english week

Estimado Docente de Inglés:
Me llamo Corey Archambault y soy la redactora de This or That. Tengo un año en Panamá enseñando inglés como voluntaria de
Cuerpo de Paz. Vivo en Calobre, Veraguas y trabajo con estudiantes de primaria y secundaria. También ofrezco clases comunitarias
de ingles y facilito varios seminarios en Veraguas. Soy de Detroit, Michigan y recibí dos licenciaturas de la University of Evansville
en Evansville, Indiana para estudios de político, relaciones internacionales, español, y comunicación empresarial.
Quiero aprovechar esta oportunidad de presentarle a la otra redactora, Keara Linnane. Keara is originally from Orlando, Florida and
graduated from Florida State University with a dual degree in International Relations and Sociology. She also holds a TEFL certification from the Center for Intensive English Studies at Florida State University. Currently Keara lives in El Espave de Chame, Panama Oeste. She Works at Escuela El Espave with pre-kínder through 6th grade, as well as with the telebásica program at the
school. After her two years in Panama, she hopes to attend graduate school back in the United States, studying International Development and Public Administration.
También, me gustaría presentarle a Whit Johnson. Whit Johnson is the Program Training Specialist for the Peace Corps Teaching
English program. He is originally from Hamden, Connecticut and received his Bachelor’s degree in Hispanic Studies from Wheaton
College in Norton, Massachusetts in 2005. After graduation he taught high school Spanish for four years in the Boston area, traveled abroad with his students and worked at a Boston-based nonprofit that promotes bicycle technology as a concrete alternative to
war and environmental destruction. Whit later worked for two years as a Regional Manager for an educational travel company
where he consulted teachers in the development of international student travel programs tailored to schools’ curricula. Whit served
as a Peace Corps volunteer in the TEFL sector in El Rama, Nicaragua a small city near the Caribbean coast from 2011-2013. As a
volunteer, he trained and consulted Nicaraguan English teachers, both at the secondary and university levels, organized an adult
English curriculum, and executed workshops and trainings at both local and national English conferences. His secondary projects
included organizing the PC Nicaragua Photo Contest, producing a CD of original PCV music, implementing the World Map Project
and the construction of a small park. Whit enjoys live music, guitar, podcasts, biking, reading about interesting things, Boston sports
and analytical discussions about the NBA.
Últimamente, le presento a Joel Álvarez. Joel Alvarez Gonzalez holds a B.A. in ESL from the University of Panama. He also holds a
Masters degree in TESOL from Universidad Latina de Panama and a Masters degree in Higher Education from the University of
Panama. Joel has taught English to children, teenagers and adults. He is currently the Teaching English project manager at Peace
Corps, Panama.
Gracias por su interés en This or That. Si tenga cualquier pregunta, envíela a [email protected].
Atentamente,
Corey Archambault
Editor– This or That
This or That
Teaching English Project Newsletter
COOPERATION AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE IMPLEMENTING AGREEMENT BETWEEN
THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND THE UNITED STATES PEACE CORPS
Teaching English
Newsletter
4
Upcoming Events
Infographic: Food Idioms
Grammar.net
5
Classroom Management
Jessica Whalen
Parental Involvement
Sezen Onat
Multi-Level Classroom
Aja Kennedy
6
Emotional Intelligence
Roseanne Lais
Rutinas del aula
Corey Archambault
8-9
English Week Activities
Peace Corps Volunteers
10
Yo-Nosotros-Ustedes
Katherine Murdza
Infographic:
Capitalization Rules
Grammar.net
11
Let’s Move!
Ivy Farguheson
12-13 Planeando su propio
concurso de Reader’s
Theater
Katherine Murdza
Volunteers of the United States Peace Corps seek to meet
Panamanian needs by supporting Panamanian professionals
with various technical skills. The Teaching English project is
comprised of 45 Peace Corps Volunteers living and working
in communities throughout Panama. Teaching English volunteers collaborate with teachers, students, and the school
community to motivate Panamanians to be confident in their
English teaching and communication skills.
THIS OR THAT MISSION STATEMENT: Educators and students in Panama will gain professional and personal growth
through improved English proficiency and technical assistance.
7
HOW PEACE CORPS CAN HELP YOU: This or That is a
newsletter published at the beginning of each school trimester with articles written by Peace Corps Volunteers to provide information about methods, techniques, and classroom
activities. Teachers can use the This or That email (below) to
submit questions for the Question and Answer section of the
newsletter. The Facebook group, Teaching English in Panama (below), was established for educators to collaborate
with their peers throughout Panama.
For more information about the United States Peace Corps
and the Teaching English project, please send an email to
[email protected]. Include your name, your school, the
province, and the level with which you work. Thank you.
14-15 Festivales del mundo
anglófono
16-17 Grammar Snapshot:
Future Tense
K. Linnane
18
19
Human Candy Land
Keara Linnane
Taboo
Corey Archambault
Crazy Face
Father’s Day Activities
Keara Linnane
Fourth of July Activities
Katherine Murdza
CONTACT INFORMATION
[email protected]
facebook.com/groups/teachingenglishpanama
THIS OR THAT STAFF
Managing Editor Corey Archambault
Editorial Board Keara Linnane
THIS OR THAT
National MEDUCA English
Congress
May 30-June 3
Panama City
Bocas del Toro
Ricardo Maxwell
Dirección Regional de Bocas del Toro, ADS



June 3 to 6: Regional Picture Bee and Spelling Bee.
June 9 to 13: English Language Week
June 9 to 13: Speech Contest 11 and 12 grade.
Veraguas
Aracelis Delgado & Marcel Delgado
Dirección Regional de Veraguas




