My class tomorrow is about pets.
This is a topic that arouses lots of interest and interaction as there are many people attached to their pets. A while ago, I recorded this simple video with a friend. As voicethread is a dynamic tool to create learning objects, now I can use it with my students with an even richer listening practice touch, for other teachers have also talked about their pets.
The idea is to start the class showing some photos of animals that could be "weird" pets (i.e, iguanas) and to discuss if those animals would make good pets and the reasons for the answers.
Then, I'll show the Voicethread and ask students to write questions to my friend Luiz Cláudio about his pets. Then, they will talk about their own pets and will bring images of their own pets for a topic wrap up in the following class.
Some questions for discussion:
- Are you attached to animals? Do you have pets? How attached are you to your pet?
- How many pets have you had so far?
- When isn't it good to have pets?
- Pets are more work than fun. Agree or disagree?
- Animals are not meant to become pets. Agree or disagree?
An exploratory journey of an educator who thrives for meaningful conversations. Lifelong Learning, Education, Ed Tech, Change.
Pets indeed are an interesting and potentially far-reaching topic, Carla, as your questions for discussion suggest.
ReplyDeleteWhen pets have come up recently in discusssion of family memberships, I've been surprised. So, especially for pet owners or care-providers, I might add an item to your list, namely:
- Pets are members of our family. Agree or Disagree.
Cheers, Paul
Paul,
ReplyDeleteJust before my class I saw your comment, which made me think that even if we try hard, we're biased! I'd never consider a pet part of my family, so I realized I tended to go to the negative aspects of having a pet. So, thanks to you, I added the sentence you suggested. The class was fantastic, with lots of discussion and interaction taking place. The topic lasted for the whole period. Thanks for stopping by for an insightful comment that opened my eyes to my own prejudice. :-)
Carla, I'm glad you found my comment in time, and had a fantastic class. It is always a pleasure to hear of the interesting things you are doing.
ReplyDelete