Didattica Scuola Primaria

Mother Dear, Of my life you are the centre, You give me joy and give me shelter. How wonderful it is To greet you with a kiss Or a thoughtful caress On the palm of your hand. Last night I dreamt of you And in the dream I hugged you; Then my sorrow fled me As your hand caressed me; My face is now bright, As I am woken by your smile. I now look at life in awe As I step through the door! Ercole Bonjean Translation by Chiara Amoretti Saves and prints Link correlati a questo post: Elementary school

Mr Bonjean interviews his students: Is writing a pleasure or a sacrifice? Why do we write? We write to learn how to communicate, because writing is a crucial part of our  lives and will be useful for all aspects of life. (Andrea) We write for many reasons: to express how we feel inside, but also for the sheer  joy of learning how to write and entering the world of writing. (Elena) We write to communicate, to compose texts or nursery rhymes, to write letters  or, if you are in love, love letters. (Simone) We write for many reasons: to communicate, to describe things, to memorize, to  recount our own experiences, to inform. (Giulia) What sort of text do you prefer writing? Why? I prefer writing fables because I can invent them myself and I have fun  describing witches, fairies, ogres, wizards and goblins. (Silvio) I love writing action and adventure stories because I am passionate about this  kind of tale; I particularly like imagining the world of pira

Are audiovisual devices (TV, computer and internet, DVD player, Play Station, games…) really an advantage of our times? Express your opinion. STRUCTURE: Beginning: introduce the topic with a question. Central situation: Explain the positive and negative aspects of audiovisual devices Final situation: conclude with your opinion. Are audiovisual devices really an advantage of our times? In our time, we have many audiovisual devices, each with positive and negative aspects: they can be used to relax, but we shouldn’t exaggerate because they can cause illness to various parts of our bodies. Television is an audiovisual device from which we get information, through programs such as news shows and documentaries; it is also a means of entertainment because it plays comedies, films and cartoons. The downside is there are also programs that are not fit for children our age. Television is not indispensible, so in the afternoon we should play in the open air inst

How do we study? At school… The teacher sets a goal for the day (what we need to learn during the lesson, our objective). For example, let’s look at the method for writing an essay. Our teacher suggests a scheme, but we are then asked, with his help, to separate the different sections that compose it (introduction, arguments in favour, arguments against, conclusion). After finding the several points to make, the scheme is complete. Now we can start writing the essay. Everyone has access to a vocabulary, which is useful to solve doubts about spelling and to check meanings of words. Moreover, some of us read the examples that we find in the dictionary and use them in the essay. The teacher always suggests that we read over what we have written and indeed sometimes we find mistakes this way. If the essay is not completely finished, we can take it home and we have up to a week to improve it and then hand it in. After a few days the teacher gives the essay back to us wi

Essay: Is homework really necessary? Introduction Introduce the topic with a personal opinion Body of the Essay Arguments in favour It is an exercise that helps us better understand the work done in class They deepen our understanding of the topics covered in class By doing homework we realize what we didn’t understand during class Studying helps us memorize and re-elaborate what was explained by the teachers Homework is necessary because it helps us be autonomous and learn on our own Arguments against Homework should not take up too much of our free time Homework should be interesting Even if useful, homework is mostly a sacrifice for us Essay How boring, more homework to do! Almost every day we have homework after school. Sometimes I ask myself if homework is really necessary and I realize that, even if sometimes it is boring, it allows us to understand and memorize what was studied in the morning. Often us

Essay: Cars are very useful means of transport but… Scheme Introduction I introduce the topic with my opinion on the subject. Body Arguments in favour The car allows us to move and cross great distances It is a useful means of transport because it can carry several objects or people at once It often contains objects that are usually found at home: radio, air conditioning, reclining seats. Arguments against Cars pollute the environment with exhaust emissions If driven incautiously, it can cause accidents It is expensive Often, cars cause traffic jams in big cities blocking people for long periods of time. Conclusion I conclude with my opinion, summarizing my argumentations. Essay The car is the most common means of transport in our society and it has now become indispensible to men. Cars allow us to take great trips, cover long distances and reach new places in little time, travelling comfortably thanks to in-bui

Outlines for narrative, essay-style or descriptive texts. The website www.ercolebonjean.com is rich with writing material for elementary schools and the relative working structures. This consists of over 200 essays to read, save and print if needed, which could be useful as starting point for classroom work. Here are some examples: Writing a description of a person My teacher Character presentation He is so funny he is like a clown. Yes, I am talking about my teacher, Ercole Bonjean. Physical description My teacher is of strong build; his hair is grey and white, and his eyes are bright blue, full of joy. He has an aquiline nose, very funny, a thin and narrow mouth, which is often smiling, all contained in a plump face. Personality and behaviour My teacher behaves and acts just like a teacher. Ercole is very, very generous, vivacious, and cheerful with us; sometimes when we disobey he is very strict, but also calm. Ercole is at ease in his env

