Lesson Plan: Fourth grade, Day Two!

Día Dos


Objectives: To establish a comfortable learning environment and have everybody participating. Introduce the threads so that the class learns the routine for Spanish.

Goals: Review the class rules, have everybody repeat them. Go over the date and have unique students participate. Go over weather vocabulary and emotions.

1.     Write your schedule on the board! Led by Cristina

a.    Levantanse- Buenas Tardes (con ruido y suspirado), Sientanse

(Buenas Tardes, Cómo Estás, Estoy bien, Y usted)

2.  Review rules (repaso de las reglas) Led by Tara

            Cristina will have poster with las reglas y pinturas para cada regla

In room at all times but not discussed unless necessary: (Como board: adivina, contexto, que significa, pregunta)

3.     La Fecha – Velcro Board (from Tara)

Lunes, Martes, Miercoles, Jueves, Viernes, Sabado, Domingo (stand up quick and sing the days of the week song to refresh, sit down) Led by Tara

´´¿Qué día es hoy? : led by Cristina: “una oportunidad para _____”

a.     ¿Cúal es la fecha de hoy?

       i.     Hoy es ________________ de ____________________ .

b.     ¿Cúal fue la fecha de ayer?

      i.     Ayer fue ________________ de ____________________ .

c.      ¿Cúal es la fecha de mañana?

       i.     Mañana será ________________ de ________________. 

4.     El Tiempo Both of us on other side of room

                        - have them get up and act out weather. Use flashcards!

- get up and do motions for weather: hace sol, hace frio: “Necesito vestir una minifalda, unas sandalias, gafas de sol, camiseta….” (mini skit about the weather en oberlin: cierto, o falso?!)

a.     Que tiempo hace? We go over to the weather chart and have a conversation about how hot it is outside in Oberlin, Ohio. (dialogue above in blue) Then we refer to the weather chart and ask them if our conversation was cierto o falso. “´¿Hace sol en Oberlin, Ohio hoy?” “Cierto o falso?” Then we will write on our chart the description of the weather and do the same for Méxcio.

5.     Emociones: go back to desks  

a.     Repeat as a whole class with flashcards the emotions everyone should know (bien, mal, cansado/a, triste, feliz, enojado/a, más o menos,  enfermo, aburrido/a, emocionado/a, tímido/a, confundido/a), acting them out. Tara (with flashcards)

b.     ¿Cómo están ustedes? First we do an example with the animal masks. ´´¿Cómo estás perro? Estoy muy bien. Estoy muy feliz. ´¿Cómo estás gato? Estoy triste!” together (with animals: “Cómo estás, Tara? ¡Estoy muy bien! Cómo estás, Cristina? ¡Estoy muy triste!” (use motions))

c.      Ask for volunteers to come up and be the animals. Write the dialogue on the board if necessary. Pull sticks if necessary.

6. Adiós song: led by Cristina

 When they ask about Sorpresa jar: “¡Es un misterio!”

Reflection

Today's class was not as smooth as the first day. The desks were arranged in a new order and the students were off-task when we arrived, many still had coloring/writing activities out. Our mistake was to not address this issue. When we asked everyone to stand up for Buenas Tardes many in the far back of the room did not do so - having the desk between us and them made things slightly awkward. When we moved in front of it the students to our left in the corner could not see very well. In the future having an open space or rug space would be excellent, as communicative proficiency is only attained when rehearsing, actually practicing talking, and the motivation is only there if there is a connection T--> S S---> T.  Two tables continued working on projects through out the entire time and many were speaking a lot in english and not motivated. It was entirely different when their home room teacher wasn't there. The sub just sat back and watched. Our biggest mistake was that it was hard to get everyone to participate when we didn't start on the right foot. The date also took too long and they lost interest a little bit. I am not certain they understood the difference between "manana" and "ayer," today and tomorrow. Perhaps they have not done this before. Then they were totally uninterested when it came time to do TPR weather. I thought standing up and doing the movements would be fun, but maybe it was too second grade. Maybe just going over the weather with giant flashcards with the whole class and then having mini ones printed to give to each table. Then in pairs they can use the cards to be their own weather forecasters. Each would receive the flashcards with "hace calor," "hace sol" etc. As well as a long list of spanish speaking countries, the temperatures, and a mini blurb about the weather there. Then on the "worksheet" the students have to work in pairs to select four countries and write the forecast. Then the next class we can do inner-outer circle and everyone tells the forecast of their countries to a partner. From there we can make weather charts with all the data we've learned... details to be worked out. At the end of completing activities/tasks as a class, the students should receive part of a puzzle piece that slowly gets put together on the wall somewhere. Maybe there are only five pieces or something. The very last piece will come from filling the "misterio" jar up full. When the puzzle is completed we will have a guest speaker come to the class.

