PDP- FOOTPRINT

Hi everybody! As I told you, today I had to work with the PDP framework in a reading.
I wrote my agenda on the board.

I brought the objective printed to the class but there is something that I always forget; to read the objective, I just paste it on the board and then I start with the greeting!!

As warm up I brought a “body matching” game and the students really liked it because they were laughing. You know this game is really nice because the students have to match the parts of the body that you mention without splitting the previous parts that are already matched, so the student that splits up is out of the game.

PRE ATIVITY

Making predictions: I wrote the title of the reading at the top of the board (well, until where I could reach jeje), also I pasted a drawing that I drew and ask the students for ideas that came to their minds about the title and the picture. They didn´t say too much, then I gave them a sheet of paper in which they had to write some questions and vocabulary they think the following text will answer.

Groupwork: for grouping them I gave them a card with different colors and they had to look for the people with the same color card and get together. I gave them some strip sentences and I wrote the words on the board so they had to match the words from the board with the strip sentences. After some time I asked them to read aloud the words and the meaning in order to check the answers.

DURING ATIVITY

Fill in the blank: They had to read and fill in the blank with the words they were matching in the previous activity.

Checking predictions: They read about “carbon and ecological footprint”. They had to check if their predictions were ok. Then, I asked for volunteers to read. After they finished reading I asked them to repeat some words I listened were mispronounced during they were reading.

POST ATIVITY

Making a slogan; they continue working in the same group. I gave them some recycle sheets of paper, markers and colors. They had to draw a drawing to represent both footprints (carbon and ecological). They had to think about the difference between both and write down some tips or suggestions to reduce carbon and ecological footprint. At the beginning of this activity I thought they wouldn´t like it because they had to draw and color but they did a good job and I noticed they enjoyed it.

Gallery show: the students pasted their drawings on the wall and I asked them to imagine we were at a gallery and we would be visiting different art works and there would be a representative of each art to explain what it means. They did it great even the time was almost off. They gave great explanations about their drawings and good tips to reduce both footprints.  

WHAT DIDN´T I LIKE ABOUT THE CLASS I TOUGHT?

Mmm I didn´t like that today they were like rebels maybe because they were coming from a grammar quiz. Also most of them arrived late to class. Also I didn´t like that I couldn´t deal with the time; I took 12 minutes more than the set up L but it is difficult because the students are not going to follow exactly what you say, they need to have chance to laugh or ask things to their friends so all those details steal part of the teacher´s time. And I didn´t like that I timed them and when the time was over they hadn´t even started to work on what I had asked them for and for me was difficult to pass the next activity because one depends from the other one so I couldn´t tell them STOP and continue with the next activity. It would be an incomplete work.

WHAT DID I LIKE ABOUT THE CLASS I TOUGHT?

I liked the students showed a different attitude at the end of the lesson (gallery show), they showed that they understood the reading. It gave me confidence because I thought I wouldn´t achieve my objectives because of their attitude, but it was all the opposite.

FEEDBACK

Work with timing!!! The performance of the class depends from the good management of the time.  So people in this opportunity I would like to have some strategies to make the students work at the time given and to stop them without interrupting their learning at that moment and without leaving an incomplete activity. 

TEACHER! WHAT´S NEXT???

Hello everybody. Today I taught for second time. I was assigned to do some parts of the textbook.

I arrived early to organize the classroom and to write my agenda on the board. I had never tried to write on the board what I would do during the class but today I did it and I noticed it is very useful because you can go checking what you are doing and also students get interested about what´s next. 

• OBJECTIVE:  SWBAT talk about sleeping problems in a short role-play.

• I started with the warm up, it was for making partners. Then they worked with their partners in a personal quiz about sleeping problems. 

