Successful teaching no.1 2019

Successful Teaching⚪🔠◽◽◽♦♦♦◽◽◽🔢⚪no.1/2019
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Vocabulary activities for primary school students
by Lavinia Muresan, “Petru Rares”National College Beclean
Abstract
English vocabulary is remarkable for its range, flexibility and adaptability. English has far
more words in its core vocabulary than other languages and that is due to the periods of
contact with foreign languages and its readiness to coin new words out of old elements.
The purpose of teaching vocabulary is to make the students master the vocabulary, use it
freely and lay the base for their English learning. In order to achieve this purpose,
researchers, linguistics and teachers from all over the world have been researching for the
best approaches of English teaching.
The article presents seven efficient classroom activities for teaching vocabulary in primary
school.
The importance of vocabulary in learning English
Vocabulary is important because it is words which carry the content of what we want to say.
Grammar joins groups of words together, but most of the meaning is in words. The more
words you know, the more you will be able to communicate. You can say a lot with words
while there is not much you can say with grammar alone.
“There is not much value in being able to produce grammatical sentences if one has not got
the vocabulary that is needed to convey what one wishes to say ... While without grammar
very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed.” (Wilkins, 1972:
110-111)
English vocabulary teaching should be a primary and essential part of English teaching. This
is because we cannot express anything without vocabulary; we cannot carry on the basic
language communication such as listening, speaking, reading or writing with no vocabulary.
Vocabulary is important and needs to be dealt with systematically in its own right; it is not
simply an add-on to grammar or skills lessons.
The act of teaching is essentially a constant processing of options. At every point in each
lesson, a teacher has a number of options available; he or she can decide to do something, or
to do something else, or not to do anything at all. In order to become a better teacher, it seems
important to be aware of as many options as possible.
Teaching vocabulary is like taking a hard journey – long and painstaking. However, no
matter how hard it is, there is always a way and all the efforts will be paid off if we have
proper attitudes, efficient strategies and strong wills.
According to MacIntyre et al. (2002), second language communication is “heavily
determined by fundamental characteristics of the learner” (p. 560).
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Young children do not come to the language classroom empty-handed. They bring with them
an already well-established set of instincts, skills and characteristics which will help them to
learn another language. We need to identify those and make the most of them. For example,
children are already very good at interpreting meaning without necessarily understanding the
individual words; they already have great skill in using limited language creatively and
frequently learn indirectly rather than directly; they take great pleasure in finding and creating
fun in what they do; they have imagination and above all take great delight in talking!
Complete beginners are getting younger and younger these days, so some of us have the
satisfaction of watching a student grow in confidence and competence from one class to the
next, from one level to another. Later on in the learning process, progress becomes less
obvious. At the same time, exposure to English outside the classroom - television, radio,
films, songs and so on - means that formal lessons constitute only one of many influences.
The following examples show some of the most efficient classroom activities that I
successfully used and adapted in the classroom, while teaching vocabulary.
1. Graphic organizer: GROW-a-WORD
This graphic organizer builds critical thinking skills and encourages children to delve more
deeply into world relationships. it helps ‘grow’ their ideas about the world! First, have
children write the target word in the center of the flower. on the petals, children can either
write words or sentences or draw images that the target word reminds them of. These can be
examples, related words, descriptions or synonyms. For example, if the target word is family,
a child activity sheet might contain father, mother, sister/brother, I love my family and a
drawing of his/her family.
Figure 1. Grow-a-Word Graphic Organizer (Charlesworth, 2009:17)
2. Song: HEAD, SHOULDERS, KNEES AND TOES (traditional)
Young ESL learners love to sing songs, but if you add movement or miming they’ll enjoy
them so much more. It is, in fact, difficult for most children to sing songs while sitting
absolutely still. Singing and moving comes naturally to them. So, we must take advantage of
this and incorporate lots of songs with movement.
Vocabulary: body parts
Procedure:
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1. Introduce / review ‘Body parts’ vocabulary by pointing to your own head, shoulders, nose
etc. Students repeat the words, copying your movements.
2. Draw a picture of a (stick) man. Label the body parts. Students repeat the words.
3. You may also play a ‘Fast Pointer’ game. Ask your students to tell you ‘Stop’ when you
show a certain word. For example, ‘Tell me stop when I show a head’. Then start pointing to
different words. When the pointer comes to ‘head’ students should tell you ‘Stop’.
4. Practice spelling skills. Divide your class into teams (at least two). For each team show a
certain word and ask students to spell it. If they cope with it their team gets a point. You may
also draw a line instead of giving a point so that a picture of a house will appear as a result.
The team that builds a house first wins.
5. Using word cards and pictures ask students to match the pictures with the words. Check the
answers.
6. Play a memory game. Ask students to put the cards face down and arrange them in 4 rows.
In turns students take one card saying what they can see / read. E.g. I’ve got ‘a head’. Then
they take one more card. If there’s a match (e. g. a word head and a picture of a head) student
keeps these cards. The one who gets more cards wins.
7. Then collect the word cards and handout the worksheets. Do ex. 1. Check the answers.
8. Introduce / review regular plurals. Play ‘How Many Fingers?’ game, for example. Hide
your hand behind your back. Ask students, ‘How many fingers <are not clutched>?’
Demonstrate how we form plurals by writing ‘finger – fingers’ on the board.
