Our English as an Additional Language (EAL) teachers work closely with class teachers to support our EAL students.
In addition to the more traditional support models of either withdrawing small groups of EAL students or supporting EAL students in class, our EAL teachers co-teach or team teach with class teachers. This often takes the form of short sessions involving games and activities where students have to collaborate. Such activities work well as students are required to explain their ideas, agree on answers or make decisions whilst having fun.To reinforce how possessive apostrophes should be used, Year 4 students recently played the ‘Hawaiian Skirt Game’. The leader of each group collected one strand of a ‘Hawaiian skirt’ at a time. Each team then had to discuss how apostrophes had been used in a given sentence and make improvements. Once happy with their amendments, they collected further strands until all had been revised.
The speaking and listening aspect of this activity was especially valuable as students had to consider the accuracy of their peers’ explanations of how apostrophes should be used and decide whether they agree or not. Negotiations such as these are powerful learning tools that enable students to discuss their misconceptions and deepen their understanding.
We look forward to the ongoing collaboration between the EAL teachers and class teachers.
Ms Jude Handscombe, Year 4 Leader
