FRIDAY August 12, 2016

SUMMER 2016: WEEK FOUR

Hobbies / Free Time

Week 4 brought an unexpected visitor to the Hamilton Fish Library in Lower Manhattan: L.A. Law's Mr. Blair Underwood!
We just heard how and why he came to the library from HF teacher Angela:

"He was filming down the block and asked to come in to - of all things -
use the bathroom!"

HF teacher Angela Thompson, Blair Underwood, and HF students

GOOGLE RESOURCES



Did you ever think about giving a little quiz, but not sure how? The Free Technology for Teachers website has an idea-check out: Google Forms Can Grade Quizzes




TEACHING RESOURCES
NEW YORK CITY:
Here are a few resources that work well with the Travel theme in Venture's Unit 10 (like the "Alcatraz" section in Ventures 3).

NYC LANDMARKS: Taking in New York City's vast history can be overwhelming. That's why The Landmarks Preservation Commission unveiled a new interactive map this week that allows users to virtually explore over 33,000 landmarks across all five boroughs. Read more here:
Virtually Explore NYC Landmarks (Article)
Landmark Map


From the 1800s... Tour NYC in the 1800's with Google Street View

to today...  NYC Travel Guide

Do you like SUMMER IN THE CITY? 
Trying to stay cool? Here are two more videos from my old website: - Elke
1. Joe Cocker's "Summer in the City" video version with subtitles - a nice warmup or in between activity for intermediate and advanced learners:

2. Time travel to 20th Century Coney Island. For high intermediate or advanced learners.
Also a good outside of class assignment. 




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Did you talk about the Olympic Games in your class?
Here's a fun assignment from Yolanda Rodriguez' TABE M/D class:
Students create a flyer for the host city of their choice in 2024!





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NEED HELP ORGANIZING?
Enter Live Binders! I was excited to find a way to organize all of my resources online in a way that matched the conceptual organization of using physical binders or files, rather than a list of links. Live Binders allows you to compile and organize all of your materials online, and then enables you to access and share those via one web link. - Elizabeth

Read the short blog post here: Organize Resources Online


SOMETHING TO EXPLORE
From the wonderful Free Technology for Teachers Blog:
QR Voice is a free tool that allows you to create QR codes that when scanned will play a short audio message. To create your message and QR code you can record a voice message by clicking the microphone icon on QR Voice or you can type in your message. Either way you're limited to 100 characters. QR Voice will play back in your choice of forty languages. Read the entire post here: Develop Mobile Language Lessons


TECHNOLOGY TIP
We were hoping to have a new online resource list for students available - 
not yet, but coming in the fall! (in cooperation with SASB Student Mentor Alicia McMillan)
CAN YOU RECOMMEND A GREAT WEBSITE/APP RESOURCE FOR STUDENT WE SHOULD ADD???




Did anybody practice with Duolingo?
I'm at 47% in French and 42% in Spanish and have to say it is quite addictive. - Elke 

If you like, please ask your students to download and practice with Duolingo.

Here's a little Duolingo information, researched by St. Agnes Student Mentor Joel Berrios:

Pros:
-User friendly and straight forward.
-Easy for students to make an account.
-Scores and corrects students.
-Provides multiple levels (students can take test to move to appropriate level).
-Has a social aspect and can be accessed with other social media accounts (Facebook, Google)

Cons:
-Teaches through translation.
-Only available in Hebrew, Italian, Czech, Spanish, Polish, Turkish, Russian, French, Japaneses, Hindu, Indonesian, Chinese, Portuguese, Romanian, Dutch, Nederlands, Bulgarian, and Korean  (If any student does not find his/ her native language, he/ she will not be able to use the software).

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         PLANNING AHEAD          

IMPORTANT FALL 2016 DATES:

Classes BEGIN: September 26

Classes END: December 18

All staff MEETING: October 7

NO CLASS on these dates:

10/10, 11/11, 11/23, 11/25, 11/26, 11/27

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YOUR FEEDBACK IS NEEDED!

We've been publishing the TeacherHub blog for almost a year now. We've learned a lot along the way, and we both enjoy working on it immensely. 

Thanks if your feedback along the way and for answering last week's SURVEY.

If you haven't filled it out yet, here's your chance :)

Please take a minute to give us some feedback using this Google Form 

- and please be sure to click "submit" when you're done :)

TeacherHub Feedback Form

Thank you in advance! 

We want to make this blog interesting and useful to you!

(Contributions are welcome, too!)

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Have a great week and enjoy the rest of the summer!!!

Elizabeth & Elke

FRIDAY August 5, 2016

SUMMER 2016: WEEK THREE

Hobbies/ Free Time

GOOGLE RESOURCES

Not sure what it all means? Here's a nice little reference on Google Apps Terminology from the Free Technology for Teachers website.