Language & Children Chp 6- for Thurs. Feb. 10th

1. What is a scaffold and what does scaffolding mean in a language classroom?

A scaffold is a series of "steps" that allow students to build upon their current knowledge and add new functional chunks or phrases. Scaffolding refers to how classes will link together with in a thematic unit. For example, introducing a set of vocab words in a coloring activity in fourth grade such as "farmer, police man, mail man, etc." could be "scaffolded" in the following way. The following class, added to the threads are flashcards with pictures of the new characters. After a review in unison we play the "Mystery Bag" game in which the students each get to have a character (I hand out a physical object or picture representing the new word) and have a small group of students leave the room. Meanwhile I "borrow" objects from the seated students that they have on their desks and put them in a bag at the front of the room. Finger in front of my mouth I tell all the students to stay quite and hush that it has to remain secret what is going on. Mystery builds. The group of students waiting in the hall come back inside and I act as an example the task at hand: All the items need to be returned. I demonstrate, pulling out the math book and approaching the farmer, "Is this the farmer's math book." "No, it isn't (the farmer's math book)" "Yes it is the farmer's book." The correct responses/dialogue are written on the board for everyone to follow. Everyone is active at the same time moving around and returning items. Scaffolding is building upon one knowledge (vocabulary) and using it in a new context so that it becomes part of a more complex competency.


2. Describe what integrated learning means to you. What is thematic instruction and how might these 2 concepts influence your own teaching?

Integrated learning happens when several subjects are all centered around the same themes. This is how much of elementary school curriculum is organized. It is "integrated." Language-specific thematic instruction is really important because it will make the class meaningful for the students and become part of the natural flow during their school day. Not only does thematic instruction provide a meaningful context and establish goals for the students, it helps provide task-based designs and story-telling structures in the classroom. For fourth grade, "How is your community" is an overarching theme for the year. Projects that explore aspects of community life: Traveling to other countries via power point, story books, movies, etc. Comparing our Oberlin community to other communities: Having final projects where the students make community webs to present.

3. Discuss the idea of learners “making meaning”.

Learners "making meaning" refers to the idea that each individual is able to take something from each individual lesson to paint the "bigger picture." Making meaning demonstrates that the thematic instruction has helped students go beyond basic skills in their language and that they can actually see why such skills are fun and useful.

4. What is task-based instruction? Give 2-3 examples of how you might bring task-based instruction into your teaching.

Refer to example used in scaffolding.


5. Give examples of how a lesson (or series of lessons) might tie into a “Thematic Center”. (p.154 & 163)


The thematic center for our fourth grade classroom might be the exploration of one or two countries through out the course of the semester. When we do weather or food, or other activities integrated into the larger IB curriculum we will always bring it back to a community in another country that the children are aware of. We will build and interweave our other lessons around this thematic center of community.


6. What is “differentiated instruction” and how might it apply to your teaching?


Differentiated instruction means tailoring lessons to the meet the needs of the individual pupils in your class, offering a plethora of avenues for each individual to master the content. This could mean using station work and rotating, or the "conveyor belt" activity, or simply giving options to students to learn in their own style. A variety of activities that use different intelligences to learn the same subject material.


7. What do you think are key factors you should have in EVERY lesson?


Motivation - the desire to learn the task at hand
Information - clear examples and interesting new knowledge
Practice - engaging with the material
(Assessment) - what has been accomplished?


8. What factors do you think might engage your students without overstimulating them? (ie: so they’re interested but not loud, out of control or bouncing off the walls)


Music, Theatre, Inner-Outer Circle, Reading Stories, Sharing Information, Tic-Tac Toe Battle, Powerpoint presentation, Mystery Game, etc.

Reflective Teaching in ELT - John M. Murphy

Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language (3rd ed.), Celce-Murcia (editor), 2001.

1. Summarize the article.

The article by John M Murray describes all the ways one can use reflection to grow as a teacher and become a great teacher. He first explains the purpose of reflective teaching and then gives a series of examples for hot to do reflective teaching. Overall, in the words of Sir John Murray reflection helps expand one's own understanding of the teaching-learning process, expand one's repertoire of strategies and thirdly enhances the ability of a teacher to provide great learning opportunities in his or her classroom.  Those are the key reasons to spend time and energy on developing reflective teaching skills. He describes several topics explored by reflective teachers, such as communication patterns in the classroom (pretty popular one, how can you improve your instructional routine to meet the preferences and needs of your students) - In the past maybe you've had a really great teacher, who knew the material well, was really fun, but the class didn't have a very even flow? maybe you wanted more feedback for certain projects etc. He also writes about lesson participant interactions, teacher decision making - * really key to reflect on (how does the teacher correct students or give instructions or provide feedback.) In the second part of the article he writes about specific tools of reflective teaching such as five-minute papers, surveys, student focus groups, retrospective field notes, the visiting teacher, and beyond.

