End of year reflections 2018

It is that time of year again......the students have left the building.....

I have finished cleaning my desk and I have 60 minutes to kill before I go to my colleagues for lunch. 60 minutes in which to summarize this school year. An impossible task of course, but what are some of the things that I take with me from this year? 

The answer to the question is "many things for sure". Let's start with all of the reading that the students have done. 

In year 1 (English 5) we read A Monster Calls as part of the Global Read Aloud (GRA) project during October-November 2017. The process during reading was rewarding in the sense that the students were very active during the discussions and we used Flipgrid to connect with other readers at our school and in parts of the USA and Canada. At the end of the reading we came to a close with watching the film version of the book, starring Liam Neeson as the monster. Thumb's up for the project that always succeeds - Global Read Aloud for the win! 

In year 2 (English 6) my students read Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Rifka Brunt,  Never Let Me Go by Nobel laureate Ishiguro, Flowers for Algernon by Keynes and The Island of Dr Moreau by Wells. Even though all of the books were appreciated by the students it was a definite landslide win for Tell the Wolves. Most students were immensely engaged in the lives of the characters and we had a great deal of fruitful discussions in the classroom. Some even said that "I will carry this book with me for quite some time" and "I loved it!". Never Let Me Go was still a good choice for discussion, however some expressed that "I can't really connect with the characters or feel for them" while some were captivated by the love story between Ruth and Tommy. With this one too, we finished the project by watching the film version with Carey Mulligan and Andrew Garfield. 

The latter books were studied and discussed as part of a joint project with Biology called "Medical Ethics". Among other things, the students argued in a formal essay how the rules of medical ethics were broken or violated with regard to the books. In the end-of-year evaluation a majority of the students thought that the Medical Ethics project was among the best of the year. 

Finally, many short stories have been devoured during the English courses as well, the best ones being "The Moment Before the Gun Went Off" by Gordimer, "Chinasa" by Ngozi Adichie, "Indian Camp" by Hemingway and "The Hour" by Chopin this year.

When it comes to writing the ultimate challenge has been to try to get a few of the students to grasp the basics of writing, such as using capitalization and full stop at the end of sentences (I kid you not!). On the other hand, a few others have penned exquisite writings embellished with the utmost care, consideration and creativity. The first project in August-September for year 2 (English 6) was called "No Limits" and there was a choice between writing drabbles or stream of consciousness narratives, somehow connected to the street art festival "No Limit" in Borås, where we live. Many chose drabbles, which are concentrated forms of prose using exactly 100 words. The results were exceptional. The project was among the favorite top ones when all 90 students evaluated. 

In November we had a look at cover letters and more formal writing. Argumentative essays were dealt with during the fall as well as towards spring, as a preparation for the national tests. The writing task at the national tests in May gave an indication as to what the focal points for next year need to be. As I concluded, students find it bothersome to comprehend the principles of agreement of concord, to keep the formal writing strictly formal, spelling and there is a rather substantial lack of synonyms...

Padena speaks to two students in the Basque country in Spain

Generally speaking, students are good at speaking! At least that is what they think most of the time... What I have gathered though, is that a majority are good at speaking BUT they are also fooled by their own impressions of what and how they sound like. They mistake good fluency and pronunciation for good proficiency. And there is a definite difference between the two! A good fluency and pronunciation do not necessarily mean that you have an extensive vocabulary or that you form sentences in more complex manners. Oftentimes the opposite is true. Fluent speakers tend to be quite informal and sometimes very challenged when it comes to more formal circumstances where a wider scope of complexity and depth is needed. Next school year I need to implement a stronger emphasis on distinguishing between formal and informal spoken English in the classroom. 

I still use Skype in the classroom on occasions and in November we had a Skypeathon again, this time for 12 hours. In December and January we had a collaboration with a teacher and school in the Basque country where the students skyped individually/two and two for about 30 minutes. For practicing informal and colloquial exchanges, as well as useful phrases, Skype is fantastic. Additionally, Flipgrid has been essential too, as a tool used in various projects throughout the year. Some students, however, started to grow tired of the tool at the end of the year.  

Listening is an ability that is always practiced during lessons,  but usually more in an informal way than anything else, and next year an additional focus on listening strategies will be on my agenda. 

To make a long story short...this is what  I will do MORE of and LESS of next school year, based on my own and the students' evaluations:

MORE

* Read (and only interesting, challenging titles)

* Work on expanding vocabularies more continually

* Work on distinguishing more between formal and informal registers, in speech and writing

* Practicing spelling more continually

* Homework (= actually giving them homework once in a while - I am not a steadfast believer in that it actually improves results, but the students want them!! - yes it is true! )

* Evaluation and exit tickets - the feedback is imminent and should guide me further

LESS

* Read uninteresting short stories 

Now, I am going to dive into my book - The Underground Railroad - and not even think about school until August again. Have a lovely summer ! :) 

Skyping with Spanish students

We had a great time today Skyping with students in the Basque country in the north of Spain. In December my students received letters from the Spanish students and we sent away responses a few days later. Today it was time to connect using Skype and to speak to each other in pairs. Despite some technical difficulties we managed for everyone to connect and questions were hurled back and forth. 

