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.

Education, Culture and "El Infierno" in Mexico

El Infierno

En resumidas cuentas, el film El Infierno dirigido por Luis Estrada se trata del mexicano Benjí, quien después de veinte años viviendo en Los Estados Unidos se regresa a su hogar en San Miguel, México, dónde le encuentra una cultura muy diferente de la que dejó atrás… Esta comedia negra ilumina los elementos fundamentales de la cultura y que la educación es un proceso permanente, consciente e inconsciente, que involucra todas las edades, esfuerzas y actividades de la vida. La educación y la cultura siempre se han entrelazado, y esta película hace un trabajo impresionante de demostrar como los creencias de una generación son transmitidas a la nueva. No obstante, hoy en día mas que nunca, la cultura y la educación tienen una relación aún mas complicado y frágil.

La película se trata de la cultura que ha desarrollado en el norte de México, la creación de un mundo en que la gente se sobreviven gracias a las drogas y no gracias a la violencia. La cultura subversiva se extiende por todos niveles de la sociedad y se involucra de todos niveles socioeconómicos, las más pobres y los oficiales del gobierno. La hipocresía no es solamente parte del juego, aceptado como un parte de vida, sino que gobierna la sociedad.

Sin otra manera de sobrevivir, Benjí se mete en el mundo de los narcotraficantes y vuelve ser parte de una cultura grotesca. La película hace un buen trabajo a demostrar que él no es una mala persona, ni aún el jefe de los narcos, pero que todos están sumergidos en un sistema de valores (lo más importante no es la riqueza, pero el capital), en una sistema que no agradece los derechos humanos.

Según el antropólogo Richard Geertz, cultura es "... a historically transmitted pattern of meanings embodied in symbols, a system of inherited conceptions expressed in symbolic forms by means of which men communicate, perpetuate, and develop their knowledge about and attitudes toward life" “…un patrón de significados expresados en símbolos que son transmitidos históricamente, un sistema de concepciones inherentes, con lo que los hombres se comunican, perpetúan, y desarrollan sus conocimientos y actitudes sobre la vida.” (Geertz 1973: 89).  Aún más, me gustaría añadir que cultura no solamente influye la percepción de la vida, sino que la propia creación de la identidad. En un mundo globalizado el sistema educativa formal tienen un gran papel en la formación de la identidad y la transmisión de creencias durante la juventud. Sin embargo hay otros partes de la vida que también nos moldean. Aprendimos los valores implícitos de nuestras experiencias en casa, de nuestros padres y otros miembros de la familia y además de nuestros amigos. También hoy en día el poder de las corporaciones y el rol de la tecnología se extienden por todas partes y se influyen también nuestra comprensión del mundo.

Estrada subraya la perpetuación de los criminales y los asesinatos por la falta de educación, no solamente de un sistema formal pero de todos los aspectos de vida, de todos sus experiencias. Además, la película indica que educación no es alga que ocurre del nivel individual, sino también para una comunidad, un pueblo, dentro de un contexto general y especifico, global y situado. La educación es el desarrolla sus potencies y las de su entorno, promoviendo la cultura.

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.

Observation Report - Food Preferences ESL

Observation Report: Ray and Alexandra

January 20, 2010

Reading: Food Preferences

Overall, excellent work you two! I have so many praises and my only suggestions/comments in this observation report are rather nit-picky. Any advice I have for you guys is just keeping in mind that some of the great techniques you use in the classroom here might not translate well abroad.

The atmosphere in the classroom was great! Everyone was relaxed and therefore open to new experiences. Ray, you opened up the class in a very amiable manner, asking everybody about their weekend etc. Then you transitioned well to homework review when you instructed them to take out their HW and then share with their classmates. I like how you keep a very laid back attitude but maintained control of the class and stayed in a “teaching role” A+.

            I liked how you made T-charts and wrote up the vocabulary on the board by country. That was a great connection! Then everyone got to present and it was very student-centered activity and it mattered, it was interesting, there was a reason to pay attention and to be involved. I also liked how you incorporated the whole audience by having everybody raise their hands for the foods they liked vs. disliked = this kept everyone involved. Ray, you stayed very animated and kept the class flowing by asking each student to present his or her assigned country.

I think this first half of the class certainly established that there are different food preferences which was a fun/creative pre-reading activity. Speaking, listening, and reading were practiced. It was also a good vocabulary review.

