READING In my lesson plan I included a reading section, and two exercises about it. The first one consisted in some “true or false” questions. But now I know that is better to give them some open-questions in order to make them talk more about the text. They will not be obligated to answer only “true” or “false” but they will have the opportunity to express themselves, even to give their own opinions. The first thing, that is important, is to look for a text with an interesting topic for them and not the other way round. When we have the text, we will adapt it (if necessary) in order to highlight some aspects of grammar, for example. In order to decide what type of text they are going to read, we need to keep in mind their opinions and likes. As we know, students will be much more motivated if they are working with something that they like. Depending on the age and level we can choose various texts about the topics we know they are interested in. And then, we will have two possibilities. The first one will be ask them to decide and reach an agreement. And the other possibility consist on let them decide what are they going to read individually. With the second one they will feel more comfortable in terms of reading, but it is a good idea makes them negotiate with their classmate to come to an agreement. Imagine that they have decided they want to read some fragments from Harry Potter (they are 4th of ESO students), now it is the moment to activate their prior knowledge. They will have to talk about the author, the date of publication, the actor in the films… We can also set questions relating to increase curiosity to read. After that, indicate what they have to do with the text. Related to extensive reading they will have to read those passages at home (at their own pace). But the fixed day they will have to hand in a summary and a list of the characters describing them physically and psychologically (if possible). And finally, in terms of intensive reading, they will have to analyze some indicated paragraphs (in class) in order to make them recognize some language structures. Apart from that, without having in mind neither extensive nor intensive reading, it is good to make them relate personal experience to the text and answer some questions like: If you were the main character what would you do? Do you agree with Steward’s behavior?...
READING ACTIVITY AS PART OF A LESSON PLAN. Topic: social nets. I have choice this topic because I think students are very interested in this kind of nets since they use them frequently. Therefore, I am very interested in their opinion about this topic. The text will focus on the problems of social nets nowadays. Students are supposed to have a prior knowledge about the topic. Age: 16/17 Group: students will be grouped in pairs. Duration: one hour. Materials: news from a newspaper dealing with this topic. Level: intermediate. Objectives: the objective is to get the students to have understood the general meaning of the text and to be able to give reasons of agreeability and disagreeability to it. Activities: 1. The teacher will ask the students to give their opinion about this topic without having read the text. What is expected from students with this activity is that they develop their communication skills by means of their oral skills. 2. The teacher will ask the students to read the text in pairs. They will have to look up the words that they do not understand in the dictionaries or ever to the teacher to get easier the understanding of the text. Students are expected to develop their reading skills with these activities. They are also expected to learn some new words and to comprehend the general meaning of the text. 3. The teacher will ask the students to debate in pairs the opinion of the author of the text and to give a positive and a negative point of the author’s idea. With this activity the teacher wants the students to interact between when they are debating and to interact with the teacher when they give him/her their opinions. With this activity is necessary to students to develop their oral skills.
ACTIVITIES The lesson will be divided into three main stages consists on some exercises. Stage 1: Pre- reading activities. • Introducing the theme. The teacher will initiate a general discussion among the class by asking questions such as ‘who has heard of Friends?’ and ‘what do you think of the programme?’ in order to start the communication between students and activate the prior knowledge of the students about the topic. • Friends Quiz: To get the students thinking about the series and introduce them to the context of the lesson, a questionnaire with general questions about the series will be given to them. They will have a few minutes to answer the questions, and then we will go through the answers as a class. They will do it in pairs. This exercise is important because to have more prior knowledge aids comprehension. • Pre-teaching vocabulary: it consists on work with some vocabulary that can be unknown for them in order to improve comprehension. For example, our text contains quite a few colloquial expressions, such as “knocked it out of the park”. So in order to get the students to pick up on these and understand their meaning, the teacher will give them a vocabulary task where they have to match up the expression with its appropriate meaning. When they finish the exercise they will compare the answer with their next partner and after that the correct answers will be given. • Matching up exercise: Like the text is an interview, it consists on questions and answers so students will be given a set of laminated cards, made up of the questions and answers from the text. They will have to match up the questions with the answers showing that they can read extensively around the text and understand the gist of what each question and answer is about. This exercise will be in groups of 3 people.
Stage2: While-reading activities.
• Distribution of text: the teacher will give the photocopy of the text to the students so they can read it in more detail. This time they will read the text individually, in order that they can concentrate better and focusing just on the text. • While the teacher is giving the text to the students, he/she will say another activity: while reading or when they finish reading the text they have to underline the answer that for any reason they have considered more interesting or surprising... So when they finish to read the text, some students will tell the class which is his/her favourite answer and why. With this exercise the teacher make sure that they have read the text and that they have understood it because the student unconsciously is going to make a summary of the most liked part for him/her and explain why, so he/she has had to comprehend it.
Stage 3: Post reading activities.
• Filling the gap: Once time that the student have worked the meaning in an extensive way, it is time to do an intensive activity in order that they pay attention to the form. In this case they will pay attention to the vocabulary in which the exercise is focused. • Oral exercise: The teacher will divided the class in pairs to which one he/she will assign two roles: the role of ‘the interviewer’ and the role of a famous person’ (who they choose). So one person of the pair will be for a time the interviewer and the other the famous person. So after a few minute, some pairs will have to choose one of the questions and answer that they have formulated, and say them aloud to the class.
