Lesson #5: Short Vowel Phonics

Lesson #5: Short Vowel Phonics
Class: First Grade English / Beginner
Skills: Sound recognition for short vowel a
Time: 90 minutes (2 class periods, 45 minutes each)

By the end of this lesson students will be able to recognize where the "a"sound is placed in a word (beginning, middle, end)

Materials: Computer, projector, speakers, handout

Teacher will project from the Ultimate Phonics Reading Program. For the purpose of this lesson I will provide screen shots of the software which will be projected during the lesson.

Background:
I will begin the class by explaining to the students that the letter "a" has a name and a sound which I will then proceed to demonstrate. I will then go on to show students the different words that have the short sound "a" in them. The software reads words to students dividing them by letter sound. I will first play students the software audio and then I will model so that they repeat the sound. I will be careful to show where the sound "a" is made in the word. I will write words that contain that short a sound on the board such as "at" and "cat" and will ask "Is the "a" sound in cat in the beginning of the word?" waiting for the students' response. After we are done with the lesson I will give them a handout where they will write the letter "a" in its corresponding place in the word. I will not be using the last part of the activity which is a sentence reading.

1. Teacher will write the letter "a" on the board and asks students which vowel is that.







2. Teacher then asks students to say words that have the "a" sound (students will say words with short and long "a")











3. Teacher will then proceed to show students the vowel sound in different words.







4. Students will look at the presentation and listen to the sounds made by the software and the teacher.



5. The teacher will then show pictures of words that contain the short "a" sound such as apple, airplane, bat, cat, hat, map, mat...







6. Once the activity is complete students will work on the worksheets provided by the teacher.

Lesson Review:

1. How will you use this resource to meet the needs of your instructional purposes?
     This activity is one that I will definitely use this semester with my first grade students. This is the first time and first year I will give this class, teach this material and use this resource. Since most students come to first grade with previous knowledge from Kindergarden from school students already come with vocabulary in English. I need to use prior knowledge to teach sound discrimination and comprehension. I believe this resource will help me a lot with this because we are using technology to get the message across and using digital pictures to support the material.

2. What handouts or directions will you provide students to focus learning and adapt this resource for your instructional resources.
      Some of the handouts that will be provided in the class are shown in the blog. These handouts are to test what the students learned and understood from the lesson, as well as providing a fun and entertaining way to put what was learned into practice. Directions will be provided before the lesson; which will be to pay attention and to repeat the sounds as they are said. After the listening activity is complete I will instruct students to complete the handouts which are provided for practice.

3. Are the format, organization, design and language level of this resource appropriate for your instructional goals?
      The language level for this resource shifts from very basic to low-intermediate. There are some sounds that are taught and used with older learners (maybe teenagers or pre-teens). The resource language shifts from very basic and builds up as the lessons progress which shows that is a really good resource for those learning to read.

4. What are the potential problems, either language based or technical that you may need to troubleshoot or prepare for?
      Some of the technical problems I may encounter while or before teaching this lesson might be that my computer does not work properly, I might leave my charger at home or maybe I will forget my speakers. For all of these possible problems I may encounter I have to be sure to have hard copies of the lesson. I know it will be difficult to have hard copies of every page in the software's lessons so I have to be prepare to show hard pictures and write the words on the board and produce the sounds for the students.

Lesson 4: Kitchen Terminology/Kitchen Knives

Lesson #4: Kitchen Terminology/Kitchen Knives
Level: Beginner-Intermediate
Culinary English

Directions:
Look for the following culinary terminology, it goes along with the Knives Power Point Presentation on Quia. After you are done reading and studying the terminology and the Power Point Presentation, go on to Quia and do the practice activities to evaluate and test your knowledge and understanding of the material. Use these resources to memorize them for our oral group activity Chef-pardy. Good luck!

1. Go to Atomic Gourmet and look for the following definitions:

• Back of the House

• Au jus

• 86

• Antipasto

• A la carte

• Butterfly

• Déjeuner

• Menu

• Confit

• Count

• Pare

• Batter

• GBD

• Dessert

• Weight

• Julienne

• Deuce

• Mince

• Appetizer

• Medium

• Front of the House

• Flambé

• Entrée

• Dice

• Sauté

2. Download and read the Knives Power Point presentation.
3. Go to Quia and do the practice exercises.
Next Week the class will be divided into two groups and we will play Chef-pardy. The team that gets the most correct answers will win 10 extra credit points. The other group will win 5 extra credit points.

