with bits and pieces, e.g.
feathers, buttons, beads, odd chessmen, small bottles, odd playing cards…
in fact any old small bric a brac lying round the house. Do not include
anything normally found in classrooms.

Bring the bag into the classroom. Get everyone to stand around a desk.
Dump the bits and pieces on the desk. Ask the class to bring in any 3
contributions they can for the bits and pieces bag. Decline to explain
anything at this stage.

1. Everyone, including leader and learners, stand around a desk or table.
Pushing two or three desks/tables together is advisable.
2. Dump the bits and pieces on the table. Spread them out.
3. Leader picks up anything he chooses from the table, e.g. a feather,
and begins, “Once upon a time… there was a handsome but poor young
farm boy who found a magic feather.”
4. Leader holds onto the feather, then gestures that the learner standing on
his right should pick up another object and continue the story.
Try to explain what’s to be done through gestures rather than verbally
explaining the procedure; the magic is stronger this way.
5. After the story has made its way back to the leader, the leader can round
out the story and then say, “I think we can do better than that this time.”
6. Leader points to a learner and says, “Begin our story, please.”
And off we go… Once upon a time…

8 TAKE YOUR PICK - WORDS TO SENTENCES TO STORY

Materials: A short text of about 100 words on any topic whatsoever; fact
or fiction. Preparation: none Time: 5 – 10 minutes

1. Allow the learners to pair off.
2. Give them a piece of A5 paper; tear up A4 sheets.
3. Leader explains he will read a short text and they should listen carefully.
Leader does not explain why he/she is reading the text.
4. Leader explains he will read the text again, and pairs should note down any
words and as many words from the text as they want to. Leader should hint
the more words the greater chance of success.
5. Leader reads the text again at normal speed while learners scribble down
the words they choose.
6. Leader now explains the challenge is for each pair to write one sentence
containing all the words they’ve scribbled down. Their sentences should
have nothing to do with the original text.
7. Learners fold up their papers containing the sentences and passes them to
the leader who unfolds them one at a time and reads them out.
8. Learners decide which sentence was most original and imaginative.

LET BOYS BE BOYS

2010-10-04T09:59:00.000-07:00

Jack is ten years old. Jack is bright and intelligent. Jack comes into class every morning and plonks himself down behind his desk. Jack has high hopes. His hopes don’t last long because Jack is soon bored, desperately, silently bored. Jack will not protest. He is an ideal pupil. He sits there quietly most of the day doing what he is told. He doesn’t enjoy much of what he is told to do but he accepts this is the way things are. School is the great let-down. The excited little boy who let go his mum’s hand all these years ago, who trotted into school a bit nervous but keen to learn lots of new things has faded into the ten-year-old who puts up with school, who waits for the morning break, for lunchtime, for the afternoon bell, so he can get out of the place and enjoy being a boy.

Listen to Sue Palmer - former headteacher and author of 21st Century Boys - it is a biological necessity that boys run about, take risks, swing off things and compete with each other to develop properly. “If they can't, a lot of them find it impossible to sit still, focus on a book or wield a pencil,” she says, “so their behaviour is considered ‘difficult', they get into trouble and tumble into a cycle of school failure.”

Boys are three times as likely as girls to need extra help with reading at primary school, and 75 per cent of children supposedly suffering from ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) are male. The majority of these boys supposedly suffering from ADHD find it hard to pay attention because they are given so little that is, for them as boys, of much interest. It is not that they have little interest; it is that their interest is not being engaged, often by the content of what they are studying and more often by the ways in which they are asked to learn. Get their hearts and their minds will follow. Or get their minds and their hearts will follow. You have to get at least one of these or you get nothing.

Male and female brains are not identical. Boys tend to be ‘systematisers’ while girls are ‘empathisers’. Girls cry at the ending of ET while boys want to get on the spacecraft and figure out how it works. Girls want to explain how the character in the story is feeling; boys want to get on with what happens next. This explains why boys generally are less keen on reading and comprehension, and lag behind girls in literacy. “But now,” says Palmer, “apart from the very bright ones, boys aren't even doing better at maths and science.” And it is not because the boys have less interest in maths and science, it is because boys nowadays are generally taught as if they were girls because teaching this way is easier, cheaper, and teachers feel more in control. Even most male teachers suppress their instincts, the boredom, the grind, and get on with it – a synonym for getting through with it. “We are losing boys at a rate of knots, particularly in literacy,” says Palmer, “because at some point in the past 30 years, masculinity became an embarrassment.”

Most schools, especially junior but increasingly secondary, are not ‘boy-friendly’. Classroom environments are girl-friendly, coursework appeals to girls, modular examinations suit the way girls like to study. Girls don’t mind taking the modules again and again until they get the grades they desire; boys prefer the risk of all-or-nothing exams where they can get the grades they need and move on. But boys are finding it harder and harder to tick the right boxes because the boxes are largely devised by females to suit females.

Step into any junior school and you are in a world of women. Step into most staff rooms in secondary schools and you will be struck by the number of women. Count the number of teaching assistants in any of these schools and ninety nine per cent of the adults will be women. Schools in the United Kingdom have become increasingly feminized. There are seven times as many women primary school teachers as men. As a head teacher, Sue Palmer remembers making her reception teacher remove all the cloakroom pegs that depicted tractors for boys and bunnies for girls. “The belief was that you were shaped by your environment, and it was the teacher's responsibility to ‘socialise' boys away from their natural inclinations and to encourage girls to study traditionally male subjects such as physics and technology,” she says.

Every subject in every school should be available for both girls and boys. That is not an issue is. The issue is that the ways in which subjects are taught at generally weighed against the ways boys learn. The catastrophe of the 70s and the feminist movement is that boys were not only expected to behave like girls but were expected to learn like girls despite the huge cognitive differences in the way that the genders actually perceive and interpret the world. For example, younger boys like to fight, but it’s rarely an act of aggression; it’s the way they get to know each other; it’s social behaviour; it’s puppies jumping on each other because that’s the way puppies instinctively behave. Of course teachers should not stand back and let boys knock seven bells out of each other, but neither should they always seek to intervene when boys are rough-housing and forced them back into the passive behaviour of negotiation, compromise and natter favoured by females.

Let boys play conkers. Let boys climb trees. Let boys play football in the back streets. Let boys out of your sight. Do not teach boys to fear every stranger they encounter. Let boys seek adventure. Let them play unsupervised. Let them take risks. Bring competition back to schools. Make the competition fun but everyone does not have to be a winner. That’s not the way things are in ‘real’ life; it’s not the way things should be in schools.

Celebrate what it means to be a boy, to be male, and also teach them that some things do not come as naturally to them as they do to girls just as some ‘boy things’ do not come naturally to girls. Get boys – and girls – outdoors to learn when it’s appropriate. Teach them while strolling round the playground, better still while strolling round the local park. If they want to stretch out on the carpet in the classroom while reading, let them, encourage them. An over-orderly classroom is bound to be a deadly dull classroom. And deadly-dull classrooms produce deadly-dull children, especially boys.

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN TEACHING BOYS

1. Build in tactile/kinesthetic opportunities when teaching boys. Give boys the opportunity to touch the materials. Use good visuals to reinforce auditory presentations. Use colour and novelty in your instruction as a way to wake up the brain and enhance learning.

2. Boys learn best when they are interested in the content of what they are learning. For boys, process follows content. This does not mean pandering to boys; it does mean exploiting their interests to help them to learn. Make sure boys have enough time to process the information, especially when they have been listening to information. Boys like to memorise facts; take advantage of this trait.

3. Keep in mind that boys typically have a shorter attention span than girls. Don’t talk at boys or take too long to explain things. Make sure you have talk ‘breaks’ that give them time to process the information. Build in opportunities for movement in the class. Don’t expect boys to sit still and listen for as long as the girls – they can’t and they won’t. Talk ‘breaks’ also lower levels of disruption.

4. Boys tend to be more aggressive in temperament than girls. Channel this energy productively. This also has implications for pairings and groupings. Keep in mind that boys are less accurate at “reading” faces than girls. A ‘look’ may be sufficient for the girls; the same ‘look’ may not register with the boys at all. Remember girls ‘whisper’; boys ‘shout’.

5. Boys in general tend to mature at a slower rate than girls. Give boys reasonable access to male role models; boys need to know that being ‘masculine’ is a ‘good’. Remember it is much easier to damage the self-esteem of boys (and men) than girls.

6. Boys make up at least 2/3 of the children on medication. Of children diagnosed as hyperactive, over 90% are boys. Boys make up 80-90% of discipline referrals. Boys make up over 70% of students classified as special needs. Draw the appropriate conclusions and good practice from the ‘facts’.

7. Be cautious about accepting absolutes concerning gender differences. All boys and all girls are individuals. Treat them as individuals, not as representatives of their gender.

SETTING UP LITERACY GROUPS - OUR EXPERIENCE

2010-10-01T11:40:00.000-07:00

All schools have recognised the central importance of literacy in helping pupils of all ages access the National Curriculum in a meaningful way. In this section, we describe one such model not with prescriptive but with pragmatic intentions. The system is in operation in a maintained secondary school in which about one third of the pupils are in the Special Needs register.

Literacy Groups

The original impetus to set up literacy groups came from the realisation that many SEN pupils at Stage 3 were not getting appropriate support in the classroom. There were simply too many needy pupils, and too few Learning Support Assistants to provide the intensive and systematic tuition these pupils required.

Following consultation with the Headteacher and the Governor for Special Needs, the radical decision was taken that pupils would be withdrawn from their usual classes for one period, in this case, one hour every day.

We began with Year 7, and pupils were withdrawn only if they were at Stage 3 (SEN Code of Practice) in the Special Needs register. Only pupils who had failed to reach Level 4 in English in the National Curriculum were considered. Reading ages were taken into account, but the focus was on levels of literacy rather than only the pupil's reading age.

With agreement from subject departments throughout the school, pupils were withdrawn for one hour at the same time every day. The timing was changed every half term in order that pupils would not miss too much of a subject for too long a period.

The number for the group is fixed at 16 pupils in 4 groups of 4, with 1 Learning Support Assistant to each group. The aim is to give each pupil a chance to have individual attention to address his - 12 out of the 16 pupils were boys - needs. The project was set up and monitored by a teacher-tutor from the Learning Support Service, who liaised with both SENCO and the Head of the English Department. It was fortunate that the teacher-tutor had considerable experience working with pupils with literacy, and speech and language problems. Regular INSET is provided for the group leaders who are asked to teach a pre-prepared programme.

