Teaching Methods and Lesson Activities

1. Choose a specific theme, e.g. Personal Hygiene
2. Give instructions � Say: Simon says, �Brush your teeth.�
3. Ensure that the children are listening and doing the action correctly.
4. Give a few more related instructions, e.g. �Clean your face�, �Wash your hands�, etc.

Use a toy or old microphone. Pass the toy microphone around and encourage each child to substitute the name 'Simon' with his own name, and practise giving instructions.

*Note: Primary school teachers can apply this technique as an introduction to �Instruction Writing�.

1. Display a number of objects associated with a theme, on a tray.(Choose a smaller number of objects - 4 to 5 for preschoolers, and a bigger number 8 to 9 for lower primary children.)
2. Ask the children to identify the names of the objects (if they are unable to do so, name the objects and get them to repeat after you).
3. Cover the tray of objects with a piece of cloth.
4. Tell the children to close their eyes and remove an object from the tray.
5. Uncover the objects and tell the children to open their eyes.
6. Ask: What is missing from the tray?
7. The children need to give the answer in a complete sentence: The ______ is missing from the tray.

1. Remove two objects.
2. Ask: What are missing from the tray?
3. The children need to give the answer in a complete sentence: The ______ and _______ are missing from the tray.

*Note: Teachers can teach object names, the use of complete (and grammatically-correct) sentences to answer questions, as well as the use of the Conjunction 'and', through this language game.

The Round Robin Game, after modification, is great for teaching syllabication. Quite similar to Kim�s Game, it is also an effective and interesting method to teach children Q and A.

General Procedure:

1. Design a set of Q and A based on a story or passage that was read earlier in the lesson, e.g. Q: �What do elephants love?' A: 'Elephants love raisins.'
2. Get the children to sit in a circle and introduce the structured question and answer.
3. Pass the feely-bag (containing target objects, in this case, a pack of raisins, peanuts, etc.) round the circle.
4. The children will chant the question, clapping to the syllables of the words at the same time.
5. Teacher calls out �stop�. The child holding the feely-bag will use the structured sentence (Note: The child will substitute the underlined word with the name of the object he/she draws out from the bag) to answer the question.
6. The game ends when all the children have had their turns.

• Whispering Game
• Guess the sounds (Identifying taped sounds)

*Note: Teachers are encouraged to extend their imagination and creativity to adapt the language games into their lessons to meet the lesson objectives.

Functional Role-Play

Functional role-plays provide opportunities for children to acquire the functional language necessary in every day communication.

General Procedure:

1. Decide on a theme � a familiar everyday situation e.g. At the Fast Food Outlet.
2. Discuss the dialogue commonly used in the situation with the children.
3. Write the dialogue on the board / or a chart as the children dictate, tactfully remodel incorrect language.
   Example:
   

   Cashier: Good morning, your order please.
   Customer: I�ll like to have one set of Hamburger and Orange Juice, please.
   Cashier: Take away or dine in?
   Customer: Take away.
   Cashier: I�ll repeat your order: One set of Hamburger and Orange Juice. That�ll be five dollars please.
   Customer: Here�s five dollars.
   Cashier: Thank you and have a nice day.
   **You may want to use vocabulary more appropriate for your students.**

   
   
4. Encourage the children to work in pairs to practise the dialogue.
5. Provide props, prints and concrete aids to create the role-playing situation at the Learning Centre.

Other Familiar Everyday Situations / Scenarios

• In the kitchen / dining room
• In a shop
• At the market
• In an elevator
• At a ticketing booth
• At the post office
• In a plane
• At the hairdresser�s
• At the playground

*Note: Experiential learning at schools (especially at preschools and lower primary) is incomplete without designing tasks at learning centres for children to reinforce and demonstrate what they have learnt.

Spelling and Word Building Activities

School should be an environment where students learn. Testing should be used as a tool for students to demonstrate learning. Hence, school teachers should provide opportunities for students to develop their Spelling and Word Building Skills before testing them.

Basically, there are three main methods of teaching Spelling and Word Building Skills: The Conventional Methods, Phonetic Spelling Methods and Multi-Sensory/Multiple-Intelligence Non-Conventional Methods.

