This year, I was relocated to an Elementary School due to financial reasons within the education office. I previously taught at a Middle School for four years so this change mean't having to learn how to connect with younger ESL learners.
It's always a good idea to use the first lesson at any new school as an introductory lesson. This will give the students the opportunity to learn about you. You can talk about your likes, dislikes as well as where you come from. I put together a detailed PowerPoint presentation with pictures of hobbies, interests and my country to educate the kids about "Miss Candy" (that's my name at school). To make the lesson a bit more interactive, I asked the students to guess what each picture represented. This engaged the students and held their attention for the entire lesson.
After School Class
Part of my responsibilities at the new school is to conduct an after school class. I have complete control over this class which means that I get to select the lesson topic and chose the direction in which I want the lesson to head in. I meet with the students three times a week so I have to have a different lesson prepared for each class. The after school classes lasts 50 minutes (10 minutes longer than regular classes) which means that my content needs to be super fun or I will lose the kids at minute one. I currently have 5 students in my after school class which is perfect for giving individual attention to each student.
Map about me
For my introductory lesson with my after school class I got the students to create mind maps about
themselves. I supplied the students with poster paper and a template of an apple. We wrote our names in the centre of the apple and used that as the core of our maps. I got the students to write little sentences about different things they like, their hobbies, family and friends. The kids also got a little creative and drew little pictures to illustrate their points.
The objective of the lesson was to learn about each each other but it also gave the students an opportunity to practice writing in the target language. This activity will also be great for the first day of class at the start of a new school year.
Over the summer vacation we are required to host "summer camps". It's a real camp because we're not outdoors, there's not tent or camp fire, no toasted marshmallows...I could go on, but, I think you get the point. They are just vacation classes! Summer in Korea is hot and humid. It's not fun being outside let alone being in the classroom. I spent weeks preparing for these vacation classes because I wanted the activities to be exciting but not too "strenuous" so that the kids would not become more hot and bothered. I trolled the internet for ideas and came across an activity called the math power tower on Pinterest. Now, I'm no mathematician so I decided to do a spin off and focus on reading.
In the original post the brilliant teacher got her students to provide the solution to various math problems which were printed on paper cups. Once they had given the correct answer they would stack the cups in order to build a tower.
For my class I used the same idea but in place of math problems I pasted tongue twisters to the paper cups. I stored the cups in empty Pringles cans so when each student came to the front he had to pop a cup out, read the tongue twister and contribute to the construction of the tower. The Pringles cans were covered with a sign that said "reading power tower". We used about 50 cups for this activity and were able to build three towers.
Some tongue twisters were trickier than others which made for some good laughs but the students had a blast.
Reading is not always fun when you're young but our parents and teachers try their best to encourage to read as much as possible. I remember my dad nagging me to read all the time so that I could expand my vocabulary and be able to construct good sentences. I was excited when my co-workers decided to start a reading class at our school, I was more excited that they gave me complete control. Last year I taught the students a few short stories and fables which were well received. This year we decided to teach the students short novels. The books that we chose were "Charlie and the Chocolate factory" for our the first graders (7th grade) and "Charlotte's Web" for the second and third graders (8th & 9th grade). My excitement soon turned into stress when it dawned on me that I had roughly 15 weeks to teach these books to second language students. But, I accepted the challenged and spent all my free time researching effective strategies for teaching. I coupled the information I found with my six steps for lesson planing and came up with different lessons each week. I did experience a few hiccups every now and then but I had overall success.
So here's what I did...
Lead-in
and elicitation
The
lead-in activity is an opportunity for the students to identify
the topic using previous knowledge. The pictures, videos or flashcards used will help students create
stronger associations. Next, I will ask students to predict and guess what they
think the story is about. In a controlled manner I will get them to shout out
answers, this will get them excited to read and find out if their predictions
were correct. For example, during my introductory lesson on Charlie and the Charlie factory I showed the class the trailer from the movie which was actually a lazy move on my part but it seemed to have produced the results I was hoping for. Whereas, for Charlotte's Web I took an entirely different approach. Since this book was targeted at higher level students I decided to teach an entire lesson on animals...So in effect my lead-in lasted almost 30 minutes; however, seeing as this was my introductory lesson it wasn't altogether bad.
