The 3 Multiple Intelligences Visions

1. Teaching with Intelligences
Just as students are smart in different ways, they learn in different ways. If we only lecture, we inadvertently advantage our verbal/linguistic students at the expense of our other students. By extending our teaching repertoire to encompass all the intelligences, we make the content accessible to all of our students and give all students an equal opportunity to excel.
2. Developing the intelligences
As a pluralistic society, we value the capabilities, products and end-states of each intelligence. Why, then, have we chosen to elevate the status of certain intelligences in the classroom while disregarding others? By broadening our curriculum in the classroom to include the development of all the intelligences, we help every student be all they can be.
3. Celebrating Uniqueness and Diversity
If we have but one ruler to measure intelligence, each student is smarter than some and dumber than others. When we break the ruler into eight separate rulers, each student is not smarter or dumber, but has a unique pattern of intelligences to be celebrated. By teaching our students about their uniqueness and valuing diverse intelligences, we validate all students, Students enjoy a sense of self-worth, and more readily respect the uniqueness of others.

10 Tips for using Word Banks

Word Banks are suggested in most language series. Use the following list for strategies to make Word Banks work for you and your students. You may wish to combine some of the ideas to form completely new strategies tailored especially for your students.
1. Have students create their personal Word Bank in the form of a notebook, designating each alphabet letter to an individual page. Students can then add words along with their definitions into their Word Bank, ultimately forming a personal dictionary.
2. Allow students to create a Word Bank file in a file card box or other appropriately shaped container. They can write their word on one side of file cards or trimmed tag board, and illustrate or define their word on the other. Students should keep their cards in alphabetical order.
3. At frequent intervals, encourage students to create sentences, paragraphs, or simple stories using as many or their Word Bank words as possible.
4. Help students take frequent advantage of a classroom dictionary to check the accuracy of either the student's personal definition of the word, or the sentence usage of the word.
5. Ask students to keep a personal journal of words to form their Word Bank. In addition to entering the word, they should indicate where they found the word (such as a trade book, the Internet, or from a lesson), what they think the word means, what a dictionary says it mean, and create a sentence using the word.
6. Give students an opportunity to find a new word from a trade book or other lesson extension. Then have students take turns showing their word to other students, asking their classmates to contribute possible definitions and use the word in sentences.
7. Students can keep daily words on a key ring (or large paper clip). Have students write each word on a stiff piece of paper or index card (with a hole punched in it) as they encounter it during the day. After they complete writing the word, they should immediately add it to their key ring.
8. At the end of the day, have students share their Word Bank words with the group, creating sentences for each. You may wish students to take Word Banks home with at the end of the day so that they can practice using the words and share them with other family members.
9. You may wish to have students share their Word Bank words by creating a poster with a partner. The poster should include words from each student's Word Bank along with an illustration or definition of the word. The poster should indicate which student contributed each word.
10. Your entire group can create a class Word Bank, either by contributing words individually, or agreeing to enter them into the class Word Bank as they are encountered in group instruction. Keep your class Word Bank on chart paper or separate pieces of tag board, and add to it frequently, creating a complete "Word Wall"

Classroom management (young students)

• Noise

Do not expect primary school students to work in silence. It is normal for children to laugh and talk to each other while they are doing an activity.They want to know what their partner has done and, especially, who has finished first!

Rather than trying to prevent them from communicating normally with each other, prompt them to speak in English. Provide them with the language they need for this communication, e.g. Have you finished? Look at my picture! Oh! That's pretty! What's that? You can best do this by using this language yourself.

• Movement

Children need to move around. The school day is long and we cannot reasonably expect them to sit at desks all day. Try to include at least one moving activity in each lesson. Let them stand up or clap and act songs and rhymes.

• Flexibility

Be prepared to change the order of your activities in your lesson plan to take into account the mood of your students. If they seem unruly at the beginning of the lesson, start off with a physical activity. If they get restless halfway through the lesson, stop what you are doing and get them moving.

• Consistency

Be consistent. If your students know what you expect of them it will be easier for them to behave appropriately. This can be hard because as teachers we also have our good days and bad days! Do not expect students to be good always. Those of us have children of our own know that their behaviour varies from day to day.

