Here are some information I would like you to know:

1. According to voting result, the Dumpling Party will be held on the 10^th of June, Friday evening. We will start making dumplings at 6 o’clock. Hopefully we can eat dumplings at 7 o’clock. While you’re eating, the advisory panel (plus Courtney) will present a short skit about Chu Yuan 屈原. The Dragon Boat Festival is to memorialize his greatness that we also make this day as the Poets’ Day.

2. Since that the Fulbright teachers have to hand in their reports to FSE before 6/15, we were thinking to move the deadline for the portfolio to 6/20. That way you can have more time to revise your portfolio if you want. If so, we’d like to change our last Monday meeting to the day of 6/20 instead of 6/13. Those who booked the interviews on the day of 6/20 will be automatically changed to 6/13. i.e. interviews on the day 6/13, portfolios due on 6/20. If you have any problem of this rearrangement, please do let us know ASAP!

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short introduction about Chu Yuan 屈原

About 2000 years ago，Chu Yuan，a scholarly government official，was a good and respected man.However，because of the misdeed of jealous rivals，he eventually fell into disfavor in the emperor’s court.Unable to regain the respect of the emperor.He walked along the Mi Low river with sorrow and then threw himself into the river on the fifth day of the fifth moon of the lunar calender.

Because of their admiration for Chu Yuan，the local people living in the village rushed into their boat trying to rescue Chu Yuan from the Mi Low River.They threw rice into the water for the fish so they would not devour Chu Yuan.Although they

were unable to find Chu Yuan，their effort are still memorized today during the dragon Boat Festival.

「端午節」是農曆五月五日，這一天是古代楚國的愛國詩人屈原，因憂國傷時而投汨羅江自殺的日子，為了紀念他，端午節又稱「詩人節」。傳說屈原投江以後， 民眾以粽子投江餵水族， 以免詩人被水族所噬。另外又組許多船隊到汨羅江中尋找屈原的屍體，這是今天端午節吃粽子、划龍船的來源。掛艾草或蒲草，小孩子身上掛著「艾虎」的香囊，男人喝雄黃酒，傳說有避邪、求吉祥的作用。

國教輔導團英語領域成長團體會議記錄

Meeting notes

日期及時間：九十四年五月十六日

Date & time: 2005/05/16 1:30 in the afternoon

地點：特教中心一樓會議室

Place: 1F, meeting room in the Special Education Building

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國教輔導團英語領域成長團體會議記錄

Meeting notes

日期及時間：九十四年五月十六日

Date & time: 2005/05/16 1:30 in the afternoon

地點：特教中心一樓會議室

Place: 1F, meeting room in the Special Education Building

Announcement:

The schedule for both the LETs and Fulbright teachers:

The schedules for Dr. Sue’s one-on-one portfolio consultation on May 30^th, Mon.

Dates available for having the Dumpling Farewell Party.

Please choose a time that you think is perfect for the party, we really like EVERYONE to come. It will probably the last time for you to see Joanne, Vickie and all the people in this program for the rest of your life!

(Mark a time that you like)

Topic for today’s meeting: Favorite Poetry

Leading by Dr. Sue Sroda (handouts see the attachment files)

1. Sharing of everyone’s favorite poem

Joanne Tseng: “Through the YangZi “ from Li Bai(李白)

Buni: “I wandered lonely as a cloud” by William Wordsworth

Jenny: Rhymes from Mother Goose

Jo: “Dove Beach” by ??

James: “ A Poison Tree” by William Blake

Leanne: “Latin is a dead tongue,

Dead as dead can be.

First it killed the Romans,

Now it’s killing me” by Anonymous

Katrina: Shel Silverstein’s poem : I don’t like to go to schools…

Alenda: several poems by Robert Frost “stopping by woods on a snowy evening”

and others

Kelly: Daddy’s car and turkey(?? Forgive me if I am wrong, please tell me the

poem)

Ariel: “Not in Vain” by Emily Dickinson

國教輔導團英語領域成長團體會議記錄

Meeting notes

日期及時間：九十四年四月十八日

Date & time: 2005/04/18 1:30 in the afternoon

地點：特教中心一樓會議室

Place: 1F, meeting room in the Special Education Building

Topic for today’s meeting: Meaningful EFL Games in classroom

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Topic for today’s meeting: Meaningful EFL Games in classroom

1. Leanne presented a board game that looked like the Monopoly Game with which she put on some different questions like, What, When, Where, Why, How etc. The teacher rolled a dice and moved the magnet to the place according to the number the dice showed. Students can either create their own questions and ask teacher or just read the questions on the board. Leanne explained that her class is basically an advanced class but still there are some Ss that don’t go to BuSiBan i.e. cram school. Leanne also had a plain board that you can put your own word on.

