TEACHING TECHNIQUES TO EMPOWER STUDENTS’ LEARNING

1. BOARD GAME:
Material: pieces of colored paper with personal questions or any other topic, some blank
paper, and others with specific instructions (go back one space, go to start, go ahead one
space, etc.), and a die.
Procedure: The group has to:
 organize the pieces of paper on the floor,
 think about the rules for the game, and
 play the game

2. SPELLING BEE
Material: envelopes with letters necessary to spell out words on a certain topic (parts of the
house, fruit, action verbs, etc.), pictures representing the vocabulary chosen.
Procedure:
 One in the group will be the monitor who will have the pictures with the word spelled
out on the opposite side.
 In pairs, the rest of the group will take an envelope with the letters.
 The monitor will show only the picture and the pair will select the letters to spell out
the word.
 Then, they “erase” the word and are ready for the next.

3. FIVE – reading
Material: A reading text with F - I - V - E and spaces for questions
Procedure:
 Read the same text individually.
 In pairs write questions following the FIVE strategy: F for Fact, I for Inference, V for
Vocabulary, and E for Experience.
 Give your questions to another pair on your right to answer them.
 Get your questions back to check your partner’s answers.
 Tell your partner how well he/she did.

4. CREATE A POEM, THOUGHT, PHRASE

Material: old news paper, scissor, glue, colored A-4 paper
Procedure:
 Get a piece of colored paper, and an old newspaper.
 Cut phrases that you like.
 Select the words or phrases to create a poem, thought or phrase.
 Paste them on your paper.

5. NARRATE A STORY USING PICTURES

Material: a picture story and poster paper, markers, blue tag
Procedure:
 The group writes a story based on the pictures.
 Narrate the part of the story represented in each picture.
 Paste the story on poster paper and write your sentences under each picture.
 Choose a NARRATOR to tell the story to the class.
: READING:

FIVE: THANKSGIVING DAY

Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in the USA on the fourth Thursday in November. The first
Thanksgiving was a feast shared by the Pilgrims (who had recently settled Plymouth Colony in what
is now Massachusetts) and the Wampanoag Indians. They ate corn,
pumpkin and wild turkeys. This feast was not repeated until more than
ten years later. Thanksgiving was declared a national holiday in 1863 by
President Abraham Lincoln.
On Sept. 6, 1620 the Pilgrims left Plymouth (England) for the New World
on a ship called the Mayflower. They were 110 men, women and
children. The voyage took 65 days. and when they arrived, the Pilgrims
were afraid of the local Native American Indians. The Patuxets were a
peaceful group and did not do anything bad to them.
The first winter was very hard for the Pilgrims: of the 110 Pilgrims who
left England, only 50 survived. But on March 16, 1621, an Indian walked into the settlement. His name
was Samoset. He soon returned with another Indian named Squanto, who could speak English and
taught the Pilgrims how to plant Indian corn. The harvest in October was very successful and the
Pilgrims had enough food for the winter. It was time to celebrate.
Nowadays, Thanksgiving Day in America is a time to offer thanks, of family reunions and holiday
meals. A time of turkeys, pumpkin pie and Indian corn. A time of holiday parades, football games on
TV and giant balloons. Nevertheless, in recent years members of the Wampanoag tribe, who believe
the United States has betrayed the promises made to their ancestors, commemorate Thanksgiving
as a fast day.

ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS:

1. Who were the pilgrims?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. Why did they leave their country?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. How many pilgrims were there in the celebration?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
4. Why is this celebration important in the USA?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
..……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Checking comprehension:
THE STUDENTS WILL MAKE QUESTIONS BASED ON THE STRATEGY FIVE
This strategy will help students to develop Critical thinking skills,

F= facts (hechos )
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
I= inference
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
V= vocabulary
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
E = experience
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………….

CRITICAL THINKING

“Making sense of the world by carefully examining the thinking

process
to clarify and improve your understanding” (John Chaffee)

CRITICAL THINKING INVOLVES

• Define a problem
• Recognize stated / unstated assumptions
• Formulate relevant promising hypotheses
• Select pertinent information for solving it
• Draw valid conclusions
• Judge the validity of inferences

WHY IS CRITICAL THINKING IMPORTANT?

Critical thinkinking is important because:

• Critical thinking prepares students to educate themselves for the
rest of their lives.
• Critical thinking skills are necessary for success in many fields.
• Critical thinkers are less likely to just go along with the crowd

HOW TO TEACH CRITICAL TTHINKING?

