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Choice in the Children's Classroom

Report and hand outs for the presentation given at the Kansai ETJ expo,
Sunday, 27th November 2009

School always appeared to me like a prison, and I could never make up my mind to stay there, when the sunshine was inviting, the sea smooth, and when it was such a joy to run about in the free air, or to paddle around in the water.

Claude Monet

Little children love the world. That is why they are so good at learning about it. For it is love, not tricks and techniques of thought, that lies at the heart of all true learning. Can we bring ourselves to let children learn and grow through that love?

John Holt

Presentation Outline:

Human beings thrive on choice. We all have a need for autonomy and children are no different. But giving children real choice can be a real headache for the dedicated teacher. How do we maximise language learning if we relinquish control? Choose to come to this presentation and find out!

Presentation Aim:

To introduce methods of using Activity Cards and also demonstrate some different kinds of co-operative games.

Notes:

Being able to control one's own learning situations should be a fundamental human right. Children are no exception. But:

  1. Children may lack the maturity to make decisions that are best for learning.
  2. Most children lack the language ability to discuss their learning desires and plan their learning using English.
  3. The teacher has more experience and understanding of how language learning works in the classroom.
  4. Classroom time is limited and precious.

One way to create a balance between giving children genuine choice and the teacher the flexibility and control over learning targets is to use Activity Cards.

Essentially, the teacher presents a selection of cards to the children. Each card depicts an activity. The lesson is an execution of the activities chosen by the children.

Activity cards have the following benefits:

  1. The teacher can offer a choice quickly and visually.
  2. The teacher can select cards according to the needs of a particular class and classroom situation.
  3. The cards can be used in different ways and are an activity in themselves.
  4. The cards generate curiosity and involvement.
  5. The cards can lead the children to start using and practising language of choice.
  6. The cards can be used for all or part of the lesson.
  7. The cards can be used to supplement an existing textbook or curriculum.
  8. The cards can be used to create an ongoing curriculum.
  9. Recycling material is simply a matter of using the same cards over and over again.
  10. The children's reaction to the cards gives valuable feedback.

The one real drawback of the method is creating the cards in the first place.

Possible Ways To Use The Cards:

Either/Or:

Select two cards. The group votes to do one activity and NOT to do the other.

Order The Cards:

The teacher selects cards for the lesson and the children decide on the running order. Cards not done in one week can be done first in the next.

My Choice:

The teacher offers a selection of cards. Individual children take turns choosing cards. One activity is completed before the next card is chosen.

Cull To One:

Individual Children take turns rejecting cards until there is only one left. That is the activity that is done.

Choose Some:

The teacher offers a selection of cards and the children to choose a specific number. Children plan out the lesson by agreeing to remove cards.

Old and New:

The teacher offers two sets of cards. The first set contains cards used previously. The second set contains new cards. Children choose a balance of each.

Old Yet New:

The teacher offers a selection of cards used previously. Activities selected are played in a new way.

Random Selection:-

The teacher offers a selection of cards and assigns each a target word. Children write the target words matching their favourite activities on slips of paper. The slips of paper are mixed together in a hat and drawn randomly one at a time to choose which activity is done. Duplicate draws are discarded.

Activity Cards
Activity Card
Comment

Activity Card Set

If you want to try using activity cards in your class here's a set featuring the activities listed below. They are in A6 format:

Download Activity Cards Sample Set(3mb)

Catch

This is a simple activity for releasing some energy and having fun giving basic commands. More info here

Christmas Jigsaw Quest

With Jigsaw quest type games players work together to collect jigsaw pieces. The format allows for individual practise so it can be used with players of different ability. With this Christmas version postmen try to avoid angry dogs and collect letters to Santa.

