Nadejda Rahmanova

1.

Nadejda Rahmanova
Uzbekistan,Namangan
September22-November3

2. Contents

I- introduction
a) Personal information
b) Reflections/impressions
c) Photo collage
II- 5 Lesson plans
III-5 Strategies and strategies of
other TEA participants
IV- Research mini proposal
V - Miscellaneous

3. Personal information

Hello , my name is Nadejda Rahmanova. One man once said: “What will others say about you
if you cannot tell yourself about yourself?”
Well, I’m an English teacher from Namangan, Uzbekistan. I was born on January 2, 1982. I’ve been
teaching English for almost 6 years and I really enjoy it. I have a 7-year-old son, Leonid, and I have
been patiently waiting for him to start going to school and be ready for me to leave him for almost two
months. I’m glad that he understands my wish to gain more experience and see the USA! As for my
work- I teach English to 9-12 grades at regional Academic Lyceum Dustlik in Namangan. I am a
secretary of NamUzTEA branch (Uzbekistan teachers of English Association) and a constant participant
at its annual conferences at the capital, as well as Forum conferences held in spring. I also have
participated at several workshops lead by PCVs and other specialists from the USA. Three times I
participated in republican the best English teacher of the year competition as a regional winner. I’m
always open to something new and interesting, anything that might be useful at my work or worth
teaching to my students. I like challenges and eager to expand my experience. That’s why I try to take
part in any course available. Thus I successfully completed two on-line courses two years ago:
iEARN Distant learning course
Business English international on-line course
At my lyceum I’m responsible for developing and improving curriculum, conducting workshops for other
English teachers, sharing news and information got from UzTEA and conferences, teaching gifted
students to prepare them for regional and national Olympiads in English, Resource center and I’m also
engaged into the staff aware of integrating computer/ internet into the lessons. All these require lots of
knowledge and skills and experience, but I do feel some lack of it. That causes me to constantly work on
myself and achieve higher levels at teaching and learning English as well .I want to get Master’s Degree
and be able to teach students at Universities to make the future generation of my country better and
more intelligent and eager to build a wonderful country-Uzbekistan.
I’m interested in lots of things: chess, hiking, table tennis, foreign languages (Uzbek, French, English,
German), internet searching, psychology, horoscopes, reading (Russian literature, philosophic stories,
books by O’Henry and H.L.Borhes, novels about love and life), and of course-making up my own
poems in Russian(some of you already know that I’ve recently published a book of my verse called Luch
Nadejdi- a Beam of Hope).
I’m very happy to be a part of this great program-TEA, and of this great team from 11 countries.

4. These are the pictures of my native city Namangan and my lyceum where I work, and also a picture of mine in a national dress.

Pictures from fieldtrips to Washington, Baltimore,
Philadelphia, Mount Vernon
Pictures with GMU and JEB Stuart High School teachers
Dr Steely ,IREX and other
TEA participants
Intensive technology training
experts- Abel, Sumanth, Mohan
The BEST Head of ESOL department
I’ve eve met-Ruth DeJong and my
wonderful mentor teacher Susan Parker
MrGeorge Flowers
(WATESOL Conference)
Dr Woody(Leadership)

5. My reflections and impressions of TEA program, GMU and JEB Stuart High School

George Mason University is great!!!!Our
teachers there- Dr Steely and Dr Shahrokhy are so
experienced, kind and helpful!!! They provided us
with laptops(one for each room at the hotel-so that
we could do our assignments and write letters and
reports in the evenings and on Sundays when we
have our days off).I really like the program which
they give to us: twice a week we go to school, twice
a week we have computer-technology classes
and three times a week we have
lectures/trainings/workshops at GMU, once a week
we have special guest-lectures, and on Saturdays
we have extra curriculum activities-field-trips
(October 4- we went to WATESOL Conference in
Annandale, October 11- Baltimore and Annapolis
(we were at dolphin show and inner harbor-they
were incredible!!!), October 16- Philadelphia,
October 18 -to the Smithsonian, October 25- to
Mount Vernon!!!)-the organizers of the program
really make our staying here sufficient, enjoyable
and unforgettable. The topics and the lectures they
choose are so interesting, new and indispensable
at our future work as teachers that I can’t stop
admiring all the things and knowledge and
experience I earn every day.
Our computer training also is something
incredible: the trainers (Sumanth, Abel, Mohan)
explain Microsoft programs in such a way that I can
make wonderful things on computer myself when
just shown once!!! As if I’ve always had that
knowledge and skills. Now I can create documents
in Word, Power Point, Excel, my web-page and all
that I managed to learn for only 3-4 weeks! They
are magicians!!! And I was able to make this
portfolio myself after all!!
As for the school we go to -nine of us were
arranged to go to JEB Stuart High School at Falls
Church -it is also something unexpectedly great
for me: each our day there is so well planned by
Ruth De Jong (the head of ESOL Department at that
school)- we visited the meeting of community
teachers on assessment system, we had a college
career development meeting, we trained at PLATO
lab to get acquainted to the new electronic system
of teaching reading skills, we have an opportunity
to observe 5-10 different lessons a day of different
teachers of ESOL department(not only those of our
mentor-teachers ),we also enjoyed the pap rally at
school on Friday, we visited a typical American
house of one of the mentors, we got information
about Special Education and AVID, how to use OHP
and Smart Board…And our mentors give us so
many materials on lesson plans and strategies,
handouts, assessment system at school, WIDA info,
and many others. All the teachers at ESOL are so
kind and helpful and ready to share everything
they know and do, they are wonderful! My mentor
teacher, Susan Parker, taught me a lot how to teach
literature in English and helped me so much to
prepare and conduct my lessons in her classes
with American students. Those lessons are
unforgettable experience of once being a part of
this big system of education in this big country of
great opportunities. I really love to be TEA
participant and I’m so proud to be allowed to show
what I know and what I learned here.