9. Do ex. 2. Check the answers.
10. Explain the task 3. Play the song. Students do ex. 3. Listening to this song for the 1st time
they may put the picture cards (see 5) instead of filling in the gaps. Check the answers.
11. Play the song for the 2nd time pausing it after each missing word. Pay students’ attention
that some words are in singular.
12. Play the song, sing it and do the movements with the class.
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Figure 2. Head, shoulders, knees and toes Worksheet (Leonov, 2013:18)
3. Video: DONALD DUCK – TRICK OR TREAT
(Walt Disney cartoon)
Vocabulary: Halloween vocabulary
Procedure:
1. Teacher projects a few minutes from the Disney cartoon Donald Duck- Trick or
treat; (X2)
a) b) c)
Figure 3. a), b), c). Donald Duck – Trick or Treat video captions
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skdVouumMk4)
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2. Subjects listen and watch the cartoon;
3. Teacher asks students to identify the holiday and give examples of other related words
from the movie;
4. Students answer the questions and elicit the required information.
5. Teacher writes a spider diagram with the word Halloween in the center asking students to
complete it with the words from the video;
4. Worksheet: DRESSING UP
Vocabulary: clothes
Procedure: 1. Students receive the worksheets and read the text:
Next weekend I will play dress-ups with my brother and my sister. My brother likes to dress
up as a pirate and my sister likes to dress up as a princess.
2.Teacher elicits the answers to the following questions:
 When will I play with my brother and sister? Next weekend
 What game will we play? Dress-ups
 What are the favourite characters for my brother and sister? Brother: a pirate; my
sister: a princess
 What clothes do you need to look like a pirate or a princess?
3.Teacher asks the students to draw a pirate and a princess and to label the clothes. Colours
could be added (black and white t-shirt, pink dress etc.).
NAME__________________________ DATE___________________
DRESSING UP WORKSHEET
Next weekend I will play dress-ups with my brother and my sister. My brother likes to dress
up as a pirate and my sister likes to dress up as a princess.
Draw a pirate and a princess and label the clothes you have drawn. Use colours too.
PIRATE PRINCESS
Figure 4. Dressing up Worksheet
5. Interactive PPT: FRUIT WHEEL
Vocabulary: fruit
Procedure: There are two teams: boys and girls. Each team sends their representative in front
of the class for each round. With the help of a video projector, the PPT will be projected on a
screen so that all the students see what happens. The students will spin the wheel, press stop
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and click on the right word which defines the fruit chosen by the wheel. Each correct answer
will be given a point. The team with the highest score wins.
Figure 5. Wheel of fortune PPT caption (Herber, 2013)
6. Dictionary: I SPY WITH MY LITTLE EYE
Vocabulary: various words from a picture dictionary, colours
Procedure: This is an easy game for beginning students using a picture dictionary. I Spy
choices must be limited to what the students can see on a page of a picture dictionary. In that
way it isn’t too challenging for students with little to no knowledge of English. It can also
help teach the students new vocabulary. Tell the students which page you are on, and then
teach them the rules for playing I Spy. (I spy with my little eye something _insert color_.)
This might also be a good opportunity to review color words with beginning students. The
rest of the class takes turns asking Yes/No questions trying to determine the object you have
chosen. Students can be ‘spies’ too.
7. Mime: ANIMALS
Vocabulary: domestic and wild animals
Procedure: Mime is a fun and lively game for an ESL class to play when reviewing
vocabulary. The students will be energized and enthusiastic when their acting skills are put to
the test for their classmates. It is easy to have a charade vocabulary review ready for your
class at almost any time and on a moment’s notice with minimal advance preparation. The
easiest way to be ready at any time is to keep a collection of vocabulary cards for the words
your class has studied. When you are ready to play, divide your class into two teams.
Individuals will take turns acting out one of the words from the cards that you have prepared.
They will choose this card randomly on their turns and will have 2 minutes to get their team
to guess the word without using books or notes. The actor cannot use any sounds but must
communicate only through actions. The rest of the team should shout out any answers that
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come to mind. If the team is able to guess the word within the designated time, they score a
point. If after two minutes the team has not guessed the word correctly, the other team gets
one chance to guess the word. If they are correct, they score a point and then continue with
their turn. Continue playing until you run out of time or you run out of words. The team with
the higher score at the end of the game wins.
Figure 6. Animal cards ( www.eslprintables.com)
Bibliography
Charlesworth, L. (2009). Vocabulary Tales (Teaching Guide). NY: Scholastic Teaching
Resources.
Leonov, A. (2013). Songs to Study English 2. Kudryashovsky
Animal cards. www.eslprintables.com. ( 28.Apr. 2014)
Graphic Organizers. [online]. wvde.state.wv.us (21.May.2014)
Herber (2013). Fruit Wheel of Fortune (PPT). [online].
http//:en.islcollective.com (17.Sept.2013)
Walt Disney. Donald Duck - Trick or Treat. [online].
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skdVouumMk4. (25. Oct. 2013)
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Lessons Based on the Musical Theatre
By Liana Todoran,
The National College “Petru Rares” Beclean
Abstract
In our try to reach the ideal, to live a perfect life in a marvelous world, we overuse a
divine gift, our imagination. Children are delighted to create imaginary worlds, in which they
act out roles, they are able to engage in many activities and for a short time they become
other persons, the characters they love or they hate, nothing but the projections of their
imagination.
