Monthly Archives: June 2016

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Harimau story with Duplo

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For the last three weeks I have been working on the harimau story (adapted from Carol Gaab’s wolf story) with my Prep to Year 2 students. They have loved listening to me tell the story a couple of times with cardboard puppets attached to the whiteboard, then acting out the story in the classroom with actors. The fact that we have a life-sized banana tree in my room makes it even better!

I was worried they might become a bit bored by this routine, so this week (third week of the story) I asked Bu Cathy’s advice about how to get reps with variety. Use Catharina Greenberg’s Duplo activity, she advised. Now, I must admit I had read about this activity but had avoided it like the plague because quite frankly 25 young children getting a piece of Duplo at the same time sounds like utter chaos!

But I had a go anyway. One of my colleagues had a massive tub of coloured blocks which I was very happy to borrow. My first two classes were the Preps. I had my sentences (true and false) typed up ready to go. After the first two hours of lessons, I had four pieces of Duplo broken and I removed all delicate pieces from the tub!

So, after creating additional rules, the rest of the day went very smoothly. If you are thinking of trying this activity, I hope these rules are useful to you! The kids loved it and all listened carefully. I made them stockpile the Duplo and build at the end but next time will let them build as they go.

Duplo Rules

  1. Take only one piece each time.
  2. Place it behind your back and forget about it until the end of the story.
  3. No knees, feet or hands leaning on Duplo.
  4. Take a piece of Duplo using only one hand.
  5. Crawl to the Duplo pile, and crawl backwards to your spot. (in their eagerness they would whip around to go back, sometimes kicking the Duplo)
  6. Sit back in your spot on your bottom once ready to listen.

When I had finished reading the story, they had time to build (by themselves, or joining with others) and share their beautiful creations!

I like the idea of kids building as they go, but I can see them destroying their creations as they rush for a new piece. I would love to know exactly how Catherina manages this!

Harimau story:

Ada perempuan. Nama perempuan Elsa.

Ada harimau. Harimau lapar. Harimau lihat Elsa.

Harimau mau makan Elsa.

Elsa lari ke pohon. Harimau lari ke pohon.

Elsa lari ke rumah. Harimau lari ke rumah.

Harimau makan Elsa.

Prep boy retells Harimau story

He did this after only two weeks of the story!

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Murid Luar Biasa

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Whilst observing Bu Cathy’s class, I was impressed by Kursi Luar Biasa. Bu Cathy did it in the last part of the lesson and it went very smoothly. I tried in in my class when I got back, but unfortunately I did not leave enough time at the end of the lesson so we ended up not covering many questions. The questions I asked were too difficult for the students and I felt they needed more support. I knew I had seen a fantastic powerpoint somewhere on line, so I found it, adapted it and now present to you my own version of the powerpoint to accompany Murid Luar Biasa. I also purchased a gorgeous old wooden chair over the weekend for $25 and plan to scrub it back then paint it very colourfully as a holiday project. I will post the before and after photos on this blog! I am hoping it will go to plan and that it will be a Kursi Luar Biasa!

I think with the help of this powerpoint to focus the students’ attention and also to give support to those being questioned I can run Murid Luar Biasa as low as Kelas 1. That’s the plan!

Murid Luar Biasa powerpoint:    Murid luar biasa improved

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Report time!

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It is that time of year again! When I started using TPRS I found it difficult to write appropriate report comments for my classes. I used as a rough guide some explanations about TPRS in the back of the Big CI Book. This year I have refined my comments further. I include them here in case they help anyone else who is struggling. Feel free to use and adapt for  your situation:

Report Comments           Semester 1             2016

Prep – 2

This semester {preferredName} has been exposed to comprehensible Indonesian input through the use of mini-stories, songs, games and TPR (Total Physical Response). {HeShe} has demonstrated a ___ level of understanding by responding orally (answering ‘ya’ – yes or ‘tidak’ – no) or physically (by using the correct gesture or by drawing). The focus this semester has been on acquiring ‘super verbs’ such as ‘mau’ (want), ‘punya’ (has), ‘pergi’ (go), ‘ada’ (there is), ‘beri’ (give) and ‘suka’ (like). At this level the main focus is on listening and showing understanding. You can support {preferredName}’s learning of Indonesian at home by encouraging retelling of the stories and songs we have learned in class.

Year 3

This semester {preferredName} has been exposed to comprehensible Indonesian input through the use of mini-stories, songs, games and TPR (Total Physical Response). {HeShe} has demonstrated a ___ level of comprehension by responding orally or physically (using the correct gesture/movement), translating, illustrating sentences and acting out stories. The focus this semester has been on acquiring ‘super verbs’ such as mau (want), punya (has), pergi (go), ada (there is), beri (give) and suka (like). At this level students are expected to use word lists and known words to rewrite modelled texts or create their own sentences and stories. {preferredName}’s written work shows a ___   level of understanding of Indonesian sentence structure and vocabulary. You can support {hisher} learning of Indonesian at home by encouraging {himher} to read and reread any stories we are working on in class. These will be available on Ibu Anne’s Indonesian page in DB Primary.

(Type in beginning, satisfactory or very good as needed.)

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Flipped classroom

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Recently I attended the Modern Language Teachers Association of Victoria’s annual conference. One of my colleagues there presented about the ‘flipped’ classroom. I thought it might be interesting to do some filming of stories for students to access at home, thus getting lots more reps. I made the following video to post on our school Facebook page and Twitter. I would love my Prep – Year 2 students to watch and listen so much that they can eventually retell the story themselves. Next time I will be filming students retelling stories!

Harimau Makan Elsa