Assignments

Assignments

Assignment 2

Posted on by anouarmaalejNo Comments
Lesson plan cover page
Country Qatar
Name Anwar Maalej
CiSELT workshops attended on course to date I have attended all the workshops so far.
Workshop title 6.7 Project-based learning
Brief description of context, location and time (size of classroom, facilities/resources available, time of day, lesson length, etc.) – 50 words maximum In a small classroom, the teacher’s movements and group-work become a relatively difficult task. However, the class is well-equipped, containing a white board, a data-projector and speakers. Though an internet connection is available, the webquest content was made offline expecting any technical deficiency. I taught the lesson during the second period in the morning from 8 to 9 am. It lasted 55 minutes.
Brief description of learners (how many,  age, level,  special needs/behavioural issues, etc.) –
50 words maximum		 The class I taught this lesson in was grade 12 Medical Studies. Their ages range between 17 and 18. Indeed, a good majority of the class is a group of able students who can cope with challenging situations and take part in high-order thinking activities. The class has an interesting cultural background as learners come from different countries; consequently, they have different interests and inspirations. As a result, I have to be very vigilant and stop any bursts of nationality-related comments. Three students have some difficulties in using English to communicate and are reluctant to take part of most of class activities.
Brief description of the new idea and why chosen
(50 words maximum)		 The technique I applied in this lesson was the webquest, part of module 6.7 ‘Project-based Learning’. It consists in providing the students with a well-chosen list of websites with some tasks to perform, aiming to achieve a final goal eventually. This lesson is the second in a series of lessons taking the students through the process of doing research. I was convinced that the webquest would offer an unprecedented opportunity for my students to experiment with evaluating websites and to develop more awareness of types and reliability of resources.

 

Lesson plan cover page
How does the lesson fit with syllabus/timetable?
(30 words maximum)		 As a department, we have decided that our students should be exposed to research skills throughout their three-year secondary studies. As a result, for each level (i.e. 10, 11, and 12), a unit of work consisting of a series of lessons is devoted to tackle different research skills and cover some linguistic competencies. Following a lesson about primary vs. secondary sources, this lesson is a logical second step aiming at evaluating instances of available resources.
Learning outcome By the end of the lesson, most of the students are expected to:

–          Identify different ways to evaluate websites.

–          Evaluate websites using rubrics.
Materials and references (attach worksheets)
  • Worksheets
  • PowerPoint presentation
  • Web Quest application I have developed for the lesson.
  • Colour copies of different website pages.

 
Anticipated problems
(50 words maximum)		 As it is the first time I use the web quest as a teaching technique, I had some fears concerning how far it could be effective and involving. I was concerned that the internet connection could be unavailable for any reason (that happened to me) and thus the core activity would be missed. Also, I was not certain that all the students could do the main activity when it comes to using the more advanced rubric.
Proposed solutions
(50 words maximum)		 The possible challenges that I expected made me think of possible solutions while planning the lesson. First, I decided to develop my own webquest software. This would allow me to make the websites’ contents available offline. Also, the lesson should be very well structured, through making the lesson stages flow in a smooth way, leading the students to the core activity. Instruction should also be clear to the students to avoid any distractions.
Language Analysis (if appropriate) – cover meaning, form and pronunciation  
Observer comments (if appropriate)  

 

Lesson procedure
Time Teacher activity Student activity Interaction Stage aim
5 min Do-now activity: Ask the students to think of all the possible resources that can be used in research. Accept any possible answers. Given graphic organizers, the students think of all the possible resources used in research projects. Teacher – student List possible sources for a research project.
5 min Go through the lesson objectives then tell the students to read the five sections of the rubric. Students split in groups of four and read the rubric and highlight the keywords. Student-student Identify the 5 W’s to evaluate a website.
5 min Teacher distributes copies of a web page and asks students to write the five words ‘Who?’, ‘What?’, ‘When?’, ‘Where?’ and ‘Why?’ in the correct spaces.

Teacher monitors the activity.

 Students go through a webpage and write the five words ‘Who?’, ‘What?’, ‘When?’, ‘Where?’ and ‘Why?’ in the spaces provided. Student-student Group-work: Evaluate a website using the 5 W’s evaluation rubric.
30 min Teacher presents the second rubric to the class and asks them to use it to make an objective evaluation of the websites.

Go round the groups and monitor the activity

 Students read the rubric, then use the webquest to surf the websites in order to evaluate them with reference to the rubric. Student-student Use a webquest: Evaluate websites using the advanced rubric.
10 Ask volunteers to report their evaluation to the whole class. Students tell the class which website is the most reliable and justify their answers. Student-student Plenary: Present findings and justify choices.

 

 

Reflection
What went well? Why?

(refer to the learners, learning outcomes and stage aims, lesson procedures, tasks / activities and materials)

 I think that the lesson flowed smoothly. Every stage led logically to the following, giving room for interaction. The worksheets were very helpful as they kept the students focussed on every lesson stage. Indeed, nearly all the students were able to do the activities using the worksheets as intended. Cooperative learning helped overcome some confusion in the main activity as more able students could help the rest of the class, especially to understand the content of the websites through explaining some new words.
What didn’t go well? Why?

(refer to the learners, learning outcomes and stage aims, lesson procedures, tasks / activities and materials)

 One of the best practices I have committed myself to do at the end of each lesson consists in thinking of other ways that could guarantee higher efficiency levels. In the case of this lesson, I think that the main deficiency was time. I think it would be better to administer such a lesson throughout four periods at least. The students would have gained more understanding of the evaluation process and have the opportunity to write a comprehensive report of their work.
What changes will I make next time? Why?

 

Assignments

Assignment 1

Posted on by anouarmaalejNo Comments

 

Lesson plan cover page
Country Qatar
Name Anwar Maalej
CiSELT workshops attended on course to date I have attended five workshops so far.
Workshop title  
Brief description of context, location and time (size of classroom, facilities/resources available, time of day, lesson length, etc.) – 50 words maximum I taught the lesson in a classroom which is not very big, especially after lockers had been put at the back, which makes my movements relatively uneasy. It is equipped with a data-projector and speakers. An excellent wireless internet access is available. The lesson was taught in the morning from 8 to 9 am. It lasted 45 minutes.
Brief description of learners (how many,  age, level,  special needs/behavioural issues, etc.) –
50 words maximum		 My students are in grade 12. They are 18 years old with mixed abilities. Indeed, the class represents a ‘myriad of levels’, ranging from beginners to intermediate. Students come from different countries which influences the way they are arranged in class and the way groups are formed. At least four students have serious difficulties in using English to communicate and one has communication problems and catered for by the AESN department.
Brief description of the new idea and why chosen
(50 words maximum)		 Actually, during the previous workshops, there were many ideas that I could find inspiring and suitable to be part of my teaching. However, I believe that the students’ age and linguistic competence along with the lesson’s nature influence in deciding about which activity to adopt. Eventually I have decided to adopt the table completion activity (cf. Lesson Planning Coursebook p7) because I found it very interesting and could help organize ideas visually and help students recall information and define logical relationships. I have tailored it to the needs of my students and to the lesson’s requirements. The original activity consisted of a gapped table that the students are to fill with pieces of paper with the missing information; I have modified it to include pictures instead.

 

Lesson plan cover page
How does the lesson fit with syllabus/timetable?
(30 words maximum)		  The lesson was a part of cluster C (the use of functional language). The cluster focuses on different types of functional writings including letters, memos, reports, emails, staff meetings and cover letters. It is the fourth lesson after students have been introduced to email-writing and became able to distinguish between formal and informal language used in writing.
Learning outcome
  • Identify the differences between a memo and a letter
  • Identify vocabulary related to memorandum from a video
  • Follow the different steps to write a memo
  • Discuss and evaluate the best way to write a memo
  • Write down a memorandum following an imaginative situation
Materials and references (attach worksheets)
  • PowerPoint presentation
  • A3 hand-outs
  • Video material

 
Anticipated problems
(50 words maximum)		 Not all the students will be able to produce a memorandum by the end of the lesson. Some of them have problems in writing. Some of the students will have problems answering questions about the video in the starter activity.
Proposed solutions
(50 words maximum)		 I have devised differentiated worksheets that respond to the needs of the low-achievers and high-achievers in the same time. Moreover, relying on a group-work class mode would alleviate such difficulties.
Language Analysis (if appropriate) – cover meaning, form and pronunciation  

 
Observer comments (if appropriate)  
Lesson procedure
Time Teacher activity Student activity Interaction Stage aim
10 min Distribute the worksheets. Tell the students that they are to watch a video about the main differences between a memo and a letter. Ask them to define the target audience, the speaker’s purpose and spot the differences as defined in their worksheets. Students are to watch the video about the main differences between a memo and a letter. They are to fill in the worksheets with the possible target audience, the speaker’s purpose and the differences between the memo and the letter. Teacher – student

Student-student

 Identify the differences between a memo and a letter
5 min Go through the answers with the students. Accept any relevant answers. Students peer-correct their answers. Student-student Identify vocabulary related to memorandum from a video

 
10 min Explain the task and set it.

Go round the groups and monitor the students’ work.

After they finish, display the correct answers for the whole class (PowerPoint slideshow)

 In their groups, the students are asked to match the pictures portraying different steps of writing a memo to the suitable captions.

Check their answers.

 Student-student Follow the different steps to write a memo

 
10 min Explain the task and set it.

Go round the groups and monitor the students’ work.

 

 In groups, the students to read three memos and decide about the possible subjects and write it in the subject line. Then they complete a gapped memo with given words. Student-student Discuss and evaluate the best way to write a memo
15 min Explain the task and set it.

Go round the groups and monitor the students’ work.

 

 In groups, students choose on of the suggested topics to write a memo by following the model given in the previous task Student-student Write down a memorandum following an imaginative situation

 

Reflection
What went well? Why?

(refer to the learners, learning outcomes and stage aims, lesson procedures, tasks / activities and materials)

 Overall, the lesson was done the way I planned for. The transition was smooth and the students showed a clear involvement. During the group activities, the students showed a great sense of complicity and support; I just had to explain few things as the pictures were self-explanatory and the activities matched their abilities. More able students contributed to the flow of the lesson in an effective way. I had the same positive feedback from my colleagues who taught the same lesson in their classes. Further, I think that the learning outcomes have been successfully achieved as the students could easily answer my questions about the discrepancies between letters and memo at the beginning of the following lesson.
What didn’t go well? Why?

(refer to the learners, learning outcomes and stage aims, lesson procedures, tasks / activities and materials)

 I reckon that I was not totally satisfied at the end of the lesson. Notwithstanding my good anticipation and the quality of the material I have concocted, the time that remained to the production part of the lesson proved to be insufficient. The low achievers were even reluctant to start drafting the first line in the body of the memorandum. They would have shown more interest had the activity been presented in a different way. Maybe a jumbled memo that has to be reordered and written down would have settled the issue.
What changes will I make next time? Why?

 

Result  
Trainers’s comments, advice and suggestions