Translate

venerdì 13 aprile 2018

Blendspace My lessons about the Victorian Age

For my fourth year  class in a  Liceo Artistico  I had to design some lessons and tasks about the Victorian Age. Since we have just  11-12 lessons in class  till the end of the school year I decided to create some virtual lesson containers online where my students could work on their own and  learn about the age of Queen Victoria and one of the most important  writers of the time- C.Dickens.

I have often used Google Slides to present my content, this time I chose   Blendspace.
The Platform has enabled me to design a lesson plan with lots of  direct links to videos and materials online that deal with the topic I am going to do in class. I will guide them to read and watch  some documents dealing with the time we are studying and  I would like them to reflect on the many  contrasts of the time in which  Dickens  lived. Most of the tasks will be done from home, I need to rely on the students' working at home as we  have poor internet  connection and now at school we have no whiteboards with  internet connections.





The next step will be to help them speak about the topic and find links among the many events that took place in the long time in which the Queen ruled. It is also possible to add quizzes in the online platform. I will think about  some guided compositions or  quizzes to help the students  study and present what they have learnt.


I  think that  Blendplace is a  nice and versatile tool. If you want to add more documents you might  need to pay for some but when  teachers have access to documents that are shared and  are free , we can easily build a good lesson  for learners.

The gallery offers some nice lessons for   many   school subjects. It is worth trying  them.

Useful links

https://www.tes.com/lessons

https://www.tes.com/lessons/gallery

http://testeach-blog.tes.com/
Pubblicato da alle Nessun commento:
Etichette:

giovedì 12 aprile 2018

Holocaust Memorial Day



It is time to remember but it is also time to think that  what is happening now after the end of  WWII is something we should  be ashamed of.

It is a tragedy that is happening  in many countries like  Syria and where children are suffering because  adults and  politicians do not  care.


 



Let's hope we can  make this  a better  world for all the children who are  suffering.  Let's stop wars .
Pubblicato da alle Nessun commento:
Etichette:

Well-being and Teaching

ADVENTURE BANK - panoramio.jpg

Image credit by ---=XEON=--- - https://www.panoramio.com/photo/83467135, CC BY 3.0, Link
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ADVENTURE_BANK_-_panoramio.jpg#/media/File:ADVENTURE_BANK_-_panoramio.jpg

 Right now I am following a webinar about  the importance of learning about the mind and how we can support our learners.

SimpleK12 has just presented a great  webinar tonight : it had to do with well-being and  teaching.
I am sharing their great  tips and resources :  https://www.sjbrooks-young.org/five-simple-stress-relief-strategies-for-educators-april-17-2018/

At school we have to remember that our teaching  can have a negative impact on learners, sometimes  learners can become  engaged in spite of our bad way of working and interacting or they can make us feel   under pressure. Our reaction is often the worst , especially when students do not  cooperate.

It is important to learn how to deal with stressful situations and to find a way for  keeping on working while forgetting the moments in which we had to cope with such difficulties.

The last years have been hard in terms of expectations and more and more families rely on teachers who are also helpers.  Some people find this is the hardest task. You need to be a teacher, a listener, a facilitator and this is  sometimes too much. You end your day home without forgetting what has happened at school.

Well-being is  a must for any worker.  Educators who work with teenagers and also kids need to work on themselves to become resiliant and continue working in the best ways, in  spite of the difficulties they have faced or are expected to face.

Here is the repository with most of the resources which I will have to check later this year since like many other teachers I often feel overwhelmed with the many issues I have to cope with.

Click here to open this binder in a new window.


Pubblicato da alle Nessun commento:
Etichette:

lunedì 2 aprile 2018

Books and Literacy

Today we  are  celebrating  books and children. I came across this important event while surfing the web and  Twitter.  In general children  love  books and  reading  them, but we do need to  help them  love  them as   reading can open your mind and your creativity.

Books can open new paths into Learning  and support  learners. It is important to begin  reading books and loving them when you are young. Once you have  started, you will continue doing it.

Students who are learning a foreign language  should be encouraged to read on their own.  Children's book can help also struggling learners as they may read something they have already read. Hopefully , we can rely on many free books online and also  on ebooks.

Here is an interesting article for   English  Language  Learners which I found online

   http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/magazine/books/how-use-books-learn-foreign-language?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=bc-learnenglishteens


It is important to underline that reading  requires  a lot of exercise, learners need to work on this skills and how to approach reading- teachers need  to be supportive and be able to help them  choose the right books.

Have you ever started to read a book in English, then given up because it was too hard? Check out these useful tips from one of our bloggers to help you! Watch the video then read the blog here: https://t.co/2YA82oApcM pic.twitter.com/knGzHe2th2


Let's celebrate  today and  let's invite  our  learners to  read for pleasure.
Pubblicato da alle Nessun commento:
Etichette:

domenica 1 aprile 2018

Happy Ester 2018

I have been busy in the last  months and  I have not  written many posts.  I have written about my experiences online in my blogs and new  websites. Learning  Diaries and   sharing ideas on most social  media have been required and thus I have done it.
From Evo sessions to interesting courses online: I have  learnt a lot and together with the other  Teachers. These experiences online have me understand that it is important to keep on Learning and  that " No man is an Island".

 I will post  some information later about what I have learnt and what  I would like to share with the other  educators. Some tools need sharing and  more educators should use them as they  are  engaging and support our  daily activities.


Since I am on Holiday and  we are celebrating   Easter and other religious  celebrations in other  parts of the world, I would like  to wish you all


Happy   Easter!


A Happy Easter. (36) (NBY 418549)
See page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/A_Happy_Easter._%2836%29_%28NBY_418549%29.jpg
Pubblicato da alle Nessun commento:
Etichette:

domenica 18 marzo 2018

Learning in a Museum Mooc

I am ready to start this new experience online : Learning in a Museum.

It will be a new experience on the European Platform Gateway :



I have already enrolled and  am on the FB page.  I am a bit curious to learn more about what I could do. As I teach in a school where Art is important  I hope I will get some more tips.


Meanwhile I have searched online to find more about  some important  virtual museums:

 http://mentalfloss.com/article/75809/12-world-class-museums-you-can-visit-online

http://www.virtualfreesites.com/museums.museums.html

https://www.louvre.fr/en/visites-en-ligne

I am looking forward to the first week's Mooc course.
Pubblicato da alle Nessun commento:
Etichette:

mercoledì 7 febbraio 2018

Women's Rights

Right now I am teaching  V.Woolf 's famous  piece of writing  about " Shakespeare's sister". I was comparing  the life of  William Shakespeare and the life of Juliet but most of the students seemed bored. Reading about  how a woman might have to struggle to become a  writer or  dramatist is something they are not interested in.

My students do not seem to know much about the fights that took place in the UK and also in the most developed countries in the XX century. I must confess that  I feel this is bad.  At their  age  I was aware of the  great events that marked women's voices to get the right to vote.

I feel it is important to remember these women whose   ideals changed the future of their  daughters.
The text written by Virginia Woolf is important to remind us that   today we still  have  women who cannot decide about their  future.










Pubblicato da alle Nessun commento:
Etichette:
Iscriviti a: Post (Atom)