Rods (Cuisenarie Rods (Cuisenarie Rods)Rods)

Numeri in ColoreNumeri in ColorePaolo IottiPaolo Iotti

Aosta Aosta 18 – 19 March, 201018 – 19 March, 2010

Tips for teaching English at primary

level• Words are not enough (realia, flashcards, gestures, senses)• TPR (Total Physical Response) – children listen and follow a whole sequence of

instructions, doing what the teacher says, (e.g.: TPR with clothes vocabulary, An action routine, A pointing rhyme, Miming a morning routine, Physical break chant, Right or wrong, ‘Simon says’)

• Variety in the classroom (activity, materials, pace, organisation, voice)• Keep their hands busy!• Enjoyment• Motivation• Content• Cooperation• Assessment (traditional tests , observation , conferencing , projects , peer-

assessment, self-assessment, portfolio)• CALL (teaching & testing programs)

Teaching aids• Toys• Building blocks • Cuisenaire rods• Posters• Readers/stories• Games • Puppets• Class mascot

Cuisenaire Rods – description (1)

The rods (numbers in colour, coloured numbers) are named after their inventor, who initially used them to teach arithmetic. In the system, there are 10 rods measuring 1 cm to 10 cm (one square centimetre in cross section). Rods of equal length are assigned the same colour. Most Cuisenaire rods follow this system:

Cuisenaire Rods – description (2)

white = 1 cm.

red = 2 cm.

light green = 3 cm.

purple = 4 cm.

yellow = 5 cm.

dark green = 6 cm.

black = 7 cm.

brown = 8 cm.

blue =9 cm.

orange = 10 cm.

Selected lexical areas where Rs can be used:

(1)• colours• numbers• the alphabet• time specification• body parts• family relations• buildings & furniture• animals• food• abilities

Aspects of grammar that can be ‘smuggled’

(2):• personal pronouns• articles• nouns• adjectives• verbs• prepositions• word stress• sequence of words in an English sentence

Letters of the Alphabet

• Encode your rods! (key: t – blue, c – light green, a – black, e – brown, y – yellow, etc.) Lexical area should be established. Team game – make as many words as possible for your opponents!

Numbers• Stairs

What number is dark green?

• Bingo

Numbers (2)• Hunt the

“thimble” e.g. Find 2 red

rods and 5 white ones.

Time Specification• Telling the time• Morning routine

Parts of the Body• Monster game (one

rod = one part of the body, e.g. white (1) – an eye, red (2) - a mouth, etc. Each group throws the dice and makes appropriate parts of the body. Then children describe their monsters.

Main Advantages:C – colourfulU – universal I – imaginative S – solid E – effective N – nice A – appropriate I – indispensable R – ready E – exhilarating

Goodbye!