A primary aim in the groups is to give pupils a boost to their morale. To help them realise that with a little more effort they can start to read more fluently, improve their spelling, and put together sentences which make sense. One of the most important aims is to encourage each pupil actually to listen and concentrate on what is being said by the adults teaching them, and by their peers, to be able to discuss the information presented to them, and to respect another person's point of view. Many of the pupils found this difficult at first because it had not been a part of their family life.

It is seen as essential to give each pupil daily successes, which will spur them on to do well across the rest of the curriculum. Successes are celebrated.

First and foremost, it was made clear to every participant that self-control is the only required passport to membership of a literacy group. Humour is accepted and welcomed; silliness and stupidity are not tolerated. Pupils learned quickly the need to enter the Unit quietly, organise their materials (each group's folders are kept in their own basket), get any other equipment needed, and be ready for the start of the session. Each group is responsible for keeping its own basket of folders in order.

Each session begins with a whole group (groups of 4) activity, usually reading books, or the text to be used, together as reading practice. By starting with a group activity, everyone's attention is focused on the lesson, and by reading through material presented at the beginning of the session, the less able reader has the opportunity to absorb the information required to do the assignments.

All activities presented to the groups are within their capabilities, especially texts. All text presented is read through with the group before they are expected to work from it alone. In the classroom differentiated work is often essential if every pupil is to have access to the material presented. In many cases, the teacher who reads and explains the text before pupils are asked to work from it will discover he has given pupils access to the material they would not have had if they have been left to read and understand it by themselves.

It proved advisable to move from easier to more difficult assignments, ensuring that the less able can make a start along with the rest, who can then be presented with further activities to stretch them. Once pupils are known, it is easy to spot the difference between the lazy pupil who produces just three lines of work, and the less able but committed pupil who works flat out to produce just two lines. The latter is to be commended; the former to be given time limits in which the work set must be completed. Literacy groups, while being friendly and relaxed, must not be seen as easy options by the participants.

Groups know at the beginning of each session what it will contain, e.g. I will read the play first; then you can each have a part; then we'll read it through two times; then I'll ask 10 questions and you will write down one word answers; then we'll read it again; then we'll act it out without the books; then I will ask you to write down the story in 73 words exactly; then we can either (a) tape record the play, or (b) design posters for our play.

The steps for each lesson, which may take more than one session, are often written down, so that pupils can refer to them. In the classroom situation, this can be achieved not only by saying what is expected, but by writing it up on the board; then, those with short term auditory memories, or those not concentrating on what is being said, have a reminder in sight.

Though time-wasting is not permitted, activities are never rushed. It is better to take two sessions to ensure understanding is in place. The National Curriculum puts everyone under pressure to get through a set amount of work, but it is worthless having pages of copied text which mean little or nothing to the pupils who so diligently copied them down.

Before the end of each session, groups pause and go over the salient points again. Once again, the whole group is focused, and can share in what its members have learned.

Literacy has become a national priority, and there is no difficulty getting a range of attractive materials which will exploit the visual, auditory and kinaesthetic memories to be found in every group. Within the groups, collective and individual reading practice is given every day. Books are in sets of five, many sets loaned from the county educational central library. These include stories, poems, and plays, which are at the pupils' level of ability of interest, dictated by their age.

There is also a Unit library from which pupils can sign out books at any time. The adventurous nature of the publications chosen for the library has made it exceedingly popular, especially amongst the boys who often did not know that such publications existed.

Spelling games, phonic games, board games are hugely enjoyed. The look, cover, write, check method is used to help improve spelling. There is a wide variety of creative writing material which gives support in making story plans, and suggested vocabulary to improve the story. Full use is made of the computers in the Unit so that pupils can record their work by means other than the written. The Art Department does much to encourage and support pupils in the visual presentation of their ideas.

Each group has been allocated a large area on the Unit walls to decorate with their own work. There is much friendly rivalry between groups, and the Unit is ablaze with displays that change regularly.

Have the groups proved a success?

The answer has to be a resounding 'yes' if you judge them by pupil involvement. It is not often you see teenage boys crowding the door trying to get in five minutes before the end of the morning break. Enter the room while groups are in session, and you will see 16 boys and girls absorbed in the activities. If the literacy groups have done nothing else - and objective assessment has revealed pleasing all round progress - they have reminded these pupils than learning can be fun, progress can be made, and that a commitment to their own educational progress can be very rewarding.

The original Year 7 groups have continued into Year 8, with changes when some pupils 'graduated' from their group - their places were quickly snapped up - and fresh groups have been formed from the next Year 7 who have their daily hour at a different time. The literacy groups have been supplemented by a number of numeracy groups, so that 32 pupils, visit the Unit every day to work for an hour on their individual needs.

For many pupils, education is the only route out of the cycle of educational failure and dysfunctional living the family is in. By the time these youngsters get to secondary school, it is daunting to get through the hard exterior that these children have built around themselves in order to survive the daily struggle against failure, or to reach the pupils who have withdrawn into themselves, sitting quietly in the background hoping no-one will notice them or ask them to perform. Daily literacy groups are a means of getting through to these failing pupils to convince them that education need not end when secondary school starts.

TEACHING AND LEARNING TECHNIQUES THAT WORK

2010-09-29T02:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I watched Professor Dylan Williams put theory into practice in an 'experimental' classroom in a mixed ability classroom of 13-year-old students in a comprehensive school.

Here are three of his ideas. They are simple but they are highly effective. Your students - and perhaps even you - will be reluctant to leave their comfort zones.

But if a technique improves their learning and our teaching we have a duty at least to give them a 'go'.

1. HANDS DOWN – NOT UP

The most common, time-honoured practice in the classroom goes like this. The teacher asks a question. Those students who are confident they know the answer put their hands up. The teacher selects one of them. The student answers. The answer is correct. The teacher asks another question. More or less the same hands go up. The procedure is repeated until the question-answer session is over. Behaviour has been good. A few of the students are content because they have been acknowledged by the teacher. Most of the students have are content because they have been left alone to slumber or daydream until the end of the session. The teacher is content because he has put a lot into the session, and good order has been maintained. But most of the students have learned very little, or at least whether they learned anything or not hasn’t been assessed.

Run the same session again but this time do not allow hands up. The question is asked but this time a student cannot predict whether or not he will be asked to answer. He doesn’t know if the teacher’s finger will point at him. He has to stay alert in case it does. He has to prepare some kind of response even if it’s only “I don’t know,” but if he says he doesn’t know, this will give the opportunity for the teacher to teach the point again. A collective groan will go up. The student is now under peer pressure to respond with something related to the question. And the students himself no longer has the refuge of withdrawing from the class.

Of course the students who do know they answer (these are the students who usually do) are becoming frustrated and annoyed. Why aren’t they being selected to answer? The teacher knows they know the right answer, so why is she bothering with those students who rarely know the answer, who rarely given any kind of answer, who simply want to be left alone? And it’s not fair because now the teacher is deliberately not choosing them to answer.

Run the same session again. Do not allow hands up. Give them time to think out their response but make your choice of student random. How? Several ways are possible. Get a set of lollipop sticks. Write the first name of each student on a lollipop stick. Stick the stick in a jar. Ask the question. Give a little thinking time. Pull out a stick. It’s that student’s turn to answer. When the student has given an answer, pop the stick back in the jar. Next question. Next random selection.

You will still get complaints. Individual students will still feel under pressure. So... pull two lollipop sticks from the jar. Either student can answer. Or both students can support each other in answering the question. Take even more of the pressure from yourself by getting students to draw the sticks when you ask a question.

Prepare for resistance, reluctance and resentment. Few people like change, and that includes teachers as well as students. You’ve all been in a reasonably comfortable routine. Why change things? Because not enough learning has been going on. And you, as a teacher, want to maximise the learning, maximise the engagement of your students, and maximise your own enjoyment. Routine is the great deadener. Take chances. Go for something different. And in this case the hands-down approach will work as long as you stick to it for long enough.

2. INVOLVE EVERY STUDENT

In the ideal classroom we would like to engage every student, and there’s a simple low technology way we can do this. Get your students into the habit of using the mini whiteboard. Mini whiteboards are popular in junior schools but they can be used just as effectively with learners of any age.

Let’s take a straightforward example. You are revising French vocabulary. You call out an English word. Each student writes down the French word on their mini white board. At your signal they hold up their white boards. Students who have no idea leave the boards on the desk. You can make a quick assessment how well that item has been learned, whether it should be taught again, and which students need more revision. Of course, students can work as individuals, in pairs, or in small groups. The key is that every student in the class is being given the opportunity to respond.

Another example. You are teaching algebra. You want to check learning. You write a series of equations on the main whiteboard. After each equation, you give students time to work out their answers on their whiteboards. They then show their responses. You get a lot of relevant information about your students’ learning immediately, and you can plan appropriately.

Another example. You are revising important cases. You ask your students to note down on their mini whiteboards which case you are referring to as soon as they can identify it, and then turn their boards face down on the desk. You begin giving key facts about the case. As each student identifies the case, they note the name down, and turn over their boards. The competitive element adds to the fun.

Using mini whiteboards is a simple but highly effective technique. They should be available in every classroom for students of all ages and of all abilities. Involve and engage all of your students.

3. INSTANT FEEDBACK

Wouldn’t it be useful if we could have instant feedback about how well our students have understood a new idea or concept? There is a simple way we can get it.

Get coloured card: green, red and yellow. Cut them up and make sets of three cards, each of a different colour. Make sufficient sets for your largest class. Hand a set to each student.

When teaching a concept, pause regularly and ask your student to hold up the coloured card that shows how well they think they are understanding the concept. Green = fine. Yellow = not sure. Red = not very well.

Adapt your teaching to suit their learning needs. Think of other ways you can use this ‘traffic light’ system. Remember regular feedback from your students will make you a better teacher.

4. COMMENTS NOT GRADES

Most teachers spend hours writing comments on students’ work. They add a grade or level and return the work to the students who immediately look at the grade, glance at the comments, and then forget or ignore the comments. Students are ‘hooked’ on grades, addicted, brain-washed into believing only the grades are really important. And like any drug, the over-use of grades distorts and undermines the learning process.

Consider not giving grades or levels when work is returned. Put the focus on constructive, helpful comments that guide students into appreciating the merits of their work and understanding how it can be improved. Avoid negative comments because your students will simply interpret them as meaning the work is worth only a poor grade and therefore has little merit.

Prepare yourself for disbelief, resentment and protest, particularly amongst students who usually get high grades. They are likely to be more addicted to grades and levels than students who usually get lower grades. The more able students are often the most seriously addicted; they have learned to work for the reward of the grade rather than the pleasure of doing good work for its own sake.

