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Teach English Stars your way

English Stars 1/3/17

Whether you’re one of the lucky teachers already using English Stars, or you’re checking out the program for the first time, now is the perfect opportunity to find out how to put your own stamp on English Stars.

Our comprehensive program is crammed with teaching slideshows and videos, engaging texts, and differentiated activities that you can use to suit your teaching style. With all the resources at your fingertips, you’ll spend less time searching for materials and more time doing what you love — teaching!

Based on feedback from teachers already using the program, here are the top tips for making English Stars your own.

Change the teaching sequence

Even though English Stars follows a pedagogically sound sequence, each unit stands alone so you can teach them in any order you choose. Refer to the English Stars Yearly Plans to see whether any units complement other curriculum areas you have planned for the year.

For example: If you teach Year 4 and you’re planning a geography project in term 2, consider teaching the English Stars unit Where Do You Live? in term 2 as well. In this unit, students research their town and write an informative article, making this a great opportunity to tackle two curriculum areas at the same time.

Note: Within units, there are sequenced modules that culminate in assessment. Each module introduces new concepts that build on knowledge acquired in previous modules, so it’s a good idea to teach the modules in the suggested sequence.

Take online activities and tests offline

English Stars contains a mix of online and offline activities. For all tests and the majority of activities, the benefit of automatic marking speaks for itself. But if your students need handwriting practice, or you want to limit students’ screen time, there’s no reason why students can’t complete any of the online activities the traditional pen-and-paper way. With a School Licence, every online activity has a printable pack, so the choice is yours.

For example: If you teach Year 6, use the Take a Stand unit to incorporate handwriting practice into your lessons. Instead of students completing their imaginative diary entry online, give students the Printable Activity Pack to complete the activity by hand.

Use other applications

For extended pieces of writing, students can use word processing applications such as Pages or Word. Have students copy and paste their completed work into the English Stars activity field and submit it for marking. Alternatively, they can submit their work via your school’s learning management system or simply print their work for you to mark by hand.

In fact, English Stars encourages students to discover other applications. To foster a generation of digital natives, it’s important to choose applications that best benefit the purpose, rather than simply using technology for the sake of it.

For example: If you teach Year 5 and are about to tackle the assessment in Power of Persuasion, let students choose their favourite slideshow application, such as Keynote or Powerpoint. When students use applications they’re already familiar with, it means less time wasted trying to figure out how the application works and more time showcasing their design and presentation skills in a real-world context.

Note: you can manually enter marks in English Stars for any assessment you choose to complete offline.

Put your own resources to good use

Have you got a favourite, tried-and-tested resource that illustrates an English concept perfectly? Whether it’s a BLM, book, YouTube video, or even your own resource, there’s no reason you can’t use it in your English Stars classroom.

Whatever your approach to teaching, and however you choose to use the program, English Stars gives you everything you need to teach English your way.

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