Methods of Teaching

Today in class (10 minutes)
Choose a Student Teacher to summarize the previous class in two minutes. Ask if 
others would like to add to the summary. Choose no more than two Student Teachers 
and restrict their comments to one minute each. 
The purpose of today’s class is to practise creating clear and positive statements when 
giving directions to children. Show Student Teachers what you mean by demonstrat-
ing how one might change a negative direction, such as ‘Don’t slam the door’ to a 
positive direction, such as ‘Close the door quietly, please’. Similarly, ‘Don’t yell out the 
answer’ might be changed to ‘Raise your hand if you know the answer and wait until 
you are called to speak’.

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COURSE GUIDE: Methods of Teaching
43
UNIT 1
UNIT 4
UNIT 5
UNIT 3
UNIT 6
UNIT 2
UNIT 7
Pair work (15 minutes)
Have Student Teachers choose a partner. Together, they will brainstorm a list of five 
or six negative statements. They should then convert these to positive statements.
Whole-class work (20 minutes)
Reconvene the class and have each pair write one positive direction on the board or 
chart paper. After the list of positive directions has been completed, have Student 
Teachers read them, and ask if anyone has a positive version of a direction that uses 
better wording than the one posted. If so, that person should write his or her direc-
tion next to the one already posted. That Student Teacher must also explain why the 
second direction is better than the first. 
The class will decide which is better and why.
Discussion (10 minutes)
When there is agreement on a list of positive directions, lead a discussion on why 
positive directions are important. What are the consequences of negative talk for 
children? What is the teacher trying to achieve by using positive talk with children? Do 
you think their parents try to avoid negative statements to them? If so, do you think a 
teacher could influence parents’ language?