Dear Principal (Mr. Hyeok Seun Kim),
We can do a lot to save the Earth! There are many kinds of pollution: water, air, ground, and noisy. We can save Earth. We should use less water and recycle bottle, paper, plastic, cans and turn off the lights, TV, fan... but some of students think teachers waste many thing. Why teachers say, "Student turn off heater!~" Oh... my God!! Because of teacher, we waste many things. Students are cold. Please give our mercy! I want to turn on the heather. We are very cold. Please one more time say, teachers save Earth too.
(Korean blah blah blah 400,000won blah blah Korean)
Please teathers! Save Energy!!!!
Sincerely, Kim Chi Hun
Showing posts with label lesson plans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lesson plans. Show all posts
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Birthday's
Kid's in Korea don't really celebrate their birthdays. I think that's kinda sad, I love celebrating mine (and other peoples!).
This week, I'm teaching about birthday's because last week was Buddha's birthday. For the lesson, we learn about the different ways other cultures (Mexico, India, USA, and Korea) celebrate their birthdays. I also ask them what they do to celebrate, and write their ideas on the board. I haven't had one class NOT say "go to the PC room." I have to pry pretty hard to get them to even mention the word "cake" and "presents."
At the end of the lesson, the kids make their own fortune cookies with a good luck wish inside. I give them a few examples, such as "you will be rich," "you are special," "have a great day," etc, but someone always writes "you will be die," or "you will break your boyfriend." It's actually kind of cute, and the kids think this is hilarious.
Here's what I wanted the cookies to turn out like. Of course, they don't look nearly as cute when they're just crafted out of plain white A4 paper and scotch tape!
This week, I'm teaching about birthday's because last week was Buddha's birthday. For the lesson, we learn about the different ways other cultures (Mexico, India, USA, and Korea) celebrate their birthdays. I also ask them what they do to celebrate, and write their ideas on the board. I haven't had one class NOT say "go to the PC room." I have to pry pretty hard to get them to even mention the word "cake" and "presents."
At the end of the lesson, the kids make their own fortune cookies with a good luck wish inside. I give them a few examples, such as "you will be rich," "you are special," "have a great day," etc, but someone always writes "you will be die," or "you will break your boyfriend." It's actually kind of cute, and the kids think this is hilarious.
Here's what I wanted the cookies to turn out like. Of course, they don't look nearly as cute when they're just crafted out of plain white A4 paper and scotch tape!
Friday, April 23, 2010
This week in school... Part Two
This is a continuation of my previous post. Below are the rest of my favorite names and characteristics of some of the superheroes my classes created.
The names:
Fuck
Dirty and Loser Hero
Captian Park
Transgender
Pneomonoultramicrosilicovolcanoscopicconiosis
Dark Templer
Indiana Jones
Michael Jackson
Japanese Man
Undertaker
The descriptions:
"He looks like Mara"
"He is our teacher Ms. Park's friend."
"She kidnapps kids to eat... her face is disgusting and she doesn't wear clothes."
"His magic stick very small."
"Our superhero name is transgender because transgender is pretty and handsome and has a muscle."
"He can nuclear, he can upgrade attack point."
"He is dance God. He is stick dance. He likes children (goes with Michael Jackson)."
"He has a magic stick. He can't use magic without magic stick."
"She lives in sky castle. She has many servants. She can ride clouds. She makes their dreams come true."
"She eat blood. She has very bad smell. This smell is looks like trash smell."
The names:
Fuck
Dirty and Loser Hero
Captian Park
Transgender
Pneomonoultramicrosilicovolcanoscopicconiosis
Dark Templer
Indiana Jones
Michael Jackson
Japanese Man
Undertaker
The descriptions:
"He looks like Mara"
"He is our teacher Ms. Park's friend."
"She kidnapps kids to eat... her face is disgusting and she doesn't wear clothes."
"His magic stick very small."
"Our superhero name is transgender because transgender is pretty and handsome and has a muscle."
