Well, these are what I think are my blog’s hidden delights that may have missed the attention of newer readers and that I really enjoyed writing and then discussing with you all (in response to a challenge on Jason Renshaw’s blog: Show us your blog’s hidden gems)
- My First Day At School – lesson plan – I really enjoyed that the idea for this post came from a comment I made on Sara Hannam’s blog Critical Mass ELT about using poetry for teaching English. Well, it actually came from Sara’s response to my comment, in particular some neat observations about the video in the plan. Great example of how something small can go out in the blogosphere and become something else, bigger and better. I kept the idea open and asked readers here to add their ideas to my initial lesson plan. Please check it out – people have some cool ideas out there. I’d also recommend Sara’s post on poetry: A poetic interlude. While you’re at it, there was a small piece on Scott Thornbury’s blog as well =)
- Techno Tool Tames Transcription Trouble – a watershed post for me, since it was the first time I blogged about something my students had taught me! They found a nifty trick related to playing video on the computer. Needless to say, it was great to share the tip with others here, and I made sure my students knew they had helped other teachers around the world! This post was also submitted for Anne Hodgson’s post on the Business English blog carnival. Anne made a neat quiz about the posts, to see if you have really read them – it’s cool; check it out!
- Thursday Night Is Dogme Night AKA Dogme moments appear when you least expect them – not actually a post on this blog, but a guest piece I wrote for Karenne Sylvester’s Kalinago English blog. I was really proud of this piece, as it was, for me, crystallisation of what I had been hearing about on blogs and Twitter about dogme. As far as teaching experiences have gone for me, this was one of the best.
Hope you enjoy that little tour of my blog, and go on reading and adding to the discussion =)
Image credit: gem rainbow by -Merce- on Flickr
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Good archives. Re: the dogme lesson with your students, I’ve had these types of lessons lots of times, when only a few turn up. Or sometimes even one-to-one, but ruined when another (your least favourite) student turns up! Certainly easier with lower numbers, more intimate. I just use a piece of paper to write on rather than the whiteboard. Did you do that?
Yes, I’ve found it easier to go with emergent language with fewer students. Although, having said that, I’ve been trying some activities from Teaching Unplugged with larger groups this academic year and having some success. The key, I think, is getting them to think about and focus on the language – not always easy or clear to the students. About the paper/whiteboard question – that lesson I did use the whiteboard, but very sparingly. I find having a piece of paper to hand while going around the room in a class is good for individual feedback.
Mike