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USING COLLAGE IN THE CLASSROOM
Working on ‘leisure activities’ or ‘family’topics,
some teachers use collage as a culminating or ending activity for writing
and speaking.
Students brainstorm a list of the things they like, and the things
they like to do in the language they’re working in.
Students hunt for pictures or draw drawings that represent those
things. Some teachers gather up piles of old mail order catalogs, for
the students to cut up.
Some collages are assembled on a sheet of paper. One collage
project used hangars and the students hung each picture of what they like
to do from the wide part of the hangar with yarn.
In groups of four, a student tells the group what s/he likes to do,
holding up the collage. It can lower the stress to have a visual that
shares the communication load.
Listeners in the group can record some or all of the information in
L2 on a grid, and ask a question of the speaker about other likes and
dislikes not mentioned in the collage.
Susan Hayden, Language Learning Solutions
Past Tips
Fly
Swatter Game
Objective: The student will be able to match the written form of a letter of an
alphabet (German, Spanish, English, etc.) with the letter’s pronunciation.
1. The teacher should review the
pronunciation of all the letters of the alphabet with the students. I
suggest using flashcards.
2. The teacher then writes all of the letters of the target alphabet on
the board. The letters should be written randomly on the board. (For lower
level students or younger students, writing the alphabet in its proper
order makes finding the correct letter easier.)
3. The class should be divided into teams. Teams of 4 or 5 seems to work
best.
4. Have each team stand in a line behind the starting line. The starting
line should be about 5-8 feet away from the chalk board on which the
letters are written.
5. The first person standing in each line will then be given a fly
swatter.
6. When the teacher calls out a letter, the students with the fly swatters
should run to the board and swat the written form of the letter that the
teacher called out.
7. The first student to swat the letter wins a point for his/her team.
8. After the round is finished, the fly swatter is handed to the next team
member.
9. The first team to a set amount of points wins.
I
learned about the Fly Swatter game from Pat Ross, a great Spanish Teacher
at Aloha High School outside Portland Oregon
- Susan Hayden, Language Learning Solutions.
Ring the Word -
-On the board, put
up at least two examples of any vocabulary words, numbers, times, or
whatever topic you're teaching. You might have twenty-six or thirty words
across the board.
-Divide the class
into two teams, and have one member from each team ready to go.
-Call out one of the phrases or words on the board.
-Whoever races to
the board, finds the phrase or word, and circles it with chalk or marker,
depending on your board, wins a point for that team.
-Next team member,
same thing.
This is a 10 minute max activity which allows students
to show understanding without speaking, and to move.
Two ideas for
Winter Break -
1) Suggest that the students go over vocabulary
lists or cards three times over break. Have them
schedule that practice on their planner.
2) Ask the students
to write down actions and activities they think
they'll do over the break in the infinitive, mostly drawing from words
they enjoy, but with a few new ones important to them. They can include
one or two small drawings. Collect and set aside their papers.
On that first day back after the
holidays, return the papers you set aside. First year students can
skim their list, and just make a star (*) for
the things they did, and two stars (**) for the things they enjoyed a lot.
Allow for students who may not have had an enjoyable holiday.
More advanced students can tell a story from their
break, using narration in the past.
You can try to restore a balance for yourself during
the break. Include time resting, spending enjoyable time alone and with
friends and family, as well as looking ahead for your classes.
Learning
Other Languages -
One way to increase the speed of learning a foreign language is to
study out loud! Mimic the sounds of the language in your normal speaking
voice instead of mumbling. Although you may feel embarrassed making
strange sounds, the language will soon feel more familiar to you. Tip provided courtesy of Homework Spot
Back To School Tip
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On
the first day of German 1, I introduce myself, explain the general
guidelines, and tell about some of the cool things we'll be doing during
the semester. I then have students choose a German name and put it on a
large index card (folded like a tent) on both sides (to be placed on their
desks for the first 2 weeks). With the remaining time I have students
trace caricatures on a sheet of blank paper to insert in the outside of
their 3-ring binder. I got a workbook of figures from the art teacher.
While they're drawing I play Trio's Da Da Da in the background. We only
have a half day the first day, so we have to finish the drawings the
following day.
Wendy Clemmons, MI (For
additional Back to School Tips visit Kickapoo
High School Resources for German Teachers! )
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