Powerpoint Presentation for Language Assistants

What every Language assistant
needs to know to help prepare
official exams.

Language assistant powerpoint (I hope it works)
circle game q's for Trinity/KET
Circle game past tense verbs 

THANKYOU FOR BEING SUCH A GREAT AUDIENCE.  IT WAS A PLEASURE TO SHARE A RAINY SATURDAY MORNING WITH YOU ALL.
Pharrel Williams Happy Barrier Game

So I hope you’re all having a great long weekend. Here are some nice grammar sites you might want to take a look at for your students.

Best ESL Kids Resources

• Jolly phonics  A great system for teaching phonics (Jolly Phonics) available for purchase or free videos on youtube

• PEPA PIG A great cartoon for kids learning English, this is the site but videos can be found on youtube.
• Teach Children ESL: Worksheets, flashcards, games & songs– no registration!
• Sparklebox.com (this is the one I couldn't remember in the session whose author is now in jail).  Wonderful for phonics!!!Mini books decodable for free downloading.
• Educima: (In Spanish) A great site full of printable pictures to color or use as speaking materials!
• ESL Kids: Flashcards, worksheets, songs & games– you can create your own worksheets with their tool!
• We Give Books: Amazing site to read childrens’ books online! Different levels, perfect for smartboards, new titles & easy to use!
• Super Simple Songs: Excellent & fun songs for kids made by ESL teachers. Available for purchase but also free on youtube.
• Cookie: Awesome & creative site with online games, stories, and activities for children (not printables).
• Chateau Meddybemps: Creative games and stories to play with children online (not printables).
• ESL Galaxy: Hard to navigate, but almost 2,500 free printable worksheets!
• ESL Kids World: Worksheets, songs, powerpoints, online games, flashcards and more– all free!
• English 4 Kids: Difficult to navigate (lots of ads) but some decent free ESL worksheets.
• Bogglesworld ESL: Excellent site with lots of free ESL lesson plans and worksheets.
• Anglomaniacy: Excellent site full of free ESL materials, ESL printables, and online ESL games.
• Stickyball: A site with lots of free materials and the option to purchase their ESL books.
• Mes English: Free ESL printables and activities for kids.
• ESL HQ: Hard to navigate but lots of good materials uploaded by other ESL teachers!
• Learning Chocolate: A really cool, interactive site to learn vocabulary.
• Grammarman Comic: Teaching ESL with fun comics!
• Nick Jr: We often forget to look at non ESL materials! Nick Jr. has some great printables and fun games for kids.

 bbc.co.uk   Excellent  interactive website for young learners

and this you tube video you should see!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neslRBRo_wc

These are for science and maths

http://www.what2learn.com

This site is great for maths.  ( I definately have to spend some time here)

http://sciencereviewgames.com/srg/

 

This is great for science for now and in the coming years

http://www.powerupthegame.org/

This one is excellent for learning about ecology

Grammar for you

THIS IS A BARRIER GAME FOR THE BONES TOPIC

Bones Barrier Game Student 1

Fill in the missing lines of your poem. 

Do not look at your partner’s poem and don’t forget punctuation marks.

You begin…………………..

Line 1. Last night,  A thief, Broke into my home,

Line 2------------------------------------------------------------

Line 3 “Give me my bone back!” I screamed at the thief,

Line 4 --------------------------------------------------------------

Line 5 I use all my bones, To keep me alive! I need 206! Not 205!

Line 6………………………………………………………………

Line 7 I’ve got a ball game, I need it to pitch!

Line 8……………………………………………………………….

Line 9 Where heart, kidneys, lungs, And others reside!

Line 10………………………………………………………………

 Line 11   And finally he gave it .  What a relief…

Line 12  ……………………………………………………

Line 13 Now the right bones, Are in my right arm...

Bones Barrier Game

Fill in the missing lines of your poem

Your partner will begin.  Do not look at your partner’s poem and don’t forget punctuation marks.

Line 1………………………………………………………………………

Line 2    Came to my room,  And stole my arm’s bone...

Line 3………………………………………………………………………

Line 4  I need all my bones, Like a branch, Needs a leaf!

Line 5…………………………………………………………………

Line 6   Give me my bone, It’s calcium rich,

Line 7……………………………………………………………………

Line 8  Supporting my body,  Protecting inside,

Line 9………………………………………………………………………

Line 10  Give me my bone back!"I yelled at the thief,

Line 11……………………………………………………………………

Line 12 He gave the bone back, and left without  harm.

Line 13……………………………………………………………..

This is a loop game from Halloween.

 I'll add the loop game we did during the session on Monday it's in my school computer.

GO: I’ve got a wicked witch.  Who’s got scary monster? 

…………………………………………………………………….

I’ve got scary monster.  Who’s got haunted house?

……………………………………………………..

I’ve got haunted house.  

 Who’s got orange pumpkin?     

…………………………………………………..

I’ve got orange pumpkin.  Who’s got trick or treat?

I’ve got trick or treat.  Who’s got dusty cauldron?