2. My Reaction

As an anthropologist I feel I have a little edge in understanding how important and useful reflective teaching is, whether it be studying communication patterns in the classroom, lesson participant interactions or teacher decision making. When it comes down to it, and I quote Sir John M. Murray, the purpose of reflective teaching is "to be aware of our teaching practices and to gain awareness of our teaching beliefs so to see teaching differently."

3. Discussion

What to reflect on?

In the sandbox you can reflect on anything. You must always reflect right after you have taught a class, on your lesson plan. If you want a trick for how to ace college, after every single class you take, make it a habit, to sit down and spend ten minutes writing a summary of what just happened. What you understood and what you didn't understand so you know exactly where to pick up when you have to study later. You will find out that you might not need to... **

-What are your expectations about professors at Oberlin College? How many expectations do you have that you are maybe unaware of? What do different ages expect/need/crave in their learning environments? Not only does being an effective teacher depend on knowing your age group but how to react to the individual needs of students who have ideas about "education" that differ from your own.

Ex: 4th grade, Mexico, Alfonso & friends => teacher's assistants (background first about the culture of the school, and the expectations of the kids... how my attitude and expectations of what it meant to be a good teacher had to change in order to meet their beliefs)

This article on reflection teaching hit the nail on the head: Being a teacher is not a static concept

Taking action, instructional innovations, modifying, even breaking routines in teaching, based upon what we learn through reflection, basically critical reflection is what will make you make you a better teacher.

Adults in contrast to children have the increased capacity for self-reflection and thought.

The purpose of reflective teaching is to expand one’s understanding of the teaching-learning process, to expand one’s repertoire of strategic options as a language-teacher, to enhance the quality of learning opportunities one i sable to provide in language classrooms

Build awareness, gather information, collaborate, examine, pose, refine questions

“Collect data about teaching, examine their attitudes, beliefs, assumptions, and teaching practices, and use the information obtained as a basis for critical reflection” – reflective teaching as an approach to second language (L2)

You better want to understand the dynamics of a single language course as it is being experience by a group of learners and their teacher

            Communication patterns in the classroom

            Teacher decision making

            Ways in which learners apply knowledge

            The affective climate of the classroom

            The instructional environment

            Teacher’s self assessment of growth and development

Una Investigación de Convivencia Escolar en la Escuela Basilio Rivera

PLANTEAMIENTO DEL PROBLEMA:

La violencia escolar es un problema que obedece a un conjunto de factores, incluyendo la sociedad, los medios de comunicación, la familia, y la propia institución escolar que “se basa en una jerarquización y organización interna.”[1] Una de las causas de la agresividad, según Martinez-Otero, es por esta última, a causa de seis “gérmenes escolares”:

1.La crisis y la diversidad de valores de la institución escolar

2.Las discrepancias de la distribución de espacios, reorganización de tiempos, etc.

3.El énfasis en los resultados de los alumnos y su comparación con la norma, así como la desatención de las personas y de los procesos educativos

4.La presencia de una cultura escolar hegemónica que puede chocar con otras que están en posición desventajosa

5.La asimetría relacional y comunicativa entre educadores y educandos

6. El elevado numero de alumnos y la dificultad de atención personalizada.[2]

En la escuela Basilio Rivera el currículo actual es muy tradicional, especialmente en la clase de inglés. Existe un gran énfasis en los resultados de los exámenes y no en el desarrollo de habilidades ni competencias. No trabajan en grupos sino sólo en sus libros de gramática. Hay más de treinta estudiantes en cada clase sin espacio para moverse o hacer dinámicas interactivas. Además, la maestra de inglés no tiene suficiente fluidez en el idioma todavía. Estos problemas reflejan por lo menos cuatro de los seis “gérmenes escolares” expresados por Martinez-Otero. Por eso,  la oportunidad para realizar las metas de este programa y crear un ámbito de convivencia es durante la clase de inglés. La clase de idioma extranjero no debe ser necesariamente una clase de gramática, sino una oportunidad de abordar los problemas escolares con un currículo nuevo y creativo.

La investigación va a enfocarse en cambiar los factores del sistema tradicional que contribuyen a la conducta inadecuada (para desarrollar oportunidades para mejorar estas áreas escolares) y darles la oportunidad de crear un ámbito de convivencia.

OBJETIVO:

Cambiar conductas dentro del salón de clase y darles las herramientas sociales para integrarse mejor en la sociedad por medio de un currículo basado en CLT, instrucción comunicativa del lenguaje basado en tareas (task-based comunicative language instruction).

Pretende modificar los siguientes aspectos:

1.     Participación

2.     Motivación

3.     Respeto

4.     Reducción de la violencia física

5.     Reducción de la indisciplina dentro del salón de clase

JUSTIFICACION:            

Durante las clases hay grupos de estudiantes que actúan de manera agresiva, indisciplinada y demuestran que no tienen los principios éticos necesarios para relacionarse bien con sus compañeros y con sus maestras. Habilidades sociales adecuadas son necesarias para integrar en la sociedad.

