Grammar from the start November 2012 Dr Rachel Hawkes

Grammar: skill or knowledge? Introduction This is not a dichotomy I admit> It is meant to hint at doing rather than just knowing, action rather than theory, be active rather than passive Skill is often thought of as the ability to do something, often resulting from sustained practice and commitment Of course doing something well requires the knowledge ‘how’ not just the knowledge ‘that’, so knowledge is fully implicated in skill development and skill development requires knowledge. They must combine though. One without the other is not effective. Knowing verb endings but never using them to making meaning for example, will mean that they fossilize – the knowledge may be retained even in long-term memory but without serving any useful purpose, if cut off from meaning making. Equally you can practise and practise sentences and get good at them, but if you don’t understand how to put together your own new sentences, the incentive to use language will be eroded. All human beings want to make their own meanings.

Key language skills – knowing how 1 Sound/meaning 2 Visual/meaning Memory 3 Spelling (core language words only) 1 repeat correctly 4 (improved) speed of recall Pronunciation 2 retain pronunciation 1 say whole sentences from visual prompts 3 pronounce accurately from text Infer/guess meaning from key words/cognates and known language Sentence building 2 adapt sentences to make new meanings Comprehension 3 Use key verbs to build new sentences

Skills and knowledge both Present tense verb endings OR the relationship between an infinitive verb, pronouns and endings when describing current actions How to pronounce 10 animals OR how to pronounce the key sounds of the language and how these are written A vocabulary of 200 nouns OR a vocabulary of 30 verbs, the pronouns, conjugations of key irregular verbs, opinion phrases, expressions of time and frequency, key past and future constructions and essential modals

Life cycle of a plant Hier is een zaad De wortel groeit Na de stam, de bladeren groeien Na de bladeren, de bloem groeit Na de bloem, de vrucht groeit De vrucht geeft ons de zaden

Life cycle of a plant Hier is een zaad De wortel groeit Na de wortel, de stam groeit Na de stam, de bladeren groeien Na de bladeren, de bloem groeit Na de bloem, de vrucht groeit De vrucht geeft ons de zaden

Defining grammar

Dictionary definitions gram·mar  (grmr)n. 1. a. The study of how words and their component parts combine to form sentences. b. The study of structural relationships in language or in a language, sometimes including pronunciation, meaning, and linguistic history. 2. a. The system of inflections, syntax, and word formation of a language. b. The system of rules implicit in a language, viewed as a mechanism for generating all sentences possible in that language. 3. a. A normative or prescriptive set of rules setting forth the current standard of usage for pedagogical or reference purposes. b. Writing or speech judged with regard to such a set of rules. 4. A book containing the morphologic, syntactic, and semantic rules for a specific language. 5. a. The basic principles of an area of knowledge: the grammar of music. b. A book dealing with such principles.

“An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory.” Friedrich Engels A working definition gram·mar  (grmr)n. How to combine words to make meaning in sentences. letters and ^ “An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory.” Friedrich Engels

Making the sound-writing connection Phonics Making the sound-writing connection

las vocales Pupils will learn how to pronounce the vowel sounds in Spanish. ‘las vocales’ = the vowels. Click on words to hear them pronounced in this presentation. By the end of this lesson pupils should be able to attempt to fill the vowels into Spanish words they hear pronounced.

http://www.tes.co.uk/teaching-resource/Introduction-to-pronunciation-of-Spanish-vowels-6186712/ Link to the full resource on TES Audiovisual presentation of the ‘vocales’ (vowels) song. (Click on the grey square to activate.) Pupils should listen to this and begin to join in. It’s important that pupils are able to accurately pronounce the vowels as these are constant in Spanish pronunciation. Full resource created by Leepy on TES, incorporating phonics by Rachel Hawkes.

