CLIL IN FIRST GRADE (6-7 year-olds)

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HIYA! 😊

Today I have a question for you: "What's the perfect age to implement CLIL?". Many times in schools CLIL is thought to be perfect for older students (10-11 year-olds) and implementing CLIL  in the first grades (6-7 year-olds) is not considered appropiate. We tend to think that CLIL is better for the third cycle because students have a better command of the target language. They have been studying the target language for some years so they have learned more vocabulary and grammar if we compare them with younger students. But... is it possible to teach 6-7 year-olds with a CLIL approach? My answer is it is! I have taught Science with a CLIL approach in the first cycle of primary school and I must confess it is highly rewarding 💖

Teaching CLIL in the  first grade (6-7 year-olds) can be challenging, but also very gratifying. At this age, kids get easily involved and if you provide them with the vocabulary and structures they need, they start using the language in a natural way, as if it is was a game. Would you like to find out how? Great! Keep reading 👀

6-7 year-olds are really active so I try to keep them in movement (I know, it can be sometimes noisy). Here you have some of the strategies and activities I use in my classes:

1) FLASHCARDS TO INTRODUCE NEW VOCABULARY. I use flashcards to introduce the vocabulary of the new topic. By introducing the vocabulary and the structures they will need during the unit/project, students will be more confident and get involved in the activities. 

Click on the image to find out more


2) GAMES. Kids love playing, don't they? So why not learning through games and in a natural way? You can use games for any purpose. Plus, games are present in their daily life.

3) HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES. As I have already said, kids need to be involved in an active way, so let's give them the opportunity to create mock-ups, foldable materials, cut and paste, do experiments, mould plasticine and/or clay...

4) TELLING STORIES. We know that telling stories is an excellent resource for improving and enriching kids' L1. We tell stories to our kids since they are very young, so why not using them in our CLIL Science lessons? Most stories have a repetitive structure and students end up repeating the story and learning both the structures and the vocabulary. Click HERE to find out stories I use in my CLIL Science lessons.

5) SINGING SONGS. Singing songs is another amazing way to learn a language. We already use them in L1 and in our English classes, so let's use them in our Science lessons too.  Do you need songs for your CLIL units? Click on the image below (I'm compiling songs in this Google Site, so it will be regularly updated)





I hope you this post useful for you. I would be very pleased to read in comments how you implement CLIL in the first cycle

Eva 💖

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