New Curriculum compliance

There have been some lively discussions about the new curriculum for Key Stage 2 on the Primary Linguanet forum over the last few days.  I mentioned that over the summer I had gone through my scheme of work for KS2 Spanish and added or edited many units to make the whole scheme more "new curriculum compliant".  People have asked to see my alterations, and, rather than send the document to lots of people individually, I am going to reproduce the alterations here.  You will need to look at the alterations alongside the existing schemes of work which can be found here.

Unit	Context	Songs, stories and rhymes	To add/amend	Can do
1A	¡Hola!	Storybird ¿Cómo te llamas? Hola Hola (Singing Spanish)	Latin greetings and saying name, male and female names, compare to Spanish	I can ·          Greet others in Spanish ·          Reply to the question ¿cómo te llamas? ·          Ask someone else what their name is ·          Identify boys’ names and girls’ names in Spanish
1B	¡Hola!		Speaking: board game or pair game where chn help each other to practise and use spontaneous talk phrases such as Me toca	I can ·          Ask someone how they are feeling ·          Tell someone how I am feeling ·          Take part in a short dialogue with a friend
2A	Vamos a contar	Uno, dos, tres Uno, dos y tres gatitos a-a-a Gran Canaria	Anclas Patanclas (http://www.doslourdes.net/Canciones_inf_prim.htm) Speaking: Number survey.  Give each chn a number between 1 and 15 ¿Qué número tienes? Tengo … Leading to writing “Abbie tiene dos” Plus practises por favor and gracias Latin numbers as root for Spanish ones	I can ·          Count from 0-15 ·          Use the numbers 0-15 out of sequence ·          Do simple calculations in Spanish ·          Carry out a survey about numbers with my classmates ·          Make the correct Spanish vowel sounds ·          Identify words containing the /th/, /b/ and /kw/ sounds
2B	Vamos a contar	Storybird ¿Cuántos años tienes?	“Write back” game (JTJ p11) Speaking (and reading): role play – put the dialogue in the right order and then act it out	I can ·          Ask someone how old they are ·          Say how old I am ·          Take part in a role play about saying my name, saying my age, and saying how I feel
3	Colores		Los colores (Anthology p35) Hombre de color Speaking: Survey ¿Cuál es tu color preferido?	I can ·          Say 11 colours in Spanish ·          Understand 11 colours in Spanish ·          Ask someone what colour something is ·          Ask someone what their favourite colour is ·          Take part in a poem about colours
4A	En mi estuche		Speaking: pair game with small cards ¿Qué es eso?  Sí, es …. / no, no es…, provide crib sheet for support	I can: ·          Say 6 classroom objects ·          Understand 6 classroom objects ·          Answer the question ¿Qué es eso? ·          Use the Spanish words for Yes and No
4B	En mi estuche	¿Qué veo?	Latin nouns of unspecific topic to demonstrate origin of gender Speaking/dictionary work: multiple choice (of 3) to find out the word for object shown by picture.  Then work with partner, pointing at a picture and saying ¿Qué es eso?  Es un(a)….	I can ·          Put words in alphabetical order ·          Use a bilingual dictionary to find the meaning of a word ·          Use a bilingual dictionary to find out the gender of a word ·          Identify the gender of a word by looking at its final letter and/or its indefinite article
5A	Frutas y verduras		Speaking: shopping lists and market –role play.  Pick up 3 pictures to be the shopping list, simple role play with partner using por favor, gracias, ¿qué quieres? Aquí tienes	I can: ·          Say 6 fruits ·          Understand 6 fruits ·          Say 6 vegetables ·          Understand 6 vegetables ·          Indentify the gender a word and whether it is singular or plural ·          Take part in a role play where I buy fruit and vegetables in a market
5B	Frutas y verduras		Speaking: food and opinions survey. Report back in writing “Matthew dice “Me gustan las naranjas” Speaking: Trapdoor activity to practise foods and opinions Summative task: replace lily-pad writing with opinions of food plus connectives which can then be a speaking presentation	I can: ·          Use Me gusta(n), No me gusta(n), Me encanta(n) and Prefiero to express my opinions ·          Ask someone else what they like ·          Write a short paragraph about my opinions of foods, using connectives to link the sentences
6	Las formas		(Speaking in this unit OK)	I can: ·          Join in with descriptions of flags using colours and shapes ·          Use actions to help me to speak accurately ·          Say what colours a certain flag has ·          Say what shapes a certain flag has
