julie penn - oxford university...

Julie Penn

5

1

Syllabus 2

Introduction 10

Components 14

Tour of a unit 16

Optional lessons using the DVD 27

Other features of the course 28

Ace! Digital 29

Starter Unit 31

Unit 1 36

Unit 2 54

Unit 3 70

Unit 4 87

Unit 5 103

Unit 6 121

Unit 7 137

Unit 8 154

Unit 9 171

Revision Stories 187

Festivals 193

Classroom language 199

Wordcards 200

Ideas bank 201

Wordlist 203

Teacher’s BookRAPID ROUTE

4006972 Ace Rapid Route TB5.indb 1 15/03/2013 08:45

2 Syllabus

Vocabulary Structures Phonics and pronunciation

Skills Cross-curricular themes

Cultural themes / Values

Starter: Welcome back

Core Places in a school: headmaster’s office, science lab, drama theatre, toilets, canteen, school hall, cloakroom, music room, staffroom, reception, tennis court, bike shed

Other Physical descriptions; directions; introductions; triplets, sign up, penfriend, assembly, drama production, helmet, disturb, chemical, receptionist, hang up, jungle, shark, ocean, volcano, presentation, worried, wild, explore, go climbing

Questions:

What …? When …? How many …? Do you …? Have you got …? Where …?

Reading: reading notices and understanding a story about a summer holidays presentation

Listening: listening for specific information (identify personal information)

Speaking: asking and answering questions about personal information; giving and following directions; giving a presentation

Writing: writing core language and preparing for a class presentation

Unit 1: Super sc ence

Core Bugs: worm, snail, beetle, wasp, fly, ant, ladybird, spider, centipede, mosquito, moth, grasshopper

In the garden: bird feeder, scarecrow, greenhouse, petal, wheelbarrow, raspberry, pollen, watering can, stem, seeds, weeds, roots

Other Seed dispersal: dandelion, poppy, sycamore, coconut, mistletoe, space, far away, hole, float, pod, sticky, pass, carry

Unusual fruit from other countries: durian, kumquat, dragon fruit, kiwi fruit

Present simple / present continuous:

It eats honey.

They eat honey.

It doesn’t catch flies.

They don’t sting people.

It's working in the hive.

Beetles are eating wood.

It isn’t jumping.

They aren’t making webs.

Zero conditional:

If a coconut falls into the sea, it travels a long way.

Pronunciation: stress in compound nouns

Phonics: spellings of the sound /əʊ/show, grow, marrows, tomatoes, rows, potatoes, wheelbarrows, throw, coconut, old, dough, local, soap, bowl, goats, foals, roses, sow, so, coat, slow, go

Reading: developing intensive and extensive reading comprehension skills of multiple text types: instructions for a science experiment, a story poem, a cross-curricular text about seed dispersal, culture texts about fruit from different countries, a factual information text, a presentation about bugs

Listening: developing intensive and extensive listening skills: identifying vocabulary and grammar in context; listening for gist and/or specific information from multiple sources: a dialogue about homework, a song about a garden, an extended conversation about household chores (polite requests and excuses); focusing on pronunciation: stress on compound nouns; listening to a poem and identifying words with the phoneme /əʊ/; listening to a presentation about bugs

Speaking: developing fluency and accuracy: talking about bugs; describing a garden; talking about facts/habits/routines/states in the present as well as actions happening at the time of speaking (Grasshoppers jump. The grasshopper isn’t jumping now.); talking about conditions and results of conditions in real situations in the present (If a coconut falls into the sea, it travels a long way.); focusing on pronunciation stress in compound nouns, making polite requests and excuses; giving a presentation about bugs

Writing: identifying and writing words related to bugs and describing a garden; writing a review of a story; writing a set of instructions; writing a culture text about a fruit from your country; analysing and writing an information text with paragraphs and topic sentences; preparing a presentation about bugs

Science: Seed dispersal

Unusual fruit from other countries / The importance of washing fruit before eating it

Unit 2: Marvellous maths

Core TV programmes: cartoon, comedy show, quiz show, documentary, soap opera, live sports, the news, the weather, adverts, talent show, cookery show, music programme

Money: coins, notes, ten pound note, penny, twenty pence piece, money box, purse, wallet, spend, pocket money, save, piggy bank

Other History of money: goods, services, BC, cereal, exchange, necessary, difficult, value, go bad, agree, object, shell, rock, tool, amount, change (n), goldsmith, receipt, bank note, rot

Collecting (as a hobby): pocket money, collection, football card, swap, sand, feather, peacock

Comparative and superlative adjectives with two or more syllables:

Granny’s car was more colourful than other cars.

Freddie had the most adventurous day of his life.

Infinitives of purpose / adjectives with infinitives with to:

We use money to pay for goods.

It wasn’t easy to exchange goods.

Pronunciation: saying dates and numbers

Phonics: spellings of the sound /aɪ/I, my, night, fight, riding, bikes, like, pies, July, buy, ties, cacti, light, islands, Iceland, tigers, spiders, flies, red kites, fly high, sky, why, eyes

Reading: developing intensive and extensive reading comprehension skills of multiple text types: a bar graph, a cartoon story, a cross-curricular text about the history of money, culture texts about collecting (as a hobby), an informal email, a presentation about TV programmes

Listening: developing intensive and extensive listening skills: identifying vocabulary and grammar in context; listening for gist and/or specific information from multiple sources: a dialogue about homework, a song about pocket money, an extended dialogue about a collection (asking questions about personal possessions, using numbers); focusing on pronunciation: saying dates and numbers; listening to a poem and identifying words with the phoneme /aɪ/; listening to a presentation about TV programmes

Speaking: developing fluency and accuracy: talking about TV programmes and money; making comparatives and superlatives with longer adjectives (The news is more serious than documentaries. The news is the most serious.); describing the reason why we do something (with and without adjectives) (People had animals and cereals to exchange. It was not easy to exchange goods.); focusing on pronunciation: saying dates and numbers; asking questions about personal possessions; using numbers; giving a presentation about TV programmes

Writing: identifying and writing words related to TV programmes and money; writing a review of a story; writing a description of a bar graph; writing a culture text about something you collect; analysing and writing an informal email; preparing a presentation about TV programmes

History: The history of money

Collecting (as a hobby) / The importance of being honest

Syllabus


3Syllabus




Starter: Welcome back

Core Places in a school: headmaster’s office, science lab, drama theatre, toilets, canteen, school hall, cloakroom, music room, staffroom, reception, tennis court, bike shed

Other Physical descriptions; directions; introductions; triplets, sign up, penfriend, assembly, drama production, helmet, disturb, chemical, receptionist, hang up, jungle, shark, ocean, volcano, presentation, worried, wild, explore, go climbing

Questions:

What …? When …? How many …? Do you …? Have you got …? Where …?

Reading: reading notices and understanding a story about a summer holidays presentation

Listening: listening for specific information (identify personal information)

Speaking: asking and answering questions about personal information; giving and following directions; giving a presentation

Writing: writing core language and preparing for a class presentation

Unit 1: Super sc ence

Core Bugs: worm, snail, beetle, wasp, fly, ant, ladybird, spider, centipede, mosquito, moth, grasshopper

In the garden: bird feeder, scarecrow, greenhouse, petal, wheelbarrow, raspberry, pollen, watering can, stem, seeds, weeds, roots

Other Seed dispersal: dandelion, poppy, sycamore, coconut, mistletoe, space, far away, hole, float, pod, sticky, pass, carry

Unusual fruit from other countries: durian, kumquat, dragon fruit, kiwi fruit

Present simple / present continuous:

It eats honey.

They eat honey.

It doesn’t catch flies.

They don’t sting people.

It's working in the hive.

Beetles are eating wood.

It isn’t jumping.

They aren’t making webs.

Zero conditional:

If a coconut falls into the sea, it travels a long way.

