Bye-bye 2016

The end of the year brings many things like changing seasons, holidays, and reflection on events that occurred during the year. 
It has been a busy year but when the work involves helping our students, families and friends, it isn't tiring but instead energizing. That's why now, when almost whole world is preparing for upcoming New Year celebrations, I want to say thank you for your support and wish you all much happiness and good health!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2017!

Classroom games

Hi everyone, I have just found some activities for promoting cooperative attitudes in the classroom.

They will allow to work together and make decisions based on communication and collaboration.

Click on the pic below. Worth to read it.

Christmas and Peppa Pig

This is an episode about Peppa Pig at Christmas time. 
Although some people say that Peppa is not a good example for very young children, this is only a chapter for this time of the year.
Worthy to share with family.

Resolutions for 2017

What resolutions did my students make to ring in the new year? Here you have some fresh and unique resolutions from kids. After learning a poem about resolutions, students knew that they can be tough but also they can be very simple. At the end of the term, students decided these ones:

• I will talk English during the English lessons.
• I will visit the School English blog to refresh my English.
• I will follow rules at home for video games and internet use.
• I will be kind and friendly to school mates.
• I will be a faster runner.
• I will eat more vegetables and fruit.
• I will be a better dancer.
• I will play fewer video games
• I will clean up my room more often.
• I will go earlier to bed.
• I will help at home.

Personally, I want to spend more time with my family. Furthermore, I will improve myself and I will take deep breaths before pulling out my hair among others. What about yours? Write a commment and send me your resolutions for next year!

Innocent's Day

We will celebrate the Holy Innocents' Day today. Some people play all kind of jokes and foolishness. However, the most famous tradition in our country says that you have to hang a "llufa" on the friends' and people's back. But, do you know how to make one? It's very easy, you need a newspaper and scissors.
First, take out a page from the newspaper and fold it as an acordion. Look at the picture:

Now, it's time to cut the "llufa". Look at the pictures...and that's all! When you open the "acordion" you will have a "llufes"' chain. Now you can use it as you want: you can decorate your bedroom or you can cut the chain and you will obtain lots of "llufes".


Remember this tradition is in Spain because different countries around the world have a similar date on the 1st of April and they call it April Fools' Day.

Fold me up!

Hi everyone!
Here you have a surprise for these holidays:
the instructions about how to make a fortune teller.

The steps are as it follows:
  1. Fold the paper into fourths
  2. Unfold the paper
  3. Fold over the four corners, into the middle.
  4. Fold into fourths again
  5. Flip over the paper
  6. Fold over the corners on the new side of the paper
  7. Fold into fourths one last time
  8. Fit your fingers into the slits and open.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas is all about love, family and children. 

It doesn't matter what we eat or what presents we get as long as the holidays are spent with loved ones. 

Hope you get all that you wish for. 

Have happy days!

Free technology

Word hippo is a free and nice tool that students who have English as a foreign language can use easily to find definitions, synonyms, antonyms, and translations for words. 

The web also provides students with pronunciation assistance. 

Have a look by tapping on the pic.

A present for You

Hi everyone! 

Click on the pic and you will find a free Christmas activity to work with your young students.

Running for solidarity

The Autonomous University of Bellaterra collaborates with the tv3 marathon again. We have joined one more time. This year the marathon is dedicated to fight against neurodegenerative diseases. 

Interactive book

The book below is an interactive one. 

It contains lots of activities: listenings, matching pictures and readings among others.

Have a look by clicking on the cover.

Christmas poems for this time of the year

Hi you all!

It's time to work phonetics and Christmas vocabulary with our students. I selected some poems to work with kids. They have fun and also they feel proud of themselves because they improve pronuntiation through poems. Little by little, they understand them better and they become confident with English. These are two examples for this year:

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I have to add that we have lots of resources to give a model to children. To use voki characters can be fun for kids. Here you have an example.

To share with children

Hi everyone, today I want to share "Mouse for sale" with all of you.

The main character is a lovely mouse who lives in a cage of a petshop waiting for someone who wants to buy it, but he's got huge ears and everyone laughs at it.