2. Sue led with a GAME: Sue started with a word, the next one should find a word that start with the last letter of the previous word mentioned. For example, Sue picked the word’ dog’ then the next word should begin with ‘g’.

(If you need a definition for ‘game’, check the website: www.wordreference.com)

3. Showing Power Point slides. ‘Not just more GAMES’ Sue asked a few questions like ‘What is a game? What’s the difference between a game and an activity? What is a language game? ’

Sue later talked about the steps for today’s workshop: Reflection, Articulation(=to put into words) and Operationalization which are all good GRE words.( Take a closer look at them if you plan to have GRE exam. And it’s )

4. First: Reflection

Everyone wrote their favorite games, below is the list we gathered:

5. Articulation(=to put into words)

Good language games are:

(contributed from all the teachers:)

Communicative/ interactive, practical/useful, strategic, involve every students, fun/exciting, easy to understand, fit to students’ level, appropriate, objective-focused, engaging , easy to play with, fair, connecting speaking and writing forms, harmonious and peaceful, challenging, interesting, flexible, leave students with good feelings.

6. Operationalization

Match language skills with actions or activities to describe and select good language games for your students.

Sue had the formula goes like this:

Language skill (what they will practice or use) + Actions (what they will do) = Excellent language game.

Group discussion:

Bingo game: listening, speaking, comprehension, recognition for vocabs)

Cowboy game: recall/ concentration, speaking, fluency, accuracy…(though Sue and Gerry had bit different opinions)

Phonic game: I spy: meaning of words, listening/writing phonics, spelling

Hangman: spelling pattern, vocab games, phonics, multi-word hangman

White Carrots Squat(白蘿蔔蹲)： intelligibility, recall under pressure

Teacher speaks without making out sounds: ’ physical articulation’

Mission impossible: listening, understanding, WH question formation.

Verb tense game: grammar, spelling, listening, authentic questions

Ⅰ. Chinese Astrology

1. The origin of the animal years : 12 animals

Below is the website that describes the personalities of each animals as well as famous people that belong to that category:

http://www.geocities.com/marcoyeung.geo/ehoroscope.html

Ø The Chinese Lunar Calendar Book(黃曆)

http://mindcity.sina.com.tw/local-bin/east/MC-lunar/index.cgi

Ø Questions and commands

2. The Myers-Briggs test

When you take the test, you will just answer 73 yes/no
questions online on one page, click "score it" and you will receive a
score stated as four letters such as INTJ or ENFP.

Ø http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp

–Detailed descriptions of the 16 Myers-Briggs personality letter
types (combinations of E/I, N/S, T/F J/P) can be found at :
http://www.typelogic.com/

–Detailed descriptions of the four main (each with four sub-types)
personalities in the Keirsey personality sorter scale can be found at
: http://keirsey.com/matrix.html

–A site for many different types of personality tests:
http://similarminds.com/personality_tests.html

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國教輔導團英語領域成長團體會議記錄

meeting notes

日期及時間：九十四年四月四日

date & time: 2005/04/04 1:30 in the afternoon

地點：特教中心一樓會議室

location: 1F, meeting room in the Special Education Building

Ⅰ. Chinese Astrology

1. The origin of the animal years : 12 animals

Below is the website that describes the personalities of each animals as well as famous people that belong to that category:

http://www.geocities.com/marcoyeung.geo/ehoroscope.html

Ø The Chinese Lunar Calendar Book(黃曆)

http://mindcity.sina.com.tw/local-bin/east/MC-lunar/index.cgi

Ø Questions and commands

2. The Myers-Briggs test

When you take the test, you will just answer 73 yes/no
questions online on one page, click "score it" and you will receive a
score stated as four letters such as INTJ or ENFP.

