How to teach remotely with
Teaching and learning online is probably new for you and your students. These are challenging times, but it is important that your students keep up their English and feel secure that life is going on as normal. So, focus on making the online experience fun for all of you and even though you cannot see the children, make sure you encourage, praise and reassure them during the online lessons. If possible, contact the parents and explain how you will be running the lessons and how they can help. Get the students to practise good learning habits by asking them to prepare their learning space – have their books, pens, coloured pencils etc. ready before they start and stress how important it is that they do their ‘homework’. You can also suggest they watch English videos of songs and stories on YouTube and other sites. Please, check them out first to ensure they are suitable before sharing links with your classes. The BBC and British Council websites have lots of stories and songs for children and lots more are being posted, even by celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, at this time.
Here are some suggestions for how you could use the units in the Fun Skills coursebooks and materials to support your online classes. The link below takes you to the teaching resources. You can download and share these links with your students. They include links to all the audio files in the coursebook lessons: https://www.cambridge.org/gb/cambridgeenglish/catalog/ cambridge-english-exams-ielts/fun-skills/resources click here
The suggestions below are based on a combination of: > live lessons online > ideas for homework and self-access study While we normally try to limit the use of L1 in the classroom, there may be times when clarifying key words may be helpful to make sure all the students are clear about meaning. Don’t be tempted to use lots of L1, though. Use it only when you know that some of your students will benefit from the extra support.
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Useful tools in live classes: SCREEN-SHARING: share Presentation Plus (if you have it), image files, audio files and short video files (bandwidth permitting).
G R E AT F O R : > giving instructions
> sharing stories and songs
> setting up tasks
> creating your own ‘boardwork’ on screen – extra pictures, words etc to support the lesson (just as you would in the classroom).
> presenting grammar or vocabulary
If you don’t have this, hold your book up to the camera and point at sections of the page you are focusing on.
C H AT B O X : this could be used for older students at a level when they can read and write simple phrases particularly those using Storyfun 5 & 6, who are at Flyers level. use chat box for short answers and brainstorming, allows for all students to participate actively at the same time.
G R E AT F O R : > starting the lesson
> closing the lesson
> checking concepts
> getting feedback.
To find out more about how to conduct a live online lesson and make use of these functions in your online class, please follow this link: https://www.cambridge.org/elt/blog/2020/03/16/using-video-conference-platformteaching-online/ click here
VIDEO OR AUDIO RECORDINGS: students can make short video recordings on their phones, tablets or computers and share them with you and/or the whole class.
POSTING WORK: if your school has a website or blog, it would be good to create a space where classes can upload photos, videos, or their work and share it. If your school doesn’t have this, it would be really great if you could create a blog for each of your classes.
You can also ask parents to email you student’s work, videos etc.
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A suggested structure for an online course following a mainly synchronous approach Teachers will find different ways of conducting these online courses. Timings may be different to the lessons children usually have. It is a good idea to schedule at least 2 lessons a week, so that students get into a rhythm of learning.
Here is an example from Fun Skills, Level 2 To best prepare your students for an online lesson, ask them to > Read through and review the previous lessons and test themselves on the vocabulary they have learnt recently by covering the written words with a small piece of paper and saying the word out loud (maybe someone at home like an older sibling can help) > Before a new unit, look through the pages and check if they know the words already > Make small flashcards of pictures of key vocabulary they can use during their lessons e.g. to raise or point to when you say them or to lift up when they hear them in a story. Tell them exactly what flashcards they will need beforehand. You can get more flashcard ideas on how to create a set of mini flashcards from our article: https://worldoffun.cambridge.org/storage/app/media/Using%20Flashcards%20 in%20the%20Primary%20Classroom.pdfs they will need beforehand. click here
Use the Home Fun Booklet you normally do. Most teachers set tasks from the Home Booklet for homework. Make sure you go over these tasks the following lesson, if necessary. (e.g. by writing the correct answers into a Word file which you can then share during the lesson). You can show the students the correct answers on screen and ask them to be ‘teachers’ and check their own work and if they think they did a good job award themselves a smiley face or sticker.
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There are a number of tasks we do in class like drawing which will be best done by children on their own and not during the live online lesson. This programme suggests what can be done by the children on their own. Make it clear to them when they should do this. Warmers: Why not start each lesson with a song or game (like Simon Says) that the students know well. Encourage them to join in and have fun. This should get them into a positive mood before they start the main part of the lesson. Throughout lessons use ways of ensuring students are paying attention and not drifting off because you aren’t there in person. You can use class management chants like: Eyes on the Door Feet on the Floor Hands behind your back And say no more And ‘shout-outs’, where you shout the first half of a phrase and the students have to shout back the second half. e.g. Teacher
Students
Hocus Pocus!