The video below is the animated short that Wouter Bongaerts made for his graduation in 2012. It took him a year to make it! And he made his best production along his degree. 

 Watch the short with your students and/or your kids and family and enjoy it.

So charming and lovely story!

and remember...don't judge a book by its cover ;D

It's Christmas time!

 Today is the first day of December, an important month in the year.

It means that Christmas is coming and 

we can listen to some Christmas Carols around us. 

This blog wants to feel this special time with all of you by sharing this funny song:

Now, test your knowledge on how Christmas is celebrated around the world, using this interactive advent calendar.
No peeking before the correct day.

OCEANS PROJECT

Hi everyone! Another project is here. This time 5th graders want to find out information about the oceans and fish species. We will work through cooperative teams and each of them will choose a fish research. After that, they will have to do an oral presentation in front of their mates.  

SOME OCEANS' SPECIES

Keep smiling!

Your smile encourages others and makes people happy.
Try it!

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Today is an important day in United States. It's a national holiday and people spend the day with their families and it is traditional to roast a turkey with stuffing inside.
We will talk about it and we will learn some vocabulary today.

 For ending, I want to take a moment to thank all of your support, whether it is helping children, following this English blog or giving your support to me. 

It means so much for this English teacher!

So, although this tradition is not a catalan one, 

I wish all of you a very happy Thanksgiving!

Oceans project

Hi you all,

I have just started an oceans project.

Here you have two wonderful pictures taken under the water.

If you click on them, you will find out amazing webs where you can learn much more about marine animals (first one). 

Furthermore, if you click on the second pic,

it will bring all of you to amazing pictures. 

Enjoy them!

For ending, I want to share with you an easy song that children can learn easily

Descriptions guide

Hi you all,

here you have a guide for describing pictures.

It will help students to follow an order when they do an oral or written description.

Believe in yourself

One more time, and after some hard days...

I think that it is very important to be confident and believe in yourself. 

Then, you can do anything.

Never, never give up!

Matching emotions

Personal pronouns game

Students roll a dice and name the pronoun they land on. If it's a picture, they say which pronoun it represents and find it on the board. If it's a word, they read it and show the corresponding picture. There can be many other ways to use the game - just follow your imagination.

Talking about likes and dislikes

Hi you all! 
Here you have a good activity for 4th and 5th graders. 
Give them a list of likes and dislikes verbs:

• I like
• I love
• I'm interested in...
• I'm fond of...                                    + Verb -ing
• I hate
• I don't like
• I'm not interested in...

and let them design posters for the classroom and/or for their bedroom.

Look at the example:

Planets project

What about to work on Solar System with 3rd graders? We have just introduced the topic and we are going to follow working about it. This is a lovely song we are going to learn next days.

This song was written and performed by A.J. Jenkins. Video by KidsTV123

We will also learn this poem by heart. 

Story time

This is a lovely story from The Teacher's Magazine (issue #72) for young learners . 
I decided to take pictures and upload them as an ebook. 

Hooray! Useful for my English lessons.

Ending October

Hi you all!

Today I have a special post. Yes, it is! 

Halloween will be celebrated tonight and I have a story for today. 

Elijah wood reads "Me and my cat?"

Click on the image below and listen to him. 

Top resources to tackle bullying

Nicola Davison is a former teacher and shcool librarian who now produces content for TES Resources. She has just published an excellent article  giving some ideas to stamp out bullying at school. Worthy to read it !

Useful tips

I read an article last month where it was said that the content of lessons is less important than the methodology that teachers use in an age where the access to the internet and information has an important value everywhere.   At that moment, I thought of my Primary English lessons and I did agree with that idea. Maybe because I have my personal methodology. Let me explain.