June 5: Primary School Regional Spelling Bee
June 6: Secondary School Regional Spelling Bee
June 9 to 13: English Language Week
June 13: Regional Speech Contest
Peace Corps
Joel Álvarez
Teaching English Project Manager

June 20-22: Education & Leadership Conference
 CEDESAM, Farallón, Coclé
 ONLY for Peace Corps Volunteers and their invitees
TO PROMOTE YOUR EVENT FOR THE
THIRD TRIMESTER OR SUMMER MONTHS,
PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL TO
[email protected].
INCLUDE YOUR NAME, TITLE, THE EVENT AND THE
PROVINCE IN WHICH THE EVENT WILL BE HELD.
THANK YOU.
4
facebook.com/groups/teachingenglishpanama
MAY 2014
What is a good way to control students’ behavior?
Silvia Atencio,
Third Grade
Guararé, Los Santos
Have you ever walked into a room of screaming children and
thought, “I’m done”? Have you ever lost your voice from
screaming at students? Classroom management is one of the
most prevalent problems in education, worldwide. From the
United States to Panama, teachers have battled with their students to maintain the control of their classroom. Luckily,
there are certain strategies and practices that will help you
successfully beat back the barbarians we call students. Here
are a couple of tips that have been found effective in a classroom:
1. Silent Signals: Establish a “silent signal” with your students (hand up, fingers holding lips, quiet coyote). These signals help students understand when you would like silence
without the teacher even speaking.
2. Point System: If students are constantly out of their seats,
speaking out of turn, throwing things around the classroom,
the point system is very effective. Set up a goal for the students (10pts). When they reach this goal they win some sort
of prize (movie day, cookies etc). Students can win points for
answering a question correctly, behaving well, or other positive behavior. Students can lose points for speaking out of
turn, leaving their seat without permission, or other negative
behavior (each teacher can choose their own rules, preferably
with input from their students).
If parents & family need to be involved and
kids don’t take home their homework, how
can they help?
Josephina Campbell
Bastimentos, Kinder-6th
Hi, Josephina!
Depending on the age of your students, if you know for a fact
they will not do their homework, it’s better not to give it to
them. Or, you can give them homework every Friday so that
they have the expectation that every Monday they have to
turn it in.
Another good way to get parents involved is by having the
students copy down your classroom rules and expectations in
their notebook and giving it to their parents to sign and return
to you (best to do this at the beginning of the year). If they do
this, the parents will know exactly what is expected of their
students in your classroom.
In terms of activities, a way to involve the parents is to give
the students activities that involve interviewing their parents.
For example, have the kids ask their parents four questions
about a certain theme (in Spanish) and write the answer in
English. Example, “¿Cuál es su tipo favorito de tiempo?”
“My dad’s favorite type of weather is sunny”.
I hope this helps you! Good luck!
Sezen Onat
Las Tablas, Bocas del Toro
3. Do It Now: Sometimes students act out because they are
bored in class. Make sure each moment is filled with something to do. For example, if the teacher needs to grade homework or do roll, put a “do it now” activity up on the board.
This can be a word search, crossword, riddle, writing exercise, drawing assignment or anything else you can think of.
The most important thing to remember is to be patient, keep a
good sense of humor and do not allow the students to run the
classroom.
Good Luck!
Jessica Whalen
El Valle, Coclé
SI TENGA PREGUNTA DE ENSEÑANZA DE INGLÉS O
MANEJO DEL AULA, PUEDE ENVIARLA A
[email protected].
INCLUYA SU NOMBRE, LA ESCUELA, LA PROVINCIA,
Y EL NIVEL CON QUE TRABAJA.
[email protected]
5
THIS OR THAT
What is a good way to teach students that are coming from a “multigrado” IX grade to a X, XI,
and XII grade school?
Ricardo Maxwell,
Dirección Regional de Bocas del Toro, ADS
Hello, Ricardo Maxwell! Thank you so much for writing to
This or That!
The question you ask is an excellent one, and a solution to
this issue is not going to be a quick fix. Making your lessons
accessible to all of your students, including those that have
less of a background in the English language (i.e. most students coming from “multigrado” schools) is a challenge that
will take a little special attention in order to overcome, but it
can be done!
Here are a few tips to help you:
1.
ADAPTABILITY, ADAPTABILITY, ADAPTABILITY!
Adaptability is the name of the game in this situation. In any
lesson you teach, your first thought should be how/whether
your lesson may be adapted to various levels of English learners. One example of an adapted lesson would be to assign
exercises using visual stimuli that solicit a response from the
student. The teacher may use a picture or a video and then
ask students to respond. More advanced students may be
asked to evaluate or critique the image/video while lower
level students may be asked to simply summarize, or to identify key vocabulary or grammar concepts.
2. TEACH IN THEMES
One way to create an adaptable lesson is by organizing your
curriculum by themes. Within any topic there are activities of
varying levels that could be used to instruct students of various levels. If the topic is professions, for example, one student may be asked to summarize the duties associated with a
particular profession while another student is asked to orally
explain why a certain profession would/would not be suited to
himself/herself.
4. DRAMA/PLAYS/READER’S THEATER
Drama is an excellent way to involve participants of varying
English levels. Advanced learners will receive the more difficult parts or read the more difficult lines, while lower-level
English learners are assigned easier parts that they can master
and still contribute to the performance!
5. PEER TUTORING/GROUP WORK
You may consider using group work to help the issue. Group
students by English levels in order to focus on different skills
with different groups. You may also consider grouping/
paring together students of varying levels so that the stronger
students may serve as a kind of “peer tutor” for lower level
students. In this way, lower level students can receive more
personal attention while more advanced students are still engaged, as explaining concepts about the English language
may enhance even their own understanding.
6. SELF-ACCESS MATERIALS
If you create materials that students are able to access themselves, they will be able to focus on different skills individually or in small groups. Make copies of exercises, pictures,
etc. and have students choose exercises to complete. (If
you’d like to avoid having to make too many copies, just
make a few that students can share and have them copy answers into their notebooks.)
These are just a few tips to get your imagination going, but
the sky is the limit! If you have any more activities that you
have found to be well-received by multi-level classrooms,
please share it with us!
Thank you for all your work educating the youth of Panama!
3. VIDEOS/LISTENING PRACTICE
Videos and listening practice are an easy way to engage all
learners. Have students watch a video or listen to a recording
(or even the teacher’s own voice!) and respond. You may
wish for more advanced students to write an alternate ending
to a story while lower level students simply summarize what
they understood from the exercise.
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facebook.com/groups/teachingenglishpanama
Aja Kennedy
Meteti, Darien
MAY 2014
Emotional Intelligence
Rutinas del aula
Roseanne Lais
Guararé, Los Santos
Corey Archambault
Calobre, Veraguas
The true key to leadership in the classroom? Emotional Intelligence.
As teachers we are the leaders of our classes. Sometimes that
job is hard. We know the material well, but the students don't
always "follow" us. It turns out that being competent in the
material you are teaching is only 50% of the job. The rest is
based off of something called emotional intelligence. We've
all heard of IQ before, well EQ is similar, except is is based
off of how well you are able to deal with emotions, yours, and
others. Studies have shown that really effective leaders have
high EQ's.
There are five parts to emotional intelligence:
1. Self-awareness
2. Self-regulation
3. Motivation
4. Empathy
5. Social skills.
Each of these skills are essential to being a strong leader. Self
-awareness, self-regulation, and motivation help us control
ourselves so that we are ready to lead, while social skills and
empathy help us interact with our students.
When you go home tonight think about which of these skills
you're good at, which ones could you do better? Think of
strategies you could do to improve the skills you are lacking.
I, for example, struggle with motivation, so I give myself a
treat (like watching a movie, or buying an ice cream cone)
when I finish a task I didn't want to do.
The more you practice at emotional intelligence, the better
you'll get, because lucky for us, EQ can be learned!