I’ve got dusty cauldron.  Who’s got magic broomstick? 

I’ve got magic broomstick.  Who’s got ghostly ghoul?  

…………………………………………

I’ve got ghostly ghoul?  Who’s got full moon?

……………………………………………………………………………

I’ve got full moon.  Who’s got ghastly goblin?

……………………………………………………..

I’ve got ghastly goblin.  Who’s got spine- chilling skeleton?

………………………………………..

I’ve got spine-chilling skeleton.  Who’s got a mysterious mummy?

……………………………………………

I’ve got a mysterious mummy.  Who’s got a dreadful demon? 

……………………………….

I’ve got a dreadful demon. Who’s got a bony bogeyman?

…………………………………………………

I’ve got a bony bogeyman.  Who’s got a terrifying troll?

………………………………………………..

I’ve got a terrifying troll.  Who’s got a black cat?

…………………………………………………….

I’ve got a black cat.  Who’s got a squeaking bat?

……………………………………

I’ve got a squeaking bat.  Who’s got a squealing rat?

…………………………………………………………..

I’ve got a squealing rat. Who’s got a beastly ballerina?

………………………………………………………..

I’ve got a beastly ballerina.  Who’s got a horrifying hobgoblin?

………………………………………………………………….

I’ve got a horrifying hobgoblin.  Who’s got a fearful phantom?

……………………………………….

I’ve got a fearful phantom.  Who’s got a petrifying   poltergeist?

……………………………………………….

I’ve got a petrifying poltergeist.  Who’s got a hair-raising Halloween?

………………………………………………

I’ve got a hair-raising Halloween. Who’s got an eerie elf?

………………………………………………….

I’ve got an eerie elf.  Who’s got a cackling clown?

…………………………………….

I’ve got a cackling clown.  Who’s got an alarming alien?

………………………………………………………………

I’ve got an alarming alien.

Who’s got a putrefying corpse?

.…………………………………………………………

I’ve got a putrefying corpse.  Who’s got a

Locked cemetery?

…………………………………………………………….

I’ve got a locked cemetery.  Who’s got a wild Halloween party?

……………………………………………..

I’ve got a wild Halloween party. STOP

Year 6 Technology 1st March

Here are some quick grammar sites to look at.

http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/presentcontinuous.htmGrammar

http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/grammar-vocabulary/grammar-snacks/present-simple Grammar

Gap fill technology

Think about the answers to these questions I'll ask you on Monday.

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show to Student B)

1)	What springs to mind when you hear the word ‘technology’?
2)	Is technology a good or a bad thing?
3)	What new technology could you not live without?
4)	Do you like reading about technology?
5)	Do you like using technology to learn?
6)	What do you think very old people think of modern technology?
7)	How has technology changed society?
8)	Has technology made us more impatient?
9)	Max Frisch said: "Technology is the knack of arranging the world so that we don't have to experience it." Do you agree with him?
10)	Mark Kennedy said: "All of the biggest technological inventions created by man - the airplane, the automobile, the computer - say little about his intelligence, but speak volumes about his laziness." Do you agree?

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show to Student A)

1)	What do you think of today’s technology?
2)	What do you think of tomorrow’s technology?
3)	Do you think we’ve become obsessed with technology?
4)	Do you always trust technology?
5)	Does technology ever let you down?
6)	What things would you never let technology replace?
7)	Has technology made our lives better than our grandparents’ lives?
8)	What technology is dangerous?
9)	Frank Lloyd Wright said: "If it [technology] keeps up, man will waste away all his limbs but the push-button finger." What does this mean? Do you like this quote?
10)	Alan M. Eddison said: "Modern technology... Owes ecology... An apology." What does this mean? Do you agree?

Year 1 March 1st

Have a lovely weekend.  Carnival was so great today.  

The tricky words are the numbers one to ten but not in order

Here are some nice websites to work on:  

Finger song
Numbers

animals&pets 
http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/word-games/multiple-choice/animal-noises
http://www.mes-games.com/animals1.php

The Lies in our education system

Secret Teacher: teaching is increasingly being built on a web of lies 

 The Guardian

Stop pretending our education system is about the students, it's all about manipulating data for survival, says The Secret Teacher

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Secret Teacher feels as though the teaching profession is being caught in a web of lies. Photograph: Alamy

Do you ever feel that your main duty at work these days is to contribute to, or cover up, an intricate web of lies? Lies, which have become so pervasive and embedded, that they are now the norm. The system is propped up by them and we have all joined the party – headteachers, inspectors, senior leaders, teachers and assistants.

We have built an ugly house from our lies. Not a fragile house of cards that can be easily dismantled, but one bolted and cemented into the ground. Many of us might be unwilling participants or even oblivious. But if you open your eyes and ears, they are all around us.

Let's start with data. Isn't this where validation for the untruths stems from? While data is a useful tool, it should never be king. In schools, this seems to have become the case. For many teachers, more time is spent examining, discussing, inputting and presenting data than actually interacting with children. Headteachers don't seem to have much choice about this; data is the main focus for Ofsted. And Ofsted often seem to use data to make up their minds about a school before they've even stepped foot in it.

