Reflections on Remembrance Day Lesson

 

     Reflections on Remembrance Day Lesson          November  9, 2020

 

One of my most dreaded topics to teach is Remembrance Day.  Remembrance Day for me is a very emotional celebration,  but not because I have lost any one to war or have been close to it.  The ceremonies, speeches, prayers, and all parts of Remembrance Day are just very sad.  Many ESL students come from war torn countries, so it’s not an easy topic for them as well, and we never know might trigger their own memories. So when I realized that I would be teaching a lesson on this topic as the first lesson of my practicum, I tried to focus on the positive.  How do Canadians celebrate it?  Why is it important to Canadians?  What is important for students to learn about the cultural aspects of it?  

 

Although the lesson was challenging for me to teach and may have been an emotionally charged topic for some of the students, I think it went OK. I think the video/slides on Remembrance Day vocabulary was good because the students did well in the definition matching exercise.  I thought that using videos about Remembrance Day in Canada might be a good starting point for discussions. I think the videos did work well because they gave the students a very broad picture and visual representation of what Remembrance Day is in Canada. I found that the questions about the videos did not always generate as much discussion as I had hoped for. The teacher suggested that I ask more specific questions, which may help the students narrow in on certain things.  She also suggested that I give very specific questions  before showing the video for the students to look for in the videos, which will help them focus, and be more attentive when watching. 

 

The teacher also told me that she uses translanguaging for creating the breakout discussion groups with the same language.  She says there has been a lot of research in this area which suggests that it works very well, and she has personally found that it really helps her students progress and build confidence.  So this is something I will remember for future teaching. 

 

Since the teacher was teaching a parallel class in the morning session, I asked her what she taught, and she has used a fill in the blanks about Remembrance Day with prepositions as the grammar focus.  So I must remember to incorporate grammar into the lessons where I can. 

 

I had a few technical glitches such as no sound on the videos I loaded because I was not the host.  Our work around was to have the teacher share her screen with the videos.  Also, was forgetting to press return when posting things in the chat room.  However, it does show the students we all make mistakes and that’s how we learn!  

