Here goes a set of new puns and rhymes all the way through the end of week 2. ABCs and noodle-doodles. Are you serious?? YES! Things really turned out to be serious.So did my burning eyes. I challenged myself to three different blogs because I had so much to reflect upon, but I couldn't. I was just able to finish my first blog this week 4 hours ago (1.30am),and now goes my second one (almost 6 am), and again my kids are hustling on my bed trying to figure out how to build a 123 puzzle as I was trying with the ABCD puzzle. So we are not different after all.
This week was though; admit it dear friends! Or was it only for me? I like giving a certain identity to one of the classes I teach. I really enjoyed going on a noodle tool ride, because the ride paid off in many ways. I was looking for green ideas to tackle with my students in story hours, and I wanted these notions to be web-based. I found Podcasts : a full explanation of how to integrate podcasts to stories and books one reads in class, and in depth explanation of each step so that students can work easily. That was a first for me. A new "aha moment".
The week passed, and I had to put a certain identity to a class of mine. While identifying one of my classes, I understood the goal of the task. It was another "aha moment", an 'epiphany' that signified unexpected perception. I realized that the task was not just another assignment to explain it to our mates, or to be able to describe a class easily to a certain audience. It was a situation we were put in to see where our classroom stands, and to make us observe the different objectives our classes can achieve, having in mind their backgrounds, levels, and abilities with the most recent tools provided from the school. I saw that my class and I are standing on a very firm ground where everything is provided to them. I even shared this realization with them.
Coming to ABCD method of stating an objective, it was a first to me too. I just tried, applied, moved, chopped, created, and basically fought to come out with a brief, unified objective,and I couldn't believe how I finished with the final draft to post it to the room provided. I had to be done with it.
Reading a lot this week, following so many threads and links, and opening doors to new rooms and sites, igniting the engines of new searches made me all 'noodley-doodley' if I'm allowed to put it that way. However when I look back, week 2 was eventually a cool one for all the new results we get, for all the fresh prospects we discover, and for the several pleasant "aha moments" you get to be struck with. Let's not forget week 2 was an amazing outlet of thoughts and concept from a very dull wedding ceremony!! Congrats my friends we just survived week 2. You made it successfully, with all your limbs attaching to your body, to week 3.
Enjoy your new week guys!
Eugenie
Sunday, October 17, 2010
It Is Said "Sharing Is Caring"
This week was not so cool as last week for me. In school I was overloaded with after school meetings, and had loads and loads of off-duty chores to do, needless to say I had to take care of my kids constantly, and attend a wedding which I didn't want to attend, and all the time sitting in the wedding reception I kept scolding and asking myself why didn't I think of getting my laptop to finish my tasks!!!(The ceremony was that boring for me)
Enough talking about my exhausting week, and enough spreading the negative vibe. One of the interesting tasks to have this week was searching the new links/sites provided by Robert . I've sought too many of the given sites, however I liked to share with my mates some of the links/sites I used in my classes in the past couple of years that somehow gave a positive effect on the general assignments I had asked the students for. The most recent was ywp.nanowrimo.org. This site gives the chance to ANYONE who is interested in writing a book/novel to participate. What I do to students is that I urge them to sign up for the 1 month program and decide how long they want their books to be (in word count),assign the target and just start writing in a month without looking back in order to get to their goal. This site dedicated to young writers was a hit among the students. It's worth a visit.
Funny it might be but I ask my students (especially the boys) to sign up for fantasypremierleague.com, and create their own teams for each game week and post their own thoughts and expectations for each match day with their other play mates and thus creating and encouraging an English post-ing environment which is 'healthy' and 'fit'.
Other worth-mentioning sites are Penguinreaders.com where teachers and students can find their own areas to find all they need to know about any story they're reading whether it is listed as solely Penguin Readers publication or not. Teachers can find quizes about Oliver Twist, worksheets on Phantom of the Opera, and extra analytical questions about Anna Karenina. Same goes with the students in finding any info related to their reading material.
My fellow mates can also give a look at Suite101.com to find lesson plans, teacher resources,classroom ideas/activities and so on.
I've gladly gathered information and sites, I obediently organized my resources, and visibly verified them. The rest is up to you. It is said that "sharing is caring". What do you think?
Catch you in no time.
Eugenie
Enough talking about my exhausting week, and enough spreading the negative vibe. One of the interesting tasks to have this week was searching the new links/sites provided by Robert . I've sought too many of the given sites, however I liked to share with my mates some of the links/sites I used in my classes in the past couple of years that somehow gave a positive effect on the general assignments I had asked the students for. The most recent was ywp.nanowrimo.org. This site gives the chance to ANYONE who is interested in writing a book/novel to participate. What I do to students is that I urge them to sign up for the 1 month program and decide how long they want their books to be (in word count),assign the target and just start writing in a month without looking back in order to get to their goal. This site dedicated to young writers was a hit among the students. It's worth a visit.
Funny it might be but I ask my students (especially the boys) to sign up for fantasypremierleague.com, and create their own teams for each game week and post their own thoughts and expectations for each match day with their other play mates and thus creating and encouraging an English post-ing environment which is 'healthy' and 'fit'.
Other worth-mentioning sites are Penguinreaders.com where teachers and students can find their own areas to find all they need to know about any story they're reading whether it is listed as solely Penguin Readers publication or not. Teachers can find quizes about Oliver Twist, worksheets on Phantom of the Opera, and extra analytical questions about Anna Karenina. Same goes with the students in finding any info related to their reading material.
My fellow mates can also give a look at Suite101.com to find lesson plans, teacher resources,classroom ideas/activities and so on.
I've gladly gathered information and sites, I obediently organized my resources, and visibly verified them. The rest is up to you. It is said that "sharing is caring". What do you think?
Catch you in no time.
Eugenie
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)