I re-adjusted my lesson for my Hums 8. I wrapped up The Outsiders by talking about the themes with them. I came up with an activity that could help them think about the different themes critically. Each group chose a theme that they wanted to work with. They needed to come up with a statement about the theme. Then, each group member picked a role: they could either be a quote finder, a connector or a questioner. Each role had specific responsibility. For example, the quote finder needed to look for specific quotes from the novel to support their statement. The connector tried to relate the statement or the theme back to our lives by providing some realistic examples. The questioner came up with questions about the theme or the relation between the theme and the novel. I tried to explain the instruction as clearly as possible. I also provided them with a handout that listed out the steps and the responsibilities of each role. In this case, they could always refer back to the handout when they did not understand anything. After the groups completed the quadrant, they would go to a different group to read and add onto the other group’s quadrant. The activity went fairly well, and I think the students got a much better idea when I had some instructions on board or/and on the handouts. At the end, each group needed to present the quadrant, telling the class how the theme they chose was one of the big ideas in the novel.

I started my ESL 1/2 class today. I was excited to teach them because I felt connected to them. Their situation reminded me of my experience in the ESL program. I knew how hard it was for them to be there; therefore, I tried to make my lessons fun. At the same time, I wanted them to learn while participating in the games or activities. I felt I under-planned my first lesson because we had quite some time left after I taught. Anyways, the class started off very well. We played a simple game that helped students bond with one another. We formed a circle. Everyone was sitting down in the circle except for one person. That one person stood in the middle and told the class a statement. The statement needed to get the sitting students to relate to it. For example, if the middle person said, “everyone who has glasses”, then students who were wearing glasses needed to stand up and find another seat to sit. In that environment, students were more willing to speak. One of the quietest students participated, and she spoke in her own words. She did not even need my help to translate. I was proud of her. They had fun playing that game. After that, I asked them how did they form those statements. I told them that it did not seem like you knew each other very well because all of the statements were about appearance. I explained what appearance meant. Then, I used that as a way to get them interview one another. Basically this lesson was aimed to get them knowing about their classmates. I prepared some questions for them to interview one another. Then, each group needed to introduce their partners to the class. They were more comfortable to speak in class than I imagined. They knew much more than I expected. Therefore, the interviews and introductions went fairly quickly.

It was a good start of my full load! 🙂