Incidental learning, also known as play, can have advantages over more formal settings. Students who may worry about their performance, behavior, or achievement level in typical school settings, can benefit from the lower expectations and more relaxed atmosphere.
Teaching academic vocabulary is essential in order for students to understand the related concepts.
Spaced practice goes by many names, such as spaced repetition, spaced retrieval practice, and spaced presentation. Whatever you call it, spaced practice is used with students of every age and in every subject area. It is especially useful when memorizing content such as vocabulary words or math facts, after the ideas and concepts have been understood. Spaced repetition is the opposite of massed presentation usually called ‘cramming’.
At some point, almost every elementary school teacher feels that students are taking advantage of their kind and patient nature. Once this happened, during writing time. I explained that I was ready for more writing and less talking. I must have made my point because I recall everyone furiously writing at their desks, heads down, no conversation.
In international schools there’s usually a handful of kiddos in class who speak little to no English. Often they’re reluctant to speak in class for the first few weeks. It takes a brave child to come to school everyday without speaking the language. They never knew exactly what was going to happen.
One of the many good things about teaching in Europe is taking students on field trips using public transportation. For example, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam has free lunch concerts every Wednesday. Both the school and the Concertgebouw were close to the 5 tram. So I found a parent for every two children which left me free to deal with - well anything that came up - and we had a wonderful afternoon.
Thinking about words like tofu, origami, ski, broccoli, raj, improv, and caribou, shows that words ending with I, J, U, or V, have either been imported from other languages or are new to any language. Of course, there are a couple of exceptions that your students, you, and I just have to live with.
Remind students that the final silent E can have more than one purpose in a word. Let them explore how words that end with TH are changed when a final silent E is added.
Pronunciation often depends upon where you were born or where you live now. For example, when I pronounce the following words, I hear and say two syllables: fire, tire, spire, ire, gyre, wire, and lyre. To my mind, 'hire' sounds like 'higher. Empire, umpire, conspire, inspire, and vampire, have three syllables ~ when I say them.
Every spoken syllable has one vowel sound with or without consonants attached. In English, every written syllable must include at least one vowel letter. When there is no strong vowel sound in the final syllable, silent E is added.
