Zombies and Teamwork

In addition to my year long English courses I teach two semester classes. As the new year starts, I begin a new class as well: speech!

I LOVED taking speech as a student, so it is really fun to teach it now.

As most of my readers know, many of my students do not speak English as their first language. Sometimes this isn't an issue, and they are motivated to speak, write, and read in English. In other cases however, there is a tendency to use as little English as possible. As a result, I use an adapted version of a team building activity I love. The point? To show them that they don't need to rely on language...period.

I love using this to start my speech class as it focuses on nonverbal skills (something many students lack). It also builds their teamwork (key since this class involves LOTS of  group projects). Finally, it involves some critical thinking which I feel is always a plus.

Without going into too much detail, students are divided into groups of three to four and the dire situation is explained. The tower that normally keeps the zombies away has fallen and it is up to this group of students to reassemble it without going into the zombie zone.

Of course, as zombies are VERY sensitive to noise, they must work in complete silence with absolutely NO talking.

Students are graded based on their teamwork, their ability to follow the rules, and whether or not they complete the mission.

To be honest, this is an old activity (though I used to teach it with nuclear issues instead of zombies). I wasn't sure how it would go with my students. I hit a few speed bumps early on. Normally, I use hula-hoops taped to the ground as the city barrier, but my trusty dollar store was out, so I taped off squares instead (amusing since all of my directions stated circles, but students got it).

You can download a free preview of the Zombie Teamwork activity at TeachersPayTeachers which basically explains the concept in more details, but here's a step by step guide of setting your classroom up.

Supplies 

You can use a lot of things to make this happen, but you NEED string, cups, and rubber bands (the rubber bands should be able to expand to go around the cups). You can give the students pre-cut string, or one loooooong piece and scissors.

Other things you'll need

• A way to make an enclosed section (hula hoop taped to the ground, chalk, tape, etc.). 
• Random school supplies (You don't NEED this, but I like to give the students random things and see what they can do. Today they had: Velcro strips, pennies, paper clips, a high lighter, pencil erasers, pencils, and binder clips

• I also like to put little Lego men inside the city. I would put zombies inside, but I don't have any zombie toys, so I tell my students the zombies are invisible.

Set Up

•  You'll need space. I don't like the groups to be much bigger than four students, and each group needs at least 3 square feet to work in. Spread them out so they aren't sitting on top of one another. Each group gets a "city" The cities should all be the same size and have three cups inside, Lego men inside, and a cup or box with all of their supplies nearby.
• I didn't get a chance to this time, but you can usually score some really cheap zombie decor after Halloween. Anything you can throw in the room gives it that extra appeal. My students likes my DANGER ZOMBIE INFESTATION signs I had on the door and around the classroom.
• I leave copies of the directions (one per group) by their city as well.

 Buy In

• I HAVE taught this class without speaking, but for my students this year we walked through the directions. They were intrigued from the start! I am glad I went with zombies this year...the topic definitely caught their attention.

Variations
Depending on the group of students you have, there are MANY different ways to have them build the tower. Have it be a three cup pyramid, or a six cup pyramid. Have one student be blind-folded etc. There are more variations discussed in detail in the pack, but get creative!

Results
Walking around I was really impressed with my students. They were working together, getting creative and learning from their mistakes.

What did students think? One of my favorite parts of this lesson is the debriefing where they can sit and reflect on what they did and why they did it. Here are some of the insights my students shared with me:

"I learned that communication is more than just the words that come out of our mouth. It is also what we do with our bodies"

"I learned that I can get things done if I just put my mind to work."

"I solved most of the problems we had not talking by paying more attention and not being lazy. Basically, I had to think harder" 

The best part? A student who stopped by after class, "I just wanted to tell you that your class was really fun today!" Well heck! That makes it a better day.

Takeaway
If you have a new batch of students in January and want a fun activity, or you think your students would do well with some practice in group work. This is a great zombie download for you. Until the 6th it is only $2.20 (that's 20% off the normal price of $2.75). Try it out and let me know what your students think.

If you don't have it in your budget right now, enter to win below! You get one free entry just for reading! You can earn more by tweeting or pinning. The contest opens the fifth and closes the tenth!

2015 Teaching Goals

This post is part of the Reach To Teach Teach Abroad Blog Carnival. The host for January is me here at mELTing Activities, so be sure to check out this link: http://eslcarissa.blogspot.com/2015/01/teachers-resolutions-2015.html  to see everyone's great resolutions! If you’d like to contribute to February's Blog Carnival, please get in touch with dean@reachtoteachrecruiting.com to get in the loop!

This was me in my Mexico office with my Mexican coffee

2014 was a wild ride. I finished up my three years teaching at a University and High School in Mexico and have moved back to San Diego where I got a great job at a private school near the Mexican border. I teach a diverse group of students including students from Brazil, China, Mexico, and Lithuania.

In addition, I work with the entire student body after school where I supervise the tutoring center. I get to help students with math, science, Spanish, English, and pretty much anything they need help doing.

While I love my job, I feel like I am doing about a million things at once (although I think that's normal).

Following are my resolutions. Some are pretty boring, but I hope by writing them down, I'll be more likely to accomplish them.

1. Have More Patience
• I feel like I use all of my patience up by the end of the week. I am going to try to have more patience with my students. I think that I will be able to accomplish this if I sleep more, start exercising again, and have really well planned lessons.  
2. Include More Fun

   

   I am spirited! Me on a school spirit day.

• I used to do tons of fun and games with my classes, but this year I feel like there just isn't enough time to do everything I need. Plus, I think I am having, "new teacher syndrome," where these classes are pushing me to see how far they can go. As a result, their behavior doesn't merit having fun and games. However, I think that if I make more of an effort to find ways to make class more fun, their behavior may improve as well. 
3. Support Extra Curricular Activities
•  I love supporting my school, yet, as stated above, I already work after school. That means while other teachers get out at 3:00, I am at school until 4:30pm. Because of these lengthy hours, I often find myself going straight home and not watching students sports events. I really feel that teachers who make an effort to go to these, are seen my the students, and that it is appreciated. I hope to attend at least one event every other week. 
4. Eat SOMETHING that school
• I have a thirty minute lunch. I usually use it as prep time for my next class. The problem is by the time I get home (again, usually after 5pm) I am starving! This cannot be healthy. I vow to eat something every day. Even if it isn't lunch. Maybe a granola bar, or an orange Anything to keep my body fueled. 
5. Be sure to have ME time
• I think I am becoming a workahaolic! I don't want to be addicted to my job, and I don't want to burn out my first year back in San Diego. Instead, I vow to take at least... thirty minutes a day... for me. Just me. I may take a walk, watch a TV show, or grab coffee with a friend. In these thirty minutes, I don't need to think about work or lesson plan. I LOVE my job, but burning out as a teacher is a serious issue that I hope to avoid. 

So there we are, my five resolutions to make me a better teacher.

If anyone has any tips or tricks on how I can accomplish the previous, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Maybe you have an awesome time management tool, a great and easy snack for lunch time, or fun games that students love and are behaved while you do it. Please share in the comments.

Remember, if you have created any resolutions you too can join the blog carnival. Just post them in your blog and get the link to me before the 5th. I'll compile a list and post the blog carnival January 7th!

You're Getting Old! (Verb Tenses)

Have you ever noticed that when you teach something, you see examples of the grammar all over! This summer I taught past and present perfect in a TOEFL prep class and the website: http://you.regettingold.com/ started getting passed around my Facebook pages.

The site is super easy to use. Simply go to the link and plug in a birthday, then  specify if you are doing this for you or for someone else.

In this case I am putting in what many people believe to be Harry Potter's birthday: July 31st, 1980. After I put in the birthday and name I press go and voila! Tons of great sentences:

Check out the AMAZING variety of sentences here. We have simple present sentences, present perfect, past perfect and past passive. We have irregular verbs (i.e. is, take, beat). If your students have been taught to identify different sentences, see if they can do so now. If you are the type of teacher who prefer that students understand meaning rather than grammar make sure they notice the different way.

The website goes on. It gives you plenty of examples of the perfect tenses as well as passive (Ronald Reagan was elected President. ET was released.)

I suggest you go through the site a few times with different birthdays: celebrities, student volunteers, authors, create birthdays for characters in books you read etc.

Are you this old?

After students get the idea have them create their own "website." I am really into using things like this for literature, so I would have them do it with a character from a story we have read. If you don't read stories in class have them make it for themselves. (Note: the website will not work for people born before 1900, so you'd have to use people from the 1900s on).

The website gives examples, but if your students need prompts:

• To see Emmy winners look at the Emmy website.
• To find heart beats and breaths taken you can go to the Bloodindex site.
• To find the date of famous people's deaths (by year) search FamousDeaths 
• Your students can find Olympic medalists (and the year) on Wikipedia
• You can find number one songs from different years on Number One In History
• You can find famous birthdays on History Orb 

I hope you ans your students find this website as fun to play with as I do!

