Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Clockout]

It doesn't happen often but I just had a lesson fall about as flat as possible

Total non-response/refusal to participate by nearly every student. Co-teacher did not engage until I finally showed that I was committed to making them learn something and began tediously repeating phrases and making students respond.

I was teaching low-level 3rd graders to talk about their goals. "My goal is..." and "I will achieve this by..."

By the end of the period I had gotten about 60% of students to either write down and/or say the phrase with regard to their personal goals.

The co-teacher is possibly more frustrating than the students. She is an adult after all

What is the best way to handle this situation?

[PamPhi]

How low level are we talking about?

when you say low lever 3rd graders I would thing "My goal is and I will achieve this by....." would be both too hard and a little boring. I only say that to comment about the response and point out that somehow youd need to add some additional excitement to the class to motivate.

That being said, te answer to your question is simple. COMMUNICATE your concerns with your partner teacher. Make it clear to her that giving up is not an option and find out if there is a reason she doesn't act. Ask her if she has any ideas.

How much do you include her in the planning process? If she is not included in the planning or does not know exactly what your plan is she may be hesitant to act in any way.

[climber159]

Have a meeting with your coteacher(s) about it. Discuss how and when you think they should become more or less involved in the lesson. As far as motivation; it varies from class to class. Each class has their own collective personality; but, short videos, pictures, and acting out can all be incorporated into a lesson to grab students' attention. Personally, I stay away from using candy as rewards.

[Dodgy Al]

This happens to everybody at some point, and will not be the only time. We are human after all. Don't place the blame solely on your co-teacher. There are many, many factors which affect the level of success in a class. Evaluate your lesson, ask your co-teacher for his or her thoughts, and chalk it down to experience. Bad classes are an essential part of your development as a teacher.

[rationality]

[D.D.]

I notice these kids are not interested in future things that much. Their next exam is as far as they think. Most don't want to have or even think about goals. A bored co-teacher will rub off on the students and will not expect much out of them. Sometimes the bored co-teacher who does not help will then point and blame you. I find an excited co-teacher gets the kids on target. I have 13 co-teachers and their vibe has more influence than mine so good ones help me have me good classes and the bad ones give me grief week after week.

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[waseige1]

I have pretty good luck by making them stand. I only do it when they are really non-responsive and now they get a warning first. If no one will answer or repeat, I'll say "It's too hot to stand.".

Now they know and usually always comply without it going far at all. I do this same thing when someone is causing problems in the class. I make them all stand for 5 or 10 minutes during the class.

Now the "better students" start riding the problem before I do. All I have to do is start to get quiet, look too long in that direction and usually some student is making the correction before I ever have to.

[Leslie Cheswyck]

We talking 3rd grade elementary?

I would just stick to "I want to be a/an fireman when I grow up."

Then maybe they can follow up with a "because I can put out fires..."

or "A/An fireman puts out fires... [/u]

I teach this in my beginner level uni class.

But I first used it with elementary school kids.

[Fishead soup]

The other day I was doing some Choral Repetition from some substitution activities from Side By Side. I had the same problem.

Make them all stand up and ask them you can either stand up or speak English. Then make them stand up and do some choral drilling. Tell them if they all start speaking they can sit down.

[Big Mac]

Usually when kids shut down like that it's because the material you are trying to teach them is over their heads. I couldn't imagine asking my Grade 3 public school students what their goals are. They would have no idea how to answer that.

You have to remember, for most kids in Grade 3 they are experiencing English for the first time unless they have been to a hogwan. In my classes we teach the public school curriculum material for half the time and for the other half I've been working on phonics and vocabulary building. You have to start from the very basics and work your way up. That's why I think the public school curriculum is faulty, because it jumps too far ahead without building a good foundation first.

Your co-teacher was probably silent because she realized what was happening, but didn't know how to tell you. She was afraid of making you lose face. So were the students. They were silent because they didn't want to embarrass you further by showing you that they didn't understand what you were on about.

Try adjusting your teaching method and take a closer look at how level-appropriate your material is.

[Julius]

[Straphanger]

[Kimchieluver]