This first class in the basic level made me
remember many things, especially because my tutor was the same teacher I had
when I was in basic, but in this blog entry I’m just going to share the
memories I have from the recent past, teaching Simple Past.
Everything started with a warm up oriented to
favor memorization skills. I wrote a short paragraph on the board and I had my
students read it several times, but each time I erased at least 3 or four
words, at the end I gave a prize to the ones that memorized the paragraph. After that we went through a reading about
Michael Jackson, and I made my students follow the reading by playing hot seats
at the same time.
I gave them some questions which they were
supposed to discus and answer; eventually, I noticed they were taking too much
time to answer them, and that was not so good since I still had to develop a
grammar explanation and an oral practice; Unfortunately, due to the time, I was
just able to explain the interrogative and negative forms of the past. Good
news my kind tutor said that there was no problem, and she took care of the
practice, but I still think I shouldn’t let that happen again. I will use that
memory from the past to become a better teacher in the future.
Hey Julito!!! I think most of us has had problems with the time because we do not know how to manage every single activity. Even if we are organized and we planned a specific time for an activity, unexpected situations can appear in this case your students took too much time to finish the activity, but do not worry for it because with the continuous practice, you are going to learn how to deal with these kind of situations. Congrats for your first teaching experience of this period and keep working hard!
ReplyDeleteThank you Mayrita!!! I think I will have more things to consider when I plan my second class with this group and as you said the experience will help me a lot.
DeleteCheers!
Hi Julito... As Mayrita said the majority of us had problems with the time, but i think that it does not matter if you take more time in one activity, The important thing is that you finish your activity well done. And all your students understand what they have done. So keep doing your best brother. Congratulations
ReplyDeleteThank you brother! I also think that it is better to finish just three activities, but knowing that your Ss understood everything than finish seven or ten activities and have your Ss lost.
DeleteHey Julius!!! I really like the activity you did about memorization practice...I saw it when I was teaching basic too, and that activity gives you the chance to interact a lot with the group and to practice how well they develop the "hamster" ability jajaja.
ReplyDeleteAs you mention, time is so cruel...when we are in our best moment it is so cruel to realize that time is over...but really nice job Julito...keep working!!!!
Thak you Sarita. Let me tell you I used that same activity when I did my practice in the public schools & it worked pretty well even there. Hamster ability rules!!! hehe
DeleteHello! Julius
ReplyDeleteI really like the warm up activity you did because it was very interesting. Regarding with what you said about the time, I also have had problems with it because we do not know exactly how much time students will need to work in the activities, but what you can do next time is to check if some students finish. Then, you can stop the activity and check the answers in general in order to save time. Good job, continue doing your best!! BLESSINGS
Nice idea Vero. Thank you very much I will consider it next time.
Deletehello hello!! i agree with what you say about managing time guys, something i´ve been doing is to set a specific time for each activity i assign to students, for example,i say 3 minutes, may be they will need more, but to make them work, say the time and if they dont finish in the assign period of time you gave them, then you add some more minutes!! try it out!! Cool Julitoow...
ReplyDeleteSeems great Mary! I'll definetely take it into consideration
Deletehello Julirooooo! I know that time is our enemy in our classes, there are many things to do, and as someone said "we do not know how much time the students will need to work in the activities". Remember that what matters is that the students learn and understand the topic. Keep working hard my friend!!
ReplyDeleteYou are right Alma! suc a wise man the one who said that. Thank you!
DeleteManaging time is hard, but if you prepare your class correctly, it will not be a problem even though we sometimes cannot cover everything we have prepared. Just keep in mind that their learning is the most important in the class. I know you do a good job, and I am sure you will keep doing better and better every time. Cheers yuliro!
ReplyDeleteThanks man! I'm sure this won't happen again because now I know the group & I know how they work. I will think of that when planning my next class.
Delete