FINAL TASK- TIMETOAST

 

I've taken the idea from the two timelines about the Stuarts and the Tudors to suggest a task in which students will learn some basic facts about the origins of Ireland and subsequent confrontation with England. 

The starting point to create the timeline is a comic I´ve found in an old textbook which also provides some extra information.  This is a collaborative task in which students will develop all the four skills plus their ability to cooperate, share and discuss ideas and organize and distribute work among the members of the group. 

https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/2707969

Using Genially to create presentations

Last year during the second term and after we had been dealing with a module on Travel and Tourism, I asked my group of ESO 3 students to create a travel brochure of a city of their choice. They could select the format (paper brochure, cardboard poster or a digital presentation). They were given two weeks to complete the project and afterwards they had to present it to the class in 7 to 10 minutes. They had to do the task in groups of 3 and were free to choose their partners in the group. They were sent via classroom the instructions and the items that would be assessed.

 Information they had to include in their project: 

- Name of city, location and map. 

- Some facts about the place (important historical facts (not too many) ,population, currency, language, useful tips. 

- Three landmarks or "must see" sites including a brief description and images. 

- Places to eat and accommodation. 

 The items that were evaluated were: 

- Grammar and spelling 

- Organization of information 

- Accuracy of information 

- Attractive layout 

As for the oral presentantion:

- Pronunciation, fluency

- Grammar and vocabulary

- The task was well- rehearsed

- The presentation was attractive to the audience

What follows is a presentation of the city of Budapest using Genially. It is not finished and it's just an example of how Genially could be used to carry out this task. 

The advantages of this app in comparison to more traditional presentation software such as Power Point is the possibility to add interactive elements and animations. This is the most simple type of presentation the app offers so with time and patience it will be intersting to look into other formats and explore its features and possibilities. 

This particuar group of students like taking part in this sort of tasks; they like to be able to choose the content of their projects and to form their groups. They are quite good at distributing the workload among the members of the group and when they present their product to the class, they help and encourage each other. We did some interesting projects which were engaging and motivating for the  students and for me. 

Creating a story using Pixton

 

This is a creative writing activity in which students use Pixton, a tool to create digital stories and comics.

The aims of this task are:

1. To boost creativity.

2. To assess students reading and writing skills.

3. To practise different language functions (suggesting, refusing, acepting an invitation, apologizing) and the grammatical structures necessary to convey those functions.

4. To learn how to use Pixton.

First, students are presented with an incomplete short story which will be the starting point for their digital story. They are asked to read it carefully and in pairs or small groups try to invent an ending for the story. Then, students have to prepare the dialogues focusing on the expression of the different functions and grammar they have been working on beforehad.

In the next step, students will learn how to use Pixton, either the teacher shows them in class or sends them some tutorials for them to practice. Either in class, if there is possibility of using the computer room, or at home, students will have to create their story. 

The story goes...

Jon's story

One evening, Jon was sitting at home watching TV when the phone rang. It was his girlfriend Kate. She asked him if he would like to go out that evening. Jon had had a hard day at work and was feeling tired, so he declined Kate's offer and told her he was going to watch TV. Kate wished him sweet dreams and hung up the phone.

Half an hour later Jon's ex-girlfriend, Anna, called him. Anna was in town on business  and would be leaving the next day. She asked Jon if he could meet that evening. Jon and Anna hadn't seen each other since they split up two years before. They agreed to meet at a local restaurant for dinner to catch up. Anna and Jon met at the restaurant and they sat down for a meal together. They were half-way through their meal when in walked Kate with her friends. Kate was shocked and furious to see her boyfriend having dinner with another woman. She walked over to Jon's table ...

The activity was devised for a group of students in the  4th year of ESO who prepare to obtain the ISE I Trinity certificate. Students have to know a series of language functions and be able to use them in different situations. A variation of this activity is to act out the story. Students have to think about the ending and dialogues and act it out in front of the class. I´ve tried it out and it was really fun. The topic is not interesting or deep but I assure you students enjoyed doing the task. 

Listening tasks using Edpuzzle

 With this listening activity using video I will introduce my students to Isabel and Philip, the couple who make up Amigos Ingleses. As we'll be using some of their material in our classes, I think it is a good idea that they know about them.

In this video Isabel and Philip tell us how they met so,before watching the video, I ask my students to think about the first time they met their best friend and make some notes :

- time of year, month, year

- weather

- place

- what they were doing

- first impressions

Then, they watch the video and answer the different listening comprehension questions. I want them to correct the false sentences so that they elaborate their answers beyong simply saying False and check whether they were paying attention to details. 

