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Judy Blue Improve reading and free talk for kids with Apple Tree Farm books by Heather Amery and Stephen Cartwright
Language English
Latest request: More than 1 month ago

Improve reading and free talk for kids with Apple Tree Farm books by Heather Amery and Stephen Cartwright

25Min
1,200 P
Estimated of points
Tiene clase de prueba
15Min
500P
Become a confident English speaker by reading authentic English children's books and talking about the pictures with an experienced and friendly children's teacher
Acceptance of new students limited
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Detalles de la lección

Who is this lesson suitable for?

This lesson is suitable for kids who've been studying English in school for a little while. This lesson can be good for students of all ages and from upper-beginner to upper intermediate (or higher).

 

Lower-level students might enjoy this class if they:

•  Are comfortable reading some English words

•  Can identify letter names

•  Can understand the questions "What is this?" and/or "What do you see?" and/or "Where's the...?"

Mom and Dad are very welcome in the lesson, especially at the beginning. If your child can't do the above, we can still have a lesson, but Mom and Dad will need to help. 

 

Upper-intermediate or higher level students might benefit from this class because it's written in a very natural style about common activities, and it will help transition from "text-book" English to natural English. In addition, the pictures are very rich in details, and we can talk about what's happening in the pictures. These conversations will follow the student's level, and allow a lot of opportunities to correct grammar and pronunciation errors and become comfortable with normal, informal, unscripted conversation. 

 

Here are some questions and things intermediate and higher students can discuss in this lesson:

 

•  What's he doing? What are they doing?

•  Where are they going?

•  What happened? What's wrong? 

•  Why did (something) happen?

•  How does she feel?

•  Where's...? What's ...?

•  What do you think will happen next?

•  Have you ever...?

•  Would you like to...?

•  Do you like...?

•  Why/why not?

•  Who is (someone)? How old is she? What does she look like?

 

More advanced students can also re-tell the story in their own words, talk about similar situations in their own lives, discuss their opinions, compare these characters and stories to other characters and stories, and describe the pictures on each page using language as complex as they are capable of (I will encourage students to stretch, and I will offer suggestions and support). 

 

 

These books are very flexible and can be used for a long time in a child's life. They are designed to be useful from the pre-reading stage through to the confident reader stage. They build skills of focusing the eyes to pay attention and look for small details (find the yellow duck on every two-page spread) at the earliest stages, and develop the vocabulary and grammar as adults read them the story and discuss the pictures with them. The large font of the simple sentences at the tops of the pages allows them to begin to recognise the most common sight-words and see them in context. They can quickly develop a reading vocabulary from paying attention to these words. The large font is appropriate for developing readers. As they progress, they will become familiar with a larger number of words and they will become comfortable with longer sentences and the smaller font of the words at the bottoms of the pages.  

 

I used them from the time my daughter was a baby (looking at the pictures, pointing at details and talking about the pictures, finding the hidden duck on each page, reading the story to her), through her early reading stages when she was able to independently read the sentences at the tops of the pages (larger font, simpler sentences), to her more advanced reading stage, when she could also independently read the sentences at the bottoms of the pages. 

 

These are not phonics-based books. Usborne also have phonics-based books, and those might be good supplements. However, phonics is not suitable for all children (I personally did not get on well with phonics as a child, and I didn't use it with my own child, and I have had success helping kids who were struggling with reading when we used non-phonics materials - it really depends on the child). The English language is a mongrel language - we have words from many different language families, each of which have different phonetic systems. We also have many words which are pronounced differently now than they were hundreds of years ago, but they are still spelled the same as they used to be, so the phonetic pronunciation would not be correct. 

 

These books are available in e-book format with audio. I like paper books, but I also recommend getting the ebook and reading along with the narrator. This can help with pronunciation with a good British accent. In addition, English is a stress-timed language, so correct intonation is important and also difficult for learners to achieve. Practicing with the narrator (shadowing) will help you a lot in making sure others understand when you speak, and also it will help you understand better when you're listening to others speak. 

 

 
How will the class be conducted?

For the first class, I can share several pages of one of the books. You can see if you like the book and the class. If you want to take another class, please buy the book or books you would like to read. We can read together in class in whatever way you choose (I can read each sentence first, then you repeat, for example, or you could read independently and I can offer corrections). We will spend some time on each page, talking about the story and the picture. I will ask questions based on your level, and encourage you to make sentences and practice English conversation skills according to your level. I will type notes in the chat with model sentences and corrections. I am always happy to adjust my teaching according to your preferences!


Titles in this series

1.  Barn on Fire

2.  Pig Gets Stuck

3.  Camping Out

4.  The Naughty Sheep

5.  Surprise Visitors

6.  Market Day

7.  Kitten's Day Out

8.  Scarecrow's Secret

9.  Pig Gets Lost

10.  The Snow Storm

11.  The Hungry Donkey

12.  The Runaway Tractor

13.  The New Pony

14.  The Grumpy Goat

15.  Tractor in Trouble

16.  Dolly and the Train

17.  Woolly Stops the Train

18.  The Old Steam Train

19.  Rusty's Train Ride
20. The Silly Sheepdog 


Are these lessons suitable for adults? 

 Yes! I think these are brilliant books for learners of all ages. They benefit the older learner for exactly the same reasons they are good for younger learners.  Making the transition from "classroom English" to "daily English" is so, so difficult! Reading authentic material can also be frustrating and discouraging. Sometimes even children's books can be too complex and difficult for the learner. Graded readers are excellent for this reason, but at some point, we yearn to read authentic material in English. I think these books are a good place to start, and will help you in many ways. They're also really good for parents who want to help their child develop confidence in English from the start.

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