• Fairness

Do not label children as "difficult" just because they, or their brothers and sisters, have a history of disruptive behaviour. Try to show them that you have no preconceived ideas about them. If you allow children to think that you expect them to be naughty, you will, almost certainly, not be disappointed!

• Positive reinforcement

Always emphasise and reinforce the good things that students do. Children love public encouragement, so make sure that the other students hear you praising and appreciating someone's work or conduct. Remember that all students need this praise, even the ones who do not always demand your approval. Never humiliate or use your advantages of age and experience to belittle a student no matter what they have done. Serious violations of the rules should always be dealt with privately.

How to use your instant puppets

Introduce the idea

Make an example before the lesson. Take the puppet character into the classroom, introduce the children to it, then encourage them to talk directly to the puppet, Elicit language by asking questions, e.g. Say Hello, What's my name?

Adaptation for a story called "Witchy and Itchy"

• Make a forgetful witch with a yoghurt pot, black card and material.
• Make up a story first, e.g. about what Witchy puts in her magic pot to make a new spell. The children should remember what she puts in her magic pot.
• Tell the chinldren Witchy needs help in collecting special ingredients for her magic spell, which she has forgotten how to make.
• Using the puppet, ask the children What must she put in the magic pot? They will ask her questions or disagree with her.
• Demonstrate how to make the puppets for Witchy and for Itchy, the cat.
• The children can make their own witches or cats.
• In pairs they can act out what Witchy is going to put in her spell and what Itchy replies.

For practice using Wh-questions or yes/no questions

• Present an exchange at the beginning of the lesson using two finger puppets.
• puppet A: Why are you writing?
• puppet B: I'm writing to my friend.
• puppet A: What are you writing?
• puppet B: I'm writing a letter.
• Negatives can be made in the exchanges as one puppet contradicts another.
• puppet A: You're writing.
• puppet B: No, I'm not writing, I'm reading.
• Children can draw a face on the first finger of their left hand.
• Divide the class into pairs. They can repeat this exercise and the dialogue can be extended if necessary.

More instant puppets

• Hand puppets

Draw a face on your clenched fist. By moving the thumb up and down you have a mouth to speak.

• Plastic cup puppets

Use a clean plastic cup. Turn it upside down and draw the face on the pot. 

Attach it to a ruler or a stick and add hair if necessary.

• Sock puppets

Put a sock on your left hand so that the fingers are in the toe area and the thumb is in the hell of the sock. This forms the mouth of the puppet.

Draw eyes and a nose with the felt-tip marker or glue buttons on for eyes. Stick cardboard ears to the back of the sock. They can be in the form of dog with long ears or a cat with small pointed ears and whiskers. A green sock can be used to make a crocodile.

• Finger puppets

Draw a face on a piece of card and stick it on your finger or draw around a shape and add pieces of material to make features.

Making instant puppets

Why are puppets useful in the primary EFL classroom?
Puppets can be used in stories, songs, chants, roleplay and pairwork. There are several pedagogical and linguistic aims behind using puppets.

• For motivation. It is fun so the children will try to speak or listen without inhibition.
• For meaning. The children will try to understand what is happening so they listen with a purpose.
• For fluency. In the desire to communicate with the puppets, the children will build up a flow of language and learn new words.
• For communication. Puppets make even the shyest child become involved, as the child is participating "out of character", e.g. using a different character from their own, or communicating with "someone" outside the normal class enviroment.
• For cross-curricular activities. Puppets can be used in most topic areas of the curriculum.
• To teach vocabulary used in a story or roleplay; parts of the face: eyes, nose, mouth, ears, hair, whiskers, etc.
• To teach language for making puppets, e.g. verbs: to color, to draw, to glue, to put, etc.

How to make INSTANT PUPPETS

Materials needed: cardboard, scissors, felt-tip markers, glue, scraps of fabric, ribbon and wool.

Time needed: 15-20 minutes per puppet.

