Basic Sentence Structure

Unit 4 Planning: Objectives

Planning: Aims and objectives:

Why are aims or objectives important? Because they show us “the finish” point in the race. They answer the question: What do I want my students to learn in this class/unit/term? What will their attitudes be by the end of this term? What will they be able to do/say/communicate?

That is the reason why we express them in terms of infinitive verbs: e.g. to infer the meaning of new lexical items.

On the other hand, activities are expressed as nouns and expectancies of achievement, expectativas de logro, in the future tense.
e.g. By the end of this class, students will be able to spell words in English.
i. Listening and repeating the alphabet.
ii. Listening and writing the letters in isolation.
iii. Playing spelling games.
Students will recognize letters of the alphabet.
Students will spell words in English with appropriate pronunciation.

At present, we express objectives using infinitives of verbs.

e.g. "At the end of the class, students will be able to describe places using the structures and lexical items correctly."

Here is a list of possible objectives that you might consider as examples when you prepare your lesson plans:

Objetivos referidos a contenidos actitudinales

1- Participar activamente en propuestas y tareas comunes.
2- Participar activamente en las tareas de clase (o tareas extra-clase) propuestas.
3- Actuar con responsabilidad en los trabajos participativos.
4- Trabajar solidaria y cooperativamente en los trabajos propuestos.
5- Respetar las diferencias individuales.
6- Compartir con los miembros del grupo juegos y/o trabajos conjuntos.
7- Practicar el Código de Convivencia en situaciones de trabajo y/o juego.
8- Compartir su trabajo sometiéndolo a la consideración crítica de sus compañeros.

Objetivos relacionados con contenidos procedimentales

1- Usar el diccionario adecuadamente para explorar palabras /familias de palabras desconocidas.
2- Asociar términos transparentes.
3- Inferir el significado de términos y/o frases a partir del contexto/paratexto.
4- Elaborar cuadros / mapas conceptuales / esquemas a partir de un texto dado (oral o escrito).
5- Identificar datos específicos en un texto dado.
6- Extraer información global de un texto dado.
7- Clasificar palabras por ámbito semántico.
8- Relacionar distintos códigos en inglés y en español.
9- Dramatizar situaciones en base a consignas dadas.
10- Interpretar gráficos de datos.


Objetivos relacionados con contenidos conceptuales

1- Identificar las formas de solicitar y brindar información sobre ubicación de lugares y personas.
2- Identificar la forma de atraer la atención de alguien en forma verbal.
3- Identificar las formas de agradecer/ expresar buenos deseos/ despedirse/ prestar acuerdo.
4- Solicitar información sobre ubicación de lugares y personas.
5- Brindar información sobre ubicación de lugares y personas.
6- Atraer la atención de alguien en forma verbal.
7- Agradecer / expresar buenos deseos/ despedirse/ prestar acuerdo/ en forma verbal.
8- Responder en forma verbal a las distintas situaciones comunicativas que se presentan en la clase.
9- Utilizar adecuadamente los contenidos lingüísticos que se presentaron en la clase.
10- Relacionar otras áreas de estudio con la lengua extranjera inglés.
11- Identificar los elementos de la descripción de lugares.
12- Describir países, lugares, ciudades en forma escrita usando las estructuras gramaticales y lexicales con adecuada corrección /en forma adecuada.
13- Decodificar comprensivamente un texto narrativo/ descriptivo/ poético/etc.
14- Codificar coherentemente un texto descriptivo adecuadamente.

Activities, on the other hand, are expressed using nouns.

