Margie gave an excellent suggestion for a tie-in activity on my earlier post about Valentine's Day activities, and I used it in my other class since it was very appropriate there, too. In general I find Eric Carle's books to be flexible and easy to use for a broad range of topics, and From Head to Toe is no exception.
The basic premise of the book is that various animals can do various things with body parts (a donkey can kick its legs and a gorilla can thump its chest, for example) and on the adjoining page there's a picture of a kid doing the same exact gesture. It's a very active book in this respect and kids are generally happy to go along with acting out the pictures. The structure is also very, very simple and repetitive so students really get the feeling they understand the entire book and can read it. The drawback to this of course is that there really isn't an exciting storyline or "punch" at the end, so the older elementary kids aren't as excited by it as some of the younger ones. They seem to like it okay, but I try to make it more challenging for them when I can.
I'm going to give an example of how I used the book this time, but am always looking for other ideas, so please leave a comment if you've used this book before!
The focus of the unit we're currently working on is jungle animal vocabulary and being able to describe what they can and can't do, so the book was also a really good fit here. I work with a small group of students ranging in abilities from just learning how to read and write to going into middle school next year, so I end up supporting the younger ones a lot when we do literacy-focused activities. Earlier in the class I divided them into groups and asked them to make a t-diagram that listed what a certain animal can and can't do -- one group did bears and one group did birds. We then got together as a whole group and created a Venn diagram to compare bears and birds. These activities went over well enough and with the exception of the kid that always tries to rush through activities so he can be the first to finish, they all seemed able to complete them accurately. You can find more graphic organizers at Everything ESL. Judie Hayne's website is a good resource.
I had intended to introduce the book by asking them to quickly brainstorm about other animals, but time was running short and this was the last class before the break so I moved right into the book. The vast majority of the class seemed to really get into it with the exception of the oldest girl who was a lot more low-key about the actions. She doesn't seem to share my willingness to look goofy, and I can't blame her for that. She's really a nice girl so I'll just chalk it up to being reserved and move on.
Anyway, we read the book together...once they understood the pattern I teased them a bit by giving the name of the animal and seeing if they could predict what they could do. I "quizzed" them afterwards about the gestures that went with specific animals. The vocab for some of the verbs was new to them so I was happy enough for them to know the name of the animal and body part and be able to do the appropriate action after just one reading.
As a culminating activity I asked them to create our own class book that's similar in pattern. The thematic stationery came in handy once again, so I used the border with jungle animals and asked them to pick an animal they liked and write what things the animal can do. I would have preferred for them to get really creative but they tended to use the words they already knew, so I'll work on that in later classes. It seemed to go over well with the exception of the youngest student, who needed a lot of support with this activity. Oh, and that same kid who wants to be the one to finish first. I'm nice about it, but I don't let him get away with it. Most of them do fairly well with bringing back work so I'll see if they remembered to finish their page over break. I like the idea of a class book but want to find a way to make it a little more interesting and challenging for the older kids next time.
ETA: Here are some ideas I found on the Eric Carle website. I liked the idea of asking students to come up with things that they didn't think anyone else could do. This might not be as appropriate in a large group of 30 students, but in small groups like mine I think this would have encouraged them to really be creative and ask for new language that they really wanted to know. I'll try it out next time.
Okay, it's your turn!
Monday, February 18, 2008
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Virginia Tech -- Remembering A Teacher
I was reading the Roanoke Times on-line and was really moved by this article. One of the professors who died was a French teacher, and some of her students created a French immersion program at a Blacksburg elementary school in her honor. I was recently asked if I thought Tech could recover from the shootings, and initially I thought it was a bit of a strange question -- of course they (we) would. But as I read this, I saw that even though people are moving forward it's obviously something that still affects everyone. Two of our friends were friends with Jocelyne. It was an absolutely tragic loss, among many others.
