Book report presentations - evaluating

This lesson is fitting for the 10^th grade of ESL learners in the Norwegian school, and the content area is Norwegian.

Language objectives

- Summarize the book you have read in a presentation (multimedia book report).

- Give your opinion on the book, and justify why you liked it/did not like it.

- Present your book report to the rest of the class.

Content objectives from the Norwegian curriculum:

This lesson focuses on oral skills and preparing oral presentations from a books that the students have read. Some relevant competence aims from the Norwegian subject curriculum after year 10 are to enable the students to “present linguistic and multidisciplinary topics using relevant terminology and appropriate digital tools and media, and assess their own oral presentations and those given by others based on technical criteria” (Utdanningsdirektoratet, 2013a). Some relevant competence aims from the English subject curriculum after year 10 are to enable the pupils to “select different digital resources and other aids and use them in an independent manner in own language learning, express oneself fluently and coherently, suited to the purpose and situation, and express and justify own opinions about different topics” (Utdanningsdirektoratet, 2013b).

Relevant website:

https://prezi.com/

Lesson plan

In the first part of this lesson, the students will free write about their feelings and thoughts after reading their books. Did they have something in common with the main character(s)? Did anything in the books surprise them? What made them feel the way they felt when reading the books? After writing for approximately 10 minutes, they will share their thoughts and reflections with a partner. All the while, both while writing and sharing with their partners, the teacher will listen in and see what the students are writing/doing. The teacher will have a short recap and include some ideas and thoughts that he/she has listened in on during this task before moving on to the main task of this lesson. This part of the lesson should take about 15 minutes.

In the main part of the lesson, the students will work on their presentations/book reports. The teacher needs to explain what they are going to do, and get the students started on their tasks. The book report/presentation is to be done individually, and they all need access to a computer. They should use Power Point, Prezi, or another similar tool to make their presentations. Each presentation should take between 2-5 minutes, and include the elements in the language objectives. As the students start working, the teacher should help them if/when needed.  

The through and beyond part of this lesson will be somewhat mixed. When the students have their presentations, they will get feedback and comments from both the teacher and their peers afterwards, as well as giving their own assessment on how they think it went. They will get feedback on what they did well, and what they can work on and do better the next time. So most of the final/beyond part of this lesson will be included in the presentations. The teacher should, however, have a brief discussion with the class in the end where they discuss new insights and their thoughts about the presentations using the IGP-model (individually – groups – plural). Working on the presentations should take around 30-35 minutes, and the presentations with feedback should take about the same time. This can somewhat shift depending on their progress and the available amount of time. If only short lessons are available, this should be divided into two separate classes, or (probably best) two following classes. The final discussion should take between 5-10 minutes.

Assessment and reflection

I chose to work with Prezi and Power Point, because these tools are quite similar, and with including Prezi, the students get an option other than the “standard” Microsoft Power Point tool. These tools offer about the same when it comes to including and designing the slides (or focus areas in the Prezi). Of course, since Prezi might be a new tool to the students, they might have difficulties using it and/or understanding how to use it. By presenting their book reports using such tools as these, the students get an opportunity to be more free and creative in how they want to present their books. I think this is a positive thing, and some of the students might be able to use this to meet their full potential that is sort of “blocked” when using the regular forms of writing and presenting books.

During the presentations, the teacher gets to assess the work that has been done on each presentation. The students will get a short feedback from the teacher, as well as the teacher notes down how the students have done for further assessment over the course of the semester. I will say that this is a successful learning activity when/if all students engage in the activity and presents it to the class. Some students don’t like to present in front of big crowds, so the teacher have to be flexible and work out something that works for these students. Perhaps presenting it during recess for the teacher only or two-three other classmates can work.

References:

Utdanningsdirektoratet. (2013a). Norwegian Subject Curriculum (NOR1-05). Retrieved from http://www.udir.no/kl06/NOR1-05?lplang=eng

Utdanningsdirektoratet. (2013b). English subject curriculum (ENG1-03). Retrieved from http://www.udir.no/kl06/ENG1-03?lplang=eng