The most important thing to remember when making a puppet for language teaching  is the fact that the features of the character play an important part in bringing out the person behind the puppet. You might consider make a puppet in advance to show the students what sort of puppet they will make.

1. Wooden spoon puppets

• Use a wooden spoon and draw a face on the back with felt-tip markers.
• Decorate the head of the puppet with strips of wool for hair. Use scraps of material to wrap around the handle for a cloak, etc.

2. Paper bag puppets

• Draw a face to show an expression on a paper bag and tie it around the wrist with help.

3. Toilet roll puppets (plastic cups)

• Attach a ruler or a stick to the inside af a toilet roll.
• Draw the eyes, nose and mouth with felt-tip markers and add hair if necessary.

The describing game

One of the best fluency games, this practices the vital language skills of defining and paraphrase when you don't know a word in English, e.g.
It's a place where...          It's an adjective...          It's a thing you use to...
You find it in the ...           It's an animal...              It's a person who...
You can use it to practice any vocabulary group or for general vocabulary revision.

• Put students into pairs, A and B. Students A turn round so they can't see the board. The Bs see the board.
• Write seven words on the board, e.g.

banana        Madonna        sugar        blue        twelve        a pilot       passport

• B has to describe the first word to A without using the word, and speaking only in English, e.g. It's a fruit. It's long and yellow. It comes from Africa. She's a singer. She's American. She's very rich and famous.
• A listens and guesses the word he/she thinks it is. If the guess is correct, B then defines the second word, B has to try to give a clearer definition.
• If they find it hard at first, teach them to give the first letter as a clue, e.g. It beggings with B.
• When all the pairs have finihed, the students swap roles. Write seven new words on the board and continue.

Twenty questions

This is a more advanced guessing game. Students have to guess the identity of a mystery person, practicing question formation, nationalities, jobs and adjectives.

• Play the game in groups or a class. Write the names of famous people on cards. One student draws a card and assumes that person's identity. The others have up to 20 questions to find out who it is.
• The student with the card can only answer Yes, (I am) / No, (I'm not) or I don't know. If they don´t know the question doesn't count.
• Elicit and splash on the board examples of the kind of questions students have to ask.
• The student who guesses correctly draws the next famous name, an so on.

This is also good for guessing a job, e.g. Do you work indoors/with your hands? Do you have to drive/wear a uniform? Again, practice some of the questions first.

Categories

Aims of the game:
This is a game that is good for revising lexical sets.
Playing the game.
Basic procedure:

• Choose five categories of lexix that you would like to practice with the children and then show the children how to play the game.
• Either draw a grid on the board and ask the children to copy it into their exercise books, or give the children a photocopied grid.
• Give an example of what they have to do. Elicit from the class one word for each of the categories, and write them in.
• animal    food    family    color    sport
• fish         bread  mum      red      tennis
• Then give the children three minutes (or however long you think the children need) to fill in as many words as they can. Allow them to use their coursebooks or dictionaries to help.
• Let the children compare their answers with a friend, and fill in any gaps they may have. Check the answers with the whole class and see how many words they found for each category.

Adapting for older children.

• Older children might like to play the game in teams. Divide the class into pairs or teams of four. Give each team a grid to complete.

Adapting for higher levels.

• Higher-level students might like to play the game using sequential letters of the alphabeth or even words with 2, 3, 4, etc. letters in them. Let the children use plural forms, but if you play the game this way, tell the children that not all letters have appropriate words.

Play I'd like a...

Choose a few students to come to the front of the class. Explain the game very quietly so that the rest of the class cannot hear. Students are going to say what they would like. They can choose any word they like, but it must begin with the first letter of their name. For example, Carmen can say "I'd like a coconut", but she can't say "I'd like a tomato".
Start the game: Say "I'd like a (choose a word starting with the first letter of your name)". Point to a student and ask "What would you like? Prompt them to say I'd like a...
Each time a students chooses a word incorrectly, say Oh, no (Pedro), you can't have a (coconut) but you can have a (pencil).
Give clues: Alicia would like an appple and Ernesto would like an elephant.
When students work out the trick, they shouldn't say anything but just continue playing.
Ask the students who know the trick to explain it to the rest of the class.