Summertime Special Days' Suitcases

Summertime is one of those wonderful themes that allows us to explore so much language with children :going to the beach , the countryside, picnics, playing outside at the park,a day at the zoo etcetra!  
I have used this opportunity to focus on:

Reading and looking for language we already know and investigating nouns and verbs as infinitives that we may not know

The use of the near future in a target language . In fact here is a question.... can our young learners define for us first of all how we pass on a message in English that is on the near future? In fact what is the "near future" and why is it so useful ? (I am going to .......)







It's a chance maybe as well to explore

• bilingual dictionairies
• paradigm of a common verb (to go)

And we can produce an outcome that shows how we have been practising reading comprehension skills.

The sequence of activities is based around three types of cards:

• noun cards

• near future verb sentence cards

• short text cards using the verbal phrase "there is/are and nouns"

an empty cut out card suitcase template that opens up as a book.

Step One 

• Decide upon your contexts.(I chose : the zoo, the playground, the picnic, the beach and the countryside)
• Create your noun cards
• Write the each noun that describes the context on a card.These are your "noun cards"
• Write full sentences using the first person plural of the verb "to go" in the target language - so that you have written "Let's go + an activity that describes the noun and the context.I have tried to differentiate the challeng by writing some of these sentences with less familiar language than others.Write these sentences on individual cards - these are your "near future sentence cards"
• Write out a short text using "there is/are" in the target language and selection of familoar and unfamiliar nouns of objects you may find , take or use in the specific context.These are your "short text cards".
• You will need a set of cards per two children on the class

Step Two 

• Ask the children to be explorers of "summertime special language".
• Can the children working in pairs to look through the cards
• Can they spot cards that just have "nouns" on them.
• Ask the children to see iof they recognise these nouns or do they need to investigate them further using a bilingual dictionary?
• Have a time limit to this activity and take feedback afterwards.What do the nouns mane in English? Does everyone agree?
• Ask the children to see if they can sport the other cards in to two piles- don't give them any other information.Again set a time limit suitable to the class
• Take feedback how have they sorted the cards? discuss why- e.g each card in one pile starts with the same two words (in this case nous allons...) or each of the cards starts with "il y a".
• Discuss with the children the meaning of for example in French "nous allons" on the near future verb sentence cards
• Discuss with the children the dual meaning in English of for example in French "il y a "( there is/are"). 
• Ask the children to investigate the cards further and see if they can find out what the whole message on each card is telling them? Again set a time limit and allow them to use a bilingual dictionary and then take feedback.
• Play games of charades or Simon Says based on the verbs and nouns they have explored and fed back to you.

Step Three

• Can the children in pairs put the cards in to family groups ? They need a noun,a near future verb sentence and a short text card.The three cards shpuld make a complete descriptive text : noun (context) , near future verb card(what we are going to do etc) , short text card (what we take,eat,use etc)
• Ask the children to share their decisions with a second group.

Step Four

• Ask the children to make their summertime special suitcases.
• Each child should make at least two suitcases
• Now you have choices:

1. Children can select and stick the cards on to their suitcase templates
2. Children can write out the phrases using writing prompts that have parts of the sentence removed
3. Children can try to write their own sentences from memory based on the cards they have been investigating

The front of the suitcase conveys the context

The inside of the suitcase tells us what we are going to do and some more details about the activity

And finally - don't forget the all important pictures on the reverse of the suitcase...to share with us the possible activities we can take part in based on the text the children have investigated!

It's not rocket science! Implementation of primary language learning

"It's not rocket science!" This seems like such a great phrase to describe effective implementation of primary language learning in an individual school.

This afternoon I have been reviewing progress in one of our network schools during "one to one" consultancy time as part of the JLN membership entitlement.Find out more here.
Janet Lloyd Network Membership

The JLN member school subject coordinator asked me to go in and spend 2 hours reviewing what the school has achieved and where the school is going to next with language learning.

The local school has implemented effective language teaching and is now ready to take on the challenge of assessment and tracking progress.

