Introduction to the Content Guide:

It is with great pleasure that we present our new Content Guide that will lead
teachers that work for this program in their task of teaching English in elementary
schools. The Programa de Inglés en Primaria was an initiative of the state
government of Sonora.

Since the program officially began during the 2004-2005 school year, our
vision has been based on high expectations, and we are always trying to implement
research based theory in our educational goals.

Introduction to the Content Guide:

The content guide is not a complete document with step-by-step instructions.

It should be thought of as an additional resource to steer instruction towards more
meaningful activities and greater student engagement.

The sample activities listed in the content guide are just that - a sample.
These suggestions are offered as a springboard to help teachers create additional
activities aimed at having students accomplish the objectives listed. Remember to
include listening/speaking and reading/writing when planning activities. Although
the activities listed here are not broken down in terms of these areas, the four skills
are included.

The grammar structures listed in the grammar column appear in the order and
unit in which they are first introduced. After structures are introduced they should be
incorporated into following lessons using vocabulary appropriate for those units.

Bloom’s Taxonomy has been included in this year’s planner as a support for lesson
planning. It was first developed as a way of looking at learning and later revised as a
tool to help teachers engage students in higher levels of thinking. While the
traditional classroom teacher tends to spend more time on the lower order thinking,
in order for genuine learning to happen it is necessary to include activities that get
students to a higher level of thinking.

In order to follow the Content Guide for the Programa de Inglés en Primaria
(PIP), the English teacher will base his/her class primarily on the Total Physical
Response Method, but will also focus on other methods such as the Communicative
Approach with the purpose of giving students the ability to communicate in the target
language. According to the Communicative Approach, language is used in an
authentic and real context. It perceives language as a vehicle for classroom
communication. Therefore, through this method language is not seen as the object
of study. Some of the principles of the Communicative Approach that apply to the
PIP Content Guide are:
 1 Students interact with each other in the L2.

2 The communicative social context is essential in giving meaning.

3 Emphasis is placed not only on what the student says but on how he says it.

4 Part of the communicative competence that students will develop is based on

the ability to figure out the speaker’s or the writer’s intentions.

5 Language is also taught through games, since these have certain features in
common with real communicative events.

One of the main goals of the PIP Content Guide is to have communicatively
competent students. The role of the teacher is to become a facilitator of the students’
learning. As such he has many roles to fulfill. The teacher is not only seen as an
instructor, but he is seen as a class manager. The teacher’s job is to give students
activities such as games, role-plays, and problem solving tasks. The teacher also
monitors students’ progress and works as an advisor.

The Content Guide and Other Sources

The Content Guide will lead the students’ progress and it will establish the
objectives and the topics that will be covered throughout each school year. In
addition to the Content Guide as a framework, every teacher will use the Twist and Shout
Book or English Adventure as a resource. However, this book will not be the only
resource that will be used by the teacher. It will be the English teacher’s
responsibility to look for or create extra material to enhance every lesson from the
Content Guide. Moreover, the Content Guide includes several ideas of activities and
extra material that the teacher can use for these purposes. Therefore, the Content
Guide will provide the teacher with a path through the unlimited language. The
challenge will be to have coherence between the topics seen in the Content Guide
and the Topics included in the Twist and Shout Book or the English Adventure book.

Although the classes given by PIP teachers are taught in an EFL setting and
are not Content Based instruction, the Content Guide is based on a variety of topics
that will relate to mainstream subjects. This is due to the fact that it will be easier for
students to acquire new vocabulary if they receive the input through topics that they
are learning or that they are already familiar with in Spanish.

The skills that students will develop will vary depending on the level of English
in which students are. In the case of the first grade, students will develop only basic
listening and speaking skills. Since students have not acquired the necessary
reading and writing skills, it is not intended in the Content Guide to expose students
to reading and writing in English at this level. However, once students get to second
grade, they will be exposed to basic reading and writing and they will continue
developing their listening and speaking skills. Although students at this stage will
develop reading and writing skills, the main purpose will be to have communicative
competence. Thus, the Content Guide includes examples of activities in each unit
that teachers can use to cover these communicative skills. Moreover the four skills
will be assessed throughout the course, but the teacher will emphasize the
assessment to the communicative skills that students develop.

We hope that you find the Content Guide an easy to use tool for the planning
of your classes. Always keep in mind that the success of your students will depend
on your well structured planning and high expectations of the program. We wish you
a great school year!

Sincerely,

The Staff of the Programa de Ingles en Primaria