em was the American movies. They asked me a lot of questions about Kung Fu Panda and the Chronicles of Narnia. They also asked me if I had ever been to Disneyland. They were shocked when I told them I had not, but I had been to Disney world. They couldn't believe that there was two! As far as the teaching part of class went, there was a lot of similarities between English and American schools. The lessons were very similar. For literacy, like our English or language arts, the teacher handed out a piece of paper with 3 poems. He led the class in a discussion on the theme of the poems and read them aloud. After, the students were told to answer 6 comprehension questions and then write a poem of their own. However, there was not enough time given for the students to complete the assignment. None of the students were able to even get to the poem. After Literacy, there was an art lesson. Mr. Dobinson had the students paint a beach scene. What was different about this lesson was that he told the class exactly what he wanted them to paint (a rock, some sand, water, and a sky, but no sun or sunsets). I thought that was different because usually art is a time for creativity and letting a child have some freedom. After art was the break. The students and teachers were given a 15 minute break, the students ate fruit and played outside while the teachers went to the lounge and had tea. It was very different from American schools, where there are no breaks. After break we worked on numeracy and this time Mr. Dobinson gave his students complete freedom. He told them to create a math game and to play it with a partner or two. That was all the guidelines, no type of math to focus on (division, adding, etc). At Widey court, I noticed students coming to the door and knocking frequently, asking questions for their teachers. Also, the kids in my class were allowed to come in and out from time to time. It was a very interesting experience!
Tuesday, 8 July 2008
Widey Court: Day 1
Today was the first day in the English schools. I was placed at Widey Court Primary School. It was a very nice school, probably higher income families. All the students were very curious about me when they arrived at 9am for the start of class. I was introduced and when they heard I was from America, they had many questions. The most important thing to th
em was the American movies. They asked me a lot of questions about Kung Fu Panda and the Chronicles of Narnia. They also asked me if I had ever been to Disneyland. They were shocked when I told them I had not, but I had been to Disney world. They couldn't believe that there was two! As far as the teaching part of class went, there was a lot of similarities between English and American schools. The lessons were very similar. For literacy, like our English or language arts, the teacher handed out a piece of paper with 3 poems. He led the class in a discussion on the theme of the poems and read them aloud. After, the students were told to answer 6 comprehension questions and then write a poem of their own. However, there was not enough time given for the students to complete the assignment. None of the students were able to even get to the poem. After Literacy, there was an art lesson. Mr. Dobinson had the students paint a beach scene. What was different about this lesson was that he told the class exactly what he wanted them to paint (a rock, some sand, water, and a sky, but no sun or sunsets). I thought that was different because usually art is a time for creativity and letting a child have some freedom. After art was the break. The students and teachers were given a 15 minute break, the students ate fruit and played outside while the teachers went to the lounge and had tea. It was very different from American schools, where there are no breaks. After break we worked on numeracy and this time Mr. Dobinson gave his students complete freedom. He told them to create a math game and to play it with a partner or two. That was all the guidelines, no type of math to focus on (division, adding, etc). At Widey court, I noticed students coming to the door and knocking frequently, asking questions for their teachers. Also, the kids in my class were allowed to come in and out from time to time. It was a very interesting experience!
em was the American movies. They asked me a lot of questions about Kung Fu Panda and the Chronicles of Narnia. They also asked me if I had ever been to Disneyland. They were shocked when I told them I had not, but I had been to Disney world. They couldn't believe that there was two! As far as the teaching part of class went, there was a lot of similarities between English and American schools. The lessons were very similar. For literacy, like our English or language arts, the teacher handed out a piece of paper with 3 poems. He led the class in a discussion on the theme of the poems and read them aloud. After, the students were told to answer 6 comprehension questions and then write a poem of their own. However, there was not enough time given for the students to complete the assignment. None of the students were able to even get to the poem. After Literacy, there was an art lesson. Mr. Dobinson had the students paint a beach scene. What was different about this lesson was that he told the class exactly what he wanted them to paint (a rock, some sand, water, and a sky, but no sun or sunsets). I thought that was different because usually art is a time for creativity and letting a child have some freedom. After art was the break. The students and teachers were given a 15 minute break, the students ate fruit and played outside while the teachers went to the lounge and had tea. It was very different from American schools, where there are no breaks. After break we worked on numeracy and this time Mr. Dobinson gave his students complete freedom. He told them to create a math game and to play it with a partner or two. That was all the guidelines, no type of math to focus on (division, adding, etc). At Widey court, I noticed students coming to the door and knocking frequently, asking questions for their teachers. Also, the kids in my class were allowed to come in and out from time to time. It was a very interesting experience!
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