REFLECTIVE JOURNAL #4

SEPTEMBER 28^th

Tenth graders

In this lesson I only had 50 minutes to introduce the present and past passive. I decided to write some examples on the board. Once they finished I made them say the sentences in their native language (Spanish) and also I asked them what aspects in the grammar they could notice in the examples. After clarifying the differences and structures of this grammar topic, they had to complete an exercise in which they had to change the sentences from active to passive. I guided them to do the activity until I could be sure the topic was clear for most of them.

I wanted my students to practice what they had learnt in a contextualized and exciting way. Also I needed them to work together and build bonds as a group so I created a game of treasure hunt. With this in mind I cut some papers of two different colors and students had to pick up one which was the color of their team. Once they were in their groups I asked them to tie up their shoe laces with the person next to them. In this way all of them had to create a strategy as a group and eveyone had a special function in the game. They also received a paper with the clues to look for.

The game started. At the beginning the teams struggled to move forward. There were different reactions at the moment of doing the activity. Some of them were excited, laughing; others adopted a figure of leadership to win the game. After 20 minutes all the clues were found and the team with more stratedies applied won the game.

I feel so good when I see my strudents enjoy while they learn. That really makes me think I can do even more things to show a different way of learning English. Nevertheless not everyday you can do this type of activity because of the school policies and curriculum. What is more, I have a textbook to use and my students have to finish it at the end of the school year, so I have to look for the best way to achieve my teaching goals and also the school requirements.