Here are the ingredients that have been built up,over time and are helping the school to be effective in French language learning so far:

1. Networking,sharing,learning
2. SLT and governor support
3. Appointment of a subject coordinator
4. Receive training on the DFE POS and use this as sign posts to aid implementation 
5. Using subject coordinator tools to guide and inform next steps 
6. Effective language teaching and learning
7. Progression across KS2
8. Links with literacy and creativity
9. Whole school buy in
10. Subject coordinator and experienced French language teacher working together
11. Celebrating language learning with display and events
12. Keeping a record of achievements
13. Using AfL to inform next steps
14. Trialling tracking and assessment
15. Considering how to implement tracking and assessment

The school has 

• Has a comprehensive SOW in place.This school is loosely following our JLN SOW.Take a look here 

JLN SOW

• Is a member of an active and focussed network. The school belongs to our network in the North West.Take a look here  Janet Lloyd Network
• Does listen and draw upon others ideas and experiences.
• Receives virtual support , blog posts and Network News which keep this coordinator up to date. Take a look here.Network News
• The subject coordinator works alongside the PPA French teacher and also delivers his own French language lessons , helping him to keep up to speed with the progress and the challenges of implementation.
• Encourages members of staff to be aware of their own class progress in the language, using the tools and resources that accompany the subject coordinator's pack.(The school does not overburden staff)
• Is building year on year on effective and successful practise and is moving towards more adventurous ways of approaching the language , for example with our "Blogs to go" or "APPS to go" SOW overlays.
• Has built a  substantial resource bank of stories that allow for creative exploration of the SOW content. Take a look here at these two examples of support: Reading in the target language is great  New Spanish books and reasons why I selected them
• Has display created by the children in the school to promote their language learning

 Today at school during our "one to one consultancy time" (part of the membership entitlement) we considered 

• the progress and next steps of the school and the coordination of language learning using the Primary Self Audit Tools.
• identified the "establishing tracking and assessment" area as the next step area for the coordinator and the PPA teacher 
• considered how the JLN SOW tracking sheets can enable the whole school/ staff to have an awareness of content , transactional language progress and skill development.

The one to one time with the subject coordinator allowed 

• the opportunity to dig deeper and understand what progress will look like across stages of learning and how to quantify the skill development
• the opportunity to look at other network school approaches and find the best fit for this school and its current language learning foot print.
• the opportunity to decide what will be the French teacher, the subject coordinator's and the class teacher's roles in the roll out of tracking and assessment next year

You see it isn't rocket science ,it's just sensibly paced and supported primary appropriate next steps........

Seaside Sequencing Story.Languages and Literacy

In sharing this animated sequencing story, I have to thank several people! 
Firstly Ana Lavado Garcia for her drawings and the original story power points some of us have used as part of the resources for JLN member schools.Secondly Ana and Emilie Woodruffe for their native speaker voices and time to put together authentic language in the simple story .Thirdly Little Red Languages for their work alongside WTSA/JLN to bring the "Alien family at the Seaside " story to animated life!

We love our extra terrestrial family and their adventures.
This year as part of our third local network meeting for the DFE funded WTSA/JLN language project "Language Learning for Everyone " we met the family at carnival for our "Carnival Triarama Conversations" 

Thanks to all the wonderful people above we are able to share this animated sequencing story about the seaside with you all.We hope you will enjoy exploring the story with your children in French and/or Spanish the following DFE KS2 POS learning objectives




DFE POS LOS: 

• listen attentively to spoken language
• speak in sentences,using familar vocabulary,phrases and basic language structures 
• read carefully and show understanding of words, phrases and simple writing
• appreciate stories ...in the language
• broaden their vocabulary and develop their ability to understand new words

So here is the story - a short sentence or two per page with animations and sound files.

Take a look......

la famille extra terrestre

La familia alien va a la playa

Thanks to Little Red Languages - you can pause the script, conceal the script, replay the sound file , go forwards , go backwards and watch the characters appear on the screen!

Spot the "space " theme throughout the pictures ( starry glasses, planet ice creams ,rocket sandcastle etcetra....thanks Ana!)"

Ways I would use the story file!

(Well it links so well with story telling in Literacy to be truthful!)

• Share the front page and look for cognates in the story title.
• Brainstorm words we may already know about the seaside and might expect to find in the story.
• Categorise the words- nouns, adjectives, verbs, masculine/ feminine etcetra.
• Encourage the children to look up words they really hope are in the seaside story.

• Explore the instuctions on the second page and look up the key words forst in the bilingual dictionaries before actially clicking in the icons to see what they do and therefore understand the instructions 
• Discuss and identify which words are adjectives, nouns and parts of verbs.

• Listen to the story all the way through with the text and add actions for each page on a second hearing.

• Listen to the story to explore the text on each page- show the text on each page, pause on key words, hide the text , practise as a class re-telling the story orally trying to be as exact and true to pronunciation as possible.
• Explore replacement words and phrases- can we change the weather for example or describe dad's sunglasses or baby's enormous ice cream in more detail?

