5 Ways to Make Class Discussions More Exciting Classroom discussions have been a staple of teaching forever, beginning with Socrates. I have taught using discussions, been a student in discussions, and observed other teachers' discussions thousands of times -- at least. Some have been boring, stifling or tedious enough to put me to sleep. Others have been so stimulating that I was sad to see them end. The difference between the two is obviously how interesting the topic is, but equally important is the level of student participation. It's not enough for students to simply pay attention -- they need to be active participants to generate one of those great discussions that end far too quickly for both the teacher and students. The best discussions keep everyone active, either by sharing or thinking. 1. Just the name "lightning round" suggests energy. 2. When you ask a discussion question, call on students by letting them catch a ball. 3. 4. Keep each question going longer by engaging more students in the discussion. 5.
Six Alternatives to Book Reports | Education Rethink When I was a kid, I hated book reports. I hated filling out a form describing what I read. I wasn't a fan of artsy crafty alternatives, like cereal box projects or dioramas. This allows students to explore their favorite trends in books. What makes this fun is that kids get to rethink the role of the setting in the book. I love the notion of universes colliding and characters exploring their shared experiences. I've always thought it would be cool if Ira Glass would interview the entire Weasely family. The antagonist is arrested at the end of the book. Write a review. I have a few other ideas that I've never tested out. Create a TED Talk from the perspective of one of the characters. John Spencer John Spencer is a teacher, author, speaker, and incessant doodler.
Express 9.15 - Supporting Effort by Pairing Rubrics with Checklists Supporting Effort by Pairing Rubrics with Checklists Cynthia Kube In my position as a gifted resource teacher, I often see students struggle with the planning required for a challenging task. Too often, they have only a vague idea of what is required and are easily overwhelmed by the effort involved. It is crucial for teachers to carefully construct a task rubric and explicitly review it with their students, clearly delineating performance level criteria. As Kay Burke explains in her book Balanced Assessment: From Formative to Summative (2010), checklists can be used as thinking tools to provide students with a self-monitoring strategy. Checklists not only serve as a self-assessment for students, but can also be used as a formative assessment by teachers, as well as a tool for feedback. Thinking tools such as rubrics and checklists have an important place in the sequence of teaching and learning. Reference Burke, K. (2010). ASCD Express, Vol. 9, No. 15.
8 Idioms to tell someone to “shhh” or be quiet Do you ever have the need to tell someone to be quiet? In some situations, you might have to tell people to quieten down and stop talking just before someone is about to speak (in a presentation, a meeting or conference) or a play is about to start in the theatre. In those instances, you would politely ask people to stop talking. However, there are many more situations when you don’t want to politely ask the person or people to stop talking, especially if they have really annoyed you or you are fed up with the noise they’re making or the things they are saying. In which case, the idioms below would come in extremely useful! It’s a lot easier to be polite than impolite in a foreign language no matter how proficient you are in that language. So, I wouldn’t expect you to be able to use these idioms naturally especially when angry, impatient or irritated. And what better way to do this than to share this fabulous infographic prepared by Kaplan International. Kaplan International English 2.
3 creative activities for practicing prepositions of place I had to teach prepositions of place the other day and suddenly remembered something that I hadn’t done for years. This can actually be a great grammar point which can be done in class in a really fun way… if you’re willing to get creative. Ok, here we go then with a short description of three fun but easy classroom activities. What do you need? 1. You can set this activity up very quickly. Find an image of a room with ‘plenty going on’ in it.Get two identical copies of it.Now, imagine the image below is either being projected on to your whiteboard or is on a handout in front of the students.Explain that you will give a sentence and the students need to find the object you mention.All you have to do is give examples: ‘There is a cushion on the bed.’ This is a good one to do to inject a bit of energy into the lesson and to get the creative juices flowing. ELTPics courtesy of @fionamau 2. You can set this activity up just as quickly. ELTPics courtesy of @sandymillin 3. Guess what? Alternatives?
MET Project :: Welcome 50 "Best Practices" for language teachers 50 “Best Practices” For Language Teachers “It’s a funny thing. The more I practice, the luckier I get.” - Arnold Palmer Through practice and experience teachers get better. Here are my 50 suggestions for being the best teacher one can be. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. More ….. 9. 10. More ….. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. More ….. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. More …. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. Here are a few other posts related to “being a great teacher”. What makes great teachers great? It’s the small things that count. The 7 deadly sins of new teachers Read more with these articles and resources. Join the conversation at
5 great writing warm up activities... and what they lead to I think you might want to download these activities so you can use them later… so here’s a handy PDF file of this blog post! Warm up activities that get learners writing can be fantastic for getting the creative juices flowing while also giving a focused start to your lesson. A writing task at the start of class can be an effective way of leading into explicit grammar teaching or can just as easily be followed up with speaking activities. What’s more, many such activities are easy to adapt to be suitable for any type of learners, both adults and kids. 1. Ok, everyone in the world knows this classic set up: a genie has just granted three wishes to everyone in the class. Where can you take this? 2. This one needs a little bit of preparation, in that you have to cut out pictures of people from different magazines before class. You can examine the new adjectives used by the learners. Happy, creative learners of English! 3. 4. 5. Now it’s your turn…
Updated Padagogy Wheel Tackles The Problem Of Motivation In Education One of the biggest problems at the core of education is motivation. That’s according to the newest iteration of the popular Padagogy Wheel (pad for iPad instead of ‘ped’agogy) we showcased a couple weeks ago. Allan Carrington spent what must be counless hours thinking, revising, and refining the wheel you see below which is now at version 3.0. Be sure to click here to view version 2.0 of the wheel and click here to view version 1.0. What’s New In The Padagogy Wheel Version 3.0 The new version tackles a major question that is lurking in the back of everyone’s mind. So why yet another version only one week later? How It Works Start at the center. But it’s not how it has to be. Do you ever wonder how schools, universities, colleges, and large groups in general should use social media?
How to Start a Great Writing Center As a high school student at Brimmer and May, an independent school in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, I spent many helpful hours in the writing center. Rather than line edit my work with the all-intimidating "red pen" (a badge of honor for many teachers), talented staff members posed deep, prodding questions to help me realize how I could improve my prose, structure, and analysis. I'm excited about returning to my alma mater next year to teach history and serve as the school’s writing center director. To gain better insight into how to do my job well, I recently reached out to Prof. Richard Kent, director of the Maine Writing Project (a site of the National Writing Project), and author of A Guide to Student-Staff Writing Centers: Grades 6-12. In assuming my new position, I'm keeping the following points in mind. 1. A writing center is a place for all writers of all abilities, and writing center tutors are often writers of all abilities themselves. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
5 great ice-breakers in 5 days: #1 Where in the World… Welcome back to my blog! Sorry that I appear to have been absent for most of this month, but believe me, I’ve been very busy elsewhere. As well as presenting at the upcoming ISTEK International ELT Conference, I’m delighted to also be part of the social media team, promoting and sharing the whole conference experience with the wider world. This has meant me dealing with almost thirty pre-event interviews with speakers for the conference blog, which has obviously taken up a lot of my blogging time over the past week or so (please have a look at the fruit of my labors here). Anyway, I’ve decided that it’s time for me to refocus on my own blog, and what better way to get back in the saddle than with a blog challenge. My good friend and blogging compadre Tyson Seburn has set his fellow bloggers the task of completing a five-day Blogathon: five posts in five days. Where in the World? In the 21st Century the world is becoming a smaller place, but there are still some mysteries. What you need…