Title:
– Expressing Opinions and Role-play in Cultural and Educational Contexts
Attendance:
– Absent students: Ayana Tazabekova, Ayana Togulova, Daniel
Topics Covered:
1. Personal Preferences and Opinions
– Discussion about personal preferences for rainy days
– Conversation about unique chip flavors
– Discussion about air quality and difference between fog and smoke
2. Expressing Opinions
– Introduction to the topic of agreeing and disagreeing
– Explanation of how to express and discuss opinions
– Expressing opinions in English: neutral, strong, speculative or tentative, and academic
– Phrasing for agreement and disagreement
3. Role-play Exercises
– Introduction and execution of role-play involving cultural situations and expressing opinions
– Discussion on the concept of tradition and what it means to be old-fashioned
– Role-play scenario: a traditional Japanese family dinner
– Introduction to a new role-play scenario set in a U.S. public high school
– Explanation of standardized tests and their purpose
4. Class Feedback and Discussion
– Students and parents shared their opinions about the class
– Discussion about the merits and demerits of testing in the classroom
– Discussion on the role of parents in the classroom
Actionable Items:
1. Student Participation
– Several students need to sign up for ECORs to receive grades for the class
– Encourage more participation from students who didn’t speak during the discussion
2. Role-play Exercises
– Conduct the role-play activity based on the described scenarios
– Continue with the role-play exercise in the next class
– Students to prepare for the role-play by thinking deeply about their character’s perspective and writing dialogue for them
– Teacher to provide feedback on the dialogue written by students
3. Clarification and Understanding
– Address possible confusion about the meaning of “speculative” in English vs. Russian
– Follow up on students’ understanding of the discussion and their ability to articulate their views
– Address the confusion during the discussion and ensure students understand the process of the debate
– Students need to better understand their assigned characters for the role-playing exercises
– The teacher may need to further explain the concept of standardized testing
4. Class Feedback and Discussion
– Address the concerns raised by students about testing in the classroom
– Handle the situation where a parent insulted the teacher in front of the class
– Plan for a mini debate in the next week’s class
– Follow up on the missed assignments due to the extended discussion
Homework:
– No homework was mentioned in the excerpts provided.