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November 7th

"Tests´feedback and farewell"

I felt very disappointed at the students marks in the exams. They did not seem to understand Past Simple. As her trainee teacher I felt very frustrated. Therefore,  I spent some time explaining the activities with the whole class. Some students participated more actively than others.
To finish the lesson we played "BINGO" using  irregular verbs. The students had fun while practising the irregular verbs studied during the unit.
At the end, we said good bye! I left the classroom feeling a bit sad because I will not come back next Tuesday. These students were great!

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October 31st

"Test"

This lesson was different since I had to evaluate the students. I was a bit nervous because it was the first time that I assessed a group, especially during the practicum period. Although the students were not "my students",  I felt a serious responsibility. First, I read and explained the test, what they had to do in every activity. In this moment, the students started to complain because they did not understand a short reading comprehension. I encouraged them to read the whole text and not word by word. I suggested them to take into account the main ideas and did not stop in unknown words.
I had assigned 60 minutes for the test, but it took another 60 minutes to finish it.
In my lesson plan I had also planned some games to play after the test but we could not  do them since we ran out of time.

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October 24th

“The Twa Sisters of Binnorie”

This group did not stop to surprise me! Today´s lesson was wonderful. It was the first time that the whole group was motivated to speak in English. The topic was "Jealousy" and the students- all of them- expressed their feelings about jealous and their relationship with sisters and brothers. As they were very engaged with the topic, I decided to ask one by one about their feelings. We analysed the ballad and they were astonished when they discovered how the story ended.
The students also enjoyed very much, the listening activity about vocabulary.
The lesson was delivered as I planned. Although the  students were very talkative, they were also very  collaborative.

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October 17th

"Who was William Shakespeare?"

This group surprised me! Although they are at elementary level, they work hard.
Today´s lesson was about William Shakespeare and they recognized him with the first picture! Some of the students also mentioned the famous phrase:"To be or not to be" I was glad!
I felt happy because they were engaged and motivated about the topic.
The students participated actively during the activities. However, some of them asked me constantly to speak in Spanish.
They enjoyed the short video about Shakespeare´s life, but  in order to complete the scripts they needed to listen to it twice. I also had to use  pause and play buttoms several times. Finally, they succeeded!
The students worked very well classifying regular and irregular verbs. We also worked on pronunciation, they liked it!

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October 10th

"Celebrities"
The first lesson was great! The students were  waiting for me in the corridor, expectants.
The lesson was delivered respecting the students´ pace. They seemed to be  engaged when we talked about the celebrities. Moreover, they knew several of them, so they were in a hurry to say their names. We worked on Past Simple talking about the celebrities who had passed away. The students spoke about celebrities and their professions using the structures "She is good at..." and "He was brilliant at...."
This group of students did not seem to be used to speak in English  during the lessons but as I insisted on using the target language, little by little they used it more and more.
Today we listened a song "Killing me softly" they enjoyed it a lot!

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Dede Faltot Rittman

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President, Rittman Publishing, LLC; Author, Speaker, Teacher

I just spent an exhilarating (and exhausting) week in New England collaborating and presenting with my friend Phyl T. Macomber, who has invented the very best method for teaching I have ever seen in my 40 years in Education. (You know that I love to learn about an write about ALL things Education!) Phyl has written a book The Power of T.H.E. P.A.C.T. (That stands for: Technology helps Easy and Practical Adapted Curriculum Teaching.) The book and the format are a 4-step framework for academics, life skills, and social language content, and the design is so simple that it is brilliant! Students Learn About, then Read About, then Write About, and lastly, Talk About. The two things that make this format so great : it is consistent and predictable! Each module is color coded, and as one of Phyl's students with autism told her: "When I see the color, I know which part of my brain I need to use!" Students "get" the way it works, and all teachers know that students crave routine! Because students know (and embrace) the format, they focus more on the learning, and isn't that what we want students to do? Those teachers using T.H.E. P.A.C.T. cover more information in shorter periods of time as well, and learners perform well. T.H.E. P.A.C.T. also aligns with all of the Common Core standards- seamlessly. Please allow me to share some stories from our fabulous week.

Phyl and I traveled to several schools in New Hampshire and Vermont, schools who are using T.H.E. P.A.C.T with much success. Phyl is an advisor for many districts, and I am proud and excited to share some news with you! Phyl and I are collaborating and partnering - T.H.E. P.A.C.T with GRADY GETS GLASSES. Many activities for GRADY are already in place in the iPACT- the app Phyl has created for T.H.E. P.A.C.T - available through Apple.

