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Throughout time with our students, just as with throughout life in general, we will regularly be faced with the unexpected. However, if we approach this with an open mind, really it can be celebrated as another opportunity for learning. I began to explore this here. I had here one more example. Today, I was to…

In my class – a group of 4 – 5 year old learners here in China – English as a second language, we are exploring the topic of health. We have so far discussed ranging ideas, including food, sleep, hygiene, playing and doing things you enjoy, and even using your senses and staying safe. This…

See the first post with the introduction to the context here, and see the second post here. Today, I had yet another experience. We were looking at a new letter and I wrote big and small Gg on the board. After practicing a sentence to review the letter name, I move to openly elicit the…

I wrote a post last week in which I reflected on some ways in which more might come from phonics teaching, here. This post brings in further experiences. As a new word to blend, I wrote “h”, “e” and “n” on the board. There was a reason here. They had recently looked at and discussed…

It goes without saying that in teaching, we need to be flexible. We never know what might happen in our class or throughout the school day. On the one hand we need to be flexible with our classes or planned enrionments and activities. We never know how our students may respond. On another level the…

I have recently begun doing some introductionary phonics work for my class – 4-5 year olds with English as a second language. Whether or not this is a right time to start is a deeper topic than what I cover here. Ultimately an individual will learn to read when they are ready. There is certainly…

A kindergarten teacher here in China, I have watched Peppa Pig together with students to support English language development. I also – and I am not ashamed to admit it – watch it in Chinese, to support my own Chinese language development. (It helps!) The use of the show in supporting language development is definitely…