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Lesson Title: Summer Holiday Fun Part Deux
Date of Class: 6/25/18
Day of Class: Monday
Time of Class: 10:15-11:15
MC: Maureen
DJ: Maureen
Assistants/Shadowers/Auditioner: Erika
Module: Summertime Vocab
How Many Learners: 30
Materials Status (loyalty cards, alphabet sheets, etc):
gonna need Loyalty Cards!!!
Self EvaluationPreparation: Forgot to Show Up (1) vs. Every Hair In Place (10) = 8
Technique: Completely Incompetent (1) vs. Flawless Delivery (10) = 7
Engagement: Snoring Loudly (1) vs. Absolutely Riveted (10) = 7
Connection: Open Hostility (1) vs. Kumbayah (10) = 7
Poise: Charlie Brown (1) vs. Prince (10) = 7
Reflection: “It was ok.” (1) vs. Life-changing Epiphany (10) = 7Total Score: 43
What happened (as short or as long as you like, but be specific): Erika and I facilitated the rest of our Pictionary game we started last Thursday. I separated the large group in half and switched the cards I had in flower pots so that the groups were using the cards the OTHER group used last Thursday. This threw some people off since a handful of people had been studying their sheet of English words with the Spanish translation under it. They seemed happy to have a new set of words to learn and to see in the drawings made by their friends at the dry-erase board! We got through almost all the cards and everyone was engaged in the game, though a few were too shy to draw in front of their peers. It was a good time and I’m thinking of ideas about a game for Thursday!
Lesson Title: A Word About Summer
Date of Class: 6/21/2018
Day of Class: Thursday
Time of Class: 10:15- 11:15
MC: Maureen
DJ:Maureen
Assistants/Shadowers/Auditioner: Ana, Erika
Module: Summer Holidays
How Many Learners: 22
Materials Status (loyalty cards, alphabet sheets, etc):
gonna need more loyalty cards!
Self EvaluationPreparation: Forgot to Show Up (1) vs. Every Hair In Place (10) = 8
Technique: Completely Incompetent (1) vs. Flawless Delivery (10) = 7
Engagement: Snoring Loudly (1) vs. Absolutely Riveted (10) = 7
Connection: Open Hostility (1) vs. Kumbayah (10) = 7
Poise: Charlie Brown (1) vs. Prince (10) = 7
Reflection: “It was ok.” (1) vs. Life-changing Epiphany (10) = 8Total Score: 44
I arrived early so that I could discuss playing a game of Pictionary with the learners using words associated with Summer such as beach and swimming. Erika and I had to tweak the game a little and have her work primarily with the lower level “team” who needed a lot of support. I assisted the learners who were a little familiar with a few of the words. Learners took turns drawing the word they pulled out of a pot while their team guessed what they were drawing. We ended with a tie game, so I think I will pick it up on Monday and go through the words we did’t get through. I originally designed the game to be: One team member draws and their teammates guess what they are drawing while the opposing team is silent, however, Erika suggested that both teams draw at the same time so that more people will get a chance to draw. I liked that idea, and it went well, but got a little noisy. I’ll think more about how to tweak it, if at all, but they seemed to have a great time and liked the “cheat sheet” I gave them which translated the words into Spanish (thank you Carlos :)) Learners were laughing and having a great time and were sad when the game was over. :)
Lesson Title: n/a
Date of Class: 6/18/18
Day of Class: Monday
Time of Class: 10:15-11:15
MC: Maureen
DJ: Maureen
Assistants/Shadowers/Auditioner: Erika
Module: Declaration of Independence
How Many Learners: 24
Materials Status (loyalty cards, alphabet sheets, etc):
okay for loyalty cards, but will likely need more soon!