6. Lesson plans Lesson#1

Activities –
PLANNING PHASE
Topic: Adverbs and proverbs
Identify Performance Objectives
1. students will recall and remember better and know
how properly to use English adverbs
2. students will work with proverbs and will try to
remember most of them
3. students will develop their speaking and reading skills
Lesson Outline
Content-90 minute-lesson
National/State/Local Standards
TEACHING PHASE
Preparation
Warm-up activityVarious adverbs are written on the big poster which is
placed on the wall. Students in teams try to group those
adverbs by underlying each with a definite color (
adverbs of manner/ time/ frequency, etc.)
Prior knowledge
Miming adverbs: each student is given an adverb(on a
piece of paper) and in turns students act in according
with that adverb. The class tells the student at the
blackboard to write something/to go to the door/open the
book, anything, and the student does it in appropriate
way(slowly, angrily, etc.)
Language Goals :
vocabulary- more adverbs, new words from proverbs
structure- recognise adverbs by their placement in
proverbs
communicative language-integrated skills, group and
pair activities
Presentation
Students(3-5 volunteers) at the blackboard tell in
turns any proverbs or idioms in English they know
Students (the whole class)study the list of proverbs
and idioms (10-20 proverbs with explanations or
examples)
Four skills: listening and readingTeacher reads out examples and students must find appropriate
proverb from their lists
Speaking –students in groups try to come up with one situation
on any chosen proverb(preferably from their own experience)
and then share it with the class
Practice
1.paper on the overhead projector with incomplete proverbs(
some have the beginning but not the ending,others have only
the end but not the beginning).Students in groups discuss and
complete the proverbs and the teacher writes down the answers
on that paper.
2.in pairs (the lists of proverbs are put aside so that the
students cannot cheat)- students try to recall as many proverbs
and write them down as they can:1)containing “all/well/man/any
adverbs”,2)names of animals/numerals/it/adverbs”,3)having the
comparative degree/consisting of two rhyming parts/including
repetition /adverbs. Share the results to the whole class
Evaluation
1.for participating in each activity students are given
reward-cards-points-which are counted by the end of the lesson
and added to their mark
2.reading,speaking and writing skills are evaluated
- Other Activities:
- Follow-up
if we have extra time-students will write equivalents to the
English proverbs in their native languages
Homework assignments - choose one of the following:
Illustrate 3 favourite proverbs from the lesson
Compose a short dialogue containing at least 5 idioms or
proverbs
Recall your personal experience and write a short situation on
one of the proverbs
Use of technology- overhead projector
Materials usedPosters with adverbs,paper with incomplete proverbs,list of
proverbs,reward cards