Rutinas no son solas las acciones, pero también como
realizarlas
Cada acción requiere una rutina; en este caso, no refiere
al orden de la clase entera
Características de buenas rutinas
 5 o menos pasos
 Fáciles de recordar
 Hechas para completar una acción especifica
 Tienen un límite de tiempo
 100% participación de los alumnos
Acciones que necesitan rutinas
 Entregar papeles
 Ir al baño
 Sacar punta
 Tirar basura
 Prestar materiales de otro estudiante
 Entrar el salón
 Salir del salón
 Mover la silla
 Contestar, preguntar, o hablar
Ejemplo general
 El estudiante alza la mano
 Espera la atención del teacher
 Pregunta permiso del teacher
 Solo si el teacher diga “sí”, el estudiante realiza la
acción
 En silencio, dentro del límite de tiempo
 El estudiante regresa a su puesto
Enseñando la rutina
 Explique la rutina asegurando que los estudiantes
entienden los pasos
 Practique la rutina
 Si un estudiante no siga la rutina, no le preste atención
 Por ejemplo: Si un estudiante no alce la
mano, no responda a su pregunta
 Tenga una consecuencia
 Hágalo de nuevo hasta que 100% de la clase
participa
[email protected]
7
THIS OR THAT
ENGLISH WEEK
Fashion Show
-Last years theme was "English through technology". Each
grade was given a few vocabulary words about technology
(camera, tablet, computer), and each student wrote one sentence using the word. At the end of the week the students did
a "fashion show" where each grade walked down a "runway"
that we set up on the court outside. The students walked to the
end of the runway, said their sentence, and walked back.
cowboy feel. The week concluded with a choreographed
western dance during the Miss English competition.
It is good to incorporate all parts of English language
learning: Writing (writing contest, spelling bee), listening
(comprehension reading), speaking (speech contest), and culture (Miss English contest).
Corey Archambault
Calobre, Veraguas
Dialogues
-Our students broke into groups which learned and practiced
dialogues to present in front of the other students and staff.
The dialogues were relatively long, but used simple vocabulary so that the students could understand what they were saying.
Talent Show
-In addition to the fashion show last year, different groups of
students participated in a Talent Show. It was done on a volunteer basis, and students could choose what they wanted
their talent to be. Some students danced to English songs,
others read poetry, others sang or rapped. They presented
their talents at the end of the week and each group that presented won a prize.
Keara Linnane
El Espave, Panamá Oeste
During the Thursday of English Week, there were many presentations of songs and dances. Primaria students presented
“Hello, how are you”, premedia students sang songs by One
Direction and The Wanted, and media students sang Scarborough Fair. Some students also presented English Conversations, Greetings, “Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” and
“Daddy Finger”.
This year, we will probably have a day similar to last year
when the students will present songs and examples from their
class. I will encourage teachers to have students display English art projects like collages and word family trees. Other
ideas are to show a Disney movie in English. Depending on
space and time restraints, I would like to open this up to the
community. I will also encourage teachers to do fun things in
class: art, games, dinámicas, songs, and use of multimedia so
that students can present any activity to the school.
K. Linnane
Colegio Francisco I. Castillero taught “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” by The Tokens to 700 students. We used a powerpoint
to teach the vocabulary to the students and then they created
music videos with their MEDUCA computers. It was super
fun and the students enjoyed it.
Roseanne Lais
Guararé, Los Santos

