A way with words

After blogging all day long yesterday, I felt compelled to write a post about words. I have always admired the American way with words and the fun aspect of it, which is something I don´t usually see in my native language, portuguese. An example is the film Bruce Almighty (2003), in which a beggar holds up a sign with interesting messages. Their creativity comes to a point that I often wonder, what will come next? And I often can´t wait.

A way with words

After blogging all day long yesterday, I felt compelled to write a post about words. I have always admired the American way with words and the fun aspect of it, which is something I don´t usually see in my native language, portuguese. An example is the film Bruce Almighty (2003), in which a beggar holds up a sign with interesting messages. Their creativity comes to a point that I often wonder, what will come next? And I often can´t wait.

Who´s willing to get their hands dirty?

I was reading the Weblog "Word and Image" by Sigrid Jones and I saw this picture and I loved it. It says so much to me. It reveals (this is the way I see it due to the experience I had last semester and I´ve been having regarding Web Tools) to me the need to roll up our sleeves and make it happen. This semester, I´m working on a seminar presentation about digital learning for young learners and during this period, which actually started last semester, when I was introduced to web 2.0.(by taking the online course Webtools for Educators), I´ve been facing challenges (and by the way, overcoming each one of them)that for some educators would make them think why bother? , but instead of asking that question, which I honestly was inclined to, I decided to see where this road would lead me. So, challenged (in a good way) by my dear colleague Dani Lyra to be part of this project, I was determined to enjoy the journey, implementing the tools in class and sharing my discoveries. The feeling of accomplishment and the faces of the students after they see their final work posted for everyone to see, parents and friends in particular, is priceless. Cool feeling indeed.

Who´s willing to get their hands dirty?

I was reading the Weblog "Word and Image" by Sigrid Jones and I saw this picture and I loved it. It says so much to me. It reveals (this is the way I see it due to the experience I had last semester and I´ve been having regarding Web Tools) to me the need to roll up our sleeves and make it happen. This semester, I´m working on a seminar presentation about digital learning for young learners and during this period, which actually started last semester, when I was introduced to web 2.0.(by taking the online course Webtools for Educators), I´ve been facing challenges (and by the way, overcoming each one of them)that for some educators would make them think why bother? , but instead of asking that question, which I honestly was inclined to, I decided to see where this road would lead me. So, challenged (in a good way) by my dear colleague Dani Lyra to be part of this project, I was determined to enjoy the journey, implementing the tools in class and sharing my discoveries. The feeling of accomplishment and the faces of the students after they see their final work posted for everyone to see, parents and friends in particular, is priceless. Cool feeling indeed.

A moment of silence: A reason to write

The day after Brazil´s defeat by the Netherlands, we Brazilians still couldn´t believe it. It was like a bad dream we would wake up from. But, unfortunately, it was not. Galvão said: "We must keep in mind that it´s just a soccer game." Julio Cesar, our goal keeper, who was brave enough to talk to a reporter right after the game, said: "The world won´t end". And they´re right. Well, let´s hope they win in 2014. Will they?

A moment of silence: A reason to write

The day after Brazil´s defeat by the Netherlands, we Brazilians still couldn´t believe it. It was like a bad dream we would wake up from. But, unfortunately, it was not. Galvão said: "We must keep in mind that it´s just a soccer game." Julio Cesar, our goal keeper, who was brave enough to talk to a reporter right after the game, said: "The world won´t end". And they´re right. Well, let´s hope they win in 2014. Will they?

Digital Communication

For this digital communication project, Dani Lyra and I expect to make our students go the extra mile in terms of writing. Besides the book, they´ll have the opportunity to create a piece of writing in which the grammar structure learned is used along with a digital tool. Each task is presented with a different tool, chosen by the teacher, according to its practicality.

Digital Communication

For this digital communication project, Dani Lyra and I expect to make our students go the extra mile in terms of writing. Besides the book, they´ll have the opportunity to create a piece of writing in which the grammar structure learned is used along with a digital tool. Each task is presented with a different tool, chosen by the teacher, according to its practicality.

A Fantastic Story

A Fantastic Story

A Fantastic Story

A Fantastic Story

Let´s get down to business!

My friend and I

Long time no see! Ok, here is some news. Daniela Lyra, a co-worker, and I are working on a digital communication project for young learners. Our main goal is to develop activities that promote the use of webtools in class in order to foster students´ writing skills in a lively and fun way. I am also working on writing tasks with my teen students. After learning the third person of the Present Tense, I showed the students two slides in a powerpoint presentation. I told my students that the first slide showed items that said something about me and the second slide showed items that were meaningful to my sister. Students were supposed to look at the slides and come up with sentences about me and my sister. For example, "teacher, you like soda" and "your sister likes juice", or "you don´t listen to pagode" and "your sister listens to gospel music.". As students came up with the sentences, I wrote them on the board in the form of a paragraph. I also added an introduction (My sister and I are different in many ways) and a conclusion (These are the reasons why we are so different). After checking comprehension of the verb forms used, students wrote a paragraph describing the differences between them and a friend or a member of the family. They were supposed to add the introduction and the conclusion.

