Everybody Newz: In the Classroom

In the Classroom

Hii ni sehemu pekee ambayo ndugu msomaji utaweza kupata elimu na ujuzi mbalimbali kuhusu masuala ya darasani na nje ya darasa, yaani elimu rasmi na isiyo rasmi.

This is the only place in which the reader will be able to acquire a variety of knowledge and skills on formal and informal education.

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4 WAYS TO TEACH PRESCHOOLERS MORE EFFECTIVELY

Preschoolers at Fountain Gate Academy, Mwema School

Teaching and learning process at a pre-primary level can be somehow challenging to most of us. Children find themselves in a strange place full of new faces after a long season of staying at home and making a lot of plays. Teachers on their hand struggle on how to make these children cope with the learning environment for the better academic outcomes.

Can you imagine how it used to be when you are being introduced to something new that you never come across it before? This is how it happens to most Tanzanian pre-primary pupils, they go to their first day of preschool having a lot of expectations like making friends, expecting to learn how to read and write that very day, etc.

When they fail to meet their expectations, these little children find themselves in a hard time and they can even hate schooling. In most cases you can hear a kid speaking to his or her parent saying, "I hate school, and I'm not going back!”, although this feeling does not last long, but it can affect the kid learning development.

In order to eliminate the kid’s worries, a teacher can employ the following four ways in his or her teaching to preschoolers.

1. Stop putting too much Pressure on Children

One of the most important things to remember when you teach children is not to put pressure on them. Do not dare to use much force to make them master a lot of thing within a limited time. You should understand they are still new to the learning process. Allow them to learn through trial and error, as an American psychologist Edward Lee Thorndike suggested. Remember learning takes place through a process of approximation and correction. A child makes a number of trials some responses do not give satisfaction to the individual, but he goes on making further trial till he gets satisfactory response.

2. Keep everything as simple and short as possible.

These students do not have long attention spans and are easily distracted so you should try to be the most interesting thing in the room at all times. Students may also have a hard time sitting still during class so plan activities that let them move around. Simon Says is excellent for preschoolers. You can also have them make groups with the same number of people as the number you say aloud so if you say “Four” students have to make groups of four. This is another very fun, fast moving, and active game. With decks of vocabulary cards that have pictures instead of words, students can play simple games in small groups. A very basic game is to spread the cards face up and the first student to slap the correct card when you call out a word gets to keep it; the student with the most cards at the end of the game wins.

3. Employ the use of Songs and Gestures

Students at this age do well with songs and gestures. You can have songs for each part of the day to help them learn and remember certain vocabulary for instance, a morning song might include getting up, brushing teeth, and eating breakfast. You can also use songs in your lessons for speaking practice since it is less intimidating to sing-a-long with the class than to speak individually. You should create gestures for different words because this will make it easier for students to remember new vocabulary. Choose gestures that you are comfortable with and that are simple enough for you to do repeatedly throughout the course. Teaching preschoolers requires a high energy level and you may feel silly at first but these students can be a real pleasure to work with and they will certainly appreciate your efforts.

4. Employ the use of Stories

While your students will not be reading much in your class, they may enjoy hearing some stories especially if the lesson is during a quieter part of their day. The best stories for this age group, regardless of the activity you have in mind, are repetitive. This ensures that students catch the main points. Stories such as Goldilocks and the Three Bears and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish might be appropriate for your students at this level. If students have heard the story more than once, you can ask them to tell you the story based on the illustrations. Students often enjoy this type of activity in their native language so you may as well include it in your lessons. Start with the most basic story you can find to see if your class enjoys having story time.

LINKING WORDS: LEARN HOW TO USE THEM CORRECTLY

Linking words help you connect the ideas in a sentence. In this lesson, you’ll learn some common linking words to express reasons and results.

Reasons and Results

Linking Words: Reasons

Because / Because of

The difference between these two words is that because is followed by a subject + verb, and because of is followed by a noun:

• The game was canceled because of the rain.

• The game was canceled because it was raining.

In spoken English, many people say ’cause as a short form of “because.”

Due to / Owing to

Due to and owing to are also followed by a noun. These words are a little more formal.

There’s a lot of traffic today due to the upcoming holiday. (holiday = noun)

The after-school program was canceled owing to lack of interest from the students. (lack = noun)

Due to the fact that / Owing to the fact that

Use these phrases before a subject + verb. Again, these phrases are a little more formal.

Many people are still unemployed due to the fact that the economic recovery has been slower than anticipated.

The publisher rejected the author’s latest work owing to the fact that the manuscript was full of errors.

Since / As

Since and as are more informal, and they are followed by a subject + verb.

• I’m going to bed at 10 PM since I need to get up early tomorrow.

• I didn’t go to the gym today, as I had a lot of homework to do.

Linking Words: Results

Therefore / Consequently / As a result

These words are more formal, and are more commonly used in written English.