TEACHING RESOURCES

Don't forget our friend Quizlet! Here is a link to flashcard sets for hobbies. Students can use them old-style for memorization, or you can create tests, play games- it's great! Why not take your class to the computer lab for a few minutes and have them use one of these?
Quizlet- Hobbies
Quizlet also has a Facebook page here: Facebook: Quizlet





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Did you know that Betty Azar has a Facebook page? Check it out here: FB: AzarGrammar.com

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Interested in the Olympics for your students? Here are some resources:

14 Web Resources to Learn About the Olympics
Boggles World Olympics Worksheets
Scholastic.com Get Ready for the Olympics
NBC Live Stream Schedule
Official Rio 2016 Website
Interactive Map of Issues Surrounding the Games
ESL Flow: Olympics Lesson Plans
Spelling City Online Practice
Larry Ferlazzo List-of-the-best-resources-on-the-2016-rio-olympics
Larry Ferlazzo- Even More Resources on the Olympics

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USING TECHNOLOGY

Summer Tip Week 3

The search for a Rosetta Stone replacement has lead us straight to Duolingo, one of the most popular English learning Apps.

For this week, we challenge you to try Duolingo out yourself :)

Go to Duolingo.com (or download the App to your phone).
Once your username and password is set up, you can practice on your computer or phone.
Set "Site Language" to: English
Then choose which language you would like to learn (choose from 20 languages).

Create a Profile (username - most names will be taken add numbers or an unusal name)
email and password. (You don't have to give your full name).

Set a daily goal (from 5 min a day to 20 min a day)

Start!
If you do it every day, you'll be on a 'streak' (Duolingo counts).

For progress, you earn 'lingots' - Duolingo currency. You can go shopping with your lingots - in the 'Lingot Store! (Buy a 'streak freeze', a quiz or other things).

Duolingo will show you your 'streak,' as well as the fluency % of your language.

If you have any questions, please email Elke: elkestappert@nypl.org

NEXT WEEK, we'll have a short student guide you can give to your students about how to set up Duolingo and practice during the break :)

Duolingo Con: It works with translation and is not available for all languages.

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10 Questions for…   Angela M. Thompson Angela teaches Level 3-4 at Muhlenberg and Hamilton Fish and level 5-6 at Tompkins Square. She has been with our program since Fall 2015. BACKGROUND Where are you from and what brought you to NYC? I am a New Yorker! I was as they say “born and bred” in East Flatbush, Brooklyn and I live in Brooklyn. I remember a long time ago when people used to mention the word Brooklyn in a bad way. Now, it’s one of the hottest and coolest destination places in New York. To me, Brooklyn was and will always be cool! Where else in the world can you get on a bus like the B8 and travel through at least five very culturally diverse, highly dynamic, and different neighborhoods?  I dare to say Brooklyn is even more popular than Manhattan! Many people only think about the downtown area however Brooklyn is very big! We have people here from just about every part of the world. I love living in Brooklyn. While I know with certainty I can live just about anywhere in the world, my heart belongs to Brooklyn. I will always return. When did you decide you wanted to be an ESOL/Adult Literacy teacher?  Why? My mother is a retired elementary schoolteacher so I guess you could say that in some way, teaching is in my blood. Just about every position I had prior to teaching involved some form of training and helping others. I would say that the catalyst came in 2008 when my father and I went on a really big trip. We took a 30 day cruise that stopped at 24 ports of call and encompassed three continents (South America, Africa, and Northern Europe). At almost every port, many locals that I met said they were studying English and would ask me to talk with them more so they could practice with me since I am a native English speaker. The conversations with them were engaging. I was learning more about their country and their lives, and they were learning and practicing English. I truly enjoy learning as well as being around others who want to learn. This is one major reason why I decided to become an ESOL/Adult Literacy teacher. 3.     Have you ever taught in another country? How has that shaped you as a person and as a teacher? Not yet! However I would like to live and teach in another country to really be a part of another culture. I would like to teach in a Spanish speaking country so that I can finally become fluent. My mother emigrated from Belize to the U.S. and both Spanish and English are spoken there. It would be great for me to immerse myself in the language while helping through teaching at the same time. TEACHING What is the biggest challenge and the most rewarding thing for you as an Educator? For me, the biggest challenge is preparing the lesson plan for the class. Every class is different and every student is different so I try to make sure there’s something for everyone. However, no matter how well you plan for every scenario in class, something will ALWAYS come up that throws you a curve ball. This is challenging and rewarding at the same time. Challenging because I always have to force myself to remember to keep explanations simple as well as allow students to come up with solutions too. Rewarding because I usually remember to do just that and it empowers the learners to take risks and make their voices heard as they learn more about our crazy language. Do you have any special story you would like to share about a student or a class? All of the classes are great. Each student brings something unique to the table. One student who stands out is Elvia. She’s taken several classes at NYPL with several teachers. When I first met her I noticed how quiet she was but I could tell she was listening and focused. She’s reserved, determined, and listens attentively. Over the course of time, she has blossomed and participates in discussions quite frequently. Last week, she became a U.S. Citizen! So proud of her and all of her accomplishments. Other instructors at NYPL did the bulk of the work with her however I am happy to have contributed in a small part of the journey with her. She’s amazing! Is there any specialized English class you would like to teach? With Dad, Johnny Thompson, at Tompkins Square I would like to get into teaching Business English and Literacy classes so that I can become a well-rounded teacher. I’ve always wanted to teach Civics classes and got the great opportunity to do say at NYPL this past spring.  For one of the lessons, I was allowed to enrich the lesson plan by inviting my father, Johnny Thompson, to come and speak to the class about his experiences while growing up in Madison, Georgia which was segregated. I think the learners really appreciated hearing a first hand account about the Civil Rights Movement as well as them being able to ask questions to someone who lived through it.  With Carol Becker at Lincoln Center In a second class about Civil Rights, my good friend Carol Becker joined my dad to talk about her work with the NAACP. In that class, students were able to hear from two perspectives about the movement (Carol is white, Johnny is black) Living history in action. CLASSROOM TIPS 7.              How do you encourage students to practice English outside of class? Once in a while, I like giving a homework assignment where the learner has to go into a bank and ask questions about opening up a bank account or go into a store to ask questions about something they are interested in buying. Depending on the topic that week, I try to figure out what would be the right “real world” scenario learners can practice outside of class. Each group is different so the activity is scaled to that audience. WHAT NOBODY KNEW… 8.              What do you like to do in your free time? Do you have a Black Belt in Karate? A secret recipe or amazing pet? Won an award? When given the chance to travel, count me in! So much to see and do everywhere! I also like to write and take photographs (think Vivian Maier style). I’m usually taking them and am not in them. Haha. Escape games like Riddle Me Out, cooking, going to the theater, plays, and shows, watching movies, exploring new areas….I like all of that too! I especially love getting dressed up and having a great night in the city. I’ve also been working on my written bucket list for the past few years. There are 106 items on the list. #28..travel from state to state until I visit them all. Working on that now. Last month on June 24th, I completed #68…create my own holiday and celebrate it every year. 9.              What are your favorite places in NYC? I’m a New Yorker so I love something about every borough. Now that it’s summertime, I would have to say that one of my absolute favorite places is Governors Island.  With Dad at Governor's Island Relaxing on Governor's Island It is so beautiful and peaceful there. It’s like a beach vacation, with a man made beach, in the heart of Manhattan. And it only costs two bucks to get there. Since there are no cars on the island, you can safely ride a bike without fear of getting struck down. I also take snacks and my writing book and enjoy the views of Lady Liberty in one of the red Adirondack chairs scattered all over the Island. Nathan's!!! I also really enjoy taking the ride out to Coney Island.  For me, Independence Day means taking a ride on the F Train to the last stop...Surf and Stillwell Avenues. At noon you can watch the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest. Men and women from all over the world compete to see who can eat the most hot dogs in ten minutes. Can you eat 70 hot dogs and buns in ten minutes??? I don’t think so! Me neither. This year marks the 100th Anniversary for Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs. In celebration for the day, Nathan’s rolled back the price of a dog back to the original rate of five cents!!!  I couldn’t resist getting in on the action. 10.           What projects are you currently working on? My father and I are in the process of writing about our travel adventures together. Our last adventure was visiting Australia and New Zealand. We have both visited every continent except Antarctica. Every time I wanted to travel someplace, I would ask others but there were always excuses. When I would ask my dad, he would say yes! So, anytime one of us wanted to travel we would check in to see if the other could go. I would say it worked out well over the years! It’s amazing how two people can be on the same trip and have very different experiences, perspectives, and revelations. On every trip we both journelled. We definitely have a unique travel portfolio and decided to work on sharing our father/daughter adventures. We envision more than one book.  It’s going to happen soon. We’re working on it!

YOUR FEEDBACK IS NEEDED!

We've been publishing the TeacherHub blog for almost a year now. We've learned a lot along the way, and we both enjoy working on it immensely. We'd like to hear from you about what you think. Please take a minute to give us some feedback using this 3-question Google Form:

Teacher Hub Feedback Google Form Survey

Thank you in advance! 

We want to make this blog interesting and useful to you, our readers!

SHOW US THE LOVE!
One of the only ways we can know if you like what we are doing is if you make a comment on our blog page. 

Like our blog? Are there topics you would like us to add or change? Please comment! 

Would you like to contribute something? A link, teaching tip, other? Any time :)

Thank you, we really appreciate your feedback!

Have a great week and a great summer!!!

Elizabeth & Elke

elizabethschade@nypl.org

elkestappert@nypl.org