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ESL forum >
Message board > Just a thought...
Just a thought...
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Mar0919
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Just a thought...
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Hi everybody!!! Well, just a thought, but there are such marvelous worksheets here that I just wanted to comment on something, maybe there will be some to agree with me, maybe many will disagree, but I felt I would just go ahead and comment.
I sometimes feel that some worksheets are very crammed up with so much info. The images are very very helpful, but some contributers use veeeeeeery small font size in order to be able to fit in all the text. It would be best, to maybe use 2 or 3 pages, and not just cram everything into one.
When I download some ws that are like that, I usually have to spend so much time, enlarging the font size, because for one, sometimes it �s very hard to read, and also, once photocopied, it �s even harder to read.
Once I enlarge the font, everything gets out of place so I have to be moving and fixing for so long, sometimes I get so frustrated.
And I do want my students to understand everything clearly so as to obtain all the great advantages of working with these wonderful ws.
What do you think? Am I just too picky? Sorry if I am =)
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24 Jul 2010
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lizsantiago
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i also agree, i think some members sacrifice quality for quantity in order to get more downloads, i dont know if it �s only me but those ws also have so many exercises that i just wonder how other teachers are able to cover the whole ws in so little time, cuse at least for me, i have to divide the class into, teaching, doing the ws and discussing it and i only have less than 50 min, another things is that i also wonder what these teachers do with students with visual problems cuse i have 2 or 3 every year. |
24 Jul 2010
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marlene010284
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I think you are right. Thanks to the fact that now we are able to upload contributions up to 500 kb, I think it would be a good idea to expand our ideas and so our fonts  . I also agree that worksheets are so well done that if you move something, everything turns into a mess. I even had to buy a new printer able to print A4 size into letter size, cause every time I wanted to adapt them, I just screw it up.
Anyway, I respect each person �s likes.
Greetings from Mexico city.
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24 Jul 2010
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PhilipR
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I agree. Sometimes there is just too much info on a single page.
Btw, using (very) small font sizes hardly influences the size of wss. There should be enough white space and for wss with cloze (fill in the blanks) exercises, there should be enough space to write the answers. Sometimes students have to revert to Lilliputian handwriting to write their answers.
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24 Jul 2010
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Mar0919
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Yes, Marlene, I also respect each person �s point of view, but like you say, once we change anything from its original format, everything messes up, and I do hate to mess up such wonderful material. Once I �m done fixing, sometimes (most of the time) it doesn �t look as nice as the original, and I end up with 2 or 3 pages.
I also agree with Liz... I do have to think of ways to cover ALL the sections in the ws, because in a 50 minute period, which is not such, if you take into account roll call, warm up, and stuff, at least I �m not able to even finish a complete worksheet when its very large in content. When I end up with 2 or 3 pages, I can do one page one day, maybe next day do a follow up and another page, etc.
Don �t get me wrong, ALL the activities and exercises are GREAT! it �s just that we are all so overworked (LOL) that spending so much time fixing and moving is frustrating.
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24 Jul 2010
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manonski (f)
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Mar,
I would hope that the people uploading the printables you are referring too are also using them which means that for some members, they don �t need much changes.
Also, I would think that in the end, making changes takes a lot less time than starting from scratch so in the end, you do save time and the worksheet was free to start with.
I do get your point of view but this site has saved me a lot of time and I appreciate the variety. |
24 Jul 2010
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Mar0919
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Hi, Manonski!!! You �re absolutely right, this site is just awesome, and it HAS saved me much time too!!! I do know worksheets are free, and I do appreciate them, but it was just a thought I wanted to share. As I stated in the beginning, I know there would be some, few or many who disagree, but I think this forum is about expressing our thoughts, opinions, suggestions, etc?
I don �t post very often, but I do read the messages everyday (yes, I �ll confess, I AM addicted to the site!) I just felt that all the comments we all the colleagues make here, are to help us, and take it constructively, and positively. I �m not complaining, don �t get me wrong, just expressed my point of view.
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24 Jul 2010
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anitarobi
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I can say, from my point of view, I actually prefer ppts, because they save paper, engage the whole class together and increase interaction. Since I �ve been blessed with an overhead projector in class, I can do that.
However, I completely understand people who cram ots of things into one page - I also do that sometimes, because I am allowed a limited number of copies per student, so I try to put in enough exercises to cover in class and leave some for homework. I actually don �t change any of the wss I find here (unless I find a typo or sth that is culturally different), because there are so many to choose from that I choose the simpler ones or more complex ones for exactly the purpose they were meant to.
I respect your opinion, though I believe sometimes, as you say, we are just too picky here at ESL - we �ve been spoiled by so many good materials, so many perfect things and teaching masterpieces, that we expect everything to suit us as we want it. I agree with manonski as well, although when I feel I need to change a ws, I rather start from scratch and make my own.
To paraphrase a well-known quote - ESL is like a box of chocolates - you never know what you �re gonna get - some wss are overly abundant, some are too simplistic, but sometimes each of them is exactly the kind of chocolate you feel like having that day! |
24 Jul 2010
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joy2bill
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It �s interesting but have you noticed that the worksheets which are jam-packed with examples are the ones that seem to get downloaded more?
Am I right?
I guess this points to teachers thinking that they want heaps of exercises.
Having said that I do find some worksheets have far more work than I could ever hope to get done within the attention span of an average learner and I dislike continuing the next day so much valuable work never gets done.
Such a shame!
Just my tuppence worth, Cheers Joy |
24 Jul 2010
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ueslteacher
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Hi everyone, I do agree that wss crammed with activities save paper. But in my opinion we as teachers should not forget who we target. That is to say that if we make a ws for beginner or elementary level students and we target the age group of 6-8 we should make them more readable choosing the right font and the right size. And we often can get carried away.... Sophia |
24 Jul 2010
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s.lefevre
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I brought this subject up some time ago and I even sent PM to some members in order to ask them to use larger fonts. Some answerd that they use such small font because they have a limited number of worksheets they can print, so they have to use each sheet as full as possible. I am unable to use worksheets with such small fonts because it is very difficult for children to concentrate. But I think that even adults get tired when it �s too difficult to read a text. |
24 Jul 2010
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