Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Is a Banana only a Banana?



 If you think music can only be performed with musical instruments, you are definitely wrong. Anything can be a part of music and the two videos that I am about to share are the proof of it. 

Most ELT classrooms focus more on lyrics, rather than the music itself. In my classroom I benefit from lyrics of Pop and Rock music, as well. However, sometimes it is good to display different aspects of "things" to boost creativity and have a memorable lesson.

As an ELT teacher working with kids, my aim is to have them think critically - think outside the box ;)  To shock them is a way -and it's my favourite way!

I began one of my lessons with talking about trees: where we see them, what kind of trees we know and what kind of sound they make and if we like it. Who doesn't like the sound of a tree? We even pretended that we are a bunch of trees and move and sound like one. What kind of music is this?



And then I asked: Have you ever heard that trees can make “real” music? Then I showed them this video.

After listening to the song, we discussed our ideas about it. While some couldn’t believe what they heard, some wanted to try it with different objects such as leaves, buildings.

The other video to help our kids to see things not as they are is this. Anything can be an instrument if you can see things beyond themselves. With this you can do some creative writing.

·        What did the carrot do when it became an instrument for an orchestra?

·        If you were a fruit / vegetable how would you feel?  


·         Who would be the chef? Why?


                                                                                          Google images

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Safe Search Engine


Hey there !

If you are concerned about your kids' internet safety, here you are! Kiddle is a nice tool when it comes to search engine for kids.

Not only is it safe and childfriendly (definitely), but also it is visually enjoyable. It is not much different from Google search engine with its news and videos sections. 


If you try to look for something inappropriate, it warns you and does not display anything at all. The first word that I chose to search was “balls” without any intentions. Yet this came up to my face =)


Then I looked for “ball” only, and this came up. You will find loads of pictures, news and videos in the related sections.



Have fun  ^.^