Board basics
Your students should have a clear, uninterrupted view of the board. Be careful that you don’t block learners sitting at the sides of the room. When you write something on the board move away quickly so that students can see what you have written.
Especially with classes of Young Learners you need to develop the ability to write on the board with eyes in the back of your head. Don’t turn your back on the class for too long. Good teachers have the ability to write on the board while still keeping a sharp eye on their students!
Write clearly on the board and make sure that you have written words/text big enough for everyone to see from the back of the class. With chalk and blackboard make sure that you wash the board often so that the writing stays clear. With a whiteboard make sure that the pen you are using is in a colour that everyone can read – black or blue are best.
Practise writing in straight lines across the board, particularly if you have students who are not used to Roman script. In some languages letters may look slightly different or handwriting styles may be different. Point out the differences to your students and make sure they can read clearly what you have written.
Check what you write as you write. Many students have visual memories so we must be careful about accuracy of spelling and grammar, especially if we intend students to copy it down in their notebooks to learn.
Check with your
students that they are ready for you to clean the board. If you are waiting for
some students to finish copying or doing an exercise don’t leave the others
twiddling their thumbs. Ask them to make a personalised example or start the
warm-up for the next exercise orally.
Organising your board
If your board is messy and untidy then what your students write in their notebooks will be messy too.
It is a good idea to divide your board into sections. Have one part for use during the lesson which can be cleaned off and re-used. Use another part for important information which can stay there for the whole lesson. For example, you could write up a list of the basic aims/activities for the lesson so that your students know what is coming. Tick items off as they are achieved during the class. At the end you can review the lesson aims for students to evaluate what they have learnt.
For older learners you could write up other important information – key grammar points or vocabulary needed for the lesson, or test dates etc. With Very Young Learners it is better to write this kind of information at the top of the board. Leave the lower part empty for you and the students to write on. Remember they probably won’t be able to reach the top half of the board.