MARCO TEORICO:

Esta investigación es un trabajo ecléctico basado en el paradigma constructivista y la humanista, específicamente el constructivismo cognitivo de Piaget, el constructivismo sociocultural de Vygotsky, y la humanista de Rogers. Las teorías específicas incluyen la genética del desarrollo intelectual (Piaget), la teoría de organización y adaptación (Piaget), la teoría sociocultural (Vygotsky) y la teoría de aprendizaje experimental (Rogers). De los cuales, los principales puntos son la aprendizaje por la exploración, el aprendizaje por la interacción social,  y el desarrollo del autoesistema.  La teoría empleada por este programa que refleja los puntos importantes de las paradigmas que sean tomado es el CLT (communicative-task-based-teaching). Las técnicas del CLT incluyen el uso de actividades significativas y contextualizadas que funcionan para una clase de idioma extranjero del nivel primaria. Utiliza juegos interactivos, interacción social, y intercambio de información, y otras tareas que involucran la práctica de comunicación en grupo para crear un ámbito positivo que propicie el éxito de todos.[3] Las metas de CLT son: Competencia en el idioma y competencia comunicativa.[4] Las nuevas lecciones van a ser basadas en los libros de gramática que ya tienen hasta cierto punto; aparte de eso van a ser inspiradas por las necesidades y por las motivaciones de los niños a través de tareas construidos según la metodología de CLT. La meta en general es realizar un programa de aprendizaje social y emocional, que provea a los estudiantes de habilidades para la vida y las herramientas universales que les enseñen a tomar decisiones acertadas. CLT es la clave para mejorar el comportamiento y lograrlo.

Piaget (Constructivismo Cognitivo) 

El programa está basada en la idea que los niños deben construir sus conocimientos del mundo donde viven. No hay transmisión de información directamente a los estudiantes, la gramática no está explicado explícitamente, en vez CLT propone crear un ambiente en la cual los niños encuentran su propio conocimiento y aprendizaje del idioma inglés. La maestra es una guía en el proceso de construcción del conocimiento, organizando la estructura básica de la clase y demostrando ejemplos para los estudiantes. Una parte destacable de este programa es que los niños no copian del pizarrón o solamente repiten nuevas palabras o leen del libro de gramática, se levantan, bailan, mueven, hacen dinámicas interactivas de muchas variedades. La actividad física tiene que acompañar la actividad mental. Hay muchos juegos en equipos en que las soluciones de los probemas son encontrados gracias a la cooperación. De esa manera se adquieren nuevos conceptos en inglés, “functional chunks,” gracias a sus mismos y sus compañeros.[5]

Además, las actividades de este programa son apropiadas para el desarrollo mental de los estudiantes. Según las etapas cognoscitivas de Piaget, los niños del cuarto grado están en las operaciones concretas, “el niño práctico,” que es para niños de siete a once años.[6] Los juegos incluyen “mystery student,” “tic tac toe” “Acting” “Bingo” etc. El programa no está coordinado con las otras clases que tienen los niños, como pueden ser, pero según “el modelo piagetiano, el aprendizaje se facilita al máximo cuando las actividades están relacionadas con lo que el niño ya conoce y al mismo tiempo, superan su nivel actual de comprensión para provocar un conflicto cognoscitivo.”[7] Por esa razón, elijemos vocabulario que los niños usan diariamente y conocen bien en su idioma maternal.

Además, Piaget hace hincapié en que no solo hay cambios cuantitativos de las habilidades, pero también hay transformaciones en la organización del conocimiento y desarrollo de la percepción del mundo. Este programa lleva a la práctica los principios de funciones invariables de Piaget, la de organización y adaptación. Las clases reafirman la información practicada de la anterior, también reafirmando el conocimiento nuevo con las esquemas actuales del niño. Usamos el mismo léxico en juegos distintos, para que cada estudiante tenga la oportunidad de mejorar su aprendizaje, entrelazar mejor las palabras en sus propias esquemas actuales. Mientras que aprenden nuevas palabras y frases en inglés, se modifican los esquemas actuales (acomodación).[8]

También, es muy importante para Piaget la interacción social en el desarrollo cognoscitivito. Todos los juegos en equipo están estructurados a fomentar un ambiente de labor de equipo y la cooperación. No se pueden lograr el objetivo del día, ni recibir puntos de la clase, trabajando solos. No solamente es una clase de inglés pero una oportunidad optimizar las conductas en relación a sus compañeros y la maestra.

Más que nada la meta del programa es crear actividades que estimulen el interés de los niños, porque cuando los niños están interesados en desarrollar sus habilidades y participar en la clase, mejoran su conducta.