As a final task, I´ll ask students to record themselves explaining how they met their best friend. If they refuse to make their own videos, some are very shy, they can do a write the story. Both videos and stories will be shared with the rest of the class.

 https://edpuzzle.com/media/61cda9819f303d429bf29bf7

Creating timelines with TimeToast

 

ELON MUSK

https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/2702349

This is the timeline created by a group of students in the 4th year of ESO after reading the following text on Elon Musk:

https://kids.kiddle.co/Elon_Musk

Objectives 

1. To learn about Elon Musk's life

2.To know  his entrepreneur's chronology

3. To learn how to use TimeToast to create timelines

4.To revise Past Simple

5. To select significant information and summarize it

6. To work collaboratively in small groups

Advantages of using TimeToast

Creating a timeline from a reading passage is a different way of assessing students comprehension skills and their ability to select significant dates and events.

The tool is easy to use and share and it is attractive to students who are willing to engage in the task due to its interactive nature.

Students may personalize their product adding different pictures of their choice.

Steps

Students were presented with a text dealing with one of the most gifted and influential entrepreneurs in the scientific and technological sphere: Elon Musk. Most of them were able to identify him and one of his most relevant creations, the TESLA cars. 

They were asked to read the text in groups of 3 or 4 and note down all the events they considered most relevant in the text. Then they were introduced to the timeline app: how it worked, some examples, etc and were asked to devise a timeline about Elon Musk. They were free to add images, comments, etc.

Students' reaction

They reacted well to the use of a new app as it meant something different from the ordinary reading comprehension exercises. They created their timelines, some more attractive and complete than others, but in general the task worked well. 

Problems

We encountered some technical difficulties, for instance, as it is necessary to have a mail account to use the app, some students did not want to use their account, which will make it difficult for them to use the app for any other task or even in any other subject. 

The text was a bit long and the information not always appeared in chronological order, so they had to organize it to represent it in the timeline. It took somet time to a few of the groups to do it correctly.

No significant problems in general.

Three ways in which TimeToast has helped to achive the objectives

It has helped to make students read attentively in order to select the  information and organize it  correctly.

It  has provided them with a new tool they can use not only in English but in other subjects.

It has promoted collaborative work in small groups. 

"Where there's a will there's a way"

Reflecting on the images

1. The Boston Public Library. 

I think libraries are one of the most important places in a town or city. They give people of all kinds the opportunity to  access books and enjoy them in the proper atmosphere .  Who knows, perhaps new technologies will make libraries redundant at some point, but I really hope this doesn't happen. Whenever I travel abroad, I like visiting public libraries, as some buildings are impressive. I haven't been  in a library for quite a long time, but I remember going with my sister to the  public library some Saturday mornings.  In the photo we see quite a good number of people, some sitting at desks and others in comfortable armchairs. Going to a library is a voluntary act so I assume most of them enjoy being there.

2. Woman and Child reading together.

Parents set role models for their children and if parents like reading, children will surely love reading too. Well, I must say this is not the case at home. Both my husband and I love reading and have plenty of books , so many that some of them are kept in boxes in the junk room because there aren't enough shelves in the house; whenever we travel, we always go into bookshops to have a look  and we often end up buying some book. However, our 14-year-old son hates reading. He also has a shelf full of books in his room but he doesn't even try to open one and if we go into a bookshop, he complains. We have always tried to teach him the importance and pleasure of reading, but we've failed. When he was a child, I also read to him and we looked at books, like the woman in the picture, but ... 

3. Old woman reading from an iPad.

I´m amazed at how easily some elderly people have got into new technologies. I´m thinking about my father with his iPhone, his iPad, his smartwatch, sending his Whatsapps full of memes and stickers.  In this picture we have an example and if it makes life easier for them, that's what matters. 

4. Children enjoying their reading class.

It seems to me that they're really enjoying the reading as they are glued to their books. Having at least a lesson a week devoted to reading is a good way to make students get into contact with books other than textbooks. Whenever I have done it with my students, the experience has been quite satisfactory. It's important to know about their preferences in order to choose an appropriate book.

5. Man reading a newspaper on the streets of Baimasi.

"When there is a will, there is a way." Despite being in the middle of the street, sitting on an uncomfortable stool, despite the noise, the wind, etc this man is so interested in learning what's going on that he won't stop reading. He may have found the newspaper on the floor but he doesn't care, he just wants to be informed. If you love reading, you'll find the time and place to do so.  

Reading is one of the activities I enjoy most whenever I have some time to spare, which, unfortunately, is not as much as I would like. My reading preferences haven't changed much in time, but now I often read material presented in different formats and means such as tweets, online papers and magazines. However, I must admit I am old school and I prefer to buy and read a paper book than use the iPad or an ebook, although I know of the advantages it has, especially if you're reading in a foreign language.

I read both in English and Spanish. I like biographies, historical novel, thrillers and books dealing with the teaching and learning of foreign languages. I won't read science ficition, fantasy or self-help books. 

Summer is the time when I read most because during the school year my day to day is so busy that when I go to bed, the only time I could find to read, I get asleep immediately. 

Welcome to my blog!

 Hi there! Hope this blog will show you  new ways to learn and improve your knowledge of the English langauge in a fun and entertaining way. 

Here you'll find the link to several webpages and blogs that you may want to visit.

Enjoy!