• Spot the sequencing words.
• Discuss the role of the sequencing words in the text.
• Give out strips of card with the sentences written on the cards
• Can the children in pairs put the story back together in order.
• Listen to the text but this time conceal the words- can the pairs wave the correct sentence strip to match the sentence they hear?
• Ask the children to rewrite the text in the order they want it to happen - moving the sequencing words around and therefore changing the order.

Of course as you may know I love drama - so.....

• Let's learn the text and let's act it out 
• Let's change the text and tell the story as a performance
• Let's draw our own story and add our own sentences and sound files! 

We really hope you enjoy using this story and are able to join us next term if you are in the North West for one of our Local Network Meetings.

More details here

Language Learning for Everyone LNMs DFE/WTSA/JLN

Going to the Seaside and exploring DFE POS Learning Objectives

We have had the brilliant fortune over the last year to work with WTSA to develop a DFE funded project to support teachers as they get to grips with the DFE POS and the learning objectives of the KS2 PoS.

Each term we have hosted and led a series of local network meetings around the designated NW area and had as a core theme "seasonal content" for whichwe have created packages of learning linked to the DFE POS Learning Objectives.If you are a teacher in the North West then you would be very welcome at our LNMs next term (Autumn 2015).The dates of the twilight meetings held in local schools during the first half term will appear here DFE Training Schedule


This term our theme has been "Going to the Seaside" .We try to share ideas that are suitable for beginners ,moving on and mofre advanced learneres.I have tried this year to share these ideas with a wider audience through my blog posts.The ideas and activities are intended to  help primary and secondary teachers understand more about the approaches and types of activites which will support progress in primary language learning 
Here are some of the activities "going to the Seaside" activities and the DFE POS Learning Objectives I think you can try to explore in more detail through the activities:

DFE POS LO: Explore the patterns and sounds of words

Seashell sounds and sand treasure hunts
(Thanks to Jo Shore for the pictures from her network meeting that she leads in Mid Cheshire.Brilliant!)

Fishing for letter strings and sounds
(Jo added additional ideas of her own with this game.I love this as it is about networking, growing and sharing etc)







DFE POS LO:Broaden their vocabulary and develop their ability to understand new words
DFE POS LO:Understanding basic grammar

Sandcastle Sentence Building








Jo tried it out in Italian too!

You may also like the following activities too:

DFE POS LO: Speaking and writing in full sentences

Under the sea triarama for speaking,writing and a puppet show







DFE POS LO:Describe people,places,things orally and in writing

Seaside geography comparison,verbs and sentence structure
An interesting way to not only look at the seaside and language about the  seaside but also to compare two towns not far from each other- one is French (Biarritz) and one is Spanish (San Sebastian) 



Now it's over to you!
How do you want to use these activities in your work around the theme of "Going to the Seaside"?
Or maybe... how do you want to to take the idea and change it to fit different content and contexts, but still explore the specific learning objective with your language learners?

Going back, to get to the future!

Strange title I know - "going back,to get to the future" but this is a possible learning opportunity with Year 6 during this final Summer half term !

I am very excited about the work some of my colleagues will be undertaking this half term with their Year 6 language learners! 

Some of my local colleagues have decided this half term to work with their Year 6 classes to explore other target languages - 

• to excite and enthuse  Year 6 learners with a new language 
• to see how language learning skills  are transferable and can help access a new language
• to help our young language learners realise that they are now ready for secondary school and KS3 language learning and maybe a new language challenge!
• to encourage our young learners as they leave primary to see that they are at the start of a very exciting language learning journey not necessarily stuck in one foreign language!

Take a look at this message from our Janet Lloyd Network Facebook page from @Deprezprez on 31 May this year !

Looking forward to starting to teach Spanish to my Year 6s at Burtonwood CP and Locking Stumps CP this half-term after many years learning French!! Will be a great challenge for them and interest after the SATs come down!

In my opinion learning a language involves risk taking and involves the transfer of both prior learning and skills.

We all need to be able to make mistakes and feel that we can try again and certainly be able to overcome the feeling that if it's not perfect use of language then there is no communication! 

Primary language learners need to be able to take risks, make mistakes,have another go and try to improve!

The experiment is a sort of "blast from the past" for myself really!
In  1995 I began working as a primary languages teacher with Year 6 children in a local primary school.The children were in a feeder school to a language college where half the children would learn French and half the children would learn German in KS3 Y7. I decided to teach half a term of French followed by half a term of German througout the school academic year.The same content and activities were used in both  half terms but in alternate languages.So many of the children thought German was more fun and that it was easier and at first as a Germanist I was very excited about this .I had obviously created lots of "German" language  enthusiasts...then I realised what was actually happening.The young language learners were relaxed during the second half term as we re-applied skills and participated in  very similar activities from the first half term.  In my opinion they were relaxed and learned effectively because they had already practised the language learning skills in French!

