Category: 6th Grade

Posted in 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, Computer-Assisted Language Learning, My Schools' English Newspapers, Projects, Public Education

We’ve got news for you!

Posted on by Vivi Hamilou
EfxeiNewsPoli, Issue 1, Primary School of Efxeinoupoli, Greece

“We’ve got news for you” is the title of the eTwinning project we are involved in this year with the 4th, 5th and 6th learners of the Primary School of Efxeinoupoli, Greece. This project aspires to involve many European learners in the exchange of English school newspapers and the creation of a common newspaper as the end-product of this creative collaboration! Participant learners are invited to write and read English with a real-life purpose and they also have the opportunity to interact via Twinspace, improving thus their communication and ICT along with their writing and reading skills! Practising skills simulates real-life communication in a fun-filled project that helps everyone realize the emergence of English as an international language and expand their horizons. Learners also have the opportunity to feel like citizens of the world, members of a vast community, outside the barriers of their local surroundings. Using English as the vehicle, this project has been designed to provide useful insight on their peers’ daily routine, interests, customs and mentality, allowing everyone thus to become more tolerant with diversity.

The first issue of our newspaper has been completed and posted on the school blog and we are currently in the process of completing the second issue! For each issue we have tried to exploit the written assignments suggested by our coursebooks, in an attempt to make writing more meaningful and address our readers with topics of their interest. Greek learners have submitted their articles asynchronously, via eclass, and the teacher has corrected and edited the issue. Here is our first issue:

Primary School of Efxeinoupoli, Greece



Download file

Learners participating in this project have done an exceptional job in their first issues and Greek learners are very excited to be involved in this exchange! Please, take some time to read their articles and feel free to share them with your learners! Here are their impressive issues in random order:

Laboratório de Línguas, Portugal

CEIP Bec de L’Àguila, Sant Vicent del Raspeig, Spain

Kasaba Şehit Yusuf Polat Yatılı Bölge Ortaokulu, Turkey

Scoala Gimnaziala “Sfantul Andrei”, Romania

ОШ “Стеван Немања”, Serbia:

Our second issues are on the way and they’re full of surprises! If you liked our first attempt, do not miss the following post with the upcoming European English school newspapers!

Posted in 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, Computer-Assisted Language Learning, Public Education

Easter fun for Greek English-Language learners

Posted on by Vivi Hamilou

Physical distancing and long distance teaching have brought forward the best of Greek teachers who seem to have become Web Tool experts in just a few days and struggle to do their best for their learners! In an attempt to create presentable, interactive, educational and entertaining Easter collections for all my classes this year, Thinglink was the web tool that came first to my mind, as it gives teachers the opportunity to integrate links of useful videos and tasks, as well as interactive activities they have probably created themselves using other Web Tools (like LearningApps in my case)! In this post you will find all my Easter Fun collections in one place and you are free to use them in you feel that they meet your learners’ needs!

Easter Fun for Greek 2nd Grade learners

Easter Fun for Greek 3rd Grade learners

Easter fun for Greek 4th Grade learners

Easter fun for Greek 5th Grade learners

Easter fun for Greek 6th Grade learners

Posted in 6th Grade, Computer-Assisted Language Learning, Projects, Public Education

Superstitions Around Europe – eTwinning project – 6th Grade

Posted on by Vivi Hamilou
eTwinning Project, 2018-2019

This school year 6th graders at the Primary School of Efxeinoupoli have been working on an eTwinning project that focuses on sharing their national and local superstitions with their European peers and learning all about theirs. The teachers involved in this project have the opportunity to raise their learners’ awareness of their own and others’ customs and traditions by means of superstitions, to develop their global understanding as citizens of the world, to help them realize the emergence of English as an international language, and to assist them to learn how to work cooperatively while improving their ICT skills. The secondary objectives of the project aim at developring the learners’ reading and writing skills in English, promoting collaborative learning in the classroom as well as through WEB tools, introducing the use of technology in learning (video, email, search engine, word processor, PowerPoint presentation, etc) and providing room for the learners’ artistic expression.

Prior to working on the actual project, our learners have worked on a collaborative presentation in an attempt to present to their European peers their school and their classroom! Here is the completed schools presentation so far:

We have separated the superstitions into categories so as to be able to present them and compare and contrast them! The first category is related to animal superstitions. All European learners have been invited to present this category on a padlet wall, using text, drawings, pictures and/or videos. You can access their completed work here!

The next category invited learners to present the New Year Eve and Day superstitions in the form of a video. The learners have prepared their scripts in English and are the shining starts in the following video:

The following category presents the superstitions related to weddings and funerals. In order to be able to gather the necessary information to present the topic to their European peers, our 6th grade learners have invited father George Giannios from the local church to help them. Father George was kind enough to present the superstitions, explain the role that superstitions should have in our lives and discuss what the Greek Orthodox church believes about superstitions.

After that, our learners went to school computer lab and worked in groups in order to present the superstitions in English. All European learners have typed their national and local superstitions in a collaborative word processing document in order to create a book! This is what their book looks like so far!

 

Posted in 6th Grade, Computer-Assisted Language Learning, Projects, Public Education

PRESENTATION OF EUROPEAN SCHOOLS – ETWINNING PROJECT, 2018-2019

Posted on by Vivi Hamilou
eTwinning project, 2018-2019

So many teachers and so many pupils working on the eTwinning project that is related to “Superstitions Around Europe”! We have met each other through our Twinspace, but what do our schools look like? Learners have worked collaboratively on an online PowerPoint presentation with an eye to showing everyone their second home, their school! Here is the presentation they have created in the form of a video!

Posted in 5th Grade, 6th Grade, EFL Teacher Resources, ELT

IRREGULAR VERBS – INTERACTIVE NOTEBOOK / LAPBOOK

Posted on by Vivi Hamilou
Interactive Notebook / LapBook for irregular verbs

English Irregular Verbs … Every English Language learner I know and anyone that has ever been a learner of it can tell you numerous stories on how boring and torturing it has or it had been to memorize the past tense of the irregular verbs in English! And just when they thought they had been over with this long list, there came the third column with the past participle, only to make matters worse, more complicated and more boring! Well, being an English Language learner myself back in the … (let’s just say) years of no internet or any other realia in the classroom, I can still remember these long afternoons with my mum dictating the verbs, me writing the two columns and then studying the whole list again to memorize what had not been successfully memorized … ugh …

 

Being a huge fan of interactive notebooks and having already used them in tutoring my daughter (plural nouns, demonstratives, subject/object pronouns and possessive adjectives), I have decided to exploit their educational and recreational value in order to create a lapbook this time! Using an A4 size folder with a rubber band, we created together a lapbook that was actually fun to make, engaging to fill in and easy to use as a resource or revision! First, we started cutting and gluing the templates that I had made for this reason (after categorizing the verbs in terms of their irregular forms, I created a template that would best serve our needs)! You can download the templates here and print them in colour A4 size paper, if you like:

Then, using our course book, my daughter filled in the past tense and past participle forms of the irregular forms after flipping each piece of paper!

