Advice on Pratom Books Needed

**tropic of cancer** · 7th October 2008 16:18

I teach Pratom 2-5 in a samll EP (5-8 kids per class) In 3 of the four classes we have basically gone through all three set textbooks in one semester - these being: English Time (OUP) and My Pals are Here Books A & B (Marshall Cavendish). It is not that the classes are especially gifted but partly that small classes help one race through and partly, the accompanying resources (CDs, flashcards etc) were not bought.

I have managed to convince my (very supportive) superiors that sourcing, designing and lesson planning 20 hours a week without core texts is impossible and therefore I need to purchase more materials. I may go for the English Time flashcards and My Pals CDs but I also may be able to sneak in another textbook per class (certainly I hope so or it'll be a lonngg term).

Has anyone got any recommendations for useful and fun textbooks for this level, besides those I've mentioned?

Thanks.

**bingo enthusiast** · 7th October 2008 16:47

when i taught this level I taught 10 minutes each lesson learning phonetics and the phonemic alphabet. Most students think it's a shouting game and really enjoyed it. Within a month or two pronounciation was near perfect and they learnt how to use a dictionary.
Books at this level tend to be a bit simple for a lot of Thai students if you stick them, I would go with more concept checking with games, projects etc to really reinforce the learned language.
There are some very good books available for classroom activities, perhaps this is the way to go rather than another course book to charge through.

**Qwerty2** · 7th October 2008 19:03

Jolly Phonics & Jolly Grammar are good resources. I also like the Chatterbox series.

Jolly Learning

Oxford University Press | Chatterbox

**tayto** · 7th October 2008 19:12

Seems to be very quick to go through all those books in one semester.
I seriously doubt if all the material was covered.
We use Get Set Go for P1 and P2 and would only be half way through it at this stage( end of first semester). We have 1 hour of english every day, 2 hours on a Wed and we do the book about 3 of those hours.
Doing one or two pages,listening to the cd , reading it, understanding it, and then doing the workbook or worksheet easily fills an hour.
Slow down.
Lots of books here Âûó÷èì àíãëèéñêèé âìåñòå! ÂÑÅ ó÷åáíèêè, àóäèî- è âèäåîìàòåðèàëû

**peelieorion** · 7th October 2008 20:40

If these kids can read, I would seriously consider not using textbooks at all. Make learning fun and practical and do projects with them. Making mini passports about themselves, pop up books, cooking and writing recipes, English board games. For speaking creating scenarios like a market or a restaurant so they can use their English. When English is put in context, they'll use it a lot more. Also smother your classroom with stimulating displays. the more ownership of their learning they have the more motivated they are.