Day 8 - 3rd Day of Teaching

Day 8 - 3rd Day of Teaching

Baoding, China
No. 17 Middle School

Thursday, July 10

So I tried something new with the students today. First thing this morning I lined the students up outside of the classroom door. I did a brief, 1-2 minute, interview with them each, individually as they came inside. We shook hands, I asked them "How are you?", "What did you do last night?", "What did you have for dinner?" and any appropriate follow up questions that results from the information they gave me about their lives outsides of school. I really enjoyed the individual time with each of them. Most importantly, I got a really good assessment of each student's speaking ability. Much like in my math classroom, I used this information to decide how to group and pair students, as well as to know which students I should focus more attention on during the course of this summer camp.

You would not believe how impressive their speaking ability is, even the worst of them. Not to say that it's perfect, because its far from it. But I'm constantly in awe of their ability to communicate so effectively in a second language. So few Americans can do the same. I know that I can't. I can have a very basic conversation, in the present tense only, in Spanish. It's kind of embarrassing. We Americans need to take our foreign language studies more seriously. The rest of the world is showing us up.

Anyway, here are a few pictures of my "morning interviews":

Yesterday we did a money lesson, where I showed and gave the students US coins and we talked about the value of each. We counted coins and did conversions into Chinese currency, known as either RMB or Yuan. Today, one of my students brought me one of each Chinese coin. He put them in a little bag and brought them to me during one of our breaks. I was so touched. His thoughtfulness was really impressive, and honestly, it was one of the best gifts ever. Of course, I wanted some Chinese coins to bring home - and he set me up with what I needed. No need to search and hoard coins every time I make a purchase. During one of the breaks several students sat with me and explained each coins value and it's name. I taught them and they taught me - what fun!

Later in the day I broke out the conversation dice I bought at the teacher supply store in Columbia. It's a set of 6 large foam dice with conversation starter questions. They are designed for ESOL classrooms and ice breaker activities. I put the students in groups and asked each student to take a turn with the dice. He or she rolled and then asked her person in his group the question - and they answered in a complete sentence. Then the next person took a turn. After a few minutes the groups traded dice with another group and started again (each di had a different set of questions). As the groups talked, I walked around and listened to conversations. I stopped and took a turn with a group to assess how it was going. I answered questions about myself. I answered questions about vocabulary and unknown words. The students enjoyed it. They learn english out of a textbook and very rarely get to play games or have real conversations. They love the change of pace. With that said - what they are doing is working. It may be boring and probably wouldn't be allowed in most US schools, the students are learning. They enjoyed the break from the norm, though. I was happy to provide it :)

me with the class

me talking to a small group of precious girls. Sarah is facing the camera, and we see Yuki from behind 

My class and amazing assistant teacher, Mrs. Deng.

Yuki and me.

Me doing my teaching thing :)

One of the most important things about this teaching experience to me was to provide the students with meaningful, enriching, learning experiences that are fun, engaging, and memorable. But I also wanted to show my students some western food and culture. These are the things that students enjoy. So, today I did a lesson on descriptive words and opposites using Fruit Roll-Ups as my motivator.

I gave each student a fruit roll-up. Before I allowed them to open it we studied it's package. We looked at unknown words, colors, pictures, and even the nutrition facts. MANY students were shocked that the fruit roll-up didn't have any protein. This made me laugh. Why on earth would they think that candy has protein? Does Chinese candy have protein in it? Why do middle schoolers even care about protein content of food? (we all know American middle schoolers don't.) We made a list of descriptive words. We then opened the fruit roll-ups. Students tasted a small piece and listed descriptive words. THEN,  I showed them the tongue tattoo. I walked from group to group, placing a small piece of fruit roll-up with a picture on my tongue for a few seconds, then showing them the "tattoo". You would have thought I made someone disappear; they were so impressed! They had fun doing this themselves for awhile. 

After a few minutes,we wrapped up the tasting session. What stood out to me most about this lesson was that about 5 students chose not to eat theirs. I thought perhaps they were picky eaters and were nervous to try new foods. (I can relate as I am so scared to try new foods. especially foreign ones.) However, when I asked about it, they all explained that they wanted to take it home to share with their parents and grandparents. None of them have siblings. They participated in the observation part of the lesson, but not the tasting. I was so impressed with their thoughtfulness and kindness towards their families. I can't imagine US students doing the same thing -they'd eat it right up without a second thought. 

At the end of the lesson we took our list of describing words and listed the opposites - looking them up as necessary.

After lunch we ( my fellow teachers and I) taught the students foursquare and then let them play other outdoor games:

After outside time, we did a song study of Sam Smith's "Stay With Me" and then worked on our performance of Pharrell's "Happy". 

Here are a few pics taken around the school (by Mark). Everyone was taking pictures of the sky today because they NEVER see blue sky. Because of the big pollution problem in China, they mostly see foggy smoggy sky. After about a week and a half I was starting to feeling like I was living in a bubble, or "under the dome". This beautiful blue sky was such a welcomed surprise. They told us it had literally been months seen they'd last seen a blue sky. It's weird to imagine. I'll never take it  for granted again :)

Day 7 - 2nd day of Teaching

Day 7

Wednesday, July 9

Today was my 2nd day with my students at No.17 Middle School in Baoding, China. Today we did the following:

1) We had a brief discussion about the date. Then they practiced with a partner saying "Today is...", "Tomorrow will be..." and "Yesterday was...". I walked around and asked students "What is today?" to assess their ability to answer in English. Most students did very well, but about half had to refer to the prompts written on the board. It's difficult for me to be too critical because I am so in awe of their ability to speak a 2nd language. Most of them could come to the US and get by fairly well. I can't do that, and I'm much older than them. It's quite impressive.