When I teach very young children I usually start lessons in a circle. We look at and greet each other through a song. After that we follow with a poem or chant they have previosly learnt through repetition in other lessons. We play to repeat words or group of words in different ways, making a line or a train,  aloud and whispering, and giving different musical versions to what we are learning as well. We have fun and students feel comfortable with the language. However, we all know that it is sometimes difficult for those who are shy or introverted. For that reason, sometimes we use mime to match the action with some words (do, listen to and say)

I want their best because my main goal is to hear my students speak English when they greet, ask questions and share some feelings among others. So, how can I manage that? Personally, I think that the clue is to reinforce students' confidence through these tips:

• Speak English as much as possible so children can listen to the foreign language and have a good comprehension of the different messages. In this way, children will get familiar with phonetics from the very beginning.
• Design speaking activities for everyone to succeed. Give patterns to them if the activity requires them. Make them feel confident with the activity.
• Present short activities to keep their attention and interest. Remember that attention is the sharpest during the first 10 minutes. If the teacher speaks for more than that time, students will start to tune out.
• When you introduce poems, songs or chants, use lots of repetition because children need to do things many times. That makes them feel comfortable and helps them to  learn.
• Link gestures, movements and/or actions with clue words. This way of introducing the new vocabulary or structures in oral activities will reinforce children’s learning. Whenever they want to produce the activity, these clue words will remind them and they will match their gestures with their productions.
• During your first time introducing the oral exercise, do not use any visual support. When children get used to the new vocabulary and gestures and actions, then they will be ready to see the corresponding images and spelling. 
• Pay special attention to those students who need your reinforcement. Maybe they need to be encouraged to repeat and do the actions that the oral activity requires.
• Use technology in some activities and upload some of them to the School English's web. Students will check and share them at home.

As a conclusion, I would say that the goal of teaching oral language skills is to improve students’ communicative skills, because in only in that way, students can express themselves in the foreign language. In addition, lots of research underlines the importance of play, especially in the early years of life. When students play and have fun, there’s motivation to create a safe place, which inspires good sharing and can stimulate learning.

A good song for October

This is an old song that tells the story of meeting a new friend at the beginning of a school year. Through its lyrics, it is able to remind childhood.

This is a stop motion that Alison Work made for her interactive media class in high school. Congratulations Alison!

That is!

 There is some joy for learning better when heart meets brain. 

So, I encourage all of you, teachers, families, friends and students to follow this statement!

Learning new vocabulary

Hi everyone!

Just to share a brilliant idea it comes to my mind.

Linking with my obsession for making my lessons funnier and closer to children, what about to learn new chants and vocabulary singing?
Do you remember "Actions I can do" giving different versions to it?

(here you have an example)

Now, let's make children have fun in the classroom giving them some lists of the vocabulary we have just introduce and using a famous tone for repetition:

Try to repeat the days of the week or the months of the year as the example below:

January, February,
March, April,
May, June,
July, August,
September, October,
November, December,
Then you turn around.

(To the Macarena) 

Safe web for students

Hi everyone,

I have just found out a safe place for students. 

If they have to surf on internet searching images photos for class is a quick web where students can do their research.

Having fun!

Hi you all!

This is an amazing song for checking numbers until 10 with very young children.

Hope you like it! It has a very cool animation.

What a great job Super Simple songs. Thank you for sharing!

Sing and spell !

Hi you all.
I've got a song stuck in my head. It drives me crazy because a voice inside me is singing all the day!
So, I want to share it in this page.

 You will review not only vocabulary about the weather but also how to spell the main words.
Don't worry because we will sing all together in our lessons.
We will hear, see, say and do! The best recipe to learn for a long time.

1st Autumn day!

Fall is such a wonderful time of year, isn't it? 
Although we can still enjoy a summer weather, some leaves are turning into warm colours. The weather is getting cooler, but it is still fun to play outdoors. 
Today I want to share "Autumn leaves" by Eric Clapton with all of you. 
This is one of my favourite songs. Everybody who loves jazz, will like it.

An amazing tool for teachers!

Hi teachers!

Today this post is specially for you all.

I have started to use ClassDojo in my English lessons and my students are very excited.

Class Dojo is an online behavior management which its primary goal is to encourage positive student behaviours.

Watch the next video and know how it works:

Ready to start?

Hi you all!

How was your summer? Did you enjoy with family and friends?

I wish you could have a great time and hope you tell us lots of amazing stories today, the first day of school.

By the way, we have to remember the rules in the classroom, so I think that the best way is to have fun watching the cartoon below. It reminds us the good maners and the rules in a classroom or in a school.

