How to help prepare Trinity Exams grade 4-5 with Spanish year 4 children

1. How to prepare grade 4-5 Trinity with
Spanish Kids in Year 4
By Jennifer Wilson
Madrid

2. Objectives of this Presentation
To help prepare your class for the Trinity Exam
grade 4-5 .
To focus on common conversation questions
asked year after year
To develop strategies to prepare the famous
TOPIC
To help you get a 100% pass rate and be the
envy of all around you.. AGAIN!!!!!
To make me world famous and stroke my ego.

3. The External English Exams In Madrid
Since the external exams started in state schools in
Madrid we’ve learnt how to jump through the hoops
and we start priming the kids from an early age. The
first exams being in year 2 when it’s just questions
and answers that need a lot of preparing.
But, year 4 exams have the added difficulty of the
TOPIC at Trinity grade 4-5 which ten year olds find
difficult to organize..

4. I’m going to explain how I do it
and I haven`t had any fails yet:

5. First of all take it easy and do NOT
get stressed out over the exam. All
of your students are going to pass.
.

6. Second thing is, throw the textbook
in the bin. It won’t help you. So,
boldly go where many teachers have
gone before.
COME ON YOU CAN DO IT!!!

7. How to begin:
• You need to get the kids sitting in pairs at least
(Yes that’s right, all 29 of them) every class.
• They need to be able to talk to each other to
practise and you need to shut up now and again
and reduce T:T:T(Teachers Talking Time)
• So arrange the seating accordingly. Language
classes shouldn’t be silent so your head teacher
is just gonna have to get over the noise level.
You can tell her/him the lady from Trinity told
you so. Let’s get her into trouble too!!!!

8. PARENT’S HELP (DELEGATE)
• Don’t hesitate you definately need parents
collaboration to do this well, so get all the
parents in and explain what you’re gonna do and
how you are gonna get there.
• Send the questions home every week
or post them on your blog.
• Make audio recordings for
those who don’t speak English
Or use mine:jenny-learning
shouldbefun.blogspot
(Trinity grade4-5 folder)

9. Tell the kids why they are doing
things. Get them on board too.
• Every week when you start a new area of
language that you ‘re working through remind
the kids of the big picture.
• This week we’re studying shopping vocabulary.
• Why?
• Yes that’s right ‘cause its going to come up in the
Trinity Exam and maybe someday we’re gonna
go shopping and need to speak English.

10. The Main Topic areas that you need
to focus on are:
• Shopping
• Holidays
• School and work
• Hobbies and sports
• Food
• Weekend and seasonal
activities
Grade 5
• Festivals
• Means of transport
• Special occasions, e.g.
birthday celebrations
• Entertainment, e.g.
cinema, television, clubs
• Music
• Recent personal
experiences
Grade 4

11. Grammar structures you need to
teach them.
• Grade 4
• Past simple tense of regular
and common irregular
verbs
• Going to future
• Like + gerund/infinitive,
e.g. I like shopping, I like to
read books
• Adverbs of manner and
frequency
• Comparatives and
superlatives of adjectives
• Link word but
• Grade 5
• Present perfect tense
including use with for,
since, ever, never, just
• Connecting clauses using
because
• Will referring to the future
for informing and
predicting
• Adjectives and adverbials
of quantity, e.g. a lot (of)

12. Language Structures
It seems a lot but remember they don’t expect them
to speak perfect English.
• Grade 4
• Language functions
• Talking about past events
• Talking about future plans
and intentions
• Expressing simple
comparisons
• Expressing likes and
dislikes
• Describing manner and
frequency
• Grade 5
• Language functions
• Talking about the future —
informing and predicting
• Expressing preferences
• Talking about events in the
indefinite and recent past
• Giving reasons
• Stating the duration of
events
• Quantifying

13. Typical Questions
• Over the last few years I’ve asked every kid
who came out the exam to tell me what
questions they were asked for each subject
area in the conversation phase and these will
follow shortly but dedicate one week to each
subject. Get the kids to copy them down,
practise in pairs asking and answering the
questions, at home at school, with the
language assistant and everywhere they can.

14. Big Buddies
• Get older children from year 6 that have
already done the exam to come and ask them
the questions too. This has amazing results
as the younger students strive to show the
older ones how good they are. Also great for
the older students for building their self
esteem and confidence too.

15. Begin building vocabulary
• This year I’m using mindmaps a lot for each subject
area. This is great for initial brainstorming and
helps visual learners . You can find loads of
examples in google images. Also it is more fun and
kids say they love doing them.

