Hunter CO#1

Wednesday, September 2, 2015, I sat in and observed Ryan Flemming's grammar course.  The first thing he started off with was a quick run down of the agenda for the day.  He then had the students perform a bell-ringer exercise as a quick 3-minute warm up.  The main grammar point of the day was "used to" as past habitual or ongoing action that no longer persists in the present.  The warm-up topic was for students to discuss natural resources that their respective countries had in the past but no longer have anymore.   One student gave the example of clean water in her hometown in China.  It was clear water when she was a child but now the water is no longer safe to drink.  After the warm-up exercise, during which Professor Flemming walked around making notes of the students "beautiful mistakes," he made a few announcements.  He then went on to his formal lesson via power-point, explicitly explaining the use of "used to."  After this, he had the students perform another exercise to practice using this new construction.  When the time was up for this activity, he put a few "beautiful mistakes" on the board and asked the students to help correct them, providing feedback and error correction.  Mr. Flemming gave praise and reassurance throughout the entire class period, making sure to encourage his students.  He finished the class with a group speaking exercise to reaffirm the students' grasp of "used to."