• Next activity was a speaking one. For this activity I asked them to stand up and make two lines; one along the board and the other along the wall so they were facing each other. They had to ask, to the person who was in front of them, some questions from the book but they had to shout out because everybody would be doing the same and also because of the music at the background they would not be able to listen. At the beginning they felt ashamed of being screaming but then because they couldn´t listen they started shouting and it was good because that meant they were interested to know about each other personal activities.

• Then, I asked them to read from the book, about sleeping problems , in five minutes. After, I asked each student to give me a number from 1 to 15. This was to make new partners. The even numbers look for another even number and get together, for example number 2 and number 4 and so on. And the odd numbers did the same but with the odd numbers, for example number 1 with number 3 and so on. Because the reading had 4 paragraphs they had to make a short role play about one paragraph and for that I asked them to take  a piece of paper in which were numbers from 1 to 4. (the paragraph numbers) I gave them 5 minutes to be prepared.

• And, finally they performed the role play without saying  the sleeping problems so the others should guess them.

• FEEDBACK: The teacher told me everything was interesting; the way to make pairs, the warm up, etc. She liked that I used the book but I fit different activities, too. She gave me some tips to work with reading and next time I will work with PDP in a reading exercise. 

• GRADE: Even everything was ok I won´t get such a great grade!

• SOS: I know I need to improve my fluency because sometimes I would like to continue talking but suddenly I stop jejeje and I would like you give me some pieces of advices! ☺

 

"Beginner´s luck"

Without comments!!!!!!!!!!!! See us in the next entry! Jajaja

Hello everybody!

Today I was going earlier to the class, I expected to be there at 8:30 a.m.

I had not slept very well because of nervous. When I was at 10 minutes from

the university one of my shoes got damaged!!!! OMG! Why? exactly to me? In my

 first day? Since that moment I felt worst! And I went back home to change my shoes.

Finally I got the University and I did not want to teach because it was 9:10 a.m :(

Well, I explained to the teacher but as we know teachers can say “oh, so bad” but they

do not take into consideration any excuse and not one so silly like mine! So I started and

I apologized with the students because of my tardiness.

I started with the warm up “electricity” (you already know it). The students and the

teacher enjoyed it. Then I asked them to work on their books. They look at some pictures

for 1 minute and tried to think about what could have happened in those pictures. Then, I asked

them to stand up and the persons with black shoes get together to make “A” group and the rest

would be the “B” group. In each group they discussed the pictures and wrote only one idea about each

of them. Then, I asked them to stand up again and make two circles one inside the other.

The group “A” outside and “B” inside. The group “A” had to walked to their left and “B” to their

 right. When I said stop they stopped walking and started talking about the pictures with the person who was in front of them. Then I gave them a piece of paper with some vocabulary. They had to match the correct words with their definitions. 

Then,  GRAMMAR! I gave them a sheet of paper with main points about “modals to talk about the past”

I assigned one step to each couple and they had to explain it and give an example. They passed to the board towrite the example and explain it. 

What went good? Mmm! Just the part about grammar. I did not have to explain a lot because they got it since the first activity and when reading the objective I had for the class.

What went wrong? Well out of my shoes! They asked me one thing about  grammar and I had

doubts about if was ok what I would answer or not but I answer good! I guess!

o   Objective: SWBAT identify the different types of modals that are used to talk about the past.

o   Materials: Photocopiable material, masking tape, board, eraser, marks and textbook.

o   Feedback: Some tips to give instructions.

o   Grade: I do not expect a good grade since I feel I did not do it good.

Technology of the future!

This is video to have an idea about the future technology.

"TRYING TO BE BETTER EACH TIME I CAN"

Mmmm mmmmm mmmmm I really don´t know how to start because I feel disappointed with myself with my tutor with everybody hahahha naa I´m just kidding. But I feel like if I want to fly and my tutor’s doesn´t allow me to do it. L I´m not talking about my grades even though they affected a lot; I´m talking about every single step I try to do but we have to respect the time, rules and continuing teaching the same way, traditional way. Anyway life is like that!!

