Pre Work PLC #1 Fall 2025 by Jenna Lightner

American Horizons video reflection

2025-09-09 14:03:08 UTC

I watched the "Lesson Planning for Life Skills" video. I found the breakdown of how to develop a life skills-based lesson helpful--a reminder to start with highly structured activities, then gradually remove the scaffolding, building in repetition and different types of practice along the way. The red and green cards for assessing whether students need more practice is also a good suggestion--I think it is a better visual for the teacher than the traditional "thumbs up/thumbs down" that is often used.

Getting started/first days/goal setting

2025-09-09 14:19:01 UTC

I read over these lesson plans in the Google shared drives for HB. I thought they were helpful in terms of showing how to help students set goals for themselves, and the importance of including as many visual aids as possible. I also noticed that the language level shown was lower than that in the American Horizons video, which makes sense given that the English level at the start of the class would be lower, and would involve some review.

Any more questions?

2025-09-09 14:21:12 UTC

At this stage, I am still reading over the online materials and the book, and getting a feel for how they can work together. I am sure I will have many questions by the time the PLC meets, and even more by the time the class meets next week!

2025-09-11 13:57:38 UTC

I chose "Lesson Planning for Life Skills." It was very interesting and helpful given that I will be working with the same level of students. I found it useful because it was a great reminder of the need to begin at a slow pace with lots of scaffolding, visuals, and repetitive practice of the skills that the students want and need. As I watched, I began to make a mental list of things from my "toolbox" that I can start with on night one.

2025-09-11 13:59:18 UTC

At this time I do not have any specific questions, although I think this could change following tonight's PLC. I am looking forward to meeting others who will be teaching the same level!

2025-09-11 14:18:38 UTC

To be honest, this question is throwing me off a bit because I have not begun to teach the class yet. I am reviewing the generous amount of materials and am getting some good ideas, but am not able to reflect on an activity until I get started. If I am off track on this, please redirect me! :-)

Safaa Haddou

2025-09-15 19:27:21 UTC

For the first day of class, I used "getting to know your teacher" activity with a twist. I ask the students to come up with questions to ask me. I then asked for a volunteer to lead this activity. The student volunteer pick a student to ask my a question, and then I can either answer or say "I'd rather not say". After they asked me all their questions, I asked them to work in pairs to interview each others, and introduce their partners to the rest of the class. The activity was very interactive, and we learned a lot about each other.

Jen Blanco

2025-09-16 12:15:26 UTC

I followed one of the first day lesson plans from the Google Shared (HB) drive. I was a little nervous using it at first because I didn't think it would take up the full 2.5 hours. However, it took up most of the time - I had to supplement with a few activities. I started off with explaining the objectives of the class. Next students practiced saying "hello" and greeting one another. In addition, students practiced speaking with each other and answered questions to get to know each other. They read a story and answered some questions. They practiced writing their "own" story. We ended with a Kahoot and they each made a name tent. I gave them folders as well so they could have a place to keep all of their papers for my class. It was a great class and the students were wonderful! The lesson plan really helped as well!

Jen Blanco

2025-09-16 14:24:44 UTC

I watched "Classroom Approaches in Action." It was great to see how the instructor paced her lesson. Sometimes I feel like I need to rush through a lesson because I want to make sure the students get all of the information. However, I think it is better to slow down and let them absorb the information while practicing reading/writing/speaking/listening skills. I also liked how the instructor was reviewing basic, everyday needs like making a call and answering a phone call.

Jen Blanco

2025-09-16 14:26:12 UTC

I'm still a little unsure how the lessons will run when we are using the textbook. I would like a little more information or to possibly see a model of how that looks. I think it can be tricky to find a balance of incorporating the reading/writing/speaking/listening skills into the lesson.

American Horizons Video

2025-10-06 16:04:34 UTC

I picked the "Lesson Planning for Life Skills" video. It was very informative and helpful with all the tips shared. I really liked the idea of starting with structured activities in a slow pace, and gradually moving to letting the students do more. Repetition is a key for our students to master the topic. I really like the visual used to check for understanding.

I adapted the REEP Likes/Dislikes activity for my LI class. Students enjoyed finding out who likes/dislikes the same things that they do. They had a little trouble understanding the difference between like/like to and love/love to.

2025-10-07 21:31:51 UTC

NewAmericanHorizons

2025-10-09 02:53:17 UTC

I watched a few videos and was really impressed by how helpful and practical the tips were. It’s a great project, and I wish they would continue it. It would be especially interesting to see videos covering the period from 2000 to 2025 to get a better sense of how ESL teaching has evolved over time.

After watching all the lessons, one thing became clear to me: no matter how quickly AI develops, nothing can replace the value of learning from a real teacher—someone who is passionate about their work and truly connects with their students. Approaches like TPR and TBL remain highly relevant and effective in today's classrooms.

bbhattachary — 2025-10-09 14:31:05 UTC

I watched the "Tasks to develop oral skills: From accuracy to fluency" video. I liked the teacher's approach to using learners' experiences in developing activities that they can take back to solving real life problems. Starting with the whole story and then breaking it down, using various techniques to help decode meaning and build literacy skills, finally bringing everything back to the story was insightful. I found confirmation that total physical response techniques are not only useful in teaching second language to P-12 students, but they are applicable to adult learners as well!

bbhattachary — 2025-10-09 14:33:34 UTC

Is it okay to get ideas and themes from the textbook and develop lessons using a combination of other resources?

bbhattachary — 2025-10-09 14:42:06 UTC

I adapted quite a few activities and resources from the Google shared drive some of which include the "What/Where conversation cards," the "Dr. Bugs Story" , etc. for teaching simple present. They were helpful in engaging students to use and build oral skills (interaction with peers and sharing with the class).