Before teaching a class, I was given a list of topics for the seventh grade and the eighth grade. Our mentors said that it should be one topic per session.
So for seventh grade I chose to discuss the following topics:
· Be Form of the Verb
· Singular and Plural
· Adjectives (focusing on describing people)
On the other had, for eighth grade, I had to discuss the following topics:
· Simple Past Tense
· Song Interpretation about Friendship
For ninth grade, I got to handle one class and I discussed Song Interpretation about Peace.
Pre-Lesson Preparations:
Before delving into the discussions and before making the lesson plans, I always do my readings before hand about the lesson to refresh my memory and do searches on the Internet and their textbook on things that I can discuss. Since there are English as Foreign Language activity suggestions online, I try to incorporate them into my discussion and contextualize them for my learners.
After searching, I craft my lesson plan. The first two parts of the lesson plan, our mentor allowed us to omit it since we cannot understand the curriculum. She said to go directly to the making of objectives. The approach that I decided to use is the Scientific Approach.
During Lessons:
Usually, I start my class with a greeting followed by a motivation. My motivation is a game in the Philippines called, “Pop Corn.” Basically, students stand up when I say “Pop”, sit down when I say “Corn” and shake when I say “Pop Corn”. This is a great way to test if the student is paying attention and it can energize them before the start of the class.
Pop Corn Game
After the motivation activity, I give them a brief summary of what we are going to do today without giving away the topic. I will just state what product do I expect them to accomplish before moving on to the lesson. Then, I move on showing them a picture or a video about the topic. I encourage them to ask questions or sometimes, I ask questions in order to get them stimulated.
When one student gets near to the topic or finds out about the topic, I immediately connect it with our topic for the day. For grammar aspects, I give out discussion on the topic but keeping in mind students’ interaction. Usually as I discuss, I ask questions or give out examples and ask them to give their own examples in order for them to truly understand the lesson.
After the discussion, I give a short summary by letting them answer a formative assessment as a whole class. Then I move on to playing games. I have read that in EFL classrooms, songs, videos and games are one of the many ways that students understand the lesson. For grades 7 and 8, I usually had group games while for grade 9; I had symbol and slogan making as a group. They have fun especially when they receive their rewards because I give out stamps of encouragement to those who do well. We discuss the answers of the games together.
After the group assessments, I move on to individual tasks. I let them answer a summative assessment in written tests. Afterwards, if time permits, we check students’ work but if time does not, I will be the one to do so. Before time ends, I ask my students what they have learned in class and to summarize their leanings with my help, of course. Then we say our goodbyes and I ask my feedback from my mentor.
Post Lessons:
After every session, I ask feedback from my mentor. I take note of my strengths and weaknesses in order for me to improve in my next class. Usually, my mentors are very constructive when it comes to critiquing my work. They are very hands-on when it comes to improving my lesson presentation, which is something that I appreciate very much.
After they give me feedback, I start writing my journal entries so that I can express my feelings. This is something that our teachers here in the Philippines taught us. Whenever we feel happy, sad, disappointed, angry or etc. we should write about it in order to be refreshed and ready for the next class. We should not keep it inside us so it won't affect our work.