Self EvaluationPreparation: Forgot to Show Up (1) vs. Every Hair In Place (10) = 6
Technique: Completely Incompetent (1) vs. Flawless Delivery (10) = 6
Engagement: Snoring Loudly (1) vs. Absolutely Riveted (10) = 8
Connection: Open Hostility (1) vs. Kumbayah (10) = 7
Poise: Charlie Brown (1) vs. Prince (10) = 6
Reflection: “It was ok.” (1) vs. Life-changing Epiphany (10) = 6Total Score: 39
What happened (as short or as long as you like, but be specific): The class was SO big~~24 people!!! The class was also a little shorter than normal as there was a medicare rep. there with a translator for the first part of the class who was also answering questions one-on-one in another room with learners so people were coming and going. I only had a few minutes left after Yell & Spell, so I pointed to my own body parts and had the learners yell out what I was pointing to, then I had them write down the words of those body parts. I wanted to see how difficult it was for them to write short English words. I didn’t see everyone’s paper and many of them did not have any paper at all, but I wanted to get a read on their levels. There are a few learners who did not want to sit at the same table with the others, so I’ll have to address this. I think Thursday, I will try dictating a very short sentence and see what happens. I’ll have to talk with Erika and let her know how she can support me and not the other way around. This is a true experiment!
Lesson Title: Why do Americans celebrate the fourth of July?
Date of Class: 6/14/2018
Day of Class: Thursday
Time of Class: 10:15-11:15
MC: Maureen
DJ: Maureen
Assistants/Shadowers/Auditioner: Erika
Module: Summer Holidays
How Many Learners: 19
Materials Status (loyalty cards, alphabet sheets, etc):
okay for now
Self EvaluationPreparation: Forgot to Show Up (1) vs. Every Hair In Place (10) = 8
Technique: Completely Incompetent (1) vs. Flawless Delivery (10) = 6
Engagement: Snoring Loudly (1) vs. Absolutely Riveted (10) = 7
Connection: Open Hostility (1) vs. Kumbayah (10) = 7
Poise: Charlie Brown (1) vs. Prince (10) = 6
Reflection: “It was ok.” (1) vs. Life-changing Epiphany (10) = 7Total Score: 41
What happened (as short or as long as you like, but be specific): This was the very first class, so I was very over-prepared since I didn’t know what level these learners would be or what I could pack into an hour-long class. Turns out, some of the learners were not literate in their native language and several had a difficult time with alphabet point. many learners needed assistance from Erika spelling their names on paper first before spelling them out for everyone to hear. Yell and Spell took pretty much the entire class time. I had ten minutes to go over the trickier letters such as A,I & E, typically difficult for very low level Spanish speakers. One learner, who was VERY exuberant yelled/complained at the end of class: “How am I supposed to learn English in 8 weeks if the class if like this?” in Spanish and translated to me by Erika. Today, I will meet with Patrik and discuss tricks and tools I can use in tomorrow’s class specific for the learners’ needs that fit in the class time allotted. :)
Lesson Title: Welcome to the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden
Date of Class: 4/25/18
Day of Class: Wednesday
Time of Class: 6-7:30
MC: Maureen
DJ: Maureen
Assistants/Shadowers/Auditioner: 0
Module: Local Flora
How Many Learners: 5
Materials Status (loyalty cards, alphabet sheets, etc):
good
Self EvaluationPreparation: Forgot to Show Up (1) vs. Every Hair In Place (10) = 8
Technique: Completely Incompetent (1) vs. Flawless Delivery (10) = 7
Engagement: Snoring Loudly (1) vs. Absolutely Riveted (10) = 7
Connection: Open Hostility (1) vs. Kumbayah (10) = 8
Poise: Charlie Brown (1) vs. Prince (10) = 7
Reflection: “It was ok.” (1) vs. Life-changing Epiphany (10) = 7Total Score: 44
What happened (as short or as long as you like, but be specific): We wrote sentences about the Rhododendron Garden such as when it is open, how many different types of rhodies can be seen and how it is maintained (by volunteers :) ) We asked each other if we’d ever been to the garden and passed around a few different rhodies from my house. We watched a video tour of the garden on my laptop. After seeing the video, learners seemed interested in visiting the garden and I made sure to tell them when the park is open for FREE!
Lesson Title: Crater lake is America’s deepest lake!