7. Lesson#2 lesson plan#3

Lesson#2
PLANNING PHASE
Identify Performance Objectives
1.develop critical thinking of the students
2.check students’reading skills
3.enforce speaking skills through discussion
Lesson Outline
Content
1-bell work
2- prior knowledge and personal experience
3-reading the text in turns
4 – discussion
5- working on vocabulary and literature terms
6-post-reading activities: writing a paragraph “how do I use my time?”
National/State/Local Standards
TEACHING PHASE
Preparation
Warm-up activity-bell work on inventors and inventions(match and make up
sentences)
Prior knowledge
Ask questions:
How do you think those people lived? What was their usual day like?
What is yours?
Do you have any dreams or goals to reach?
Language Goals (vocabulary: manage, audience, priority, suspicious)
(structure –word order in sentences)
Presentation
Activities –
Four skills: speaking, reading, writing
Practice
1.reading the text
2.discussing the suggested theme
3.writing a paragraph
Evaluation
1. correct sentences in bell work-2 cards
2. correct reading(pronunciation and intonation) – 2 reward cards
3. at least 2-3 phrases incorporated into discussion-1 card
4. well-written paragraph- 3 cards( for writing-1 card)
Expansion/Extension
1. write 5 most important things in your life now
Methods/Approaches/Strategies
Prediction and appeal to personal experience, visualization(by drawing on the
whiteboard), making inferences(of unfamiliar words or notions), summarizing.
Other Activities:
Homework assignments: write an essay/a paragraph on how you see
your life in 10 years.
Materials used-whiteboard, a fable from Forum-2002,a sheet with
pictures for bell work.
lesson plan#3
Intern: Rahmanova
level 1C
Nadejda
Title: Time management
2008
Grade Level: esol
Date: 29 october
Objectives
Introduce fables to the students
Develop speaking skills
Develop writing skills
Lead students to be able to manage their time and reach their goals
Materials for Learning Activities
Journal Forum(volume 20), white board and markers
Procedures for Learning Activities
Discussion:
What is a fable ? Do they know any examples? What are important
things in life? Do they have any dreams or goals? Do they know
how to make it come true? Will they have enough time for that?
What is “time management”?
New vocabulary: fable/audience/crowd/pebbles/suspicious(not
trusting,hesitating)/priorities(sth that needs
attention,consideration,service before others)/achieve(ment) (to
gain as the result of action, to finish successfully)
Read the text, Fable#1 The Rocks, out in turns. I’ll draw the
illustration on the whiteboard meantime. Discussion while reading.
Discussion : what does it demonstrate?
Discuss the moral: why did I give that story to them?
Write a short paragraph “how do I use my time? What is the most
important for me now?”
Assessment:
Grades for participation in discussion and for the written paragraph.
Differentiation
No group or pair work, active participation from everyone is required
both in discussion and writing tasks
Homework:
Write an essay/a paragraph on “how I see my life in ten years?”
Reflection
( to be attached later)

8. Lesson#4 Lesson plan#5

Lesson#4
PLANNING PHASE
Identify Performance Objectives
1.
The students will get to know with the famous American writer Edgar Allan
Poe2. Improve reading skills(skimming, pronunciation, intonation, working on
vocabulary and elements of literature)3)
Develop speaking skills through
discussion4)
Halloween’s coming discussion
5) experience the work of their heart through authentic video (from my camera)
Topic of the lesson: The Tell-Tale Heart
Contents:
Before-reading activities:
Questions: what do you think small children are most afraid of?(the dark/large
strange animals/sudden loud noises/things they do not understand?) Are older
people afraid of the same things? Do most people talk easily about their fears?
How are they going to frighten somebody tonight(at Halloween)? Why will they do
this and why they won’t?
Skimming and vocabulary: (p.40 #4)-take 60 seconds to skim the text(quickly read
the first 2/3 sentences of each paragraph). Look at the three groups of words
provided and decide which group fits the general idea you got from skimming the
story – A,B, or C?
Show them the video I took in Philadelphia Franklin Institute inside the artificial
heart
Reading activitiesI read paragraphs aloud(1-3 parag.)
Students start reading in turns
Post reading activities:
In written-Tests A on pp48-49(understanding the main ideas- cause and effect),peer
checking ,oral checking
Discussion C: 1-the old man was dead but theyoung man believed that he could
hear the old man’s heart beating. Why? 2- what do you think will happen to the man
after the police take him away? 3- do you enjoy horror stories or movies? Why?
Home work : write a Police Report following the instructions in the handouts
TEACHING PHASE
Preparation Warm-up activity-discussions and the video
Presentation Activities :
Four skills: listening-parts #1 and 2 of the lesson, speaking –parts #1 and 3 of the
lesson, reading – part #2 of the lesson, writing- parts # 3 and 4 of the lesson
Practice 1.reading2.discussion3.post reading activities
Evaluation 1. Tests A
2. Police report
Expansion/Extension
1. Other post reading activities provided in the book(pp 49-52)
Methods/Approaches/Strategies:
Using authentic materials, communicative approach, reading strategies
Use of technology digital camera of mine
Materials used- American short stories book with the story of E.A.Poe”The Tell-Tale
Heart”
Lesson plan#5
Intern: Rahmanova Nadejda
Grade Level: esol level 2
Title: Famous people of Uzbekistan and their input into the world science and
literature Date: 10/17/2008
I.
Objectives
-to introduce famous people of my country to American students
-develop students’ reading skills (scanning and skimming)
-develop students’ speaking skills
-encourage group work
II.
Materials for Learning Activities
A grid to fill in the facts, texts about famous people(see attached)
III.
Procedures for Learning Activities
1 - introduction( about Uzbekistan)
Engage previous knowledge
Model the group activity
jigsaw group activities( groups A/B/C working accordingly with texts about
Mirzo Ulugbek/Alisher Navoi/Al-Khorazmiy; groups A+B+C,A+B+C,A+B+C):
scan the text, look for the necessary information, fill in the lines in the grid,
share within the group, exchange groups and share the information to
complete the grid; present the information on each person
IV.
Assessment
My own reward cards: for active participation and being the first/correct with
every task a student gets a reward card.at the end of the lesson depending on
how many cards students have they get their grades.
V.
Differentiation
The first three groups were spread according to the seats(1/2/3rd rows),the
second group division was done in jigsaw manner(see above)
VI.
Reflection
At first some students were reluctant to do anything for the unfamiliar teacher,
but gradually they got interested in the topic and the procedure and the
assessment system I used and as the result, the lesson appeared to be good
and all the objectives to be reached. I also got positive feedback from the
students.
Names
Alisher
Navoi
Mirzo
Ulugbek
AlKhoraz
miy
Dat
es
Field of
study
Publishe
d works
Great
achievements

