CREATIVE WRITING

Following the class we had with Julie, our language assistant this year, here is her presentation about creative writing.  I hope you will find it useful to write your diary entry.

REMEMBER:
First, you have to hand in your writing on Friday 21st October.
 click on the following link for the: Writing guidelines
Secondly, I also remind you of the date for your next English test:  On 28th October .
The exam will include Unit 1 and part of Unit 2.

4 aeso writing_show_dont_tell de Elena T

TALKING ABOUT MYSELF

Presentationmagazine.com

Dedico esta entrada a la actividad que voy a realizar con mis alumnos de 1º ESO.
La primera parte del ejercicio consiste en la comprensión lectora y auditiva ( reading and listening ) de un texto con vocabulario y estructuras elementales que servirán de repaso de la materia que hemos estudiado hasta ahora. Incluyo el enlace a dicha actividad:
Talking about myself activity.
Después, los alumnos tienen que realizar un ejercicio de expresión escrita (writing), siguiendo el modelo propuesto en la actividad previa.
Para ampliar el vocabulario y estructuras, los estudiantes repasan los siguientes aspectos de cada  unidad ya vista en su libro de texto:
VOCABULARY EXTENSION, From Textbook Real English 1:
Describing people:  page 16, exercise 1, page 20.
Favourite food: page 32.
Daily routines: page 40, exercise 1.
Places around the town. Page 58.
Sports: page 70.
Describing films and TV programmes: page 82.
Comparative adjectives: page 82
Finalmente, los alumnos pueden utilizar posters y/o cartulinas para presentar sus trabajos.
Propongo unos enlaces como ejemplo de trabajos con cartulinas:
Trabajos con cartulinas
My portfolio beyond the words
Más trabajos con cartulinas

La segunda parte de la actividad consiste en realizar un ejercicio de expresión oral (speaking) donde los alumnos se presentan hablando de ellos mismos con la información trabajada en el writing.
Los alumnos serán evaluados con un " assessment scale ", donde se incluirán aspectos gramaticales, de pronunciación,  de fluidez y creativos.

LOS NUEVOS RETOS DE LA EDUCACIÓN

Dedicamos la entrada de hoy a hablar de los nuevos retos en la educación propuestos por César Nova, único finalista español entre los 50 mejores maestros del mundo para recibir el llamado Premio Nobel de la Educación; The Global Teacher Prize.
Este innovador maestro ha recibido premios nacionales e internacionales por fomentar la creatividad y la innovación en la educación. Desde su punto de vista, todas las materias son importantes pero es necesario incorporar en el currículo escolar la educación en valores como el respeto, la tolerancia, la empatía y enfatizar en la inteligencia emocional. El apuesta por una educación que empodere, que inspire y que a través de las emociones y las experiencias, saque lo mejor de los niños del futuro.
Incluyo un vídeo donde habla de los nuevos retos en la educación:

VINEYARDS IN LA RIOJA (SPAIN)

Vineyards in la Rioja ( Spain ); a stunning scenery in autumn at sunset.

A TRIBUTE TO TEACHERS

Keepers of the flame is an animated poem created by Peter and Paul Reynolds and their teams at FableVision Studios and the Reynolds Center for Teaching, Learning & Creativity as a tribute to teachers who play a vital role in nurturing and protecting the spirit and love of learning in every child.
The following video shows the poem :

MINDFUL SCHOOLS

I am devoting this post today to talking about Mindful Schools. There are already quite a few schools around the world which have decided to apply mindfulness to their curriculum. Teachers and educators are also being trained to use mindfulness in their classrooms.
Mindfulness is a way of focussing life, being conscious of the present situation, of breathing, of helping to give a more healthy and intelligent response to problems,  frustrations,  pain...
It also creates space, changing impulsive reactions to thoughtful responses.
The application of mindfulness by students and educators has the potential to improve academic achievement, mental health, and inter- and intra-personal relationships.
For further information, you can visit the following links: Mindful schools,  Escuelas conscientes:

 

I will include the following video that shows the mindful schools in- class instruction programme in action:

IMAGINE LIFE

Attraction´s shadow Theatre Photo.