a Pupils should pronounce the vowel first and then the word, learning to trust that producing the same vowel sound will allow them to pronounce the word accurately. Click on vowel and the written word to hear them pronounced. It is helpful to do an action as the word is pronounced to give pupils a physical trigger/hook to remember the word later. Click on the video box (top left) to see a suggested action which beats out the number of syllables the word contains. This should also encourage pupils to divide words into syllables as a coping mechanism in their learning. araña = spider araña

e Instructions as per slide 3. elefante = elephant elefante

i Instructions as per slide 3. idea = idea idea

o Instructions as per slide 3. olvidar = to forget olvidar

u Instructions as per slide 3. universo = universe universo

a e i o u Pointing at the vowels and asking pupils to produce them out of sequence, building up speed, forces pupils to produce the sounds quickly, accurately and automatically.

ba be bi bo bu fa fe fi fo fu la le li lo lu ma me mi mo mu Pupils should imagine how these syllable sounds will be pronounced in Spanish (by slotting in the vowel sounds they already know). These is designed to reinforce the fact that their knowledge of English will at times be helpful in their Spanish learning. The b, f, l, m, p, t are all pronounced as they are in English. pa pe pi po pu ta te ti to tu

http://www.tes.co.uk/teaching-resource/Introduction-to-more-Spanish-sounds-phonic-hooks-6186714/ Link to the full resource on TES Full resource created by Leepy on TES, incorporating phonics by Rachel Hawkes.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 idea araña elefante olvidar universo cerdo ciclista casa Layering memory of the key phonics sounds – iconic word, image, gesture to represent each key sound, chosen for its difference to English pronunciation. coche cucaracha gimnasia hamburguesa España zumo guitarra llave 21

La pequeña araña subió, subió, subió vino la lluvia y se la llevó La pequeña araña subió, subió, subió vino la lluvia y se la llevó. Salió el sol y todo lo secó y la pequeña araña subió, subió, subió. Songs embed language better than almost anything else.

cucharita, cucarachita. Cuchara, cucaracha cucharita, cucarachita. Using tonguetwisters

pito pito corgorito ¿dónde vas tú tan bonito pito pito corgorito ¿dónde vas tú tan bonito? a la era verdadera pin pon fu e ra tú te vas y tú te quedas. Spanish equivalent of “eeny meeny miny mo”

For the full phonics cards resource, created by Leepy, go to: http://www.tes.co.uk/teaching-resource/Phonic-cards-activity-6186720/

niño niña araña piña señor señora España You can project these slides on the board and run through pronunciation & meaning first if you feel this will benefit the pupils & give them more confidence. These slides are designed as cards which will (when photocopied double-sided and cut up) have the phonic on one side and a corresponding word & picture on the other. Pupils should pronounce the phonic first and then incorporate it into their pronunciation of the word on the other side, recognising the meaning in English at the same time. Pupils could play snap/happy families etc. by using the cards picture-side up, recognising when the phonic is the same and checking on the other side of the card. The vocabulary translates as: Young boy, young girl, spider, pineapple Man, woman, Spain, birthday señor señora España cumpleaños

ñ

coche colegio cocodrilo conejo cobra cohete coliflor The vocabulary translates as: car, school, crocodile, rabbit Cobra, rocket, cauliflower, kitchen cobra cohete coliflor cocina

co

Escucha el mambo de las sílabas Pues con ello te diré Según el número de sílabas Las palabras pueden ser Si tienen una sílaba - monosílabas Si tienen dos - bisílabas Si tienen tres - trisílabas Si más de tres - polisílabas Dime una monosílaba – sol Dime ahora una bisílaba – bombón Ahora dime una trisílaba – corazón Dime una polisílaba – ordenador Dos sílabas que llevan - lapa y pato Dos sílabas - el tigre, perro y león Tres sílabas - araña y macaco Tres sílabas - borrico y una escorpión Y cuatro que lleva orangután Y muchas que lleva la palabra superfantasticular Here are the lyrics on one sheet for teachers & pupils.

http://www.tes.co.uk/teaching-resource/Song-El-mambo-de-las-s-and-237-labas-by-Miliki-6186727/ Full lesson resource by Leepy on TES. Our first real song! The lyrics are all about words and syllables – tuneful & educational  It reinforces the idea of breaking words down into syllables, highlighting words or one, two, three or more syllables. Singing is a great way to get the pupils to practise en masse, get comfortable with speaking a little faster, not worry about forgetting the odd word or two, and to have fun. I’ve added the graphics to support understanding and make learning more explicit.