2) Did the same thing as #1, but with the time.

3) Next we did a yarn web. I started out holding the ball of yarn. I told them my name, what I did last night, and then threw the ball of yarn to a student. They had to tell me their name, what they did last night, and then ask me one question about me, the USA, English, my school, my students, etc. I had some very interesting questions:

•  2-3 students asked me to tell them about Ivy League colleges, such as Yale or Harvard. It was too funny, because obviously I have little to say. Those schools were never on my radar. I just told them that they were very good schools, and that you had to be very smart to get into them. I said I wasn't smart enough. They laughed :)
• One student asked about Chinatown. He wanted to know if Chinatown was much like the real China. I told them about my experiences in Chinatown of NYC. I said that actually it did look a lot like the big cities of China, but I couldn't speak to the food. The student, Ender, said he hopes to visit Chinatown one day. I thought it was very cute that of all the things in the USA, Chinatown topped his list.
• Another student asked what I thought about middle school aged students having girlfriends/boyfriends. Everyone laughed. I told him the truth - it's a waste of time and distracts from school and learning. Of course, middle schoolers can't help but be interested in the opposite sex. It's what they do. Even the Chinese ones.
• I had a few questions about my school schedule. They were so impressed that my students get out at 2:25 every day. However, when I told them that the students only get a 20 minute lunch, they were shocked. Chinese students and teachers get 2 hours.

4) The next lesson of the day was about American money. I gave each student and my 2 assistants a quarter, dime, nickel, and penny. We discussed each coin, studied the pictures and presidents, and looked at the year. They took notes about the value of each coin. The students (and I) loved this lesson. I enjoyed it for 2 reasons. 1)it's so fun to teach when your students are excited. none of them had ever seen US money and they were doubly excited to be able to keep it. and 2) It was a math-ey lesson. I love that kind :) The students took many pictures of the coins and bills and some of the students were doing coin rubs in their notebooks.

5) Next, we did a money activity. The students had a worksheet with pictures of american coins in various combinations. They had to work together to count the coins in dollars and cents.  I loved this activity because of it's practicality. One of the hardest things about visiting a foreign country is figuring out their currency. Hopefully this lesson put them a step ahead if they ever come to the US.

6) After lunch we played outside for awhile. I had my students stand in a circle and try to move the hula hoop around without letting go of eachother's hands. They loved this game. Then we did a team relay race.

7) For the final part of the day we did a song study of "Happy" by Pharrell. I am thinking we will use this as a performance song for the end of camp ceremony. I am really loving the song study concept so far. The students enjoy the videos and exposure to american culture, and are learning pronunciation, definitions, and slang without even realizing it. Definitely planning to keep doing this activity :)

Me helping a cute group of girls try to spin the hula hoop without dropping it.

Relay Race!

Day 6 - first day teaching

Day 6

Tuesday, July 8

Today was our first day with the students!! it was so great :)

To kick off the summer camp, the school held an opening ceremony. The principal spoke, as well as students, teachers and the American teachers. One group of students did a musical performance, as well. See pics below:

Our group "leader", Jonathan, giving a speech. The guy next to him is Mark, the translator (and our future friend and buddy). Jonathan teaches middle school PE in Spartanburg.

Teacher (left to right):

Cheri Collins, first grade, Great Falls, SC

Me

Gayna McNeish, middle school guidance, Summerville, SC

Donna Owens, 7th grade ELA, Chesnee Middle, Spartanburg SC

Beth Stanton, CCEC

Huaiying Kang, CCEC

Jonathan Coslick, middle school PE, McCracken Middle, Spartanburg, SC

Me, introducing myself:

A group of students performing:

After the performance, we started our school day. Students were grouped by English proficiency. There were 5 levels, and I had level 3. I was very nervous to start my day, but it went great. Here is what we did:

• The students made name tents, with their English Names. I had some very interesting names, including Cherry, Vadar, Ender, Yuki, and Vista
• I introduced myself using the "About Me" powerpoint I use for my USA students
• Played "Would You Rather" - students had to justify their answers orally :)
• Students introduced themselves one by one, in front of class
• Song study of "Roar" by Katie Perry
• Dice game

The day was so fun. My students were quiet and shy, but started to open up as the day went on. I can already tell how much I am going to love them. They are inquisitive and curious - and they are SO very excited to meet and foreign person. Many of them told me they have never spoken with a foreign person before today. They even told me how grateful they are to have a native English speaker to communicate with. All of their English teachers on staff are Chinese people who have studied teaching English, but do not speak fluently, and have never been to an English speaking country. 

Here are the pictures of me and my class on the first day :)

P.S. These pics were made possible by my awesome new friend, Mark. He is a 19 year old university student in Baoding, China. He is another handler, who will help us get around town, navigate the school, take us to lunch, and his specialty, take amazing pictures of us busy at work!! I'm so excited he's capturing these moments for me :)