Today I arrived 5 minutes late to the class, I know there are no excuses  but I got one for you however, I did not tell it to the teacher because he would not understand so why should I waste my saliva jejeje uhh so rude!!!  I arrived late because I went very late trying to understand the listening that I had to teach, it was kind of confuse and as teacher we have to resolve and understand what we have to teach before teaching it. Then I got up late and I went to the university but when I was there it was 9:00 a.m and I did not want to do my practice because I felt sick so I thought about doing my practice or not…whatever , I went and started the class. I did the warm up with some flashcards about fruit, vegetables and food. The students had to mimic what they see.

Then, I dictate a dialogue, with some spaces, about Paul and Susie talking about food. Before, I wrote on one side of the board the punctuation marks and explained that I would mention them so they can see them and write them.  After the three times that a dictation has I show them a mini chart with some useful phrases and the students should fill the black with them. Then, I asked for volunteers to write at the board the conversation in order to check grammar. They did not have too many mistakes. After, I divided the students into two groups and one group would be “Susie” and the other would be “Paul” so they repeat after me. Then, I asked them to change roles; it was funny and I think that´s the way we learn when we have fun at the class but my tutor didn´t like it, I mean he said that making disorder at class means a problem to manage the group, he also told me that could be better if the students would perform the dialogue at the front since what I did was to technical.

The next activity was a “story picture”. I gave to the students some pictures and they had to create a story according to the pictures, they could include information about their childhood. I assigned them 5 minutes to write down the story, some of them wrote a lot others wrote like three lines. Then, I asked them to exchange notebook with the person next to them so they read their classmates’ stories.

My feedback: since I arrived 5 minutes late he told me the advantages of being earlier at class; things that I already know and it was the first time I came late, come on! Anyway, he was my tutor and he had to do his job, too!

My grade: Good J, I did not expect more since I felt sick I felt I did not do a good performance.

Finally, I´m happy because I did my last practice but i´m worried because next period i´m going to advanced L GOD HELP ME PLEASE!!!!!!!

"teaching grammar without rules"

 

OMG! This time was more challenge than the previous ones because I taught Grammar. “I read about how to teach grammar without showing rules”, I decided to apply some of the activities I read about but I was wondering if they would work well, if my tutor would notice that I would be teaching grammar and not developing another part of the lesson plan because I would not be teaching at the front, writing at the board and giving patterns. But I started with the warm up, I used two dice. One big with some categories on it and one little dice with numbers, the students passed the two dice at the same time and when I said stop the person who had the categories dice, rolled it and got one category and the person who got the number dice rolled it and got a number so the person with the category dice had to say things about it and according to the number the other student got.

The presentation was about showing a picture of a man at the supermarket; I asked what he is doing there, what he is going to buy, etc. Then I gave them a piece of paper containing a reading about a man who spent 60 dollars at the supermarket; I followed the traditional steps for the reading.

Here comes the part that I liked the most. Since we are accustomed to teach grammar at the front and writing on the board, I felt estrange teaching without following the traditional way to teach grammar. I read that we can include activities, even TPR activities, to teach grammar including sentences about what is going to be taught, instead of including grammar rules and patterns. Also, it is too important to avoid telling the students what they are studying or going to study at the moment of the activity, the students notice it by themselves; I could prove it today with the first activity I did for teaching “countable and uncountable nouns”. I found out that students really like listening to “true” stories that contain common names from their country so I did not write about the topic on the board, instead I started telling them that I would tell them something that happened to one of my friends, Mary, she is married with Juan. Once, she asked her husband to go shopping to the supermarket and she gave him the shopping list… (I brought the shopping list on a chart and pasted it on the wall, I asked one student to read what Mary wanted Juan brings from the supermarket. Then, I continued with the story; Juan went to the supermarket and bought everything, he came back home and told to Mary, my sweetheart I am back with all groceries can you check them, please? Mary checked the groceries by saying aloud what Jun bought… (I brought on a chart the list of things Juan bought and pasted it on the wall, I asked the students to read together the list. Then, I asked them if Juan did everything ok, the students told me that Juan made a lot of mistakes and they mentioned the mistakes. (At that moment I realized that the students were paying attention to what would be the grammar and that make me feel confidence because I was like practicing a new technique, at least for me, to teach grammar).Then, I continue with the story. I asked them to think about what Mary did and said when she looked that Juan bought just one right thing. I asked to one girl to act as Mary with her own reaction and a boy to be Juan; they improved the little dialogue at the moment. While they were talking they repeated the shopping list (the grammar structure). Then, I told them that Juan did not copy the shopping list, he just read it that is why when he was at the super market he did not remember what to buy, finally I told the end of the story by telling them that Mary asked Juan to take the shopping list with him and go back to the supermarket and not to come back home until he buy everything ok!

