Peer Observation

Today I've experienced something different. We've started observing each other's classes. I went into a French class with 7th grade students. I don't know any French but it was so surprising that I could undertand some of the parts. Some words are similar with English.The pronounciation is so far different though. The kids also pronounce the similar words as English. Tomorrow I'll observe 9th grade but this time it will be an English lesson.

Wikis

I created a wiki for my 5th grade students at the weekend. It was a bit time consuming to create accounts for 50 students but it worths at the end when you see how excited your students are.I gave them general information about wikis and told them how to use their wiki. When I arrived home the first thing I did was to check 5th grades wiki. I am very happy and proud of my students because I saw at least 3 or 4 interviews and reviews.
In the beginning I was concerned about my students' computer skills but now I realised that they are pretty good at it. Today is our first day on wiki ,so I tried to support them online. I could see them editing ,writing and commenting. They asked me questions when they had difficulties. Two of my students changed the front page and deleted the other class' name.Some of my students created their own pages which made it difficult for me to control their writings. I tried to change the setting but it requests upgrade and we need to pay for the upgrade. I wrote directions for them to follow but I have lots of confident students who likes being different. Do you have any sugestions how I can manage my students' writings?
To visit our wiki click here.

Creating Your Own Movies

Have you tried xtranormal website which lets you create movies and publish them? I've tried one today.That's very amateur, but this is my first trial.

End of Year Shows

It is nearly the end of the academic year. We have just 7 or 8 weeks left. As you know that is the busiest time for the teachers. You try to finish preparing exams, grading them , project homework presentations are done and I think the most exciting one is the end of year shows. This year my students will perform four dramas at the end of May.I gave them the playscripts right before the winter break. They memorized their parts from the texts. We rehearse our plays during the week in our lessons. It is not enough but thanks to my students .They are so eager to do it and they rehearse it themselves sometimes in the breaks ,too.

Last night I prepared powerpoint presentations for my classes' shows.It took me alot of time but I enjoyed it a lot. I found lots of animated pictures to use. Nearly all of our shows are like musicals. My 7th grade students will perform "The Hunchback of Notre Dame". A group of my 5th grade students wrote a play on their own. They inspired from "Yemekteyiz" and they wrote a funny English version of it. It's name is "Let's Cook". The other groups will perform "Happy Together" and "We are the World". These two plays are written by a friend of mine , Serpil Kut,who is also an English teacher. I want to thank her giving these scripts to me. I can't wait to see my students on the stage.

This is another “English Alive” video from my 4th grade students.Three friends go to a cafe.They order drinks.Watch and see how enthusiastic they are.

Big surprise to the thief

The taxi driver is not aware that a thief got on his taxi. The thief wants to go somewhere and he gives the directions to the driver. At the end a very big surprise is waiting for the thief. Watch and learn what. Thanks to my 5th grade students.

English Alive

I love “English Alive” lessons. Every month we choose a topic on daily life and my students write dialogues. Then they act out in the classroom. Before they start writing their dialogues, I give them the key words and show them a sample dialogue. We talk on the sample dialogue such as which parts they can change, we practice on pronunciation. There are two pictures above. My 4th grade students are at a café and one of them is a waiter / waitress getting the orders and serving, the others are the customers. Look how cute they are.

Here's my first wall from "wallwisher".
Hope you like it.
http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/graffiti

MUN Conference

Last week Wednesday to Saturday my students and I attended a conference at "Robert College". It was MUN (Model United Nations) Conference. I don't know if you've ever heard about it before.It was a very good organization including social activities.They represented Estonia successfully.Estonia delegation made new friends,had dinner in "Sait Halim Paşa Yalısı",went on a boat trip.These conferences needs lots of preparations before you go, but you are very proud to see your students discussing some world issues in their committees. Although we spent four tiring days, it was very beneficial, not only for my students but also myself. I made lots of new friends from different schools, cities and countries. It was advantageous to exchange our ideas.
I am so proud of my MUN club students.

Bogey Man

I had a fun game at the end of the lesson with my 5th grade students today that I want to share it with you. I've learnt this in a summer camp which I attended two years ago and I use these energizers time to time in my lessons. The songs name is "Bogey man". The teacher starts the chant and actions are included.Here are the lyrics:

Hey, there George you're a real cool cat
You've got a lot of this and a lot of that
So don't you be afraid of the Bogey man
Just stand up and sugar as fast as you can
Sugar up sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar
Sugar down sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar
To the side sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar
Other side sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar

I wanted to add the music but I couldn't. If I learn how to add music, I'll have a chance to listen to it.

You can download the music here.
http://www.divshare.com/download/7212507-f2e

Blogging - Baby Steps

The reason I want to learn about web tools such as blogs, podcasts and wikis, is that it gives us a great chance to engage the needs of our students and motivate them. We have to adapt ourselves to the changing learning technologies in order to create an effective learning environment for our students.
In the beginning of this academic year I’ve met the term “blogging” at a teachers’ symposium. It was a big coincidence because the presenter was one of my colleagues that I worked with in the previous years. I was so fascinated what she did with her students. I said “Why don’t you start a blog with your classes?” to myself. Unfortunately, I couldn’t accomplish it with the busy pace of the daily life.
After a while, I heard that there will be a course by British council about “Learning Technologies”. I volunteered for the course and it’s been a week I’ve been taking the course. So far I’ve read articles about netiquette, advantages and disadvantages of using technology in the classroom. I took some quizzes and shared my ideas in the forums. I was a bit nervous at first because this is the first time I’ve taken an online course but I feel relieved now.
Happy blogging everyone.