We all have our favourite text types and evaluation styles, and I believe the same applies to the Approaches to Learning skills. Let’s be honest, it is second-nature to incorporate communication skills into our language classes, but when it comes to research skills or self-management, we might need to make more effort. Am I right?!
My point is, as humans we all tend to have natural biases and that can often seep into our teaching practices, whether we like it or not. Sometimes all we need is to take a step back and reflect on how we can be more balanced. See what I did there?! So, here are ten activities to incorporate ATL skills into your IB language classes.
Thinking Skills
The Language B guide suggests that we focus on reflection for these skills, by using guiding questions that students can complete after having finished a written piece of work. (IBO: 2019, pg 60).
So, to develop thinking skills you can simply add a self-reflection set of questions after a piece of assessment.
Here are some other suggestions:
Activity 1 When practicing for Paper 1 or writing text types, take note of the language errors (verb tense, word choice, sentence structures etc) in your students’ work. Make a list of them (without sharing names, obviously) and print them off as a worksheet for students to review and correct. I used to do this frequently with my class, reinforcing that the same errors are often made by multiple students. I always saw improvements in the next written task after having completed this activity, and it gets the students thinking about their choice of language more explicitly.
Activity 2 I have shared this resource in many other blog posts, because it is SO GOOD. For closure activities to develop different thinking skills and routines, you really can’t go past Project Zero. After a class of fairly dry reading comprehension practice, I used The 4 C’s activity in order to get the students reflecting about the bigger ideas behind the texts they were reading.
Research Skills
The Language B guide suggests that the human ingenuity theme provides a great starting point for research on technology, as well as students looking up vocabulary and verifying the language they are using. (IBO: 2019, pg 60).
So the simple act of using a dictionary can count as developing ATL research skills! Sometimes, the simple activities are the best.
Here are some further suggestions on how to develop research skills:
Activity 3 Inquiry-based projects. In order to prepare for the individual oral, I didn’t only get students to analyse text extracts, but gave them activities where they would have to research a topic and express their opinion, which is a vital skill for the oral. Here is an English B research project where students investigate two ‘sunken’ cities in order to compare and contrast them. So there are thinking skills involved too!
Activity 4 When it comes to research, it’s easy for us to simply think of collecting information online or in libraries, but investigation skills also include media literacy, which involves asking questions, interpreting data, listening to a variety of perspectives and supporting opinions with examples, all of which overlap with communication skills. So here are some other activities you can use for developing research skills:
To interpret a graph, check out this resource, where students must interpret a graph in pairs and then create a leaflet on it, as well as doing further research in order to obtain information from other primary sources.
For a bit of fun, check out this bundle of bingo cards based on the English B prescribed themes. The students must obtain quotes from their classmates on a variety of topics based on the themes, so this game also develops research skills by allowing the students to collect qualitative data.
Communication Skills
The Language B guide highlights the need for teachers to “allocate time in the class schedule to help students build confidence in one-to-one conversation”. (IBO: 2019, pg 61). Based on that, here are some speaking activities which will ensure every student participates in the class discussion, rather than just a small group of confident speakers.
Activity 5 Getting students to speak for prolonged periods can be tough at the beginning of the English B course, which is why I find prompts helpful. Check out this resource, which is a pairwork activity. Students work with a partner to create a video about inflation, using speaking prompts that are aligned with the Individual Oral structure. It’s a fun activity which provides extra support by giving students speaking prompts to guide their conversation.
Activity 6 For more speaking practice, here is another assessment task, where students analyse the lyrics to their favourite song, according to the Individual Oral format. This particular piece of assessment gives prompts for audience members to ask questions after each presentation - each audience member must participate, thereby building confidence in conversational skills. I found this activity helpful for students to develop active listening skills as the audience had to take notes during the presentation and use the prompts to ask questions afterwards. This ensures that classmates aren’t just sitting zombies while each student presents their work, they are active participants.
Social Skills
The Language B guide suggests that CAS activities can be a good way to build social skills, and that exploring attitudes, outlooks, prejudices and stereotyping can help students develop more mature social skills. (IBO: 2019, pg 61).
Here are two ideas based on those suggestions:
Activity 7 Exploring the theory of Pi from different outlooks is the basis of this resource, which can be used to celebrate Pi Day. If you thought that everyone views the number 3.14 in the same manner, think again! Students analyse different artworks which explore Pi, then create a written text type. At the end they brainstorm ideas for CAS experiences on how they could share knowledge about Pi. This resource therefore allows students to view a mathematical theory from different outlooks, and develop ideas for CAS projects which could futher develop collaborative social skills such as encouraging others to participate and exercising leadership and organisational skills.
Activity 8 As the language B guide mentioned, exploring prejudices can help develop social skills as it builds empathy. One of my most popular bundles is the implicit bias bundle, where students explore implicit bias through minority groups around the world and then listen to a podcast which examines the attitudes towards Filipino immigrants in Canada last century.
Self-management Skills
The Language B guide outlines two ways that students can develop self-management skills. The first is to develop strategies for managing time or completing written tasks, and the other is the ability to self-check work and reflect on how they can improve in the future. (IBO: 2019, pg 61).
Here are two final activities based on those suggestions:
Activity 9 If one wants to create a thoughtful, logical piece of writing, planning in advance is crucial. To practice for Paper 1 I developed this bundle of writing activities based on holidays, where students complete a planning table to map out their text types before they begin writing, which will give them strategies to successfully complete the task.
Activity 10 Students self-checking work allows you to step back and encourage a more student-centred classroom, so it’s a win-win situation! Check out this writing task where students watch a TED TALK about the importance of sleep and create a text type. They then complete a self-evaluation based on Paper 1 rubrics, and then a further reflection about how they can not only improve their writing, but their own well-being by considering what aspects from the video they can incorporate into their daily sleep routine.
There you have 10 activities to use for developing ATL skills. Which one did you find the most helpful, and how do you develop ATL skills in your own classroom? I’d love to read your comments below!
Sources:
IBO (2019). Language B guide: First assessment 2020
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