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Insights Posts
Category: teaching tips
Why Playing Games isn’t just Playing Around
Playing games is fun, and it can also be relaxing! But that doesn’t mean they have no educational value or that students don’t learn anything through games. In fact, games can – and often do – provide environments for learning and growth.
Exam Prep: Writing Essays
English language exams typically have a writing section, and many of those require test-takers to write an essay in a timed environment. If your students are preparing for such an exam, here are some practices they can employ to better prepare themselves for the writing section.
Comprehension Checks
It’s important to conduct comprehension checks when teaching new material. If you’re not already familiar with these, here’s what you need to know.
Editing Techniques
After students have written a piece of work, it’s important for them to self-edit. Here are some practices they should apply.
The Shape of Writing
The shape of paragraphs can be an indicator of the style of a piece of writing. Taking these shapes into consideration when writing or editing can help improve the final draft.
Allow Time for Answers
After asking a question, it’s important for teachers to wait for answers. Sometimes, waiting even a few seconds can seem to drag on, but leaving that time open allows students to better engage with the lesson
Ways to Pair Up Students
There are a few ways to put students into pairs. We’ll cover the main ones here and explore the pros and cons of each.
YLE Prep: Listening
Here a four things teachers can practice with their students to prepare them for the Listening sections of the Cambridge English: Young Learners Exams.
Resources for Students at Home
This spring, many schools have shut down because of the spread of COVID-19. Whether you’re continuing to teach remotely or are simply giving your students assignments so they can learn on their own, here are a few resources we’d like to recommend.
Exam Prep: Reading Comprehension Multiple Choice
Here are six techniques to practice with your students as they prepare for the Reading Comprehension portion of exams.
Why Forced Recall is Important
When a student is taking a while to answer a question, it’s easy to cut their thoughts short and jump to the answer yourself or give another student the chance. But waiting for the first student to think might be better for their brains.
Ways to Present a Project
In case you’ve been wondering what to do once your class has finished their Student Projects, here are some ways you can wrap it up with presentations.
Reasons to Read Aloud
While we tend to read quietly on our own, reading aloud in a classroom can have multiple benefits, including practicing inflection, making the passage more engaging, checking for comprehension, and more.
Review by Way of Ordering
One way to review is by putting things in order – whether it’s sequential, by likelihood, or other – since it requires students to compare things see how they relate to one another, which means they’ll need a solid understanding of the topics.
Help Students Make Progress on their Stories
If your students are working on stories and have hit a writers’ block or otherwise aren’t sure how to continue, here are 3 things you can share with them to give them a little push and make their stories more interesting.
The Benefits of Holiday Vocabulary
Holidays are a time when students tend to be excited about something in particular, and they’re often surrounded by decorations, music, etc. for the occasion. Take advantage of both of these things and teach your students some holiday vocab!
Stay Consistent
There may be disputes – or simply differing preferences – over rules like the oxford comma, using ‘they’ as singular, and writing out numbers, but whatever you choose, be consistent.