Smart School - CLIL lesson - 0 grade

Yesterday me and my colleagues from studies observed a few lessons in Smart School which is located in Zakręt near Warsaw. They were mostly CLIL lessons so it was something new for me - something I saw for the first time in practice. 

In this entry I want to share my reflections connected with the lesson which impressed me the most. It was CLIL class conducted in the group of ten zero graders. What I want to focus on is classroom environment. From my point of view this was the most beneficial aspect of the lesson as it helped the kids learn in a more effective way.

In the classroom, there was a subject teacher and a language teacher who were cooperating with each other. The seating arrangement depended on a type of activity. Children were both sitting in a circle on the carpet and around the table on chairs. The idea of carpet was used, when children were repeating words connected with weather  by telling of how many syllables each word consist of. Also during memory game and introducing, drilling and practicing vocabulary connected with seasons and clothes.

Arrangement like that gives more opportunity for interaction between children and teacher. It reduces distance and makes little ones feel more comfortable and what is the most important encouraged to talk. Such seating made it easier for teacher to give children instructions with examples and control the actions of players. I have to also add that children had a lot of space to move during drilling with some gestures - they were not restrained by chairs or tables.

Students were sitting around the table during two experiments (making a tornado and cloud in a jar). It was the most convenient and safest way to conduct mentioned experiments. Moreover, every person could have seen what was going on without any problems. I think that seating arrangement in this classroom is really nice and suitable to the age of students. They do not have to sit only in pairs but thanks to round tables are able to comfortably cooperate with each other, work in groups and see almost everyone without turning around.

What I also have noticed is that classroom is really English friendly - there is a place on the wall (pin boards) where posters and children's works are hung. Thanks to that solution students become more familiar with second language, culture. Additionally, they are aware of their individual outcomes. 

Two last aspects of classroom environment I want to mention are rules that children have to oblige and materials used during the lesson. There are several rules of behavior which hang on the pin board in a visible place. They are written in Polish but include also pictures which make them more understandable for little pupils. Such rules are really helpful tor a teacher to address them when child's behaviour requires this. Last thing are materials used by teacher. Firstly, there was no coursebook but only additional aids like flashcards, wordcards, jars and other equipment needed for experiments. Such diversity is appropriate from the point of multiple intelligences because of visual aids and possibilities to use senses.

To sum up, in my opinion classroom environment that I saw was varied, interesting and fitted to students' needs in this particular age. In my future work as a teacher I will mind what seating arrangement is the best for my students in different learning situations (for instance working in groups, singing, drilling). Moreover, what I will certainly develop some rules of proper behaviour together with the children. Keeping in mind that each lesson should be interesting for students I will provide my students with different materials apart from the coursebook so they can be engaged, active and will assimilate new material easier. Because I want to surround my pupils with English language, I will do my best to create English friendly environment for them, by hanging posters connected with some aspects of language like rules, exceptions etc., their works but also some information connected with English culture.