The ICT resource I’m particularly fond of and that I use quite often in the classroom is ‘Super Simple Songs'. The name is quite self-explanatory, however, for the sake of clarity I’ll explain what it entails. Basically, it’s English nursery rhymes and classic camp songs put together with videos to help kids learn and improve their English. The songs can either be bought on the website or they can be accessed on YouTube. So all you need is an internet connection to make it work!
From a teacher’s perspective, this is an incredibly useful tool since the songs also come with worksheets, flashcards, colouring pages, games and crafts. So, say you want to practice the alphabet, you play the alphabet song and later accompany this with tracing letter worksheets and flashcards which are at your disposal for free!
Alphabet Flashcards
The search engine on the website is very useful as you can search for whatever you would like to practice or reinforce in class. You could browse by song, topic, series or even type! There are 6 different levels and the level is indicated on each worksheet so it’s easy to know what worksheet you need for different groups.
When choosing a song it is essential that you carefully examine what it is that you want the pupils to learn. Is it specific vocabulary, pronunciation, topic or grammar? Thus, having a clear idea beforehand will make it easier for you to pick a relevant song. It is also important to bear in mind the age and English level of your pupils as some songs might be either too difficult or too easy which will lead to the pupils losing interest! Therefore, always make sure you listen to the song beforehand and teach relevant vocabulary or structures so the kids don't lose interest. Also, as a backup, make sure you have the mp3 version of the songs, because although this is the age of YouTube, sometimes not being dependent on a connection might save your class! The kids might not be be able to see the video like that so it's also good if you know some simple choreography to accompany the songs!
Alphabet Flashcards
The search engine on the website is very useful as you can search for whatever you would like to practice or reinforce in class. You could browse by song, topic, series or even type! There are 6 different levels and the level is indicated on each worksheet so it’s easy to know what worksheet you need for different groups.
When choosing a song it is essential that you carefully examine what it is that you want the pupils to learn. Is it specific vocabulary, pronunciation, topic or grammar? Thus, having a clear idea beforehand will make it easier for you to pick a relevant song. It is also important to bear in mind the age and English level of your pupils as some songs might be either too difficult or too easy which will lead to the pupils losing interest! Therefore, always make sure you listen to the song beforehand and teach relevant vocabulary or structures so the kids don't lose interest. Also, as a backup, make sure you have the mp3 version of the songs, because although this is the age of YouTube, sometimes not being dependent on a connection might save your class! The kids might not be be able to see the video like that so it's also good if you know some simple choreography to accompany the songs!
From a student’s perspective, this website is also useful for the kids themselves! Not only can the children listen to the songs in the classroom, but they could also watch and listen to the songs at home together with the parents. The videos also come with some type of choreography and they are very colourful and the kids love to watch them and sing along. The songs encourage the kids to get up and move and follow the instructions on the video! It’s great fun for the kids and very educational and also helps to improve motor skills! Furthermore, songs can help support children's emotional development as they can express themselves through songs and it is a tool which increases enjoyment and participation and could also help improve bonding! Moreover, the website also provides shows and games which the children could access at home!
All in all, I find this website very useful as learning a language through songs is one of the best ways to help children improve their English and increase their curiosity. Many times all you need is a catchy song that the children will remember even after you’re done teaching a specific language skill and Super Simple Songs provides just that; super simple catchy songs! Happy singing y’all!
Hello
ReplyDeleteI enjoy Reading your blog because it seems like you have really Think this through. I Think you tell what it is and how its work in a really good way. I can really understand what you mean. I like that it’s easy to get hold of. Nowadays everybody has internet in classroom. I really like that’s it’s not just a song, that there are worksheets to work on after. I really like this idea. As you said if you really plane this lesson you can teach almost anything with this.
And at the same time it’s fun for the kids.
I am going to try this in my class. And I will try to make small groups and they have an IPad to look at and work on the worksheets together, and learn from each other,
I think you made a really good job here by presenting this.
Thank you!
Hello Ingegerd,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed my post! Let me know how it went!
Best,
Kimia
ReplyDeleteFunny to read your post, very interesting! I bring this to my class. Song and frames help students to learn and I personally see that students get a positive attitude to the language. It's so fun to see when the students sing on the songs during the breaks or in the middle of a lesson. I think you described the website in a very good way, I will check it out and work with the material. Thanks for what you shared with you, Kimia.
/ Hanna Alm