Make sure that you and your students ‘do something’ with the comments you have taken so much time to produce. Invite your students to discuss why they received the comments you gave their work. Place your students in pairs or small groups to discuss the comments they received and why the comments were fair and reasonable. Several of your comments should invite/instruct your students to do something with the work, e.g. rewrite the second paragraph making it more descriptive; rewrite the first part of the story as a dialogue rather than a narrative; select 10 words and offer synonyms for these words; make 5 similar equations, solve them, then test me (the teacher) on them. Comments are largely a waste of time unless they move the students farther on.

You do not have to abandon grades completely. You, as the teacher, should be keeping a record of the grades given. But decrease the frequency you give out grades. You can perhaps let your students know that a summative overall grade will be given at the end of each month. This will enable students to track their progress in a more meaningful way than a grade/level for every piece of work they hand in.

Be prepared for protests from other teachers as well as from many of your students. Many of them, particularly managers, are as addicted to ‘grade addiction’ as the students. But few things distort and undermine the learning process as grades and National Curriculum levels. The time is long overdue for us to wean our students and ourselves off them.

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2010-09-28T14:25:00.000-07:00

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FREE RESOURCES IN PSYCHOLOGY - LAW - SOCIOLOGY

2010-09-28T12:32:00.001-07:00

Just a reminder that you can have teaching resources for PSYCHOLOGY, LAW, and SOCIOLOGY by emailing me at
educationmatters@teachers.org

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2010-09-28T12:07:00.001-07:00

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BE A GREAT TEACHER NOT JUST A GOOD ONE

2010-09-24T01:47:00.000-07:00

BE A GREAT TEACHER NOT JUST A GOOD ONE
What makes the difference between good teaching and great teaching?

1. Build Confidence - ‘Believe in yourself’

Build confidence in your students. Inspire confidence and optimism. Convince them they can achieve success. Celebrate success individually and as a group. They can learn to be good enough at anything. Your students have to be able to trust you. Respond seriously to children. Never be judgemental or mocking. Never get a laugh from the group at an individual’s expense. Confidence comes gradually; it takes time. Make building confidence a priority.

2. Don’t be afraid to make difficult decisions

Some decisions are difficult to make but if they are the right decisions, make them and stick to them – unless they turn out to be the wrong decisions. Along with your responsibility, you need to have the authority to make potentially difficult decisions in the classroom. You know what you want your group or individuals to achieve – make the decisions that will help them achieve their goals. When you know what’s right, go for it.

3. Help develop those around you – and yourself

Great teaching means leadership, and leadership involves leading. Help develop the people around you whether they are children or adults, and at the same time don’t neglect to develop yourself. Keep pushing their boundaries, and pushing your own. Get out of your comfort zone regularly. Give lots of constructive feedback. Everyone wants to do it better next time. Everyone has got strengths. Share yours, and learn from the strengths of those around you. Make the most of each other.

4. Communicate well

Being able to communicate well is the essence of great teaching. If it does not come to you naturally, work at it until it does – even if it means getting out of your comfort zone. Encourage those around you, especially your students, to enjoy communicating. Remember ‘you’ are the message, and so is the environment you create for your students. When students come into your learning zone, they should feel it is a warm, welcoming place where they can feel at home. And your learning zone should quickly become their learning zone. Make it easy for others to communicate with you. Start by listening. Help others clarify and express what it is they want to communicate.

5. The best teachers are non-conformists

Being a ‘non-conformist’ does not mean running around causing mischief for its own sake. But it does mean questioning the status quo, looking at how things can be improved, trying other ways of doing things, taking risks, and seeing teaching and learning as an adventure. Non-conformists are willing to look at changes; they enjoy trying out new ideas; they welcome innovation that works. Good teachers get bored easily; they are on the lookout for trying to do the same things differently, and this enthusiasm communicates itself to their pupils who also become more and willing to try doing the same things differently.

6. Enjoy the company of others

You are going to spend most of your life in front of young people, so if you don’t enjoy the company of young people, find another career. Teachers tend to be natural communicators, but if you’re not, it is something you can work of. We can all become who we want to be by behaving as if we were who we want to be until being who we want to be comes as naturally as being who we used to be. If you want to be a kind person, be kind to those around you until ‘being kind’ is ‘you’. Bounce ideas off those around you, colleagues and children. It’s a lot more fun than only bouncing ideas off the walls of your mind.

7. Keep an eye on the bigger picture

There’s a world beyond your classroom. There’s a world beyond your school. There’s a world beyond education. There’s a world. Look outside your world. Look and see what other teachers are doing, what other educators are doing, what you can bring in from the world to your classroom, to your pupils. You, as a teacher, are the most important link your pupils have with the big, wide world out there. You are there to help open their minds, to help them make sense of the world out there, and their place in it. You are not just there to teach ‘your’ subject; you are there to teach them the world, and you start by teaching them – you.
What makes a ‘great’ teacher?

The single most important factor determining the quality of education a child receives is the quality of his teacher/teachers. It is not the ‘school’, not the curriculum, not the resources and facilities, not the management, not the leadership – it is the quality of the teacher.

Great teachers

set high expectations for all their students. They don’t give up on any of their students.

are well-prepared and well-organised. They know what they want their students to achieve and they know how to help them achieve these goals.

engage and enthuse students, individually and as a group. The teacher’s enthusiasm is contagious. Teaching and learning are fun; work becomes play becomes success.

care about their students as people. They form strong, appropriate relationships with their students. They are warm, caring, and accessible while always remaining objective.

are masters of their subject, love their subject, and can communicate both knowledge and love of their subject. A great history teacher is a historian.

communicate frequently with parents. They are part of the network of support for every child in their care.

spend as much time learning as they do teaching.

IMPROVING BEHAVIOUR - THEIRS AND OURS

2010-09-24T01:41:00.000-07:00

IMPROVING BEHAVIOUR - THEIRS AND OURS

Like Jean-Jacques Rousseau, that other great amateur educator, I want to begin with a confession: in a forty-year career in teaching, I have had very few disciplinary problems. This assertion may damn me from the outset amongst some colleagues, but I am stuck with it because it is true. And it is not because of my dazzling charisma. Even less my professional expertise. It is because I possess two natural attributes - an inexhaustible sense of humour and fundamental affection for young people.

Teaching makes me laugh even on days when I feel I won't or can't. I deem it a privilege to spend my working life amongst children, not for any altruistic reasons, but because they daily confirm the absurdity of the human condition. One thing that children do not do is to take life too seriously; the thing that most adults do is to take life far too seriously.

I mention this because you may think I am being flippant when I am being deadly serious, and being earnest when I am simply cynical. Children are by experience, if not by nature, cynical; understandable when so much of their lives is governed by adults; children are neither by experience nor by nature sarcastic; they fail to appreciate sarcasm because they instinctively abhor it; they know that sarcasm hurts, and children recoil from emotional hurt.

Cynics are on the side of the angels because they include themselves in the criticism; cynics have the gift of smiling, if wryly, at human nature. Those who offer sarcasm want to stand outside the glasshouse throwing pebbles; they hurt, they rarely heal.

This is not all throat-clearing. I am being deadly serious. If you have a weak sense of humour and little affection for children, don't get into teaching; if you are already teaching, get out. For your sake as much as the children's.

But if you like children and you have a sense of humour, you are well-equipped for a great career in the noble profession.

Just a minute

The qualities mentioned are necessary but not sufficient to cope with all the behaviour problems that will arise in the schools where you work. You owe it to yourself and the children to develop your expertise in lots of areas, not least how to understand how behaviour problems arise and how they can be defused. There are days when your sense of humour will be stretched wafer-thin, your affection for the children thin as a butterfly's wing. It is then you need your expertise to carry you through the day, the week, the fortnight before Christmas when the term seems as endless as those dank and dismal nights.

Don't worry

You don't have to carry around the strategies in your portable computer, briefcase, hold-all, or plastic carrier bag. Do the right things long enough, and consistently enough, and doing the right thing becomes part of who you are. Because doing the right thing is an affective methodology; it changes you right long with changing them. Strategies become attitude, and you become the attitude.

I have heard it neatly described: unconscious incompetence - conscious incompetence - conscious competence - and then the Holy Grail of Unconscious Competence. You do the right thing because that's who you are.

Little of this is woolly liberalism. But it is not the opposite. The phrase Tough Love comes to mind. When a dialogue between children and an adult takes place, always bear in mind that there should be at least one adult taking part, and that adult has to be you. It is your responsibility to set reasonable standards or behaviour, and it is your responsibility to ensure that these standards are met. And sometimes you will have to be bloody-minded to ensure it happens; but bloody-mindedness must exercised within the context of affection.

No matter what you have to do for a child for his own good, make sure he understands that you like him and will always like him. Even when your handing out a three-day fixed exclusion, do it with a sincere smile, wish him well, and stress you are looking forward to seeing him back in school when he has paid the price for his transgressions. Keep in mind this aphorism from T.S. Elliot: Teach us to care and not to care. Better still: a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, but he should do it with a smile.

I have a fixed rule in dealing with children. No matter how hard I have to be, the conversation must end on a positive note, and if possible "leave them laughing when you go." I do not want to leave a child smouldering with unresolved resentment; I want him to be listened to; his point of view, his explanation understood; then, if sanctions are in order, I want him to understand that imposition of the sanction will not impair our friendship - consequences, if not Karma, are simply the way of the world.

Do not be put off by the word friendship. I am not talking about emotional, personal friendship, which is usually inadvisable in the student/teacher relationship. I am talking about the friendliness that all human beings should have for all other human beings. If you want to have friends, be friendly. That is trite because it's true. So nod to kids in the corridors. Return their smiles. If asked, look at their Sanction Cards - they are trying to show you that they are trying to be good; reward them with praise. Do not damn with faint praise. Take an interest in what they are doing, even if only for a moment; then they will take an interest in what you are doing, even if only for a moment.

Dealing with learning difficulties is by and large straightforward. Identify the difficulty, marshal your resources, point them at the difficulty, monitor the effectiveness of the strategies, adjust where necessary, and voila! you've done your job whether the outcomes are successful or not.

Dealing with behaviour difficulties is fraught with frustration and failure, but the rewards of turning round a youngster with behaviour difficulties are infinitely satisfying. And if not you - who? if not now - when?

During their school lives many children will exhibit behaviour difficulties; it's part of growing up. In the majority of these cases the behaviour is mild, manageable and transitory. There are a number of youngsters for whom the difficulties are persistent, debilitating and deep-rooted; and the causes of the difficulties are as varied as the youngsters themselves.

And here's a statement that may have you gasping in disbelief if not demanding a refund:

NO CHILD CHOOSES TO BEHAVE BADLY

Any child who is behaving "badly" is trying to tell us something. He is trying to tell us that his life is out of kilter, out of balance, and he doesn't know how to get it back on even keel, if it ever was on even keel. Most children with long-term behaviour difficulties are exhibiting learned behaviour, and, unless the child is clinically damaged, he learned it in the home. Or least he did not learn appropriate responses in the home. Very young children need security, safety, warm, affection and appropriate role-models; if they have them, there are unlikely to be long-term behaviour difficulties in school. If they did not have them, the school may spend years limiting the damage that was done, damage which expresses itself in the child's inability to feel comfortable with the world and himself any where.

