Special project blog

University of Puerto Rico at Humacao English Department

Special Project Juan Ponce de León Bilingual School Humacao, PR Cooperating Teacher: Mrs. Sara Troche

Joany Morales Fiol 842-08-5346 Ninotchka De Jesús 842-09-2193 Dr. Aníbal Muñoz Claudio Edpe 4006-001 Practice Teaching Secondary Level March 10, 2014

Table of Contents

I.

Introduction

……………………………………………………1

II.

Purpose

……………………………………………………1

III.

Justification

……………………………………………………2

IV.

Permanence

……………………………………………………3

V.

Action Plan

……………………………………………………4

VI.

Action Plan Table

……………………………………………………4

VII.

Results

……………………………………………………5

VIII.

Reactions

……………………………………………………6

IX.

Recommendations

……………………………………………………7

X.

Appendix

……………………………………………………8

Introduction: This special project is intended to leave a legacy in the school where we are doing our practice teaching. It is very important to leave a legacy and be remembered by the students and the school personnel as someone that worked hard for the benefit of the school. In this special project we will express the purpose and justify our decision for selecting this special project activity.

Purpose: For our practice teaching experience we are required to do a special project that should leave a legacy in the school. It was very difficult to decide how we were going to help the school. Was the project going to be organizing an activity, donating some material for the teachers or the students, or fixing part of the facilities of the school? It is also very difficult to decide what project to do if you don’t have the money necessary to do what you want. We decided to do the special project together in order to divide the expenses between both of us. We asked the school’s director Mrs. Nydia Vega Cintrón what would she recommended for us to do as our special project. She told us that they were enough clubs and organizations at the school and that the facilities were old and they did not need anything fixed. She suggested us to buy a photocopier for the school. We thought it was a very good idea but we needed sponsors to collect the money we needed to by the photocopier. Then as part of the figurative language thematic unit we were discussing with our students, we saw that they were very creative when writing their examples. Because we wanted share those good works to other people outside the classroom, we decided to create a Creative Writing Day.

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Justification: We decided to organize a Creative Writing Day in order to give the students the opportunity to publish their writings. We talked to the director to see if the project will be able to continue year after year being organized by the English teachers of the school. The director told us that if the English teachers compromise with the activity she didn’t had any problem with it.

First the idea came as we mentioned before, because the students did not had an opportunity to publish their works. Through our education in the University of Puerto Rico at Humacao, we have been encourage to develop in the students four core values which are diversity, social transformation, leadership, and creativity. We saw this opportunity to get the students involved in activities that will help them develop those dispositions. The Juan Ponce de Leon is a bilingual school in which the students are very fluent in the English language. We saw that the students were involved in many activities but for some matter the English Week was not celebrated. We did not want to pass our journey in this school without creating an activity that involves the English language for which we could be remembered. We decided to organize an activity in which the students could raise their voice on a social problem using their creativity.

We decided to have three categories one for poster, one for declamation of a poem, and one for writing a poem. All of the works will be exhibited at the school inviting the community to see their works. This project helps develop social transformation because the community and the students can develop a sense of awareness upon the problems that society is passing through. We believe this is very necessary and important because we are getting the students that will be the ones who will build the future into changing it for a better life creating true leaders that will transform our world.

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Permanence: This project is not that difficult to sustain; it just needs compromise teachers willing to give the students a chance to contribute in the transformation of our society. In order to ensure that the English teacher of the school compromise into organizing this activity we will create a written document in which we founders of the activity explain the purpose and what it is intended to do, in which the English teachers and director will sing compromising that they will keep organizing it every year. This year we will do our best in order to prove the English teachers and director that the activity is worth the effort.

We have settled a budget of $100.00. This will come from our pockets. With this money we will by decorations, medals, certificates, invitations, and some copies that we could need. We will be using this money just because we decided that the theme will be on conserving the environment and we want to decorate in a way that every person will feel that they are in a place where nature is not affected by contamination. The director of the school offered us the certificates, the copies, the invitations and some Kraft paper that we could use to decorate. By this we can see that there is no problem on organizing the activity because the school has the resources necessary to accomplish it. When the director offered us all of these materials we saw that she was excited for the activity and that if everything comes out as planned she will be the first to keep on with the legacy.

Also, this activity doesn’t involve that much effort from part of the teachers. The teachers should only select a title for the Creative Writing Day which involves social transformation.

Because it is just a day, the students will not lose many classes. This year we will do it just with the seventh graders because the English teachers are already compromise with other school

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activities, but for next year all the school will be involved. We suggested that they should divide the prizes for each category for each grade in order to be easier to establish a winner. The rest will depend on the participation of the students, but if the teacher demonstrates enthusiasm the students will feel it to.

Action Plan: We have already selected the theme of the Creative Writing Day. We will need to go and buy the decorations, certificates, medals and invitations. We will also need to find some judges.

It takes a lot of planning because we also have to prepare the students with specific directions for them to participate. We have decided to have three categories which are poster, writing, and declamation of a poem. We will have to look for a poem on the theme we have selected. Then let the students create.

Action Plan Table: Dates

Activities

Persons Involved

April 4, 2014

Look for a poem

Ninotchka de Jesús Joany Morales

April 7-11, 2014

Create the invitations

Joany Morales

April 14-16, 2014

Look for Judges

Ninotchka de Jesús Joany Morales

April 17-24, 2014

Buy the decorations

Ninotchka de Jesus Joany Morales

April 22, 2014

Buy the medals

Ninotchka de Jesús

April, 23-30, 2014

Create the Certificates

Joany Morales

April 23-30, 2014

Create the Compromise Letter

Joany Morales

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Dates

Activities

Persons Involved

April 16, 2014

Give the students the

Ninotchka de Jesús

instructions

Joany Morales

Decorate

Ninotchka de Jesús

May 1, 2014

Joany Morales May 2, 2014

Carry out the activity

Ninotchka de Jesús Joany Morales 7th grade students Teachers Judges Community

Results: We can describe the activity in only one word SUCCESS! We wanted many students to participate, but we were surprised that more students than we expected participated. We had the help of some of our university classmates who liked the idea and wanted to be part of it. These classmates were Celeste Santiago who helped us decorating for the activity and Luis Pabón who was invited as a judge. The time frame went on as expected. We had everything organized with time so at the last minute we just had to decorate and receive the students’ works. As part of the judges we also invited Prof. Carmen Torres and Prof. Harry Bonkosky, both from the University of Puerto Rico at Humacao. The only problem we had, been that the week before, Prof.

Bonkosky told us he was unable to help us because he had a situation. We decided to not look for a replacement and keep with only two judges. Prof. Carmen Torres and Luis Pabón had a hard time deciding the winners because they were all really good and creative. We believe that the only thing we could change from this activity were the criteria to evaluate the works. Because of

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this, we had to create another category in order to reward those who created a drawing in which it did not portrayed a direct message but through the artistic performance the message was implicit. Other than this, everything flowed as we expected.

We did spend around $100.00 in the activity just because we did not print the invitations nor the certificates at the school because we wanted them in color. We did use the Kraft paper of the school but we still bought decorations. We also bought the medals and some refreshments.

The members of the school, especially the teachers were very pleased with the activity and our effort in organizing that day for the students. They really liked the environment we created for the activity because we brought new ideas that they had never seen. The English teachers were so happy because of the success of the activity that they said they would definitely continue with the legacy we are leaving the school with.

Reactions: Working in this activity helped us be aware of the importance of the integrations of the four core values that the University of Puerto Rico recommends we must develop in our students.

During this activity we saw how by just giving the students a tool which was writing, drawing, or declaiming on a theme centered on social transformation we have created leaders for our society which through their creativity they can raise their voices on a problem the society is passing through. We are very proud of our accomplishment because we had helped built a better future with just giving the students an opportunity like this one. Not only the students were beneficed by this activity, but most important the community itself. Even though the parents did not come to the activity, we believe that the majority of them were aware of what their children were working on. Our message for conserving the environment was heard. Students, families, a whole 6

community became aware of the importance on conserving the environment and the effect of our actions to those of the future.

We also saw this activity as one of professional growth for both of us. We had internalized the importance of integrating the community and the students in activities in which they can use the skills they have acquired of the English language into something that will help the entire world. Teaching English is not just teaching grammar, it is teaching through experiences and interactions with the language. We are proud of what we have accomplished with this activity and most of all that we are sure we have left a legacy in the school that will help us be remembered by those students, parents and community. We created agents of change, leaders, by modeling what we want to see in others; our commitment with those who will be the heroes of tomorrow.

Recommendations: For those who will continue with this legacy we have some recommendations. First of all select a theme that enables social transformation. Help the students develop awareness of a problem in which the society is passing through. Then, write specific criteria that will help the judges decide better who will win in each category. For this, the organizers should explain in a clear way the directions and the criteria to the students also giving them time to work on their projects. We also recommend that this activity should be planned with at least one month of anticipation. This will help the organizers to get all they need such as awards and decorations in time for the activity. We also recommend that in order to have a clear contest, judges should be invited, preferably professionals involved in English education. Why in English education?

Because, the students should be evaluated in pronunciation and grammar because this activity is

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using English as a second language. Through this activity the students will implement what they have learned of the English language to make people aware of problems we confront every day.

We would also like to recommend to those teacher candidates that will be working on their special projects in their practice teaching to select something that will have a direct implication with the students. At first we had decided to work on the bathrooms of the schools because they are not on the best conditions. After having a lot of trouble raising the funds to do our project we also thought of it again and if it would had leave a legacy for which the students would remember us. After thinking it all over, we believe we took the best choice. We recommend you to get your future students involved in activities that enable the core dispositions we are being constantly encouraged to implement with our students. It is very rewarding to see how we can change the world and most important our students’ lives just by creating activities as this one. We have to say this special project not just left a legacy at our practice centers, but also left a legacy on our hearts.

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Appendix I.

Compromise Agreement Letter

……………………………………………….10

II.

Students Participant Certificate

……………………………………………….11

III.

Judges Appreciation Certificate

……………………………………………….12

IV.

Pictures of the Activity

……………………………………………….13

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Appendix I: Compromise Agreement Letter

10

Appendix II: Student Participate Certificate

11

Appendix III: Judges Certificate of Appreciation

12

Appendix IV: Pictures of the Activity:

Decorating for the Activity: Celeste Santiago, Joany Morales, and Ninotchka De JesĂşs

Activity Organizers: Joany Morales and NInotchka De JesĂşs 13

Collaborators: Luis E. Pab贸n, Josean Morales, and Joany Morales

Awards for Writing, Declamations, and Drawing

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Declamation: Judges Luis E. PAb贸n and Prof. Carmen M. Torres

Declamation Winners

15

Drawings

Writing

16

Writings

Drawings

17

Judges Prof. Carmen M. Torres and Luis E. Pab贸n

Cooperating Teacher Mrs. Sara Troche

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Judges Luis E. Pab贸n and Prof. Carmen M. Torres, declamation participants, Activity Organizers Mrs. Joany Morales and Mrs. Ninotchka De Jes煤s, and Cooperating Teacher Mrs. Sara Troche

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