Toss the Markers!
By Carolyn Flores
Okay…well it’s just an idea!
How it all began….
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One day, about two years ago, I was enjoying
my class and writing some interesting words on
the board. All of a sudden, I felt queasy AGAIN
and began to notice the familiar lightheadedness
I would always seem to get just before lunch.
I tried to shake it off and as I turned around, I
dropped my marker which happened to roll down
my new white summer pants.
I suddenly realized it was that very marker
making me feel sick!
And…..from that day on……..I never looked
back.…….
I tossed the markers out!
Okay…..well, it wasn’t THAT
dramatic. But I was determined
to find another way to teach!
And then…….I had an idea!
Why not use the computer?!
And lo and behold… it was the
best idea I have ever had in all my
years of teaching.
And to share with you, here are a
few things that I’ve discovered about
teaching with the computer, the
keyboard, and the mouse……
The Advantages
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Effective and efficient use of time
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Caters to all levels (great for multi-level!)
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Students just need to listen and get a copy later
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Has spell check and synonym words on the spot
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Is VISUALLY attractive!
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You can COPY, SAVE, and REUSE your lessons
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Allows for file management – it’s SO easy!
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Allows for picture vocabulary (clipart and on-line)
More Advantages…..
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Students can do more grammar and writing
activities. They can focus on what they need.
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Allows for editing sentences and paragraphs as a
class.
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Allows for lower level students to be part of any
lesson designed for intermediate and advanced.
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Environmentally friendly – fewer photocopies!
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Resourceful – little digging for material in books.
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Allows for reinforcement – just pull up, copy, and
review, review, and review!
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Interactive – On-line quizzes, games, and exercises.
You can buy your own programs and use them, too!
Disadvantages
Ummmm…..maybe these ones……
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The projector does get warm if it is being
used for 5 hours a day. The bulbs are
expensive – however 1 bulb = 2000 hours.
Electricity = $
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If you are not comfortable using a computer
….this style may not be for you
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Available classroom technology may not
support this method
Great for…..
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Tuning into listening websites, news releases on
Yahoo, CNN…etc
Reading CURRENT online stories together and
analyzing sentence structure
Working on grammar quizzes together
Typing out and editing sentences to highlight key
points
Practicing pronunciation lists and separating words
into syllables
Finding and printing off instant lessons from the
internet & using your file management systems
Any questions so far?
Let’s try some websites!
www.dailyesl.com
www.usingenglish.com/quizzes
www.rong-chang.com
www.esl-galaxy.com/grammarsheets.html
www.esltower.com/vocabulary.html
www.breakingnewsenglish.com
http://a4esl.org/q/f/
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RR9N1ia1RgU
www.yahoo.com