Presentation
My class is 45 minutes so I don't have enough time to go through an entire chapter in class. I also wanted to give the students the opportunity to read independently so I needed to condense my text. For each lesson I made a summary of the focus chapter which we read together. Students
were instructed to just skim through the short synopsis of the story to get a
general idea and not to look for specific details. Afterwards we had a
brief discussion on what they read before moving onto the next task. At this point of the lesson it's a good idea to discuss new vocabulary and key phrases relevant to the overall understanding of the text.
Controlled practice
For
this task the students were giving an activity to test their understanding of the text. each class had a different activity so that the kids were constantly engaged and didn't get too bored by the same book.For example, during our lesson before mid-terms I put the students into groups and they were required to create a mind-map in which they had to fill in specific
details such as location, time, people involved etc. I instructed each group
to read the synopsis carefully at least 2 times and work as a team to fill in
the information. This task required students to read for detailed information. During this activity I walked to each group and offered assistance.
Freer practice
For
the final task, students worked individually and answered comprehension
questions. The questions were related
to the text however did not contain the exact words; therefore, students were required to exercise their thinking. This task will work as a strategy of interpretation
because students will have to look for clues within the question and draw
conclusions.
Feedback
After
students have read the summary and filled in relevant information into their
charts I did a quick review to check their understanding and to explain
certain parts of the text that may have caused confusion. We looked at each
category specified in the chart
and had a brief discussion on each. We also checked the answers to the final task and discussed the students initial predictions on the story.
Follow-up
or homework
As mentioned above, due to time restrictions we were unable to read an
entire chapter in class, hence the use of short summaries. As a follow-up
activity and for homework students were required to read the full chapter by themselves and to jot down words or phrases they found difficult. During the start of our next
lesson we reviewed the past chapter and covered new vocabulary.
My summer vacation has sadly come to an end. Time always flies when you're relaxing but seems to stand still once you step out the door to go to work. With the end of our summer vacation comes the stress of having to plan new lessons for the new semester. My friend, Sandra and I were bouncing ideas off each other for cool ice-breakers and class fillers and she came up with the most brilliant idea. It's a fusion of scrabble and jenga. I think this game actually exists but our version is a little different.
For our version of the game I printed out scrabble tiles and glues them to the jenga blocks. It's a lot of work but seeing the excitement in the kids eyes when you say "we're playing jenga" makes it all worth it.
An afternoon of cutting and pasting
High level of concentration
Sample word
I played this game during my summer classes. I split the class into teams and got a member from each team to come up and make a three letter word by strategically moving jenga blocks. Teams were then awarded points which are calculated by adding the the points written on the scrabble tiles. I didn't tell my students how the scoring worked but when they figured it out, it challenged them to make better words. We had a lot of fun with it, the wobbly desk in my classroom added to the intensity.
I hope you and your students can have as much fun.
Every week I have the task of coming up with an exciting lesson. I have found that understanding the needs of my students ahead of mine are the most important aspect to take into consideration when planning any lesson. As teachers it is vital for us to identify the type of learners we have (i.e. visual, auditory, kinesthetic) before planning a lesson as it makes work a little easier. I'm currently teaching at an all boys middle school and I've found that majority of my students are visual learners; however, I try to fit in activities that also appeal to my auditory and kinesthetic (tactical) learners so that they don't fall behind.
The next step is to pick a topic that will appeal to everyone in class (teacher included). For the purpose of this post I have chosen "Animals". It's one my favourite topics as it can be taught to any grade in numerous ways.
Now that I have a topic and I know what type of learners I have I will start planning each step of the lesson taking time into consideration. My classes in Korea are 45 minutes long so I will need to have enough prepared to fill that time without becoming repetitive or redundant.
OK! Let the planning begin!
Step One: Lead-in ( 3minutes)
This is where you will introduce your topic to the class. Audio visual aids such as a music video is an excellent lead-in tool. The lead-in should be 5 minutes or less as it is just a warm-up. For example: **Old McDonald had a farm**, could be a fun lead-in for a lesson on animals.
After listening to the song/watching the video you can ask the students to guess the topic, it gives them a little thrill when they make the correct guess.
