If- Clauses Exercises

Correct the verbs in brackets:

1-If I ………………(have) enough time, I would visit you.
2- If I ……………..………(be) you, I wouldn’t change my car.
3- Plants …………………………(not grow) if it didn’t rain again.
4- What ……………………………..(happen) if you won a million dollar?
5- If you …………………….(eat) bananas skins, you would be very sick.

A classroom Game

     The Blanket Game

Group size: 2 players to a class of up to 60
Level: Beginners to intermediate
Materials: A sheet or blanket and flashcards
Age: 4 to 12
Pace: Calm down, & lively version

This game is to be played once your students are familiar with the vocabulary and sentences that you wish to practise. This is a speaking practise game, or a revision game.

1. HOW TO PLAY

First create a barrier for someone to hide behind. You can do this by setting up a clothes line and pegging a blanket on it, or by having two students hold the blanket up, or by draping the blanket over a couple of chairs so some one could sit behind it and not be seen.

Now you have your barrier, here is an example of how to play this using clothing vocabulary: A class member hides behind the blanket and puts on a selection of clothes, or props, such as a hat, belt, tie or scarf. The class asks in unison,
"What are you wearing?"
The person behind the blanket replies,
"I'm wearing a hat", or
"I'm wearing a red hat".
Each class member decides whether he or she thinks this is true or false.

Whoever thinks it is true stands up. Whoever thinks it is false sits down. Now the person behind the blanket reveals whether or not he is wearing a red hat. (He may use real clothes or use pictures, of clothes or any vocabulary). If he is wearing a red hat then all those who sat down are out and only those standing up are in. If he is not wearing a red hat, but a black coat, then those standing up are out and have to sit down while those sitting down, who are still in, stand up again for the next round.

Another way to play is for each class member to hold up a paper with either a "True" or "False" on it. Every one starts the game standing up. The person behind the blanket chooses whether or not to wear the red hat and the class hold up either a True or a False card. Then everyone who got it wrong sits down and stays seated while you play the next rounds until you only have a few students standing. With younger children play with a tick or a cross rather than the words true or false.

Continue, and then swap over the person behind the blanket. Only allow that person a few seconds to dress up, to ensure that the class do not get bored waiting. You can have the class count up to thirty, or say the alphabet while the person puts their prop on. If there are only 2 of you - you and your student - then you can take it in turns to go behind the blanket. You can keep score each time one of you guesses correctly.

Dressing up is only one idea for this game to practise clothing vocab and short questions and sentences such as "What are you wearing?" However you may use flashcards instead of props. See just below for ideas on how to adapt this to different language and vocabulary.

2. Language ideas to use with this game

So now I'd like to explore how else we can exploit this basic idea, and what other language we can use in this game.

Simple vocabulary repetition variant – small class

For elementary levels, or to revise vocabulary you could place two pictures (or word cards) on the floor behind the blanket – for example a picture of a plane and a truck. A class member stands on one of the cards and says, "Plane". (Or a sentence such as "I'm going to Paris by plane"). The student may stand
either on the plane or the truck and the class must guess whether what he says is true or false as described above.

Simple vocabulary repetition variant – large class

If you have a fairly big class then you will not have time for everyone to go behind the blanket, so in that case, to get the most out of the time spent, instead of the person behind the blanket saying "plane", you could have your class say "plane" or "truck" depending on which one they think their class mate
is standing on. Once the person behind the blanket is on their chosen picture you say "Ready, Go!" and the class call out the picture they think is correct. They may also call out the sentence you are requiring them to practise.
That way everyone has a chance to say the words, rather than just the person behind the blanket. They can award themselves points if they get it right. I imagine many of the children will cheat and pretend they said the right
word – but does it really matter? I mean, who cares, after all we only want them to practise English and feel good about it.

3. Question Practise Variant

This isn't a true or false variant, but while we've got the blanket out we might as well use it to the full.

Put one class member behind the blanket along with a few picture or word cards. Lay out 3 to 4 picture cards for the young children, and up to twelve for older children. The words should all be in the same theme and if you need to you can also have a set of these cards in view of the class. With the older
children you would probably not do this to make it more challenging for them.

Allow the class member behind the curtain five seconds to select a picture to stand on. He or she now cannot move from that spot. See below for how to continue depending on whether you have a large or small class.

Question practise – large class

Display pictures, or write up, the words you are using. One class member comes up to the front and points at one of the words – for example the car. The class ask the question form you wish to practise in unison, such as "Have you got a car?" The person behind the blanket replies "Yes I have, or no I haven't", or "True" or "False", or they answer the question as appropriate according to the language you are teaching.

The class see how many questions they need to ask each time. Alternatively you could divide them into two teams and each team tries to guess in fewer goes than the other one.

Question practise – small class

Each class member in turn asks a question and hopes to be the one to guess correctly. For example, the first student asks, "Have you got a car?" Answer, "No, I haven't". The second student asks, "Have you got a plane?" etc. until the answer is "yes I have." You can give points if you wish. If you only have one or two students then join in the game with them.

Here are some examples of questions you could practise with transport vocabulary:
"Is it the car?"
"Are you going by car?"
"Have you got a car?"
"Do you have a car?"
"Can you drive a car?"
"Are you buying a car?"
"Are you going to buy a car?"
"Will you buy a car?"
"Did you buy a car?"
"Have you bought a car?"
"Did you go by car?"

And here are some more questions you could practise if you used countries:
"Are you from China?"
"Are you Chinese?"
"Do you like China?"
"Do you like Chinese food?"
"Have you been to China?"
"Are you going to China?"
etc.

And here are some questions you could practise with animal vocabulary:
"Do you like fish?"
"Do you eat fish?"
"Are you a fish?"
"Is it a fish?"
"Are there any fish at the zoo?"
"Have you seen a fish?"
"Have you eaten fish?"
"Did you see a fish?" (when you went to Africa?)
"Would you eat a fish?"
"Could it be a fish?"
"Have you been eaten by a fish?"
etc.

As you can see you can adapt this game to ask any question. Think of the question form you would like to practise and then pick some vocabulary that goes well with that question form.

4. Sentence practise

Instead of questions, play as above but using sentences.

Here are some examples using the countries theme:

You're in China.
You're Chinese.
You are going to China.
You have been to China.
You went to China.
You speak Chinese.
I'll see you in China.
You're in China, aren't you?
You've been to China, haven't you?
You said you were going to China.

If you like this game, remember that there are 101 great games in my book
101 Teaching English Games for Children. There are games for speaking like this one, and also many games for listening, spelling and writing.

5. A lively variant

Here is a rather more lively variant on this game for smaller classes:

One child goes behind the blanket and the class all say this rhyme together – quickly and rhythmically if possible.

What is it? What is it? What could it be?
What is it? What is it? One two three.

It helps if the children clap on the 'what', 'what', 'what' and 'be'
And on the 'what', 'what'; 'one', and 'three'.

By the time the class reach 'three' the person behind the blanket MUST be standing on their chosen card. After the class have pronounced the word three they are free to call out any possible word. Each class member can only call out one word but they can all call their words out together. There will be
some noise! As soon as the child behind the blanket hears the correct word they jump out and all those who called out that word award themselves points (mass cheating no doubt, but I shouldn't pay attention to it). The next child up to go behind the curtain heads over there while the class immediately start
up the rhyme again. The pace should be fast and exciting with no time in between rounds.

You can replace the simple rhyme above with one that you make up, which may include the sentence or question structure you wish to practise, or it may be a rhyme with some vocabulary you would like to reinforce.
Here is an example:
Travel on a bus,
Travel on a train.
Ride on a bicycle,
Fly in a plane.

When played well this game is really pretty noisy and fun, and the children have a chance to repeat the same words over and over so they will remember them.

You might want to teach the rhyme in a previous lesson, and you can use it again in all sorts of other games. The first time you play start slowly, and pick up the pace as and when your class understand what is happening. When you play it again in future lessons – using the same words if you are revising, or
using a new set of words, you'll find that you can pick the pace up another notch.

Pre-Planning Think-About

PREPLANNING THINK-ABOUTS

1 Why am I teaching this lesson?

  -In the curriculum guide?

  - Student interest in topic? (What is link to curriculum?)

  -My interest in topic? (What is link to curriculum?

2 What do I hope to accomplish?

- Skill to be developed?
- Concept to be discussed for understanding?
- Product to be produced?

3 How will learning be assessed?
  - Formal? Quiz or test?
  - Informal? Observation of learning?
  - Open-ended questions? Written? Verbal?

4 Who are the students?
- Range of abilities?
- Range of ages?
- Ethnic diversity and varying cultures?

5 What is the time frame for teaching this lesson?
- Part of a unit?
ÿ One period or block schedule?

6 How will I begin the lesson to capture student attention?
- Story or anecdote?
- Relevance to their lives?
- Props or visual displays?

7 Will I need other resources to teach this lesson?
- Audiovisual or technology?
- Student handouts?
- Manipulative or visual displays?

8 How will students spend their time during the lesson?
- Small group discussions? Individual? Large group?
- Hands-on activity or experiment?
- Taking notes or observing?

9 How will I close the lesson or close the class period?
- Review and summary?
- Collecting papers? Giving next assignments?
- Allowing time for homework or que stions?

10 Will there be homework or enrichment activities offered?
- How will I collect later? Is it required or extra?
- Will it count? What is the mentor teacher’s policy?
- How will I grade it?

11 How will I know if I succeeded in teaching the lesson?
- Self-assessment?
- Response of students?
- Mentor’s input?

12 How will the next lesson relate or build on this one?

100 ways to say "Very good"

100 Ways to Say “Very Good”

For maximum effectiveness, praise words need to be followed by a specific observation regarding what it is that prompted the positive feedback. That way students know what they did to warrant the praise and will focus on their performance rather than the praise itself.

You must be proud of the way you
worked today.
You’re doing a great job.
That’s the best you have ever done.
THAT’S IT!
Congratulations!
I knew you could do it.
That’s quite an
improvement.
Stellar.
You doing so much better
today.
Now you have it.
Not bad.
GREAT!
You are learning fast.
Keep working on it, you’re getting
better.
Good for you!
Couldn’t have done it better
myself.
You make it look easy.
You really make my job fun.
That’s the right way to do it.
One more time and you’ll have it.
You’re getting better every day.
You did it that time!
That’s not half bad.
You are very good at this.
That’s the way!
Nice going.
Now you’ve figured it out.
SENSATIONAL!
You haven’t missed a thing.
That’s the way to do it!
Keep up the good work.
That’s better.
Nothing can stop you now!
That’s first class work!
EXCELLENT!
PERFECT!
That’s the best ever.
You’re really going to town.
You’ve got it made.
Now you have the hang of it!
You got it right.
It’s your best so far!
WONDERFUL!
You’ve just about mastered
that!
That’s better than ever.
Nice going.
OUTSTANDING!
UNBELIEVABLE!
You did that very well.
You must have been
practicing.
FANTASTIC!
You’re doing beautifully!
You’re improving.
Right on!
SUPERB!
Good remembering!
Keep it up!
You did a lot of work today!
TREMENDOUS!
You’re doing fine.
Good thinking!
You are really learning a lot.
Keep on trying!
You out did yourself today.
I’ve never seen anyone do it
better.
Good going!
AMAZING!
I like that.
MARVELOUS!
I am very proud of you.
That’s fantastic!

Teaching Mistakes

 The Ten Worst Teaching Mistakes

Mistake 1 When you ask a question in class, immediately call for volunteers.

You know what happens when you do that. Most of the students avoid eye contact, and either you get a response from one of the two or three who always volunteer or you answer your own question. Few students even bother to think about the question, since they know that eventually someone else will provide the answer.

We have a suggestion for a better way to handle questioning, but it’s the same one we’ll have for Mistake #9 so let’s hold off on it for a moment.

Mistake 2. Call on students cold.

You stop in mid-lecture and point your finger abruptly: “Joe, what’s the next step?” Some students are comfortable under that kind of pressure, but many could have trouble thinking of their own name. If you frequently call on students without giving them time to think (”cold-calling”), the ones who are intimidated by it won’t be following your lecture as much as praying that you don’t land on them. Even worse, as soon as you call on someone, the others breathe a sigh of relief and stop thinking.

A better approach to questioning in class is active learning.1 Ask the question and give the students a short time to come up with an answer, working either individually or in small groups. Stop them when the time is up and call on a few to report what they came up with. Then, if you haven’t gotten the complete response you’re looking for, call for volunteers. The students will have time to think about the question, and-unlike what happens when you always jump directly to volunteers (Mistake #10)-most will try to come up with a response because they don’t want to look bad if you call on them. With active learning you’ll also avoid the intimidation of cold-calling (Mistake #9) and you’ll get more and better answers to your questions. Most importantly, real learning will take place in class, something that doesn’t happen much in traditional lectures.2

Mistake 3. Turn classes into PowerPoint shows.

It has become common for instructors to put their lecture notes into PowerPoint and to spend their class time mainly droning through the slides. Classes like that are generally a waste of time for everyone.3 If the students don’t have paper copies of the slides, there’s no way they can keep up. If they have the copies, they can read the slides faster than the instructor can lecture through them, the classes are exercises in boredom, the students have little incentive to show up, and many don’t.

Turning classes into extended slide shows is a specific example of:

Mistake 4. Fail to provide variety in instruction.

Nonstop lecturing produces very little learning,2 but if good instructors never lectured they could not motivate students by occasionally sharing their experience and wisdom. Pure PowerPoint shows are ineffective, but so are lectures with no visual content-schematics, diagrams, animations, photos, video clips, etc.-for which PowerPoint is ideal. Individual student assignments alone would not teach students the critical skills of teamwork, leadership, and conflict management they will need to succeed as professionals, but team assignments alone would not promote the equally important trait of independent learning. Effective instruction mixes things up: boardwork, multimedia, storytelling, discussion, activities, individual assignments, and group work (being careful to avoid Mistake #6). The more variety you build in, the more effective the class is likely to be.

Mistake 5. Have students work in groups with no individual accountability.

All students and instructors who have ever been involved with group work know the potential downside. One or two students do the work, the others coast along understanding little of what their more responsible teammates did, everyone gets the same grade, resentments and conflicts build, and the students learn nothing about high-performance teamwork and how to achieve it.

The way to make group work work is cooperative learning, an exhaustively researched instructional method that effectively promotes development of both cognitive and interpersonal skills. One of the defining features of this method is individual accountability-holding each team member accountable for the entire project and not just the part that he or she may have focused on. References on cooperative learning offer suggestions for achieving individual accountability, including giving individual exams covering the full range of knowledge and skills required to complete the project and assigning individual grades based in part on how well the students met their responsibilities to their team.4,5

Mistake 6. Fail to establish relevance.

Students learn best when they clearly perceive the relevance of course content to their interests and career goals. The “trust me” approach to education (”You may have no idea now why you need to know this stuff but trust me, in a few years you’ll see how important it is!”) doesn’t inspire students with a burning desire to learn, and those who do learn tend to be motivated only by grades.

To provide better motivation, begin the course by describing how the content relates to important technological and social problems and to whatever you know of the students’ experience, interests, and career goals, and do the same thing when you introduce each new topic. (If there are no such connections, why is the course being taught?) Consider applying inductive methods such as guided inquiry and problem-based learning, which use real-world problems to provide context for all course material.6 You can anticipate some student resistance to those methods, since they force students to take unaccustomed responsibility for their own learning, but there are effective ways to defuse resistance, 7; and the methods lead to enough additional learning to justify whatever additional effort it may take to implement them.

Mistake 7. Give tests that are too long.

Engineering professors routinely give exams that are too long for most of their students. The exams may include problems that involve a lot of time-consuming mathematical analysis and/or calculations, or problems with unfamiliar twists that may take a long time to figure out, or just too many problems. The few students who work fast enough to finish may make careless mistakes but can still do well thanks to partial credit, while those who never get to some problems or who can’t quickly figure out the tricks get failing grades. After several such experiences, many students switch to other curricula, one factor among several that cause engineering enrollments to decrease by 40% or more in the first two years of the curriculum. When concerns are raised about the impact of this attrition on the engineering pipeline, the instructors argue that the dropouts are all incompetent or lazy and unqualified to be engineers.

The instructors are wrong. Studies that have attempted to correlate grades of graduates with subsequent career success (as measured by promotions, salary increases, and employer evaluations) have found that the correlations are negligible 8; students who drop out of engineering have the same academic profile as those who stay 9; and no one has ever demonstrated that students who can solve a quantitative problem in 20 minutes will do any better as engineers than students who need 35 minutes. In fact, students who are careful and methodical but slow may be better engineers than students who are quick but careless. Consider which type you would rather have designing the bridges you drive across or the planes you fly in.

If you want to evaluate your students’ potential to be successful professionals, test their mastery of the knowledge and skills you are teaching, not their problem-solving speed. After you make up a test and think it’s perfect, take it and time yourself, and make sure you give the students at least three times longer to take it than you needed (since you made it up, you don’t have to stop and think about it)-and if a test is particularly challenging or involves a lot of derivations or calculations, the ratio should be four or five to one for the test to be fair.10

Mistake 8: Get stuck in a rut

Some instructors teach a course two or three times, feel satisfied with their lecture notes and PowerPoint slides and assignments, and don’t change a thing for the rest of their careers except maybe to update a couple of references. Such courses often become mechanical for the instructors, boring for the students, and after a while, hopelessly antiquated.

Things are always happening that provide incentives and opportunities for improving courses. New developments in course subject areas are presented in research journals; changes in the global economy call on programs to equip their graduates with new skills; improved teaching techniques are described in conference presentations and papers; and new instructional resources are made available in digital libraries such as SMETE (www.smete.org), Merlot (www.merlot.org/merlot/index.htm), and the MIT Open Courseware site (http://ocw.mit.edu).

This is not to say that you have to make major revisions in your course every time you give it-you probably don’t have time to do that, and there’s no reason to. Rather, just keep your eyes open for possible improvements you might make in the time available to you. Go to some education sessions at professional conferences; read articles in educational journals in your discipline; visit one or two of those digital libraries to see what tutorials, demonstrations, and simulations they’ve got for your course; and commit to making one or two changes in the course whenever you teach it. If you do that, the course won’t get stale, and neither will you.

Mistake 9. Teach without clear learning objectives

The traditional approach to teaching is to design lectures and assignments that cover topics listed in the syllabus, give exams on those topics, and move on. The first time most instructors think seriously about what they want students to do with the course material is when they write the exams, by which time it may be too late to provide sufficient practice in the skills required to solve the exam problems. It is pointless-and arguably unethical-to test students on skills you haven’t really taught.

A key to making courses coherent and tests fair is to write learning objectives-explicit statements of what students should be able to do if they have learned what the instructor wants them to learn-and to use the objectives as the basis for designing lessons, assignments, and exams.11 The objectives should all specify observable actions (e.g., define, explain, calculate, solve, model, critique, and design), avoiding vague and unobservable terms like know, learn, understand, and appreciate. Besides using the objectives to design your instruction, consider sharing them with the students as study guides for exams. The clearer you are about your expectations (especially high-level ones that involve deep analysis and conceptual understanding, critical thinking, and creative thinking), the more likely the students will be to meet them, and nothing clarifies expectations like good learning objectives.

Mistake 10. Disrespect students.

How much students learn in a course depends to a great extent on the instructor’s attitude. Two different instructors could teach the same material to the same group of students using the same methods, give identical exams, and get dramatically different results. Under one teacher, the students might get good grades and give high ratings to the course and instructor; under the other teacher, the grades could be low, the ratings could be abysmal, and if the course is a gateway to the curriculum, many of the students might not be there next semester. The difference between the students’ performance in the two classes could easily stem from the instructors’ attitudes. If Instructor A conveys respect for the students and a sense that he/she cares about their learning and Instructor B appears indifferent and/or disrespectful, the differences in exam grades and ratings should come as no surprise.

Even if you genuinely respect and care about your students, you can unintentionally give them the opposite sense. Here are several ways to do it: (1) Make sarcastic remarks in class about their skills, intelligence, and work ethics; (2) disparage their questions or their responses to your questions; (3) give the impression that you are in front of them because it’s your job, not because you like the subject and enjoy teaching it; (4) frequently come to class unprepared, run overtime, and cancel classes; (5) don’t show up for office hours, or show up but act annoyed when students come in with questions. If you’ve slipped into any of those practices, try to drop them. If you give students a sense that you don’t respect them, the class will probably be a bad experience for everyone no matter what else you do, while if you clearly convey respect and caring, it will cover a multitude of pedagogical sins you might commit.

I hope you will think seriously my colleagues to avoid these mistakes.

Making Puzzles

How to make boring exercises interesting

Creating interesting exercises, and making boring exercises interesting
What IS ‘interest’?

It’s very difficult to define. It’s easiest to do so so by results, or symptoms of interest in the classroom: attention is voluntary + the learner is involved in doing the task + there is enjoyment

In this workshop I’ll be looking at activities that provide practice in spelling, vocabulary and grammar, and exploring ways of increasing interest without an inordinate amount of preparation: ‘tweaking’ rather than creating.
Spelling

We can take the words we want to practise the spelling of, ask students to learn them and then do a dictation



1. bicycle

2. because

3. people

4. independent

5. embarrassed

6. friend

7. encourage

8. privilege

9. building

10. enough


Or we can do a ‘recall and share’ activity:

[Ask students to study the words for a minute and ‘photograph’ them in their minds; then delete or hide the words and invite them to write down as many as they remember on their own; then let them share with neighbours and help each other to recall more and check spelling; finally show them the original list again for self-checking.]

Why the rise in interest?

· Task involving clear, achievable goal with tangible result

· Game-like challenge (task + ‘constraints’ or ‘rules’)

· Collaboration

· Full participation

· Success-orientation

Cmap site

 Please, make use of this fantastic site to form mind mapping to make posters,  presnt pre-writing tasks, and to make integration with ICT.

http://cmap.ihmc.us/conceptmap.html

Map of tenses

This map can be used as a poster inside the classroom.

Means of transportation

Writing-- First Week Idea (True/False Test)

1- Ask students to take out a sheet of paper, write the proper heading, number the paper from  1-10 and get ready for a true/false test. Assure them that no one fails this test.

2- Give students ten statements about yourself. Students are to decide if they think the statements are true or false. Some examples I use are: 1) This summer I climbed Pike's Peak [false], 2) I play the flute [false], 3) I have a 20-pound cat [true], etc., etc. Try to make them as outlandish as possible, but include equal amounts of true and false statements.

3- Go over each statement. Have students raise their hands if they put true or false. Then "prove" each statement. For the statement about the cat, I show them a photograph of her in all her fatness. I also bring my flute and play a few bars of a familiar tune.

4- Students are then allowed to give themselves an "A" no matter what they made on their test, but in order to keep that "A," they must then compose a well-drafted paragraph (or two) about their English teacher. It must be factual, but does not have to be solely based on the true/false test. (Some students choose to write a paragraph describing my physical attributes.)

5- For homework, students are to compose their own true/false test.
Remind them to include an equal (or close to equal) number of true
statements and false.

6- The next day, pair students up. Have them administer their tests on one another. Then have them write paragraphs about each other. (They can ask more questions of one another if necessary.)

7- Students then introduce their partner to the class by reading their paragraphs out loud. For homework students can revise/edit their paragraphs.

8- Again, this activity can be stretched into two days or compressed into one. It's also a great writing-diagnostic tool.

First week writing

Writing-- First Week Idea  (House Drawings)

1- Give students a blank piece of typing paper and have them draw a picture of their house in pen or pencil. It is important that students not show one another. (5-10 minutes).


2- Collect the drawings and place them face up on the floor.


3- Invite students to come by rows (or groups) to select a drawing they find interesting. Again, it is important that artists not reveal their "masterpieces." It is also important that students not select their own drawings!


4- On a separate sheet of paper, students are to write a paragraph describing the family that lives in the house they selected. They might tell the gender of the artist, the size of the family, etc. This is all speculation, of course. Encourage the students to be creative.
(10-15 min.)


5- Collect drawings and paragraphs, but keep them together. Read aloud each paragraph and show the drawing. Students will enjoy hearing what others speculate based on their drawings. After you read the paragraph, ask the owner of the house to raise his/her hand. You might also ask the author to raise his/her hand as well, although some students may wish to remain anonymous.


6- After reading a paragraph and identifying the artist (homeowner), I then ask that person a few questions about his/her family. It's a good icebreaker and gives everyone a chance to get to know each other better.


7- This activity can be stretched to two days or compressed into one. The paragraphs can be taken home for homework to be revised/edited. It's a great writing-diagnostic tool, too.

Wiktionary

It is a useful site for all English teachers as it provides you with a wide range of vocabulary.

Action Research

Action Research 

It is a reflective process that allows for inquiry and discussion
as components of the “research.” Often, action
research is a collaborative activity among colleagues
searching for solutions to everyday, real problems experienced
in schools, or looking for ways to improve instruction
and increase student achievement. Rather than dealing
with the theoretical, action research allows practitioners to
address those concerns that are closest to them, ones over
which they can exhibit some influence and make change.
 

Ground Rules for Teachers

Ground Rules for the Teacher:
• Bring with you a great deal of humor
• Bring a lot of love and care
• Make sure you have a serious program.
• Look for a positive point in each student. Make them feel good and tell them!
• Contact the parents as soon as possible.
• Be very consistent in checking homework.
• Give a mark for most of the work they produce
• Every class should have a course book.
• Start the lesson with icebreaker.
• Give homework and feedback.
• Choose those chapters that interest them.
• Consider the students’ learning styles and Multiple Intelligences.

Is it a 'u'?

The letter 'u' can often confuse you when you are spelling a word.
To help you to remember the spelling of such words, say them to yourself as they are spelt when you write them.

Sometimes an 'o' can sound like a 'u' e.g. 'oven' can sound like it should be spelt 'uven'	oven among come money government discover none
'u' often makes an indistinct, or unclear sound which can make it difficult to hear that it is in the word.	antique cheque business Saturday laugh aunt
Some words may seem to have too many 'u's in them.	unusual queue (don't confuse this word with 'cue' - a billiard or snooker cue)

Lesson Plan Template

This lesson plan template was designed to make lesson plan writing easier to do while ensuring that all lesson plan components are met.

Lesson Plan Title:............

Concept / Topic To Teach:..................

Standards Addressed:..................

General Goal(s):..................

Specific Objectives:....................

Required Materials:...................

Anticipatory Set (Lead-In):.....................

Step-By-Step Procedures:.......................

Plan For Independent Practice:.........................


Closure (Reflect Anticipatory Set):....................

Assessment Based On Objectives:.....................

Adaptations (For Students With Learning Disabilities):.....................

Extensions (For Gifted Students):.........................

Possible Connections To Other Subjects:.......................

Classroom activities

One of my students said,"I have forgot all what I learnt last year except

the classroom activities of making posters."

Instructional Technology

What 21st century skills and resources are needed to implement Best Practice in the use of instructional technology?

The resources on this page and on the digital audio, digital imaging, and Multimedia Communication Server (voice over IP) subpages enable technology integration and foster best practice implementation.
________________________________________

•  Digital Audio and Podcasting - Web page
•  Digital Imaging - Web page
•  PowerPoint Presentations - Nortel LearniT Flash video tutorial
•  Web Page Creation - Nortel LearniT Flash video tutorial
•  Windows MovieMaker - Nortel LearniT Flash video tutorial
•  Concept mapping tools:
•  CMAP - Concept mapping tool to construct, navigate, share and evaluate concept maps.

•  FreeMind - Java-based concept mapping tool with CMAP capabilities that is useful for project organization and visual tracking

•  Multimedia Communication Server (MCS) - Nortel web page
•  Camstudio - Free, streaming video screen recording tool
•  Open Office - Free, open source word processing and office tools suite
•  NVU - Free web site editor
•  NVU Basics - Nortel LearniT Flash video tutorial
•  Picasa - Free photo sharing software from Google
•  Google Earth - Geographical search and image software
•  Rubistar - Creating rubrics