Young Learners

Teaching English to Elementary School Children

Notebooks are an indispensable tool for the teacher. Below are five reasons to use notebooks in class, five writing activities for notebooks and five games that can be played using notebooks.

Five reasons to use a notebook

1. Students get used to writing on blank paper without the prompts of a textbook or worksheet.
2. Students can be independent, choosing what they write in the notebook.
3. Students can work at their own pace, and choose to write what is appropriate for their ability.
4. Students can easily look back at what they have done and see how they have improved.
5. Parents can easily see what the students have been doing.

Five writing activities for notebooks

1. Students draw a picture of their choice and write the initial letter or word or sentence associated with the picture.
2. Give students a pile of flashcards that have pictures on one side and English on the other side.. They choose a card, write a word or sentence and then check the back of the flashcard, correcting their work as necessary.
3. Write questions on the board and have students write their own answers in their notebook.
4. Give spelling tests. Most students love tests if the tests are just to see how well they can do.
5. Dictation. Dictate letters, words or sentences and have students write them in their notebooks.

Five games using notebooks (I designate the back pages for games as some games involve speed, and neatness tends to suffer. It is easier to encourage neatness in normal writing activities if the writing is not next to a scrawled page from a speed game).

1. Bingo. Save preparation time by using notebooks for bingo instead of readymade bingo grids. Dictate words then play bingo either using a 10-sided dice or have students take turns to choose a word.
2. Beat the clock. Have a pack of flashcards for each student or one big pile that they can share. Ask students how many words or sentences they can write in a given amount of time (I use a 3 minute egg-timer). Set the timer going and students try to reach their target.
3. Listening quiz. Give a description of something, e.g. "it's a long yellow fruit. Monkeys like them.". Students write their answers in the notebook.
4. Making puzzles. Students can make anagrams for each other, or other word puzzles that they have done in class. Give them a few minutes to make puzzles then they switch books and try to solve the puzzles. Teachers need to be vigilant to check puzzles are correct.
5. Memory pictures. Have students close their eyes and listen to three short descriptions or stories. e.g. "Number 1. It's a dog. It's yellow. It's in a tree. Number 2. It's a rabbit. It's pink and blue It's on a hill. " etc. After the three descriptions, students open their eyes. Ask questions about the descriptions, e.g. "Number 1. What color is it?" Then students get their notebooks and in a given time limit try to draw the three descriptions. For a final writing activity they can write sentences about the pictures they have drawn.

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