Summer break

Smile, relax, forbid, do sport, go running, go on excursions,  try to say what you feel, go for a walk, draw and paint, smile, read a book, sing in the shower, keep your good memories, take some photos, listen to your friends, show your happiness, write your feelings, listen to the nature and respect the environment, help people, do what you have promised, let someone help you, look at flowers, help to your friends, turn the TV off and chat with your relatives, listen to your favourite music, learn something you have always wanted to do, phone your friends, close your eyes and imagine the waves on the sea, make someone feel important, make a list of things you are good at, go to the library and listen to the silence, say to your friends you love them, look at the stars, think about what you have, breathe, finish projects, make friends, grow and be responsible and enjoy your summer.

Let me say thank you for your continued support one more time. 

I hope you have a very happy and relaxing summer break. 

Erasmus+ course finished!

Happy to have finished this worthy course. If you are a teacher, I encourage you to enrol yourself in the etwinning network and enjoy with the on line courses it offers to teachers.

Recharge your batteries

Krissy Venosdale is an innovation coordiantor, creative spirit and lifelong learner. She works every day toward making a world where all kids have the opportunities to pursue their greatest passions and are inspired to dream big. She shares her heart and soul of learning at her personal web

Storytelling resources

Hi everyone!

Thanks to Shelly Terrell who has collected lots of resources in a symbaloo!

Blending sounds

Hi everyone!

Let's practise phonics.

 Move the camera and find the correct picture with the sounds you will listen to.

Click on the image below and become an amazing photographer

An activity for this summer

Hi you all!

Here you have a toy you can make it with your parents' help.

Try it! 

It will be an amazing rolling toy made at home! 


Enjoy your weekend!

Resources for young children

Another publication about oral resources for young children.
They are fun and helpful.
Enjoy them and don't hesitate to contact me if you require additional information.
Cheers!

Fun with phonics

Hi everyone!

July is here and I want to update you on the last activity about phonics I worked in an English lesson. Phonetics are sometimes dull to work in our lessons but I think that the activity I introduced to children, was a way to have fun with them.

At the beginning, the activity consisted in following the sounds by colours. After that, children had to identify each word with a sound. At the end of the activity, kids realized that they had played with phonics matching them with colours. 

Proud of our school year

Hi you all!

Today, last day of June, I have received two important labels. Very proud of working with European schools: one from Czech Republic and the others from Italy&Poland.
Here you have.

Activities for young children

Although this quiz is for children, adults may take it also. 

It deals with a lot of things. 

Please click on the pic and have fun. 

Good luck to you all ;D

A great surprise!

Following a blog shows readers and the authors that you are a fan. 
So, I'm very grateful for the last followers.
By the way, if you think of becoming one of them and you don't know how to do, here you have the steps you have to chase: go to the right and tap on "Join this site" button under the "Followers" widget (as the picture below shows). After that, you have to choose "google" and write down your mail and password. For ending, you have to tap on "follow this blog"

Thank you very much,
That makes me feel very happy!

Reading worthy magazines

This interactive magazine for young learners engages students like never before. 

Everyone will find amazing photos and excellent audios.

Click on the picture and then on "read scout"

and remember...
"Students who read in English,
increase speaking, reading, fluency, vocabulary, confidence and much more!"

Summertime!

Hi you all!

Today we celebrate St. Joan's Day! Yesterday, there were fireworks everywhere and the night was long. So, to celebrate summertime, click on the image below and you will open the lyrics training page. There, you have a song about that topic. 
Remember to choose the beginner level.
If you think that this is too easy for you, try a harder one.
You can repeat the missing word by clicking on the BACK BUTTON. If you don't understand the word, just jump the word with the TAB BUTTON and the web page will write the missing word for you.

Encourage students to boost confidence!

When faced with a big challenge where potential failure seems to lurk at every corner, you’ve probably heard the advice, “Be more confident!” But where does confidence come from, and how can you get more of it? 

Here you have an excellent TED video. It gives three easy tips to boost students' confidence and also yours, as teachers or parents.

Making things better

The end of the school year is a good time for everyone, but also it's amazing when you give a special award to students. Here you have mine ;D