How To Write Primary Materials

By Katherine Bilsborough

Writing for Primary is, as you may imagine, creative and fun. But don't make the mistake of thinking that primary materials are easier to write than more ‘dense’ materials for teenagers or adults. This is not the case, and multi-talented author Kath Bilsborough provides essential background information about the particular challenges of writing for this age group – an age when children are developing their cognitive skills at the same time as they are learning English. Variety is important for young learners and Kath provides a useful list of activities that work well for primary. She then goes into detail about writing stories, games and songs. Tasks throughout the book give you a chance to write your own activities and compare them with Kath’s published materials.
This book forms part of the ELT Teacher 2 Writer training course. The training modules are designed to help you write better ELT materials, either for publication, or simply to improve the quality of your self-produced classroom materials.

• Language: English
• Publisher: ELT Teacher 2 Writer
• Release date: Apr 8, 2016
• ISBN: 9781310191183

Katherine Bilsborough

Katherine is a freelance ELT materials writer based in Spain. She has written course books, online courses and other materials for all the top ELT publishers including OUP, Macmillan, Richmond, CUP, BBC English, British Council, Edelvives, Anaya English and Burlington.

Book preview

HOW TO WRITE

PRIMARY MATERIALS

Katherine Bilsborough

TRAINING COURSE FOR ELT WRITERS

SMASHWORDS EDITION

License Notes

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How ELT Publishing Works

How To Write And Deliver Talks

How To Write Audio and Video Scripts ⸕

How To Write Business English Materials †

How To Write CLIL Materials

How To Write Corporate Training Materials †

How To Write Critical Thinking Activities ⸕

How To Write EAP Materials †

How To Write ESOL Materials †

How To Write ESP Materials †

How To Write Exam Preparation Materials

How To Write Film And Video Activities

How To Write Graded Readers

How To Write Grammar Presentations And Practice

How To Write Inclusive Materials

How To Plan A Book

How To Write Primary Materials

How To Write Pronunciation Activities

How To Write Reading And Listening Activities ⸕

How To Write Secondary Materials

How To Write Speaking Activities ⸕

How To Write Teacher’s Books

How To Write Vocabulary Presentations And Practice ⸕

How To Write Worksheets

How To Write Writing Activities ⸕

Our paperback compendiums

⸕ How To Write Excellent ELT Materials: The Skills Series

This book contains the six titles marked ⸕ above.

† How To Write Excellent ELT Materials: The ESP Series

This book contains the five titles marked † above.

For further information, see eltteacher2writer.co.uk

How To Write Primary Materials

By Katherine Bilsborough

This edition © 2020 ELT Teacher 2 Writer at Smashwords

eltteacher2writer.co.uk

We would like to thank Oxford University Press for permission to reproduce their material.

Although every effort has been made to contact copyright holders before publication, this has not always been possible. If notified, ELT Teacher 2 Writer will endeavour to rectify any errors or omissions at the earliest opportunity.

Contents

About The Author

Aims

Primary Materials

Illustration

Common Elements In Primary Materials

Writing Songs

Writing Stories

Writing Rhymes, Chants And Tongue Twisters

Writing Audioscripts

Finding Work Writing Primary Materials

Task Commentaries

Glossary

About The Author

When I first started teaching English in 1986, there were very few materials around. I lived in Spain and was teaching lots of private classes, either one-to-one or small groups. My students were children, teenagers and adults, so I needed materials for lots of different ages and levels. However, had the materials even existed, I wouldn’t have been able to afford them. This meant I was forced to create my own materials, spending most of my ‘free’ time making card games, flashcards and worksheets.

When I started working in English private language schools and resources became more available, I carried on making my own materials. I enjoyed being able to tailor them to suit my students’ exact needs. I also began sharing them with colleagues in the staffroom and achieved a certain in-house ‘fame’ for my standalone, grab-off-the-shelf, ready-to-go worksheets and classroom games.

Word reached OUP who were looking for someone to design and write a primary poster pack. The brief was to design a poster and write 8–10 worksheets to go with it, to practise specific grammar structures and vocabulary. I chose a busy Where’s Wally? style beach scene and used it to practise sports and activities, adjectives to describe people, present continuous, prepositions of place and going to. It was great fun and when I saw the finished product I was delighted. It was at this point that I thought I