The Importance of Taking Your Own Advice

I should learn to follow my own advice.
When I am training teachers or observing teachers I always stress the importance of having a back-up plan for your lesson. Doing a whizz-bang, super-duper computer based lesson? Have a back up in case the computer fails. Using audio-visual materials? Think about what you'll do if there is no power. Teaching in an unfamilar classroom and want to stick things to the board with magnets? What will you do if it's not magnetic? Even think about what to do if you have no board at all. Always have a back-up plan.
They do say that pride goes before a fall, don't they?

At the weekend I spent a lot of time preparing a music lesson - finding and recording the songs I wanted to use. Planning in detail how I would use them and what I would do.
Trouble was I was feeling a bit under the weather and didn't feel well-enough to do the extra effort to make a back-up. Things would be OK, wouldn't they? I've had no difficulties at that school before, have I?

So I went to school,  plugged in my tape player and saw that the power light hadn't come on.

The power, I was informed had been off for the whole weekend and all of today, Monday but no one had thought to call me and let me know. 

Without the recordings I had no lesson. And no back-up plan.

Luckily there were a couple of pages in their Chinese book that the teachers said they wouldn't be using so I taught those instead. It was an unsatisfactory lesson all round.

Note to self: always follow your own advice.

Lesson Plan: Wildlife Protection

Lesson Level: Grade 10,11,12 Duration: 45 Minutes

Lesson Title: Wildlife Protection

(Note this lesson corresponds to one of the lessons in the Chinese text book that is commonly used and should, if possible, be delivered either the week before or the week after tthat lesson.)

Grammar and Vocabulary

danger, endangered, hunting, habitat, poacher, decrease, extinct, reserve, species

Lesson Objectives

To develop discussion skills with important topics

Materials Required

None

Preparation

Check that facts in procedure below are still current, substitute other facts if they are not..

Procedure

1

Write “Wildlife Protection” on the board and elicit the meanings for both words.

Write by the side of it “keeping wild animals safe” as a definition.

2

Break the class into about twelve groups. Give each group three of the words from the vocabulary list and tell them that they must find or create definitions for the words. They can use their books or dictionaries to help.

Let them have two or three minutes to complete the task.

Feedback from the groups.

Definition of one word from each group (some groups will not need to define anything in this activity).

Write correct definitions next to the words on the board.

3

While the class are working on the definitions on another section of the board write the following facts.¹

Scientists accidentaly killed the worlds oldest animal. (http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2013/11/15/newser-worlds-oldest-animal/3574863/)

The last Pinta Island Tortoise died in 2012.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonesome_George)

Trading in new ivory was banned in 1989 but some countries oppose this ban.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivory_trade)

Around 25% of animal species can be considered endangered.

(http://animalstime.com/facts-about-endangered-animals/)

There may be as many as 80 million species of insect.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insect_biodiversity)

4

When definitions are all written on board show the class the statements. Ensure that they understand and ask them to discuss in their groups which statements are true or false. (Of course all should be true)

Monitor the discussions and ask groups individually for some of their ideas.

Allow about five minutes.

Ask for show of hands on each statement.

Give correct answer that all are true and give a little more information about each one.

5

Write on board

What do you think about these things.

1. Crocodile skin bags.
2. Fur coats.
3. Animal parts used for medicine.
4. Ivory jewellery.
5. Pet monkeys.
6. Kangaroo meat.

What do you think we can do to help protect animals.

Tell groups to discuss these questions.

Allow about five minutes.

Monitor and guide discussions.

Ask for feedback. Discuss issues as a whole class.

Lesson Plan: The Birthday Party

Lesson Level: Grade 7,8 Duration 45 Minutes

Lesson Title: The Birthday Party

Grammar and Vocabulary

birthday, party, surprise party, birthday present, birthday cake, birthday boy/girl, birthday card

Lesson Objectives

To develop vocabulary for birthdays. group activity to develop language for collaborative activity (planning a party)

Materials Required

Dialogue¹

Preparation

Prepare dialogue.

Procedure

1

Explain that this lesson is all about birthday parties.

Ask class what they know about birthday parties and if Chinese traditions are the same as in the west.

Elicit the vocabulary items (see above) and put on board and explain.

2

Choose one boy and one girl to read the dialogue. Tell rest of class to listen carefully.²

Toss ball around class and ask questions about the dialogue.

Why do Jack and Laura want a party?

Whose birthday is it?

Where is the party?

What will they eat?

What will they drink?

Why can't the party be in the morning?

Why can't the party be in the evening?

How many people can they invite?

3

Ask class for ideas about what they need to do to plan a party.

Elicit and write on board.

Plan the food

Plan the drink

Plan the venue (explain venue or use “place” instead)

Plan the music

Plan the games

Plan who to invite

Choose a time

Write the invitations.

4

Put class in groups of four to six.

Each group must plan a party.

They need to say whose birthday party it is and then make a plan according to the list on the board.

5

Elicit feedback

Use ball toss and ask each group some questions about their party.

6.

Extension task.

In groups tell every student to look at the other people in the group. They must think of a birthday present for each person and write it down.

When they have written it down they must tell the others what they bought.

They should ask if they are happy with their present, and find out why (or why not.)

Notes

1.

This is a sample dialogue that I use.

Jack	It's John's birthday next Sunday.
Laura	I know. Let's have a surprise party for him.
Jack	That's a great idea. Where shall we have it?
Laura	I'll ask my mother if we can use our apartment. I live very near to the birthday boy.
Jack	OK what kind of food do we need?
Laura	Birthday cake, biscuits, chocolate. And to drink we need juice and Coca Cola.
Jack	Don't forget ice-cream. John loves ice-cream.
Laura	We can get blueberry ice-cream. It's his favourite.
Jack	When shall we have it?
Laura	The afternoon is best. He plays football in the morning and we can't do it too late because we have school on Monday.
Jack	OK. We can invite about ten people. They can each bring a small birthday present and a birthday card. Who shall we ask?
Laura	Well, there's Susie and Julie, Mike and Ted...

2. 

It is helpful to print enough copies of the dialogue to hand out so that they can follow it. This may not be possible with large classes.

I appreciate the advice

I recently posted on Facebook a comment about a student in class here in China. It was nothing very unusual, just the issue all of the teachers here face every day – students doing the homework from other teachers in their class. What made this a little different, and a little amusing, was that the student, instead of trying to hide it, as they usually do, had actually had the cheek to ask me to help him.

A trivial anecdote to be sure but that's what Facebook is for.

It drew a response from an acquaintance who deserves a public acknowledgement of his contribution. He is an unfailing source of inspirational input who never lets his total lack of knowledge on a subject prevent him giving you his opinion the facts. With that in mind, of course I don't feel even slightly insulted by his opening remark that the student clearly finds the other teacher's work more engaging than mine. Why would I? After all, if he suggests that I am not a good teacher, who am I to argue? He has never seen me teach but why should that matter?

Similarly there is, to my mind, absolutely no hint of passive aggression in his assertion that I must find it “quite difficult to make language teaching interesting”. My teaching qualifications and my years of experience weigh very poorly in the balance when compared to his deductive reasoning skills and his conclusion based on a single paragraph about slightly amusing incident.

Now I don't wish to seem ungrateful, after all I value his input every bit as much as everyone else he interacts with does, but I would like to expand on it a little.

It's clear that the Chinese school day which is, at my school anyway, eleven and a half hours long followed by a minimum of two hours home work each night (and six days a week) will have no influence at all on whether the kids try to do their homework in class time or not. The merest suggestion is ludicrous. If the class is interesting they will be too absorbed to do anything other than listen, won't they?

And if I gave homework (which I am not allowed to do) I am sure that the other teachers would be so interesting that there would be no temptation at all for the students to try to do it in their lessons. In fact it would probably be so dull that they wouldn't do it at all. And who could blame them?

Later he goes on to suggest that as my classes are intended to focus on speaking and listening I could make it a rule that only English is to be spoken in class. It is brilliant in its simplicity. I wonder why I never thought of it. Get them to speak in English. It's quite breathtaking. Of course there would be no difficulty at all in a class of eighty in making sure that everyone speaking at once is speaking English. I shall certainly have to try that.

I might also think of some more rules – don't carve your names in the desk, don't read comics in class, don't set fire to the bookcase, don't play cards. Why this stuff is revolutionary. I must remember to tell the Chinese teachers about it. I'm sure they have never even considered it. I know I haven't.

His support for my difficulty is well expressed when he goes on to say that he “can appreciate the challenge with a class of that size”. Of course he has never tried to teach a class of eighty eleven-year-olds but his theorising is, as always, welcome input.

So to summarise, I am inexpressibly grateful for these invaluable suggestions. As it will take me some time to implement all of this groundbreaking stuff though, I'd appreciate it if there were no more suggestions – at least for the time being.