The language teachers can use this willingness of children to act out roles and create
enjoyable learning activities in order for them to define their personality, develop their
imagination, exercise their memory and correct their pronunciation.
The present article presents a wide range of ideas and activities beginning with dramatization
activities, mime, play scripts, songs, rhymes and games, role plays that can be used during the
English class so that pupils overcome their shyness, while communicating in a foreign
language.
The classes are relaxed, enjoyable and funny, because the teacher is always expected to
find something positive to comment on, realizing the fact that she/he is not teaching
professional actors and actresses but students who are practicing by using English, and the
most important thing is not the final product but the process, the way they co-operated and
how they came to certain decisions.
THE MUSICAL THEATRE
Musical theatre is a competitive and demanding field, combining multiple skills,
including acting and singing. Music has great influence on the audience and on the actors so
the results of a musical play can be more powerful than those achieved through any other
artistic performance.
In his book Acting Through Song, Paul Harvard considers that everyone who has ever
stepped in front of an audience must have heard the “whisperer” in his ears, swishing sounds
like “you can’t remember the next lyric”, “you don’t know what you are doing” or “you are
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not good enough”; and this whisperer is in fact called self-consciousness in Harvard’s
opinion, “the death for the actor”. “Self-consciousness is the roadblock to all progress in
acting. It is why most people would never want to be a performer in the first place-that dread
of speaking, or singing, in public. Until you learn how to sidestep this first obstacle you will
be left stuck in the blocks, feeling anxious and unsure-like the nervous athlete who fears the
false start”. (Harvard: 4)
If we think about the similar “roadblock of self-consciousness” that the students have to
step over when they speak in front of the class, Paul Harvard’s techniques can be very useful
and worth taking into account. Paul Harvard considers that many actors in musicals hide
behind their good voice, but this is not enough in the musical theatre. When speaking
English, some students are very proud of their accuracy in using the English language, they
speak grammatically correct, but still, they need more things, like fluency, intonation,
pronunciation, sometimes the use of gestures, of the non-verbal messages. All these can be
taught and practiced when acting, during drama activities, so that the students be able to
overpass self-consciousness when speaking English and be natural.
THE EMOTIONS
The emotions we feel in response to a certain situation are normal and out of our control,
what we can do is decide on the subsequent action, on how we treat those emotions, what is
the next action that we decide to do. This can happen to students when working on a speaking
task. They can make mistakes but they should not feel frustrated, they should correct their
mistakes by themselves, or with the help of the other colleagues, being encouraged by the
teacher to continue the discourse.
Paul Harvard considers that “when you analyse the self-conscious thoughts you have on
stage, you will notice that they fit into two distinct categories:
1. Worries about what the audience think of you.
2. Self-criticism about your own performance.”(p. 13)
The author proposes some techniques that actors should use on stage in order to forget
about the presence of the audience, like trying to focus on the action and not outside of it, not
letting mind wondering out towards the audience, being in communion with something real
or imaginary, mastering your own imagination because “the imagination is a muscle that
must be worked and developed.” (p. 37)
Gina Milano, a graduate of Columbia University, teaching English at Hunter College in
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New York City considers that “bringing musicals to the classroom provides wonderful
opportunities to explore vocabulary and gain familiarity with colloquial expressions and
certain grammatical structures.”(Milano, G.) Music expresses emotions and conveys
messages that are easily understood and remembered by learners they are connected to
emotions. When we memorize new information we might forget it in time but if we
remember the emotions related to that information we can activate our memory and
remember better. The emotional connection to the music and the lyrics can construct
meaning and it can be a good method to teach new grammar structures like conditionals,
modal verbs, future tenses. Using songs can be very useful when teaching writing skills, for
example when we ask students to write original lyrics to an existing song or create a story
starting from a character that appears in the song, or change the ending of a song.
Encouraging children to clap the beat as they go along or say rhymes will help to
develop a sense of rhythm in English. Additionally, pupils draw (or colour) pictures of
songs, rhymes and chants: they can also act out the songs, rhymes and chants…The
main overall purpose, however, is that singing, chanting and acting together is fun and
it stimulates the child’s sense of humour. So this helps children play with the target
language in humorous and funful environment.” (Bas, G.)
CONCLUSIONS
By showing musicals to students, teachers can ask them to summarize the plot, to talk
about the characters, to exercise pronunciation, to use appropriate soundtracks when they
want to interpret certain scenes during drama classes, to describe the images that come in
their mind while listening to certain musical parts. Musicals can be a source of energy and
excitement that can motivate learners, help them memorize new vocabulary and enjoy
participating to the English class.
Bibliography
1. Adebiyi, A. & Adelabu, B. (2013). Improvisation as a tool for developing students’
competence in English language. A study at the Federal University of Agriculture,
Abeokuta, Nigeria. Retrieved from http://www.ijern.com; (17.02.2014)
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2. Ashton-Hay, S. (2005). Drama: Engaging all Learning Styles. Paper presented at
The International INGED (Turkish English Education Association) Conference,
Economics and Technical University, Ankara Turkey. Retrieved from
http://eprints.qut.edu; (20.04.2014)
3. Baldwin, P. (2012). With Drama in Mind- Real Learning in Imagined Worlds. London
Press;
4. Bas, G. (2008). Integrating multiple intelligences in ESL/EFL classroom. The Internet
TESL Journal, 5.Retrieved from http://iteslj.org; (17.02.2014)
5. Harmer, J. (2007). How to Teach English. Essex: Pearson Education Limited;
6. Harvard, P. ( 2013). Acting through song. Techniques and exercises for musical
theatres actors. London: Nick Hern Books Limited;
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eTwinning and PBL in vocational education
Eva Toth, Teacher of English, eTwinning ambassador, BMSZC Petrik Lajos Vocational
School, Hungary
Why PBL in vocational schools?