Vygotsky (constructivismo sociocultural)

Aún más pertinente a este programa es la teoría del desarrollo cognoscitivo de Vygotsky. Los patrones de pensamiento del individuo, por ejemplo, los cuales resultan en elecciones negativas y conducta inadecuada, son producto de la institución cultural, la cultura dentro de la clase. “Por medio de las actividades sociales el niño aprende a incorporar a su pensamiento herramientas culturales como el lenguaje, los sistemas de conteo, la escritura, el arte y otras invenciones sociales.”[9] Piaget propuso que el conocimiento se construye individualmente, mientras que Vygotsky subraya la importancia en la construcción del cocimiento en la interacción de personas. También, el lenguaje es para Vygotsky la herramienta psicológica más influyente en el desarrollo cognoscitivo.

Este programa toma en cuenta que el papel del habla privada es el medio más importante para que a los niños les permitan orientar su conducta. “Al efectuar la transición en los primeros grados, necesitan aprender las actividades que les permitan hablar en voz alta actividades que les permitan hablar en voz alta mientras resuelven problemas y realizan tareas.”[10]

Esta teoría de su paradigma está relacionada directamente con este proyecto.

“El entrenamiento en la autoinstrucción sirve para mejorar las habilidades de autodirección y autocontrol en los niños impulsivos y agresivos… Por ser además importante en la adquisición de los procesos autorreguladores, los profesores necesitan modelar las estrategias de autoinstrucción y alentar el uso de la verbalización relacionada con tareas, cuando sus alumnos tienen problemas en la escuela.”[11]

Una técnica específica de CLT es enseñar a los niños cómo la clase funciona. Hay una repitición del horario, y la maestra introduce una actividad siempre de la misma manera. Desupués de actuarlo, como ejemplo, los niños tienen la oportunidad de ser “el falicitador” y dirigir la clase. De esa manera, el programa entrena a los niños a controlar su propio ambiente, y aún más les enseña que tenemos confianza en ellos y sus habilidades. Después de solamente diez minutos el voluntario del día es el líder de la clase. Cuando las maestras modelan las estrategias de autoinstrucción, reducen la conducta agresiva de los estudiantes y les mejoran su confidencia. También la verbalización de todas las tareas durante la clase es reconocida.

Rogers (Humanista)

Los proyectos en grupo y los juegos de equipos son desiñados de una manera que no solo reflejan los paradigmas constructivistas de Piaget y Vygotsky, pero tambien tiene un enfoque humanista porque desarrolloan el autoestima del niño. Para Carls Rogers, el aprendizaje experimental es equivalente a crecimiento y cambio personal y todos seres humanos tienen una predisposición para aprender. El papel del maestro es facilitar el aprendizaje.[12] Está incluye:

 (1) Setting a positive climate for learning (Haciendo un ambiente positiva para el estudiante)

(2) clarifying the purposes of the learner(s) (clarificando los propuestos para el estudiante)

(3) organizing and making available learning resources (organizando y haciendo disponible recursos para aprender)

(4) balancing intellectual and emotional components of learning (un equilibrio de components intelectuales y emocionales)

(5) sharing feelings and thoughts with learners but not dominating.[13] (compartiendo emociones y pensamientos con el estudainte sin dominar)

El programa crea un ambiente positivo y clarifica las metas de cada clase para los estudiantes. La filosofía del programa es de enfoque humanista-existencial y combinada con conductivista porque utiliza el condicionamiento mediante recompensas para motivar a los niños y enseñarles que tienen el potencial para desarrollarse y lograr la autorrealización. Un ambiente positiva para los estudiantes aumenta un sentido de responsabilidad para su comportamiento y tolerancia hacia los demás.

LA META Y El MARCO METODOLOGICO:

Para cada clase preparao un plan basada en CLT e después escribir una bitácora cualitativa. Describo la clase, el éxito de las actividades particulares, la conducta en general del grupo y específicamente del grupo de niños más excluidos por su conducta. Designo a cada de los siguientes aspectos una clasificacion entre uno a diez, sostenido tambien por detalles más especificas.

1.     Participación - ¿Quién participa y cómo? ¿Cuántos estudiantes no participan?

1 = Estudiantes intencionadamente no participan

2 = Solamente había participación dedicada de 75%  de los estudiantes

3= Hay duraciones durante la clase en que los niños están destraidos o no intentant participar, aparte de eso la mayoria, 80% por lo menos participan en las actividads

4= Casi todos participan para todo la clase

5= Todos participan para todo la clase

2.     Motivación - ¿Están motivados? ¿Tengo que pedir su atención o ya están atentos? ¿Cuáles tipos de actividades los motivan más?

1 = Estudiantes no demuestran motivación y están haciendo otras cosas. La maestra de ingles tiene que interrumpir la clase para gritarles.

