We started the class talking about what we do to stay healthy. As the warm up, I drew parts of the body on the board and the students guessed the name of each part. Then I asked them the spelling of each word.
We read the daily message about what we were going to study and I also wrote the agenda on the board. The students have already perceived that the agenda is a summary of the message. This is great! :-)
We reviewed the parts of the body by filling in the blanks with the names of each body part in an exercise. I asked them to use the previous exercise as a model since it was a similar activity. It was good because they could practice reading and writing the words.
We learned the word "Goodbye" and the sight words "She" and "He". I asked the students to give me some examples of sentences using the sight words. I wrote the sentences on the board and we read them together. I asked the students to copy the sentences on their notebooks.
We practiced the numbers 11 - 20 using the website Learning Chocolate. (Every time we use this website, the students stand up and touch the Smartboard to do the exercises. It is great to see them helping each other and very happy after they finish.
We practiced a short dialogue between a doctor and a patient. I elicited ideas on this topic from the students and I wrote on the board: What is the matter? I have a headache.
I printed the sentences I have a headache/stomachache/backache/cough, and cut into one-word pieces. I mixed all the words and asked the students to create a sentence putting the pieces in a clothesline. It was nice because they could stand up, worked in collaboration and see the sentence structure and the use of the period in the end of the sentences. :-)
Day 13
We started the class talking about common health problems we sometimes have. We reviewed creating sentences using the clothesline. We also reviewed some common health problems using some flashcards.
Now instead of writing the agenda myself, after we read the message of the contents of the day, I elicited the agenda from the students and they told me what to write. I believe it is a nice reading practice.
We learned the expression "Have a great evening!" and the sight word "it". We created some sentences using it. The students copied them on their notebooks.
We learned the numbers from 30 to 100 using the website Learning Chocolate. We also worked with grocery store flyers. The students learned how to see the price of things and understand the meaning of lb, ea, off. Each student read a flyer and shared in pairs what they wanted to buy and its price.
Then we learned about a conversation with a doctor. I elicited from them what they thought a doctor and a patient usually say in a conversation. After that, I told them I would play a video between a doctor and a patient without the audio so they could guess what the problem was. They watched the video and guessed that the patient had an earache. I played the video again so they could confirm their thoughts. They laughed a lot when they realized I was the patient in the video and they asked me if the doctor was my husband. LOL. I told them I had asked my husband to record a video with me because I hadn't found a very short and simple video like that on YouTube and my husband had kindly agreed to help me. :-)
Video - Doctor and Patient :-) - Yeah, it was a very simple video just to help my students learn. :-)
After watching the video, I gave the conversation on slips of paper so each group could put the dialogue in order. I played the video other times and they were all able to organize the dialogue. After that, they checked if they knew all the words and we repeated the dialogue. They also practiced it in pairs.
Finally, I asked them if they would like to record a video like mine to practice and post it in our Facebook group. Most of the students got excited and did it. I recorded the videos using my cell phone and we watched the videos afterwards. We all had a blast!
They told me they really liked the class today. Like Marc Prensky believes, students really enjoy using and creating videos to learn. :-)
Day 14
I started the class asking the students what they wanted to learn more in our classes. I took notes and I hope I can teach what they want.
As I wanted to practice the alphabet in a different way, we had some listening exercises as the warm up. I thought we would spend 10 minutes with it, but we spent way longer than that. I realized that my instructions have to be VERY clear so ALL my students are able to follow them. I noticed some students checking on other students papers. I believe this happened because they are not yet confident but, anyway, it was a good practice for me and for them. I also think it was way too difficult for my two students that need more support... At least some classmates helped them. I keep wondering what they are thinking of these classes... They seem to be happy, but I wish I could know more about their thoughts and feelings...
We read the message for the day and they helped me write the agenda. I think they learned this very fast! I am proud of them! :-)
We learned the expression "I need ______." and the sight word "of". We wrote a sentence with the sight word and they copied it on their notebooks.
They reviewed some health problems by checking some flashcards and the names I posted on the board. It was nice because they just checked the ones they didn't remember.
We practiced the conversation between the doctor and the patient using other health problems.
We reviewed the meaning of lb, ea and off using some grocery store flyers.
We started reading a book about Going to the doctor in Manitoba. We discussed the importance of going to a doctor. I saw that some students got tired... Maybe it was too much information today...
In the afternoon class, we did a bit more and they started playing a board game about favourite things.
Day 15
We started the class talking about dreams. As the students did not know the meaning of the word "dream", I used Google images to show them its meaning and they got it right away. Images are really worth a thousand words. :-) I wrote their dreams on the board and we practiced saying them. I also wrote the sentence: I hope our dreams come true. It was interesting that some students that speak Arabic told me they say "Inshallah" when they hope the dreams come true. I really love to learn from my students! :-)
Then, we had a word search as the warm up of the day to practice the parts of the body. I used the website Puzzlemaker to create it.
We learned the expression "Can you help me?" and the sight word "in". The students gave me some examples of sentences using the sight word and I wrote them on the board. They wrote the sight word on their list and they also copied the sentences.
We played a board game to practice speaking. They had to share their "favourites". In the afternoon group, I put the students together to play while I helped a Foundations student learn the letters A, B, C. It was a great time because the other students helped each other and I could give more attention to the student that needed more attention. I used flashcards, a puzzle, an exercise to circle the letters A, B, and C and a workbook with this student. I noticed she circled the letters R when she meant B and G for C. I showed her the letters together and she was able to see the differences between them.
For the afternoon group I also taught a bit more of spoken language. I wrote the conversation below:
A: What is your favourite _________?
B: Well, uh, um, my favourite _______ is _______. / I like __________.
A: Really? Mine too. / I don't like _______.
I decided to teach the discourse markers "well", "uh", and "um" to help them sound more natural in their speaking and they had fun saying them. :-)
After the break, we practiced locating the alphabet on a paper computer keyboard. I also elicited from them what they already knew about the keys. I told them we would study it more frequently and I asked them to use it at home as well. We discussed about the importance of knowing how to better type in order to get some jobs in Canada.
Then we went to the computer lab to add another page to their books. They looked for a picture using Google Images and typed I like _________. After that, I asked them if each student wanted to practice math or typing. The students that chose math used this link: Math . The ones that wanted to practice typing used this link: Typing. Two students finished using those websites and asked me to do something else. I asked them if they wanted to read and listen to books and they used the website Bow Valley ESL Literacy readers . They really enjoyed choosing a book to read and listen. It was interesting to see that because one of the students told me she did not like reading books at all. I believe many students have this feeling because of the lack of good experiences with reading books in the past. My Foundations student watched some alphabet videos as she had told me she wanted to learn how to read and write.
On a side note, I always get very happy and excited when I see many parents spending time reading books for the children here in Canada. Unfortunately this is not very common in my country. At least my parents gave me many books and I had to read a book a day when I learned how to read and write. However, reading books is not a very common hobby in Brazil and this affects the lives of millions of people...
Reflection: I really liked to work with my Foundations student the way I did. I believe she felt comfortable and did a lot of progress. I am going to think about more ways to do that. I also decided to keep the sight words in a part of my board all the time. I think it is good for the students to keep looking at them. I noticed one student arrived 20 minutes before the class started and she was reading the sight words and she copied them again. I am also going to prepare special materials for my Foundations students, I think they really need that. I continue to be very happy and excited working with all of them. :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment