1. Integrating PLTS into the Modern Languages Classroom
Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
09/03/2010
Integrating PLTS into the Modern Languages Classroom
Isabelle Jones, Head of Languages, The Radclyffe School, Oldham
@icpjones
My Languages Blog
PLTS in MFL Wiki
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

2. Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
09/03/2010
Strategies for embedding PLTS in your daily practice
Audit your own practice
Promoting PLTS in your classroom
Widen your repertoire of Thinking Skills activities
ICT tools to support the development of Thinking
Skills resources
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

3. Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
09/03/2010
Are PLTS here to stay?
Not a new concept:
Personal Learning + Thinking Skills
Independent learning skills
Learners’ social interactions
Making the link/ transfer knowledge
NOT a government initiative-focus for good practice
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

4. National Strategies Online Modules
Were at the start of the drive to promote Thinking Skills.
Click on CPD => Module11: Thinking Skills (log-in needed)

5. Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
09/03/2010
Bloom’s Taxonomy
Give opinions, assess/ criteria
Express rules, summarise, create
Identify patterns and rules
Predict, infer
Explain, describe, illustrate
Information recall: identify, list
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

6. Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
09/03/2010
PRICE Taxonomy
5 types of Thinking Skills:
Information-processing skills
Reasoning skills
Enquiry skills
Creative Thinking skills
Evaluation skills P R I C E
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

7. Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
09/03/2010
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

8. PLTS in the Secondary National Curriculum
Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
09/03/2010
PLTS in the Secondary National Curriculum
self manager
independent enquirer
creative thinker
team worker
reflective learner
effective participator
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

9. PLTS in the Secondary National Curriculum
Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
09/03/2010
PLTS in the Secondary National Curriculum
6 groups of Personal Learning Thinking Skills:
Self-Manager
Independent Enquirer
Creative Thinker
Reflective Learner
Effective Participator
Team Worker
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

10. Embedding PLTS the BLP Way
Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
Embedding PLTS the BLP Way
09/03/2010
Building Learning Power, Guy Claxton
“The 6 clusters of qualities are more than Skills that can be trained... The point is to cultivate these qualities into
becoming dispositions, or habits of mind... Cultivation of the PLTS should run through the curriculum, life and ethos of the school, like lettering through a stick of rock”.
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

11. Embedding PLTS the BLP Way
The 4 Rs
Resilience: absorption, managing distractions,
noticing, perseverance
Resourcefulness: questioning, making links,
imagining, reasoning, capitalising
Reflectiveness: planning, revising, distilling,
meta-learning
Reciprocity: interdependance, collaboration,
empathy and listening

13. Examples of languages activities
Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
09/03/2010
Examples of languages activities
Which PLTS area is it?
Are there any overlaps?
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

14. Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
Audit and barriers
09/03/2010
Which PLTS areas do I find are the easiest to integrate in my practice?
Can you give examples of activities?
Which PLTS areas do you think are the most difficult to integrate?
Why?
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

15. Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
Audit and barriers
09/03/2010
What is creativity?
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

16. Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
Strategies for Embedding PLTS
Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
09/03/2010
Aiming to deliver a wide variety of tasks in a varied way: impact on
resource design and nature of interactions in classroom
Opportunities highlighted in SoWs & examples of activities shared
Focus on developing students’ skills and independence
Introducing Meta-language to talk about learning: mats, display
Overlaps with AFL and SEAL
Training of support staff like FLAs
Focus on developing skills wholeschool approach
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

17. Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
Promoting PLTS: Mats
09/03/2010
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

18. Using cross-curricular Thinking Skills tools
Promoting PLTS:
Using cross-curricular Thinking Skills tools

19. Using cross-curricular Thinking Skills tools
Promoting PLTS:
Using cross-curricular Thinking Skills tools

20. Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
Promoting PLTS: Display
09/03/2010
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

21. Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
Strategies for Embedding PLTS: Overlaps
09/03/2010
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

22. Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
Strategies for Embedding PLTS: Overlaps
09/03/2010
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

23. Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
Strategies for Embedding PLTS: Overlaps
09/03/2010
C’ était comment?
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

24. Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
Strategies for Embedding PLTS:
Lesson Objectives
09/03/2010
Healthy Livingprep objectives.pptx
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

25. Write/ be prepared to say in French 7 things you do to keep healthy

26. mercredi 24 novembre Garder la forme Objectifs:
Look at the specific skills required to do well the Speaking Controlled Assessment (CA)
Revise key phrases and how to identify and use “interesting” phrases to improve
the range of the language used
SEAL objectives: Motivation (red)
I monitor and evaluate my own work
I set challenges and targets for myself and celebrate when I achieve them

27. Mercredi 24 novembre Recognise your strengths
Vers le succès (Steps to Success):
Developing strategies to start off answers in different ways F/H
Say & understand how time phrases, connectives, comparatives,
reasons & opinions can improve your linguistic range H
Practise speaking ensuring you do not pronounce silent letters F/H
Vers le progrès (Path to Progress):
Be able to develop your speaking answers using a range of
structures H
Recognise your strengths
Be aware of how you are doing
Learn from mistakes

28. Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
09/03/2010
Showing off your PLTS-
example of a lesson with PLTS-integrated activities
Wed20Oct-Les addictions.ppt
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

30. mercredi 20 octobre La dépendance
How to discuss addictions and give your opinion about them
Objectif:
SEAL objectives: Empathy (green)
I understand others’ point of view & pay attention to them
I value other people’s beliefs and cultures

31. Mercredi 20 octobre Vers le succès (Steps to Success):
Be able to say, understand and compare different types of
addictions F
How to say and understand reasons why young people
are attracted to these addictions F/H
How to understand and give opinions on different types of
addictions F/H
Vers le progrès (Path to Progress):
Be able to develop opinions using a range of structures H

32. Le tabac
Le cannabis
Les médicaments
Le travail
L’héroïne
La cocaïne
Le shopping
Le jeu
L’alcool

33. Points forts et Points faibles
L’alcool: C’est relaxant mais c’est cher
Le jeu
Le tabac
Plus … que (more … than)
Moins … que (less … than)
Aussi … que (as… as)
La drogue
L’alcool: C’est plus relaxant que le jeu mais
c’est aussi cher que le tabac

34. Diamond Nine activity2.notebook

35. Diamond nine cards.doc

36. Pourquoi les addictions?
1. Pour échapper à la
2. Pour se révolter contre ses
3. Pour faire comme les
4. Pour
5. Pour comment c’est.
6. Pour se : c’est déstressant.
7. Pour se donner
relaxer
parents
confiance
copains
réalité
expérimenter

37. Pourquoi les addictions?
1. Pour échapper à la réalité.
2. Pour se révolter contre ses parents.
3. Pour faire comme les copains.
4. Pour experimenter.
5. Pour voir comment c’est.
6. Pour se relaxer: c’est déstressant.
7. Pour se donner confiance.

38. Pourquoi pas? 
1. Parce que ça sent mauvais
2. Parce que c’est dégoûtant
3. Parce que ça donne le cancer
4. Parce que ça cause des crises cardiaques
5. Parce que c’est facile de devenir dépendant
6. Parce que c’est trop cher
7. Parce que c’est du gaspillage
8. Parce que c’est difficile d’arrêter
9. Parce que c’est illégal
10.Parce que c’est dangereux
11.Parce que c’est mauvais pour le foie
12.Parce que ça fait grossir/ ça coupe l’appétit
13.Parce ce que c’est mauvais pour la santé

39. L’alcool, le tabac ou les drogues?

40. Et toi, qu’est-ce que tu penses …
de l’alcool
du tabac
de la drogue
Minimum 10 words
Use: Je pense que c’est…
Parce que …

41. mercredi 20 octobre La dépendance
How to discuss addictions and give your opinion about them
Objectif:
SEAL objectives: Empathy (green)
I understand others’ point of view & pay attention to them
I value other people’s beliefs and cultures

42. Mercredi 20 octobre What areas of PLTS have been used in the lesson?
Vers le succès (Steps to Success):
Be able to say, understand and compare different types of addictions F
How to say and understand reasons why young people
are attracted to these addictions F/H
How to understand and give opinions on different types of addictions F/H
Vers le progrès (Path to Progress):
Be able to develop opinions using a range of structures H
What areas of PLTS have been used in the lesson?

43. Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
09/03/2010
Showing off your PLTS-
example of a lesson with PLTS-integrated activities
DLP20Oct2010-Detailed Lesson Plan
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

44. Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
09/03/2010
Full document
To be included
On the plts wiki
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

45. Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
Showing off your PLTS
09/03/2010
KS3 or KS4 lesson on healthy eating
What would you do to “show off your PLTS”?
Classroom set-up
Activities
Resources (including ICT if relevant)
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

46. Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
How embedded are your Thinking Skills/ PLTS?
09/03/2010
*Schemes of Work:
mapping out of Thinking Skills lesson opportunities sharing PLTS objectives
*Evidence of:
Collaborative team work [+Seating arrangement,
Display]
Students using “meta-language”
Students as Independent learners
Cross-curricular support/time dedicated to skills building across the curriculum
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

47. Typical PLTS-focused MFL activities
Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
09/03/2010
Typical PLTS-focused MFL activities
Thinking through Modern Foreign Languages Mei Lin and Cheryl Mackay, Chris Kington Publishing
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

48. Self Manager Activities
Sharing strategies to cope with the unknown (reading/ listening): language challenge [document/ recording in a different language/ designed for natives)
E.g. L’ hôtel de ville
Prepare ICT presentation
Presentation about self/ a chosen topic
Presentation about another culture
Grammar point

49. Independent Enquirer Activities
Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
Independent Enquirer Activities
09/03/2010
Links with mathematics
data handling
making predictions
presenting and interpreting data
(table/ bar chart/ pie chart/ pictogram
Balance of diet
Leisure/school activities
Spending habits
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

50. Independent Enquirer Activities
Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
Independent Enquirer Activities
09/03/2010
Mysteries
Problem solving activity based round a given central question that is open to more than one reasonable answer.
The information or 'clues' needed to answer the question are presented on separate slips of paper that your students will analyse, sort, sequence and link.
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

51. Independent Enquirer Activities
Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
Independent Enquirer Activities
09/03/2010
Mysteries
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

52. Independent Enquirers
Intercultural understanding-identify features

53. Independent Enquirers
Intercultural understanding-reflecting on identity
Find songs with repetitive structures
And get students to be more
Creative with the language...
Je viens de la où...

54. Creative Thinkers Activities
Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
09/03/2010
Creative Thinkers Activities
Create your own sandwich, smoothie, ice cream...
Invent mnemonics for particular vocabulary/ grammar rule
Poems: recipes, acrostics, calligrams, comparisons
Raps & rhythms
Song: “Ne me quitte pas” Je ferai/ je ferais...
Song-Stromae “Alors on danse” [Lyrics world app]
Transfer structure: Stromae_on_danse : Qui dit...
Rebus
Rebus Malin iphone
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

55. Creative Thinker Activities
Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
09/03/2010
Creative Thinker Activities
Stromae-Alors on danse...
Structure suggested for students own poem/ song (complete)
examples of student’s responses
Qui dit amour dit … haine/ famille
Qui dit parents dit… bagarres/ problèmes
Qui dit enfants dit … futur/larmes
Qui dit vacances dit … rire/ désastre
Qui dit études dit … travail/ennui
Oui dit travail dit … argent/ennui
Qui dit copains dit amusement/bavarder
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

56. Creative Thinkers Activities
Create your own sandwich, fruit drink, ice cream...
Invent mnemonics for particular vocabulary/ grammar rule Je  N’
aime
pas

57. Creative Thinkers Activities
Poems: calligrams (word mosaic)
Image Chef:
How would you use these symbols?
What other symbols might you find useful?

