writing with children resource books for teachers

Acknowledgements We would like to thank the team from Oxford University Press, who guided us through the publishing process and made many useful suggestions, especially Julia Sallabank and the series editor Alan Maley We would like to thank the following teachers for trying out poetry ideas with their classes: N i Lei and children at Peng Pu Primary School, Zhabei District, Shanghai, and Vyonne Tam and the children of Ping Shek Estate Prim ary School (A.M.) H ong Kong Many thanks - to Edith Saberton for ideas and advice - to M arian Bravo for both her endless support and friendship - and to all the teachers (and advisors) in the Centro de profesores in Alcala de Guadaira (Concha Julian), Aracena (MaAngeles Verde jo), Huelva (MaAngeles H ernandez), Jerez (Carm en Sotelino), Osuna (Rafael M artinez) and Sevilla (M arian Bravo) who over the years have tried out activities and given invaluable feedback Special thanks to John, Rafa, and H ugh for their patience and support for all we and particularly this latest venture D edicated to the mem ory of Joyce Platts, an inspirational teacher and friend T he authors and publisher are grateful to those who have given permission to reproduce the following extracts and adaptations of copyright material: p 26 ‘K im ’s game’ rhyme taken from Lift the Flap Nursery Book by Rod Campbell © 1992 Rod Campbell Reproduced by permission of Macmillan C hildren’s Books, London, UK p 66 Summer, 1573 (oil on canvas) Arcimboldo, Giuseppe (1527-93, Louvre, Paris, France p 85 The Tropics (oil on canvas) Rousseau, H enri J F (Le Douanier) (1844-1910), Private Collection p 103 Van Gogh's Bedroom at Arles, 1889 (oil on canvas) Gogh, Vincent van (1853-90), M usee d ’Orsay, Paris, France Illustrations by Maggie Brand Music transcribed by PeterVecchietti and typeset by BevWilson Contents T he authors and series editor Foreword Introduction H ow to use this book Activity P re-w ritin g level 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10 M atching similar objects Silhouettes Snap! Board Pelmanism K im ’s game Air drawing Following a pattern D ot-to-dot Mazes Picture stories Letter level 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 Alphabet song Alphabet line Alphabet trail It’s an a and it says Phonics fun Letter-shape chants Letters b and d,p and q Lem on letters Feely letters N am e games Alphabet big books Alphabet hopscotch O dd one out 19 Level Age Time ( minutes) Page 21 0+ 0+ 0+ 0+ 0+ 0+ 0+ 0+ 0+ 0+ 3-6 and and and and and and and and and above above above above above above above above above 15-20 15 15 15 10-15 5-10 10-15 10-15 15 30 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 32 0+ 0+ 0+ 0+ 1+ 0+ 0+ 0+ 0+ 0+ 0+ 0+ 0+ and All and and and and and and and and and and and above above above above above above above above above above above above 10-15 10-15 10 10-15 15 20 20 20 40+ 5-10 ongoing 20 35 36 37 38 39 40 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 VI Word level 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 Word banks I can see something Word windows/cameras Look, say, cover, write, check Word cubes How many letters? Clapping games Pictograms Class monster Meaningful copying Word-list races Challenge! A work of art: Arcimboldo Word family posters Word-forming spinners Word fans Magic e Sounds the same, looks different Word chains Sentence level 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 Traffic-light colour parsing Dinosaur colour parsing Leaf sentences Sentence-level spinners Sentence flap books Living sentences Funny forfeits Running dictation Design a T-shirt T he longest sentence Mixed bag Pictures come alive Nonsense rhymes Friendship tree My life in a box Advertisements Alliterative sentences 49 1+ 1+ 1+ 1+ 1+ 2+ 2+ 1+ 1+ 2+ 2+ 2+ 1+ 1+ 1+ 1+ 2+ 1+ 1+ 4-10 and above to 12 and above and above and above and above and above and above and above and above and above and above and above and above and above and above and above and above ongoing 20-30 20-30 10-20 10+ 10-15 15-20 5+ 10 10+ 30-40 30+ 15-20 15-20 30 20 20 10 52 54 55 56 57 58 59 59 62 63 64 65 66 68 69 70 72 73 74 76 1+ 1+ 1+ 1+ 2+ 2+ 2+ 2+ 1+ 2+ 2+ 2+ 2+ 2+ 2+ 2+ 2+ and above and above and above and above and above and above and above and above and above and above and above and above and above and above and above and above and above 20 25 10-15 30 40+ 40+ 30+ 20 40-60 20 20-30 30 20-30 20-30 30+ 30+ 15+ 78 79 