Everybody focus!
All set!
You bet!
Oh me!
Oh my!
Chiko. Chiko!
Boom. Boom!
You can find lots more like this online e.g. Pinterest.
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For pair work/dialogues: They won’t be able to work with a partner, so ask students to make 2 puppets (if they have a printer at home, they can download and print out finger puppets from https://worldoffun.cambridge.org/storage/app/media/FingerpuppetsA4.pdf), find 2 animal toys or 2 funny hats and do the dialogues as if two different people are speaking. They should use a different voice for each person. This encourages them to practise speaking and the different voices help them avoid speaking unnaturally. These dialogues would be great fun shared as videos with the rest of the class. Lessons are based on pages of the Student’s Book, but of course, your lessons may be longer and you can choose which homework to set. With students of this age it is a good idea to keep online lessons relatively short, i.e. no more than 30 minutes, as it is hard for young learners to participate in online lessons. But you will soon get a good idea of what is doable and practical.
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click here
Schoolgo to the zoo! 9 1 Let’s 3
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1
3
Look at the photos and choose the correct words. 1 I’m a polar bear / hippo. 2 I’m white / grey. 3 I’ve got big / small teeth. 4 I eat birds / fish. 5 I live in a cold / hot place.
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6 I can fly / swim.
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4
Look at the photos and write. 1 I’m a
.
2 I’m
.
3 I’ve got
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4 I eat I think it’s a tiger.
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5 I live
6
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6 I can
THINK 1
Which animal is it? Talk with a friend and write the numbers. bird lizard
2
elephant
hippo
tiger
zebra
Read and colour. 1 red
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BIG
Some crocodiles are 5 metres long! How long is 5 metres? Find out! 5
Student A: Think of an animal. Student B: Ask three yes/no questions.
Does it live in ... ? Does it eat ... ?
2 yellow Has it got … ?
3 black 4 white
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Can it … ? Is it … ? Is it a … ?
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Lesson 1: Lead in/Reading & Writing.
Before the lesson Ask students to look at page 46 and guess which animals they are. Ask students to make 2 cards, write YES on one and NO on the other. They can colour them in as they like.
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Using flashcards review vocabulary of names of animals (bird, lizard, tiger, elephant, hippo, zebra, snake, polar bear, crocodile, giraffe, monkey).
Online class
Show an animal and say ‘what is this?’ Tell students to say the animal in English. Pause. Then say the name of the animal clearly and naturally. Ask students to repeat it.
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Play a game. Ask students to get their YES/NO cards ready. Have flashcards of common animals ready (these can be pictures from magazines or you can prepare slides with clip art images on them). Show a picture and make statements. e.g. a picture of a hippo and say I can fly. I can swim. I am very small. After each statement students should raise the Yes or No card to show whether they think the statement is true or not. (Their puppet can do this for them).
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Online class
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Ask students to look at the images on page 46.
Online class
Point to each one and ask, ‘what animal is this?’ pausing for students to reply. Check the answers with the students by showing the filled in question and asking them to check their own work, ticking what is correct and changing any errors.
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Ask students to look at exercise 3 on page 47.
Online class
Say, look at the picture. If you can, point to it on screen. Ask: ‘Is it a hippo? No. What animal is it? It’s a polar bear.’ (Pause after each question and answer, so students can think about the question and repeat the answer). Ask students to look at question 1. ‘Which is the right answer? So, circle polar bear.’ Ask students to read the sentences and choose the right answers. Allow a few minutes for them to do this. Check their answers with them by putting the completed exercise on screen and ask students to mark their own work.
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Now ask students to look at exercise 4. Ask ‘what animal is it? A crocodile.’ For the first sentence, they complete the sentence by writing crocodile. Show this on screen. Ask ‘what colour is a crocodile?’ (brown/green) For the second sentence, they complete it by writing the colour. Show this on screen. Ask students to complete the sentences on their own. Allow a few minutes for this. Check their answers with them by putting the completed exercise on screen and ask students to mark their own work.
Independent work Students can do the colouring task in question 2 on their own. But check the names of colours with flashcards before setting the task. NB: As exercise 5 on page 47 is a pair work task, this can be left out.
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Online class
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29 Listen to the song and number the pictures.
A
B
C
D
Answer the questions. Draw lines.
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A It’s eating leaves.