Date of Class: 5/23/18
Day of Class: Wednesday
Time of Class: 6-7:30
MC: Maureen
DJ: Maureen
Assistants/Shadowers/Auditioner: no
Module: The Great Outdoors
How Many Learners: 1
Materials Status (loyalty cards, alphabet sheets, etc):
good
Self EvaluationPreparation: Forgot to Show Up (1) vs. Every Hair In Place (10) = 8
Technique: Completely Incompetent (1) vs. Flawless Delivery (10) = 5
Engagement: Snoring Loudly (1) vs. Absolutely Riveted (10) = 8
Connection: Open Hostility (1) vs. Kumbayah (10) = 6
Poise: Charlie Brown (1) vs. Prince (10) = 5
Reflection: “It was ok.” (1) vs. Life-changing Epiphany (10) = 5Total Score: 37
What happened (as short or as long as you like, but be specific): I was extremely disappointed and frustrated that I spent a lot of time planning a really fun and game-heavy class with maps and contests and no one showed up. Well, just one, but I couldn’t do what I originally planned. We just talked and he practiced his English by reading all the signs in the room before we attended the end-of-the-year party with what I THOUGHT was going to be all the other teachers and students from the other classes going on in the building such as citizenship classes and GED classes. That’s how it was advertised to me last week and I thought it might be a good chance to network and talk about the ESL class. I was excited to meet other people in a relaxed environment, but the room was filled with children who came solely for the free food. I tried talking to the kids asking them where they were from, etc. and they got up and moved to another table as if I had a scorching case of cooties. Definitely very low on my list of favorite teaching experiences. :(
Lesson Title: Who won in the Oregon Primary Election?
Date of Class: 5/21/18
Day of Class: Monday
Time of Class: 6-7:30
MC: Maureen
DJ: Maureen
Assistants/Shadowers/Auditioner: Hannah H.
Module: Oregon Primary Election 2018
How Many Learners: 2
Materials Status (loyalty cards, alphabet sheets, etc):
good!
Self EvaluationPreparation: Forgot to Show Up (1) vs. Every Hair In Place (10) = 8
Technique: Completely Incompetent (1) vs. Flawless Delivery (10) = 6
Engagement: Snoring Loudly (1) vs. Absolutely Riveted (10) = 7
Connection: Open Hostility (1) vs. Kumbayah (10) = 7
Poise: Charlie Brown (1) vs. Prince (10) = 7
Reflection: “It was ok.” (1) vs. Life-changing Epiphany (10) = 8Total Score: 43
What happened (as short or as long as you like, but be specific): Only had two learners, so it was really intimate. I found myself trying not to keep saying: “Ordinarily, the class would be more like…” to Hannah as I tried to model for her how the class proceeds through the lesson. It was a fun class though and the learners (BOTH of them) remembered the candidates we talked about in the previous weeks and were curious about the results. We asked each other if we voted or not during Round Robin and were all disappointed to learn that only 29% of the public voted in the Primary in Oregon and ALL tripped over the pronunciation of 777,774; as in: 777,774 ballots were filled OUT and turned IN. It also became a mini lesson about these prepositions!!! I talked briefly about the and of these classes and about the End-of-the-Year potluck on Wednesday after class and handed out a flyer Laura gave me. I passed along the libraries’ TALK TIME flyer and gave Laura Patrik’s email about Summer ESL opportunities.
Lesson Title: Hiking Through the Unites States from the South to the North
Date of Class: 5/16/2018
Day of Class: Wednesday
Time of Class: 6-7:30
MC: Maureen
DJ: Maureen
Assistants/Shadowers/Auditioner: Hannah
Module: The Great Outdoors
How Many Learners: ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Materials Status (loyalty cards, alphabet sheets, etc):
good.