Remembrance Day Lesson Plan
Date and Time: Nov 9 2020 Class and Level: CLB 3/4/5
Technology: Computer, Google classroom, Zoom Unit:  Canadian Culture Lesson: Remembrance Day Learning Outcome:  Students will have a greater understanding of what Remembrance Day is about in Canada.                Learning Objectives: Students will:  1) understand why we celebrate Remembrance Day in Canada  2) understand what the culturally norms are for celebrating Remembrance Day in Canada  3) use some of the language to describe Remembrance Day activities in Canada.   Resources: Adobe spark video (https://spark.adobe.com/sp/urn:aaid:sc:US:a26bd59a-de25-4aaa-bf9f-8c8d9eacc542?fmt=video),  CBC Remembrance Day video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDh7N9VG1kQ Inside Edition Remembrance Day video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28RvhnK6X_I   Picture of my father-in-law.   Email vocabulary matching exercise so students have it.  Email asynchronous paragraph writing exercise question to students.
	Skill	Special Instructions	Estimated Timing	Teacher Reflections
Warm-up / Review: This activity helps students focus on what is good about Canada:  Peace and security being some of the qualities we enjoy in Canada.	Speaking	2-3 groups:  Discuss questions:  Why did you want to come to Canada?   What is special about Canada.	5 min	The questions generated good discussion.
Introduction:  Explain that today we will have a special lesson about Remembrance Day.  Ask what students know about Remembrance Day.  Use vocabulary words to assess what students know about Canadian culture around the celebration of Remembrance Day.	Writing/reading	Evoking Background knowledge of Vocabulary. One word at a time, give students vocabulary words for Remembrance Day on Chat (allow students to write out words). Have a large group discussion to assess students understanding of the vocabulary words: November 11, Remembrance Day, parade, wreath, prayer, songs, poppy, speech, soldier, peace, gathering, marching band, poem (In Flanders Field), minute of silence, veterans, fly past, salute	15-20 min	Many of the students had some background knowledge about R.D. but this was a good review.
Presentation:  Narrated video shows slides about Remembrance Day Celebrations in Canada using the vocabulary	Listening and Speaking	Show video/slide (Adobe Spark)  Show 2X if needed.  Large group discussion: What did you find interesting, or what was new information for you?	10-15 min	The question was not specific enough.  I think it would have been better to do as a powerpoint and stop at each slide.
Focused Practice: Students will match words to definitions based on the slide show. Appendix A:  Put on shared screen.	Reading/writing	Matching vocabulary words and definitions: vocabulary words with separate definitions/descriptions are given. Students write the vocab word matching the definition on paper:  Example: 1.     This red flower is the symbol of Remembrance Day.  Answer: poppy	5-10 min to do and 10 min to discuss	This worked well and the students did well.    Could also replace this will a fill in the blanks paragraph that focuses on prepositions (in, at, on).
Semi-focused Practice:    Students will first discuss  in breakout groups what they saw on the video and then use the vocabulary to create sentences describing events at RD.	Listening and speaking	Show: Remembrance Day Across Canada video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDh7N9VG1kQ (watch to see Winnipeg) Breakout (groups of 3) and then large group discussions:  (put in chat box)  What happens at a Remembrance Day gathering? (How do Canadians celebrate Remembrance Day?)  Each group use the vocabulary words to create one or two sentence and add it to the Chat box (you can write it on paper before putting it on Chat).	5 min breakout 5 min to post answers	Give more of an introduction to the video. There was good discussion in my breakout room but not in some of the others. Need more specific questions to focus attention.   Use translanguaging breakout rooms.
Part 2: watch video why Remembrance Day is important and the poppy And discuss questions in small groups	Listening  speaking	Show Remembrance Day video:  What Is Remembrance Day and Why Is the Poppy its Symbol?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28RvhnK6X_I Discuss in small groups: (put in chat box)  Why do Canadians celebrate Remembrance Day? Why is the poppy a symbol of Remembrance Day?	20 min	I think the questions were OK, but again should have more specific ones as well.
Filler Activity (if needed)	Listening	Talk about my father-in-law, a soldier in WWII	5-10 min	Not needed
Free practice/Application:Asynchronous Homework Google Classroom	Writing	Write a short paragraph (4-5 sentences):  How do Canadians celebrate Remembrance Day? Do you think it is important to celebrate Remembrance Day?  (put assignment questions in chat box)  Send email to students with the question and ask them to reply:    Remember to:  1)     use the vocabulary words from today. 2)     use complete sentences 3)     use proper punctuation 4)     use articles (a, an, the) 5)     check subject/verb agreement 6)     check verb tense.	30 min  Asynchronous Must be completed by 4  PM today	Some students were late.  But all knew how to reply to the email.  Most students only wrote 2-3 lines.  There were many grammar and punctuation errors. They all seems to have good general answers.

 

Appendix A: 

Remembrance Day Word Matching

 

 

Write the word from below that matches the definition.  

 

Definition	Word
1.     A red flower that is the symbol of Remembrance Day.
2.     People getting together in groups.
3.     People who play music together in a parade.
4.     A time when we are quiet and think of special people for 60 seconds.
5.     A person (soldier) who has served in the military.
6.     Airplanes flying in a special pattern for a ceremony.
7.     The special day on the 11th day of the 11th month.
8.     A way of showing respect, usually by raising your hand by your head.
9.     A group of people marching together for a special occasion.
10.  A special talk by someone about a person or thing.
11.  A special way of writing that is like a song but without music
12.  A circle of flowers and leaves for a special occasion.

 

Remembrance Day      wreath           poppy         speech           gathering          marching band

 

poem      parade            minute of silence        veteran          flypast            salute