Let's be realistic. Time for reflective planning is a luxury we don't always have. But let's not give up! Sometimes the best ideas come in a flash of inspiration. Even in those last moments as we prepare for a lesson, we can be open to seeing a new way to engage young minds. To ask: "What if...?" What if that we could take our students, and maybe ourselves, to new and meaningful places of discovery and learning? Sometimes all that is required is a simple, yet effective, pedagogical shift. How little hearts always warmed to the story of Il Piccolo Capitano, the little sea captain who bravely goes to the rescue of a sinking boatload of fishermen and safely ferries them to shore. How joyfully they enacted role plays and drew pictures of dramatic rescues, recycling the language in new contexts: "Aiuto!" (Help!) "Vengo!" (I'm coming!) It was always a guaranteed 'winner'. But, as I gathered my thoughts that morning at the beginning of the unit, I wondered if we could do more than just learn the words and act them out. What if 'helping' could become an equally joyful habit of our classroom practice, understood as an ongoing act of gracious hospitality towards one another? It was a classic 'light bulb' moment. Instead of making origami paper boats later on in the unit, as we usually did, this activity became the starting point. Step by step simple instructions were given (in Italian) for making a boat. This time I modelled that when a child mastered the steps, they were ready to help another, to ask "Can I help?" in the target language. Others who were having some difficulty were encouraged to call out, "Aiuto!" And here would be a friend coming to the rescue: "Vengo!" We continued helping each other make little boats of varying size and design for most of the lesson, using the language of asking for and offering to help and remembering our kind words of response with each other, saying "Grazie!" and "Prego!"
A veritable flotilla of little origami boats later, we discussed, in English, other ways in which we could use these 'helping' words during our language class time and the difference that could make. We talked about how we were there to help each other learn and that it was fine to ask for help. The boats were placed with care in their safe harbour. We were ready to begin the story. Libby Colla
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