Pronunciation: stress in compound nouns

Phonics: spellings of the sound /əʊ/show, grow, marrows, tomatoes, rows, potatoes, wheelbarrows, throw, coconut, old, dough, local, soap, bowl, goats, foals, roses, sow, so, coat, slow, go

Reading: developing intensive and extensive reading comprehension skills of multiple text types: instructions for a science experiment, a story poem, a cross-curricular text about seed dispersal, culture texts about fruit from different countries, a factual information text, a presentation about bugs

Listening: developing intensive and extensive listening skills: identifying vocabulary and grammar in context; listening for gist and/or specific information from multiple sources: a dialogue about homework, a song about a garden, an extended conversation about household chores (polite requests and excuses); focusing on pronunciation: stress on compound nouns; listening to a poem and identifying words with the phoneme /əʊ/; listening to a presentation about bugs

Speaking: developing fluency and accuracy: talking about bugs; describing a garden; talking about facts/habits/routines/states in the present as well as actions happening at the time of speaking (Grasshoppers jump. The grasshopper isn’t jumping now.); talking about conditions and results of conditions in real situations in the present (If a coconut falls into the sea, it travels a long way.); focusing on pronunciation stress in compound nouns, making polite requests and excuses; giving a presentation about bugs

Writing: identifying and writing words related to bugs and describing a garden; writing a review of a story; writing a set of instructions; writing a culture text about a fruit from your country; analysing and writing an information text with paragraphs and topic sentences; preparing a presentation about bugs

Science: Seed dispersal

Unusual fruit from other countries / The importance of washing fruit before eating it

Unit 2: Marvellous maths

Core TV programmes: cartoon, comedy show, quiz show, documentary, soap opera, live sports, the news, the weather, adverts, talent show, cookery show, music programme

Money: coins, notes, ten pound note, penny, twenty pence piece, money box, purse, wallet, spend, pocket money, save, piggy bank

Other History of money: goods, services, BC, cereal, exchange, necessary, difficult, value, go bad, agree, object, shell, rock, tool, amount, change (n), goldsmith, receipt, bank note, rot

Collecting (as a hobby): pocket money, collection, football card, swap, sand, feather, peacock

Comparative and superlative adjectives with two or more syllables:

Granny’s car was more colourful than other cars.

Freddie had the most adventurous day of his life.

Infinitives of purpose / adjectives with infinitives with to:

We use money to pay for goods.

It wasn’t easy to exchange goods.

Pronunciation: saying dates and numbers

Phonics: spellings of the sound /aɪ/I, my, night, fight, riding, bikes, like, pies, July, buy, ties, cacti, light, islands, Iceland, tigers, spiders, flies, red kites, fly high, sky, why, eyes

Reading: developing intensive and extensive reading comprehension skills of multiple text types: a bar graph, a cartoon story, a cross-curricular text about the history of money, culture texts about collecting (as a hobby), an informal email, a presentation about TV programmes

Listening: developing intensive and extensive listening skills: identifying vocabulary and grammar in context; listening for gist and/or specific information from multiple sources: a dialogue about homework, a song about pocket money, an extended dialogue about a collection (asking questions about personal possessions, using numbers); focusing on pronunciation: saying dates and numbers; listening to a poem and identifying words with the phoneme /aɪ/; listening to a presentation about TV programmes

Speaking: developing fluency and accuracy: talking about TV programmes and money; making comparatives and superlatives with longer adjectives (The news is more serious than documentaries. The news is the most serious.); describing the reason why we do something (with and without adjectives) (People had animals and cereals to exchange. It was not easy to exchange goods.); focusing on pronunciation: saying dates and numbers; asking questions about personal possessions; using numbers; giving a presentation about TV programmes

Writing: identifying and writing words related to TV programmes and money; writing a review of a story; writing a description of a bar graph; writing a culture text about something you collect; analysing and writing an informal email; preparing a presentation about TV programmes

History: The history of money

Collecting (as a hobby) / The importance of being honest

Syllabus


4 Syllabus




Unit 3 Hero c h story

Core Materials: wool, iron, bronze, stone, gold, wood, leather, wax, clay, linen, ivory, silver

Ancient Rome: house and home: couch, mattress, heating, tiles, first floor, balcony, stairs, pillar, fountain, courtyard, study, mosaic

Other Roman baths: games room, take off, perfumed, humid, oil, sweat, body, statue

Ancient monuments: tomb, chamber, entrance, stadium, spectator, wild animal, temple, goddess

be made of (present and past simple):

It's made of linen.

They're made of wood.

It isn’t made of leather.

They aren’t made of iron.

It was made of bronze.

They were made of silver.

It wasn’t made of gold.

They weren’t made of stone.

used to / didn't use to:

The Ancient Romans used to go to public baths.

They didn’t use to wash with soap.

Pronunciation: intonation in lists

Phonics: spellings of plurals: sheep, deer, leaves, geese, mice, wolves, tracks, foxes, boxes, scarves, ladies, knives, men, sandals, feet, children, potatoes, tomatoes, people

Reading: developing intensive and extensive reading comprehension skills of multiple text types: a diary entry, a legend, a cross-curricular text about Roman baths, culture texts about ancient monuments, a leaflet, a presentation about a person’s home

Listening: developing intensive and extensive listening skills: identifying vocabulary and grammar in context; listening for gist and/or specific information from multiple sources: a dialogue about homework, a song about Ancient Roman villas, an extended dialogue about items for sale in a shop (using shopping language); focusing on pronunciation: intonation in lists; listening to a poem and identifying plurals; listening to a presentation about a person’s home

Speaking: developing fluency and accuracy: talking about common materials and house and home words in Ancient Roman times; talking about what something is/was made of (The Ancient Greeks wore tunics. They were made of linen. We wear jeans. They're made of linen.); talking about actions or states that happened in the past, but don’t happen now (Romans used to wash in the baths.); focusing on pronunciation: intonation in lists; using shopping language; giving a presentation about your home

Writing: identifying and writing words related to different materials and the house and home words in Ancient Roman times; writing a review of a story; writing a diary entry; writing a culture text about an ancient monument in your country; analysing and writing a leaflet; preparing a presentation about your home

History: Roman baths

Ancient monuments / The importance of being a responsible tourist

Unit 4: Lovely l terature

CoreAdjectives to describe people: generous, poor, lonely, sociable, cheerful, hard-working, caring, mean, miserable, intelligent, worried, energetic

Types of books: spy novel, graphic novel, science fiction novel, play, ghost story, annual, manual, atlas, joke book, poetry book, recipe book, craft book

Other Roald Dahl: hut, writing board, electric fire, ceiling, sleeping bag, illustrator

Traditional stories: fingernails, moral, cruel, original, Sky-God, python, leopard, hornet, dwarf

Past continuous / past simple:

It was snowing when she looked out of the window.

She wasn’t singing when Scrooge opened the door.

They weren’t dancing when they looked in the window.

Past simple with wh- questions:

Who did he invite into his hut?

Who was Quentin Blake?

What kind of pencil did he use?

Which objects did he have in his hut?

Pronunciation: saying letters

Phonics: long vowel with Magic E: kite, bite, pine, fine, Pete, hope, note, hate, cube, ate

Reading: developing intensive and extensive reading comprehension skills of multiple text types: a biography, a summary of a story, a cross-curricular text about Roald Dahl, culture texts about traditional stories, a book review, a presentation about what a person enjoys reading

Listening: developing intensive and extensive listening skills: identifying vocabulary and grammar in context; listening for gist and/or specific information from multiple sources: a dialogue about homework, a song about books, an extended dialogue in a library (asking for personal information); focusing on pronunciation: saying letters; listening to a poem and identifying the long vowel sound with Magic E; listening to a presentation about what a person enjoys reading

Speaking: developing fluency and accuracy: describing people with adjectives and talking about different types of books; talking about short events that happened in the middle of longer events (Milly was painting when the bell rang.); asking questions about the past (Who did he invite into his hut?); focusing on pronunciation: saying letters; asking for personal information; giving a presentation about what you enjoy reading

Writing: identifying and writing adjectives to describe people and words related to types of books; writing a review of a story; writing an encyclopedia entry; writing a culture text about a traditional story you know; analysing and writing a book review; preparing a presentation about what you enjoy reading

Literature: Roald Dahl

Traditional stories / The importance of taking care of things you borrow

Unit 5 Sk lful sport

Core Adventure sports: karting, snowboarding, mountain biking, yachting, bungee jumping, rafting, abseiling, scuba diving, mountaineering, skateboarding, canoeing, skydiving

Equipment and clothing for adventure sports: parachute, harness, rope, goggles, jumpsuit, oxygen tank, flippers, snorkel, mask, life jacket, seat belt, paddle

Other Rules of indoor climbing: artificial, outdoors, indoors, corridor, hand holds, foot holds, route, style, crash pad, chalk, directly

Unusual sports: competitor, injury, bog, muddy, pole, welly

Verb patterns with infinitives (verb + infinitive with to / verb + object + infinitive with to):

Jan and Dave hoped to find their dog.