Any project involving vocational students can be defined as innovative: they are the
students who perform the lowest in primary school, they have behavioural problems, they are
very demotivated due to all the negative learning experiences of failure in their previous
studies. In our international projects we try our best to combine practical and theoretical
subjects to make students use their skills in practice. They work in pairs, groups, they have to
divide the roles between them and take the responsibility for their creation. Being in a project
is something really new to them as vocational students are seldom part of such work and they
often have negative experiences about learning. Besides, we want them to use the English
language, to collaborate, to get to know applications that can develop their digital
competencies, to make them creative thinkers, to help them discover their own values, both
personal and professional.
Our projects deal with topics that appeal to both their everyday lives and their future jobs,
such as beauty, technology or creating one’s own business. The works often include going to
companies and interviewing experts so that students can see the links between their learning
and the real world and use their communication skills both in their mother tongue and in
English.Through our projects, we intended to develop our student`s entrepreneurial skills and
to prepare them for their future jobs, for life.
Let’s mind our own business! (2017/2018)
www.symbaloo.com/mix/petrikproject
https://twinspace.etwinning.net/48815/home
http://anyflip.com/tjal/tdil
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In our project, students founded their companies that they advertised. Once the companies
were set, they had to find a potential partner, with whom after exchanging business emails,
they had to agree on a shared product. The products were either virtual or real, they should be
based on mutual agreement. Companies agreed on deadlines, payment terms and the
outcomes. All products and services were compiled into a shared newspaper at the end of the
project. Our aim is to make vocational students realise they can use the internet for
meaningful learning purposes. Besides we want them to use English language, to collaborate,
to get to know applications that can develop their digital competencies, to make them creative
thinkers, to help them discover their own values, both personal and professional.
The project was integrated in a way to combine practice and theory, learning English
language and dealing with the field of work and job hunting (so called Foglalkoztatás 1
subject for the Hungarian students/„Communication and creativity” optional course - for the
Romanian students Alternanza scuola-lavoro for the Italian students). Our main aim was to
find a project topic that appealed to the students’ everyday lives and profession while placing
English language communication in the focus of attention. Once setting up the topic, we
checked the suggested curriculum for all the trades participating in the project and we tried to
incorporate as many elements as possible. Many details make part of the students’ final exam
e.g. cv in English, job interview, presentation about a company or email English.
The project developed many 21st century competencies:
● entrepreneurship (set up your own company, decide for a logo, roles and your area of
expertise)
● life and career skills (using your professional knowledge for a specific purpose)
● innovation (being in a project)
● IT skills (using IT for specific purposes not just facebook)
● social awareness
● responsible decision-making (work in a group and divide the roles)
● collaboration (group work, pair work)
Our students not only worked hard and dedicated, but they confessed that they felt great
being in this project and working collaboratively on this theme.
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No News is Fake News (2018/2019)
https://twinspace.etwinning.net/70912/home
https://www.symbaloo.com/mix/fakenews5
Our project focuses on media literacy and fake news. How are you affected by fake news
online? How can media alter reality? What about fake online identities? What is in your
digital baggage?
During our project we joined the Safer Internet Day on 9 February.
https://www.saferinternetday.org/
● flipped classroom concept: each lesson introduced by a ted ed learner video
● ‘your online identity
● fake’ social media profiles in a special environment for educators: Fakebook, Twister-
recreate an important historical event in your country using Fakebook
● fake news: hints and tips- how to defend yourself? signs that something is fake?
● fake news generator-
We were in constant communication via facebook and email. Students had a chance to reflect
on their work via twinspace and we also organized Skype sessions, Twinspace meetings and
chatrooms to see each other. We also celebrated Safer Internet Day together with each
country giving a presentation on a different topic. These meetings were always taking place
in a good and friendly atmosphere and we welcomed each other as if we had been friends for
a long time. These occasions gave a great opportunity for the partner companies to discuss
current matters and details. Before the meetings we always had a doodle voting about the best
possible time and date for each participant to make sure everyone had a say in the decision.
All the products outcomes had to be done in pairs or groups and then students could reflect
on each other’s work. The products were all uploaded onto twinspace where we could take a
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look at all our work. Once the work in national teams was done, we created international
groups who had to come to an agreement and create something productive themselves.
We used many tools which involved collaboration as well, like brainstorming (padlet, linoit),
answergarden and titanpad. The final outcomes of the project were collected in shared
newspapers and presentations that the students wrote collaboratively and we are very proud
of this amazing compilation of our massive work on the project.
Impact of PBL in vocational school
The most successful result of the projects was giving once again a lot of self-esteem and
worth to our students who were able to see themselves what they are capable of if they
believe in themselves.
Students who are learning in vocational schools have learning problems, they are usually
demotivated. Our projects are also meant to make them interested in learning and give them
positive reinforcement. They learn to concentrate on the task they have to solve, they also
learn to work together with other students and they realise everybody is good at something.