"He can nuclear, he can upgrade attack point."
"He is dance God. He is stick dance. He likes children (goes with Michael Jackson)."
"He has a magic stick. He can't use magic without magic stick."
"She lives in sky castle. She has many servants. She can ride clouds. She makes their dreams come true."
"She eat blood. She has very bad smell. This smell is looks like trash smell."
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
This week in school...
I'm teaching about Superheroes! I can basically teach about whatever I like, and when I got this idea online, I figured that would be fun. It also allows me to watch "Jack-Jack Attack" from "The Incredibles" 15 times this week. I'll probably be sick of it by Wednesday, but for now, it's still amusing. Plus, the kids love it.
At the end of the lesson, once I've introduced the various super powers and done some warm-up activities, the students get a chance to "create your own superhero." I have them select a cut-out piece of paper with a random animation superhero on it (nobody I recgonize) and afix it to their worksheet. With a partner, they need to write their names, choose a name for their superhero, and write about their superhero. Of course, they are all amusing, but here's my favorite one.
This was read to the class of advanced level 7th graders in my first period Monday morning. Both Mihey and I laughed so hard that we literally cried. Even the students could understand, so they were laughing along as well. This is exactly what was typed, with my notes/corrections in ().
"Alagalamu is bisexual (they meant that shes a boy and a girl). She can eat bugs and even eat human. He lives in Africa. She change into bus. He doesn't help people. Just eat people. But helps environment and animals. Bugs come out of her mouth and dancing with bugs before eat time. His weapon is dandrop (dandruff). She wash her hair once a year. His dandrop (dandruff) has poison. She loves animals and environment very much."
Here are some other great excerpts. First, my favorite names thus far (and will be edited at the end of the week):
Sexy woman
Chita Queen
A pimple princess
Casanova
Thin-thin
Mara
Monkey of Japanese
Cleopatra
Here are some of their "descriptions" about their superheroes (to be added to later):
"She is very pretty but when you take off the mask she is very ugly"
"She likes magazines"
"He likes Girls Generation and children"
"She knows the map of the town well"
"His heart is half bad, half kind, kind is kill knife and enemy kill, brings peace"
"He wears skinny jeans"
"His hobby is fishing"
"...but she has weakness- it's handsome boys (man)"
"He is afraid of scissors... he is very poor barber"
"In fact, she is a transgender. Three years ago he was gay with his boyfriend but the couple broke two years ago. Japan have many strange person."
"His weapon is feet smell"
"He's very kind despite his scary appearance."
"He lacks intelligence"
"He's gay. He likes boys and men. He indifference to girls. He's very strange."
"... but he has a big weakness! He is Casanova! He has many girlfriends! He is a bad boy!"
"His favorite food is swans. So swans are endangered. He lives Jupiter, but he comes to Earth because Swans live only in Earth."
"She has many pimples. She weapon is pimple laser. This is very dirty and bad smell. So she hids her face. She lives in pimple world. She throw poop to the evil. She don't like boys because boys don't like her."
"He eats battery and engine oil."
"She is sexy. She is very many have boyfriends. She is love coach so she is very many have boyfriends...she has a hot belly."
I can't believe it's only Tuesday and I have three more days (9 classes) left of this!
At the end of the lesson, once I've introduced the various super powers and done some warm-up activities, the students get a chance to "create your own superhero." I have them select a cut-out piece of paper with a random animation superhero on it (nobody I recgonize) and afix it to their worksheet. With a partner, they need to write their names, choose a name for their superhero, and write about their superhero. Of course, they are all amusing, but here's my favorite one.
This was read to the class of advanced level 7th graders in my first period Monday morning. Both Mihey and I laughed so hard that we literally cried. Even the students could understand, so they were laughing along as well. This is exactly what was typed, with my notes/corrections in ().