16. Decide the level of each kid
This is an important decision so make sure you
think carefully about new students, special
needs and children with difficulties in their
own language.
Grade 4 is quite a bit easier than Grade 5.
If in doubt choose the lower level.

17. Why?? …..Because
In class practise this format with lots of Trinity
topics and give them ideas.
Why do you like pasta?
Wy do you like football?
Why do you like video games?
Why do you like music?
Why do you like Madrid?

18. I like……..
Remind children that they:
Like doing or Like to do
Like playing or Like to play
Like going or Like to go

19. GRADE 4 Questions
Hobbies
What do you do after school?
What activities do you do?
Do you like tennis?
How often do you play?
Do you go to tennis classes?
When do you play?
Who do you play with?
When was the last time you played?
Who did you play with?
I collect stickers. Do you collect anything?
When was the last time you played football?
What’s your hobby?
Why do you like it?
When did you last go to the cinema?
What are you going to do this weekend?

20. The Weekend
What did you do last weekend?
What are you going to do this wekend?
What do you normally do at the weekend?
Where are you going this weekend?

21. Holidays
Can you tell me about your last holiday?
Where did you go last year on holiday?
When did you last visit the beach?
When did you last go to the mountains?
What did you do last summer?
What do you like doing at the beach?/In the
mountains?
What’s the difference between Malaga and Madrid?
What are you going to do this summer?
Tell me about your next holiday?

22. Sports Questions
They always include present, future and past tenses.
Be ready to say what you need and where to play and why
you like it.
What's your favourite sport?
When was the last time you played it?
Where did you play?
How long did you play for?
Who did you play with?
Do you watch sport on t.v?
Do you prefer to watch sport or do sport?
Who's your favourite sports man/woman? Why?
Where can you play your favourite sport? (Pitch, court, field)
What do you need to play?(Don’t forget racquet, ball, net,
players)
When will you play your favourite sport next?

23. Shopping topic
Boys of ten find this one difficult (they don’t like shopping much) so get
them to talk about sports and games shops.
WHERE CAN I BUY A CAULIFLOWER?A LOAF OF
BREAD?
WHAT CAN I BUY IN THE
GREENGROCERS? BUTCHERS? BAKERS STATIONERS?
WHAT SHOPS DO YOU LIKE?
WHAT SHOPS DO YOU USUALLY VISIT?
WHAT DO YOU USUALLY BUY?
WHAT SORT OF................(CLOTHES, GAMES, TOYS)
DO YOU BUY?
WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU BOUGHT IN A
SHOP?

24. Food Topic
These are the food questions
What's your favorite food? Why?
Do you like pasta?
What types of food do you enjoy?
What do people in your region eat for breakfast?
Describe a typical dish in your region.
Can you cook any recipes?
When was the last time you went to a
restaurant ?
What food do you eat at Christmas?

25. Transport Questions
Have you got a bike?
How often do you ride your bike?
Have you ever been on a long car journey?
How do people usually travel to your school?
How do you get to school?
Have you ever travelled by plane?
Have you ever travelled by high speed train.
What will cars look like in the future?
What is better bus or metro?
What is cleaner bus or metro?
Have you ever been on the underground?

26. More Transport Questions
• Is it a good idea for people to cycle in your area?
• How many people cycle to school?
• What is better the car or the bicycle?
• What type of transportdo you prefer?
• What type of ca do you have?
• How many cars do you have?
• What car would you like to have in the future?

27. Entertainment(T.V books and films)
Do you belomg to any clubs? Tell me about it? What do
you like about this club?
Have you ever been on T:V?
Do you think it’s good for children to watch a lot of t.v?
What sort of films do you like?
Tell me about a film you have seen recently?
Tell me about the characters.
What’s your favourite film?
Describe an event in a film you have seen?
Do you prefer cinema or television?

28. More entertainment
When was the last time you went to the
cinema? What did you see?
Why do you like going to the cinema?
Who did you go with?
Where did you go to the cinema?
Do you prefer the cinema or the computer?
WHY?

29. Job Questions
Make sure that children know how to say their mum and dad's
job and have learned the most basic jobs and who works
where.
1. What job does your father do?
• 2. What job does your mother do?
• 3. Where does you mother work?
• 4. Where does your father work?
• 5. What sort of person works in a butchers?
• 6. What sort of person works in an office?
• 7.. Who works in a jewellery shop?
• 8. What job are you going to do in the future?
• 9.. What job would you like to do in the future?10.
• 10. Why do you want to be a........?
• 11. Can you describe your mums job?
• 12. Can you describe your dad's job?
• Use my blog for Audio questions

30. Music Questions
Again young boys of ten usually don’t have a lot to say about this topic so give them some
ideas.
Do you sing/dance?
Do you have cd player?
Do you like One Direction?
Do you like Spanish/pop/American music?
Do you play a musical instrument?
Do you prefer classical or pop music?
Have you ever seen a live band?
Have you ever been to a pop concert?
Do you sing when you play the..?

