Teach-Primary-Issue-19.2

From singing times tables to poems reminding us of the number of days in each month, harnessing the power of rhythm and rhyme really seems to make learning stick. I’m sure you can still remember one or more of the ditties that you learned in foreign language lessons at school, even though it may have been years ago. In this lesson, pupils will learn a song, rhyme or poem in the target language and then bring it to life through their very own animated movie. Clapper boards at the ready, it’s time to create stop-motion magic! 1 | LANGUAGE DETECTIVES Begin by presenting the song, poem or rhyme to your pupils orally. Ask the children to use their ‘language detective’ skills to listen out for any words they may recognise, either from previous lessons or units, or because they are cognates. Cognates are words from different languages that share the same roots and therefore may look or sound similar or the same. An excellent way of assessing what the children can already understand is by getting them to demonstrate any words they recognise physically, for example by putting their finger on their nose or creating a line of counters or tower of cubes when they hear a word they think they know. Then, give them the chance to look at a written version of the text, working with a learning partner to generate further meaning from the words. This is an excellent opportunity to teach the important skill of using a bilingual dictionary. Colour-coding the text can be helpful at this point, using three different colours for the following categories: ‘words I already know’, ‘words that are cognates’ and ‘words I need to look up in the dictionary’. This ensures that pupils understand that it isn’t necessary to look up every word in the dictionary and encourages them to draw START HERE MAIN LESSON WHAT THEY’LL LEARN l A short poem, rhyme or song in the target language, by heart l The accurate pronunciation of words they may not have encountered before l The meaning of key words or phrases in the target language l How to use simple apps to sequence still pictures into a short animation l How to add narration in the target language MFL Prior to the lesson, choose a short song, poem or rhyme in the target language for the children to learn. Ideally, this should be linked to the topic you are currently covering in class, to support pupils in memorising new vocabulary and structures. Something of around four to six lines long – including some kind of action on which pupils will be able to base their animation – is perfect. A good source of inspiration is mamalisa.com , where you can view songs, poems and rhymes in many different languages with an English translation, alongside a recording in the target language. Songs and rhymes are categorised by type, country, and even different holidays and occasions, so there should be something for every class. Animate the budding linguists in your class by making your own stop motion movies, with Ellie Chettle Cully KS2 LESSON PLAN myprimarylanguagesclassroom.com @ECCMFL Repeat after me: luces, cámara, acción! 92 | www.teachwire.net