Term 3 Week 4 - supporting ESOL students, inquiry learning and how to engage students when copying notes

TEACHING STUDENTS TO COPY NOTES MORE EFFECTIVELY

There are many occasions when we need students to copy notes down from the whiteboard/ Powerpoint ... Often this takes forever, with students only copying one word at a time.

To overcome this problem, insist that they try to read 3 or 4 words at a time before they put their heads down. to write. Challenge them to step up and read one full sentence at a time.

Information will be better reinforced if students are copying phrases and sentences rather than one word at a time.

Asking the right questions - Teachers’ questions can build
students’ English language skills

Following on from Bev's presentation at staff meeting about how we can better support our International and NESB students - this article explains and gives examples and ideas about how we can better use questioning to support the learning of our students who come from non-English speaking backgrounds.

Inquiry Learning and Teaching as Inquiry

Here is a link to shortish blog post by Bruce Hammonds (a NZ independent educational adviser who helps schools transform themselves into learning communities and enjoys sharing the ideas of creative teachers) about the importance of Inquiry Learning and Teaching as Inquiry. Worth a read