81 82 83 84 86 88 89 90 91 92 94 95 96 97 98 Vll T ext level 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 Van Gogh’s bedroom Funny dictations Jum bled recipes Surveys Top celebrity W hen my grandparents went to school Creating a greetings m at Post-it memos Comic strip stories Putting myself in the picture M ini stories W in-a-word stories Music as a stimulus for descriptive writing P o e try 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 6.9 Acrostics List poems Opposites and rhyming words poem L antern poems Shape poems I like!I don’t like—a class poem Poems based on the senses Poems about emotions Musical daydreaming 100 2+ 2+ 2+ 2+ 3+ 3+ 2+ 3+ 2+ 2+ 2+ 3+ 3+ and above and above and above and above 10 and above and above and above and above and above and above and above and above and above 30 20+ 40 30-40 40 30 + 20 30+ 10 + 20 20-30 60-90 20-30 40+ 30 103 105 106 107 108 109 111 112 114 115 117 118 119 120 1+ 1+ 2+ 3+ 1+ 2+ 3+ 2+ 3+ and above and above and above and above and above and above and above 10 and above 10 and above 20-30 20-30 20 30 20-25 40 60 40-60 30 122 123 126 126 129 131 134 137 138 P h o to c o p ia b le w o rk sh eets 141 G lo ssa ry 150 F u r th e r re a d in g 153 In d e x 158 T itle s in th e R e so u rc e B ooks fo r T each ers se rie s 160 The authors and series editor Jackie R eilly taught English for 26 years in schools in the U K before a change of career to ELT She has an M E d from Liverpool University and a Diploma in Advanced Studies in Education from Lancaster University She currently works as a teacher trainer at University College Chichester and the University of Warwick This work has involved training teachers in the M iddle East, the Far East, Europe, and the UK Vanessa R eilly has an MA in ELT from the University ofWarwick, specializing in young learners She currently trains prim ary E FL teachers in Spain, where she has worked as a teacher and trainer for fifteen years She has also worked with prim ary teachers from all over the world but mainly from Austria, Poland, H ong Kong, and Japan Vanessa is the co-author of Very Young Learners in this series She is also the author of several children’s coursebooks, including Zap!, Cool/, Starter, and a pre-school course, all published by Oxford University Press A lan M aley worked for T he British Council from 1962 to 1988, serving as English Language Officer in Yugoslavia, Ghana, Italy, France, and China, and as Regional Representative in South India (M adras) From 1988 to 1993 he was Director-General of the Bell Educational Trust, Cambridge From 1993 to 1998 he was Senior Fellow in the D epartm ent of English Language and Literature of the N ational University of Singapore, and from 1998 to 2003 he was Director of the graduate program me at Assumption University, Bangkok He is currently a freelance consultant His publications include Literature (in this series), Beyond Words, Sounds Interesting, Sounds Intriguing, Words, Variations on a Theme, and Drama Techniques in Language Learning (all with Alan Duff), The Mind's Eye (with Frangoise Grellet and Alan Duff), Learning to Listen and Poem into Poem (with Sandra M oulding), Short and Sweet, and The English Teacher’s Vbice Foreword T here is a quantum leap between acquiring the ability to speak and understand a language and learning to read and write it W riting is not a natural activity in the way that speaking is Many children experience difficulty in crossing the bridge from oral competence to literacy, even in their first language In a foreign or other language the problems are that m uch greater This book offers an approach to developing the complex set of cognitive and m otor skills needed if children are to be able to write in the foreign language T he approach is carefully gradual, offering teachers a rich array of activities for developing literacy skills These range from pre-writing activities, through letters, words, and sentences to the text level T he book recognizes that literacy is not developed overnight, and that time is a crucial ingredient: hence the gradual approach It is easy for children to become discouraged when learning to write (and to read).T he authors are at pains to make the activities pleasurable, personalized, and meaningful, in a learning atmosphere which values the attem pts the children m ake.The activities draw on the full range of sensory modalities, and are integrated into the overall framework of language learning T