Expressing Opinions- ESL Lesson

This lesson focuses on the representative speech act of expressing opinions. Children often bring to the classroom rules of speaking based on the norms of their home culture and language. The intention of this lesson was to help the students become more aware of their word choices and the effects their words can have on others. The lesson focused on expressing likes and dislikes in regards to habitats. The students had been learning about different habitats including swamps, deserts, oceans and forests while preparing to read a fantasy story about an alligator that is forced to leave his home because of a drought.


OBJECTIVE(S):
To understand how to express opinions about habitats.
To able to make positive and negative statements using contractions.

MATERIALS:
Harcourt’s Moving Into English (MIE) Big Book p. 9
MIE Practice Book worksheet p.33
Drawing paper and crayons
Sentence strips and clothes pins

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE LESSON:
Whole group lesson for the introduction and main part of the lesson.
Small group work included using Practice Book worksheet to create dialogue to practice the skill.
Independent work included drawing and writing.
Individual instruction was provided as needed.

MOTIVATION FOR LESSON:
Explain that it is very important to be able to communicate their opinions about different topics or situations to other people. Explain that a misunderstanding can arise if the correct words are not used and that they would be learning how to express themselves in negative and positive ways. Also explain that there are different word choices they can make in order to express themselves in polite ways in different social situations.

PROCEDURES:

Introduction: (Note: This lesson built upon the previous day’s lesson about habitats.) As a whole group, reread the big book. Point to the alligator and say “The alligator likes the river”, and “The alligator does not like the desert.” Repeat the sentences and have the students echo you.

Next, use the same sentence frame of “The ________ likes the ______.” and substitute different animals from the Big Book pictures. Do the same for the does not like sentence frame. Ask for a few volunteers to talk about what other animals in the pictures they like and dislike using the same sentence frames.

Whole Group:
Model your own negative and positive opinions about the ocean by saying “My favorite place is the ocean. I like the colorful fish. I don’t like it when people throw trash in the ocean.”
Write the sentences on the overhead projector.

Focus on the contraction don’t and tell the students that it is a negative word.

Model how the contraction is formed from do and not by writing donot below do not. Erase the second o and insert an apostrophe to form don’t. Model writing other negative contractions such as isn’t and doesn’t. You can also provide a visual of the formation of the contraction using a sentence strip and clothes pin.

For example, the words do not are written on the sentence strip. Fold the strip over the o in not to make don’t. A clothes pin can be a substitute for the apostrophe. Open and close the strip to make the contraction.

Write on the board sentence frames to help students express their likes and dislikes, such as ____________ is my favorite place. I like _______. I don’t like _______. Ask a few students to volunteer verbally use the sentences to express their opinions about habitats.

Group Work:
Students work in pairs expressing their opinions about things relating to habitats using the worksheet in the Practice Book.
They first cut out pictures of habitats from the worksheet and pasted them into the appropriate columns labeled I like________. And I don’t like___________.
They discuss with their partner what their likes and dislikes are using the sentence frames.
On the back of the worksheet have them record what their partner likes and doesn’t like using the sentence frames written on the page: He/she likes _________. He/She doesn’t like ______________.
Regroup as a whole class and let students share with the class the likes and dislikes of their partners using the appropriate sentence frames.

Independent:
Students copy the list of contractions and sentence frames into their journals.
Students draw a picture of a habitats and added captions to express their likes or dislikes using the sentence frame models we are working with.

SUMMARY/CLOSURE:
Ask several students to share their likes or dislikes using their Practice Book worksheet and/or drawing.

First Day

Today was the first day of school sans kids. I will call it productive and insightful.

Where to begin?

I met my partner teacher and she was very helpful. The rumors were slightly exaggerated in my opinion but then again it was the first day and we are all still very relaxed. No kids yet! We cleaned out storage lockers and disposed of quite a bit. There is still a lot to do but we are just getting started. We are going to rearrange our small classroom and make it more student friendly and teacher accessible.

Most of the day was spent in a long, informative meeting with all teachers and aides. We got to dirt on what is going on with the school district. We have a new superintendent who is considered to be a reformer. She is bringing in a lot of her own people who are "young" which may translate into "inexperienced" but I need to see more. She got rid of a lot of positions such as teacher coaches. I think it was justified considering most of the coaches I've seen did absolutely nothing helpful for anyone. They had to return to the classroom which is a slap in the face. Therefore many have quit or retired. Make room for people who want to teach! They are going to give 23 schools in serious corrective action, including my former school, a lot of help with support staff. In other words those schools are going to be monitored, seriously monitored until they are completely restaffed or do their jobs. I'm glad I left as that is a lot of unnecessary stress.

My school is one of almost 90 that are receiving at least two additional support staff people. Also, the entire district will be monitored by teams of 4 people who have just been trained (e.g. inexperienced reformers) and will set monthly performance goals for each school and come in and monitor once a month. This is a technique that Edison Schools used and quite frankly never worked. Sending in inexperienced people to set goals for many schools of which none have ever worked in and of which they don't know the students and staff can lead to a disaster. Or not. Time will tell.

Overall, it was a good day. The short walk to and from work felt very, very weird and surreal. I'm not complaining. I'm not complaining at all!

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the first day of school for teachers. The students come back on Thursday. We have two days to acclimate and mentally prepare before the kids show up. I'm in a new school this year. This is bittersweet for me for many reasons. I continue to dream about my former students. I worry about what will happen to them this year. Thank God one of my best friends will still be at that school and can give me updates. I will miss my friend and former co-worker dearly. We had the best working relationship which made it extremely difficult to leave. But, in the end I knew that after 3 years in that school if I did not leave I was destined to leave teaching altogether within the next year.

I'm excited, scared, sad and full of anticipation going into this school year and new school. I'll be working with new students and teachers. The format of my teaching will change. I will be co-teaching with up to 7 teachers and no formal training or accommodations for planning have been provided. Red flag numero uno. The administrative staff is prepared, sending out agendas and goal setting forms ahead of time. I've been helped anytime I've asked for it so that is in the positive category. There is a lot of tension between the remaining teacher, who I will share a very small classroom (virtual closet) with and the rest of the school. I'm hoping to not get stuck in the middle of a battle.

Thinking about goals this year I so far have come up with wanting to start a kids yoga program as well as integrate yoga into daily lessons. I'd like to coordinate a fundraiser after reading "Three Cups of Tea." I would also like to start up an outdoors club and maybe even a track team. But, first and foremost, I need to get acclimated, figure out who is easy to work with and who is not and how to deal with them while not compromising my own teaching style and belief system. I need to get to know and understand my students. I need to learn how to fill out all of the necessary documents, and there seems to be a lot, and do it correctly and on time.

So, while I have high aspirations for this school which is in my very own community, I also will need to set personal limits for myself and not allow myself to be taken advantage of nor put down. The first step is just to get to know the layout of the land, so to speak, and go from there. I haven't even brought in any materials yet! I can't. I don't know what grades I am teaching and I haven't met the teacher I'm sharing space with either.

I do know that my department is in complete disarray with materials all over the building that have not been inventoried. So, I have a lot of organizing to do before I can even begin to start after-school programs, etc.

Small steps. At least I am able to walk to school this year and save money on gas. I can stay late and still get home at a decent hour, or if God forbid, things fall apart I can run home at lunch and immediately after school.

However, I anticipate a productive school year. I am remaining open and positive but realistic.
Until tomorrow...