Interactive Notebook / LapBook for irregular verbs

The categorization of the verbs helped her a lot to first guess the form and then verify it with the help of her course book! Therefore, she said that she studied them while doing the task! When she finished, she decorated the cover of the folder and kept it in her bookcase, saying that she prefers to study them from this lapbook rather than the coursebook! A few weeks later, she decided that it would be more helpful to stick it on the wall, so that she can refer to it more easily when needed! And, in case you wonder, no, she did not memorize everything perfectly in one teaching session, but she liked studying them this way and she does not sigh in despair when we refer to irregular verbs and that is awesome!

Lapbooks in general have proved to be the kind of materials that

  • help learners achieve a higher level of retention,
  • can be adjusted to any curriculum,
  • are able to drift learners along paths of excitement and creativity,
  • motivate learners to write,
  • involve all learners, of all ages and levels and
  • portray the learner’s personal taste, making them thus more attractive to use and objects to take pride in!

These are only some of the benefits of lapbooking, as they have been presented in numerous articles and, anyone who regularly uses them, has probably a few more to add! Yes, it took some time to categorize, set up the templates and print everything to be ready for the lesson, but the actual cutting, gluing, filling in of the correct forms and decorating took no longer than a teaching hour that would have probably been even more entertaining and involving if we had the chance to work on it in pairs, or in a group! Therefore, this is something that we can probably try with the 5th and 6th grades of the Greek public Primary School, provided that we can obtain the necessary materials and maybe do some cutting on our own, before introducing the activity to our learners, so as to keep it restrained in one teaching session!

Posted in 6th Grade, Computer-Assisted Language Learning, Projects, Public Education

WRITING A REPORT ON “MY COUNTRY” WITH A REAL-LIFE PURPOSE

Posted on by Vivi Hamilou
My Country – Primary School of Efxinoupoli

The course book we use at the 6th Grade in Greek Public Primary Schools invites learners to write a report on their country at the end of the first unit. My 6th graders and I proudly present our electronic (padlet) wall with our reports that have been written with a real-life purpose: to be published on our school blog!

Please, feel free to leave comments under our reports, click on the hearts if you like them and/or invite your learners to read and comment on them, too (if you are a teacher, of course!), so that we know that other people out there can actually access them and read them! Thank you in advance for your time and … enjoy!

https://padlet.com/vivi_hamilou/jo9bvk9n2fgy 

Posted in 5th Grade, 6th Grade, Public Education

VOCABULARY LEARNING: CAN IT BE FUN?

Posted on by Vivi Hamilou

Vocabulary learning is a significant part of language learning. The more words a student learns, the better s/he becomes at receptive (reading and listening) as well as productive (writing and speaking) skills in the target language!

Every learner has his/her own way of studying/learning/consolidating new vocabulary. If you travel back to the times when you were a learner, you will definitely find you or your fellow classmates writing words in notebooks, making your own dictionaries with new words and their definitions, repeating words in an attempt to memorize them, or grouping them based on their meaning. And, no matter which strategy you followed back then, almost all of them leave you with a sense of dullness, exhaustion and/or vainness.

Nowadays, learners have the opportunity to work with new vocabulary in many more interesting ways, provided that they are willing to devote some time, have access to a computer with internet connection and are introduced to the right sites to refer to in order to pursue vocabulary enrichment. This year, at the Primary School of Efxeinoupoli, Magnesia, Greece, we are trying to make vocabulary learning and revision a bit more fun, by exploiting the Digital School and Photodendro! Learners will be introduced to specific links suggested by the enriched version of the digital school book and found at the digital educational repository called Photodendro.

Having, for instance, introduced the very first pages of the Unit 1 in the 5th and 6th grades, learners now have the opportunity to visit the school blog and practice with different vocabulary tasks related to the lessons we had in the aforementioned classes. To be more precise, 5th graders are invited to practice email reading and writing, and vocabulary related to computer parts, whereas 6th graders have the opportunity to revise countries and nationalities, as well as flags and Geography!

All of my 5th and 6th grade learners promised to work on these tasks as they were intrigued when they were presented with their content today and they said they would have plenty of time to devote over the weekend! And, although it is too soon to tell how this whole effort goes, their wide open, sparkling eyes tell me that vocabulary learning and revision may become indeed more fascinating and effective!

Have a great weekend, everyone! 😉

Posted in 6th Grade, Computer-Assisted Language Learning, Projects, Public Education

THE FLIPPED CLASSROOM – LESSON 2 – A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Posted on by Vivi Hamilou
Primary School of Sourpi
Primary School of Sourpi

We have started with the intention to shake up things a bit in the English classroom and we did, with the first flipped lesson in an attempt to teach the degrees of adjectives! After the second (and final, as we had initially planned) flipped lesson, all I can tell you is that this experience has to be repeated, primarily for my learners and, definitely, for their English teacher!

The second lesson was delivered at the learners’ home, by means of a video that the learners enjoyed while completing a worksheet. You can see the related school blog post they had to visit here! The video had nothing to do with grammar, this time, so, when the 6th grade learners heard it was a comic based on Shakespeare’s play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, they could not wait to go home and watch it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcnJ_dUwpRY

When they were given the worksheet with instructions to complete it while watching the video, they were not particularly excited, but when they took the time to see what they were invited to do, they encouraged each other to watch the video and fill in the worksheet, given that they would all want to contribute to their group of work during the next session and they would all go after the award for the best team work in class!

Designed by Andriani Rigoutsou
Designed by Andriani Rigoutsou

Coming back in the classroom after watching the video at home, five of my fourteen learners had been absent, owing to this terrible flu that has been torturing many children and adults lately! We tried to postpone the lesson, but three days later, five other learners had been absent, so, unfortunately, we had the lesson without them! They all claimed to have watched the video and, what followed, really proved them honest! Learners were separated into two groups, that very quickly ended up being three, given that some learners thought they would work better if they were in a smaller group! First, they checked their worksheets and negotiated the correct answers with the members of their group! I wish I had that on a video … They were speaking English without realizing it, they were helping each other understand why something was incorrect or misunderstood, they were encouraging and supportive and they were not judging or criticizing others for making mistakes! The teacher was only restricted to monitoring (while actually feeling unbelievably proud of her learners!) and taking pictures of the process.