he situations in which children are taught to read English (or any other foreign language) are clearly extremely varied, ranging from those where the children cannot yet read in their own language (and which may have a different script from English), to those where they are already fairly proficient readers in their first language, and share a Latin script T he activities in the book offer useful ideas for the full range of situations teachers are likely to meet T he information age in which we live, if anything, reinforces the need for literacy skills This book makes literacy a key element in the overall teaching of the foreign language from an early age It will be an invaluable support to teachers in helping their learners ‘think literacy’ Alan Maley Introduction This book is for teachers who would like to motivate children to write more creatively in English It is primarily for those who teach English as a foreign language (EFL), as a second language (ESL), or as an additional language (EAL) to prim ary children between the ages of three and twelve We examine the literacy needs of learners from the initial stages before children are required to write in English, through the stages of letter-, word-, sentence-, and textlevel writing, and provide ideas for writing creatively at each stage T he book is a resource for teachers, with ideas ranging from teaching basic handwriting skills and techniques for assisting with spelling, to providing opportunities for writing stories, letters, and poems, designing and making books, and creating literate classroom displays We hope that you and the children will like the ideas, and have fun creating and publishing writing projects Objectives of the book T he overall aim of this book is to help teachers to guide children through the stages of writing to become confident independent writers We have worked with prim ary teachers of English throughout the world and have identified a num ber of m ain areas of concern for teachers To try and address these concerns we have designed activities including early handwriting skills, ways to interest children in writing English, and strategies to encourage extended writing Once children have mastered the mechanics of writing, they need opportunities to write independently and creatively using the vocabulary and structures they know This book contains many activities which could provide supplementary material to coursebooks, or material to build into a course plan in schools where a coursebook is not used Some of the activities may be useful in overcoming particular difficulties experienced by individual children, or provide appropriate extension work for use in class or for homework to consolidate and reinforce skills Children learn to write in English in a num ber of contexts, for example: - children who are still learning to write in their m other tongue, which uses the Roman alphabet, and who are now learning to write in English - children who are still learning to write in their m other tongue, which does not use the Roman alphabet, and who are now learning to write in English INTRO DUCTIO N - children who are already proficient in writing in their mother tongue but are now expected to learn to write the Roman alphabet - children who are already proficient in writing in their mother tongue, which uses the Roman alphabet, but which has a more regular spelling system than English - children whose first language is written from right to left - children who have already learnt a certain amount of English orally, without reading or writing - children who learn to write in English from the very beginning We try to provide a variety of activities which will help teachers and children in all of these situations The activities are intended: - to provide teachers with a bank of ideas to engage children in writing for enjoyment - to teach children to recognize the Roman alphabet: letter shapes and names - to teach children to write the letters - to engage children in activities that develop hand-eye co­ ordination and pencil control - to teach letter patterns—groups of letters which are in many English words - to encourage the idea that words can be used creatively and can be fun - to use guided w riting forms which can promote writing competence - to lead children from writing short pieces to writing longer texts - to encourage children to use language creatively - to provide opportunities for writing for a number of different purposes - to suggest ways of creating an audience for the children’s writing activities - to develop writing in different genres - to help teachers and children have fun writing together There are different views on how English literacy skills should be taught, even in English-speaking countries For young learners whose first language is not English, the main debate is at what stage to introduce reading and writing There is wide variation as to when children start learning English, and when they start writing in English In some countries, English is taught orally for several years before the children start writing, while in others, writing in English is taught from the beginning There are also differing opinions on whether children should start writing in cursive (joined-up) handwriting from the beginning, or whether they should learn to form letters separately (print) first Ministries of education often have strict national policies on such matters, so we have not entered into the debate We hope that this book will encourage children to write, whichever situation you are teaching in IN T R O D U C T IO N Motivating children to write T here are a num ber of com m on misconceptions about children’s writing For example, many people believe that writing is just practising handwriting and copying exercises from a book There is also a comm on view that writing in English can be m astered simply by knowing the shape and sound of each letter of the Roman alphabet In addition, many teachers believe that children learning English are incapable of writing meaningfully and creatively until they have a wide vocabulary and are proficient writers As Valentine (2001) notes, There seems to be a ‘m yth’ that children learning English as a foreign or second language are unable to attem pt composing a piece of meaningful text until they have sufficient grasp of writing ‘correctly’ at word and sentence level and have achieved a certain degree of fluency regarding vocabulary range and use of structures Contrary to com m on belief, children in this context are capable of achieving meaningful composition, even if their language level is quite low, depending on the way the language task is structured and the nature of support they receive from the teacher W riting is m uch more than just practising handwriting and completing exercises It is about: - thinking of what you wish to say and trying out the language to set down in words the thoughts in your head - expressing opinions - describing real and imaginary worlds, the ordinary and the fantastic - playing with sounds, experimenting with words, making up rhym es, and writing poetry Children should be given free access to a variety of tools for writing (depending on availability).These could include: - coloured wax crayons - coloured pencils - pastels: similar to chalk but with an oil base - ballpoint pens - pencils - felt-tip pens - chalk - paint Children should have opportunities to write on different surfaces and not only in exercise books These could include: - chalkboards - shaped pieces of paper - paper of different sizes and colours -c a rd - wallpaper - shaped books WORKSHEET 3.3 Photocopiable © Oxford University Press W O R K SH EET 3.5 Photocopiable © Oxford University Press W O R K SH EET 4.4 Photocopiable © Oxford University Press WORKSHEET 5.2 CD My name i s I was born i n (2) in My father, _ (3) (4), is a (5) and my mother, (6), is a I’ve g o t (8) eyes and (9) hair I’ve g o t (10) brothers and _(11) (7) sisters They are all very (12) Tve got a pet (13) called (14) Photocopiable © Oxford University Press W O R K S H E E T 5.4 Find som eone w h o (name) has an unusual hobby (what?) does their hobby every day _ needs to their hobby with som eone e l s e has an expensive hobby (what?) plays sport (w h ich ?) watches sport (w h a t? ) rides a h o r s e likes making things (what?) _ has lessons for their hobby (what?) _ collects something (what?) Photocopiable © Oxford University Press Glossary alliteration Two or more words repeating initial sounds close together to create a special effect, e.g ‘chattering children’ Adjective: alliterative analytic An element of teaching phonics based on breaking down whole words into letters and sounds See also synthesis articulation Speaking clearly and distinctly auditory m em ory T he ability to rem em ber sounds and spoken words balanced instruction An approach which integrates phonics and whole language blend How the constituent sounds