On reading the blog posts of one of my classmates, I finally realized how the online quiz game Kahoot! works between the teacher's computer and the students' smart phones, and I was eager to try it. It has both a quiz function and a survey function, so I decided to use it to review the vocabulary from the last class as well as to do my Student Teacher evaluation survey. As a warm-up, I used the game to do a ten-question vocabulary quiz. The questions and correct answers are linked below. You can also view and try the game with the link in my Resources list, if you sign in as a teacher.
There is also a link to the Teacher Evaluation interactive survey. in the Resources list, and a link to the questions in document form below. Since I used the interactive app to do the survey, I gave the students slips of paper to write their additional comments and I had my sponsor teacher collect them. The students were able to answer anonymously if they chose to. The results of the survey will be part of a later blog post.
After the remaining pairs from the previous day had presented their dialogues, I reassigned the groups for the remainder of today's lessons. The second activity had the students reading a case study (The Tips Jar) on a misunderstanding about tipping in cafés. I had them take turns asking and answering discussion questions, which are in the link below. I again provided answer prompts and modeled some of them to encourage the students to answer in sentences. After time for group discussions, I asked some of the students to share their answers. I kept track of who I asked, so that each student would be asked to share at least once during the class.
For the third activity, I displayed a list of items in a table setting, and had the groups/pairs attempt to sketch a North American formal table setting on a piece of graph paper. I was impressed by the detail that some of the students included. After they had some time to sketch, I handed a paper cut out of one of the items to each student and had them arrange them on the white board (with painters tape). I used an app on my phone called Instant Buttons to provide sound effects during the activity: applause for success, air horn for something that needed to be changed, and some encouraging music while the students were placing their items. I intended to have them come up one at a time, but after the first few, everyone was up at once.
 |
| Photo by Vicky Isliefson |
The final activity used a description of bad eating habits in the textbook. I assigned one habit to each group and after they read the description in the book, the students were to look up the same habit using their smart phones. Each partner was to use different ways of phrasing the question, in order to see that they would often get a different result if the questions was phrased differently. I provided alternate search phrases for the first two habits. (See the link for Student Instructions below.) I instructed the students to take brief notes on what they found, and then asked some to share what they found.
I did not need the contingency activity and there was not time to play the closing video. I thanked the students and my sponsor teacher and received some real-time applause. It was a great experience!
Lesson Plan
Student Teacher Evaluation Survey
Student Instructions and Discussion Questions
Vocabulary Questions for Kahoot! game
Alternate Student Work Pages (for a student who is not always able to participate in the discussions.)
My Teaching Strengths:
- I used technology, paper-based resources and some physical activity to provide a variety of experiences for the students. (Confession: the cut-outs were made with an electronic cutting machine.)
- I prepared a paper-based back-up for the required Teacher Evaluation, in case the computer/phone version did not work.
- I followed up on unfinished activities from the previous class.
My Weaknesses:
- I did not include some information about how to tip and how much to tip in the Tips Jar activity. There was not enough focus on what to do in Canada.
- I did not control the students well during the place setting activity. I did not give them enough direction about when to get up and come to the front.
- I did not provide enough model search terms for the Bad Eating Habits activity, resulting in some students misunderstanding what they were to search.
- I did not check to make sure students were taking notes during the internet search for the Bad Eating Habits activity.
Genzel, Rhona B, & Cummings,
Martha Graves, (2010). Culturally Speaking,
3rd Edition. Boston: Heinle, Cengage Learning.
cremagames (2011). Instant Buttons. [computer software - smart phone app]. Madrid.
Kahoot! (2018) Teacher
Evaluation: Vicky Isliefson. [user created interactive game using web-based
software]. Retrieved from https://play.kahoot.it/#/?quizId=acca10f0-3e5a-4eea-a413-8496fcbd17e1.
Kahoot! (2018). North American
Dinner Vocabulary. [user created interactive game using web-based software].
Retrieved from https://play.kahoot.it/#/?quizId=6f69bc36-4154-432c-a5b2-996c43bfb8a7.
The Course Outline, Instructor's Guide and the Curriculum for the course were provided by the school, but cannot be cited due to privacy requirements.
#TESL0170
#teachingreflections
#CdnELT
No comments:
Post a Comment