Teacher’s Editions – How and Why to Use Them! Over the past month, we have been rolling out the first versions of the new SLE teacher’s editions (1C, 2A, and 2B are available so far), and we want you to use them! They have been designed not only for new teachers, but for any teacher who struggles with a certain lesson or is looking for a new approach. This short guide will give you a general idea of how the teacher’s editions are put together, and why you should use them.
What do the teacher’s editions contain?
Blue boxes – specific information, not essential but useful, especially for your first time teaching the book
Green boxes – alternate or additional activities or approaches
Red boxes – key guidance to help make an activity work better in class
Supplements – extra handouts with alternate or additional activities for the students (included in the printed versions, but available to print from Canvas as well)
How should the teacher’s editions be used? 1. In class. These editions were made to be used instead of the student book in class. As you can see, the comments and advice are written in the margins and empty space on the pages, so there should be no need to use the student’s book in the classroom. Many of the specific pieces of advice (i.e. unfamiliar vocabulary, cultural considerations, etc.) are useful to have in front of you during the class. Ideally, once all of the levels have been completed, there will be no need to keep copies of the student book for teachers to use. 2. Lesson planning. The teacher’s editions are also extremely useful in lesson planning. The comments and advice should open up a new range of possibilities for how to adapt certain lessons to the needs of your students. Once the final versions have been developed, the teacher’s editions will be made available digitally as well, and we can keep copies on the office computers as well as on Canvas so you won’t have to carry books back and forth from home to school.
Why should the teacher’s editions be used? 1. To help you stretch a lesson. If you are meant to be teaching one unit over 4 hours, it can sometimes be difficult to make the material cover the whole 4 hours. The suggestions and supplements in the teacher’s edition are meant to help with that. 2. To adapt lessons to your students’ needs. If you have an unusually small or large class size, for example, or if your students are particularly reticent or outgoing, the teacher’s edition will advise you how to adapt certain activities to best fit your students. 3. To try a new approach. After teaching the same lessons several times, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut. It’s boring to do the same things over and over, and it can affect the students’ experience of the class as well. If this sounds like you, let the teacher’s editions inspire some fresh ideas.
We want your feedback! These new teacher’s editions were made based on feedback gathered from teachers from all branches of Pagoda. They are the product of ongoing collaboration between the training staff and teaching staff, and we want that collaboration to continue. We have 3 more teacher’s editions to finish (1A, 1B, 2C) and your feedback about the books available now (1C, 2A, 2B) will go toward improving the finished article. Please send any feedback to us through Canvas (Pagoda Trainer) and we will continue to set up short feedback meetings for those teachers using the teacher’s editions now. Thanks to everyone who has been involved so far!