Who is Teacher James?
Background South African 我是南非人。 Rhodes University I studied Philosophy ( 哲學 ), English Literature ( 英文學 ) and Classical Civilisations ( 古歷史 ).
At Chingshin This is my fourth year at Chingshin. I have taught in the regular class programme. I have taught bilingual grades 1 and 3. Teacher Ham ( grade 1 ), Teacher David ( grade 5 ) and I have been developing the open learning area.
Teaching Philosophy
21 st Century Skills Critical Thinking Communication Collaboration Creativity
What are we doing? We are applying cooperative learning 合作學習 practices to our students education. Why are we doing this? To maximize the opportunities for students to practice English communication skills. Cooperative Learning
Increase student-talk-time. Decrease teacher-talk-time. (Clear instruction) Encourage students to take agency over what they do. For example: Students must agree upon and communicate with peers and teachers about their cooperative work in all four language areas. In Class
All grammar lessons will be taught by Teacher Shao and Teacher Alice. They cover grammar and Words To Know. Any questions about grammar, please ask them. Grammar
Open area learning is an important part of grade 3. Every week students will have lessons in the open area. The open area gives students the opportunity to develop and practice skills outside the normal classroom setting. Learning to cooperating will be a key focus of this area. Open Space Learning
Example
English curriculum breakdown Grade 3 English MidtermFinal Quizzes20% Writing10% Homework15% Participation10% Responsibility5% Tests40%
There will be a quiz every two weeks. Quizzes will be on Wednesday. The first quiz will be in week 3. Quizzes
In grade 3 we want to teach students to be responsible for their own learning and for helping their fellow classmates learn. Responsibility
2% peer-grading 2% doing corrections 1% handing in homework on time Responsibility
Handing in Homework Students must hand in homework every morning. Then they must check their name.
Handing in Homework For every 3 times homework is late -1%
Homework Slips To keep things easy, homework will follow a schedule.
Homework Slips Practice Book (PB) Blue Notebook (BNB) Corrections or writing (BNB) Worksheet (WS)
Homework Slips Monday : words x 5 (BNB) Tuesday : words x 5 and sentences (BNB) Wednesday : fluency reading (PB or WS) Thursday : corrections / writing (BNB) Friday : English worksheet (WS)
The fluency reading looks like this.
Students will read the story to someone at home. (parent, grandparent, aunt, older sibling, etc.) Fluency Reading
The one read to will fill out the reading form. Fluency Reading The student will then answer the questions in full sentences.
Fluency Reading The answers are marked for comprehension only.
小學部雙語班 Goals of the afterschool classes: To apply English skills learned To enjoy literature and drama To study social studies subjects in English To learn about research methods and to conduct research in English To write research papers To present 雙語班課後加課 : 聯結、實作、應用與產出 閱讀經典文學作品、學習社會科學與自然科學專題、研究方法、發表
年級週三週五 三 社會科學專題 : Geography - 四 世界名著讀書會 : Chocolate Factory / No Talking! 自然科學專題 : Ecology - 五 英語文學與戲劇 : Alice in Wonderland ( 結合聖誕節果展 ) 六 Research Projects 跨學科自主研究專題 ( 小論文 ) 閱讀經典文學作品、學習社會科學與自然科學專題、研究方法、發表 小學部雙語班 雙語班課後加課 : 聯結、實作、應用與產出
The after-school system is designed to give students a greater exposure to English using material they wouldn’t otherwise encounter in the school environment. Each year at Chingshin, English gets progressively harder, so this course gives students more opportunities to practice. After-School
6 week cycles – one teacher per cycle Each teacher will focus on a separate continent for their material. New material, but Treasures skills practiced After-School
Introduction to the continent of Africa People, plants and animals of Africa Open Learning Activities, information gathering and analyzing Folktales from various African nations Reflection on what’s been learned My after-school cycle
Looking forward to a wonderful year!