1. Teaching in the Time of Covid 19
The impact of coronavirus on our lives is undeniable. The number of COVID-19 cases
continues to increase. While governments impose new measures until a vaccine or an
effective cure are developed, schools and remain closed, but we teachers are working
hard to respond to our students´ needs in an unexpected way.
We´ve found ourselves designing online classes for students who may have limited or
no access to the internet.Each context is unique. Each educational institution is
struggling to adapt to current conditions as fast as possible, especially in terms of new
e-learning strategies. In poorer communities, the possibility of implementing new apps
that would allow teachers and students to continue learning clashes against the
material limitations of costs and bandwidth.
Below, you will find some activities that 4th-grade teachers shared though a platform
that is called Chamiloas soon as this peculiar period started. Students were familiar
with the tool; thus, all subjects uploaded activities on a weekly basis. We agreed on a
fixed schedule. For instance, English activities are uploaded every Wednesday. As
time went by, we realized Chamilo was not enough, so we migrated to Classroom.
We´ve hold live lessons every fortnight ever since. Each Zoom meeting has a specific
purpose. We design varied activities and encourage students´ active participation.
It´s not the same. We miss our classrooms. We´re really looking forward to playing
with our students in the schoolyard. But we´re still in touch. We try to stay close to our
students, via warm messages, paying special attention to attendance to meetings and
submission of activities. We even organize private lessons with those who might need
so. It´s not the same, but we´re doing our best!
2. 1
WEEK 1
Hello everybody! I miss you!
Activities for this week!
True or False?
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rjgW_2jQrqb5HL1S9fkY0j7gNFAbyprv/view?usp=sh
aring
You should choose the option that is called “Presentaciones de Google”:
Then go to “Iniciar presentación”:
Ready!
Read the sentences. And decide if they are TRUE or FALSE.
HAVE FUN!
Activity 2: My new me
On a piece of cardboard, cut out an oval. Make sure your face fits in there!
Then, invent a new hairstyle. It must be different from yours! For example,
We´ll be using these productions in our LIVE LESSON next week!
WEEK 2
3. 2
It was great to see you in our Zoom meeting! I loved your “new” hairstyles!
Now, let´s pay attention to these people´s hairstyles.
1. The Greatest showman
Watch the video.
The Greatest Showman | "The Greatest Show" Lyric Video | Fox Family Entertainment
Can you see these people in the video? Describe their hair. For example,
The trapeze artist has got pink hair.
The trapeze artist
The juggler
The singer
The ringmaster
2. Reading and listening: The trapeze artist.
Open your books at page 10
4. 3
Listen and read the story
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1mDAqnUtOYdk_OMVeb-Lwg3_vXh6vWj2w
Read and choose T for “true” or F for “false”:
a. The children are at home. T F
b. Nick and Lucy see a clown. T F
c. The trapeze artist has got a beard. T F
d. The man is from the circus. T F
That's all for this week. Goodbye!!
READ this article and keep on reflecting about this challenge we´re facing!
Xiaoqiao Cheng (2020)´Challenges of "School's Out, But Class's On" to School
Education: Practical Exploration of Chinese Schools during the COVID-19
Pandemic´. SIEF, Vol.5, No. 2, 2020
ASSIGNMENT I: ONLINE TEACHING
Collaborative Work
DEADLINE: August 21, 2020
Here are the instructions:
This assignment is about designing activities to be shared with students in this peculiar
context. You should include all resources you are planning to use (visual aids, audiovisual
materials, etc), just as you´ve seen in the examples above.
You should create two sets of activities (week 3 and week 4), so as to finish this
Didactic Unit on Describing People. As well as this, you are asked to outline a synchronous
5. 4
lesson of about 40 minutes, describing the different stages of such a meeting. This would be
closer to our regular lesson plans…
As regards CONTENT, you are expected to keep on working on PHYSICAL
DESCRIPTION. So far, they´ve worked with hairstyles. Students must learn adjectives, such
as strong / tall / short / fat / slim. Make sure you teach appropriate grammar structures, too.