We were team teaching throughout the week- in special needs classrooms, regular ed classrooms, preschools, and in heterogeneous classrooms of regular ed students and challenged learners. I watched students become ready to learn in a matter of moments- because they KNEW the format and the steps to learning. Because the format is consistent and predictable, students are actually more ready to learn. And every learner is involved- every time! I loved this line from a 3 year old in a preschool we visited. The child saw Phyl, walked over to the special rug, sat down, and said "First, we do Learn About!" (this was only Phyl's third session in this school, and the child already knew the routine). After a very fun spinner game for the Learn About section, (important vocabulary concepts) I was the "Read About" section- with GRADY GETS GLASSES. Phyl and I team taught the Write About and Talk About modules- all in about 40 minutes, with 100% student involvement and great success. I observed the same kinds of success with students who had one or many learning challenges, and with bright second graders. (By the way, Phyl has four years of internationally based research to endorse her fabulous product. Check out her website)

Additionally, I attended some training sessions for T.H.E. P.A.C.T. with Phyl, and had the chance to see firsthand the way activities can be created, converted, and cloned. If only this technology would have existed when I was in the classroom! Teacher prep time is so minimal- and so easy! Here is the essence of what I learned this week- and I am so thrilled that GRADY GETS GLASSES is a part of such an innovative program! Take a look, and I feel sure you will want to visit her website. If you are a school administrator, T.H.E. P.A.C.T may be just the tool you need to turn your school into a high-performing school.

What is T.H.E. P.A.C.T.?

Research-Based 4-Step Teaching Framework

Bridges the Gap Between General Education &

Special Education

Provides a Blueprint for Universal Design for Learning

Systemizes Instruction for Learners & Teaching Staff

Directly Aligned to the Common Core Standards

I encourage you to take a look at the website http://aboutthepact.com/

As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions. This post was written with the permission of Phyl Totaro Macomber.

Rittman Publishing, LLC ®

Visit Dede's webpage for complete details on her award-winning book, STUDENT TEACHING: THE INSIDE SCOOP FROM A MASTER TEACHER. Many colleges have made the book required reading.

Signed copies are available www.dederittman.com Dede is also a national speaker on The Three C's for Classroom success: Confidence, communication, and Creativity; Avoiding Teacher burnout; and many other inspirational topics.

Contact Dede if you would like her speak to your faculty or student teachers. dederittman@gmail.com

I LOVE writing. And I love writing children's books- my newest passion. Although it will be a ton of work, I am looking forward to selling my books. Since I was a secondary teacher, I know that I have much to learn about elementary students, and I will have to follow my own advice and be my genuine self. However, I also know that I am passionate about helping kids who have to wear glasses, and that GRADY GETS GLASSES sends a positive message. I am willing to work hard and do all the things that also made me a successful teacher for 37 years. I remain inspired!
Please like Dede's new page -Grady Gets Glasses- for updates about her children's book. Connect with Dede! Twitter @dederittman Periscope @dederittman Facebook Dede Faltot Rittman or Rittman Rules LinkedIn Dede Rittman Google + Dede Rittman Tumblr The Bunny Teacher Instagram dede_rittman https://www.facebook.com/gradygetsglasses?ref=hl
Here is the link the my 15 second Grady Gets Glasses commercial! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=881Z3e34X9s

Teacher friends- let me know if you want me to read GRADY GETS GLASSES at your school. I am willing to come in to discuss the creative writing process, why writing is important, and personal fulfillment through writing, along with reading my book. I would appreciate the exposure, and I would make signed copies available for purchase in your classrooms following the reading. Please email me at dederittman@gmail.com . The website www.gradygetsglasses.com IS UP AND RUNNING!!!. Signed copies ARE available! Coloring books and Grady plush toys are ordered!

Pinterest Rittman Publishing, LLC ®

President, Rittman Publishing, LLC; Author, Speaker, Teacher

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"Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn." Benjamin Franklin

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I just spent an exhilarating (and exhausting) week in New England collaborating and presenting with my friend Phyl T. Macomber, who has invented the

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October 3rd

I´ve been assigned to a warm and noisy group. They are fifteen adolescents, eight boys and seven girls, grouped by level. They are 14 and 15 years old and attend to 2nd year and 3rd year respectively.
The lesson starts!
The course teacher, Romina, gets into the classroom. She waits for students to sit down and stay silent. Then she says hello to everyone. The students answer. The teacher writes the date on the board and  presents a game: boys versus girls. They are very motivated. At the begining, the teacher dictates isolated words (regular and irregular verbs) then sentences and phrases.  The game engages their interest for a while.
The group seems very noisy  (or at least today) They speak a lot and they seem to get easily distracted. At the end, the girls win!
After that, the teacher presents an activity. She copies some sentences on the board that the students have to complete. The teacher waits some minutes and  then, she asks them to come to the board and write the answers.