Glossary of terms in English Language Year 3 SOW (Semakan 2017)
Each lesson in the Scheme of Work includes a Learning Outline with guidance for delivering a lesson. Teachers may find useful the following explanations of important terms used in Learning Outlines. Term in Year 3 Scheme of Work Meaning
brainstorm
This is when pupils work with one or more other pupils to put all their ideas together. They should be able to give all their ideas without worrying about accuracy. It may be listing, categorising etc.
circle game
In this kind of whole-class activity, pupils sit (or stand, if space is limited) in one large circle, including the teacher. Everyone can see and interact with everyone else.
drill
Drilling is where the pupils hear a word, phrase or sentence and repeat it. Often the teacher says the words and pupils repeat it a few times, but the word may be recorded and pupils may repeat more/fewer times, individually/in pairs/groups. This gives practice in pronunciation and helps pupils remember. It can be done in different fun ways.
elicit
This technique is where the teacher gets the information, answer, language from pupils, rather than telling them. It will help the teacher see what pupils know and makes pupils more active in their learning and language use.
fast finishers
Pupils who are able to work at a faster pace on a specific task than the majority of pupils in a class. They are therefore ready to move on to the next task sooner than the majority of pupils because they finish earlier than the others.
gapped text
This is a text which has missing words or phrases. Pupils should read and decide which words or phrases to complete the text. This is also known as ‘fill in the blanks’ activity.
monitor
Teachers monitor when they walk around the classroom to see and watch pupils. This is to check that they know what to do, that they are doing what they should be doing, to answer any questions and, importantly, to check their work and give individual support and feedback.
peer-assessment
This is when pupils give feedback to other pupils on specific aspects of their learning, such as a specific aspect of the quality of their speaking. The feedback can take the form of two things that were good (stars) and one area for improvement (wish).
post-lesson
Activity at the end of a lesson to review and consolidate the learning.
pre-lesson
Activity at the beginning of a lesson to activate pupils’ prior knowledge.
prior knowledge
Knowledge and skills which pupils already have. Pupils possibly acquired from previous lessons or previous years.
scaffolding Teaching strategies that aim to support pupils’ learning to help them to reach a higher level of understanding, thinking or language use. These may be asking questions, giving examples or using pictures.
self-assessment
This is when pupils are asked to assess themselves on specific aspects of their learning. For example, learning diaries kept by pupils can reveal areas that need clarification or specific skills that need further development.
TPR activity
TPR = Total Physical Response. This is a way of teaching which combines movement and language to help pupils learn more deeply. It also lets teachers check understanding. Pupils listen and mime only, or they can mime and repeat at the same time.