The activities I like most during this weeks topic are ones I can foresee using in a beginner level class in elementary schools. Some, like the spelling practice site are more varied, which even 4th grade can use to practice, or any student as soon as they learn the alphabet and some basics. The students can listen to a simple or more complicated story and practice spelling certain words that they can hear again. This tests listening as well as writing. This activity, making your own story, could also be geared for younger levels but then it would be more of an art project than an English one. I wouldn't do this with children younger than 6th grade since younger students wont have enough vocabulary yet to create a simple plot. Starting in 6th grade however, writing and illustrating your own story could be a fun and involved project. To decide what we will learn or write about, we could use the WiseMapping tool in class where students can participate by adding topics that they want to expand on or relate to a current topic.
This site from the British Council is my favorite. It has many activities and stories at a very basic level that can be geared towards students of many levels. I especially like the short story section which includes pre-reading preparation by learning key words and connecting them to pictures.
Wednesday, December 27, 2017
Tuesday, December 5, 2017
Week 4
Hello world,
I found this article about keep students engaged and this one about why emotion is more important than understanding, to be very interesting. Motivating students is our job as teachers and if students don't care, they don't learn. These articles discuss how it is scientifically proven that feeling some emotion generates learning and remembering because it causes the brain to engage in the relevance of the moment. So to keep students engaged and interested in class, we need to connect it to their daily lives. We can play games, work in groups, use pop culture references, as for feedback. The articles also remind us that students are unique, like a garden. What works for one person may not work for another. Still we are the horticulturists and it is our job to figure out the best approach to each student.
Hopefully asking questions in a foreign language will be interesting, because here is an image from Pinterest that I think will be perfect for my students to practice a weak area of understanding. I hear many mistakes using question words, so maybe having them all in one place will help summarize the topic. Besides printing this worksheet, I can project the image on the whiteboard and have them take turns writing in the answer. For whatever reason, they seem to love writing on the whiteboard far more than on paper!
Also, I thought this sound map was really cool and could be used to learn countries, ask students what they hear, identify animals, and ask general questions about what they like and what they are curious about.
I found this article about keep students engaged and this one about why emotion is more important than understanding, to be very interesting. Motivating students is our job as teachers and if students don't care, they don't learn. These articles discuss how it is scientifically proven that feeling some emotion generates learning and remembering because it causes the brain to engage in the relevance of the moment. So to keep students engaged and interested in class, we need to connect it to their daily lives. We can play games, work in groups, use pop culture references, as for feedback. The articles also remind us that students are unique, like a garden. What works for one person may not work for another. Still we are the horticulturists and it is our job to figure out the best approach to each student.
Hopefully asking questions in a foreign language will be interesting, because here is an image from Pinterest that I think will be perfect for my students to practice a weak area of understanding. I hear many mistakes using question words, so maybe having them all in one place will help summarize the topic. Besides printing this worksheet, I can project the image on the whiteboard and have them take turns writing in the answer. For whatever reason, they seem to love writing on the whiteboard far more than on paper!
Also, I thought this sound map was really cool and could be used to learn countries, ask students what they hear, identify animals, and ask general questions about what they like and what they are curious about.
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