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terça-feira, 25 de fevereiro de 2014

FOURTH CLASS REPORT



Because of the rainy weather, there was a terrible traffic jam and thus, I arrived five minutes later. There was just a student, he told me the others had gone because they had not seen me there at 11:00 AM. He was the only one who could wait for me and I found him in front of the gate thinking I would not teach because there was only him. But I called him, "come on, of course!" and I explained him, it was because of the traffic. We followed the room and I entered the class very anxious for being five minutes late, but it was not my fault, for I had left home two hours before presaging that since it was a rainy day I should leave earlier than usual, but unfortunately, I could not predict the traffic would be so slow. I started the class reminding him of some sentences they have learned last class and I told him that day he should make a great effort to apply them, but he acted as if he did not remember those sentences and I had to remember it all again writing on the board.

He understood it all very fast and I asked for his homework, he answered begging me pardon asking me, teacher, how do you say "me desculpa! in English?" as I wrote and helped him to pronounce it, then he answered, "teacher I'm sorry!, Eu não fiz o homework". After that, I moved to the next stage which was the pre-reading activities and then I started writing questions on the board eliciting him to understand their meaning, he was very good at understanding my illustrations for I started using reading strategies like asking him to search for the helpful cognate words. When I asked "what is basic sanitation", he hesitated to understand the word "sanitation" as I encouraged him to try it by asking if it reminds something in Portuguese, he answered: "É sanitário, teacher?" then I said: "É algo bem relativo a isso." I started to work in his cognitive process until he finally said it was "saneamento básico". I helped him to pronounce it and then I wrote the other question, "what is biodiversity?" he right away answered it and then I asked him what he understood about it, as he hesitated, I helped him by asking, "do you know what diversity means?" then he said: "sim, é diversidade." e "do you know what the prefix "bio" means"?

He said no and I explained to him that it refers to life, then I tried to make him infer what it meant, but in spite of all my elucidating efforts, he had troubles to conclude the idea as I had to explain everything telling it was the great diversity and amount of life that exists in nature. I helped him with the pronunciation of biodiversity (baiodaivêrsiti) which was quite challenging since it changes a lot from the spelling. I continued to ask him other sentences in English following the same elucidating strategies and raising a little awareness of ecology, finally I played a video in Portuguese that showed a lot about bad sanitation conditions and we started watching it. The video was just about images and reading, there was no interlocutor and at every key word that appeared in the video, I stopped it and asked him "how do you say that in English"; most of them he did not know as I had to write them on the board and help him with the pronunciation. Since the video was by itself a raising awareness and reflective instigator, it contributed immensely to immerse him in the theme. But I was not just worried about the thematic reflections as I took it to expose the target language.

As the video finished, we made some pro-reflections on the video and then I asked him to open the page number 116 in English writing on the board. He had not brought the book and, since that day I had two books, I lent one to him. I asked him about the title, "Water and sanitation for all" I induced him to understand it successfully, then I asked "what do you think it talks about?" He immediately answered it talked about "saneamento básico", ecology and people's health problems. Then I showed him all of these reading strategies, I started to read it and then I asked him to read after me. I helped him with the proper pronunciation and with understanding by using inductive strategies, but since the class was almost over, we just read to the second paragraph and I tried to ask him about what he had learned. I asked him to continue reading it at home and as homework he should make a list of the new words he just learned with the translation in Portuguese and answer the following questions in the book. But unfortunately, they usually never follow our instructions and homework assignments, for they miss the class so often and it makes so hard for class subject continuations.      

Considering that the class plan was meant for a group not just for a single person, I think I could manage well for I relate to him face to face and this brings some more direct interaction which enable us to see clearly the need of the student. Despite of the lack of dynamism intrinsic of groups, the class did not lose the dynamism for I struggled to keep that in a direct and objective way. I kept eliciting this student onto the construction of knowledge and it was successful for he could answer everything properly. 