Self EvaluationPreparation: Forgot to Show Up (1) vs. Every Hair In Place (10) = 8
Technique: Completely Incompetent (1) vs. Flawless Delivery (10) = 6
Engagement: Snoring Loudly (1) vs. Absolutely Riveted (10) = 7
Connection: Open Hostility (1) vs. Kumbayah (10) = 8
Poise: Charlie Brown (1) vs. Prince (10) = 7
Reflection: “It was ok.” (1) vs. Life-changing Epiphany (10) = 8Total Score: 44
What happened (as short or as long as you like, but be specific): SOOOoooo…..Only Mr. A showed up for class, so it was very intimate and very very chatty. Still managed to get through most of the actual lesson which focused on hiking the 3 giant trails in the U.S.–the PCT, CDT and AT. We looked at a lot of photos and traced the trails on a huge map of the U.S. we rolled out. This was right in Mr. A’s wheelhouse! He would’ve told Hannah and I stories about his desert adventures until midnight if we let him! I had activities planned to pit classmates against each other finding states, etc. but….wot wot wot…we still had fun and got a lot of writing and vocab practice. :)
Lesson Title: Child Labor Laws Have Changed in the United States.
Date of Class: 5/15/2018
Day of Class: Tuesday
Time of Class: 2-3:30
MC: Maureen
DJ: Maureen
Assistants/Shadowers/Auditioner: Christiane
Module: labor Unions
How Many Learners: 4
Materials Status (loyalty cards, alphabet sheets, etc):
good.
Self EvaluationPreparation: Forgot to Show Up (1) vs. Every Hair In Place (10) = 8
Technique: Completely Incompetent (1) vs. Flawless Delivery (10) = 7
Engagement: Snoring Loudly (1) vs. Absolutely Riveted (10) = 8
Connection: Open Hostility (1) vs. Kumbayah (10) = 7
Poise: Charlie Brown (1) vs. Prince (10) = 8
Reflection: “It was ok.” (1) vs. Life-changing Epiphany (10) = 8Total Score: 46
What happened (as short or as long as you like, but be specific): There were only four learners, so the class was pretty intimate and communal. C. worked one-on-one with Mr. A with the sentence dictation and that worked out really well to give him the help he needs and keep the momentum of the class going. The sentences all pertained to child labor laws. We learned about each other during the Round Robin where we asked each other if we worked as children (under 18) and what we did for our first job. I didn’t know I.F. was a nurse!!! Learners were very chatty talking about their jobs and were interested in learning about each other. We played games and ate candy. After class chat was productive. We talked about our thought about helping specific learners one-on-one and if that was “special treatment” or a distraction, discussed all the strides certain learners are making with their learning and talked about our feeling on fonts and lower/upper case letters–to correct or let go? Great class!!! Great helper and great shadower who really is invested.
Lesson Title: Voters select a candidate they believe in.
Date of Class: 5/14/18
Day of Class: Monday
Time of Class: 6-7:30
MC: Maureen
DJ: n/a
Assistants/Shadowers/Auditioner: Hannah
Module: Primary Election 2018
How Many Learners: ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Materials Status (loyalty cards, alphabet sheets, etc):
great!
Self EvaluationPreparation: Forgot to Show Up (1) vs. Every Hair In Place (10) = 8
Technique: Completely Incompetent (1) vs. Flawless Delivery (10) = 7
Engagement: Snoring Loudly (1) vs. Absolutely Riveted (10) = 7
Connection: Open Hostility (1) vs. Kumbayah (10) =7
Poise: Charlie Brown (1) vs. Prince (10) = 7
Reflection: “It was ok.” (1) vs. Life-changing Epiphany (10) = 7Total Score: 43
What happened (as short or as long as you like, but be specific): Class was super weird since there was only one learner and I know she doesn’t like the feeling of anyone hovering over her. It did give me a chance to work with this learner one-on-one which I haven’t had the opportunity to do yet–good thing and a bad thing!! I wish there were more learners so Hannah could have a richer experience. This learner had to leave early after getting a phone call pertaining to her child, so class was short. I did give Hannah the low-down on how class USUALLY goes and I hope she can come back when we can see how the process works in action when there are more people. The sole learner did very well with self-correction and we could really work on her pronunciation a bit since we don’t usually have the chance to delve into it as much when there are more people. And we could relax and chit chat while we waited a bit for more learners. I feel like this is important both for rapport and for conversation practice in real time.
