Spacing out!

Just because we are packing everything up into boxes before the big move doesn't mean we can't still have loads of fun!

We actually found loads of things we haven't seen or used for a couple of years - sure, they needed some dusting...but all new stuff for most of our little learners. We also needed to 'do something different' because the things we really want to use have been packed "high priority" ready to use as soon as we have moved into the new place. Will we be able to find them though?!



Hope you enjoyed the last flickers of fun from our large classrooms...we can assure you little Luna next to Big Boy will be a Tardis, just like Dr. Who's...much bigger on the inside and full of exciting adventures!

Snuggle up with a nice graded reader!

Where do you like to read? 

Personally, I'm a bath browser, and I like to stay in there with a decent read until my fingers have gone all wrinkly and the water gone cold (love the reheat button on my Japanese bath, heh heh!)

My daughter reads how I used to - upside down with feet stuck up a wall or the back of the chair. Comfy!

At Luna we recommend that children (and adults) get into graded readers, and to do so in the comfort of home - instill that reading habit etc. Realistically though, we know we need to spend class time from time to time making sure we are literally on the same page...kids 'forget to do' or mummy forgets to enforce etc. This class reading does not need to be a dull drudge though; many ways to make the books work, especially with Young Learners:

Headful of readers

• find a page with the word _____ in it
• find a page with a picture of a ______
• listen to the CD & pause it - what is the next word going to be?
• 'stoopid teacher' reads the book but makes mistakes - shout out the corrections
• books open on table, children race to spell (target/new/reviewed) words, as teacher calls them out, onto the board
• make a word cloud of the story & use that for a group re-telling
• use cuisennaire rods to re-build the story
• record a 'team read' - use eg Talking Tom for line by line efforts
• ham it up - act out the story/take roles

Irregular past tenses

More involved texts offer you plenty of chances to review e.g. irregular past tense verbs or to listen carefully & pick up the different -ed sounds of regular past tense verbs.

Readers + Quizlet

Another tie in is using Quizlet - in or out of class, on PC or on smartphones/iPads etc. You can use Quizlet in a myriad of ways, not just vocab definitions or matching objects with images; breaking sentences into halves, matching collocates, matching opposites, matching speakers with quotes or actions etc.You can explore our resources on Quizlet - just search for "LunaTeacher" - why not join a 'class' - it's free.

Word of warning though - don't use your iPad in the bath!

Big Books, little readers

Show YOU are interested!

Action shots of Jim in action in the classroom are few & far between; Yuki is always pestering me for them though for promotion materials etc. So, seeing as she was helping out in pre-school today (Naomi off studying in Tokyo), she snapped away happily while I was reading one of our lovely BIG Scholastic readers ("I like").

Be active

Obviously (as I think it is obvious!) readers need to be interactive and engaging; milk the book for all it's worth and personalise it for maximum impact! In this case picking out the fruit we do like - and the fruit we don't like. Which fruit did we eat already today? Which fruit is soft/hard, what colours are they etc.

Most importantly of all, know your story!

As you can see, our pre-schoolers thoroughly enjoy a good book, and it is a lot of fun getting so much back from the children. I would say they are producing more spoken English now, before their 3rd birthdays, than most of our pre-teens who can only come to class once a week.

Engage

All the language they are acquiring at this age is going 'in', and being reproduced extremely naturally, frequently, and in context - with no pressure to perform.

Think smart - drink water

Jim-sensei was not at all sure how to start this class today!

He asked for some advice on Twitter, but maybe everyone was busy teaching too?! This is an annual problem though, as children are not hydrated properly in schools. In Australia, every child has a water bottle on them all the time, and are reminded to keep taking in liquids...here it seems almost an admission of weakness if you have a sip of H2O.

This affects a child's ability to concentrate/think, as well as actually being able to survive a very hot day without 'conking out'. We encourage our children in school to have a drink if they want - at first this is a culture shock itself!

Question remains - what would you do if your students were flat out asleep when you were due to start? 

(His classmates & I played a quiet game until he woke up & sleepily joined us.)