Tag Archives: writing

Are you going to be my teacher?

General,

When I first saw this video I thought: “Wow! Isn’t he cute?”

 At first, I could only see a cute little boy pulling faces and peering at the camera with inquisitive eyes but soon I realized that the message he wanted to send was crystal clear. Then, I got into the car and drove off to work but on my way to school, his words came back to me (as the echo in the video) Are you going to be my teacher? You can’t be my teacher! You can’t be my teacher if you don’t know how to use a computer or the Internet, if you don’t know how to teach me to be safe on the Internet, if you refuse to learn how to use technology.
And it dawned on me that he’s absolutely right. I’ve got two children and I realize now, more than ever, that what they need to learn is much more than I needed to because they have more opportunities and more easy access to the kind of information we could never get, and only at a click away.

Our children need teachers, and even parents who know how to teach them to get the best out  of new technologies, who know how to help their children in their never-ending quest for information, who know how to make them safe on the Internet because Internet is not a passing fad, it’s here to stay and our children, in every single school, everywhere in the world have to be ready for life, for the world they have to live in when they finally leave our classes. It’s our duty as educators to make an effort to keep up with the new technologies, to know how to help students use the Internet and the fact that our generation is not a digital native is a very lame excuse for, at least, not trying.

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not saying that the traditional way of teaching is no longer valid. I don’t believe textbooks are a thing of the past, not yet, at least. I believe in a combination of the old and the new, of trying to achieve the right balance between what is useful in both methods.
If we can’t, at least, make the effort, we should maybe consider, making room for someone who wants to try.

This is what  our children need and I want to conclude with the last words in the video
” Do you really think it’s possible to be an educator in the information age and not understand and use the Internet? Continue to pretend the internet is just a fad.”

Photo by Cristóbal Cobo Romaní

Creative Writing : Using Wordle

Lesson Plan: Advanced, , , ,

I’ve been using Wordle for quite a long time now but this idea is something I have not yet tried. This task involves using this great little tool called Wordle and the very popular Breaking News English site.
I read about this idea in Marisa Constantinides’ blog, which I highly recommend if you’re a teacher.

Lesson Plan:
• Tell students they are going to write a short news report. Write on the backboard the following heading

” Teacher on trial for attacking student”

and ask students to comment of this heading and what they think  might lead a teacher to attack a student.

• Display with the OHP the Wordle and ask students in pairs to brainstorm ideas for an article using the words in the Wordle Cloud. Explain new vocabulary if necessary

• Give students about 15 minutes to write the first draft of the article.
• Play the audio from Breaking News English twice and ask students to add, improve or edit their articles.
• Students write the final draft of the article on a coloured sheet of paper, which is them posted out on the walls of the classroom. Students stand up, read everybody’s article and vote for the best.

Students compare their aticle with the real one. Click here

• Finally, it would be interesting to talk a bit about the role a teacher plays in our society. These questions might be helpful to get them started.

Do you think being a teacher is easy or difficult?

Do you feel sorry for Mr Harvey or the student?

What kind of behaviour do you see in your classroom?

What can society do to make students respect their teachers?

If web cameras were put in classrooms, teachers would teach better classes and students would behave better. What do you think?

Guess the Game

Games, Lesson Plan: Pre-Intermediate, Students' Corner, Writing, , , ,

Still on the subject of sports, today let’s focus on a writing activity where you’ll have to make use of lots of things learnt this week, namely

  • Modals: have to/don’t have to/ must/mustn’t
  • Vocabulary related to sports
  • Prepositions of movement

What to do?? Simple!!! Look at the following  pictures. What do they all have in common? Exactly!! They’re all sports.

What do you have to do? Choose a sport and give a good definition for it, mentioning everything you know about it as regards equipment, rules of the game, where you can practise it…etc. Make sure you do not write the name of the sport as we, readers, will have to guess the name of the sport you are describing.

Need a dictionary? Here : Monolingual http://dictionary.cambridge.org/

Bilingual  http://www.wordreference.com/es/

Ready??

The Weather: The British National Passion

Lesson Plan: Advanced, , , , ,

Isn’t it true that one of the first things that comes into your mind when you hear the word “England “is bad weather?

Contrary to the popular belief IT does NOT RAIN everyday but the thing is that talking about the weather is a national obsession and pastime. In England this is an ever-interesting, even thrilling topic, and you must be good at discussing the weather . It’s also important to learn this rule:”Never ever contradict anybody when discussing the weather”. Should it hail and snow, should hurricanes uproot the trees from the sides of the road, and should someone remark to you: “Nice day, isn’t it?” – answer without hesitation: “Isn’t it lovely?” (adapted from How to be an Alien)

It’s therefore important that you know how to respond to comments about weather as it often seems to be the device to start a conversation. Now that you have been warned, don’t miss the opportunity to do this lesson plan I have prepared for my Advanced students on The Weather. Click here to see the whole Lesson Plan

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