Writers Around the Globe

En Español--Maestros enseñando maestros

2008-08-06T13:51:00.000-07:00

Hola,
Bienvenidos a Galápagos y al Liceo Naval en SanCristóbal. Hoy presenté "Maestros Enseñando Maestros". Disfrute las fotos de los maestros aprendiendo Google GMAIL, Google DOCUMENTOS y Google ACADÉMICO. Eduardo
Chang ésta usando su laptop, mientras qué Magaly y Lidia le miren. Aquí encuentras mi curso lo que yo les enseñé hoy a los maestros. http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df7gt5sc_35gwnc8rjp

Hello,

Welcome to the Galápagos Islands and to The Navy School on San Cristóbal. Here we are working on learning how to use Google GMAIL, Google DOCS. Eduardo

Chang is using his laptop, and Magaly and Lidia are watching. Here you'll find the course that I taught today to the teachers. http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df7gt5sc_35gwnc8rjp

Using the Internet for best teaching and learning

2008-08-04T07:59:00.000-07:00

August 6, 2008
Hello Writers!
This week we are going to work on using the internet for best teaching and learning. Web2.0 tools allow us to access information anywhere, anytime, from any computer. Google has lots of options, including Gmail, Blogger, Documents and Scholar. Here are some ideas for you to use. Try out some of these tools. Then add your comments to this entry. We´ll look forward to reading your entries. Happy Blogging!

Ayuda para enseñar

2008-08-01T14:55:00.000-07:00

Buenas tardes,
Aquí hay unos sítios en Internet que nos ayudaron. Si encuentras unos buenos, avisenos! Ve ¨Commentario¨ para añadir tus ideas.

http://www.foreignlanguageworld.org/index.php/uncategorized/el-ingles-como-segunda-lengua-en-internet/

http://www.familyfun.com/ Es un sitio de Disney. Encuentaras muchas ideas, por ejemplo como preparar masa para jugar.

http://www.eslcafe.com/ideas/ Dave´s ESL cafe. Todo es en inglés.

Business English - ideas on how to improve your company classes
Discipline - ideas on how to keep your students in order
Food - idea on how you can use food for teaching ESL/EFL
For the Teacher - ideas on how you can become a better teacher
Games - ideas on how to have fun with your students
Grammar - ideas on how to teach grammar
Group Formation - ideas and activities on forming groups and pairs
Holidays - Holiday ideas you can use in your classroom
Ice Breakers - ideas on what to do on the first day of class
Internet - ideas on how to use the Net with your students
Kids - ideas for those teaching ESL/EFL to children
Listening - ideas on how your students can improve their listening comprehension
Math - ideas on how to teach math to your ESL/EFL students
Music - ideas on how to use music in the classroom
Private Teaching - Tips on how to teach students one-to-one
Pronunciation - ideas on helping your students with their pronunciation
Reading - ideas on how to help your students read
Software - ideas on excellent computer software for you and your students
Speaking - ideas on how to get your students talking
Spelling - ideas on how to teach English spelling
Textbooks - ideas on great ESL/EFL texts
Video - ideas on how to use video in the classroom
Vocabulary - ideas on how students can learn vocabulary
Writing - ideas on how to get your students writing

Queen of the Hokey-Pokey

2008-07-23T18:00:00.000-07:00

From 3 to 5 every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, you´ll find me at the Iglesia de Dios, teaching English to 22 kids from the community. We are writing books, ¨ABC¨ books for the younger kids who are about 6 years old and ¨The Story of _(name of each student)_¨ for the older kids who are about 8 and 9 years old. I have a collection of stickers, from Mylar animals to fuzzy animals, cars, hands and feet. I also have googley eyes. Today we played Hokey-Pokey with both groups. They really love ¨Put your nose in, put your nose out, put your nose in and shake it all about.¨ It´s good for teaching ¨left¨and ¨right¨. I am also using a CD by Raffi. ¨There´s a Spider on the Floor¨ is a big hit since the spider goes from the floor to the leg to the stomach to the neck to the head. Then it jumps back to the floor again and it starts all over again. Keeping the kids moving is the key. That and candy on the way out the door.
I hope we get to finish the books. It is sometimes slow going, but the art work the older kids are doing is amazing. They love using their colored pencils and the stickers. Tomorrow we will continue with letter E for the young kids and dialogues for the older ones.

Gyms in San Cristóbal

2008-07-23T17:52:00.000-07:00

If you visit the Miconia restaurant across from the dock, you can rent bikes and use the gym.
I´ve been working out 3 days a week, using their weights and machines. I can take Tae-bo and aerobics classes there as well, but I haven´t tried them yet. I walked from the Liceo Naval to the gym today and spent about 1 1/2 hours there. Three guys were in there when I arrived, and I´ve seen students from the Liceo working out as well. Music ranges from the BeeGee´s to Reggaeton, the popular local music, so it´s easy to forget how hard you are working. The cost? Two dollars a session or fifteen dollars a month. I have to quit eating so much white rice, bread, potatoes, and ice cream!! I´m paying the price!!!

