Day 8

June 14, 2017

Today we worked on lesson planning. The main topic was UbD - Understanding by design. We agreed that lessons should be planned with the end result in mind. If I were to explain this to my colleagues - I would say start with the State Framework. These are broad performance objectives such as:  

1. Interpersonal – Communicate on very familiar topics using a variety of words and phrases that have been practiced and memorized.

1. Engage in greetings and introductions.
2. Ask and answer a variety of simple questions.
3. Communicate basic information about myself and people I know.
4. Communicate basic information about everyday life.
5. Exchange information using texts, graphs, or pictures. 
   
   
   
   
   The 'strand' is COMMUNICATION. The first Competency under COMMUNICATION is 'Interpersonal.' Competencies are defined and further subdivided. 
   
   
   It is absolutely essential to know what the students will be expected to DO after the instruction and activities. Teachers will have to base the communication on topics which have been studied. For example, 'd' could deal with describing household chores. Naturally, the students would need to acquire and practice vocabulary related to the house and phrases about chores. What is important is that students will go beyond vocabulary and grammar tests. They will have to demonstrate that they can interact with others (have conversation).
   
   Ideas from today that I plan to use:
   I liked the idea of using the 'MyPlate' activity to talk about foods. There are so many words and regionalisms related to food and drink. If they had to name various foods for the categories - they would probably choose the foods they had learned best and therefore would be more likely to remember. I could see using the 'MyPlate' template (also available in Spanish and French) as a group activity. Individuals could also make a 'Plato de Preferences' in which they list foods/drinks they like and don't like. This could include communicative interactions with classmates where they walk around and 'discuss' their preferences.
   
   In art - we added layers to our watercolor paper:  marker, chalk, fixative spray and acrylics. I have decided to add a compass to mine to establish how the map is oriented. 
   
   Dr. Kun Huang talked about her recent visit to China. She shared pictures and showed the cities, school and transportation. It is evident that EDUCATION is a priority in China. Any students who hope to make it to the 'top' must be well-educated. Sadly, this is not true in American education. Many students here cite success stories of multi-millionaires who were drop-outs.
   
   This morning we Skyped with a friend of Raj's from India. We learned a great deal about education in India from her. We also learned that the most popular sport in India is cricket. They do have sports teams that represent schools. If students are very talented - they can go to 'sports' schools.
   
   Well, that's all for now. Hasta mañana.