Across Pages Together is a new course for upper-primary and lower-secondary English language (ELT) teachers who want to learn how to support social inclusion in their classrooms through wordless picturebooks.
The course focuses on engaging intentionally with picturebooks about real life, as a way to explore the world and its people. It is led by Dr Tatia Gruenbaum (Visiting Researcher, TU Braunschweig, Germany) and draws on her previous work with Gail Ellis. As they state in their article for IATEFL TEYLT Worldwide (Issue 2, 2025), engaging intentionally with picturebooks about real life, combined with a teaching approach embedded in a children’s rights perspective, is the first step towards an inclusive ELT classroom.
Throughout the course, participants will discover a wide range of wordless picturebooks suitable for learners aged 8–14. Among other things, they will learn about picturebook selection, visual literacy and the story-based pedagogy grounded in children’s rights that Gail Ellis and Tatia Gruenbaum developed for a British Council TeachingEnglish project on economic disparity. In the practical session at the end of the course, each teacher will choose a wordless picturebook that suits their own teaching and the needs of their class and develop several language and cross-curricular teaching activities.
This course gives teachers a unique opportunity to work with wordless picturebooks that go beyond the conventional coursebook and to promote Global Citizenship Education (GCED) and inclusion in the classroom.
Target audience
Upper-primary ELT teachers and lower-secondary (ELT) teacher educators( 9-13 year old students)
Tuition
20 hours on site – Monday, Tuesday, 9:00/14:00
Objectives
The objectives are for participants to:
- Understand why intentional engagement with picturebooks about real life matters
- Explore social inclusion, diversity, and real-world issues through wordless picturebooks
- Use picturebooks to support critical thinking in the classroom, also inspired by UNESCO’s World Philosophy Day
- Develop skills in picturebook selection aligned with learners’ needs, interests, and learning goals
- Advance visual literacy skills to help learners read visual narratives
- Apply story-based pedagogy to enhance language learning and learner engagement
- Design and implement practical classroom activities using a self-selected wordless picturebook connected to their own interests and teaching context
Methodology
The course will be delivered in a collaborative teaching setting and involves practical, hands-on and interactive activities built around sample resources. These include a selection of wordless picturebooks on display for browsing. The trainer aims to create a relaxed and safe learning environment that offers participants opportunities to share ideas and experiences. The first three days will focus on input and the last two days on practical application.
Content
This 5-day course (20 h) is divided into two parts. The first three days will focus on input and the last two days on practical application. Participants will select a picturebook and develop their own lesson plan.
Participants
Minimum number: 8 – Max number: 20
Language
Language of instruction / materials is English
Dates and location
5- 9 July 2027 at 7th High School Thessaloniki- Zografou 4, Thessaloniki 546 34, Greece
OID for the Erasmus Beneficiary Module: E10402261
Cost
450 €
Costs include tuition fees, materials, coffee & tea arrangements – Suggestions for accommodation will be given upon registration
Info and registration
For more info and registration link write to: infosmartedu4all@gmail.com
Link to apply: https://forms.gle/v1dBhFCtAxbj7zDL7
Trainer: TATIA GRUENBAUM
Tatia Gruenbaum is a visiting researcher at the TU Braunschweig (Germany), based in the Netherlands. She holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics, and her doctorate focused on the use of picturebooks as a tool in pre-service primary teacher educa?on. In 2023, she co-authored a lesson series with Gail Ellis for the British Council, exploring the theme of economic disparity in picturebooks. Her current research focuses on introducing the Holocaust in English Language Teaching through picturebooks to support Global Citizenship Education. Tatia is one of the co-founders of Picturebooks in European Primary English Language Teaching (PEPELT), a finalist in the 2020 British Council ELTons awards.