Designed by Andriani Rigoutsou
Designed by Andriani Rigoutsou

When we all checked the video worksheet, learners were given another one that has been designed for in-classroom use. The first task invited them to answer questions related to the play/comic they had watched. Although there was concern that they would not find it very challenging, in reality they seemed very engaged to do it, involving all the group members. It took them a bit more than expected, but the result was really rewarding for everyone! During the second task they were invited to complete sentences related to the play/comic they had watched. Once again, they were really dedicated to finishing the task and passionately negotiating the correct sentences! Unfortunately, we did not manage to finish the task in that teaching session, so we had to finish it on our next lesson.

And we actually did! At the beginning of the following session, the learners came in with excitement, joined their groups without being told to and started working almost immediately! It is worth noting that no one had forgotten their photocopy and some of them had already worked a bit at home, without writing anything on their worksheet, waiting for the approval of the whole group. When they finished this task, we played the “Hot seating” role cards game, but, because of the lack of time, we had to adapt the procedure in order to finish it in time: one learner in each group was sitting on the ‘hot seat’, assuming one of the roles of the play and not telling his classmates which one! They were asked to find out who the person on the ‘hot seat’ was by asking questions! The one who would find the correct answer had to sit on the ‘hot seat’ and continue the game! It was quick, it was engaging and it was fun! Finally, the last writing task was assigned for homework-everybody who attended the lesson actually brought it completed the next day!

Δείτε το στο slideshare.net

I can almost hear you thinking … “Is this for real?” Well, I swear that this one was and I feel so lucky to have tried it! However, it should be noted that no one can guarantee that flipping the classroom will work equally successfully at lower levels, or same level but less competent learners, or more crowded classes! Whatever the challenge, though, a well-designed flipped lesson is more likely to shake things up a bit in class and have your learners begging you for more! We actually finished the second flipped lesson on Monday and today, only two days later, they asked me when we are going to flip it again! I did not give them a straight answer, but I know that we are flipping it again some time after Easter, because I loved the look on my learners’ faces and the frequency of the in-class oral and written production of the target language and appreciated the role of the coordinator, who monitors the whole process in a purely student-centered approach! Once again, thank you Ms Andriani Rigoutsou for this eye-opening experience, congratulations on your exceptional work on the materials and good luck with your dissertation! Looking forward to cooperating with you again!

Posted in 6th Grade, Computer-Assisted Language Learning, Projects, Public Education

THE FLIPPED CLASSROOM – LESSON 1 – DEGREES OF ADJECTIVES

Posted on by Vivi Hamilou
Primary School of Sourpi
Primary School of Sourpi

I wish there were words to describe the look on everybody’s faces today (including mine!) during the in-class activities of our first flipped classroom lesson (you can see here how it all started!)! If the word satisfaction had a picture right next to it in the dictionary, then, that would definitely be one of my learners’ and my expression after our English lesson today! And, although I know that statements of this kind are not academically acceptable or customary, please, dear colleagues, allow me to share my enthusiasm with you as I have been feeling it since a quarter past one today!

Yes, it was the last teaching session of the day and, yes, it had to be with the 6th graders! Yes, they had all watched the videos and, yes, they had all tried the recommended interactive tasks included at their school blog post(or at least they said they had!). Yes, we started working in three teams and, yes, none of us knew at the time how the pre-designed in-class activities would work either individually, or in terms of groups!

Tasks designed by Andriani Rigoutsou
Tasks designed by Andriani Rigoutsou

After separating the learners in three groups and promising to award the one that will demonstrate the most exceptional team work, we started with the first task that involved learners in grouping the adjectives based on the way they form their comparative and superlative degree. This task seemed to be an appropriate warm-up and an initial opportunity for the teacher to monitor and evaluate the level of comprehension of the new grammatical structure the learners had learnt about through the videos they watched at home! The specific task appeared to be easy for everyone, we checked the answers and moved straight to sentence-making in the second task! In approximately five to six minutes, learners managed to complete this task, involving everyone in the group and negotiating the correct sentences in an admirably cooperative manner! After that, task three and underlining the comparative and superlative forms of adjectives seemed like a treat, especially for those who normally show unwillingness or hesitation to participate while checking the correct answers! Everybody seems to be clear on how to form the degrees of adjectives and everyone appears to be capable of making sentences using them meaningfully. And, when I say everyone, I really mean everyone!

Later on, it was games time! Task four and “Plip” and “Plop” sentences really took everybody off to the level of learning while having fun! Groups agreed on the sentences they would say and the fun began right after that, trying to find out what “Plip” and “Plop” were! Finally, “The Broken Sentences” game will be the task we will all remember for a long, long time! As we were moving towards the end of the lesson and there had to be some time left for homework assignment (and explanation!), I gave them a challenge, saying that the fastest team to get the sentences right would earn extra points for the best team work award! The level of engagement, the constant reminding among group members of the grammatical rules to be followed, the unprecedented level of cooperation, support and encouragement are, unfortunately, for us to know and appreciate and you to imagine!

Δείτε το στο slideshare.net

So, was the inverted lesson a big success? No, it was huge, I’d say, and learners commented so possitively on that as soon as the bell rang and they started packing their things for home! They all participated, they all got involved, they all raised their hands to contribute, they all appreciated the work of their team members and, what is more, they all stated that they did not realize that time went by so quickly and that they want a flipped lesson again some time soon! As for the teacher, she was only restrained to monitoring and coordinating groups, while evaluating the level of perception of the new grammar by the learners (given that the materials had already been designed, photocopied and cut for the tasks and games!)! Although it seemed very easy and discrete to intervene and help a learner in need, that was at no point necessary, as team members would step up and support their peers.

It is worth noting, however, that the particular class had also been taught the degrees of adjectives in the 5th grade and most of them have had a lot of practice in them in their afternoon English lessons in private language schools, so they were quite comfortable with the form and use. This allowed us to move from task to task relatively quickly and the time/award challenge seems to have ‘spiced’ a lot the procedure! Had the video lessons been confusing or incomprehensible for some learners, the pre-designed in-class activities would more likely last for at least two teaching sessions.

Award for the best team work!
Award for the best team work!

