Category: resources

I wholeheartedly believe that learning a language shouldn’t be a ‘bolt on’ but part of the curriculum as a whole, and I am therefore always on the look out for new ideas.

I found this short video clip on Youtube earlier and it started me thinking. Again! httpv://youtu.be/58IoBEoNyWQ

Whilst I’m not sure that this is something that could be done at the moment given the weather reports I’m seeing, it’s certainly an interesting idea and it could be completed using the second clip. Just use a stopwatch and count for 10 or 60 seconds then complete the sum to find out how hot it was when that film was recorded.

httpv://youtu.be/CQFEY9RIRJA

I’ve blogged before about teaching Maths in Spanish and I also taught Maths in Spanish during my last observation at WCPS. I can’t believe I didn’t blog it but I’ve uploaded the plan and resources below.

table names (2D shapes in Spanish)

Ratio definition

Proportion definition

Lesson plan – Razones y proporciones

Worksheet for círculos y triángulos

Worksheet – pentágonos y cuadrados

Worksheet – hexágonos

Since then I’ve found a few more things that look quite useful.

¿Quién quiere pizza? is a series of lessons by Cynthis Lanius on fractions. It’s also available in English. Each ‘lesson’ gives a short explanation then poses four or five multiple choice questions. Answer the questions and then receive your score at the bottom of the page including the correct answers.

Cynthia also offers some counting activities in Spanish that you could easily use with much younger learners, counting things, saying which is more, and completing sequences. And finally, a more advanced type of Maths linked to Science – in La tina caliente learners work on interpreting graphs

Then there’s  Maggie’s Earth Adventures. These activities from Scholastic are also offered in both English and Spanish.

In El Dilema de Dude you must rescue Dude the dog from the roof by solving sums in Spanish. Every sum solved takes your helicopter closer to Dude. You can choose which operation you wish to practice – or you can choose a mix – and also the level at which you play.

In a similar vein, in ¡Alrededor del Mundo en 80 segundos! you travel around the world by solving sums. You must do it quickly or you’ll not make it home!

And then there’s a brilliant Science activity that involves labelling. In Diagramando a la ciencia  learners see a diagram and then have to label it for themselves. Included are things like parts of a plant, the layers of the earth and parts of a fish.  Good resources to use to reinforce learning.

There are others activities here too worth investigating – code breaking, a Spanish vocabulary game and a grammar game too.

Other links –

a Maths terms worksheet 

Maths glossary (far more information than you’d need in a primary classroom!)

much more simple maths terms

Logic puzzles for Year 7 from the inimitable Rachel Hawkes

On the Juegos Educ.ar site, Cuenta con cuentos and Cuentos y leyendas are both word puzzles. Figuras geométricas is a simple matching activity.

And how about the Matemáticas section here for some simple fun activities, or the site of Colegio Público San José de Calasanz for some Maths appropriate for KS2.

And finally, lots of activities here on RinconMaestro plus some good word puzzles – Problemas – on Aprendiendomates.

How’s that to keep you going? Need to find more science links now…

So the Olympics are finally here. The Opening Ceremony is tonight (although the action has already started with football!) so why not have a look at the Spanish page on London2012 and start identifying the Spanish participants in the Games.

Just for fun –

Who are these people?

In which sports do they compete?

And which one of them is carrying the Spanish flag in the opening ceremony?

You can also access information about the team on the Comite Olímpico Español (Spanish Olympic Committee) website.

And if you are (by any chance!) teaching Spanish at the moment, why not check out these resources to help you!

TES Olympics set scroll to Spanish

MFL Sunderland Olympic resources

Linked In project on using Olympics French and Spanish

MFLHampshire wiki has lots of ideas too!

And of course, let’s not forget that Spanish is spoken by many countries other than Spain! Check out Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Panama, Venezuela and many others!

¡Que comiencen los Juegos!

Today a new part of the Birmingham Grid for Learning (BGfL) website was launched. After a long wait, the Birmingham Primary Language (BPL) website was unveiled.

Offering sections of guidance, useful weblinks, documentation and training opportunities for coordinators and class teachers as well as a growing bank of downloadable resources including sound files, there’s plenty to investigate.  The site is in its infancy but will hopefully grow and grow, especially if the Primary Language teachers of Birmingham volunteer resources and ideas to add to the bank.

Lisibo’s been shopping again.  This time, though, it’s not IKEA that has inspired her but TK Maxx that has come up trumps.

In the sale (!) I found this Very Hungry Caterpillar felt set.

Ideal for –

• telling the story to the class
• getting pupils to follow the story actively by adding / moving/ substituting the felt pieces
• animating – and because it’s a felt board, you can do it horizontally or vertically
• small group work
• independent play

Sad that Year 3 have finished with that story for the year and we’ll have to wait until next September to ry it out with them.  perhaps it’s time I invaded Foundation stage again…

The Hungry Caterpillar is a great story to use with kids as it’s familiar and repetitive.  The vocabulary is simple and everyday – numbers, colours, food – and it looks at healthy eating as well as the life cycle of the caterpillar / butterfly, so very cross curricular!