The people told the rangers to come to the island.

Modal verbs of obligation (have to, must, mustn't, don't have to):

The lead climber has to wear a harness.

The other climber must hold the rope.

They mustn’t climb without a helmet.

Climbers don’t have to be adults.

Pronunciation: sentence stress and weak forms (schwa /ə/)Phonics: spellings of the sound /eɪ/Mavis, Dave, brave, face, race, afraid, paid, waited, train, Spain, sailed, rain, birthday, day, bay, great, break, eight, weight, plane, again

Reading: developing intensive and extensive reading comprehension skills of multiple text types: a brochure, a magazine story, a cross-curricular text about indoor climbing, culture texts about funny sports, an adventure story, a presentation about a sport

Listening: developing intensive and extensive listening skills: identifying vocabulary and grammar in context; listening for gist and/or specific information from multiple sources: a dialogue about homework, a song about adventure sports, an extended dialogue about arranging to meet; focusing on pronunciation: sentence stress and weak forms (schwa /ə/); listening to a poem and identifying the spellings of words with the /eɪ/ sound; listening to a presentation about a sport

Speaking: developing fluency and accuracy: talking about adventure sports and the equipment and clothing for those sports; using the infinitive with specific verbs (Tim learnt to scuba dive.); talking about obligation with modal verbs (Climbers have to have hand holds and foot holds.); focusing on pronunciation: sentence stress and weak forms (schwa /ə/); arranging to meet; giving a presentation about a sport

Writing: identifying and writing words related to adventure sports and the equipment and clothing for those sports; writing a review of a story; writing a brochure; writing a culture text about a funny sport from your country; analysing and writing an adventure story; preparing a presentation about a sport

Sport: Indoor climbing

Unusual sports / The importance of being safe on your bike


5Syllabus




Unit 3 Hero c h story

Core Materials: wool, iron, bronze, stone, gold, wood, leather, wax, clay, linen, ivory, silver

Ancient Rome: house and home: couch, mattress, heating, tiles, first floor, balcony, stairs, pillar, fountain, courtyard, study, mosaic

Other Roman baths: games room, take off, perfumed, humid, oil, sweat, body, statue

Ancient monuments: tomb, chamber, entrance, stadium, spectator, wild animal, temple, goddess

be made of (present and past simple):

It's made of linen.

They're made of wood.

It isn’t made of leather.

They aren’t made of iron.

It was made of bronze.

They were made of silver.

It wasn’t made of gold.

They weren’t made of stone.

used to / didn't use to:

The Ancient Romans used to go to public baths.

They didn’t use to wash with soap.

Pronunciation: intonation in lists

Phonics: spellings of plurals: sheep, deer, leaves, geese, mice, wolves, tracks, foxes, boxes, scarves, ladies, knives, men, sandals, feet, children, potatoes, tomatoes, people

Reading: developing intensive and extensive reading comprehension skills of multiple text types: a diary entry, a legend, a cross-curricular text about Roman baths, culture texts about ancient monuments, a leaflet, a presentation about a person’s home

Listening: developing intensive and extensive listening skills: identifying vocabulary and grammar in context; listening for gist and/or specific information from multiple sources: a dialogue about homework, a song about Ancient Roman villas, an extended dialogue about items for sale in a shop (using shopping language); focusing on pronunciation: intonation in lists; listening to a poem and identifying plurals; listening to a presentation about a person’s home

Speaking: developing fluency and accuracy: talking about common materials and house and home words in Ancient Roman times; talking about what something is/was made of (The Ancient Greeks wore tunics. They were made of linen. We wear jeans. They're made of linen.); talking about actions or states that happened in the past, but don’t happen now (Romans used to wash in the baths.); focusing on pronunciation: intonation in lists; using shopping language; giving a presentation about your home

Writing: identifying and writing words related to different materials and the house and home words in Ancient Roman times; writing a review of a story; writing a diary entry; writing a culture text about an ancient monument in your country; analysing and writing a leaflet; preparing a presentation about your home

History: Roman baths

Ancient monuments / The importance of being a responsible tourist

Unit 4: Lovely l terature

CoreAdjectives to describe people: generous, poor, lonely, sociable, cheerful, hard-working, caring, mean, miserable, intelligent, worried, energetic

Types of books: spy novel, graphic novel, science fiction novel, play, ghost story, annual, manual, atlas, joke book, poetry book, recipe book, craft book

Other Roald Dahl: hut, writing board, electric fire, ceiling, sleeping bag, illustrator

Traditional stories: fingernails, moral, cruel, original, Sky-God, python, leopard, hornet, dwarf

Past continuous / past simple:

It was snowing when she looked out of the window.

She wasn’t singing when Scrooge opened the door.

They weren’t dancing when they looked in the window.

Past simple with wh- questions:

Who did he invite into his hut?

Who was Quentin Blake?

What kind of pencil did he use?

Which objects did he have in his hut?

Pronunciation: saying letters

Phonics: long vowel with Magic E: kite, bite, pine, fine, Pete, hope, note, hate, cube, ate

Reading: developing intensive and extensive reading comprehension skills of multiple text types: a biography, a summary of a story, a cross-curricular text about Roald Dahl, culture texts about traditional stories, a book review, a presentation about what a person enjoys reading

Listening: developing intensive and extensive listening skills: identifying vocabulary and grammar in context; listening for gist and/or specific information from multiple sources: a dialogue about homework, a song about books, an extended dialogue in a library (asking for personal information); focusing on pronunciation: saying letters; listening to a poem and identifying the long vowel sound with Magic E; listening to a presentation about what a person enjoys reading

Speaking: developing fluency and accuracy: describing people with adjectives and talking about different types of books; talking about short events that happened in the middle of longer events (Milly was painting when the bell rang.); asking questions about the past (Who did he invite into his hut?); focusing on pronunciation: saying letters; asking for personal information; giving a presentation about what you enjoy reading

Writing: identifying and writing adjectives to describe people and words related to types of books; writing a review of a story; writing an encyclopedia entry; writing a culture text about a traditional story you know; analysing and writing a book review; preparing a presentation about what you enjoy reading

Literature: Roald Dahl

Traditional stories / The importance of taking care of things you borrow

Unit 5 Sk lful sport

Core Adventure sports: karting, snowboarding, mountain biking, yachting, bungee jumping, rafting, abseiling, scuba diving, mountaineering, skateboarding, canoeing, skydiving

Equipment and clothing for adventure sports: parachute, harness, rope, goggles, jumpsuit, oxygen tank, flippers, snorkel, mask, life jacket, seat belt, paddle

Other Rules of indoor climbing: artificial, outdoors, indoors, corridor, hand holds, foot holds, route, style, crash pad, chalk, directly

Unusual sports: competitor, injury, bog, muddy, pole, welly

Verb patterns with infinitives (verb + infinitive with to / verb + object + infinitive with to):

Jan and Dave hoped to find their dog.

The people told the rangers to come to the island.

Modal verbs of obligation (have to, must, mustn't, don't have to):

The lead climber has to wear a harness.

The other climber must hold the rope.

They mustn’t climb without a helmet.

Climbers don’t have to be adults.