9. Strategies strategy#1 Strategy#2

Strategies
strategy#1
Name of method or strategy:
Bell work
When is this method or strategy useful?
At the beginning of each lesson
Why or how is this method or strategy useful?
It helps to draw students’ attention to the lesson
immediately after the bell,helps students to shift onto
the English language smoothly and without
delay,helps to get students ready for the main
objectives of the lesson
What are the steps involved in using this strategy or
method?
Before the lesson begins the teacher distributes
appropriate handouts for the bellwork so that as soon
as students come they will begin doing the tasks.
Tasks may vary: either they will touch grammar
exercise or vocabulary, or the topic of the previous
lesson. Usually it should be not a difficult and boring
one.
When would this method or strategy be useful in
your setting?
Now I’ll try to use it every time.All I’ll have to do is to
adapt proper tasks for my students.
What would you like other teachers in your school to
know about this method or strategy?
It is the best alternative for the usual ”good
morning/sit down” beginning of the lesson in most
ex-soviet countries.
Strategy#2
Name of method or strategy:
Word wall
When is this method or strategy useful?
In learning new vocabulary
Why or how is this method or strategy useful?
In a formal vocabulary program throughout the year
What are the steps involved in using this strategy or
method?
Words need to be posted on a wall to help students
remember them and to remind teacher and students to
use them throughout the year.
Words can be put in alphabetical columns or posted in
groups as they were learned. Teacher or students can
be charge of adding the words.
When would this method or strategy be useful in your
setting?
Each week a chapter from the vocabulary book is posted.
Periodically lists can be reviewed and students can be
assigned to use appropriate words in their speaking or
writing.
What would you like other teachers in your school to know
about this method or strategy?
It is extremely easy and requires no special materials. The
words or lists must be neat and large enough to read
from a distance. It helps the teacher to remember to
use the words as often as possible and keeps them in
front of the students so they can really become part of
their vocabulary. If they are in groups it helps students
associate the words with topics.

10. Strategy3# strategy#4

Name of method or strategy:
Scanning/selective attention
When is this method or strategy useful?
When working with texts or any information
(reading,writing,listening)
Why or how is this method or strategy useful?
It helps to focus on specific content information or
vocabulary as students read/listen or write.
It develops reading skills, helps to memorize the
information or the vocabulary.
It’s good for follow-on activities ( filling in grids,
discussion, comparing)
What are the steps involved in using this strategy or
method?
Distribute the texts among students (either pair/group work
or individually)or turn on the tape in the recorder(actually it
should follow the explanations) and give them the points
to be focused on. For example, if it is the text on famous
people-students will have to fill in the grid of different facts
about them, and thus while reading students should look
for those facts in their texts and jot down that information
(either into the grids or into their notebooks).
As a follow-on activity teacher may use discussion/sharing
the information, or group activities to complete the
grid(jigsaw activity when each group had different
information to look for and then to share with other
groups)
When would this method or strategy be useful in your
setting?
When working with texts or tapes, group work
What would you like other teachers in your school to know
about this method or strategy? It really enables students to
look for the necessary information themselves and be able
to share it with their friends later, thus it also provides
developing speaking skills sometimes.
#1-Corners
Process:pose a question that has multiple answers or ask
students to rank order several options.Give students time to
consider their own thinking about the topic, they move to a
corner of the room which has been designated as the meeting
place of all those holding the same opinion.they discuss then
report out for their corner.
Sample topics: which professions are most id demand now?/
which character in the book would you most like to meet?/name
four inventions, which is most significant and why?/name four
historical figures-who changed the world the most and why?
#2-Frame of reference
Purpose-these initial notations help students surface prior
knowledge or related experiences. Process –the topic to be
discussed is placed in the center of the matted frame( like
darts). In five minutes students brainstorm about the topic-on
the mat area of the frame.then they write who or what
influenced their thinking and jot it down in the frame area of the
graphic.students share frame of references with a partner or
groups.
Variations: historical person in the center,and around-their lives
/events/people. Or the same about students themselves.
#3-Graffiti
Process –write problems,formulas,sentences to be translated ,
ideas to brainstorm on pieces of large chart paper and post
around the room. Students move in small groups from chart to
chart.each group works on a different question/topic and writes
responses/graffiti which can be short words,phrases,graphics
on their chart paper.exchange the charts until all the charts are
completed. Discuss.
Variation: at the beginning students may find out what they
already know and can do; in the middle it is a useful way to
check on their learning. At the end students may predict what
will be on the exam.