ta riz ma es lla ca ro gar re de pal da di no bra o na pie be do gan 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. ta riz ma es lla ca ro gar re de pal da di no bra o na pie be do gan to jas za zo go pier Pupils will hear a Spanish word and must spell it accurately either by searching for the syllables they hear in the syllable square or by predicting how they think it will be spelled and then checking in the syllable square. You can either click on the yellow speaker to hear each word being pronounced and broken up into syllables or pronounce the words yourselves.

ta riz ma es lla ca ro gar re de pal da di no bra o na pie be do gan 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. garganta ta riz ma es lla ca ro gar re de pal da di no bra o na pie be do gan to jas za zo go pier cabeza espalda mano pierna rodilla nariz orejas Answers appear one by one. Click on yellow speakers to hear the words again if need be. estómago brazo dedo pie

Escucha bien y elige el artículo apropiado. 1 A B C 2 A B C 3 A B C Making full use of cognates is possible once the sound-writing links are in place. Teacher reads out 1 of the 3 items (cognates) and students choose the correct picture. 1. elefante, jirafa , leon, 2. chocolate, te, café 3. autobus, coche, bicicleta, 4. gris, blanco, rosa 4 A B C

Don Glotón Don Tontainas Don Feliz Don Curioso Don Alreves Don Cosquillas Don Pupas Don Lioso Things pupils enjoy pronouncing – applying their phonics knowledge. Don Inteligente Don Pequeño Don Vago Don Quisquilloso

Progression: a Y3 sequence Year 3 Term 1 Year 3 pupils start with the phonics, learning the vowels first and then other key sounds. They practise these using a variety of activities. They read rhyming stories, sing songs, practise tongue twisters, play games and have further opportunities to make the sound-written link by listening to words and anticipating their spelling. Year 3 Term 2 In this term pupils learn some nouns (pencil case and classroom items). They are made aware of gender through colour coding. They use the verb forms ‘tengo – I have’, ‘es – it is’ and implicitly encountered the negative forms of these.

Year 3 Term 3 The theme is animals and colours Year 3 Term 3 The theme is animals and colours. The linguistic focus is gender, articles (definite & indefinite), plurals and adjectives (position & basic agreement). The grammatical concepts are all based embedded in a core vocabulary of 9 animal nouns and 6 colours so nothing so becomes too difficult. The key verbs are ‘es’ (he/she/it is), ‘son’ (they are), hay (there is/are). The negative is revisited and there is also a subtle introduction to ‘también’ (also/too/as well), ‘pero’ (but). Pupils are encouraged at all times to strive to work things out for themselves, work in pairs and small groups sharing knowledge, and to speak aloud when possible – thereby building confidence. Pronunciation, memory, pattern finding, sentence building, autonomy, performance and creativity are the concepts at the heart of these resources.

The sounds of French Par exemple: OU douze les couleurs rouge Almost all the French phonemes are contained in the French words for animals, colours and the numbers 1-20. Par exemple: OU douze les couleurs rouge une souris

Il est né le divin enfant Jouez hautbois, résonnez musettes Joyeux Noël! Il est né le divin enfant Jouez hautbois, résonnez musettes Chantons tous son avènement

En France on aime les bonbons! On a des grands bonbons. Nous aimons les bonbons! Allons et trouvons des bonbons! En France on porte des pantalons! On porte des grands pantalons. Nous aimons les pantalons . Allons et trouvons les pantalons!

Working with French In groups of two/three, brainstorm the key language you would want to cover in Y3. What are the key phonic sounds in them? Categorise by key phonic link. Think of any songs, rhymes, tongue twisters that you could use to practise those sounds. Would you want to choose a set of key phonics to teach, as for Spanish, or with French is it better to highlight the key sounds one by one as you meet them?