Ø http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp

–Detailed descriptions of the 16 Myers-Briggs personality letter
types (combinations of E/I, N/S, T/F J/P) can be found at :
http://www.typelogic.com/

–Detailed descriptions of the four main (each with four sub-types)
personalities in the Keirsey personality sorter scale can be found at
: http://keirsey.com/matrix.html

–A site for many different types of personality tests:
http://similarminds.com/personality_tests.html

Ⅱ. Announcement

A: If you missed any workshop that Sue had given during the past semester and would like to have the handouts of all the workshops, we have put them onto the BLOG of the YiLan ET blog: http://140.111.66.31/blog/index.php?blogId=28

You can check the column on the left hand side and click on the ‘workshop’,there you will see all the handouts of all the workshops!

B: The topic for our next meeting : Meaningful EFL Games in classroom

Easter, Easter, Easter!

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Ⅰ. Dr. Sroda’s workshop on “EASTER’ 

1.      The “Peter Cottontail” song, written by Beatrix Potter, the author of “Tales of Peter Rabbit”.

Ø          First underline every word that you think need to be explained to your students.

Ø          Think about how you would like to explain them. Use the words they already knew? Drawing on the blackboard? Or show them?

Ø          Sue and volunteers show us the Easter bunny dance!

2.      The origin of EASTER.

  Modern Easter

  Religious Easter

   When is Easter: near spring equinox ?

Recommendation of a useful book: ELT teacher’s Holiday Activities Kit

This book applies simple sentences to tell the story of holidays.

3. Food for Easter: egg, Easter ham, chocolate

4. Easter is a holiday that has more light colors than dark colors.

5. Website for you to teach : (see handouts)

6. Group creating activities: design activities with either tactile or

kinesthetic type(see appendix for detail description)

Ø          Creators: Jennifer, Stacia and Katrina

Coloring and cutting

Voc. and grammar used: shapes and colors

Ø          Creators: Angelyn, Rosie, Shirley and Joanne

Coloring and hiding Easter eggs

Voc. and grammar used: A-Z, a-z, colors: pink, yellow, green, blue. Verbs: walk, hop, run, jump

Ø          Creators: Angela, Alenda, Kelly, Hopkins

Helping Easter bunny by sorting out jellybeans

Voc. and grammar:

 There are (number)(color) jellybeans in the basket.

Ø          Creators: Johanna, Jenny, Jason and Vickie

Playing the game” Fruit Basket” or ”Musical Chair” by saying :

“Easter bunny, what do you see? I see a (color)(object) looking at me.”

Voc. and grammar: Easter objects, light colors

Dr. Wu sent us a good article from The Harvard Business Review, OCT. 2004

The title of this article is "Cultural Intelligence" in which they discussed the three sources of cultural sources and a chart to help you diagnosing your culture intelligence…

Joanne Tseng shared another article providing Team Teaching tips…

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Team Teaching: Teaming Teachers Offer Tips

Team teaching is a strategy used at many grade levels in many schools — but how teams are structured and how well teaming actually works varies widely. In this article Education World writer Sharon Cromwell explores two essential questions — What constitutes an excellent teaching team? and How can teachers strengthen their teams? Included: Practical tips to share with teaming teachers!

What elements help make a teaching team strong? Team teachers cite several characteristics of an outstanding team that really works for the benefit of students. The one trait they all seem to agree upon: Team members must laugh when appropriate to maintain the proper perspective about what happening with students and themselves. Use humor, teachers say, to keep the team positive and on target.

"Don hold grudges against team members," Glen Lawson, who teaches science and reading at Davis Middle School in Flowery Branch, Georgia, told Education World. "You should laugh together, eat together, and make copies together at least twice a week."

TEAMING TEEMS WITH ISSUES

Approximately 77 percent of middle schools in the United States now employ some form of team teaching, John Lounsbury, publications editor for the National Middle School Association, told Education World. Lounsbury, who is often referred to as one of the "godfathers" of the middle school movement, says, "We have come to realize that teaming has not been exploited fully by teachers to make the kinds of changes in instruction that are possible." When team teaching is fully implemented, however, research has shown it leads to an "improved work climate, more frequent contact with parents, increased teacher job satisfaction, and higher levels of student achievement."