Daniel Vetter
Tortí, Panamá Este
Last year, English week had a western theme that was applied
to every activity throughout the week. The spelling bee included words about country life. During the writing contest,
students were provided a paragraph about a young cowboy
who lost his hat. Students then had to write an additional
paragraph about where he found the hat and how it made the
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For high school, pass out papers and get students themselves to cut out jobs related to/requiring English. Have
the students decorate a bulletin board demonstrating the
advantage/requirement of English in the workplace. Each
student chooses which ad most relates to what he/she
wants to study. Talk about how they can achieve their
career goals, but especially how they can really converse
in English. Have each person present their “future job”
and his/her path to success before the class. They can
also dress up like the career they want to pursue.
For all ages, the students could dress up like a character
in their favorite book. The book could be in English/
Spanish, but they should learn a few English words or
phrases to say about their book, example: “I am Snow
White.” You could call this “Character Day,” and each
facebook.com/groups/teachingenglishpanama
MAY 2014
ACTIVITIES

student will go before the class and say who he/she is, the
book, and the author.
For all ages, songs are always a fun thing to teach and
learn. Also, the students remember them longer. Each
grade could learn a different, simple English song, perhaps even putting a few dramatic gestures and acting into
the song, and at the end of the week, the school could
have like a “Canta Conmigo” show. Therefore, all the
students could hear all the other songs their fellow students learned as well.
Rachel Connor
Unión de Azuero, Panamá Este
blanks on sentences, answering math problems with numbers
written in English, etc. When the students finished a task, they
had to pass a baton or high-five the next teammate waiting to
complete the next event. This seemed to be a really successful
event because all students were motivated to participate. The
winning team would receive a party on another day.
Sezen Onat
Las Tablas, Bocas del Toro
My school planned a series of big events for the Friday of
English week. With the 6th graders, I worked on learning the
lyrics to some popular English songs for them to perform. The
younger students participated in challenges such as tongue
twisters, sentence scrambles and vocabulary presentations.
Catherine Rolfe
Chigore, Coclé
My students always ask me the most silly questions about
how Americans do things. I always enjoy these types of conversations and find their wild imaginations and inaccurate
interpretations adorable. I thought I'd take English Week as an
opportunity to give an informative presentation about the
United States and it's culture. Without a doubt it will include
lots of silly games and activities for the kids.
Maria Roehrkasse
Soná, Veraguas
For our English Week everyone, including the classroom
teachers chose English names. We all made name tags and
only referred to people by their English name all week. Some
were typical names (Sally, John etc) while others were more
creative (Beyonce, JayZ). It was a great way to involve the
entire school in English week and it was super fun
C. Archambault
Hicimos un concurso de “Mr. English” en el que cada concursante tuvo que contestar algunas preguntas en inglés que ya
habían practicado. Para hacerlo divertido, incluimos oportunidades para mostrar talentos y bailar para el público. Durante
el concurso, grupos de grados más bajos presentaron canciones y poesía en inglés.
Jessica Whalen
El Valle, Coclé
1.
One great activity that we did last year was English
Olympics. The students divided in to teams based on
grade level and each student had to run to stations and do
an English activity. Some of the activities included were:
Marching sentences, pronouncing a tongue twister, and
charades. The winners received small prizes.
2.
For the younger kids during English week we played a
movie in English. We let the kids vote on the movie giving them three choices.
Katherine Murdza
Las Margaritas, Panamá Este
Another volunteer, Nelly Alcantar, had a great end of the
week event: an English Relay. She arranged about 7 teams of
7th and 8th graders (about 5 students). Each student had a
task to complete in order for their team to win, like a big relay
race. Tasks included: putting words of sentences in order,
taping names of body parts onto a volunteer, filling in the
[email protected]
Nicholas Nordhal
La Peña, Veraguas
9
THIS OR THAT
El plan de lección fácil: “Yo-NosotrosUstedes”
Katherine Murdza
Las Margaritas, Panamá Este
¡Escribir un buen plan de lección puede ser difícil! La instrucción del profesor es importante, pero tiene que ser balanceado
con la práctica independiente estudiantil.
El Cuerpo de Paz usa la estructura de “YO -NOSOTROS
- USTEDES” para resumir las partes de una buena lección.
Yo: La primera parte de la clase siempre se enfoca en la presentación de la materia por el docente.
Nosotros: Después, el profesor y los estudiantes hacen una
actividad juntos que aplica la materia de manera
práctica.
Ustedes: Finalmente, los estudiantes trabajan independientemente en lo que han aprendido.
Ejemplo de “Yo-Nosotros-Ustedes”
Tema: Verbos Regulares
Grado: 7mo
Yo: El teacher muestra una lámina que él ha dibujado que
ilustra los verbos que van a aprender. Los estudiantes
repiten las palabras con él. El teacher escribe en el
tablero y explica la conjugación de verbos regulares.
Nosotros: El teacher dice un verbo y un pronombre en español y la clase tiene que responder con una frase completa en inglés. El teacher escribe algunas frases de
ejemplo en el tablero y pregunta a la clase cual verbo
va en cada espacio. Hablan juntos sobre los pasos
para llegar a la respuesta correcta.
Ustedes: Los estudiantes trabajan solos llenando los espacios:
The doctor ________ in a hospital. The children
______ in the park. The family _____ in the
dining room.
Sabemos que MEDUCA requiere su propio formato de planeamiento, pero puede ser muy útil delinear la estructura “Yo
-Nosotros-Ustedes” de su lección en otra hoja cuando está
planeando. Recuérdense, ¡un poquito más esfuerza en el planeamiento ahorra mucho más tiempo y estrés en el salón!
10
facebook.com/groups/teachingenglishpanama
MAY 2014
Let’s Move!
Ivy Farguheson
Guarumal, Veraguas
Students of all ages enjoy moving around their classrooms,
especially if they can also laugh and learn at the same time. It
allows them to get out of their seats and think in a different
way. It also gives shy students a chance to interact with a
smaller number of people rather than answer questions in
front of the entire class.
Some teachers stay away from “moving students” because
they are afraid the class may get out of control. Students can
often become loud when they move from seat to seat or station to station. Many teachers fear these students will bother
other classrooms or want to play games all day. I understand
these fears. I used to be one of these teachers.
stand where they are and become silent. You can be
the only person to speak when you use the signal. This
helps keep order in the classroom.
