All About Britain

Some weeks ago we started reading this book. I think that This presentation can help brainstorm and review each chapter that we have read in class. So far, we have just read three chapters:

Genially

I myself have helped two students create an infography with Genially so as to assist her oral presentation about some out of school and free time activities for this week:

This is another brilliant example of Genially use. David and Elías definitely rule!!! Awesome!!! Completely different topic to learn about!!!

Another great example of Genially is this piece created by Diego and Jorge.

Comic strips with Pixton

My 3ºA students have made the following pieces of writing. To do so, they have used "Pixton".
Let´s have a look at some final products. 

The first one, created by José Antonio, Juan Jesús and Beato



 
Andrea, Mª José and Verónica have also made their own comic: Miriam, Triana and Julia set their stripes at the airport 2. Write a post for your blog and use the codes generated by Storyjumper or Pixton to link to the work created in your class. Remember: you don´t have to upload all the finished products; you may choose the best examples to share. How did you organise the groups? I didn´t arrange any groups, actually, the groupings were organized beforehand, as students were assigned a specific position in the computers’ lab back in September. I told them that they could swap places but they refused to do it. What was the sequence of tasks that you followed to get to the final product? I gave them a few instructions to carry out: Sign up. Review some strips on Pixton so that they could identify characters, setting, dialogue, and plot Think of characters, plot and a setting and draft ideas in paper. Use Pixton for their comic strips. Email their links to me. What were the specific learning objectives for this activity? How did the use of the tool help the learners achieve these objectives? Please be specific and give concrete examples. 1. Analyze comic strips to identify characters, setting, dialogue, and plot. 2. Draft events from a story. 3. Organize ideas on how to combine pictures, captions, and dialogue to tell a short story. 4. Develop comic strips. In what ways (be specific) was creativity and the use of imagination encouraged in your students? I did not brief them regarding the story-related events. As soon as they were given the basic instructions and got together, they went through samples once they signed up and started brainstorming. What did your students enjoy most / least about this activity? Most said that the creative process was amusing especially devising the panel strips. Drafting ideas was easy but writing the bubbles was harder. What would you change next time? More time is needed especially for students to overcome technical problems. Two sessions is not enough. Despite the fact that they were told not to use Google Translator, some groups resorted to this tool. I would walk around the classroom helping and solve doubts but some got away with it. How were the finished projects shared with the rest of the class? All the comic strips were read in class, since they had shared the links with me previously. What opportunities were there for students to co-evaluate and discuss the learning experience with each other? Session 2 was actually devoted for assessment and feedback. Each group graded the other groups by means of a rubric taking into account the following criteria: - Panel Design - Readability - Creativity and originality I filled in the same rubric too.

Edpuzzle

This is the video I have created with Edpuzzle. https://edpuzzle.com/media/5c56e34769ce6040fed59b45
I have chosen this video due to the topic as it has to do with my students are currently working on “crime” vocabulary. It focuses on the issues which concern society deeply: bullying, and it is very “visual”. Unfortunately, there have been several cases in the school. Thus, I think it posed the ideal excuse for them to engage in current affairs.

As homework, I told my students to watch it (I gave them the link and the code: https://edpuzzle.com/join/losolec

losolec

The objectives intended to be achieved were:

To make students work autonomously at home.

To review vocabulary related to crimes.

To learn and use vocabulary related to bullying in real communicative situations.

The task was clear: watch the video, identify the topic, and write down the expressions which mostly caught their attention so as to look them up in the dictionary.

I felt quite disappointed since just one girl did as I had told them, so my first attempt of “flipped classroom” was a failure.  Without my help, my student was not able to give many right answers during the while-listening, even though she tried several times. Honestly, I chose this clip because the end could be foreseeable and it had subtitles. However, the version I gave my students with the questions had no subtitles at all and I do not know why.

As a pre-listening activity they had to recognize crimes that teens usually commit.

 As I said before, the quiz feature allowed me to embed multiple-choice and open questions so that students could watch the video and answer them at the same time. Likewise, progress and time could be checked.

In the computers lab, students worked individually. I paused the viewing and gave them some tips and clues regarding the understanding. It is true that I could have recorded my voice and give specific instructions but I discarded the idea because I did not feel comfortable.

The post listening task was devised to start a discussion in class about the answers given: The follow- up question was: “What would you do now?” Some did not answer, others said things like: “cry and talk with my mother”, “tell a teacher and a friend”, or “I hit him”. They cast a vote on the best one (the second option), and wrote the reason why they would tell a teacher and a friend. Online dictionaries could be used.

On the whole, I am not quite happy with the activity (my mistake), I could have done better (hard week and not enough preparation), but right now I do not think Edpuzzle is a great thing, maybe because due to the features of the students at IES Ciudad de Las Cabezas (you have to make the most of your 60 minutes since just a few work at home regularly). Some colleagues have already tried flipped lessons and they have not succeeded either.

When asked about the topic “bullying” they said it was ok because it is familiar, but listening activities are hard without subtitles or tape scripts.

