Monday, January 5, 2009

Task 1 :
a) One of the lessons that went well was a lesson i had with the form 2 students in 2007. The topic was The Phantom Of The Opera ( Plot ). I started the lesson with a 5- 8 minutes quiz about the novel to check on the students' undertstanding of the novel. Next, i put them into groups and asked them to choose a leader and a secretary. In this lessson, students were required to produce a poster to promote the novel. Guidelines and samples were given to the students to keep them into the right track. At the end of the lesson, students were required to put up their posters on the wall so that everyone would be able to look at each other's product. Marks were given and the group with the highest marks was given a present as a token of appreciation for their good efforts. I got the idea for this lesson from a discussion that i did with a friend of mine.
b) This lesson was different from other lessons as the lesson was an integration of English and Art subjects.
c) The integrations between Art and English subjects made the lesson fun and enjoyable. Students were able to use their creativity to produce attractive posters. Students who were good in art could come up with interesting drawings and those who were good in language would be able to describe the novel interestingly.
d) I learned that having a leader for each group is very important as the leader could help the teacher in class control. The leader could also help the teacher in making sure that all group members participated in the group discussions. Besides that, i also learned that guidelines and samples must be given to the students so that students have a clear idea on what they were suppose to come out with.
e) To improve the lesson, i supposed i could ask the students to evaluate their own works. I could ask the students in the class or students from the other classes to vote on the best poster. This could encourage good competitions among the students. I did share this lesson with a colleague of mine. She did the same lesson with her students and it was as succesfull as mine was.

Task 2 :
a) One of the lessons that i felt was challenging was a lesson i had with the form 2 students last year. The topic was People and Social Issues. ( Day In Day Out ). In this lesson, students were required to produce an itinerary of a place that they would like to visit. I got the idea for this particular lesson from the form 2 textbook. I did some alterations to the lesson to make it more interesting.
b) This lesson was different from other lessons as students were required to use the Publisher programme to produce an itinerary. As students were not familiar with Publisher programme, I had to teach the students on how to use the programme before the students proceed with the task.
c) The lesson was challenging as i had to make sure that the students were confident enough to use the programme before giving them the task.
d) I learned that I had to be knowledgeable and confident in using Publisher in order to use the programme to teach. This is because during the lesson, students tend to ask many questions regarding the programme. Besides, there would be many technical difficulties that I had to solve.
e) To improve the lesson, I would need to give a sample of the product that the students need to come up with. As for the weaker students, helping words or step by step guidance would be helpful for them.
f) I had indeed share the experience with other teachers in a workshop that i had to conduct in the school.

8 comments:

  1. Shafarina, You've put alot of thought into your lesson to make it successful. Good. I see that you've also reflected on it. Do you do this always? Do you also commonly share your ideas (regarding lessons) with your colleagues? What about them?

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  2. I honestly think mixing art into the English lesson is good. Unfortunately I have found that it doesn't work too well with my students because they simply take too long or are uncooperative. I have tried it with Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, where I asked them to think what My Hyde might look like. Took too long.
    As for publisher, I don't know how to use it myself, so I cannot comment much. But if you and your students know how to use, then it is a good idea because it is different from the usual work.

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  3. Shafarina,
    It was indeed an interesting lesson. When each poster was put up, did the group or group leader explain the poster orally to the class? Did you show or exhibit the posters to other classes? If yes, what were their responses?

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  4. Hey there..i think mixing art into English is a GREAT IDEA!!

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  5. I remember once I tried asking students to come up with a cover that would best describe a text or novel they all read. You'll be surprised at the amount of thought they put in (when they state their reasons for creating that cover). I agree it can be time consuming, but it can perhaps be a weekend task.

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  6. Time .... something all of us are fighting for. Some tasks that are too time-consuming might not be carried out, esp if the school has too many expectations of the students and teachers .... like in my school. Sigh.

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  7. Yeah, Chris...TIME is always a factor. But lloking on the bright side, I see that all of you have tried fantastic measures to make your lessons interesting. Shafarina, how did the other teachers respond to your idea when you shared it with them? Did they try it? What about any ideas from them?

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  8. Hi Safarina,I hope you are taking this school break for a well deserved rest. I wonder what exciting lessons you have planned for your class when school starts again next week. Please keep me updated. Thank you :))

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