THIRD CLASS REPORT


 
I entered the class at exactly 11:00 AM and there was no student, there were just two begs. I seated in order to wait for them to arrive but it took more than fifteen minutes when I finally decided to look for them. As I heard lots of noises in the gymnasium for sports I deduced that they could be there playing soccer and then I went after them. I got to the gymnasium door and looked inside there to see if there was someone from my class when I saw a student which I waved calling him. He came to me and then I asked him "where are the students? Nobody is in class, what happened?", he said most of them has not come that day and then I called him to go to the classroom. He went to get his stuffs inside the gymnasium and then followed me to the classroom.

When I arrived, there was a student and then another third student got in. They seemed to be really agitated almost asking me to go home as I realized the time was already 11:28 AM. Thus, there was no time for warm up as I started to continue with the remaining useful sentences, then I began to show the basic instructions and commands making them infer avoiding any translation. It was successful, except for the girl who was acting as if she did not understand while the boy who is very good at English could understand everything and communicate as well, but with some limitations that I helped him to solve.   

I tried to help the girl as she started to get the meaning but she was so willing to go home that she told me: "Please teacher, I just need a certain quantity to pass the year, what are the subjects that will be on the exam?" I replied her that everything we have been working will be graded. A new student entered in the classroom, sat down, then got his beg and left as I told him that every day they are being assessed, he answered he needed to leave by reason of force majeure as we started to laugh a little. Everything went normally and I finished with the basic instructions as I realized that I had just ten minutes which they were already asking me to go home. Again I had to have flexibility to keep things going right.

I asked them to open their book to page number 116 which I wrote the number on the board. I just had time to elicit them about some basic strategies when we read a text, like getting the main idea about the text by analyzing the title which I made them infer the meaning of "water and sanitation for all" and I also told them to search for the cognate words which are the ones that are very similar to the Portuguese words. I asked them to look at the glossary to find the meaning of the most challenging words and some of them showed to be familiar with some of these strategies, and for homework, I asked them to read it again and make a list of the unknown words. Many things in class are so unpredictable that we have to be a fast thinker to make things fit in time and to fit with the irregularities that may come.  As this class was so hasty and quick and students were so tired and eager to go home, I did not apply all that I had in mind, so, I felt like running against the wind, things were not contributing that day. Nevertheless, I counted on the resources I had and on my motivation to teach what the opportunity allowed me to. In spite of applying great methods and having had engaged students in the class somehow, for the little time we had to talk about reading skills, in my idealistic perspective, things could have been better if the external occasions had conspired in my favor that day.

 

SECOND CLASS REPORT


 
I entered the class at exactly 11:00 AM and there were eight students already seated. I greeted all of them and asked the names and ages of the new students, most of them answered correctly and some I had to help to understand the question and how to answer. I called the roll, they handed in their homework and then I started to reflect on the importance of learning English by writing on the whiteboard “Why is so important to learn English?” and “What are the benefits of learning English?”. I made little effort to make them infer the question meanings with no translation by asking them to associate the cognate word "important" and "benefits" with the Portuguese ones and to remember the words they already knew like "why", "what", "are", "to learn and learning" and "English". They were very successful as they grasped the idea very fast. When they understood the question, I elicited for their answers as they replied in Portuguese some very practical responses like "it is important to learn English to get a job and to travel abroad." Most of them were very participative except for two more isolated girls to whom I asked to get closer to the front.

I felt the class was flowing so nicely as I started to reflect and elicit students possible answers and in order to apply the constructivist principles I gave a real and personal example of a professional need of English when I told them about my sister who is a librarian and as she could not speak English she did not receive a better position and as a result she did not earn more money from her boss. I tried to use some words in English in my Portuguese discourse, such as "her boss" with the corresponding translation "seu chefe". They were all very attentive as they seemed to be interested, pleased and appreciating my reflections making efforts to participate as well.

I classified English benefits as cognitive, professional, academic and personal; I tried to elicit them to understand that the cognitive benefits were the ones that were related to their minds as I told them that learning a second language improves our memory for always being exposed to new vocabularies, that it improves our reasoning skills since in order to think we need to organize the ideas logically using words and that it enriches our imagination for being in touch with new literatures. As some did not know the word "academic" I elicited them to understand that it is related to their field of study by telling the benefits it can bring when they do researches on the internet where English is the hegemonic language, not just on the internet as well in the general culture, literature, science etc.