"Alagalamu is bisexual (they meant that shes a boy and a girl). She can eat bugs and even eat human. He lives in Africa. She change into bus. He doesn't help people. Just eat people. But helps environment and animals. Bugs come out of her mouth and dancing with bugs before eat time. His weapon is dandrop (dandruff). She wash her hair once a year. His dandrop (dandruff) has poison. She loves animals and environment very much."
Here are some other great excerpts. First, my favorite names thus far (and will be edited at the end of the week):
Sexy woman
Chita Queen
A pimple princess
Casanova
Thin-thin
Mara
Monkey of Japanese
Cleopatra
Here are some of their "descriptions" about their superheroes (to be added to later):
"She is very pretty but when you take off the mask she is very ugly"
"She likes magazines"
"He likes Girls Generation and children"
"She knows the map of the town well"
"His heart is half bad, half kind, kind is kill knife and enemy kill, brings peace"
"He wears skinny jeans"
"His hobby is fishing"
"...but she has weakness- it's handsome boys (man)"
"He is afraid of scissors... he is very poor barber"
"In fact, she is a transgender. Three years ago he was gay with his boyfriend but the couple broke two years ago. Japan have many strange person."
"His weapon is feet smell"
"He's very kind despite his scary appearance."
"He lacks intelligence"
"He's gay. He likes boys and men. He indifference to girls. He's very strange."
"... but he has a big weakness! He is Casanova! He has many girlfriends! He is a bad boy!"
"His favorite food is swans. So swans are endangered. He lives Jupiter, but he comes to Earth because Swans live only in Earth."
"She has many pimples. She weapon is pimple laser. This is very dirty and bad smell. So she hids her face. She lives in pimple world. She throw poop to the evil. She don't like boys because boys don't like her."
"He eats battery and engine oil."
"She is sexy. She is very many have boyfriends. She is love coach so she is very many have boyfriends...she has a hot belly."
I can't believe it's only Tuesday and I have three more days (9 classes) left of this!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
After School Classes
Today was the first day of after school classes. One of the new English teachers, Mr. Kim, asked me how many I wanted to teach, how many students, and what kind of materials. I decided on three times a week, 20 students or less (but an even number) and that it would be called "Advanced English." The class is grade 2 only, which is great because they're all my kids from last year that I don't see too much of this semester.
Going into it, I only knew of boys that were in the class. There are a bunch of grade two students that I taught last year who come in to the EOZ during lunch time and they've been asking about it for a few weeks. I had an attendance sheet, but I still can't tell if a person is a boy or girl just by looking at the name. I was pretty relieved to find that the class was evenly split, 10 boys and 10 girls.
However, the class might as well all be boys. What I mean by that is, the boys are at their loud, obnoxious stage. The girls barely say a word all class, they just sit in the back of the room and try to hid behind their thick bangs. I'm now used to teaching my first graders, who have yet to go through their growth suprts. The kids still look like they are in about 5th grade. It's pretty strange being in a classroom now with boys my size or larger- I swear they all must have grown 3 inches from last winter!
I'm really excited for the classes, I've got lots of fun things planned. I feel much more confident this semester with my teaching abilities, and I know my co-teachers can tell I am also. I basically can teach whatever I like in my normal classes (like this week I taught about the life cycle of frogs) and I can do the same thing for after school as well, though there is more paperwork I am required to turn in. What I'm looking forward to most is the "Wallace and Gromit- A Close Shave" lessons. It will span 6 lessons and it's only a 30 minute video (each period is 45 minutes). I found an excellent website with an amazing movie guide filled with grammar, vocabulary, and extension activities. I'm not planning on telling my school how many copies exactly I'll be making because it's pretty long ^^
Anyway, I'm pumped for things to get going in the next few weeks. After school classes were my favorite part of last semester, and I hope they are again this semester also ^^
Going into it, I only knew of boys that were in the class. There are a bunch of grade two students that I taught last year who come in to the EOZ during lunch time and they've been asking about it for a few weeks. I had an attendance sheet, but I still can't tell if a person is a boy or girl just by looking at the name. I was pretty relieved to find that the class was evenly split, 10 boys and 10 girls.
However, the class might as well all be boys. What I mean by that is, the boys are at their loud, obnoxious stage. The girls barely say a word all class, they just sit in the back of the room and try to hid behind their thick bangs. I'm now used to teaching my first graders, who have yet to go through their growth suprts. The kids still look like they are in about 5th grade. It's pretty strange being in a classroom now with boys my size or larger- I swear they all must have grown 3 inches from last winter!
I'm really excited for the classes, I've got lots of fun things planned. I feel much more confident this semester with my teaching abilities, and I know my co-teachers can tell I am also. I basically can teach whatever I like in my normal classes (like this week I taught about the life cycle of frogs) and I can do the same thing for after school as well, though there is more paperwork I am required to turn in. What I'm looking forward to most is the "Wallace and Gromit- A Close Shave" lessons. It will span 6 lessons and it's only a 30 minute video (each period is 45 minutes). I found an excellent website with an amazing movie guide filled with grammar, vocabulary, and extension activities. I'm not planning on telling my school how many copies exactly I'll be making because it's pretty long ^^
Anyway, I'm pumped for things to get going in the next few weeks. After school classes were my favorite part of last semester, and I hope they are again this semester also ^^
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Last Week of School
Christmas Lessons:
It's finally the last week of the school year! I can't believe I've been here for 4 full months, and have been doing exactly what I love doing. The little first graders are still just as immature as they were at the beginning of the semester, it seems hard to believe they will be in second grade come March, and that new first graders will be arriving!
The students have finished their final exams and I've been taking it easy with them the past few weeks. They are ready for a break, and I've just been doing fun things with them, like scategories and Christmas songs. Some of the songs we've sung this week are Jingle Bells, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and Santa's coming to town. Kids have requested Feliz Navidad, they seem to know most of the words, which I found suprising. I had Mariah Carey's All I want for Christmas is you playing before class started on Tuesday at Seongdeok, and about 20 of the boys in class 4 were crowded around my podium and TV. Even though the video was blurry, they were so excited to see her dancing. They kept saying things like "Teacher, my girlfriend!" and "Teacher, my mother!" It got them really excited for class I think!
The Good Classes:
Class 2 at Seongdeok is my favorite class there. Huynju is also a homeroom teacher, and she has been very busy with them all year. I've gotten to know a lot of the students on a more personal level because many were in my after school class earlier in the year, and every day about 10 boys come to clean the EOZ classroom for me. They enjoy talking to me and watching YouTube videos, specifically Happy Tree Friends, and Kpop music videos. Some of the boys have even helped me study Korean. Overall, they are sweethearts, though they can still be rambunctious.
At school on Tuesday, the teachers were having a pretty intesnse conversation. When this happens, I just sit there silently, eating my rice, and making up conversations about what they could be talking about. The weather, Iris (a popular drama show), weekend plans etc. Huynju turned to me out of the blue and asked, "Do you find Jindo attractive?" Jindo is in class two, and is 14 years old. I was so suprised! I was like, "Well, I think he'll be pretty good looking when he gets to high school, yes, why?" Apparently, the teachers there all think Jindo is very cute (his nickname that the teachers call him by is "handsome Jindo" when translated to English). He was in my afterschool classes, and is one of the few students whose name I actually know. They said he's the cutest boy in school, and all the little girls have crushes on him, but he is kind of a player and is still single. He's sterotypically good looking, in the Korean way- tall, skinny, and a small head. He's also sporting the standard Korean shag haircut. I just found that whole conversation to be a little bizarre.
Another student in class two, Jindo's sidekick, and who was in my afterschool class was recently elected school president. He's a smart kid and must be pretty deserving of the nomination. Class two had a pizza party to celebrate, and I was lucky enough to take part in that. Because there is no need for me to really ever leave the EOZ, when I ventured down to class two, the kids thought it was like seeing a fish out of water and was swarmed to me instantly.