 This post is devoted to encouraging creativity by stimulating student´s imagination.
According to Fiona Mauchline, teacher, teacher trainer and materials writer, promoting creativity in the classroom resolves around emotional investment, engaging the senses, playing with language and conveying absolute personalisation in the outcome.
 The activity I have chosen is related to a video clip that deals with the Cycle of Life in a creative way. Every video tells a story so, as a warming up exercise, we could ask students to describe:

•  what they see 
• what they hear 
• how they feel
•  who they see 
• whether they like it or not and why?... 

Another activity we could do is to revise the vocabulary related to family and then to describe a favourite member of their family: their physical appearance and other aspects such as emotions, senses... This exercise could be also used to revise the present simple tense. We could ask questions such us:

• What colour of eyes, hair, skin has he/she got ?
•  What does his/ her voice sound like ? 
• What makes him/ her laugh ? 
• How does she /he walk?
• What do you have in common?... 

 Finally, students could write a short essay titled "Imagine Life " using the vocabulary and language  grammar used in the class.

This is the video clip. The show is perfomed by the Shadow Theatre Group.

FILM ENGLISH

I am devoting this post to talking about the website called  Film English.

This site promotes the innovative and creative use of film in English language teaching and learning. All of the lesson plans revolve around the use of video and film to teach English. The lessons promote critical thinking in the language classroom, and encourage learners to reflect on values while learning a language. There are different levels and themes.
 I will include  the video clip of the activity called Curiosity and the link to its lesson plan:
 curiosity lesson plan.

Student Design Award Winner - Curiosity: Exploration and Discovery from RSA Student Design Awards on Vimeo.

WORD CLOUDS

I will devote this post to talking about the uses of “word clouds” for teaching English.
But first, I will describe briefly how to create word clouds and cloud narratives.
You can use Wordle which is a programme for generating “word clouds” from any texts that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You just have to click on " create your own " section, paste the text you choose and then you can change the words in the clouds with different fonts, layouts, and colour hints. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like. You can print them out, or save them to use as you wish.
Therefore, talking about some applications of word clouds for teaching English could be:
use them to introduce or revise vocabulary and grammar, to engage students to create and tell stories, and students can even create their own word cloud or cloud narrative to show and present in the class. In short, using word clouds in the classroom is a creative way of teaching which helps to motivate students to learn.
Finally, I will include an example of a word cloud I created from one of my texts: 

ART IN THE CLASSROOM

WEBQUEST AND ORAL ACTIVITY.

La actividad que voy a explicar en esta entrada tiene que ver con la enseñanza del inglés teniendo como tema transversal la asignatura de arte. Acabo de realizar un taller sobre arte especialmente pictórico que  me ha hecho reflexionar sobre la importancia de aprender esta materia y consecuentemente he elaborado una unidad didáctica cuyos objetivos son:

1. concienciar a los alumnos de la importancia de aprender y apreciar el arte.
2. aprender vocabulario nuevo relacionado con temas de arte y repasar estructuras gramaticales.
3. desarrollar el pensamiento crítico y creativo.
4. promover el trabajo cooperativo.

Es una actividad destinada a estudiantes con un nivel B1+ y alumnos de 1º y 2º de bachillerato.
La unidad didáctica que durará 3 ó 4 sesiones incluye un trabajo de búsqueda en internet sobre un cuadro y un pintor que tendrán que elegir de una lista que proporcionará el profesor.
También la actividad incluirá una presentación oral e implicará trabajo en equipo.
Podéis encontrar esta actividad descrita en detalle y en inglés en el siguiente enlace:
Art in the classroom activity

 Sugiero que esta tarea podría realizarse en colaboración con el departamento de Historia y Geografía cuando impartieran en su programación escolar ciertos temas relacionados con el arte. De esa manera podría convertirse en un proyecto interdisciplinar y culminar en una excursión a un museo o galería de arte.

 Para más información sobre la enseñanza de arte en las clases de inglés :
 Teaching art in the classroom

Finalmente, incluyo un video corto sobre la National Gallery en Londres que alberga una de las colecciones de pinturas más importantes de Europa.
 

TOMORROWLAND

Tomorrowland (film).

This post is about Tomorrowland, the film.

Tomorrowland (titled Disney Tomorrowland: A World Beyond in the United Kingdom) is a 2015 American Science fiction adventure film directed by Brad Bird.

The film tells the story of a former boy genius (Clooney) and a young girl (Robertson), who travel to an ambiguous dimension known as "Tomorrowland", where their actions directly affect the world and themselves.

For futher information about the film, look at the following link: Tomorrowland.

