Today's Class!

In today’s lesson, Jose Ramón asked us to join him on the Nearpod app to learn about the different sounds in the English language. More specifically, to demonstrate to us how some words can end with the same consonants but sound completely different. An example of this would be the words “Loved” and “Looked”: they look very similar and both end in “ed”, but loved is pronounced with a “d’ sound at the end, whereas looked ends with a “t” sound. 

Most of the activities required speaking into the microphone and pronouncing the different words on screen. This way, Jose Ramon was able to listen to our recordings and point out where we were going wrong. He also combined this with calling on us to speak to him directly, ensuring that we all had a chance to partake. 

Additionally, during the lesson he played a few videos for us; some that were more theory-based and others that were more light-hearted and entertaining. The latter, disguised as humor, really highlighted the importance of getting to know, understand and pronounce a language properly.  

Like this ad, for example! Where a German coastguard mishears an English captain’s cry for help, something that could’ve easily been avoided if he had learned the language properly. 

https://youtu.be/x9wJxZc2KF8

To end today’s entry, I’d like to praise our teacher for always knowing how to make our classes enjoyable. There’s never a dull moment and we spend most of our time joking around, and just overall having a great time! That’s really what makes the difference between feeling excited to turn up to class and feeling totally unmotivated. 

 

Modal Verbs Review Class

Hello!!! Today, we had an English lesson.

We spent the entire class using the website “Nearpod” where the teacher had already prepared activities for us to do.  We completed some exercises where we had to determine whether the sentences were true or false, and also played a few games related to the theory of the subject (in this case, of the modal verbs: can, could, may, should, ought to, had better). One of those games consisted of guessing which young celebrity we were looking at and answering the questions using modal verbs. 

Afterwards, we had to match current photos of celebrities to photos os them when they were much younger. There were several photos, and each time we got a correct pair, the photos would turn green so we would know if we got the right answer. An example of one of the celebrities that appeared is Messi.

This is the activity we enjoyed the most.

Finally, at the end of today's session, Jose Ramón explained several things and answered all our queries regarding the exam we have on the 5th of October.

 

 

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Modal Verbs!

HELLOOOO!! WE’VE STARTED A NEW WEEK

Today, Ramon started the class off by playing a few movie trailers: "Her" and "Forget About Me" because he had really enjoyed watching those films and wanted to share them with us!

He then began to explain the modal verbs with the help of an interactive webpage, where the information is presented first, and then you practice your knowledge with a fun game. This way, the explanation is much more meaningful and it helps the teacher to figure out if his students have actually understood the lesson, because he is able to view how we scored on each exercise. There is a wide variety of different exercises available to practice pronunciation, grammar and listening.

          Verbs/ Forms                     Meaning

• Can/Could                        - Ability

• May/Might                        - Obligation

• Will/Would                        - Permission

• Shall/should                     - Request

• Have to/Had to                 - Advice

• Ought to                           - Probability

• Had better                        - Deduction

• Must                                 - Offer

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  
  

  
  

Project 2. Flashcards and Mindmap.

Our second project consists of creating different flashcards and a mind map on a certain topic. For this, we have chosen the theme transport, since to us it seems like something that always captures children’s attention, and is also quite interesting.

We’ve designed this activity to be suitable for children aged 6-7 years old, in a 1st of Primary classroom.

To work on the different means of transport, we decided to divide them into 3 groups: Land, water and air; and made flashcards for each of them.

To present this topic in the classroom, the teacher will explain to the students that we’ll be learning about different modes of transport; and before handing out the flashcards, we'll brainstorm ideas on the blackboard. During this, the kids will also be asked a few questions to test their knowledge.

Here are some examples of questions that could be asked:

Could someone tell me what means of transport they used to come to class? Can you think of a way to travel on water? and how about through the air? 

Once we've listed all the different types of transport we can think of, we’ll then begin to classify them into the three groups mentioned earlier (Land, air and water), designing a mindmap. 

Next, we’ll begin using flashcards. Each one has a little image of a way of transportation, with its name appearing directly below it. The children will be shown these flashcards and will have to say each name out loud and match them to their corresponding group on the mindmap. For example, a child will have to match the flashcard of a boat to it’s appropriate group, which in this case would be water.

Once the phonetics of the words have been worked on, we will then move to playing a fun game where the students will be divided into groups and flashcards will appear on all the computers, but repeated twice.

The game consists of finding a match. When a child finds the pair, he/she will have to say the transport that he’s/she’s ended up with. This is an exciting way to practice memory and cooperation

Finally, each child will present a flashcard to the rest of their group telling them what the name of their transport is and any interesting detail about them. 

We have to emphasize that the teacher will check on the different groups, to advise and guide the students, as well as to solve any questions they may have.

To create the mindmap we used the website “MIRO” and for the flashcards we used “CANVAS”. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0jS4jgnuEo

MIND MAP

FLASH CARDS 

WATER 

EARTH

AIR 

Animals! Class 25/07/20

 Helloooo to all, again!

In today’s lesson, Jose Belda started the class off by playing a variety of different songs to celebrate the fact that it’s finally Friday and that it’s also Jose Ramon’s birthday tomorrow. We spent several minutes laughing and cracking jokes, it was very funny and entertaining 

Later, we went on to watch a video, directed towards children, that showed the different sounds animals make. Jose Ramón and Jose Belda then organized a Kahoot for the class to see if we had been paying attention to the video, and started imitating those sounds to make us laugh. It was hilarious, they seemed like farmers!! :)

Lastly, the teacher gave us all time to finish our projects and ask him whatever questions we had on a private call. All-round, today’s lesson has been very fun and enjoyable, which is a very nice change from our more ordinary and mundane classes. 