of a word combine, e.g st-o-p bubble wrap Plastic sheet with air bubbles used for packing fragile articles cinquain Five-line poem with 22 syllables to the verse cursive w riting Joined-up letters, as in adult handwriting decode To sound out the letters in words in aphonies approach to reading digraph Two or more letters making one sound, e.g consonant digraphs st, sh, th; vowel digraphs ar, aw, ir em ergent T he very early stages of reading and writing D uring this stage children progress from practising the patterns of letter shapes to being introduced to the Roman alphabet and writing actual letters At this level the children learn that each letter has a shape and a name, and makes a sound encode To use knowledge of letter sounds to spell words flashcard A card with a word or a picture genre Type of text, e.g stories, poems, plays, letters, reports graphem e A written letter grap h em e-p h on em e correspondence Words are composed of letters (graphemes) which sometimes match sounds (phonemes) English has less graphem e-phonem e correspondence than many languages, but there are some patterns, which form the basis of phonics guided w riting W hen the teacher gives individual or group support and advice about the writing task haiku Japanese poetry consisting of 17 syllables in three lines of 5, 7, and syllables hand -eye co-ord in ation /eyehand co-ordination T he skill of guiding with the eyes the movements of the hand, as in tracing, cutting out, colouring within lines, or catching a ball GLOSSARY 151 im agery T he use of vivid descriptions and comparisons in language, which have a strong effect on imagination and feelings See also simile and metaphor ind ependent w riting After shared or guided writing the children work individually on their own writing initial consonant blend English words often start with two or more consonants combined: e.g br-own, str-eet lantern poetry A poem written in a plan of five lines and counted syllables per line m agic e An expression used to explain to children that when a word of one syllable ends in e, the middle vowel becomes a long sound which usually follows the nam e of the letter: e.g cake, kite, cute m etap hor A way of describing something by comparing it with something else which has the same qualities (but without using the words ‘as’ or ‘like’) See also simile and imagery onset T he start of a word up to the vowel, e.g the r in ‘ru n ’ or str in ‘street’ persuasive w riting T he writer holds an opinion and tries to get others to agree with him /her by using language to convince the reader to think the same way phonem e T he smallest functional unit of sound in a language p h onem ic aw areness T he ability to isolate individual sounds and manipulate them in order to read and spell phonics T he teaching ofletters and their corresponding sounds pictogram A drawing which represents an object, an idea, or an incident playdough Soft modelling dough made from flour and water For a recipe, see the Appendix to A rt and Crafts with Children in this series pre-w riting In this book, pre-writing refers to the period when children are not expected to write in English but are developing basic skills (such as hand-eye co-ordination) which will be needed once they reach the emergent and letter-writing stages realia Objects used to teach meaning, e.g real or plastic fruit rim e T he ending of a word from the vowel onwards: e.g eap in ‘heap’, ‘cheap’, ‘leap’ Unlike in a rhyme, the letters have to be identical, but the sound does not See also onset rhym e Words ending in the same sound but not necessarily the same letter combination, e.g ‘beech’, ‘beach’ scaffolding A structured approach to teaching which extends children’s learning by building upon what they know and designing challenging tasks to help them progress See Zone of Proximal Development 152 GLOSSARY shared w riting Teacher and children create a piece of writing together, teacher demonstrating the writing process by acting as scribe sight-reading Reading by recognizing whole words See also whole word recognition sight words Words with irregular letter patterns which can not be decoded by sounding out sim ile Similes make comparisons using the words ‘as’ or ‘like’, e.g ‘her hair is as sm ooth as silk’, whereas metaphors state that something is something else, e.g ‘love is a warm breeze’ sounding out Breaking down words into sections according to chunks of sound See also onset and rime syllabification Dividing