No Limits - a theme project in EN 6

In English 6 we started the year with the theme project "No Limits," with the idea of connecting the theme to the street art festival No Limit that will take place in Borås in a week. Ten street artists will arrive here and paint murals/make installations that will enhance the cultural impact of the city. I saw this as a good way of incorporating the real world with the local community into a project that would focus on limits or the lack thereof. So far, my students have prepared smaller presentations about the artists which they will present to the rest of the class during next lesson. After that we will turn the attention to limited writing (drabbles) and limitless writing (stream of consciousness). The artworks found around the city will be the inspiration for the writing tasks. Finally, putting an end to the project, the students will get to individually record their thoughts about a "world without limitations - pros and cons" using Flipgrid.

Flipgrid presentation

Have not used FlipGrid yet? Well, try now! Here is a presentation in case you are not still familiar with the awesome video response platform.

 

I'm a Flipgrid ambassador!

I'm honored to have been chosen as one of the Summer 2017 Class of Flipgrid ambassadors. I really like Flipgrid and it will be something that I will use quite frequently to be able to give all my students a voice. In class today I was having my students record their answers and reflections to a short story they had read. Before that I used it to document my students reflections on gun control in the USA or as a follow-up to a news article about Botox. It can be used for so many things and I will return to how I have used it in more detail as time allows. #flipgridfever  https://info.flipgrid.com/

Snapshot from Today - Quiz Quiz Trade Cards

Slowly I am integrating collaborative learning techniques during our lessons. Quiz Quiz Trade cards are a favorite right now to start off a lesson or to activate the students in the middle of one. General questions about school, learning and student life to get some interaction going and learn more about each other - and themselves. Next I will make cards with questions and given answers (like vocabulary, grammar queries). So far, it has been an appreciated segment of the lesson. 

Preparing for the national tests - things to have a look at before the tests

Click HERE for preparation material for the national tests. 

In the material you will find 1. Reporting verbs 2. Linking words and phrases (sentence connectors) and 3. Useful phrases for oral interaction - giving and asking for opinions. Have a look at all of them as they will be useful for the writing and speaking tests. There will be more preparation in class when we meet. 

Asking for opinions + giving opinions - phrases for oral interaction

In English 5 we have focused on oral interaction - discussions - for a couple of lessons. Often we have taken a look at a short film and then discussed the content, characters, theme and/or message of the film. The discussions have been good and generally students have been very proficient in stating their own opinions. However, I see a need of getting the students more engaged when it comes to interacting, asking for other people's opinions and ideas. Consequently, I put together a list of phrases (with linkings to the source) that will come in handy before we have our next session with oral interaction.

Skyping with author Todd Strasser

Today we had the opportunity to Skype with American Todd Strasser, author of around 140 young adult books, including "The Wave" which some of my students read last year. Questions had been prepared by using Google Forms where all the students wrote their questions for Mr. Strasser. Not only did my students ask Mr Strasser about being an author and the creative process, but they were also curious about what he thought about Trump as president and the latest debacle about "what's happening in Sweden." The 40 minutes went by very quickly and my lasting reflection is how great Skype is to use in the classroom. Love it! 

Preparing for Spoken Word for English 6

"Presidential Pitch" - ENG 5

In your speech I will look at the following: 

"Module 2: U.S. Election" for English 5 for SA16M + SA16P

Link to plan for U.S. Election ENG 5

Clinton and Trump - positions on a few issues right now:
sources: (screen dumps from www.procon.org)

Speaking English Activites

Speaking like crazy! - year 8

Plan for Speaking like crazy! 

During weeks 10-12 we will focus on speaking and especially interaction, that is you speak to each other and respond to each other, work together and help each other out. :)

Argumentative/persuasive speech - year 9

Next week we will be starting a one-week theme of argumentative speech. On the first lesson you will get to settle on a topic, do some research, write down some ideas and then you should prepare to give a speech on the following lesson. The speech will be recorded on your computer in a private setting and sent to me for assessment - if everything works out well we will also listen to a few speeches together and give feedback on them. Here's a little intro for next week: 

You can find the plan here
+ a video illustrating ethos, pathos and logos here:

The Fun They Had

Starting next week I will have "speeches" in all my classes - year 7, 8 and 9. It's always great to be in smaller groups (of 5-6 people), have speeches and let the students give each other feedback (two stars and a wish). This time, the speech should be about a "favorite thing/person/place" and last for about 4-5 minutes. While the small groups listen to each others' speeches, the rest of the class (in the 8th and 9th grades) will get to read "The Fun They Had", the classic short story by Isaac Asimov. They will get some post-reading questions and will also be able to listen to the story . The story has always been a favorite of mine, ever since a friend sent it to me from the U.S.A. The story always gives rise to good discussions about where the world is going and how the school system is changing. Thumbs up for Asimov's story!