The Terán family

2008-07-13T18:25:00.000-07:00

I am living with the Terán family which includes Luis and Martha, the parents, and their two sons, Lucho (Luis Jr.) who is 19, and Mario who is 17. Here they are at the airport in San Cristobal-

Luis, Luis Jr. aka Lucho, Mario, and Martha.

We live in San Cristóbal about a fifteen minute walk from the Malecon, the boardwalk/beachfront/park. It´s where we go so I can find the internet and post more blog info. Also, the best place to find ice cream cones for 80 cents.

Martha is a great cook and makes patacones, which are slices of green platano fried, then smashed a bit flat with a rock, ceviches from fish and lobster, and juices made from tomate de árbol (not like the tomatoes we put on pizza), guavas, limes, pineapple, coconut, and oranges. She also makes a sauce called “aliño” that is used in soup, chicken, and on meat. It can be used as a barbeque sauce. It´s made of red onion, green pepper, garlic, cumin, oregano, water, and a leafy green herb called “hierbita” which I have not seen in Oregon, but she substituted cilantro so I guess we can too. She puts it in the blender and it turns out thick. It´s stored in the refrig and it´s Martha´s secret ingredient.
Ceviche is made with fresh fish, bacalao or brujo, and lobster. She starts off slicing green pepper and tomato and red onion into fine slices. She rinses the onion in water to take away the strong flavour. Then she grates more tomato to get the pulp, leaving behind the skin and puts the rinsed onion, pepper and tomato into a large bowl. Then she debones, cleans and chops the fish into small chunks and adds it a bit at a time to about 4 cups of boiling salted water and cooks it for about for 1 minute, stirring it. She drains it, puts it in a bowl and adds the sliced raw vegetables, fresh squeezed orange and lime juice and salt to taste. She doesn´t add pepper. She serves it with popcorn and patacones.

The parents have gone to the mainland for a week to see Luis´ father who fell off a horse. He´s still riding, or at least was, at the age of 82. Meanwhile, I´m staying with the two boys. Cooking is interesting. They called today ¨Survivor Man¨ Day 2. At least they liked my spaghetti.

Here is Lucho. He is great at figuring out how to use an I-Pod to copy stuff from my camera and the home computer (it´s much faster to write the entries at home and upload them at the internet cafes).

Here is Mario. Unfortunately, you can´t see his hair which he gels to the max. He looks like he has wings, but it really looks good on him. Check the painting of the sea lions (lobos marinos) in the background. Mario always has his cell phone and lives to play volleyball on the weekends with a bunch of guys of all ages, heights, and talents.

I teach at 7 am so we´ll sign off for tonight. Hasta luego from the Galapagos!!

San Cristobal

2008-07-02T09:29:00.000-07:00

July 2, 2008

When you arrive at the dock on the island of San Cristobal, you´ll see the Malecon, the ¨boardwalk¨ which overlooks the bay.

Right underneath the railings, you can watch the lobo marinos (sea lions) stretched out on the rocks, sleeping or jockeying for a better position among the group.

In the water, you can watch them swim.

Clinging to the rocks you´ll see sayapas, redcrabs with varying hues of red and orange. They seem to be disappearing from the islands, so they are protected. Even so, people will harvest them and eat them.

At night, the lights on the dock illuminate the water so you can see schools of sardines and occasionally, a sea turtle slowing swimming.

San Cristobal is a beautiful island with lots to see and do. Here are some pictures taken by Luis and Mario Teran who are the sons of Martha Fiallos and Luis Teran with whom I am staying.

Both Luis and Martha are English teachers, so we spent a lot of time working on English, using a white board set up in the living room. During the day, we are all teaching, but we gather about one o'clock to have lunch. Nights, we eat about 8 or so and then take a ride around town to see the people and the lights on the water.

I am teaching at the Liceo Naval, the Navy prep academy, which is associated with the Naval base on the island. Kids wear white and navy blue uniforms. Casual dress is navy sweatpants with a white tee shirt. Dress uniforms are white with a blue cap. Sometimes you´ll see students wearing khaki uniforms as well.

There are about 250 students in the school which is private. I am teaching English to first graders and sixth graders as well as to older students in the high school. I work with the English teachers including Wilson, Veronica, Lucy, and Sandra. Here she is smiling at us.

Today, Wilson and I taught the parts of a house and the names for furniture. We use a work book that is meant for English as a Second Language learners, but it´s a real project to keep 25 kids on task when their proficiency varies widely.

Public High Schools on Santa Cruz

2008-06-26T09:58:00.000-07:00

June 23

Just a few blocks from the elementary school is the public high school, Colegio Nacional Galapagos. I meet the director, Edgar Larrea Naranjo, who has been at the school for twenty-five years, and I meet the head of the English program, Nuria Quinto de Gavilones. I learn that the school is hoping to introduce an international program and would like to add more English instruction. There is a library with computers but they are not yet connected and there is one computer with internet connection in an office.