a word into its constituent syllables syllable A part of a word containing a single vowel sound It may have one or more letters There are three syllables in ‘hos-pi-tal’ Some words have only one syllable, e.g ‘a’, ‘one’ syntax T he correct order of words in a phrase, clause, or sentence synthesis In phonics, the putting together of letters and sounds to make up a word It also refers to teaching letter names, shapes, and sounds at the pre-writing stage Adjective: synthetic Total P hysical R esponse (TPR) A teaching m ethod which uses physical activity to make a foreign language easier to learn and remember visual m em ory The ability to rem em ber what one sees, i.e the shape, colour, and size of things w hole language This approach involves building the children’s knowledge of English through activities in which children realize that people really use English in speech, stories, and songs, not just in exercises in books or in the classroom w hole word recognition Identifying a word on sight from the overall shape of the word and the pattern of letters in it See also sight-reading word fam ilies Groups of words with the same ending sound (rime) but different beginnings (onset): for example, ‘sat’, ‘fat’, ‘cat’, ‘m at’ w riting fram es Worksheets designed to help children to organize their writing and provide models of writing such as beginnings of sentences, key words, and, at text level, topic sentences for children to complete the paragraph Zone o f P roxim al D evelopm ent T he gap between a child’s current knowledge and the child’s potential knowledge It represents what the child knows now and what the teacher perceives as the child’s ability to learn The significance for the teacher lies in leading the child towards greater knowledge See also scaffolding Acknowledgement: Some definitions are taken from the OxfordWordpower Dictionary Further reading Background reading This Further reading section suggests a num ber of websites T he Internet is constantly changing and you may find that some websites listed here are no longer working T he book’s website www oup comleltlteacherlrbt includes links and updates If you find any links which are no longer working, or if you have any suggestions, please contact us via the website Inclusion in this list does not necessarily mean that the authors or publishers of this book endorse these sites or their content A sher, J 1993 Learning Another Language Through Actions (4th edn) Los Gatos, CA: Sky Oaks Productions Askov, E N and Peck, N 1982 ‘H andwriting.’ in Mitzel, H E., Best, J H , and Rabinowitz,W (eds.): Encyclopedia of Educational Research^ th edn New York: Free Press D ah l, K and Scharer, P 2000 ‘Phonics teaching and learning in whole language classrooms: New evidence from research.’ The Reading Teacher 53: 584-94 M cL ane, J B and M cN am ee, G D 1990 Early Literacy Cambridge, MA: H arvard University Press R eyes, M D L L 1992 ‘Challenging venerable assumptions.’ Harvard Educational Review 62/4: 427-46 V alentine, L 2001 Children as authors: the role of narrative writing in the E Y L classroom Unpublished M A Dissertation CELTE D ept., University ofWarwick Vygotsky, L S 1978 M ind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press Classroom activities B azo, P., H ernandez, M R , and P enate, M 1994 Think in English A & B Oxford: Oxford University Press These two books have some very attractive word- and sentence-level activities for children who can write in their first language and have been learning English for a couple of months Book B is a little more advanced and takes children into their second year of English C haves, C , G raham , A , and Superfine,W 1999 Fun and Games in English Addlestone, Surrey: DELTA Publishing F un activities involving reading and writing, although not all the activities develop writing Gray, K (ed.) 1997/1998/1999 Jet Primary Teachers ’Resource Book 1,2, and Addlestone, Surrey: DELTA Publishing G ood word- and sentence-level activities 154 FU R T H E R READ IN G Silver, D M and W ynne, P J 2002 Adorable Wearables that Teach Early Concepts New York: Scholastic A very useful book for teachers teaching early reading to small children Includes hands-on alphabet learning, introducing children to basic written words through cut-outs that can be worn Y ates, I 1998 Language and Literacy New York: Scholastic ISBN 0-590-53756-3 A very informative book prom oting communicative development leading to re-reading/writing and early reading and writing M any of the activities can be adapted to ESL and EFL http: I/teacher, scholastic, com!activities/bill Building language for literacy (designed for native-speaker children) Word level Ja n n u z i, C 1997 ‘Key concepts in literacy: Phonics vs Whole Language.’ Literacy Across Cultures 1/1 http:Hwww2 aasa ac.jp/~dcdycus/LAC97/phonics, htm A useful source which discusses the concepts of Phonics and Whole Language in EFL Literacy Across Cultures is an annual publication dedicated to issues regarding the learning and teaching of reading and writing in a foreign or second language It is published in print, on-line, and email versions Phonics C ro w th e r,T G 2004 Up and Away Oxford: Oxford University Press Covers initial consonant sounds, vowel sounds, blends, and digraphs but prom otes a joint phonics/whole word approach to reading in English E isele, C Y , H sie h , R , and S u n , D 1997 M r Bug’s Phonics Oxford: Oxford University Press A course which introduces English words through amusing stories Children practise phonics and vocabulary through songs, chants, listening activities, and writing practice http: //www bogglesworld com/phonics, htm Phonics worksheets members, tripod comhESL4Kids/phonics, html Some activities and resources designed to make both the teaching and learning of phonics more fun for you and your students Word games http://curriculum, becta org uk/literacy/resources/website_roundup html Some websites that offer word games and interactive language activities that can be used in the classroom FURTHER READING 155 Flashcards www enchantedlearning com Provides flashcards and templates for cutting and tracing, as well as alphabet books for activities and many other useful things http://billybear4kids com/ Animal flashcards with pictures and space for writing http://www abcteach com/flashcards/adzaner htm Flashcards for letter and word level, and a selection of cards in different writing styles Text level Writing frames http:J'/www kented org uklngfllliteracylWriting-frameslframesl.html How to design writing frames and some to download http://www warwick ac uk!staffID.J Wray/Ideas/frames, html W riting frames for older children Writing letters www talkingto co uk/ttws/index asp T he Times Educational Supplement has a num ber of sites on which children can write to famous authors, including William Shakespeare.They may ask about his life, his plays, his wife and family, the times in which he lived, fashions, the voyages of discovery around the world T he ‘playwright’ will answer questions within five days or alternatively he may recom mend books to read or refer you to other websites T here is a database of questions already answered so children should check first w hether their question has already been answered and think of another one Poetry http: Hwww.poetryzone, ndirect co uk/content htm A gallery of children’s poems you can send your children’s poems to, ideas and resources for teachers, links to other sites, and suggestions for poetry books http://falcon.jmu edu/^amseyil/poechild htm T he Internet School Library M edia C enter Poetry for Children page T he ISLM C is a meta-site designed for teachers, librarians, parents, and students to preview selected curriculum -related sites http://www mesalibrary org/kids/reading_elem/poetry, aspednternet M ulticultural poetry for children 156 FURTHER READING http'.llkotn ntu ac uk The Kids on the Net site features a range of interactive activities, articles, illustrations, advice, and collaborative online writing projects which open up exciting possibilities through hypertext and multimedia http:llwww tecnet or.jphhaiku/ Children’s Haiku Garden: verses and illustrations by children from around the world http'.llwww bbc co uk/education/listenandzvrite Writing activities, audio poems, a gallery of children’s work, and more Songs H olderness, J 2000 Top songs Oxford: Oxford University Press Two videos and activity books with traditional songs and ideas for using them in class They include word-, sentence-, and text-level activities M acGregor, H 1999 Bingo Lingo London: A & C Black A very useful song book which looks at language development, and works on the alphabet, sound patterns, and rhyming schemes Handwriting http://wzuzv.preschoollearners.com Good quality resources and downloadable handwriting templates Art http://www enchantedlearning com/artists/coloring Website with colouring pages from artists’ work http'.llwww