Time for assessment

Late October goups built their own suggestions of ASSESSMENT PROFILES.
Here they are. They are the guidelines for your own self-assessment.
Everything you see in bold is quoted or taken directly from your proposals.
To self-assess you also need to check:
- Year Plan
- Wrap up & Portfolio
- European Levels - Self-assessment grid
- Written text - assessment criteria
- Speeches & Debates - Checklist
- GW roles - Guidelines
All of these, of course, you can find here on the blog :-)

HAMLET

The LISBON PLAYERS are now staging HAMLET.
Don't miss it. Friday's performance (December, 4th) is sold out, but there are other dates available.
To reserve a place phone: Tel: 213 961 946 and leave a message.

Focus on Vocabulary

Here is the worksheet for you to print and ... answer.

PARLIAMENT

Welcome to our "parliamentary week"...
This week will be almost entirely dedicated to 'A day in the life of a demcracy'...
Yes, let's see how democracy works by looking into one of its pillars: the Parliament.


Since it is not that easy to go to London we'll have to do with BBC's DEMOCRACY LIVE to pay a visit to the House of Commons. You can do it any time you please, comfortably sitting at home. Together, on Monday morning,we will listen to the Queen's speech...

As for the Portuguese Parliament, next Wednesday, take a pen and a note pad (remember, your cell phone is not allowed in) and keep your eyes and ears wide open (but your mouth zipped) while we listen to our MPs. Check the agenda for Wednesday, 25th  here.

Our focus in either case will be:
- The 'House of Lords' & The 'House of Commons' and the Portuguese Hemiciclo. The buildings, the 'rituals' and procedures. Differences and similarities between the two parliaments. Be ready to describe and discuss.

- The Speakers - the Speeches - the Audience: Purpose of speeches; main arguments and theses. Language markers/features. Impact of speeches.
- Overall impressions - the ambience, the importance or relevance of the debate and the speeches, the background work that underlies what we can see and hear.
Beware of your own assumptions...be ready to change your lenses now and then!

I hope you'll have a good time :-)

Portfolio

If you are having trouble writing your portfolio, take some time to read my message to Sara which you can find here.
Remember that you should also refer to the document Wrap ups anf Portfolio which I update on a regular basis.

Thought provoking

Here are two paintings by a very famous German painter George Grosz.
Read about the painter and his paintings and caricatures here (MoMA - Museum of Modern Art) or here (The Tate Gallery, UK).

The Eclipse of the Sun (1926)

Pillars of Society (1926)

Preparing the DEBATE

"Democratic systems do not work unless theres is basic consensus amongst citizens about the acceptability of their state and social system, or at least a readiness to bargain for compromise settlements. This, in turn, is much facilitated by prosperity."

in Hobsbawm, E. (1994). Age of Extremes - The Short Twentieth Century - 1914-10091 (p 136). London: Michael Joseph.

There will be 5 sides to our debate. List the arguments, find examples of countries/societies that are/were organised that way because you will be defending:
DEMOCRACY - Mário, Bernardo, J, Meira, Rita
MONARCHY - Hugo, J. Machado, Karina
OLIGARCHY - Tiago, Frederico, Joana D.
DICTATORSHIP of the PROLETARIAT - João C, Pedro, João V.
ANARCHY - Inês, Marta, Nuno, Sara

I'm sure we'll have a very lively debate this Wednesday :-)

These wikipedia entries may not be very accurate but they can shed some light on the subject. To read with caution:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_democracy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_powers

For assessment use this checklist which will also help you prepare a good speech.

The English Language

 Thank you Hugo for calling my attention to the fact that I forgot to post this worksheet about the English Language.
Also, you might like to find out more about, and read more poems by Benjamin Zephaniah. You see, his latest book is called 'The Teacher's dead',so ...

4 freedoms

Some speeches made history for their importance and because they marked an era. They cannot be forgotten.
This is one of them. The famous Four-Freedom speech by F.D. Roosevelt.
Listen and read (here is the worksheet). And if you want to read the whole speech follow this LINK.

Fish-eaters and the Crystal Coffin

The title is enigmatic ... but the text is interesting enough.
Here is the text you read last Friday, and which we will  continue to explore this Monday.
Democray - Oligarchy - Monarchy

I recommend...

All of us have a 'book of a lifetime, or a 'film you can't miss', or 'a place I will never forget'...
Why not share it with all the colleagues?
Volunteer and you'll have 20 minutes to give your short presentation and persuade us to read, see or go...

João M. and João V. tried to catch your attention last week but, unfortunately, you were busy showing that you were not paying attention. Well, you know what I mean and it would be a good idea to have an entry in your Learning Journal about this 'trick' we played on them.