The one thing all children need is a home they want to go to at the end of the school day. It matters little if this is the traditional two-parent home, single-parent home, or foster carers. If a child want to get home at the end of the day, most behaviour problems are likely to be short-term in nature. If not… we still have to help them cope, and cope with them in school.

Whatever the causes, children - and let us never forget they are damaged children - who are difficult to deal with often become unwanted and rejected by the majority of the teaching staff. The reasons for rejection are easy to understand. Such children often:

- disrupt the education of other pupils;
- wreck the atmosphere in the classroom;
- adversely influence pupils who are easily influenced;
- undermine the authority of teachers;
- exhaust and demoralise teachers.

How easy it would be if we could suspend, expel, or slam the doors in the faces of difficult children who do not even appreciate the enormous efforts we are making on their behalf. But we can't and, unless we have exhausted all other strategies, perhaps we shouldn't.

How often do we hear the cry in the staff room:
"Why can't he just behave like everybody else?"

If we listen closely enough, we may realise that this cry is an echo of another:
"Why can't I just behave like everybody else?"
And that cry is coming from the damaged child himself. Above all, a child with serious behaviour problems would like to be just that: the same as his peers around him. He is crying silently for normality, and normality may well be the one thing he has never experienced in his life.

When you are really angry with such a child, ask yourself this question:
"Would you like his/her life?"

What do many such children have in common?
Low self-esteem and the fear of being ridiculed by their peers.
This makes change for them so difficult. At least in their trouble-causing, attention-seeking role they have established an identity, they are somebody. They are terrified to lose that role, for if they do, they may simply disappear.

The aim of everybody involved with such a child is to establish for him the possibility and reality of a different role, a role where success offers recognition and the raising of self-esteem. No child wants to fail.

You can't change behaviour overnight - not even your own. There is no magic wand. The patience of the proverbial saint is required. It will be two steps forward and one step back for a long time. And it will be slow, slow, quick, quick, slow. But as long as you are moving forward that is progress.

Make a start by changing your own behaviour. In the face of provocation, do not give him what he expects: confrontation. Offer him patience, understanding, a calm consistent approach, and a sense of humour. Do not fight on his ground; you won't win, for he has had years and year of practice. He is addicted to confrontation; don't feed his addiction.
Above all, shut up and listen.

What the child is saying may not be what he is desperate to tell you. Only when he has reached silence will he find the emotional space to listen to you. And as often as not, he will not need you to tell him what to do; he has been working that out for himself.

In fact, rarely tell a child what to do. That is not your role. Your role is to clarify the options open to him, and their consequences, then stand back and let him choose the option himself. Of course, you will explain that he is not allowed to endanger himself or other people, and if necessary discuss why such a course of action is not an option. Demonstrating that his safety and the safety of others constitute the prime directive will draw him towards you, not push him away.

There is risk in this strategy. It would be less risky to shout or threaten the offender into silent, resentful compliance. Slap him in detention. Send him to a higher authority. Pass the buck. Suspend him. Expel him. He will have understood nothing, he will have learned nothing, but at least you've shelved the problem - for the time being.

But if you do use confrontation and coercion, and if you are a good human being, you are left with a problem, something has been damaged - your self-esteem. Because you are left with that feeling of helplessness all good teachers feel in the face of failure. And often when we are doing what is manifestly the right thing - expelling the trouble-causer - we still have that nagging feeling of failure. You have failed him, the school has failed him, his family has failed him, society had failed him… let's hope the Young Offenders' Institution can save him. Cynicism or sarcasm? I leave it to you.

What I am interested in is self-esteem.

Ah, self-esteem, I spoke that word as if a wedding vow, but I was so much younger then, I'm younger than that now.

A few years ago, I came across a letter in the Times Educational Supplement. The letter was so powerful that I cut out a section of it, blew it up on the photo-copier, made about twenty copies on card, laminated them, and stuck them up all around the school. This is what is says:

One of the most important classroom studies ever carried out... was done in the 1960s by Rosenthal and Jacobson and their results became known as the Pygmalion Effect.

In the study, at the beginning of the school year each class teacher in a school was given a list of half a dozen names and told that in tests previously conducted these pupils had revealed a very high learning ability. In fact, these names had been chosen at random, but when tested again later all these pupils had made far greater progress than others in the class and, when questioned, the teachers were full of praise for their motivation to work and excellent behaviour compared with the rest.

These students had come to perform better because the teachers had cause to have high expectations of them. An environment had been created in which they could feel themselves to be more successful and more worthy. Teachers' attitudes are a key instrument in building their students' self-esteem.

Self-esteem is at the heart of the matter. An often misunderstood term, associated with conceit, a true, healthy level of self-esteem brings with it the confidence to overcome, or at least cope, with all the challenges life may bring. If we take responsibility for helping to build the self-esteem of all children and young people in every classroom in the country, we should transform society in a generation. Murray White, Cambridge

Okay, fine, how do I make a start? I've got a boy in my class who causes merry hell. I've tried persuasion, I've tried punishment, I've tried a big carrot and a small stick, I've tried a small carrot and a humungous stick. Nothing works. Who does this kid think he is to mess up my classes?

Why not find out who he is?

Read his school file.

Discuss difficult children at subject department meetings.
Are your colleagues experiencing similar difficulties?
What are they doing about it?

Discuss the child with his Form Tutor.
Form Tutors must be key figures in the lives of the children in their
tutor groups. If they aren't, they are not doing their job properly.

Read his Special Needs file.
I am still amused by the colleague who gasps,
"I didn't know he was on Ritalin. What's Ritalin anyway?"
Discuss the child with your SENCO.
Are there general strategies in his Individual Education Plan?
Does the IEP include an Individual Behaviour Plan?

Phone the child's home if the behaviour is persistent.
Enrol the support of parents whenever possible.
Make it clear to the parents you are concerned about their child's welfare just as much as about the disruption of the class.

Discuss the problem with the child himself.
Be honest, open and frank.
"Look, I've not been enjoying this class for the last couple of weeks…
What is it I need to do so that you can get on with the work -
so that you can enjoy the class?"

Look at that last paragraph again.
"What is it I, the teacher, need to do….?"
I have deliberately shifted the responsibility from the child :
"What is it I need to do so that you…?

This is deliberate. It takes the burden from the shoulders of the child. It allows for creative discussion about what is going wrong. It becomes a shared responsibility. The teacher has the opportunity to hear some things he might not want to hear but which he needs to hear. ("Well, you never seem to know what we're doing... sir." Or "You're always late for class and I get into trouble when…." Or "Don't get mad, sir, but I always think you're picking on me." )

Most solutions will not involve negative criticisms of the teacher, but if the cap fits... get another one. They may include: "I hate sitting next to a girl." (school policy) Or "I hate writing stuff down." (learning difficulty) Or "Dad's walked out on us again." (domestic trauma) Or "I'm getting bullied and you teachers ain't doin' nuthin' about it." (Never mind, we will sort out your grammar.) Or "They've moved me to new carers, and I miss the old ones really badly."

The relationship moves towards that of people sharing experiences. Child and adult begin to talk to each other, not at each other. The child is given a way out; and that is what we are there for - to give children a way out of what are essentially self-destructive habits.

"Oh, yes, but I'm too busy for all that."
"Too busy coping with disruptive brats who wreck my lessons."
"But what if the same disruptive brats saw you as a friend rather than as the enemy?"

Effective teachers reflect regularly on their relationship with their pupils, both as a class and as individuals. Effective teachers reflect on their own classroom management and planning. Effective planning produces greater control, and greater control produces an effective environment for teaching and learning.

Underlying many behaviour problems are learning difficulties. Enable the child to access the curriculum, achieve and make progress and there is usually a significant reduction in disruptive activities.

I read somewhere recently that 80% of learning difficulties are caused by stress; take the stress out of the situation and children can learn a lot more easily. I have no idea what the exact figure is, but I am sure it is very high. Sit and observe any small group of SEN children; they can't learn until they are comfortable; they can't learn until the fear of failure has been reduced or eliminated; they can't learn unless the targets set are reachable. This does not mean we should dumb down to them; they hate that just as much; it does mean that tasks should be commensurate with their ability, with a wee bit of extra challenge. Success = raised self-esteem = happiness = the desire to learn more.

Of course many "bad" boys and girls have no learning difficulties whatsoever, but lots of them do. They are, perhaps, the easiest to reach. All the need is the sweet scent of success in their nostrils, and it is our job as teachers to provide them with those opportunities to experience success.

After all, if a child finds there is little he can do successfully in class day after day, week after week, he will find something else to pass the time. Link this to the deflation of self-esteem and he might as well cause trouble, if only to demonstrate that he is in the classroom. The hostility addressed towards the teacher is an expression of his own self-perceived failure.

If learning difficulties have not been addressed for years, it is hardly surprising that a student becomes depressed, disenchanted, demotivated and disruptive at secondary school. For him school becomes synonymous with inadequacy. And perceived inadequacy breeds resentment, and resentment breeds anger, and anger breeds disruptive behaviour. We need to break that circle, and the earlier the better.

Schools need to be creative in their approach to individual pupils, by ensuring each gets what he needs, and not what satisfies administrative ease or league tables. We need to drive it home to pupils, parents, and to far too many teachers that there are lots of ways of being successful in life. If my frozen pipes burst in the great thaw, I want a plumber, not a teacher with a degree and a fistful of certificates. And if it's a choice between being a happy pig and a dissatisfied Socrates - pass me the apple sauce.

WEB RING

2010-09-13T04:24:00.000-07:00

This site is a member of WebRing.
To browse visit
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FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY

2010-09-13T02:35:00.000-07:00

I have written an Introduction To Forensic Psychology but I will not publish it in this Blog because it contains quite a number of graphics, photographs, diagrams, etc. However, if you would like a copy of this Introduction, email me at educationmatters@ teachers.org and it will be promptly yours.

This Introduction to Psychology is ideal to accompany the teaching on Forensic Psychology in any of the GCE A level courses.

I will publish the opening section here to give you an idea of what topics are covered.

FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY

What is forensic psychology?

Forensic psychology involves applying psychology to the field of criminal investigation and the law. The popularity of forensic psychology has grown phenomenally in recent years, partly due to sensationalized portrayals of the field in movies and television, which are not always accurate. Forensic psychologists are often depicted as criminal profilers who are able to almost psychically deduce a killer's next move. In reality, these professionals practice psychology as a science within the criminal justice system and civil courts.
What do forensic psychologists do?