And the not so good classes:
Not all of my classes can be as good as class two. Class 5 is by far the worst class in the school, and I can't imagine being that poor homeroom teacher. He is so burned out, you can tell just by looking at him. All the subject teachers have struggled with class 5 year long. There are about 6 boys who really get the class riled up, and I always see those six boys standing ouside their classroom with their hands raised high in the air or in the teachers lounge receiving a beating with the standard bamboo stick. Anyway, last week in class 5, I'd had enough of it. I made the 9 loudest boys come up to the front of class and do pushups. 31 to be exact, that was the number between 1-50 the class had decided on. The rest of the class counted outloud together as their classmates did the girliest pushups I'd ever seen. I walked around between them and pushed on their backs to get them to do down farther. Because they couldn't do more than 8 in a row, it took a while to get to 31.
This week, all 9 boys came into the EOZ between class with a written appology. This looked like a pretty official report to me- name, date, location, who, teacher, offense, and goals for the future. In the bottom, there was a place for me to sign. 7 were written in Korean, and 2 were in English. I quickly read over the ones in English, my favorite part said, "I was being loud and I made the teacher go crazy!" I explained to all of them very sternly that when I saw them next, we would be singing Christmas carols, and I expected them to be on their best behavior.
Fastforward to this week's lessons. I always prepare for the worst before class 5. I literally have to mentally prepare myself. However, they did what I was not expecting in class. The boys sat in the front row, right in front of me. When it came time to quiet down, they were the first to stop talking. It was the quietest class I'd ever taught. That would be ideal if we were going over a new topic, but not the best situation for singing upbeat, jazzy Christmas songs. Getting them to sing was like pulling teeth. I think I scared them a little too much last week, and they were terrified to doing anything to make me mad! Since singing didn't go over as planned, I had them each write all the lyrics to Santa Claus is Coming to Town, as well as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I handed these into the homeroom teacher after class, and I think he was pretty impressed that they were all able to focus. Not exactly the fun, end of the school year lesson I'd hoped for, but at least I didn't lose my voice yelling and nobody did pushups.
Whatever happend to a relaxing end of the school year?
Today at Suwan, and schools nationwide, we have testing. There are 5 tests today, including subjects like Korean, Math, Science, Social Studies, and English. The kids were worried about it last week, and it's been pretty quiet around here today. Mihey is in charge of the tests, so I'm alone in my office (and freezing!). I remember when I was young, I was always excited for the end of the school year and I can't imagine having to take a high-pressure test two days before school gets out!
Out with 2009, in with 2010
It's been a whirlwind of activity since arriving 4 months ago, and if 2010 brings half as much fun as 2009 did, it's going to be an excellent year. Merry Christmas, and I'll see you again in 2010!
It's finally the last week of the school year! I can't believe I've been here for 4 full months, and have been doing exactly what I love doing. The little first graders are still just as immature as they were at the beginning of the semester, it seems hard to believe they will be in second grade come March, and that new first graders will be arriving!
The students have finished their final exams and I've been taking it easy with them the past few weeks. They are ready for a break, and I've just been doing fun things with them, like scategories and Christmas songs. Some of the songs we've sung this week are Jingle Bells, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and Santa's coming to town. Kids have requested Feliz Navidad, they seem to know most of the words, which I found suprising. I had Mariah Carey's All I want for Christmas is you playing before class started on Tuesday at Seongdeok, and about 20 of the boys in class 4 were crowded around my podium and TV. Even though the video was blurry, they were so excited to see her dancing. They kept saying things like "Teacher, my girlfriend!" and "Teacher, my mother!" It got them really excited for class I think!
The Good Classes:
Class 2 at Seongdeok is my favorite class there. Huynju is also a homeroom teacher, and she has been very busy with them all year. I've gotten to know a lot of the students on a more personal level because many were in my after school class earlier in the year, and every day about 10 boys come to clean the EOZ classroom for me. They enjoy talking to me and watching YouTube videos, specifically Happy Tree Friends, and Kpop music videos. Some of the boys have even helped me study Korean. Overall, they are sweethearts, though they can still be rambunctious.
