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For our last challenge, we had to choose a communicative task template to design an activity. We decided to use the ranking activity since it was goal-directed, extended, structured, and controlled, plus we considered that it provided the opportunity to select topics that would appeal to students’ likes.

We worked with the following 4 Medio objective: To speak in familiar communicative situations related to the topics of their level, using set phrases, idiomatic expressions, and connected sentences, and with intelligible pronunciation.

We chose this task because it was easy to adapt to different groups of students in terms of age, language proficiency, likes/dislikes, etc. For preparing this activity we considered the speaking objective from bases curriculares and we chose a variety of topics that could appeal to Chilean teenagers; however, if carried out in a real-life scenario, we would have chosen topics based on our students’ preferences.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1218KrVUYmV6Og7DSFG6isput0AeNx-15dKOTgc4OCPA/edit?usp=sharing

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Learning outcome: Students will be able to identify main ideas of a text working collaboratively.

Pre-reading: Students will make predictions about the texts they will read. On a PPT there will be several images of celebrities, brands and organizations that support Spirit Day. They will have to guess what they have in common by looking at the colors they use and messages they wrote. Ss will also have to answer the following questions:

What do the posts have in common?

What do the messages (in the posts) have in common?

Have you ever heard about Spirit Day?

While-reading: Jigsaw. There will be two texts that talk about Spirit Day. Students will form groups of 3. There will be 2 texts. They will read the texts and then the experts will share their parts of the text and one or two students will have to present a summary of their text. What's important is that they identify the main idea of the text.

Post-reading: Students will look up for other anti-bullying campaings around the world or from Chile. If the internet isn’t working, Ss have to remind campaigns that they have heard of. Then Ss have to write a short paragraph describing what their chosen campaign is about. Ss have to be prepared to share their paragraph with the class.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1MFXBvJrKdiNf1fKgcJ9UfvMam10TGP6u6YZqoR5UBuA/edit#slide=id.p

Group reflection:  The main goal of this activity was that students identified main ideas of a text, working collaboratively, to do so we implemented a Jigsaw activity in which they could complement each other's ideas about the text.  We believe it's important to implement activities like this so students have the opportunity to communicate in the classroom, even when this activity is a reading activity. The main goal of an English lesson, as we see it, is that students use the language in ways that are meaningful. Apart from sharing ideas about the text, students will have to integrate another skill that is writing. In our opinion, integrating skills in a lesson is very significant since in real life we use all the skills that relate to language, we don't only speak, we listen, then we read, and we write.
Apart from integrating skills in a lesson, we also think it's important to relate the activities to the students' context or to their previous knowledge, in this case other anti-bullying campaigns in Chile or different countries.
We also included a LGBT topic, since LGBT communities are often invisible in the EFL context, so we decided to create an activity that is about the LGBT community.
Finally, as a conclusion, it's essential to integrate different skills and different topics in an activity for it to be more meaningful and relatable to the students' lives.

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For this week’s challenge we selected a biography from famouspeoplelessons.com. We chose Beyoncé because we consider that she is a positive female figure that uses her tribune to voice the demands of underprivileged groups. We believe that her role as an activist is relevant to highlight in classrooms because it provides instances to discuss issues that need to be addressed in order to advance towards a society with equal opportunities for all. Ideally, some of these issues – discrimination, sexism, and racism to name a few – are topics that should be present in all lessons, thus, raising awareness about them should be a constant attitudinal objective.
Pre-reading activity:
- Game: Ss will predict the topic of the lesson. Ss will each have an image related to Beyoncé (USA, daughter, husband, videoclips, former group, awards, clothing, etc.). For five minutes Ss will have to walk around the classroom and discuss with their classmates what they think their images have in common (in pairs, in groups, with the teacher). T asks Ss to share their discussions in a brainstorm. (Practice speaking)
- Fill-in-the-gap Karaoke: Ss will listen and watch a part of Beyoncé’s musical video for Single Ladies and fill in the lyrics on a handout. Ss are encouraged to sing along.(Practice listening, pronunciation)
- Pre-teaching vocabulary: Ss will be divided into two groups. One of the groups will have certain words from the biography and the other group will have the definitions of those words. Ss will have to walk around and ask each other the definitions and the words. When they go around the teacher is monitoring all the time, to make sure the definitions match the words. After all words are matched, the teacher asks Ss to share the information with the class.
While-reading activity:
- Ss will be guided in the process of making a storyboard with important moments of Beyoncé’s life. Ss should include at least three significant facts and one fact that is not mentioned in the biography (for this they will watch a brief video called: Beyoncé: A Brief History of The Artist As An Activist).