What's in the NEWS?

Last week we watched these two BBC news video reports in class:

Iraq fears return to violence

CCTV of Turkish boy's 'miracle' escape

Now it's your turn. Volunteer to present some news report you would like to discuss in class.
Ckeck the BBC or other sources.

- Introduce the news report
- Analyse both text and image
- Introduce new Vocabulary (words/phrases/expressions you learned)
- Raise questions for debate
- Conclude and give suggestions for future debate/research

Plans & Schedules

Project planning can really be hard work if you really set yourselves to finding good Research Questions. Figuring out which sources and field work will be most likely to bring the best results, is not exactly easy, either.

On your own you've identified OBJECTIVES and possible OUTPUTS. From your notes (and I'm afraid sometimes they were not so clear) I've organised this table that gives us an overview of the different projects. This is a working document. Now pick the project you'd like to develop and MAKE IT YOUR OWN.

We need to reconcile working in a group (your projects) and 'regular' classwork so to say (or as most of you would call it)... So here is an initial work schedule. I'll update it as you enroll for the different activities such as 'What's in the news' and 'I recommend'.

Last but not the least, here is a very important reminder concerning GROUP WORK and the different ROLES that make up leadership. Yes, you may not be a born leader, but if you care to learn, and practise, and think ... you may become a true leader. Give it a try.Will you?

Almost done...

We are a few lessons away from finishing this initial phase and actually starting your own projects.
By October 23rd  PROJECT planning form and final task  should be completed.
On Monday negotation of deadlines will take place ..

Please remember to bring to Friday's class:
- the Wrap Up & Portfolio update
- the Year Plan

Organising work

Hello again;

If, by any chance, the purpose of the previous group work was unclear to some of you, I'm sure that after this new activity it will all become crystal clear. Wishful thinking :-)
Now it's time to plan the activities that will make research more interesting.Click here for the guidelines.
You will also need this PROJECT PLANNING form .

Brief assessment of GW - Making sense of the syllabus

Well, presentations are finally over:-) All of you did very well and you managed to raise some important questions. I can say we've successfully completed this stage - make the themes/topics more meaningful to us by reflecting about what we already know and devising new questions so we can find out more.

 I must say, though, that I resent the fact that the campaign for the Students' Union has interfered negatively with our work, even if I admit that having the president of the Union among us is something that should not be disregarded....
You know what I mean. In this particular group, some of you had brilliant ideas but they all came to nothing because you were not able to reorganise your work, adapting to new conditions (that is, two non-present members). So, how do you plan to make up for it?

So, summing up, contents were good as usual but I must say I am not too pleased with your group work (collaboration) skills. This is something we will have to address in a very serious way. I promise we will.
Here is some feedback on you work. Here is the worksheet/classwork used to guide (self-)assessment of GW. Here are the posters. Don't forget you need them for the portfolio.

 

 

Learning Journal entry # 3

This has been a very hectic week, at least for some of you. Not all classes have someone running for President or other important roles in the Students' Union :-)
Unfortunately, that has also meant some disruption in the Group Work Presentations because our schedule was turned upside down and some of you were simply not there to listen to and support your colleagues :-(
Anyway, tomorrow, the last presentation(s) will take place and you'll also take a Test/Progress Check so we can all understand if this work was really fruitful and according to our expectations.

In the meanwhile, here are some cues for your next Learning Journal entry. Please, post it on your blogs/sites, or hand it in by Wednesday, 21st.
My advice: write a text/tell a story that somehow answers (some of) these questions instead of answering each question individually.

What made your work difficult?
What made it easy? What unblocked it when in a deadend?
Did you feel the need to organise your group better?
Did you sometimes feel let down by other group member(s)?
Were tasks evenly divided?
Was it difficult to keep focused?
Are you afraid/do you feel guilty of laughing and having a good time when in class, in the group? Is that compatible with keeping focused?
Is it helpful to know you don't have to worry about organising/bringing materials/worrying about time/worrying about having everybody involved .... because you've divided roles and you know someone in the group is responsible for that?
DID YOU FEEL YOU COULD NEVER HAVE DONE THIS WORK ALONE? Why?

Building our own syllabus

Yes, building our own syllabus is exactly what we are doing. Your questions will shape our future work, which will be based on research ... and hard work. So the better and more enlightening your questions are, the more interesting work will become. For all of us.

The first presentation by João Meira, Inês, João Machado and Bernardo has really done it. Some excellent questions, controversial and thought provoking, without a doubt. And based on what I've seen of the other groups' posters, these high standards will not be lowered :-)

 See you.

