A round-up of posts relevant to the first day of class! Getting Ready Beginning with the End In Mind – Thinking beyond the syllabus, log-ins, and diagnostic tests of the first day, to the larger question of how the semester should go. Student Panel – Authentic introductions and warm-ups are important, according to a student panel at … Continue reading First Day Round-Up
Students: 18 One thing that went well: The warm-up turned out to be quite a success. We practiced each other’s names. I kicked things off by saying we should test the teacher. I went around the room and named everyone who was there so far. (100% correct, not because I worked at it, but because … Continue reading Journal: First Day of Computer Lab
I have to admit that this Day 1 has not been my favorite so far. First I couldn’t find my housekeys. I’m hoping they’re in Someone’s pocket. Thus my home is locked but not dead-bolted, meaning that a barely equipped thief can get in but I can’t. Love it. I got to my new teaching … Continue reading Journal: First Day
Today was my first day of class! Students: 7 Countries of Origin: El Salvador, Mexico, South Korea, Honduras Objectives: Students will register Students will start learning each other’s names Teacher will get a sense of everyone’s English abilities What surprised me: I only had two students returning from last semester. I thought I would be … Continue reading Journal: First Day Impressions and Planning
My first day back was Awesome. I like doing my job even more than I like the idea of it. It felt good to take stock, set a few basic priorities, and dive in! I was a teacher short, had backlogs of notes to read from my subs; there was paperwork to be organized and … Continue reading First Day Back!
Happy January! What’s your strategy for learning names? Learning your students’ names quickly helps set a great tone for the semester. Here are five ways to get it done: Set a goal I was born good at names. It’s a little eerie sometimes. Also, most classes I’ve taught are relatively small. In that kind of … Continue reading Five Strategies for Learning Names
On the first day of class, even while everyone was juggling silly First Day logistics, I was really struck by that First Day feeling, where it’s all excitement and hope and curiosity. It’s hard to imagine the mid-semester slump even though it happens every single time. Since I have no grading or planning responsibilities at … Continue reading Goal For This Semester
Fall semester 2017 has begun! There’s a bit of a change for me this time around: I am assistant teaching in two academic writing classes, back-to-back. First I spend about an hour in Intermediate, and then I walk two doors down and spend an hour in Advanced. It’s pretty great. Both of my lead teachers are … Continue reading A Fresh, New Semester
In anticipation of the beginning of the semester, here’s what’s on my mind: What can I do to set a great tone for the semester? How do I meaningfully and efficiently communicate expectations to everyone? Am I prepared to help people log into the class computers? This system is particularly weird! How am I going … Continue reading Beginning with the End In Mind
The course syllabus gives students powerful information about the upcoming semester: learning goals, assignment schedules, grading policies, academic resources, and so much more. But it just looks like a stack of paper. Unfortunately, in my experience the students who need this resource the most are the ones least likely to recognize and understand all it … Continue reading Syllabus Activities
Learning to Teach English 