A forensic psychology offers expertise across a wide range of issues related to the criminal justice system. These might include evaluating offender treatment programmes, risk assessment in deciding whether a criminal should be released on parole, providing expert testimony in relation to criminal cases or child custody decisions, advising police on identifying stress and burnout in their officers, or best how to negotiate with hostage takers.

Forensic psychologists must rely on substantial academic research if they are to provide worthwhile advice within the context of criminal or civil justice. This is why anyone seeking chartered status within the British Psychological Society as a forensic psychologist needs to demonstrate academic and research competence in forensic psychology, together with a period of approved supervised practice in the field. By taking this course, you are taking the first step in exploring and studying the work of a forensic psychology.

FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY - TOPICS

1. Approaches to profiling (e.g. the US 'Top down' approach, the British
'Bottom-up'approach and geographical profiling).

2. Decision-making of juries (e.g. minority influence, majority influence and
characteristics of the defendant).

3. Theories of crime including biological and social/psychological influences.

4. Factors affecting the accuracy of eyewitness testimony (e.g. reconstructive
memory, face recognition, attributional biases, the role of emotion).

5. Treatment and punishment of crime (e.g. cognitive therapies, behavioural
therapies and zero tolerance).

1. APPROACHES TO PROFILING

Back to the future - The New York Bomber

In November 1940 a bomb was left at the business premises of the energy utility Consolidated Edison in New York City. The pipe bomb did not detonate (arguably by design) as when it was discovered it was found to be wrapped in a note stating 'CON EDISON CROOKS, THIS IS FOR YOU'. A year later a very similar device was discovered. The bomb investigation team concluded that it had been constructed by the same person. The location of the device indicated that the bomber was probably en route to the Consolidated Edison building once again but for some reason he had to abandon his plan and the device was just left on the street. Up to this point neither incident had been reported in the press.

Three months later as US involvement in the Second World War began the bomber sent a type set letter to the police. In case you can't make it out, it read. 'I will make no more bomb units for the duration of the war - my patriotic feelings have made me decide this - later I will bring the Con Edison to justice - they will pay for their dastardly deeds.'

In fact he didn't make another bomb for nine years.

It was March 1950 when a third unexploded bomb was discovered and it was felt that it was never intended to go off. This was merely the calm before the storm, a fourth bomb exploded at the New York Public Library followed by another shortly afterwards at Grand Central station. In the next six years over 30 bombs would be planted, the vast majority of which detonated.

Public and political pressure on the police force to apprehend the bomber intensified the longer he remained at large. As a result of this pressure Dr James A. Brussel was asked to generate a profile of the bomber in the hope that it would help focus the investigation.

The Criminal profile provided by Dr. Brussel

Male, former employee of Consolidated Edison, injured while working there so seeking revenge, paranoid, 50 years old, neat and meticulous persona, foreign background, some formal education, unmarried, living with female relatives but not mother who probably died when he was young, upon capture he will be wearing a buttoned up double breasted jacket.

Criminal profiling based recommendations:

Brussel suggested that the police publicise their investigation along with the profile description of the bomber. In Brussel's opinion the bomber wanted credit for his work and this arrogance was likely to be his downfall as he may well be tempted to reveal details that would lead the police to his door.

Every major newspaper in New York gave details of the profile and although this resulted in a number of false leads the real bomber phoned Brussel warning him against any further involvement. At the same time administrative staff at Consolidated Edison had been instructed to search their employee files for anyone who appeared to match the bombers profile.

A member of staff came across the file of George Metesky. Metesky had an accident at work and had filed an unsuccessful disability claim against the company. In response to the failed disability claim Metesky wrote a series of letters to the company, one of which referred to their 'dastardly deeds'.
George Metesky was arrested shortly afterwards and immediately confessed. As he was being escorted to the police station it didn't go unnoticed that he was wearing a buttoned up double breasted jacket!

PROFILING

What is criminal profiling?

Criminal profiling consists of analyzing a crime scene and using the information to determine the identity of the perpetrator. While this doesn't directly give you the perpetrator's name, it is very helpful in narrowing down suspects. For example, a profile based on a crime scene provides information that may include the perpetrator's personality, sex, age, ethnic background, and possible physical features such as disfigurements or height and weight. This information can then be used to identify possible suspects, depending on who fits the profile. Personality is one of the most important parts of a criminal profile. Behavior reflects personality. And that is what profiling is all about.

Creating a criminal profile - bottom-up (UK) and top-down (USA)

The phrase top-down refers to an approach which starts with the big picture and then fills in the details. The top-down approach is the preferred method of profiling in the United States. This contrasts with the bottom-up approach which starts with details and creates the big picture. Both of these approaches have been used to build up profiles to aid police in solving crimes and apprehending criminals. Both have strengths and weaknesses. In reality it will depend on the situation and type of crime as to which approach is used.

GCE PSYCHOLOGY RESOURCES

2010-09-13T02:19:00.000-07:00

These are the resources I have made available for free at http://www.psychexchange.co.uk/

This is a great site and absolutely essential for teachers of Psychology.
It costs nothing to join and all of the resources on the site are free.
Finding particular resources through the Search engine on the site is easy.
If you teach Psychology, study Psychology, or just have an interest in some
aspects of Psychology, you really should check out Psychexchange!

JPC's RESOURCES FOR A LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY

WJEC PY4 Revision Course

WJEC PY3 ISSUES IN RESEARCH

WJEC PY2 Part 2 Research Methods REVISION

WJEC PY2 Part 1 Core Studies

WJEC PY1 REVISION COURSE BOOK

PSYA 4 Revision Course Book

PSYA2 Revision Course Book

PSYA1 Revision Course Book

TEN BOOKS I COULDN'T DO WITHOUT

2010-09-10T05:22:00.000-07:00

1. SIDDHARTHA by Herman Hesse (Picador)

2. CRIME & PUNISHMENT by Fyodor Dostoevesky (Vintage Classics)

3. THE CLAMOUR KING by David Muirhead (Snowbooks)

4. ARTHUR RIMBAUD Complete Works (Harper Perennial - Modern Classics)

5. PSYCHOVILLE by Christopher Fowler (Warner Books)

6. ZEN AND THE ART OF MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE by Robert Pirsig (Vintage)

7. SPECIAL FRIENDSHIPS by Roger Peyrefitte (Secker & Warburg)

8. ATATURK The Rebirth of a Nation by Lord Kinross (Phoenix)

9. RIMBAUD by Graham Robb (Picador)

10. FREAKS, GEEKS & ASPERGER SYNDROME by Luke Jackson (Jessica Kingsley Publishers Ltd.)

COME COME AWAY

2010-09-08T01:33:00.000-07:00

And what now? Nobody told me that remembering would be so hard. It can't be done. Words are not right. Words are never enough. They never say what you want them to say. They hide rather than reveal the truth. Words are bricks. They make walls. You can hear muffled noises behind the walls, and you can never, never quite make sense of them. You feel what they should be saying but they aren't. And it's the feeling you want to recapture, remember, relive - now there's an impossibility.

The rain lashing down at Rainham as eleven boys hold out for an improbable victory in the semi-fibal of the Kent Cup. A boy losing his foster home yet again because he had tested them too far, stuffing a stolen photograph of himself and 'his' family into the little hold-all containing everything in the world he owned. Poppies dancing in Flanders fields as little white crosses stretched to the horizon. The sun dropping behind the Belmont cricket ground as a six is belted into the football field giving yet another improbable victory.

Crawling along the corridor in the dorms on the sweltering Suffolk trip flashing torchlight to convince the kids to scramble back into their bunks at one in the morning. Singing our way to and from Disneyland Paris but never actually finding the singing competition while we were there. Directing the panto 'Robin Hood' where the teachers are far more temperamental than the kids. Throwing a wobbly in Rheims and storming off to find a kebab and a few bottles of Efes Pilsen, to return to a warm-hearted welcome hardly deserved. Rounding up the kids in Swanage single-handed because my lovely 'assistants' couldn't resist 'Big Brother' and another glass of wine. Returning to the school on so many occasions; the kids bundling out of the bus smiling hugely as they collapsed in happy exhaustion into the arms of happy parents.

So are we nearly there yet? Who knows? I don't know what the end is. A beginning then? No, not a beginning either. Not a beginning, not an end. Maybe it isn't anything at all. Just another bit of the middle. And what's the point? Don't know that either. This is just who I am. And it's not written for you. It's written for me. It's just a pointer to who I am. But as soon as I write this I realize that this is not who I am - it is only a little bit of history; and it has much truth as any history has. It's the past remembered, not as it was, but as I remember it, or perhaps as I want to remember it. But I've just worked out the point of it all! The point of this little bit of history is to help me escape from my history. And maybe that's what we should all be doing - escaping from our history.

Are we nearly there yet? There's a road sign just ahead. I can just about make it out. It does not say 'retirement'. Retirement could not be further from my thoughts. And since I don't do domestic, I hate gardening, and I never listen to 'The Archers', I have no idea what to do with retirement but give me time and I'll think of something. Come late autumn I'll be back in a classroom, not sure where yet, but I can already hear children laughing so I know all will be well and all manner of things will be well.

I can't quite make out what it says on the road sign but I recognize the boy sitting beneath it. In my mind's eye I see him still - in his summer sandals and Fair Isle pullover. He is always at the edge of the picture, always silent, always thinking, always somewhere else. A dreamer, the boy lives inside his head, by far the safest place. In his head he tells himself stories, and in these stories he is always the hero, and sometimes he wonders if he will be the hero in the unfolding story of his own life. Already he knows he is an outsider, will always be an outsider, yearning for acceptance, believing the ideal exists somewhere, struggling between the spirit and the flesh, struggling to uphold the dignity and value of the individual, and ever and always longing intensely for the union of the physical and the spiritual that will bring him - home.

I reach the sign. I read it. Tears trickle down my face. I am overwhelmed by love. The boy smiles, and his smile reminds me of everything I have ever loved in my life, of everything that is of value and holy. The boy rises. He takes my hand. We walk on down the road, and, as we go, we sing: "Sing we then, comrades, With heart and with voice, Welcome thrice welcome Our bright holiday, Laverocks are murmuring Come let us rejoice, Brooklets are murmuring Come, come away… Come away… Come away!"

And, as we go, I remember... in the end there is nothing left except love.

LEADERS OF THE PACK

2010-09-08T01:31:00.000-07:00

Sixth Formers, more than most children, are pack animals. They have an instinctive need to be together; they become unhappy and neurotic when separated or isolated for any length of time. They have a well-developed social system that establishes orderly relations amongst their members, and this system must have an order and a process of communication that helps to promote order. They will not integrate with younger or older members of their kind unless compelled to, and even then they will return to the security of the pack at every opportunity. It should also be understood that Sixth Formers, like all teenagers, know everything about anything they don't have to study.