4. Allow students to laugh and have fun. They will be
louder than they normally are, and that’s OK. They
are learning and having a good time!
5. Have fun with them! It is OK to laugh and smile during the moving activity!
6. When the activity is complete, ask students what they
enjoyed and what they learned. Always provide time
for this. As a teacher you can learn a lot from how
students learn by asking them what went well and
what could be improved. This is also a way to do an
informal assessment of what they learned.
I changed when I observed another teacher use activities that
allowed students to move across the room whenever they
heard the word “move” in English. Whether it was a song or a
movie, when the students heard the word, they moved. They
understood what it meant and they were having a great time, a
perfect combination.
You will make mistakes from time to time and it can be a
little uncomfortable to hear students raise their voices and
laugh in class, but it is worth it. Students are learning!
They’re excited to do so and you will be excited as well when
they understand more after each activity.
I started using moving activities in my class the next week.
That was more than 10 years ago.
So, try telling your students one day that it’s time to move!
They’ll be happy to follow your lead.
Students want to move. They don’t want to sit in a desk all
day and, truthfully, neither do adults. Giving students a
chance to leave their seats and learn gives them a chance to
understand that education is not about sitting at a desk all day.
It can be fun!
This is especially true when teaching English. Rarely will
students interact with an English-speaker by sitting at a desk
all day. They will need to move and think “on their feet.”
Moving throughout a classroom starts that practice now, not
when they have their first job.
Here are a few suggestions to keep students moving, learning
and laughing while still keeping order in the classroom:
1. Set clear rules for an activity. Make sure students understand that yelling is not allowed and that the moving game or activity will only take place when all students agree to the rules.
2. Set a time limit for students. For example, if students
are moving from one corner to another in a classroom
in order to translate a picture they see on the wall, tell
them they will have a set time to do so. Thirty seconds
should work. They will know they have to keep moving to get everything finished on time.
3. Create a silent signal and share this with the class.
Tell students when you use this signal, everyone must
[email protected]
K. Linnane
11
THIS OR THAT
Planeando su propio concurso de Reader’s Theater
Katherine Murdza
Las Margaritas, Panama Este
Algunas regiones de Panamá ya han hecho concursos de
“Readers’ Theater”.
Para organizar su propio concurso:
1. Hable con su coordinador regional de inglés para
contar con el apoyo de MEDUCA.
2. Planee una reunión con todos los teachers de su región para que todos entiendan las reglas del concurso.
3. Practique con su grupo de estudiantes. Enfoque en
el vocabulario y el tono de voz para que entiendan lo
que están leyendo.
4. Organice el concurso para un nivel (por ejemplo,
tercer y cuarto grado), o varios niveles. Eligen ganadores basados en pronunciación, tono de voz y lectura
natural.
Para esta actividad, grupos de diez estudiantes leen un drama
de un guion en vez de memorizarlo. Les ayuda a practicar la
lectura y la pronunciación de manera natural.
Ejemplo de la rúbrica
Es una forma de teatro muy simple; no utiliza ni disfraces ni
accesorios. ¡Usted también puede hacer esta actividad tan
beneficial para sus estudiantes de inglés!
Oral Delivery
Volume
Oral Delivery
Clarity
Oral Delivery
Reads with
expression
Oral Delivery
Reads in turn
Cooperation
with group
Excellent
Good
Needs work
Consistently speak loudly
enough for audience to
hear
8-10 pts.
Words are pronounced
correctly and easily understood
8-10 pts.
Consistently read with
appropriate expression
8-10 pts.
Take turns accurately on a
consistent basis.
8-10 pts.
Consistently work well
with others
8-10 pts.
Usually speak loudly
enough for audience to
hear
4-7 pts.
Most words are pronounced correctly and easily understood
4-7 pts.
Usually read with appropriate expression.
4-7 pts.
Take turns accurately on a
somewhat consistent basis
4-7 pts.
Sometimes work well with
others.
4-7 pts.
Speak too soft or loud to hear.
0-3 pts.
Many words pronounced incorrectly, to fast or slow,
mumbles
0-3 pts.
Read with little or no expression.
0-3 pts.
Take turns rarely on a consistent basis
0-3 pts.
Difficulty in working with
others.
0-3 pts.
SI DESEA MÁS INFORMACIÓN SOBRE
READERS’ THEATER
INCLUYENDO LAS REGLAS DEL CONCURSO Y
LOS GUIONES, ESCRIBA A
[email protected].
12
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MAY 2014
THE FOURTH LITTLE PIG
BY TERESA CELSI
Seven roles: Narrator 1, Narrator 2, Narrator 3, Pig 1, Pig 2,
Pig 3, Sister Pig
Narrator 1: A long time ago, there were three little pigs with
homes made of bricks and of straw and of twigs. A
big bad wolf tried to catch them one day, by huffing
and puffing two houses away. Pig one and Pig two
then needed to flee, so they ran off to stay at the
house of Pig three. They bolted the windows and
locked the front door.
C. Archambault
Pig 1: We won’t go outside…not anymore!
Narrator 2: They stayed in that house at the top of the hill and
those three silly pigs would be hiding there still... If
their sister, the bold and daring Pig Four, hadn't
stopped by to visit and knocked on the door.
Pig 2: Go away wolf! Get away from our door!
Sister Pig: I'm no wolf, I'm your sister, Pig Four.
Narrator 3: The door opened a crack, then it opened up wide.
Narrator 3: Cried the sister with a frown. Then she huffed
and puffed and she blew...
Narrator 1: Their...
Narrator 2: House...
Narrator 3: DOWN!
Pig 3: Get in; there are bad wolves outside!
Narrator 1: As soon as the dust had started to clear, Sister Pig
said...
Sister Pig: Oh Pooh, there are no wolves in sight.
Sister Pig: You see, there are no wolves out here.
Pig 1: Yes there are!
Narrator 2: The boys peeked over what was left of their wall.
There were no wolves in sight- no wolves at all!
Narrator 3: They said as they slammed the door tight.
Pig 2: Keep still, Now everyone hide!
Sister Pig: Why hide? You should all go outside. You can't
spend your whole life just sitting and shaking. There
are places to see and things to be making. You could
build a canoe or go out and buy fudge.
Pigs: Hooray! Yippee! How happy are we! For the wolves
are all gone, and now we are free! We won't spend
our lives just sitting and shaking. There are places to
see and things to be making!
Narrator 3: The boys got some fudge, then they built a canoe.
Then they climbed up a mountain, enjoying their
view.
Narrator 1: But despite her suggestions, the boys would not
budge.
Narrator 1: And as for their sister, the daring Pig Four...
Pig 3:
Narrator 2: She traveled. She knows there are worlds to explore...
Keep that door shut!
Narrator 2: The three brothers cried.
Narrator 3: If only you're willing to open the door.
Pig 1: We're safe in here, Sister. We won't go outside.
Sister Pig: You're hopeless!
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13
THIS OR THAT
FESTIVALES DEL
(1) Canadá
(4) Nigeria