1. Look, Read, Spell orally, Cover, Write and Check
2. Paired Cued Spelling

1. Identify initial letter sounds
2. Highlight vowels - their use and importance in words
3. Identify patterns in list words e.g. onsets and rimes
4. Do Word Sorts
5. Have a Spelling Quiz (using semantic clues, etc.)

1. Clap/Hum/Tap out the syllables of the words (follow up with recording of syllable-count on activity sheet at learning centre)
2. Rank words in terms of length / difficulty
3. Write words in the air / in own palm / etc.
4. Trace letter of words created from tactile sensory materials
5. Write in fancy lettering styles
6. Sing/recite the letters of the words through a song or a rap
7. Apply Word Configuration
8. Build awareness of the position of the letters of the spelling words
9. Use body parts to form the letters of the words
10. Arrange words into chains / ladders
11. Make crosswords, jumbled words
12. Play word scrambles

1. Use flash cards
2. Illustrate words
3. Draw the words as they sound
4. Use Sign Language
5. Play Charades
6. Dance out the meaning of the words
7. Do 'Dictionary' work

5 November 2008
*Note: Spelling and Reading Skills are inter-related. Help students identify the techniques that suit them best � tell them to think about the ways they learn best, and practise them. The Non-Conventional Methods are most effective for young learners at the beginners� stage.

Readers can write to me or post your questions on the forum if you wish to find out more about the teaching methods. You can also read the article �How do you teach Spelling?� for an introduction to conducting a Spelling and Word Building Programme.

Dramatisation

1. Begin drama with a story to help you link the drama work into your overall curriculum planning.
   Choice of story types e.g. Classics (familiar stories where children can practise role-play reading), Short Plays (simple dialogues with interesting scenes), Story Rhymes (rhythmic, easy-to-understand stories that focus on facial expressions and voices), etc.
2. Read the story with animation, stopping at repetitive dialogue phrases for children to fill in the gaps to reinforce their awareness of repetitive texts.
3. Ask questions and talk about the setting, the characters (characteristics, feelings, etc), sequence of the story events and the ending.
4. Encourage the children to retell the story. Give prompts where and when necessary.
5. Articulate each line of dialogues and get the children to repeat after you in the same expressive voices.
6. Discuss and decide on the roles.
7. Recall the story sequence and highlight where each role should come in.
8. Provide simple pre-prepared props e.g. �character cards� (to be hung over the neck of each performer to identify each role) when sophisticated costumes are unavailable.
9. Rehearse the story.
10. Organise a mock performance in the classroom.

• Have the required resources ready and at hand.
• Never start the activity until all the children are ready � still, silent and attentive.
• Keep your instructions short and clear. If necessary, prepare an illustrated instruction chart (instructions in logical stages) in advance.
• Have a hand signal to obtain children�s silence and attention whenever the activity is getting chaotic.

Follow-up activities include modifying part of story (changing of story events and ending), creating a similar story with different characters and setting, illustrating significant scenarios, writing a simple story review in a structured format, creating story charts, creating props, mapping out an action plan for putting up a show, etc.

28 November 2008
*Note: Children internalise knowledge from the story, including the language used, when they demonstrate the knowledge in a performance.

Rebus Charts

1. Write a summary of a story that you�ve just read to the children (or use a meaningful rhyme).
2. Highlight target words.
3. Give a title and copy the text on chart paper or a piece of vanguard sheet, replacing the target words with rebuses (pictures depicting the words). *If you can�t draw well, get the pictures from ClipArt, old books and magazines, flyers and brochures, and even better, get the children to draw them.
4. Write the target words on separate word cards (size of cards to match the blank spaces).

1. Read the rebus story/rhyme once through (say out the words that are represented by rebuses on the chart).
2. Introduce the target words on the word cards.
3. Distribute the word cards to the children at random.
4. Read the text again, pausing at every rebus to let the child holding the appropriate word card to come forward to match the word to the picture on the chart.
5. Repeat the procedure till all the children have had their turn (the repetitions help children reinforce their word-recognition ability).

1. Get the children to help create a �Rebus Recipe Chart� by drawing in the pictures for the ingredients.
2. Divide the children into groups of five and get each group to create a �Rebus Instruction Chart�. Provide the texts and have the children illustrate the various steps in the instructions. Suggested titles for Rebus Instruction Charts: �How to Bake a Cake�, �How to Take Care of your Pet Fish�, �How to Make a Magic Wand�, etc.