Consurso Traduzir Awards Ceremony - follow up

Well, you can't say you're short of school outings... You may, however, complain that school outings bring more work.

This visit may not have been so interesting (after all Encompassing the Globe was a renowned international exhibition) but there is a lot of information to be explored and some 'food for thought'. Here are some questions to get you started:
- What may be the role and the importance of translation?
- Is translation 'the art of failure' (U. Eco)?
- What makes a good translator?
- What examples of 'translation problems' can you think of?
- Are you motivated to try them?

And now, as you may have guessed, it's time to write your second Learning Journal entry this year.

Getting Started (1) - Making sense of the other / the syllabus

Today we are starting a new unit. It will be your first contact with this year's syllabus/curriculum (part 1), and it will hopefully foster discussion about assessment and how classwork should/will be organised (part 2).
The whole unit is designed to give you a say, so take the opportunity :-)
Part 1 will take a whole week - two lessons for group work and one lesson for presentations and discussion (October, 7th).
Click here to have an overview of the unit (Parts 1 and 2)
Click here for the guidelines for your group work (Part 1)
Enjoy...

Eggcersise

Yes, you guessed, the aim of this activity was not to keep you awake. It was fun but it was also a way of thinking about group dynamics.

Here are just a few comments. I hope I can hear from you too.

• the contraptions you devised were really ingenious. You were creative and resourceful :-)

• there were different ways of achieving the objective:
  some did a lot of thinking and planning, which is absolutely essential, but does not necessarily do the trick!
  some planned and started right away, which proved effectual but again... not necessarily!
• you came up with different ideas for testing your constructions, which is great. Trial-and-error, basically.
• all groups did very well. To be honest, all but one. The one whose members did not commit themselves to the task; discussion was poor, not all members included.
• the groups that worked better managed equal participation of all members. All were engaged and enthusiastic about the task.
• it proved difficult for all of you to (i) listen to and (ii) follow instructions. You should give it serious thought. Tell me, why is it so difficult to work in silence?

Now, I'd like to hear from you. Write a comment, or use the forum. Take a look at the photos.
And to the OBSERVER GRID.

PS: I should say the observers did an excellent job :-)

Encompassing the Globe - follow up

I should say I really enjoyed our visit last Friday. Our hosts/guides were excellent and, I speak for myself, I learned a whole lot of new things. I am now able to look at those maps, paintings and artifacts with more informed eyes. Enlightening:-)

So, today, after an eggcersise which is meant to wake you up, and you do know what I mean, I'll ask you to do some writing that will help you look through some of the new information and reflect on what you've learned.

I hope you enjoy the writing tasks.

Encompassing the World

Next lesson: The field trip ENCOMPASSING THE WORLD
Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga - 18 September - 11:00 (We'll leave school at 9:45)

The BIG QUESTION is: what on earth is the link between this exhibition and the English subject? (check the topics)
There isn't much time for preparation so I'll just say that, besides keeping your eyes open, listening to the guide and taking notes, your task will be to answer this question.

Next week we'll get started. Our field trip will have set the tone, I hope. We'll start a GROUPWORK that will outline and shape our work this year. It's your SAY.

Hello everybody,

A new school year has started which, incidentally, is your final year at secondary school. Have you thought about what ir really means?

I'd like this course to be just like an ONGOING dialogue about the things we like and want to learn. With many QUESTIONS, inquiries and findings. And some positive conflicts, too :-)

Let's think together how we can do it; how we can find BRIDGES to link the familiar (that makes us feel nice and cozy ZZZZ) and the new and unknown (that baffles and challenges us) ...

Let’s think together about how to create and keep the right ATMOSPHERE, how to keep high levels of interest and curiosity.

We can discuss all this in class and in our forum CHITCHAT. WHY don’t you try it?

A few things I can say right now:

- We won't have a 'manual'/ TextBook, which I think is GREAT! Guess why.

- TOGETHER, we'll be organising lots of debates, and lectures, and role plays, and joint presentations, and OUTings/field trips. By the way, click here to find out about the first one.

- Unless you specifically ask ... we don't need to do that much grammar. The ENGLISH LANGUAGE is our business so we might as well use it to discuss IDEAS and discover NEW texts.

- These are the TOPICS we'll be dealing with. They are in our syllabus but we should interpret and expand them our way.

- A word of advice: set clear goals for yourself .... don't let grades mess up with your learning!

- Well, we (most of us) have known each other for quite a while now. I'm sure you're wondering about the PORTFolioooo. Are you?

WELCOME
I wish you a very pleasant and successful school year.