The pressure to achieve positive data is immense. Analysis of statistics decides whether an establishment and its staff are either crowned in glory or cloaked in shame. But should we be letting this happen? Are league tables meaningful or misleading? I'm no data expert, but I would appreciate the opportunity to follow a wider debate of these issues between those with more knowledge than me.

I am, however, a micro-data expert; I decide and input my children's levels. Sometimes I feel it is misleading to still call myself a teacher – 'assessor of small children' or 'child leveller' would more aptly describe the purpose of my job these days. The pressure of proving tangible academic progress is almost palpable in many schools. The paperwork, testing and time associated with this process is staggering. This is becoming the be all and end all for schools, serving as either the means to ascending the league tables or being annihilated by the dementors.

Apparently levels no longer exist but, with no proposed alternative, they're very much alive and kicking in my school. The bar for progress has been raised with an unfeasibly high percentage of our large classes (containing many needy children) supposed to meet this target. But who will want to teach in a low-attaining state school with this kind of pressure? And, with the advent of performance-related pay, you'd be a fool to if you had a choice. And how is such a rate of progress sustainable? Are children going to start having to do A-levels in year 6?

This is where data exaggeration starts. My school was traditionally very truthful with data. We gave the children well-considered and honest levels and, if there was any doubt, we would tend to down level the child. We were conscious of the next teacher and did not want to inflate our data at their expense. How naive we were.

These days, if in doubt, we up level children. It doesn't matter that we feel uncomfortable about doing this because our overall school data looks so much healthier. Our new headteacher says this increase in progress is accounted for by improved teaching and learning. Another untruth, but one I think he seriously believes. Either he's just another head under pressure, trying to survive by ticking boxes and speaking the lingo or perhaps he just has a big ego and wants to claim credit for a school's amazing transformation.

With all the ensuing special measures, chaos and pressure, many feel that our personal teaching has deteriorated. Oddly, we're being told that everything's turning round and we're all morphing into good teachers, but it sometimes it feels as if I've entered the twilight zone and don't recognise the world I live in. Just because learning objective grids are being routinely stuck into books, and everything is now becoming uniform throughout the school, we're all much better teachers for it. Individuality in teaching style is being slowly but surely ironed out. These changes are apparently accounting for the 'increase' in pupil attainment, but those of us who have been in the school for a while are more sceptical.

Data is the most powerful weapon in an image war. The competition that now exists between schools adds to the need to big up the image – publicity managers and PR companies are even hired by some schools. Ofsted seems to endorse this way of operating and the cycle continues. Lying, soft or hard, is justified by an outstanding status: the mantras that have to be learned, regurgitated and passed inspector should the need arise, the show lessons, the sleepless nights, the prepped children, the positively slanted reports and the immaculate displays.

We need to stop going along with this. Some would say that Ofsted is just pretending to be about raising standards for children. If this is really the case, then why are many of their recent recommendations focusing upon teachers' pay? Why do they apparently fail 'good' schools and constantly change the goalposts? Are all 'outstanding' schools and teachers really outstanding and all 'inadequate' schools and teachers really inadequate? Of course not.

But the biggest and baddest lie of all is the continued pretence that our education system is about children. Until education is removed from the control of politicians this is likely to always be the case. I hope that one day, before I retire, I will be teaching again in a profession that has integrity and where the ideology is truthfully child-centric. It's clinging onto that hope that is keeping me going.

This terrible web of lies has crept into Spain too. 
 At least here in Madrid.
Children are under pressure from year 1 (6 year  olds)when they are given baseline tests in every subject to "check their  level"  even before we begin to teach them anything. These tests are marked harshly to then show how much kids have improved during the year so the statistics look good.. Parents are sent the results,  just in case they should think of NOT doing class work at home.  So Kids,  after being at school from 9 till 4 pm  then have to go home and do  more school work and lots of it.
Shouldn't kids be playing with Mum and Dad  or just in their rooms relaxing? Not having to do sums and boring reading texts  from bloody boring text books.
What happened to story time, getting dressed up  and creative writing? 
 Now there's NO time for story time.  

  Then us teachers complain that the parents do the homework for the kids!!!!  But really this is not their job.  It's ours!!! So why are we surprised? I know I'd do the same in their shoes.
 " Oh darling it's nine o'clock just put 12,  that's the answer .  No the 1 before the 2 , oh never mind I'll do the sum for you. Go and have a shower."  
 Does that ring any bells????
Yeah individual teaching styles are certainly being wiped out of the classroom and either you conform or face the wrath of the powers that be....................
God forbid kids should enjoy lessons and have fun learning when check grids, and test outcomes are the only things that seem important.
Spain always compares their system to the British one.  But do we really want to imitate a system that is causing so much stress to students that's kids are developing eating  disorders and taking medication just to get through the day???

school in London.