IFD N° 6007 Profesorado Superior de Lenguas

Vivas

Subject: Special Didactics for Kindergarten and

Primary School

Final Project

Student’s Name: Luciano Benjamin Cardozo

Year: 2018

Course: 3rd “A”

 Rationale
Nowadays, it is quite normal to hear about insertion and since it plays a key role
in education it is considerably more normal to hear about it when you are
preparing yourself to become a teacher. In my own view the most important
reason to prepare a mixed ability class is the necessity of trained teachers who
confront the reality and diversity of today’s students.

First of all, it is a fact that the province of Salta has the highest percentage of
children and adolescents with difficulties or permanent limitations1. Surprisingly
the largest amount of students with the last mentioned issues which attend school
is in Buenos Aires and not in Salta.

Secondly, the amount of students that attend extra classes of English is growing.
Apart from private institutes there are public ones for those who cannot afford a
monthly fee. As a result, there are many students who have some knowledge in
the subject and a teacher who has to prepare a class for all of them.

Third, the differences of students as regards to learning. Every student is different,

some of them may find it more difficult than others due to external conditions like
familiar problems, stress, hunger or just lack of interest in the subject. These
learners make the teacher reflect on what he or she is going to do the following
class to catch the attention of all of them.

To sum up, there is a huge difference between each of our students, each of
them is unique, but at the same time they attend at the same classroom. As
teachers, we need to be capable of preparing classes according the huge
diversity of our students. This is the way in which we will demonstrate that we are
competent when treating with mixed ability classes.

“We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back”2

- Malala Yousafzai
-

1
http://infoargentina.unicef.org.ar/informes/14_unicef_nna_discapacidad_completo.pdf
2
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/the-full-text-malala-yousafzai-delivers-defiant-
riposte-to-taliban-militants-with-speech-to-the-un-8706606.html
 Class 4th Grade Public School
Type of class: In this class we´ll find a group of 25 fourth graders (age 9). Some
of our students are learning English for the first time, some others already know
something about the language since they attend ISI (instituto salteño de
idiomas) at the afternoon. One of the students of the class has Down syndrome
he is 10 and has some difficulties when trying to socialize with others.
Type of classwork: in this classwork we are presenting a new theme and new
vocabulary. The main idea is to catch the attention of all students and elicit
learning through different activities.
Linguistic contents:
 Functional content: Indicating possession
 Exponent of functions: I´ve got / I have got a dog.
 Grammatical content: HAVE GOT: Pronoun + verb (have got) +
determiner (a/an) + Animal
 Lexical content: Animals (Pet, Cat, Dog, Mouse, Bird, Fish, Lion)
Objectives: At the end of this class the students will be able to:
 Recognize the names of animals and relate them with different images
 Recognize the animals for the sounds they make
 Implement the new chunk of language to indicate possession
 Share with others
 Learn about their own capacities
Materials: - Projector or any kind of device to reproduce a video
- Flashcards
When/how to be used: in the first part of the class the Students will learn the
new words with flashcards. It is important to be clear and neat when explaining
(In this card There is a drawing of a… a cat! Very good!)
After learning about the animals the students will watch a series of videos in
which they will be able to see a clear and real image of what was shown in
the flashcards.
 - Balloons
- Markers
When and how to be used: At the end of the class SS will have to inflate a
balloon and choose one of the animals learned. They will draw the animal and
say to the classmates What animal they have.

I have got a cat!

Activities
Presentation: With the help of flashcards the teacher will present the new
words. The use of total physical response (making animal noises or gestures) will
help students to memorize them better.
After this the teacher will sing the following song with little
changes in the lyrics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWepfJ-8XU0

I Have a pet I’ve got a pet

He is a dog I´ve got a dog
And he says And he says
Woof woof Woof Woof
Woof woof Woof Woof

As a closure to the presentation, the teacher will ask students to

close their eyes and listen to different animal sounds. As soon as the sound
finishes students will have to say what animal it is and check in the video if
they’ve answered right.

Practice: The teacher will ask students if they

remember the song and he will write an example on
the board. The teacher will also explain that we can
use either “I have got or I’ve got”. Then, he will deliver
some copies for them to fill in the gaps.

Once students finish the task they

will check with the teacher on the
board.
Production: The teacher will ask students to form groups of four and will
deliver a balloon for each student, what they have to do is to choose one of
the animals learned and draw it in the balloon. When they finish they will have
to tell their groups what animals they’ve got, Finally the teacher will sing the
song “I’ve got a pet” for the last time and
students will have to raise their balloons
according the animals they´ve chosen.

It is really important to take into account the

participation of all the students and also bear
in mind that some students may finish their
work earlier, these children should help others
to finish too.

Homework
1) Complete with the missing letters and match.

2) Show your balloon to someone in your house and tell them what animal
you have.

Conclusion
This final project was made in the base of one word, inclusion. It really took me
time and effort. I think this is because I have never thought I would be
preparing a class for diversity. My thought was that the only capable teachers
to do this work had a different university degree.
While I was planning this I imagined what would happen if this classroom was
real, how this was going to work and if I was capable of manage this class. My
conclusion was that I may not, but the fact of giving my time and effort to
children I believe in, was worth and when you believe in something it always
happen.

Luciano Benjamín Cardozo

3rd “A” Prof. De Inglés
Lenguas vivas 2018
 Bibliography
 The mixed ability class – Julio Tice – Richmond publishing
 The primary English teacher’s Guide - Gail Ellis, Jean Brewster, Denis Girard –
penguin English
 Teaching very young children – Genevieve Roth – Richmond publishing
 Article: Teaching Children Using a Total Physical Response - Handoyo Puji
Widodo