Reflection of an Existing Ieaching Idea - Governing Dynamo
In class, we were given the task to comment on an existing teaching idea, that can be found in the web. In the material-section of the VZL, I found a micro-project, called 'Governing Dynamo'.
To prepare this mini project, the teacher has to go to www.governingdynamo.com. This website presents the inaugural speeches of former US presidents. The teacher needs to select some of the speeches, according to the number of groups in class, which he then turns with the help of wordle into a word cloud.
To prepare this mini project, the teacher has to go to www.governingdynamo.com. This website presents the inaugural speeches of former US presidents. The teacher needs to select some of the speeches, according to the number of groups in class, which he then turns with the help of wordle into a word cloud.
In class, the pupils have to discuss what kind of speech they are dealing
with and which are the most central topics. More advanced pupils might
already have a guess, when the speech was given and by whom. The
teacher now presents the names of the president, whose speeches he
has chosen. Every group needs to select a president, who might suit best
to their speech.
Afterwards the pupils will shortly present (one minute presentation) their results to the class. Now the groups get the actual text of the speech, which they have to analyse and compare their findings with their presumptions.
Unfortunately, the VZL does not give a recommendation in which grade this task can be used. Due to the fact that the pupils are dealing with authentic language examples, taken out of the inaugural speeches of US presidents, I would use this task in the 11th or 12th grade.
I really like the idea to use a word cloud as a sort of introduction. I cannot be sure, but I would consider this approach (word cloud) as something new, the pupils might not be familiar with, which could be very motivating. However, I think the suggested task might be a little bit too easy, when the pupils are considered to work together in groups. Everything they have to do is, to write down the largest words, appearing in the cloud, and they already got all which is necessary for the presentation. I would add the task that the words in the word clouds should also be rearranged in a network or mind-map to show which terms might refer to each other. This suits the goal that the pupils will not only practice the vocabulary but also get a visualized result of their discussion which can be used for the presentation. The pupils will then need perhaps two minutes for their presentations, because they also need say some words about their mind-map.
Another thing I find critical is, that the pupils should guess, which president has given the speech. Even a Leistungskurs in English or History, cannot provide the pupils with the necessary knowledge about 400 years of American history. It is quite reasonable that the students will afterwards analyse the actual speech and compare their results. Unfortunately, the given website, to find the speeches is not online any more, so that the teacher will put more effort into the preparation of the task.
All in all, I really liked the task and would also use it in class this way, although I would not use this to introduce inaugural speeches, because I consider this a topic which requires to much background knowledge.
I'm adding the original task sheet to this site, in case somebody is interested in:
Afterwards the pupils will shortly present (one minute presentation) their results to the class. Now the groups get the actual text of the speech, which they have to analyse and compare their findings with their presumptions.
Unfortunately, the VZL does not give a recommendation in which grade this task can be used. Due to the fact that the pupils are dealing with authentic language examples, taken out of the inaugural speeches of US presidents, I would use this task in the 11th or 12th grade.
I really like the idea to use a word cloud as a sort of introduction. I cannot be sure, but I would consider this approach (word cloud) as something new, the pupils might not be familiar with, which could be very motivating. However, I think the suggested task might be a little bit too easy, when the pupils are considered to work together in groups. Everything they have to do is, to write down the largest words, appearing in the cloud, and they already got all which is necessary for the presentation. I would add the task that the words in the word clouds should also be rearranged in a network or mind-map to show which terms might refer to each other. This suits the goal that the pupils will not only practice the vocabulary but also get a visualized result of their discussion which can be used for the presentation. The pupils will then need perhaps two minutes for their presentations, because they also need say some words about their mind-map.
Another thing I find critical is, that the pupils should guess, which president has given the speech. Even a Leistungskurs in English or History, cannot provide the pupils with the necessary knowledge about 400 years of American history. It is quite reasonable that the students will afterwards analyse the actual speech and compare their results. Unfortunately, the given website, to find the speeches is not online any more, so that the teacher will put more effort into the preparation of the task.
All in all, I really liked the task and would also use it in class this way, although I would not use this to introduce inaugural speeches, because I consider this a topic which requires to much background knowledge.
I'm adding the original task sheet to this site, in case somebody is interested in:
| governingdynamo.pdf |