Students have learnt to feel responsible for their mates, not only for themselves. The outcome
of every smaller or bigger product, activity and idea heavily depended on mutual respect.
They had to learn to be patient while waiting for responses from their collaborators. They had
to learn to express constructive criticism, also accept suggestions from their partners that
were different from their original ideas. They were encouraged to praise, to acknowledge and
to politely warn each other at times. The projects contributed to the development of new kind
of attitude to the whole learning process.
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Giving students a V.O.I.C.E. in your classroom
by Diana Zinveliu, Colegiul Național Petru Rareș Beclean
***This article appeared first on Cypher Learning's Blog https://blog.neolms.com/ whose property is,
therefore falling under the regulations of Creative Commons***
Look around you! Everything is constantly on the move, changing rapidly, adapting to new
needs and contexts of life. But what happened to teaching and learning? These concepts seem
to be stuck somewhere in time not being able to fit our reality. If we want to evolve truly and
meaningfully, society should focus on how education can be revived.
Teachers around the world are trying to find solutions to the one-size-fits-all approach to
education by giving learners voice and choice, transforming them into active participants in
their own growth.
According to Matt Oberecker, who promotes personalized learning and 21st century skills as
the supervisor of science and technology curriculum for the Marple Newtown School District
in Pennsylvania, this approach should focus on creating the perfect environment for students
to be heard and take learning into their own hands.
In his book, 'Giving Students a V.O.I.C.E. with Personalized Learning', he presents a new
vision towards what teaching and learning means concluding that when students get involved
more, they become more aware of their strengths and weaknesses, thus cultivating their own
identity. This view goes hand in hand with the famous quote by Benjamin Franklin, 'Tell me
and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn'.
Giving students a V.O.I.C.E. in your classroom
When learning is truly personalized, each student has a voice in the learning process. This
does not mean teachers lose theirs; they only create the perfect learning environment in which
students have a say in their journey towards their goals.
Matt Oberecker considers that instruction should revolve around five essential aspects to
ensure its success, which create the acronym V.O.I.C.E. to perfectly underline the core of his
vision:
Variety of ways to demonstrate understanding
Schools are faced with a variety of students in just one classroom which makes it a challenge
for educators to try to reach everyone and address their learning needs. One way to do this is
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by differentiating instruction, which approaches teaching so as to cater for the different
abilities students possess, with the purpose of maximizing their potential and help them reach
success, rather than trying to mold them to fit the standards of curriculum.
This approach implies effective classroom management and an ability to motivate students.
Teachers have to adapt and adjust everything according to learners' needs and considering
their prior knowledge, interests and abilities, giving them a choice - the essence of
differentiated learning - when it comes to what and how they learn, how they can demonstrate
what they know, where and where they want to learn.
Ownership of learning
As teachers, we all want our students to be motivated and take ownership of their learning.
To reach this goal, first you need to teach students the value a task brings to their
development and second, give them the confidence to tackle that task and overcome their
personal boundaries.
Then, to ensure students stay motivated and engaged, teachers can let students choose topics
they resonate with and to facilitate students' agency, teachers can allow them to choose what
task to solve or the order in which to solve them.
Moreover, students can take responsibility for their learning process if they have a clear
picture of their own abilities. Having students self-assess their work or assess their peers as
well, will increase the understanding they have of their achievements and setbacks.
Innovation and creativity
The skills students have been taught until now are no longer enough to be successful adults in
the 21st century. One of the most important aspects of thriving in the workplace later in life
— and in adulthood for that matter, is creativity.
Students need teachers to cultivate their creativity and to celebrate learners' efforts, to be
open to novelty, crossing the barriers of traditional classrooms, to value questions rather than
answers, to help students create and play, to focus on the cognitive complexity of a task and
to meet students' levels and challenge them.
Collaboration
There is a continuous need to link teaching to real-life situations, to have students ready for
this modern and competitive world. Most of these situations star team work activities as a
supportive learning environment and collaboration.
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Group-work is used in a multitude of approaches with different purposes, such as:
● project-based learning - to improve motivation and attitude towards learning;
● problem-solving learning - to improve students' abilities to solve problems, to
hypothesis and provide coherent explanations;
● design-based learning - to be able to create products, assess and redesign them
through dynamic feedback.
Successful grouping involves tasks performed usually by four students in which they
interrelate while developing their social skills, they help each other succeed and they bring
their own assets to the group. To ensure this works, teachers need to assign clear roles for
each member, to value their interdependence, but to let them know they are all accountable
for their own contribution.
Engagement
We are witnessing a culture shift regarding who is responsible for students' learning. Not long
ago, all teachers were accountable for their students' level of content acquisition and goal
meeting. Nowadays, with students taking agency over their learning, the responsibility is
more in their hands, with teachers partnering with them to help, guide and support them
through the process of identifying who they are, while facilitating learning through
personalized curriculum and assessment.
To avoid pitfalls in engagement, teachers should also empower students by letting them make
choices in their education, by letting their voices be heard and by letting them self-evaluate
their choices.
Engaging students has never been easier with the emergence of different edtech tools that
kelp students acquire knowledge, build skills and create, all with the purpose of
self-discovery and self-mastery.