All in all, my learners and I cannot wait for the next flipped lesson, as it was a unique learning and teaching experience! A million thanks to Ms Andriani Rigoutsou for doing all this hard, time-consuming and demanding work that had always been dragging me away from trying the flipped classroom (meaning collecting the videos and online interactive games, as well as designing and preparing the in-class activities/worksheets), but, most of all, thank you for inspiring us and making us part of a a very supportive and cooperative group of colleagues and classes that share with us the same concerns and interests in new teaching approaches!

Posted in 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, Ideas, Thoughts, Concerns, Public Education

AN INTERACTIVE NOTEBOOK TO THE RESCUE!

Posted on by Vivi Hamilou
Interactive Notebook for Demonstratives
Interactive Notebook for Demonstratives

Have you ever had one of those days during which everybody in class has understood the grammar taught (even commented on how easy it has been), but one or some of your learners seem unable to put it into practice, as they do not remember when to use what? Well, in the public school context, cases like that are normally approached during the break, where learners can be guided individulally and introduced to various ways that will assist their learning (graphs that help them remember, course book pages that present grammar, worksheets for extra practice, links to related online interactive games, etc). If we are lucky, the learners that need our guidance stay at school until 4pm, like we do, and we can work on their problematic areas at their own pace, through role plays, songs, even crafts that will make their learning life easier and more pleasant!

Having said (and done) all these things, right when you think you are a cool teacher that helps her learners get better at English, you see something cooler than what you have been doing all this time! In the afore mentioned challenging case, the cooler approach seems to be far more attractive and bears an attractive name: an interactive notebook! Have you seen these wonderful, colourful, flippable, removable notebook pages that not only present things in English, but also allow you to interact with them and practice? Google search “interactive notebooks” and you will be flooded with articles on their theoretical background, templates, printable patterns and exemplary ideas that will blow your (and your learners’) minds!

Having read all about them and trusting colleagues who have repeatedly used them (Aphro Gkiouris, for instance, who has been a warm supporter of this approach), the first attempt took place at home, as an experiment, exploiting my niece’s aversion towards demonstratives (this, that, these, those). Although she had clearly understood the difference among them, she had been having difficulty in using the correct demostrative while producing the target language! That was when she was invited to take advantage of the … super powers of her own notebook!

Having prepared cardboard cut-outs and printed everything we needed, I glued everything on her notebook which looked like that:

Interactive Notebook for Demonstratives
Interactive Notebook for Demonstratives

She had the opportunity to visualize the rules by … opening the purple windows:

Interactive Notebook for Demonstratives
Interactive Notebook for Demonstratives

When we opened the lilac envelope, she found colourful pieces of cardboard paper, showing an object or objects with hands pointing at them from near or far away from them:

Interactive Notebook for Demonstratives
Interactive Notebook for Demonstratives
Interactive Notebook for Demonstratives
Interactive Notebook for Demonstratives

And, then, she could play and interact, by placing each object in the correct envelope, based on its number and distance from the hand:

Interactive Notebook for Demonstratives
Interactive Notebook for Demonstratives

Answering potential questions that may arise after this presentation it is worth noting that: * Yes, it was time-consuming to prepare, but paper-crafting was fun to do, as my daughter kindly offered to help!
* No, it does not cost a lot, as cardboard paper and glue are not expensive. If you do not have a printer, you can always employ your art skills which may give a more personal style to the end-product! * Yes, she got everything right, and, no, we did not have to refer to the grammar rules again! * Yes, she loved it! She clearly stated it and also expressed her willingness to go home and play some more with it! * Yes, it seems addictive! I cannot stop thinking on ways I could adopt this approach in a public primary school classroom with about 20 learners per class (a highly challenging task, all ideas and suggestions are welcomed!!!)

Posted in 6th Grade, Computer-Assisted Language Learning, Projects, Public Education

HOW ABOUT SHAKING THINGS UP A BIT IN CLASS?

Posted on by Vivi Hamilou

IMG_20160317_102011

If you are a teacher, you have probably heard or read about the flipped classroom as a new instructional strategy, during which you may record the lesson and deliver it online for your learners to watch at home, you may allow learners to collaborate in online discussions and try to understand the content of the video and, while in class, you, the teacher, can exploit class time to engage learners in activities related to the content they have watched at home! If you are an EFL teacher in Magnesia, Greece, you have had the opportunity to learn about this method via in-service training by our school advisor and you have watched how it has been exploited in a secondary school in Volos!

On a personal note, flipping the classroom sounds so exciting! I’ve always meant to try it, but lack of time strikes as a flashing neon sign on a threatening dark cloud surrounded by thunders and lightnings above my head! I am sure my learners would welcome the idea of watching the lesson on a video at home and would be thrilled to have the opportunity to discuss it online with their peers, without any written assignment as homework, but how can I organize and deliver a lesson like that without devoting an unimaginable amount of valuable hours planning, designing, editing and recording?

Well, in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, we can shake things up a little bit in our class without spending many hours in front of a computer screen and devoiding (again!) our loved ones of our company, love and attention! Ms Andriani Rigoutsou has at our disposal 4 pre-designed, ready-to-use lesson plans with all the necessary video-recorded and printable materials and invites us to use them in our 6th grade classes … once, twice or for four teaching sessions …for free … with her help and support … allowing us to adapt them … or not … and helping her with her dissertation! How perfectly convenient is that? I know I am saying ‘yes’ to the challenge and inviting more public Primary School EFL educators to shake things a bit in their class as well and in our teaching methods and approaches, while helping a colleague complete the last and most demanding part of her academic pursuit at a time she mostly needs us (by the way, wishing you a safe delivery, Andriani, and nothing but precious and joyous times with your new baby!).

Here is her message with all the necessary information and related materials! If you are also replying positively to her invitation, please, send her an email and join us in this unknown, innovative, challenging and developing field:

Αγαπητές-οι συναδέλφισσες/-οι,

Oνομάζομαι Ανδριανή-Χριστίνα Ρηγούτσου, είμαι καθηγήτρια Αγγλικών στην Πρωτοβάθμια εκπαίδευση και φέτος ασχολούμαι με τη συγγραφή της Διπλωματικής μου εργασίας στο πρόγραμμα Μεταπτυχιακού του Τμήματος Ειδίκευσης Καθηγητών Αγγλικής στο Ελληνικό Ανοιχτό Πανεπιστήμιο. Tο θέμα της εργασίας μου είναι: “Implementing Flipped Classroom Approach in the 6th grade of Greek State Primary Schools: Effect on Teachers’ Professional Development and Students’ Active Learning”( «H εφαρμογή του μοντέλου της «Αντεστραμμένης Τάξης» σε μαθητές Στ’ Δημοτικού Ελληνικών Δημόσιων Σχολείων: επίδραση στην Επαγγελματική Εξέλιξη των Εκπαιδευτικών και την Ενεργό Μάθηση των Μαθητών».)

