Tuesday, November 29, 2016

My review of Domenica Speranza's lesson plan

Domenica's message:

 Lesson Plan for Module 4 Learning Activity is https://v.gd/8fCQHO

the link to My Learning Diary is  https://padlet.com/sperados3/ixhxivl5mhqq  My editor name is  doe. 

The addressees of my lesson are Italian 10-12 year-old students. The Lesson is centred on the creation of a comic strip in English. 



My review:


Great ideas and well developed.
I was not aware of the existence of TES (and if I had ever been aware, i believe that I managed to forget it!)
I would surely give a 5 (the highest grade) for each and every component of the Peer Review Rubric because it seems to me that everything is clearly presented and carefully planned.It will be interesting to see outcomes if you document them.


Saturday, November 19, 2016

Learning Designer lesson plans

Learning Designer lesson plans: this is the link 

https://v.gd/iju1Ui

Read , Listen, Speak
1. November 6th - November 17th: PUpils read, discuss (speak) and answer (write) Reading Comprehension questions on the story "The Stranger Withing" by Ami Hilborn. Link to the story: http://www.chickensoup.com/book-story/50210/the-stranger-within
Collaborate
Work in pairs: Pupils come up with the stereotypical view of both old and homeless people, as this stereotypical view reflects the point of view of the story's main character's friend, and of the passers by who ignore the old lady with the shopping cart. This discussion led l to pair work. Pupils w.ree asked to think, discuss and come up with answers to some or all of the following questions: What kinds of characteristics are included in stereotypes? Why do people form and use stereotypes? What makes us think in stereotypes? What influence do stereotypes have on the way we judge people? What influence do stereotypes have on the way we act / take action? Can we overcome stereotype effects?
Discuss   
At home, pupils are asked to watch the You Tube clipHomeless stereotypes #notalwaystrue. Link: https://youtu.be/fwdpzT0gYVw  A film asking you to challenge your usual perception of a typical homeless stereotype. Does working mean that you can afford a home. Does having a home mean that you go to work. The Charity P3, working to tackle social exclusion and ensure that everyone can play a positive part of society. For the Novembre 21st - November 22ns lessons, pupils are asked to react to the film and questions posted on the class's Google + Community (see attached document) https://goo.gl/FWc8et
Investigate
November 24th - and homeworkIn groups of 3 or 4, find what the stereotype of ONE of these people is. 1. Common stereotype of men. 2. Common stereotype of women. 3. Common stereotype of White Americans. 4. Common stereotype of Arabs and Muslim 5. Common stereotype of Diaspora Jews. 6. Common stereotype of israeli Jews. 7. Common stereotype of Ashkenazi Jews. 8. Common stereotype of Oriental and / or Sepharadi Jews. 9. Common stereotype of Ultra- orthodox Jews. 10. Common stereotype of Leftists (people who support the political views or policies of the left.) 11. Common stereotype of Rightists (people who support the political views or policies of the right) 12. Common stereotype of French people. 13. Common stereotype of English people. 14. Common stereotype of Afroa-American (black) people. 15. Common stereotype of gays / Lesbians/ Transgender. 16. CHOOSE ANOTHER STEREOTYPE
Practice
1. Define the stereotype that you have chosen. Write a short text as an introduction to that stereotype. Make sure to write complete sentences. 2. Comment on the stereotype. Write a text to answer the question: Is the stereotype right? Is it wrong? Why or why not?

Produce
Either on a Padlet or a Google Slides presentation, 1. Introduce the stereotype of your choice (add the text that you have prepared with your group). 2. Add images, videos ,etc., and comment on the stereotype (add the text that you prepared with your group). 3. Upload a link to the Google Community. 4. Present orally to the whole class.










Friday, November 4, 2016

2.7 Peer Review of my learning activity

Breaking Stereotypes learning Unit

Part I: Low Level of Collaboration (code 3) : pair work following the study of the short story The Stranger Within  by Ami Hilborn.

Pupils will come up with the stereotypical view of both old and homeless people, this being the point of view of the main character's friend and the passers by who ignore the old lady with the shopping cart.

THis will lead to pair work:

Pupils will be asked to think, discuss and come up with answers to some or all of the following questions:



What kinds of characteristics are included in stereotypes?

Why do people form and use stereotypes?

What makes us think in stereotypes?
What influence do stereotypes have on the way we judge people
What influence do stereotypes have on the way we act / take action?
Can we overcome stereotype effects?  



The idea is that besides introducing the subject of Stereotypes, pupils will be working on the four  language skills:



I will ask each pair to write a short paragraph with their answers.

High Level of collaboration - code 5
a. Pupils will be divided into collaborative groups of 3 and 4
b. Each group will access he course's Moodle Platform, by means of which they will have access to texts in various formats (Padlet, written text, recorded voice, short Youtube videos, Powerpoint Presentations and Google Slides, etc.)  related to the subject of Stereotypes.

This Padlet ( a link to which will appear on the Moodle Platform) will provide the guidelines for the work of each group)

Note: I used this Padlet with another group whem I carried out a slightly different version of this unit.

Pupils will also be exposed to content related to Steretypes on the Moodle Platform.
This video can provide a glimpse into that content:



I have based the idea of this learning activity on that which I presented on this Learning Designer Document


I might create a clip such as the one I created for my work with another group of pupils two years ago.

Reviewa received:


2.6 Module 2 Learning Activity

  • Using the 21CLD framework and rubric (see video 2.4 and pages 3-9 of the PDF entitled ‘21CLD Learning Activity Rubrics’ ) to assess at what level the two learning activities I reflected on in Module 1 are at. Identifying the codes (from 1 to 5) which best reflects the collaborative learning in those learning activities.
Low level of collaboration activity
I have  asked myselfthe first question: are students required to work in pairs or groups? The answer is yes, so I have moved and asked myself the next question: do they have shared responsibility? I hav answered  "Yes, they do have shared responsibility" Then I have  asked myself the next question: are they making substantive decisions?The answer has been "No", it is a code 3

High Level of collabration activity
I went through the same ptocess and got to level 5 because the activity requires the highest level of collaboration. It is code 5

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

1.6 Module 1 Learning Activity

Having pupils work in pairs to carry out tasks such as completing vocabulary, grammar or reading comprehension activities requires a rather low level of collaboration. Instruction on how to carry out the given task can be clearly conveyed, statin clearly which steps are expected. Pupils have then to follow instructions and do their job.
Working on a collaborative project, for example, requires a high level of collaboration: decisions as to how and what to do have to be negotiated among pupils even when clear instructions are provided. Workload has to be divides, and compromise reached. These aspects, to mantion but a few, are in themselves elements that show that collabotration at a high level is needed.



Example of a project that requires a high level of collaboration


Monday, October 24, 2016

Module 1 - My course Selfie


My teaching context

Key to my teaching these English and Spanish as foreign languages is the fact that I have long been integrating technology in my work with pupils (and fellow teachers). I have tried to innovate, refusing to just use  a blackboard and chalk (more recently, a whiteboard and markers)  and books . I have made (sometimes by mere encouragement, and others by refusing to have "NO" for an answer) pupils use technology both during lessons and also at home either as task after class, or to be ready for class. I have also made it a point to try to collaborate with teachers from abroad so as to engage my pupils in communication and collaboration with teens from other parts of the world.


I favor Blended learning, combining Face to Face and Virtual teaching and learning. I use Moodle as a learning platform, yet also get pupils to use digital tools such as Google's (and others) .

The school encourages the use of technology.