Victoria Day, May 19
 Celebrado con fuegos artificiales y desfiles, Victoria Day celebra el cumpleaños de la Reina Victoria, reina de Inglaterra, 1837-1901. Canadá fue
colonia de Gran Bretaña, el reino de Inglaterra,
durante esta época. Por esto, celebran Victoria
Day como el inicio del verano.
Canada Day, July 1
 Canada Day reconoce la ganancia de independencia canadiense en 1867. No hay clases ni trabajo
para que todos puedan celebrar con picnic, fuegos
artificiales, desfiles, y fiestas comunitarias.
Labour Day, September 1
 Originalmente Labour Day era un día en que los
sindicatos podían solicitar más beneficios para los
empleados. Actualmente, es un día de recreación
celebrado con ferias y celebraciones familiares.
 También, indica el fin del verano en Canada.

Democracy Day, May 29
 Después de ganar su independencia de Gran Bretaña, había una serie de juntas militares en Nigeria. Democracy Day celebra la restauración de la
soberanía.
Id El Fitr, July 29
 Una celebración musulmana, Id El Fitr marca el
fin del mes islámico de Ramadán, un mes de ayunar y orar. Hay varios eventos religiosos comunitarios.
(2) Los Estados Unidos



Memorial Day, May 26
 En este día hay muchos desfiles y ceremonias para
reconocer los sacrificios de todos los veteranos
estadounidenses. Se coloca una bandera en cada
tumba en los cementerios nacionales.
Independence Day, July 4
 El aniversario de la declaración de independencia
de Gran Bretaña en 1776, celebra los éxitos de la
revolución americana.
 Como la fecha cae en el verano norteamericano,
tienen la tradición de pasar el día afuera, asando
hamburguesa y chorizos, comiendo raspados, participando en desfiles, jugando béisbol, o viendo
fuegos artificiales
 Actividades: p.23
Labor Day, September 1
 El día de trabajo que también marca el fin del verano en los Estados Unidos.
(3) Gran Bretaña

14
Bank Holidays, May 26 and August 4
 Los Bank Holidays son días libres del trabajo para
que todos puedan aprovechar eventos recreativos
como competencias deportivos y festivales multiculturales.
Panamá
(5) Sudáfrica


Youth Day, June 16
 Reconoce el inicio de las revueltas estudiantiles en
1976 contra las practicas discriminantes y racistas
en las escuelas.
National Women’s Day, August 9
 El aniversario de un día en 1956 cuando más que
50,000 mujeres protestaron leyes de “apartheid”,
un póliza de segregación racial.
facebook.com/groups/teachingenglishpanama
MAY 2014
MUNDO ANGLÓFONO
(6) Tanzania
(8) Nueva Zelandia



Saba Saba Day, July 7
 Saba Saba traduce a “siete siete” (el séptimo día
del séptimo mes)
 Reconoce la fundación del partido político mas
popular en Tanzania 1954.
Nane Nane Day, August 8
 Traduce a “ocho ocho”, el octavo día del octavo
mes.
 Celebra el trabajo laboral.
Queen’s Birthday, June 2
 Igual a “Queen’s Birthday” de Australia, Nueve
Zelandia lo celebra el primer lunes de junio. En
este día, hay varios personas reconocidos por su
trabajo social como miembros de “Queen’s
Honour List”.
(9) India
En India hay muchísimas culturas y religiones. El gobierno
ofrece a los trabajadores una cantidad de días libres y ellos
pueden elegir cuales de los “restricted holidays” que quieren
libres. Algunos son:
 Eid-Ul-Fitar, July 30
 Igual al Id El Fitr en Nigeria, los musulmanas de
India lo celebra el 30 de julio.
 Thanksgiving Day, August 15
 Una celebración cristiana celebrado con mucha
comida y vino para agradecer a dios por todo que
les brinda.
 Parsi New Year, August 18
 El inicio del calendario parsi está celebrado con
grandes festivales regionales
(7) Australia