Παίρνω την πρωτοβουλία να ζητήσω την πολύτιμη βοήθειά σας και, συγκεκριμένα, των συναδέλφων που διδάσκουν στην 6η τάξη του Δημοτικού σχολείου, εξαιτίας του γεγονότος ότι φέτος απέχω από τα διδακτικά μου καθήκοντα λόγω εγκυμοσύνης/τοκετού και αδυνατώ να υλοποιήσω τα μαθήματα Flipped Classroom (Αντεστραμμένης Τάξης) που έχω σχεδιάσει για τις ανάγκες της διπλωματικής.

Συγκεκριμένα, οι ενδιαφερόμενοι εκπαιδευτικοί μπορούν να χρησιμοποιήσουν το σχεδιασμένο από μένα υποστηρικτικό υλικό που θα βρουν αναρτημένο εδώ για να διδάξουν από 1 έως και 4 μαθήματα ακολουθώντας τη μέθοδο της Αντεστραμμένης Τάξης (Flipped Classroom).

Σημειώνεται ότι μπορείτε να διδάξετε από 1 έως και 4 από τα προτεινόμενα μαθήματα, καθώς και ότι μπορείτε να τροποποιήσετε το υλικό ή να δημιουργήσετε ένα δικό σας μάθημα αντεστραμμένης τάξης. Για καθένα από τα μαθήματα, θα χρειαστείτε από τα επισυναπτόμενα έγγραφα:
1) Lesson Plan
2) Video Tasksheet
3) In-Class Taskheet

Συνοδευτικά, θα βρείτε συνημμένα:
-μία παρουσίαση σε αρχείο Powerpoint για τη δική σας ενημέρωση καθώς και
-ένα ενημερωτικό έντυπο που απευθύνεται στους γονείς των μαθητών σας.

Συνολικός αριθμός συνημμένων αρχείων:16

Επίσης, επειδή συμμερίζομαι το γεγονός ότι υπάρχει φόρτος εργασίας ήδη στα σχολεία και πολλοί παράγοντες που επηρεάζουν την πορεία των μαθημάτων, θα είμαι στη διάθεσή σας για περαιτέρω πληροφορίες και υποστήριξη.
Σας ευχαριστώ και πάλι για τον χρόνο σας. Όσον αφορά στην προθεσμία για τη διδασκαλία των μαθημάτων, καλό θα ήταν να έχει ολοκληρωθεί η διαδικασία έως τα τέλη Απριλίου.

Κατόπιν, οι συμμετέχοντες εκπαιδευτικοί θα συμπληρώσετε ένα ερωτηματολόγιο σχετικά με την εμπειρία σας από τη διδασκαλία αυτή δίνοντας έμφαση σε θέματα Επαγγελματικής Εξέλιξης και προώθησης της Ενεργής Μάθησης στους μαθητές.
Θα χαρώ ιδιαίτερα να έχω την ανταπόκρισή σας και σας ευχαριστώ εκ των προτέρων. Αρχικά, μπορείτε να επικοινωνήσετε μαζί μου στο email μου: arigoutsou@gmail.com

Με εκτίμηση,
Ανδριανή Ρηγούτσου

Posted in 6th Grade, Computer-Assisted Language Learning, Projects, Public Education

ΔΩΡΕΑΝ ΒΙΒΛΙΑ ΚΑΙ ΚΟΜΙΚΣ ΑΠΟ ΤΟ ΒΙΒΛΙΟΠΩΛΕΙΟ ΤΗΣ Ε.Ε.

Posted on by Vivi Hamilou

Πώς θα σας φαινόταν η δωρεάν απόκτηση βιβλίων γραμμένων σε διάφορες Ευρωπαϊκές γλώσσες; Φαντάζομαι πως … μοιάζει πολύ καλό για να είναι αληθινό! Κι όμως, υπάρχει ένα βιβλιοπωλείο που δίνει σ’ εσάς και τα παιδιά σας αυτή τη δυνατότητα! Πρόκειται για ένα online βιβλιοπωλείο της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης όπου μπορείτε να βρείτε βιβλία και κόμικς στα Αγγλικά (και σε άλλες γλώσσες) και να τα παραλάβετε δωρεάν! Θα σας σταλούν ταχυδρομικά και μπορείτε να τα διαβάζετε στον ελεύθερο χρόνο σας, να τα κάνετε δώρο στα παιδιά και τους μαθητές σας για εξάσκηση, να εμπλουτίσετε τη σχολική δανειστική βιβλιοθήκη, ή ακόμα να εκμεταλλευτείτε αποσπάσματά τους στην εκπαιδευτική διαδικασία!

Οι μαθητές της Στ΄ Τάξης του Δημοτικού Σχολείου Σούρπης παρήγγειλαν τα δικά τους βιβλία τελειώνοντας το δεύτερο κεφάλαιο του βιβλίου τους, που τους ζητά να εξοικειωθούν με τις αγορές προϊόντων μέσω διαδικτυακών καταστημάτων. Το υποθετικό σενάριο της παραγγελίας έγινε πραγματικό, και σήμερα οι μαθητές κρατάν με πολύ χαρά τα πρώτα βιβλία στα χέρια τους, αφού ακολούθησαν τις οδηγίες που τους δόθηκαν μέσω του σχολικού blog και παρατίθενται παρακάτω:

ΒΙΒΛΙΑ, Ε.Ε. , ELT, Greek schools

Να πώς θα παραγγείλεις τα βιβλία:

1. Πήγαινε στον ιστότοπο https://bookshop.europa.eu/en/home/

2. Κάνε εγγραφή:

Βρες το “Log in” στη δεξιά πλευρά της σελίδας και κάνε κλικ στο “Register”

– Γράψε ένα Username (Όνομα Χρήστη)

– Γράψε ένα Password (κωδικός, τουλάχιστον 5 χαρακτήρες θα σου ζητηθεί δύο φορές)

– Διάλεξε μία από τις ερωτήσεις ασφαλείας και γράψε και την απάντησή σου (πχ. η πρώτη ερώτηση αφορά το πατρικό όνομα της μητέρας σου)

– Γράψε το μικρό σου όνομα (First name)

– Γράψε το επίθετό σου (Last name)

– Διάλεξε τα Αγγλικά (English)

– MHN γράψεις το τηλέφωνό σου

– Γράψε το email σου (ή των γονιών σου)

– Διάλεξε τη χώρα σου

– Γράψε διεύθυνση, ταχ. κώδικα, πόλη ( Address, Postcode and City) (στον ταχυδρομικό κώδικα μπορείς να βάλεις το GR μπροστά από το 37008 σε περίπτωση που σου βγάζει ότι είναι λάθος, ή να αφήσεις ένα κενό: 370 08!)