Lesson Title: Oregon is a prime state for camping along the coast
Date of Class: 5/9/2018
Day of Class: Wednesday
Time of Class: 6-7:30 pm
MC: Maureen
DJ: Maureen
Assistants/Shadowers/Auditioner: n/a
Module: The Great outdoors
How Many Learners: 5
Materials Status (loyalty cards, alphabet sheets, etc):
great!
Self EvaluationPreparation: Forgot to Show Up (1) vs. Every Hair In Place (10) = 8
Technique: Completely Incompetent (1) vs. Flawless Delivery (10) = 8
Engagement: Snoring Loudly (1) vs. Absolutely Riveted (10) = 8
Connection: Open Hostility (1) vs. Kumbayah (10) = 8
Poise: Charlie Brown (1) vs. Prince (10) 7
Reflection: “It was ok.” (1) vs. Life-changing Epiphany (10) = 7Total Score: 46
What happened (as short or as long as you like, but be specific): This was a great class in that the learners were interacting with each other fluidly and interested in the lesson–camping! We learned who loves adventure and exploring and who has lived in PDX for 10 years and never left the outskirts of the city!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! what????? I beta-tested a new (to ESL learner) game–Kim’s game–where I introduced vocabulary associated with camping such as lanterns, solar radio, rope, bug spray, etc. I gave them 30 seconds to study the items (there were nine), them covered them up and had the learners make a list of which ones they remembered. I learned from this game that having nine items was a little too easy and that I’ll have to figure out how to tweak it so even very low-level learners can get something out of it. However…the learners seemed to have a really great time and were energetic and laughing and smacking themselves on the head when I revealed the items hidden under a bag. HMmmm…I’ll do some more thinking about this one! Time FLEW by in this class and I really enjoyed passing around real-world materials to add dimension and interest to the lesson.
Lesson Title: Become an Educated Voter and learn about the candidates!
Date of Class: 5/7/18
Day of Class: Monday
Time of Class: 6-7:30
MC: Maureen
DJ: Maureen
Assistants/Shadowers/Auditioner: n/a
Module: Primary Election 2018
How Many Learners: 4
Materials Status (loyalty cards, alphabet sheets, etc):
good!
Self EvaluationPreparation: Forgot to Show Up (1) vs. Every Hair In Place (10) = 8
Technique: Completely Incompetent (1) vs. Flawless Delivery (10) = 7
Engagement: Snoring Loudly (1) vs. Absolutely Riveted (10) = 7
Connection: Open Hostility (1) vs. Kumbayah (10) = 7
Poise: Charlie Brown (1) vs. Prince (10) = 6
Reflection: “It was ok.” (1) vs. Life-changing Epiphany (10) = 7Total Score: 42
What happened (as short or as long as you like, but be specific): I dictated sentences about the May 15 election and passed around advertisements that have been either stuck in my door or in my mailbox. They laughed at the “attack ad” I showed after we practiced a sentence about it. The learners asked me how I feel about certain pressing issues Portland has in its lap such as the homeless crisis or opiod epidemic. I was frank. They expressed their dislike for Cheeto and I felt like they were in commiserating company. Two parents were having a difficult time with their young son who attends the free babysitting at Hall while they are in class with me. Child didn’t want to be away from his family, so he sat with us with one of the parents trading off caring for him. It was distracting even though he’s a great, friendly kid. Intimate, fun class even still!
Lesson Title: Volunteering is a great way to serve your community!
