Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Reena]

Need some advice - I plan my lessons so that we cover a certain amount of pages/worksheets etc a day. There are some students in my classes that will finish their work in 5 minutes and then some who will take most of the class and then some don't finish at all - my question is what do you usually do with the students who always finish early? I tried giving them extra worksheets but I'm running out of different worksheets to give them! not to mention the amount of time I spend photocopying. Should I just let them sit there? If I do, they just distract others who are working or keep telling me they are finished, over and over... very frusterating..anyone have a similar problem...any ideas?

[casey's moon]

I talk with the students who are finished, usually ask them a few questions related to the worksheet. But actually, I don't use a lot of worksheets in class because it doesn't seem like a great way to use the short amount of time they have with a native speaker. I guess if your classes are longer (mine are 25 or 30 minutes long) it may be necessary to give your voice and body a break at a certain point though.... Could you ask them to draw a picture of something on the back and write what it is in English? That would only work a few times too though, I guess -- the early finishers would get tired of that after a couple of days.... Hmmm....

[dulouz]

Tell the early finishers to stop cheating.

[kangnamdragon]

[Mashimaro]

[eamo]

Don't allow the class to work at their own speed on worksheets. If you don't want to hear "finishee" too soon then you have to control the pace that the class does the exercise. You say when to move onto Q.2. whenever the whole class has finished Q.1.

[bosintang]

[HamuHamu]

I think it all depends on the structure and st-up of your academy/school.

Although others have said that you shouldn't be doing worksheets, but instead, speaking; or that the worksheets should be done together, I disagree that this is a hard-and-fast rule for every class and every classroom.

I had the same 8 kids (7 yeras old) all day every day, and we had X amount of workbook pages to compelete each day in 6 or 7 different subjects. Class time was divided into teaching chunks, speaking practice, quiet individual or oral group reading and writing, and workbook time.

I had a box of "extra work" that was there for students to do quietly when they finished ahead of the allotted time, as well as a large bookshelf for them to select from and read quietly when they finished quickly. In some instances, I would often tell the first one finished to sit and quietly help another student who may have been struggling, while I was busy with a 3rd student. If the next bookwork activity didn't require me to "teach" them who to do it I would often tell them to quietly get their next book and do certain pages. (Meaning they finished the day's work early but then they had time for the above activities at the end of the day).

After a few students were done, sometimes we would "take-up" the work together as a class so the ones who were not finished could do the remaining work together as a class, while the ones who were finished felt good at their ability to share what they had done, with the class. This also allowed me to see why the slower ones hadn't finished....were they really strugging or wer they just being a slow-poke?

I didn't wait until EVERY student was done all of the worksheet to move on to the next topic. If one student was really slow and the rest getting restless, I would tell them that they had to finish the page for HWK, put it in their bag for them and move on to the next activity together.

I varied it up a bit each day or each different seatwork activity. My academy focused on all 4 areas - reading, writing, speaking and listening, so it didn't mean that all the time needed to be used for speakng activities. But, as I said, I think it depends on what your academy focus/cirriculum is.

[chiaa]

I always made them write sentences in different tenses.

Give them ten verbs, have them write it in the three basic tenses (you might have to spend a class or two teaching the little tikes the different tenses by comparing it to Korean giving examples and you will probably have to teach what a noun, adjective, verb is. God knows a Korean hagwon teacher did not properly do it).

Problems solved and you would be amazed how it helps their speaking skils.

[guangho]

I just say, ever sweetly, "I know you are finished Sam, but the rest of the class isn't finished. Please give them some time." Believe it or not, this actually works.

And kangnam dragon, conversation goes like this at my place:

"Do you like basketball?"
(20 minute pause.) "Yes."
"Why?"
(20 minute pause.) "Ball go into net."

These kids (girls especially) won't say boo if your hair was on fire. Not in English anyway.

[panthermodern]

Is their work messy, sloppy, not up to snuff?

Make more copies, and look at the early finisher's work and say ...

"Messy, not good enough, do it again."

Keep their original and issue them with a new clean copy ...

Which they will bolt through faster (and worse) then the first ....

Then hit them with ...

"Messy, not good enough do it again."

Repeat ... as required.

This will slowly show them to work slowly and neatly ...

"slowly and neatly" is a mantra I repeat constantly with reagrds to any written work ...

BTW: I teach the "English Language" and not just "speaking".

[TECO]

teach to the Ss not to the management.

[OiGirl]

I'm always ready with a related essay topic they can write about on the back of the page. If they're little, of course they can write words or sentences with pictures.

Can they have free reading time?

[OiGirl]

[Grotto]

thepotters.com

hundreds of wordsearch puzzles at your fingertips.

puzzlemaker.com

You can make your own wordsearch puzzles pertaining to your curriculum
it also has mazes and other games that will eat up some time.

Kids love em, and you can use them as an incentive system for the students who dont finish early.