The start of the summer vacation found many enthusiastic teachers getting together for the Tokyo Study Group Meeting on July 21.
The topics covered were 1) how to teach comparative and superlative forms, and 2) how to enjoy the Olympics in your classroom.
We started the meeting with a warm-up song, spelling out the letters in “Happy”: I’m H-A-P-P-Y, which made everybody smile and feel “happy”.
Then we showed fun ways of how to introduce the comparative and the superlative forms so that students can learn them easily.
Afterwards, we got into small groups. Each attendee took turns to experience how to teach, starting from introducing the comparatives to teaching the sentence form, and how to use word cards effectively. By watching their fellow teachers, experienced and new teachers, alike, could get inspired by one another’s efforts.
As for Learning Activities we introduced the World Map Relay Game and Comparing Weights activity to encourage students to use comparatives and superlatives on their own. We also had everyone participate in the Mini Olympics, seeing who was the strongest in a fun contest. The winners received gold, silver and bronze “medals”. This activity will definitely be a hit in your classroom.
We ended the meeting with Storytelling using the MAT Method. The book was I’m The Biggest Thing in the Ocean! (by Kevin Sherry), perfect for the summer and full of superlatives that will be a good review for the students.
After the workshop was over, many teachers gathered for lunch for more sharing of ideas and good food.
Thank you for coming and we hope to see more teachers at our next meeting!