What does polar bear fur feel like?This sensory book features illustrations of familiar animals found in the North, such as the caribou, polar bear, and ermine, and includes soft fur-like fabric for children to touch and explore.

Living Languages is simply bursting with practical and original ideas aimed at teachers and trainee teachers of foreign languages in primary schools. Written by a team of experienced linguists, this book will inspire and motivate the foreign language classroom and the teachers who work within it. Living Languages comprises eight chapters and is structured around the integrated classroom, merging language learning with different aspects of the wider curriculum such as multimedia, performance, celebrations and festivals, creativity and alternative approaches to teaching languages. Downloadable resources are also included with the book containing additional teaching materials and the associated films and audio recordings which make this a fully-developed and effective teaching resource. Over 50 real-life case studies and projects are presented, all of which have been tried and tested in the classroom with several having won recent educational awards. Ideas and activities outlined in this unique resource include: Languages across the curriculum helping to cement cross-curricular links and embed new languages in different contexts linking subjects such as history, science, PE and mathematics with French, German and Spanish; Arts and crafts projects in Languages, making and doing, including making books, creating beach huts and cooking biscuits; Languages, celebrations and festivals projects including the German Christmas market, Spanish Day of the Dead, celebrating Mardi Gras and the European Day of Languages among many others; Continuing Professional Development to inspire primary teachers to continue their individual professional development. The chapter contains concrete examples of others’ experiences in this area and includes details of support organisations and practical opportunities. Each project is explored from the teachers’ perspective with practical tips, lesson plans and reflections woven throughout the text such as what to budget, how to organise the pre-event period, how to evaluate the activity and whom to contact for further advice in each case. Activities and examples throughout are given in three languages – French, German and Spanish.

The central issue of this volume is how to meet the linguistic and academic needs of the increasing numbers of English learners (ELs). At the center of educational turns is the role of school professionals in this Common Core Standards era. Teacher education programs and professional development, or pre-service and in-service programs for teachers of ELs, are currently being reframed to reflect the new demands placed on all teachers in light of the new standards. The expectation is that ELs can learn, and their teachers possess the expertise to teach, both discipline content and academic English at the same time. The large numbers of ELs across the country have created a wide gap between what teachers have been trained to do and the skills they need to teach and reach them effectively. This practical handbook brings together research, policy and practice on teacher effectiveness, pre-service and in-service programs in the context of student linguistic and cultural diversity. Key features include: • Clearly articulated teacher training and professional development programs; • Coverage of Common Core curriculum and a variety of instructional programs and practices with research-based tools to implement them; and, • Policies to equitably and effectively prepare ELs academically and linguistically.