This film is full of adventure, action, creativity, and its special effects are very innovative and very well-made. The positive message of the film is reassuring as well. I believe that  Science fiction lovers won´t be disappointed.

I strongly recommend the film to improve your English provided that you watch it in its original version, with or without subtibles depending on your level.

This is the trailer for the film:

SHAUN THE SHEEP TV SERIES

Shaun the Sheep Activity.

I would like to devote this post  to Shaun the Sheep TV Series and how we can use its episodes with our students in the classroom.
First of all, I will include some information about this series:
Shaun the Sheep is a British stop-motion animated television series, a spin-off of the Wallace and Gromit franchise. It has been very popular not only in the U.K but also around the world.
Besides, a film called "Shaun the Sheep the Movie "has recently been released at the cimenas which I strongly recommend.  For further information you can look at the following link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaun_the_Sheep.

Each episode is very short so it is ideal for a lesson, since you show the video and then you do the exercises related to that episode. Additionally, it is good fun, the students love it. It could be used as a warm-up or cool-down activity to revise vocabulary for example in a different lesson.

I will add a Reading Comprehension activity which I created and did wih my  2º ESO students aged 12/ 13. This is the link: Shaun the Sheep Activity

Finally, I will embed one of the episodes that includes the song that students can sing along at the end of the lesson.

Shaun The Sheep - Shaun goes Potty por f100000876713522

CITY LIGHTS

Warm-up /Cool down activity.

The activity I am suggesting today can be used at the beginning or at the end of a lesson. Duration: 10-15 minutes.
It can be used to either introduce or revise vocabulary related to cities, different buildings, places to visit and do sightseeing or activities you could do at dawn,in the morning, at night....
To begin with, the students watch a short video. The time lapse technique applied to that video, allows the students to capture different moments, places and contrasts of light and darkness .Then, the teacher can start a brainstorming activity to learn or revise the vocabulary suggested earlier after watching the video.
Highly recommended.
Source link video City Lights Colin Rich

TRANSFORMING EDUCATION

The Art of Teaching.

I would like to devote this post to talk about Ken Robinson.
Sir Ken Robinson, PhD is an internationally recognised leader in the development of creativity, innovation and human resources in Education and in Business.  He is also one of the world’s leading speakers on these topics, with a profound impact on audiences everywhere. The videos of his famous 2006 and 2010 talks to the prestigious TED Conference have been viewed more than 25 million times and seen by an estimated 250 million people in over 150 countries.
This Education Reformer  began meeting with governments and school systems to discuss reform decades ago. Robinson joins “CBS This Morning” to discuss his new book, “Creative Schools: The Grassroots Revolution That’s Transforming Education.”This is the News we are going to watch.
Ken Robinson believes in a more personalized education rather than a standardised one, where students can develope their personal talents. Besides, his new book is supposed to give examples of how to deal with a 30 students clasrroom creating this personalised approach.
Source Link for the CBSNews: http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/sir-ken-robinson-on-creative-schools-transforming-education/
Source Link for his official website: http://sirkenrobinson.com/

WONDERS IN THE SKY

 

 Warm-up and/ or Cool-down activity.

La actividad que voy a mostrar se puede realizar en los primeros 10 minutos de la clase como "warm-up" exercise o los últimos minutos de cualquier clase como "cool-down" activity.
Es una actividad sencilla que activa la creatividad de los alumnos y su participación tanto al principio o al final de la clase.
Los alumnos ven el video del vuelo de los estorninos , " starlings "que dura poco más de dos minutos.
Después se puede realizar un ejercicio de lluvia de ideas, " brainstorming ", realizando por ejemplo alguna pregunta  de por qué vuelan de esa manera:

Why do you think they fly that way ? what is their purpose ?

En unos minutos se pueden ver temas como el trabajo en equipo, ayudarse en el peligro, protegerse del mal tiempo, encontrar un lugar para dormir...aprendiendo vocabulario nuevo.
Se puede realizar con todos los niveles, necesitando más ayuda y guía los niveles menos avanzados. Incluso los alumnos podrían hacer un pequeño trabajo de investigación sobre los estorninos como tarea en casa...
 Fuente del vídeo de los estorninos:http://www.sciencedump.com/content/amazing-murmuration-starlings-utrecht-netherlands



FELIZ TARDE! HAVE A WONDERFUL AFTERNOON!