Conclusion
Our society is in continuous change towards rapid development in all fields of knowledge and
so should be our way of approaching teaching and learning. Students need to be able to face
the challenges of the work environment and to be able to adapt to new requests as society
evolves. This idea should be the purpose of instruction nowadays, giving students the
possibility to acquire those skills and qualities for them to become active citizens, capable of
solving problems and work effectively and efficiently to reach preset goals.
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The one thing teachers need to remember though, is that students have their own expectations
of what teaching and learning should look like. So, why not listen to their V.O.I.C.E.?
Bibliograpraphy
Matt Oberecker - Giving Students a V.O.I.C.E. with Personalized Learning
https://www.edutopia.org/blog/voice-and-choice-more-than-what-andrew-miller
https://www.voiceintheclassroom.com/author
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership-feb10/vol67/num05/Differentiated-Lea
rning.aspx
https://all4ed.org/personalized-learning-empowers-students-to-take-ownership-of-their-learning
/
https://creativeeducator.tech4learning.com/2018/articles/cultivate-creativity-in-your-classroom
https://www.edutopia.org/stw-collaborative-learning-research
http://inservice.ascd.org/empowering-students-through-technology-moving-beyond-engagement
/
19

ÎNVĂȚARE INTERACTIVĂ ȘI CREATIVITATE PRIN FIRMA DE
EXERCIȚIU
AUTOR: PROF. RUS ALEXANDRINA-CORINA / COLEGIUL NAȚIONAL ”PETRU
RAREȘ” BECLEAN
Abstract
Our society is in continuous development, therefore the educational system should follow this
trend. The skills our students needed before are no longer suitable in today’s labour market,
hence schools should help them develop the necessary skills to be able to adapt to inherent
changes in technology and science, but not only. In order to cope with these changes that
occur at a fast pace, students need more than the basic skills needed to perform certain jobs.
To become active citizens, students have to be able to adapt to the new requirements of
society, to adjust to whatever jobs the future might offer and use their skills creatively and
innovatively. This is why teaching students how businesses work from an early age could
have a greater impact on their lives. This article presents how this method works in
Romanian schools in Economics Studies classes. (abstract by Diana Zinveliu)
Pe măsură ce înaintează în viață, odată cu dorințele lor din ce în ce mai numeroase,
copiii devin conștienți de puterea banului și de ce pot face cu el, de modul în care își pot
satisface dorinţele prin utilizarea lui. Dacă în copilărie nu prea acordă importanța cuvenită
banilor, lucrurile încep să se schimbe odată cu adolescentă, etapă din viață copilului în care
acesta ia tot mai mult contact cu lumea, formându-și un anumit stil de a trăi, viață socială
care, evident, se întreține cu bani. Ca primi formatori ai copilului, pe lângă educarea,
formarea și susținerea acestuia, părinții au datoria de a-i contura tânărului aflat la început de
drum anumite deprinderi care să îi fie de folos în viitorul său, fie personal, fie profesional.
În societatea contemporană, cu schimbări rapide şi efecte imediate, educaţia şi
învăţământul trebuie reînnoite, completate, adaptate, astfel că putem vorbi despre o
permanentă inovaţie şi creaţie în activitatea didactică.
În termeni generali, creativitatea, este un proces mental care permite generarea de idei
şi concepte noi sau asocieri originale între concepte şi idei deja existente. Creativitatea este
un atribut definitoriu al omului modern. Dezvoltarea ştiinţei şi tehnicii implică un înalt nivel
de cunoaştere din partea tuturor celor care participã la procesul de producţie, precum şi
20

valorificarea tuturor resurselor umane cu caracter creator al fiecãrui individ, însăşi esenţa
personalităţii umane constând în afirmarea ei creatoare.
Pentru învățământ, o importanță deosebită o constituie educabilitatea creativității în
general, care implică receptivitate şi atitudine deschisă față de experienţa pozitivă,
sensibilitatea faţă de nou, dorinţa de a experimenta şi valorifica noi ipoteze bazate pe
invenţie, pe creaţie şi pe dăruirea dascălului faţă de elev şi valori.
În şcoala modernă, procesul de învăţamânt se doreşte a fi unul axat pe modelul
interactiv, ce presupune corelaţia şi interacţiunea reciprocă predare-învăţare-evaluare.
Predarea şi învăţarea nu pot fi privite separat, ci ca un tot unitar la care se adaugă evaluarea,
cele trei acţiuni fiind complementare şi surprinzând astfel întreaga activitatea cognitivă şi
formativă.
Cultivarea gândirii inovatoare a devenit o sarcină importantă a şcolilor. Un prim pas
trebuie făcut în formularea obiectivelor instructiv-educative, astfel încât cultivarea
creativităţii să stea alături de educarea gândirii, prin combaterea conformismului cultural
manifestat la mulţi dintre profesori. Astfel, chiar progresul gândirii în soluţionarea
problemelor depinde de factorul creativitate.
Pentru a susţine creativitatea, predarea clasică trebuie depăşită şi înlocuită cu metode
care pun accent pe explorare, pe descoperire, pe încurajarea gândirii critice a elevului, pe
participarea activă a acestuia la formarea şi dezvoltarea sa intelectuală.
Ȋn acest context, şcoala modernă a ȋncercat să se adapteze la acest curent prin
introducerea ȋn mediul preuniversitar a conceptului de firmă de exerciţiu, iar la nivel
universitar de ȋntreprinderi simulate. Prin intermediul firmelor de exerciţiu, elevii ȋşi
formează deprinderi de viitori antreprenori, ȋşi descoperă noi valenţe pe care după finalizarea
liceului le pun ȋn practică ȋn propria firmă.
