Let's blog

Our blog will include fun and interesting activities, readings and exercises from the Internet that you can do at home when you feel like it (= quando te apetecer). You can also send me your suggestions of activities! I will publish them on this page.

So. . . when you have a suggestion, or something you would like to tell us, please click on the email icon on the right (the bottle). Don't forget to start your message with "Hello" or "Hi" and to include your name and class (7A, 7B, 7C) at the end! I will not publish anonymous messages!

Remember: We are in this together!

With your participation, this blog can be great fun!

Send in you first message right away and I will put it on this page immediately!

Let's blog!

Interesting pages

Jogo do 24 Photos: 1+2, 3+4, 5+6

Intriguing page

Student work

Student Recipes (9th grade, 2001-02)

Blog archives

first activity:

'Decode' my message!

Find the "mystery words" behind the symbols (top left)!

The first student to send me a message with the correct words

will get a prize next class! Get to work!! Hurry up!!!

Subject: Hi teacher. How are you?

Hello teacher! How are you? I`m fine but I miss my
friends, my teachers and my school. In Friday, I go to Algarve.
And you? Do you go to Vilamoura in Algarve, don`t you? Good
beach,good sun and good`s ice creams...

Kisses
Ana Cláudia P.

Re: Hi teacher. How are you?

Hi Ana Cláudia!

It's great to hear from you through 'real' email for the first time!

I'm feeling very well, rested and happy to have the next month off to continue relaxing! However, I do miss my students, that's why it's so nice when one of you sends a sweet message and keeps in touch.

You are leaving on Friday and I'm going down to Vilamoura next Tuesday or Wednesday - yes, Ana Claúdia, the Algarve is absolutely great for sun, sand/beach and ice cream! Where are you going to stay? Maybe we could meet! That would be nice! If you are close to Vilamoura, send me your cell phone contact (if you wish) and I will send you mine, all right?

Ana, if you have time before you leave tomorrow, go to our blog and see how interested and enthusiastic a couple of colleagues of mine are. Don't forget to visit the links, especially the link included in yesterday's message (30Jul) from Graham Stanley - http://blog-efl.blogspot.com. You will have a very pleasant surprise.

Well, that's all for now. Have a wonderful stay in the Algarve and eat lots of deeliiicious ice cream!!! I hope to see you down there!

A kiss from your English teacher

31Jul03

Today my colleague, Graham Stanley, sent me two other 'very nice' messages. The second one made me very happy and proud (= orgulhosa) of our work, and I'm sure you will feel the same way. Please read them to find out about the good news! :-)

And don't forget to visit his blog at http://blog-efl.blogspot.com . Look for Wednesday, 30 July 2003. You will have a BIG surprise!!!

30Jul03

Subject: Blogs

Hello Teresa!

Thanks for replying.

Of course I don’t mind you posting my comments in your blog. My own attempt at blogging with students didn’t work so well, especially as it was an intensive course – I’m sure that it works much better as a tool to use with students all-year-round. Next academic year, I’m going to start by introducing students to the concept by looking at other similar blogs, and yours will definitely be one of them!

By the way, If you or any of your blogging colleagues ever feel like participating in http://blog-efl.blogspot.com (and have the time of course) please let me know.

Enjoy your holidays!

Best wishes!

Graham

Subject: Your blog

Hello again Teresa!

Inspired by your e-mail, I went back to your site to analyse what I really liked about it. I have published my comments on http://blog-efl.blogspot.com – I hope you don’t mind. The reason why I’m doing so much is that I’ve agreed to lead a workshop on blogs and blogging at the Young Learner’s Centre of the British Council in Barcelona when I come back, and I want to be sure that I know what I’m talking about!

I will definitely use your site as one of the best examples around!

Best wishes (again!)

Graham Stanley

Re: Your blog

Hello again to you too, Graham!

I am flattered that you have analyzed my teacher-student blog - or class blog, as you call it -, so thoroughly and will show it in your upcoming workshop on blogs! Thank you for such a comprehensive comment. It will be very helpful when I write about it, if that's all right with you. A couple of days I jotted down the main topics I plan to deal with. Now, all I need is inspiration from a muse!

I totally agree with your criticism regarding the excessive width of the screen. I had the same problem at school this year when I gave a short presentation to my English department about 'Let's blog'. The situation is probably due to the fact that I work with a laptop that has a 1024 X 768 resolution. At that time I tried changing it to 800 x 600 (and did so again today), but my laptop refuses to adjust that resolution to a full screen, meaning that I would have to work with only about three-quarters of the screen. When I tried the same on my husband's PC, bingo! It did just what I wish my laptop would do - adjust the resolution to a full screen. (BTW, if you have any hint on how I can solve the problem on my laptop, please let me know.)

Trying to do justice to those who say that the Portuguese are masters at improvising, let me suggest that to see the full text of the blog you scroll the screen all the way to the right. Of course, the icons on the left will not show, but the whole text will, simplifying the reading a lot. This works on my husband's PC with the 800 x 600 resolution. I sure hope it does on yours!

If you have any other comments or questions, send them anytime, because I only leave on Tuesday and will be checking my mail every 3-4 days. I can't live without email anymore!

Good luck on the preparations for the workshop. Is there any way we can look at what you did after the workshop? I think it would be very interesting.

Bye for now,

Teresa

Hi, all!

Today I received this very nice message about our blog from a colleague, Graham Stanley, who also has a teacher-student blog (see URL below). I'd like to share the message (below) with you.

29Jul03

Subject: Blog

Hi Teresa

I have been reading with great interest your blog – I have recently become very interested in using blogs with students and your blog is one of the few I have found that seems to do so effectively. Keep up the good work!

Graham Stanley

weblog: http://blog-efl.blogspot.com

Re: Blog

Hi Graham!

Thank you for your boost!

After reading Aaron Campbell's paper, I felt that a teacher-student blog had the interactivity, type of content and Web presence that I'd been looking for, so I decided to give it a try. It's been mostly a result of instinct and some luck in the choice of layout, I think, because it has certainly appealed to the students from the beginning. In spite of one or two frustrating moments along the way, it has been a very stimulating and challenging experience that I hope to keep up next year with the same students.

Did you read my comments to Nik Peachey on your blog?

Graham, I will try to keep up the 'good work', with the help of my students, and hope you will visit us every now and then to see how things are going. I hope you don't mind my posting your message in the blog. BTW, I am about to interrupt my regular postings for about a month.

Best wishes in your work,

Teresa

Hi everybody! Have you been enjoying your summer vacation? I hope so. I've been resting and taking it easy. And I've also been catching up on my reading. Have you read anything interesting that you could tell us about?

Well, I would like to tell you that my Brazilian teacher friend, Barbara (Bee) Dieu, has an interactive blog with her students - http://www.beeonline.blogspot.com - and on May 28 2003 she told them about our blog. Take a look by clicking on the URL (underlined Web address). And don't forget to send me your comments!

Happy holidays!!!

28Jul03

Subject: hi

i´m sorry teacher,i don´t send the e-mail befor...=/ but i make 13years in wendsday =) bey *****

catarina menezes

Re: hi

Happy birthday, Catarina!

And many happy returns of the day! So you are now 13 years old. More and more responsibility with each new birthday, don't you think?

I hope you spent a nice day. What did you do? Did you get a gift (= present) that you really liked? Tell me about, if you feel like it.

I've been taking it easy, as I told you before, and I still haven't gone to the beach. But I keep walking almost every morning.

Have you looked at our blog lately? There are other teachers interested in what we are doing. Read about it in July 23, if you haven't.

Well, Catarina, thank you for this message. And continue enjoying your holidays!

Your English teacher

27Jul03

Subject: HELLO!!GOOD HOLIDAYS !!!!!

Hi teatcher!** how are you?I hope you are having a good holidays!! in
Tuesday i went to de beach and now i have a scalding very big...=ţ and you,
what are you doing in this months?
In September i thing i go to Aveiro , do you go to Algarve, don´t you?
I miss the school and the all teatchers...
GOOD HOLIDAYS

Ariana Carvalho

(Eu năo consegui mandar o mail a partir do site...por isso mandei pelo
meu mail ok? boas ferias)

Re: HELLO!!GOOD HOLIDAYS !!!!!

Hi Ariana!

How nice to get your message! I was feeling very lonely with no messages from my students for 10 days.

