If you had to pick one past session that stands out to you in the previous year, what would that be and why? What made that class session so special?

Online classes came as a surprise and as all educators, I too was engrossed in looking for ways to engage my learners every day.


What came to my mind?

Reading!

It is a skill that takes you to places, helps you experience different personalities and last but not the least is an activity that can be enjoyed by all age groups.

I planned various reading sessions through the course of the year. But there is one in particular I would like to share: the Author of the Month Activity. Through this initiative, learners are able to read books from a wide range of genres written by different authors. Learners had a number of activities to choose from to further deepen their interest and engagement in reading.

Here are a few –

  • Creating a mini library of books written by different authors
  • Using creative thinking skills and changing the climax of the story
  • Making a book jacket highlighting the book you’ve read
  • Creating a cartoon strip that gives a summary of the story
  • Choosing a character of your choice from the book you’ve read and enacting the character
  • Guessing and drawing the appearance of a character if pictures are not provided
  • Making a stick puppet or a 3D model of the character
  • Showing your creativity and drawing one setting that is described in the book
  • Choosing a partner and presenting dialogues between two characters.
  • Selecting one character from a book of their choice and describing the changes that would be seen in the character in 2020
  • Quizzes conducted by the teacher

These sessions were special for the learners because they interacted and used new tools like the online class notebook to express themselves. Learners’ participation was enthralling, and feedback received was positive as students were able to dive into the magical world of books and further broaden their horizons.

Ms. Shahana Khan

English Teacher, Primary (Cambridge)

“To shine your brightest light is to be who you truly are.” This helped me strive to become the pleasant person, I believe I am. I enjoy travelling, reading, and cooking. Teaching has been my passion for over two decades and teaching the English Language is my primary area of interest.