În învăţământul profesional şi tehnic, profilul servicii, introducerea conceptului firma
de exerciţiu ca și componentă a curriculumului naţional pentru profilul servicii şi a
curriculumului în dezvoltare locală pentru celelalte profiluri, îşi propune crearea tipului de
întreprinzător dinamic, capabil să dezvolte un nou proces de producţie, să aducă pe piaţă un
nou produs sau serviciu sau să descopere o nouă cale de distribuţie.
21

Firma de exerciţiu reprezintă o metodă interactivă de învăţare pentru dezvoltarea
spiritului antreprenorial, o concepţie modernă de integrare şi aplicare interdisciplinară a
cunoştinţelor, o abordare a procesului de predare-învăţare care asigură condiţii pentru
probarea şi aprofundarea practică a competenţelor dobândite de elevi în pregătirea
profesională.
Obiectivele specifice ale aplicării acetei metode de învăţare se referă la:
dezvoltarea spiritului antreprenorial al elevilor din învăţământul profesional şi tehnic
facilitarea trecerii absolvenţilor învăţământului profesional şi tehnic de la şcoală la
viaţa activă
dezvoltarea spiritului antreprenorial al adulţilor prin programele de formare
profesională continuă.
Firma de exercițiu este o metodă interactivă, care urmărește implicarea tuturor elevilor
din clasă și dezvoltarea de competenţe şi atitudini necesare unui întreprinzător dinamic:
creativitate, gândire critică, rezolvarea de probleme, luare de decizii, asumarea
responsabilităţii, lucrul în echipă, iniţiativă, perseverenţă, auto-organizare şi auto-evaluare a
resurselor individuale, flexibilitate.
Dascălul creativ oferă astfel elevilor posibilitatea de a-şi exprima opinia într-o
atmosferă neautoritară, promovează o atitudine deschisă, pozitivă, apreciind ideile bune şi
neridiculizându-le pe cele nereuşite. Elevului i se oferă cadrul necesar pentru a-şi manifesta
curiozitatea, indecizia, interesul pentru schimbul de informaţii, exersarea propriilor capacităţi.
Atributele produsului creator sunt: noul (pentru subiect sau pentru societate), originalitatea şi
aplicabilitatea. Elevii învață modul de înființare a unei firme reale, informații legate de
structura organizatorică, împărțirea salariaților pe compartimente etc. De asemenea, se
22

exersează munca în diferitele compartimente ale unei firme unde elevii învață să realizeze
materialele promoționale ale firmei, sigla și sloganul, spotul acesteia, să țină evidența
contabilă etc.
Stimularea creativităţii elevilor se poate realiza: printr-o susţinută pregătire teoretică şi
practică, crearea în clasã a unei atmosfere permisive, care sã favorizeze comunicarea în
activitatea de învãtare, stimularea iniţiativei de munca individuală şi în echipe a activităţilor
de documentare şi experimentare, dezvoltarea spiritului de observaţie, a gândirii şi
imaginaţiei, receptivitatea faţă de nou, a spiritului critic ştiinţific dezvoltarea aptitudinilor de
utilizare a tehnicilor moderne în TIC (Tehnologia Informațiilor și a Comunicațiilor), pasiune
pentru ştiinţă în concordanţă cu aptitudinile, fiecăruia pânã la setul direcţional al personalitãţii
creatoare asigură originalitatea în cazul temelor de TIC.
Utilizarea calculatorului în procesul instructiv-educativ, atât în cadrul orelor de predare,
cât și la orele de laborator tehnologic, facilitează realizarea scopurilor didactice şi a
idealurilor educaţionale.
Calculatorul nu este utilizat pentru a înlocui activitatea de predare a cadrului didactic, ci
pentru a veni în sprijinul predării, ajutându-l astfel să-şi îndeplinească mai bine funcţia sa
didactică fundamentală. Programul de calculator poate deveni un suport important atât pentru
o predare eficientă, cât și pentru dezvoltarea unor competențe necesare elevului.
În concluzie, pentru educarea spiritului creativ în şcoală este necesară
schimbarea modului de gândire tradiţional, a stilului de lucru în clasă precum și a atitudinii
faţă de elevi.
Bibliografie:
1. Ionescu M., Radu I.-” Didactica modernă”, Ed. Dacia, Cluj – Napoca, 2001
2. Ana Avramescu, ”Creativitatea şi cultivarea ei în şcoală”, Hunedoara, Revistă editată
de Colegiul Tehnic Matei Corvin, nr. 2, mai 2010
3. Alois Gherguţ,- “Management general şi strategic în educaţie”, Ed. Polirom, Iaşi,
2007
23

Developing speaking skills through Comics
by Ungur Diana, “Petru Rares” National College Beclean
Abstract
In the process of teaching and learning a foreign language, four skills are involved: listening,
speaking, reading and writing. There are students who master the fine points of a language
grammar, but find it difficult when it comes to having a conversation. The ability to speak is
one important skill since it is the basis for communication and what matters the most is
developing skills that students can use in real-life situations. In order to improve speaking,
students need lots of encouragement from the teacher, corrections and practice. Also, it is
important as a teacher to know the interests of students, what they like to talk about and find
interesting ways to encourage them to speak.