I've been relaxing, walking for almost an hour every day, reading very interesting articles on the Web, writing and updating some of my Web pages. I haven't been to the beach, though (= no entanto). I usually only go to the beach in August in the Algarve. The last week of August I will be in the Serra da Estrela area for some country air!

My older son also went to the beach only one day and got a terrible sunburn like you. He got red as a lobster (= lagosta) and now he is peeling - his skin is coming off. We all have to be more and more careful with the sun. It is really dangerous!

Ariana, since you are a chat fan, why don't you take a look at an article I wrote about chat for a journal on the Web? It's called "The Use of Chat in EFL/ESL" and you can find it at http://www-writing.berkeley.edu/TESL-EJ/ej25/int.html . We have to try chat with a small group next year. It will be fun. Remember I asked for volunteers in the last lesson?

I wonder why you had problems sending the message directly from the blog. Can you explain why? Do you mind trying again soon? BTW, did you problems getting into the page?

I also miss you all, but this summer break is always necessary to recharge batteries.

Thanks for your message and enjoy your holidays!

A kiss from your English teacher

26Jul03

Did you know that blogs are becoming a worldwide phenomenon? Here in Portugal there are articles in newspapers and magazines about them, and people talk about them on TV. It seems like everybody is talking about this latest craze on the Web.

Well, yesterday 'our' blog was the reason for a very interesting email correspondence between me and a British colleague from the British Council (= Instituto Britânico). Read what I had to say about it and my answers to a couple of questions from Nik Peachey, my colleague.

23Jul03

Subject: blog

Hi Nik!

I am a Portugese EFL teacher in the suburbs of Lisbon and this year, after reading Aaron Campbell's article, "Weblogs for Use with ESL Classes" (http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Campbell-Weblogs.html), which I really enjoyed, I decided to start a very personal blog for my 7th grade students - to try and get them to use English outside of class and talk about anything they want. In general, I include a new activity to practice something we did in class, a reading or joke, etc, every week to give them something to talk about. In the third term I included a project they had to carry out. There was little help/clarification from me in class.

Let me explain the 'very personal' above: I don't use any blog software. I created the page and upload everything, including their messages with no corrections, and my answers. It hasn't been as succesful as I would have liked, but it is an ongoing project, since I hope to continue with them next year.

BTW, my blog is at http://www.malhatlantica.pt/teresadeca/school/blog7.htm

Best,
Teresa Almeida d'Eça

Re: blog

Hi Teresa

Thanks very much for the message. Your blog looks pretty interesting and I'm sure that others could learn from it.

Would you mind posting a message about it to the discussion group? You have to register / log in first then go to the discussion group click on the name of it and then go to the forum within it.

I know that other people would benefit from your reflections on this.

Do you also have a URL for the article you mention as I would be very interested in reading it?

If you don't want to post your link I could do it for you, unless of course you feel that it's too personal.

Once again, many thanks.

Nik Peachey

22Jul03

Subject: have posted

Hi again Nik!

Thanks for your kind words. I have just registered and posted the message I sent you, with a couple of minor changes.

If you go to my home page (bottom), there are two links that may be interest you: the OLE page (where you find links to files on blogs, blogging, etc.) and the Email page.

bfn,

Teresa

Re: have posted

Hi Thanks again Teresa

You say in your message: It hasn't been as successful as I would have liked,

I'm curious about this as it looks pretty successful to me. In what ways did it not meet your expectations?

(I'm going to post this message to the forum as it is a feeling that others have expressed too and should be of interest to anybody developing this resource)

Nik

Subject: not as successful as. . .

Well, Nik, maybe my expectations were too high. Maybe it wasn't that bad really, but I guess we always want more. In class B 1/4 of the students posted at least once, in class A 1/3 and in class C 1/2. A few of these posted more than once.

I knew from the start that (if I remember correctly) a little less than half my students had an Internet connection at home, but what I didn't know was that not all had their email running. That reduced the postings, since the counter kept telling me that they were visiting the blog. Those who didn't have Internet at home could use the school computers though no email was available!

What I eventually did was to ask all those who wanted to send a message, but had no way of doing so, to write it on a piece of paper (sort of emulating the real thing!) and hand it to me in class. I would post it at once and reply online. That worked quite well with a few students. They really enjoyed that opportunity!

One has even sent messages during the holidays. Amazing, isn't it?

