Topic work is a way to organize children's learning and language learning around topics or themes of interest. An example topic web on "Wild Animals" showed how different subject areas like math, geography, science, and art could be incorporated. When planning topic work, teachers should consider factors like students' interests and language levels to choose suitable activities. They also need to consider how to sequence activities, identify learning outcomes, and organize the classroom. While topic work can engage students and support language learning, some potential problems are that it requires significant planning and organization from teachers.

2. • What is topic work?
• How topics can be used as a basis for
planning and organizing language
learning.
• How to organize topic work.
• The problems and benefits of using topic
work.

3. Topic work is a way of organizing
children’s learning and language
learning around topics or themes
of interest to the children.

4. ART
Draw, paint
what the house ENGLISH Ats 1-5
ENGLISH Ats 1-5 looks like. Describe orally
Adress- What is
and
it?
writing, what
How are adresses
the house looks
worked out?
like
YOUR MATHS AT 10
ENGLISH Ats 1-5
HOUSE Shapes- observe
Colors of front roof, walls, bricks.
door, roof, walls, Name shapes, look
path. Shade, hue for patterns in
color mixing. buildings, draw.
ART ART/DESIGN
ALL CORE SUBJECTS SCIENCE AT 6
Observe and Construction.
report. Looking in What is it built
what can be seen from- walls, roof.
through a window.

6. How topics can be used
as a basis for planning
and organizing
language learning.
In the next part , we will see an example of how to
plan for topic work. It is not the only way to
proceed but it gives you a framework to start
from, which you can try out in your own
situation.

7. Planning for topic
work.

9. • How would you choose a topic and what factors
would influence your choice of topic and
activities?
• Which age and language level do you think the
topic would be suitable for?
• Which language-learning activities based on the
topic web would be suitable for the learners you
have in mind?
• Do all the activities in the web involve children in
using languaje?

10. Topic web: Wild animals
Maths Geography
Environmental Expressive
science arts

11. You can choose a topic by:

12. Here are some of the factors which
may influence your choice of
activities:
• Pupil’s interests.
• Pupil’s conceptual level.
• Time available to do the topic work.
• Level of language needed for the topic or to do the
activity.
• Level of cognitive challenge.

13. • Potential for encouraging pupil involvement
and participation.
• Pupil’s language needs.
• Resources available to do the activity.
• Syllabus.
• Potential for linking with other activities.

14. Analysing language/skills/attitudes
in learning activities.
Here you have a list of
things you can do once
you have selected a range
of activities. You can:

15. TASK 2 Sequencing activities.
Objectives and Language focus: Skills and Pronunciation Notes
activity vocabulary and functions
structures
To find and Receptive Reading skills Final Links with maths-
interpret (recycled) Finding consonant estimating and
information on Vocabulary appropiate books. clusters, eg in measuring skills.
animals’ sizes related to size Finding key length Organization: in
from books height, length, information about pairs and then
numbers in animals’ compare answers.
meters and cm sizes/heights in
deer, wolf library books

16. Activity: Make and describe an
imaginary animal.
Objectives and Language focus: Skills and Pronunciation Notes
activity vocabulary and functions
structures
To make an Productive Manipulation Pronuntiation Art work, eg make
imaginary (recycled) skills of possessive an animal by
animal from Names of Decision making ‘s, eg deer’s, sticking together
given body animals: deer, Oral skills elephant’s. different parts of
parts. tiger, eagle, Listening skills different animals.
Collaborating Organization:
with other pupils. work in small
groups.

17. Imaginary Animal
-Cat’s head
-Camel’s body
-Scorpion’s tail

18. Guidelines for sequencing

19. TASK 3 Identifying outcomes for
activities.
• In topic work, pupils learn how to work
together, how to find out information, how to
manage their work and present it.
• The emphasis is on the process of learning and so
we could say that one outcome is the development
of process skills.

20. Starting points for topic work

21. Here are three starting points for the
topic work.
• Consider the advantage
and disadvantage of
each one.

22. How to organize topic work.
• There can be a lot of • If it is successful, this
work involved in will give you
organizing topic work. confidence to try a
So it is best to start slightly longer project.
small. Begin with a • In the following parts
small project that takes we will consider you
only two or three need to decide or
lessons, perhaps linked organize in planning for
to your coursebook. topic work.

24. • What materials do I need?
Decide what materials you need to
carry out the activities.
To reduce the burden of making
materials, think about how the children
can help. What can they bring to class?
• Monitoring and recording
childrens’ progress.
Keep records of how children work
(learning process) as well as of the
outcomes of their work during. If
time is limited, just monitor a few
activities closely and keep brief
notes on each child.

25. • Classroom organization.
Decide how you will organize pupils
for
each activity, remembering to vary
ways of working in a lesson, eg whole
class pair-group-individual wholeclass.

26. • How to group children?
For group work you need to think about how
to group children. This can be according to:
-friendship
-ability
-mixed ability
-shared interest.
Change your groupings from time to time so
children get a chance to work with different
children and are not labelled as belonging to
a weak or a strong group.

27. The problems and benefits of
using topic work.
Lets see which conditions are particularly
supported by topic work and let us also look at
some of the problems which may prevent topic
work from creating these conditions.

28. • Create a real need and desire to use english
• Provide exposure to varied and meaningful
input with a focus on communication
• Create a friendly atmosphere in which
pupils can take risks and enjoy their
learning
• Provide opportunities for children to
experiment with their new lenguage
• Provide plenty of oppotunities to practise
and use the language in different contexs
• Help children notice the underlying pattern
in language

29. Problems: