Zainab Abu Mrad
In this blog, you will find students' published work (Grades 3,4,and 5)and some educational posts and beneficial reflections
About Me
~ Don’t give up on your dreams just because you: encounter a few bumps on the road, someone tells that you are not good enough, who are they to tell you that? you don’t have all you need, life has been unfair, it’s taking too long to accomplish. You were born for a great purpose. Keep your dreams alive. See on the flip side of life ~ Eston Swaby. This quote clearly my Beliefs in life. I am 21 years old; I teach at Rawafid school. I am an English teacher. . I graduated last year from LIU.
Saturday, April 14, 2018
12 Keys to High Quality Early Childhood Inclusion
I attended this webinar. it was really interesting and beneficial. the presenter presented great information have been taken from a real classroom. Actually, it was about promote inclusion education for all students. Also, she presented the benefits of inclusion in early education. The presenter tried to engage us and get us ready to the webinar. she mentioned an important idea which was value children/ strengthening, sustaining, and ensuring inclusion practices. She gave me some ideas for what I might use in my class. The presenter mention that we need to welcome, accept, and respect differences and diversity; that can be promoted by enhancing memberships (peer support/ full social development/ emotional). when the students feel like they are engaged in curriculum, they will learn much more than we expect. learning material should be accessible, and they should meet students' different styles. Before planning for the lesson, the teacher must plan to create appropriate environment. modeling is essential, and the students should be treated as children not adults!
Monday, April 9, 2018
At secondary level, the teacher was perfect.
She had the most effective tools that caught students’ attention. She taught us
English in a new way. Her personality and her language were perfect just like
her. When they ask me which teacher left a touch in your school, I just mention
her name T. Amal Farhat. She made me love English. Her activities were
interesting, beneficial, and valuable. She motivated me a lot. She is a good
listener, supportive, active, lively, full of energy, and creative. I’ve learnt
many things from her, she built my confidence. She motivated us to do things
much better. And also pushed us to write, speak, and read English. I
learned new words, some structures, and affirmed a lot of rules in my mind.
Group work, free writing, attractive topics, free reading, interesting
activities for practice, support, motivation, reinforcement, and positive
feedback were really effective for me. One day she told me and some girls that
she wanted to talk with us after class. We went with her outside and she told
us that we have nice ideas, we are creative, and we can write something good. I
participated in that competition, I wrote a poem “Your Buddy”, the teacher
corrected some mistakes, so I won the 3rd place. I really appreciate
her; she inspired me to be an English language teacher.
“One of the
most challenging types of learners to address in the classroom is the
kinesthetic learner. Kinesthetic learners learn best by moving their bodies,
activating their large or small muscles as they learn. These are the “Hands-on”
or the “doers” who actually concentrate better when movement is involved.
Students need multiple exposures to a word before they fully understand that
word and can apply it; they need to learn the words in context, not stand alone
lists that come and go back each week”. Most of grade 4 students are kinesthetic learners. They learn
better throughout the activities that require body movement. The more the move
and have fun the more they learn and enjoy learning. In grammar, “Adjectives”
lesson is really interesting. The teacher presented some objects that grabbed
students’ attention (Animals) so they can describe them using the adjectives
they already know (Schemata Activation). And then, the teacher introduced new
adjectives, and they students classified them (people/places/ things). The most
interesting part of that session was the game-like activity; when the students
were divided into pairs, and when they came up to the board and stood in front
of the classmates (face to face). The students tried to describe each other using
as many adjectives as they can. The pupils used the new ones; the student who
wasn’t able to find an adjective within 10 seconds in his turn lost the game.
As teachers, we
never stop learning. Every Saturday, we attend a precious workshop that can
provide us with the efficient tools that can be applied in the class room.
These workshops can qualify the teachers to do their jobs in the best possible
way. We work together as a team, in other words, as a family. We discuss with
each other what is useful and what is not. Also, we try to choose wisely what
fits students’ needs, levels, abilities, and interests. That work shop was
about learning through the projects. We discussed what we know about that
concept, and we revised what we took last session with Dr. Amal Farhat. During
that session, we discussed teacher’s role and learner’s role too. We were
divided into groups to work. We presented our work on a poster, and we
discussed it with Dr. Mohammad Assaf in front of the teachers. That workshop was
really fruitful; it opened our eyes on new things maybe we didn’t realize
before. I really enjoyed attending such work shops; every time I can add
something new to my educational repertoire.
