Dear Colleagues!
I have been teaching science in English for 8 years now and as you probably also know, this is not an easy job. The questions that come to everybody’s mind who starts teaching a subject in a foreign language are always the same: Shall I use only English during the class? What shall I do if the children don’t understand the lesson? Shall I explain it in English or in the children's native language? How much emphasis shall I put on correct English grammar? How can I correct the children’s mistakes? What is more important, English as a second language or science? Shall I teach only 'science-words’ or 'science’?
I would be most happy if I could answer all these questions, but instead of real answers I will give you some clues or useful ideas on how I try to teach science.
Well, let me start at the end. I do think that teaching science is the most important, but you cannot teach science without science words. There are some key words that I think make science lessons much more interesting than just opening science books and reading the texts. These are: EXPERIENCE!!! (see, hear, taste, touch, smell, try, etc…), DRAW, LABEL, THINK and EXPLAIN! While teaching science I find these words extremely important. The children should experience first, then try to think of the reasons, connections or causes. We as teachers only need to help by telling them some of the science words and letting THEM make up the definitions. Children usually have great ideas and most of the class can follow our ways of thinking if we give enough key expressions. It is important to preteach the key words before asking the children to understand the new topic. Here I use well known word teaching games and exercises from the methodology of English teaching. I understand this is hard work, because we need to prepare a lot in advance, we need to be able to ask the right questions and draw the children's attention to the correct answers; but it is worthwhile.
I never make simple word tests. Of course it is important to know all the science words, but usually I give more complex exercises like labelling pictures, diagrams, explaining English definitions, or fill in the gaps exercises. These require more knowledge than studying the words only by meaning.
English is the children's second language, so I don’t really frustrate them by pointing out their mistakes. While they are giving new definitions or trying to explain what is happening in a process, I let them speak freely, but always repeat the sentence correctly. What we write in their books or exercise books must always be correct. Otherwise I try to make the children use the English language as much as they can. So, If they have a story or something that they have read in connection with the topic I always ask them to tell it in English. Sooner or later everybody will have story they want to share with the others and thus the shy children also have the chance to speak. Occasionally, I let the children say something in Hungarian if it seems a very scientific explanation or requires a much more advanced knowledge of English. Of course it must be strongly related to the topic.
There are some basic rules in my lessons.
Rule #1: In the first 8 or 10 minutes of the lesson there is usually a quick revision game about the previous lessons and checking homework, and somebody can report on this for marks.
Rule #2: After revision with the help of the children, we try to study the new lesson. The children must pay attention, listen, think and try to give answers or build up reasoning. They mustn’t use their books! My favourite question words are WHY? and HOW? I always make the children comfortable by saying that there are no good or bad answers, only clever ideas. I usually reward the children by points. This usually takes 15 to 25 minutes of the lesson, but during this time I expect active listening. If the children pay attention they can become familiar with the new expressions and they can try to find out the Hungarian meanings of new words. Most of the time they need to draw and label some pictures from the board that I have drawn for them while listening to their throughout explanations. Coloured pencils are needed the year! After discussing the entire new topic they can finally open their books and we read the text.
Rule #3: While somebody is reading the new topic, I have them underline or highlight the important sentences by repeating them. One can stop anytime to see if everybody understands what to underline. Usually I only have time to do one or two of the exercises on the activity page, but sometimes I give the whole page as homework and we can play a short quiz or word game at the end of the lesson to see how much the children remember.
Revision and word games:
All these games can be played at the end or at the beginning of each lesson but mainly they can come in handy in revision classes before tests.
1. Word fight: (No preparation needed.) Ask the children to say any science words or expressions and write them on the board in a random way. Then two of the children can come to the board with different coloured board markers. The rest of the class should say the words on the board in Hungarian and these two students have to find the English meanings and circle them. The child who finds more words and is quicker to circle them. Depending on the number of the words this takes about 10 to 15 minutes. (This game can be played at the end of some lessons also to practice pronunciation and spelling. In this case ask everybody to say an important word from the lesson and have them write on the board by themselves.)
2. Crazy, mixed-up words: You can collect some words and mix their letters, or syllables. Now you have some funny words and the children should find out what the real words are. Sometimes it takes a long time to find out the words and the children can get bored so you can give clues to make it easier. This game takes about 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Twenty questions: Somebody leaves the classroom. The rest of the group agrees on something to think about. It can be an animal, a plant or an expression. The person comes back in and should find out what the rest have thought about but cannot ask more than 20 questions. You can also switch roles: the person who leaves the room should think of something and after he or she comes back, the others can ask up to twenty questions.
4. Missing letters: This is like a hangman, but you choose some important words and write one of them on the board. Make groups in the classroom who can then find out the words, give the Hungarian meaning and try to explain it in English.
For example: __ L __ __ E __ = it is flower (1 point); it means virág in Hungarian (1 point); and the explanation is: 'It is a plant, a living thing that has smell, colour and leaves. You can put it in a vase.’ (1 point). Altogether the group can win 3 points, but if they need help from the teacher they are lose points. After the first guess, write another word for the other group. This game takes about 20 to 25 minutes with 10 words.