7 Things Bell's Whiskey Reminded Me about Learning

I recently saw an AMAZING commercial. In this advertisement Bell's Whisky is selling a scotch, but I feel like they are also selling the importance of literacy and learning in general. I don't know why I love this commercial so much, but I do know that it clearly shows seven different things we need to remember about learners.



1. Students should see / do things again and again in different ways!
The man is exposed to letters in scrabble. He is exposed with post its around his house. He has flashcards. He practices with alphabet soup. He checks out different books. As teachers we need to vary activities to help out students learn best!

 
2. You have to be OK making mistakes
Learning means you will make mistakes. That's OK. In fact that's good! If you don't make mistakes, you probably aren't learning! He starts off spelling cat with a k, but he learns that isn't correct and improves!

3. It isn't just the teachers! 
Students should be encouraged to seek help from librarians, loved ones, friends and other students. Help your students find local English speaking groups, or reading clubs they can join to really practice!

4. Students should support one another!
This is one of my HUGE pet peeves in class. When students don't applaud or encourage one another in class, they get a death glare. I think this is SO important! I actually make it part of their grade. Listening to others when they participate and encouraging one another will help everyone.

5. Everyone loves stickers!
Don't forget that students LOVE being told they are doing a good job. A gold star is the universal symbol of "You rocked." If you are really against giving gold stars consider writing small notes or finding other ways to let students know they are excelling.

6. Languages should be fun (and useful)!
He has fun while he is learning. He is flirting with his wife, and enjoying himself. Your class doesn't need to be all fun all the time, but adding some fun activities or topics will help students learn. Make them laugh with jokes, or just play some games.

7. Motivation is key!
Learning to read as an adult is considered to be much harder than reading as a child, but this student had GREAT motivation. He wanted to make his family proud. He wanted to enjoy his son's work. He wanted to be a part of his son's life in a way that before reading he couldn't. This is particularly effective motivation! If your students have their own motivation remind them of it. If not discuss different reasons learning languages will help them. They'll probably talk about their career, but be sure to mention the mental effects as well.

What do you think? Did it remind you of anything else? Do you adore the commercial as much as I do, or is there another one you prefer?

Show it to your students and see if they can relate to the man at all!

Book Review: English As a Second Language: Learn English Fast and Have lots of Fun

Since I've been talking about students putting in the extra effort and movies in class, I figured this would be a good time to introduce a quick book review of a book I read a few weeks ago.

Title: Englsh As a Second Language: Learn English Fast and Have lots of Fun Author Binh Phan Price $4.87 Pages 55

Who should buy it? This book is definitely made for ELLs more than ELTs. It would be a useful book for an ELT to have a loan out to students, or a book you could suggest you students look into on their own.

What’s it do? This book goes through different, “fun” ways to learn and practice English. It covers, Movies, Songs, Games, Chatting / Blogging, and Reading.

In each section it explains:

Why you should do this:

Example:  The book explains that there are many benefits to singing. Your body increases its oxygen intake, balances its metabolism and aids the motor skills between primary senses and the brain. It also tends to put you in a better mood, and most people consider it fun. Since the brain associates fun as something pleasant you are more likely to retain the information in the lyrics!

How you should do this:

Example: For reading, the book suggests that you read out loud, read and record your voice, read books that movies are based on, read animated stories, read comics, read Fairy Tales, and read English jokes. In each category it tells you why reading this specific type of text is good and what people will probably enjoy it the most. It also gives examples of where to find things in this category to read.

Is it any good? The author admits he is not reinventing the wheel. Most of the information in the book is common sense and probably stuff that you already tell your students. However, many students are convinced that their teacher’s advice isn’t as great as someone who wrote a book. If you think your student would get a wakeup call from the book, or just needs to hear what you have said from someone else then YES the book is worth buying.

Plus, after the book is over he gives away another e-book of his for free “Learn English Fast, A guide to improving your English with accelerated learning techniques and unstoppable motivation.”

And wait, there’s more! If you leave a review and share it on Facebook or twitter he will gives your student access to two weeks of the, “Learn English Fast ‘n’ Fun” program.  Perhaps those two weeks would be of some help to your students?

I’d love to know if you end up reading this what you think, or if you have any similar ideas feel free to leave a comment!