Pronunciation: sentence stress and weak forms (schwa /ə/)Phonics: spellings of the sound /eɪ/Mavis, Dave, brave, face, race, afraid, paid, waited, train, Spain, sailed, rain, birthday, day, bay, great, break, eight, weight, plane, again

Reading: developing intensive and extensive reading comprehension skills of multiple text types: a brochure, a magazine story, a cross-curricular text about indoor climbing, culture texts about funny sports, an adventure story, a presentation about a sport

Listening: developing intensive and extensive listening skills: identifying vocabulary and grammar in context; listening for gist and/or specific information from multiple sources: a dialogue about homework, a song about adventure sports, an extended dialogue about arranging to meet; focusing on pronunciation: sentence stress and weak forms (schwa /ə/); listening to a poem and identifying the spellings of words with the /eɪ/ sound; listening to a presentation about a sport

Speaking: developing fluency and accuracy: talking about adventure sports and the equipment and clothing for those sports; using the infinitive with specific verbs (Tim learnt to scuba dive.); talking about obligation with modal verbs (Climbers have to have hand holds and foot holds.); focusing on pronunciation: sentence stress and weak forms (schwa /ə/); arranging to meet; giving a presentation about a sport

Writing: identifying and writing words related to adventure sports and the equipment and clothing for those sports; writing a review of a story; writing a brochure; writing a culture text about a funny sport from your country; analysing and writing an adventure story; preparing a presentation about a sport

Sport: Indoor climbing

Unusual sports / The importance of being safe on your bike


6 Syllabus




Unit 6: Awesome art

Core Everyday objects: saw, light switch, kettle, fridge, clothes peg, iron, vacuum cleaner, toaster, drill, thread, plug, needle

Adjectives to describe objects: wide, spiky, round, dirty, clean, flat, shiny, dull, bumpy, dry, wet, narrow

Other Street art – a yarnstorm: knitting, barrier, pirate, heart, mushroom

Famous artists: create, public (adj), specialize, junction, motorway, ceramics, stained glass, dragon

Present perfect (1):

He has (just) painted a picture.

They have (just) taken a photograph.

She hasn’t done a project.

They haven’t been to the Eden Project.

Relative pronouns (which, who, where):

It’s a squid which is 8 metres long.

I got a photograph from a man who took a knitted cat.

We have been to Berlin, where we left knitted sausages.

Pronunciation: word stress in longer adjectives

Phonics: spellings of the sound /uː/Sue, zoo, drew, too, through, glue, room, knew, do, drew, blue, goose, few, cockatoo, emu, moose, two, kangaroo, uniforms, super, new, boots, flew, threw, fruits

Reading: developing intensive and extensive reading comprehension skills of multiple text types: an email, a newspaper story, a cross-curricular text about street art (’yarnstorming’), culture texts about famous artists, a description of a person, a presentation about favourite works of art

Listening: developing intensive and extensive listening skills: identifying vocabulary and grammar in context; listening for gist and/or specific information from multiple sources: a dialogue about homework, a song about sculptures, an extended conversation about objects in an art show (giving and receiving compliments); focusing on pronunciation: word stress on longer adjectives; listening to a poem and identifying the spellings of words with the /uː/ sound; listening to a presentation about favourite works of art

Speaking: developing fluency and accuracy: talking about everyday objects and adjectives to describe them; talking about past actions that are connected to now (Jilly has recycled a newspaper.); creating longer sentences to give more information about people, things or places (Plarchie is a squid which is made from 160 plastic bags.); focusing on pronunciation: word stress in longer adjectives; giving and receiving compliments; giving a presentation about your favourite work of art

Writing: identifying and writing words related to everyday objects and adjectives to describe them; writing a review of a story; writing a thank you email; writing a culture text about an artist from your country; analysing and writing a description of a person; preparing a presentation about your favourite work of art

Art: Yarnstorms

Famous artists / The importance of being kind to your friends

Unit 7 Jolly geography

Core Adjectives to describe places: deserted, rural, snowy, tropical, historic, cosy, crowded, urban, noisy, mountainous, dangerous, freezing

Phrasal verbs to describe a trip: look forward to, get on, get off, set off, get on with, run out of, fall out with, look after, put up, make up, put out, do up

OtherSpace holidays in the future: medical check, spaceport, astronaut, passenger, pilot, countdown, switch off, engine, zero gravity

Coasts in different countries: coast, rock, column, hexagonal, tourist, microscopic, thermal, lifeguard


Have you ever got lost?

Has he ever slept in a tent?

Yes, I have. / No, I haven’t.

Yes, he has. / No, he hasn’t.

They have flown in a helicopter.

She has seen an Arctic hare.

I haven't flown in a helicopter.

She hasn't seen an Arctic hare.

Will / won’t (future fact):

The travellers will learn about safety.

It won’t be a cheap holiday.

Pronunciation:

sentence stress and weak forms (schwa /ə/)Phonics: silent letters

autumn, Wednesdays, combs, climbs, when, why, where, answers, wrong, listens, Christmas, knocks, knees, knife, knows

Reading: developing intensive and extensive reading comprehension skills of multiple text types: a survival guide, a diary, a cross-curricular text about space holidays in the future, culture texts about coasts in different countries, an opinion piece, a presentation about a person’s favourite holiday

Listening: developing intensive and extensive listening skills: identifying vocabulary and grammar in context; listening for gist and/or specific information from multiple sources: a dialogue about homework, a song about exploring in the forest, an extended conversation about choosing a holiday (stating preferences); focusing on pronunciation: sentence stress and weak forms (schwa /ə/); listening to a poem and identifying words with silent letters; listening to a presentation about a person’s favourite holiday

Speaking: developing fluency and accuracy: using adjectives to describe places and phrasal verbs to describe a trip; talking about past experiences in our lives (Have you ever been lost in a crowded place?); talking about future facts or talking about things we feel are very certain in the future (Space travellers won’t practise techniques used by pilots. They will practise techniques used by astronauts.); focusing on pronunciation: sentence stress and weak forms (schwa /ə/); stating preferences; giving a presentation about your favourite holiday

Writing: identifying and writing adjectives to describe places and phrasal verbs to describe a trip; writing a review of a story; writing advice for someone who is lost; writing a culture text about a special place; analysing and writing an opinion piece; preparing a presentation about your favourite holiday

Science: Space holidays in the future

Coasts in different countries / The importance of staying safe in the sea

Unit 8: Cool cookery

Core Food: cucumber, brown sugar, oil, peanuts, lime, spring onions, prawns, bean sprouts, chillies, garlic, noodles, pepper

Countries and nationalities: France, French, Poland, Polish, China, Chinese, Spain, Spanish, Italy, Italian, India, Indian

Other A food process: making spaghetti: grow, make, mix, add, cut, eat, cook, boil, serve

Celebrations: Holi, Burns Night, Hanukkah, rosewater, haggis

Describing quantity (too much / too many / enough):

She’s got too much rice.

She’s got too many chillies.

He’s got enough peanuts.

Present simple passive:

Durum wheat is grown in Italy.

The packets aren't transported to shops.

Pronunciation: intonation in sentences

Phonics: homophones

meet, meat; to, two; pairs, pears; read, red; been, bean; maid, made; ate, eight; flour, flower; whether, weather

Reading: developing intensive and extensive reading comprehension skills of multiple text types: a recipe, a cartoon story, a news story, a cross-curricular text about the process of making spaghetti, culture texts about celebrations, a thank you letter, a presentation about a person’s favourite food

Listening: developing intensive and extensive listening skills: identifying vocabulary and grammar in context; listening for gist and/or specific information from multiple sources: a dialogue about homework, a song about food from around the world, an extended dialogue about ordering food in a café (ordering a meal politely); focusing on pronunciation: intonation in sentences; listening to a poem and identifying homophones; listening to a presentation about a person’s favourite food

Speaking: developing fluency and accuracy: talking about food and different countries and nationalities; talking about quantities with countable and uncountable nouns (She hasn’t got enough prawns. He’s got too much oil.); talking about a process (Durum wheat isn't grown in Jamaica.); focusing on pronunciation: intonation in sentences; ordering a meal politely; giving a presentation about your favourite food

Writing: identifying and writing words related to food and different country and nationality words; writing a review of a story; writing a recipe; writing a culture text about a celebration in your country; analysing and writing a thank you letter; preparing a presentation about your favourite food

Cookery: Making spaghetti

Celebrations / The importance of being respectful of other cultures


7Syllabus




Unit 6: Awesome art

Core Everyday objects: saw, light switch, kettle, fridge, clothes peg, iron, vacuum cleaner, toaster, drill, thread, plug, needle

Adjectives to describe objects: wide, spiky, round, dirty, clean, flat, shiny, dull, bumpy, dry, wet, narrow

Other Street art – a yarnstorm: knitting, barrier, pirate, heart, mushroom

Famous artists: create, public (adj), specialize, junction, motorway, ceramics, stained glass, dragon


He has (just) painted a picture.