Public Elementary Schools on Santa Cruz

2008-06-26T08:25:00.000-07:00

June 23
Many students pay to attend private schools. However. the public schools educate most of the students. Close to my hotel are two public schools, one an elementary school, the other a high school, Colegio Nacional de Galapagos. I wanted to see what students are doing in their English classes and what technology the schools have.

First, I visited the elementary school. One the way, I passed a group of students out for their run with their teacher. In Oregon, many elementary schools do not have gym anymore because the time is needed to prepare students for state tests. At the school, Escuela San Francisco, I meet the director, Sister Maria Chavez. She tells me that there are 490 students in the school and there is one computer available. We walk past concrete block buildings that box in a paved courtyard. Students wearing brown and white uniform chase each other, kick soccer balls, and eat snacks, sitting on stone steps.

As I enter the English classroom, all the students stand and greet the Directora in unison. I am introduced to them and to the English teacher, a man with glasses and a big smile. He invites me to stay and teach vocabulary with him so I end up teaching three classes with him, helping with pronunciation of vocabulary. The students sit at desks with headphones, but they are not used. Two science lessons are about the planets, and one geography lesson is about the adventures of Federico who travels the world. The students are attentive and eager to learn, although a bit shy to talk individually. It´s time to visit the older students at the Colegio so I say goodbye. The teacher is happy with the students´performance and I am invited back to teach.

Santa Cruz, the Galapagos

2008-06-23T10:53:00.001-07:00

Hello Writers!
6/19
I traveled from Portland, Oregon through Houston, Texas to Guayaquil, a city on the coast of Ecuador.
6/20
I arrived about 4:00 am, went to a hotel and slept for two hours, then got up and went to the airport to fly to Baltra in the Galapagos. A bus ride to the dock for a boat ride to Santa Cruz, and a taxi ride brought me to Puerto Ayora. I rented a small apartment at the Casa del Lago with a a huge bottle of drinking water, a refrig in the kitchen and patio with plants that overlooks the pila, the outdoor stone washing tub. There´s just a short walk to the dock and shopping areas. Cyber cafes sit next to restaurants, tour boat offices, and souvenir shops with carved wooden turtles, silver jewelry, and shirts with sharks, tutles, and birds.
6/21-22
The ocean here is the most incredible turquoise. I walked out on the dock and saw a baby hammerhead shark swimming by the pier. The tide was out and red crabs gingerly picked their way from rock to rock by the dock, skirting marine iguanas sunning themselves in groups, clinging to the rock walls of the pier. A trip through town produced a bakery where I bought sweet rolls; a supermarket where I got milk in a small box, coffee--in spite of growing coffee here, everyone seems to drink powdered Nescafe--and sunscreen that is essential in this sun; a vegetable and fruit market where I got red grapes from Chile, an avocado, tomatoes, a ripe pineapple and fresh green peas, shelled for cooking. In the evening, I walked around the town, not needing a coat or shirt. It rains during the night and the sound of the rain on the tile roof wakes me for a little bit. I got caught in the rain at the bakery on Sunday morning and shared a taxi home with a woman and her baby who live across the street. Great luck!!

2008-06-23T10:35:00.000-07:00

Check out English/Spanish novelas

2008-06-18T00:50:00.000-07:00

Students at Cesar Chavez High School fight, gossip, make friends, drink, and leave babies alone in cars. Take a look at their stories. Choose English or Spanish---or both! Open the door to their world

The Galapagos--saving a global treasure

2008-06-10T22:14:00.000-07:00

Check out this great site for more information about the Galapagos.

Where in the world is Oregon?

2008-06-10T01:10:00.001-07:00

Find Oregon on the left side of the United States.

What states border Oregon?
What ocean touches Oregon?
What states have you visited?

Where in the world are the Galapagos Islands?

2008-06-10T01:07:00.001-07:00

Look to the left side of Ecuador. You will see the Galapagos Islands. Find San Cristobal in the close up of the islands. The navy prep school, Liceo Naval, is on San Cristobal.

2008-06-10T01:04:00.001-07:00

2008-06-10T01:00:00.000-07:00

What is Creative Non-Fiction?

2008-06-10T00:52:00.000-07:00

Welcome Writers!

Creative non-fiction uses techniques of fiction such as dialogues, description, real events as narratives, people as characters, and places as settings. You can practice using creative non-fiction in writing journals and essays. Look for how it is used in magazines and blog entries!

2008-06-10T00:49:00.000-07:00

Let's get technical!

2008-06-10T00:43:00.000-07:00

Welcome Writers!

Here are lessons to teach you how to use Gmail, Blogging and Google Docs

2008-06-10T00:32:00.000-07:00