Italian teachers' evaluation of the Latvian lesson in Italy

Erasmus + project Nr. 2014-1-LV01-KA201-000431 1

“How to Make Education Process Attractive to the Teenagers of the 21st Century”

Teacher’s evaluation sheet

Name of activity	Edward Lear’s Life and Creative Work
Activity presented during the meeting held in	Adria, Italy
Country which presented the activity	Latvia
Country which tested the activity	Italy
Age group on which the activity was tested	16
Number of pupils in the group the activity was tested	14

Please, answer the following questions, giving detailed answers

Did I modify the original activity in order to make it more suitable to my needs? If so, what changes did I introduce?

I didn’t create a biography of Edward Lear to suit the questions on the comprehension sheet provided, but just

gave a very brief outline of his life and works, focusing on his frequent use of nonsense and humour. I also

introduced his use of limericks, as a poetic form to be used in a follow-up lesson., instead of love poems. I didn’t

work on paying compliments as this had already been the focus of a previous lesson on the use of comparative

and superlative adjectives.

Did I find it suitable for my class? Why/Why not?

Yes, it was an educational and fun activity for them and provided the opportunity to approach poetry in an

interactive and creative way, with a student-centred focus. The level of English was appropriate for the students

and there were no difficulties with understanding either the poem, or the activities to be done.

Was it innovative with respect to my usual approach?

Yes, because I had never got students to act out a poem before. The choice of “The Owl and the Pussycat” was

very suited to this kind of activity, and its “nonsense” verse allowed students to feel free to have fun with it.

Did it produce the expected results on students?

Yes. The class worked in 2 groups and easily managed to produce performances in the time given. The results

were creative and good fun, both for the “actors” and the spectators. (what we didn’t expect was that students

had a nose-ring piercing at hand to use as part of the pig’s costume!!)

Did I feel comfortable with what I was doing?

Yes, The poem was interesting and amusing, as were the activities and this motivated students and made them

curious to learn more.