– ΜΗΝ συμπληρώσεις την κατηγορία State

– Κάνε κλικ στο “Register” στο τέλος της αίτησης.

3. Πρόσθεσε βιβλία στο καλάθι σου:

– Στα αριστερά της αρχικής σελίδας βρες τις κατηγορίες “Comics” και “Kids’ corner”.

EU BOOKSHOP
EU BOOKSHOP

– Κάνε κλικ σε κάθε βιβλίο, έλεγξε αν έχει PAPER version που να είναι διαθέσιμη (available) στα Αγγλικά και πρόσθεσέ το στο καλάθι:

EU BOOKSHOP
EU BOOKSHOP

Αν δεν υπάρχει το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο, δίπλα στο Paper version θα λέει Unavailable. Αφού προσθέσεις ένα βιβλίο στο καλάθι σου, μπορείς να πας πίσω για να παραγγείλεις κι άλλα κάνοντας κλικ στο “EU Bookshop” στο πάνω μέρος.

4. Ολοκλήρωσε την παραγγελία σου

Κάνε κλικ στο “My basket” όπου θα δεις όλα όσα έχεις επιλέξει. Κάνε κλικ στο πορτοκαλί κουμπί “Next”:

Θα εμφανιστεί μια νέα σελίδα με τη διεύθυνσή σου. Κάνε πάλι κλικ στο “Next”.

Τέλος, βάλε √ στο “I accept the General conditions of sale” και κάνε κλικ στο “Order now”.

ΥΓ: Μπορείς να παραγγείλεις 1 δωρεάν αντίτυπο από κάθε βιβλίο και μέχρι 20 βιβλία κάθε φορά που κάνεις παραγγελία. Αν κάποια βιβλία δεν είναι διαθέσιμα τη στιγμή που κάνεις την παραγγελία σου, έλεγξε ξανά μετά από 1-2 μήνες. Κάθε χρόνο εκδίδονται νέα βιβλία!!

(Το κείμενο μας δόθηκε αρχικά στα αγγλικά από τη Σχολική μας Σύμβουλο Αγγλικής Γλώσσας, κα Βασιλική Παπαϊωάννου. Συντάχθηκε στα ελληνικά από την εξαίρετη συνάδελφο κα Μαρία Καμμένου, η οποία είχε την καλοσύνη να μοιραστεί με όλους εμάς, τους συναδέλφους της Μαγνησίας, τις οδηγίες που απέδωσε στα ελληνικά, προκειμένου να βοηθήσει τους μαθητές της να παραγγείλουν δωρεάν βιβλία από το βιβλιοπωλείο της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης. Την ευχαριστούμε θερμά για την ιδέα, τις τόσο κατατοπιστικές κατευθύνσεις και την άδεια δημοσίευσης!)

Posted in 6th Grade, Projects, Public Education

POEMS ON OUR FAVOURITE THINGS – 6th Grade

Posted on by Vivi Hamilou
Writing Task - 6th grade
Writing Task – 6th grade

6th graders at the Primary School of Sourpi are writing poems on their favourite things! They were initially shocked to be assigned with this kind of homework, but they came with shiny, happy faces the other day to show me their work! I told them that their work is too awesome to be kept and enjoyed in class! So, here we are, sharing it with the world, on a padlet wall they have typed themselves! Well done, guys!

Μετάβαση στο padlet.com

https://padlet.com/vivi_hamilou/f24e2f1lxjpw

Posted in 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, My Schools' English Newspapers, Projects, Public Education

ΕΥΡΩΠΑΪΚΗ ΒΡΑΒΕΥΣΗ ΤΟΥ ΔΗΜΟΤΙΚΟΥ ΣΧΟΛΕΙΟΥ ΣΟΥΡΠΗΣ

Posted on by Vivi Hamilou

Από την έναρξη της σχολικής χρονιάς 2014-2015, το Δημοτικό Σχολείο Σούρπης συμμετείχε στο Ευρωπαϊκό Πρόγραμμα eTwinning το οποίο και προωθεί τη συνεργασία μεταξύ των Ευρωπαϊκών σχολείων που έχουν κοινούς παιδαγωγικούς και εκπαιδευτικούς στόχους. Η εργασία με την οποία ασχολήθηκαν οι μαθητές και οι μαθήτριες των Ε΄ και Στ΄ τάξεων είχε τον τίτλο «Τhe European Schools Newspaper» και τους ενέπλεξε σε μια από κοινού έκδοση εφημερίδας στα αγγλικά με άλλα Ευρωπαϊκά Σχολεία. Με όχημα την τεχνολογία και καύσιμο την όρεξη, την εργατικότητα και τη διάθεση για δημιουργία και επικοινωνία, οι μαθητές και οι μαθήτριες του Δημοτικού Σχολείου Σούρπης των δύο τελευταίων σχολικών ετών (2014-2015 και 2015-2016) δημιούργησαν συνολικά 8 συνεργατικά τεύχη με τη βοήθεια των Ευρωπαίων συμμαθητών τους.

Με μεγάλη χαρά σας ανακοινώνουμε ότι το συγκεκριμένο έργο έλαβε την Ευρωπαϊκή Ετικέτα Ποιότητας. Η ανακοίνωση της βράβευσης έγινε με το ακόλουθο email, που απευθύνεται στην εκπαιδευτικό Αγγλικής Γλώσσας του σχολείου μας που συντόνισε τα συνεργαζόμενα σχολεία και εκπροσώπησε το δικό μας:

‘Αγαπητή Vivi Hamilou,

Συγχαρητήρια! Το σχολείο σας βραβεύθηκε με την Ευρωπαϊκή Ετικέτα Ποιότητας για την τελειότητα της εργασίας σας στο έργο eTwinning “The European Schools Newspaper”. Αυτό σημαίνει πως η εργασία σας, η εργασία των μαθητών και του σχολείου σας έχει αναγνωριστεί στο υψηλότερο Ευρωπαϊκό επίπεδο.

Σαν αποτέλεσμα, θα λάβετε ένα πιστοποιητικό το οποίο μπορείτε να επισυνάψετε στην ιστοσελίδα σας και να το εκθέσετε σε μία περίοπτη θέση στο σχολείο σας. Επίσης, το έργο σας θα εμφανιστεί σε έναν ειδικό χώρο της Ευρωπαϊκής Διαδικτυακής Πύλης στο www.etwinning.net.

