GENIALLY

https://view.genial.ly/5e832f41260c290e39734c8c/video-presentation-lunar-restaurant

1. Present a plan which shows clearly the staging of the activities that the students used to prepare the project (e.g. Stage 1. Choose a topic and establish groups; 2) choose the modality of Genially…)

Session 1: Explanation of the project and distribution of students into groups of 3. Since we are studying food now, my students are going to create their own restaurant: they will have to design a logo, a menu (starters, drinks, main dishes, soups, and desserts), explain what they offer and convince us to visit their restaurant. Finally, they’ll have to act out a dialogue. Assessment: there will be 4 different deadlines (project proposal, presentation with Genially, self-evaluation and oral presentation.

Session 2: A written sketch of their project.

Session 3: signing up in Genially and getting to know the app. Adding collaborators. Creation of the logo.

Session 4: Creation of the visual presentation.

Session 5: Submission of the visual presentation.

Session 6: Oral presentation and self-assessment.

2. Comment on how decisions were taken as to the grouping of students and timings of the project.

The groups should include a maximum of 3 students since the roles need to be very well thought out.

There will be 4 delivery times: their first assignment will be a written sketch of the project, then they will have to submit the presentation they have prepared using Genially, after that they’ll make their presentations and finally they will self-assess their group work. 

3. A sample of any additional materials you used (handouts, project planners, etc.)

An excellent app that I will use to communicate with my students is Google Meet. It’s a videoconference application that allows up to 30 students to be connected at the same time. I can share my screen with them to explain exactly how I want them to proceed.

4. Lastly, do not forget to reflect on how the use of the tool has optimised your students’ learning experience and has helped you achieve the objectives. Would you change anything?

The division of the projects in 4 different assignments allows the teacher to carry out a close follow-up of the work of their students. They will have more guidance throughout the process and make fewer mistakes in their final product. They will also have lots of fun while collaborating to create their presentation and it will boost their creativity.

PIXTON

Due to the coronavirus outbreak and schools’ lockdown I haven’t been able to implement this lesson. However, I love the app and I will use it as soon as we get back. I will make my reflection according to what I would like to do when I implement it. I want my students to create a CRIME STORY.

How did you organise the groups?

I will organise my students in groups of 4 so they can work collaboratively with the tablets and let them contribute with their creativity.

What was the sequence of tasks that you followed to get to the final product?

1^st session: Sign in the app. Create your avatar and join the class

2^nd session: Think of a beginning, development, and end for your story, the characters, etc. and draw a mind map. Brainstorm all your ideas.

3^rd session: Go to the app, start creating the panels and your characters, and what they will say at the beginning of the story.

4^th session: Create the development of your story

5^th session: Invent an end for your story and share your comic with the rest of the class.

During this whole process, students will have teacher and peer feedback that will help them create their final product.

●     What were the specific learning objectives for this activity? How did the use of the tool help the learners achieve these objectives? Please be specific and give concrete examples.

1. Creating a crime story
2. Learning the structure and vocabulary of a story
2. Designing a comic
3. Learning how to use the app Pixton

In conclusion, I think that Pixton is a great app that allows students to write in a creativity. It fosters their creativity in that they can choose many different endings in their stories, they can make up what the characters are going to say, what they wear, their position…

This app also enables us to follow a process writing approach since students will write many different drafts, they’ll exchange opinions, they’ll rewrite and erase things as many times as needed, until they achieve their final product, which they will be able to show and share with their class.

EdPuzzle

https://edpuzzle.com/media/5e8222f9f701463f7ed729c8

The video I have chosen is an extract of the international, well-known show Britain’s Got Talent. More precisely, I have chosen the performance of a young comedian who has got cerebral palsy. I think this might be of interest to my students since it is a show they watch in Spanish and that they really like. At the same time, we are using authentic materials from a British Channel. I will divide the process into three tasks: 

PRE

In class, we will introduce the topic by brainstorming some vocabulary they already know related to TV and shows (performance, telly, audience, etc)

Then, I will ask them some questions to see what they know about the program and play a short video of the Spanish version.

WHILE (flipped classroom)

They’ll watch the video at home as many times as they need and answer the interactive questions. Besides the questions, they will have to choose 2 jokes to explain to them in class.

POST 

The next day in class, they will work in pairs and each pair will have a tablet. They will need to choose a scene and voice-over the passage they want. 10-15 seconds will be enough. There is just one rule: It must be funny.

The learning objectives are:

1. Learning vocabulary related to the topic Shows and TV
2. Listening to and answering questions from a video
3. Voice-over a passage

Thanks to the flipped classroom approach, students can work individually at home and we can spend the class doing group and pair activities that involve speaking and listening with other students.

TimeToast

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

-Designing a timeline

-Watching the film “The Darkest Hour”

-Letting my 1st BACH students know about the events that took place during WWII in the UK.

ADVANTAGES of using TimeToast

It is a perfect tool to help students get a visual image of historical events.

It helps them remember dates and, therefore, it can be an excellent studying tool.

Once it is done, you can remember everything just by taking a quick glance.

It is user-friendly and students will learn easily how to use it. On top of that, there are thousands of tutorials that can help our students get started with this tool.

Students can design their own product rather than learning one that has already been done by someone else.

It shows how a student organises concepts in his head.

STEPS

Although I haven’t been able to implement it in my class due to the COVID-19 outbreak, these are the steps I would have followed:

1. Short introduction about World War II.
2. Showing my students a timeline of the most important events.
3. Explanation of the task: they have to design a timeline of the film we are going to watch.
4. Watching the film in class.
5. Learning how to use the tool TIMETOAST and insert a couple of events, as well as their descriptions and dates so they learn to use it.
6. Open a task in Google Classroom so they can all upload their timelines.

OTHER IDEAS

This activity could also work with the book they are reading in class. Instead of answering boring questions once they are done reading it, they could design their own timeline.

PROBLEMS

Problem: Students that weren’t in class on the day I explained how to use TimeToast. 

Solution: I will send them this tutorial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gW-sFjqJT4

HOW TIMETOAST HAS HELPED

It has helped my students to know the main events that took place during WWII.

It has helped me to know that my students have watched and understood the film.

They have learned a new tool that they can use to organize their ideas chronologically.

Reflecting on reading habits

Have a look at the images and think about your own reading habits. Have they changed?

My reading habits have changed considerably. First, when I was a child I used to read short books with lots of images. Then, as a teenager, I used to read paper-based books –mostly the ones I had to read for school–. I wasn’t a big reader back then, I’ll admit that. It wasn’t until I went to university when I developed a taste for reading. The majority of books I read were adventure, thrillers and detective novels. When I grew tired of carrying books from place to place and my back started to hurt I told myself it was high time I bought an e-reader.

1. What kind of books or texts are people reading? Did they chose the books themselves or did someone else choose for them?

In the first picture we can see people reading in a public library. It looks like they are reading paper-based books. They might be reading books for a university course and that’s why they are in the library –it’s the only place where they can borrow those books–, so I reckon someone chose it for them.

3. Describe how they might be feeling at the moment and give reasons.

It certainly doesn’t seem like they are reading for pleasure. They might be feeling stressed and overwhelmed because they have to submit assignments and they don’t have enough time to read their books since they have other courses at university.

4. Focus on one or two of the photos and say how they relate to your own experience as a reader in L1 (Spanish) and L2 (English or another foreign language). Think about the following things:

The second picture reminds me of my first steps as a young reader. Every time I went to my aunt’s house, she would give me a book, sit next to me and read with me for a while. Whereas, the first picture brings back some memories of my time as a university student. I would always go to the university library during exam periods to study with my classmates.

- What texts do you enjoy reading in each language that you speak?

In Spanish I enjoy reading psychology and history books, while in English I tend to read more thrillers and detective novels.

- Do you choose the same kind of texts or do you read very different things depending on the language? What factors determine your choice? 

I read very different types of texts depending on the language in which I choose to read. The complexity of the language is a major factor that determines my choice.

- In what format do you read (paper, e-reader, online, etc.)?

I usually read in my e-reader.

- When do you read?

My favourite moment for reading is before going to bed. However, most of the times I just doze off and I suddenly wake up with a startled expression when the e-reader hits my face.

Interesting links

https://www.woodwardenglish.com/

https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/

https://en.islcollective.com/

https://quizlet.com/en-gb

https://es.lyricstraining.com/

Second conditionals with The Big Bang Theory

Riddle this!

Tongue Twisters!

Happy as a clam!

First post

My name is Manu and I currently teach English to ESO and Bachillerato students. The name of this blog is a reference to Oscar Wilde's masterpiece The Picture of Dorian Grey, adapted to our day-to-day work and context in class. The main purpose of this blog is to offer a tool for other peer teachers so we can help each other by means of sharing resources and experiences. The chief aim is to build each other up. :)