vangoghgallery com Website about Van Gogh http'.llwww artcyclopedia com Sources of paintings to download Search for artists by name, for example: Giuseppe Arcimboldo http:llwww artcyclopedia com!artists!arcimboldo_giuseppe html Vincent Van Gogh http:llwww artcyclopedia com!artistsIvan_gogh_vincent html http: //postcards, www media, mit edu/PO-bin/readRack.perl? VanGogh list/Vincent + Van+Gogh Electronic postcards of paintings that children can use to write messages FU R T H E R READ IN G 157 Books for children Books designed for native-speaker children C a m p b e ll, R 1995 Lift-the-flap Nursery Book Basingstoke: Macmillan http'.llwww realbooks co uk! Promotes the use of authentic children’s books to motivate children to read in English, b ut recognizes that if the language level is too advanced, children could possibly be demotivated Books designed for young learners of English All of the following have activity books and cassettes, and in some cases videos B rig g s, R and E llis, G 1995 The Snowman Oxford: Oxford University Press P a u l, K and T h o m a s, V 1995 Winnie the Witch Oxford: Oxford University Press Winnie Flies Again (2001) Winnie in Winter (1999) P a u l, K and T z a n n e s, R 1996 Professor Pujfendorf’s Secret Potions Oxford: Oxford University Press Index Language alliteration 4.17, 6.2 alphabet ,2 ,2 ,2 1 ,2 clauses 4.10 d escription 4.15,5 ,5 dialogue 4.12 diphthongs 3.6 im peratives 4.7 letter nam es 2.1, 2.2, ,2 ,2 , 3.2 letter shapes ,2 ,2 ,2 ,2 ,2 ,3 letter sounds 2.3, ,2 ,2 ,3 , 3.14, 3.19 letter w riting 5.7, 5.8 narrative 1.10, 5.9, 5.10, 5.11, 5.12 num bers 1.8, 2.10 onset and rim e ,3 ,3 ,3 opposites 6.3 parts o f speech ,4 ,4 ,4 ,4 personal pronouns 4.1,4.2 phonics ,2 ,3 , 3.19 pronunciation ,3 ,4 ,4 punctuation 4.10 rhym e 3.16 ,3 ,4 , 6.3 sentences ,4 ,4 ,4 ,4 ,4 1 ,4 ,4 ,4 ,4 sentence structure ,4 ,4 ,4 1 ,4 spelling ,3 ,3 , 6.3 syllables 3.7, 6.4 vocabulary 2.13, 3.1, 3.2, 3.9, 3.11, 3.13, 3.16,4.14, 5.12, 6.1, 6.2, 6.7 word fam ilies 3.14,3.16 IN D EX 159 word order ,4 ,4 , 4.4 word recognition 3.1,3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5,3.6, 3.8, 3.9, 3.19 w riting fram e 4.7 Topics and cross-curricular skills alphabet gam es ,2 ,2 ,2 ,2 ,2 1 ,2 , 6.1 card gam es 1.3,1.4 copying 3.10 dictation 4.8, 5.2 draw ing ,1 ,1 ,1 ,3 em otion s 6.8 greetings 5.7 han d -eye co-ord in ation ,1 ,1 ,1 ,2 ,2 handw riting 2.6,2.7, 2.8, 2.9,3.8 m em orizin g 1.4,1.5, 3.18 m essages 4.14, 5.8 m u sic 5.13, 6.9 nam e gam es 2.10 objects 1.1,1.2,3.5 observation gam es ,2 ,3 ,3 personal stories 4.14,4.15, 5.6, 5.10 pictures 1.10, 3.8, 3.13,4.12, 5.1 p oem s 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 6.6, 6.7, 6.8 recipes 5.3 rhym ing 3.18,4.13, 6.3 rhythm 3.7, 6.9 sen ses 6.7 slogans 4.9,4.16 spinners 3.15,4.4 storytelling 5.6, 5.9, 5.10, 5.11, 5.12 surveys 5.4, 5.5, 5.6 Total P hysical R esponse (TPR) ,4 ,4 ,4 ,4 ,4 ,4 , ,4 ,4 ,4 1 ,4 word gam es ,3 ,3 ,3 ,3 , ,3 ,3 1 , 3.14, 3.15,3.16, 3.19 Titles in the Resource Books for Teachers series Beginners Classroom Dynamics Conversation Creative PoetryWriting Cultural Awareness Dictionaries Drama Exam Classes Film Global Issues Grammar Dictation Homework The Internet Learner-based Teaching Letters Listening Literature Music and Song Newspapers ProjectWork 2nd edn Pronunciation Role Play Vocabulary 2nd edn Writing 2nd edn Peter Grundy Jill Hadfield Rob Nolasco and Lois Arthur Jane Spiro Barry Tomalin and Susan Stempleski Jonathan Wright CharlynWessels Peter May Susan Stempleski and Barry Tomalin Ricardo Sampedro and Susan Hillyard RuthWajnryb Lesley Painter ScottWindeatt, David Hardisty, and David Eastment Colin Campbell and Hanna Kryszewska Nicky Burbidge, Peta Gray, Sheila Levy, and Mario Rinvolucri Goodith White Alan Duff and Alan Maley Tim Murphey Peter Grundy Diana L Fried-Booth Clement Laroy Gillian Porter Ladousse John Morgan and Mario Rinvolucri Tricia Hedge Primary Resource Books A rt and Crafts with Children AndrewWright AssessingYoung Learners Sophie Ioannou-Georgiou and Pavlos Pavlou Creating Stories with AndrewWright Children Drama with Children Sarah Phillips Games for Children Gordon Lewis with Gunther Bedson The Internet and Young Gordon Lewis Learners Projects withYoung Learners Diane Phillips, Sarah Burwood, and Helen Dunford Storytelling with Children AndrewWright VeryYoung Learners Vanessa Reilly and Sheila M Ward Writing with Children Jackie Reilly and Vanessa Reilly Young Learners Sarah Phillips