2 = Solamente 75%  están atentos para todo la clase

3= Hay duraciones durante la clase en que los niños están destraidos, aparte de eso la mayoria, 80% por lo menos me demuestran un deseo aprender

4= Casi todos intentan ser integrados en las actividades para todo la clase

5= Todos están atentos y intentan los juegos para la duracion de la clase

3.     Respeto - ¿Durante la clase me demuestran respeto? ¿A sus compañeros? ¿Cuándo y cómo?

1 = Estudiantes luchan, no me escuchen, no quedan en sus asientos

2 = Solamente había participación dedicada de 75%  de los estudiantes

3= Hay duraciones durante la clase en que los niños están destraidos o no intentantan participar, aparte de eso la mayoria, 80% por lo menos participan en las actividads

4= Casi todos participan para todo la clase

5= Todos participan para todo la clase

4.     Reducción de la violencia física - ¿Bajo cuáles condiciones ocurre este comportamiento? ¿Cuándo se reduce?

1 = Estudiantes están peleando fisicamente en la clase durante la clase, por lo menos tres veces.

2 = Hay por lo menos una pelea durante la clase.

3= Unos estudiantes quejan sobre sus compañeros, que están molestandoles

4= Casi todos intentan ser integrados en las actividades y no puedo ver estudiantes molestando a los demás

5= Todos están atentos y intentan los juegos para la duracion de la clase

5.     Reducción de la indisciplina dentro del salón de clase - ¿Cuándo levantan las manos para hablar y cuando no lo hace?

1 = Estudiantes no demuestran motivación y están haciendo otras cosas. La maestra de ingles tiene que interrumpir la clase para gritarles.

2 = Solamente 75%  están atentos para todo la clase

3= Hay duraciones durante la clase en que los niños están destraidos, aparte de eso la mayoria, 80% por lo menos me demuestran un deseo aprender

4= Casi todos intentan ser integrados en las actividades para todo la clase

5= Todos están atentos y intentan los juegos para la duracion de la clase

Al final de cada bitácora voy a concluir con una comparación y con un contraste de la clase previa, para mantener un registro de efectividad del CLT en cambiar conductas y darles las herramientas sociales para integrarse mejor en la sociedad.

No obstante, mientras que el objetivo es mejorar el currículo de inglés y subconscientemente mejorar la confianza de cada niño y explícitamente cambiar las relaciones con sus compañeros, la meta global no puede llevarse acabo sin el apoyo de los otros factores que influyen en el comportamiento, como la sociedad y la familia.  Esta investigación solamente puede servir como un primer paso, un ejemplo para el sistema tradicional y los “germenes escolares” que tienen.

---

[1] Martiñez-Otero, 2004

[2] Martiñez-Otero, 2004

[3] D. Nunan, 2004

[4] Cameroon, 2002

[5] Ellis, 2000

[6] Meece, 2000

[7] Meece, 2000

[8] Meece, 2000

[9] Meece, 2000 (34)

[10] Meece, 2000 (38)

[11] Meece, 2000 (39)

[12] DeCarvalho, 1991

[13] Smith, 2004

Fourth Grade, Basilio Rivera, First Class

Tara Irene Gilboa

Friday, September 10, 2010

Lesson Plan

Schedule to write on the board

1. Good morning!

2. Stretching (5 min.)

3. Class rules

4. The date

5. The weather

6. Body parts

7. Numbers

Goals: Figure out where they stand in terms of pronunciation, how much they need to review, can they put together the basic functional chunks presented in “Magic 4"? Check for conjugation

Materials:

Markers for the board, empty jar and gummies to fill it with - line marked with “Surprise”

For the future: Interactive Calendar Board, Expressions Board– emotions, Weather board

A) Write Schedule on the board.. (2 min)

1. “Good morning class” (30 sec)
1. repeat together “good morning Irene” <write on the board if necessary
2. How are you? I am good. < write on the board if necessary
2. Everyone please stand up! (5 min) Let’s stretch!

                                               i.     Arms up! Reach for the sky!

                                             ii.     Arms down! Reach for the floor!

                                            iii.     Arms to the right!

                                            iv.     Arms to the left!

                                             v.     Arms to the center!

                                            vi.     Breathe in. Breathe out

(repeat) *have them repeat after you*

Thank you everyone. Please sit down!