Date of Class: 5/3/18
Day of Class: Thursday
Time of Class: 2-3:30
MC: Maureen
DJ: Maureen
Assistants/Shadowers/Auditioner: Ramiro
Module: Volunteerism
How Many Learners: 5
Materials Status (loyalty cards, alphabet sheets, etc):
forgot to check… :(
Self EvaluationPreparation: Forgot to Show Up (1) vs. Every Hair In Place (10) = 7
Technique: Completely Incompetent (1) vs. Flawless Delivery (10) = 7
Engagement: Snoring Loudly (1) vs. Absolutely Riveted (10) = 7
Connection: Open Hostility (1) vs. Kumbayah (10) =8
Poise: Charlie Brown (1) vs. Prince (10) =7
Reflection: “It was ok.” (1) vs. Life-changing Epiphany (10) = 7Total Score: 43
What happened (as short or as long as you like, but be specific): This was mostly a high-level class, so I challenged them with some unique words. We asked each other about our volunteering experience during the Round Robin. We played a rousing game of BINGO, then made cards to put in the Meals on Wheels delivery boxes. I contacted M.O.W. previously and their point person said she would love to receive our cards. I’ll bring them to her tomorrow. I felt proud that the learners challenged themselves with what they wrote on their cards and I am FLOORED at the progress of a certain someone who wanted to write such a lovely message on her card. My heart grew three sizes today! <3
Lesson Title: Let’s go to Olympic National Park!
Date of Class: 05/02/2018
Day of Class: Wednesday
Time of Class: 6-7:30
MC: Maureen
DJ: Maureen
Assistants/Shadowers/Auditioner: n/a
Module: The Great Outdoors
How Many Learners: 4
Materials Status (loyalty cards, alphabet sheets, etc):
the PPT box was moved and all the pencils are gone! HMmmm……..
Self EvaluationPreparation: Forgot to Show Up (1) vs. Every Hair In Place (10) = 8
Technique: Completely Incompetent (1) vs. Flawless Delivery (10) =7
Engagement: Snoring Loudly (1) vs. Absolutely Riveted (10) = 8
Connection: Open Hostility (1) vs. Kumbayah (10) =7
Poise: Charlie Brown (1) vs. Prince (10) = 7
Reflection: “It was ok.” (1) vs. Life-changing Epiphany (10) = 7Total Score: 44
What happened (as short or as long as you like, but be specific): This lesson was all about maps and basically advertising for Olympic National Park. The learners seemed very interested in the park and asked a lot of questions. For the document search, I had two teams competing to find different areas and names on 2 identical National Park maps I brought. I wove into the lesson where in the state of Washington the park was located so they could see the size compared to that of the state. I tried to challenge them with words such as biosphere and balance it with familiar words such as park and forests. The learners seemed very interested in visiting the park sometime and asked me what it was like there. Great lively class!
Lesson Title: Vote in all elections to make your voice heard!
Date of Class: 4/30/2018
Day of Class: Monday
Time of Class: 6-7:30
MC: Maureen
DJ: Maureen
Assistants/Shadowers/Auditioner: n/a
Module: 2018 Primary Election
How Many Learners: 5
Materials Status (loyalty cards, alphabet sheets, etc):
good!
Self EvaluationPreparation: Forgot to Show Up (1) vs. Every Hair In Place (10) = 8
Technique: Completely Incompetent (1) vs. Flawless Delivery (10) 7
Engagement: Snoring Loudly (1) vs. Absolutely Riveted (10) = 7
Connection: Open Hostility (1) vs. Kumbayah (10) = 7
Poise: Charlie Brown (1) vs. Prince (10) = 7
Reflection: “It was ok.” (1) vs. Life-changing Epiphany (10) = 7Total Score: 43
What happened (as short or as long as you like, but be specific): I concentrated on what the election was, what it was for and the accompanying materials to assist with the voting process in the dictated sentences. I passed around advertisements I have been receiving in the mail endorsing this or that candidate in the round robin. I also showed the learners my personal ballot and that it was mailed to me. The learners asked questions and I wonder if I can bring in some voters’ pamphlets in Spanish if there are any available. As some of the candidates had unusual names, the learners tripped over several pronunciations. I think this is good practice just sounding out words we’ve never seen. We closed the class with another ripping and suspenseful game of Tile Spell~guys against the gals edition 2018. I could use this opportunity to brag about which gender kicked royal ass, but that would be rude, so I won’t. ;)