September 1st

Welcome, Welcome....to another year at Hogwarts!

September 1st: It´s Time to go back HOME...

Sorry...but I cannot help it...I´m a huge fan!



After all these years (more than 20 from the frist time a red Harry Potter...) I still wait for my Hogwarts letter...I think they forgot to send me an owl.... I don´t know...
Anyway...I will wait for it till the very end...

I drive my students crazy about my Harry Potter love. I always tell them that once you get to know the first pages of the first book, you cannot stop reading it. They never believed me. 
But this year, one of students from 6th year (secondary) asked me if I could lend him my Harry Potter copy. I doubted...but you can never refuse sharing HP with anybody. So....I gave it to him.
He LOVED it!! He couldn´t stop reading...in a week he returned it to me.
He told me that he had bought the second book!!!
I felt....extremely happy!! jiji

So....


See you always, magical creatures!!

First Language Acquisition

HI there!

In this opportunity I´m posting a bit about First Language Acquisition! 

First Language acquisition belongs to a field which has been investigated throughout recent years. There are penty of faculties which have tried to tackle the process by means of theories which involve social interaction, experience and stimulus-response as their main explanations. 
However, there is no theory which has succeded in proposing a precise way in which principles are acquired other than Chomsky´s. Mainly because to defeat his argument involves explaining how each and all the principles could have been acquired from experience of from other faculties.

Here you can find a video that explains a bit more of Chomsky´s theory.

Hope you find it interesting and useful!

                            See you later, alligator!

F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

Last Thusrsday was my best friend´s birthday.

I met her when we were 9. Almost 20 years later, we´re still together. She lives far from where I live now. Nonetheless, when we have the chance to spend a day together, time seems not to have pass.

It is amazing how people can modify our lives!! I firmly believe that, even though we cannot see each other everyday, there´s something that keeps us united: love.

A friend is a the family you can choose. Is somebody that you know is going to be there for you no matter what. She´s been by my side at the distance. She knows exactly what´s going on in my life, the changes in my job, my career, my husband and daughter, everything. And in the same way I know everything about her.

Life has changed us physical and emotionally. But at the end..we´re still those little 9-year-old girls who loves chatting and playing, watching movies and eating home made pop-corn, little girls who loved to share.

In the most amazing moments we´ve been together....in the most awful ones too. Life gave us the opportunity to get to know each other...and luckily we took it!


Happy Birthday My Dearest Friend!!! You know I´ll be there for you (always), as you´re there for me too (always too).

Kagan Structures

What is Kagan??

That´s a very good question if you are into cooperative learning teaching.

In my last post, I told you about my experience, but I didn´t tell you what Kagan Structures are.

This short video will give you an answer and it may help you to understand how to use them in tour regular lessons.

Hope you find it interesting!!


 =)

Cooperative Learning

Recently, I attended a workshop where I found old and very well known theory combined with a new approach.

There, I was able to get to knnow the Kagan Structures. I made my own research and put them into practice in some  of my lessons. The result....fantastic!

As a conclusion I´m posting some of the structures that helped me in class.

I really hope you can find them useful as me.

XoXo.

Mrs. C.  - Alias: Miss Maqui at school =)

The Four Methods

We´ve been wondering about the different methods and teaching techniques. Here I found two short videos on the Silent Way.

I choose this method because I was very curious about the name! haha

The first video presents background information and theoretical concepts, goals and advantages of using it.

I hope you can find it useful as I did.

This second video is a class....interesting...I invite you to share your opinions about it! =)

              Interesting, isn´t it????

See you around,
Love,
        Maqui

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

I used to love rainy days.

Water means cleaning. Therefore, rain is to clean. To clean our spirit, our thoughts, our bodies and mind.

I used to believe in rainy days as a way of relaxing, as a very nice and ideal day to think, or to do nothing. I always found rainy days as the perfect days for sharing moments in family, like an excuse to gather all around a table and talk about everything we seem not to have enough time during the week, or the month, or maybe the year.

But suddenly, rainy days stopped being attractive to me anymore. One phone call tears everything apart, crushing down your hopes and dreams, believes and faiths.

Why is it that the weather affects our lives so much? Is there a logical scientific fact that may give prove of it?

Lately, we had lots of rainy days. 10 days in a row with water all around. Colours have changed, smells have changed, emotions have changed, I have changed. After several days I found myself in a totally different place. I realized…or got to the point…that rain is just that…rain. No matter how hard it can be…rain is just rain.

But, though now I have a new feeling about this huge amount of water falling from the sky, I´m still wondering how on earth I´m going to survive these days…and all relies on the simple fact that I´m at school…a school in which our little kiddoes are not used to be quiet, kids who need to run…kids who are accustomed to park life.

The only answer I have in mind is…take a deep breath, choose the best movie for the long break, and face the beautiful students I have with a super big smile.

Love,

         Maqui

Ps: I´ll just drop a video a love...special for Rainy Days  ;)