Soon

I particularly think that we, as teachers, need basic drawing skills. I lost count of the times I have been asked the meaning of something that was a lot easier for me to explain by drawing. Therefore, I have decided to show you a few tricks I have up my sleeve...just in case.

What does your dad do?

My students were learning names of jobs and what people do, for instance, a police officer keeps our community safe, a firefighter puts out fires, a taxi driver drives around town, etc. After a few classes and significant practice, we wrapped this lesson up with a writing task in which they wrote about their parents´ jobs. We used an app called CHATTER PIX, which allows users to add a voice to a picture. No need to mention they had a blast! 

OPTION 2: Students draw themselves in the clothes of the professional they want to become when they grow up and write about it. They can explain their choice by using a reason or an adjective.

Examples:

When I grow up...

I want to be a doctor because I want to help sick people.
I want to be a vet because I love animals and I want to help sick animals.
I want to be an architect because I think it´s interesting/fun/lucrative.

In the end, they record their text by using CHATTER PIX.


Tip: Allow students to practice reading their text before recording it, so you can correct any pronunciation difficulties they may have. 

Voilà!!!

Now, everything is in its place.

In case you´re wondering...

Dear all, the reason why you´re not being able to download my material is that I´m currently working on a new place for it. It´ll be available again in no time, I promise.

Draw your vacation

This is an opportunity for students to learn personal information about the teacher. The ultimate goal is to engage students into writing and make them familiar with simple writing techniques. Show students drawings of your last vacation. Don't worry if you don't draw well. The fact that you drew them will   encourage your students to do the same. Also, show short simple sentences for each drawing.  Make sure, students identify and understand the three parts of a paragraph:  

1) TOPIC SENTENCE: It tells you what the paragraph will be about;
2) BODY: It is developed around the topic sentence usually with examples and details;
3) CONCLUSION: It restates the introduction with different words.

Also, make sure students are familiar with "connectors". After showing your students your sentences, allow them some time to draw and write about their own vacation. Have colored pencils and blank sheets of paper available on your desk in case they don´t have those. You can also assign this task for homework. At home, they will scan and upload their drawings and write about them.  They can make a video or a power point slide presentation to show in the following class.

I enjoyed my vacation because it was relaxing.

I didn't have money to travel, so I stayed in Brasilia.

However, I could play the guitar and practice some songs.

I went shopping for clothes and shoes.

And I could sleep a lot and relax.


Show your students what a paragraph should look like:

Images - Downloadable

Super Duper Resolutions

Super Duper has made a few resolutions for 2015.

He's going to LOSE THE CAPE. 

He's going to STUDY REALLY HARD

 

He's going to EAT VEGETABLES. 

He's going to DO CHARITY.

He's going to remember to FEED HIS PETS.

He's going to STOP EATING so much sugar.

He's going to have the courage and GO TO THE DENTIST's. 

Downloadable Material

Resolutions 2015

Ok, here we go again! It's time to think about our resolutions for 2015. Have you made your list yet? I usually don't bother, but I'm putting my foot down. I'm going to lose weight starting on Monday. My plan is to lose 11 pounds in the next 6 months. How about you? 

"I'm going to lose weight."

Ooops! It just dawned on me that I have two more resolutions for 2015 besides LOSING WEIGHT.  I have a thing that annoys me very much and sometimes causes me trouble. My mouth has a mind of its own. I don't think it's funny at all, therefore,  I'm going to watch it and AVOID BEING IMPULSIVE. I'm also going to learn SIGN LANGUAGE. There's no particular reason. I just think it's a beautiful thing to learn.