11. Strategy#5 Strategies of other TEA participants

Strategy#5
Name of method or strategy:
using overhead projector with pictures/sentences and
blanks to fill in with markers
When is this method or strategy useful?
As a warm-up activity,as a presentational or practice part
of the lesson
Why or how is this method or strategy useful?
To teach beginner level students,to develop speaking skills
and critical thinking,to reinforce vocabulary,to drill
spelling,for spatial and linguistic intelligent
students,requires little preparational time and saves time
on learning process(instead of writing the same on the
board)
What are the steps involved in using this strategy or
method?
(there are lots of possibilities to use the projector-this is
only one of many)
Choose a transparent according to the theme or topic of
the lesson(eg. Furniture/nouns/verbs)
Put it on the glass of the projector
Ask students to name the object and you write the word
below the picture.
Ask students to suggest verbs(as many as possible) to
apply to the objects in the picture,and again write down
those verbs near the objects.
Sometimes ask students to spell the words/drill the correct
pronunciation/write a sentence with the object and the verb
in the picture into their note-books.
When would this method or strategy be useful in your
setting?
Whenever it is possible for me to use a projector, to have
appropriate transparent, mostly when I need to work with
the vocabulary.
What would you like other teachers in your school to know
about this method or strategy?
All that usefulness described above!!!
Strategies of other TEA participants
#1(Marina’s)
Name of method or strategy:
Project work
When is this method or strategy useful?
It is useful as a way to revise and consolidate the material.
Why or how is this method or strategy useful?
It is so because it is tended to develop listening, speaking,
reading. The students are given enough time to be prepared.
Moreover, this method is to contribute to the students’
collaboration, group working. Also it helps them to work with
references, develops the ability drive to conclusions and makes
the decisions within a group. What are the steps involved in
using this strategy or method?
The teacher is to arrange the plan of the future project in
advance and to inform the students. The tasks are up to the
teacher, but he/she should aim the student at them. For
example, to use active vocabulary, cover this or that topic. After
the presentation the listeners are to comment on the
presentation from different aspects – manner of presentation,
usage of vocabulary, sequences of speeches, emotional
environment an so on.
When would this method or strategy be useful in your
setting?
In the end of the unit. But it also helpful in the middle of the unit
if the teacher is aimed at consolidation and revision of a definite
set of the material.
What would you like other teachers in your school to know
about this method or strategy?
It is very helpful to develop students’ independence in
communication, be able to express negative and positive views.
But developing these abilities requires patience of the teacher
and her/ his ability to manage the process.

12. continued

#2(Rusudan’s)
Name of method or strategy:
Dividing a group into 3 different working groups: (1) Small
group; (2) Independent group; (3) Computer.
When is this method or strategy useful?
While conducting a reading lesson.
Why or how is this method or strategy useful?
It engages all students throughout a reading lesson. It is
often difficult to get the attention of all the students during
a reading lesson. So, this strategy helps a teacher to
engage all the students in different group activities during
the lesson.
What are the steps involved in using this strategy or
method?
A teacher makes a list of the students already divided into
3 different groups (A, B, C). These groups are then divided
by the working group activities: small group, independent
group, computer group. At the same time, each group is
assigned a different group activity.
When would this method or strategy be useful in your
setting?
It will be really a useful tool while teaching reading.
What would you like other teachers in your school to know
about this method or strategy?
I will introduce this strategy, and they will be able to use it
during a reading lesson.
#3Name the method or strategy
Video viewing
2.
When is this method or strategy useful?
It is useful if you have a short video on any topic in the
curriculum.
3 Why or how is this method or strategy useful?
This method catches the interest of the children.It
gives variation to a regular class. It develops children’s viewing
and hearing abilities.They also need to be alert as they have to
take down points.
4.What are the steps involved in using this strategy or
method?
The teacher gives a summary of the topic to be viewed.He
asks children to take down the main points as they view.The
teacher discusses the film and the children take down what
they have missed.
5.When would this method or strategy be useful in your
setting?
It would be useful for any topic if the teacher is able to get a
short film,no more than 20 to 30 minutes.The children can then
be given a worksheet where they put down the information they
have collected.
6.What would you like other teachers in your school to
know about this method or strategy?
This method would would generate a lot of interest and vary
a regural classroom teaching.But if overused,it could become
boring and probably put children to sleep.