Ejemplos de actividades

1- Escucha atenta y comprensiva de un texto.
2- Detección de palabras y/o frases en un texto oral/escrito.
3- Hipotetización sobre el contenido de un texto a través de la observación de los elementos paratextuales.
4- Repetición de frases y palabras usando una pronunciación adecuada.
5- Producción de diálogos cortos para la comunicación en situaciones dadas.
6- Intervención en ejercicios de lectura dramatizada.
7- Producción de frases cortas usando los elementos lingüísticos y para lingüísticos adecuadamente.
8- Verbalización de situaciones comunicativas en inglés.
9- Uso de las frases/ elementos lexicales / estructuras verbales para verbalizar situaciones comunicativas dadas.
10- Realizar comentarios sobre situaciones comunicativas dadas/trabajadas.
11- Identificación de números del 10-100 en inglés.
12- Completación de formularios de ingreso al país en inglés.
13- Producción de diálogos en situaciones dadas.
14- Realización de entrevistas a personajes famosos/ a los miembros de su familia/ a los integrantes de la comunidad educativa escolar.
15- Escucha y elección de posibilidades.
16- Escucha y repetición de la información correcta.
17- Selección de múltiples posibilidades.
18- Completación de gráficos y esquemas.
19- Interpretación de roles dados en base a consignas dadas por el docente.
20- Resolución de problemas comunicativos.
21- Respuesta a preguntas de interpretación/ de comprensión basadas en un texto dado.
22- Elaboración de preguntas en base a respuestas dadas.
23- Resolución de un crucigrama.
24- Elección del título de un texto dado.
25- Elaboración de una tira cómica en base a un tema/texto narrativo / dado.
26- Elaboración de un poster publicitario en base a un tema dado.
27- Ilustración de un texto narrativo/ poético/ descriptivo/ dado.


Hoping you find this material useful, best regards, ma.ma.

The 10 worst things teachers can do

Top 10 Worst Things a Teacher Can Do

By Melissa Kelly, About.com Guide
See More About:teaching strategiesrubricsclassroom rulesnew teachers

Here is a list of items that you should avoid as a new or veteran teacher. I have only included serious items in my list and have left off such obvious offenses as having affairs with students. However, any of these can create problems for you as a teacher and if you combine two or more than just expect to really have a hard time gaining student respect and finding your profession enjoyable.

1. Avoid smiling and being friendly with your students.
While you should start each year with a tough stance and the idea that it is easier to let up than to get harder, this does not mean that you shouldn’t have students believe that you aren’t happy to be there.

2. Becoming friends with students while they are in class.
You should be friendly but not become friends. Friendship implies give and take. This can put you in a tough situation with all the students in the class. Teaching is not a popularity contest and you are not just one of the guys or girls. Always remember that.


3. Stop your lessons and confront students for minor infractions in class
When you confront students over minor infractions in class, there is no possible way to create a win-win situation. The offending student will have no way out and this can lead to even greater problems. It is much better to pull them aside and talk to them one-on-one.


4. Humiliate students to try and get them to behave.
Humiliation is a terrible technique to use as a teacher. Students will either be so cowed that they will never feel confident in your classroom, so hurt that they will not trust you ever again, or so upset that they can turn to disruptive methods of retaliation.


5. Yell.
Once you've yelled you've lost the battle. This doesn't mean you won't have to raise your voice every once in awhile but teachers who yell all the time are often those with the worst classes.


6. Give your control over to the students.
Any decisions that are made in class should be made by you for good reasons. Just because students are trying to get out of a quiz or test does not mean that you should allow that to happen unless there is a good and viable reason. You can easily become a doormat if you give in to all demands.


7. Treat students differently based on personal likes and dislikes.
Face it. You are human and there will be kids you will like more than others. However, you must try your hardest never to let this show in class. Call on all students equally. Do not lessen punishments for students you really like.


8. Create rules that are essentially unfair.
Sometimes the rules themselves can put you in bad situations. For example, if a teacher has a rule that allows for no work to be turned in after the bell rings then this could set up a difficult situation. What if a student has a valid excuse? What makes a valid excuse? These are situations it would be best to just avoid.


9. Gossip and complain about other teachers.
There will be days when you hear things from students about other teachers that you just think are terrible. However, you should be noncommittal to the students and take your concerns to the teacher themselves or to administration. What you say to your students is not private and will be shared.


10. Be inconsistent with grading and/or accepting late work.
Make sure that you have consistent rules on this. Do not allow students to turn in late work for full points at any time because this takes away the incentive to turn in work on time. Further, use rubrics when you are grading assignments that require subjectivity. This helps protect you and explain the reason for the students' grades.


Best Reagards, ma.ma.

