Teaching Guidelines for Academic ProgramsFor the most part, Simply English uses its own programs and materials when teaching in Moscow Schools. These programs begin from first grade, and continue through 11th grade. Our programs are designed to correspond with the Cambridge English Tests for Young Learners, and while the following break-down of the programs is generally accurate, we test children at the beginning of each semester to make sure the material they are dealing with is appropriate not only for their age, but for their level of understanding as well. This may mean that a fifth grade group uses a level lower than indicated, or that a 6th

grade group uses a level higher.

1st grade: Family and Friends Starter. At this level, students are absolute beginners, learning the alphabet and phonetic sounds, simple vocabulary and sentence structures.

2nd grade: Family and Friends 1 or Family and Friends Starter: Students in this level can read three letter words, and are ready to learn some diphthongs and long vowels. They are beginning to read and comprehend small stories, and building upon the simple vocabulary and grammar they already know. They also are ready to begin preparing for the most basic of the Cambridge tests- Starters. (PRE A1 level) Please note that many second grade classes may lack basic understanding of the English alphabet. If this is the case, they will need to begin with Family and Friends Starter, and move through our programs at a slower pace!

3rd grade: Family and Friends 2 and Fun for STARTERS, depending on reading ability. At this level, students should be fairly confident readers, ready to speak in class, and capable of expressing their own opinions and tastes. They also are ready to begin preparing for the most basic of the Cambridge tests- Starters. (PRE A1-A1 level)

4th grade: Family and Friends 3 and FUN FOR MOVERS. At this level, students have a strong basic grasp of simple vocabulary concepts, can use and understand simple tenses and grammatical structures, and can freely answer simple questions, expressing their own opinions and desires. They are ready to begin preparing for the Cambridge MOVERS exam. Some classes may be ready to begin Family and Friends 4 and FUN FOR FLYERS. (A1- A2 level)

5th grade: Family and Friends 4 and FUN FOR FLYERS, depending on overall class testing scores. At this level, students should be fairly confident speakers, ready to expand on the simple vocabulary and grammar structures they already know. They should able to structure dialogues and conversations on their own, and ready to complete more complicated tasks. They should begin preparing for the Cambridge FLYERS exam. (A2 level, approaching B1)

6th grade: Objective KET (A2 level, approaching B1) The largest difference between Family and Friends 4 and Objective KET lies in the analytical tasks students are asked to complete. If a sixth grade class is at a lower comprehension level, they will need to work through the activities listed in the Family and Friends 4 syllabus, rather than beginning Objective KET. If students can handle the analytic work in Objective KET, they should begin preparing for the Cambridge KEY/KET exams.

7th grade: Objective PET (B1 level-Emergent B2 level). At this level, students are very conversational, understand most tenses, and can comfortably work with a native speaking teacher to complete intellectually challenging tasks. Their writing skills are strong enough to begin crafting short stories, essays, and critical responses. Again, if the group isn't strong enough to handle B1 work, they should work through KET before beginning this program! If they can handle B1 level work, they should begin preparing for the Cambridge PET exam.

8th-9th grade: Objective PET or Objective FIRST CERTIFICATE (B2 level) The Cambridge FCE exam is quite challenging. Make sure your students can handle the complicated tasks required of them before beginning. At this level, students are expected to converse freely and confidently, to make few errors in speech and writing, and to be able to explain in their own terms new vocabulary and grammar concepts. In addition to this, they should be able to handle learning about parts of speech, phrasal verbs, and idioms!

10th-11th grade: At this point, students can either prepare for exams (EGE, CAE, TOEFL, IELTS), or focus mainly on conversational activities, depending on what the school feels is best. (Emerging C1-C2 level)

Important notes regarding lesson structure:Most of our lessons are 45 minutes long, and meet twice a week. Some school lessons may happen for 40, 45, or 55 minutes once a week. Because of this short time frame, it is important that teachers use their time very effectively. Please note that our programs a designed for 2 lessons a week. If your class meets once a week, try to combine the materials from both lessons together. Focus on the most important aspects from each lesson. Moving too slowly through the materials can make students lose interest in the lessons! ALL aspects listed in the syllabus (conversation, grammar, vocabulary, speaking, writing, and reading) need to be covered in the lessons, although some material can be assigned for homework, and some areas can be combined together. The most important aspect of our lessons are speaking and conversation skills. It is also important to work with students on their writing skills from an early age! We also expect you to keep your lessons interesting and engaging by including lots of games and communicative activities. Many ideas are already listed for you in the syllabus, but it is also important to think of some of your own, and to adapt the material listed in the syllabus to the specific needs of your group. Some of our school lessons are with mixed-ability groups. You may need to utilize pair, group, and individual activities differently in order to allow stronger or weaker students a chance to work with materials appropriate to their levels. For example, you make need to use the TOPICS from FF2, but pull related worksheets from lower or higher level books in the series for some students. You may also need to ask more or less complicated conversation questions to specific students, in order to keep them engaged in the class.

A typical lesson should include a warm-up game or activity, 10 minutes of conversation/speaking practice, 10 minutes of grammar and vocabulary practice, 10 minutes of reading/writing practice, and a fun interesting final activity, where students can summarize what they have learned in class, and get one more chance to review the target grammar and vocabulary. Please pay attention to the number of pages listed in the syllabus, and try not to fall too far ahead or behind. Sometimes classes are canceled, or students struggle with a concept- in this case, it is fine to slow down a bit, but rushing through the material is VERY MUCH FROWNED UPON. Kids need as much practice as they can get to internalize what they learn in class!

Each program we teach also includes regular cross-curricular activities, where kids can reinforce what they learn through art, science, math, social studies, or creative writing projects. It is important to read ahead in the syllabus, and make sure you contact Rita in time to get the materials you will need for these projects. Also, please note that if you have fallen behind, it is sometimes OK to skip the cross-curricular activities. Please do not ALWAYS skip them! These extra-curricular lessons are the most fun and interesting for students, and give them a chance to apply what they have learned in a new and interesting setting. They are also a key selling point of our programs for schools!

In general, teachers will cover about 2-3 pages of material from the books each lesson. Please note that not every single page needs to be printed out and completed by the students. Try to think of dynamic, interesting ways to teach the material, in accessible contexts the kids will be excited to learn about. Also be sure to regularly prepare short tests to review material throughout the course of the year!

It's also important to note that most of our texts are accompanied by a workbook with extra reading, writing, and speaking activities in it. Be sure to look through both the main text and the workbooks when planning your lessons. You will also notice an “extra materials” folder as well as an “exam materials” folder, located in each program file on the cloud. You can look here for extra game ideas, or testing materials.

Please be sure to dress professionally for your lessons, have all your materials prepared in advance, and have a clear plan about what you are going to accomplish in class. Keep your students engaged but focused, and control behavioral issues before they become a problem. Please report behavioral problems in your lesson to SE management as soon as possible, BEFORE discussing them with school administration. The sooner you let us know there is a problem, the better we will be able to handle it.

Observation:Your lessons will often be observed, both formally and informally, throughout the year. Three times a year, you will be given a developmental observation. For these observations, you will be told in advance, and asked to submit a lesson plan. You will also be asked to fill out a post-lesson evaluation form for yourself, and to come into the office to discuss your lesson. These developmental observations will be used to determine performance bonuses given to teachers in December and May. More information regarding performance bonuses can be found in our Observation and Termination Guide. Response/agenda observations can happen at client, management, or teacher request. For these observations, an evaluation form will be filled out and sent to the teacher within 2-5 business days of the evaluation date. Your lessons may be observed by management on an informal basis as well. For these “buzz” observations, an evaluation form will not be submitted, and all feedback will be informal and verbal. Formal and informal observations are designed to help us make sure your lessons are going well and on track, as well as to help you with any issues you might face in the classroom. These observations are not meant to be disciplinary- they are to offer you support and ideas for improvement, and to help us have an idea of how things are going in our schools.

Observations focus on four main criteria: lesson structure, technique, classroom management, and organization. Below you can find specific information regarding what we expect in each of these four areas.

LESSON STRUCTURE1. WARM UP: The teacher begins the lesson with an engaging warm-up activity or game.2. REVIEW: The teacher devotes a few minutes at the beginning of the lesson to reviewing material from previous

lessons.3. VOCABULARY: The teacher covers target vocabulary from the syllabus, reviews existing vocabulary, introduces new

words and phrases, and uses new information to complete a relevant task in class.4. GRAMMAR: The teacher covers target grammar from the syllabus, does a fair number of choral repetitions in each

exercise, and consistently corrects students’ mistakes. The teacher should also have students repeat the corrected sentence!

5. SPEAKING AND CONVERSATION: The teacher encourages lots of conversation, and devotes a fair amount of time to speaking practice.

