Author Archives

Teacher and Materials Writer

• Word stress – footballs and sticky balls

  By Pete on September 15, 2016 • ( 8 )

  

  I like teaching word stress. I have various ‘go to’ activities for noticing and practising word stress – stuff like this: Using Cuisenaire rods Humming the stress pattern Fist pumping when you say the stressed syllable Building vocab based on… Read More ›

• Grammar review using drawings

  By Pete on September 14, 2016 • ( 3 )

  

  This was a good idea I came across Bucksmore summer school. A review for various tenses/structures. Give students a piece of paper. Get them to split it into 4 squares. In each of the squares they draw one of the… Read More ›

• ClassDojo – not a no go

  By Pete on September 13, 2016 • ( 1 )

  

  Sometimes I think I’m far too serious to teach young learners. Maybe my expectations are too high. Maybe I just don’t ‘get’ them. Perhaps I’m getting too old. Maybe I’m just not learning how to teach them properly. I don’t… Read More ›

• Digital Breaks – James Styring

  By Pete on September 12, 2016 • ( 1 )

  

  I attended a useful webinar by James Styring the other week, entitled ‘Easy and motivating ways to use digital technology in the classroom. Click here to watch a recording of the webinar. Overall, it was a very good presentation. There… Read More ›

• Spelling races with mini-whiteboards

  By Pete on September 11, 2016 • ( 9 )

  

  I don’t do enough spelling practice. I should develop in that area, definitely. But one fun thing I do is a simple whiteboard spelling game as a review. Give each team (about 4 students) a mini whiteboard, pen, eraser. Say… Read More ›

• Disappearing dialogues, colour-coded support

  By Pete on September 10, 2016 • ( 4 )

  On the CELTA YL course I did a story retelling task. The students had watched a Shaun the Sheep video, and I’d pre-taught some of the tough vocab. After the video I wanted them to retell the story, but they… Read More ›

• Post-it note votes

  By Pete on September 9, 2016 • ( 4 )

  

  A quick post-task for poster work. We’ve been doing quite a bit of post-it note voting recently, students seem to like it. Display posters around the room. In this case, we were designing environmentally friendly parks. Tell students that we will… Read More ›

• Comparatives and superlatives – Top Trumps

  By Pete on September 8, 2016 • ( 0 )

  

  This is a classic. I find Top Trumps are a fun way to practise comparatives (mainly) and superlatives with young learners. Here’s something I did recently… The topic was ‘Wild World’, but talk of animals like polar bears feels a… Read More ›

• 30 tips for developing teachers

  By Pete on August 30, 2016 • ( 7 )

  

  Some teachers have clear direction when it comes to development. Others, like me, have always been a little bit lost. I found that once I finished my initial teacher training there wasn’t much support or guidance when it came to… Read More ›

• Interactive whiteboards – some pros and cons

  By Pete on August 19, 2016 • ( 11 )

  

  At my current school we have interactive whiteboards (IWBs) in every classroom. These are a luxury, but I do think they have their drawbacks. In ‘400 Ideas for Interactive Whiteboards’, Sharma et al (2011:10-11) list these benefits of using an… Read More ›