Our lesson was about “How to be a
Good Citizen”. The students generate ideas about the concept, and they teacher
wrote down their ideas on a web. One of their ideas was about “Cooperation”.
Grade three students asked if they can bring oranges and lemons to make orange
juice and lemonade. The teacher supported the idea. Students divided the work
among each other. Each one of them has a specific task. Each task was really
essential to complete the work successfully. The next day, the students were
super ready to start! We worked all together, helped each other and cooperated
to finish it on time. Because of the precious cooperation, we enjoyed a
delicious orange juice and lemonade. Everyone was engaged. The students were
happy, and they exactly understood the true meaning of a good citizen. Also,
they learned how good citizens can make their community better. It was fruitful
activity; students’ learning about that concept was really meaningful because
they applied what they’ve learned in a real context.
Nature is the most inspiring resource
for journal writing. Spring season has started; grade three students love that
season a lot. As we usually do, we take 10 minutes to write a journal and draw
something related to it. The students went out to the nature to write a journal
about their favorite season. The girls sat beside each other and the boys as
well. I realized that the sentences they wrote were more elaborated and
detailed. Students’ drawings were really amazing. The students were happy, and
they tried to enjoy writing in the fresh air. When the girls finished, they
collected colorful flowers. When the students finished, they lined up neatly
and walked gently to the class.
In term one, we followed a new routine with grade three students. The students were supposed to bring with them new adjectives or antonyms to class and teach the classmates. Mariam, Jana and Leila got two designed posters, and they presented them to their classmates. The students were happy; they tried to use these words each now and then. And they tried to retrieve what they learned by remembering who presented them. That routine was really beneficial; it paid off!! The students learned from each other. Maybe the way they used to present things for their friends was better than mine.
There was a project for grade 5
students; the students were supposed to make something out of materials
(reuse). They bring what they create to the class, explained what they did step
by step, and they presented its importance. The students were really creative;
the material they used was simple, but the final product was really great. The
students enjoyed creating thing out of used materials. Also, they learned that
simple things can be useful if they have been used properly. It was really
essential to teach the kids how they can benefit from everything. Reusing the
materials can solve a problem, and it can save money as well. I really
appreciate your efforts and your creativity my little Cupcakes! In our school,
Al-Rawafid, we support creativity in any domain as much as possible, and its
part of our philosophy that the student is the basic ingredient of the learning
process. We work as hard as we can to make our students much more skillful and
creative; we work hard to make learning Meaningful!
Grade three students were supposed to write an
informational report about an animal. Firstly, they listed their favorite
animals such as koalas, sharks, and penguins. Each of them generated an idea
for the begging part until they wrote a paragraph. After that, they started to
discuss what they know about these animals. Students were very creative; they
gave precious and important information about these animals. The teacher helped
them to form correct structures. Each of the students designed his/her own poster
about his/her favorite animal. They presented their posters in front of the
classmates. Students’ posters were published on the bulletin board.
“Show & Tell” is one of the daily activities we do during the English language
periods. The students bring any thing they own, present it to the classmates,
and talk about it a little bit. The teacher and the students listen attentively
to the speaker and show him/her an interest in what they are talking about.
Students really like that kind of activities because they like to share their
toys and precious stuff with their friends. The main purpose of this activity
is enhancing fluency, but there are many other purposes such as build
self-confidence improve listening skills and improve English language speaking
skills as well. Such activities would appreciate students thoughts; students
would feel like their voices are heard, and what they are doing is really
important. Actually, the students like to discuss things with each other, and
exchange information about a certain thing. They are all enthusiastic to watch
a new presentation with new interesting object.
Monday, April 2, 2018
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me
and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” In our educational system, we care
about schedule, books, and curriculum. And we forget the most important
ingredient which is “Students”. Our students are
not motivated to learn, and they “Hate” schools. This is an important
issue that should be solved. Otherwise, the educational level will decrease!!
There are many activities that
can be applied in any school easily. These activities will involve, motivate,
and engage the students to love school. But before any activity, the students
must feel the sense of belonging. And this is teachers’ responsibility to
provide for them a safe environment.
The teacher should be smart enough, and she should take into consideration students' levels, abilities, interests, and needs. With simple, smart and wise touches, we can make the school a place for having fun and learning at the same time .
The teacher should be smart enough, and she should take into consideration students' levels, abilities, interests, and needs. With simple, smart and wise touches, we can make the school a place for having fun and learning at the same time .
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