Feel free to check out my curriculum project. It's a series of lessons about multi-ethnic American literature. Unfortunately, because of technology limitations and all the sites that are blocked here, I can't really use the materials, but it's good to know what's out there and play with new Internet tools!
I really enjoy using blogging in the classroom. I'm teaching English as a Foreign Language, and under the current educational system in my country, students expect teachers to be editing machines, to fix any grammar and spelling mistakes in papers they turn in. With 40 students in each of my 7 classes, however, with English levels all over the spectrum, this would literally take hours or even entire days each week. With blogging, however, this expectation is done away with. (And even if the grammar is not so good, I think it is great to finally free students of the worry of mistakes & just get them to express their ideas!) So, almost every week I give them a question on our class blog, hechicollege.weebly.com, and they go to the question and type their answer. They love seeing what each other have written, and it's so easy for me to read all of their answers in one place & have nothing to pass back!
Here's a YouTube clip from Dead Poet Society for use in the classroom:
During weeks 6-9 of the term, we are taking a look at Post-World War 2 American poetry. Following an introductory lesson with a sampling of several expressive poems, we will to turn to a movie, Dead Poet Society, to see a teacher who used poetry and a positive example to encourage his students to live to the fullest. I have chosen to watch this movie this week for 3 main purposes: (1) This movie presents poetry as an art to be appreciated and inspired by rather than a formula, as my students have been taught to see it previously. (2) Students are senior college students, preparing to be teachers after graduation; the movie presents a strong example of a teacher who went against the current and used non-traditional methods. (3) Students need a rest from their busy schedules, and they enjoy watching English movies.
Hi, I'm Bethany. I'm 25 years old and have just started my fourth year of teaching. This is my third year living in China. For the past two years, I've bee teaching at a local high school, and this term is my first term at Hechi College. I'm excited to start this new adventure.
Welcome to my instructional website!This is a place to share useful materials for students & teachers.
