choosing text books

UNLPam – Facultad de Ciencias HumanasPRÁCTICA EDUCATIVA II

(Didactics of ELT and Practicum at Primary School Level)

Avendaño, Ivana and Blanco, Fátima.

PRACTICAL NUMBER 12

Howdy! Level 1Richmond PublishingTheresa ZanattaSantillana, 2008

1. In this book, the grammatical, lexical and communicative progression are suitable for the age of the students, although the topics do not follow a certain order. Besides the topics are mixed in certain units, for example: the second unit is related to the use of like, applying this knowledge to the school subjects and then, sports and other activities are introduced, like playing football, computers.

2. The four macroskills are not well-balanced in this book, because listening activities are spread throughout the whole book and there is a lack of the other three macroskills.

3. The material is enough for the number of hours you teach if you have one class per week. But if there are two classes per week, the teacher will need complementary material.

4. In the textbook "Howdy" the cognitive strategies are present, because the texts activate prior knowledge by referring to the numbers and colours, for example. However, the metacognitive strategies are not present in this book, as they do not allow self-assessment. Regarding the socio- affective, the book through the use of projects promotes pair work and also, whole group activities.

5. The thematic units are suitable for the age, because the book presents topics such as animals, which are interesting for children of 10-11 years old. But the thematic units might not be suitable for the social context of our learners, because for example, not all the students can afford going on a safari.

6. There is a variety in the textual types offered, because there are descriptive, but also narrative texts. The language used in the book can be linked to several




subjects such as Natural Sciences, because the book shows pictures of insects, with PE because it describes the sports and there is an entire unit which deals with school subjects.

7. Project work is fostered in this book because at the end of some units, the book presents a project. For example, at the end of unit 2 “Bug Mania”, there is a project with ants and at the end of unit 7 “Night Light”, there is a project to create an astronaut passport.

8. The activities in the textbook provide integration with prior knowledge, because it includes activities with numbers. Also, it includes extensive practice at the end of each unit.

9. The book does not include an extra activity book.

10. We would recommend the use of this book for Primary School at Elementary Level for 11-12 year old children. I would recommend it because it has real images, which call the students’ attention and also, it presents interesting topics. Furthermore, it developes 3 macroskills: reading, listening and writing. The projects are an excellent opportunity for developing the children’s creativity and also, for establishing a connection with other subjects (CLIL)

Backpack 1Longman, 2005.Mario Herrera, Diane Pinkley. Contributing writer Yoko Mia Hirano.

1. The book backpack 1 might be suitable for real beginners between six and seven years old. The student book provides a good grammatical, lexical and communicative progression for the previously established ages. For instance, within the units there is a warm-up, usually a song, and then the new vocabulary or grammatical structure is presented and repeated through exercises of looking and listening or listening and draw. Eventually, more complex activities appear such us look and say or look and count. By the end of the book, the students are




requested to activate prior knowledge, applying vocabulary that they learned in previous units. Furthermore, there is a gradually development of the instructions. At the beginning they are clear and short (Listen and Tick) but then they became longer (Circle the action that doesn’t match. Say.)

2. In this book, the four macroskills are well-balanced. There is a great exposure to listening activities. Speaking activities such as repeat chants, little dialogues or songs are also offered. Reading (the interactions, short dialogues and sentences) and writing some words are the only activities for these two macroskills.

3. We think the material is enough if you teach a thirty minutes class per week. If, by contrary, you have two classes per week, the material will not be enough. So it will be necessary the use of some complementary materials.

4. Cognitive strategies such us repetition and organizing new language are presented in this book. There are few cases of metacognitive strategies, there are generally at the end of the unit under the rubric “Play a Game!” Nevertheless, socio-affective strategies are absented because children are not able to assess themselves.

5. The thematic units of the book are suitable for the age and also for the context of the learners. This book deals with school objects, family, farm animals, parts of the house, clothes, etc. Children can relate with the activities portrayed in the book, because going to the park is something that every child can do. However, there might be instances in which a mismatch can occur when the house or celebrations are presented. For example, not all children have that kind of house and maybe not all children can have the different variety of food that is shown. We do not think the book promotes intercultural awareness because the activities, sports, toys, school objects that are mentioned are common all over the world.

6. No, there are not different textual types offered. The book makes special focus on the development of skills related to Art. At the end of each unit, there are projects for the students to carry out, such as make an ABC book, funny




puppets, mobiles, wheels, etc.

7. Project work is fostered throughout the whole book. Also, a Theme Based approach is favoured because each unit deals with a specific topic.

8. Yes, the activities included in the book activate prior knowledge. For instance, almost at the end of the book, the students are asked to count numbers, which were learnt in a previous unit. The practice is neither extensive nor insufficient. There are no instances of self-assessment or revision. 9. The workbook is integrated with the book. The activities provided in the

workbook not only present the same topics, but also they are the same kind of activities, which helps to reinforce the vocabulary presented in the book.

10. We would really recommend this book for first grade in Primary school. One of the main reasons is that the grammatical structure, vocabulary, instructions are clear, precise, explicit and basic. These characteristics make them suitable for young learners. There are lot of listening which is excellent so student get used to it. A large variety of beautiful and colourful pictures make the book attractive to children. Also, the workbook in spite of being black and white has lovely fonts. We only found one negative characteristic which has to do with the fact that this book has a lot of pages that could be cut. This makes impossible the idea of using the book the following year by another student.

choosing text books

Education