The First Time Away Programme

The First Time Away Programme - Introduction

	LINES languages Ltd is accredited by the British Council, LINES languages Ltd is a member of ENGLISHUK
Introduction Theme weeks for 2010 Lessons Extra Activities

alt The First Time Away Programme is thematically based on projects and has been designed specifically for LINES. Each week of the programme will concentrate on a new set of themes where all language skills will be based around those themes.

Every weekday will begin with an assembly in The Secret Garden. During this time the youngsters will be welcomed, notices given and a short song (with actions) or game played.

On Mondays we go through the basic procedures and introductions. This will include introducing “Benjamin Bear”, the official mascot of the young learners, to the children. He will visit classrooms regularly and on a Monday will be allocated to one particular class where he will stay for the week and will be ‘looked after’ by the children of that class.

On Fridays the assembly will be a good opportunity for all the young learners and staff to bid farewell to those children leaving that weekend.

For children celebrating their birthday they will have a birthday bear presented during the assembly to look after for the day.

In such a large environment such as Downe House, the assembly assures the younger children of a sense of security and togetherness and, more importantly, makes for a fun start to the workday.

An important part of the “First Time Away Programme” will be Project Presentation. alt

Each week every young learner will work towards producing a project for presentation to their peers. All media will be used and all language skills will be integrated into the final product. As can be seen on the timetable, lessons 5, 6 and 7 are assigned to project preparation with Fridays being the day of project presentation. The Project will be as varied, demanding and as much fun as possible.

For example in 2008

1). During Week 2 where one of the themes was environment, children produced a model made entirely of recycled products; or Road Safety posters were made; or a nature collage was made of items found in the extensive grounds of Downe House.

2). For Week 3 the themes were Food & Drink, Clothes and Shops. The children worked on creating their own fruit cocktail drink with its own name and fruit ingredients, made them for tasting during the project presentation; other students wished to create their own fashions and produce their very own fashion catwalk; simple and safe food items such as chocolate crispie cakes etc were made and were a fun and popular Friday project for presentation.

Experience has shown that the younger children gain a great deal from conducting surveys and questionnaires around Downe House. Again these will be incorporated into the project work. For a theme of animals & birds the children could carry out a survey collating information on likes and dislikes. The Friday Project Presentation could also take a number of formats depending on each project.

The First Time Away Programme - Introduction

Who's Online