Thanks God!! I´m done with my Teaching Practicum I. 

What a nice introduction to present you my last class, isn´t it? This time I will try to be as objective as possible in my explanation.

As I mentioned in my previous class, I felt really frustrated by the fact of being assigned with the material to be done in class, and this chance wasn´t the exception....he gave me the topics to be developed. Moreover, I decided to change the way to present the reading.

The title was : TELEPORTATION AND FORCE FIELDS POSSIBLE WITHIN DECADES

I did a PDP class, I started with a brainstorming activity and I ask their personal opinion about words such as : ovni, wormhole, invisibility, teleportation, etc. As always, some of them gave very clever answers, some others were like lost in a parade...but, the presentation of the reading was really nice. I include several short videos for them to clarify their doubts about the previous words, and as a preview of the following activities.

After that, I divided the class into 3 teams and I called them class I, class II, and class III in relationship with the 3 different types of impossibilities that Michio Kaky mentioned in the famous reading. 

I made a raffle for them to work in group but randomly. So, the tasks begun and they were assigned to perform 3 different tasks, 1) Class I read about UFO, Class II read about Wormholes, and Class III read about Precognition. 2) I gave a T/F activity to every single participant in every group, and 3) They had to name a representative from each group, write a 10 lines paragraph, and share their own point of view according to the reading.

I can tell you that I really enjoyed the class, they were working all the time, reading, answering the questions, writing their essay, etc, etc, suddenly time was almost over and we started to reveal the correct and wrong answers....

At the end, I thanked all of them for all the help they gave me during my classes, shared some candies, and  wished them the best for the rest of their major !!!

Now, I want to say thank you for your help commenting every single class I did...as I said, we´re done with Teaching Practicum I, and I know we´re not the same that we were 6 months ago....So, keep working my dear friends and see you next semester!!!!

 A Gadget???? What is that????

              My second class with the Advanced group was really nice, in this opportunity, I had to share with them a Reading based on Technology! At first sight, It was kind of boring…but I started to image how the introduction to the topic could be… In first place, I decided to use a picture of the famous INSPECTOR GADGET, and I asked the Ss to share what idea they had when they see the pic. Most of them started sharing that he was a famous inspector, others said he was silly, another one mentioned Penny the famous inspector´s niece, and some others match the meaning of the word with the technological device a gadget is.

   

 

          This experience has been really different, it is not the same when the teacher gives you the topic for the class, and then you are free to create your own idea to be develop...than when the teacher gives you the topic, the activity he wants, etc. I´m not in agreement with that, because we have to express our imagination through the class and with those limitants we tend to teach as an "echo teacher" not as the original ones we are.

       But, as you know me...I did it "on my way" jeje...as I said my warm up was with the famous inspector, but later on I started by asking them to make a comparison between old fashion gadgets such as "white and black TV" the ones that we didn´t use remote control to make them work, then a comparison with the first Cell phone model and the ones we use in the present time.  

         What is really nice in the Advanced groups, is that they talk a lot and you just have to share an idea for them to talk, talk, and talk. that point is really nice!!!! Then, they had to complete some information in the book, they inserted some sentences to the main reading, they share ideas, etc. 

           I think the goal was reached, I agree with the idea of developing a reading as class, but keeping on mind that your goal is to make the Ss to TALK A LOT!!! and to practice not an specific structure, but their vocabulary in general...

 




 

what should I do if...

This was my question during the last week. Why? because for this period my friend and I  were assigned to an Advanced group, and that for sure was a great concern not only for how the group could be, but also for the structure to be explained...

During our class observation we tend to create an image of the Ss, and most of the time we make a mistake judging them in advanced. As I have shared with you every single group is different, but there is a common characteristic among them which is ALL OF THEM LIE, and is the same that we did when we were in that level. but what do I mean when I say "they lie"? every single student is paying attention during the grammar explanation, and all of them nod when the teacher asks "Did you understand"...then the silence period...then the general nod, but it is only until you give them a practice when you realize if they got the idea or not.

This was the experience with this famous group, the topic explained by the teacher was kind of difficult and confusing and all of them were paying attention when that happened. It is a shame that (as students) we don´t want to ask for our questions, doubts or it is really embarrassing when we make a mistake in front of the others. 

Even though the topic was tough and I was really worried, everything went well. To break the ice with them I include a CHINESE WHISPER warm up, I asked them to form two lines and to spread the sentence that I gave to the last student from every line. The sentences were long and kind of confusing, but the most important part is that they had fun and cooperate with the activity.

After that, I presented a brief review about the participle clauses, because the teacher explained the grammar part in the previous class. Here is when I say that all of them were in agreement by nodding that they understood everything. But things changed when I gave them the first written practice and I set the time to solve it in 10 minutes. As in every single group, there are some Ss that get the idea in a couple of minutes, some others are fighting against the structure, and the ones that are looking at the ceiling of the room, praying for the class to finish...for them is that we as teachers must pay attention to and encourage them to go beyond by their own
and by giving them extra practices.

Finally, I presented a video and they had to solve an activity related with the main structure, but in the same way only a couple of them did it in the required time. What I have found really useful in those cases, is the fact of make them work in group without noticing I mean they have to come to the front and solve the sentences by their own, if they can´t do it...the rest has to help in a polite way...and at the end I know that most of them will take notes, and will respond to their personal doubts.

"Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them become what they are capable of becoming." Goethe

I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER!!!

What did you do during your vacation time?  Where did you go? What did you eat? Who do you go with? were some of the questions that I asked to my students....I took advantage of the famous subject “Holy week”,  and at the same time I could assess how much did they know about the topic to be developed. As I imagine, some of them were capable to share their experiences using the correct tense of the verbs...some others were not, but that conversation allowed me to present the topic.

As warm up I used a mini short story in which they had to find out and underline as many verbs in past tense as possible. We started by reading it together, and the command was that if  they found a verb in the past tense, they had to say VERB as a manner of alert, and we will repeat the pronunciation of the verb, the activity went well and I introduced them the topic which was Simple Past Tense in a different way, not with a game.

After that, I started my class by showing them a big chart with the corresponding Grammar explanation for the Simple past tense of the verbs. They could observe the meaning of “PAST”, how we can use it and some other information. On the other hand, I  included 2 different form of sentences, one in which you mention the specific time when you are talking about something, for example : “Yesterday I went to the park”  It is explicit the time you went “yesterday” ; but, there is another way to mention the simple past tense without the word, eg. : Monica danced with her friends at the party. (The simple past is implicit but not with an extra information) So, the key word is “The tense of the verb”. 

D A N C E D

 As I said before, some of them are really focus when the teacher is explaining the grammar part, and for sure they are the ones that can answer, and ask for doubts!!!!

I also included 3 different clues for them to know how to use the simple past tense in the regular form through the addition of “d” or “ed”. They helped me a lot working in the board, then they had a practice and in that nice way I concluded my third participation for this period!!!!

As in previous classes, I can share with you the feeling of satisfaction that you obtain when you are sure that you gave the best from you, it doesn´t matter if sometimes things don´t go in the way you want…we´re not perfects!!! But, the attitude, effort and willingness you bring for each class will set the difference in your Students!!!!

Good luck my dear friends for the Third Period…and remember that we´re about to reach one of our dreams!!!!