We're better when we work together
“Daddy, play it again!” my four-year-old daughter said. “The same song? Again?” (We’d already listened to it nine times in a row.) Later that night, we would read the same storybook three times straight. Young children want us to repeat songs and stories. They like to point at things, like pumpkins, and tell us, “I [...]
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I use Steps to Success to motivate and track student achievement in a variety of areas.If you can measure it, you can track it using Steps to Success! Here, I’ll use the example of teaching vocabulary about food to intermediate students who are able to write in English. For students at the pre-writing stage see [...]
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Note from Barb: Patrick first wrote this for Teaching Village in 2011, but it’s such a great post for St. Patrick’s Day that I decided it was worth sharing again The real St. Patrick is shrouded in a deep mist (like many of his followers). Legend has it that he brought Christianity to the Emerald [...]
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Note from Barb: 25 years ago, John F. Fanselow published Breaking Rules, encouraging teachers to really see what was happening in their classrooms, and then considering alternatives. John’s work had a powerful, positive influence on my own teaching, and I’m thrilled that iTDi is working with John to offer a truly unique five-week course starting in [...]
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Two weeks ago the director of my school announced that the teachers should organize a “family” lesson. Kids could bring their parents, grandparents and relatives to accompany them on the lesson to observe how their little ones learn and interact. I have to admit – I was a bit worried and well… stressed out. I’ve [...]
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In her previous post, Teaching Songs and Chants in the Classroom, Marsha Goren shared a set of worksheets she had created to accompany the songs on the first GiggleBellies CD. This morning, Marsha sent me a message and attached a new set of worksheets to go along with the second GiggleBellies CD. Share the post [...]
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Some ideas on why and how to use short stories in the language classroom This morning, while I was greeting students at the front door of my high school, Miki-Chan, a second year student in the International Course, came up to me with a book in hand. She slapped her palm against the cover and [...]
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Copyright is a pretty a hot topic in the ELT world at the moment, and many people are discussing it and blogging about it. The law that applies to using lesson materials or blog posts written by other people is complicated, and teachers often find the various issues surrounding copyright confusing. This post sets out [...]
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Note from Barb: A few days ago, I wrote a short post for the iTDi blog about teaching large classes. I was fascinated by the Englishometer that Valentina mentioned in her comment, and asked if she’d consider sharing more of her ideas in a guest post here. Lucky for us, she agreed! About ten years [...]
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I am an American who has been teaching English in Israel for 32 years. I have found my work very challenging and rewarding as most children in Israel really strive to know English. I recently retired from the formal school system and am still working in an afternoon school program called “America English School.” Normally, [...]
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