Lesson Review:
1. How will you use this resource to meet the needs of your instructional purposes?
This resource will help me provide students with the information they need to know from the lesson in a more interactive and unusual way. Students will be able to interact with the vocabulary and the lesson in a different way; it will not be like in a lecture where the material is static between the teacher and the student, here students will be able to play with the material for better understanding.

2. Why is this topic, information or content appropriate for the lesson you plan to create (e.g., level of authenticity, relevance to target language, register, accuracy, interest level, and motivation)?
Culinary students are always eager to learn terminology that will help them communicate with other chefs in the future. The professional kitchen has its own language, its own jargon that only chefs understand and is foreign to those who are not in the field. There are a lot of words that we usually encounter that come from French that we loosely use without understanding. Puerto Rican culinary students don't only have to learn English vocabulary and terminology but also French terminology. This lesson brings a lot of relevance to the field that it is being studied. This lesson is not for common English learners but for EAP students.

3. Are the format, organization, design and language level of this resource appropriate for your instructional goals?
The way the lesson is structured, the resources fit very well with the material supposed to be taught in the program. I think that having students work individually in a vocabulary activity is beneficial and cost efficient. Students might feel more comfortable learning on their own pace going forward and back between the presentation and the internet for help. Using activities for review and comprehension is also positive and appropriate for the lesson. As students use the flashcards, the matching activity and the other activities they are interacting with the material which will help with memorization and association for when the oral activity happens.

4. What are the potential problems, either language based or technical that you may need to troubleshoot or prepare for?
Students might encounter problems with compatibility depending on the OS they are using. When creating this activity I used Mac and the .doc presentations worked correctly with my system, but some students might not be so lucky. In this case I can send struggling students an email with the presentations which they can open on their browsers without problem. Students might also encounter problems with accessing Quia. I will make sure to check the resource before giving the class and asking students to use the page.

Lesson 3: The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Lesson #3: The Very Hungry Caterpillar

1st grade

Story Elements/Make your own story

Homework:

Students will bring assigned pictures to the classroom to complete an activity following the digital story activity.

Directions: The teacher will play a video of a digital story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. 

1. Students will watch the teacher as she passes the pages while the video is being played and the students listen. The teacher will write on the board information from the story as it is being read (egg, caterpillar, cocoon, butterfly).
2. The teacher will divide the group in groups of 4 to 5 students. Students will then proceed to fill the Story Elements worksheet.
3. After completing the worksheet, students will create their own Hungry Caterpillar Story. The story will be playing in the background as the students do their “story books”
4. After completing their books each group will go in front of the class to read their book to the class. It is not expected of students to create long or complex stories since this is a grade 1 activity.

Review:
1. How will you use this resource to meet the needs of your instructional purposes?
This story is great for first grade students, they use it in the second semester of first grade at the school where I work when students are already “comfortable” with reading. Since they will be doing some reading, getting students to explain in their own words or to talk about what they got/understood from the story is a great way to kick start reading comprehension which they will be using for the rest of their lives. They will also be working on their creative abilities.

2. What handouts or directions will you provide students to focus learning and adapt this resource for your instructional goals?
I will provide students with an elements of the story worksheet to verify reading comprehension and to get the familiarized with this important activity. Students will also be using their own pictures to complete their story book after finishing the worksheet.

3. Are the format, organization, design and language level of this resource appropriate for your instructional goals?
The format of the activity is very basic and I believe it helps learners with understanding and comprehension, the design is simple and the language level is pretty basic and it expands vocabulary. Kids love this story, it is fun and interesting; it also teaches children the life cycle of the butterfly.

4. What are the potential problems, either language based or technical that you may need to troubleshoot or prepare for?
I don’t think I will be experiencing any technical problems because I will have saved the file on my computer. I could encounter problems with students applying the reading comprehension which could slow the activity down a bit.

Lesson #2: Website Integration

Lesson/Review Assignment #2

Lesson: Apartment for Rent

Level: Beginner to Low Intermediate

Time: 45 minutes

Objectives: Students will be able to look for online apartment ads and be able to communicate with landlords when making appointments to view places to rent.

Materials: Computer, headphones

Lesson Introduction: (10 minutes)

The teacher will ask students whether they live at home with their parents, if they live with a relative, whether they  rent and live with a roommate or if they rent by themselves. Students then asks those students to talk about their experience looking for an apartment and to share it with the class. 

The teacher then moves on to introduce terminology related to the lesson:

rent, apartment, security deposit, loft, condominium, walk-up, high-rise, contract, budget, utilities

Listening Activity/Technology Integration: (15 minutes)

1: Go to the website: Randall's ESL Lab: Apartments for Rent

1. Scroll down to Part 2: Listening Exercises
2. Click on the play button. Listen to the conversation. Listen to the conversation 2 to 3 times or as much as you need to to understand the conversation.
3. Answer the listening comprehension question (5 questions)

Post Listening Activity (Role Play): (20 minutes)

With a classmate go to the Chicago Reader Rentals Page. Look at some of the rental ads on the page. Pick the one that you are most interested in and role play calling a real estate agent or a landlord for information about your desired ad. Reverse roles. Both classmates should have the same participation in the activities, meaning both have to be the agent or landlord and the caller. You can go on to ESL Lab Quiz Script for reference

Review Questions:

1. How will you use this resource to meet the needs of your instructional purposes?

This resource will help me provide a base for the the activity I want my students to achieve which is the role play/speaking activity. Although the activity is a controlled one, students will get the idea of how to act when the time comes for looking for a place to live. This activity provides a listening exercise that provide the students with background information and key vocabulary for this specific type of situation; vocabulary and information that will be essential for the future. 

2. Why is this application and format appropriate for the lesson you plan to create (e.g., level of authenticity, relevance to target language, register, accuracy, interest level, and motivation)?

This lesson provides the students with an opportunity for authentic practice in the classroom. Students are able to look online for a rental ad, much like they would in real life, and apply the situation in an authentic way in the classroom with the support of a classmate and the teacher’s supervision. This is an activity that will be useful in the future for the student.

3. Are the format, organization, design and language level of this resource

appropriate for your instructional goals?

Since this is an oral communication class this activity fits really good with the curriculum. The focus of the course is to get students familiarized with communication activities that will help them in their future, to be comfortable when specific life situations come their way. This website aids the students with these situations since the website is so simple, divided into levels. This resource is great for students to use at home for further practice.

4. What are the potential problems, either language based or technical that

you may need to troubleshoot or prepare for?

Students can encounter problems with the page being down, so before the activity I would check that the website is up and running before the class begins. I would also check for internet connection in each computer and that audio works with each headphone. Lower level students might have problems cruising through the website because there is a lot of material in the site that can help with student confusion. I would make myself available to the students in case they are facing any confusion. If the students are having language problems I would suggest they open an online dictionary website for language support, i.e. WordReference.

Lesson/Review 1

Website review:

The websites I might use for next week's activities are Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab and Starfall. Randall's ESL website has many activities that help adult learners when they are first coming across the language and to understand and become more familiar with English as their new language. It helps learners with listening comprehension and discrimination as well as with producing oral language/conversation starters/skills. The activities are very simple and straight to the point and are able to be used in their daily lives. Starfall can help me with early learners such as those I will have next August in school (Yay! I got a position as an elementary English teacher, first grade). This website will help me re-inforce what the children learned in kindergarden (reading and phonics) as well as teach them how to read stories by themselves.

Randall's ESL site is a little complicated for students to use at first because it lacks a little more organization and because of ads in the page. Starfall seems pretty easy for students to use with the help of the teacher or the adult since children nowadays are pretty technological.

Lesson/Blog Review:

The Lesson I chose to review was EL and English Teaching. I found Bill Hozza's activity to be very technological and a switch from the traditional introductions produced in traditional classrooms.  I have never used VoiceThread and I think the way he incorporated an oral and visual introduction of himself and his family was really fun and different. Whenever I start a new class with my "adult" students I always introduce myself, talk a little bit about my background, and relate to them via a power ppint presentation. I really do not use pictures of myself or what I talk about so his activity makes me want to change this. After I introduce myself I ask my students to introduce themselves to the class. The ones who are a little more fluent do this orally, and the ones who are less fluent write their introductions on a piece of paper with the help of the more advanced students and then they give their oral introduction.

The idea of doing the activities the way Mr. Hozza does it gives the students a little bit more time to prepare themselves and gather the necessary materials to do the activity, which is what we, as language teachers, want from our students; to be producing language since they arrive in the classroom.

I see a complication with the format of the activity. Not all colleges or language institutes provide students with digital cameras to do or complete the assignment. As Mr. Hozza said, some students might not feel comfortable showing pictures of their family members, especially putting them up on the interner (I am one of them), so this can be a downside of the activity. But aside from that I think the point is good and the activity is achievable. I found it interesting, although creating a VoiceThread might also be a challenge for beginning students.