23/07/2024

I engaged 9B during the fourth period. We discussed the steps to write a news report and speech. Learners were asked to write the script for a speech to be delivered at the school assembly on Gandhi Jayanti highlighting Gandhiji's idea of non-violence, heroic part played by Indian women in the freedom struggle and his concept of independence. Many learners attempted to write it and succeeded, but failed to avoid spelling mistakes and grammar mistakes. I felt puzzled at the extent of their misspellings and thought about how can this issue be dealt!

I engaged 8C during the last period. We discussed about possessives. It was quite concerning that learners don't have a basic idea regarding english grammar as they told that is and was are pronouns. Even after clarifying the idea they struggled to distinguish between pronouns and possessives.

22/07/2024

 I engaged 8C during the third period. We discussed the final part of 'A Shipwrecked Sailor'. Learners were excited to finally know whether Velasco survived or not. As I  shared how Velasco was rescued after spending 10 days on the raft without food or water, they had all sorts of doubts. While asking the comprehension questions, some of the learners struggled to answer correctly. We also completed the mind map based on the story and discussed the main events leading upto the rescue of Velasco.

During the 7th period, I engaged 9B. We started discussing a new lesson titled 'The Toilet' by Gcina Mhlope. As an introduction to the lesson, I told them about Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's own. We discussed how important it is to have personal space in a world full of chaos and noise. A video about a woman craving for personal space and finally finding it inside a cardboard box was screened. The woman finds peace in a reverie she has while she's inside the box. Following this, learners were given chits to describe their personal space. They came up with answers like freedom, peace, cozy etc. The class went really smooth. Learners actively contributed to the lesson by interacting, answering the comprehension questions and completing the activity within the stipulated time. 

Sheena ma'am had come to observe my class. She gave an overview of points to be taken care of and my weak areas. She explained how I need to work on my intonation and facial expression and use language more freely.

19/07/2024

I engaged 9B during the sixth period. We held a discussion around phrasal verbs. Learners were given chance to guess the meaning of some frequently used phrasal verbs. They actively participated in this. All of them guessed the meaning of give away since  it is part of the net language.

 I engaged 8C during the last period. We discussed how Velasco ended up completely alone on the life raft with all his mates drowned and dead. Learners seemed sad about his fate. They were asking doubts about how a wave can hurt and leave one injured, why did the narrator splash the hot water onto his head and so on. I failed to address these questions. However, I was happy that they were actively listening.

18/07/24

I engaged 9B during the fifth period. We discussed the textual activities of Dreams Realised. The learners were so reluctant to write the answers. Even after repeating the words and sentences, they struggled to write the answers properly. Exceopt 7 or 8 learners,  others had great difficulty in recalling spelling of the words discussed in the lesson. After a point, I stopped spelling the words and asked them to look at the textbook and find out the correct spelling. It was disheartening to see them mess up the spelling of very commonyl used words. Afterwards, I collected the notebooks of the learners of 9B and 8C to check and correct their works. There were numerous spelling mistakes, punctuation errors and grammar mistakes in their writing and I had a hard time correcting those. I wrote words of affirmation and suggestion on the notebooks as well.

17/07/24

I engaged 8C during the third and fourth period. An achievement test was conducted during the third period based on 'The Boy who Drew Cats'  and 'Taj Mahal'. Learners struggled in terms of time management. Even though there were only 2 discourse questions, many of them failed to properly attempt all questions. During the fourth period, we discussed 'A Shipwrecked Sailor'. As I went on randomly picking learners to answer the comprehension questions, many of them failed to answer correctly. I understood how these learners require an extra push and support in order to achieve the objectives. 

In the afternoon, we were asked to invigilate the quiz competitions of Mann Ki Baat and Moon Day. Number of learners who had reached for participating was so large that we struggled to manage them and conduct screening test prior to the actual competition. The winners were congratulated by the teachers and interns. They will be representing the school in sub district level competition.

12/07/2024

I engaged 9B during the sixth period. We discussed the final part of Dreams Realised. Many learners who had gone for NCC camp had returned. I summarized the key concepts of the lesson and asked them to write answers for some textual questions. Later, learners were asked to frame three questions to ask Gandhiji if they had met him back in the 1930s. Learners showed reluctance towards this task which involves creative writing. Some of them were so hesitant that they ended up writing 'how are you?' Many of them made spelling errors even while writing Gandhiji and independence. I told them to work on their writing as it is one of the most crucial skill as far as academics is concerned.

I engaged 8C during the last period. We discussed 'A Shipwrecked Sailor'. Unlike the prior classes where we discussed this chapter, learners were more attentive. They actively took part in the classroom discussion and answered all comprehension questions correctly. I informed them about the achievement test on wednesday and asked them to prepare for it.

Modern Times🎞️

I engaged 9B during the fourth period. Since a workshop was being conducted for the members of little kites, science club and eco club, the number of learners present in the class was very low. We discussed the meeting of Gandhiji and Charlie Chaplin. We talked about industrial revolution, unemployment, self-sufficiency, swadeshi movement etc. In between the class, I screeened the factory scene taken from 'Modern Times. Learners laughed their heads off and a wave of energy came into the class. As the classroom activity, the learners were asked to imagine and write the conversation between Gandhi and Chaplin and present it before the class. The time management skills of most of the learners aren't satisfactory. They misspelled many words and messed up the grammar of sentences, which I feel is a serious problem. 2 groups were given chance to present the conversation. Issac sir had come to observe our class. He told me to improve my body language and movemeny and use a pointer while explaining or reading slides. 

I engaged 9B in the afternoon during the fifth period. We discussed the role of Indian women in the freedom struggle in Gandhiji's perspective. I screened a video by Swaddle where this topic is further explained. Video response sheets were given to learners that were meant to be filled up after watching the video. I played the video 2 times. Yet, the learners struggled to finish the activity. In spite of repeating the instructions, they listed the interesting things as words like Dandi March, freedom struggle, Sarojini Naidu etc. A group spelled independence as 'intipendence' which literally shocked me. 

Later, in the substitution period, I screened clips of Chaplin's films which made the class sunk into laughter.