Learning outcome: Ss will demonstrate understanding of Beyoncé’s biography.

Group reflection:  In this case we picked up a singer who's really popular and that we think has a message to give to people which is related to racism, sexism, etc. Many times our students don't know much about famous people who are activists, if we present them with such people we can raise awareness through the artists themselves about topics that may give them the message of building a more egalitarian society.

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Differentiation solutions for navigating large classes

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Differentiation solutions for navigating large classes

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Another article worth reading! I think this article can be very useful for us, since most of the classes in Chile are really large classes. You can find solutions easy to implement in this article, such as transforming the whole class instruction into small learning teams, just click the link ;)

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Differentiated Instruction

Differentiation provides ways to cope with large workloads and with the feeling that there's never enough time.

© Shutterstock.com/Aimorn1992

Student learning and growth can become obscured by three obstacles that teachers may feel powerless to address: class size, overall workload, and instructional time. These are genuine concerns, so let's take a closer look at each challenge and possible solutions.

The Class Size Challenge

Large classes are a difficult challenge faced by many teachers. Proponents of smaller classes point to studies that show achievement results, with the largest impact appearing to be on early elementary students. To a lesser extent, smaller classes can help English language learners and those who have large skill deficits. Critics counter that costs rise as class size falls and that the impact of smaller classes decreases for older grades. John Hattie found that small class size has "a positive but small effect" on learning. What is more important is teacher expertise in the instructional setting.

Having taught in urban, suburban, and rural schools, and having worked with teachers in these environments, I can say from experience that class size does make instruction and student learning a daily puzzle to solve.

Differentiation solutions for navigating large classes:

1. Transform whole class instruction into small learning teams. Working with 40 or 50 students at once can feel overwhelming at times. Differentiation through content can be done by dividing students into small learning teams of four or five. Provide tasks that specifically target skills or outcomes through respectful work based on students' readiness level. Teams develop internal supports as one resource for shared problem solving before asking for teacher assistance. Strategies to help structure small learning teams:

2. Use a variety of structured dialogue protocols to focus learning experiences. Students need opportunities to make sense of material through reflection and review. Structured protocols have time-sensitive steps with defined roles for participants. This helps learners stay focused on the topic they are processing. The result can be that more students are ready to move forward with product-oriented learning experiences. A few examples of effective protocols:

The Workload Challenge

Workload is a different but at times related issue. A secondary teacher may see 200 students during the day in five classes, with 40 students per class. A large workload can make it difficult for the teacher to get to know all of their students. With large workloads, relationships become even more important. Knowing students' names and something about them is necessary if student buy-in to a supportive learning environment is to happen.

Differentiation solutions that address this issue:

Learning Profile Cards: Get to know all students from their perspective. Use these cards to thoughtfully create teams based on more than behavior.

Learning preferences through art: A high school math teacher used this approach to group students. His students evaluated themselves based on an inventory, creating designs that represented themselves as squiggles, circles, squares, or triangles. The students identified a secondary trait that also represented themselves, which helped the teacher to avoid thinking of them as one-dimensional.

Norms: Student-generated norms can reflect their ideas about what makes a supportive environment. Adults and students must abide by the norms. Students and the teacher can coach anyone in the room on breaches in norms.

I Wish My Teacher Knew: The approach presented in this book empowers students to share about themselves in a private way. Students can use sticky notes, emails, or private direct postings to the teacher. The insights can provide needed perspective that informs a teacher's actions. This ABC video shows the tremendous effect this can have:

The Time Challenge

My teaching career started in the Chicago Public Schools system, where the classes were 40 minutes long. As a first-year teacher, it was a challenge to figure out how best to manage learning in such a limited span. It felt like the period ended just when we were getting into the thick of learning experiences. Later in my career, I taught classes that were 100 minutes long. At first, this longer time frame seemed as challenging as the 40-minute span.

Studies on instructional time focus on the length of the school day and on extending the school year. Here we'll focus on the day. We should look at how we can create learning experiences within the time frame that place students in the role of active learners instead of passive receptors.

Differentiation solutions: Teacher efficacy with a variety of methods is as important with instructional time as it is with the number of students. Maintaining student engagement is critical. Use a variety of learning experiences that keep students' attention on the learning outcomes. Here are some considerations:

1. Focus students on deeper learning. Plan what students need to know, understand, and do, or KUD (to borrow a term from Carol Ann Tomlinson). With this clear focus on the end in mind, plan a variety of activities and experiences that build connections for students based on their different needs. Each activity must pass the acid test of the KUD. Include up to three processing experiences. Use informal formative reflective moments, in which students consider what they understood and did not understand from the lesson. These moments may be a quick journal write-up or partner talk. Or use the protocols shared above. Students need opportunities to check their understanding before moving forward on their learning journey.

2. Plan from the learner's perspective. Provide activities that students find meaningful and engaging. If students don't care for the task, their attention may wander. Follow the Goldilocks Rule: The time frame cannot be too long or some students will be done early or start too late. Downtime in the midst of work can lead to behavior management issues. If the time frame is too short, some students will feel frustration at being unable to finish, which could lead them to shut down. Ensure that the activity appropriately meets the readiness needs of each participant, from the quick learner to those who need more support.

Please share your strategies to overcome these challenges, so all can learn.

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Differentiated Instruction Differentiation provides ways to cope with large workloads and with the feeling that there's never enough time. © Shutterstock.com/Aimorn1992 Student learning and growth can become obscured by three obstacles that teachers may feel powerless to address: class size, overall workload, and instructional time.

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Differentiated instruction + active citizenship article - WORTH READING! 

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Differentiated instruction + active citizenship article - WORTH READING! 

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I found this really cool article on Edutopia about a high-needs school in Rhode Island, U.S. This article talks about students from this school who outperform the state in key disciplines using differentiated instruction and at the same time digging into controversial topics such as immigration and rights for the LGBT community.

'In elementary classes, a model of differentiation called station rotation allows children to learn for 20 minutes at time in at least three different modes. As they move from station to station in small groups, they might watch online videos, create a hands-on activity, or take part in teacher-led discussions. Teachers adjust activities and groupings based on children’s readiness to stretch, or their need for support'.

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Closing the achievement gap for the high-needs, predominantly minority student body is a priority here, and an emphasis on student engagement and social activism "teaches students to have a voice and make a difference," says Head of School Rose Mary Grant.

"Education is the civil rights issue of our own time-especially for children living in poverty or subjected to inferior education," says Grant. "We want to level the playing field [at Highlander] and provide access to equitable and excellent education [for all our students]."

At the school, teachers provide individualized, differentiated instruction to help each student reach his or her potential. In coursework from kindergarten through high school, students are pushed to understand others' experiences and points of view and to advocate for their own beliefs.

Equally important is preparing students for active citizenship. Highlander's students are made to feel connected to and part of a community through opportunities to engage in real-world projects that can lead to civic action, such as testifying about school funding or campaigning for animal rights.

There's plenty of evidence to show that Highlander's strategies are working.

Students typically outperform the state average in key disciplines, helping close the achievement gap for students of color, English language learners (ELLs), and students with disabilities. In 2015, for example, students in four groups outperformed their same-group peers across the state in math: ELLs by 110 percent; African American students by 125 percent; students with disabilities by 192 percent; and low-income students by 35 percent.

Building an Inclusive Culture From the Ground Up

Highlander's inclusive culture is no accident and starts in the classrooms of its earliest students.