13. continued

#4(Marina’s)
Name of method or strategy:
Foldable
When is this method or strategy useful?
Teachers use foldable to enhance the study of words in their
classroom. After learners have been introduced to a concept,
the teacher facilitates the construction and application of this
three-dimensional organizer. As with all strategies, the creation
process must be modeled .
Why or how is this method or strategy useful?
Learners retain more concepts due to the process of creation
and manipulation
Learners enjoy working with new words and concepts
What are the steps involved in using this strategy or
method?
Learners use foldables to create tangible containers for their
new words in a useable and hands-on format. Of course, the
strategy does not end with the construction. The foldable must
be used in some format to show application. Learners created
the Matchbook by laying multiple sheets on top of one another
at staggered lengths and folding over. This strategy enables
what appears to be a single sheet of paper to contain layers of
information about words. Learners can organize words into
different parts or even write details information on a specific
word.
When would this method or strategy be useful in your
setting?
It can be used not only esl classes you can use at any subject
when you want your students have useful guide in their hand
What would you like other teachers in your school to know
about this method or strategy?
This is strategy which really motivates your students to learn
new information
#5(Lyudmila’s)
Strategies for Teaching Writing
Explain to students that writing is a process. Students should not expect to sit
down and 30 minutes later have a finished product. All Write can serve as a
handbook with good information about the writing process.
It may be helpful to the students to begin the writing process as a class or in
small groups. Begin the writing project by showing students examples of the
form of writing the students need to produce. Another option might be to begin
prewriting in groups.
Have students explore where, when and how they write. For example, some
students might prefer to write in a quiet library after school, while others might
do most of their writing in their room at home with music playing. Some
students prefer to write by hand, others on a computer. As students discuss
their writing preferences, they can begin to take ownership of their personal
writing process. You can use this activity as a class or group discussion or
with the Sample Writing Anticipation Guide.
It might be useful to have writing groups for, where each student reads his or
her writing out loud to the other members of the group and solicits feedback.
Alternately, students in writing groups can each be assigned a role in which
they look at specific aspects of the piece, such as topic sentences, verb usage,
or transitions.
Try to incorporate vocabulary into writing as well as other units. Students
could write a paragraph using a word bank of new vocabulary words, or to
practice word families or different forms of words from the same root. Students
could write a nonfiction piece or a fictional story. Students could work alone or
in groups. You could also use this kind of writing as a tool for assessing
vocabulary. Additionally, simple writing projects could provide opportunity for
practice at peer response. You will find more tips on incorporating vocabulary
into writing in Nonfiction Craft Lessons, pages 96 and 97.
Have the students begin the writing process by prewriting. The following chart
lists some prewriting methods, as well as resources where you can find more
information, if available. Inspiration and Think Sheets are two software
programs that many schools have that are great tools for prewriting. Check
with your school about accessing these programs. Pages 19-32 (1998 edition)
or 36-50 (2003 edition) of All Write are dedicated to various prewriting
techniques.
Sample Peer Response Sheet 1
Author name _________Essay title_____________________
Responder name _________
Assignment____________________
Directions: Read the essay you have been given before completing this
sheet. This peer response is worth 10 points. You will receive points for
complete answers. Remember that your job is not to correct mistakes or to
write the essay for the author. Your only job is to give the author an outsider’s
perspective on his/her paper. If you cannot understand something well enough
to summarize it here, then let the author know!

14. continued

Part I: Complete the following checklist:
Does the essay have
_____ an introductory paragraph? _____ the required number of
paragraphs?_____ a concluding paragraph? _____ the required
length? ____ an interesting title? _____ one inch margins?
_____ 12 point Times New Roman type? (this peer response form is written in
12 points Times New Roman with one-inch margins)
_____ a header with the author’s name, class period and the date?
Part II: Introduction. Answer the following questions completely.
Does the introductory paragraph have a thesis statement? Underline the thesis
statement in blue on the author’s paper.
Is the thesis statement well written (in other words, is it neither too general nor
too specific, and does it give you a hint about the essay)? Tell why or why not.
Does the introduction contain background information that prepares the reader
for the thesis statement? Underline the background information on the author’s
paper in green.
Does the introduction grab your attention? Tell why it does or does not here.
Sample Peer Response Sheet, continued
Part III: Body. Answer the following questions completely.
Does each body paragraph have a topic sentence? Underline each topic
sentence on the author’s paper in orange.
Does each body paragraph have at least 3-4 sentences giving an example to
support the topic sentence? Write a one-sentence summary of each example
here AND underline those sentences in purple.
Body paragraph 1
Body paragraph 2
Body paragraph 3
Part IV: Conclusion. Answer the following questions completely.
Does the conclusion restate the thesis in different words? Underline the
restatement on the author’s paper in yellow.
Does the conclusion have 3-4 sentences that effectively end the essay using a
method we discussed in class? Summarize the ending in one sentence here
AND underline it on the author’s paper in brown.
Part V: Other stuff. Answer the following questions completely.
Does the author use transition words or phrases at the beginning and end of
each paragraph? Underline the transitions on the author’s paper in black.
On the essay, underline in red any sentences, phrases or words that do not
make sense to you.
Overall, what is the best part of this essay? (Be specific)
Overall, what part of this essay needs the most improvement? (Be specific)
#6
Name the method or strategy:
Self-presentation
When is this method or strategy useful?
When you get to know with a new group of students, at the
beginning of school year or school term.
Why or how is this method or strategy useful?
It gives you an opportunity to know about your students as
much as possible in a very short time and organize friendly
relationships inside the group
What are the steps involved in using this strategy or method?
At the beginning you give your kids small separate sheets of
paper and ask them to draw in a simple way three most
important points of their character in a three or four minutes.
When the pictures are ready you ask kids to put them on the
walls or on the blackboard in the classroom. And afterwards you
all have a gallery walk around the class. Some students guess
each other according to the pictures, the others try to guess.
And the teacher has a chance to see a piece of his kids’ inner
world.
When would this method be useful in your setting?
When I begin to work with a new group of students, or if I’m
asked to give a workshop to my colleagues in order to create a
friendly atmosphere in the group.
What would you like other teachers in your school to know
about this method or strategy?
It’s very helpful!