 Greetings and see you soon!!

                            

Phonetics Part and Kahoot!

Today,  we practiced phonetics. 

At the beginning of the class, we did a pronunciation exercise and the teacher asked each person how to pronounce certain words. Then we played a game of Kahoot, which helps us enormously because it gives us a chance to go over what we've just learned, but in a very fun way! 

Then, each group had to think of a creative way to work on the conditionals, and then the whole class had to decide which ideas were the best! 

Here are the different ideas our classmates came up with to practice conditionals: interactive applications, different songs, phonetic and memory exercises, diphthongs, etc. 

Finally, we voted on a poll to choose the best activity.

Project 1.INFOGRAPHICS.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk6y8xtO5l0

We decided to do our infographics project on Norway’s education system.

There wasn’t really a particular reason why we chose to do this job about Norway, other than the fact that I (Rose) had been to Norway earlier this year before the pandemic and absolutely fell in love with it, so I jumped at the opportunity to learn more about the country. 

Once we had all agreed on the topic of the infographic, we put our heads together to decide what information would be the most relevant to include, and this is what we came up with:

 

The Norwegian School system can be grouped into 3 stages, the first two being mandatory. 

First of all, we have primary school, for kids aged 6-13 years. In their first year, they learn by mostly playing educational games; and are taught the alphabet, basic math and English. Then, for the remainder of those 6 years they are taught a variety of different subjects. During this level, the students aren't given actual grades but the teacher does comment on their work. 

Then, we have lower secondary school, for ages 13-16. During this time, they do get graded and these grades determine which upper secondary school they'll be able to attend later. 

The following 3 years of upper secondary school are optional, where the student gets to choose between doing general studies or vocational studies.

Higher education is anything after upper secondary school, which is divided into universities, university colleges, and private schools. 

School hours:

-Students are at school from roughly 8.30 to 14:45. 

-Between five and six hours a day.

-They have two breaks throughout the day (40-30 minutes)

 

Holidays:

-The school year runs from August to mid-June.

-Holidays are celebrated at Christmas and in July.

 

% GDP in education:

-Norway’s GDP value represents 0.34% of the world economy.

 

Scholarships:

- Scholarships are usually between $ 500/2000 and have different sponsors (universities, the government, independent organizations, etc)

 

Student/teacher ratio:

- 11.6 pupils/teacher in 2019/20, whereas the world average (134 countries) in 2017 was 21.79 students/teacher.

 

Some benefits:

- Norway rewards students who complete their studies,and school dropout rates are almost nonexistent. On the contrary, in Spain, school failure and the generation of 'NEETs' is very high.

- Also, they give huge importance to diversity and accessibility. Norway is known for guaranteeing equal opportunities for success and education to people of all different nationalities, race, gender and background.

 

Once we had gathered all the information, we went onto the Website Canva and designed a “poster” with all the key points condensed into a few simple statements and illustrations, to make it more visual and pleasant for the reader. 

 

Finally, we’d like to add that we found this project to be a very fun way of learning a lot about another country and the way their schools are run. We were all able to contribute our ideas and skills to enlighten each otherand create something amazing. We believe that education is a very important topic and should be discussed and treated as such; and being able to compare the education system of our country with those of other countries is an absolute necessity for being able to recognize the mistakes we’re making and how we can improve, to provide a better education for all. 

 

 

Want to get to know us better?

Next, we are going to introduce ourselves.

Hi I’m Marina, I’m currently studying my fourth year of Preschool Teaching and I live in Benejúzar, a town situated in Vega Baja, near Murcia. Ever since I was a child, I’ve always known that I wanted to be a teacher since I love little kids and I really enjoy teaching them. 

Hello, My name is Sara and I live in Benejúzar, a very small town located in the Vega Baja. I’m in my 4th year of Early Childhood Education. Ever since I was a little girl, I have always been very clear on what I would like to dedicate myself to, since I am always surrounded by children and love them very much.

Hello! My name’s Maria and I live in Elche, located in the province of Alicante. I completed an advanced level vocational training in Infant Education and now I’m in my 4th year of an Infant Education Degree. I have worked in a preschool and also with children from 3 to 11 years old, so that's why I decided to continue studying.

Hello I am Sergio, I’m  from Jumilla but I’ve been living in San Vicente del Raspeig for several years. I I completed a higher level of vocational training ( Tafad) before starting a degree in Teaching Children. I usually work with children in schools in the afternoons performing extracurricular activities and different sports, so I would love to be able to devote myself mainly to physical education.

Hello! My name’s Rose. I was born 19 years ago in an Irish city called Cork, located in the South-West of the country. My parents, both of Irish descent, decided to move to Spain a little while after they had their first child, my elder brother, Matthew; and ever since then I’ve been living in Spain. I’m currently in my 3rd year of Primary Education and I’m planning on specializing in English. I think it would be really beneficial for younger students who are only beginning to learn the language to have a native teacher so they can receive the best education possible.

Who are we?

Hello, we are the group TeachersAroundSpain, made up of five future preschool and primary school teachers; Sergio, Marina, Rose, Sara and Maria. We are going to use this blog for the subject “Integrating Skills” where we will share all the tasks we carry out, as well as the new  learnings we acquire. 

We think it will be a very useful tool to learn new experiences and develop our creativity to the fullest. Each member of the group will contribute their grain of sand and together we will do a better job.

We hope you enjoy what we upload here.

Kind regards.