7A	¿A qué fecha estamos?	La Oruga muy hambrienta – Eric Carle “Monday is lunes” song “Hoy es lunes” (Eric Carle)	Speaking: ¿Te gusta el lunes? Me gusta / No me gusta	I can: ·          Say the days of the week ·          Understand the days of the week ·          Say which days of the week I like and don’t like ·          Join in with the repeated sections of La Oruga Hambrienta ·          Use a bilingual dictionary to help me to adapt a story
7B	¿A qué fecha estamos?		Speaking: Use shapes from Unit 7.  Chn count shapes in each question and write in the numbers.  Spend 2 mins memorising. Then partner quizzes them to see how much they can remember Sí, eso es / No, eso no es	I can: ·          Count from 16-31 ·          Use the numbers 16-31 out of sequence ·          Form simple plurals
7C	¿A qué fecha estamos?	El rap de los meses	Speaking: ¿Te gusta + month? Me gusta / no me gusta Speaking: survey - ¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños?	I can: ·          Say the months of the year ·          Understand the months of the year ·          Talk about some Spanish fiestas ·          Say which months I like and don’t like ·          Ask someone when their birthday is ·          Say in which month my birthday is
7D	¿A qué fecha estamos?	Dates and Christmas celebrations mini-book	Speaking: presentation with name, age, birthday, me gusta plus day of week, favourite colour	I can: ·          Write dates in Spanish, using a day, a number and a month ·          Speak to others about my, my name, my age, my birthday, some things I like and my favourite colour
8A	Descubrimos los animales	Cabeza, hombros, manos, pies El monstruo	Mi cara redondita (Anthology p7)	I can: ·          Say the parts of the head and face ·          Understand the parts of the head and face ·          Describe the parts of the head and face using colours and adjectives of size and shape ·          Write descriptive sentences using correct word order ·          Form simple plurals
8B	Descubrimos los animales		El bicho de las frutas	I can: ·          Say some parts of the body ·          Understand some parts of the body ·          Identify a cognate or “shared word” ·          Say correctly sounds in Spanish that make it different to English
8C	Descubrimos los animales	¡Mamá! Muuu Beee así fue Vengan a ver mi granja	Cinco ratoncitos (Anthology p21) Speaking: animal sounds - ¿qué dice un…? / ¿Es un…? Sí / no in pairs	I can: ·          Say some animal words ·          Understand some animal words ·          Describe some animals using colours and adjectives of size and shape ·          Write a description of an animal using connectives and the verb forms es and tiene ·          Use my phonic knowledge to work out some animal sounds in Spanish
9A	Mi familia y yo	Los colores	Latin – family members Speaking: Presentando a la familia role play (SSAKS2 p28) Formal writing based on book Los colores (with additional members of the family)	I can: ·          Say some members of the family ·          Understand some members of the family ·          Say the name and age of a member of the family ·          Describe family members, agreeing adjectives correctly ·          Adapt a text to create something new ·          Take part in a role play about members of the family
9B	Mi familia y yo	El rábano gigante	Speaking OK in this unit	I can: ·          Take part in a story about family, using actions to help me remember the repeated elements of the story
10	Mis mascotas		Speaking: Trapdoor activity with names, numbers and pets (Plus exisiting Battleships game)	I can: ·          Say 9 pet words ·          Understand 9 pet words ·          Use my knowledge of English and cognates (shared words) to work out the meaning of new Spanish words ·          Use my knowledge of phonics to decode names of pets ·          Say what pets I have and don’t have ·          Say what my pet’s name is ·          Write sentences about the pet that someone has and its name ·          Form plurals of pet words
11A	Me encantan los deportes	Media texts re Olympics	Speaking: help each other switch between definite and indefinite articles Writing: Showdown to practise agreements Writing – change kit description from models to images in suitcase and lines underneath for writing	I can: ·          Identify the gender of a noun ·          Identify singular and plural nouns ·          Apply correct definite articles to nouns ·          Apply correct indefinite articles to nouns ·          Use a bilingual dictionary to find new vocabulary ·          Identify key words and facts in a text ·          Describe sports kit using correct adjectival agreement and word order