• Use analogies
• Promote interaction among students
• Ask open-ended questions
• Allow sufficient time for reflection
• Teach students to apply knowledge to other domains
• Use real-life problems
• Allow for thinking practice
 STORIES
Definitely children love stories. They are a wonderful way to
practise/reinforce language and allow children to pick up new language
in a meaningful context.

REPETITIVE PHRASE STORIES

WHAT ARE THEY?
They are stories where some words, phrases or sentences are repeated
several times in order to help the readers or listeners follow the story
better or engage their attention easily

WHY USING THEM?

• Because telling them is a quick and efficient way to engage
students with limited verbal skills.
• Telling this kind of stories can result on natural language
acquisition.
• They are easy to remember, so the students can retell them.
• They constitute an effective way to teach complex vocabulary or
structures since they can be constantly repeated in the story.
• This kind of stories is not passive at all.
• There is always something for the children to do while the story
is being told.

HOW TO USE THEM?

• Adapt the story to the age and level of the students.
• Use visual aids when telling the story.
• Involve students in the story as much as possible. Using “listen
and join in” activities always has good results.

Adapted by: Mg. Miriam Sheen Cuba

Especialista en Tecnologia Educativa
 THE GREAT BIG TURNIP

Once upon a time, in Russia, an old man planted some turnip seeds. Each year he grew good
turnips, but this year he was especially proud of one very big turnip. He left it in the ground
longer than the others and watched with amazement and delight as it grew bigger and bigger.
It grew so big that no one could remember ever having seen such a huge turnip before.

At last it stopped growing, and the old man decided that the time had come to pull it up. He
took hold of the leaves of the great big turnip and pulled and pulled, but the turnip did not
move.

So the old man called his wife to come and help him. The old woman pulled the old man, and
the old man pulled the turnip. Together they pulled and pulled, but the turnip did not move.

So the old woman called her granddaughter to come and help. The granddaughter

pulled the old woman, the old woman pulled the old man, and the old man pulled the turnip.
Still the turnip did not move.

The granddaughter called to the dog to come and help. The dog pulled the granddaughter, the
granddaughter pulled the old woman, the old woman pulled the old man, and the old man
pulled the turnip. But the great big turnip stayed firmly in the ground.

The dog called to the cat to come and help pull up the turnip. The cat pulled the dog, the dog
pulled the granddaughter, the granddaughter pulled the old woman, the old woman pulled the
old man, and the old man pulled the turnip. They all pulled and pulled as hard as they could,
but still the turnip did not move.

Then the cat called to a mouse to come and help pull up the great big turnip. The mouse
pulled the cat, the cat pulled the dog, the dog pulled the granddaughter, the granddaughter
pulled the old woman, the old woman pulled the old man, and he pulled the big turnip.
Together they pulled and pulled and pulled as hard as they could.

Suddenly, the great big turnip came out of the ground, and everyone fell over.

http://www.childrenstory.info/childrenstories/thegreatbigturnip.html
 The City Mouse and
the Country Mouse

An Aesop Fable

A country mouse invited his cousin who lived in the city to come visit him. The
city mouse was so disappointed with the sparse meal which was nothing more than
a few kernels of corn and a couple of dried berries.

"My poor cousin," said the city mouse, "you hardly have anything to eat! I do
believe that an ant could eat better! Please do come to the city and visit me, and I
will show you such rich feasts, readily available for the taking."

So the country mouse left with his city cousin who brought him to a splendid
feast in the city's alley. The country mouse could not believe his eyes. He had
never seen so much food in one place. There was bread, cheese, fruit, cereals, and
grains of all sorts scattered about in a warm cozy portion of the alley.

The two mice settled down to eat their wonderful dinner, but before they barely
took their first bites, a cat approached their dining area. The two mice scampered
away and hid in a small uncomfortable hole until the cat left. Finally, it was quiet,
and the unwelcome visitor went to prowl somewhere else. The two mice ventured
out of the hole and resumed their abundant feast. Before they could get a proper
taste in their mouth, another visitor intruded on their dinner, and the two little mice
had to scuttle away quickly.

"Goodbye," said the country mouse, "You do, indeed, live in a plentiful city, but
I am going home where I can enjoy my dinner in peace."