Step Two: Elicitation (5 minutes) Here, you want to find out how much your students know about the topic. A good way to elicit information from the students is show them a prop such as flashcards or a PowerPoint presentation. Each image or prop will get the students talking. For example in a lesson on animals you will show the students images of different animals to check if they can identify the animal. You can take it a step further with higher level students and check if the kids know the names of the offspring and to make things more exciting, you can talk about the sounds animals make.
NB: Using funny looking images creates a lighter atmosphere in the classroom as it draws the student in and builds greater engagement.
Step Three: Presentation (7 minutes)
In this step you will be presenting the main topic. So if you chose the theme of animals you have a sub-topic such as animal homes. During your presentation you will talk about this. PowerPoints; Flashcards or Charts are great for presentations.
Step Four: Controlled Practice (10 minutes)
At this point you would want the kids to put into practice everything they have studied. The best way to test their knowledge on the day's lesson is through a work sheet. Another great tool is doing a role-play. Most often your topic will dictate the type of practice most suited for the lesson.
Step Five: Freer Practice (15 minutes)
Once again you will be testing the students knowledge on the lesson just taught however with this step you can be more flexible. Games are great for this as it creates a "freer" learning environment. It's both entertaining and educational. With this set you can do more that one activity depending on your time.
Step Six: Review (5 minutes)
Towards the end of the lesson it's good to do a quick review to tie up the lesson. Review could be a short worksheet like a word search which they can complete in class or something longer if you wish to give the students homework for the day.
I'm in the process of planning fun activities for my summer camp. Like every lesson that I plan, I have to take into consideration my "target audience". The kids who usually sign up for my vacation classes want to be entertained and not taught. These classes are four hours a day for 2 weeks but they can feel like an eternity if you have insufficient material prepared, unenthusiastic students or worse, BORING lessons. With fours years of camps under my belt I have found what works and what doesn't.
My students are huge fan of games and movies. They cringe every time I pull out a worksheet and pass out as soon as I start talking for more than 10 minutes. Taking those hurdles into consideration I have planned some exciting tutorials and activities for this summer.
Sample Board
While preparing and researching ideas for new activities I came across this gem ===>
A boggle bulletin board
You will paste the letters on your blackboard (or a wall of your choice) so that everyone in class has a good view of it. Give each student his/her own answer sheet and get the kids to make up words.
It's a wonderful opportunity for the students to build their vocabulary and practice thinking independently. To make things more exciting you could set a time limit and dish out candy to whoever gets the most words in that time.
It's exciting when the kids get all competitive and you can steal a few moments of silence whilst they are busy writing out their words.
Wow! It seems like ages since I've posted. The guilt is slowly nibbling at me but before it consumes me I have decided to write a little apology to myself and whoever has visited my page with the hope of finding something resourceful.
Mitchell Park Zoo, Durban
In Korea, native teachers are given the opportunity to renew their contracts. The benefits of renewing allows you a two week vacation as well as a handsome bonus. I used my bonus to book a flight to South Africa where I could spend some much needed time with my loved ones. Fortunately for me, I was able to combine my winter break with my 'bonus' two weeks which gave me a wonderful month to regroup in the comfort of my family home.
Durban Harbour
The weeks leading up to my big return home were unpleasant as I caught a cold due to the serve winter weather that we experience here. To make matters worse, I had to teach at our school's winter camp; that did not aid in the recovery process at all. I kept joking that when I got to South Africa I would defrost under the African sun and will finally be rid of all the cold bugs. Little did I know, these little bugs caught a piggy back ride with me home.
Flag Farm, Ballito
From the day I landed in SA till the day I left, I had experienced all sorts of aliments. It wasn't the best of vacations; however, having my family around to take care of me was comforting. On the few days that I was feeling a bit well, I was able to be a little touristy in my own backyard. It was wonderful just being under African skies, listening; smelling; and tasting, all the things I grew up with.
Dubai_UAE
Before coming back to Korea, I had a stop-over in Dubai. I was granted a tourist visa and free accommodation by my airline which afforded me the opportunity to tour the stunning Arab city. And then, it was back to Korea!
I arrived in Busan the night before our new school year began so the first day at work was absolute torture.
We are a few months into the new semester and I think I've finally adjusted to being back. The work load for me this semester has been daunting, hence my failure to blog. To add to that, I've been falling ill frequently which completely slays me. I guess it's true when they say "old age is a pain!"
