If you spent any time in lower-grade classrooms, you'd see reading groups, choice time, learning centers, almost all the time, everyday. With all the talk about differentiated instruction, student-directed learning, student choice... I finally took the plunge and set up my learning centers this year. There are things I can definitely improve on, but I was very please with my centers for the most part.
To set it all up took some time and courage. I discovered on the spot that no more than one person can sign in and record on one Voicethread account at any one time. My tech center took a hit on day one. It is very easy for me to abandon this project right there and then, but I got myself together and figured out glitches, requested more VT accounts, modeled before setting students off again. Phew! It turned out to be the most rewarding couple of weeks I have ever had as a teacher.
We would start our 30-min class in a circle. One student would write the date on the board. Another would lead the class in reciting the date. Then we have 5 minutes of meeting, 'chatting' in the target language, in place of an oral drill. I love this time with the students because we talk about real events in students lives, though the scope is sometimes limited due to their language proficiency. However, this is when I see a lot of meaningful learning.
After our meeting, I walked through the centers again with my students. Off they went.
As much as it's a great opportunity for students to learn independently and with a few others, learning centers also provide me with the opportunity to take a small group and work with them on what they need most. I highly recommend it.
Monday, May 20, 2013
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
End of Colors Unit Activities
Because the kids were familiar with the colors by now, I wanted to have them do more with the colors, like using the colors to describe the few objects they know how to say, stating likes and dislikes, and using them in simple sentences. Because modifying objects with an adjective requires a connector between the adjective and the object, I find this unit to be perfect for that.
I would give each group a stack of cards with familiar objects in different colors and have them identify the objects by placing various cards on my graphic organizer. Students are also encouraged to be the ones calling out the objects on the card. On my graphic organizer, I have a big heart for "I like", and another with an X through it for "I don't like". Students need to listen carefully for "I like v/s I don't like", they need to decipher the colors, and then identify the objects. As a closure, students would check their answers by taking turns to state what I like or dislike.
Another activity my third grades got pretty good at while practicing "I like___." was the use of names/colors chart. As each person states what he/she likes, the rest of the class have to locate the person name and check off which color(s) he/she likes. It allows the teacher to hear kids speak on their own and trains the entire class to listen to whoever is speaking.
Another listening/speaking activity is -- We would go around the circle telling everyone something personal (what colors we like, what kind of food we like to eat, etc.). I would pick a person and ask the group his/her preferences. Whoever listened, remembered and answered correctly can be the one others will guess about. It does make kids want to pay more attention to what their peers say.
My second graders enjoy having the tactile thing, so my multi-color giant die is always popular. They would take turn throwing it, and respond to the color with "I like ___." or "I don't like ___." This gets even the shyest child involved.
Because we started learning the colors using 'lollipops' of different colors. At the end of the unit, I colored the ends of craft sticks each with a different color. I told the kids that they have somehow consumed the candies, and there's a little bit of candies left on the sticks. I distributed the sticks to the students 'secretly' so nobody knows what others have. They are to find out what color candies others have by asking them "Do you have (color) candy?" When you do guess someone's candy color correctly, you can have that stick. At the end of the activity, we can see who collected most sticks.
Since learning any group of vocabulary in isolation is pretty useless and students are destined to forget the vocabulary in no time, I like to use the same vocab in different ways, different sentence structures and different contexts.
I would give each group a stack of cards with familiar objects in different colors and have them identify the objects by placing various cards on my graphic organizer. Students are also encouraged to be the ones calling out the objects on the card. On my graphic organizer, I have a big heart for "I like", and another with an X through it for "I don't like". Students need to listen carefully for "I like v/s I don't like", they need to decipher the colors, and then identify the objects. As a closure, students would check their answers by taking turns to state what I like or dislike.
Another activity my third grades got pretty good at while practicing "I like___." was the use of names/colors chart. As each person states what he/she likes, the rest of the class have to locate the person name and check off which color(s) he/she likes. It allows the teacher to hear kids speak on their own and trains the entire class to listen to whoever is speaking.
Another listening/speaking activity is -- We would go around the circle telling everyone something personal (what colors we like, what kind of food we like to eat, etc.). I would pick a person and ask the group his/her preferences. Whoever listened, remembered and answered correctly can be the one others will guess about. It does make kids want to pay more attention to what their peers say.
My second graders enjoy having the tactile thing, so my multi-color giant die is always popular. They would take turn throwing it, and respond to the color with "I like ___." or "I don't like ___." This gets even the shyest child involved.
Because we started learning the colors using 'lollipops' of different colors. At the end of the unit, I colored the ends of craft sticks each with a different color. I told the kids that they have somehow consumed the candies, and there's a little bit of candies left on the sticks. I distributed the sticks to the students 'secretly' so nobody knows what others have. They are to find out what color candies others have by asking them "Do you have (color) candy?" When you do guess someone's candy color correctly, you can have that stick. At the end of the activity, we can see who collected most sticks.
Since learning any group of vocabulary in isolation is pretty useless and students are destined to forget the vocabulary in no time, I like to use the same vocab in different ways, different sentence structures and different contexts.
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