Για μία ακόμη φορά, συγχαρητήρια για αυτό το μοναδικό επίτευγμα και ελπίζω να συναντηθούμε σε κάποια από τις εκδηλώσεις eTwinning κατά τη διάρκεια του έτους.

Με τους καλύτερους χαιρετισμούς μου
eTwinning Team’

European Quality Label - 2016-2017 - Sourpi, Greece
European Quality Label – 2016-2017 – Sourpi, Greece

Πολλά συγχαρητήρια στους μαθητές και τις μαθήτριες των Ε΄ και Στ΄ τάξεων του σχολείου μας των σχολικών ετών 2014-2015 και 2015-2016, στους εκπαιδευτικούς που συνεργάστηκαν, αλλά και στη Διεύθυνση και τους εκπαιδευτικούς του Σχολείου μας για τη διαρκή υποστήριξη και ενίσχυση της όλης προσπάθειας!

Posted in 5th Grade, 6th Grade, My Schools' English Newspapers, Public Education

ΣΧΟΛΙΚΗ ΕΦΗΜΕΡΙΔΑ ΣΤΑ ΑΓΓΛΙΚΑ – 8ο ΤΕΥΧΟΣ

Posted on by Vivi Hamilou

etwinning

Με πολύ όρεξη και μεράκι, ολοκληρώθηκε το 8ο τεύχος της σχολικής μας εφημερίδας στα Αγγλικά με τους μαθητές του Δημοτικού Σχολείου Σούρπης! Μαζί με τους Ευρωπαίους φίλους μας, ετοιμάσαμε ένα καλοκαιρινό τεύχος, σε μια προσπάθεια να γνωριστούμε ακόμη καλύτερα, να διευρύνουμε τους ορίζοντές μας και να εξασκηθούμε στα Αγγλικά! Το δικό μας 5σέλιδο στο καλοκαιρινό τεύχος περιλαμβάνει δραστηριότητες που φτιάξαμε στο διαδίκτυο εκμεταλλευόμενοι λεξιλόγιο και φράσεις που μυρίζουν καλοκαίρι! Δείτε εδώ τις σελίδες του όγδοου τεύχους της εφημερίδας μας «The European Schools Newspaper»:

Δείτε το στο slideshare.net

Για αυτή τη σχολική χρονιά, οι Ευρωπαίοι μαθητές εργάζονται συνεργατικά πληκτρολογώντας τα άρθρα της εφημερίδας τους ταυτόχρονα σε ένα κοινό αρχείο googledocs (διαδικτυακός συνεργατικός κειμενογράφος) ή πληκτρολογώντας τα άρθρα τους σε Word Processor και επικολλώντας τα στο συνεργατικό εργαλείο googledocs! Προσεχώς θα σας παρουσιάσουμε την ηλεκτρονική εκδοχή του συνεργατικού μας τεύχους!

Posted in 5th Grade, 6th Grade, My Schools' English Newspapers, Public Education

ΣΧΟΛΙΚΗ ΕΦΗΜΕΡΙΔΑ ΣΤΑ ΑΓΓΛΙΚΑ – 7ο ΤΕΥΧΟΣ

Posted on by Vivi Hamilou

etwinning

Με πολύ όρεξη και μεράκι, ολοκληρώθηκε το 7ο τεύχος της σχολικής μας εφημερίδας στα Αγγλικά! Μαζί με τους Ευρωπαίους φίλους μας, παρουσιάσαμε τις αγαπημένες μας δραστηριότητες κατά τον ελεύθερο χρόνο μας, αλλά και οδηγίες για εύκολες κατασκευές, σε μια προσπάθεια να γνωριστούμε ακόμη καλύτερα, να διευρύνουμε τους ορίζοντές μας και να εξασκηθούμε στα Αγγλικά! Δείτε εδώ τις σελίδες του έβδομου τεύχους της εφημερίδας μας «The European Schools Newspaper»:

Δείτε το στο slideshare.net

Για αυτή τη σχολική χρονιά, οι Ευρωπαίοι μαθητές εργάζονται συνεργατικά πληκτρολογώντας τα άρθρα της εφημερίδας τους ταυτόχρονα σε ένα κοινό αρχείο googledocs (διαδικτυακός συνεργατικός κειμενογράφος) ή πληκτρολογώντας τα άρθρα τους σε Word Processor και επικολλώντας τα στο συνεργατικό εργαλείο googledocs! Δείτε παρακάτω ολόκληρο το συνεργατικό μας 7ο τεύχος:

Δείτε το στο slideshare.net
Posted in 5th Grade, 6th Grade, Computer-Assisted Language Learning, Projects, Public Education

Superstitions in Europe – eTwinning – Δημ. Σχολείο Πτελεού

Posted on by Vivi Hamilou

Συνεχίζοντας την αναζήτησή μας στις προκαταλήψεις του τόπου μας, προκειμένου να τις μοιραστούμε με τους Ευρωπαίους συμμαθητές μας, κατηγοριοποιήσαμε τις υπάρχουσες προκειμένου να μπορέσουμε να τις παρουσιάσουμε καλύτερα. Αυτό τον καιρό δουλεύουμε με τις προκαταλήψεις που σχετίζονται με ζώα! Δουλεύοντας συνεργατικά με τους Ευρωπαίους συμμαθητές μας, ‘κρεμάμε’ στον ακόλουθο ηλεκτρονικό τοίχο τις προκαταλήψεις που σχετίζονται με ζώα, προκειμένου να παρουσιάσουμε τις δικές μας, αλλά και να μάθουμε τις δικές τους!

Θα χαρούμε πολύ να μας ενημερώσετε αν υπάρχουν κάποιες που παραλείψαμε εκ παραδρομής ή λόγω άγνοιας!

Διαβάστε ΕΔΩ περισσότερες πληροφορίες για την εργασία μας για τις προκαταλήψεις που γίνεται στο πλαίσιο του Ευρωπαϊκού προγράμματος eTwinning.

Δείτε ΕΔΩ την πρώτη κατηγορία προκαταλήψεων που παρουσιάσαμε και σχετίζονται με αντικείμενα του σπιτιού!