Last but not least, try to achieve skill integration and do foster communication.
The task should be carried out in pairs, so as to exchange different experiences and
points of view.
Hands on!!
I.S.F.D LENGUAS VIVAS BARILOCHE
PRÁCTICA DOCENTE II
ENTREGA DE PLANIFICACIÓN
ALUMNOS PRACTICANTES:
● Baquerizo, David
● Ezpeleta, Paula
6. 5
Grado: 4th Year
Nivel lingüístico del curso: Elementary
Cantidad de alumnos: 26
Tipo de Planificación: Clase
Unidad Temática: Describing People
Semana Nº: 3 & 4 (Closing of Didactic Unit)
Learning Aims[UdW1]
During this lesson, learners will be able to:
● Use specific vocabulary so as to be able to make a physical description
● Reinforce vocabulary already seen on describing people
● Develop linguüistic and interpersonal skills describing physical features
of different people to classmates
● Match body parts and the corresponding action verb through a TPR
game.
● Sing a song about different characters’ face features.
● Describe orally1
the appearance of his/her favourite character and share
it with their classmates.
● Read a short Whatsapp (WhatsMock) chat between the teacher and a
girl2
from the USA about her favourite singer.
● Consolidate the language structures and vocabulary of the unit through
different activities and interactive games.
Language Focus
LEXIS FUNCTIONS STRUCTURE
1
Those Ss who feel confident will describe their character orally for the class. The less reluctant to
speak will write and send their description to the teacher through the ZOOM chat.
2
This girl will be a guest during the next didactic unit.
Comentado [A1]: Try to determine aims in terms of the
skills they will develop or the language functions that
will be fostered
Comentado [A2]: Develop their speaking skills
Comentado [A3]: Develop their reading skills
7. 6
R
E
V
Face and body: blond/dark
hair, chin, teeth, feet, legs,
arms, neck, tail, head,
hands.
Action verbs:
See, describe, listen
Describing hairstyles ● Have got/Has got
(affirmative)
● Haven’t got /hasn’t
got (negative)
● Have you got..?/Has
she/he got…?
(questions)
● Who is it? It’s...
N
E
W
Descriptive adjectives:
Big, small, tall, short, long,
fat, thin.
Describing people What does she/he look
like?
[A2]
WEEK 3
8. 7
Hello to all of you again! Your teacher sends you a big smile:
Do you remember the song we learned, Head and
Shoulders? Watch this video and sing along:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WX8HmogNyCY
Now, let’s complete these activities:
1. Listen and circle:
Listen, and put draw a circle around the part of the body.
Comentado [A4]: The activity itself is not that
challenging as all the body parts are mentioned.
Comentado [A5]: face
10. 9
Let’s talk about the dog:
- Has he got
BIG ears? Yes he does.
- Has he got BIG eyes? Yes he does.
- He’s got a long tail? No, he doesn’t.
He’s got a SHORT tail.
Now let’s try this guy:
- He’s got SHORT hair.
- He’s got a SMALL mouth.
- He hasn’t got a nose!
2. Now, let’s talk about Ralph (from the movie Wreck-it Ralph):
Comentado [A6]: Language!
Has he got…? Yes, he has.
Pay attention to the last question, too!
11. 10
Complete the sentences
See you next week!
Comentado [A7]: What shall they use to complete the
sentences?
What about the pronouns? What shall they do?
Be more precise.
12. 11
WEEK 4
Hello everyone! Hope you’ve been following the activities. You can do it!
Let’s refresh our memories:
LISTEN AND REPEAT
CLICK HERE: Listen and repeat
13. 12
1. Now listen, and draw what you hear:
2. Pick your favourite character
Comentado [A8]: Which audiofile?
