Jackson_CO1

Last Wednesday I had the privilege of sitting in on a combined lesson 2 & 3 listening class. As soon as I entered the classroom I was received by the instructor with a warm welcome. She informed me that the previous day her students (level 2s) and the students of an incoming level 3 class had both listened to an article pertaining to McDonald's and Obesity in America. This was in preparation for both classes to watch Morgan Spurlock's documentary Super Size Me. The teacher spent the first 15 minutes of class recovering the article that the students had covered, asking them comprehension questions and trying to help their understanding of the content of the article. She did a fantastic job of assessing where the students needed help and every time there was a vocabulary word in question, she would write it on the board and provide great definitions. When the level 3 class came in, the students were instructed to get into pairs and explain to their partner what they had learned about the previous day in the articles they had listened to. I thought this was a great idea because it provided the students with a more relaxed, informal method of communication whereas a question/answer teacher-focused lesson wouldn't. While this was going on, both teachers were walking around the class and helping the students whenever they needed it as well as stimulating the conversations. Having this unique experience where two teachers were teaching two classes in one class was very unique and fascinating to me. During the last 15 minutes, the students were told that the conversations they had had about their articles were preluding to the movie that they would be watching the next day. The teachers then put on the board some pre-viewing questions on the board trying to get the students to think about how the articles may pertain to the movie. More importantly, they challenged students to think critically about if the responsibility of obesity in america lay in the hands of the individual or the corporation. When the class was over I made sure to compliment and thank the teacher as well as ask her a few questions about the dynamic of the class.