Let's go back to when I started teaching in 1985... maybe a similar thing was happening there too? 
Our "top sets" learned a second foreign language and were called the "accelerated language learning group" because they started their second foreign language in their third year at high school.
"Mmm?"I ask myself as I look back , maybe other children could have achieved this too? Should we have identified more clearly the skills that we were practising with all our language learners? Just a thought!

And if we go right back in to my past..... why am I a Germanist? Well,I learned French as my first foreign language alongside Latin and then two years later- German. I thought I was better at German- but was I? 
Maybe I  applied skills effectively that I had already practised in French and this helped me to access German more quickly (memory,recall, listening,speaking, reading aloud confidently,using a bilingual dctionary etc)?  This was probably on reflection proven at University ,but I didn't realise this at the time.It was expected that we studied Dutch or Swedish for two years whilst studying German and within those two years we  reached A Level standard in the language. I love drama and reading texts such as  Miss Julie by Strindberg in Swedish was a delight and that has always stayed with me! Did I realise at the time that I was using transferable skills?

It seems to me that skills help make you more confident to try to communicate in another language.In the last couple of years I have had to begin to understand and communicate at a limited level in Spanish and I find my understanding of the transferable language learning skills so useful and so powerful! 

And why do I believe that this is for more then just the "linguistically" able?Well the truth is that I am a "trained" not "true" linguist!
Yes I love languages and exploring languages and helping others to do the same! 
My first love is being able to communicate and be creative with language and text! 
On reflection I have become very adept at transfering skills and analysing language and looking for grammatical and structural patterns.

So this half term is maybe less of a great experiment and more of a great celebration! 

The Year 6 learners are about to start the next stage in their great  language learning adventure. We hope our activities this half term will help our young learners see the links between languages and how the mystery of language learning, isn't really an unsolvable mystery and that language learning skills and tools are transferable life long powerful assets!

The experiment does demand that the children trust us,are confident and excited about exploring a new language/culture and  want to see how the practise of language learning skills during their primary career can be used to access language a new language.

Skills? Well ....here are a few for starters!

• listening and responding in a new language
• looking and listening for similarities between languages to aid comprehension, 
• knowing how to listen to and practise the sounds of the new language
• accessing bilingual dictionaries to find the words to aid comprehesnion and comminication
• trying to accurately copy the sound and the spelling of new language

It also demands that the teacher is confident enough in some cases to say "I am the facilitator" not the expert- let's explore this new language together.Let's consider the skills and tools we have been developing and let's step out in to a new language and see if we can communicate at a simple level in this language". Life skills I think that could be invaluable to all concerned! 

Who knows what language someone may need to understand or speak during the course of their own lifetimes!

A sample of our network year so far- to share!

We have a "Network News" section as part of our membership update and we share this with the wider community as the ideas and activities may help others too! Indeed yesterday ,whilst working with Lynsey McHugh primary languages coordinator at Christ Church CE. we discussed the "joy" of the network.she reminded me how much teachers do appreciate sharing local successes and progress and how this sharing helps us all in our language teaching, learning and planning for next year.It's probably been one of the contributing factors why we never stopped teaching primary languages in 2011!

You can visit this part of our website here: 
Network News
We started Network News in September 2013 and we have seen so many wonderful primary ideas and activities that local colleagues have shared with us.

Today I have been loading up yet more ideas and pictures and reflecting on my conversation with Lynsey.
I decided to put together a sample of the types of language learning activities shared  so far this academic year. 


So here we go - pictures of real,simple to organise, achievable and effective primary language learning practice in our local NW area.
It's a sample in academic calendar order just from Summer 2014 to May half term 2015.


Summer 2014

Taking a trip abroad
A report back from the Callands CP trip to Normandy with Year 6 in the Summer holidays

Celebrating learning a language across the whole school
Whole school French celebrations at Locking Stumps CP .Great to see teachers and children having such a great time!









September 2014 

Making the transition from one year to the next
Unpacking those virtual suitcases of favourite activities that some of us packed with the children at the end of the last term! Ready to learn a language again! Sharing with new teachers and classmates.

