esl ::: emily's so luscious

Peer Evaluation 2 ::: Wendy

Wendy was missing a couple of students in her fourth period class - there were 3 girls and 4 boys, ranging from 9th through 11th grade. She seated me at the back table, which gave me a vantage point to survey the room. The classroom setting was what I'd call an organized jumble. Every surface was covered with art, signs, maps, and student work. The class goals and rules were also up on the wall, as unintimidating bilingual posters. The students faced the whiteboard, which doubles as an overhead screen, in three columns of school desks. On the computers in the back corner and along the wall were colorful collage signs, which had been made by the students the day before. Each sign had a picture that illustrated a vocabulary word, and a definition in the student's own words. My favorite was the sign for assassination: an "Extreme X-Men" comic book cover and the caption: "assassination: somebody kill you and you die".

Wendy had no trouble getting her students' attention (I tried to figure out how she did it, but it seemed effortless). They went over the vocabulary, referring to the collages they had made. Then she passed out copies of a reading on the Civil War. On the whiteboard, Wendy drew what she called a "double bubble," a concept obviously familiar to the students. They took turns reading, a paragraph at a time, taking time to pause and discuss new words or concepts, and to start filling in the double bubble (which was a non-linear outline for comparison). After each paragraph was read, Wendy asked a different student to answer a question about that paragraph. A small discussion about cash crops led to an excellent teaching moment in which the students had a chance to describe sugarcane to Wendy. She didn't know it was edible in cane form, and the students really got into their descriptions, which stretched their adjective use. Then the class worked through the post-reading questions together, one at a time. Next came a brainstorming section, when Wendy wrote "Civil War" on the board, and gave them 2 minutes to write all the words they could think of about the Civil War, drawing on vocabulary from today and prior lessons. Next they worked in groups to find 5 new words, and put them all into semantic groups. She took them to the computer lab to research topics on the Civil War. Wendy directed them to a website that presents American History in simple language without dummying it down. [http://www.americasstory.com]

During their group work, Wendy let me read their journals from yesterday - they had written their opinions about the Mexican-American War. The journals are an excellent idea. It gives them a medium in which to write without feeling constrained by too many rules, with freedom to write what they feel (no right or wrong answers). It teaches them to think critically. Wendy teaches them about current issues that are relevant to them, and encourages them to discuss. She helped them write a letter to Senator Dole, in lieu of the walk-out the students themselves had proposed. They all signed the letter, taking as much a part in democracy as students can. I was impressed by how she had handled that situation, and how she empowered the students.
Wendy's students are open and communicative, and seem to have a good time while learning. She is very much herself - at home in her own skin, interested in what the students have to say, commanding respect without belittling. I was impressed by the comfortable atmosphere. One thing I noticed is that it would be almost impossible to have a student-centered class at the high school level. They would be totally out of control. A few of the activities were student-centered, but otherwise, it's all teacher-driven.

posted by E.M @ 11:58 PM