There are great resources all over the place for this story including

• videos on Youtube – one two three
• a whole series of lessons here
• a page full of ideas here
• a lovely song here – with music file too
• a powerpoint of the story in Spanish
• a PDF of a teaching sequence including cross curricular links
• another PDF with ideas and the pattern for a caterpillar mobile
• some art / craft activities to do with butterflies and caterpillars

And that’s just gleaned from a quick Google search!

A tweet the other day about a visit to IKEA and the purchase of hats and things reminded me that I hadn’t shared my latest purchase from the great Swedish home of fun!

Those who have been reading ¡Vámonos! for a while will know that I am a great fan of IKEA for resources that can be used in teaching languages (and other things too!)

Last time I went I bought a fruit punnet and vegetable basket and this purchase continues on the food theme.

How might I use this IKEA breakfast set?

Well apart from naming the items of food e.g. pan, un huevo frito, salchichas, queso, beicon – if that’s how you spell it now ;o) – etc, you could use this set to work on negative sentences ‘Para desayunar, tomo un huevo frito’ Para desayunar no tomo salchichas.’  Or you could introduce phrases of frequency  e.g. ‘Normalmente, como pan tostado para el desayuno’, ‘A veces desayuno un huevo frito y beicon’, ‘Nunca como tortitas/panqueques’. Opinions would also work.

Alternatively you could use it for some intercultural understanding and comparison of eating habits. What is a typical English breakfast?  What would an American eat for breakfast?  And in Spain? France?  And that allows opinions too!

Think they need to add some yoghurt, cereal and some drinks to the set!

Wonder what I’ll find on my next visit?

I am a great fan of IKEA.

As I have shared before, I find it a goldmine for teaching resources.

On my latest visit, I made a couple of purchases-

1. finger puppets

Great for speaking tasks to encourage reluctant speakers, to encourage imagination and to ‘distract’ from repetitious or disliked activities.  This set add to my already large collection of animals, fairytale characters, sea creatures and other random puppets I’ve gleaned from parties, charity shops and toyboxes!

2. fruit and vegetable punnets

These were my favourite find this time.  Soft fruit – banana, grapes, kiwi, orange, apple and watermelon – and vegetables – leek, carrots, cucumber, mushrooms, garlic, tomatoes and lettuce- in a punnet / basket.

Just the thing for –

• discussing fruit and vegetables
• looking at colour
• talking about healthy eating
• giving opinions – I like / dislike and why
• reenacting stories – Handa’s Surprise, The Hungry Caterpillar – or writing your own

and I’m sure there are more things that could be done with them given more than 10 seconds thought!  If you’ve got any ideas, leave a comment below!

Here is the Slidecast of my second presentation from Brighton.

Apologies for the audio cutting out before the end – no idea what happened there!  Perhaps the iRiver overheated!

Apologies to @wizenedcrone for forgetting her real name – it’s Fiona Joyce!!!

And the German site I mentioned was called GenkiGerman.

Wondering if any of you would like to add to a debate I’m having at the moment re QCA schemes for KS2. I’m trying to help someone choose the best way to present materials on a site to satisfy as many Primary MFL teachers as possible. Having drawn their attention to the KS2 Framework and the QCA units and their thematic and skills rather than topic based approach, they’re now in a quandary as to how to best present things.

I received notification a few days ago that the latest edition of the Primary languages ezine is available on the Primary Languages website.
All about cross curricular links this time, Ruth Churchill from CILT says-

articles include integrating languages with work on mini beasts, keeping fit, growing sunflowers and music. There are also features on CLIL (Content Language Integrated Learning) from the University of Nottingham’s Dr Philip Hood and a research project involving French and the Tudors. All this with the latest news and resources.

Visit the primary languages website to read the latest issues online and find out how to subscribe to automatically receive future issues for free: www.primarylanguages.org.uk/link/ezine.aspx

Lots there to give you ideas ready for September – and links to more advice and ideas if you can’t get enough!

Received an e-mail from CILT today with the latest copy of the Primary Languages e-Zine.

This online magazine contains news of QCA units, CILT publications and more, and also takes a topic for consideration.

The focus for this edition is STORYTELLING with ideas of how to get started, how to move on and how it fits into the Primary Curriculum and some ideas for resources as CILT staff choose their favourite books.

There’s also a section called ‘What you’re doing‘ which contains reports on how various people have used storytelling in the Primary language classroom – including Handa’s Surprise, Jules Verne and Go away Big Green Monster – written by someone you might know ;o) – as well as ideas for where to obtain *free* resources for storytelling and what research says about the use of stories.

Well worth a read!