Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Why I Wrote this Book
- A Getting Started
- B Core Skills
- C Classroom Management
- D Lesson Planning
- E Learning how to Learn
- F Storytelling
- G Playing Games
- H Values Education
- I Songs, Rhymes, Chants and Raps
- J Working with Projects
- K Intercultural Competence
- L Content-Based Learning (CLIL)
- M Thinking Skills
- N Vocabulary
- O Life Skills
- P Art, Craft and Design
- Q Mime and Drama
- R Inclusion and Diversity
- S Creativity
- T Adapting or Writing Materials
- U Listening and Speaking
- V Reading and Writing
- W Multiliteracies
- X Grammar
- Y Assessment
- Z The Last Word
- Glossary
- Selected Further Reading
- Index
Z - The Last Word
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 October 2023
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Why I Wrote this Book
- A Getting Started
- B Core Skills
- C Classroom Management
- D Lesson Planning
- E Learning how to Learn
- F Storytelling
- G Playing Games
- H Values Education
- I Songs, Rhymes, Chants and Raps
- J Working with Projects
- K Intercultural Competence
- L Content-Based Learning (CLIL)
- M Thinking Skills
- N Vocabulary
- O Life Skills
- P Art, Craft and Design
- Q Mime and Drama
- R Inclusion and Diversity
- S Creativity
- T Adapting or Writing Materials
- U Listening and Speaking
- V Reading and Writing
- W Multiliteracies
- X Grammar
- Y Assessment
- Z The Last Word
- Glossary
- Selected Further Reading
- Index
Summary
Whatever your teaching context, there are likely to be aspects over which you have no control and cannot change. These may include, for example, the number of children in your classes, the size and layout of your classroom, or the syllabus you are obliged to follow.
It is all too easy to fall into the trap of spending a lot of time and negative energy on such constraints. However, the key to effective and rewarding primary language teaching is to positively focus your multiple skills and energy on all the things over which you do have control and influence. These include the care and interest you show in individual children's motivation, learning and achievement, and the efforts you make to prepare and deliver dynamic, varied and suitably challenging lessons. They also include the way you value children's diversity and unique potential to learn, and your skills in relating to children and teaching them in a way that will make a difference to their lives.
Positive beliefs, in whatever teaching circumstances, underpin your attitude and effectiveness as a teacher. In turn, these positive beliefs also influence the motivation, enjoyment and success of children as learners.
Positive beliefs include being constantly open to ideas and willing to learn from your experience, reading and other sources. I know, for example, that every time I come out of a primary classroom, whether I’ve been observing a lesson or teaching it myself, I almost always learn something new – whether in relation to the children, the materials, the procedures, or myself. A commitment to being a primary language teacher is, therefore, also a commitment to life-long learning as well.
My key tip for the last word is:
101 Believe in yourself and your children – and keep on learning!
101 Believe in yourself and your children – and keep on learning!
If you believe in yourself as a teacher, and are convinced that you make a difference to the lives and learning of the children you teach, this is likely to impact positively on how effective you are in the classroom. You also need to have a mindset in which you never stop learning.
In order to sustain a belief in yourself as a teacher over time, it's essential to look after your physical and mental wellbeing. This means doing what you can to stay healthy, building positive relationships with colleagues and finding time to switch off.
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- Information
- Carol Read’s 101 Tips for Teaching Primary Children , pp. 126 - 127Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020