A Christmas Carol (1º ESO)

Who doesn't like Charles Dickens? There's no doubt of Dickens's significant contribution to world literature, or of the effects some of his works had on popular culture even today. His works are still relevant, still alive, still connect with audiences far and wide, and that is why I thought it was a good idea to get to know him and his works in a little bit of detail.

Not long before Christmas, I asked my 1º ESO students to research the figure of Dickens, as we were going to read an abridged version of A Christmas Carol.




It is important for learners of English to read authentic material, even if it may have simplified language, written for younger native speakers. It gives them a sense of accomplishment, it makes them realise the usefulness of their learning and it also pushes them out of their comfort zone, which usually is to conduct research in their own language and then translate it into English (with varying degrees of success... ).

Their posters were interesting, although some of students limited themselves to copying and pasting text and pictures. The students had to present their posters to the rest of the class, drawing attention to the facts that had surprised them the most.

After reading the simplified version of the story and doing some comprehension activities about it, the students had to design infographs on each of the characters. They also had to present these posters to the rest of the class. 

I used a rubric to assess the students: 

We rounded up this activity watching the 2009 film version directed by Robert Zemeckis. 

In an activity like this, students develop their reading and speaking skills, their digital competence, their cultural awareness and expression, and since they have to work as part of groups, they also develop their social and civic competence and their teamworking skills. It was a great activity which the students really enjoyed. 

Thanks for popping in!

Edgar Allan Poe: Short Stories (1º ESO)

The master of horror, the father of detective fiction, the main contributor to the obscure and the macabre... Halloween wouldn't have been completed without  Poe. Last year, I got my Advanced students to read The Raven collaboratively. Because of technological glitches, I haven't been able to upload the recording anywhere... so this time I approached the task differently.

It was my 1º ESO students this time. First, we had a look at the following presentation, which I created specifically for this project:




The students were given a calendar to help them plan their work:


Then, we split the class into two groups, and having a close look at the (adapted) text of the two stories, the students began to unleash the performers within and finally... we made two recordings, added pictures and... voilà!

The project was complete.

In a task like this, students learn about literature, read a creative story, practice pronunciation and intonation, and develop their digital competence by putting together an audiovisual product. They also work as part of a team and develop collaborative working skills.

The assessment was done by using this rubric:




As expected, this project involved quite a lot of hard work, but the students really enjoyed it.

Thanks for popping in! See you next time!

Start of the year ice-breakers

New year, new students, and new routines!

I don't know about other teachers, but I seem to get new groups of students every year. Obviously, this means I don't even know their names, let alone their skills and learning styles. To me, this means I need to do both as quickly as possible in order to start feeling productive.

This year, I have done the following activities with my students:

First, my youngest students (1º ESO or Year 7). I have asked them to create a time capsule of themselves. I asked them to include information such as their height, their age in days, their favourite things, and other random questions. It was a bit of fun, but it got them thinking- 'how should I include my exact height if I don't have a tape measure?'... I asked them to be creative. Some of them used pens and pencils ("I'm 15 pens tall!"), some others asked their friends to walk toe to heel next to them ("I'm seven feet!")... It was a bit of fun but it allowed me to get to know the way they solve problems, how they interact, and also, how they express themselves in English. Another activity we did was to write Crazy Chain Stories. I gave them all the same start to a story, which they had to copy at the top of a piece of paper. Then, folding the sheet so only the last sentence was visible, they had to continue the story and then, fold again and pass it on. At the end, we read the resulting stories. I was more interested in the process of writing than in the final result. Again, it allowed me to check how they worked and it forced them to write in English, even if it was a simple sentence.

My next group, 2º ESO (Year 8), did a grammar revision activity with a prize attached to it. I gave them 15 gapped sentences and they had to fill in the gaps. Every correct answer allowed them to throw a paper ball into the bin. The person with the highest number of successful throws would get a lollipop. In this case, there was no cooperation- it was clearly a competition, but even then it gave me the chance to observe them when they were motivated and eager for the prize: some of them tried to copy someone else's answers, whereas others didn't complete the work and others breezed through it.

My oldest students, in 4º ESO (Year 10), were given a challenge. After showing them a short video on the 6 degrees of separation theory, I gave them random names of public figures, some of them already dead and some of them still alive, and I asked them to research them in order to find a plausible connection between them. Incredibly, some of my students managed to connect really diverse people in less than 6 steps! I watched them as they worked in pairs, as they tried to figure out how to 'crack' it, as it were, and finally, I asked them to explain their thought process in order to connect the two people they had been given. With an activity like this, I gained some knowledge of them, which I think is a good basis for a successful start of the year.

What do other people do to start their school year? Let me know in the comments box below!

Thanks for popping in! :)

Maite

Project: a tutorial

This week, in my 1º ESO class, we have been working on conditional sentences. We have discussed '0' and 1st conditionals. In order to practice, I have asked them to create a mini-project. These are the instructions,




It's just a short activity in order to practice a specific grammar point. I didn't want to use the typical activity in which students are presented with a 'condition' and have to come up with a consequence or result (we practiced that orally as a chain kind of activity), and I wanted the students to write down sentences, so I came up with this. Not a genius idea, or completely original, but effective (once the students understand they have to move away from just giving instructions).

I asked them to use Snapguide because it's really easy to use and the final product is really eyecatching. This contributes to the students' feelings of achievement and satisfaction... an important element for students!

Thanks for checking in! See you next time!