Hope this explains a little more and would really like to hear from more comments.

BTW, is it all right if I make a reference to these messages and maybe copy-paste them to my blog? I'm sure you've seen that I've done the same with messages from other colleagues-friends. It's a way of showing my students that there are other people interested in what we are doing. Let me know, all right?

Teresa

Re: not as successful as. . .

Yes. that's fine.

Couple more questions:

Have you looked at Graham Stanley's blog about blogging. I think he's having a similar experience?

Do you think it would have been more or less successful if you had set up a blog using a conventional (www.blogger.com) type of service so that students were posting direct to the www without going through you?

Nik Peachey

Subject: conventional vs. personal blogger

Nik,

I don't think it would have made a significant difference, because they aren't used to interacting, posting or publishing online. Only a few chat regularly, for example. I am more convinced that it has to do with the language barrier, with feeling that their English is not good enough to say what they want to say.

Curiously, many of the students that didn't send messages did visit the blog a couple of times and, in class, often commented on this or that content and always on the layout: "It's very nice! It's cool!" Layout together with their messages, written work and names on the Web was probably the most appealing feature to all, posters and non-posters, so I must admit that I'm proud of my work and inspiration!!! ;-) .

As I said, I hope to continue this experiment next year and arrive at sounder, better grounded conclusions, if that is at all possible! Mind you, I'm not going to do any research. Just my own very simple observations.

I took a quick look at Grahanm's blog and thought it was another interesting experience, probably with a greater chance of success had it not been interrupted. Why? Because the students had all the hardware and software right in front of them and running.

Anyway, even if these things don't work as we expect them to, I feel we are presenting our students with eye-opening experiences, giving them a different perspective of the language learning process and broadening their horizons, and they probably won't forget it!

BTW, Nik, please let me know if it is all right for me to copy-paste these messages to my teacher-student blog.

Teresa

Re: conventional vs. personal blogger

Teresa

By all means use things from these messages in your blog.

I've posted a reply to this on the SE forum.

All the best and thanks for the interesting messages

Nik

Subject: hi

hello teacher how are you??i´m fine but i don´t like this holidays.....=( i reading the "filhos da droga" it´s a good book!!!

Re: hi

Hi Catarina!

I'm feeling great and almost starting my holidays!

I'm glad that you are enjoying the book you're reading. Maybe you could talk about it in class when we start again. Would you like that? Perhaps some of your coleagues have read it and you could exchange ideas. Or, you could tell me about it in a message. Who writes the book? What is it exactly about? What do you especially like in it? What is really important in it for you? What is the main message of the book? This is just a suggestion, Catarina.

I am re-reading A Cidade e as Serras by Eça de Queiroz. It's a very pleasant book and very well written. Have you ever read it?

I'm sorry that you aren't enjoying your holidays.

Why not? Any special reason? Don't you go out with friends? Do you ever go to the cinema, the theater or a concert? I hope that the next time you send me a message you will give me better news about your vacation!

A kiss from your English teacher

15Jul03

Subject: hello

i don´t like go to the beach...and i don´t like the summer..i like the winter,the rain =)...and you teacher?

(Catarina Menezes)

Re: hello

Hi Catarina!

I love the summer and I like the beach, but not when it is crowded. In Algarve I only go when people are at home having lunch or taking a nap. The rest of the time I stay in our pool, read and doze off (= dormitar). It's a great life for two weeks!

I also like the winter, but I prefer snow to rain. I love the whiteness of everything and the silence in the air when it is snowing. When it rains in winter, I love to stay at home warm and comfortable.

Catarina, please don't forget to write your name at the end of your message, all right? And be sure to look at the 'very hard' quiz in the blog.

Thank you for another great message!

Your English teacher

11Jul03

Subject:

i´m sorry,i forget to put my name...I like too "love the whiteness of everything and the silence in the air" i don´t like the noise.teacher i writhe when i can!bey and kiss***

catarina menezes

Re:

Hi Catarina!

"Silence is golden", isn't it? But there are times when I also like noise and action, of course. I guess there is a time for everything!

Please don't feel that you have to write all the time. . . only when you feel like it. But I always like to answer a student's message.

Have a nice weekend! Bye!