They have (just) taken a photograph.

She hasn’t done a project.

They haven’t been to the Eden Project.

Relative pronouns (which, who, where):

It’s a squid which is 8 metres long.

I got a photograph from a man who took a knitted cat.

We have been to Berlin, where we left knitted sausages.

Pronunciation: word stress in longer adjectives

Phonics: spellings of the sound /uː/Sue, zoo, drew, too, through, glue, room, knew, do, drew, blue, goose, few, cockatoo, emu, moose, two, kangaroo, uniforms, super, new, boots, flew, threw, fruits

Reading: developing intensive and extensive reading comprehension skills of multiple text types: an email, a newspaper story, a cross-curricular text about street art (’yarnstorming’), culture texts about famous artists, a description of a person, a presentation about favourite works of art

Listening: developing intensive and extensive listening skills: identifying vocabulary and grammar in context; listening for gist and/or specific information from multiple sources: a dialogue about homework, a song about sculptures, an extended conversation about objects in an art show (giving and receiving compliments); focusing on pronunciation: word stress on longer adjectives; listening to a poem and identifying the spellings of words with the /uː/ sound; listening to a presentation about favourite works of art

Speaking: developing fluency and accuracy: talking about everyday objects and adjectives to describe them; talking about past actions that are connected to now (Jilly has recycled a newspaper.); creating longer sentences to give more information about people, things or places (Plarchie is a squid which is made from 160 plastic bags.); focusing on pronunciation: word stress in longer adjectives; giving and receiving compliments; giving a presentation about your favourite work of art

Writing: identifying and writing words related to everyday objects and adjectives to describe them; writing a review of a story; writing a thank you email; writing a culture text about an artist from your country; analysing and writing a description of a person; preparing a presentation about your favourite work of art

Art: Yarnstorms

Famous artists / The importance of being kind to your friends

Unit 7 Jolly geography

Core Adjectives to describe places: deserted, rural, snowy, tropical, historic, cosy, crowded, urban, noisy, mountainous, dangerous, freezing

Phrasal verbs to describe a trip: look forward to, get on, get off, set off, get on with, run out of, fall out with, look after, put up, make up, put out, do up

OtherSpace holidays in the future: medical check, spaceport, astronaut, passenger, pilot, countdown, switch off, engine, zero gravity

Coasts in different countries: coast, rock, column, hexagonal, tourist, microscopic, thermal, lifeguard


Have you ever got lost?

Has he ever slept in a tent?

Yes, I have. / No, I haven’t.

Yes, he has. / No, he hasn’t.

They have flown in a helicopter.

She has seen an Arctic hare.

I haven't flown in a helicopter.

She hasn't seen an Arctic hare.

Will / won’t (future fact):

The travellers will learn about safety.

It won’t be a cheap holiday.

Pronunciation:

sentence stress and weak forms (schwa /ə/)Phonics: silent letters

autumn, Wednesdays, combs, climbs, when, why, where, answers, wrong, listens, Christmas, knocks, knees, knife, knows

Reading: developing intensive and extensive reading comprehension skills of multiple text types: a survival guide, a diary, a cross-curricular text about space holidays in the future, culture texts about coasts in different countries, an opinion piece, a presentation about a person’s favourite holiday

Listening: developing intensive and extensive listening skills: identifying vocabulary and grammar in context; listening for gist and/or specific information from multiple sources: a dialogue about homework, a song about exploring in the forest, an extended conversation about choosing a holiday (stating preferences); focusing on pronunciation: sentence stress and weak forms (schwa /ə/); listening to a poem and identifying words with silent letters; listening to a presentation about a person’s favourite holiday

Speaking: developing fluency and accuracy: using adjectives to describe places and phrasal verbs to describe a trip; talking about past experiences in our lives (Have you ever been lost in a crowded place?); talking about future facts or talking about things we feel are very certain in the future (Space travellers won’t practise techniques used by pilots. They will practise techniques used by astronauts.); focusing on pronunciation: sentence stress and weak forms (schwa /ə/); stating preferences; giving a presentation about your favourite holiday

Writing: identifying and writing adjectives to describe places and phrasal verbs to describe a trip; writing a review of a story; writing advice for someone who is lost; writing a culture text about a special place; analysing and writing an opinion piece; preparing a presentation about your favourite holiday

Science: Space holidays in the future

Coasts in different countries / The importance of staying safe in the sea

Unit 8: Cool cookery

Core Food: cucumber, brown sugar, oil, peanuts, lime, spring onions, prawns, bean sprouts, chillies, garlic, noodles, pepper

Countries and nationalities: France, French, Poland, Polish, China, Chinese, Spain, Spanish, Italy, Italian, India, Indian

Other A food process: making spaghetti: grow, make, mix, add, cut, eat, cook, boil, serve

Celebrations: Holi, Burns Night, Hanukkah, rosewater, haggis

Describing quantity (too much / too many / enough):

She’s got too much rice.

She’s got too many chillies.

He’s got enough peanuts.

Present simple passive:

Durum wheat is grown in Italy.

The packets aren't transported to shops.

Pronunciation: intonation in sentences

Phonics: homophones

meet, meat; to, two; pairs, pears; read, red; been, bean; maid, made; ate, eight; flour, flower; whether, weather

Reading: developing intensive and extensive reading comprehension skills of multiple text types: a recipe, a cartoon story, a news story, a cross-curricular text about the process of making spaghetti, culture texts about celebrations, a thank you letter, a presentation about a person’s favourite food

Listening: developing intensive and extensive listening skills: identifying vocabulary and grammar in context; listening for gist and/or specific information from multiple sources: a dialogue about homework, a song about food from around the world, an extended dialogue about ordering food in a café (ordering a meal politely); focusing on pronunciation: intonation in sentences; listening to a poem and identifying homophones; listening to a presentation about a person’s favourite food

Speaking: developing fluency and accuracy: talking about food and different countries and nationalities; talking about quantities with countable and uncountable nouns (She hasn’t got enough prawns. He’s got too much oil.); talking about a process (Durum wheat isn't grown in Jamaica.); focusing on pronunciation: intonation in sentences; ordering a meal politely; giving a presentation about your favourite food

Writing: identifying and writing words related to food and different country and nationality words; writing a review of a story; writing a recipe; writing a culture text about a celebration in your country; analysing and writing a thank you letter; preparing a presentation about your favourite food

Cookery: Making spaghetti

Celebrations / The importance of being respectful of other cultures


8 Syllabus




Unit 9: Dazzl ng drama

Core Theatre words: audience, director, stage, costumes, scenery, props, cast, backstage, lines, sound technician, curtain, lighting designer

Behind the scene phrases: build the set, rehearse the show, test the sound, advertise the show, tie your shoelaces, mend the costumes, put on make-up, paint your nails, design the programmes, write the script, dye your hair, style your hair

Other A theatre production (The Lion King): adaptation, animated, lyrics, cub, homeland, species, mammal, necessary, plait (v), spectacular

Dances: region, harvest, percussion, strings, hip, trumpet, luck, emperor

Adjectives and prepositions:

To be excited/worried/sad/happy/angry about something / doing something.

To be angry/good/bad at/with something.

To be tried/scared of something / doing something.

To be famous for something / doing something.

To be interested in something / doing something.

have something done (have + object + past participle):

The costume designer has special animal costumes made.

The actors have their hair styled.