TiemToast Review

1- The learning objectives of the activity are:

To work in groups cooperatively.

To make timelines using different text types: biography, diary, story, summaries.

To value visual support.

To help students keep events in chronological order as they write those different text types.

To make connections and recognize patterns in a series.

2. The advantages of using TimeToast for this activity.

They have been responsible for their own learning. They had to agree on choosing a specific text type and take the initiative and work autonomously to comply with each other´s task and I think I have raised awareness on how they can relate events to their corresponding times, organize information chronologically, understand cause and effect, and relevant information.

3. The steps you followed to set up the activity.

Two sessions in the lab were needed, 90 minutes for timeline creation and 30 minutes for product displays.

First, students were grouped (mixed-ability groups of 4) (My 3ºESO group of 3ºB does not include any PMAR students, that is why it is not numerous).

Next, I showed them this Timeline:

https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/timeline-of-my-summer-vacation

After that, the groups chose a text (a group decided to search the internet to find a reading text, two more opted for creating a Timetoast timeline with texts already worked on in class and another group (Harry Potter fans) made their timeline assisted by JK Rowling´s  biography on

https://www.jkrowling.com/about/

They themselves made a list of “to-dos” and I basically advised and supervised: singing up, googling for illustrative pictures, drafting and editing and classroom explanation of the timeline.

Once the task was carried out, a member of each team explained the whole group their Timeline.

4. Any problems and how you and the students solved them

I had to “bribe” a couple of colleagues from whom I borrowed the computers´ room as I did not want to waste a minute.

Prior to the task I had briefly worked on TimeToast but I think I would have preferred to have some more time to master the app a little bit more.

Some internet connection problems arose so it took them longer, I also had to mediate in one group because one student was not willing to comply with the task assigned, which was speaking in public.

5. The students’ reaction – how did they feel about using TimeToast to complete the task?

They really enjoyed it due to the instant progress of their work. They provided positive feedback on the app.

6. Some things that you would change / improve next time.

As most groups copied and pasted. Next time, they will create their own texts, so the writing skill will be emphasized too.

More planning on my part is necessary: i.e. reading comprehension activities.

7. At least 3 ways that the use of TimeToast helped you achieve your learning objectives.

It helped students organize their texts.

Finding appropriate pictures helped them understand each tag.

Group work values such as democracy or autonomy were fostered.

I would like to add that I think it can be a very useful tool when reading “graded readers” since students can read and make their own timelines at the same time. TimeToast can enhance extensive reading.

Timeline

Here are some of the timelines made by my 3ºESO students with Timetoast on different topics:

The first one illustrates the diary of the life of Edward Eyre:
Reading Timeline 

The second one portrays J.k. Rowling´s life:

Reading Timeline

The third one is about a day trip to The Grampian Mountains:

Reading timeline

Reading habits

1. What kind of booms ir texts are the people reading? Did they chose the books themselves or did someone else choose for them?

2. Describe how they might be feeling at the moment and give reasons.

In picture 1 people seem to be reading whatever they willingly chose to borrow as they are in a library. Picture 2 depicts a 1950s mother and a daughter probably teaching and learning respectively about a flower/plant from a botany book. They seem to be quite interested, so I think they (maybe, the older woman) chose the book to read.  The people in pictures 3 and 5 are reading for pleasure, a Kindle-like book on an ipad and a newspaper.  Especially the Chinese man seems absorbed in his reading. Finally, picture 4 deserved to be dealt with on its own.  It shows several school children reading quietly and attentively the same book in a formal context. No willingness can be discerned from their faces.

Find pictures here:

 Picture 1

Picture 2

Picture 3

Pictue 4

Picture 5

3. Focus on one or two of the photos and say how they relate to your own experience as a reader in L1 (Spanish) and L2 (English or another foreign language). Think about the following things:

- What texts do you enjoy reading in each language that you speak?

- Do you choose the same kind of texts or do you read very different things depending on the language? What factors determine your choice? 

- In what format do you read (paper, e-reader, online etc.)?

- When do you read?

I reflect myself on the gray-haired woman in picture 3, as I always read e-books on my ipad which I find very convenient (bright pages, adjustable fonts, huge storage capacity, ebooks are cheaper etc).  In fact, my home bookshelf at the moment is stacked with children´s books (Los Futbolissimos, Harry Potter, Geronimo Stilton and the like). Likewise, I read news online from social media and apps mainly.

 I have to admit that I haven’t read a book in my L1 for a while. As a teacher, I prefer to read in L2 for the sake of my English. To be honest, I am not a “picky reader” in L2. My mood and tiredness, my learning needs or even the context of situation usually determines what I willingly read.

I would like to say that I own a quiet reading corner at home but, I would be utterly lying. I only have time to read before bedtime. Summer is my high-peak season obviously.

Unit 4 is about travelling. Once again Phuket, Thailand, has been slammed by a tsunami. Let´s try to describe both pictures of the same hotel in a five-year timespan.