14. 13
Do you have a favourite character? From a movie? A famous singer?
For our zoom meeting on Friday, I want you to look for your favourite
character, and tell me at least 3 things about him or her.
FOR EXAMPLE:
What does he look like?
- He’s got a beard.
- He’s got green eyes.
- He’s got short, brown hair.
I’M ANXIOUS TO MEET YOUR FAVOURITE CHARACTER!
Comentado [A9]: It would be good to ask students to
get a picture of this famous person or character.
15. 14
Synchronous lesson:
Materials [UdW3]
1. PowerPoint for ‘What’s the weather like?’
2. WhatsMock Chat (JPG format)
3. Pictures of Billie Eilish and Cheshire Cat.
4. Song ‘Who is it?’ and ‘Ralph and Vanellope’ activitY in PDF and JPG formats.
*Kids will get the PDF files four days beforehand to do these activities on
paper during the online class.
5. Song audio MP3.
6. Activity audio ‘Ralph and Vanellope’ MP3.
7. New English Adventure, Pupil’s book, Level 1. Lambert and Worrall, 2015
8. Poptropica Islands, Pearson
Procedures
ROUTINE
GREETINGS AND SETTING THE ONLINE CLASSROOM (3 minutes)
● Greet ss as they enter the ZOOM meeting. T: Hi Uma/Romeo/Rafaela! How
are you these days? Ss answered: happy, OK, bored, sad. Show empathy as
some of them may feel not so good and cheer them up. Once all Ss are in the
meeting T says: I missed you very much! I’m glad to see you all!
● Mute Ss’ mics to avoid all kids speaking at the same time.Explain the reason
why you mute mics and ask them to raise their hand when they want to
participate or say something.
● T asks: What day is it today? and enables the mic of the first Ss who raises
his hand. Ss: It’s Monday! 24rd, August. Teacher praises Ss and writes the
date on the ZOOM whiteboard (‘share screen’). T asks Ss to write down the
date oin their notebooks.
● T says:BRRR...What terrible weather we’re having ! I miss the Spring and
you?. Make facial gestures to express your feelings. Then, T shares a
PowerPoint (‘share screen’). to ask Ss: What’s the weather like today?. T
allows other students to answer. Ss: It’s very cold/cloudy/etc.
Comentado [A10]: Language!!
16. 15
LInk PowerPoint: What's the weather like today?
● Transition comment. After the weather routine, T says: Definitely today’s
definitely freezing! I think we have to warm up a bit. T shakes his body as
he/she feels frozen and says: Ok kids, let’s have fun and move our bodies!
We’re having too much time still in front of the screens, don’t you think?
WARM-UP [UdW4]
TPR GAME (3 minutes)
● T says: I’ll tell you something and you have to do it quickly. For instance, clap
your hands. T claps his/her hands to show Ss the game.
● T may need to resort to L1 and explain to kids that they should show their feet
to the cam. This is just to make children laugh when trying to show their feet
or toes. T smiles and says: Please, don’t fall! Be careful!
● Then, T says different commands such as shake your body, touch your feet,
wave your arms, touch your nose, show your teeth to revise body parts and
have fun.
● Transition comment. After the game, T says: In the activities I sent you last
week you were asked to think of your favourite character, right? This class is
about meeting different characters and people who we like and enjoy
watching/listening to them. Some are real people, others are fantasy
characters from books or movies.But before I forget, I’d like to share with you
a WhatsApp chat I had last week with a girl from the USA who will join us in
our next ZOOM meeting. Do you like the idea? I think it’s terrific! Her name’s
Jazmín and she lived in Argentina till she moved to The States seven years
ago. She’ll tell us who is her favourite singer is.
PRESENTATION[UdW5]
READING A WHATSAPP CHAT (8 minutes)
● T shares screen so that Ss can read Jazmín’s chat talking about her favourite
singer: Billie Eilish. Give Ss 2 minutes to read the chat.
