Teaching Practicum I "Teaching children" 3rd period

Class 1

Topic presented: School Items
Teachers: Iris, Mauricio, Carlos, and Magaly
Date: September 7^th 2012,

Part 1

Grammar:  Question:  What’s this? Answer:  This is a/an (It’s a/an)

Vocabulary to present - School items: eraser, pencil, book, ruler, pen.

 Part 2

Grammar:  Question: What’s that? Answer:  It’s a/an

Vocabulary to present:  desk, chair, computer, bag, window.

This was the first class of the third period. The class our classmates performed differed from the ones presented before. The teachers covered two classes which in length took 120 minutes to perform it through presentations and activities to teach children the topic of school items and present the grammar structure of: what’s this? What’s that? .This was a little bit challenging despite the fact that they did not only teach vocabulary, but also they included grammar structure in the lesson.  Nevertheless, the teachers did a good work; they performed great activities to keep the children active and happy.

One of the activities we really enjoyed was the Magic roulette which consisted in split the roulette that had many school items to practice the vocabulary. It seemed that children enjoyed this activity, so everyone was participating in it.

Teaching experience: Well, what I can say about this second class experience is that you see how the practice helps you to become better in teaching. You learned how to overcome your fears and calm down if you make any mistake while performing your activities. To have control of the kids and be ready to make any change if necessary is an excellent way to make the class more active and interesting. A the teacher is the model children follow, I think that a good preparation of what you would do and how you will give the instructions and manage your time are the keys to reach the goals you are expected to have.

Class 2

Topic presented: Family and friends
Teachers: Lilian, Fatima, Karla, and Pilar
Date: September 14^st 2012

Part 1

Grammar: Question “Who’s that?” “It’s…”

Vocabulary to present: Me, grandma, grandpa, friend, teacher.

 Part 2

Grammar:  Question: Is that (...)? Answer: yes, it is. No, it isn’t.

Vocabulary to present:  cat, dog, bird, turtle, fish, and rabbit.

Well, this was a very good lesson and at the beginning students were enthusiastic for the lesson. Also, the little guest that the teacher showed them (which a puppet) was very good and useful for teaching and giving reward to students. We think that this tool can be perfect when we want our students to feel comfortable and interested by the topic. Besides, in the second part some of the students were able to remember the vocabulary of pets and we think that it was also helpful for them in the way that the teacher presented them again by using some stuffed animals.

Some of the activities that were very interesting for us were in the first part the activity called “trunk of memories” by Lily, because we think that this was a very innovating activity and also it provided the opportunity to students to practice the vocabulary.

Moreover, in the second part the activity where Karla had to make the different animal sounds and have students to do it when saying any name of any animal. We think that in this activity students were exciting of making, moving, and jumping like the different pets that they were learning.

Class 3

Topic presented: My body
Teachers: Orlando, Isaac, Konny, and Marlene
Date: September 21^st 2012

Part 1

Grammar: has

Vocabulary to present: head, arms, legs (long, short)

 Part 2

Grammar:  he doesn’t have, she doesn’t have; it doesn’t have

Vocabulary to present:  feet, fingers, toes, teeth, tail.

Well, at the beginning of the class the kids looked a little discourage. It seemed like they did not want to participate, probably because the encounter part was difficult for them, but after the first activity, they started to interact doing what the teacher was modeling. All the activities performed in both lessons were creative and well designed; teachers did well too.

There were two activities that really caught our attention. The first one took place in the first lesson, where the children made a line to take out the parts of the babies (which were cuties) to pasted them in another poster to form the baby. This activity helped children to identify the vocabulary presented before and to make the differences between long and short.

The second one was the chant in which children touched their head, shoulder and toes; the participation of both teachers made the activity more active and funny. Children learn from playing and chanting, so this surely helped them to remember the new vocabulary.

Class 4

Topic presented: Toys and games
Teachers: Heinar, Josue, Andres, and Ronald
Date: September 28^st 2012

Part 1

Grammar: Question “Is that a?” “Yes, It is” or “No, it isn’t”

Vocabulary to present: Doll, teddy bear, car, bike, and plane.

 Part 2

  

Vocabulary to present:  Ball, kite, robot, and train.

Well, the lesson started with a good presentation and students’ attention was put on teachers. Even the vocabulary was new and some of them difficult to pronounce for children, this activity from the beginning gave the opportunity to students practice and get familiar with the new words.

In this first part of the lesson, students had the opportunity to practice the new vocabulary with the puzzles, and repeat them as many times as possible when moving to one by one. Then we could see a variety of new activities and ideas as the one where children were walking in a circle and stop when the teacher Josue said to stop in front of the arrow. This was a very funny and interesting activity, because we could see some students willing to participate and that was a good signal.

Moreover, in the second part of the lesson another interesting activity was the one that teacher Andres did where he gave each student an object and each of them had to say the name of it. We think that this activity was very good because it provided each child the opportunity to participate, practice, and show their knowledge of the new vocabulary.