At school on Tuesday, the teachers were having a pretty intesnse conversation. When this happens, I just sit there silently, eating my rice, and making up conversations about what they could be talking about. The weather, Iris (a popular drama show), weekend plans etc. Huynju turned to me out of the blue and asked, "Do you find Jindo attractive?" Jindo is in class two, and is 14 years old. I was so suprised! I was like, "Well, I think he'll be pretty good looking when he gets to high school, yes, why?" Apparently, the teachers there all think Jindo is very cute (his nickname that the teachers call him by is "handsome Jindo" when translated to English). He was in my afterschool classes, and is one of the few students whose name I actually know. They said he's the cutest boy in school, and all the little girls have crushes on him, but he is kind of a player and is still single. He's sterotypically good looking, in the Korean way- tall, skinny, and a small head. He's also sporting the standard Korean shag haircut. I just found that whole conversation to be a little bizarre.
Another student in class two, Jindo's sidekick, and who was in my afterschool class was recently elected school president. He's a smart kid and must be pretty deserving of the nomination. Class two had a pizza party to celebrate, and I was lucky enough to take part in that. Because there is no need for me to really ever leave the EOZ, when I ventured down to class two, the kids thought it was like seeing a fish out of water and was swarmed to me instantly.
And the not so good classes:
Not all of my classes can be as good as class two. Class 5 is by far the worst class in the school, and I can't imagine being that poor homeroom teacher. He is so burned out, you can tell just by looking at him. All the subject teachers have struggled with class 5 year long. There are about 6 boys who really get the class riled up, and I always see those six boys standing ouside their classroom with their hands raised high in the air or in the teachers lounge receiving a beating with the standard bamboo stick. Anyway, last week in class 5, I'd had enough of it. I made the 9 loudest boys come up to the front of class and do pushups. 31 to be exact, that was the number between 1-50 the class had decided on. The rest of the class counted outloud together as their classmates did the girliest pushups I'd ever seen. I walked around between them and pushed on their backs to get them to do down farther. Because they couldn't do more than 8 in a row, it took a while to get to 31.
This week, all 9 boys came into the EOZ between class with a written appology. This looked like a pretty official report to me- name, date, location, who, teacher, offense, and goals for the future. In the bottom, there was a place for me to sign. 7 were written in Korean, and 2 were in English. I quickly read over the ones in English, my favorite part said, "I was being loud and I made the teacher go crazy!" I explained to all of them very sternly that when I saw them next, we would be singing Christmas carols, and I expected them to be on their best behavior.
Fastforward to this week's lessons. I always prepare for the worst before class 5. I literally have to mentally prepare myself. However, they did what I was not expecting in class. The boys sat in the front row, right in front of me. When it came time to quiet down, they were the first to stop talking. It was the quietest class I'd ever taught. That would be ideal if we were going over a new topic, but not the best situation for singing upbeat, jazzy Christmas songs. Getting them to sing was like pulling teeth. I think I scared them a little too much last week, and they were terrified to doing anything to make me mad! Since singing didn't go over as planned, I had them each write all the lyrics to Santa Claus is Coming to Town, as well as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I handed these into the homeroom teacher after class, and I think he was pretty impressed that they were all able to focus. Not exactly the fun, end of the school year lesson I'd hoped for, but at least I didn't lose my voice yelling and nobody did pushups.
Whatever happend to a relaxing end of the school year?
Today at Suwan, and schools nationwide, we have testing. There are 5 tests today, including subjects like Korean, Math, Science, Social Studies, and English. The kids were worried about it last week, and it's been pretty quiet around here today. Mihey is in charge of the tests, so I'm alone in my office (and freezing!). I remember when I was young, I was always excited for the end of the school year and I can't imagine having to take a high-pressure test two days before school gets out!
