The topic of this blog is "My favorite lesson". I don't know if this is my actual favorite lesson but it's definitely one of my favorites. Whether you may or may not know, I work at a university with several other teachers on this course. We all have to teach the same book, so I'm not sure if anyone else is going to write about the same lesson as me.
The lesson I have chosen is about "Prepositions of Place". The level of most of my students isn't very high when it comes to their English ability so this lesson is based on simple prepositions. The prepositions I concentrate on are (next to / in front of / behind / between and across from). My lessons are 2 hours long so I spend the first hour explaining the prepositions via white board instruction, power point presentation and classroom participation.
I specifically intend to make use of kinetic learning strategy and put it into practice.
Therefore, during the second hour I have my students in teams of three. They must complete an outdoor scavenger hunt around the university using their smart phones taking pictures. An example of this is as follows "I am next to the English cafe sign". The students (in their teams) must make their way to the English cafe and take their photo. In total there are 20 tasks they must complete.
At the completion of the scavenger hunt the teams must make their way to my office and explain in English each picture they took using the prepositions I just taught them.
Example:
Teacher: Tell me about this photo, Kyoung min.
Kyoung Min: Teacher, I am between the black car and the white car.
Teacher: Well done, you get a sticker.
At the completion of this lesson all students should have a basic understanding of prepositions of place. I find that this lesson works extremely well and 95% of my students respond positively to this class. They love the concept of going around the university taking photos (sort of like a treasure hunt). I love teaching this class because the students really enjoy putting the new vocabulary to use in an environment other than the classroom. I find when I give my mid term test, nearly 100% of students get the preposition portion of my test perfectly correct.
That's one of my favorites as well buddy. I like it because it breaks up the monotony of being in the classroom and gets the students outdoors and involves them in their own learning through a real experience. It's fun for the students and it gives the teacher a little break, but it's also really effective if done properly.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I don't really like about that lesson is the way we all evaluate it at the end. A lot of the time we get the students to come back to our office or go to the English cafe or something like that. I actually think it would be better if they came back to class for some discussion. You could play a sort of dice game with the results. Something to get them speaking. One category could be ask the group to find a specific picture. For example, "between the black car and the white car" and the group has to show you the correct photo for a point. Another category could be, tell me what this photo shows. The student would have to make a sentence describing the picture.
This semester, I'm going to try to teach the prepositions part the class before so that we can start the photo scavenger hunt at the beginning of the next class and do it for the first hour. Then, in the second hour, we're gonna come back to class and look at some of the pictures as a group. I'm hoping to get them to load their pics on the computer. We'll see how it goes. The only issue may be the time.
One more thing, I usually give a reward to the team that completes theirs first with the most photos correct. Usually ice cream or something like that. The students really enjoy that lesson! Great post!
A Bucheon University favorite for sure!
ReplyDeleteI use the lesson as well and it is always a hit with the students. I think the biggest reason this is such a success is two sided. First, the students like the goofy powerpoint that is put together and they get to see some professors having fun with the lesson and prep. Second, it gives them a chance to get out of the classroom. To go and have a bit of fun and put their own personality into their work. Something we don't always give them the chance of by teaching from the book.
I want to use this lesson as an example of what to do next semester for more lessons and to find ways to improve on what I've already prepared. With most of us doing this course we have a great opportunity to collaborate and make some amazing classes!
I look forward to it and to picking your brain for some ideas!
A Bucheon University favorite for sure!
ReplyDeleteI use the lesson as well and it is always a hit with the students. I think the biggest reason this is such a success is two sided. First, the students like the goofy powerpoint that is put together and they get to see some professors having fun with the lesson and prep. Second, it gives them a chance to get out of the classroom. To go and have a bit of fun and put their own personality into their work. Something we don't always give them the chance of by teaching from the book.
I want to use this lesson as an example of what to do next semester for more lessons and to find ways to improve on what I've already prepared. With most of us doing this course we have a great opportunity to collaborate and make some amazing classes!
I look forward to it and to picking your brain for some ideas!
Ah Bucheon University, How I love thee! This one is definitely a fun one for the students. At first I thought it might be a bit of a waste of time but actually the practical nature of the activity helps the students retain their knowledge of prepositions. Since implementing this activity into my class, I've actively been searching for more activities that are practical like this one. I agree with Ian as well though, it could definitely be improved a bit to get the students speaking more or putting some sort of more meaningful evaluation at the end. I'm hoping that I can get a few more ideas like this from the other blogs from our class. Good share.
ReplyDeleteTristan, I love this lesson! Having your students take part in a scavenger hunt sounds like an awesome way in motivating them to participate. It certainly breaks up the monotony of always being in the classroom. Giving them a game scenario; but also teaching them prepositions (which I think are vital for ESL learners) seems like a great way for them to remember what they have learned. The scores on their midterms prove this, and it proves that they have absorbed what you have taught them. Lecturing is necessary, but alternative lessons, like your scavenger hunt are quite effective as well! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete