F2F Class Notes (JJ)

Homework:

How can you encourage students to develop their creativity?

Learning English usually combines learning vocabulary, reading, grammar and writing. How to develop my students’ creativity through these learnings? Here are some tips.

Vocabulary
My students always find it hard to spell or pronounce words. As they are so young, every word longer than 2 syllables can be difficult for them. But it wouldn’t be difficult any more if we put some creativity in it. Take the word “children” as an example. Some students may spell it as “chidren” or “cheldren”. Even though they pronounce the word correctly, they don’t have a word bank large enough to make them tell the difference between the pronunciation of “i” and “e”. And they always miss the letter “l”. So I told them a sentence: “I am a student. I always need an adult. Don’t forget “i”. And don’t forget there is an “l” next to “i”, just like an adult next to a child.” Then they could spell this word correctly. I think this way of memorizing word spelling shows creativity. In order to develop my students’ creativity, I ask them to think of different ways of memorizing words and to share them in class.

Reading
How to develop their creativity in reading? At my students’ age, they read stories most. I always ask them to retell the story, to give the story a different ending or to tell it in another person’s perspective. If the story has a theme or it can relate to our lives, I encourage them to connect the story to their own lives and comment. When they are retelling, they can use what they have just learned. When they meet a similar situation in the future, they can recall these words, phrases, and perspectives as well. I think being able to connect different knowledge is another way to show that you are creative.

Grammar
How to improve creativity through grammar learning? The best way is to tell a chain story using a certain grammar point. The second way is to connect the grammar to materials that are not in the textbook. For example, learn English grammar in English songs. My students love this way and they are becoming more active in class. Activeness can arouse creativity.

Writing
Sometimes I ask my students to retell the story, but sometimes I encourage them to rewrite. Although many writing books advise you to write in a fixed structure, I welcome my students to express their own ideas. Meaning is of top priority, then grammar and structure.

You see, in order to develop my students’ creativity, I myself must be creative. My creativity brings out theirs. I also inspire them to speak and write out their minds. In this positive learning environment, they are more likely to be creative.

Revised:

Vocabulary

My students always find it hard to spell or to pronounce words. As they are quite young, every word longer than 2 syllables can be difficult for them to memorize. But it wouldn’t be difficult any more if we add/incorporate some creativity into it. Take the word “children” for example, some students may spell it as “chidren” or “cheldren”. Even though they pronounce the word correctly, they don’t have a word bank large enough for them to tell the difference between the pronunciation of “i” and “e”. I taught them a memory aid/trick: “I am a student. I always need an adult. Don’t forget “i”. And don’t forget there is an “l” next to “i”, just like an adult next to a child.” Then they could spell this word correctly. I think this way of memorizing words spelling shows creativity. n order to develop my students’ creativity, I ask them to think of different ways of memorizing words and to share them in class.

Reading

Students at age 7 read mostly short stories around 100-200 words. I always ask them to retell the story, to give the story a different ending or to tell it in another person’s perspective. If the story has a theme or it can relate to our lives, I encourage them to connect the story to their own lives and to comment on that. When they are retelling the story, they can make use of what they have just learned. When they find themselves in a similar situation in the future, they can recall these words, phrases, and perspectives as well. I think being able to apply the knowledge in different circumstances is another way to show that you are creative.

Grammar

The best way is to tell a chain story using a certain grammar point. The second way is to add additional worksheets, music, etc to textbook materials. For example, learning English grammar through English songs is what I’ve used in the past. My students love this teaching method and they are becoming more active in class. Activeness can promote/bring out/foster creativity.

Writing

Sometimes I ask my students to retell stories, but sometimes I encourage them to rewrite them. Although many writing books advise you to write using a fixed structure, I welcome/invite my students to express their own ideas (instead). 

I also inspire them to speak and write out what’s on their minds/their inner thoughts.

Their efficiency after class

Teacher-parent relationships

Students’ psychology (…)

I would read other researches, it will be a very strong supplement to my own study.Next, I would keep a teaching journal to keep track on those difficult students and apply some methods to see if they can improve. Some students can’t control themselves in class. Discipline is very important, in the first class, I would set some rules. I know that students are naturally active. As a teacher, we should put more activities in class and not always discipline the students. I think my research should contain real examples of what are their problems and what methods I have used and what are the outcomes. Then I would choose 3 difficult students and their problems (ex: class management, communication between their classmates.)

Revised:

I would read other research articles/studies. (..) to keep track of (…). Some students are very disruptive in class. (…) ground rules. As a teacher, we should add more activities in our lesson plans instead of always disciplining the students. I think my research should include real life examples of what (…) Then I would choose 3 different problem student cases (ex: …).

Teaching Methods

Read the research articles related to Explicit Instruction for discussion next time.