58. Creative Thinkers Activities
Raps & rhythms
Le Rap
j’ai un chat, Hannibal
j’ai des poissons.
elle a un chien.
vous avez des lions?
nous avons un lapin
elles ont deux serpents longs
tu as un animal?

59. Creative Thinkers Activities
Songs/ Poems: Ne Me quitte pas (Jacques Brel)

60. Creative Thinkers Activities
Rebus : Rebus
Je m’appelle Isabelle
C’est lundi
J’aime les chats blancs

61. Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
Creative Thinking Skills
09/03/2010
My Film dice game (can be done in English or TL)
Raconte le film comme si tu étais dans le role princial!
Le role principal
1=une petite fille 2=un adolescent 3=une grand-mère
4=une tortue 5=une danseuse 6=un chanteur de rock
B. L’ événement principal
1=un spectacle 2=des vacances horribles 3=un cambriolage
4=un voyage 5=un concert 6=une course
B. Le lieu principal
1=l’ école 2=les Bahamas 3=un château hanté
4=un bateau de croisière 5=un stade 6=un musée
Fruit machine
fruit_machine.htm
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

62. Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
Creative Thinking Skills
09/03/2010
Making links: Learners are given a selection of familiar
words and asked to make a concept map by adding
connecting words between the words already on the list.
The links can also be made from a series of pictures
Making links to other subjects
Using music, drama, ICT, history, geography, PSHE...
Analogies
Understanding what is unfamiliar comparing/contrasting it with something that is familiar
Verbal tennis
Can be used to revise vocabulary on a given topic or
to tell a short story one word at a time.
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

63. Creative Thinking Skills
Making links: Learners are given a selection of familiar
words and asked to make a concept map by adding
connecting words between the words already on the list.

64. Reflective Learners Activities
Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
Reflective Learners Activities
09/03/2010
Odd one out
raison saison pantalon couleur
Gender, phonic pattern, plural, verb, agreement, alphabetical, abstract, linked...
Can be done with words or pictures
Can teach Target Language for justifying oinions
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

65. Odd One Out - Model Plays an individual Sport Only woman
Professional Sportsmen
Not brilliant at their chosen careers!
British Celebrities
Only blond person
Married Couple
Jackie Howis AST Bennett Memorial Diocesan School 65

66. ¡Pilla al intruso! desayunar comer merendar cenamos descansar leche
pan
zumo té
café
queso
jamón
mermelada
fruta
golosinas
despierta
desayuna
energía
come
cena
agua
tostadas
cereales
uvas
frutas
verduras
hortalizas
dulces
Rachel Hawkes

67. Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
09/03/2010
Fact or opinion
“On mange mieux en France qu’en Angleterre”
Discute + range les phrases selon leurs catégories
2 stars and 1 wish
Direct/ Post-it notes/ wallwisher
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

68. Reflective Learners Activities
2 stars and a wish (direct/ post-it notes/ wallwisher)

69. Effective Participator Activities
Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
Effective Participator Activities
09/03/2010
Teach part of the lesson: from initial vocabulary input to re-introducing the past tense for regular –er verbs
Get involved in outreach activities: resources for Primary (mini books, recording stories, using video-conferencing), open evening
Organising a languages club/ café
Involvement in activities to prepare for a trip, exchange, option evening
Displays, videos, LAFTA competition...
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

70. Team Worker Activities
Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
09/03/2010
Team Worker Activities
Running dictation/ collective memory
Students work together to create or re-create a text or a visual image in the form of a map, picture or diagram. Each student look at stimulus for a short period of time (e.g. 10 seconds) before returning to reproduce the original.
Mysteries
Living graphs
Wikis: Collaborative Writing Task:
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

71. Team Worker Activities
Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
09/03/2010
Team Worker Activities
Living Graphs
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

