Other products in the A, B, C, You and Me series: A, B, C, You and Me Activity Book 1: 9781408297261 A, B, C, You and Me Activity Book 2: 9781408297278 A, B, C, You and Me Pack: 9781447906964
PL
The A, B, C, You and Me Teacher’s Guide supports the full A, B, C, You and Me package with: • an abundance of ideas for extending and adapting the content in the accompanying Activity Books, and strategies to adapt regular classroom activities to further encourage creativity • material clearly ordered to reflect the key areas of Language Arts and Literacy development • symbols to identify whether content: links directly with the full package; links with the 1, 2, 3, You and Me Numeracy package; requires limited material and can easily be done at home; encourages children to make Literacy-related observations in their environment • special focus on parental involvement and approaches to teaching children with special needs.
SA M
Developed in accordance with curriculum from across the region, A, B, C, You and Me is a complete package of interactive materials designed specifically for Early Childhood Language Arts and Literacy education in the Caribbean. It comprises many diverse and exciting activities, materials and games for use independently or in collaboration with other pack components for a child-centred, play-based, hands-on and fun approach to teaching and learning.
E
Early Childhood Language Arts and Literacy for the Caribbean
The 1, 2, 3, You and Me: Early Childhood Numeracy education series: 1, 2, 3, You and Me Activity Book 1: 9781408277751 1, 2, 3, You and Me Activity Book 2: 9781408277768 1, 2, 3, You and Me pack: 9781408279861
Teacher’s Guide Anne Worrall and Tanya Banks
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Early Childhood Language Arts and Literacy for the Caribbean
Tanya Banks Anne Worrall
Contents Introduction
2
4. Photocopiable resources
1. Listening and speaking Activities to develop listening skills Activities to develop speaking skills Activities to practise rhythm and rhyming Story-telling activities
5 7 12 13
2. Pre-reading Pre-reading activities Activities to practise word-building Handling books
14 19 20
3. Pre-writing Pre-writing activities
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Tips for parents Alphabetical pictures Sound spinner template
24 26 28
5. Additional resources Play dough recipe An alphabetical list of animals The old donkey Rhymes and action songs Audio CD-ROM song lyrics
29 30 31 32 42
21
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Introduction Learning through play is one of the key principles of modern Early Childhood education. Playing allows children to try out ideas, take risks, explore their feelings, think imaginatively and develop their communication skills. A,B,C, You and Me provides opportunities for children to play games, engage in role play, sing songs, perform action rhymes, do puzzles and generally develop their literacy skills in a stimulating and enjoyable way. The materials take account of young children’s short concentration span and their need to move around by presenting them with a wide variety of activities. In addition, the Teacher’s Guide contains an abundance of ideas for extending and adapting the activities in the books. A,B,C, You and Me builds progressively on the key skills needed for effective literacy development, but it also allows children to develop at their own pace. Teachers are encouraged to use the assessment pages together with their own observations to decide how far/fast they proceed. The scheme of work charts at the front of the books enable the teacher to identify at a glance activities which will give practice in particular skills or reinforce and consolidate learning. The programme encourages children to use the knowledge and experience they have gained in the home as a basis on which to build new skills. Parents’ involvement is essential to a child’s progress and we recommend teachers keep parents informed of the particular skills being practised each week and suggest enjoyable ways in which they can continue this practice at home, on the way to school and when out shopping. A photocopiable sheet of ideas for parents is included in this Guide. Always remember that laughter, enjoyment and fun are the best contexts for learning. Have fun!
What is in the A,B,C, You and Me pack? • The two Activity Books are designed to develop children’s literacy skills step by step, always building on what has previously been learned. Activity Book 1 concentrates on prereading and pre-writing skills and the beginnings of sound and letter recognition. Activity Book 2 reinforces and extends these skills to include letter formation and the first steps in word-building. The whole programme has been based on themes suggested by the curricula of the Caribbean. • The parrot puppet provides opportunities for interaction with the children. It can be used to introduce and demonstrate tasks in a fun and engaging way, to practise and consolidate learning, and to assess and review what has been learned. Each class can give the parrot a name of their choosing and thereby make it their own. • Flashcards are provided in two sets: an A4-size set for the teacher and a smaller set for children’s use. They can be used for a range of both teacher-led and independent activities, including matching and memory games. • The audio CD-ROM includes songs that have been chosen to correspond with the topics in the Activity Books and to give practice in rhyme, rhythm and phonic awareness. • The alphabet frieze can be used both as a teaching aid and as a reference for children to access independently.
