Date of Class:10/10/13
Day of Class:Thursday
PI:Brooke
SI:
Assistants:
Module:Money
How Many Learners:4
Score:36
What happened (as short or as long as you like, but be specific):

The class started off with 1 learner.. a Russian man who came back from last year! Then after about 5 minutes, 2 more came in- a husband/wife pair. We were already working on the alphabet at that point and got them going right away. I could tell the mrs. was very appreciative of this activity, given her lack of literacy skills in her own native language. She was so involved in it that she had a hard time paying attention to me as I was shouting the letters aloud. I had to really guide her through it (without using Spanish) so that she would follow along with the others. As we moved onto names, I realized how challenged I would be in figuring out how to include F, who couldn’t spell her name while all the other students were at least at a high beginner level (by this point the 4th learner had entered). The group was really helpful and patient with F, and we all helped her to spell her name on paper and aloud. I don’t think she’d be able to go home and do it tonight, but she will be able to soon if she keeps coming back. We then filled out loyalty cards and moved into the good stuff. Only got through half of one activity due to the dynamics of the group as well as some disruptions from the children… apparently 2 of the 3 kids there were giving the woman doing child care a real hard time so she asked that one of the parents come and talk to them. Even that didn’t work and then she brought the children in the classroom and did an activity in there with us- ultimately that was fine for me, as I’m used to it, but I think it was difficult for the abuelos to focus. Either way, we had great practice with some coins, writing and speaking…not bad for class #2 of the term.

Date of Class: 10/17/13
Day of Class: Thursday
PI: Patrik
SI:
Assistants:
Module: Money
How Many Learners: 2
Score: 3+5+8+8+6+4= 34
What happened (as short or as long as you like, but be specific): two learners, both new, both low skill level, both nervous.. it took them awhile to get over their nervousness.. and we managed it with a lot of speaking in Spanish, talking about Cuba.. but most exciting, the two women bonded with each other very quickly, and made plans to keep coming together, I think they went home in the same car, and I got a strong sense that they definitely felt like they found something their speed. The money module was relevant and engaging, and one of the learners was an accountant back home.. lots of pronunciation and writing. It was an exciting day for connection and engagement. Still didn’t have a lesson plan, and hoped there would be scorecards, lucked out with that

Date of Class: 10/24/13
Day of Class: Thursday
PI: Sheila G
SI: None
Assistants: None
Module: Money
How Many Learners: 4
What happened (as short or as long as you like, but be specific): Three learners (2 Spanish speaking and 1 Vietnamese) were right on time and the 4th (also Spanish speaking) came in about 20 minutes later. We got through the alpha l&p and name y&s and had moved on to counting around the table when our 4th arrived. I moved people around to create a more “intimate” group which helped. All 4 were on an even par on many things, and a couple were more advanced in others (e.g., writing). The 2 children who came were hanging out down the hall with E. Everyone’s mutual patience and willingness to help each other made this class a dream from a management standpoint.

We did a lot of writing and pronunciation repetition of numbers (fourteen, forty, etc.) and they learned “counting down by 10s”, “counting up by 5s”, “counting backwards by 100s”, etc. They wrote everything down and practiced, practiced, practiced pronouncing. I wrote “13, 30, 14, 40, 15, 50, etc.” up on the board and we drilled on that in order, out of order, mixing it up. Then I let each of them do it alone and they applauded for each other after every single person finished which was really cool – such a wonderful group of people who really helped each other out!

That was really all we did. People were laughing and involved and they all told me they really enjoyed the class. None of them seem bored or listless and they had some energy (could it be day after hump day??). Really nice class.

Date of Class: 10/31/13
Day of Class: Thursday
PI: Patrik
SI:
Assistants: Lorraine
Module: Telephone Etiquette
How Many Learners: 3
Score: 5+6+7+7+5+4=34
What happened (as short or as long as you like, but be specific): After a difficult day, this was a great class that restored my faith in what we’re doing. Three men, Spanish, Russian, and Vietnamese speakers all working together, and exploring language around Halloween. And enough time to work with Lorraine to give her a chance to try out some of the techniques. Really good feeling in the group. Lorraine also told us that she could put our classes on a list of local areas to practice English at with her online program. That’s great! We want more of that!

Date of Class: 11/5/13
Day of Class: Tuesday
PI: Patrik
SI:
Assistants:
Module: Soccer
How Many Learners: 6
Score: 4+4+5+5+5+3=26
What happened (as short or as long as you like, but be specific): Such a busy week that I completely forgot to update the site! It was great to see this small but connected group, and another learner from Cuba, and two people with the same name! Soccer was challenging for me to prepare for today, I felt stumped and a little uninspired, but I liked having them stand up and practice the actions.

Date of Class: 11/19/13
Day of Class: Tuesday
PI: Patrik
SI:
Assistants:
Module: Soccer
How Many Learners: 6
Score: 3+5+6+7+5+5=31
What happened (as short or as long as you like, but be specific): nice solid group, they keep coming back and they are improving.. Especially one learner, he’s really showing continued development. Repetition, it totally works! I had prepared a nice 1 min video, but never got to it, though it would have been cool. They arranged themselves with a little more space – I was late! It was nice that they arranged the tables, but it also put a little more distance between them, making the collaborative part a little harder. Fortunately, their connection is strong enough now that they really help each other out. It’s kind of awesome.

Date of Class: 11/21/13
Day of Class: Thursday
PI: Patrik
SI:
Assistants:
Module: Telephone Etiquette
How Many Learners: 6
Score: 4+6+6+8+6+6=36
What happened (as short or as long as you like, but be specific): I’m rating this overall as one of the highest scores I’ve had this entire term. This group is really gelling – today I split them up into men/women, separating the tables so I could walk between them. I liked it. There was a moment where Nancy and Irene were laughing so hard they couldn’t move on, which was awesome, haven’t had one of those happen in a long time. I liked the speed phone number dictation… One time fast, then another time just a little less fast.. then see if they can get it. The phone dialogue was a little clunky at first.. but still kept them engaged. It was a cool class, with really good feelings.