Let´s get down to business!

My friend and I

Long time no see! Ok, here is some news. Daniela Lyra, a co-worker, and I are working on a digital communication project for young learners. Our main goal is to develop activities that promote the use of webtools in class in order to foster students´ writing skills in a lively and fun way. I am also working on writing tasks with my teen students. After learning the third person of the Present Tense, I showed the students two slides in a powerpoint presentation. I told my students that the first slide showed items that said something about me and the second slide showed items that were meaningful to my sister. Students were supposed to look at the slides and come up with sentences about me and my sister. For example, "teacher, you like soda" and "your sister likes juice", or "you don´t listen to pagode" and "your sister listens to gospel music.". As students came up with the sentences, I wrote them on the board in the form of a paragraph. I also added an introduction (My sister and I are different in many ways) and a conclusion (These are the reasons why we are so different). After checking comprehension of the verb forms used, students wrote a paragraph describing the differences between them and a friend or a member of the family. They were supposed to add the introduction and the conclusion.

Hi there!

Hi there! I´m back. I was away for the holiday. Actually, I haven´t had the chance to post anything since I arrived from my vacation spot, on January 25th. I promise I´ll be posting new stuff soon. See ya!

Hi there!

Hi there! I´m back. I was away for the holiday. Actually, I haven´t had the chance to post anything since I arrived from my vacation spot, on January 25th. I promise I´ll be posting new stuff soon. See ya!

Calm Down!

Last Saturday, I took my students to the M.A.L.L. (Multimedia Access to Language Learning), so they could use the blog and practice the structure learned, which was the future form. They were supposed to talk about their plans for their vacation. Reading their posts made me write to you. When assigning a writing task in which students are supposed to practice a certain grammar point or new vocabulary, make sure they remember to use the structure suggested. Only then will they practice and be able to use it at all times. Tell them to try not to let their native language interfere in their writing. We know they want to sound spontaneous by using their own words, but using the structure suggested is the perfect way to practice what they learned in class. Once, a student told me that he didn´t use the structure suggested because he felt like he was copying my words or the words from the book and he didn´t want to do that, he wanted to be original. Be it as it may, a grammar point or new vocabulary, students should use it as much as possible. At first, yes, it will sound mechanical and artificial, but later it will come out naturally because they´ll be used to it. The more they use it, the better.

Calm Down!

Last Saturday, I took my students to the M.A.L.L. (Multimedia Access to Language Learning), so they could use the blog and practice the structure learned, which was the future form. They were supposed to talk about their plans for their vacation. Reading their posts made me write to you. When assigning a writing task in which students are supposed to practice a certain grammar point or new vocabulary, make sure they remember to use the structure suggested. Only then will they practice and be able to use it at all times. Tell them to try not to let their native language interfere in their writing. We know they want to sound spontaneous by using their own words, but using the structure suggested is the perfect way to practice what they learned in class. Once, a student told me that he didn´t use the structure suggested because he felt like he was copying my words or the words from the book and he didn´t want to do that, he wanted to be original. Be it as it may, a grammar point or new vocabulary, students should use it as much as possible. At first, yes, it will sound mechanical and artificial, but later it will come out naturally because they´ll be used to it. The more they use it, the better.

Busy, Busy, Busy...

I haven´t posted anything lately because I´ve been up to my eyes in work. But soon, I´ll be updating the blog.

Busy, Busy, Busy...

I haven´t posted anything lately because I´ve been up to my eyes in work. But soon, I´ll be updating the blog.

One small step after another

I had the courage to create two blogs, one for my advanced level group and other for my basic level group, and present them to my students. I took them to the computer lab and explained what I expected from them. They commented on the posts and posted them successfully. Of all my students, only one shared he didn´t think it was important and that we could be doing other things rather than writing for a blog, but the others enjoyed it very much, although I admit they were a little reluctant at first. Some are not used to expressing themselves and others claimed not to be creative enough, but I managed to convince them otherwise. Check it out:
writingloungeforstudents.blogspot.com and writingloungeforstudents1b2.blogspot.com.

One small step after another

I had the courage to create two blogs, one for my advanced level group and other for my basic level group, and present them to my students. I took them to the computer lab and explained what I expected from them. They commented on the posts and posted them successfully. Of all my students, only one shared he didn´t think it was important and that we could be doing other things rather than writing for a blog, but the others enjoyed it very much, although I admit they were a little reluctant at first. Some are not used to expressing themselves and others claimed not to be creative enough, but I managed to convince them otherwise. Check it out:
writingloungeforstudents.blogspot.com and writingloungeforstudents1b2.blogspot.com.