In another chart I brought some sentences with some spaces, and without taking out  the previous charts from the wall so they could check the answers, I gave them some pieces of paper with the missing words, which were the key words from grammar part, and they pasted them on the correct sentences.

I felt everything went good since the students identify what they were studying; I listened to some of them telling “ah! They are countable and uncountable nouns”, they also were taking notes and that mean they identified that those structures were part of the grammar. But I think we cannot do a radical change from one day to another and I felt really important to emphasize those structures by writing at the board. (I really was trying to avoid this step because I thought If I write at the board or explain the grammar structure, the previous activities would be a wasted of time or would be some more activities that could go on the “less controlled practice” since I would be turning back to the traditional way of teaching grammar)

But I had to teach another grammar structure “used to / would” I brought some pictures about when I was a child, a teenager and when I was at high school. I read students pay more attention and look more interested at the class when listening about teacher´s personal life and it was so! I showed to them the pictures, in order from childhood until the high school, while telling some sentences per each one, they looked really interested and surprised about it (and I thought “eh! Look how I have them! Hahaha). After, I wrote at the board some sentences I said and between parenthesis I wrote the name of a color since I brought some paper balls with the color between parenthesis) I had them repeat the sentences and shall the color. After, some time of repeating I erased the sentences and asked them to stand up and pass the 5 color paper balls and when I said stop the persons who get the balls had to tell me a sentence, according to the color between parenthesis, he/she remember from the board. It worked ok because they had already noticed that they had to use “used to” but there were something missing, they didn´t know when use it, and I was going to explain it at the board, again but time was not enough! :(

In my feedback I realized that my tutor liked my activities to teach grammar however at the beginning he did not understand why I was doing that. He thought it was like a presentation for the topic. I explained to him that I was afraid that way to teach grammar would not work well; he told me that it is nice to improve the ways to teach but it was necessary to explain grammar like the traditional form. :( immediately I thought about my grade, I thought it would go down just for my invents however I said to myself : do not worry myself! (Hahaha) what you have to do is try to improve and continue trying to teach in different ways!

My tutor helped me to see that the seating arrangement did not work well, this time. Also he told me he liked the activities about teaching grammar. And he gave me some more good pieces of advices. I´m worried about my grade because I do not know it since I forgot the evaluation sheet :´(

If I teach grammar with these techniques again I would try to avoid writing at the board and giving rules. But I would really like to have some pieces of advices from you in order to polish these techniques and not to explain with rules. What can I do?

"Role plays"

 

In this day I was more nervous than the previous one, why? Easy! It was because I had to develop three activities and no all the students were at the class and I had to start but my warm up required all the students to make the pairs for the role plays. Well, I told the teacher what I would do and he told me to wait for 10 minutes, however not all the students arrived to the class. That was the part that did not go well. Then the things went better.