One deliberate culture-building strategy is the morning meeting. Every elementary class at the school begins the day with a 15-minute circle time that helps children transition to school and feel "ready to learn."

Based on the Responsive Classroom model, morning meetings center around peer-to-peer greetings, sharing, a fun activity, and a review of the day's schedule. During greetings, students choose how to greet their peers-with a handshake, a high five, or a wave-and are invited to talk about what's on their minds.

"Before any learning can take place, students need to feel safe and feel like they are seen and cared about," said Valerie Gallagher, a first-grade teacher at the school. "The real impact of morning meeting is that classes [become] true communities, where we're learning from each other's strengths and we're helping each other."

Helping Every Student Thrive

In elementary classes, a model of differentiation called station rotation allows children to learn for 20 minutes at time in at least three different modes. As they move from station to station in small groups, they might watch online videos, create a hands-on activity, or take part in teacher-led discussions. Teachers adjust activities and groupings based on children's readiness to stretch, or their need for support.

"Being able to move through those stations, it's just another level of helping the students learn as much as they can each year," said Jane Piccotti, the assistant principal. "They definitely feel excited when they make that growth."

Personalization continues into middle school and high school with more emphasis on blended learning. Each Highlander middle schooler, for example, spends one period a day in a blended classroom, where teachers support individualized online learning. Teachers create activities and playlists tailored to each student's needs and proficiencies, and personal dashboards track an individual's growth and areas for improvement.

Taking a Stand

By high school, students shaped by this supportive environment have the academic mindset to dig into controversial topics. Highlander added the high school-on a separate campus-in 2013 to continue students' "work on social justice beyond K-8."

In Soljane Martinez's civics class, 12th graders engage in discussions about difficult hot-button social and political topics like immigration and rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. Students take sides on issues, conducting research that helps inform arguments and positions they'll use in classroom debates with their peers.

Martinez says she challenges students to consider perspectives different from their own as they learn to support their opinions and beliefs.

"At Highlander, we want students to be able to look at something critically," said Jessica Blanco, the assistant head of school. "They need to know how to advocate for themselves, but they also know they have to take in various perspectives."

Highlander is a good reminder that activism can lead to meaningful results.

A former student of Martinez's named Domingo was among the high school's first graduates last June. He credits Martinez and his Highlander experience with preparing him to tackle whatever challenges await next.

"We live in a world where people feel it's acceptable to just look at your skin and believe who you are," Domingo said, reflecting on Martinez's class. "For me to see that somebody was just like me and able to succeed-she has inspired me to be a better person, to believe that I can do anything I want."

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Building a Community of Learners-and Citizens | Edutopia

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Closing the achievement gap for the high-needs, predominantly minority student body is a priority here, and an emphasis on student engagement and social activism "teaches students to have a voice and make a difference," says Head of School Rose Mary Grant.

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Revisiting activity on Enzo Ferrari (Challenge 8)

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Revisiting activity on Enzo Ferrari (Challenge 8)

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This week we analyzed a reading activity on Enzo Ferrari. First, we defined the learning outcome for this activity. Then, we selected two follow-up activities from those suggested on  www.famouspeoplelessons.com.

Enzo Ferrari activity: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1GlmIoU2shcpOYpPdFiLge-PXIjpelLeYWKJRE2oZsFo/edit#slide=id.p3

1.
Learning outcomes:
- Students will predict the topic of the lesson.
- Students will be able to understand the key features of a biography.
- Students will be able to relate specific information from Enzo Ferrari's biography to images.

2.
For a follow up or post reading activity we'd choose 'Enzo Ferrari Discussion' and writing a letter to Enzo Ferrari.
We'd have our students discuss the questions about Enzo Ferrari because those questions are more open-ended than, for example, fill-in the gaps activities that can be answered with information that is explicit in the text. Open-ended questions give our students the opportunity to express their ideas on the text and to talk with their classmates.
We also thought that writing a letter to Enzo Ferrari could be more meaningful for them because they're engaging with the text on a more personal level and they can also practice their writing skill.

