My sibling´s routine

This is an extension of the Digital Project in Unit 8 "My Routine", but now my Elementary students are using the action verbs to describe the routine of a third person. They were supposed to write about a sibling. The tool chosen here was the MIXBOOK (http://www.mixbook.com/) because it was the easiest one to be taught and used in the little time we had, which was two weeks. Also, this tool allows us to add photos or images, which makes the book extremely appealing. Because some parents don´t allow their children to have their photos on the internet, I gave them the option to add ordinary images. Every class I would gradually teach them one step at a time. They were supposed to work at home, by themselves. I did not promise any kind of reward or points. I simply assigned the task, which was supposed to be completed as soon as they could and presented to the entire class. Surprisingly, five of the students made the mixbook. After reading their books, I managed to sugggest corrections to some of them but one was left unrevised, due to time constrains. Nevertheless, It´s worth to take a look at them and see how cute they are. Here is one of the books. In this one, the student, Guilherme, didn´t use photos. As soon as I have the permission of the parents, I´ll post the other books here.  I don´t think they will oppose to that, but I want to ask them anyway. Meanwhile, the books are only available in my wiki.

View Sample Photo Books
Create your own Photo Book

Despite the complexity of this tool, the challenge of doing something on their own without the teacher´s supervision was very appealing to them. It was not the book itself, but managing to do it, being able to add the photos and the text. I think this was the main contributing factor for the success of the few people who worked on the project. I was glad there were five, considering the complexity of the task. They felt really good about themselves. Some of them told me they are working on other books already, personal projects per say.

My sibling´s routine

This is an extension of the Digital Project in Unit 8 "My Routine", but now my Elementary students are using the action verbs to describe the routine of a third person. They were supposed to write about a sibling. The tool chosen here was the MIXBOOK (http://www.mixbook.com/) because it was the easiest one to be taught and used in the little time we had, which was two weeks. Also, this tool allows us to add photos or images, which makes the book extremely appealing. Because some parents don´t allow their children to have their photos on the internet, I gave them the option to add ordinary images. Every class I would gradually teach them one step at a time. They were supposed to work at home, by themselves. I did not promise any kind of reward or points. I simply assigned the task, which was supposed to be completed as soon as they could and presented to the entire class. Surprisingly, five of the students made the mixbook. After reading their books, I managed to sugggest corrections to some of them but one was left unrevised, due to time constrains. Nevertheless, It´s worth to take a look at them and see how cute they are. Here is one of the books. In this one, the student, Guilherme, didn´t use photos. As soon as I have the permission of the parents, I´ll post the other books here.  I don´t think they will oppose to that, but I want to ask them anyway. Meanwhile, the books are only available in my wiki.

View Sample Photo Books
Create your own Photo Book

Despite the complexity of this tool, the challenge of doing something on their own without the teacher´s supervision was very appealing to them. It was not the book itself, but managing to do it, being able to add the photos and the text. I think this was the main contributing factor for the success of the few people who worked on the project. I was glad there were five, considering the complexity of the task. They felt really good about themselves. Some of them told me they are working on other books already, personal projects per say.

Would X Used to

In order to practice the use of WOULD and USED TO, I showed my students the picture of a tree.

Students in groups were supposed to create a short story about that tree. They complained at first, claiming they couldn´t think of anything, but then, their creativity started flowing. When they finished, they read their story to their peers. They enjoyed the activity very much because they realized how creative and touching their stories turned out to be. 

"When I was a child, I used to go to my aunt´s farm. It was very cool, I have good memories about this. I used to swim in the lake and spend hours climbing on the trees. In the end of the day, I used to watch the sunset and in the nights, I usually used to watch stars crash in the lake. I hope I will return there someday and check if the stars still shine in the same way". (2/2010 - Filipe, Kely and Sinara)

"When I was young, I used to go to my grandparents´ farm and there, I used to play outside in the garden. My favorite place to play was under the trees, especially during the summer, when the sun was amazing. The sunset was really wonderful. When I climbed the tree, I used to watch that sunset, it was a very beautiful landscape. I used to have great moments on the farm". (2/2010 - Antônio, Edilson and Monique)

"In the beginning, when the pangea still existed, we used to have many trees and many animals and vegetation. The sun used to shine bright and the climate used to be stable. After the humans arrived, the Earth changed radically and the nature was extremelly modified. The trees were replaced for concrete and builds and the sun didn´t shine anymore because all pollution". (2/2010 - Camilla, Marina and Stephany)

In the end, I showed them the animation based on the book and drawings by Shel Silverstein "The giving tree". They loved it.

