Adding Colours to 'A Poison Tree'

I taught my students the poem 'A Poison Tree' entirely online during the MCO period. We never had the opportunity to discuss the poem during our face - to - face lessons before the announcement of the  MCO. So when the school reopened last week, I decided to revisit the poem with them. Each of the students was given a sheet of paper with the poem 'A Poison Tree' printed on it and I asked them to make their own notes. 

They were instructed to do the following things. 

a) Identify all the important words and phrases, write their meanings on the left side of the poem. 

b) Write the interpretation of the poem for every two lines from stanza 1 till stanza 4, on the right side of the poem. 

Students were provided with coloured pens to make their notes and interpretations. They were excited to do things differently. It is a norm at times to just print notes for students to read and understand while doing some SPM based practices. I decided to beat this norm and do things in a different way by guiding my students to make their own notes so that they would understand the poem better. 

Before they started the note - making activity, we had a short discussion on things that they had understood about the poem from our online lessons. From the discussion, I moved my students' attention to the words and the first stanza of the poem, once we were done with the discussion, students started making their notes and when they completed one stanza, I moved to the next stanza and it continued till the last stanza. 

Since the control movement order is still in practice and students are to maintain 1 - metre distance from their friends and teachers, I did not allow them to move or sit in groups. Instead, they were asked to do the task individually. However, they were allowed to discuss with a peer sitting closest to them, that too in a metre - distance. 

To check students' understanding, there were quick questioning sessions after the completion of one stanza and before moving to the next stanza. The sessions worked really well especially after they completed their notes for every stanza as I could actually check how much they had understood and what was missing so that I can do some sort of reinforcement before we could move on. 

I did not provide them with notes as I wanted them to make their own notes based on the power point presentations as well as discussions and rely on their own notes to understand the poem. The following is an example of a work done by one of the students : 

work done by Melissa Annabel from class 5V2

maintaining 'social distancing' while explaining one the of the stanzas 

Sabrina from 5V1 -  diligently making her notes. 

girls from 5V2  - proudly showing their products

It was a fruitful lesson as students displayed their understanding of the poem 'A Poison Tree'. After they completed their colourful notes, I gave them an SPM based exercise and they could actually complete the task by referring to the notes that they had made. That was when I wrote in my reflection - 'objective achieved'. 

By they way, excellent students can complete the note - making task in an hour lesson but the average and weaker ones should be given a lot of support and  time to digest the content of the poem as it is not an easy poem work on for the weaker ones. The following YouTube video shows more examples of my students' work. 

Happy Teaching!!

Respond rather than react..

I can't believe that I have left my blog left unattended for one whole month...seriously I was busy with so many things that I could barely be able to breathe.....now that I have time to breathe why don't I blog something to motivate you guys out there ( Teachers).....

Fire drills in schools are a goodthing. They enable you to respond rather than react to an emergency. Anger, embarrassment and fear - these are reactions. Clarity, decisiveness, and action - these are responses, there's a difference.When you react, you're out of control. When you respond, you exercise control.

Disruptive behaviour, passive aggression, abusive language - these are the 'emergencies' that you can expect in classroom. Most often thay are symptomatic of a greater problem that the student is dealing with personally. At other times, the student is merely reflecting the behaviour he or she has witnessed at home.

How will you face those emergencies? Will you respond, or will you react?If you react, you may heighten the disruption. If you learn to respond, you may quell the disturbance. Think about your strategy. Go through the drills in your mind. " If action A happens, then response A will be employed." Prepare your mind to control your actions. Bring the situation under control by, first, getting yourself under control.
Plan for your own emergencies, and when they happen, you'll respond accordingly.

Been there done that!!!! so you can always try this...especially when you are teaching the real problematic ones!!

adapted from,
Minute Motivators for Teachers  

Happy New Year 2013

Hope this will motivate all of us to have a great start for the year 2013.......Happy New Year!!!

Example

You've heard the expression, "Seeing is believing." That is true of teaching as well. Teachers are paid to talk - every day, for almost entire day. Much of what they say is heard, and some of what they say is tuned out. Often the 'tune out' is the result of a lack of credibility. When the teacher's position is "Do as I say" rather than 'Do as I do," the result is a communication barrier.

The best teachers model the truths they proclaim. They are living examples of the benefits of an education. Telling students they ought to further their education is one thing; showing them the positive character  and personality of a lifelong learner is another. It's too bad there isn't a college course called Example 101, because a passing grade in that course would give you a great teaching advantage.