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To adapt one of activities from the textbook, we thought it was appropriate to think about our students' learning styles and also the barriers they may encounter when learning English.

The activity is related to the topic 'how Chileans see themselves?'. In it students are asked to write clothing items per category. We adapted this activity and we thought that students could draw the items of clothes, apart or instead of writing the words, this would give them the chance of engaging in different ways with the material and also, it can be easier for some to learn vocabulary this way.

In the original activity, students are asked to interview other classmates about style and clothes. In order to appeal to different learning styles and personalities, we thought we could ask students, that didn't want to interview their classmates, to record a video, or just their voices with a partner. This could be useful if we have introverts in our class, since most of them are too shy to ask around, even more in a foreign language.

Fran: To adapt our exercise, we thought about the different kinds of students that would have to use the material. For instance, one of the changes we made was adding images to the vocabulary section which assumed that the entire class would be familiar with the words. This change was made keeping in mind that students might find it easier to internalize vocabulary if they have visual support, and that adding images not only caters for visual learners, but it also scaffolds the contents in case some students don’t know all the words. Therefore, in this case one slight change covers two of the students’ possible needs.

I think that one of the most important strategies for adapting materials is scaffolding because every single group of students is mixed-ability to different extents. Furthermore, providing adequate support in learning materials is helpful for students as well as teachers since the class will have a steadier pace. Nevertheless, I think that all strategies are significant and that we should find ways to include them in teaching materials to varying degrees.

Gaby: I believe it's essential to provide our students with different opportunities for learning. Traditional classroom settings, or traditional perspectives on education haven't fully considered different learning styles. Sometimes, I think about children I know, and I see a lot of potential in them, some of them love sports, others love to paint, to dance, to act, etc. As I see it, we are missing those talents when we don't incorporate them in our lessons, incorporating them would mean having happier students who feel more comfortable because they are being taken into account. It can be more fun and more inclusive at the same time.

However, we have to bear in mind that it all depends on the students we are teaching. Maybe, our students aren't too arty, or not into nature, maybe they like structures better, and maybe we don't, but to make it more inclusive we have to appeal to their likes and needs, instead of ours.

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Material Adaptation: Activity + Reflection (Challenge 7)

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Material Adaptation: Activity + Reflection (Challenge 7)

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Fran: For adapting this activity, my classmates and I used strategies for making the contents more meaningful for the context, and more accessible for different types of learners.

First, the content was made more meaningful by removing the original images and asking students to show their own pictures. Second, we applied a few UDL principles by making changes in how vocabulary was presented (means of representation), how students had to give their answers (means of expression), and in how students were motivated to participate (means of engagement).

I think that following these strategies makes the process of adapting activities easier. By making sure that the materials are relevant to the context in which they will be used, and applying the three UDL principles, we come closer to ensuring the effectiveness of our activities.

Finally, this reminded me of a comment I made at the beginning of this course. In the forum I said that I thought that for material development, teachers should not try to reinvent the wheel because most of the materials we need have already been designed, therefore it is important to have tools to adapt them to our students’ needs.

Gaby: Adapting this material with my classmates made me think of all the times I have heard negative comments about textbooks, and the solution lies on us: we can adapt any material we want, according to our context. It can take some time, but it's doable. It's good to know we can include diversity and multiculturalism in our lessons by making modifications to the material assigned to each level. Many textbook producers don't want to be too controversial but I think making invisibility be visible (the absence of certain people, classes, races, etc. in textbooks) we can bring these issues to the table and discuss them with our students in ways that help them acknowledge how this big world was built up on diversity.

Link to original activity: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5mh8wQmrwILWk5BT3pCZHZodHM/view?usp=sharing

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Last week we showcased our portfolios and gained insight from our classmates’ presentations. Here are some thoughts we had about their work and how it can help us improve our portfolio.