A kiss from you English teacher

Subject: hello!!!!

i teacher!!!!how are you????you are give class in 8şgrade?=/ i´m miss the school....the teacher´s,the friends...=/ i don´t are normal.....and teacher how i identify?i put catarina menezes?my class and my numer i don´t put because i don´t know....=/ bey bey******

Catarina Menezes

Re: hello!!!!

Hi Catarina!

How sweet of you to send your 'lonely' English teacher a message!

I'm fine and I have been relaxing and walking a lot.

Yes, I hope to be your teacher in 8th grade. I also miss my students, but I really needed a break from classes. I enjoyed seeing you and other students last Monday morning when you all handed in your papers for next year.

Your ID(entification) below - just your name - is fine. No, of course you don't have a class and a number yet. Anyway, I know your name and your email address.

I hope you are having nice holidays and are going to the beach with the lovely weather we are having this summer.

Keep on sending messages. I really enjoy them! BTW, I'm going to put something new in the blog today!

A kiss from your English teacher and friend

10Jul03

You are on holidays and already relaxed from a long and hard-working school year ;-), aren't you? And you have all the time in the world to think about very difficult answers to an equally hard quiz about general knowledge (= cultural geral), don't you? Well then, the first one to answer all the questions correctly gets a prize at the beginning of the school year, all right? Is it a deal? OK. Here it goes!

1. How long did the Hundred Years War last?

2. Which country makes Panama hats?

3. From which animals do we get catgut (= cordas para instrumentos musicais)?

4. In which month do the Russians celebrate the October Revolution?

5. What is a camel's hair brush made of?

6. The Canary Islands are named after what animal?

7. What was King George the VI's first name?

8. What color is a purple finch (= tentilhăo)?

9. Where are Chinese gooseberries (= groselhas) from?

10. How long did the Thirty Years War last?

(In English Teaching Professional. Jul. 2000. p. 55)

Hi, kids! See how much I'm already missing you?

I hope you are enjoying your first week of holidays as much as I am. It is very nice to get away from the daily class routine for a few weeks. The sun hasn't been as nice as the one on our left, but the temperature is very pleasant. I have been walking for almost an hour every morning along the beach, after I have my breakfast at an outdoor café.

I also hope you will be happy with your final grades. They are supposed to come out today. Go take a look!

I will probably see some of you next Monday morning, because I will be helping with 7B's registration process. In the meantime, don't forget to visit the blog and send me a message.

BTW, I got a very nice message for you all a while ago from a Webheads in Action (my Internet working group) colleague of mine in Australia. She has visited our blog a couple of times. Here is her message for you!

3Jul03

Subject: Hola Tere

Hello guys! Hello Ana Filipa, Ana Claudia, Catarina, Rodrigo, Hulda, and all Teresa's students! (sorry that I just mentioned the last contributors to the blog 'cause I haven't read everything, hehehe ;)

I'm Maria Elena. I've read a little bit of your blog and it's quite interesting. You must be advanced students of English... your English is so good. I'm not a native speaker of English, but I learned English at university in Colombia. Do you know where Colombia is? In South America, north west of Brazil. Hey, I love languages and I would like to learn Portuguese... look, I know this: "como săo vocę amigo da milha"
From the messages in your blog I see that you are in summer now! fantastic! I'm in winter brrrrrrr. I'm living in Melbourne, Australia at the moment and today was 9 degrees... and it's getting colder every day...so you guys have fun and go to the beach! and I'll stay in bed until late 'cause it's so cold for me... in my city in Colombia we never have winter. It's summer all the year! My city is Cali....the Capital of SALSA! I love dancing salsa. Do you like dancing?
Hugs,
Maria Elena.

Re: Hola Tere

Dear Maria,

You sure kept your word when, during our Webhead chat last Sunday, you said you would send my students a message.

Thanks for such a nice and enthusiastic message. Those who visit the blog over the holidays - and I'm sure some will, such as Ana Claudia and Catarina - will enjoy your enthusiasm and the information about your background and place where you are living. The problem is that some of them do not have their email working, so you probably won't get any reply. But if you do, I will post it immediately!

I will also try to make links to your country and to Melbourne, as well as locate both places on a map.

Best of luck on your tandem project. It sounds like a very interesting experience.

Hugs,

Teresa

Created on 11Feb2003

Teresa Almeida d'Eça

Visitor no.