Suggestions for Englipedia's HS Area

[Otaku]

The threads in red were transferred over from the old forum.

From: Julie

How about having activities and games that go with the high school Mombusho texts like you have for the junior high texts?! I'm looking for activities / games for units in New Stream. Thanks!

[Otaku]

From: Otaku

Hey Julie,

As the project moves along more, I'm sure this option will be created. There are only 7 JHS textbooks, but from what I hear, there are a ton of HS textbooks.

That being said, I'm keeping this idea on my to-do list for the future.

[Otaku]

From: Guest

Hello there! This project I am sure will serve to assist many individuals with planning for HS. As for things that people might find helpful, I think that the theme of "project oriented" lessons might be a way to go. I find that bouncing from one topic to the next each lesson tends to leave the students with little vested intrest in what is happening in each class. I think that coming up with something that appeals to the students and that they can FEEL involved in might motivate them to be more productive in class.

[Otaku]

From: Otaku

Hey Guest,

The tenative plan (I say "tenative" because I'm not building that area but rather overseeing the entire site) is to include project-orientated lessons as well as activities separated into topics.

Question, what do you mean by "feel involved"? Would you say student motivation comes from feeling like they are a part of the lesson or is it derived from simply having an activity?

I do agree with you that non-sequitor lessons based upon topics is no better than how English is currently being taught in elementary school. Miniature lessons are no good. Lessons need to be built on the prior lesson(s). I believe that is the key to mnemonic and successful learning.

[Otaku]

From: Guest

Hello again!
What I mean about students "feeling involved" is that in my experience, one of the biggest reasons activities or even games sometimes fall flat is because the kids are involved at different levels. I think that having more team oriented projects, be they competitive or collaborative generally leads to kids having a chance to be more involved and therefore ends up being a more cohesive lesson.

one example was with the "Mallet Mallet" game from this site where instead of having two kids come up to the front and volley words from a chosen topic back and forth. I split the room in two sides, chose a student from each side to act as the orator while encouraging the other members of their team to offer suggestions and help the speaker keep going with the word volley. It worked really well and I did this from CHU 2 to HS 1. Every class got involved in a way that really was fun and interactive.

Another time tested favorite the "Lines Quiz" is sometimes problematic for me because although the students are all lined up and waiting to have a chance to answer a question of the instructors choosing when they meet at the center of the room, Often times, the kids in the back of the line are messing around, being loud and generally disruptive.

It is VERY difficult to get all students involved and usually requires a lot of direction and organization from the instructor but sometimes, even a simple game like "mallet mallet" if tweaked can offer a chance for the kids to all participate in the action.

well, best go for now but I do hope all is going well with you and your site!

[Otaku]

From: MattS

Class sizes can vary, and class dynamics can vary greatly depending on the size of the class. It would be helpful if there was a way of categorising activities according to their suitability for small classes (<20) or large classes (e.g. 40 students).

Any suggestions re: fun speaking and listening activities for large classes would be especially appreciated.

[Otaku]

From: Englipedia's Crustpunker

Hey there! I always try to do some sort of short and simple writing activity after the kids come back from the break for the first week or so of class. Just a general kind of "write about your winter vacation" task. Very basic really, just have students write a very short (1 to 2 paragraphs) about their vacation and then give short presentations in front of the class or in small groups.

Start off the lesson by talking about your own vacation a bit, call on some students at random and ask a few of them what they did and then explain the lesson "Writing/ Talking about a vacation"

It helps to give them an outline as for what to include. Ex. on a B4 sheet have the left side consist of a few basic "WH" questions that the students supply their own answers to (where did you go, who did you see, what did you do etc..) on the right side of the paper write your own example paragraphs so the students can use it as a starting point to develop their own paragraphs.

Alternatively, you could hold off on passing out the worksheet and assign your own vacation as a listening task by writing 3-5 specific questions on the board, ask students to listen carefully while you talk about your vacation and have them take notes. Read it as many times as you deem appropriate and have the kids confer in groups or call on kids at random to supply the answers.

Once the kids have the worksheet,allow them time to answer the questions/ develop their own paragraps, walk around the room and help out as needed. After a designated amount of time (this will certainly depend on each class) have them present!

Very basic and simple but it is a good way to get everyone back into the swing of things.
Obvious trouble spots may be of course what to do with the kids who aren't interested in the assingment/ have low ability etc but as long as it is made clear from the beginning that EVERYONE will be expected to give a presentation, this should be enough to motivate even the worst slackers to do something...
maybe.

[Otaku]

Quote from Crustpunker:
"Alternatively, you could hold off on passing out the worksheet and assign your own vacation as a listening task by writing 3-5 specific questions on the board, ask students to listen carefully while you talk about your vacation and have them take notes. Read it as many times as you deem appropriate and have the kids confer in groups or call on kids at random to supply the answers."


From: Sam
i did this activity three times last with 2-nensei's about my holiday home to Australia and it went down really well. I just used it as a warm up activity.