Reviewing the first paragraph was key since there were students who were not present yesterday. It would have been nice if there had been a handout with the reading of the key words that were to come up. I attached one to give you an idea of what I mean. This gives the students a concrete place to apply the new phrases they are learning from the reading. All of the explanations of the new words were very clear and the drawings on the boards really helped. Sometimes I think you guys might have been speaking a little fast. “Franks-like hot dogs-right?” This might have gone over some heads. Drawing the clam-shells vs. oysters was great.  With to be turned on/to be turned off = I’m so glad you brought this up with examples! The Alexandra when you were talking about cultural biases you said, “How did I explain this yesterday, do you remember?” but kind of rhetorically - you should have kept going with this! I love overall how you ask students to explain the words to you before you describe the meanings to them.

            It might be helpful to take notes on each student when they are reading so you know which are the tricky sounds they are mispronouncing. Jeronome’s “raw” was basically incomprehensible. I hope tomorrow they get to practice the new words/phrases in a story of their own and answer comprehension questions about the reading. Maybe they can even respond with their own ideas about what is beyond the tip of the iceberg?

            What won’t translate abroad: Speaking so naturally. You will probably have to slow down a tad and keep instructions far simpler, especially if you have a classroom with 40 students and no ESL teachers. Having a vocab sheet with the reading will be useful in a class with multiple students at different levels because it will help those follow along anyways if they are lost in the reading and it will be something extra and concrete for them to work with if they are having trouble taking notes!

Danielle’s Lesson January 14, 2010

Overall you did a really excellent job today. Class was fun and everyone was involved. There were several areas of MIPA that you did exceedingly well and there are a few places where I have some pointers. I felt that at the begging of the class you did a good job setting up motivation. Leading them on with the dates as you did was fantastic! Having them come up to the board and fill in the dates worked really well! Then allowing Susan to go up to the board and write the whole thing was a great progression. You really have such a stronger command of the classroom it is excellent! They are all really engaged in the lesson and the way you went over the date was totally student-centered.

Then singing together was really cute! It really was effective for lowering their affective filter. You use a lot of hand motions, which is also really key so keep that up! The review at the begging of class was great for boosting their confidence overall. Then when you moved to “simon dice” game with objects around the room it may have been better to stick with “chair, door, window, pencil, pen, etc…” Black board was a slightly ambiguous first choice. Another suggestion: You often said “Do you know this?” I think you should try to avoid this question at all costs and instead ask them to tell you what they do know. So instead, “what is this called?”

            The power point acted as a motivation and information stage. It was exiting and colorful and full of pictures and gave great context for the students.

These people are young vs. old:

“We describe them as young”

“We describe them as old”

It might be more useful to teach simpler versions of the verb to be, such as: He is old, She is old, They are old, I am, You are => then build up to “we describe them as”

By the time you got to the slide with the Clown -  “Do you like clowns? Who is your favorite?” you have transitioned to doing just that: She is/He is. It would keep it simpler to have one goal as you are going through the power point to make it interactive. One or two functional chunks you want the students to be responding with.

Really good job writing on the board! They were all repeating the word for suit! They are so much more comfortable speaking in class it is great!

“They are laughing” Here again you have made the switch from “we describe them as” to the verb to be. You overemphasize the F so they can hear the air blowing out which is really great! Keep being loud!

Good example for the word ‘serious’! You really acted it out and its great how animated you are! Keep it up!

What is he doing? What is he wearing? Try to get full sentences out of them.

Fur vs. animal = good distinction

“We describe them as blonde”

The power point went a little long. There was a lot covered… they were getting kind of tired by brunette. It took over 20 minutes! That’s a lot of new information all at once. I try to stick to ten-minute chunks.

Even though their hair is orange we call them red-head = this was just confusing. They look like red heads to me!

When they get quiet you get quiet. Like when asking are they tall or short, that is exactly when you have to get extra loud. You start whispering. Asking the questions at the end was difficult because they only had gone through

“We are not blonde, we are not brunette, we are not red-heads” = this was a good loud statement.

***Having a handout with the Vocab words with pictures would have been great for them to look down on while they were practicing the new words. I’m sure they won’t remember, “suit” tomorrow.

You described “No one” and “neither” on the board. Try to just stick to one! Remember we can only learn “seven” new things at a time!

***It might be a good idea before your lessons to give yourself a limit of new phrases you are allowed to use.

You tended to quiz them right after the long powerpoint and I think they could have used a little extra time to soak in all the new terms and practice them before application, which was describing themselves. Pictionary, flashcards, connect the pictures to the new vocab word sheet... something along those lines!