Using powerful images for speaking

Looking at these beautiful powerful images about our bicentennial celebrations I thought that they could be used to promote speaking in class.

Some suggested ideas:

1-Look at the photos and answer questions like:
a-What can you see here?
b-Can you see an old lady'
c-How many children can you see?
d-What are they waering?
e-What colour are they wearing?
f-How many flags can you see?
g-Are they wearing hats/caps/boots/uniforms?
h-Can you see a soldier/teacher/boy/girl in this picture here?

2-Pair work:
Make two copies of one of the photos and erase (paste a blank piece of paper on some of the items/people in the picture. Both students (A & B) have different versions of the same picture. In turns, They will have to tell each other what is missing in each so as to form the full picture.

3-Making questions: Divide the class into groups of 4 or 5. Then, ask students to think of questions for the rest of the class to answer. Give them some time to prepare them and present them to you on a piece of paper.
After you checked them, each group will take turns to ask one question at a time and the rest will answer. If the answer is correct, the group will score a point.

4-Oral group narratives: Students will produce a narrative by adding one sentence to what has been said before.
Example:
Teacher: "Last 25 May was a bright sunny day and everybody in Argentina..."
Student A: "Last 25 May was a bright sunny day and everybody in Argentina celebrated our bicentennial as a nation. People went to out into the street carrying light blue and white flags."
Student B: "Last 25 May was a bright sunny day and everybody in Argentina celebrated our bicentennial as a nation. People went to out into the street carrying light blue and white flags. My mother woke me up very early and we walked to the Square where the celebrations took place."
Student C:"Last 25 May was a bright sunny day and everybody in Argentina celebrated our bicentennial as a nation. People went to out into the street carrying light blue and white flags. My mother woke me up very early and we walked to the Square where the celebrations took place. We sang out anthemn very loudly."
Student D:
:"Last 25 May was a bright sunny day and everybody in Argentina celebrated our bicentennial as a nation. People went to out into the street carrying light blue and white flags. My mother woke me up very early and we walked to the Square where the celebrations took place. We sang out anthemn very loudly. Then, we saw the parade."
This goes on until all students have said their contribution to the whole.
Later, they can remember the whole story together and write it on the B/B. (blackboard)

These are only some ideas. Can you think of some more?

Good luck, all the best, ma.ma.

Scaffolding Instruction Strategies

Scaffolding Instruction Strategies
Techniques to Scaffold Learning in the Elementary ClassroomBy Beth Lewis, About.com Guide

Here is an interesting article giving practical techniques for scaffolding learning.

These specialized teaching strategies are geared to support learning when students are first introduced to a new subject. Scaffolding gives students a context, motivation, or foundation from which to understand the new information that will be introduced during the coming lesson.
Scaffolding techniques should be considered fundamental to good, solid teaching for all students, not just those with learning disabilities or second language learners. In order for learning to progress, scaffolds should be gradually removed as instruction continues, so that students will eventually be able to demonstrate comprehension independently.

Scaffolding instruction includes a wide variety of strategies, including:

•activating prior knowledge
•offering a motivational context to pique student interest or curiosity in the subject at hand
•breaking a complex task into easier, more "doable" steps to facilitate student achievement
•showing students an example of the desired outcome before they complete the task
•modeling the thought process for students through "think aloud" talk
•offering hints or partial solutions to problems
•using verbal cues to prompt student answers
•teaching students chants or mnemonic devices to ease memorization of key facts or procedures
•facilitating student engagement and participation
•displaying a historical timeline to offer a context for learning
•using graphic organizers to offer a visual framework for assimilating new information
•teaching key vocabulary terms before reading
•guiding the students in making predictions for what they expect will occur in a story, experiment, or other course of action
•asking questions while reading to encourage deeper investigation of concepts
•suggesting possible strategies for the students to use during independent practice
•modeling an activity for the students before they are asked to complete the same or similar activity
•asking students to contribute their own experiences that relate to the subject at hand

International Phonetics Alphabet

Dear students,

I hereby want to remind you to download the IPA which you can download from UCL site

It's easy and free!

This is one of your home assigments for this week!

Good luck!

Best, ma.ma.

PPP and Alternatives to PPP