Pronunciation: word stress

Phonics: spellings of words with /ʃn/ endings

sensation, directions, invitation, magician, conversation, electrician, musician, position, politician, collections

Reading: developing intensive and extensive reading comprehension skills of multiple text types: an advertising leaflet, a playscript, a cross-curricular text about the theatre production The Lion King, culture texts about dances, a play, a text about how to prepare for a play

Listening: developing intensive and extensive listening skills: identifying vocabulary and grammar in context; listening for gist and/or specific information from multiple sources: a dialogue about homework, a song about jobs that people do in the theatre, an extended conversation about choosing a film (making suggestions); focusing on pronunciation: word stress; listening to a poem and identifying words with the phoneme /ʃn/; listening to advice on how to prepare for a play

Speaking: developing fluency and accuracy: talking about the theatre and the jobs that people do behind the scenes; using the correct prepositions with adjectives (Billy is scared of the dark.); talking about when something is done for someone (The actors have their hair cut.); focusing on pronunciation: word stress; making suggestions; practising and acting out a class play

Writing: identifying and writing words related to the theatre and the jobs that people do behind the scenes there; writing a review of a story; writing an advert for a play; writing a culture text about a dance from your country; analysing and writing a play; preparing a short play

Drama: A theatre production – The Lion King

Dances / The importance of not playing music too loudly in public

Rev s on Story 1 Review: bugs words; in the garden words; TV programmes; money words; materials words; Ancient Rome: house and home words; present simple / present continuous; zero conditional; comparative and superlative adjectives with two or more syllables; infinitives of purpose / adjectives + infinitive with to; be made of (present and past simple); used to / didn't use to

Rev s on Story 2 Review: adjectives to describe people; types of book words; adventure sports words; words for equipment and clothing for adventure sports; everyday objects words; adjectives to describe objects; past simple / past continuous; past simple with wh- questions; verb + infinitive with to / verb + object + infinitive with to; modal verbs of obligation; present perfect; relative pronouns

Rev s on Story 3 Review: adjectives to describe places; phrasal verbs; food words, words for countries and nationalities; theatre words; behind the scene phrases; present perfect; will/won't; too much / too many / enough; present simple passive; adjectives and prepositions; have something done (have + object + past participle)

Fest val 1: Crack ng Chr stmas

Core: decorate, carol singing, turkey, sprout, Christmas pudding, crackers, plum pudding

Extra: weather, every day, swim, wear

Fest val 2: Rad ant Red Nose Day

Core: red nose, funny, charity, raise, sponsored silence

Extra: reports, pyjamas, night clothes, baked beans, mini bus, clown, gate, bucket

Festival 3: Merry May Day

Core: Morris dancing, May Day, maypole, well

Extra: belt, bell, stick, accordion, dew, decorate, May Queen, crown, lift (v)


9Syllabus




Unit 9: Dazzl ng drama

Core Theatre words: audience, director, stage, costumes, scenery, props, cast, backstage, lines, sound technician, curtain, lighting designer

Behind the scene phrases: build the set, rehearse the show, test the sound, advertise the show, tie your shoelaces, mend the costumes, put on make-up, paint your nails, design the programmes, write the script, dye your hair, style your hair

Other A theatre production (The Lion King): adaptation, animated, lyrics, cub, homeland, species, mammal, necessary, plait (v), spectacular

Dances: region, harvest, percussion, strings, hip, trumpet, luck, emperor

Adjectives and prepositions:

To be excited/worried/sad/happy/angry about something / doing something.

To be angry/good/bad at/with something.

To be tried/scared of something / doing something.

To be famous for something / doing something.

To be interested in something / doing something.

have something done (have + object + past participle):

The costume designer has special animal costumes made.

The actors have their hair styled.

Pronunciation: word stress

Phonics: spellings of words with /ʃn/ endings

sensation, directions, invitation, magician, conversation, electrician, musician, position, politician, collections

Reading: developing intensive and extensive reading comprehension skills of multiple text types: an advertising leaflet, a playscript, a cross-curricular text about the theatre production The Lion King, culture texts about dances, a play, a text about how to prepare for a play

Listening: developing intensive and extensive listening skills: identifying vocabulary and grammar in context; listening for gist and/or specific information from multiple sources: a dialogue about homework, a song about jobs that people do in the theatre, an extended conversation about choosing a film (making suggestions); focusing on pronunciation: word stress; listening to a poem and identifying words with the phoneme /ʃn/; listening to advice on how to prepare for a play

Speaking: developing fluency and accuracy: talking about the theatre and the jobs that people do behind the scenes; using the correct prepositions with adjectives (Billy is scared of the dark.); talking about when something is done for someone (The actors have their hair cut.); focusing on pronunciation: word stress; making suggestions; practising and acting out a class play

Writing: identifying and writing words related to the theatre and the jobs that people do behind the scenes there; writing a review of a story; writing an advert for a play; writing a culture text about a dance from your country; analysing and writing a play; preparing a short play

Drama: A theatre production – The Lion King

Dances / The importance of not playing music too loudly in public

Rev s on Story 1 Review: bugs words; in the garden words; TV programmes; money words; materials words; Ancient Rome: house and home words; present simple / present continuous; zero conditional; comparative and superlative adjectives with two or more syllables; infinitives of purpose / adjectives + infinitive with to; be made of (present and past simple); used to / didn't use to

Rev s on Story 2 Review: adjectives to describe people; types of book words; adventure sports words; words for equipment and clothing for adventure sports; everyday objects words; adjectives to describe objects; past simple / past continuous; past simple with wh- questions; verb + infinitive with to / verb + object + infinitive with to; modal verbs of obligation; present perfect; relative pronouns

Rev s on Story 3 Review: adjectives to describe places; phrasal verbs; food words, words for countries and nationalities; theatre words; behind the scene phrases; present perfect; will/won't; too much / too many / enough; present simple passive; adjectives and prepositions; have something done (have + object + past participle)

Fest val 1: Crack ng Chr stmas

Core: decorate, carol singing, turkey, sprout, Christmas pudding, crackers, plum pudding

Extra: weather, every day, swim, wear

Fest val 2: Rad ant Red Nose Day

Core: red nose, funny, charity, raise, sponsored silence

Extra: reports, pyjamas, night clothes, baked beans, mini bus, clown, gate, bucket

Festival 3: Merry May Day

Core: Morris dancing, May Day, maypole, well

Extra: belt, bell, stick, accordion, dew, decorate, May Queen, crown, lift (v)


Introduct on

10 Introduction

About Ace!Ace! is a six-level course for children learning English from Primary 1 to Primary 6.

The course combines a high-level grammar and vocabulary syllabus with fresh, modern visual appeal and all the rich, imaginative context of a true story-based course.

The context for the Ace! course is the Ace School and the Ace! characters, who are the school pupils. In each cycle, we experience the daily life and learning of a different age group of pupil characters. And just as the Ace! characters are given a chance to shine, children learning English with Ace! are also inspired to flourish.

The language and skills practice in Ace!, shaped in line with the requirements of the Cambridge English: Young Learners, Cambridge English: Key for Schools (KET) and Trinity examinations, has been carefully chosen and crafted to benefit all children in higher-level learning contexts, whether they intend to sit external examinations or not. While the syllabus is fast-paced and comprehensive, lessons are carefully staged, the approach to practice and recycling of language is thorough, and the methodology is clear and supportive for teachers and children alike. The course empowers the children to achieve, and at the same time places importance on the fun and enjoyment of learning at primary school.

Ace! has an inviting, highly motivating concept and a wealth of story genres. The course places strong emphasis on literacy, with the inclusion of a wide variety of text types and a regular phonics focus. In addition, importance is given to the development of the whole child, through the incorporation of Key Competence aims in the Ace! syllabus, as well as rich cultural input, the highlighting of values, and a cross-curricular lesson in every unit throughout the course.

To bring the Ace! world to life, the course offers a complete, up-to-date suite of learning and teaching materials, including a comprehensive Teacher’s Resource Pack, an External Exams Practice CD-ROM, and course-specific digital components (see Components, page 14).

Ace! 5Learners are guided through Ace! 5 by triplets Billy, Jilly and Milly Bean, who are all pupils at the Ace School. The triplets, along with their friends, family and teachers provide the background and context to each unit.

In the Starter Unit, the children return to school after the summer break and meet their new teacher, Miss London. At the end of the lesson, Miss London sets the class a homework assignment, which sets the topic for the next unit.