Sixth Formers quickly organise themselves into 'dominance order', commonly known as the 'pecking order'; this in itself provides a form of security. At the head of the hierarchy a leader occupies the 'alpha' position, the ultimate dominant individual, either the male or female, who directs the activities of the pack. And that leader can only be a Head of Sixth Form, an adult respected and accepted by the pack, who directs their energies and enthusiasms into productive channels.

Sixth Formers are tremendously insecure as they leave behind the security of childhood and begin to navigate the weird, wonderful and often incomprehensible world of adults. Without an alpha leader, Sixth Formers will drift, disengage and eventually depart. They need regular contact in class and outside the classroom with a leader and a group of teachers with whom they can bond. To ask 16, 17 and 18 year olds to behave like the rest of the students around them is asking them to identify with the very body they were so desperate to leave.

Let me repeat, leadership of the pack is a matter of supreme importance. The leader of the pack initiates the play/learning pattern, which direction the pack will travel, when to rest and when it is time to hunt. A well-established leader rarely has his authority challenged. He/she directs pack activities and also takes the initiative in reacting to novelty and change. The leader should be neither despotic nor democratic but a skilful combination of both.

I am intensely grateful that my final years in full-time teaching were devoted to the Sixth Form, and to my tutor group, and I will always think of them as 'JP's children'. I am also hugely grateful to the headteachers who allowed me this privilege, and the freedom to exercise this privilege as I saw fit.

YING YANG

2010-09-08T01:28:00.001-07:00

Being in the presence of hurt, bewilderment and shock is also inevitable in supporting those adults who called on my counsel as a Union representative. And it is a hurt that never heals regardless of the outcome. In all my years as a union rep never once did I come across a teacher or other member of staff who had acted maliciously or for personal gain. Yes, we can all be foolish, we can all be forgetful, we can all be careless, and we can all take every precaution and still have something go wrong. We can all mistakes - we are all human. And we are among the most vulnerable because we spend our days with children, the uniquely vulnerable.

Acting as a union rep can be a lonely business because so much has to be held in confidence, so much cannot be explained to others, so much remains secret, and nothing makes us so lonely as our secrets - and our sins against others. And yet it is a privilege to be called upon to support a colleague, to be asked for counsel, to be respected and trusted. And to reassure those in pain that this too shall pass, that all things must pass, and that as long as one can look in the mirror and like the person one sees that all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.
So onto the Sixth Form I went... at last to play the lawyer I was born to be, for it was my mother who often said to me, "You could start an argument in an empty house," to which I countered, "Yes, and I'd win the argument too."

Joining the Sixth Form is like coming home. I'm back in the classroom doing what I was born to do - make children laugh, for the soul is healed by the laughter of children. I find myself not only laughing but singing and dancing. Like Monsieur Manet I am restored to life. I shake my head, try to remember where I am and what I'm doing - St. Andrews? San Francisco? Romsey? Geneva? Istanbul? Barcelona? San Remo? Cambridge? No! I am in Whitstable. And what am I doing? Teaching in the Sixth Form! The adrenalin courses through me. It's a long time since I've been this wired. Another awfully big adventure has begun. The learning curve is steep. At times I feel I'm mounting stairs on my hands and knees, but that's fine since I'm upwardly mobile in the only sense that matters: "And I'm on my knees looking for the answer - Are we human or we dancer? You've got to let me know?"

Recently a member of staff said, "My daughter says she's never had a teacher like you." I took that as a compliment. How many students come into their class to find their teacher singing and dancing along to The Killers' "Are we human or are we dancer?" at full blast:

And so long to devotion
You taught me everything I know
Wave goodbye, wish me well
You've gotta let me go.

What's the point? I'm not sure there is any, but it's important for me to show the kids that their teacher is a man who dances - who saves lives, who carries the wounded from the battlefield, yes, but who also loves to do things that are completely pointless and beautiful, and for which the kids themselves are the only explanation, if explanation were needed. Wearing my fool's cap, I could suggest that dancing, like all our behaviour is the symbolic representation of our earliest tactile being in the world, 'the ritualistic acting out of vanished realities', and in truth one gets so wearied of playing Apollo it is a relief to let the mask slip and once again become Dionysus. Never forget it is women who are the grown-ups; men are forever boys.
Damn this mystical side of me. It takes me every now and again and leaves me hanging from the window by my finger tips, the backside out of my trousers, and - as my gran would put it - away with the fairies. But once in a while you have to do something foolish, even if only to prove you're still alive, and if you look back on your life and ask 'What did I do?', it means that you didn't do anything.

The learning curve in the Sixth Form is steep, but the teaching is easy peasy. My energy and enthusiasm communicate themselves contagiously, though I am sometimes discomfited when a student comes in and announces, "What you told us yesterday is wrong. It doesn't mean that at all. I checked it." What cheek! What nerve! What delight! I fix the impertinent wretch with a frozen smile. "Listen, you. It means whatever I say it means, and if you say it means something else that's entirely up to you. Anyway, that's what the Sixth Form is all about - independent learning. But if you're absolutely sure you know what it means, share it with the rest of us, especially me." Laughter all round. I didn't need to study Law to learn and appreciate the doctrine of vicarious liability. Unless I'm actually off on a 'frolic of my own', when the sh*t hits the fan, it's the governing body, the LEA and Kent County Council who will be splattered while I remain as fragrant as ever.

Yes, restored to life. Most days I'm back on the tennis court by 3.40. I take on a football team again. Off I go with school trips to Dorset, Suffolk and Disneyland Paris. Saturday mornings I'm off with the school choir to wherever it is we are going. And all the time I am writing, writing, writing, and once again getting paid for it. A couple of years later I glance at Amazon and discover I've written Striving for Excellence (Special Needs), Homework 2001, Literature for Life, Drama in Action, Fast Track to SATS, The Passion and the Poetry... and on my publisher's site all of these and workbooks on Educating Rita, Animal Farm, Romeo & Juliet, and others I'd forgotten I'd written.

Writing for me is a form of release and relaxation, as well as providing resources for our own students. It takes me back to those heady years as a junior reporter when I roamed the streets of Dundee - or romped through the Highland Show (my first encounter with a real live cow) and the Edinburgh Festival (where Marlene Dietrich had me thrown out of her dressing room) - determined to secure copy for the Courier & Advertiser and The Evening Telegraph before the deadline.

Who knows where this road would have taken me - for am I not a son of 'jute, jam and journalism'? - had it not been for a siren call from that haunted town by the northern sea. O, Mr. Vice Chancellor, you have much to answer for in luring me to St. Andrews when all I wanted was five hundred words and a natty photograph for the Fife editions of D.C. Thomson's newspapers. That hand on my knee was surely the hand of destiny.

LET ME NOT BE MISUNDERSTOOD

2010-09-08T01:26:00.001-07:00

"I'm just a soul whose intentions are good."

Let me not be misunderstood. It was heart-breaking to leave Special Needs behind. Five marvellous years with so many marvellous people. So much fun, so much laughter, so much good. And what I left behind would be the better for being imperfect, inadequate and vulnerable to distortion. Remember me, if at all, as a soul whose intentions were good, and, that given, by all means let me be misunderstood. Who says some things are impossible. The people in my SEN department did the impossible every day, and did it with glorious good-humour.

Let me not give the impression that being SECNO for five years was an unalloyed pleasure. One is in the presence of grief, bewilderment and hurt too often for that, as parents, guardians, teachers, social services and a host of others try their best to support the neediest of children. To their immeasurable credit, this school, no matter how named, in which you now serve has always kept its doors open to these children while others have closed the doors in their faces.

This is a privilege not a burden. And to help some of those children get through a day, a week, a term, a year, five years of schooling counts as much as helping academically and emotionally secure children achieve their five, six, seven, eight, nine starred GCSEs. They are all children; they are all of equal worth. Understandably, it is my SEN waifs and strays that will always have a particular place in heart. They are the ones with whom I shared so many tears, so much laughter. I remember all of them. I miss them. I salute them.

And I can give no more profound advice than that given by a boy with Asperger's: "... whatever you are doing, believe in yourself, keep your nose to the grindstone and your head above water. If you find yourself sinking then stop, take a breather and remember it isn't over until the fat lady sings!" (Luke Jackson, age 13)

ALL CHANGE YET AGAIN

2010-09-08T01:25:00.000-07:00

My seven-year-itch arrived two years early. The team remained wonderful, the kids even more so. But I had changed. I could plead burn-out. In reality it was boredom. The Scots have a word for it. I was 'scunnered' - too much of a good thing had blunted, dulled and finally destroyed my appetite for the endless round of meetings, consultations and conferences that bedevil the SENCO's life. Meat and drink to some, but to me as welcome as rancid haggis. We'd set up a system that worked. If only it would run itself and allow me to do what I'm born to do: work with kids.

Nor was boredom the only engine of change; there was also an arrogance born out of boredom. The Scots have a word for it. The word is 'puddock' - someone who rises in arrogance, only to fall flat on his face - and I was making a right puddock of myself on far too many occasions. I can pinpoint the moment I knew it was over. Carer and child had just left our office. I turned to my 'partner' - "Did I actually say what I think I said?" She nodded. "Did I just behave the way I think I behaved?" She nodded. "It can't go on like this, can it?" She shook her head, "No, it can't."
A dark night of the soul was followed by a bright dawn. Though the sky was unsure of its mood, I was not. I was light-hearted. I had made the right decision. I sought the headteacher.

"I can't be SENCO anymore."

"You sure?"

"Yep, absolutely sure."

"Ok then. What do you want to do now?"

"I'm leaving. I'm going to go and work in Canterbury."

"No, you're not. You're staying here. CCW needs you." Although the headteacher bore but a passing resemblance to Lord Kitchener, he'd used precisely the same ploy. To be needed! What human being or donkey can resist that carrot?!

"Develop what?"

"Go and develop the Sixth Form. We're losing too many students. Go and find out what they want and give it to them." The headteacher looked me straight in the eye and gave me a firm handshake. I knew he must be hiding something.

This is an opportune moment to record that every headteacher I have worked with has, to me personally, been fair and generous, at times absurdly so. In return, my advice has always been available, and the more they have heeded my advice, the more effective they seemed to become. I say 'seemed' since the relationship between my advice and their effectiveness was, as ever, correlative rather than causal.

Off I trotted and returned with the news that I'd be teaching GCE Psychology and English Language and Literature in September, the latter because, as the Head of English put it, "Nobody else wants to do it." As Holmes himself nearly put it, having eliminated the impossible, whatever remained, however improbable, was what we were left with.