Our company’s profits have increased 150% in the past year. Therefore, we’re going to invest in new equipment and training programs.

The tennis player had knee surgery mid-October; consequently, she took the rest of the season off.

There have been heavy rains throughout the interior of the state. As a result, several areas have experienced flooding.

“So” is more informal, and more commonly used in spoken English.

We were hungry, so we stopped at a cafe for a snack.

Linking Words: Adding, Organizing, Summarizing

Adding Information and Examples

for example / for instance

Use these words to give one example of the idea you are talking about. Both of these expressions can go at the beginning or the end of a sentence.

There are a number of problems in this school. For example, many of the classrooms don’t have audiovisual equipment.

She has a lot of good ideas for our business – opening an online store, for instance.

Written English: i.e. and e.g

In written English, we can use i.e. to give further explanation or clarification; it means “that is” or “in other words.”

We can use e.g. to give examples; it means “for example”

I enjoy radical sports (e.g. rock climbing, hang gliding, and windsurfing).

In formal writing, these expressions always appear inside parentheses.

namely / such as

There is a difference between namely and such as.

Namely is followed by ALL of the examples you referred to, but such as gives only one or some of the examples, not all of them. ~ 11 ~

www.espressoenglish.net

A few of the students – namely Brian, Thomas, and Jack – failed the course.

A few of the students, such as Brian, failed the course.

also / too

Also can go in the middle of a sentence, whereas too is typically used at the end.

We did a lot of sightseeing on our vacation. We also bought a number of souvenirs.

We did a lot of sightseeing on our vacation. We bought a number of souvenirs, too.

as well / as well as

As well goes at the end of the sentence (similarly to too). As well as must be followed by another word.

• She’s not only extremely successful, she’s beautiful as well.

• She’s beautiful as well as being extremely successful.

in addition / moreover / furthermore

These linking words are usually used at the beginning of a sentence to add another idea or further develop the previous point.

People who exercise regularly have more energy during the day and sleep better at night. In addition, they tend to live longer.

Construction on the new subway has been delayed for months due to budget shortfalls. Moreover, the workers are threatening to go on strike.

Furthermore, purchase of new equipment will help cut manufacturing costs and increase

Note: In addition, moreover, and furthermore are more formal English. In informal spoken English, we usually use the expressions plus, what’s more, and besides.

Organizing and Ordering Information

Firstly / Secondly

When you are going to make a series of points, you can use firstly and secondly for the first and second points. After that, you can use “The third point,” ”The fourth point,” etc. or “in addition.”

Lastly / Finally

For your final point, you can begin the sentence with lastly or finally. These words show your audience that you are almost finished.

the former / the latter

You can use these words to refer back to two examples previously mentioned:

Our company has two factories: one in Detroit and one in Atlanta. The former is operating at 95% capacity and the latter at 65%.

In this case, “the former” = the factory in Detroit, and “the latter” = the factory in Atlanta.

Summarizing Information

Here are some English phrases you can use to give a summary of the information you have already said or written. In general, these phrases go at the beginning of the sentence and are followed by a comma.

• In short,

• In summary,

• To summarize,

• In conclusion,

• In a nutshell, (more informal)

Linking Words: Contrasting Ideas

But / However

But is more informal than however. You can use however at the beginning of a sentence, but you can’t use but at the beginning of a sentence (in written English).

I tried to lift the box, but it was too heavy for me.

I tried to lift the box. However, it was too heavy for me.

Although / Even though

These linking words are the same, and they are both followed by a subject + verb.

Although I exercise every day, I can’t seem to lose any weight.

She still loves him, even though he treated her very badly.

Despite / In spite of

These linking words are the same, and they are followed by a noun or a gerund (-ing form of the verb, which can function as a noun).

Our plane arrived on time in spite of the delay during takeoff.

We won the game despite having two fewer players.

Despite the fact that / in spite of the fact that

These phrases are followed by a subject + verb.

They arrived on time in spite of the fact that they left an hour late.

We won the game despite the fact that we had two fewer players.

While / Whereas / Unlike

These linking words are used to make contrasts. While and whereas are usually used between two complete phrases. Unlike is typically used with only a subject.

I like tennis, while my brother prefers bowling.

This cell phone plan costs Tshs.0.05 per minute, whereas that one gives you up to 800 minutes per month for a fixed price.

His boss allows him to work from home, unlike mine.

She’s very friendly, unlike her sister.

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In the Classroom

FAHAMU KUHUSU MALENGO YA MAENDELEO ENDELEVU (SDGs)

SHULE INAYOTOA MICHEZO KAMA HII INAFAA KWA MZAZI NA MLEZI KUPELEKA MTOTO WAKE

FAHAMU KUHUSU MALENGO YA MAENDELEO ENDELEVU (SDGs)

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