11B	Me encantan los deportes	Como me gusta el fútbol	El deporte al revés (Anthology p36) Adverbs muy bien, bien, mal Plus formation of regular adverbs by adding –mente Speaking: Survey - ¿juegas al… / practicas el/la…?  Then report back in writing Speaking: Presentation about self and sports	I can: ·          Say 14 sports ·          Understand 14 sports ·          Say that I play or do 14 sports using Juego al… and Practico el/la… ·          Ask someone else what sports they do ·          Use adverbs to say how well I do certain sports ·          Make sentences negative using no ·          Express my opinions about different sports
12	¿Qué tiempo hace?	¿Qué tiempo hace?	La pequeña araña (Anthology p27) Latin weather words Speaking: JTJ Weather reporters game, but change places to compass points.  This scaffolds the writing on own maps Writing: For own forecasting map, give outline and symbols	I can: ·          Say 10 weather phrases ·          Understand 10 weather phrases ·          Say what the weather is like in different parts of a country using points of the compass ·          Ask what the weather is like ·          Give a simple weather forecast ·          Find out information about the regions of Spain and their weather
13	Números grandes		Showdown to practise four figure numbers – years of birth of famous people (different groups will require different support)	I can: ·          Count from 31 to 100 ·          Count in 100s to 1000 ·          Use numbers 31-1000 out of sequence ·          Write numbers between 31 and 1000 in words ·          Say prices in Euros and cents ·          Write prices in Euros and cents ·          Write distances between Spanish cities, reading values from a table
14	¿Qué hora es?	¿Qué hora es?	Speaking: Quiz Quiz Trade (in addition to existing speaking where chn help each other to practise with small clocks)	I can: ·          Say times on the hour ·          Write times on the hour ·          Say times on the half hour ·          Write times on the half hour ·          Say ¼ past and ¼ to times ·          Write ¼ past and ¼ to times ·          Say the time every 5 minutes ·          Write the time every 5 minutes ·          Ask someone else what the time is
15A	Yo soy músico	Yo soy músico		I can: ·          Identify genres of music when I listen to them ·          Say why I like or don’t like different genres of music ·          Give reasons why I like or don’t like different genres of music, using adjectives
15B	Yo soy músico		Add sé tocar… / ¿sabes tocar…?	I can: ·          Take part in a song about musical instruments ·          Use my knowledge of English and cognates (shared words) to identify the names of musical instruments
16A	En mi pueblo		Writing: change map for Triarama Speaking: use grid and co-ordinates to help each other to practise (Battleships?)	I can: ·          Name at least 10 places in town ·          Say what there is and what there isn’t in a town, using hay and no hay ·          Describe places using pequeño and grande ·          Write a short text using connectives and hay / no hay to describe what is in a town
16B	En mi pueblo		Vamos a cantar (Diez Deditos) (lots of infinitives) Speaking: Trapdoor activity for places and verbs	I can: ·          Identify an infinitive ·          Find infinitives in the bilingual dictionary ·          Say what you can do in a place using se puede and infinitives ·          Write a short paragraph saying what places are in a town and what you can do there
16C	En mi pueblo		Canción para viajar (http://www.doslourdes.net/MUScancion_para_viajar.pdf) and tune http://www.doslourdes.net/partitura_cancion_para_viajar.htm Speaking: Survey - ¿cómo vas al colegio? Speaking which can report back in writing Speaking: Trapdoor activity for verbs, places and transports	I can: ·          Say the 6 parts of the verb IR ·          Understand the 6 parts of the verb IR ·          Say where in town I or someone else is going using the verb IR, al and a la ·          Ask someone else how they go to school
17	Then and Now		Speaking: Trapdoor activity for structures	I can: ·          Use hay, es and está to talk about what somewhere is like now ·          Use había, era and estaba to talk about what a place used to be like ·          Use no to make negative sentences ·          Describe masculine, feminine, singular and plural nouns correctly ·          Identify the main points in a text about a town ·          Use time phrases to enhance my writing
18	Los Planetas	Los Planetas	Speaking OK in this unit	I can: ·          Say the 9 planet names ·          Say the 9 planets in the right order ·          Say sentences describing the planets, using actions to help me remember ·          Write sentences describing the planets ·          Say how near or far planets are to the sun ·          Find out information about the planets by working out numbers up to 999,999 which are presented in words

