Date: 20/05/2009
Day: Wednesday
Students present: Michael, Henry, William, Susan
Students absent: Noe Noe
Teacher (main and assistants): Lim Young
Subject: English and Maths
Topic: Nouns Test and Real Numbers
Teaching process
Concepts taught: Conducted an English test on nouns, based largely on what I thought them yesterday. I injected the atmosphere of a test format that requires them to sit away from each other and talking was strictly prohibited. This prepares them for the exam mentality.
After the break, they were asked to do a Maths assignment. It consists of 6 word problems that they have to do, based largely on the requirements I set for them during the previous Maths lesson. They were introduced to the method of modelling for word problems and the students liked it a lot. They find it particularly useful
Example questions gone through: Exercise 3e Q1
Practice questions given: Exercise 3e
Post-teaching
General comments of students: Results of the english test are as follow.
Henry: 40/47
Michael: 32/47
Susan: 30/47
William: 4/47
Improvement points of students: I am very worried about William as through the test, he has not shown me that he has understood what I thought in class, despite repetitive reminders given to them to clear their doubts with me when in lessons. From the results, we can see that William is very far behind his siblings, all of whom sat through the same lesson.
William has also told me that he has a lack of interest to study English. He finds it very draining. He needs to improve on his attention span in class as he tends to drift off very easily. I will monitor him closely in terms of his English.
The rest are generally fine.
Homework given (including due date): Nil
Showing posts with label English. Show all posts
Showing posts with label English. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
AEIS, English
Date: 19/05/2009
Day: Tuesday
Students present: Michael, Henry, William, Susan and Noe Noe
Students absent: Nil
Teacher (main and assistants): Lim Young
Subject: English
Topic: Nouns
Teaching process
Concepts taught: Went through the very fundamentals of english which is grammar. This stem from the reason that their recent essay was too poor, rendering it useless to teach them anything more advance without clearing their basics first. I used one of my father's book, which he used during his university days to study english. It was a really detailed book and it really drilled them to the basic. They were taught nouns in general, collective nouns, pronouns, compund nouns etc.
I made them start a new exercise book which I aim to dedicate it to grammar. I made them write rules and regulations on the first page, forcing them to declare that they will not draw on the book, a problem which I had with Susan and Henry previously.
Example questions gone through: Nil
Practice questions given: Nil
Post-teaching
General comments of students: Students were attentive and they were generally receptive. The book was well maintained and the students were able to pick up fast. I feel lucky that I started this lesson as through this lesson, I realised that there were many basics that the students forgot.
Improvement points of students: They start to become distracted when things get a little dry. As much as I try to make the lesson more interesting by bringing in funny examples, grammar is still a relatively dry topic. Thus, I drill a lot on them to stay focus during my lesson.
Homework given (including due date): Nil
Day: Tuesday
Students present: Michael, Henry, William, Susan and Noe Noe
Students absent: Nil
Teacher (main and assistants): Lim Young
Subject: English
Topic: Nouns
Teaching process
Concepts taught: Went through the very fundamentals of english which is grammar. This stem from the reason that their recent essay was too poor, rendering it useless to teach them anything more advance without clearing their basics first. I used one of my father's book, which he used during his university days to study english. It was a really detailed book and it really drilled them to the basic. They were taught nouns in general, collective nouns, pronouns, compund nouns etc.
I made them start a new exercise book which I aim to dedicate it to grammar. I made them write rules and regulations on the first page, forcing them to declare that they will not draw on the book, a problem which I had with Susan and Henry previously.
Example questions gone through: Nil
Practice questions given: Nil
Post-teaching
General comments of students: Students were attentive and they were generally receptive. The book was well maintained and the students were able to pick up fast. I feel lucky that I started this lesson as through this lesson, I realised that there were many basics that the students forgot.
Improvement points of students: They start to become distracted when things get a little dry. As much as I try to make the lesson more interesting by bringing in funny examples, grammar is still a relatively dry topic. Thus, I drill a lot on them to stay focus during my lesson.
Homework given (including due date): Nil
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
AEIS English and Maths
Date: 13/05/2009
Day: Wednesday
Students present: Michael, Henry, William and Susan
Students absent: Noe Noe (language school QT prep)
Teacher (main and assistants): Lim Young
Subject: English and Maths
Topic: Crossword Puzzle and Real Numbers
Teaching process
Concepts taught: Conducted a crossword puzzle test that Jasper came up with. They were given a list of vocabulary 2 days ago which they were instructed to study for the test. The first half of the lesson was purely the test and many of them had difficulties doing it. One reason was that the standard might be a little high for them. However, they all did fine after I drop a reasonable hint of two for them. Henry scored a full mark of 19 points. William attained 16 points. Michael and Susan each attain 13 points. A debrief for their test was given to them and I wrote all the words and the board and explained each one again, teaching them the context in which these words can be used.
The second half of the lesson was doing corrections for their real numbers assignment. The penalty for careless mistakes was copying the questions and the solution 10 times. This is to to inculcate a sense of seriousness and discipline into them doing their work properly.
Example questions gone through: Nil
Practice questions given: Nil
Post-teaching
General comments of students: Michael did tremendously well by not committing a single mistake in working, answer and presentation. I gave him his due credit by praising him in class. It was a tremendous improvement from his previous untidy and careless nature of work. However, I reminded him not to be complacent and much is expected of him now that he has shown that he is capable of something more.
Henry and William did fine, each having only one careless mistake. Henry looks a little disappointed now that he realised he is not always the best but that was definitely a humbling experience. As for William, it was also a tremendous improvement in his work and he was very much encouraged. Susan has also improved a lot but she still had many careless mistakes. When faced with the reality of doing more corrections than others, she cried. But I told her not to and explained the necessity of the penalty and she understood it. It was encouraging to see her brothers stood by her to motivate her to finish her corrections before they leave for home. She has definitely learnt much from this experience, understanding the need to stay focused and discipline while doing her work.
Improvement points of students: Susan must improve on her focus and discipline in work. Michael must learn to keep up with the good standard shown. Henry and William still has room for improvement even though their progress is heartening.
Homework given (including due date): Nil
Day: Wednesday
Students present: Michael, Henry, William and Susan
Students absent: Noe Noe (language school QT prep)
Teacher (main and assistants): Lim Young
Subject: English and Maths
Topic: Crossword Puzzle and Real Numbers
Teaching process
Concepts taught: Conducted a crossword puzzle test that Jasper came up with. They were given a list of vocabulary 2 days ago which they were instructed to study for the test. The first half of the lesson was purely the test and many of them had difficulties doing it. One reason was that the standard might be a little high for them. However, they all did fine after I drop a reasonable hint of two for them. Henry scored a full mark of 19 points. William attained 16 points. Michael and Susan each attain 13 points. A debrief for their test was given to them and I wrote all the words and the board and explained each one again, teaching them the context in which these words can be used.
The second half of the lesson was doing corrections for their real numbers assignment. The penalty for careless mistakes was copying the questions and the solution 10 times. This is to to inculcate a sense of seriousness and discipline into them doing their work properly.
Example questions gone through: Nil
Practice questions given: Nil
Post-teaching
General comments of students: Michael did tremendously well by not committing a single mistake in working, answer and presentation. I gave him his due credit by praising him in class. It was a tremendous improvement from his previous untidy and careless nature of work. However, I reminded him not to be complacent and much is expected of him now that he has shown that he is capable of something more.
Henry and William did fine, each having only one careless mistake. Henry looks a little disappointed now that he realised he is not always the best but that was definitely a humbling experience. As for William, it was also a tremendous improvement in his work and he was very much encouraged. Susan has also improved a lot but she still had many careless mistakes. When faced with the reality of doing more corrections than others, she cried. But I told her not to and explained the necessity of the penalty and she understood it. It was encouraging to see her brothers stood by her to motivate her to finish her corrections before they leave for home. She has definitely learnt much from this experience, understanding the need to stay focused and discipline while doing her work.
Improvement points of students: Susan must improve on her focus and discipline in work. Michael must learn to keep up with the good standard shown. Henry and William still has room for improvement even though their progress is heartening.
Homework given (including due date): Nil
Monday, May 11, 2009
AEIS English and Math 11 May 2009
Date: 11/05/09
Day: Monday
Students present: Michael, William, Henry, Susan
Students absent: Noe Noe (School released her late at 5.30pm)
Teacher (main and assistants): Jasper
Subject: English and some Math
Topic: Vocabulary, Descriptions, and Prime factorization tricks
Teaching process
Concepts taught:
Started with a crossword puzzle regarding the theme: technology. The purpose was to enhance their vocabulary understanding of that theme. Students were quite well versed in technology except two particular questions of the words: Rudimentary and Illiterate.
I made then copy 10 times each, the sentence of the 2 terms. To make them understand the terms and it's usage properly.
After that I've went through the 5 senses technique with them. Made them visualize their recent trip to east coast park and got them to write out and describe that experience based on sight, smell, hearing, touch and taste. I challenged them to write one or more adjectives for every noun they write.
They saw the importance of this exercise, and I've encouraged them to apply it in their essay writing skills.
Lastly, I went through some tricks and techniques to excite them about mathematics and the previous topic that they went through: prime factorization.
A copy of the worksheet can be found on the teacher's table.
Example questions gone through:
Description of east coast park outing with 5 senses. Challenged to add one or more adjective to every noun.
Number has factor 2 when last digit is even
Number has factor 3 when all the digits are added up and is divisible by 3.
Number has factor 4 when last 2 digits are divisible by 4
Number has factor 5 when last digit is 0 or 5
Number has factor 6 when all digits are added up and is divisible by 3, and the number is even.
Number has factor 8 when last 3 digits are divisible by 8.
Number has factor 9 when all digits add up and is divisible by 9.
Practice questions given:
none
Post-teaching
General comments of students:
Started off quite ill-disciplined. Perhaps due to the weekend off. Had them settled down and praised them for what they did right (Susan helping others arrange chair, micheal arranged tables) and what they did wrong (Henry anyhow placing his bag on teachers table). Drew a very clear line between teacher and student.
Along the lesson, students were very receptive and very vocal in expressing their ideas and thoughts. Very lively lesson and good bouncing off ideas back and forth. To the extent that everyone started speaking at the same time. Told students that I would love to hear from each of their unique experience but only had 2 ears, so I encouraged them to speak one at a time and listen to others. They were receptive and they started taking turns to speak.
I also noticed that William is consistently helping Susan with her work and looking out for her. I told William to do his own work and got Susan to check her own work.
IMPT NOTE:
I've made a very clear stand today to the students; to check their work very carefully before submission. I told them that for very error they make (careless mistakes, and not ignorant don't know how to do questions), they will need to do 10 corrections for that questions. This is regardless of math or science. 10 corrections means copying the question and answer 10 times.
For ignorant answers (don't know how to do). Correction once will do.
For worksheets that are badly done. (Less than 50% correct). To do corrections 10 times for the entire worksheet. (up to marker's discretion.
They took this very seriously and took the effort to check their work carefully and passed to each other to inter-check their work.
I hope to bring across the importance of not rushing their work and be careful and sensitive to errors. Let this be a start of the training to reduce careless mistakes.
Make it a common practice from today onwards.
The trick is to be reasonable with the students and giving them benefit of the doubt and privileges in exchange for strictness.
Improvement points of students:
Very receptive to scolding and comments today. Quite well. Especially Henry and Susan.
Homework given (including due date):
Gave them a list of 20 vocabulary to memorize the spelling and meaning. I will be administering the vocabulary test to them on Wednesday through a crossword puzzle.
Day: Monday
Students present: Michael, William, Henry, Susan
Students absent: Noe Noe (School released her late at 5.30pm)
Teacher (main and assistants): Jasper
Subject: English and some Math
Topic: Vocabulary, Descriptions, and Prime factorization tricks
Teaching process
Concepts taught:
Started with a crossword puzzle regarding the theme: technology. The purpose was to enhance their vocabulary understanding of that theme. Students were quite well versed in technology except two particular questions of the words: Rudimentary and Illiterate.
I made then copy 10 times each, the sentence of the 2 terms. To make them understand the terms and it's usage properly.
After that I've went through the 5 senses technique with them. Made them visualize their recent trip to east coast park and got them to write out and describe that experience based on sight, smell, hearing, touch and taste. I challenged them to write one or more adjectives for every noun they write.
They saw the importance of this exercise, and I've encouraged them to apply it in their essay writing skills.
Lastly, I went through some tricks and techniques to excite them about mathematics and the previous topic that they went through: prime factorization.
A copy of the worksheet can be found on the teacher's table.
Example questions gone through:
Description of east coast park outing with 5 senses. Challenged to add one or more adjective to every noun.
Number has factor 2 when last digit is even
Number has factor 3 when all the digits are added up and is divisible by 3.
Number has factor 4 when last 2 digits are divisible by 4
Number has factor 5 when last digit is 0 or 5
Number has factor 6 when all digits are added up and is divisible by 3, and the number is even.
Number has factor 8 when last 3 digits are divisible by 8.
Number has factor 9 when all digits add up and is divisible by 9.
Practice questions given:
none
Post-teaching
General comments of students:
Started off quite ill-disciplined. Perhaps due to the weekend off. Had them settled down and praised them for what they did right (Susan helping others arrange chair, micheal arranged tables) and what they did wrong (Henry anyhow placing his bag on teachers table). Drew a very clear line between teacher and student.
Along the lesson, students were very receptive and very vocal in expressing their ideas and thoughts. Very lively lesson and good bouncing off ideas back and forth. To the extent that everyone started speaking at the same time. Told students that I would love to hear from each of their unique experience but only had 2 ears, so I encouraged them to speak one at a time and listen to others. They were receptive and they started taking turns to speak.
I also noticed that William is consistently helping Susan with her work and looking out for her. I told William to do his own work and got Susan to check her own work.
IMPT NOTE:
I've made a very clear stand today to the students; to check their work very carefully before submission. I told them that for very error they make (careless mistakes, and not ignorant don't know how to do questions), they will need to do 10 corrections for that questions. This is regardless of math or science. 10 corrections means copying the question and answer 10 times.
For ignorant answers (don't know how to do). Correction once will do.
For worksheets that are badly done. (Less than 50% correct). To do corrections 10 times for the entire worksheet. (up to marker's discretion.
They took this very seriously and took the effort to check their work carefully and passed to each other to inter-check their work.
I hope to bring across the importance of not rushing their work and be careful and sensitive to errors. Let this be a start of the training to reduce careless mistakes.
Make it a common practice from today onwards.
The trick is to be reasonable with the students and giving them benefit of the doubt and privileges in exchange for strictness.
Improvement points of students:
Very receptive to scolding and comments today. Quite well. Especially Henry and Susan.
Homework given (including due date):
Gave them a list of 20 vocabulary to memorize the spelling and meaning. I will be administering the vocabulary test to them on Wednesday through a crossword puzzle.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
AEIS, English
Date: 7/5/2009
Day: Thursday
Students present: Michael, Henry, William, Susan and Noe Noe
Students absent: Nil
Teacher (main and assistants): Lim Young
Subject: English
Topic: Journal and Tenses
Teaching process
Concepts taught: I went through with the students the routine journal presentation. What was different for today was that I demanded them to choose a longer and more challenging article for presentation. Students were requested to improve on their level of critical thinking, bringing themselves one level higher than what they used to do. What they used to do was to give very low level reflections like " I think this is very good.". What I challenged them was to tell me why it was good or why did they feel a particular way. Many of them were still unable to answer effectively.
I also introduced the system of peer sharing and commenting. I made them listen attentively to what their counter parts were presenting and I require them to comment on their peer's performance. It was particularly useful as they would be paying more attention to other's presentation, giving more constructive comments (instead of rubbish which they usually do) and thereby learning not to commit the same mistakes when they present. To control the flow of peer commenting, I used the following framework to guide the discussion.
1. What went well
2. What went wrong
3. What can be improved
Example questions gone through: Nil
Practice questions given: Practice 11 of tenses book
Post-teaching
General comments of students: While I was marking their tenses practices from last week, I found out that Susan was copying from her brother and the answer key behind. What I did was that I stopped the class immediately, asking them to look up and listen to me while I talked. In a very serious tone, I addressed to them the importance and value of integrity. I gave them a very stern warning that I do not want to see this happening and they understood very clearly. As a penalty, I made Susan recopy everything that she copied again.
I think as a form of character building, we have to be very firm when it comes to the issue of integrity. It goes beyond academics and in my opinion, is more important than any academic gains.
After the 'prep-talk', the class became amazingly obedient and focused. I had no problems getting finish up their work on time and the students became much more serious in their work.
Improvement points of students: Students are still very poor in their grammar, except for Henry. They are all rather weak in their English articulation. Thus, I proposed to them that they take a short article every night and practice reading it, focusing on the pronunciation and the stress of tones in their sentences. I also suggested that they read to an audience, either their uncle or their sister, so as to allow for objective commenting and improvement points for their articulation.
Homework given (including due date): Recopy of corrections for 'Tenses' Practices with 3 or more errors. The requirements are written on the whiteboard. To be handed in on Tuesday, 12/05/2009.
Day: Thursday
Students present: Michael, Henry, William, Susan and Noe Noe
Students absent: Nil
Teacher (main and assistants): Lim Young
Subject: English
Topic: Journal and Tenses
Teaching process
Concepts taught: I went through with the students the routine journal presentation. What was different for today was that I demanded them to choose a longer and more challenging article for presentation. Students were requested to improve on their level of critical thinking, bringing themselves one level higher than what they used to do. What they used to do was to give very low level reflections like " I think this is very good.". What I challenged them was to tell me why it was good or why did they feel a particular way. Many of them were still unable to answer effectively.
I also introduced the system of peer sharing and commenting. I made them listen attentively to what their counter parts were presenting and I require them to comment on their peer's performance. It was particularly useful as they would be paying more attention to other's presentation, giving more constructive comments (instead of rubbish which they usually do) and thereby learning not to commit the same mistakes when they present. To control the flow of peer commenting, I used the following framework to guide the discussion.
1. What went well
2. What went wrong
3. What can be improved
Example questions gone through: Nil
Practice questions given: Practice 11 of tenses book
Post-teaching
General comments of students: While I was marking their tenses practices from last week, I found out that Susan was copying from her brother and the answer key behind. What I did was that I stopped the class immediately, asking them to look up and listen to me while I talked. In a very serious tone, I addressed to them the importance and value of integrity. I gave them a very stern warning that I do not want to see this happening and they understood very clearly. As a penalty, I made Susan recopy everything that she copied again.
I think as a form of character building, we have to be very firm when it comes to the issue of integrity. It goes beyond academics and in my opinion, is more important than any academic gains.
After the 'prep-talk', the class became amazingly obedient and focused. I had no problems getting finish up their work on time and the students became much more serious in their work.
Improvement points of students: Students are still very poor in their grammar, except for Henry. They are all rather weak in their English articulation. Thus, I proposed to them that they take a short article every night and practice reading it, focusing on the pronunciation and the stress of tones in their sentences. I also suggested that they read to an audience, either their uncle or their sister, so as to allow for objective commenting and improvement points for their articulation.
Homework given (including due date): Recopy of corrections for 'Tenses' Practices with 3 or more errors. The requirements are written on the whiteboard. To be handed in on Tuesday, 12/05/2009.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
AEIS, English
Date: 5/5/2009
Day: Tuesday
Students present: Michael, Henry, William, Susan and Noe Noe
Students absent: Nil
Teacher (main and assistants): Lim Young
Subject: English
Topic: English
Teaching process
Concepts taught: I started off with letting them present their previous journal entry which they have yet to present followed by a sharing session of the new vocabulary that they have acquired. After the break, I asked them to complete practice 4 to 10 of the 'Tenses' practice book.
Example questions gone through: Nil
Practice questions given: Practice 4 to 10 of 'Tenses' practice book.
Post-teaching
General comments of students: Students are better behaved as compared to the time I taught them before I left for Hong Kong. Henry has a good grasp in English language. However, Susan and Henry are becoming less attentive in class and they are starting to distract others too. Susan is also becoming less diligent in her work. It is observed that Michael is becoming frustrated in class due to the distraction caused by the other students. As for William, he has become more focused but it is still not good enough. Noe Noe is doing fine.
Improvement points of students: Students in general should improve on their attentiveness in class. They should also be demanding a higher standard in their work now that the standard has been made known to them.
Homework given (including due date): Nil
Day: Tuesday
Students present: Michael, Henry, William, Susan and Noe Noe
Students absent: Nil
Teacher (main and assistants): Lim Young
Subject: English
Topic: English
Teaching process
Concepts taught: I started off with letting them present their previous journal entry which they have yet to present followed by a sharing session of the new vocabulary that they have acquired. After the break, I asked them to complete practice 4 to 10 of the 'Tenses' practice book.
Example questions gone through: Nil
Practice questions given: Practice 4 to 10 of 'Tenses' practice book.
Post-teaching
General comments of students: Students are better behaved as compared to the time I taught them before I left for Hong Kong. Henry has a good grasp in English language. However, Susan and Henry are becoming less attentive in class and they are starting to distract others too. Susan is also becoming less diligent in her work. It is observed that Michael is becoming frustrated in class due to the distraction caused by the other students. As for William, he has become more focused but it is still not good enough. Noe Noe is doing fine.
Improvement points of students: Students in general should improve on their attentiveness in class. They should also be demanding a higher standard in their work now that the standard has been made known to them.
Homework given (including due date): Nil
Thursday, April 30, 2009
AEIS, English
Date: 300409
Day: Thursday
Students present: Michael, Susan, William, Henry, Noe Noe
Students absent: NA
Teacher (main and assistants): James
Subject: English
Topic: Review of English Test 1, Journal
Teaching process
Concepts taught:
1) Students were taught how to solve summary questions step by step:
Step 1: Keyword underline of question
Step 2: Underline of relevant points in the passage
Step 3: Compiling of points into a draft 1 of summary
Step 4: Completion of final summary
The key processes between step 3 and 4 were also highlighted to students, namely, checking for grammatical errors, linking of points, summarising of points with the word limit in mind.
2) Students were also taught the method of answering vocabulary questions in comprehensions. They were taught how to guess the meaning from the usage in the passage if they do not know the meaning of the word. It was also highlighted to them that the tenses of their answers should be the same as that of the vocabulary word.
A common mistake that students made in the vocabulary questions was the tendency to answer a vocabulary question that is a verb/action with a phrase that suggests a subject performing the action. The students were taught not to include a subject when the question is a verb.
Example questions gone through: NA
Practice questions given: NA
Post-teaching
General comments of students: Students are generally receptive to the new concepts taught during lesson and were able to understand them quite well. During the highlighting of key points from the comprehension passages, most students were able to differentiate points that were relevant to the question after some prompting.
Improvement points of students:
Students generally showed a better understanding of the question after making the effort to highlight key words. They were also much more receptive to concepts taught after explaining their importance.
Students have a tendency to compare the standard demands over in Singapore to their previous school in Myanmar. It is important to continuously remind them that they will be studying in Singapore in the future and that they should get used to the local standards.
Homework given (including due date): Completed Summary by Monday 040509
Day: Thursday
Students present: Michael, Susan, William, Henry, Noe Noe
Students absent: NA
Teacher (main and assistants): James
Subject: English
Topic: Review of English Test 1, Journal
Teaching process
Concepts taught:
1) Students were taught how to solve summary questions step by step:
Step 1: Keyword underline of question
Step 2: Underline of relevant points in the passage
Step 3: Compiling of points into a draft 1 of summary
Step 4: Completion of final summary
The key processes between step 3 and 4 were also highlighted to students, namely, checking for grammatical errors, linking of points, summarising of points with the word limit in mind.
2) Students were also taught the method of answering vocabulary questions in comprehensions. They were taught how to guess the meaning from the usage in the passage if they do not know the meaning of the word. It was also highlighted to them that the tenses of their answers should be the same as that of the vocabulary word.
A common mistake that students made in the vocabulary questions was the tendency to answer a vocabulary question that is a verb/action with a phrase that suggests a subject performing the action. The students were taught not to include a subject when the question is a verb.
Example questions gone through: NA
Practice questions given: NA
Post-teaching
General comments of students: Students are generally receptive to the new concepts taught during lesson and were able to understand them quite well. During the highlighting of key points from the comprehension passages, most students were able to differentiate points that were relevant to the question after some prompting.
Improvement points of students:
Students generally showed a better understanding of the question after making the effort to highlight key words. They were also much more receptive to concepts taught after explaining their importance.
Students have a tendency to compare the standard demands over in Singapore to their previous school in Myanmar. It is important to continuously remind them that they will be studying in Singapore in the future and that they should get used to the local standards.
Homework given (including due date): Completed Summary by Monday 040509
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
AEIS, English
Date: 280409
Day: Tuesday
Students present: Michael, William, Susan, Henry, Noe Noe
Students absent: NA
Teacher (main and assistants): James
Subject: English
Topic: Journal, Review of English Test Paper 1
Teaching process
Concepts taught:
1) As I noticed that students could not do the summary in the test, I asked students to underline or highlight the main details in the newspaper articles while they were doing journals. This is to train them to pick out necessary details in the article so as not to just give a general idea of the article like what they did in the summary in the test.
2) Apart from going through the grammer clozes and the editing portion of the english paper, students were asked to underline all the key words and phrases in the comprehension questions as they had not done so. During the discussion of these questions, they were also taught how to write their answers in full sentences as most of them just gave one word answers or short phrases.
Example questions gone through: NA
Practice questions given: NA
Post-teaching
General comments of students:
Students do not recognize the need to answer in full sentences or to take note of their grammatical errors in their answers as they were not asked to do so in their previous school. As a result, they have a tendency to bargain for marks when their answers were marked down for spelling errors.
Improvement points of students:
Students showed greater interest in the lesson when the discussion was about their test paper. There has been a slight improvement in grammer from the first few grammer practices. However, there's still a need to work on their grammer as most of their comprehension answers contained grammatical errors though they were not marked down this time round.
Homework given (including due date): NA
Day: Tuesday
Students present: Michael, William, Susan, Henry, Noe Noe
Students absent: NA
Teacher (main and assistants): James
Subject: English
Topic: Journal, Review of English Test Paper 1
Teaching process
Concepts taught:
1) As I noticed that students could not do the summary in the test, I asked students to underline or highlight the main details in the newspaper articles while they were doing journals. This is to train them to pick out necessary details in the article so as not to just give a general idea of the article like what they did in the summary in the test.
2) Apart from going through the grammer clozes and the editing portion of the english paper, students were asked to underline all the key words and phrases in the comprehension questions as they had not done so. During the discussion of these questions, they were also taught how to write their answers in full sentences as most of them just gave one word answers or short phrases.
Example questions gone through: NA
Practice questions given: NA
Post-teaching
General comments of students:
Students do not recognize the need to answer in full sentences or to take note of their grammatical errors in their answers as they were not asked to do so in their previous school. As a result, they have a tendency to bargain for marks when their answers were marked down for spelling errors.
Improvement points of students:
Students showed greater interest in the lesson when the discussion was about their test paper. There has been a slight improvement in grammer from the first few grammer practices. However, there's still a need to work on their grammer as most of their comprehension answers contained grammatical errors though they were not marked down this time round.
Homework given (including due date): NA
Monday, April 20, 2009
AEIS, ENGLISH
Date: 200409
Day: Monday
Students present: Michael, William, Henry, Susan
Students absent: Noe Noe (sick)
Teacher (main and assistants): James
Subject: English
Topic: Newspaper Journal, Grammer Practice
Teaching process
Concepts taught:
1) Newspaper Journal
Students were given chances to present their articles to the class. They are encouraged to use the technique of 5W1H to organise their ideas before presenting. The presentations are opportunities for the students to hone their command of the language and to build up their confidence in front of an audience. It will be good to ask the class if they had understood the presentation by the presenter so as to let the presenter gauge his own performance. Feedback can be given after the presentation.
2) Grammer Practices
No concepts taught yet. Students are asked to work on the practices.
Example questions gone through: NA
Practice questions given: Grammer Practices 1-5 (compulsory)
Post-teaching
General comments of students: Students are still not proficient with using the 5W1H. However, when using this technique, students have a tendency to only list the main incident under WHAT and miss out other necessary subevents/details that contribute to it. It is thus necessary to prompt students during the presentation. Students are generally positive towards the idea of doing newspaper journals and are enthusiastic towards presenting before the class.
With regards to presenting, Henry is slightly more proficient in picking necessary details and explaining in a coherent manner while Michael is able to carry himself most confidently.
Students are generally weak in grammer. More details will be given after marking their work.
Improvement points of students:
William has been able to concentrate better on his work.
Homework given (including due date): NA
Day: Monday
Students present: Michael, William, Henry, Susan
Students absent: Noe Noe (sick)
Teacher (main and assistants): James
Subject: English
Topic: Newspaper Journal, Grammer Practice
Teaching process
Concepts taught:
1) Newspaper Journal
Students were given chances to present their articles to the class. They are encouraged to use the technique of 5W1H to organise their ideas before presenting. The presentations are opportunities for the students to hone their command of the language and to build up their confidence in front of an audience. It will be good to ask the class if they had understood the presentation by the presenter so as to let the presenter gauge his own performance. Feedback can be given after the presentation.
2) Grammer Practices
No concepts taught yet. Students are asked to work on the practices.
Example questions gone through: NA
Practice questions given: Grammer Practices 1-5 (compulsory)
Post-teaching
General comments of students: Students are still not proficient with using the 5W1H. However, when using this technique, students have a tendency to only list the main incident under WHAT and miss out other necessary subevents/details that contribute to it. It is thus necessary to prompt students during the presentation. Students are generally positive towards the idea of doing newspaper journals and are enthusiastic towards presenting before the class.
