AUTHOR FEEDBACK AFTER IMPLEMENTING THE LESSON PLAN:
What went particularly well when implementing the lesson plan?
The implementation of my lesson plan was interesting for the third grade pupils of elementary school. These activities were easily integrated into the syllabi as an integrated day with Croatian language, Art and Nature. The planned activities include pupil and teacher orientation; it foresees "learning by doing" instead of traditional lessons. These activities have given pupils and teachers the opportunity to work together and develop key competences for lifelong learning: communication in foreign languages, learning to learn, social and civic competences, cultural awareness and expression.
The 8-year-old students in the third grade of elementary school repeated in an interactive way about their homeland. Through visual, auditory, manual and speaking skills, they closely linked the process of thinking and reasoning. They have very well embraced these activities:
- Story On the blackboard there are pictures of a river, horse and gold. The student compiles the story in five minutes. Each student tells his or her story.
- Students explore the map of the homeland. They study the colors on the map and accommodate the sides of the world.
- Creations Two equal games according to pupils' skills and competences (1st group sets the rules of the game, 2nd group makes up questions for the game, 3rd group writes questions on a computer, prints and laminates, 4th group draws the background for the game, paying attention to rules of the game, 5th group makes two paper dice - origami)
- Playing the game - very interesting for exercises about the homeland
- Hangman
- Reflection
- Evaluation
What did not go so well?
During the field trip, some students took photos of the places they visited. The problem is that they had different devices and they are not trained to take good photos, because our school system lacks focused IT training. After we took the photos, we made a movie in Kizoa. This is interesting to the students, but it requires a lot of preparation for the teacher.
What would you change if you had to implement the lesson plan again?
I would probably add some maths assignments with words, in which students would add, subtract, multiply and divide up to 1000, as well as singing native songs. I think the activities and goals in my lesson plan are clear. The students successfully completed their tasks according to their abilities.
What other advice would you give to someone who would like to use your lesson plan?
My lesson plan can be used by all those teachers who want to give their students a slightly different teaching about their homeland. There are different homelands, but in this plan it is very easy to replace, for example, the words in the story in the introductory task, as well as to give focused tasks in the game itself. The plan is designed so that some activities can be replaced or added, especially if the school does not have the necessary resources (computers). I advise good preparation.
