This was the second lesson that my partner and I prepared for our class. In this class we revisited the same short story that we read to the students in our first lesson. We had the class play Never Have I Ever, a game wherein players try to identify things they have not done which others have, as a warmup activity. Never Have I Ever worked well because it was familiar to most students and gave students a chance to reflect on and share their unique experiences.
Our next activity was a vocabulary matching exercise. We used vocabulary words that students flagged for us in our previous lesson, for it was our belief that a second encounter with those words would strengthen their comprehension of them. Furthermore, because students had previously identified as difficult those particular words, it was the belief of my partner and me that those words would be the most relevant ones to review. We used the “multi-user whiteboard” feature that is available through Big Blue Button, the online video calling service we used for teaching, and instructed students to draw lines from each vocabulary word to the correct definition. It has been my experience (from the perspective of both the student and the teacher) that students enjoy using the interactive whiteboard, and that was the case this time as well.
Next, we split students into groups to work in breakout rooms and scan the short story for answers to questions that we displayed on screen. My partner and I each entered a room to facilitate discussion, and it was noted that in the future it would make more sense to leave students mostly by themselves while in breakout groups to encourage student-centered learning. Our practicum sponsor suggested after the class that we instruct groups of students to choose a leader to facilitate discussion both to give students the opportunity to build their leadership skills and to ensure that group discussions are productive.
The next activity was a fill-in-the-blanks or “cloze” exercise. My partner and I used quotes containing the same vocabulary words that we used in the matching exercise. We did this because we thought further repetition would solidify the students’ comprehension further. Students displayed their comprehension by accurately filling in the blanks.
Next was another breakout session. This time, students worked in groups to answer questions on a worksheet (provided to us prior to the lesson) regarding their understanding of the story. Upon returning to the main room, students shared their answers and with the rest of the class, which allowed other groups to benefit from the insights of their peers and challenged students to speak semi-publicly.