The warm up as always is the activity in which the students feel good and wake up and are ready to continue with the class and it was like that; they felt good with the partner they had to work with. I gave them some pieces of paper to make a role play, I gave them 10 minutes to write and practice the role play but actually, they took around 15 minutes preparing the role plays while I was monitoring them and checking their work. But there were two pairs that did not write down their role plays and I just listened to them when they were practicing their role plays; it was a point less for me because the teacher told me I should made them write their role plays since that was my initial instruction. Then, they performed the role plays and it was really nice, everybody paid attention and enjoy it. At the end they chose which role play they liked most.

The last activity was a listening about “school supplies” I played it three times. To check the answers I asked the students to exchange their sheets of paper and I asked for some volunteers to read the questions with their correct answers. They wrote an X for the wrong answers and a  (/  for the correct answers. Then, they assigned a grade according to the correct answers.

After the warm up everything went well. The objectives were that the students will practice the different forms of future; they did it with positive attitude. Well, if I would teach this lesson again first than all I would be informed about how to prepare or how to help the students before and while preparing a role play. Also, I would make error correction; I did not do it because of time.

The materials: pieces of paper with the statements for the role plays, a box that contained the pieces of paper, pictures about any stuf to make the warm up, CD, tape recorder, masking tape, board, eraser and markers. 

The arrange of the desks: a semi circle and  lines for the listening activity.

 

"Crazy Party"

Hi everybody, here we go again!!!

OMG! You cannot imagine what hard was to find my tutor! Nobody knew him and I was starting to worried because the week was almost gone and I hadn´t met him. But yesterday in the morning I knew him. You don´t know how happy I felt when I saw him jajajaja yes, it was like “Yes, there you are!”

Then, he told me what I had to teach. I was really nervous because I don´t know him and doesn´t know me, either. I thought he was strict and angry. Also, I was afraid because of the students; I thought if I cannot speak or pronounce well they are going to criticize me, or they won´t  participate…I thought many things!

But the reality was different! Thanks God everything was exelent. I made a “cocktail party” I called it like that but it is not the same activity we know as “cocktail party”. The most important was that they really enjoy the activity and that make me feel confidence since I noticed they were participating because they want and not because I ask them!

Then I continue with the “free practice”. It was a chain. They had to write sentences on pieces of paper according to the initial sentence and pass it to the next classmate. Then, I asked them to get together with the people who wore black shoes, white shoes, etc. So they try to convince others to go to their parties (they read what they wrote). I called this activity “crazy party”. It was so funny because they wrote crazy things and they were deciding  what party they were going to go. Imagine that at one party would be “Tiesto” and “La Tenchis” hahahahha

Then, they worked on the book. I asked for volunteers to read parts of the reading then we discussed it.

My feedback: GREAT! And the grade: GREATER!!!

Well some vocabulary mistakes. The teacher is really different than what I thought. I see him as an assertive teacher, he knows a lot, and he is well informed. I guess I will and I would like to learn a lot from him. I hope!

Objective: It was reached at the end of the activity. Well connected; Since the warm up the activities were connected.

Materials: Pieces of color paper, board, markers, eraser.

TIPS FOR BLOGS

IMPORTANT TIPS FOR BLOGS

You can have a very nice blog after reading these easier tips.

·                   First than all, you need a title. It has to be related with the information you want to present. Also, it is very important to write a title that calls others attention in that way you will have followers. The title should be no longer than 10-12 words.

·                   Second, If you are going to write about any topic you have to be informed very well and no to write about old news but you have to be updated with the information you want to present.

·                   Third, if you open a topic and there are followers interested in your topic you need to establish a schedule in order to check and answer your followers` comments so you don`t lose your community you have been making.

·                   Fourth, write clearly and include keywords that can help to understand better your topic.

·                   Fifth,  to keep well working your blog, search for engines and gadgets that give a better visibility to your blog.

·                   Sixth, you can use RSS to increase your blog`s reach. If you include your  blog`s content in an RSS feed your readership and distribution will increase a lot.

NOTE: Read more about RSS on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS

With these six steps you can success in working with blogs!!! Go ahead!!