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• Story cards are designed to be used by the children themselves to consolidate the above pre-reading skills. • CVC cards are for use towards the end of Activity Book 2 to practise very basic wordbuilding skills. Since one side includes a photo of the word and the other simply the letters, children are able to work with them independently.
Introduction
• Storyboards are for use with groups of children to introduce the pre-reading skills of sequence, re-telling of stories and story structure.
• Whiteboards provide a versatile resource which can be used in many ways to supplement virtually all activities. They can be used with the whole class, with groups or with individual children at all levels of ability. They are environmentally friendly and avoid the need for vast quantities of paper. Suggestions for ways in which to use whiteboards to create variety and extend and develop skills practised in the Activity Books are included in this Teacher’s Guide.
How to use the A,B,C, You and Me Teacher’s Guide The Teacher’s Guide is divided into three main sections which reflect the key areas of literacy development: • listening and speaking • pre-reading • pre-writing. Within each section are practical ideas for activities to supplement the main scheme. This gives the teacher the possibility of differentiating individual teaching methods by providing ideas for more challenging activities as well as additional practice for those who need it. In addition, photocopiable resources, nursery rhymes and lyrics to the songs are included at the back of the Guide.
Guide to symbols in the Teacher’s Guide indicates activities that require limited material and which can easily be done at home as well as school. It is recommended that a simple bulletin board for parents be posted in the classroom and suggested activities for parents on different topics included in the Guide can be highlighted. indicates activities that incorporate the use of other components from the A,B,C, You and Me pack. indicates activities that encourage children to observe their surroundings and identify literacy-related concepts in the environment. indicates a link with the 1,2,3, You and Me Numeracy pack.
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About the A,B,C, You and Me team Authors Anne Worrall graduated with a BA Hons in Modern Languages and then taught English for 10 years in West London in a variety of settings ranging from Primary to Teacher Training. With over 20 years’ experience of writing English Language teaching resources, she has several award-winning, multi-media courses currently in use throughout the Caribbean, Europe, the Far East, and North and South America. Tanya Banks, BEd Hons, has spent over 20 years as a highly successful Early Years teacher in UK schools. She contributed to the development of the Early Years curriculum for Cornwall, UK, where she currently works as an adviser/consultant and Special Educational Needs coordinator. She also has previous experience in publishing Early Childhood resources for the Caribbean. Advisers Cathryn O’Sullivan has a Master’s degree in International Education Policy from Harvard University and a certificate in the Science of Effective Early Childhood Education from Georgetown University. She has worked in a number of capacities in Early Childhood including as a teacher, consultant and coordinator for an initiative that works with Early Childhood institutions in Jamaica’s inner-city communities. She is currently a curriculum specialist at a non-profit organisation dedicated to Early Childhood education in Washington, DC. Charlene Ross-Quamina has a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree with distinction in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE). Teaching since 1990, she is currently a full-time Infants teacher with a passion for Early Childhood education. Charlene has extensive experience in Early Childhood curriculum facilitation in Trinidad, including in her previous position as Curriculum Programme Coordinator for ECCE at the ECCE Division, Trinidad. Currently she is a part-time lecturer at the University of the West Indies, teaching in the Bachelors of Education, ECCE Degree in curriculum and research courses.
The Authors and Publisher would like to thank all of the Early Childhood organisations, Ministries of Education, Early Childhood centres and schools, children, teachers and parents throughout the Caribbean who participated in the trialling and testing of A,B,C, You and Me. Their input has been invaluable in shaping this exciting resource. 4 M01_ECLIT_TB_ECCAR_7353_U01.indd 4
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Play a variety of listening games.
1. Simon says Tell the children you are going to give them different commands. They should listen carefully and only obey if the command is preceded by the words, “Simon says”. Begin with: Simon says, “Stand up”; Simon says, “Hands on heads”, etc. This is an ideal opportunity to introduce new vocabulary, e.g. “Wriggle your wrists”.