15. Continued Some posters and photos

Continued
Name of method or strategy#7
Field Trip to Philadelphia.
When is this method or strategy useful?
This method is used when the teacher covers
materials in class about different topics from history
or other. She can take students on field trip to see
those places giving different tasks.
Why or how is this method or strategy useful?
When students learn different topics, seeing those
things or places at the same time makes their
understanding better. They can feel and see when
they learn. Students find field trips fun and while the
teacher also has tasks prepared for them.
What are the steps involved in using this strategy or
method?
When the teacher decides to take students on a filed
trip, s/he needs permission from the principal. H/se
prepares tasks fro students, what s/he wants her
students to observe or gather information about
during the trip.
When would this method or strategy be useful in
your setting?
This method will be very useful from my students as
well. I have tried it once and it worked well. I will try
to do it more often.
What would you like other teachers in your school to
know about this method or strategy?
I will share this strategy with teachers of different
subjects and I am sure they will also find it very
useful.
Some posters and photos

16. Action research mini proposal

Action research mini proposal
My name is Nadejda Rahmanova. I’ve been an English teacher for 6
years. I teach 10-12th grades at academic lyceum Dustlik#1 at Namangan
Vocational Pedagogical Institute. There are about 1,500 students in our
lyceum; each group consists of 30 students. According to the chosen direction
of studying and the curriculum some groups have English classes 6 hours per
week, others 4 or 2 hours only. But knowledge of English is indispensable
criterion when entering our universities and institutes. That’s why I try to do
all my best to help my students develop English skills, increase vocabulary
and improve their grammar knowledge. Yet the time allowed at classes is not
sufficient. The process of acquiring a foreign language appears to be not so
easy and exciting for most of my students, and I’ve always been looking for
something appropriate for them, something which would involve my students
completely into the learning process and they would enjoy it. Gradually I
came up with the idea of on-line projects with other schools from other
countries. I became a member of iEARN (international education and
research network) and took up two learning circles with a group of my
students together with 10 other countries. I found out that my students got
interested into those projects, they loved to get and send letters to other
students from other countries. They were especially excited preparing a
package to send to other schools and were so glad to get one from the USA.
Their writing and speaking skills improved so much and so quickly! They
even acquired basic computer skills due to that program. Unfortunately I had
to give up my iEARN projects because of the end of the internet grant at our
lyceum and also because of the fact that new groups of my students did not
have enough competence even to read to say nothing about composing and
typing letters in English on the computer…Last year the enrollment of
students in our lyceum was of much better level and when I proposed to take
up one of such projects (e-pals and pen-pals), my students immediately
agreed and started learning English harder so that this year they would be able
to take part in international collaboration.
Now I’m here, in the USA,
studying EFL/ ESL research and assessment, designing portfolio and
acquiring leadership skills. I think now I’m almost ready to conduct my own
research in the field I’m completely interested in and which will help me a lot
on my coming back to my country, to my lyceum, to my classes and to my
students. So my research question is:
How can I organize on-line collaborative exchanges among
EFL/ESL teachers and students in other schools and other countries?
The world becomes smaller day by day due to numerous and various
international organizations, internet and means of communication. Meantime
the world still remains rather enormous when you start thinking of other
cultures, other nations, other religions and values. But not many would like to
become a part of any collaborative work, they would prefer to stick to their
own small world inside their city and country
. Not many people would love to reveal their thoughts and share their
knowledge and experience with others; not many people would like to spend
their time and perhaps money on internet to work for the project suggested.
I’ll have to keep that in mind when I start working at my research question;
I’ll also have to take into consideration my own lack of experience in this
field and the fact that not many teachers and students would be able to take an
active part at these collaborative exchanges in spite of their willingness to.
Eventually, I’ve come up with the following possible steps and ideas
on how to conduct my research and how to implement it into practice in
future:
Through interview I’ll find future partners among TEA participants in
Virginia, Alabama and Nebraska;