I planned "The reflections on learning English" for just ten minutes, but as they were very eager to participate, this stage took almost the whole class as I noticed I had two more stages to perform and the time was almost ending. So I said that reflections were enough for it took too much time and I noticed I had raised sufficient awareness and then I started to introduce useful language sentences by telling them that it is our deal that they should make an effort to use these sentence just in English and if they ask me in Portuguese I would not answer them.

I started to write on the board making efforts to elicit students to understand with inferences; fortunately they could understand me but even though they asked me to write the translation for them not to forget it since they were writing down. The remaining time just allowed me to show four sentences which I said next class we should continue it. There was no time for the last stage which again I had to change plans and for homework I asked them to read the text about sanitation and make a list of the words they already know.               

The class management was really productive where I gave room for students to participate and interact in a class dialog raising awareness about the mentioned topic. So, in this special class students appeared more intrinsically motivated. What I would have changed in this class would be the organization of the timing in order to fit everything that should be performed as it was planned, but because of my lack of experience, I had the problem with following the steps in time.

FIRST CLASS REPORT


 

I entered the class at exactly 11:00 o'clock and there was just a student, very attentive and solicitous, she volunteered herself right away to help me, she went to the school office in order to bring me the attendance book. Then she got back and gave me the attendance book which I was not used to, and so she started telling me how her teacher used to handle it, which was to put a capitalized "I" for the present students and a dot for the absent ones. As there were so many drop-out students in the class I was not able to recognize them in the attendance book, but she kept helping me with each one of them and I was marking as she explained to me. I started the class by introducing myself to her in Portuguese explaining my teaching practice period with them and then I asked how she was that day and her name in English, she had difficulties in understanding those basic questions which I had to write on the board not just the questions but also I had to draw pictures of happy, more or less and sad face, I also used hand signals, I tried many possibilities to finally make her understand me without translation. Wishing to apply the Communicative Language Teaching approach, I was trying to activate her schemata with any possibility for her to release any linguistic potential, when at sudden my Professor entered the room, I got somehow anxious and as a result, I made some slips as the Professor corrected me but I tried to calm down and go with the flows. Some other students entered the class and aspiring to apply some of the theories I have learned such as social interactionism and constructivism, I started to ask them how they were that day and their names; these two students did not have problems in understanding me as they answered me properly. As the class seemed to be more stable, willing to apply the constructivist underpinnings, I started to give a real and contextual situation about meeting new people and then I asked them what are some questions that we usually make when we meet someone. They started giving me some of the basic questions and answers that we were already practicing and I added some others by writing on the board avoiding any direct translation.

I handed out the List of questions and answers about “Getting to know people" and started working with them experimenting to use the deductive method as I was struggling to make them understand me with no translation. I may say that almost all my attempts to make them deduce was successful, except for asking their “nicknames” which was one that I had not properly reflected before on how to make it more significant since I had two names and I use both Pedro and Samuel, I introduced myself by giving my first name and then I gave my real nickname which is the shortening of the second one Samuel "Muel"; unfortunately I had forgotten that fundamental detail.

There were so many other questions that I had properly reflected before on how to make them more meaningful and understandable but I did not have time to show all of them and as a result of my lack of experience, regrettably I ended up by using one that I forgot to reflect the meaningful aspect of it. However, my Professor solved the problem by giving the example of her own nickname which was quite viable for them to grasp the meaning. I asked them to use the sentences they have learned in pairs as they just asked the two basic questions, their names and ages, but at least they could practice it somehow. I noticed the boys were more efficient at understanding and pronouncing properly than the girl, but at least she was a struggling and a concentrating student.

