I asked my friend Cary Elcome to write down

"everything that a student

items. What is wrong with these sentences? The dog likes it's food The people like there clothes Web sites for continuing to learn English ESL.About.com, 1000 words ""Can you describe aphoto? Can you describe your work? Can you sit next to a stranger on an airplane and discuss subjects that you like to talk about? What do you want to talk about but don't know the words? Activities for practice. Write to Cary bradstow2@yahoo.co. uk Ask his students to write to you. Writes to Steve s2314@tmai1.com cell phone .... Sometimes my mobile's email address gets full, so write to mistermath@comcast.net TeachersToTeachers.com SKYPE stevefortlauderdale Usually I turn on the computer at 2:30 pm durjpg my business class and other students can join the meeting. Speak into a digital camera. Send the video via YOUtube.com teaches and students view the result. Listen to a commercial on TV and imitate the words. Repeat again and again. This is how you learn to listen carefully. Listen to the SAME part again and again. .-What do you want to talk about? Do you have other ideas for practicing English?

should know" ... The list included the following

The organized alphabet (by sound) 12 tenses , Can you make sentences with see, saw, seen?
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Pronunciation table, see, saw, seen (It Sounds Like ... )

Car parts Parts of the human body " Emotions oil Opposites .fln on at a door, comer, school, table, bus, train, plane, room ... It is Going to rain it will rain Ask someone to use a cellphone The parts of USA, regions where is the Midwest? Parts of England Parts of a mountain Parts of a tree Families of words How to control a meeting of people (prepare for the meeting, begin the meeting, agenda, debate, end the debate, find the middle ground, ask for agreement, close the meeting) Translate important proverbs that you use in your life haste makes w_ ste, look before you l_'-p Complain politely' 'i9Can you translate the words of a great song from your language into English?

and let other

.PDo you have favorite songs in English and

do you know the words of those songs?

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Rubric-or Checklist 'for a Performance of Understanding

Based on the work of Lois Hetland and others
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Evaluation of the Student's Performance of Understanding Name of Student: Date: _ --

Topic for Perfsrmance of Understanding:

Checklist for Presentations

(based on work by Patrica Crosby and Pamela Heinz)

Information
Gains attention of the audience with an interesting detail _ The student explains why the topic is interesting to him/her _ Uses gestures to enhance the speech _ Shows enthusiasm about the topic _ Maintains eye contact with the audience
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The student's speech is clear and audible_ The speech is not rushed
(the student speaks at an appropriate pace) _

Answersqeestlens from the audience _

Organization
Uses visual materials to clarify important points _ Communicates beginning, middle and end of the presentation _ Many specific words are used _
("glamorous" or "fabulOus" rather than "nice" or "good"

