A grade

A grade educational material

As this is the first time students find themselves in a structured school environment, the aim of the provided educational material is two-fold: (1) to smooth their transition from the nursery classroom to primary school and train them to function effectively in the English classroom and (2) to create their enthusiasm and motivation towards learning. The educational material of the EYL project for the first grade is designed to reinforce students to act individually and adjust to the new school environment setting their own pace, while it gives them the opportunity to broaden their interests, extend their knowledge and develop communication skills. The activities also aim at helping students develop a positive attitude towards multilingualism and multiculturalism, increase their motivation to learn the English language and develop respect towards their own culture as well as others.

In this context, students also learn to follow the classroom rules, cooperate, pay attention and enjoy themselves in the English classroom. Thus, both the linguistic and the pedagogical objectives are set to reinforce a holistic approach towards the students’ development. More specifically, action and music oriented activities aim at helping students develop their movement coordination, arts and crafts help them develop their motor skills, drama and board games enhance cooperation, masks facilitate expression without hesitation, videos boost their self-esteem through their ability to understand English, while posters and drawing make them appreciate the aesthetic value of art.

The basic educational material for the first grade consists of 37 teaching units. In addition, the teacher is also provided with 26 supplementary activities, which are divided into the same five teaching cycles as the basic material, and can be used to revise the language taught through board games, quizzes and songs. Moreover, 16 extra teaching units are available at the Teacher’s corner in the EYL project official website (link), also divided into five teaching cycles. The extra teaching units provide teachers with cognitively less or more demanding material and tend to facilitate a differentiated teaching procedure.

The A grade syllabus is available here.

Download A grade sample material: