Rockwood Library – Spring 2014

Forums Past Tense Journal (Classroom Log) Rockwood Library – Spring 2014

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 35 total)
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  • #1744
    WebMaestrex
    Keymaster

    Copy the text below and paste into a comment, then fill it out! Please do not use your last name, or any learner names.

    Date of Class:
    Day of Class:
    Time of Class:
    MC:
    DJ:
    Assistants:
    Module:
    How Many Learners:
    Score:
    What happened (as short or as long as you like, but be specific):

    #1745
    WebMaestrex
    Keymaster

    Date of Class: 3/31/14
    Day of Class: Monday
    Time of Class: 12-2
    MC: Patrik
    DJ:
    Assistants: Jane
    Module: At The Doctor
    How Many Learners: 4
    Score: 8+7+6+6+7+7 = 41
    What happened (as short or as long as you like, but be specific): I think this is the highest score I’ve ever given myself. Primarily because I did so much preparation in order to make it work with Jane being there. We were able to modify the activities very well to make sure that she was included in an essential way.. there was only a few minutes where she was disengaged because the material was very visible. The big bummer was that she got there an hour early! Her braille machine was kind of awesome, too. To make this work, we will generally need two teachers, but we talked about how she can make it work by having one of the learners be her assistant. Super cool.

    #1766
    Robert Grubaugh
    Spectator

    Date of Class: 4/1/2014
    Day of Class: Tuesday
    Time of Class: 6:00-7:30
    MC: Robert
    DJ:
    Assistants: Kalen Garnett
    Module: Talking with the boss
    How Many Learners: 6
    Score: 37
    What happened (as short or as long as you like, but be specific): The class went pretty well but, overall I felt like the lesson plan I wrote wasn’t as fluid as it could have been. I noticed a couple of the students were confused a couple times and I think it may have been partially my fault. But towards the end of the class I was going to have someone “Tell a story” for the discussion section and it turned into more of a group conversation. Everyone was asking all kinds of questions and pushed each other to explain why they moved and I let them kind of go wild which turned out to be really fun and everybody loosened up a lot which was nice. Also, Kalen was a great assistant. I think I could have given her more to do but I think she did a good job helping some lower level students and keeping the rhythm of the class moving.

    #1769
    Colin Fjeld
    Spectator

    Date of Class: 3/31/2014
    Day of Class: Monday
    Time of Class: 6PM
    MC: David
    DJ: Colin
    Assistants: n/a
    Module: Nutrition
    How Many Learners: 4
    Score: 45
    What happened: Students learned the names of 10-12 fruit and vegetables, then went around the room using the script: “This is an apple. A what?”… We listed as many vegetables and fruit as we could name and then worked on a Word-Scramble which the students always enjoy. We finished the night with a song “Everybody Eats”.

    #1771
    David Rutiezer
    Spectator

    Date of Class: April 2, 2014
    Day of Class: Wednesday
    Time of Class: 12-2pm
    MC: David
    Module: At the Bank
    How Many Learners: 5
    Score: 45
    What happened: One new learner, Neyra. Lesson: Large numbers: writing, listening, pronouncing, First, we counted out loud, going around circle, by one, by five, ten, hundred. understanding. Then I had them write several large numbers. Then I gave them sheets with the names of several countries, states, cities, including Oregon, Portland and Gresham. I asked them to write which numbers were the populations of which places. This worked really well! They were curious about the answers, and this provided a great way to work on accurate pronunciation (thousand, thirty) and correct usage (difference between thousand and million, between million and billion, and getting used to saying those words, rather than a thousand million). Then, I had a dictation and role play on buying things in a grocery store, giving change, figuring out how much change to get, and understanding the question: cash or credit? This was more challenging. I had scrambled words using words for numbers and finance (cash, checking account, credit card) that we solved together. Finally, I gave them song lyric sheets and taught them Can’t Buy Me Love.

