Specialist teachers - Getting the most out of the PLN VLE and Schemes of Work.
So you’re a specialist language teacher, and you are a teacher member of Primary Languages Network and the sole user of your VLE account; how do you get the most out of your membership and ensure you are using all the content to your advantage? I am Catherine Simms, PLN Network Manager, and an associate teacher working as a PPA teacher in one of primary network schools. I deliver the French across KS2 and support the school with the rollout of the subject.
I’ve put together this series of questions and answers to help you find the resources you might need in various situations. I hope you will find this useful. Please note, for the links to work, you need to log on to the VLE before clicking them
NB. Some of the content is available only to our Teacher Member Plus members, however, there is the option to upgrade to this membership and access all content if you don’t have Teacher Member Plus.
“I have 30 minutes in each of my classes, I need a scheme of work that is easy to use in this short time slot… what should I use?”
You need to use our Click 2 Teach curriculum in French Spanish or German
This is a really user-friendly curriculum with click-through resources, and easy to fit everything into a short time slot.
“I want to be more creative in my language teaching, how can I do this?”
You need to use our Be Creative curriculum in French Spanish or German.
In here you will find lesson plans, and the Be More Creative videos which will give you ideas to take your language learning in other directions
“I am the sole languages teacher in my school, how can I find out what other schools are doing in their languages lessons?”
Have a look at our Examples of School Work in the Be Creative curriculum – in each unit of work there is a slide show for you to look at work our other member schools have produced in each unit, in a variety of languages.
Have a look in these units of work that are coming up:
Stage 1 Spring 2 Carnival games German
“I have been asked to link language learning to other subjects, how can I do this? ”
You need to use our Cross Curricular section.
This area has a wealth of resources to help you establish cross-curricular links. You can also use the ‘Hot Topics’ button at the top of the page to access activity guides for our most-used resources.
“It’s World Book Day next month and I’ve been asked to do a special language lesson, how do I do this? ”
You need to use our Seasonal Specials section.
In this section you will find lesson plans, resources and ideas to help you celebrate different calendar events throughout the year, including World Book Day.
As with Cross Curricular you will again find our ‘Hot Topics’ button at the top of the page with activity guides for the most popular events, including World Book Day.
“I need to share with my school what is happening in language lessons, how can I do this?”
You need to use our Planning Tools page.
In here you will find:
- Long Term Overviews which summarise the topics, language content, skills, phonics and grammar for the whole academic year, and includes the 12 DfE Attainment Targets
- Tracking sheets to track the language covered, grammar elements, key phonics, assessments covered and DfE Attainment Targets
- Medium Term Plans organised into half terms showing the language covered and skills used in each unit of work
- Core skills progress to demonstrate the progress the children will make across four stages of language learning in each of the four core skills. Plus Knowledge Organisers for pupils and the wider school community and Language Nets with content, phonics, transactional language, grammar coverage per unit and year group too.
“This year I have two mixed age classes. What can I do?”
We have the answer. Use our Mixed Age Planning Schedule. It’s on the home page of the SOW on the top bar, in the drop down list “Coordination”.We have a devised a two year rolling programme to help.
“I’ve been asked to represent my school in an Ofsted interview, how do I prepare for this? ”
You will need to have a look at our Ofsted Ready chart which is available only from the Teacher Member Plus Dashboard.
This chart shows possible questions you might be asked, and how you can answer them using documentation from the Primary Languages VLE. Have a good read through, download and print off the key documents, and have a read of the blog post hyperlinked above the chart.
“I’ve been asked to deliver a special languages day in my school and I don’t know where to start…”
Have a look at our Learn a New Language page.
In here you will find basic language learning lessons in nine different languages including Arabic and Mandarin Chinese! The topics are in Click 2 Teach format, simply click through each resource, do the activity then move on to the next one. There is audio with each unit so you can join in with the children if this is a new language for you too! Why not try a different language in each year group? With Learn a New Language, you can!
“I’ve been asked to do some work in KS1, how can I do this?”
You need our KS1 Language Explorers page available in French and Spanish.
In here you will find a variety of topics to use with Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 with activities suited to these younger language ‘explorers’. The children will love the songs, games and videos which will give them a good base knowledge to build upon in KS2.
Hope that this blog post has helped you to better understand the ways that you as a PPA or specialist teacher can maximise the use of the VLE and the amazing amount of resources and support tools available .Don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions: catherine@primarylanguages.network and make sure that you book in your 1:1 FREE webinar with me if you are a “Teacher Member Plus”when we can walk through the VLE and find solutions to your own specific requirements.
Look forward to working with you.
Catherine