The headteacher decided to include the impossible with, "And add A Level Law. The academic kids will like that."

Momentarily flustered, I blurted, "I haven't opened a Law book in my life," to be met with, "If you decide to do it, you'll manage. Off you go. I've got some hot potatoes to sort out."

SANITY WOULD DRIVE ME CRAZY

2010-09-08T01:22:00.000-07:00

The truth is, I've never been right in the head. But who has? Who is? I may not charge windmills, but at least I dream of charging them. The truth is, no SENCO can succeed if he is not daft enough to attempt the impossible on a daily basis. And so like a latter day Don Quixote, I took up my sword and lance, mounted the faithful Rocinante, and, backed from the rear by the somewhat befuddled Sancho Panza, set out to defend the helpless and destroy the wicked, though it was often difficult to determine which was which; and all in the name of the fair Dulcinea del Toboso, whom I envisioned as a fair princess, though, in truth, she spent most of her days labouring over hot potatoes.

Twenty four fair ladies, two squires, and I am off to set the world of Special Needs aright. Oh, those Thursday mornings when the entire team settled round a table and shared the nuggets we'd dug from the gold mines of information. Nothing is more reliable than gossip. And, joy of joys, the meetings ran themselves leaving me little to do but dunk another ginger snap into my Tetley tea and ponder how I could screw another Statement out of the LEA, for with another Statement I could purchase yet another LSA to sustain my dream of empire. Oh, how I loved to take issue with the LEA who were as naught to a Scot who could happily take issue with his own shadow. Incensed with indignation I blazed through Clover House like a comet!

And to those who say I did it only because I could finish at 3.30 each day, or zoom off to the footie at 2, or have afternoon tea in the Tudor Rooms, I say... well, why not? I had a staggeringly diverse and brilliant team; they did not need me leaning over their shoulders breathing down their necks; they did not need to second-guess what would or would not please me; they did what they thought was right, and more often than not what they thought was right was right.

I am fortunate enough to have worked with many good managers, the best of whom told me, "Paul, get the best people you can for the job. Set out the targets and goals clearly. Then let them get on with it. You are there to advise and support, not to do the job for them." Anyway it's pointless trying to tell me what to do. I never appear in anybody's movie but my own, and I never take anybody else's direction but mine. Anything else becomes a Mexican stand-off and, believe me, I don't blink.

Over the five years do we fail or do we succeed at making something special in providing for Special Needs at SWNS? We may not wholly succeed but we do not wholly fail, and, anyway, on the way to failure at something great, one sometimes succeeds at doing something good. We did not succeed on the first OFSTED inspection, some six weeks after I took over, but the Inspector for Special Needs took me into a room, sat and me down and said, "Don't tell anyone I'm doing this, but here's what you need to do." Unfortunately, the next hour was devoted to the school's special needs, not mine. She sat me down and drew up a ten-point plan I should implement over the next few months. Her final comment: "You've got the team to do it. Now get on with it." So wherever you are, dear lady, I send you my heartfelt gratitude.

In our second OFSTED inspection we are rated 'outstanding', in the depth and quality of provision not only for the students we officially support but for the school in general. Yet I am not entirely happy. You see, my 'partner' and I have set up the most marvellous systems of assessment, analysis, individual education plans, global needs and global strategies, solution-focussed approaches, school-based reviews, and a framework for the future. (If you must yawn, at least yawn discreetly.) The Inspector more or less ignores these: (a) on the grounds that he doesn't like computers, and (b) it's what we do for the kids that matters. So much for assessment for learning! No matter what he says I shall continue to weigh the piglets though it makes no difference to the taste. Who knows, they might even come to enjoy it. The truth is, this gentleman of certain years is fixated on our literacy and numeracy groups, or rather on the fair damsels who teach them so admirably. Hour after hour, class after class, he sits amongst them declining my invitation to inspect our new all-singing all-dancing data base. Spit! So don't sing the virtues of OFSTED to me. Each OFSTED inspection has its own agenda; and if it is not my agenda, stuff it! When I want OFSTED's opinion, I'll give it to them.

OFSTED is, of course, no longer as we knew it. OFSTED inspectors now remind me of nothing so much as bluebottles buzzing busily round a pasture frantically searching for a cowpat. The greatest of things can hang by the slenderest of threads, and to have the reputation and future of a school hang on a judgement arrived in what amounts to a day-and-half visit is unreliable, invalid, mean, cruel and unspeakable. By definition one cannot speak of the unspeakable; therefore I will remain silent - but not forever, and not for long.

SENCO? WHO - ME? YES - YOU!

2010-09-08T01:19:00.000-07:00

The year is 199something-or-other. I'm standing at the door of my English classroom ushering in my Year 10 'low ability' set; all boys. I'm slightly nervous; no, I'm very nervous. Sitting at the back of my classroom is a tiny but formidable lady dressed in pink. Barbara Cartland! No - an OFSTED inspector, and she is here to inspect me. As each boy comes in, he hands me the equivalent of an SSP - 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12... I need one more boy to complete the set. I turn to the class, wave a handful of SSPs, and quip, "Well, if Benny comes in on SSP, we'll have the full deck." At that moment Benny falls into class gasping, "Sorry, sir, detention, sir," and hands me his SSP.
The theme of the lesson is 'Crime and Punishment'. This turns out to be well-chosen since the inspector is not only an ex-headteacher but a local magistrate. Oddly enough, this is the only occasion in my brilliant career I've been inspected in class by OFSTED. In the end, I gave up preparing one-off, all singing-all dancing lessons and relied on the WYSIWYG approach. This has served me well; I haven't exhausted myself and no inspector has been disappointed since none has ever shown up.

My inspection went well, but that of the school did not. We avoided special measures but were held to have significant weaknesses. The bells of change went ding-a-ling-a-ling. Of course in education change is inevitable - except from vending machines - and all around us managers girded their loins and got on with it. Some managed by walking faster than the rest of the staff, some by staring at computer screens; some managed by conceptual thinking, some by delegation to their secretary; some managed by reorganisation, some by staying one step behind the boss; some managed by complete ignorance, and some by smiling and wearing nice suits.

As ever, I avoided management and anything that smacked of a career opportunity; I'd refused to wear a suit when getting married, and I certainly wasn't going to wear one now. I even hope to resist wearing a suit when I'm laid out for theta final rest. Who wants to spend eternity in a suit? As W.A. says: Eternity is a long long time, especially as you get near the end of it.

Up in the staff room goes a notice: SENCO required. I haven't much idea what a SENCO is or does, but frankly I'm bored with running the English department, possibly because my deputy seems as happy as a piglet in mud running it for me. I need a fresh challenge, even if it involves a stupid risk, for as the great man himself says, "Taking stupid risks is what makes life worth living," and even if it involves jumping off a cliff, I may have time to build wings on the way down.

I scribble off a few lines to the headteacher and am duly summoned to her office. "Are you serious?" she asks me. "I think I am," say I. And 15 minutes later, that is that. Out with the old, in with the new. I scamper down to my Deputy. I extend my hand. He shakes it, then warily asks, "What's this about?" I fix him with my glittering eye and quoth, "You, my lad, are, after Easter, Head of English, and I'm off to be SENCO."

"Are you serious?" he asks, as ever declining to take me as seriously as I take myself. "You - Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator?"
"I am! That I am!" I insist. "Now have you booked the lunches?" This being a Friday the English Department trots off together for a pub lunch over-looking Tankerton Slopes.

SENCO! Special Needs! And all mine. It's enough to make a cat laugh. Without pressing the analogy too far, I felt like Charlie Chaplin in 'The Great Dictator' spinning the globe on his middle finger. Not that I had that much to dictate to. Five or was it six staff in the Special Needs department? A big empty room in the then Art Block. But I had only three hours a week classroom teaching, and as far as I knew only a handful of kids on the Special Needs Register. Oh well, che sera sera, I trill, in perfect imitation of Doris Day, as I skip down Smokers' Alley. I've no idea where this decision will lead, but does anyone ever know where anything will lead? To that question, the answer is always No.

There follows five intensely happy years. My 'staff' know what has to be done; they've only been waiting to be given the chance to do it. I recall the departing SENCO saying, "Well, you're the last person I'd've given the job to, but now that you've got it 'Good luck'." I don't need luck; I need the team I've inherited. The procedure is simple - they tell me what needs to be done and that's what we go ahead and do. When you recognise talent, give it its head. Set the guidelines and let the folk get on with it. People love freedom, responsibility, autonomy together with a 'boss' whose hand is lightly on the tiller when required. Backs are straighter, heads held higher, footsteps lighter. Nothing crushes the spirit as much as micro-management.

Easy-peasy, then? No, not at all. GM status, or rather non-GM status, has opened the floodgates, and within two or so years our 17.5% has jumped to over 35% on the SEN register. We could well be over the Event Horizon, endlessly falling into a Black Hole from which there is no escape. We are also into the Age of Accountability, an Ice Age of the Soul, where everyone is terrified of 'getting it wrong', and exhaust themselves filling in endless forms to demonstrate it 'wasn't my fault'. And with the doubling of SEN kids comes an exponential increase in the paperwork required. An administrative Hell was upon me!

The question was, what was I going to do about it? Well, I'll tell you what I did about it. I found someone who could do it far better than I could. Serendipity. You see, there are always capable women at hand, and, though the devil's never far behind, I've always thrown myself on the kindness of women. It is no secret, except to the vast majority of men, that the way to a woman's heart is to look utterly helpless.

Within a few months, I'd augmented the team from six to twenty six, including two capable gentlemen as tokens of their gender. Amongst my ladies I found one in particular who could take on the administrative tasks I hated and do them with spectacular competency. But of course competency is never enough. My 'partner' - for that's what we were - had to put up with me and my mildly manic-depressive disposition. Ah, but these were the manic years, so much to do, so little time to do it, and so much support around us with which to do it.

TO MEET OR NOT TO MEET? DON'T MEET!

2010-09-08T01:11:00.000-07:00

I've inevitably become something of an expert on meetings after what seems a lifetime of staff meetings, governors' meetings, department meetings, RAL meetings, union meetings, CPD, leading from the middle, leading from the front, leading from the rear, and leading from "where the hell are we now?" meetings. But I'm rarely able to forget that Rome did not create an empire by having meetings. The Romans did it by killing all those who opposed them, though I've never understood a policy that dictates beatings until morale improves. Meetings generally ensure that a problem shared is a problem multiplied, but at least a meeting ensures that everyone has a fair chance at being incompetent.