I’ll get in touch with Tom Holmes, a teacher from South Dakota, who showed
his interest in the same work of an international pen-pals project and who is
already ready to work with me on it( he might be very helpful in most
questions);
I’ll reregister into iEARN on-line and look for any appropriate suggestions on
this topic in the internet (i.e. the work that is already being done or planned
among teachers and students of the world);
Through interviews(oral or via-mail)we’ll discuss plausible projects and
possible ways to organize and lead these on-line collaborative exchanges
among us and our students;
I’m thinking of inviting the following people into this project: Tom
Holmes(US), Ann Naurouz(US), Valeria(Ukraine), Lyudmila(Ukraine),
Sojida(Uzbekistan), Svetlana(Kazakhstan), Sunita(India),
Humoyun(Bangladesh);
Also on my coming back I’ll ask my students to make up a list of topics they
would love to discuss and work on with other students from other countries;
to describe themselves and make a summary of their life in lyceum and
Uzbekistan and prepare a Power Point Presentation to share with other
participants;
I would suggest doing the same to my colleagues, so that we could settle the
initial project for our students and organize the whole work in such a way
which will be appropriate, convenient and most useful for each participant of
those on-line collaborative exchanges;
Perhaps some students would like to make video or prepare an electronic
photo-album for other participants to see , and the other groups may follow
them in that;
I’ll design a new web-page devoted to this project (thanks to our trainers at
GMU on Intensive Technology Training) so that the results will be available
for all participants in the quickest and most comfortable way.
As soon as this research work gets started and gets into the active process, I
do hope that each participant will benefit a lot from that work and be able to
share that experience with others, involving more and more newcomers, and
therefore enriching our collaborative exchanges. I’d love to make this
enormous, sometimes cruel, world smaller, pleasant, friendly, and amazing
for as many people as possible. And what is now mostly important for me that
this project will definitely improve English knowledge and skills of my
students and help me (and other teachers I suppose) make the learning process
for students easier, more interesting and provide sufficient evidence of rapid
improvement of EFL/ESL skills.

17. Miscellaneous

What elements are essential for successful group
work?
After group discussion we came up with the following
answer:
Time aspect- no more than 30-40 minutes in one group(if
you switch the groups like in jigsaw activity-it’s OK),but
preferably this shouldn’t take much time at all
The frequency and the variety of tasks and activities
Element of competition
Model the activity (students should definitely know how
they’ll work and what result is expected) or explain quite
clearly
Enough handouts/materials for everybody in the group
Proper differentiation (level of knowledge, size of group,
mixed groups, different activities)
Mind the objectives both of the lesson and the group
work itself
Assessment- who and how will evaluate group work(the
members themselves, the teacher, other groups)
Explain the benefits of group work to students
- Motivation for students to work in groups
5 “R”s- responsibility /respect/ relationship/
reliance/ reflection!!!
Planning stage: what activities to use//how long/handouts
Implementation stage - examples, explanation, everyone
is involved
Assessment stage- get a feedback be sure that
everybody contributed into the activity
Self evaluation
- The teacher should be encouraging and motivating
To have a checklist to concentrate on for the
teacher(vocabulary ,grammar mistakes,creativity)
Set of rules(plus penalties for example for using Russiangreen hand on the wall to touch)
Use some extra group activities at the end of the lesson
as an alternative
How can group work aid your teaching?
A lot!!! I always use group work at my classes and
sometimes it is indispensable to. So,
WHY do I need this strategy?
Because I have multi-level classes of students
Because I have 15-30 students at a time and want
everyone to work at the lesson at least a little
Because I do find it useful
Because I need to develop such skills of my students
as reading and speaking skills
WHEN do I use group work?
As a warm-up activity
To present a new theme
To reinforce the presentation/ practice part of the
lesson
When I especially need their speaking skills to
develop
When there is a necessity in discussion
A project work
A problem solving activity
A role-play
HOW group work helps me?
To keep time management
To get involved as many students into the learning
process as possible
To interest my students
To encourage communicative and cooperative skills
among my students
To involve competition between students as a
motivation

18.

It was a great pleasure to be a part of this great team
of TEA participants, of IREX people, of GMU
teachers, of JEB Stuart High School ESOL
department teachers.
Dare to dream!
Never give up hoping for the best!
Nadejda Rahmanova
Visit my internet page at:
http://nadejdateawinner.blogspot.com