 A crocodile’s tears The crocodile’s tears pour like a waterfall into the big river. The moon watches him, laughing. It asks the sun for some light, so that it can take a photograph of the scene. The crocodile cries for the small, delicate gazelle who used to run free between the river banks. She is not going to run anymore, and she won’t be eating the tasty grass off the riverbanks anymore. This thought makes the crocodile weep with sadness and guilt for his moments of cruelty. The yellow face of the sun disappears into the darkness of the sky, and the crocodile feels even lonelier. Eventually, he loses consciousness and manages to sleep a healing sleep. He sleeps for few hours, being woken by a feeble sunray. The path to dawn has begun. His first feeling is one of deep hollowness. His stomach is grumbling and demanding to be filled. Like every morning, this demand is one that the crocodile simply cannot wish away; so he crawls into the thickest bush on the riverbank, and he w

 Learning how to write a text appropriate to the addressee Let’s write and read through the following texts: The Trip My mum woke me up saying: “Wake up, lazybones!” That’s right. I don’t understand how such an integral part of my body can be used as an insult. But I got up anyway, I got ready and I set out, or setted out or however you spell that past tense, towards the school bus. The school trip to Mt. Resegone was a complete blast, from start to finish. We made so much noise, we were unstoppable. The driver, a touchy and hostile man, kept instigating confrontation. But who cares! He was such a pain! We had so much fun! We could not stop laughing! Even the teachers were laughing non-stop. The trip That morning my mum woke me up saying: “Wake up, lazybones!” I turned the other way, but then I remembered that I was supposed to leave for my school trip that morning and I got up right away. I set out, or setted out, I should check the correct grammar, towards

A nursery rhyme… in fancy dress In the sky a streamer runs In the sky a streamer’s spun Arlequin and Colombina are on the run Brighella and the Blue Fairy share in the fun The joyful chariot spins With sounds and colours it fills the streets Time flies and evening comes, The storm packs up and goes With his bin and with his broom The sweeper takes what the day’s consumed Ercole Bonjean Translation by Chiara Amoretti Similar posts: Ercole Bonjean poem Ercole Bonjean short story Elementary school Saves and prinks

Classic fables: the ugly duckling One summer afternoon Mother Duck smiled as she looked at her new-born eggs, which were soon to crack open. “Crick crack”, went the first egg. “Crick crack” went the other eggs, one after the other. The shells broke and five yellow balls of fur came out. “How beautiful you are!” said their mum. But one last egg, bigger and darker than the others, was still closed. Mother Duck was worried, but finally it started opening too. “Pac!” went the shell as it broke open. Mother Duck was very surprised when she saw her new baby. “It looks nothing like the other ones!” she said. “He is so big, and he has grey feathers and a big beak!” “How ugly he is!” said all the other ducks in the farm. “How ugly he is!” said his five brothers. “That’s ok. He will be handsome when he grows up!” sighed his mum, and she brought all her babies at the lake for their first swim. The days went by, but for the ugly duckling they were not happy days. His brothers would pec

 Individual description - In a field at dawn The darkness of the sky began to brighten up as if magically, and I began to distinguish the elements of the field. In front of me the grass was covered by dew drops which, with the light of the first few sunrays, began to look like tiny little diamonds for the few seconds before the sun made them drop to the ground. I could now recognize the pallid green of the grass, but as the sun came up everything looked orange. At that moment I felt a great sense of lightness, the sun began to be visible, the air got warmer, the night was over. Translation by Chiara Amoretti Similar posts: Elementary school Saves and prints

 Jesus or Barabbas “Evil be freed!” Shouts the crowd, As Pilate washes himself, Barabbas smiles. The road is steep, The cross is heavy. He falls. He gets back up. It’s dark; The wind whispers, The Earth screams, There is nothing it can do: It’s silent, Everything is quiet. The sun rises. The light returns To brighten up faces, And peace To warm up hearts.    Ercole Bonjean Translation by Chiara Amoretti

Carnival The floats parade immersed in colours and sounds. It’s a swarm of confettis and streamers: yellow, green, red and lots and lots of blue brighten up the day. People play music, dance, sing, and laugh. It’s not a mask, it’s not an act, they are actually laughing. It’s their face behind the mask, nothing can cover the joy revealed by their eyes and their mouths. For a few hours we will all be the way we are thanks to the masks that hide us. It’s not cold anymore and the Sun is in great shape. It laughs the winter’s bad dreams away. Now it warms the crowd up, pointing its rays to the streets of the carnival. The sound of the trumpets greets them, making silly faces to each other. A man screams when his face is covered in whipped cream, straight from the spray can. Why can’t he taste it instead of shouting? He would notice how sweet it is: like the smile of the little rascal who stands in front of him, laughing. Ercole Bonjean This text can be useful for a number of

  The Comet The comet Breaks the darkness of the night. Its light fills The small hut And brightens the people. ‘He is born!’, it tells us. Time flies fast, Streets are aglow with lights. People run, And buy gifts. Buying is a priority, At Christmas. But a face smiles in the shade, A mother holds her child to her bosom, A father understands his mistakes, A soldier comes home. It’s love, You can’t buy it, Or sell it, Only give it. He is born, Jesus is born! The comet appears, Enveloping the world in light, Brightening the starry night. Ercole Bonjean Translation by Chiara Amoretti