6. READING COMPREHENSION: When appropriate, the teacher explains reading in context, and asks useful comprehension questions.

7. WRITING: When appropriate, the teacher assigns useful activities to improve student writing skills.8. FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES/GAMES: The teacher designs useful games and activities to supplement each aspect of the

lesson. The teacher uses a variety of communicative strategies and addresses a variety of learning modes.9. WRAP-UP: The teacher gives students an opportunity to summarize what they have learned in class, and reviews

the grammar/vocabulary.

TECHNIQUE1. EXAMPLES: When introducing new material or explaining activities, the teacher provides personal examples that

are meaningful, clearly illustrated, and varied.2. VOICE, BODY LANGUAGE, CUES: The teacher uses effective voice, body language, gestures, and cues. The teacher

speaks clearly and adapts his/her language to the student’s levels.3. STUDENT TALK TIME: The students are encouraged to speak and given ample opportunity to practice what they

learn in class.4. ORAL ASSESSMENT: The teacher VIGILANTLY corrects students when they make grammar, usage, or pronunciation

errors. The teacher provides positive feedback and support on student work.5. TIME MANAGEMENT: The teacher is aware of time constraints, uses class time effectively, and covers all important

aspects of the lesson6. TRANSITIONS: The teacher makes smooth and interesting transitions between activities, and keeps student’s

attention at all times.7. CLEAR INSTRUCTIONS: The teacher’s instructions are clear and easy to follow- students understand what they are

supposed to do in each exercise

8. VARIETY OF ACTIVITIES: The teacher does individual, group, team, and pair work throughout the lesson.

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT1. DYNAMIC: The dynamic of the class is good. All students are focused and engaged.2. RAPPORT: The teacher establishes a comfortable and kind rapport with students.3. EQUAL ATTENTION: The teacher calls on students by name and makes sure each student gets a chance to

participate.4. PUNCTUALITY: The teacher starts and ends class on time.5. CLEAR EXPECTATIONS: The teacher sets clear boundaries/expectations for classroom interaction, student behavior,

and quality of work.6. BEHAVIORAL STRATEGY: The teacher uses a behavioral control system that punishes and rewards students

appropriately for good/bad behavior.7. STUDENT ASSESSMENT: The teacher checks comprehension regularly throughout the lesson and adjusts

presentation or pace accordingly.8. MULTI LEVEL CLASSROOMS: In the event that a teacher works with mixed level students, the teacher recognizes

and manages the different levels in the group.

ORGANIZATION1. LESSON SPACE: The teacher understands and utilizes lesson spaces effectively.2. BOARD WORK: The teacher uses the board clearly and effectively; when introducing new vocabulary, new grammar,

when doing an exercise with complicated oral cues.3. MATERIALS: The teacher uses clean, well prepared materials, and has enough for all students in class.4. CURRICULUM: The teacher is using the appropriate program for the group, is following the syllabus, and on track

with his/her lessons5. LESSON PLANNING: The teacher has planned a lesson with a logical structure, clear goals, and interesting activities

ADDITIONAL EXPECTATIONS(These things may seem like common sense, but please be sure to observe them!)1. The teacher does not eat food during the lesson, or bring drinks to class other than water.2. The teacher is clean, does not smell bad, and is professionally dressed.3. The teacher does not quarrel with school administration, or use words/phrases that may offend school staff or

children.4. The teacher does not discuss taboo issues such as politics, religion, or sexual orientation with students or school

staff.5. The teacher does not smoke cigarettes on or near school property6. The teacher is kind and personable with students and school staff at all times, even when circumstances are

frustrating.7. The teacher discusses problems regarding lesson time tables, student participation/behavior or other issues related

to lessons or schools with Simply English management before addressing school administration.8. The teacher does not physically harm children, or leave them unattended at any point during the lessons.9. The teacher does not use his/her phone during the lessons.10. The teacher requests additional materials, addresses problems, or asks questions regarding programs with ample

time before his/her lesson begins.11. The teacher does not post unauthorized photos or information regarding students on social media sites. 12. The teacher has students write down new words and phrases in their copy books during the lesson.13. The teacher encourages students to organize their worksheets in a folder, and to bring this folder to each lesson.14. When appropriate, the teacher assigns weekly homework assignments and is sure to grade and return homework

in a timely manner.15. The teacher regularly designs small tests to check student comprehension and retention throughout the semester.