Anne Frank - Project

I worked with my Grade 7 students on a project on Anne Frank. Very few of them even knew who she was, so it was a great opportunity to introduce this incredible story to them. We started the project in September.

In order to introduce the topic and work on their comprehension skills, I showed them a short animated clip with her story. This got many of them excited about Anne's life, since I clipped the video up until her family was captured by the Nazi. Later on, they worked on a passage to be completed with information from the video. 

The next step was a group project. I really needed them to work in groups, since they have to share their laptops. They were to do some research on different aspects of the story: the secret annex, the people who lived there, the helpers, and the Nazi. 

I provided links with information on these topics on Edmodo and they had to answer a guide that would allow them to create a presentation. My main aim was for them to be able to get the gist and pour on a presentation. Each group prepared a presentation on Google Slides and then they presented it to their classmates on the IWB, thus working on fluency, pronunciation and speaking skills. 

To finish the project, we booked a visit to Anne Frank's Museum. They got to see some memorabilia, and got to tour a re-creation of the Secret Annex.

Then they created own 'museum' with whatever caught their attention. They had to choose what surprised them the most, or something that represented Anne and her story, and portray it in any way they desired: a picture, a quote, a short passage. We created a crafty display and shared it with the rest of the class. 

I'm a Google Educator!

Attending the GAFE Summit got me more than expected. The experience per se was phenomenal but not long after, I got an email offering a scholarship for the Google Educator exams.

And so, after some weeks of studying and falling asleep by the computer, I can proudly say I'm a Google Educator!

World Cup Scavenger Hunt - 7th grade

Practically all of my students are football fans and the World Cup was just too big to pass up. Even my 7th graders who are usually not so keen on football had a hard time escaping the craziness that swept the country. Hey! Even I had a hard time doing so!

So with that in mind I decided to include it in my lesson plan.

First, I created an online scavenger hunt using Google Docs. I divided them in groups and provided them with questions to Google (eg Which country won the first World Cup? How many World Cups did Argentina play? Which country won the most World Cups?) Each team had to find out the information and complete it in the shared document which was being projected on the Interactive Whiteboard. The team that got all the answers correct first, would win.


Pros and cons of the activity


Pros:

With this activity, students were able to develop search skills. I noticed some of them were totally clueless as to how to conduct a proper search. I helped them out by directing them to verified sites or choosing more appropriate search words.

By working in groups, it allowed them to compensate for whatever they were lacking: comprehension skills, search skills, use of the computers. Most of the times, they would call me for help and end up helping one another instead while I 'supervised'


Cons:

Using a single shared document (and having it projected on the IWB) proved to be an excellent opportunity to tackle some issues. One of the fastest teams participating in the scavenger hunt, decided to get the upper hand by deleting other teams' responses. So it was the perfect opportunity to discuss some digital citizenship elements, such as proper online conduct and respect for other people's work.

Given the competitive nature of the activity, English was definitely not the language used for communication (not even for the search itself) I was not terribly worried about that, because when the time came to share the results, English had to be spoken.


All in all, it was a great activity. It paved the way for the World Cup Project I have in mind for them.

GAFE Summit

This just keeps getting better and better!

I was fortunate enough to attend Argentina's first GAFE Summit. Organized and led by EdTechTeam, the one-day workshop focused on how to incorporate Google products in our lessons. Presenters Juan de Luca and Stephanie Cerda did an extraordinary job and I'm glad I was a part of it.

A leap so high it took me to NYC

Talk about taking a leap into unknown territory! This trip has been a learning experience like no other. 

Let me take you back a couple of weeks to October 26 - Moving Day. Nerve-wracking, exhausting, scary, dusty, fulfilling. That night, after everyone who had so kindly helped me keep my sanity during the move left (did I mention I had a bandaged arm with a 3rd degree burn?) I sat on the floor, put my laptop on a box containing my kitchen utensils and typed away. What exactly? My application for the City of Buenos Aires-Fulbright Commission Scholarship. A six-week course for EFL teachers in a prestigious university in NYC. Did I think I would get it? Of course not! But a friend barraged me with emails and messages asking me if I had applied. And so I did. Almost a month later, I'm on the bus home from work and I cannot believe my eyes when I read an email from the Fulbright Commission's Executive Director telling me I was one of the recipients of the grant. Two months later, I was on a plane with 19 other strangers, embarking on one of the most enriching experiences I've ever had, both personally and professionally. 

What have learnt from this experience? As I wrote on my application, traveling has always been for me the moments in which I grew the most, when I challenged myself to new experiences, to a whole different way of understanding the world. I have met incredibly talented and interesting people while traveling and, most importantly, I have also met myself. And it's just further proof that the more you challenge yourself and take that leap of faith, the bigger the rewards.

Here's an account of the trip posted on the Fulbright Argentina site.