Comentado [A11]: You´ve included some funny
memes! Good!
17. 16
● Stop sharing screen and check comprehension by asking: Who’s Jazmín’s
favourite singer? What colour is her hair? What colour are her eyes? Is Billie
Eilish tall? Is she fat? Can she play the piano?, etc. Ss answer questions.
● Share Billie Eilish photo to highlight some physical features and reinforce
memorization of the target vocabulary and structures.
Comentado [A12]: This conversation is much more
complex than the rest of the activities. Check level.
18. 17
● Appoint two confident Ss to read aloud the chat or ask: Who would like to
read the chat? After Ss read the chat, T ask: Do you know Billie Eilish?
What’s your favourite character/singer? Student answer. T makes positive
comments about Ss different choices: Oh, that’s awesome!/He’s great!/She’s
very funny!/ I like her too, etc.
● Tell Ss about your favourite character: Well, my favourite character is the
Cheshire Cat (or Smiling Cat ) from ‘Alice in Wonderland’. Share the picture
and describe him while pointing with the cursor the features mentioned
(Scaffolding strategy).
19. 18
● T says: Look! This is the Cheshire Cat. He’s got small yellow eyes and he’s
got small ears. He’s got a purple nose and a VERY big mouth and teeth. I
love his hair! He’s got pink and purple hair and a long tail. He’s VERY FAT,
don’t you agree? He’s lovely and very funny. By presenting a clear model of a
character description, students know what they are expected to do
(Scaffolding strategy).
● Transition comment. T says: Later on, you will tell me about your favourite
character, ok? But before that, I’d like to sing a song about other nice
characters. I’m sure you know them. Let’s see...
DEVELOPMENT (PRACTICE and PRODUCTION)[UdW6]
ACTIVITY N°1 : SING A SONG ‘HANSEL AND GRETEL’ (5 minutes)
● Ask Ss to take their song’s copy: Please take the copies I sent you to work
now!
● Share the song and the picture (Screen share) and ask Ss: What can you see
in the picture? Elicit puppets and explain in L1 the word puppet theatre.
Explain in L1 that the puppets are performing the story ‘Hansel and Gretel’.
20. 19
● Ask Ss: Do you know them? I’m sure you read the book when you were
younger. Resort to L1 if necessary.
● Stop sharing the song and share the audio (Share screen). Tell Ss that first,
they will listen to the whole song and try to complete the missing words. If
they cannot complete every word, tell Ss you will play it a second time.
Link: Song: Who is it?
● Check with the class the missing words.
● T pauses after each verse and asks: Who is it? Ss say the character
described. Praise Ss for guessing and participating: Well done! Excellent!
Thumbs up!
● Everyone sings the catchy and creepy song.
● Transition comment. T says: Ok, some of you told me that they know the
story of Hansel and Gretel. I wonder if you have seen the movie 'Wreck-it
Ralph’. I love this movie, especially Vanellope! She’s bossy and cute! Make
facial expressions to describe her.
ACTIVITY N°2 : RALPH & VANELLOPE (5 minutes)
● Tell pupils to take Ralph copy.T shares the activity and says: Look at Ralph
and Vanellope.
21. 20
● Point to Ralph with the pointer and ask: Has he got small hands? Then, point
to Vannellope and ask: Has she got small hands? Ss answer: yes/no
● T tells Ss that they are going to listen to a recording with descriptions of Ralph
and Vanellope. Share the audio (Share screen)
Link: Ralph and Vanellope
● Check comprehension by telling pupils to listen to you and say the missing
words. T says: Ralph has got short dark … Ss complete the line: Hair. Do the
same with other lines. Teacher praises Ss.
● Transition comment. T says: Well kids, now it’s your turn! I want to know
more about your favourite characters- Are you ready? Of course you are!