    #1894
    WebMaestrex
    Keymaster

    Date of Class: 4/7/14
    Day of Class: Monday
    Time of Class: 12-2
    MC: Patrik
    DJ:
    Assistants:
    Module: At The Doctor
    How Many Learners: 5
    Score: 6+6+5+4+5+5=31
    What happened (as short or as long as you like, but be specific): Interesting class.. two new learners, one new to me, one returning.. they came in a little late so we needed to bring them into the group. One of the learners was a little shy about sharing, and it seemed that she knew another one of the learners.. it was a little awkward, but she probably just needed to warm up.

    I tried something new by using a big book of the human body, and using it to break out more complex language – skeletal system, support.. and I was trying to think of a song, and I had “bad case of loving you” on deck – but then realized “the skeleton song – thigh bone connected to the knee bone would be better. It’s a little kidlike, but it seemed to go over well.

    #1904
    Colin Fjeld
    Spectator

    Date of Class: 4/7/14
    Day of Class: Monday
    Time of Class: 6-7:30PM
    MC: Colin
    DJ: N/A
    Assistants: N/A
    Module: Nutrition
    How Many Learners: 7
    Score: 42
    What happened (as short or as long as you like, but be specific): We always start a little late. The first to arrive were 3 young Cuban men who spoke very little English. Four students were regulars. I taught from the Nutrition module by first going through some vocabulary on the “Nutrition Facts” labels on three different types of foods. We learned how to read the labels and what is “healthy” vs. “unhealthy”.

    #1905
    Robert Grubaugh
    Spectator

    Date of Class: 4/8/2014
    Day of Class: Tuesday
    Time of Class: 6:00-7:30
    MC: Robert
    DJ:
    Assistants: Kalen and Jane
    Module: Talking with the boss
    How Many Learners: 5
    Score: 36
    What happened (as short or as long as you like, but be specific):
    Jane and Kalen both assisted me today and it went pretty smoothly. Jane called out letters from the alphabet sheet, participated in dialogue and helped when learners asked what things meant. Kalen also was VERY helpful and was a big reason why the class went so smoothly I think. There was a younger Cuban man tonight also who brought some energy to the class which was really fun. It was a great class overall!

    #1927
    WebMaestrex
    Keymaster

    Date of Class: 4/9/14
    Day of Class: Wednesday
    Time of Class: 12-2
    MC: Patrik
    DJ:
    Assistants:
    Module: At The Bank
    How Many Learners: 5
    Score: 4+6+5+5+6+5 = 31
    What happened (as short or as long as you like, but be specific): Nice group.. today tried something a little new that I’m liking for this group which has a number of folks who are coming regularly, and can tackle a little more, and they have a pretty good connection with each other. Also, because it’s a 90 minute class, and at least one learner comes pretty late. Here’s what we’re doing to keep it multilevel, but rachet up the difficulty a little bit:

    1. Ask each person to tell us something that happened to them – if they can’t say anything, then we ask them what they had for dinner or breakfast. Everyone writes down what they say, and the facilitator corrects the word choice and grammar. Choral response word by word, then bring it together. Then go around and pronoun switch – She had grapefruit and granola for breakfast

    2. When we do yell and spell, have each person spell another person’s name. With a small group that has been practicing each others names for a while, it shouldn’t be difficult, but just a bit of a challenge, because they have to think a little more than they had been with their own name. Add supports if there are new learners – I’m still trying to find the best way to do it; sometimes, they say their name, and others try to spell it.. actually, probably the best thing to do would be something like this: x, my name is patrik. Can you spell it? My last name is mcdade, can you spell that?

    #1990
    WebMaestrex
    Keymaster

    Date of Class: 4/14/14
    Day of Class: Monday
    Time of Class: 12-2
    MC: Patrik
    DJ:
    Assistants:
    Module: At The Doctor
    How Many Learners: 5
    Score: 6+3+4+4+4+5=26
    What happened (as short or as long as you like, but be specific): One of the lower scores I’ve given myself, though it wasn’t terrible.. but it just all felt.. off. I tried an activity that went to the board, and it was unbalanced then one of the learners left and made it even more awkward. Also, starting with a dictation orientated activity is still really sweet – as long as the group knows each other. There was a new learner who came in, and it was a little off balance, and she was really nervous, and because I didn’t do the standard warm up, she was off balance and nervous. She did warm up, though.. and trying to get one of the other learners to continually share and connect is challenging. Also, the worksheets we had were not super clear. And the activities tended towards higher skills. On the other hand, there were quesadillas, which was awesome.

    #1993
    Colin Fjeld
    Spectator

    Date of Class: April 14th, 2014
    Day of Class: Monday
    Time of Class: 6-7:30pm
    MC: Brooke
    DJ: Colin
    Assistants: Jane
    Module: Nutrition
    How Many Learners: 11
    Score: 48
    What happened (as short or as long as you like, but be specific): Great class! After the usual warm-ups we learned the names of different vegetables and practiced the difference between “this” and “these”. We also worked on reading Nutrition Labels and reviewed various words found on them.

    #1996
    Robert Grubaugh
    Spectator

    Date of Class: 4/15/2013
    Day of Class: Tuesday
    Time of Class: 6:00-7:30
    MC: Robert
    DJ:
    Assistants: Jane and Randy
    Module: Talking with the boss
    How Many Learners: 9
    Score: 30
    What happened (as short or as long as you like, but be specific): I felt a little unprepared for today’s class. Randy and Jane were helpful but I felt like I was out of sync with giving them clear directions and I think it may have confused the learners. I also think I should have written a simpler lesson plan also.

    #2004
    WebMaestrex
    Keymaster

    Date of Class: 4/16/14
    Day of Class: Wednesday
    Time of Class: 12-2
    MC: Patrik
    DJ:
    Assistants: Cassandra
    Module: At The Bank
    How Many Learners: 8
    Score: 3+7+6+7+7+6=36
    What happened (as short or as long as you like, but be specific): A really nice class! Cassandra fit right in after the initial to be expected bumps; The filling out the deposit slip activity worked really well, with several activities flowing into one another – first, dictating numbers, then listen and point on the deposit slip, then dictating the amounts of the check and the bank numbers, “adding it up”, transferring to the front side, “would you like to make a deposit?” and then a little role play at the end with each person. Energy was good in the room, the new people got connected well with the others. Plus, we had old friends join us…

    #2196
    David Rutiezer
    Spectator

    Date of Class: April 21, 2014
    Day of Class: Monday
    Time of Class: 12 noon – 2pm
    MC: David R.
    DJ:none
    Assistants:none
    Module:At the Doctor
    How Many Learners:2
    Score:48
    What happened (as short or as long as you like, but be specific): Two students, one of whom was new. This was one of my unplanned classes, so I improvised a lot. I used my own body to teach names of different body parts; writing exercises (Are these my eyes? No, those are your ears.) to differentiate between questions and answers, between singular and plural, and between this and that, these and those. I had printed out and brought in a doctor’s form, and asked learners to find different words, to repeat words after me, and to understand what questions were being asked on the form. We did a simple dictation and role play, based on an old joke I remembered (“Hello, Mr./Ms.__. How are you?” “Oh, doctor, not so good.” “What seems to be the problem?” “It hurts when I do this.” “Well, don’t do that.” Then I asked them to write out names of the body parts we’d been talking about, and we went over those together.

    #2228
    Colin Fjeld
    Spectator

    Date of Class: 4/21/2014
    Day of Class: Monday
    Time of Class: 6-7:30pm
    MC: Colin Fjeld
    DJ: Ben Citalan
    Assistants: n/a
    Module: Nutrition
    How Many Learners: 13
    Score: 8+7+8+7+7+8 = 45
    What happened (as short or as long as you like, but be specific): Class started a little late as usual. I felt the class has a good understanding of vegetables, fruit and other “healthy” items, so I switched it up and taught all about “unhealthy” foods like Pizza, Donuts and Fried Chicken. We continued to practice the difference between “this” and “these” which continues to be a challenge. Overall it was a fun, energetic class with lots of laughing at ourselves and a better understanding of unhealthy food choices.

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