Class Type: Composition

Time: 50 Minutes

Topic: Adj, Adv, and Noun Clauses/ The Environment

Level: Low Intermediate

Introduction: ~5 mins

  • Ask the Ss if they remember the theme from the last class (environment/salmon), and let them know that we will be continuing on with the same theme of “the environment”. Then go on Youtube and look up “reuse ocean plastic” and click on the 3-minute video from National Geographic.
    • The class’s energy definitely dropped after their original instructor had left when myself and my sponsor teacher took over. That being said, I did try and create some banter while setting up for the class. However between setting up for group work, and pulling up the lesson plan (I had forgotten to print off a physical copy beforehand), and waiting for Ss to come back from their break the lesson started roughly 10 minutes later than intended. Thankfully however, this did not impede on the timing for the rest of the lesson.
    • Overall the students were distracted, and I had had some difficulty reigning them in to focus despite calling for their attention a few times before I had begun the video. Something I need to work on for sure is having a stronger presence within the classroom. While I do strive to have a comfortable learning atmosphere within my classes, I need to find a maintainable balance between having a fun upbeat attitude and interacting with the students in such a manner that they will actively listen to me with little to no repetition. I had joked with my sponsor teacher that I need to learn how to tease my students a little bit. Little jokes or something within the context of the interaction to let them know that I want them to do what I ask, but also that I am here for them and that I want class time to be an enjoyable experience.

Activity 1: REVIEWING CLAUSES

  • Next, explain that we will be going over phrases and the different types of clauses (Noun, Adverb, Adjective), and write a few examples on the whiteboard and get Ss to guess the types of clauses they are.
    • Now, this aspect of the lesson I know I went over fairly quickly. While I have been going over different levels of grammar points and how to teach them within the TESL program, I have always struggled with grammar. While I have gained more practice explaining how to explain different grammar points, I still feel lacking when it comes to my ability to explain them due to having grown up with English as a native language. All this being said, I did go over the different types of clauses that my sponsor teacher was so kind as to write them on the board for me in case they had to leave the room (which they did). However, I only labelled the type of clause, and read out the example sentences provided. I was not able to go too terribly into depth of how to tell the difference or provide more examples. Due to this, I was unable to take the time allotted to explain/review further.

Main Activity: LEARNING CENTRES

  • Tt divides the class into 3 groups, assigning each group one of the three readings prepared. Have each group label the different types of clauses on their respective worksheets. **Give groups their respective answer sheets a minute or two before time is up before the next rotation. Collect the answer keys BEFORE rotating groups and their respective learning centres. You may choose either to have groups move physically to the next “station” or to hand out the different worksheets to the 3 groups where they are currently situated. Repeat from ** until Ss have gone through all activities or the lesson is over.
    • Overall, I believe that this exercise worked really well! However, if I were to do this again I would leave all the papers at their respective stations and have students rotate opposed to trying to rotate the handouts given to them. I had caused a bit of confusion trying to do this by not rotating the worksheets themselves properly and having to go back and give a group different worksheets after I had already given them some to do. Besides the mix-up however, this activity had gone over pretty well. I had had to explain the exercise a few times to those who were not paying attention to instructions, or on their phones messaging. I think I was able to handle getting them off their phones and to do their work well enough. Like I had said earlier, I believe I need to work on my banter as well as learning how to talk to students in a manner where they know they can have fun in the classroom, but also that they need to listen to me when I’m in charge.

Exit Ticket: WRITING PRACTICE

  • Have the students work in pairs or small groups to come up with a sentence that includes either a noun, adjective, or adverb clause. Then have each pair/group of Ss write what they’ve come up with on the board. Go over the sentences with the class, and help tweak them to be more academically inclined in order to help prepare students for academic writing in the future.
    • Due to my negligence on the explanation of the different clauses, as well as students finishing earlier than anticipated, my sponsor teacher and I had decided that since we were early on time, that we would get each group to come together to create one sentence with each group using a different type of clause we’d gone over. This served as a great exit-ticket, and overall I think this lesson went over really well and that students are catching onto adverb, adjective and noun clauses!