Let's talk about it .Moving talk on

As a network we work with children in KS2 who have as yet limited spoken language skills but also we work with children who have been learning the target language for 3,4 or 5 years and even more.As a network we need to get ourchildren talking creatively and independently!Our current target with the more advanced learners are that :

We want ourchildren to progress in their independent use of language!

We want the children to be able to say morethan just limited responses!

The intention of thefirst sequence of activities below – which  should be developed over a series of lessons – is   to begin to enable the class to explorepictures  , photographs and stories inmore detail. The activities are transferable so that over the course of the next academic year we can revisit the languages, set up the investigations and hold interesting discussion across a range of content and contexts. The intention is that the childrenbecome empowered  to extend what they cansay and to allow them to access what they want to say.

You need to first take a look at Teacher French or Spanish Talk Prompts to deliver the activities below.You can download the PDFs below

French Talk Prompts

Spanish Talk Prompts

The activities are based in the first instance around looking at famous picture and using these pictures as a stimulus for group talk.

Here are some famous works of art to explore and the content and contexts for which they could be useful  

 Possiblepictures

Famous Art we like to use. Possible focuses fordiscussion are listed in brackets after the title of the piece of Art and thename of the artist)

·        The Boating Party  , Renoir (people, clothes , food ,activities, animals)

·        Surprised : Henri Rousseau (jungle, colours,weather, actions, animals, emotions)

·        The Poet Reclining , Marc Chagall (people,countryside, animals, weather, actions, emotions)

·        The Starry Night, Van Gogh (weather , objects ,town at night , colours, emotions)

·        Las Meninas, Velázquez (people, families,clothes, colours, emotions, actions , house and home)

·        La Grande Jatte, Georges Seurat (parties,activities, weather , clothes , emotions, people)

·        La historia de José, Antonio di Biagio (animals,actions , clothes, colours, )

·        July , the Seaside , LS Lowry ( weather, objects, activities, actions, colours, clothes , people, family

Artcyclopedia can help you to locate the pictures you want to use.

Below are the sequence of activities which can support your young learners to practise and explore becoming more creative and independent in their use of the target language.

 A.     WordWarm up activities

To ensure that all the children can contribute to the TalkPrompt activities, start with some Word Warm Ups. Ask the children to:

1. Name / show / find certain categories of words e.g. colours,weather phrases   , animals, clothes
2. Give the children  talking time to complete this with a partner or a group.
3. Take feedback   .

Ask the children to :

1. Check the language they have found by cross referencing thislanguage in bi-lingual dictionaries .
2. Consolidate the knowledge through a game of charades/ analphabetical challenge (60 seconds to say five of the words in alphabeticalorder etc)

B.      Classconsideration

Either give out the picture to the class or show a largeversion of the picture on the IWB screen or flipchart.

Ask the children in their pairs or on their tables to :

• Familiarise themselves with the picture.Spot any items from the Word Warm Up activity above.
• Give each table a blankpiece of paper and ask the children to create “word graffiti” art of  the picture.They must writedown the key items / emotions/ descriptive phrases  they have identified in the picture andthe words or phrases should be positioned in a similar place on the blankpiece of paper to where the item/ emotion etc is depicted or found in thepicture
• Take feedback from the groups .Which words /phrases have they beenable to locate and place in their replica “word graffiti “   pictures? As the children give you theirfeedback , either write up or invite a child to help you write up the keylanguage that is being suggested by each pair/ table  on a flip chart

• Table experts .Each table becomes an expert table  . This means that each table has a themee.g. weather phrases, animals, colours, emotions, objects, clothes, food –the categories will depend upon the picture you have chosen to use . Theexpert tables must firstly decide as a group which of the brainstormedwords and phrases written on the flip chart are phrases that fit in theircategory- sometimes a phrase might match two categories e.g. a colour andan item of clothing. You should call out a phrase or word from thefeedback and the expert tables must listen and if they think it’s fromtheir category they should put up their hands. Increase the speed andquantity of language used to make the activity more challenging. Ask forvolunteers to take the teacher’s role in the activity.

C.      Talk Prompt Activities, matchingquestions and answers

• Give out the “Children’sstem responses “(from the Talk Prompt PDF above)  either as separatecards – one card per pair , or as groups of three stem responses to pairs. The children’s stem responses  arelocated on the “Teacher Talk Prompt Sheet”
• Ask the children to readand apply their knowledge of the language to  decide how to pronounce the stemresponses correctly and also the meaning of the stem response.
• Can the children matchtheir stem responses to the possible questions you show them and you sayfrom your “Questions for children” on the “Teacher Talk Prompt  Sheet”
• Swap stem responsesbetween pairs and re-run the activity so that children familiarisethemselves with a variety of stem responses and the link questions

D.     Talktime

• Children working in pairs orgroups,possibly with the support of a TA or teacher , should now investigatethe picture and be encouraged to actually "be in the picture" – even if there are limited characters that they can locate.
• They should use their imaginations to step into the picture.Guide the children into this target language activity with the key phrasesfrom the “Let’s imagine setting up the activity” phrases on the “Teacher TalkPrompt Sheet”
• Hold “Listen ins” and askchildren to feedback the language they are developing to describe what they seeand what they are doing.
• The children may use notes to prompt them if they havejotted down information.
• Ask one pair to share withanother pair their imaginary conversations and creative descriptions that they have generated inside the picture.what they have created- as spoken inside the picture” activity.

E.     Let’simagine

As a whole class step back into the whole picture and now ask the specific questions   from the “Questions for children” on the“Teacher Talk Prompt  Sheet”. Take responses from several groups foreach  question.

Ask the children to listencarefully and to imagine the scene they are creating as a class.

F. Return to thepicture

In a following lesson , return to the picture and see if thechildren can respond appropriately to the simple questions from “Looking atpictures together” section  on  the “Teacher Talk Prompt Sheet” andcan they remember their responses to the  “Questions for children” on the “Teacher TalkPrompt  Sheet” from the previous lesson?

You will now be able to use some of these activities toexplore pictures , photographs and stories in more detail with the childrenover the course of the year , to extend what they can say and to allow them toaccess what they want to say .