22. 21
ACTIVITY N°3 : DESCRIBE YOUR FAVOURITE CHARACTER (10 minutes)
● T invites some Ss to describe his/her favourite character: Ok
Uma/Romeo/Rafaela, tell us about your favourite character. What does she
look like? Ss makes a short oral description similar to that made by the
teacher.
● Praise Ss for their performance and ask the rest to send you their written
description through the ZOOM chat. Praise them all Ss.
● T emphasizes how important it is to share and respect different opinions and
tastes...
● Transition comment. T says: Wow! We worked very hard today! Let's finish
our lesson having some fun!
CLOSURE[UdW7]
CHAIN DICTATION: ´4th GRADE MASCOT’ (6 minutes)
● Teacher shares the ZOOM whiteboard and tells Ss that they all together will
create a mascot, the 4th grade mascot.
● T randomly asks one Ss to choose a physical feature. For example: It's got
big eyes/long neck, three heads, five legs and T draws it in the board.
● Do the same with the rest of the Ss so that they feel that the mascot has
something from each of them.
● Once it is finished, Ss choose a name and T makes a screenshot to share
the mascot with the whole class.
● T praises Ss and says: It was very nice to see you all. I had a great time!
That’s all for today! See you next week! A big hug! Kisses!
Each activity must be described in terms of the following components:
❏ Timing
❏ Activity description and instructions as they will be said to students
(include direct speech)
❏ Scaffolding strategies
❏ Transition comment to link each stage of the lesson with the next one
Comentado [A13]: Everyone may write down their
descriptions on a padlet, for instance.
23. 22
To be completed by your tutor:
Lesson plan
component
Excellent
5
Very
Good
4
Good
3
Acceptable
2
Needs
improvement
1
Visual
organization
x
Coherence
and
sequencing
x
Variety of
resources
x
Stages and
activities
X
Scaffolding
strategies
X
Language
accuracy
X
Observations All activities are about the same teaching point, but they do not follow a
clear thread. The sample activities were related with the circus, then you
introduced parts of the face with different characters from a book (which
was it, by the way?), and ended up referring to different well-known
characters.
Instructions can be improved. Remember you are not there to guide
students. You should be as clear as possible. Providing examples is a
good way out.
24. 23
To put it in a nutshell, go over the lesson plan and reflect upon the
context and the activities themselves. How can you achieve cohesion? I
think you may connect the circus with entertainment, so as to connect
Ralph, who is as strong as one of the artists in the circus, for example…
it doesn´t mean that you must force activities to suit your needs. On the
contrary, you should choose a proper thread to develop your lessons
smoothly.
Last but not least, I really believe you may use fewer resources but
exploit them more. For example, you may include the picture of Ralph
and have students label the parts of the face, then complete some
sentences or even give them some prompts so that they write their own
sentences. They may read those descriptions aloud and send you an
audiofile. They can do something similar about their favourite character
then, and get ready to share their productions with their classmates.
DOC COMMENTS:
[UdW1]Your aims should be achieved throughout the activities. You need to have your aims
clear before anything else because they will guide you through your own planning. I will
particularly look at to what extent you cover these aims by the time the Didactic Unit finishes.
[A2]Here you will include the activities, the way you will share them with students.
[UdW3]This should serve as a checklist in order to get everything ready for the lesson.
[UdW4]Here you’ll sort of introduce the topic, create the context of your lesson. It’s like a
bridge between the activities you have designed for them to do on their own and this lesson.
You revise those aspects which help you scaffold new teaching.
[UdW5]Transitions become of paramount importance!
[UdW6]For each activity you need to explain whether students will work individually, in pairs
or as a whole group and what exactly you want them to do. What’s your role too? If you
develop activities, you need to provide a sample of it. Remember to include transitions and
be coherent from one activity to the next. It doesn’t have to be a collection of activities. You
need to include your sources and materials.
[UdW7]This is after the production stage (free activity, final task, game, song, etc). Here
you wrap up the whole lesson. This time, you won´t give homework.