It was certainly better than the first demo in terms of my presentation skills.
However, as pointed out in my feedback the lesson plan needs a facelift.
Prior to the lesson I had difficulty understanding TDBU. Top Down I understood to be reading for gist. Bottom Up I understood to be looking for specifics such as vocabulary. Now, TDBU was more difficult for me to grasp. However, after Jeff's demonstration I understood TDBU. The activity whereby Jeff had everyone read the menu and find three vegetarian options made all the students read the entire menu and try to find specifics (veggie dishes). I should add that as a vegetarian myself I appreciated the fact that it is hard to sometimes find a dish for me.
The original scan at the beginning of my lesson could be changed to have them look for the vocabulary (language police, etc.). Another option is that I could have written a question on the board such as "What is the arguement against Chinese language only signs?" and had the students look for it.
Another changes: need to vary my praise expressions. I did try to use different forms but I noticed that I used "well-done" too much. Good, excellent, OK are some other options. At least I did not use "good job" as it is my pet peeve as I often hear Korean teachers use it (too much).
When interacting with the students during pair work I jumped to give them the answers or strong hints too quickly. I should have asked questions and engaged in scaffolding in order to get them to the answer without my supplying it. Also, in regards to the question about Quebec I gave a long answer rather than activating their schema. I could have asked them "Why is Quebec different from the rest of Canada?" and "Do you think they have laws promoting French or English? Why?" Therefore, less teacher talk from me and more talking from them. Lastly, when I got Laura to help another student (Dee Dee) with the answer I supplied too much help again. I should have asked Laura "Why?" she got the answer she did and to explain it to Dee Dee.
I feel that my energy level was much better than the first demo.
I monitored the students during pair work (I walked around and checked their answers).
I used a technique from a co-worker for pairs to confirm their partner. In my demo each person had to say "Hello" to their partner. My co-worker has also used handshakes and pointing for students to identify their partner(s).
At the beginning I worked hard to engage the students with questions such as "What is controversy?", "What is the title of the article?", and "Where does the story take place?" I could have asked some follow-up questions such as "Please give me an example of controversy", or "What do think the article's main idea is?"
Lastly, it was very interesting to see my classmates' demonstrations as I could see other ways to use the reading material.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Rgys3qy8cM
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