How PLN will support you during lockdown - Newsletter
Perhaps this is not exactly the situation we thought we would be in, but here we are in a second national lockdown... I know you might be feeling confused or stressed so I would just like to remind you that we are here to support you.
Just as we have done in the previous lockdown, and as we have supported you throughout your teaching in schools, we are still here and together we will get through this.
(If you are not currently a PLN member, get a free trial to see if our resources could support your school. Get in touch!)
In this blog:
- Support and materials available to you NOW on the VLE
- Additional materials being made this week (available by the end of the week)
- Additional support opportunities available to you
Please take the time to read what is here for you, and we hope you will find this helpful during these unusual times.
Support and materials available NOW
We already have a great deal of materials for you to use in the 'Home and School' area on your Dashboard (see image below for how to access this area)
In this area are lots of materials and resources (the headings are hyperlinks to take you straight to the mentioned resources):
Janet's Home Learning Overview video summarises what you have available in this area. This is definitely worth a watch!
Available in French and Spanish for Autumn 1 and Autumn 2 (Spring 1 coming VERY SOON) these are perfect for children to practise their language learning skills at home. Each circuit breaker has a few topics to choose from for each stage of language learning (for each half term there is a Stage 1, Stage 2 and a Stages 3 and 4 Circuit Breaker) and in each topic there is a variety of tasks: Listen, Speak, Learn, Play and Remember.
The children will revisit key language in a fun and engaging way, and all you have to do is download the Circuit Breaker you need and share it with the children on your school website, on a sharing platform or anyway you wish, and direct the children to the topic you would like them to practise.
You may wish to listen to Janet and Will's podcast as they explain all about the Circuit Breakers and how they can be used. Click here to listen to and watch Janet and Will's circuit breaker video podcast.
LEAP activity packs are available with a variety of lessons to use with a mixture of abilities, along with a short video to explain how to use them. These will be PERFECT to use with any key worker children you have in school. Put simply, there is one lesson plan per theme, and four activity sheets pitched at the correct level for your Stage 1 - 4 learners so you can teach one lesson, and differentiate the tasks effectively. There are plenty of themes to use in French and Spanish.
Retrieval activity grids for children to go back and challenge themselves on something they have learnt in the past, all linked to topics in the scheme of work.
Explore France/Spain with Space Miles is still there to use if you wish to do something more linked with culture. There is a series of lessons to use with any children you have in school... why not bring the country to the classroom and celebrate the culture of France or Spain with your language learners?
We also have a huge variety of Home Learning Activity sheets linked to the themes in the scheme of work and organised into Autumn, Spring and Summer.
We will be putting together some Home Learning activity booklets this week with a series of six activity sheets (one per week of this half term) which you will be able to share with any children who do not have access to a computer or the internet at home. There will be one pack per stage of language learning and these will be available by the end of the week in French and Spanish.
We really hope all these materials will help you organise home learning and get ready for any lessons with children in school. We do have more on the way too, so stay with me as I show you what you will be able to use from next week...
Additional materials on the way
I've already hinted at a couple of things, so here's a rundown of what is on the way:
Spring 1 Circuit Breakers
These will be available by the end of the week with topics linked to the Scheme of Work for Spring 1. You are still very welcome to use the Autumn 1 and Autumn 2 Circuit Breakers to revisit topics the children have covered, but along with Spring 1 you will have a variety of topics and tasks for the children to complete. Spring 1 activity booklets If you have any children at home who do not have access to a computer or the internet, you may wish to use our activity booklets which will consist of six activity sheets (one per week for Spring 1). There will be one activity booklet per stage of language learning which can be printed off and sent to children to complete, available in French and Spanish.
Lockdown Language Lessons
I am VERY excited about this! We are going to be offering some 5-10 minute lessons which will be recorded each week by one of our associate language teachers and will be available for you to use with children in each stage of language learning. The lessons will start off with some revisiting of topics from the Autumn Term, and nearer to the February half term holiday we will start on some new vocabulary from Spring 1. We hope you will find these really useful and interactive!
YouTube videos
As in the previous lockdown we will be releasing weekly YouTube videos which you can access on our YouTube channel There are still some great videos there from the last lockdown and I can already see some new ones, including the New Year's Rap in French and Spanish, Winter Colours Mindfulness video (this is beautiful and relaxing!), and Irene has also recorded a fab phonics video (Irene en casa Letters and Sounds 1.)
We hope you find these really useful and watch out for more on the way!
Hopefully you are now thinking about all the options available to you and putting together a plan of what you can use to help reduce your workload over the coming weeks. We really hope you find all this helpful in the current circumstances.
Additional support opportunities available
I hope you can see how PLN is here to support you during these difficult times. For our network, there are plenty of materials available on the VLE, both for immediate use, and more on the way for you to use from next week. All CPD and arranged meetings are going ahead as planned. Please get in touch with catherine@primarylanguages.network if there is anything else we can do.
If you’re not a member, please contact us if you have any queries.