Activities for Busy Teachers

1. Activities for Busy Teachers Melanie Brooks, M.A. Senior English Language Fellow

2. Introductions DO! Pair/Share (3 minutes per question) • Interview your partner in English • Write down two facts about your partner. e.g. “Maria is a teacher” • Make up one sentence about your partner that is not true. • Using the sentences you wrote, introduce your colleague to the class. • The class members will guess which one of your statements is false.

3. Move if... Aim – to increasestudentlisteningcomprehensionandability to construct short, descriptivesentences • Studentsmustchangeseatswithanotherstudentifthestatement is true for them. • Thestudentleftwithout a chairmustsaythenext “Move if....” statement.

4. Consider Your Role As A Teacher • What is your primary role as a teacher? • How is this influenced by curriculum and materials at your school? • How is this influenced by your students’ academic goals? • What else influences how you interact with your students?

7. Where Is Your Classroom? Teacher as Coach • Students talk 75% of time • Learning takes place both in and out of the classroom • Language learning is multi-faceted, complex Teacher as Sage • Teacher talks 95% of the time • Learning is classroom-centered • Language learning = accumulation of knowledge

8. 1. Step Off The Stage • Increase student talk time • Language learning takes practice • Teacher talk = comprehensible input • Development of automaticity • Makes the teacher’s job easier • How do we get there?

9. Use Effective Activities (Ur, 2009)

10. Validity The activity practices what it aims to practice

11. Predicting Future Events DO! • Focus: using will to predict future events • Age: teen-adult • Level: Intermediate Write a future prediction for a classmate (you don’t know who). The prediction should be short (about 2-4 sentences in length) and should be positive. Use will statements like, • You will meet somebody, • You will solve a problem

12. Small Group Discussion Validity • What was the aim of the Predicting Future Events activity ? • Did the activity practice what it aimed to practice ? • How could you modify this activity to use in your class ?

13. Use Effective Activities

14. Quantity Provides ample opportunities for students to practice the target structure

15. BodyParts • Aim – To get students to review vocabulary by writing different parts of the body • Oneat a time, eachstudent runs to theboardandwrites a word in English • Afterthe timer goes off, wordsthat are spelledincorrectlyorrepeated are erasedbytheotherteam • Theteamwiththemostwordsontheboard, wins

16. Feedback Quantity • What was the aim of the Body Parts activity? • How many times were the students able to practice that aim or goal? • Was this a sufficient quantity? • How could you modify this activity to use in your classroom?

17. Use Effective Activities

18. Differentiation Provides practice for students functioning at different levels

19. Musical Tic-Tac-Toe Aim – to enablestudents to listen for andidentifywords in a song. • Copythetic-tac-toe game ontheboardexactly as yousee it • Whenyouhearoneofthewords in thesong, markan X over it • Thefirstpersonwith four Xs in a row, wins!

20. Small Group Differentiation • What was the aim of the Tic-Tac-Toe activity? • Could this activity work with advanced students? • Could this activity wok with beginning or low-level students? • How could you use this activity in your class?

21. Use Effective Activities

22. Success Orientation Designed to elicit acceptable responses

23. I Have Never... Aim - students will use and understand “I’venever” statements Directions - • Eachstudentwrites a sentence, finishingthephrase, “I’venever...” • For every statement that you have done, raise one finger

24. Feedback Success Orientation • What was the aim of the activity? • Did you feel successful about your participation in this activity? • Would it be possible for a student to fail at this activity or to feel as if he or she had failed? • If so, how can we change the activity to ensure success?

25. Use Effective Activities

26. Engagement • Use topicsthat are interesting to yourstudents

27. Two Corners Aim – students will use listening comprehension to agree or disagree with statements. Students move to differentareasoftheroomdependingonwhethertheyagreeordisagreewith a statement

28. Feedback Engagement • What was the aim of the Two Corners activity? • Was the activity engaging and interesting to you? • How could you use this in your class?

29. Review

30. TPR Break Time

31. Question Teaching “Culture”

32. Chimamanda Adichie • The Danger of The Single Story

33. Group Discussion DO! • According to Chimamanda Adichie, what is a single story? • What stereotypes (single stories) do you think are taught to foreigners about Brazilians? • What stereotypes have you been taught about Americans?

35. Instead of “Culture”, Teach Cultural Competence Teach your students: • the difference between description and judgment • to always ask, ‘could there be any other reason for this person’s actions besides what I have assumed?’

36. Thank You! Contact Me: Melanie Brooks Senior English Language Fellow elanguageprograms@gmail.com