The Metamorphosis!

  When the class becomes your family…. (Last week) “Family isn’t always about blood” When a student says that the class is family to them what more should a teacher need? Everything that you have done at that point gets validated with a single statement. I never knew I would miss teaching and my students this much. Because each day they brought their share of happiness to the class and that made everything worthwhile. We were indeed learning together. Knowledge is all about caring and sharing. The last week felt like an emotional roller coaster. We had to complete several works and at the same time, I wanted to do justice to the students. I wanted to give them the best experience in learning and to provide a memorable week to them before we part…. Highlights Games   Hide and Seek The games played in the class were enjoyable to the students and they participated in it with much enthusiasm. Reading    Reading using Role-Play model For reading the passage ro...

    Around the world in 1 Hour… (Lesson 14 and 15) “Travel opens your heart, broadens your mind and fills your life with stories to tell” -Paul Benfield Around the world in 1 Hour! To be able to appreciate and enjoy nature is an art in itself. The class focussed on that. The students through games and activities were given wings and wheels to fly to their favourite places and their destinations of dreams. It helped them to be more creative and it was the ideal task to make them open up and share their opinions and. Through the task the acquisition of language becomes easy and natural. Highlights Entry Activity Travelling with wings The entry activity to travel around the world made the students open up about their experiences and dreams. It helped in appreciating the beauty of nature. Homework Poem on Nightingale The students wrote wonderful poems on the Nightingale which was recited in the class. Model of flowers   Models of flowers The models of heather,...

  Little surprises around every corner.... (Lesson 12 and 13) “Little surprises around every corner.” -Gene Wilde Model of Nightingale For me, the students were the little surprises that made me happy at every corner. Each student brought something of their own to the classroom and thus contributed their share. Barring the network issues and technological hindrances it was the feeling of a real classroom that they gave me. I never felt as if I am conversing on a phone or camera. Their earnestness to know and understand things surprised me. They made me motivated every day. I felt as if the works and efforts that I put forward were not in vain then. It was the power that kept me going. It’s true when it is said that the students make a teacher. Without their presence and support, this would not have been possible. Highlights Entry Activity   Jumbled Words The activity to rearrange jumbled letters was appreciated well. They were able to complete it within seconds. Mode...

  Never ever underestimate the power of an ESL learner!!! (Lesson 10 and 11) “A word is dead when it is said some say. I say it just begins to live that day.” -Emily Dickinson Never ever underestimate the ability, talent, intelligence, and power of perception of students in your classroom. They might surprise you at times and that will be like the moment of revelation for the teacher. Most often the teachers tend to underestimate the learners by keeping the standards low. But that may not be the case often. The students might surprise you at every turn with what they know and how they perceive things. The class offered me such a revelation too when my students were asked to make words from a given word. They were brimming with energy and competitiveness to make more and more words that most often it was a challenge to keep up with their energy. Highlights Word Game   Word Game The entry activity in the class soon turned out into a race between the students. They were...

  Can you speak the language of flowers? (Day 8 and 9) “Games are the only force in the known universe that can get people to take actions against their self-interest in a predictable way without using force.” -Gabe Zimmermann The language of flowers English is often treated as a tough nut to crack by the majority of second language learners. Their attitude towards the language is often negative and apprehensive. I felt that even when the majority of the students in my class now don’t hesitate to speak or respond some people are still hiding behind the camera. To bring them to the forefront is a herculean task. Doing that in an online classroom is indeed a challenge for you have to ensure equal participation of all the students in the class. That was the task at hand and what better ways other than playing a game and providing reinforcements to ensure the same? Highlights Entry Activity Riddles The entry activity was the riddle questions on birds and animals which caugh...

  Welcome to the clubhouse of mickey mouse.... (Lesson 6 and 7) “Animation is the illusion of life. And you can’t create it if you don’t have one”. -Brad Bind The influence of animation characters in the mind and hearts of the students can’t be denied. Generations after generation the animation characters have made their presence felt in all walks of our life. Be it Mickey mouse or Donald Duck or any other animation cartoon character we feel a kind of special bond with them. They become a part of life. Knowingly or unknowingly they become our best friends too.   Our closest companions of childhood. If the cartoon characters could be brought into the class then it will truly be wonderful for the students. The excitement and happiness they felt when they see the pictures or are able to identify them were very evident. It is the best source for developing the basic skills of language too. Using cartoon characters as an aid a teacher can create wonders in the class. the main ben...

  Let's Play Crossword...(Lesson 5) “Life is like a crossword puzzle.  There are ups and downs. Solve it wisely.” -Amitha Bal Crossword puzzles have always been a favourite part of our childhood memories. To revise and teach the words it’s one of the best strategies ever that is very effective and appropriate. The class centered on the word game and the students responded actively to it. They were able to revise and recollect all the words taught in the previous class using crosswords. Upon reflection, I could infer that life itself is like a crossword puzzle. There are ups and downs. You need to be very careful while playing. Crossword Highlights Crossword    Crosswords on Words The game of crossword felt appropriate and suitable in the class for the students. Character Sketch Character Sketch The activity given in the class to prepare the character sketch of the young boy felt suitable and appropriate to the learners.   Homework The homework gi...