Linking with a French primary school
Building links with a school near Carcassonne .Miss Perkins shared her Summer French upskilling CPD and the school she visited with her class.Ready for a year of snailmail and contact with real French children at St Barnabas CE

Learning about French children and practising French handwriting
French cursive handwriting at St Luke's Catholic Primary 
Thinking about the similarities and differences in boys and girls names in France and England

Linking language learning and literacy.
Roald Dahl Day and describing characters in Spanish at Barrowhall CP 

Practsiing familiar language in  new contexts European Day of Languages and a child's assessment from Culcheth CP of a "grand day out at our virtual French language learning street festivals

Food tastiing and working with a native speaker European Day of Languages and food tasting with Jose at Latchford CE!









October 2014

Using bilingual dictionaries  Dallam CP independently using bilingual dictionaries to write their own descriptions of an ideal school 

Puppets for role play Puppets, personal information questions and answers and monsieur grenouille at St Teresa's

Retelling and rewriting a story Linking languages, the Hungry Caterpillar and the class literacy project at Holy Family in Halewood.







Creating target language display ,written by the children.

Je me présente bunting all about themselves French writing from Y4 at St Phillips to decorate their classrooms during their school project.

Linking language learning to the seasons
Writing independently about the colours of Autumn at Rainford CE in Spanish







November 2014

Linking language learning to national and global events  Poppies at St Philips CE to celebrate Armistice Day

Linking language learning to national and global events
Writing and thinking about Armistice Day at St Barnabas CE 

Practising phonics Sounds and colours games with Y3 at Woolston CP

KS1 language learning linked to projects Animal puppets for KS1 farm project at St Gabriel's 








Exploring other areas of the curriculum through language learning

Linking geography and languages with a tour of North America at Our Lady's Catholic school

Exploring the planets at Plantation CP 

Learning more about the target language country
Starting to create a 3D map of France to be added to over the year at St Andrew's CE Wigan
Over the year new objects , cities and key geographical features are being added.








December 2014 

Celebrating Christmas and practising language A sapin de noel made up all the numbers the children in Year 3 have learned since they started French in September at St Andrew's CE in Warrington.

Celebrating Christmas and practising language
Playing a snowman beetle game at Winwick CE

Celebrating Christmas and practising language
A festive French grammar lesson based on Twinkle Twinkle Little Star at Woolston CP

Communicating with other local children in the target language Oakwood and Latchford CE Spanish Christmas card swap!









January 2015

Making our own target language food Investigating a real Spanish Epiphany at St Gabriel's 

Practising our sound spelling links Making your own letter string galette games -so many of you really enjoyed this!

Developing a project between French and English school children  Cinnamon Brow CE's "Who is who?" project with their link school! A parcel arrived ... great excitement! 

Making language learning current and topical Barrowhall designed snowmen -" because it was snowing" and they were practising body parts and they sang a song made up by their teacher to the tune of Frozen!

Exploring texts linked to the language learning focus Birchwood CE used the Herve Tullet book to investigate eye colour! 

Learning about nouns and sound spelling links
Moorfield CP beginner language learners sorted their animal nouns in to sound boxes!







February 2015

Extending our spoken language with opinons
Carnival Time and so many of you enjoyed the triaramas 

Listening to stories in KS! and joining in
Dallam CP Year 1 listened to the hungry caterpillar in Spanish , joined in with the story and made their own fruit caterpillars

Cross curricular language learningOur Lady's Catholic primary went to the circus!

March 2015


Theatre performances in school Westbrook Old Hall invited a real French theatre company in to school to work with their UKS2!

Using target language texts to reinforce a Science project St Michael's in Halton listened to and joined in with una rica merienda and listened out for healthy and unhealthy foods as part of their cross curricular work.

Outdoor language learning Nutgrove Methodist YR went on an outside French animal hunt

Using objects of interest to explore new language
Park Road CP investigated a real French doll's house,donated by a kind grandad to look at the rooms and colours in the house

Putting on a performance Cuddington CP practised their samba style masks and dance for their Mother's day assembly

Putting on a performanc to share and celebrate a unit iof language learning! Beech Hill CP Year 3 Spanish learners performance of Brown Bear as part of their animal unit

Taking part in competitions
Parish CE found out who were the winners of their design an alien competition









April and May 2015

Making role play real LockingStumps hold their French cafe afternoon for their Year 6 learners as part of their cafe culture unit

Creating our games to practise language Bruche create a life size game of the hungry giant for their food unit - and play as a class !

Using our imaginations to revisit and reinforce language St Ann's hold a madhatter's tea party

Making language learning an integral part of the whole school development Beech Hill CP hold a fiesta enrichment day with "tapas" for their Year 5 and 6 in Spanish!

Visiting the country and using the target language for "real"! Latchford CE Year 6 go to the real market in Malaga and practise their language