-------

Main ideas are supported with details _

According to Howard Gardner, "Measures of understanding" may seem demanding, particularly in contract to current, often superficial, efforts to measure what students know and are able to do. And, indeed, recourse to pefforming one's understanding is likely to stress students, teachers, and parents, who have grown accustomed to traditional ways of doing (or NOT doing) things. Nonetheless, a performance approach to understanding is justified. Instead of mastering content, one thinks about the reason why a particular content is being taught and how best to display one's comprehension of this content in a publicly accessible way. When students realize they will have to apply knowledge and , demonstrate insights in a public form, they assume a more active stance to the material, seeking to exercise their "performance muscles" whenever possible.
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Jay Iralking?}' (inspired h.l' Jay Leno, host 0(' "The Tonight Show") 03w!tol!iQU'B? tionall 'libM.lrtoJ:d ~r.71Qt should eve,)' high school graduate know?
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drink of 8 ounces has a 7 ounces of alcohol. Where do they get this information?) 17. Home How can you identify a raw egg in a group of hard-boiled eggs? How often does the educated homeowner replace the hose going into the washing machine? What happens when you mix baking soda and vinegar? . 18. Who were Buckminster Fuller, W. Edwards Deming, Harriet Beecher Stowe and Clara Barton (and why should you care)? 19. Complete this sentence (select the appropriate words): "It is the (opinion, attempt) and not (the person, expert opinion) that determines success." 20. What are the best films of all time? (Your list needs to include at least one picture with Humphrey Bogart and one film directed by Orson Welles.) 21. Where does an educated person go to check on a rumor or to check on the content of an email? When competing against an older person, what do you need to remember? What is www.snopes.com? 22. What are the most important questions to ask a friend? a) What's for dinner? B) Am I accessible? (can my friend reach me?) C) Do I reply quickly and reliably? (Can my friend depend on me)? D) When can I borrow your car? E) Can you pay my rent this month? 23. What web site can you visit if your computer freezes? 24. What is an antidote for a bee sting (if someone has an allergic reaction to the bee sting) 25. What did Polonius say to his son? What did Socrates advise? What are "mots d'escaliers"? 26. Seen in a shoe store: Odor remover for shoes (contains Isopropanol), 4 ounces = $2.99. Seen in a pharmacy: A bottle of rubbing alcohol, 16 ounces = $1.09. Hmmmm.... . 27. Punctuate: a woman without her man is nothing 28. Can you trick yourself into liking a situation long enough to get through the situation? 29. How much damage occurs to the hearing of the average teenager before the age of 18? Please send suggestions for more questions to _
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] . ",'hat is hydroplaning? 2. A person who forwards email without . checking out the contents is to other people. " \;;v'W~ c#~ 3. Are you prepared for ]ay Walking ? (when Jay Lena asks college seniors "Who was Napoleon?") 4. What are reliable sources of information for news? What newspaper web sites do you visit at least once a month? Where can you go to get a list of newspaper websites online? 5. When do you use a hyphen? A comma? Whom? t r s w- " t 1\ ? 6. How can you earn at least $20 per hour using the skills yo~e picked up in school? 7. How often should a sponge be changed in a kitchen? 8. How often do you take a different route home? (variation in driving challenges the mind, which may improve your ability to solve problems) 9. Fish in the diet can improve brain function. How do you use that information in your life? 10. Do you have a pen pal on each continent? 11. How often do you look at the web site of an unfamiliar newspaper? 12. What is the perfect consumable gift? Cookie? Biscuit? 13. Can you see the arrow in the FED EX logo? 14. What poems inspire you? What lyrics do you carry with you? What would you say to comfort a sad friend? What poem or lines from a poem would help a friend make a choice between two good opportunities? 15, What's more important, IQ or EQ? (EQ = Emotional quotient) 16. How many drinksdoes it take to become impaired? What does 0.08% mean? How many ounces of pure alcohol are in a typical drink? (You'd be amazed at the replies I get: two bottles of wine before you are impaired, 0.08%:= 8 percent and a typical

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You are invited to use these pages in your classes. Feel free to adapt them.
This set of pages is helpful to anyone who wants to use the "innovative techniques" of the transformed classroom. Yes, technology in the classroom can help students work together and build digital portfolios of their work. Students can obtain free classes over the Internet. But the real learning in the head can happen without electronic technologies. Paper and pen can change the brain. What questions can we ask to challenge the student (and make the learning fun and real)? How can we make the learning VISIBLE? Projects (to build with other students) Portfolios (eventually digital portfolios, so that the students can show their work to future teachers and eventually have a "performance portfolio" to showcase their skills to employers)
Personal Learning Plan. Ask "How does today's lesson fit in my overall plan? How does my work today connect me to my future?" If the lesson doesn't fit the PLP, then change the lesson to make it relevant. That is the core message of the "transformed classroom." Technology can help the transformation by allowing students to study when and where they want. But the flexible teacher is the key to make the learning PERSONAL. Sources The "Everything a student should know" list comes from Cary E1come,

The Rubric for a "Performance of Understanding" is based on Howard Gardner's book, Intelligence Reframed, pp. 161-167, where Gardner uses the phrase "performance of understanding." The CIA skills are adapted from Tony Wagner's list of "survival skills" and p21.org. The "Jay Walking" list comes from years of asking students to prepare for the real world. What is hydroplaning? Please suggest more ideas at _ GuideonTheSide.com TransformTeaching.org

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