Meetings blether on about teamwork and ownership, a neat way of never having to take the blame yourself. They are also a way of avoiding responsibility; never forget what you don't do today will become someone else's responsibility tomorrow. Be patient! Responsibility is like swine flu: it's vastly over-rated, and if you wait long enough it will either fade away or pass you altogether. Sit there, quietly, but with the attentive expression of a dumb dog alert in case a biscuit is on offer. Above all, never argue with idiots. They drag you down to their level, and then beat you with experience. Incidentally, no offence where none intended.

Now let's get something straight: I am neither advising nor telling people what to do. I accept that if you've got lots of managers you've got to find something for them to manage! What's the point of being a Chief if you're doing exactly the same as the Ten Little Indians? But so much energy is drained from the art and act of teaching that students end up with precious little of YOU if your energies and enthusiasms have been drained away by the vampires of bureaucracy.

I have been incredibly fortunate that at the Nottidge/CCW I've been pretty well left to my own devices, though perhaps not for the reasons I've taken pleasure in. Generally, I've been pointed like an Exocet missile at the problem and left to get on with it. On reflection, that's the approach adopted towards me in every school where I've taught. Does that say more about me than it does about the schools?

This does not mean I've always got things right; I'm only human (discuss) and I get things wrong; it's part of the package. I can only hope I've done more good than harm. And what is the test of that? For me it isn't 5 A*-Cs, important though that may be, but it is men and women after 20 years, sometimes after 40, coming up to me with a big smile saying, "You won't remember me, but...." Ah, but I do. It is the person not the output that matters to me. If I've made someone's world just a bit happier, job done! Yes, what I shall miss most about teaching is laughter, and above all the laughter of children.

I have promised practical advice so... Whenever I have led a Department, I have made it my practice to write the minutes in advance. Then at the meeting I read out the minutes that we then discuss and amend as agreed. AOB is usually coffee and biscuits at which the real work gets done. Everyone trots off happily while I remain to a create an Agenda whose outcome is the Minutes we have agreed on. The following morning I send copies of the the Agenda and the Minutes to all involved, including my line manager who is delighted that everything, as usual, is in excellent order.

LET'S DO THE ODYSSEY!

2010-09-08T01:05:00.000-07:00

Head of Drama and Second in English... prancing around in the Hall instructing children to be trees, suspension bridges, the Eiffel Tower or whatever crackpot idea comes into my head. "And today we will dramatise... 'The Odyssey'!" and not a lesson plan in sight. The children happy, fulfilled, exhausted. And, as I bark out increasingly eccentric commands, the headteacher sails like a stately Spanish galleon into the Hall saying, "Now that's the voice of a real teacher!"

Today the same children accost me in the High Street with joyous shouts of "Bong!" - my way of gaining their attentive silence during drama activities.

To this is added a gifted set of young athletes generously handed over to me by the P.E. department after I have announced to them that I am the Brian Clough of schools' football. More Spain than Holland, these Year 7 boys skip their way to the final of the Under-12s Kent Cup under a full moon at the Belmont Stadium before 500 paying customers. They lose but it is recorded in the Kent Schools' Football Association Handbook 1990 that 'they emerged cheerful from the dressing room at the end of the game to reflect positively on an enjoyable season.'

Losing hurt, but not much in the grand scheme of things. What mattered was they enjoyed their football, played fairly at all times, took pride in themselves, and laughed, win or lose, all the way home. And how had it been done? Through their skills, commitment, application, enthusiasm - and not a little tough love kindly applied though rarely necessary.

The same bunch of lads sweeps me along into the cricket season and then proceed to sweep all before them, including the grammar schools. Unknown to me, they are already accomplished young cricketers, attached either to Chestfield or Whitstable Cricket Club, and receiving proper coaching twice a week. This produces that rarest of anomalies, a successful Scottish cricket manager, though I am regularly to be seen running to the P.E. department begging them to explain the LBW rule to me 'one more time'.

I am not always successful in my judgements and recall being frowned at severely by members of staff, including a Deputy Head, when I umpired the annual staff-student cricket match at the Belmont. The words were unspoken but, o, how they rang in the air: "JP, you cannot be serious!" But my finger was raised, and my raised finger is the Law - whichever finger it may be! Realistically, you cannot expect kilted men to take seriously a sport that requires players to assume such indecent postures.

The football, if not the cricket, goes on and on and on... till at the age of 61 I find myself one wet, cold, blustery, muddy afternoon as darkness falls, trying to run up and down the infamous Nottidge slope waving a whistle and dragging my gammy leg behind me. We troop from the field looking like monkeys caught in the rain, and I make a decision. Next morning I inform the Head of P.E., "That's it. Count me out in September." And one of the happiest chapters in my life as a teacher closes.

I describe my involvement in sport at some length because it encapsulates my attitude and approach to teaching: fun, confidence, preparation, discipline (preferably self-discipline), consistency - not conformity! - and the application of tough love as and when required. I have no time for targets, goals, statistics, forecasts, assessment for learning, and all the pernicious twaddle that has smothered the joy of teaching. I pay it lip-service when I have to but in my heart, and more to the point in my intellect, I know how destructive and corrosive it is. I have sat through too many CPD sessions and Staff Meetings observing the glazed stares of the huddled, or the twitching of the apprehensive, who, like cows sniffing the air of an approaching storm, sense imminent disaster.

I tick all the 'smiley faces' anyway because I know those who are presenting have the best of intentions, and, as the Bible says, 'sufficient unto the day are the evils there of.' I do not see it as my function to add even more at the end of the day. Yet, so many who witnessed my flare-ups at meetings failed to understand their nature - it was not rage, it was desperate boredom. Few teachers ever drop dead from overwork, but many quietly curl up and die when half way through a meeting, particularly when the outcome is to have a follow-up meeting.

WHAT REALLY MATTERS

2010-09-07T04:46:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have begun to worry you have embarked on an autobiographical epic, have no fear, you have not; though it has to be said that autobiography is the finest way for telling the truth about other people. I have no plans for such - telling the truth - at the moment. And, of course, you have the security of the delete key approximately three inches away. How easy to silence my voice at the tap of a key.

However, I will try to give a more or less accurate account on the principle that it is better to be a first rate version of oneself than a second rate version of someone else. I will also try to avoid the weakness of the professional scribbler - the tendency to make much ado about very little, to see significance where none exists, to dramatise the perfectly ordinary.

So we are both spared a protracted blog. I say 'both' because for me blogging seems to be a sort of love affair, easy to start but devilishly difficult to put an end to. Rather I present you with what we Scots call the fullness of absence, choosing not to inflict my memories on you. So many memories; it would take a hypnotist to recover half of them. Of course it might give me pleasure to stand before you and unburden myself, but I would have to be terribly selective in my choice since convention demands that one says nothing significant, nothing meaningful. In the world of farewell speeches, everything is for the best in the best of all possible worlds, and who am I to tamper with tradition?

And then there is the vino, and in the vino there may be veritas. And one should never indulge in too much vino or too much veritas in front of those upon whom you might depend for your next reference. A finer wordsmith than I reminds us that humankind cannot bear too much truth. I quite like humankind; after all they are my species, though I prefer them in small numbers. However, even in my cups, or especially in my cups, it would merely be my version of the truth; we all have our own versions because each night we have to sleep with ourselves even though a beloved may be within touching distance. And I would not wish to cause hurt. It would only be my truth; it wouldn't have to mean anything. I've long ago abandoned any search for meaning but I retain a profound set of values; and of values and virtues, the greatest by far is kindness. Note I say values rather than principles. I've never been good at living by my principles and gave up trying many years ago. Better to be kind than right.

I must be careful; unkindness outrages me; the veneer falls away and the Son of Wallace stands revealed. I recall a headteacher at a governors' meeting saying, "Well, I think I might have tamed JP." I fell about laughing. How could any headteacher, any figure of authority, 'tame' me when I've always been unable to tame myself? How easy life would be if I kept my mouth shut, said 'Yes, sir, yes, ma'am', took the rewards, and climbed the greasy pole.

Alas, for me, something will not let me. A voice sounds in my head, "That's WRONG," and the tartan mist comes down. I was taught at Ancrum Road Primary School that to change the world you must first change yourself. And how is this best done? By choosing at every opportunity to do the kindest thing. It may be a road less travelled but it's the only road I know. And that's what really matters.

IN THE BEGINNING

2010-09-07T02:45:00.000-07:00

I'd like to grab your attention with some unforgettable lines. Perhaps something lyric such as , 'It was a sunny day in July and the Whitstable station clock was striking thirteen.' Or if I could not do lyric, then something sweeping like, 'All happy schools are alike, but every unhappy school is unhappy in its own way.' Or perhaps something intriguing such as, 'Someone must have slandered JP, because one morning, without his having done anything wrong, he was summoned by the Head.' Or if I could not intrigue my audience, I could at least grab their attention with, 'This is the funniest story I have ever heard.' All water under the bridge now of course, so I'll settle for, 'A sunny morning in July 1989," and get on with it.

A sunny morning in July 1989. I detrain at Whitstable Railway Station, scan my map and make my way to the interview arranged the day before. I stroll up Downes Avenue. What do I know about Whitstable? Nothing. And I know even less about the Sir William Nottidge School, but it may serve as a temporary refuge until I find a place in Canterbury which I do know well. As I stroll up the hill, I sing and whistle the old school summer song drummed into us at the Harris Academy for the Sons of Gentlefolk by the banks of the silvery Tay.

Hurrah for the heath-clad mountains
Hurrah for the whins' hoarse roar
Hurrah for the sandy fountains
Hurrah for the sandy shore
Hurrah for the sandy shore
(more of which later)

For those of you who are wondering what 'whins' are or how 'fountains' can be sandy, join the legions who have left the Harris wondering exactly the same thing. However, we neither wondered nor questioned; we were ordered to memorise and regurgitate on request, so less has changed in education than you might think. But the song has an irresistibly jaunty air and I am inclined to sing, hum or whistle it in times of happiness or of stress. No doubt I shall sing, hum or whistle it later today as I wander down Downes Avenue. The Harris song captures for me the spirit of summer and for me it is always summer. For most people the first thirty years of their life are lived, the remainder only dreamed. I am fortunate that I've managed to live the first sixty five years of mine wide awake if not always fully alert.

I do not get the job and, for you as well as for me, it might have ended there. I do not get the job I am interviewed for; I get a different job, not Head of English but Head of Drama, with second in English thrown in for good measure. And as I've been pursued along Bellevue Road by the headteacher, and having been brought up not to disappoint a lady if it can be helped, I've little choice but to accept the offer. I travel back to London knowing once again I've jumped on the nearest passing bus; no matter; I never spend my life waiting for buses that might never come. Neither do I ever fear the future. Yes it's true that every new day is the first day of the rest of your life, but it can equally be the last day of the rest of your life, so make the most of it!

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