Chloe CO #2

For my second classroom observation, I observed one of Mr. Angel’s speaking classes. First, he reminded the students about their upcoming presentations next week. Then the class did a “rapid fire” speaking activity. For this activity, Angel picks an interesting topic for a fast-paced class discussion. Today’s theme was music. He started the discussion by asking what music meant to each of them, and students responded with statements like “Music is my life” or “Music is a way to express feelings”. Then Angel asked the students to talk about the positive aspects of music. They were able to express many good points: For example, music can motivate you or put you in a good mood. Then the students had to discuss the negative aspects of music, such as promoting violence or using bad words. Angel also used some agree/disagree statements, including “Artists should not have high salaries” and “Downloading free music is stealing”.

This activity was great because it created a lively conversation in the class. It allowed the students to express their opinions and talk about a subject they are all interested in. They could agree or disagree with each other and bounce ideas around. The class discussed relevant topics like the influence of music on culture, especially in areas of conflict like Venezuela. The students spent the last 20 minutes working on their presentations- they picked topics from a list of 300 that Angel provided. Once someone picks a topic, it is no longer available to other students. This seems like a great idea because multiple presentations on the same topic become very boring. Angel’s class seemed very well-structured, and I loved the rapid fire activity because it gave the students an opportunity to communicate with each other about a meaningful subject.