3. Class rules: (3 min) What are the class rules? Who remembers the class rules?
1. Only english b. Respect your friends and teacher   c. Raise your hand to speak d. Have fun
2. Write class rules on the board very clearly. Read together.
4. What is today’s date? (5 min) – Write question on the board. Have a quiet volunteer who raises her hand tell you the date. Write the correct date. Have everyone repeat. Write her name under volunteer of the day.
5. Everyone stand up and make weather motions (8 min)

                                               i.     It’s rainy. (splitter splatter with hands)

                                             ii.     It’s sunny. (round circle with hands)

                                            iii.     It’s hot. (wave hands)

                                            iv.     It’s cold. (shiver)

(repeat with volunteer helping)

Ask class What is the weather like today? Write the correct answer on the board. Today it is cold. It is not rainy and it is not sunny.
refer to poster with pictures

7. Everyone stand up for body parts game (8 min)
1. Head, eyes, mouth, nose, shoulders, feet, hips

8. Are we close to a surprise? Count the gummies.

MIPA CHECK

Motivation

Information

Practice

Assessment

LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE CHECK

I. Objectives - See where they are, introduce students to threads/schedule/kinesthetic activities
II Prep Qs - This lesson isn't incredibly student centered but it will build into being more student centered as I have assistant's leading threads. The weather motions are rather contextualized.
III Motivation "M" - Yoga
IV -Presenting weather with the weather chart and motions
VI - Comp Check as we go after each 8 min. thread
VII - peek at next section - after counting the gummies I added to the schedule activities for next week
VIII - closing activities was the gummy count

Reflection

4^th grade:

Well, I didn’t know that the teacher would simple leave me alone on the first day, or that she would be walking in and out on her cell phone. When I arrived there the kids weren’t settled but chattering away, in between activities. When I visited on Tuesday last week they thoroughly enjoyed the kinesthetic games I played with them off the top of my head for five minutes – counting the numbers on our fingers and slowly changing the level of our voices as we stood up and crouched down. I even called on Edgar to be my volunteer since he was so into it and he led the class. This class did not go as smoothly. Everyone was good with saying good morning, but the roudy corner was disruptive for almost every other minute after that, exactly how they were during my observations. There seem to be some tensions between groups of students seated in the back of the class. There are about thirty, maybe closer to forty of the students and I would say there isn’t much room in the class for them to move about much or make groups because their desks take up the whole space. Nonetheless I got them up for stretching but they weren’t as into it as the games I played last time. The roudiness in that corner just permeated… I tried speaking quietly to make them have to listen which worked for a while, then I just glared at the kids who seemed to bothering the others, and then I went to the corner of the board and reminded them of the class rules. Speak only English, respect your teacher and friends, raise your hand to speak, have fun… Then I went to the “surprise” jar in the corner and added gummies when I saw students participating. I drew a line and wrote “50” and explained in complicated English that in order to get the surprise they all had to follow the rules. If they followed the rules they get to have a surprise. It was dead silent and they all paid attention, hanging on every word as I dropped the gummies in. I really will need to use motivational techniques like these to get them to behave. I twice called on students from the back of the class to be volunteers and when they were volunteers they were really into the activities…  At one point 85% of the class was enjoying a variation of simon says when this girl comes up to me crying and I was thinking to myself (what happened… seriously? Come on, its my first day…) and she told me some kids had stolen her lunch. I had her go with another friend to tell a different teacher… then the “English teacher” finally came back in. They liked body parts and stretching and one kid even came up and wrote the date for me which was totally awesome. For the future I need to get really creative with some task-based activities, get these kids divided into groups where they need to work together to achieve a common goal, a motivating one, like the surprise. Today's class was too general and not student-centered enough, at least they got up and were moving around which was different from the 100% note-taking, traditional styled classes they attend all day long. I see team BINGO in the future, music in english, and volunteers of the day. I also see coloring maps in groups and lots of partner dialogues.

Learning English with Justin Bieber

I was sitting on a bench outside the school between classes. The kids were on break, running around in their funny little uniforms, the fourth grade boys playing soccer together, the kindergarden girls eating their candy dutifully in the grass. The plaza was a hubbub of yelling and kicking, giggling and quiet chatter. Many kids came up to me to ask me questions from my post on the bench, but I kept up the “I only speak English” act, to ensure success in future class and to motivate the kids to ask me questions using words I knew they know. What I didn’t know, what I didn’t expect to come from one of the mouths of the small girls in my fourth grade class was the following, more an exclamation than question...

“CONOCES A JUSTIN BIEBER?!”

    She had passed by moments ago listening to music on her cellular device, and it all came together. I didn’t allow the shock that made my heart skip a beat to reach the veins in my face. I kept my cool. “I don’t speak Spanish. Ask in English!” She went on about how much she loved him, and the whole conversation was more or less causing problems for my brain. I just couldn’t register the significance of the smile on her face as she pulled out her phone and started singing and dancing to this American pop star’s songs. She knew all his lyrics.

    Note to self: All surprises we work towards will be listening to music of a genre of their choosing. Activity could be to do a pie chart on the board of different genres of music enjoyed by the class. Most popular genre is selected for when we reach a surprise day and we will listen to the selected lyrics.

Teaching Methodologies - 1/22/10

I’m sure my philosophy will evolve with experience... here is where I’m at.
 