Queen’s Birthday, June 9
 Australia es parte del dominio de Gran Bretaña,
pero no una colonia como tiene su propio gobierno. Todavía la reina de Gran Bretaña influye mucho al político y cultura de Australia. Celebran su
cumpleaños el segundo lunes de junio.
HAY MÁS PAÍSES ANGLÓFONOS QUE LOS
ESTADOS UNIDOS, CANADÁ, Y GRAN BRETAÑA.
ESTE MAPA MUESTRA CUALES SON Y PROVEE
INFORMACIÓN DE LOS PRÓXIMOS FESTIVALES EN LOS
PAÍSES MÁS GRANDES.
Si Usted enseñe “world holidays”, los estudiantes podrían
investigar información de estos festivales y presentarla a la
clase.
[email protected]
15
THIS OR THAT
The Future Tense: Forming sentences and questions
Hay dos maneras de expresar el futuro en inglés.
Para formar preguntas, también hay los dos formas:
Pronoun + verb “to be” + going to + verb infinitive.
Pronoun + will + verb infinitive.
El primer es igual a “ir a + infinitivo”. Usa el verbo “to be”
en el presente.
I
You
He
She
We
am
are
is
is
are
They
are
o
I’m
You’re
He’s
She’s
We’re
going
to
They’re
run.
eat.
write.
call a
friend.
send an
email.
Para formar el negativo: pronoun + verb “to be” + not + going
to + verb infinitive. Ejemplo: She’s not going to call a friend.
El segundo es un forma compuesto, con el verbo auxiliar
“will”. Usa “will” con todos los pronombres o se puede usar
la contracción “ ‘ll ”. En este caso, “will” no traduce, solo
está utilizado para indicar el tiempo.
I
You
He
She
We
They
will
o
I’ll
You’ll
He’ll
She’ll
We’ll
They’ll
run.
eat.
write.
call a
friend.
send an
email.


Verb “to be” + pronoun + going to + verb infinitive?
Will + pronoun + verb infinitive?
Am
I
Are
you
Is
Is
Are
Are
he
she
we
they
Will
I
you
he
she
we
they
run?
eat?
write?
call a friend?
send an email?
Cuando usa preguntas, no puede usar contracciones en ambos
formas. (No “I’m” ni “I’ll” ni las otras contracciones.)
Cuando usa las contracciones “I’ll” o “I’m”, siempre tiene
que usar el mayúscula igual si está al principio de la oración o
no, como el uso de “I” solito.
Para formar el negativo: pronoun + will + not + verb infinitive. Puede combinar las palabras “will” y “not” para formar la
contracción “won’t”. Ejemplo: I won’t run.
16
going to
run?
eat?
write?
call a
friend?
send an
email?
facebook.com/groups/teachingenglishpanama
MAY 2014
Teaching the Future Tense: Two Classroom Activities
Keep Holding On
By Avril Lavigne
Fill in the Lyrics
Music is a great way to engage students and teach grammar in
context. If you are able to use technology in your classroom,
“Keep Holding On” by Avril Lavigne is a good song for practicing the future tense. It also uses the word “gonna”, which
is slang for “going to”. Provide your students a worksheet that
allows them to complete the lyrics with the correct form of
the future tense.
Students should listen to the song all the way through one
time.
The second time, they should fill in the blanks to complete the
lyrics.
Let students listen to the song a third time to make sure they
have all the answers filled in.
Then correct as a class or as a graded assignment.
Adivinanzas
Materiales: 9 papelitos, pluma/lápiz.



Primero, tiene que repasar como formar preguntas en el
futuro.
Estudiantes preparan 5 preguntas que se puede contestar
con “yes”, “no”, o “maybe”.
En los papelitos, el teacher escribe:
“absolutely”
“for sure”
“of course”
“it’s possible”
“maybe”
“who knows?”
“no way”
“not a chance”
“It’s not going to happen”
Options: will, won’t, ‘ll, going to, gonna
You're not alone
Together we stand
I ____ be by your side, you know I ____ take your hand
When it gets cold
And it feels like the end
There's no place to go
You know I ____ give in
No I ____ give in
Keep holding on
'Cause you know we ____ make it through, we ____ make it
through
Just stay strong
'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you
There's nothing you could say
Nothing you could do
There's no other way when it comes to the truth
So keep holding on
'Cause you know we ____ make it through, we ____ make it
through
So far away
I wish you were here
Before it's too late, this could all disappear
Before the doors close
And it comes to an end
With you by my side I ____ fight and defend
I ____ fight and defend
Yeah, yeah
También, Ellos puedan escribir un párrafo o pintar un dibujo
de su futuro.
Keep holding on
'Cause you know we ____ make it through, we ____ make it
through
Just stay strong
'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you
There's nothing you could say
Nothing you could do
There's no other way when it comes to the truth
So keep holding on
'Cause you know we ____ make it through, we ____ make it
through
Unos ejemplos de preguntas:
 “Will I eat rice with chicken for dinner?”
 “Will Miguel be a police officer?”
 “Will Ana Cristina have three sons?”
Hear me when I say, when I say I believe
Nothing's ____ change, nothing's ____ change destiny
Whatever's meant to be ____ work out perfectly
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah



Doblar los papelitos y mezclarlos en una gorra
Cada estudiante espera su turno para preguntar de su
futuro
El estudiante elige un papelito con la respuesta de su pregunta y la escribe en su cuaderno. Después, lo pone en la
gorra de nuevo y revuelva los papelitos.
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17
THIS OR THAT
Human Candy Land
Taboo
Keara Linnane
El Espave, Panamá Oeste
Corey Archambault
Calobre, Veraguas
Materials: A large, flat surface (could be a court, a classroom,
a hallway), tape, markers, grammar or vocabulary to review,
dice
Set up: Use the tape to create lines of boxes, like a board
game table, on the floor. Have a “Start” box and a “Finish
box”. Use the markers to write the vocabulary or the grammar questions on the boxes.
How to Play: Put the students into teams. When it is a team’s
turn, they roll the dice. Whatever number the dice lands on,
the team walks that many squares on the board. They then
have to define the word, answer the question, or do the action
with their body that they read on the box.
Example: If the student rolls a five on the dice, they walk to
square #5. If square #5 says “eat”, the student must say
“comer” and make a motion of eating with their hands.
You could also have grammar questions such as, “The girl
____. A. Eats, B. Eat, C. Eating.” The student would have to
say, “The girl eats.”
Un estudiante se sienta en una silla enfrente de la clase para
que no pueda ver el tablero. El teacher escribe una palabra en
el tablero y los demás tienen que explicar la palabra sin decir
una parte de la palabra hasta que el estudiante adivina la palabra correcta.
Por ejemplo: “watermelon”. Los estudiantes pueden decir
“fruit”, “green and red”, “sweet”, “has seeds”, etcetera. Pero
no pueden decir “full of water”, “starts with ʽw’”, o “type of
melon” como usan partes de la palabra “watermelon”.
Temas con que se puede usar esta actividad:









Food (types of food, healthy vs. unhealthy)
Parts of the house
Animals
Community locations
Occupations
Ecology
Holidays/Celebrations
Feelings
Commnication
If the students get the question wrong, they must go back to
the square that they were at before they rolled the dice.
Crazy Face
Cada estudiante necesita una hoja de papel y lápices de colores. El teacher dice una parte del cuerpo y los estudiantes la
dibujan. Después, pasan sus papeles a otro estudiante y el
teacher dice otro parte del cuerpo. Deben dibujarlas para formar un cuerpo completo. Siguen pasando las hojas hasta que
dibujan todas las partes del cuerpo.
K. Linnane
Human Candy Land
18
Por ejemplo: Los estudiantes tienen sus propias hojas al principio y escriben sus nombres en la esquina. El teacher dice
“hand” y espera un minuto para que ellos pueden dibujarla.
“Pasan sus papeles a la izquierda.” “Arm.” y continua así con
“leg”, “head”, “ears”, “nose”, “feet”, etcétera.
facebook.com/groups/teachingenglishpanama
MAY 2014
Father’s Day Activities
Fourth of July Activities
Keara Linnane
El Espave, Panamá Oeste
Katherine Murdza
Las Margaritas, Panamá Este
Rhyming Day Poetry
Students start by thinking of as many words as they can that
rhyme with “dad”, a commonly-used synonym for “father”.
(Glad, Mad, Sad, Grad).
Then they think of two more words (love, make).
Next, they think of rhyming words with those as well. (glove,
dove, take, lake).
With their three groups of rhyming words, students write a
three-five sentence poem about their dads using the words
that they have found.
Father’s Day Card
Una celebración del día de independencia estadounidense
puede ser una buena aplicación práctica del aprendizaje de
inglés. Siempre es importante incluir la cultura y la geografía
de países anglohablantes en las clases. Las siguientes actividades son algunos ejemplos de lo que se puede hacer. Recuérdese que es muy importante enseñar bien el vocabulario de
cualquiera actividad antes de hacerlo.
(Información cultural: p.18)
Canción: This Land is Your Land
(Busque en Youtube.com para video)
This land is your land, this land is my land
From California, to the New York Islands.
From the Redwood forest, to the Gulf Stream Waters.
This land was made for you and me
Students use simple sentence structures to write about their
fathers.
"My dad is ___________."
"My dad likes ____________."
"My dad can ___________."
They can draw a picture of themselves with their fathers and
give it as a card.
Acrostic Poetry
Students write the word "FATHER", and write a word for
each letter.
Diálogo
El teacher lee el diálogo primero. Después, los estudiantes se
dividen en dos grupos, leyendo juntos para que no tengan
pena. Después de practicar, pueden dividirse en grupos más
pequeños.
1. Good afternoon! Happy Fourth of July!
2. Thank you! You too! How are you?
1. I am happy! I love summer! How are you?
2. I am happy too! I like to celebrate my country.
1. Me too! Would you like a hamburger?
2. Yes please! Look! The parade!
Juego: Fireworks
“Fuegos Artificiales”
Example:
F - Fun
A - Amazing
T - Tough
H - Happy
E - Exciting
R - Really Nice
Younger students can use the word "DAD".
Materias: pelota pequeña
Los estudiantes hacen un círculo. Un estudiante dice “one” y
tira la pelota a otro estudiante, quien dice “two” y la tira a
otra. Cada vez que dicen bien diez números, los estudiantes
gritan “FIREWORKS!”, saltan, alzan las manos, y hacen los
sonidos de fuegos artificiales. Después, siguen contando.
También se puede jugar con cualquiera lista de vocabulario
que tiene un orden: días de la semana, fechas de año (January
first, January second), meses del año etc.
[email protected]
19
This or That
Teaching English Project Newsletter
COOPERATION AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE IMPLEMENTING AGREEMENT BETWEEN
THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND THE UNITED STATES PEACE CORPS