1 Which animal is climbing a tree? 2 What is the giraffe doing?
B It’s under the tree.
3 Where is the tiger?
C the monkey
4 What is the tiger doing?
D the elephant
5 Which animal is throwing water? 3
1
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E It’s sleeping.
Which of these words are in the song? Tick (✓) the words. shoe
zoo ✓
you 2
door me
3
blue 4
tree
see bee
four too
30 How do the eight words sound? Put the words in groups 1–3. Then listen and check.
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Lesson 2: Listening and Reading.
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Ask students to get out the picture of the snake they coloured in.
Online class
Show your picture correctly coloured in and ask them to compare their picture to yours. Did they colour it in the same? If theirs is different, reassure them you are sure they are all beautiful snakes.
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Check vocabulary: elephant, tiger, giraffe, monkey with flashcards.
Online class
Check concept of ‘what is X doing?’ Make a clear action e.g. drink from your cup and ask ‘What am I doing?’ Pause. ‘Yes. I am drinking.’ Do 3 or 4 more examples. Ask ‘what are you doing?’ If you can hear them, ask one at a time. If not, ask them by name to answer and congratulate them all even if you cannot see or hear them.
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Display just the picture from exercise 1 on page 48. Point to each one and ask students to think and say what the animal is doing. e.g. What animal is this? What is it doing? Pause after each question to allow them time to think about the answer. Explain that they will listen to a song about the animals. As they listen, they should number which picture they hear described. Number 1 is the first picture they hear described. Play the song through twice. You can download an animation of the song from esource.cambridge.org (ask your rep for the code that you need) Check their answers by showing the completed task on screen. Ask them to mark their own work.
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Online class
Online class
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Now show exercise 2 with the pictures.
Online class
Read question one and show the link to the answer. Ask students to match the questions and answers on their own. Allow time for this. Check their answers by showing the completed task on screen. Ask them to mark their own work.
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Karaoke. Display the lyrics of the song on screen. Tell the students they are going to sing along with the song. First, read the lines out slowly and ask students to repeat them one at a time. Play the song 2 or 3 times, encouraging them to join in.
Independent work Ask students to do the Grammar Fun exercise on page 74 for Unit 9, Can for ability.
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Online class
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29 Listen to the song and number the pictures.
A
B
C
D
Answer the questions. Draw lines.
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A It’s eating leaves.
1 Which animal is climbing a tree? 2 What is the giraffe doing?
B It’s under the tree.
3 Where is the tiger?
C the monkey
4 What is the tiger doing?
D the elephant
5 Which animal is throwing water? 3
1
29
E It’s sleeping.
Which of these words are in the song? Tick (✓) the words. shoe
zoo ✓
you 2
door me
3
blue 4
tree
see bee
four too
30 How do the eight words sound? Put the words in groups 1–3. Then listen and check.
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Lesson 3: Phonics & Reading and Writing.
1 2
Start the lesson by playing the song again and ask students to sing along.
Online class
Ask students to look at page 48, exercise 3.
Online class
Can they remember which of these words were in the song? Ask them to tick them if they remember hearing them. Allow them time to do this. They are all in the song.
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Ask them to repeat the words after you or play the audio and listen and repeat. Ask if some of them have the same sound. Say ‘zoo’ and ‘you’. ‘Do they sound the same? Yes. Say ‘door’ and ‘bee’. Do they sound the same? No. Ask them to match words that sound like 1. zoo, 2. door and 3. see together. Allow time for this. They can check by listening to the audio.
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Online class
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Ask students to look at the picture at the top of page 49 and/or display it on screen.
Online class
Ask students what they can see. Can they write down five things they can see? Allow time for this. Then say, ‘I can see a boy, a monkey, etc’, describing the objects in the picture. Explain that they have to read the questions and complete them with ONE word. Go through the examples with them. Do question 1 for them, pointing to the boy and the balloon in the picture, so they know what to do. Now ask them to look at the pictures in the bottom half of the page and complete the rest of the answers. Allow time for this. Check their answers by showing the completed task on screen. Ask them to mark their own work.
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Bring the unit to a close by congratulating them all on working so hard. Sing the song together again.
Online class
Independent work Ask students to draw a picture of their favourite animal and write 5 sentences about it like the sentences on page 47 about the polar bear and crocodile. Ask them to send you this piece of work or post it on your shared platform.
Once a unit is finished, it would be nice to send each student a message congratulating them on working so hard online and saying you understand if it is difficult for them and you miss them, too.
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We hope you find these guidelines helpful. In addition, you may find the further resources at https://worldoffun. cambridge.org/ click here
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