I Spy - Week 1

This is the first week of the new school year.  With the first graders I am doing an introductory lesson but since the second graders already know me I was able to record 10 minutes of an average lesson.  The topic of the lesson is 'Comics'.  I chose this topic because high school boys in Korea like to read comics and  I  thought it would motivate them to participate.  The activity in the second half of class  was that the students had to fill in the dialog (using their imaginations) of a blank, four picture comic strip and then, with a partner, act out their dialog in front of the class. 

Overall I thought the lesson was successful.  The introduction discourse went smoothly and all the students who were capable participated in the activity.

The recording was made of the first 10 minutes of my class.  This includes the initial greetings and small talk, as well as, most of the topic introduction and brainstorming.

My body language seemed fine and I did my best to use dialogic discourse by asking individual students at random 'What did you do on your vacation?' In many cases I got simple answers like 'only sleeping' or 'PC Bang' but in a few cases we managed a short conversation.  Conversation always gets easier as the semester progresses.

The brainstorming section, however, took a monologic turn.  The interaction between myself and the students consisted of me asking a question and getting a one word answer in return.  I think that I should find a way to draw longer sentences out of the students.  The questions I asked received limited answers because the questions themselves were limited.