The opening spread of each unit shows three texts that have been brought in by Billy, Jilly and Milly for their homework assignment. Each text is based on authentic material that children would find at home.

The first text presents the vocabulary for the lesson; the second provides a gist reading activity and the third provides the story for Lesson 2.

At the end of each unit, Miss London reveals the homework for the next unit and the children are introduced to the

context for the next unit. (See Using the homework assignment as an optional activity on page 13 for more information.)

StoriesThe value of stories is widely recognized in Primary English Language Teaching. In a fast-paced course such as Ace!, stories are the perfect vehicle for the presentation of new language structures.

The emphasis on stories is also invaluable in the development of children’s literacy skills, as it furthers familiarity and understanding of the functions of text, as well as promoting a positive attitude to books and reading.

Stories are a way of immersing children in the target culture, which is a significant part of learning a foreign language and of considerable benefit to children preparing to sit external exams. They are also a useful framework for developing Key Competences, particularly raising awareness with regard to inter-curricular themes and citizenship.

At this level, it is important that children have exposure to a wide variety of texts and understand that stories are not confined to simple narratives or cartoon strips. In Ace! 5 the stories are provided by a reading text that Billy, Jilly or Milly has brought in as part of his/her homework assignment. The text type changes from lesson to lesson, with the stories taking the form of a page from a history book, a newspaper article, a playscript, a summary of a novel and so on.

As a follow up, animated versions of all the unit stories on the DVD bring an extra dimension to the storytelling experience.

Vocabulary and grammarAce! is a high-level English course and therefore incorporates a greater amount of vocabulary and a wider range of grammatical structures than would be expected in a mainstream English language course. The language syllabus for Ace! 1 to Ace! 6 has been specifically designed in line with the syllabi of the Trinity examinations, as well as the Cambridge English: Young Learners and the Cambridge English: Key for Schools (KET) examinations. The path towards the goal of entering these external examinations has therefore been taken into consideration in the design and coverage of the Ace! 5 syllabus. At the same time, equal emphasis has been placed on the importance of teaching a practical, well-balanced, high-frequency language syllabus, which is appropriate for all children learning English at this level.

In Ace! 5, twelve new core items of vocabulary are presented in Lesson 1 of each unit, with a further twelve taught in Lesson 5. All the new core vocabulary is grouped in semantic sets that relate to the unit topic. The vocabulary is presented through listening activities, and then practised through motivating communicative games and activities. Wordcards are provided in the Teacher’s Resource Pack for practice and reinforcement, and the children are encouraged to keep a record of this new language (along with any more new vocabulary) in their own Bilingual dictionaries in the back of their Activity Books throughout the course of the year.

Each unit of Ace! 5 also presents and practises two new core structures. The children are exposed passively to the first structure through the story in Lesson 2, with Lesson 3 providing a clear focus on how the grammar works. There is


Introduct on

11 Introduction

thorough listening, speaking, reading and writing practice of the structure in the Class Book and Activity Book.

A second grammatical structure is presented through the cross-curricular reading text in Lesson 6. This is practised through engaging reading, writing and communicative pairwork activities in the Class Book, and reading, writing and listening activities in the Activity Book. The Grammar and everyday language posters for each unit, provided in the Teacher’s Resource Pack, can also be used to introduce and explain the grammatical structures in Lessons 3 and 6, as well as providing a visual opportunity to review the grammar, for example, at the end of a unit. Specific notes for using the posters are provided in the unit notes.

At this level, there is also a focus on functional language. Lesson 7 centres around a dialogue based on an everyday situation, such as joining the library or inviting someone to an event. Useful phrases are highlighted so that they are easy to pick out. These are practised through acting out the roleplay and completing a communicative activity with the fluency cards from the Activity Book. The Grammar and everyday language posters for each unit also have a section on functional language, providing useful language for the fluency card activities in Lesson 7.

SkillsAce! 5 has an integrated approach to language and skills development. The Class Book and Activity Book work closely together to encourage development of the four skills. Through a variety of enjoyable tasks with a very systematic approach, the children progress from listening practice to speaking practice, and from reading practice to writing practice.

Over the Ace! series as a whole, care has also been taken to ensure that children preparing for Trinity and Cambridge English examinations develop the required level of skills competency, as well as familiarity with examination task types.

Listening: Ace! recognizes the particular importance of listening in the early years of language learning. All new language is presented with clear models on the Audio CD. Listening to songs, stories, and cross-curricular and cultural texts also helps the children assimilate the language and exposes them to native speaker pronunciation. In addition, listening activities in the Activity Book help to prepare pupils for practical, everyday tasks in English.

Speaking: There is a strong speaking focus in Ace! 5, with activities designed to help the children develop fluency and accuracy. This includes personalized speaking activities, practice of the everyday dialogue in Lesson 7 and communicative games using the fluency cards from the Activity Book.

The speaking practice in Ace! 5 culminates in the delivery of a class presentation at the end of every unit (and a class play at the end of the year). The children are guided in this through a series of clear and supportive preparation activities in the Activity Book.

Further opportunities for speaking in class are provided through contexts the children can easily relate to, as well as suggestions for teacher-led discussions provided in the teaching notes. The Speak up poster, available in the Teacher’s Resource Pack, can also be used to support any kind of communicative activity, be it part of the core

lesson, a warmer or lead-in activity or an optional activity. It can also be used for both open pairwork, where a pair of children work together while the rest of the class observes, and closed pairwork, where the children work in pairs without being observed by others. Structures and example sentences are provided for a variety of functions, such as asking for personal information, talking about a picture or describing an object.

Details of optional communication games are also given in the Ideas Bank (see page 201).

Reading and writing: Children learning English at a higher level need to be able to make fast progress in reading and writing. This is particularly true for those studying in bilingual projects or with the intention of sitting external examinations.

Ace! 5 takes a very systematic approach to reading and writing. It familiarizes children with the structures and conventions of different types of text before any reading or writing takes place.

Lesson 1 provides an overview of different text types; it begins with a text-type recognition activity and leads on to a gist reading activity. In Lesson 2, the children read in more detail to find specific information in a story.

In Lesson 8, the children read each of the three cultural texts for gist before they read again to extract specific information to answer questions.

Lesson 9 in the Class Book prepares the children for a writing activity. It presents and provides analysis of a particular type of text, for example a leaflet, email or description. Annotations around the text provide an explanation of layout, content of paragraphs and other features.

Following a series of preparation activities in the Activity Book, the children then produce their own texts. The Class Book and the Activity Book provide models that the children can use to support their writing.

External examinations for young learners At this higher level of English-language learning, many young learners in Primary 1 to Primary 6 are entered for external examinations such as the Trinity examinations, the Cambridge English: Young Learners examinations (Starters, Movers and Flyers) and the Cambridge English: Key for Schools examination (KET). The syllabus of Ace! 1–6 reflects the language and skills requirements of these examinations.

Trinity examinations: The Ace! series aims to prepare the children to enter the Trinity Grade 2 examination by the end of Ace! 2, the Trinity Grade 4 examination by the end of Ace! 4 and the Trinity Grade 6 examination by the end of Ace! 6.

Cambridge English: Young Learners examinations: The Ace! series aims to prepare the children to sit Starters by the end of Ace! 3, Movers by the end of this level (Ace! 5) and Flyers by the end of Ace! 6.

Cambridge English: Key for Schools examination (KET): The Ace! series aims to prepare the children to sit the Cambridge English: Key for Schools examination (KET) by the end of Ace! 6.

Practice tests for the Trinity, Cambridge English: Young Learners, Cambridge English: Key for Schools (KET), as well as Cambridge English: Preliminary for Schools (PET) examinations can also be found on the Ace! External Exams Practice CD-ROM (see page 29).


12 Introduction

Culture Ace! values intercultural education as an essential part of language learning. It is important for children to understand and reflect on the differences and similarities between their own and other cultures in order to develop Key Competences, in particular competence in social skills and citizenship. The culture lessons throughout the Ace! series help them to develop an awareness of the people around them, as well as a stronger understanding of the different cultures around the world.