The time just passed by as I realized I would not have time to apply everything that I had planned, my skill of flexibility started demanding new answers from me. Thus, I had to skip from the first stage of the plan to the last one which I had to quickly sum up in order to fit it in time. I realized I did not have time for two more stages and even the first one which I presented was very reduced. In class I quickly had to change not just the stages' order but also I had to renounce two of them for that day, I have also changed the homework by asking them to bring five questions with their personal answers at meeting someone and not asking them to read a text and mark vocabulary as it was planned, and finally, we finished the class precisely at 11:50 AM. However, it is best to finish the class with remaining contents to apply than to finish the class before the time. Even though there were many difficulties, my first class was good considering my inexperience in teaching; I could manage well the class and tried hard to motivate students.      

segunda-feira, 24 de fevereiro de 2014

TWELTH AND LAST LESSON PLAN (FINAL EXAM)


 
Timing: 50 minutes

Main Goal: By the end of the class, students will be tested through the exam to verify if the goals were achieved . 

Skills: Reading and writing. 

Topics: The Simple future, Present perfect, Tag questions, Some, any, no/none.

Prior knowledge: Review of some of the grammar topics of all the units: Simple future, Present perfect, Tag questions, Some, any, no/none.

Materials: Exam paper  

STAGE
OBJECTIVES
TEACHER’S PROCEDURES
TIMING
 
1
warm up
Greet students to make them feel more comfortable about the expectations of the final exam.
Teacher starts greeting them in a friendly way trying to calm them.
 
 
 
5
 
 
 
2
Handing out the exam
 
 
Test students' knowledge about all the contents presented during the classes.
Verify if students have learned some of the grammar topics taught throughout the whole year.
Put students to practice some contents that they have been exposed throughout the classes.
Check if the methodologies applied have been useful to that group.
Teacher organizes the class separating students from each other and asks them to keep their materials under the desk allowing them to use just the blue or black pen.
He hands out the exam and explains about the procedures to answer it and if they have any doubt, they should ask the teacher.
The class should remain in silence to help students to concentrate.
No crosstalk is allowed, but just interrogate directly to the teacher if there's any doubt.
 
 
 
 
 
 
45
 

ELEVENTH LESSON PLAN (FINAL EXAM REVIEW)

                                                                                                      

Timing: 50 minutes

Main Goal: By the end of the class, students will be able to remember and review some main grammar topics they have learned throughout the whole units. 

Skills: Reading. 

Topics: The Simple future, Present perfect, Tag questions, Some, any, no/none.

Prior knowledge: Exam on Some, any and no/none and its compound forms.

Materials: Slips of paper with the four grammar topics to be reviewed and the board.  

 

STAGE
OBJECTIVES
TEACHER’S PROCEDURES
TIMING
 
1
warm up
 
 
 
Greet students to make them feel more comfortable about the expectations of the exam.
Let students aware about the four grammar topics will be in the final exam and the day it will be.
Teacher starts greeting them in a friendly way trying to calm them if by the way they are very anxious and asks about their holiday.
Then he advices them to study for the four topics and he shows the pages of the book where they can find all of the topics. 
 
 
 
 
10
 
2
Reviewing the four topics
 
 
Review and remind the main rules of the four grammar topics.
Resolve students doubts about them.
Arouse interest in the activities for they worth points.
Put students to practice what they reviewed through exercises.
Teacher hands out the slips of paper with the reviewing activity telling them that exercise would worth two points so that they can be more interested and starts reading it conducting students to understand it and when necessary he explains the topics on the board.  
In the explanations reviews and for the final exam the teacher avoids many details, just shows the main rules for each topic in a superficial approach.
He keeps reviewing the topics one by one, following the paper and when necessary he uses the board to explain better.
After the review at each topic, the teacher asks students to answer the correspondent exercise helping them when necessary.
After all that, teacher reads the dialog and allows students to understand the dialog and to find the grammar topics inside the text and then recognize its rules. After that, he invites students to role-play this dialog where all those grammar topics are applied.
 
 
 
35
 
3
Wrap-up
 
 
Ensure if students have learned and remembered the topics.
 
Teacher asks for their doubts and if they have any, he tries to clarify them.  
 
5

TENTH LESSON PLAN


                           

Timing: 50 minutes

Main Goal: By the end of the class, students will be tested through the exam to verify if the goals were achieved . 