With regards to presenting, Henry is slightly more proficient in picking necessary details and explaining in a coherent manner while Michael is able to carry himself most confidently.
Students are generally weak in grammer. More details will be given after marking their work.
Improvement points of students:
William has been able to concentrate better on his work.
Homework given (including due date): NA
Thursday, April 16, 2009
AEIS English - 16/04/2009
Date: 16/04/2008
Day: Thursday
Students present: Michael, Henry, William, Noe Noe, Susan
Students absent: NIL
Teacher (main and assistants): Lim Young
Subject: English
Topic: NA
Teaching process
Concepts taught: Summary Techniques. Introduced to the students the 5W1H technique. Students are taught to breakdown an article by using the following prompt questions in the following order.
1. When
2. Where
3. Who
4. What
5. How
6. Why
It is important to note that the sequence of these prompt questions are vital in the logical thinking process during the analysis of the content. Pt 1 to 4 are what I termed as the FACTS prompts. These are things that are definite, such as the location of an incident, the time it happened and the people involved so on and so forth. The HOW question is what I term as the ANALYSIS question. This is where the reader uses the facts obtained earlier on to analyse and deduce how something happen. The WHY question is what I term as the REFLECTION question. This should come as the last as the student is challenged to give his or her own opinion to the article that he or she have just read, based on the analysis and the facts they produced earlier on.
Example questions gone through: NA
Practice questions given: Newspaper cuttings from The Straits Times
Post-teaching
General comments of students: All the students understand the usefulness of this method and they are quite receptive of it. However, they are still not very used to the concept of such systematic breakdown when reading an article.
Improvement points of students: After each student completed their journal entry for the newspaper cuttings, I've always asked them to present to the class what they have done. The last 2 lessons I allowed them to open their book to refer to what they have written but discouraged them from doing so. During this lesson, I forced them to close all their books and many of them find it difficult to present. Many of have yet to instill this analytical system into their brain and thus their presentations were messy and disorganised. By forcing them not to read from the book straight, I am challenging their understanding of their article and opinions. It also allows them to express their thoughts through verbally, giving them the chance to practice speaking English.
After doing this for the past 3 lessons, I find this method very effective for teaching english in class and I see the improvement in them. However, their writing skill and articulation still have much room for improvement.
Homework given (including due date): NA
Day: Thursday
Students present: Michael, Henry, William, Noe Noe, Susan
Students absent: NIL
Teacher (main and assistants): Lim Young
Subject: English
Topic: NA
Teaching process
Concepts taught: Summary Techniques. Introduced to the students the 5W1H technique. Students are taught to breakdown an article by using the following prompt questions in the following order.
1. When
2. Where
3. Who
4. What
5. How
6. Why
It is important to note that the sequence of these prompt questions are vital in the logical thinking process during the analysis of the content. Pt 1 to 4 are what I termed as the FACTS prompts. These are things that are definite, such as the location of an incident, the time it happened and the people involved so on and so forth. The HOW question is what I term as the ANALYSIS question. This is where the reader uses the facts obtained earlier on to analyse and deduce how something happen. The WHY question is what I term as the REFLECTION question. This should come as the last as the student is challenged to give his or her own opinion to the article that he or she have just read, based on the analysis and the facts they produced earlier on.
Example questions gone through: NA
Practice questions given: Newspaper cuttings from The Straits Times
Post-teaching
General comments of students: All the students understand the usefulness of this method and they are quite receptive of it. However, they are still not very used to the concept of such systematic breakdown when reading an article.
Improvement points of students: After each student completed their journal entry for the newspaper cuttings, I've always asked them to present to the class what they have done. The last 2 lessons I allowed them to open their book to refer to what they have written but discouraged them from doing so. During this lesson, I forced them to close all their books and many of them find it difficult to present. Many of have yet to instill this analytical system into their brain and thus their presentations were messy and disorganised. By forcing them not to read from the book straight, I am challenging their understanding of their article and opinions. It also allows them to express their thoughts through verbally, giving them the chance to practice speaking English.
After doing this for the past 3 lessons, I find this method very effective for teaching english in class and I see the improvement in them. However, their writing skill and articulation still have much room for improvement.
Homework given (including due date): NA
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