There are regular culture lessons in every unit throughout the Ace! course. In Ace! 5, the children learn about aspects of the lives of children in different countries. The cultural information is presented as a web page in which different children respond to questions about their lives that Billy, Jilly and Milly have posted. This sets a context that the children will easily be able to relate to and shows how children from all over the world are united as part of a ‘global village’.

The follow-up activities in the Ace! 5 Activity Book give the children the opportunity to consolidate what they have learned. They are also encouraged to reflect on the target culture and draw conclusions about similarities and differences by producing their own text, personalized with ideas and experiences from their own culture.

In addition to the cultural input in Lesson 8, further intercultural learning is provided through the three festival sections located at the end of the Ace! 5 Class and Activity Books. These are intended to be used at the appropriate times of the year: Christmas (December), Red Nose Day (March) and May Day (May).

Pronunciation and phonics New to this level is a pronunciation focus, which is found at the end of Lesson 7. These sections deal with word and sentence stress, intonation and pronunciation of numbers and dates and letters of the alphabet.

The children listen to a recording of the target words, phrases and sentences and repeat them with the class. The pronunciation point is reinforced though the dialogue from the lesson; the children listen out for the words and phrases in the dialogue before acting it out in pairs or groups.

Phonemes in English can be represented by a variety of spelling patterns, which can be a great cause of confusion to learners of English. For this reason, in addition to the pronunciation element, the Ace! 5 phonics lessons help the children to recognize different spelling patterns for particular sounds as well as focusing on tricky aspects of English spelling and pronunciation, such as silent letters, irregular plurals and homophones.

The phonics words in Ace! 5 are presented through a fun and engaging poem. In this way, the children can use rhythm and rhyme patterns to help pick out some of the words containing the target sound.

SongsSongs are an invaluable way of practising new language, as they naturally include repetition and greatly aid memory through their use of rhythm.

Each unit of Ace! 5 contains a song, which is found in Lesson 5 and on the DVD. The song videos use real-life footage, which is particularly relevant for this age group. The songs

offer practice and reinforcement of the vocabulary from the lesson. They cover a wide variety of musical genre, specifically designed to encompass the diverse range of musical styles the children enjoy in the real world.

Cross-curricular focusThe Ace! course transfers useful, practical English language to a range of different areas of the curriculum, including Art, Sport, Science, Geography, History and Maths. The areas chosen reflect and build on the kind of subject matter that the pupils are working with in other classes.

In Ace! 5, Lesson 6 is contextualized as a school trip where the Ace School pupils visit museums, Roman baths, a nature reserve and other interesting places that will spark curiosity in different areas of the curriculum.

The cross-curricular content of the lesson is consolidated and practised through a reading activity and a personalized communication game in the Class Book, as well as follow-up activities in the Activity Book.

ValuesLearning about values is a key feature of the Ace! series as a whole. In Ace! 5, Lesson 8 ends with a Vital values focus. In this level, the pupils will encounter the following themes:• washing fruit before you eat it • being honest • being a responsible tourist • taking care of things you borrow • being safe on your bike • being kind to your friends • staying safe in the sea • being respectful of other cultures • not playing music too loudly in public.

RevisionIn Ace! 5, the core vocabulary and grammar of the unit is reviewed in each Lesson 10 through the Ace School newsletter. Each edition of the newsletter contains a range of fun activities to review vocabulary and grammar, such as word puzzles, magazine-style reports, surveys and picture-based activities.

Following each sequence of three units, there is also a more extensive revision section, each based around a story in the Class Book featuring the Ace School characters. Two pages of follow-up exercises per story also appear in the Activity Book. These Revision story lessons review the core and secondary vocabulary and grammar from each term. Details can be found in the Revision stories section of this Teacher’s Book (see page 187).

Optional lessonsEach unit includes two optional lessons, details of which can be found in the Optional lessons using the DVD section of this Teacher’s Book (see page 27) and in the lesson notes that follow. The first optional lesson (Lesson 3a) comes after Lesson 3 and reviews the main vocabulary from the unit and provides reinforcement of the main grammar point presented in the previous lesson. This is also the suggested point for showing the animated version of the story on the DVD. The second optional lesson (Lesson 6a) follows Lesson 6. It gives ideas for extending cross-curricular content and


13 Introduction

language taught in the cross-curricular lesson, and for a project based on the cross-curricular topic. This is also the suggested point for showing the real-world film clips from the DVD.

Using the homework assignment as an optional activityTeachers may wish to set their own class the homework that Miss London gives Class 5A at the end of the unit. This can then be used as an optional lead-in activity for the following unit. The children will find this interesting and rewarding, but it will demand some degree of classroom time.

If you wish to set the homework assignments to your class, you will need to be sure that you have enough time in your schedule for the children to present what they have brought in. Some teachers may wish to set the homework assignment for some, but not all units; others may wish to divide up the class so that different children do the assignment for different units.

You may choose to ask the children to present their homework to the whole class or within small groups. The second option may suit teachers with less time and those who have less confident pupils. Go around the class, listening and helping as the children present their homework. Also allow time at the end to discuss the activity with the class, for example, by asking one child from each group to tell the class what the children have brought in.

Testing and evaluationChildren’s progress can be evaluated through formal testing, ongoing assessment and self-assessment. In terms of formal testing, there are nine unit tests, three term tests and one end-of-year test on the Teacher’s Resource CD-ROM, which together cover the target language from the course. All these tests are available as printable or editable documents, so you can choose to adapt the material to suit your class.

For ongoing and self-assessment, each unit ends with a self-evaluation task in Lesson 11, encouraging the pupils to reflect on the activities they have done in the unit they have just finished. The focus is on becoming aware of the progress they are making and of areas that need more attention. As well as this, there are evaluation grids and portfolio material on the Teacher’s Resource CD-ROM, which allow you to continuously assess your pupil’s progress and provide them and their parents with feedback.

You will also find practice papers for the Trinity and Cambridge English: Young Learners, Cambridge English: Key for Schools (KET), and Cambridge English: Preliminary for Schools (PET) examinations on the External Exams Practice CD-ROM.

MultimediaAce! has a fresh, innovative and fully integrated approach to multimedia in the classroom, allowing teachers to create a tailored digital solution to best suit them and their school facilities. The Ace! digital tools include the iPack, Teacher’s Resource CD-ROM, DVD and Oxford Online Learning Zone website. Details of these features are provided in the Optional lessons using the DVD and Ace! Digital sections of this Teacher’s Book (see pages 27 and 29).

Key CompetencesThe inclusion of the Key Competences in the curriculum is designed to integrate the formal learning specific to each subject area with less formal learning. This helps the children to see the relationship between different subjects and use skills learned in one area in different contexts. The Key Competences encourage the activation of resources that the learner already has. Foreign-language learning contributes directly to the development of competence in linguistic communication as it increases, enriches and complements a pupil’s communicative capacity. When language learning is based on the development of the four communicative skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking), it helps to develop this Key Competence in the same way as the study of a native language. A more detailed explanation of how learning a foreign language can develop the other Key Competences can be found on the Teacher’s Resource CD-ROM, along with ideas and worksheets for further exploitation of each Key Competence.

The materials in Ace! 5 offer many opportunities for the development of the Key Competences. These are clearly highlighted and explained throughout the teacher’s notes.

Parental involvementLearning involves a cooperative relationship between home and school, and it is important to establish clear communication with parents to encourage home support. The following are suggestions about possible ways of doing this.• Keep parents informed about what their children are

learning and their progress. School blogs can be an effective way to keep parents up to date, as well as being highly motivating for children. Please make sure, however, that the children in your classes are protected at all times when they are online. Ensure that the school blog has a password, so that it is only available for the people for whom it is intended. In addition, teach children about internet security. Screen what they plan to post before they post it and, make sure that they don’t reveal too much personal information, especially telephone numbers, addresses or personal emails.

• Set the children homework to tell their parents the unit topic, sing them a song in English or tell them about life in the English-speaking countries, for example. Encourage parents to play the Songs CD, at home or in the car, to motivate their children.

• Inform parents of the values their children are learning, and ask them to encourage their children to employ them at home too.


julie penn - oxford university...

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