Jocelyne Couture-Nowak was a very talented, enthusiastic teacher of the sort who would come home exhausted after teaching young students but still find the time to sew a kangaroo suit to use in class. Her husband saved her teaching props and the Tech students are using them for inspiration to create their own. It's great to see the partnership between Tech and the local schools developing in this particular way. I'm thinking of contacting someone at Harding Avenue Elementary or VT Engage to see if there's anything they'd really like to have from France since it seems that they are trying to expand it to other elementary schools and are asking for more funding. I did my first ESL volunteer work at Harding, part of my student internship and also taught summer school there, so I'd love to help out if I can.
Anybody have ideas of things that might be useful for them?
(cross-posted on Pardon My French)
Jocelyne Couture-Nowak was a very talented, enthusiastic teacher of the sort who would come home exhausted after teaching young students but still find the time to sew a kangaroo suit to use in class. Her husband saved her teaching props and the Tech students are using them for inspiration to create their own. It's great to see the partnership between Tech and the local schools developing in this particular way. I'm thinking of contacting someone at Harding Avenue Elementary or VT Engage to see if there's anything they'd really like to have from France since it seems that they are trying to expand it to other elementary schools and are asking for more funding. I did my first ESL volunteer work at Harding, part of my student internship and also taught summer school there, so I'd love to help out if I can.
Anybody have ideas of things that might be useful for them?
(cross-posted on Pardon My French)
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
11 Months Later...
I might be ready to dust off this blog. I officially returned to work in September, but I'm teaching so few hours (by choice) that it's really more of a hobby that I get paid for at this point. It's clear to me now that I still love teaching elementary aged students, though.
Today I was pleasantly surprised by my students' enthusiasm for a very quick Mad-Libs inspired Valentine's Day activity that I created in approximately 2 minutes. They're in CE1-CE2 and have had at least one year of English before. I try to give them little cultural tidbits every now and then without taking too much time out of the main language focus, so I talked very briefly about how children celebrate Valentine's Day back home. (I was trapped by one clever student who said, "So, where's our candy, then, huh?" Mental note to self: find the box with the Harry Potter cards and suckers and be ready for this next time).
It's not necessarily the most communicative nor most creative of activities, but it doesn't take long to do and they loved it so much that I'll do it again. The only special material I used was a book of photocopiable thematic stationery for K-3 students, which is basically a bunch of fancy themed borders for students to write in. I've used it several times and they seem to like working with it. I'm sure you can find something similar on the web or just make your own using clip art, but for me this type of book is worth the expense. I initially intended this to be a quick wrap-up at the end since they've been working on body parts and describing people, but I might try to figure out a way to expand this.
At the top of the paper, I wrote My Funny Valentine, and underneath I wrote Your ________ is like a ___________ [repeat 3 times] but that's okay, I still like you anyway. Students had to write 4 body parts of their choice in the first blank, and 4 animals in the second blank and the end result was pretty hilarious to them once they figured out what it meant. I find some French students to have a little trouble at times with the concept "of your choice" ... they want to know if they need to write in blue pen or red pen or where exactly they should write their name and such. Invariably I'll have one or two students who really get anxious about this kind of stuff but today they somehow decided it should be the 4 body parts of their friend that they really admired. Hey, whatever works, and most importantly, whatever gets them started.
They ended up asking for vocabulary they didn't know (a bonus for me), and got some alphabet pronunciation practice in as well. The kid who in an earlier post stuck Mr. Potato Head parts up his nose for laughs last year came up with "Your heart is like a tiger," which I thought was very poetic (even though it was accidental). Then they ended up sharing their poems in English all on their own without prompting, demanded extra copies so they could make more for their friends, and stayed so late I had to shoo them out of the classroom. The real bonus for me was the part when they spontaneously shared their poems, so in the end I guess it was more communicative than I had predicted.