Skills: Reading and writing. 

Topics: Some, any, no/none and its compound forms.

Prior knowledge: Review of the indefinite pronouns Some, any and no/none and its compound forms.

Materials: Exam paper  

 

STAGE
OBJECTIVES
TEACHER’S PROCEDURES
TIMING
1
warm up
Greet students to make them feel more comfortable about the expectations of the exam.
Make a brief and fast review.
Teacher starts greeting them in a friendly way trying to calm them and then review very superficially the exam content.
 
 
5
 
2
Handing out the exam
 
 
Test students' knowledge about all the contents presented during the classes.
Verify if students have learned all the passed content.
Put students to practice all that they have been exposed throughout the classes.
Check if the methodologies applied have been useful to that group.
Teacher organizes the class separating students from each other and asks them to keep their materials under the desk allowing them to use just the blue or black pen.
Then, he hands out the exam and explains what they should do in order to answer it properly, and if they have any doubt, they should ask the teacher.
The class should remain in silence to help students to concentrate.
No crosstalk is allowed, but just interrogate directly to the teacher if there's any doubt.
 
 
 
 
 
 
45
 

NINTH LESSON PLAN


                                                                                 

Timing: 50 minutes

Main Goal: By the end of the class, students will have practiced more the compound forms  of indefinite pronouns "someone, anything, somewhere, everything , everyone etc." and learn new vocabulary and interpret themes using a song.

Skills: Listening, understanding (interpreting), reading and writing.

Topic: Compounds forms of the Indefinite pronouns: somewhere, anyone, somebody, anything, everything, everywhere etc." 

Prior knowledge: Students have learned how to apply the compound forms of indefinite pronouns.

Materials: Board, bonbons box boot, computer, mini music boxes, music and lyrics.
 
STAGE
OBJECTIVES
TEACHER’S PROCEDURES
TIMING
 
1
Warm-up
 
 
Motivate students to participate and to understand simple sentences in English applying the compound forms of the indefinite pronoun.
Give students more input about the contexts and situations where we can use the compound form of the indefinite pronoun.
Enable students to formulate sentences using the compound indefinite pronoun.
 
 
 
 
The teacher starts greeting the students and begins to explain a simple game they will play.
"Guess who is the famous" which the teacher calls a student to be in front of his/her classmates with his/her back against the board where the teacher writes the name of a famous person, the teacher gives just a single sentence describing the person in English using the compound indefinite pronoun like: "She is a blond woman born somewhere in Rio Grande do Sul and she is someone that usually works in programs for children" etc. If he/she does not understand it the teacher should tell in Portuguese then.  
The student without seeing the written name has to understand the clues and has only two chances to get it right. If the student guess it right he wins two sweet-stuff, the other students just answer yes/no. Each student will be invited to participate and go in front of the class. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
15
 
2
Song activity
 
 
 
 
 
 
Listen to a song with the lyrics and fill in the blanks in order to continue practicing the topic already taught "somewhere, someone, anything, anyone, no one, somebody, nothing, everything etc."
Work with new vocabulary and activate words they may know.
Improve their listening skill.
Elicit students to have an idea about the song by associating the words they learned.
Catch students' attention and interest in an artistic and creative way.
 
As the first pre-listening activity he gives students the title of the song and asks them to predict words that they expect to hear. Then the teacher writes on the board presenting the song's vocabularies and helps them to understand some of them. He hands out the lyrics and plays the song "Somewhere I belong" by Linking Park twice or three times when needed. As a while-listening stage students should fill in the blanks with the compound. After they finish it, they are invited to sing it all together following the music once again.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
25
 
 
 
 
 
3
Wrap-up
Enable students to interpret the song by trying to find some about the themes that may be in the song.
Teacher starts asking what they understood about the song idea.
 
8
4
Homework
Incite students to exercise what they learned to get prepared for the exam.
Teacher advises them to study those indefinite pronouns and its compounds forms for the exam and for homework he asks them to answer questions 1 to 4 to page number 130.
 
2