Would X Used to

In order to practice the use of WOULD and USED TO, I showed my students the picture of a tree.

Students in groups were supposed to create a short story about that tree. They complained at first, claiming they couldn´t think of anything, but then, their creativity started flowing. When they finished, they read their story to their peers. They enjoyed the activity very much because they realized how creative and touching their stories turned out to be. 

"When I was a child, I used to go to my aunt´s farm. It was very cool, I have good memories about this. I used to swim in the lake and spend hours climbing on the trees. In the end of the day, I used to watch the sunset and in the nights, I usually used to watch stars crash in the lake. I hope I will return there someday and check if the stars still shine in the same way". (2/2010 - Filipe, Kely and Sinara)

"When I was young, I used to go to my grandparents´ farm and there, I used to play outside in the garden. My favorite place to play was under the trees, especially during the summer, when the sun was amazing. The sunset was really wonderful. When I climbed the tree, I used to watch that sunset, it was a very beautiful landscape. I used to have great moments on the farm". (2/2010 - Antônio, Edilson and Monique)

"In the beginning, when the pangea still existed, we used to have many trees and many animals and vegetation. The sun used to shine bright and the climate used to be stable. After the humans arrived, the Earth changed radically and the nature was extremelly modified. The trees were replaced for concrete and builds and the sun didn´t shine anymore because all pollution". (2/2010 - Camilla, Marina and Stephany)

In the end, I showed them the animation based on the book and drawings by Shel Silverstein "The giving tree". They loved it.

Once upon a Time...

Video Segments

Students´Videos

                                        

My intermediate students are learning the Simple Past and Past continuous to tell stories.

1) Students watch two video segments;
2) Students are divided in two teams;
3) Each team will be assigned one of the stories;
4) They will decide what they will say and who in the group will say what. They have to know who the characters are, the setting and the plot;
5) Students in the group will tell the story to the other group and vice-versa.The teacher records them in audio or video.

Based on the audio/video recorded in class, the teacher will prepare for the following class, a transcription of both stories. As a WRITING TASK, students will receive each a copy of the transcriptions and with the monitoring of the teacher, they will add what they might think is missing and correct any grammar problems, such as verb tenses or word forms.

Once upon a Time...

Video Segments

Students´Videos

                                        

My intermediate students are learning the Simple Past and Past continuous to tell stories.

1) Students watch two video segments;
2) Students are divided in two teams;
3) Each team will be assigned one of the stories;
4) They will decide what they will say and who in the group will say what. They have to know who the characters are, the setting and the plot;
5) Students in the group will tell the story to the other group and vice-versa.The teacher records them in audio or video.

Based on the audio/video recorded in class, the teacher will prepare for the following class, a transcription of both stories. As a WRITING TASK, students will receive each a copy of the transcriptions and with the monitoring of the teacher, they will add what they might think is missing and correct any grammar problems, such as verb tenses or word forms.

Why are you making that face?

Assigning a guided writing activity in class is a painful task. The faces they make and their sighs, the "I hate it" attitude towards the assignment is something dreadful. As if I am dragging them to be hanged. Despite of the pain and the ugly faces, the task is accomplished and for my surprise, some of them do a pretty good job. Although it is a guided task, some are creative enough to add new ideas to their pieces of writing, keeping the flow. I am proud of some and worried about others. A mixture of feelings that I believe every teacher goes through one day or another.

Why are you making that face?

Assigning a guided writing activity in class is a painful task. The faces they make and their sighs, the "I hate it" attitude towards the assignment is something dreadful. As if I am dragging them to be hanged. Despite of the pain and the ugly faces, the task is accomplished and for my surprise, some of them do a pretty good job. Although it is a guided task, some are creative enough to add new ideas to their pieces of writing, keeping the flow. I am proud of some and worried about others. A mixture of feelings that I believe every teacher goes through one day or another.