Upper-intermediate reading

[Cedric Picard]

Hi all,

I'm currently taking the CELTA exam, and would be greatful if a teacher could give me feedback on a short lesson (30 mins) on reading.

Main aim:

to develop students' skills of reading for specific info in a newspaper article about a visual dictionary.

Subsidiary aims:

1. to develop students' skills of reading for gist
2. to develop students' skills of question building

Stage 1 - Lead in (3 mins)
T -> Ss 1 - T asks for a stapler
2 - T asks and mimes stapler

T -> Ss 3 - Feedback - language : stapler (choral/ind drill)
Ss -> T
S -> T

T-> Ss 4 - Feedback - content : what helped understand meaning?
Ss -> T mime

Stage 2 - 1st reading (8 mins) - reading for gist
T -> Ss 1 - Instructions: in pairs, find another way to explain meaning
better than mime? Why? Why not?
Ss 2 - Ss read text
S -> S 3 - Ss check in pairs, justifying their choice
Ss -> T 4 - Feedback

Stage 3 - Question building (8 mins)
T -> Ss 1 - Instructions (board example): using key words, build question
S -> S 2 - Ss build questions in pairs
Ss -> T 3 - Feedback

Stage 4 - 2nd reading (10 mins) - reading for specific information
T -> Ss 1 - Instructions (change pairs): in pairs, find answers to questions
Ss 2 - Ss read text
S -> S 3 - Ss check answers in pairs, justifying their choice
Ss -> T 4 - Feedback

Many thanks,
Cedric

[Tdol]

Might there not be a case for putting the ideas emerging from Stage 2 to the whole class so that they can use strategies that hadn't occurred to them to use when dealing with the text?

[Cedric Picard]

Originally Posted by Tdol

Might there not be a case for putting the ideas emerging from Stage 2 to the whole class so that they can use strategies that hadn't occurred to them to use when dealing with the text?

Hi Tdol,

good to hear from you again, have you left cambodia? Your location appear to be Japan now. I'm right in the middle of my application for voluntary placement in Angthong (Thailand), in a sports school. Got to post CRB documents now.

I'm not quite sure I understand, but is this not the content feedback from phase 2?

I think in order to set the reading properly, I should have had a pre-reading task involving pair work to think of alternatives to miming, quick feedback then onto the text, but in a 30 mins reading session, this would have taken away time for the actual reading for gist and reading for specific info. I had to drop some of the questions about the text as the question building didn't go as well as planned (or to be fairly honest, lack of planning).

The text was about a visual dictionary, comprising 1000s of pictures to be used by people on their travels to foreign countries, to support communication. In feedback 2, following reading for gist, I suggested the issue of being pressed for time (train about to leave, ...) and new objects (say an iPod, though this would probably have the same name regardless of the country as it's a trademark).

Many thanks for feedback and hope to hear from you soon,
Cedric

[Cedric Picard]

Btw, is this the appropriate section to submit lesson plans?

[Tdol]

I'm heading back to Cambodia in a couple of days.

Ok, I see where you're coming from. I'm afraid that I have the luxury of being able to waffle when I teach and not have to do things to such a restricted time limit. What are they answering in part 4?

Enjoy Thailand- I only know Bangkok from stayiing when passing through afew times, but really like it.

[Cedric Picard]

Originally Posted by Tdol

I'm heading back to Cambodia in a couple of days.

Ok, I see where you're coming from. I'm afraid that I have the luxury of being able to waffle when I teach and not have to do things to such a restricted time limit. What are they answering in part 4?

Enjoy Thailand- I only know Bangkok from stayiing when passing through afew times, but really like it.

My next lesson will last 40 mins, so should be able to get more interaction with students.

Part 4 was answers on specific points in the text (where is the author from, what is his occupation, how is the book so unusual, ...), but I didn't have time to extend the discussion after that but the plan was to relate to their own experience on arrival in Ireland, how they dealt with the language barrier.

Enjoy your last few days in Japan.