Mini Picturebook e-Lessons: Guidelines

The lessons provide clear guidelines for primary-aged English language learners (ESL, EFL, EAL) to watch and listen to a picturebook being read aloud by an author/illustrator. Within this age range, individual differences in children are especially marked.  There are also vast social, emotional and cognitive differences as well as physical and pscychological differences and a range of factors influencing children’s English language learning.

Picturebooks can be interpreted on many levels and thus satisfy children of different ages, at different points in their English language learning. In order to cater for these variables, the mini picturebook e-lessons cover the CEFR level descriptors pre A1 – A2.  The e-lessons contain suggested activities to pick and choose from within these levels depending on the age, language level and interests of the children and time available.  The lessons can also be easily adapted to suit children’s needs and many activities can span the primary age range depending on the amount of scaffolding provided.

Children will be able to:

Easy to follow action verbs such as ‘predict, act out, think, personalise’ make learning comprehensible and explicit. 

The mini e-lessons contain suggested activities to pick and choose from depending on the age, language level and interests of the children and time available. The lessons can be easily adapted to suit their needs. 

Children are encouraged to share their work with their classmates and teacher to make learning motivating and collaborative and to create a virtual community of learners. 

We hope children will enjoy and learn and that these lessons offer some support for primary English teachers trying their very best to teach English online. Gail & Tatia for PEPELT

Gail & Tatia for PEPELT

Look at the cover to predict, research information and check key words.

Listen and watch (A) the picturebook creator reading aloud for general understanding. Tell children they are not expected to understand every word.

Listen and watch (B) the picturebook creator reading aloud to develop observation, listening and comprehension skills.

Add your voice to make personal, cross-curricular, and intercultural connections..

Share and evaluate your work with your classmates and teacher.

Negotiate with your class whether the evaluation will be a personal activity or a shared activity with you and the class. Guidelines are below for the latter.Depending on the children’s age and level of English, allow them to use their own language or shared classroom language for their evaluation.  This will enable them to give more detailed responses.

Part A: Personal response

Ask children to answer and complete some or all of the personal response questions and sentence stems.  This can be done either as an oral or written activity and can be done individually, in pairs or as a class discussion. 

Part B: Self-evaluation

Ask children to evaluate how well they did by drawing the corresponding face in the books.  Lead a class discussion.  Help children identify what they need to revise or understand better in their next learning journey. Once the children have gained some experience of how to reflect on and evaluate their own learning, they will gradually start asking themselves the questions independently. 

The CLELE Journal, Children’s Literature in English Language Education, 9.1 (2021) :