Students who have seen kindness exemplified in front of the classroom, for example, best receive lectures on kindness. Brotherhood is an abstract principle until it is modeled by a teacher who accepts his or her students as they are.

Adapted from,

Minute Motivators for Teachers 

Teacher Motivation 5 - Availability

Teaching is not a job. It's a profession. People do not teach for a living; they are teachers. Forget the nine - to - five schedule; it doesn't exist. The most important moments in teaching may come outside the structured class time. The question after class, the early morning " bull session," the phone call at home - there are opportunities to do what you do best - teach.
   But those things can't happen if you are not available. Learning happens best when it relates to life. That's why those life moments are so important. A whole semester's content about sociology may be forgotten, but that class trip to an ethnic neighbourhood in the inner city will probably remain in the minds of your students forever.
    You don't have to be a buddy, but you can be a friend.Your speech, mannerisms, or body language can convey that opennes to friendship. Certainly you must have an accessibility policy that is fair and reasonable, but those two or three extra minutes after the class session might just be filled with more personal influence than two or three years of structured classroom time.

Teacher Motivation - recreation

Learning is hard work. It may be exciting, but it's also difficult. On most school days, students rise too earl, eat too little, and earn even less for their efforts. Most aren't at school because it was their chosen activity of the day. The law requires it. No wonder they often look offended when the roll is taken! They know that for the next several hours much will be given to them and much will be required. They will be expected to assimilate in mere minutes the concepts that have taken you years to understand. So give them a break - literally. Hit the "pause" button once in a while.
       Give your students a  " timely time - out." It will be good for their bodies, minds and spirits. Set the borders, and then turn them loose for a little playtime. The books will always be there, but the moment is fleeting. In fact, that moment may be the most opportune teaching time. weave your subject matter into games and downtime activities.
The change will benefit the teacher as much as the student.

Teacher Motivation 3 - Evaluation

Evaluating a student goes beyond the report card. The report card measures only what a student has done. You must evaluate where the student is and where he can go. Learn to read your students. What are they working on today?Oh!,that doesn't mean what their classroom assignment is. What are they working on inside their minds? Their hearts?

What is the main concern? Of course , for the most part that is the RM1000000000 question. If you were a mind reader, you probably wouldn't be in the teaching profession. You might be concentrating on the lottery!

But in one sense, you are a mind reader. Your daily interaction with you students has given you great insights into what motivates them - and what completely turns them off. Over time, you learn to read their faces.

Once you can read them, you must then lead them. Where do they need to grow?Where do you want them to go? How will you utilize the knowledge you have gained by reading their countenances and behaviour.?

Evaluation lead to motivation - adapted from Minutes Motivators For Teachers

Teacher Motivation 2 - Determine to love the unlovable

There is one in every class; that one student who tries your patience, wears on your nerves, and makes you wonder why you ever became a teacher. Unteachable, unbearable, unlovable - those are the words that will run through your mind. Think again. It really is worth the time to consider the cause behind that child's effec. That unruly student may be a 'prisoner of war.' Yon do not know the raging wars that he or she may be facing = a tortured home life, emotional pain or physical illness.

Unlovely?? Perhaps. Unlovable? Never. That "problem child" is a child of God, the focus of His bes affection. According to the Bible, He cared enough to sacrifice His own Son for the spiritual welfare of that one child.

Pause for a moment and pray for an infusion of compassion. It could just be that the "unlovable" is looking for love - and you just might be the source! At least in your heart, you can give that unruly student a new status: loved, understood, and worthy of honor.

For Heaven's sake, don't give up on that child.

Motivation for Teachers 1

Teach to influence lives....

If we were to name great teachers of all time, what qualities of theirs would stand out?? We would probably conclude that they didn’t just teach others; they influenced them. Their lives, as well as their teachings, still impact individuals and societies. What they taught was simply an extension of who they were. They influenced others because of their character.
Devotion, commitment ,compassion, diligence – these qualities were undoubtedly the disciplines of their lives, the dynamic that made them Hall of Fame teachers. They were more than purveyors of facts or figures. They modeled a value system that causedothers to remember them for what they stood for as well as what they taught.
Make it your goal to affect not only the minds of your students but their lives as well. Influence them,.Lead them, let your personal disciplines be a classroom where your students will learn how to live, and not just how to spell or count. If that’s your goal, your work will go on long after you’re gone.
Great teachers do not produce a product; they produce an effect….Let us follow their foot path.. we might not become great teachers but we can atleast try to be a ‘teacher’.

Adapted from,
Minute motivation for teachers.