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Making quiz days more interesting.
OK, quiz days are unlikely to be any student's favorite. I strongly suggest using the quizzes in the back of English Firsthand instead of big, end-of-semester tests (students don't actually learn much during "test week" -- they have too many tests and don't get enough sleep. And it is during sleep that short term memory for studying becomes long term memory). (Photo: Green Cameleon, Unsplash.com)
But quiz days don't need to be painful. Here are some simple things I do to make these days less stressful for the students -- and for me. The order of these activities are not really important. These just happen to fit what I am teaching.
OK, quiz days are unlikely to be any student's favorite. I strongly suggest using the quizzes in the back of English Firsthand instead of big, end-of-semester tests (students don't actually learn much during "test week" -- they have too many tests and don't get enough sleep. And it is during sleep that short term memory for studying becomes long term memory). (Photo: Green Cameleon, Unsplash.com)
But quiz days don't need to be painful. Here are some simple things I do to make these days less stressful for the students -- and for me. The order of these activities are not really important. These just happen to fit what I am teaching.
After units 1 and 2.
Laughter yoga. This lightens the mood. If you happen to have "contagious laughter" - great. Lead the laughter session yourself. If not, use this video from Beth Agnew, a teacher in Canada. If you are teaching Firsthand 2, this goes along with the Unit 2 Real stories. If you want to know more about laughter yoga, CLICK HERE.
Laughter yoga. This lightens the mood. If you happen to have "contagious laughter" - great. Lead the laughter session yourself. If not, use this video from Beth Agnew, a teacher in Canada. If you are teaching Firsthand 2, this goes along with the Unit 2 Real stories. If you want to know more about laughter yoga, CLICK HERE.
After units 3 and 4.
Eat chocolate. I bring chocolate for the class. Ideally, dark chocolate. When students are doing Firsthand Success, they talked about healthy and unhealthy foods. (click on the picture and you can get a copy). I show the picture without the health information and ask them to guess how healthy chocolate is or isn't. (basically chocolate is healthy. Dark chocolate is better than milk chocolate which has a lot of sugar. Just bringing chocolate lightens the mood -- it can't be too scary if the teacher is bringing a treat. If you want to go farther with it, you can even do an eating with mindfulness meditation. (Substitute the blueberry for chocolate in this script.
Eat chocolate. I bring chocolate for the class. Ideally, dark chocolate. When students are doing Firsthand Success, they talked about healthy and unhealthy foods. (click on the picture and you can get a copy). I show the picture without the health information and ask them to guess how healthy chocolate is or isn't. (basically chocolate is healthy. Dark chocolate is better than milk chocolate which has a lot of sugar. Just bringing chocolate lightens the mood -- it can't be too scary if the teacher is bringing a treat. If you want to go farther with it, you can even do an eating with mindfulness meditation. (Substitute the blueberry for chocolate in this script.
After units 5 & 6.
Sing a song. There are a lot of songs (plus bits of brain science) on the Energy Breaks page. I like the Playing for Change version of Bobby McFerrin's classic "Don't worry, Be happy." Hint: change the subtitles to 300% to make them big. Have the students sing along. Want to know some of the science about singing and happiness (as well as other factors). Visit THIS PAGE. Scroll down to the part about music, singing and gesture (near the bottom)
Sing a song. There are a lot of songs (plus bits of brain science) on the Energy Breaks page. I like the Playing for Change version of Bobby McFerrin's classic "Don't worry, Be happy." Hint: change the subtitles to 300% to make them big. Have the students sing along. Want to know some of the science about singing and happiness (as well as other factors). Visit THIS PAGE. Scroll down to the part about music, singing and gesture (near the bottom)
After units 7 and 8.
Physical Energy Break. Our students' bodies are not designed to sit down for 60 or 90 minutes. I like adding "Energy Breaks" (a physical activity plus a little brain science) to the class. There are 16 to choose from (enough for one a week in many classes) on THIS PAGE. Just before a quiz, try 1-minutes exercise routine or 5, right here, right now.
Physical Energy Break. Our students' bodies are not designed to sit down for 60 or 90 minutes. I like adding "Energy Breaks" (a physical activity plus a little brain science) to the class. There are 16 to choose from (enough for one a week in many classes) on THIS PAGE. Just before a quiz, try 1-minutes exercise routine or 5, right here, right now.
After units 9 and 10.
Eat a cookie. Bring cookies for the class. The logic is similar to the "eat chocolate" idea after units 3 & 4. The Washington Post (CLICK HERE) did have an article about high calories being useful on for test results. I use that mostly as an excuse.
Eat a cookie. Bring cookies for the class. The logic is similar to the "eat chocolate" idea after units 3 & 4. The Washington Post (CLICK HERE) did have an article about high calories being useful on for test results. I use that mostly as an excuse.
After units 11 and 12.
How about another song? Go back to the ENERGY BREAKS page. One of my favorites is the Playing for Change version of What a wonderful world. (I really hope your class has helped your students discover a wonder world of English and each other).
How about another song? Go back to the ENERGY BREAKS page. One of my favorites is the Playing for Change version of What a wonderful world. (I really hope your class has helped your students discover a wonder world of English and each other).