72. Team Worker Activities
Collaborative Writing Task:
Wikis

73. Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
Widening your repertoire:
Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
09/03/2010
SYNTHESIS
Competition: Write excuses why you have not done your homework/why you are late.
Brainstorm elements of a ghost story/fairy story, research necessary language and write your own story.
Poubelle/Basura/Enquête – from a selection of evidence decide what might have happened to a missing person/ somebody from the past.
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

74. Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
09/03/2010
Information-Processing Skills
Locate and collect relevant information:
Highlight positive adjectives, food suitable for vegetarians,
Clothes you could buy as a present for your mother etc...
Sort, classify and sequence:
By chronological order, gender, similar sounds, students
classify new phrases/ vocabulary and others to guess
what the classification is.
Compare and contrast:
e.g. Comparing example of verb endings/ adjectival
Agreements to establish patterns.
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

75. Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
09/03/2010
Reasoning Skills
Give reasons for opinions and actions
Draw inferences and make deductions
Make informed judgements and decisions
Teacher’s questions must aim to give students
opportunities to express reasons, deductions,
judgements and decisions.
Pourquoi c’est un passé composé?
Il est pour ou contre l’uniforme? Pourquoi?
Un livre vert, c’est bien. Comment dit-on “a green plant”?
What would you say if you had the complete opposite
view?
Any more questions?
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

76. Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
09/03/2010
Enquiry Skills
Ask relevant questions
Students are shown text side-by-side with translation
They have 2 minutes to highlight what they understand
And think of question about something they don’t
Understand.
Pose and define problems
Show examples of verbs following a specific rule mixed
with exceptions-where are the exceptions? Why?
Canté Bailé Comí Escuché Fui Compramos
Plan what to do and how to use a range of resources
Planning sheet, mindmaps
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

77. Enquiry Skills Plan what to do and how to use a range of resources
Planning sheet, mindmaps

78. Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
09/03/2010
Analogies
Create pairs of related words:
Père et
Chaussures et
Mère
Pieds
Make/guess the analogy:
Manger + bois =
Maison + douche =
Table
Salle de bains
Use unusual image/ sound associations:
Students’ own Equitación (galloping sound)
Je suis (I eat sweet)
Pink car (voiture is feminine)
Blue car (coche is masculine)
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

79. Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
09/03/2010
Evaluation Skills
Develop criteria for judging the value of what they
read, hear and do
2 stars and 1 wish
Peer assessment (peer assessed by...)
Look a your AFL good practice e.g. Feely gauge
Wikis
(dicussion tab)
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

80. Evaluation Skills Evaluate Information (Text/Picture)
What is it/sort of text is it?
Who is it aimed at?
How do you know?
What is inside?

81. Further ideas and examples
Secondary Strategy Leading in Learning materials
Thinking Through MFL, Mei Lin & Cheryl Macky, Chris Kington Publishing
Curriculum Now! Rachel Hawkes, ALL
PLTS in MFL Wiki

82. Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
09/03/2010
SOLO Taxonomy
Stands for Structures of Observed Learning Outcomes
Developed by Biggs and Collis in 1982
Describes levels of increasing complexity in a student’s understanding of a subject
With the highest level being the extended abstract level, when students can make
connections not only within the given area but also beyond it.
Students will also be able to generalise and transfer the principles and ideas to
another area.
Chris Harte, Head of Languages at Cramlington Learning Village has applied
the taxonomy to language-learning
Are we allowing our students to make these connections?
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

83. Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
09/03/2010
Strategies for embedding PLTS in your daily practice
Audit your own practice
Promoting PLTS in your classroom
Widen your repertoire of Thinking Skills activities
ICT tools to support the development of Thinking
Skills resources
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki:

84. Integrating PLTS into the Modern Languages Classroom
Embedding Thinking Skills in your MFL Lessons
09/03/2010
Integrating PLTS into the Modern Languages Classroom
Isabelle Jones, Head of Languages, The Radclyffe School, Oldham
@icpjones
My Languages Blog
PLTS in MFL Wiki
Isabelle Jones, North West RSA, Twitter: icpjones, Wiki: