Language Residents

an archive of lesson plans

Category: Russian (Page 1 of 13)

Russian Conversation class

RU SP24 CC ADV Time capsules

May 10, 2024 /

Language Resident Name: Xeniya Amelina                                                        

Day and Date: Tuesday, April 9

Language and Level (please circle):  Russian Advanced

Class theme/topics discussed: time capsules.

Goals of the class:  to discuss what characterizes our time and what characterized the epochs that have already passed, to get creative.

How did you structure the class? For this class we went outside to enjoy the weather. I started from showing the Ss a picture of a time capsule, asked them what they thought it was and what they knew about such capsules. Then I asked them various questions, such as why people make them, the capsule from what time in history they would like to find most and why, whether or not capsules should be country-specific or international etc. Then I gave out sheets of paper and we drew our own time capsules with the objects that we would like future generations and/or aliens to see. We discussed our choice of objects and their relevance/ importance. We finished off with talking about the ideal locations for storing time capsules and the time they should be opened.

What technology, media or props did you use? (Internet resources, handouts, etc.)

Laptop, sheets of paper, markers

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

The topic proved to be very inspirational!

How could this class be improved/ modified?

Perhaps asking Ss in advance to bring something they find important and would like to put in the time  capsule to class would make it even more interesting.

 If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that).  Please attach any handouts as well.

RU SP24 CC ADV Earth Day, nature

May 10, 2024 /

Language Resident Name: Xeniya Amelina                                                        

Day and Date: Tuesday, April 23

Language and Level (please circle):  Russian Advanced

Class theme/topics discussed: Earth Day, nature.

Goals of the class:  to discuss nature and sustainability, to learn new vocabulary.

How did you structure the class? We started out in the lounge, where I asked the Ss what their favourite places in nature were (specific places). Then I asked what holiday there was yesterday and they guessed it right – Earth Day! We discussed what they knew about it, why it is celebrated etc. After that we went to Pomona farm. I gave out the handouts where the Ss had to fill in the following boxes “I see, I hear, I feel, I smell, I do”. It heled us connect with the nature around us more and also allowed us to use a lot of Russian words related to it, as well as to learn new ones. After talking about what each of us wrote down, we switched to the questions on the other side of the handout. The questions were related to the environment, eco-friendliness and personal habits.  

What technology, media or props did you use? (Internet resources, handouts, etc.)

Laptop, handouts (attached below)

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

We enjoyed the time outside, and the handout allowed us to become more mindful of our surroundings. In addition, the Ss picked up a lot of useful vocab.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

Perhaps pre-teaching certain vocab could help out, if it is more difficult for the Ss to remember new words. In my case I am lucky to have Ss that retain vocab really well, so I knew that being outside and having real-life examples of certain vocab would be enough for them.

If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that).  Please attach any handouts as well.

День-Земли-чеклист-и-вопросыDownload

RU SP24 CC INT Filler words and texting culture on the internet

May 10, 2024 /

Language Resident Name: Xeniya Amelina                                                        

Day and Date: Wednesday, April 17

Language and Level (please circle):  Russian Intermediate

Class theme/topics discussed: filler words and texting culture

Goals of the class: to introduce filler words in Russian, to discuss unspoken rules of texting and video calls etc

How did you structure the class? I began from asking my S to imagine a situation when he needs to tell a really long story to a friend in a different city. He had to choose how he’d do it: vie text, voice message, video call or a carrier pigeon . After that we transitioned to discussing filler words, why they are used, whether or not they should be used etc. We broke down the Russian term for filler words, since it has a peculiar background story. Then I asked my S to listen to 2 voice messages  https://youtu.be/Zxcuea-biCM?si=sZrHBwzQdmR2y9XJ and note down any Russian filler words he can hear. Spoiler: they were riddled with them! We had an interesting discussion afterwards, talking about how many ways there are in Russian to fill your speech with nonsensical words. After discussing the video, I gave the S 7 printed out comments that I found under that video. They either contained great idioms, something funny or something related to culture. Having laughed at and discussed the comments together, I asked the S to fill out the EVAL.

What technology, media or props did you use? (Internet resources, handouts, etc.)

Whiteboard, laptop, presentation, printed out comments

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

We were laughing a lot! The S said it was a super culturally-immersive CC

How could this class be improved/ modified?

As one of the follow-up activities I could give the S a text (or a set of comments, again), for him to spot the filler words and cross them out, making the speech clearer and better.

Filler-words-and-texting-culture-kriper2004Download

RU SP24 CC INT Space travel (День космонавтики)

May 10, 2024 /

Language Resident Name: Xeniya Amelina                                                        

Day and Date: Monday, April 15

Language and Level (please circle):  Russian Intermediate

Class theme/topics discussed:  space travel, the first human in space, space tourism.

Goals of the class: to familiarize the S with the Cosmonautics Day, which is celebrated in post USSR countries, to discuss space.

How did you structure the class? For this class we went outside and I began from showing a photo of space to my S. I asked him to describe what he saw and tell me what he knows about space. Then I gave him 2 words with some of the letters missing. He had to put the letters in the correct place to get День Космонавтики (The Cosmonautics Day) right. I encouraged the S to make suppositions about what it meant etc. My S already knew some info about the holiday, which was great! Afterwards I gave him a worksheet, which was a transcript of a 2-min video on the topic (https://youtu.be/UmV2SgrfEZg?si=W2T36RYz1w5c9psF), but had gaps and a vocabulary task. When we were done with all of this, we discussed the pros and cons of space travelling and space tourism, talked about American and Russian/Soviet space programmes.

What technology, media or props did you use? (Internet resources, handouts, etc.)

Laptop, handout

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

The S enjoyed the listening comprehension activity and was invested in the topic. Plus, going outside gave us more prompts to discuss!

How could this class be improved/ modified?

It was a great class!

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Screenshot-2024-05-10-at-10.24.06-AMDownload

RU F23 INT Russian markets

December 8, 2023 /

Class theme/topics discussed: we discussed different types of markets in Russia and their peculiarities, vocabulary related to trade

Goals of the class: to familiarize Ss with the kinds of markets that they are very likely to come across in Russia, Kazakhstan etc, to let them know what they can find there and what they can expect to see / what is expected from them. To brush up / learn some new vocab related to trade.

How did you structure the class? We spent about 15 minutes discussing the weekend and asked each other questions about it. Then I handed each of the Ss a wordsearch activity (included below) that I created myself. There were words related to trade. They knew almost all of them, only 1-2 I had to explain in more detail. Then I asked them what they thought our today’s topic was (-> trade). We talked about the weekly farmer’s market in Claremont and then I showed them 2 pictures of 2 types of Russian markets. In pairs they had to discuss what the difference between the 2 was and later, after they presented their opinions, I explained the difference to them. I asked them a couple more topic-related questions, told a short story and divided them into pairs. One pair was FOR and the other AGAINST such markets that we discussed. We had mini-debates (I wanted to test the waters before dedicating a larger portion of a CC to this format). After the rebuttal I had them correct the agreements and that was the end of the class.

What technology, media or props did you use? (Internet resources, handouts, etc.)

Wordsearch handouts, whiteboard, photos on my laptop

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

I did not expect Ss to like the wordsearch so much. They also gave positive feedback about the mini-debates

How could this class be improved/ modified? I guess I could give them some information on the structure of debates before having them. It seems to me that they did not have any exposure to debates before. The activity went well, but next time, when I decide to have debates in class again, I will dedicate more time to them and will make sure the Ss know the structure and what is expected from them, based on these mini-debates about the markets and also some visuals that I’ll prepare.

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RU S23 INT: Nature

May 5, 2023 /

Language Resident Name: Aleksandra Bystrova

Date: 02/27/2023

Class theme/topics discussed: Nature

Goal of the class:

  • Students can use the Accusative Case to explain feelings (I hear, I see, I touch)
  • Students can describe different landscapes
  • Students can talk about natural disasters in Russia
  • Students can list lessons of nature

How did you structure the class?

  1. Warm-up. Fill the form (10 mins)
    This assignment should be done outside. Students are given a form with a chart: I see, I hear, I feel, I touch. They have to write a list of things in the correct case.

2.Activity 1. Your Perfect Landscape (10 min)
I show the students three typical landscapes in Russian and ask them to choose a landscape in which they would like to live. They should describe the reasons for their choice.

3.Activity 2. The most beautiful place in Russia (10 min)
I ask students to choose the most beautiful natural place in Russia and present it to the whole class, showing it on a map and describing why they chose it.

4.Activity 3. Nanna Heitman As Frozen Land Burns (10 min)
I show the students Nanna Heitman’s photo project about fires in Siberia and ask them to describe the photos. What do you see? Where do you think this is? How are people dealing with it?
Then, I provide students with the background of the problem and ask additional questions. Why do forest fires start? Are there forest fires in your area? What are the negative consequences of fires?

5.Activity 4: Монеточка — гори гори гори

6. Wrap-up. Lessons from Nature (10 min)
Think about the five lessons nature teaches us. What can we learn from nature? For example: Nature knows what is good for her

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

The class went well. Several of my students are very interested in nature, so it was especially helpful for them to learn new words related to nature and issues. The activity with the form helps a lot to practice the accusative case and also sets the students up for work because of the change of scenery.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

I recommend doing this class outside if possible. Then hands-on activities can be added.

Copy-of-Russian-conversation-INTDownload

RU S23 ADV: Dream Job

May 5, 2023 /

Language Resident Name: Aleksandra Bystrova

Date: 03/21/2023

Class theme/topics discussed: Dream Job

Goal of the class:

  • Students can talk about jobs and use related vocabulary
  • Students can give reasoning to choose a particular job
  • Students can describe their dream job and explain their choice

How did you structure the class?

  1. Warm-up. Famous People’s Quote (10 mins)
    I show the students a quote and ask them to speculate on the subject. Do you agree or disagree? “Choose a job you love, and you won’t have to work a day in your life.”
    “Выберите работу, которую вы любите, и вам не придется работать ни дня в своей жизни”.
  2. Activity 1. Vocab (10 min)
    I print out pictures that can be described with certain words from the vocabulary for this class. I ask students to find a pair using the a dictionary.
  3. Activity 2. Jobs of Famous People (10 min)
    First I show the students a portrait of George Clooney and ask them if they know what this man did before his acting career. I ask students to find a celebrity whose work was very unexpected before they became famous. They show us a portrait and we have to guess who they worked for.
  4. Activity 3. My dream job (20 min)
    In pairs, students fill out a chart about their partner’s dream job. Then they present the results to the whole class.

5. Wrap-up. Benefits of knowing a second language at work (10 min)
We wrap the class up with listing the benefits of knowing the second language for work.

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

The class went well. The dream job is a very topical issue for college students, and in my opinion it is very useful to reflect on this topic once again. Especially in a group where everyone shares the same problem. Students made interesting arguments for the first quote.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

I would add one more activity with students asking each other questions about jobs. For example, you print several questions and face them down. Students pick a card and ask another student the question.

РАбота-мечты-ADVDownload

RU S23: NEWS: TRUTH AND FAKES

May 5, 2023 /

Language Resident Name: Aleksandra Bystrova

Date: 02/09/2023

Class theme/topics discussed: NEWS: TRUTH AND FAKES

Goal of the class:

  • Students will identify for themselves news media where they can read the news
  • Students can distinguish truth from untruth in Russian
  • Students can lie in Russian

How did you structure the class?

  1. Warm-up. Good News (10 mins)
    Share the good news; what positive and interesting things happened to you in the past week?
  2. Activity 1. Discussion about news (10 min)
    Students discuss the following questions in pairs: Where do you read/watch the news? What was the last shocking news item you read? How do you recognize fakes? Is it difficult?
  3. Activity 2. What words are associated with the newspaper? (5 min)
    I write the word newspaper on the board and ask students to write all the words they associate with it.
  4. Activity 3. Objects create news (15 min)
    Create a news story with the items from the picture. In pairs, choose three items from the picture and create a news story.

5. Activity 4: Fake News
In pairs, students choose one news story that is real and make up a fake one from it. They can use their phones to do this. They then tell both news stories to the class, and they have to decide which one is true and which one is fake.

6. Wrap-up. Do you agree or disagree (10 min)
Read these statements. Decide whether you agree or disagree with them. Think about the reasons for your answers.
– Now that we have the Internet, print newspapers are no longer necessary.
– News reports are always biased.

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

I really enjoyed this class. The students are very interested in the topic of news in Russia. They talked a lot during the discussion. The picture activity, where they had to choose several subjects, was very interesting. The students were very creative. Also the last activity worked well. Students were able to practice their presentation and lying skills.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

I wouldn’t change anything. In my opinion, the class went very smooth, even though I was a little nervous to talk about news sources.

INT-НОВОСТИ-ПРАВДА-И-ФЕЙКИDownload

RU S23 INT: Body Parts

May 5, 2023 /

Language Resident Name: Aleksandra Bystrova

Date: 04/24/2023

Class theme/topics discussed: Introduction – Body Parts

Goal of the class:

  • Students can name the parts of the body using Russian correctly.
  • Students can show the parts of the body
  • Students can pronounce the parts of the body in Russian aloud and confidently.
  • Students can identify the written form of body parts correctly

How did you structure the class?

  1. Warm-up. New Vocabulary (10 mins)
    I show students pictures of body parts and ask if they can name them. If not, we pronounce the words together. After I show some pictures, I show a body part on myself and ask: Are these eyes or a nose? Then, I just ask what it is or show me (the eyes).
  2. Activity 1. Link the cards. (10 min)
    Work in small groups. I prepared two groups of cards in front of the class: pictures of body parts and names of body parts. I form two groups and ask the students to connect the body parts to their picture. You can add an element of competition: who is the fastest.
  3. Activity 2. Describe a picture (10 min)
    Students already know colors and some adjectives. I show the students pictures and ask them to describe what they see. What color are her eyes? What kind of head does he have? Etc. This way students learn new words and find them in the picture.
  4. Activity 3. I’m in pain (15 min)
    I introduce students to new phrases: у меня болит/болят И я болею/ты болеешь, and explain the difference between them because in English it’s just I am/ You are sick. Stand in a circle. I prepare the body part cards and hand them out to the students. Then I say a phrase, for example, I have a headache. Students must show a picture of their head, etc.
  5. Wrap-up. Pantomime(10 min)
    Each student shows a very dramatic skit with what hurts. I ask the question: What hurts? ЧТО У ВАС БОЛИТ? ЧТО У НЕЁ/НЕГО БОЛИТ. The students answer: У НЕЁ/НЕГО БОЛИТ…

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

The class was fantastic. The students actively participated in all the activities. The class is structured in such a way that the students are constantly moving and can’t get bored, their attention is constantly on the teacher. The only difficulty is that there is a lot of activities in this class. So you have to keep a close eye on the time if you want to perform all the activities.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

I might change one assignment to a song that mentions body parts.

Russian-2-Body-partsDownload

RU F22 INT: Appearance

December 9, 2022 /

Language Resident Name: Aleksandra Bystrova

Date: 09/12/2022

Class theme/topics discussed: Appearance

Goal of the class:

  • To describe a person
  • To name body parts

How did you structure the class?

  1. Warm-up.
    I hang a picture of a person on the board, then I ask students to write the body parts they know. All together they come to the board and brainstorm the vocabulary.
  2. Activity 1. Word Pairs
    I print out words on pieces of paper (long, short, light, dark, curly, straight, etc.) and pictures. Students find pairs in pairs, so the pictures are paired with the words.
  3. Activity 2. Vocab Presentation
    Show pictures of celebrities and ask what kind of hair they have – short or long, curly or straight, etc. Then make it harder and ask students to describe the celebrity’s picture on their own.
ВнешностьDownload

4. Activity 3. Connect the description with a picture.

5. Activity 4. Roll a face
3 teams. One person draws on the board. Team members roll dice to each category: face, nose, etc. and describe it to the artist. F.e. short curly hair. At the end, students have a face and must describe it. Then they exchange pictures with each other and guess what the elements are.

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

The students knew many words related to appearance and body parts. It was more difficult for them to work with description words such as long/short hair, curly/straight hair. However, I tested their knowledge after a couple of days, and they did well. They found the last task a little difficult because they could not find the vocabulary to describe certain elements in the pictures. I encouraged them to use gestures.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

I would change the last assignment a bit, so that it would be easier for the students to describe the pictures using vocabulary they know. Despite that, the lesson went well.

RU F22 ADV: Literature

December 9, 2022 /

Language Resident Name: Aleksandra Bystrova

Date: 08/29/2022

Class theme/topics discussed: Literature

Goal of the class:

  • Learn about Russian Literature
  • Speculate on the content of a literature piece adaptation
  • Check your knowledge on famous Russian books
  • Practice creative writing

How did you structure the class?

  1. Warm-up: 6 classic books (10 min)
    I show students the book covers of 6 Russian literature classics. After randomly reading the books back cover, students should match them to the book cover (the idea is taken from Spanish LR Natalia Cano).
  2. Activity 1. Watch a video with “literature questions for Russian high-school students” (10 min)
    Can you answer those questions?

3. Activity 2. Watch a moment from the adaptation of Bulgakov’s “Master and Margarita” (20 min)
I show students a videoclip from anadaptation of Bulgakov’s “Master and Margarita” without sound. I ask them to figure out what is going on and what is the conflict of the situation. Мастер и Маргарита
Then we watch it again with sound.

4. Wrap-up (20 min)
In pairs, create a story with this text as inspirations. Then, each pair will share their story with the rest of the class.
Если моя память меня не обманывает, и я всё еще могу считать себя здравомыслящим человеком, с нормальной способностью интерпретировать знаки календаря и часов, я укажу, что я ошибся ровно десять дней и девять часов назад.

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

Students enjoyed reading summaries of works of Russian classics. I made sure to include key words in these descriptions and encouraged them to search. In addition, I made the annotations as close to real Russian as possible, so they had difficult vocabulary, but the students did a great job determining the general idea. I was worried that my students would not be able to answer the questions of the second assignment, but to my surprise, they knew almost all the answers. As for The Master and Margarita, students came up with creative interpretations. Although one of my students knew the plot, he participated in creating a new story. The last assignment also went well; it was a good way to end the lesson, although I expected it to be more massive.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

I would leave it as it is. It was a great class and I really enjoyed it!

RU F22 ADV: Origin and Hometown

December 9, 2022 /

Language Resident Name: Aleksandra Bystrova

Date: 09/01/2022

Class theme/topics discussed: Introduction – Origin and Hometown

Goal of the class:

  • Get to know each other
  • Learn about each other’s origin and hometown
  • Introduce new vocabulary (Cities, Transportation)
  • Create arguments and debate on a given topic

How did you structure the class?

  1. Warm-up. CATEGORIES. (5 mins)
    Teacher writes categories on the board. Students brainstorm in groups and write vocabulary on the board. Write vocabulary connected to cities. Everything that you can think of in the board. 3 Categories: Тип поселения, Виды транспорта, Места досуга в городе, Государственные учреждения
  2. Activity 1. My hometown: Speaking cards. (10 min)
    Work in pairs. Ask questions to fill information about a home city of your partner. Name, Type, Population, Transportation, Center, Likes, Dislikes.
  3. Activity 2. Present information about your partner’s city to others (10 min)
    Students show their partner’s city in the google maps and say what their partner like/dislike about their city.
  4. Activity 3. Debate— FOR/AGAINST (15 min)
    Controversial Russian saying: Где родился, там и пригодился. Where you were born, there you come in handy. Students are divided in three teams: “for”, “against” and judges. They have time to discuss their arguments and then they start the debate. Judges evaluate the quality of the arguments and determine a winner.
  5. Wrap-up. A typical citizen of your city. Типичный житель вашего города (20 min)
    Students are divided in pairs. They choose one of their home cities. Together they draw a picture of that citizen and then present it to others, describing a picture.

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

It was one of my favorite classes so far. I divided them in pairs for the first activity to brainstorm on vocabulary. They took time to prepare a list of words. I also appreciated their energy when they were working in pairs, discussing their hometowns, and presenting them to others. The discussion on controversial topic was successful, students came up with a list of arguments trying to persuade each other. I was afraid that they might argue in a negative way, but since they were not defending their own opinion, it went well. The only difficult part was to involve not active speakers in this activity. That’s how last minute I came up with an idea of the judges. I figured not participating speakers and allowed them to be listeners who later decided on a winner. Last activity, where students had to draw a picture, was very funny and it’s a nice way to wrap up and go over descriptions.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

In a debate activity, I might have tried switching active speakers and not active, so that active speakers could be listeners (judges), and quiet students could have a space to talk more. It could have been interesting.

RU F22 INT/ADV: Medicine and Health

December 9, 2022 /

Language Resident Name: Aleksandra Bystrova

Date: 12/01/2022

Class theme/topics discussed: Medicine and Health

Goal of the class:

  • Learn vocabulary about diseases, health concerns, and treatment
  • Get acquainted with Russian medication and traditional medicine
  • Describe symptoms in Russian

How did you structure the class?

  1. Warm up (10 min): Discussion
    1) How often do you get sick?
    2) Do you prefer to take medicine or wait for symptoms to go away?
    3) Do you believe in traditional medicine? What methods do you know?
    4) Do you know how to provide first aid?

I ask students to discuss those questions in pairs.

2. Activity 1. Vocabulary (10 min)
I show students pictures of people having common symptoms and ask them to try naming what they see. It helps me to learn how much they know. I also provide them with the printed handout with vocabulary, so they can use it for future activities.

3. Activity 2. What kind of medication is appropriate? (10 min)
I show my students pictures of people with different symptoms and popular medication that you can find in a pharmacy. They have to describe a picture using vocabulary from the past activity and find the most appropriate medicine reading its package.

4. Activity 3. Situation: Your friend is sick (10 mins).
We look at the pictures of people being sick. Students have to “go to a pharmacy” and describe a pharmacist their friend’s symptoms. A pharmacist has to recommend a customer medicine from the past activity that they think suits their need the best.

5. Activity 4: Traditional Medicine (7 min)
I show my students pictures of common traditional ways to treat some symptoms. Then, I ask for students’ opinion on what the purpose of the products they see is.

6. Activity 5: Help them with traditional medicine (10 min)
I show students situations of people being hurt or having symptoms. What kinds of Russian traditional medicine they would use?

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

Students loved the topic. We had many real-life situations and role plays that students seemed to enjoy. I believe that gradual development of vocabulary and descriptions work well in the class. The only thing is we did not have enough time to finish all the activities that I have prepared.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

I would dedicate two classes to this topic. There are more activities that could be added, and it would not be as rushed.

Медицина-и-болезниDownload

RU S22 ADV: Limericks (Chastushki)

May 6, 2022 /

Language Resident Name: Aleksandra Bystrova

Date: 02/08/2022

Class theme/topics discussed: Russian Limericks (Chastushki)

Goal of the class:

  • Learn about Russian folklore – limericks
  • Develop translation skills

How did you structure the class?

  1. Warm up (10 mins): Discussion
    1) What is the definition of “chastuska”?
    2) Why do you think people compose them?
    3) Which topics do they raise?
    4) Do you have something similar in your culture/country?

I ask students to discuss those questions. Even if they don’t know what is chastuska, they can be creative and just guess. Students present their thoughts and results of a discussion by writing the main ideas on the board. Then, I show them a slide with an official definition and main elements of “chastushka”.

2. Activity 1. Read “chastuski” and translate (10 mins).
I give my students a handout with several limericks to read them and analyze. While they translating them, I add some cultural background for them to better understand the lyrics. We read it together and I also show the rhythm.

3. Activity 2. Watch a piece of the cartoon and translate the limerick (25 mins).
I show my students a piece of a cartoon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zv5lIQPRCPY (11:03-12:50). In the video, folklore characters sing a limerick. Before watching I give my students handouts with lyrics. After watching I put them in two groups and ask to come up with an English translation of the limerick. While translating they realize, how unexpected the lyrics are.

4. Activity 3. Chastuskki in Modern Russia (10 mins).
We watch youtube videos of limericks in modern Russian culture.
TV-show “Voice” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjJtiSKPTz4
Political Satire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgYrPV_d3tg

What do you think of limericks now? Do you like them?

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

Students loved the topic. During the warm-up students found a lot of facts about limericks and managed to create the right understanding of their implementation. Their research made it easier to work later. Even though listeners of chastuska have to possess the certain cultural background to understand the content, students were open-minded and tried hard to understand them. While working in groups, students managed to come up with correct translations of Baba Yaga’s chastuska and were surprised, when we summarized the meaning of it.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

The activities did not take as long as I expected. Students managed to finish the activity very fast. We had 15 minutes left, so I had to improvise and show them videos of modern performances of chastuska. If I could modify this class, I would provide students with lyrics of those songs as well. If the students are comfortable with composing rhymes, the instructor could ask them to come up with their own limericks.

RU S22 ADV: Myths and Mythical Creatures

May 6, 2022 /

Language Resident Name: Aleksandra Bystrova

Date: 02/01/2022

Class theme/topics discussed: Myths and Mythical Creatures

Goal of the class:

  • To learn more about Russian traditional mythical creatures
  • To practice storytelling
  • Ice breaking

How did you structure the class?

  1. Warm up (10 mins): Discussion
    1) What is myth/mythology?
    2) Why do people need myths?
    3) Do people use myths in the modern world?

2. Activity 1. Mythical creatures of your culture or region (20 min)
I present to students 3 most famous Karelian (Russian/Slav) mythical creatures and explain how you can “meet” them in real life. Leshiy (the host of the forest), Vodyanoi (the host of the lakes and ponds) and Domovoi (the house creature).

After demonstrating my students those creatures, I ask them to think about one example of mythical creatures from their home region. After small research, they share their characters with the rest of the class.

3. Activity 2. Create a story (30 minutes)
I ask my students to come up with a story, where every mythical creature (that students presented) meets each other. I explain my students the rules of composing any story before they begin. They create visual story (like comics), where their chosen creatures meet each other and deal with a problem.

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

It is easier for advanced students to discuss this topic. They have more vocabulary to answer questions about myths and mythology. I had only 5 students, so I decided not to split them in groups and let them work together as a team.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

I would dedicate two classes to discussing the myths and mythical creatures. It is a broad topic that deserves to be covered. I would find a cartoon or a Youtube video, where the characters from my culture are presented. For example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jva7QXMziL0

RU SP22 INT/ADV: Fears

May 6, 2022 /

Language Resident Name: Aleksandra Bystrova

Date: 04/26/2022

Class theme/topics discussed: Fears

Goal of the class:

  • Talk about names of fears in Russian
  • Storytelling
  • Learn how to react on scary situations

How did you structure the class?

  1. Warm up (10 mins): Discussion
    I ask my students to discuss the following questions in pairs:
    1) What is the nature of fear? Why do people feel it?
    Какова природа страха: почему люди испытывают страх?
    2) What is your biggest fear?
    Чего вы боитесь больше всего?
    3) Describe the last time you were scared.
    Опишите последний раз, когда вы испытали страх.

2. Activity 1. List of fears (10 minutes)
Students go to the board and write words for objects or situations that people can be afraid of. Then, we discuss whether or not those fears are phobias and if they have scientific names.

3. Activity 2. Cards of fear (20 minutes)
One group of students come up with scary situations. The second group should react to those situations, describing what was scary about them.

4. Activity 3. Game: Create a Monster (20 mins).
Students are divided in pairs. Each pair should come up with a picture of a monster that does not exist. While thinking about their monster, they can consider the following questions:
1) What is the name?
2) Why people are afraid of it?
3) What is its purpose?
4) How does it look like?

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

The class went well. Students really enjoyed talking about fears of each other. Initially, I planned the discussion in pairs, but they wanted to know opinions of everyone, so we decided to discuss it together. Students also came up with funny stories for their monsters.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

Maybe I would add one more activity to this class, because students did not spend much time creating scary stories. Also, I would change places between Activity 2 and Activity 3, so students could create a story and include it in their story. That would be more fun!

RU F21 INT: Russian Cuisine

December 10, 2021 /

Language Resident Name: Aleksandra Bystrova

Date: 11/16/2021

Class theme/topics discussed: Russian Cuisine

Goal of the class:

  • Talk about most famous Russian meals
  • Learn vocabulary about cooking
  • Prepare for a cooking class

How did you structure the class?