"We organized teams and declared victory," Lounsbury continued, "but we haven taken full advantage of teachers working together to create a more integrated curriculum."

Lounsbury outlines the major problems that sometimes dog team teaching:

• Teams don have adequate common planning time.

• The responsibility of the team leader is not taken seriously enough, even by the leader.

• Teams of four or five are simply too large, because reaching consensus on changes is difficult with so many diverse personalities.

• Teachers involved may not themselves be sufficiently committed to change.

Lounsbury quotes the nineteenth-century American writer Henry David Thoreau on the subject of change: "Beware of enterprises that require new clothes but not rather a new wearer of clothes." In introducing team teaching, Lounsbury says, changes have too often been superficial without truly transforming the middle school curriculum so that subjects are interrelated rather than remaining compartmentalized.

To read more, see How Teaming Influences Classroom Practices, published in the November 2000 issue of the Middle School Journal.

TOP-NOTCH TEAMS

"For a team of teachers to be strong and productive, everyone must work together in a collegial manner," Melba Yvette Smithwick told Education World. She is a professional staff developer at the Paul R. Haas Middle School in the Corpus Christi, Texas, school district. "We always share teaching strategies, critique each other with respect and honesty, laugh a lot, and keep each other focused when we get sidetracked.

"We remind each other," Smithwick goes on, "that these people [whom we teach] are still children regardless of their height and that we are the adults who must guide them."

Echoing Smithwick, Lawson says that team members must treat each other with respect. One member, he insists, should not "hog the ball"; rather, all members should cooperate for the good of their students. He believes a team with teachers who are "male or female, older or younger, and having more or less experience" can "identify and reach kids with all kinds of needs."

Further, Lawson recommends "a variety of teaching styles" on a team. "A good team" Lawson says, "includes different styles, such as an authoritarian, a caregiver, and a cheerleader. ?Students will respond differently to these different teachers and all will get their needs met. It is also essential that the teachers value and support each other in those roles."

A strong, productive team is one that recognizes its strengths and weaknesses, Michele Lash of Regis Middle School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, told Education World. Lash teaches eighth grade Spanish as well as religion. "On our team, each of us is better at some things and tries to take on those responsibilities while others do what suits them best. No one can do it all."

Team members must "be flexible," Lash emphasized. "Especially in middle school, things change. If youe too rigid, you will quickly become unhappy, which soon becomes apparent to the students and sometimes to the parents. Also, you must be an advocate for the students. Every child needs someone in his or her corner. Sometimes, their teachers are all they have."

Working together to create curriculum that makes sense should be a goal of all teams. Lounsbury, who has more than 50 years?involvement in the development of middle schools, believes a powerful team will "break down fragmentation among subjects" and interrelate the content of subjects taught by team members.

STRENGTHENING A TEAM

Many teachers know how an especially good team works and are always searching for ways to improve the performance of their teams. The teachers we talked with offered some tips on building strong teams.

"We can let the difficult teachers win," Lawson says. "We can just let them have their way because it is easier for us. We are teachers, after all. Everything we do teaches, including [teaching] the teachers we teach with."

Lounsbury thinks an "open, honest discussion of hy teaming??should be held. Too often it is viewed as an end, not a means, and when administratively in place, teachers can go on teaching as they did before. … Unless teachers?attitudes about teaming are positive, or at least open, trying to make teams effective is tough."

"Set an agenda for the week," is Lash advice. "Include discussions on students about whom there are concerns. Include some type of professional development reading or discussion.

"If things are really getting hectic, and people are starting to grumble," she continued, "plan a time for everyone to share something positive that recently happened that involves a student. Usually, that gets us smiling or even laughing, which always brightens the mood.

"Don allow team members to do other things during the meeting," she says. "You wouldn allow it from students, so don accept it from colleagues."

COMING TOGETHER IS A BEGINNING?/font>

Henry Ford once said, "Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress and working together is success."

Melba Smithwick puts it a little differently: "Lay all the cards on the table, don speak with hidden messages, be direct, honest, kind, professional, friendly, and — for goodness sakes — keep a positive attitude and a good sense of humor."