6. Keep stocked up on markers, refills and magnets
Nothing is more embarrassing than running out of ink in the middle of the lesson; keep some extra markers or refills in the classroom, just in case. If you use the magnetic feature of the whiteboard, make sure you have enough magnets.
7. Signpost your lesson
Put the main aims of the lesson on the side of the board, as well as the topic, language item focus, language skills and activities you will be using in the lesson. This will help you stay on track, and will give the students a guide in following the stages of the lesson.
8. Turn the board into an interactive tool
There’s every reason to encourage students to use the board. Aside from allowing your students to get out of their chairs and stretch their legs, you can have them work with the board to make learning a more interactive experience, which will make the lesson more interesting for them, and will help them retain the information better.
9. Use coloured markers to make the information come to life
Gone are the days of the chalk board, and its rainbow selection of coloured chalk; but whiteboard markers also come in different colours, and these can be used to highlight certain bits of information, from identifying the verb tense, to emphasizing the pronunciation of a new word. Try to be consistent with which colours you use for which purpose; I use black as the standard, blue for answers to questions and examples, and red for pronunciation.
10. Illustrate!
You don’t have to be Michelangelo to draw a stick figure on the board. You can get the point across with the simplest illustration. Drawing on the board is a visual technique that can help contextualize sentences, vocabulary and help students to ‘see’ what you mean.
The standard whiteboard is a simple, yet powerful teaching tool when teaching an English course. Remember that the success of any teaching resource in the classroom depends on the teacher’s ability to utilize it to its full advantage. Happy teaching!
Michael Bunyak
English Teacher at Canadian Education College, Singapore