2. I spy Play “I spy” using colours, e.g. “I spy something [red]”. Tell the children they must listen carefully and not repeat what someone else has said.
Section 1: Listening and speaking
Activities to develop listening skills
3. Chaining games Ask the children to listen carefully in order to be able to repeat what the previous child has said, e.g. 1st child: I went to market and I bought a melon. 2nd child: I went to market and I bought a melon and a chicken. 3rd child: I went to market and I bought a melon, a chicken and a cake.
4. What do you hear? Ask the children to sit in silence for a minute. Then ask them to tell you everything they hear. Make a picture list of all the things they mention. Go outside for a Sound Walk – see Activity Book 1, page 4. Ask the children to try to recreate the sounds themselves.
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Tips for teachers
Suggested activities involving sounds: • Record everyday sounds, e.g. dog barking, door slamming, phone ringing. A group of children, together with an adult, record a variety of sounds from the environment, then another group of children listen and try to identify the sounds. This could be made simpler by providing simple illustrations on the whiteboards (e.g. a door) as cues and asking the children to match the sound to the picture. • Guess the instrument. A large sheet or screen is erected, behind which are a selection of musical instruments. In front of the screen is a corresponding set of instruments – or pictures of them. One child goes behind the screen and plays an instrument, the others listen and try to identify the correct instrument from the selection. • Louder/quieter game. Each child has a musical instrument (these can be home-made). One child goes out of the room leaving behind their musical instrument, which is then “hidden” somewhere in the room. The child then returns and attempts to find it. The other children guide the child by playing their instruments louder as the child approaches the object and more quietly as they move further away. The same game can be played without musical instruments where an object (or the parrot) is hidden and the children sing/hum quietly/loudly as necessary.
5. Listen to stories Listen to stories, particularly those with repetition, and encourage children to join in at the right moment. Examples include The gingerbread man, We’re going on a bear hunt, The enormous turnip. Listen to stories to which you can add sound effects (such as animal noises). Encourage the children to make the noises at appropriate points. Examples include The old donkey (see page 31), Anansi stories.
6. Bingo This can be adapted to practise colours, letters or numbers. Each child has some counters (buttons/bits of card) and a card divided into four (or more) squares, each of which contains a different colour (number/letter). The children listen and cover each square as the teacher calls out the names of the colours, etc. The first child to cover all their squares calls out “Bingo!” and is the winner. 6 M01_ECLIT_TB_ECCAR_7353_U01.indd 6
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Other products in the A, B, C, You and Me series: A, B, C, You and Me Activity Book 1: 9781408297261 A, B, C, You and Me Activity Book 2: 9781408297278 A, B, C, You and Me Pack: 9781447906964
PL
The A, B, C, You and Me Teacher’s Guide supports the full A, B, C, You and Me package with: • an abundance of ideas for extending and adapting the content in the accompanying Activity Books, and strategies to adapt regular classroom activities to further encourage creativity • material clearly ordered to reflect the key areas of Language Arts and Literacy development • symbols to identify whether content: links directly with the full package; links with the 1, 2, 3, You and Me Numeracy package; requires limited material and can easily be done at home; encourages children to make Literacy-related observations in their environment • special focus on parental involvement and approaches to teaching children with special needs.
SA M
Developed in accordance with curriculum from across the region, A, B, C, You and Me is a complete package of interactive materials designed specifically for Early Childhood Language Arts and Literacy education in the Caribbean. It comprises many diverse and exciting activities, materials and games for use independently or in collaboration with other pack components for a child-centred, play-based, hands-on and fun approach to teaching and learning.
E
Early Childhood Language Arts and Literacy for the Caribbean
The 1, 2, 3, You and Me: Early Childhood Numeracy education series: 1, 2, 3, You and Me Activity Book 1: 9781408277751 1, 2, 3, You and Me Activity Book 2: 9781408277768 1, 2, 3, You and Me pack: 9781408279861
Teacher’s Guide Anne Worrall and Tanya Banks
CVR_ECL_TB_ECCAR_7353_CVR.indd 1
16/02/2012 11:58