5. Taboo: Write some important words on small cards. The children should explain the word to his or her group who then have to work out the correct word, like in the 'Activity' game. Depending on the number of the words, this takes about 15 to 20 minutes.
6. Memory pyramid: You need to collect some of the important words in advance and list them randomly in English and a Hungarian. Draw two pyramids on the board like this:
You can use more words than ten or fifteen. Now, the children say numbers and letters and you read out the words that the letters or numbers cover on your paper. For example: a = flower; 4 = fa. If this is not a pair, the next child can have another guess. If they pay attention on each other’s guesses and try to remember the words and the letters, they can easily find pairs and win points. With fifteen words this takes at least 25 minutes.
Teaching vocabulary:
1. We can play games like saying the unknown word in English and giving an English explanation. The one who says the Hungarian meaning first can get a point.
2. Give the new vocabulary on pieces of paper to some children and give the explanations to others. They can find their pairs.
3. Pronunciation game: This is a quick game at the end of the lesson. Have the children close their books and ask for the new vocabulary. Write them one below the other on the board with their Hungarian meanings. After repeating the English words several times in chorus and alone, you can wipe off some of the words. The child reads the list the next time should also read the missing words. At the end all the words have been wiped off the board, but the children should be able to repeat all of them only by seeing their Hungarian meanings.
Check your knowledge
Tools needed:
Pictures in the book, flowers, parts of trees, leaves, drawings, etc.
Warm-up:
You can choose any of the revision games above. Use some of the vocabulary from last year that seems to be important to remember in the fifth grade.
Topic
Ask the children to cover the questions below the pictures and tell everything about the pictures they can. Let them tell their summer stories. After discussing the pictures, the children uncover the questions and try to answer them.
Another possibility is a drawing activity. Make copies of the pictures and give them to pairs or groups. (Before the children open their books.) One group or one of the pairs can describe what he or she can see in the picture and the other should draw it in his or her exercise book. At the end compare the drawings with the copies. After the exercise the children can answer the questions.
Revision and evaluation
At the end of the lesson leave some time to look through the new book and discuss what the children are going to learn this year. Ask them what topics they are really interested in.
Do not forget to remind them that they should bring a plum for the next lesson.
The Plum Tree
Tools needed:
A plum, a plum seed broken into two, a piece of plum tree bark, slides about the plum tree, a plastic flower model, a pine cone, coloured board markers
Warm-up:
There is a quick warm-up game I like playing at the start of a new unit. The children have one or two minutes. During this time they should write down as many different types of fruits as they can. They will know a lot, so you can start to discuss what they think they are going to learn.
Topic:
Leave an empty space on the board and while you are explaining, write the new words and expressions and teach them before opening the books and reading the texts.
1. Ask the children to take out their plum, look at it and describe, what they see. Can they rub the wax off the skin? What is it for? Etc…
2. You can use the warm-up questions in the book.
3. Ask the children to break the plum into half, and have them draw it in their exercise book. They should colour and label the picture. Check their exercise books. Revise the parts of the flower. Use the flower model or a picture. What parts of the flower helps to produce the fruit?
4. Draw attention to the seed and show the children your seed and where the stone coat is broken up. Explain stone fruit. Why is the seed protected? Collect some ideas and then compare the seed to the pine cone. Explain the word angiosperm. Find differences, advantages and disadvantages.
5. Show slides about the plum tree or if the children open their books and look at the picture of the plum tree first, ask them what they can tell about it. What kind of tree is it? Show the piece of the bark, discuss its colour and surface.
6. Read the text, have the children underline the important sentences and fill in the vocabulary list.
Revision and evaluation
You can play a quick game or do the exercises on the activity page.
Ask the children to bring an apple for the next lesson, give homework.
Give rewards to those who have worked very hard.
Let the children eat their plum if they want to.
The Apple Tree
Tools needed:
One apple or two apples, cut into half across and lengthwise; apple seeds, a piece of bark of an apple tree, slides about the apple tree, a plastic flower model, coloured markers
Knowledge check:
Do a quiz on the previous topic, check homework, ask somebody to report about the plum.
Warm-up:
Use the warm-up questions in the book. You can ask somebody to draw two apple trees on the board as well. Discuss the position of the flowers and the fruit. Why are they like this?
Topic:
Leave an empty space on the board and while you are explaining, write the new words and expressions and teach them before opening the books and reading the texts.
1. After looking at the trees on the board show the bark of the apple tree and compare it to the plum tree’s bark. What differences are there? Show the slides of the apple and plum trees. What can the children tell you about the tree and the leaves? How long do trees live? Have they seen a very old apple tree or any other tree? Explain perennial!
2. On the drawing you can show the parts of the apple tree. Teach the new words.
3. Examine the fruit. Show where your apples was cut across. How many septums can the children count? Have them draw the apples in both ways in their exercise books and label the pictures. Check their exercise books. Use the flower model and discuss what parts help to produce the fruit. Can the children see any difference between the stone fruit and the apple? Explain apple fruit.