44 - INNOVATION IN THE CLASSROOM

FIVE INNOVATIVE WAYS TO TEACH ENGLISH TO PRIMARY STUDENTS

 

1.  NEW WORDS TO REMEMBER

When a new lesson is introduced,  it is important to let the students memorize new words. I distribute large cut-outs of certain letters of the alphabet.  These  Partners are assigned the task of finding and listing all words that begin with that letter,  from the lesson, into the space of the cut-outSometimes, the letter given should be the last letter of the words and this adds to the difficulty level of the task.

 

2.  CORRECT THE TEACHER PLEASE

To make prose lively and to ensure participation of every student, I set them the responsibility of correcting my mistakes as they repeat whatever I read.  So if  the text says ‘The hot sun’ I read it as ‘The cold sun’

When students repeat the phrase,  they are expected to correct the mistake and read.   This activity also helps them to understand opposites, sometimes it makes them laugh.The main objective that I set out to achieve, is easily done.

 

3.  SILENCE AND ITS AFTERMATH

I have ‘the silence period’ for my English lesson. Students wear ear muffs & tie a cloth band around their mouth. I write a qs on the board .They ‘read’ silently & write the ans on their whiteboard slates,(laminated A4 size sheets) with white board pens. Each student holds up the slate with the answer.  I just glance at the upheld slates & make a mental note of which student needs more feedback in that particular topic.

4.  THE MOBILE, THE PARENTS AND THE PENDRIVE.

Supervised speaking is sidelined, since each class has upto 45 students.  Oral tests are done but students do not get a chance to ‘speak out’

So,  I assign a topic on which they do research and their parents record their speech at the location of the topic given.   The recorded presentation on a pen drive is then viewed by the class.   The results have been very interesting and even the students who shy away from speaking fluently, participate enthusiastically.

 

 

5.   SAY IT WITH A DIFFERENCE. 

I have made a display  chart of all possible student requests, written in different sentence formats.  If a student wants to visit the washroom, drink water, borrow something etc

So going to the washroom has been worded in 8 diff ways & everyday a different format is displayed.  Students have to read it, memorize it, then come to the teacher & say their request.  This process helps them to format sentences creatively.