I believe there is a time and place for all teaching methodologies as they each have specific purposes and unique strengths. What strategy to implement in the class room will always depend on the level of the students I am working with, their age range, their individual motivations and goals, as well as the over all classroom dynamic. It will also depend as much on what their own philosophies are toward learning and being as student, as much as my own philosophy about what it means to be a good teacher. A flexible approach that values the multi-faceted value of past teaching dogmas will serve me best. While I will strive to be eclectic, the methodology that resonates most with me and has proven itself successful is task-based communicative instruction (CLT).

    I believe the CLT activities that are meaningful and contextualized lend themselves best for language learning, especially when the goal is competent and proficient output. The use of interactive games, social interaction, information sharing, and other tasks that involve functional communication practice are necessary in order to create a positive classroom environment and in which the students will excel in the new language quickly,.

One of the drawbacks of having a rationalist perspective on language teaching is the possibility of a school pidgin to form, which is difficult to eradicate. This is why I also find it useful to do grammar translation or other exercises that do bring attention to grammar patterns and highlight the nuances of the language being studied. While explicit instruction is never the objective approach in the classroom, such analysis often lends itself to students with different intelligences. Also, older students who enjoy learning rules sometimes desire a visual study approach and the foundational grammatical comprehension. I will always approach grammar rules first through contextualization and personalized learning experiences, followed by explanations of grammar only in a manner that reinforces language already mastered by the students. This often gives them the tools to expand creativity in their new language. When to interweave explicit instruction about grammar and how I draw attention to the nuances of grammar patterns is in the end entirely dependent on the character of my students, their needs and motivations.

On the whole, the audio-lingual/empiricist approach is not one I tend to favor in the classroom. Nonetheless, I believe that the creation of a cultural island were L2 is explicitly used is quite helpful. When working with students at a higher level I concur that eventually having an unconscious level of comprehension builds confidence. Then again, the empiricist drawbacks include its rejection of universal grammar and lack of encouragement toward creative speaking. This is not the atmosphere I want in the classroom, as it does not lend itself towards different learning styles.

Overall, I value:

    A student centered classroom

    being flexible, high context, comprehensible input

    modeling instead of explaining

    variety with in a  structured routine

    TPR

    lower affective filter of students in the classroom

    create an environment that is fun and rewarding

    I want to get to know my students: not just their names but their unique motivations, their unique qualities and interests, bring something to the classroom that will target every individual students intelligences whether it be artistic, musical, mathematical, naturalistic, etc...

Observation Report for Ms Leader’s First Grade Class

Observation Report for Ms Leader’s First Grade Class

November 19, 2009

Tara Giboa

This with out a doubt was one of our best lessons and yet after watching it on film I can see a number of areas for improvement. First for the most positive aspects of the lesson: Not only was 99% of the class involved they were thoroughly excited and interest did not wane because the family game was exiting and you can only get better at it with practice – I think this is due to the fact that we put HOURS of preparation into this lesson, when usually we only put two hours max into a lesson. We had rehearsed this activity, this game we created all by ourselves for a long time. It was an activity more student-centered which was really effective. They got to show us how much they knew and it was fun for the entire class to be working as a team together unlike in around the world when Tierra’s feelings could get hurt easily. It was a little hard selecting kids turns so in the future having the class list with us would make this activity run more smoothly.

I think I do a good job modeling the activity and am loud and clear and keep good eye contact with the students. Frankie does a good job keeping an eye out too for hands I don’t see or for when something needs clarification. I think we need to work on communicating better and sharing the job. Also, I feel like this activity could build up to the kids saying full sentences and not just be a focus on vocabulary. Once they have the names for the articles of clothing under their belts (haha) it would have been a good idea for me to applaud the use of full sentences because they are totally capable of it: La madre se lleva la falda morada.”

When it comes to me listening to Frankie, I need to do a better job of it: It often gets confusing when one of us wants to say something and we speak at once. In the future also it would be better to start with the clothes on the poster board instead of on the bears.

Observation Report for Ms Leader’s First Grade Class

December 10, 2009

Tara Gilboa

On the last day of class one of the activities we did included making a giant tree of all the words we know. The activity overall went pretty well: I liked that it engaged all the students and they all wanted to participate, even Tierra was raising her hand and calling out words. While the tree went on for a little longer than we thought it would we still got to prove to them how much they learned which made them all very proud. We even got to take a picture afterwards of the tree with the kids.

The transition from our TPR activities to the tree could have been smoother à If we had the tree drawn out ahead of time and then just could of “revealed” it, that would have been even more exciting with more of a build. I also did not do a very clear job describing the activity, while most of the kids got it I think it took modeling several times for them to really get into it. The only reason for them to understand what we intend to do off the bat is it will help keep their focus and get them pumped. Also, Frankie and I should have had a better system in which one of us could write the word and then the other tape it up.