  1. Warm up (5 mins)
    I ask my students to discuss the following questions in pairs:
    1) Which traditional Russian meals do you know?
    2) Have you ever tried Russian cuisine? What was your experience like?
    3) Have you ever been to a Russian restaurant?

2. Activity 1. Do you know this meal? (10 minutes)
I show my students pictures of the most famous meals and ask them to guess names or ingredients.

3. Activity 2. Cooking Vocabulary (10 mins)
I show my students a PowerPoint slide with cooking vocabulary and ask if they know those words. I prepared a handout for them with those words.

4. Activity 3. Game: Describe an action (10 mins).
After that, I ask my students to come in front of the class and show a cooking action without using words. Other students should guess what they are showing. Then they change.

5. Activity 4 (20 mins)
I divide my students into two groups and ask them to choose one meal that is easy to cook. They should write a recipe on a board using the vocabulary they learnt. Then they present their recipe and we vote for the meal that the majority would like to try. Next class we will cook the meal using their recipe.

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

The class went well. Food is one of the most favorite topics of my students since they had been asking me to talk about Russian cuisine or cook something from the very beginning of the semester. This class is good for practicing the vocabulary dedicated to food and cooking. It also includes the cultural element.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

I would leave it as it is. This class was created with the help of the Spanish language resident Natalia Cano. You can include an activity, where students should describe a picture to practice food and cooking vocabulary.

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RU F21 INT/ADV: New Year in Russia

December 10, 2021 /

Language Resident: Aleksandra Bystrova

Date: 12/1/2021

Class theme/topic discussed : the New Year in Russia

Goal of the class :

  • Introduce traditions of the New Year celebration in Russia
  • Practice the usage of adjectives in the text
  • Practice the food vocabulary
  • Listening and comprehension of a song

How did you structure the class?

  1. Warm-up.
    I put my students in pairs and ask them to discuss the following questions: 1) Do you celebrate the New Year? How and with whom? 2) Do you sum up the results of the year? 3) Do you create goals to accomplish in the following year?
  2. Activity 1. The New Year’s table
    I show my students a picture of a traditional Russian New Year’s table with different meals. I ask them to name what they see and come up with more dishes. This activity is focused on creating a perfect table for the New Year’s celebration and practice food vocabulary.
  3. Activity 2. Prepare a traditional New Year’s toast
    I give my students a handout with a long traditional Russian toast. There are blank spaces that students should fill up with adjectives. They can be creative and funny while choosing words.
  4. Activity 3. A song about 5 minutes
    I show my students a video of a must-listen Russian song, which sounds in every house 5 minutes before the New Year. I also provide students with lyrics of the song. I ask them to feel free to sing along.
  5. Activity 4. President’s Speech.
    It is impossible to imagine Russian New Year without the President Putin’s speech. We watch a piece of a video from 2020 and discuss the content of this speech. This activity was performed with Advanced students.
Activity 3. A song about 5 minutes

Intermediate. What worked well in this class? What did not work?

The class went well. Students enjoyed talking about New Year in Russia. We focused more on the activity dedicated to food. I wanted to practice vocabulary with them, since they hadn’t known many words before we had our class about Russian cuisine. I decided to skip the activity with the President’s speech, because the language of the speech is too difficult to comprehend. We also didn’t do the “toast” activity because I felt like it could be too challenging for them. I decided to spend more time with the song instead. I asked my two students to come up with a translation of this song and give their opinion about it.

Advanced. What worked well in this class? What did not work?
My advanced students enjoyed this class. They knew a lot of words dedicated to food and Russian cuisine. The activity with inserting words turned out to be amusing. They came up with funny and sometimes unsuitable words. That made the toasts activity very lively. We skimmed the song and spent more time with the President’s speech. Students had a hot discussion about the content of his speech because some of them found it ambiguous.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

The president’s speech is an interesting text to analyze and discuss with advanced students. It consists of many topics, which students find curious to talk about. I would make a separate class about politics to discuss leader’s speeches. In the context of New Year and holiday atmosphere it is a challenging issue to discuss.

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