Out with 2009, in with 2010
It's been a whirlwind of activity since arriving 4 months ago, and if 2010 brings half as much fun as 2009 did, it's going to be an excellent year. Merry Christmas, and I'll see you again in 2010!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
First Day Teaching
My co-teacher from my visiting school called me on Sunday evening to see if I was able to come in Monday afternoon to meet my principal. My schedule is pretty open, so I said "sure."
I was picked up by her, and we drove a few minutes to school. The visiting school is also brand new, and it is about 25 minutes away walking. I got a brief tour, and was shown the English Only Zone (EOZ), my office, and met some of the coworkers. I was also presented to the vice principal and principal. Neither one speaks English.
During the tour, my co-teacher said that there were still two English classes that afternoon and asked if I was able to teach them. I was not expecting that, but I didn't want to disappoint her, so I said yes.
Luckily, I had prepared my lesson for my center school already. I hadn't run through it, so I figured it would be pretty bumpy. I walked into the classroom, and the kids were SO happy to see me! They knew I would be coming, and they were really excited I was there.
For the lesson, we made nametags with some of their favorite things on them. My main focus this year is getting the 7th graders to speak and listen, so I had them create nametags for their partners. I wrote down the questions they had for me on the board, and told them to take turns asking their partners the same questions. Not all the questions I got asked got put on the board (for example: "Do you have a husband?" "Do you have a boyfriend?" "Will you marry me?"). Overall, I think the lesson went well, and it allowed me to see what level their English is at. At the visiting school, there are 7 classes of 7th graders. They took a test and were placed at different levels, but there is still a wide range of language ability within the class. I walked around and talked to the students during the activity, and some students were really good at saying whole sentences, while others would just say the answer.
Later on, I attended a faculty meeting. It was about 45 minutes long, and the only word I recgonized that entire time was "Mara." I am having them call me that nickname because I think it is easier to pronounce.
The day went pretty well overall. Because both my schools are 7th grade only, I am going to do the same introduction activity for each class. After I get better with their names, I'll collect the nametags and put them up in the EOZ. I'm really glad to have my own classroom rather than moving from room to room.
I still don't have internet at my apartment, but I will post some of my 300 pictures as soon as I can so you can see what things are like on the other side of the pond.
I was picked up by her, and we drove a few minutes to school. The visiting school is also brand new, and it is about 25 minutes away walking. I got a brief tour, and was shown the English Only Zone (EOZ), my office, and met some of the coworkers. I was also presented to the vice principal and principal. Neither one speaks English.
During the tour, my co-teacher said that there were still two English classes that afternoon and asked if I was able to teach them. I was not expecting that, but I didn't want to disappoint her, so I said yes.
Luckily, I had prepared my lesson for my center school already. I hadn't run through it, so I figured it would be pretty bumpy. I walked into the classroom, and the kids were SO happy to see me! They knew I would be coming, and they were really excited I was there.
For the lesson, we made nametags with some of their favorite things on them. My main focus this year is getting the 7th graders to speak and listen, so I had them create nametags for their partners. I wrote down the questions they had for me on the board, and told them to take turns asking their partners the same questions. Not all the questions I got asked got put on the board (for example: "Do you have a husband?" "Do you have a boyfriend?" "Will you marry me?"). Overall, I think the lesson went well, and it allowed me to see what level their English is at. At the visiting school, there are 7 classes of 7th graders. They took a test and were placed at different levels, but there is still a wide range of language ability within the class. I walked around and talked to the students during the activity, and some students were really good at saying whole sentences, while others would just say the answer.
Later on, I attended a faculty meeting. It was about 45 minutes long, and the only word I recgonized that entire time was "Mara." I am having them call me that nickname because I think it is easier to pronounce.
The day went pretty well overall. Because both my schools are 7th grade only, I am going to do the same introduction activity for each class. After I get better with their names, I'll collect the nametags and put them up in the EOZ. I'm really glad to have my own classroom rather than moving from room to room.
I still don't have internet at my apartment, but I will post some of my 300 pictures as soon as I can so you can see what things are like on the other side of the pond.
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