Anne - CO #3

CO #2:  Speaking

Date & Time:  January 8, 2016, 1:00-1:50

Topic/Skill:  Speaking (Foundations)/verb BE

Teacher Presentation: Teacher convinced students to reply to her greeting with a hearty “Good afternoon,” reminding them of the American custom of replying in kind to such a greeting.  She then introduced the verb BE through two sentences:  “Today is _____” and “The weather is ______.”  Using the picture dictionary, she helped students to identify and use the words describing weather.  Before continuing, she gave students lined paper and asked them to write these down as part of learning to take notes.  She emphasized the fact that in any sentence there must be a subject and a verb, pointing these out in these sentences.  She talked about the irregular form of BE by getting students to talk about their roles  “I am a teacher.” “You are students.”  “He is a student, too,” etc.  She briefly covered contractions.  She then asked students who had not done so to make notes of what was on the board on their paper so that they would better remember when she asked them about the information the next day.  The activity was pair discussion:  Interview your partner focusing on the verb BE so you can introduce him or her to the class.  Students actively participated.

Materials:  Instructor used the board.  She referred to the picture dictionary

Student Participation:  Students participated in discussion and in pairs; note-taking practice.

Feedback Provided:  Instructor gave feedback as needed during the class. She told the students she would review the material the next day to check for understanding and provide corrective feedback.

Lessons on Teaching: An obvious but important reminder:  Learning a foreign language is HARD!  There are so many pieces that need to be put into place in order to make language work.  The teacher was very patient and engaging.  That helps students gain the confidence needed to practice.  She emphasized the need to reply with full sentences.