languages progammes of study (sic)

Today the new Programmes of Study (or "progammes" according to the DfE, oops) have been published, and you can find them here for Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3.

I have compared the version that was published in July with this one, and there is no difference.

Decorative Letters

A couple of weeks ago I received from Europe Direct NE an email about the European Day of Languages competition that they are organising jointly with ALL(NE).  The competition is inspired by the current exhibition of the Lindisfarne Gospels in Durham, and the idea is that children select a short text in another language and present it as an illuminated text.

Now I know what an illuminated text is and what one looks like, but it isn't something I've ever taught before.  I'd really like for my KS1 children to have a go at this as well as KS2, but think that a properly illuminated text would be a little beyond the younger ones.

Then I thought of this book that I bought in the Espace Culturel at Leclerc in St Jean d'Angély last month.  I like it because it combines handwriting, drawing, vocabulary-building and knowledge of the French writing system.  It will be useful especially for KS1, for some cross-curricular literacy.

The book has one letter of the alphabet to each page.  The letter is written in the French style and then turned into a picture of something that begins with that letter.  Here are b and c, for example:

The b becomes the head of a bélier and the c is the back of a crevette.  I also like the l page where curly ls become the filaments of lightbulbs (lumières).  I'm sure children would enjoy taking a letter, writing it in their best writing and turning it into something in French/Spanish that starts with that letter, as well as writing the French/Spanish word in their best writing.  Taking it one step further, there are many French comptines that would inspire an illuminated text using this as a basis.

I should add that unfortunately the competition is only open to north-east schools.  And if you are in a north-east school, no nicking my idea, right?!

UPDATE 24.9.13:

The children will be embarking on their competition entries today.  Here are the two examples that I have made:

Reading in Spanish

Yesterday I wrote about the French books that I have on my shelves and which I use in the primary languages classroom.  I also have a significant pile of Spanish books, and here they are.

I use ¡Mamá! to practise animals, numbers and plurals.  It only has one word (¡Mamá!) on each page.  A little boy runs from room to room in the house looking for his mother, not noticing that in each room there are a different number of animals.

All children will be familiar with La oruga muy hambrienta, and so it's great for introducing days of the week and finding out food words in Spanish.  The "eating" pages are repetitive and so easy for children to join in with and put actions to.  There is another version called La pequeña oruga glotona.

Another Eric Carle book that I use is De la cabeza a los pies.  Year 2 and I read the English version first (From head to toe) and then the Spanish version. Plenty of actions and joining in!

El bicho de la fruta introduces fruits and parts of the body. It's ideal if you are going to be creating and describing monsters in class.

I found Los colores in Barcelona a few years ago.  It's a very simple book which introduces animals and colours.  On each page a different baby animal says what colour and animal its dad is. The language is repetitive and very accessible, and the formula can easily be adapted for independent writing.  There are five other books in the series which will be worth looking into.

Villancicos y zambomba is a series of Christmas poems and rhymes by Gloria Fuertes.

In Diez semillas, ten seeds are planted but not all of them become flowers.  This book practises the numbers 1 to 10, as well as encouraging children to think about the life cycle and parts of a plant.  I have this book to read with Year 1.

If you're looking for a way of practising colours and also incorporating PSHE, try ¡Hombre de color! An African boy points out that he has always been black, while a white person changes colour depending on the weather and their mood.  Who is really 'coloured'?

Animal noises are a great way of practising phonics, and I use Muu Bee ¡Así fue! to introduce them.  I also have the original English version (Moo Baa La La La) and we read the two side by side, comparing and contrasting the words used and the noises that the animals make.

Pinta ratones is about some little mice who dance in puddles of different coloured paint and mix new colours.  It would lend itself to actions and focussed listening, where children hold up colours as they are mentioned.

