How to use the ‘I can’ statements
The following resources have been made available to support you and the children to reflect on, share and celebrate the learning that has taken place through The Polyglots apps.
It is not a requirement that these resources be used. You may choose to use some of them to provide information to families and/or colleagues at the schools that your children will be attending.
Resource 1
This resource may be shared with families and schools at the end of the year to provide a summary of some of the language skills that children have been developing through the ELLA program.
There are three to four ‘I can’ statements, identifying key language that children have engaged with in each app.
Each statement has an option to indicate along a continuum how the children are progressing with each of the ‘I can’ statements. For example:
The following table depicts a scale. It has the 'I can' statement: 'I can sing a song in Arabic'. The three different categories on the scale are 'Doing sometimes with assistance', 'Beginning to do independently' and 'Regularly doing confidently'.
A Word version of this resource is provided so you can adjust the document to reflect your needs and context.
For a more detailed alternative, please see Resource 2.
Resource 2
Educators can use this resource with children to encourage them to share some of their favourite things from the apps and draw some of the new things they have discovered. The resource also lists three to four ‘I can’ statements, identifying key language that children have engaged with, including specific examples of phrases and vocabulary.
There are two pages for each app. After children have spent a few weeks on an app, the resource can be used as a way of drawing out the children’s learning, and encouraging them to reflect on their experiences ‘off screen’. This information could then be shared with families regularly through the year.
How to use the ‘I can’ statements
There is an option to indicate along a continuum how the children are progressing with each of the ‘I can’ statements. For example:
The following table depicts a scale. The three different categories on the scale are 'Doing sometimes with assistance', 'Beginning to do independently' and 'Regularly doing confidently'. It has the 'I can' statement: 'I can say thank you in Chinese' and the following words: 谢谢！, Xièxie! and Thank you!
A Word version of this resource is provided so you can adjust the document to reflect your needs and context.
Resource 3
This information may be useful for sharing with families and schools to identify some of the skills and understandings that children are developing through this program in addition to language learning. This resource includes the following.
- A list of six statements identifies elements of the Australian Curriculum: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) capability for the Foundation – Year 2 level. These highlight key ICT skills children have been developing through the use of the apps.
- A list of seven statements identifies elements from the Australian Curriculum: Intercultural Understanding capability for the Foundation – Year 2 level. These identify the understandings children are beginning to develop as they use the apps and engage in activities that help them to explore cultural and linguistic diversity.
It is important to note that children are not expected to be working at this level. Their experiences with The Polyglots apps will begin developing skills and understandings that will be built on further at school.
Resource 4
This resource provides information about the language learning opportunities the children have been engaged in through the ELLA program. It includes an overview of the program, some information about the language experiences as well as an outline of connections to the Australian Curriculum. Preschool educators are encouraged to send this information to language teachers at the primary schools that children will be attending. This can inform and support children’s transition experiences.
It would be helpful to send this resource to the primary schools regardless of which language is taught, as many of the language learning skills that children develop through engagement with The Polyglots apps are transferrable across languages. It would be helpful for the school language teacher to be aware of these skills and experiences.
ELLA is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education and Training and is managed by Education Services Australia. © 2018 Commonwealth of Australia, unless otherwise indicated. This material, other than Commonwealth trade marks in The Polyglots characters and The Polyglots logo, may be used in accordance with the Creative Commons BY-NC 4.0 licence, unless otherwise indicated.
Education Services Australia logo, Australian Government Department of Education and Training logo
Education Services Australia Limited ABN 18 007 342 421
Level 5 440 Collins Street, Melbourne Victoria 3000 Australia
www.esa.edu.au Email: [email protected]
Telephone: +61 3 9207 9600 ELLA helpdesk: 1800 468303