English Course Books

Do you have trouble finding the right book for your class? let me give you some advice about how to search for an appropriate English book according to the level and age of your class.

In the past, if someone wanted to write a text book for pupils, he could write and publish it without examining whether the book is suitable for the target population. The fact that the books were not examined in terms of content, level of language and cognitive suitability led to confusion about the teaching methods. In contrast to the past, nowadays the books have to be approved by The Ministry of Education. If the book has not been approved, it can't be used in a class.

A complete course book needs to have the whole package that must include three main parts: student book, workbook and teacher's guide, and it may include a dictionary, flash cards, short stories and a CD\CD ROM. If a book package doesn’t have one of the three main parts; it is not a complete course book.

When you are searching for a book, there are a few things you need to check.  First, check the accuracy of the content, in terms of English spelling and grammar; you need to see if the content is suitable for your class level. Then you have to make sure that the cognitive level and the skill level suits your class level by carefully scanning the text and questions in the book. Don’t forget that the content and the language should match. There is an option to use the English Curriculum's division of stages and levels that appears in each of the course books. We also need to check which type of English the book uses, UK or USA. Don’t look only in the teacher's guide; you also have to examine the student book and the workbook.

There is a wide range of course books; each book has a different attitude to learning, and you as a teacher need to choose whether you are teacher or a teacher that believes in developing thinking skills.

In addition to the course books there are supplementary books (they are also called support books), for example: unseen books, fun books, reading books, grammar books and coloring books. These books don’t need to be approved by the Ministry of Education, and we can use them as extra aids for the class.

Now, after you have read this post, and by following all the instructions, you will find the appropriate course book for your class, but remember- Texts may have the same meaning but be presented in different ways. Your job is to find the right textbook.

classroom managment

How do you feel in your classroom?

 

When I started learning in this collage I was sure that I know everything there is to know about classrooms and children.  I was so wrong!!!!!

 

being a teacher is one of the most important jobs there is, you have the ability to affect and shape little children lives, you can become their savior or their worst nightmare it really depends on your personality and how much dedication you have.  when everything is going well it's the most rewording job there is but when things are not good its the most exhausting job there is.

 

As a new teacher you always have to do things make up lesson plans, have meetings with all kind of people- guides, teachers, trainers etc... you always think you invent the wheel and work so hard to create things and show your abilities. more so you need to connect to the students and to teacher still you are a new teacher understand the politics of the teachers lounge and always make sure to be okay and do the best work you can do.  

 

There isn't a lot of things that I can write here that you don't already know or experience yourselves in the classroom. I believe that the most important thing is to love what you do and know when to ask for help, don't be ashamed, after all it is all new to us. 

 

Here is a video with a few tips that might help you- http://youtu.be/9CNeaFhLMXw

Good Luck

Rachel

 

Do you give or take poker chips?

Poker Chips

Have you ever stop and wondered what happens to a student on his way to or from school and how it affects him/her?!

One of our teachers sent me an interesting clip that made me think twice before saying something to a student especially the dyslexic student- and we all have a few of them in our classrooms.

The clip is by Richard Lavoie. He was the  administrator of residential programs for children with special needs for 30 year. In the video he talks about insecure dyslexic students and he compares the self esteem to a bag filled of poker chips and our lives to a game.  

The main idea is that everything in our lives affects that bag, if I'm beautiful and successful and don't have dyslexia or any other disorder than I have more poker chips to play with even if I lost some poker chips because I have a zit on my nose I can still play the game because I have a lot of chips to spare, the dyslexic student start with a lower pack of chips his starting line is not the same as the "normal" child so if something like that happens to him he doesn't have so many poker chips to stay in the "game" and play.

Everything we do or say to a dyslexic student affects his self esteem and his way of "playing" the game, we need to be aware of what and how we say things to these students- things that help them regain their confidence and give them poker chips and not only take from them.

We as teachers need to keep in mind that students after school and after meeting us need to face the rest of the world- on the school bus or playground, with their friends, peers, parents and they can take away all their poker chips so we need to make sure that we give them enough poker chips to keep them un the game and maybe able them to play smarter and handle their chips wiser.

I personally started thinking about everything and now I'm like a Santa Claus I give poker chips to all my students, and making sure they stay and play in the game and I even teach them some tricks. 

I highly recommend you spend a few minutes and watch this video it may make you a Santa as well.

Rachel

poker chips- Rick Lavoie