The other teachable moment that I ran out of time for was the possibility of a Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head Valentine story. They wanted to act out a whole kissy-kissy, I love you do you love me, check the box yes or no routine, but it wasn't possible today. I might try and combine the two activities in a situation where Mr. Potato Head has to court Mrs. Potato Head in English and see what they come up with.
I have to wonder if today's success was due to my (ahem) in-depth planning or rather to the fact that the sun was shining and they were in a good mood. I'll try not to think too hard about it.
Anyway, if you have any ideas for improvement, a spin-off activity, or just a general comment I'd love to hear it. ETA: Margie had a wonderful suggestion for a tie-in activity: From Head to Toe by Eric Carle. It covers both body parts as well as animals and provides students opportunities to act out the book. I'm going to use it in our next class. It would have been better if I had read it before making Valentines, but it's still relevant and I'm sure the kids will love it. This is one of my essential books for English teaching in elementary schools.
Today I was pleasantly surprised by my students' enthusiasm for a very quick Mad-Libs inspired Valentine's Day activity that I created in approximately 2 minutes. They're in CE1-CE2 and have had at least one year of English before. I try to give them little cultural tidbits every now and then without taking too much time out of the main language focus, so I talked very briefly about how children celebrate Valentine's Day back home. (I was trapped by one clever student who said, "So, where's our candy, then, huh?" Mental note to self: find the box with the Harry Potter cards and suckers and be ready for this next time).
It's not necessarily the most communicative nor most creative of activities, but it doesn't take long to do and they loved it so much that I'll do it again. The only special material I used was a book of photocopiable thematic stationery for K-3 students, which is basically a bunch of fancy themed borders for students to write in. I've used it several times and they seem to like working with it. I'm sure you can find something similar on the web or just make your own using clip art, but for me this type of book is worth the expense. I initially intended this to be a quick wrap-up at the end since they've been working on body parts and describing people, but I might try to figure out a way to expand this.
At the top of the paper, I wrote My Funny Valentine, and underneath I wrote Your ________ is like a ___________ [repeat 3 times] but that's okay, I still like you anyway. Students had to write 4 body parts of their choice in the first blank, and 4 animals in the second blank and the end result was pretty hilarious to them once they figured out what it meant. I find some French students to have a little trouble at times with the concept "of your choice" ... they want to know if they need to write in blue pen or red pen or where exactly they should write their name and such. Invariably I'll have one or two students who really get anxious about this kind of stuff but today they somehow decided it should be the 4 body parts of their friend that they really admired. Hey, whatever works, and most importantly, whatever gets them started.
They ended up asking for vocabulary they didn't know (a bonus for me), and got some alphabet pronunciation practice in as well. The kid who in an earlier post stuck Mr. Potato Head parts up his nose for laughs last year came up with "Your heart is like a tiger," which I thought was very poetic (even though it was accidental). Then they ended up sharing their poems in English all on their own without prompting, demanded extra copies so they could make more for their friends, and stayed so late I had to shoo them out of the classroom. The real bonus for me was the part when they spontaneously shared their poems, so in the end I guess it was more communicative than I had predicted.
The other teachable moment that I ran out of time for was the possibility of a Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head Valentine story. They wanted to act out a whole kissy-kissy, I love you do you love me, check the box yes or no routine, but it wasn't possible today. I might try and combine the two activities in a situation where Mr. Potato Head has to court Mrs. Potato Head in English and see what they come up with.
I have to wonder if today's success was due to my (ahem) in-depth planning or rather to the fact that the sun was shining and they were in a good mood. I'll try not to think too hard about it.
Anyway, if you have any ideas for improvement, a spin-off activity, or just a general comment I'd love to hear it. ETA: Margie had a wonderful suggestion for a tie-in activity: From Head to Toe by Eric Carle. It covers both body parts as well as animals and provides students opportunities to act out the book. I'm going to use it in our next class. It would have been better if I had read it before making Valentines, but it's still relevant and I'm sure the kids will love it. This is one of my essential books for English teaching in elementary schools.
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