The present article discusses how Comics can be used for developing speaking skills in
English.
Using Comics for developing speaking skills
The aim of developing speaking skills has always presented itself as a purpose for teachers of
all ages. Comic strips provide a unique and exciting way to engage learners in the world of
English. Children and teenagers like to read about Batman and Spider-Man and find Comic
Books more interesting than the ordinary ones because of the images. In this case Comics can
be a useful tool in English teacher’s classroom because you can use them for different
purposes such as building vocabulary, teaching various idiomatic expressions and even
grammar, reading and speaking. It is a great way to teach and also have fun with your class.
The following examples will present some of the activities that can motivate and encourage
students to communicate using Comics.
Blank bubbles
This activity will require student’s collaboration and creativity. Each group or pair will
receive a copy of a comic strip without the text. The children will think about the suitable
lines between the characters and will write them in each bubbles. Then they will share their
story with the class. Students will choose the story they like the most. Also, the teacher can
sometimes provide topics or vocabulary words for children to use when coming up with their
dialogues.
24

Acting out
This is also an exercise for pairs or groups. Each group of learners will choose a favorite part
from a comic strip to act it out in front of the class. In order to do this, the learners should
choose a character and practice saying their lines before performing. This will help the
students to practice their speaking skills. Also, just by asking the learners to change a few
words in the strips before they act it out, you can develop not just the speaking skills, but also
the listening ones. The listening students can spot the difference between the text in the
comics and the words they hear.
Discussions and debates
Comics can be great for creating discussions and debates in class. The teacher could ask
students questions based on the comic’s story such as: What’s the subject of the story? Which
moment was your favorite and why? What do you think about one character’s reaction? Do
you consider it funny? What makes it funny? etc. Also they could talk about the positive and
negative qualities of the characters, which one is the student’s favorite and why. The teacher
could also ask the learners to relate to some of the characters and express how they would
have reacted in some of the situations: If you were one of the characters, which one would
you choose? What would you have done in that situation?
Sequencing and prediction
The students will receive a sequential comic strip with a panel missing. Then the teacher
could ask them to express what they think is going to happen next: What do you think the
character will do next? What is going to be the character’s reaction? Will the character
escape from this situation? etc. Every student can share their opinion and at the end the
winner is the one whose story is the most related to the story from the comic.
25

Change the end
Another exercise that could improve speaking is asking the students to change the end of the
story. This exercise also stimulates the creativity of children. They can choose for example to
save some characters, to kill others, to change the end into a happy, a sad or even an
unexpected one. The students could vote for their favorite one in order to express the
appreciation for their colleagues' presentation.
Create your own comic strip character
If you want to use this exercise with your classroom, the students should be familiar with
different comic strips heroes. Following their example, the learners should create their own
superheroes. In order to do this, they should think about what makes their character special,
what can he do, if he has got some sort of special powers, which are his weaknesses, what he
looks like, who his friends and enemies are etc. The teacher could ask the students not only to
present their characters, but they could also think about a conversations between them.
These are just few of the exercises teachers could use to develop speaking skills by using
Comic strips. Comics are great for adding a little fun to the teaching process and represent a
nice way to get students to explore their own creativity while practicing their speaking skills.
Also, there is the advantage that Comics are adaptable for varying ages and abilities and are
very easy to get.
Bibliography
Brown, G. and G. Yule. (1983). Teaching the Spoken Language. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Celce-Murcia. M. (2001). Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language (3rded).
Chaney, A.L., and T.L. Burk. (1998). Teaching Oral Communication in Grades K-8.
http://www.peanizles.com/2015/12/31/the-end/
https://www.spidermancrawlspace.com/2019/03/the-end-of-the-spider-man-newspaper-strip-
by-roy-thomas-and-alex-saviuk/
https://alunosdojcd.wordpress.com/2018/04/13/6o-ano-a-comic-strip-garfield/
http://samcamilo.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/50561807/blank%20balloons.pdf
26

This magazine is a compilation of teacher’s successful classroom stories, methods and
approaches with the sole purpose of sharing knowledge and for continuous personal
development.
Special acknowledgements to everyone who contributed to this magazine!
Thank you, Eva Toth, for making this magazine an international one!
CONTENTS
♦prof. Lavinia Muresan, “Petru Rares” National College Beclean, Romania - Vocabulary
activities for primary school students - pagina 1
♦prof. Liana Todoran, “Petru Rares” National College Beclean, Romania - Lessons Based
on the Musical Theatre - pagina 8
♦Eva Toth, Teacher of English, eTwinning ambassador, BMSZC Petrik Lajos Vocational
School, Hungary, eTwinning and PBL in vocational education - pagina 12
♦prof. Diana Zinveliu, “Petru Rares” National College Beclean, Romania , Giving students
a V.O.I.C.E. in your classroom - pagina 16
♦prof. Alexandrina-Corina Rus, Colegiul Național Petru Rares Beclean, Romania -
Învățarea interactivă și creativitate prin firma de exercițiu - pagina 20

♦prof. Diana Ungur , “Petru Rares” National College Beclean, Romania - Developing
speaking skills through Comics - pagina 24
THIS MAGAZINE WAS EDITED AND PROOFREAD BY DIANA ZINVELIU,
ENGLISH TEACHER AT NATIONAL COLLEGE PETRU RARES BECLEAN
ROMANIA.
27

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