31. More Music Questions
How long have you been playing your instrument?
Do you play in an orchestra?
What grade are you in?
Have you played in a concert?
Have you got a choir in theis school?
Do you prefer the electical guitar or the classical guitar?
Who is your favourite singer?Band/Group?
Why do you like them?
In the future will you like the same music?

32. Festivals
What festivals do you have in Spain?
What festivals do you have in your area?
Have you ever been to(Pamplona the running of the bulls/The
Kings Parade in Madrid/The Fallas in Valencia /Easter
procession in Seville)
What do people eat?
What do they where?
What festivals are coming up soon?
Do you go to your village?
Tell me about a festival you have been to recently?

33. More Festivals
Tell me about your first communion
How will you celebrate your birthday?
How are you going to clebrate your sister’s
birthday?
How do you celebrate Christmas in Spain?
How do you celebrate Easter?

34. Special Occasions
When do you give presents?
What do you want for your birthday?
What did you give your mum/dad/sister/brother for
their birthday?
What are you going to give your dad for his birthday?
What was the best present you got for your
communion?Birthday/Christmas
Tell me how oyu celebrated your last birthday?
Tell me what you liked about your party?

35. More Special Occasions
Tell me what you didn’t like about your birthday
Tell me about a party you particularly enjoyed
Tell me about a party you did not enjoy?
How was it different to other celebrations?
Have you evr been to a wedding?
Tell me about it?
How do you think you will celebrate your mother’s
/father’s birthday?
Do you like giving presents?
Did you have a cake?

36. Recent Personal Events
Talk about taking part in a competition, winning competitions good
or bad experiences at school
Has anything unusual happened to you
recently?
Tell me about it
How long have you been interested in this?
Who was involved?
Why did you enter the competition?
Do many people in your country do this?

37. The Topic
This is the difficult part for teachers and there’s a lot of
hadrd graft here.
Get the kids to think of a topic.
No Football, no My Pet. Not animals.
Try something personal a subject they know a lot about. A family holiday, an
instrument or after school class that they enjoy.
Give them five pieces of paper and get them to write one question on each
one. They will need help with this
This is an example
Topic: The Iberian Lynx
Why I chose this topic?
What do I know about the Iberian Lynx?
When did I see an Iberian Lynx on a field trip?
How does an Iberian Lynx compare to a domestic cat?
What will happen to the Iberian Lynx in the future?

38. Personalize The topic
Get the children to write down their ideas in their own
words at home with parents help. even in Spanish and
then you can help them to translate it.
Chuck out work copied from Wilkipedia and make them
repeat it again. It should be very simple.
Get them to develop the five different areas and keep
adding to them until they have enough information
Don’t get them to write all the topic on one sheet but
develop the different areas so the topic is more
dynamic.
There’s a lot of marking. Don’t correct spelling much.
Focus on grammar. It’s an oral exam

39. Grammar to include
Make sure there are examples of
all the verb tenses mentioned earlier on slide 11 within the
topic.
At least a couple of comparisons, present, past and future
and
Most important:
Student MUST ask the examiner at least one question.
Have you ever been to……………?
Do you like………..?

40. Make a poster or bring visual support
When you think the topic is more or less ready then get
parents to practise with them every day. With
grandparents, parents,brothers sisters and other kids.
Get kids to prepare a visual display with the five original
questions for the examiner.
Give them all the questions and the audio recordings to
practise at home.

41. To End Up
My Goodness this took longer than I thought but I hope it’s
useful.
Now after sharing all my secret weapons with you, my school
isn’t gonna be number one this year.
But it’s all in a good cause.
SO: THE BEST OF LUCK TO YOU ALL AND SEND ME A MESSAGE
WITH YOUR RESULTS. Which are going to be great!!!
IF YOU DOWNLOAD THIS POWERPOINT WHICH OFCOURSE
YOU’RE WELCOME TO DO,
REMEMBER TO SAY : THANKYOU JENNY:

42. Resources
You need to track down lots of online games to motivate the
kids to study vocabulary. Computers at my school don’t
work very well so I encourage kids to play at home. Here
are the ones I use most. My favourites!!
http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org
http://www.eslgamesplus.com/
Jenny-learning shouldbefun.blogspot.com
Checkout the Trinity folder for audio recordings of the topic
questions and more resources