domingo, 17 de marzo de 2013

Second Period...Second chance

“Don`t judge a book by its cover” is definitely the best way for me to describe my first experience with this basic group. Due to my first contacts with them, I was really concerned, because my first appreciations were that the group was a complete mess, rude, and really difficult to be handle. And that perception was  because  they used to talk a lot in Spanish, they didn´t care about directions given by the teacher, they used to interact a lot among their classmates, and so on. Considering that they are a really special group, they are 18 girls and 1 boy,  that`s why I was really worried for the first time.
But the day was there and I had to face the situation, for sure I was really prepared just in case. My first experience was the chance to teach THE TIME, and as you know me,  I brought a lot of things with me in order to be clear, and specific with my explanations.  One of the things that I`m so convinced, is the fact that the most you involve your students in the development of the class, the most you will catch their attention, and for sure, they will have no time to bother.
I started my class with a warm up in which I asked them to divide the group into two teams A & B, after that I put 5 scrambled sentences for each group, and they were asked to arrange the sentences as logical as possible, some of them got the idea and organized most of the sentences, some others, couldn`t reach the activity, but at the end everybody had fun. It was a great chance to break the ice. 




 After that, I started my lesson by showing them a set of flashcards related with daily routines in which time was definitely involved, in that part, I started giving my personal example and then asking them what do they do at the same time like this :  I usually get up at 4:30 a.m. what about you? And so on.  We described a complete day activities and their corresponding time.



 


During the grammar explanation, I brought a chart with the explanation, and I ask for their help to complete the missing information and in that way they could practice at the same time. Thanks God, everything went well and they practiced a lot, Also, I did a presentation about time for them to be familiarized with the topic which was really nice and at the end of the class they were asked to complete a practice just to measure how much they got.





Believe it or not, they were really attentive, they worked a lot, participate a lot too, and in general everything was nice. Suddenly, time was over and my first mission was accomplished…I felt really satisfied.


9 comentarios:

  1. Exactly! Never judge a book by its cover! It seems that you had such a great experience, and I am glad that you enjoy it. The grammar part is always a headache, but you managed it very well :D. Keep up with the good work, my dear, and you will always improve :D. Cheers.

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  2. Hello Sarita! It is cool to read these kind of experiences. I see you have strived in order to give your best. As you say, it is such a special group as it has only a boy(poor of him and what a lucky guy). I can notice that you varied the activities which is something pretty good. The more you get involved with your students, the better they collaborate and get confidence to interact with you. Keep on on the same track Sarita! My best wishes for you in this second experience!!

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  3. Hi Sarita!! I saw before you started the class and I like that you were really prepare. You brought material to make the class intersting. And remember to be strict when they start speaking in English, but I know that you did it execellent!! Congratulation Sarita

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  4. Hello Sarita!!!

    I really like the way you teach because you are always prepared with a lot of materials for your students and that´s something that helps your students to understand better the topic. It also helps you to catch their attention. As you said in your comment if they are involved in the class they won´t have time to bother.

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  5. Through your pictures I can see you had enough material for your class. That´s really good since most of the students are visual learners. From the description you make I can deduce that these guys were really busy ,and that´s good as well .I can realize you really take advantage of the tremendous energy they have.

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  6. The key of the success of your class was not only your good management but also all the sources you brought in order to be as clear as possible.
    I had to teach this group as well, and it happened the same as you. The perception I had was so bad, and I was even afraid of teaching them. Having them busy, is a nice strategy that moves and focuses their attention in the things you want them to.
    You manage them very well.
    Congrats my friend

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  7. such nice saying Sarita, sometimes we get surprised when we realize that things are not as we thought they were. And what you say is totally true visuals aids do help students to get more interested in the class. I know you are a very organized teacher.And for sure to envolve students as much as possible in the class let them feel more comfortable and more willing to participate.
    There you go Ma'am!

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  8. That happens some times! And it is nice to meet a group like that one! I can see the plenty of material you had to develope your class, and I can get aware that everyone has his or her own methology because reading through all our blogs, there are planty of ideas, and most of them are really nice! Some of our classmates like to work with visual material, others like to work with speaking, others with listening! I like that part of teaching, you can have limitless possibilities to teach! Nicely done Jarita!

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  9. Hey Sarita! You were very organized in your class and it is good! I like that you brought really good material for them to understand very well, nice Sarita!! It made me think that you really put your effort in every lesson you prepare. Well done my friend!

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