Posted in 5th Grade, 6th Grade, Computer-Assisted Language Learning, My Schools' English Newspapers, Projects, Public Education

ΣΧΟΛΙΚΗ ΕΦΗΜΕΡΙΔΑ ΣΤΑ ΑΓΓΛΙΚΑ – 5ο ΤΕΥΧΟΣ – ΔΗΜ. ΣΧ. ΣΟΥΡΠΗΣ

Posted on by Vivi Hamilou

etwinning

Με πολύ όρεξη και μεράκι, ολοκληρώθηκε το 5ο τεύχος της σχολικής μας εφημερίδας στα Αγγλικά! Μαζί με τους Ευρωπαίους φίλους μας, παρουσιάσαμε τη χώρα μας, σε μια προσπάθεια να γνωριστούμε ακόμη καλύτερα, να διευρύνουμε τους ορίζοντές μας και να εξασκηθούμε στα Αγγλικά! Δείτε εδώ τις σελίδες του πέμπτου τεύχους της εφημερίδας μας «The European Schools Newspaper», όπου παρουσιάζουμε τη Θεσσαλία και τη Στερεά Ελλάδα (τα υπόλοιπα συνεργαζόμενα ελληνικά διαμερίσματα ανέλαβαν άλλα διαμερίσματα για να μην επαναλαμβανόμαστε στους Ευρωπαίους φίλους μας!):

Δείτε το στο slideshare.net

Για αυτή τη σχολική χρονιά, οι Ευρωπαίοι μαθητές εργάζονται συνεργατικά πληκτρολογώντας τα άρθρα της εφημερίδας τους ταυτόχρονα σε ένα κοινό αρχείο googledocs (διαδικτυακός συνεργατικός κειμενογράφος) ή πληκτρολογώντας τα άρθρα τους σε Word Processor και επικολλώντας τα στο συνεργατικό εργαλείο googledocs!

Posted in 5th Grade, 6th Grade, Computer-Assisted Language Learning, Projects, Public Education

ΟΙ ΠΡΟΚΑΤΑΛΗΨΕΙΣ ΣΤΗΝ ΕΥΡΩΠΗ – ETWINNING – ΔΗΜ. ΣΧΟΛΕΙΟ ΠΤΕΛΕΟΥ

Posted on by Vivi Hamilou

etwinning1

Προκατάληψη είναι η πεποίθηση εκείνη που δεν στηρίζεται σε λογική επιχειρηματολογία και υποστηρίζεται συνήθως από τις παραδόσεις, περνώντας από γενιά σε γενιά. Υπολαμβάνεται ως μια γνώμη ή ένα σύνολο γνωμών ή ακόμα και ως ολόκληρη θεωρία η οποία έχει σχηματισθεί κατά έναν μη επιστημονικό τρόπο κοινώς αποδεκτό, αλλά και μια τοποθέτηση που περιλαμβάνει συναισθήματα (φόβο, περιφρόνηση, απέχθεια κ.α.). Πολλές Ευρωπαϊκές χώρες έχουν προκαταλήψεις, οι οποίες κατά ένα μεγάλο μέρος πηγάζουν από τις θρησκευτικές πεποιθήσεις.

Φέτος, οι μαθητές των τριών τελευταίων τάξεων του σχολείου μας μαζί με την καθηγήτρια Αγγλικών, κα Παρασκευή Χαμηλού, αποφάσισαν να ασχοληθούν με την παρουσίαση των Ελληνικών και τοπικών προκαταλήψεων και να γνωρίσουν τις αντίστοιχες των Ευρωπαίων συμμαθητών τους. Το έργο αυτό εντάσσεται στο Ευρωπαϊκό πρόγραμμα ηλεκτρονικής αδελφοποίησης eTwinning και φιλοδοξεί να εμπλέξει τους Ευρωπαίους μαθητές στην καταγραφή και τον διαμοιρασμό των εθνικών τους προκαταλήψεων, αποσκοπώντας στη βελτίωση της παραγωγής γραπτού λόγου και κατανόησης γραπτού κειμένου στα Αγγλικά, στην εξοικείωση με την τεχνολογία και τους άλλους πολιτισμούς και στην καλλιέργεια της ανοχής στη διαφορετικότητα.

Ο τίτλος του εν λόγω eTwinning έργου είναι Superstitions in Europe. Τα μέχρι τώρα συνεργαζόμενα σχολεία είναι τα ακόλουθα: Szkoła Podstawowa z Oddziałami Integracyjnymi Nr 40 im. Mieszka I w Poznaniu (Poznań, Πολωνία), Hasan – Şükran Saruhan Ortaokulu (Etimesgut, Τουρκία) και Yavuz Selim İlkokulu (Yomra, Τουρκία). Ο ρόλος του σχολείου μας και του Πολωνικού είναι συντονιστικός.

Superstition is the belief in supernatural causality—that one event causes another without any natural process linking the two events! Many – if not all – European countries have superstitions and most of them are usually related to religion. This project aspires to involve European learners in the recording of and sharing their national superstitions, while improving their writing and reading skills in English, familiarizing themselves with technology and other cultures and becoming more tolerant with diversity.

Main aims:
1. To improve the learners’ writing and reading skills in the target language
2. To familiarize the learners with technology (emails, forums, chats, educational web tools, search engines, etc)
3. To develop the learners’ tolerance with diversity

Secondary objectives:
1. To develop cooperative learning – while working in groups and cooperating with their European peers
2. To introduce strategies that help to improve the learners’ writing and reading skills
3. To promote learning with a real-life purpose (mainly writing for a real audience and reading authentic texts)
4. To make the learners realize the emergence of English as an international language
5. To reinforce the learners’ self-confidence and self-esteem
6. To practice note-taking
7. To exchange teaching strategies, methods and approaches in English Language Teaching (among partner teachers)

Superstitions will primarily be divided into categories that will be agreed upon among partner teachers via emails and Twinspace. For instance:
Category 1: Superstitions related to home routines
Category 2: Superstitions related to animals
Category 3: Superstitions related to weddings
Category 4: Superstitions related to the dead / funerals , etc

Once categorization has been finalized, learners start working on each category on agreed-upon tools. For instance, we create a coopearative padlet for superstitions included in Category 1. Then, we create a cooperative presentation in googledocs for the superstitions included in Category 2, and so on. The cooperative, educational tools will be discussed and agreed-upon among partner teachers. The end products of each category will be uploaded on Twinspace and school blogs. The learners will be introduced and registered as members in the project Twinspace, in an attempt to promote communication with their European peers.

The expected outcomes involve the attainment of the afore-mentioned pursued main and secondary aims and objectives and the publication of the categorized European superstitions. The format of publication will be discussed and determined among partner teachers (school blogs and/or project blog and/or public Twinspace, etc). By publishing our end-products, we aspire not only to create a register of the European superstitions and develop our learners’ self-esteem and self-confidence, but also to promote good teaching and learning practices.