"Banarama Effect".It's the way that we do it!"
Meet Emilie, our Language Teacher Service Manager at Primary Languages Network. She leads the PLN team of 30 teachers in 50 primary schools within our network.
Emilie has been working as a primary language French teacher for over 10 years. She’s become quite an expert! Like me, Janet Lloyd,the founder of PLN, Emilie can see that “it’s the way that you teach and deliver” primary languages that get the best results.
Take a look at these two examples from Emilie’s teaching this last half term.
Absolutely loved teaching the @network_primary remembrance poem to Y6 this morning, we thought about all the brave people of 2020 and extended our thoughts to the #NHS doctors and nurses. Really well designed activities and perfectly pitched for primary. #EveryPoppyCounts pic.twitter.com/V2bsak995q
— Emilie Woodroffe (@EWoodroffe) November 9, 2020
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
This morning Year 4s at @Weston_PS thought about being super learners and what ‘tools’ they need to be working well in the classroom. We learned classroom items in #french and saying I have... ‘J’ai un crayon 🖍’ @network_primary pic.twitter.com/MLh9sZMQV4
— Emilie Woodroffe (@EWoodroffe) October 13, 2020
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
The team of language teachers’ goal is to keep work primary and accessible to as many learners as possible. This is achieved often with limited time. Plus add in the additional challenge of home learning in 2020 too!
Below is a celebration of some ways the team has delivered effective learning since September and how Emilie and the team are continuing to develop as “experts in primary language teaching and learning”.
We hope what you see below inspires you too.
Creative learning for a purpose from the beginning! Year 3 beginners, “Popcorn Personality” writing (see picture above) at word level about their own favourite characters in stories
Year 5 ,stage 3, establishing a long lasting writing for purpose. introducing themselves in Spanish to penfriends in another local school.
Active learning.Being part of “outdoor learning days” (nature trail photo)with our target language nature trail activities:
Finding ways to keep language learning fresh and purposeful even during self isolation periods with “talking about feelings” activities:
Taking the time to celebrate European Day of Languages with our “Rainbow of Love”, French/Spanish and BSL song and activities:
Just love this, reading the Rainbow of Love song in French and translating into BSL!
Reading comprehension with a wider community purpose.
2/2 #rainbow poem from Winwick Primary School #bsl @network_primary pic.twitter.com/XMVPz1sGJW
— Emilie Woodroffe (@EWoodroffe) October 7, 2020
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Adding context throughout the school year, that is meaningful to primary learners, practising and recalling familiar core content.Our new examples this Autumn term include:
Autumn, colours and sound spelling
Harvest time and pumpkins and spooky lanterns.
Ensuring progress in learning. Revisit, retrieve, scaffold- just like you would do in other areas of the primary curriculum.
The PLN team’s Autumn celebrations of Bonfire Night demonstrate this.
From Stage 1, (familiar words in new contexts) to Stage 4 learners, who attempt an analysis of sentence structure and basic grammar (nouns, adjectives, verbs) and write several sentences both independently and creatively
It takes time and team work to become experts in primary language teaching. Can’t wait to see what the team produces next!
Network members everything you see is available on the PLN VLE.
Not a member? Then get in touch with us, the primary language experts, and find out more about becoming a member of our network and how we can support you.
.