22 December 2008
*Note: For primary school teachers in Singapore who are using the �In Step� series of textbooks, sample texts for rebus charts can be found on page 10 (some symbolic skills required � rebuses on Verbs) and page 26 (easier � rebuses on concrete objects) of the 1B textbook.
Short rebus rhymes with no more than six target words are more appropriate for preschoolers. You can have up to nine target words for primary one students.
See Resource page for recommendations.

Chalk Talk on Stories

Chalk Talk is defined as a lecture (often informal), illustrated with diagrams chalked on the blackboard for discussing a specific topic. This web-and-map brainstorming teaching method encourages critical thinking and student participation. It is more suitable for students at higher levels who have a reasonable store of vocabulary to use.

I use Chalk Talk in the form of a Pictogram Approach � an illustrated approach to Reading Comprehension, to teach students at foundation levels (K1 � P2). It�s a simplest form of mind-mapping and is more developmentally appropriate for young children who are far from the Reading Comprehension stage (Children need to acquire Listening and Speaking Comprehension skills before proceeding to Reading Comprehension).

Chalk Talk enhances the written and aural/oral with the visual and summarizes a lengthy story, thus providing a vivid picture of complicated sequence of story events for easier comprehension. In addition, it is an easy tool to engage children�s attention.

General Procedure:

• After reading a story to the children, revisit and narrate the first part of the story.
• Draw out the �setting� with labels and short captions.
• Have the children recall the story sequence. Extend your drawings (add details) as the children narrate. (No artistic talent is necessary. �Stick figure� art can do the job equally well.)
• Retell the story using the illustrations on the board, pausing in between to invite the children to join in (to �fill the gaps�).
• Proceed with Qs and As (Questions and Answers) in sequence. Help the children infer the answers from the illustrations. Help them structure the answers in simple, grammatically correct sentences, and have them repeat after you.

You can have variations such as using it as a �Tuning-in� activity (introduction) to promote a positive mindset e.g. the �Can Do� attitude.

Variation (Adapted from the tuning-in activity of one of MOE�s K1 lesson plans):

1. (Create your own short story in advance.) Draw a steep hill. Draw circles on each side of the hill to indicate the position of two groups of children.
2. Narrate (Narration in bold italics):
   This group of children want to bring some presents to poor children living on the other side of the hill. They need to take a train to reach there. All the other trains have left the station, except a very small train. The children decide to ask the small train to help them. The small train has never travelled so far before. He is also not sure if he is strong enough to go up the hill, but he agrees to give a try. Up the hill they go...
3. (Draw short arrows along the foot of the hill). The small train chants: I try I can�I try I can�I try I can. (Pause for a while and then draw arrows up the slope of the hill as the train changes its chant) I think I can�I think I can�I think I can. (Pause) I know I can�I know I can�I know I can. (And finally at the peak of the hill) I can! I can! (Then draw a long smooth arrow that �zooms� all the way down the hill) I made it!
   (*Raise your voice a little and speak faster and louder with increasing determination each time you change the chant.)

One of the best stories to use for Chalk Talk is �Follow My Leader� that has a reverse sequence of story events. Children were captivated by the animated sequences during Chalk Talk on the story. Even adults who had requested to sit in to observe my lesson told me they enjoyed it tremendously.

Why Use Stories?

• Interesting � promote attentive and appreciative listening skills
• Meaningful � expand children�s vocabulary and syntax effectively
• Motivate children to want to read for themselves.
• Practical � show model sentence structures, use of punctuation marks, etc
• Q and A build up comprehension, analysing and problem-solving skills
• Story reviews and discussion of plot help to stimulate creative thinking � path to good essay writing

Children who are not spoken to by live and responsive adults will not learn to speak properly. Children who are not answered will stop asking questions. And children who are not told stories and who are not read to will have few reasons for wanting to learn to read.
- Gail E. Haley

Few children learn to love books by themselves. Someone has to lure them into the wonderful world of the written word; someone has to show them the way.
- Orville Prescott

28 February 2009
* Note: Primary school teachers can use this approach for consolidation and review of new concepts, or for explaining problem sums.