Welcome to Week 05 and to our curriculum Topic "Civics".
CIVICS
Using Ventures while teaching Civics this term? Use this nifty PDF checklist so you and your students can track their progress: Ventures Citizenship Checklist
Additionally, Joanne Springstead from Staten Island shared the following resources:
(Thanks, Joanne!)
Hi Everyone:
With 3 weeks of CIVICS to work on, I wanted to share some resources that will not only cover the subject, but will incorporate the use of technology.
Here is a link to material from the US Department of Citizenship and Immigration Services, also on http://alc-civics.wikispaces.com/links
There are dozens of excellent lessons with teachers' guides and printable handouts:
Additionally, I am sharing a link to a YouTube version of "The Star-Spangled Banner." I chose this one for its slower tempo, the on screen lyrics, and the clear pronunciation of a vocalist who is not a celebrity show-boating for the high notes, etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gZ6VYXIW2A&feature=youtu.be
I hope you can find something useful in these resources.
Joanne
Beyonce at Obama's 2013 Inauguration
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-DSFrGnQrk
And Elke's favorite... Whitney Houston at the 1991 Superbowl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_lCmBvYMRs
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A LITTLE PICK ME UP 10 Things Every New Teacher Needs to Know
We have some new teachers with us this term. We thought this could inspire them. Do you agree with these? Would you add anything else for teachers of Adults?
HALLOWEEN is coming...
Want to cover Halloween in class? Maybe you can find something useful here:
A Last Minute Round-up of Educational Halloween Activities
or here: The Best Websites for Learning About Halloween
or here: 7 Halloween-themed Educational Activities
and finally, here: Wicked Halloween Activities & Sites for Language Learners
LIBRARY TOUR
Haven't had a chance to schedule a tour for your class yet? Your colleague in Staten Island, Stacy Brower, uses this scavenger hunt document with her NRS Level 1-2 students. It's easily adaptable to your own level and borough. Thank you for sharing, Stacy!
Download it here: NYPL Scavenger Hunt- NRS 1/2
VENTURES
Did you know that Ventures has an online community? You can get teaching tips, sign up for a quarterly email and more here: Ventures Newsletter
And there are some great resources from Cambridge and Ventures here: Ventures Adult Ed
UPCOMING EVENTS
Ventures are conducting an ONLINE SEMINAR:
Collaborative Activities in Advanced Adult ESL Classes
Friday, October 30, 2015 1:00:00 PM EDT - 2:00:00 PM EDT
Effective interactive activities for advanced adult ESL learners provide multiple exposures to academic vocabulary, elicit their opinions and experiences, and develop their reading, research, and note-taking skills. Ventures author Dennis Johnson will share his experience of developing such activities, and demonstrate how they can positively impact learning outcomes. Examples will be taken from Ventures Collaborative Activities for advanced-level English language learners transitioning to college and career programs.
Register here: Register
ETNY - Educational Theater of New York
proudly presents its latest production: The Gioconda Smile by Aldous HuxleyThe ETNY was founded in 2001 by Barbara Bregstein and Nestor Rodriguez. Many of you have probably been to one of their performances over the years. It's a wonderful way for our students to practice English - and go to the Theater!
After each scene, the actors freeze. A presenter enters and engages the audience in conversation about the play's characters and plot.
The audience votes if they want to see the same scene again or continue to the next scene.
click the image above (PC right click, Mac control click) to download the flyer,
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INTERVIEW # 01!
12 Questions for...
Tom Wool
Harlem and St. Agnes Lead Instructor
St. Agnes Citizenship & Rosetta Stone Conversation class teacher
..
Where are you from and what brought you to NYC?
I am from Malone, New York, which is just a few miles from the Quebec border (an hour to Montreal, two hours to Ottawa). It was a great place to grow up, and I had a unique experience having so much French spoken around our region. I can read French on menus and signs.
Where are you from and what brought you to NYC?
I am from Malone, New York, which is just a few miles from the Quebec border (an hour to Montreal, two hours to Ottawa). It was a great place to grow up, and I had a unique experience having so much French spoken around our region. I can read French on menus and signs.
When did you decide you wanted to be a teacher? Why?
When I left the University of Maryland with a BA in English, I wasn’t sure what my next step would be. I had studied German, and I knew that I wanted to try living abroad again. After some time spent volunteering after college, I decided to go back to school and get my Master’s in TESOL.
How has teaching English in Germany shaped you as a person and as a teacher?
I taught at the University of Stuttgart, the Stuttgart Community College (Volkshochschule Stuttgart), and taught a few business English courses in companies (Porsche, Bosch, Alstom, and Recaro). I think business English students, generally, have a different mindset for language teaching, because they feel that they can learn a script of exactly what they need without having to learn the full language.
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| Schule Schloss Salem (School Castle Salem), Germany |
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| Skiing in Switzerland |
I think that learning German, living in another society and culture, and being far from home helped me to become more independent and more understanding of others and myself. I would say I’m quite proficient in German. I think that learning any foreign language to a high level is essential for a becoming a better ESOL teacher. Now I understand the process that my students have to take as learners and people to accommodate a new language, and more of the effective ways of reaching learners.
Are stereotypes about Germans true? Are they punctual and drink lots of beer? :)
Some stereotypes about Germans are true I think. Punctuality is actually quite important and there is a LOT of beer (laughs). I enjoyed getting to know Germany and the Germans quite a lot. Most of the German people I met are conscientious, thoughtful, and engaged people. Stuttgart, a city in the South with 600,000 people, is very clean and so safe that some of my neighbors didn't lock their doors at night. It takes a hardworking and engaged society to make a country work so well as Germany, as regards environmentalism, safety, equality, and infrastructure.
What is the biggest challenge and the most rewarding thing for you as an Educator?
The biggest challenge is breaking an entire language down into pieces and strategies that can be focused on in a classroom setting. The most rewarding thing is seeing student progress, not in levels, but in confidence and fluency in conversation with me and their classmates.
Do you have any special story you would like to share about a student or a class?
I tutored a boy named Friedrich at the boarding school in Germany. He spoke at a high level in English, but needed help in his writing class. He was really into songs, and interested in poetry when I talked about it with him, so I decided to work on a long term project with him of writing poems in different styles. So I would pick a poetic form (villanelle, pantoum, sestina, sonnet, etc.) and we would read them and discuss for a week or two, all in one form at a time. Then we would each try to write a poem in that form and compare our attempts together. At the end of the school year we collected his and bound them into a poetry book of Friedrich’s work.
Is there any specialized English class you would like to teach?
I am most interested, personally, in history and civics, so citizenship and other civics/society minded subjects are great for me. I also enjoy poetry quite a bit.
What's your favorite grammar point to teach?
Adjective order. Almost no student has ever thought about it
before. It’s not really that essential to communication, but it’s
fun, and it expands students’ thinking about language and all the details that
go into it.
Here's a link to share with your
advanced students:
dirty old flannel
flannel old dirty
old dirty flannel
...
How do you encourage students to practice English outside of class?
One way is to find out what one or a few of the students are interested in and then find websites or events to mention to them, so that they might be encouraged to read, find out more, or participate online or in community events.
Another important thing for me is to keep my students mixing and have lots of time for conversation among students, so that they have time to get to know and like each other. Hopefully, some students form bonds enough to be friends and support each other and maybe meet outside of class.
What is your favorite place / activity in NYC?
The public place that I return to most is the Met. I really
like all art museums, but especially one like the Met because of the mix of
history and art that you find at a place like that is palpable.
When you're at lunch, you usually have a book with you. What do you read?
My favorite author is Willa Cather, so anything she wrote is one of my favorites, but especially Death Comes for the Archbishop and Shadows on the Rock. I also love In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway. Sometimes I read German books, too. Right now I'm reading The History of the Hudson River Valley: From wilderness to the Civil War by Vernon Benjamin, which is an in-depth and interesting history. It's written nicely and very readable.
Something amazing or interesting we didn't know about you...
I play the tuba. Is that amazing?
We think it is!
Thanks, Tom!
Who's ready to be featured in an interview later this cycle?
Please let us know if we may ask you 10 questions or if you would like to interview a colleague.
Who's ready to be featured in an interview later this cycle?
Please let us know if we may ask you 10 questions or if you would like to interview a colleague.
Elizabeth & Elke
P.S. Last week's Spelling Bee (from the NYT Magazine)
Answers: effectual, fluctuate (all letters used)
actual, actuate, acute, calculate, cellule, cutlet, effectutate, faceful, factual, fateful, faucet, fault, fluff, flute, lettuce, tactful, tuffet, tulle, tutee, ululate