Download Game Board (649kb)
Download Game Cards and Rules (2.8mb)

Crocodile

This is my favourite proprietary toy. The toy works by pushing the crocodile's teeth. Press the wrong one and he bites. My crocodile is over ten years old and tends to bite unexpectedly. Whoever has the crocodile asks the other players who is going to push a tooth. Players can gang up to force the crocodile holder to push all the teeth. Before using the crocodile I usually review pronouns using You You Me

Dorilla

This is a simple phonics activity that involves making up silly words. Silly is useful because it creates an emotional pull that usually increases learning. More info here

Mr Kangaroo

This is a favourite activity of the kindergarten children I work with. I like it because it doesn't require any equipment. More info here

One Step Forward

Very similar to Mr Kangaroo and invented first. A lot of extra fun can be had with this activity by getting the children to decide what kind of monster will chase them. More info here

Parrot Parade

A kind of follow the leader game set to music. More info here

Picture And Phrase Match

Players work in pairs One player reads a phrase on a strip and the other finds the matching picture. Players then swap roles. Because everyone is talking at once the activity requires loud speaking and good listening.

Download Christmas Example set (4.75mb)

Pocket Bingo

I keep finding new ways to play this game. Good for most age levels. More info here

Shopping Challenge

In shopping challenge one player tries to buy items on a shopping list with a limited amount of money. Other players become shop keepers selling the same items at wildly different prices. How many items can the shopper get in the time limit (one minute is good)

Download Shopping Challenge Example Lists (1.3mb)
Download Shopping Challenge Example Items (360kb)

Sockit

This is an adaption of the tag game Hug & Hum mentioned in Everybody Wins by Jeffrey Sobel. The player with the sock tries to tag the other players who at anytime may join hands with a partner and recite an agreed target (for example, song, dialogue, word list etc). Once players finish the target or pause in the middle they must break apart and find a new partner. Play to a time limit or get very tired!

The Happy Game

This is an example of a spiral game. Players work together to guess a target sentence and move a group marker to the centre before time is up (five minutes).

The Happy Game Cards (2.4mb)
The Happy Game Board (211kb)

Report:

Forty-five minutes is very short! My plan was to start with a split story about King Arthur introduce some different ways of using the Activity Cards and finish with the story. My intended steps for demonstrating the cards was as follows:

  1. Either/Or using One Step Forward and Sockit
  2. Order the Cards using Pocket Bingo, Crocodile and the card not chosen from step one.
  3. Old Yet New reusing Pocket Bingo and Crocodile
  4. Cull to One using the remaining cards
  5. My Choice as time allowed

We just about got through step 2 - ouch! My plan was too ambitious. I wanted participants to experience the different possibilities using the cards rather than me just talking about them but to do so I'd have needed at least double the time. I also wanted to show how a lesson could be built up by selecting activities that used similar language targets. But we didn't have chance to get through enough activities.

I could have skipped using the split story and gained some more time that way but I feel that stories should be integral to every lesson. A good story goes beyond giving listening and understanding practise. It can help create group rapport because it is a shared experience. It can generate curiosity and curiosity is at the root of all genuine learning. Having said this, I've hardly ever used split stories in children's classes and I don't do as much storytelling as I would like.

On reflection what I should have done is completely skipped out Order the Cards. Having students choose the order of activities is certainly better than the teacher deciding everything. Students can still can practise negotiating and choosing. The method is safe for the teacher who is not required to really surrender control. It can be a useful way of transitioning to the situation where children have the possibility of designing complete lessons for themselves. But as a technique for a presentation about choice in the children's classroom it was too menial and completely uninspirational.

So as it turned out, because of my poor judgment we never got to do some of the activities I really wanted to do. My side aim was to demonstrate different kinds of activities, physical activities, physical games , whiteboard games, table top games and also different language targets - phonics, writing, reading. Oh well.

We did manage to use See You - Speak English - the Wise Hat Goodbye song which was a first. Thank you, everyone! In the past I've always forgotten to do it. I did, however, miss one of my key closing points which was to say that the presentation was called Choice in the Children's Classroom and not Choice in the Teacher's Classroom. I think if we want children to thrive we need to give them respect and we need to give them freedom of choice. Activity cards are a way of doing this without completely abandoning the notion of teaching altogether.

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If you have any questions about the presentation or about the games and activities listed above please write or use the comment form below:


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