¡Fuera de aquí, horrible monstruo verde! is visually a very appealing book, as it builds up the monster's face through a series of overlaid pages.  It's a really good example of describing nouns (parts of the head) with colours, sizes and shapes.  I have this one in French as well.

Children will all be familiar with Michael Rosen's Vamos a cazar un oso, and it's fantastic for getting them out of their seat and doing lots of actions.  Unfortunately it's a hard book to get hold of in this country.  I got mine online from Spain.

I bought Diez Deditos in the USA last year, and am pleased to see that it's also available here.  It is a collection of songs and finger rhymes, ideal for the new programme of study.  I see that there is also a version available with a CD.

I've written before about the Guatemala project that I do with Year 2.  I've recently bought a couple of books that will enhance the project next time round.  Abuela's Weave is the story of Esperanza and her grandmother and the traditional weaving that they do.  There is also a teacher's guide available.

Year 2 always have a lot of questions about Guatemala, quite a few of which I can't answer.  I've bought Guatemala ABCs to help me to learn more!

¿Dónde vive Maisy? is a lift-the-flap book ideal for younger learners.  It's all about where animals live and where Maisy Mouse lives.  The language is simple and repetitive.

There are two parts to the Recopilatorio de canciones infantiles.  It's a gold mine of Spanish songs and rhymes, which are often hard to find.  Ideal for making your scheme of work new-curriculum-compatible.

It's always useful to have something up your sleeve to fill in any unexpected empty moments in the classroom.  The Spanish-speaking cultures colouring book has been a godsend, and a recent purchase, Decorative Tile Designs coloring book, is proving equally so, particularly when you're looking at Moorish Mosaics.

So that's all my Spanish books.  I'd love to hear your recommendations!

Reading in French

The new Programme of Study for KS2 Languages requires children to "appreciate stories, songs, poems and rhymes in the language".  I'm always on the lookout for books in French and Spanish that will enrich the children's learning experience and that will introduce language points and inspire some independent writing.  Plus I am what you might call a book addict.

There are lots of things you can do with stories and books. Here are some of the French books that I have.

La chenille qui fait des trous

The old favourite Hungry Caterpillar is ideal for introducing days of the week and food.  The "eating" pages contain repetitive language that's easy for children to join in with.

In Je m'habille et je te croque a wolf puts on his clothes before coming to eat you.  Children would be able to create their own version with perhaps a different animal and different clothes. 

Maman! by Mario Ramos only has one word (Maman) on each page.  A little boy runs from room to room in the house looking for his maman, not noticing that in each room there are a different number of animals.  This book is great for numbers, animals and plural forms.

The rabbit in Bon appétit! Monsieur Lapin decides that he doesn't like carrots anymore, and goes to ask some other animals what they eat.  The language is nice and repetitive, and introduces you to things like "Pouah!" and "Beurk!"  A good example of how direct speech works in French, and introduces some new food words, which children will be able to work out using their general knowledge.

The parents of the little crocodile in Je mangerais bien un enfant try to tempt him with bananas, sausages and chocolate cake, but all he wants to eat is a child.  The language is more complex than in the previous titles, but it could be simplified.

Toutes les couleurs introduces colours as a little white rabbit gets stained with different colours while playing outside, before being bathed in blue water by his mother.

The little dinosaur in Pop mange de toutes les couleurs takes on the colours of everything he eats until he is a rainbow dinosaur.  The language is a little more complex than in the previous title, but it also introduces similes and colloquialisms.

Petit poisson blanc is looking for his mother and comes across lots of other sea creatures who are different colours in the process.  Children could create their own version of this story, using different animals and a different main character.

The La petite boule blanche series shows how pictures can be built up using a series of shapes, and each of the books has a different language focus.  My favourite is La petite boule blanche au pays des contes, which focuses on nasal sounds.

Mots rimés pour lire sans trébucher has a series of poems and rhymes which focus on specific phonemes.  Excellent for phonics.

And finally for intercultural understanding there is the La Terre vue d'Alban series, produced by the team that brought us Earth from the Air.  Comment vivent les enfants dans le monde? has photos of children in the places where they live, with information about each one and a commentary by Alban the fish.

So these are the French books that I have.  I'd love to hear about yours!