Fran: As expected, even though most of us had chosen the same platform, every portfolio was unique. Some of my classmates’ presentations made me realize that I hadn’t fully explored Padlet’s features. For example, I had no idea about the arrows. Also, this showcase inspired me to do more than just the challenges. I was surprised to see that many classmates had really creative ideas like including photos of themselves to make their portfolio seem more welcoming or posting a list of do’s and don’ts as a summary of the framework they read for the video. All these great ideas made me feel like my partner and I weren’t doing enough to make our portfolio as good as it could be, but, most importantly, they inspired me to keep exploring the platform and to think of ways we could make our portfolio more engaging.

Regarding ELT materials development, I believe that one of the challenges that had greater impact on most of us was making the videos because we had to process an entire chapter and make it understandable for others. This was a hands-on process in which we had to develop a material that was clear, engaging, and critical. A process that is similar to what we are expected to do as future teachers. Seeing how my classmates dealt with this challenge in multiple and creative ways also gave me new insights as to how I can face this type of challenges in the future.

Gaby: Last week we got to see our classmates portfolio's showcases in which they chose different platforms to inform people about ELT materials and to also express their opinion on similar topics. It was interesting to see how each couple expressed ideas in different ways and it was also interesting to see our classmates' videos. It's always good to nurture our knowledge with different perspectives.

When it comes to the ELT materials class itself, it's been a good experience to analyse textbooks and materials with a critical mindset. Many times we take things for granted and we never question how things are and how we receive information. That's why this class has helped me getting insights into what involves to criticise ELT materials, and how invisibilisation takes places without us even noticing. We may consider ourselves as critical thinkers but as the name says it, invisibilisation doesn't show diversity, and maybe it's even harder to criticise something that is not portrayed on a textbook or different materials than to criticise something that is easy to see.

All in all, there're still miles to go. I have some new insights now, but there are plenty of insights yet to discorver.

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Hi there! We are Gabriela and Francisca, future EFL teachers.

On this platform you will find information about ELT learning materials. But let us tell you about us first. We're two friends who met at university, who sometimes think in different ways, but whose goals are the same: to educate and inspire learners to make the world a better place.

We truly believe that it's important to think critically about materials we use with our students and how to include cultural diversity in our lessons, that's why we'll keep you posted with updated information about ELT materials.

You're more than welcome to make comments and suggestions on our page. Please enjoy!

Kind regards,
Fran & Gaby

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Take a look at this insightful interview to two very special guests: Dr. Koala and Dr. Pig, who explain their analysis of how LGBT+ people are portrayed in ELT coursebooks, based on Gray’s (2013) chapter “LGBT invisibility and heteronormativity in ELT Materials.”

Feel free to comment, ask questions, and share your thoughts about this issue that has been gaining momentum over the past few years, but is still far from being completely accepted.

Finally, we would like to seize this opportunity to invite you all to the LGBT+ march that will take place this Saturday, September 2nd, in Valparaíso (Plaza Sotomayor) at 5pm. This march commemorates the death of near twenty LGBT+ people in a fire that destroyed Divine – a gay disco located in Valparaíso – on September 4th, 1993. We hope to see you there, and we’ll attach the link of the Facebook event: https://tinyurl.com/lgbtvalpo

Fran & Gaby

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Racoon interviews Dr. Koala and Dr. Pig to find out how heteronormativity and commercialism are linked to LGBT+ invisibility in EFL teaching materials. Feel free to comment! :D

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Hey! Check out our summary of Rubdy’s (2014) rationale for creating a framework for coursebook selection. Also, we chose fifteen questions that we considered most important for selecting materials in the prevalent Chilean context.

Feel free to comment and ask questions!

Fran & Gaby

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Get access to files anywhere through secure cloud storage and file backup for your photos, videos, files and more with Google Drive.

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Hi there! Have a look at the pros and cons of four different platforms that we considered for sharing our work throughout the semester. This comparison guided us in making the decision of choosing Padlet.com, which shares several features with the other platforms, but it stands out for being user friendly and allowing to work collaboratively from different accounts.

Fran & Gaby

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Get access to files anywhere through secure cloud storage and file backup for your photos, videos, files and more with Google Drive.