READING
ResponderEliminarIn my lesson plan I included a reading section, and two exercises about it. The first one consisted in some “true or false” questions. But now I know that is better to give them some open-questions in order to make them talk more about the text. They will not be obligated to answer only “true” or “false” but they will have the opportunity to express themselves, even to give their own opinions.
The first thing, that is important, is to look for a text with an interesting topic for them and not the other way round. When we have the text, we will adapt it (if necessary) in order to highlight some aspects of grammar, for example.
In order to decide what type of text they are going to read, we need to keep in mind their opinions and likes. As we know, students will be much more motivated if they are working with something that they like. Depending on the age and level we can choose various texts about the topics we know they are interested in. And then, we will have two possibilities. The first one will be ask them to decide and reach an agreement. And the other possibility consist on let them decide what are they going to read individually. With the second one they will feel more comfortable in terms of reading, but it is a good idea makes them negotiate with their classmate to come to an agreement.
Imagine that they have decided they want to read some fragments from Harry Potter (they are 4th of ESO students), now it is the moment to activate their prior knowledge. They will have to talk about the author, the date of publication, the actor in the films… We can also set questions relating to increase curiosity to read.
After that, indicate what they have to do with the text. Related to extensive reading they will have to read those passages at home (at their own pace). But the fixed day they will have to hand in a summary and a list of the characters describing them physically and psychologically (if possible). And finally, in terms of intensive reading, they will have to analyze some indicated paragraphs (in class) in order to make them recognize some language structures. Apart from that, without having in mind neither extensive nor intensive reading, it is good to make them relate personal experience to the text and answer some questions like: If you were the main character what would you do? Do you agree with Steward’s behavior?...
READING ACTIVITY AS PART OF A LESSON PLAN.
ResponderEliminarTopic: social nets. I have choice this topic because I think students are very interested in this kind of nets since they use them frequently. Therefore, I am very interested in their opinion about this topic. The text will focus on the problems of social nets nowadays. Students are supposed to have a prior knowledge about the topic.
Age: 16/17
Group: students will be grouped in pairs.
Duration: one hour.
Materials: news from a newspaper dealing with this topic.
Level: intermediate.
Objectives: the objective is to get the students to have understood the general meaning of the text and to be able to give reasons of agreeability and disagreeability to it.
Activities:
1. The teacher will ask the students to give their opinion about this topic without having read the text.
What is expected from students with this activity is that they develop their communication skills by means of their oral skills.
2. The teacher will ask the students to read the text in pairs. They will have to look up the words that they do not understand in the dictionaries or ever to the teacher to get easier the understanding of the text.
Students are expected to develop their reading skills with these activities. They are also expected to learn some new words and to comprehend the general meaning of the text.
3. The teacher will ask the students to debate in pairs the opinion of the author of the text and to give a positive and a negative point of the author’s idea.
With this activity the teacher wants the students to interact between when they are debating and to interact with the teacher when they give him/her their opinions.
With this activity is necessary to students to develop their oral skills.
ACTIVITIES
ResponderEliminarThe lesson will be divided into three main stages consists on some exercises.
Stage 1: Pre- reading activities.
• Introducing the theme. The teacher will initiate a general discussion among the class by asking questions such as ‘who has heard of Friends?’ and ‘what do you think of the programme?’ in order to start the communication between students and activate the prior knowledge of the students about the topic.
• Friends Quiz: To get the students thinking about the series and introduce them to the context of the lesson, a questionnaire with general questions about the series will be given to them. They will have a few minutes to answer the questions, and then we will go through the answers as a class. They will do it in pairs. This exercise is important because to have more prior knowledge aids comprehension.
• Pre-teaching vocabulary: it consists on work with some vocabulary that can be unknown for them in order to improve comprehension. For example, our text contains quite a few colloquial expressions, such as “knocked it out of the park”. So in order to get the students to pick up on these and understand their meaning, the teacher will give them a vocabulary task where they have to match up the expression with its appropriate meaning. When they finish the exercise they will compare the answer with their next partner and after that the correct answers will be given.
• Matching up exercise: Like the text is an interview, it consists on questions and answers so students will be given a set of laminated cards, made up of the questions and answers from the text. They will have to match up the questions with the answers showing that they can read extensively around the text and understand the gist of what each question and answer is about. This exercise will be in groups of 3 people.
Stage2: While-reading activities.
• Distribution of text: the teacher will give the photocopy of the text to the students so they can read it in more detail. This time they will read the text individually, in order that they can concentrate better and focusing just on the text.
• While the teacher is giving the text to the students, he/she will say another activity: while reading or when they finish reading the text they have to underline the answer that for any reason they have considered more interesting or surprising... So when they finish to read the text, some students will tell the class which is his/her favourite answer and why. With this exercise the teacher make sure that they have read the text and that they have understood it because the student unconsciously is going to make a summary of the most liked part for him/her and explain why, so he/she has had to comprehend it.
Stage 3: Post reading activities.
• Filling the gap: Once time that the student have worked the meaning in an extensive way, it is time to do an intensive activity in order that they pay attention to the form. In this case they will pay attention to the vocabulary in which the exercise is focused.
• Oral exercise: The teacher will divided the class in pairs to which one he/she will assign two roles: the role of ‘the interviewer’ and the role of a famous person’ (who they choose). So one person of the pair will be for a time the interviewer and the other the famous person. So after a few minute, some pairs will have to choose one of the questions and answer that they have formulated, and say them aloud to the class.