A video-based lesson with class III/4
Category Archives: miscellaneous
Environmental Issues in English lessons
English for Environmental Science is an integral part of my lessons in Environmental Protection Technician classes. This year, my 11th graders have mostly dealt with carbon footprint and 3 R’s, i.e. the ways we can reduce our negative impact on the environment. We carried out various activities, aimed not only at developing necessary language skills, but also at raising environmental awareness among others at school, both the students and the staff.
Therefore, our first step was to establish the level of environmental awareness of the target group. Students were put into groups of four and their task was to think of relevant questions which they would include in an online survey. When they completed the task, the representative of each group read their suggestions. The class as a whole agreed on the ones they would put in the survey. Then, three students created two versions, one in English, and the other in Serbian, using Google Forms.
English version: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfddod8YSeGzOn5ooaed6nyguGY8nov1dI3Cqa9bk2ojPrgXg/viewform?usp=sf_link
The link for the version in Serbian was shared with the students and the staff. Most of the respondents were unfamiliar with the term carbon footprint. Otherwise, they showed quite a good knowledge of major environmental issues, at least in theory.
After that, some students chose to make ppt presentations, others opted for classroom posters. We ended up with 2 PowerPoint presentations and 5 posters.
Finally, I had the idea to make a video with some useful tips for a more responsible behaviour everyone could adopt. A few students recorded themselves, but we couldn’t complete it at the time because of the workload – they had to study other subjects. The initial enthusiasm gradually faded away. However, we pulled it through in our two end-of-year lessons. Using my mobile phone, I recorded them in the schoolyard. They didn’t have enough time to rehearse their sentences. The recordings are of no high quality. Putting all that aside, I believe they did it quite well. Besides, their messages are worth listening to.
A meaningful writing assignment
Every spring, my students educated in Veterinary Medicine and their teachers organize a Pet Show in the schoolyard. Boys and girls from the whole town bring their pets, all sorts of them! It is definitely one of the most popular events held in our school. Since my 11th-graders deal with the topic of announcements, I asked them to write one for the occasion. Generally, they do not enjoy writing assignments. In order to get them to approach the task seriously and show their creative potentials, I informed them that the best one would be used for creating a flyer. There were a lot of interesting suggestions. Still, there can be only one! And here it is!
Well done, Ana Nikolić!
Robin Hood – a legend that lives
The subject of ballads, books and films, Robin Hood has proven to be one of popular culture’s most enduring folk heroes. Over the course of 700 years, the outlaw from Nottinghamshire who robs from the rich to give to the poor has intrigued people all over the world. But how has the legend of Sherwood Forest’s merry outlaws evolved over time, and did a real Robin Hood inspire these classic tales?
A Book Review
Last week my senior students and I were talking about the books we had read during summer. Following the example from their coursebook, they had to write a short book review for the next lesson. Among the usual selection of romances, crime and horror stories there was a review of a science book. It did not take me by surprise, though as I know how much one of my students is interested in science. Here is his assignment.
The Selfish Gene
Richard Dawkins is an evolutionary biologist and zoologist, the leader of ”Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science” and one of four horsemen of the new atheism movement. Richard is also a great proponent of science, education, reason, and truth.
His experience and knowledge covers plethora of evolutionary topics mentioned in this book, ranging from the origin of the first replicators, although that is not an issue relevant to evolution (it is most briefly mentioned) to topics most demanding in terms of elaboration, such as the concept of altruism, for example. As Richard says in his book: ”In the beginning there was simplicity”, it also includes the macroscopic effects of gene selection.
The main idea in his reasoning is that the evolution does not operate on individual organisms but upon genes. We are, loosely paraphrasing his words, vehicles for our genes. We are survival machines. We and every living creature for that matter are a single link in a colossal chain of evolutionary success. Just imagine the immensity of the case presented, more than 99% of all species to have ever lived on this single, in words of Carl Sagan, blue dot in the vastness and emptiness of dark space, are now extinct. Every living creature had a successful ancestor and, by induction, each and every ancestor up to that point.
It is tremendously thankless to lessen the value of his work by reducing his book to a book review, the best you can do is to read it. You can, as well as I did, listen to the audio book version. There are some sixteen hours of his soothing voice narrating. Richard is the author of many other works such as: ” The God Delusion”, ”The Blind Watchmaker” and ”The Greatest Show on Earth”. In all honesty, I have not read or listened to any of his other books. Most of my time is taken by listening to the debates he takes part in. I just cannot get enough.
I will leave you with the following video documentary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I71mjZefg8g
Miša IV/5
EARTH DAY 2015
“PLEDGE TO PLANT – EARTH DAY, APRIL 22, 2015” Be a part of the biggest grass-root effort in history by planting a seed/tree as a “give back” to Earth.
It’s an old Native American tradition that when you take something from the Earth, you must put something back. Earth Day 2015 will be a global “give back to Earth” event, as an “offering” for all the planet gives us. Our goal is to plant one billion seeds/trees. Please plant something that is organic, perennial and suitable to the growing conditions in your area.
(taken from https://www.facebook.com/events/327883710751172/ )
Perhaps a spruce is the right tree for your area. Learn some facts about it from my student Lazar Belić.
Looking for a job? Get your foot in the door!
Some useful tips for my senior students when they start looking for a job.
Click on the image to make it interactive!
phs our english nook 