28 Oct 2011
I received the compliment of the day from one of my second graders. Today, students were finishing up coloring their coloring page of the witch's house and adding vocabulary words. Once they completed this, they could color and cut out some Halloween flashcards. These flashcards included 6 Halloween pictures (like pumpkin, witch, spider, etc) and the 6 corresponding words. Students were supposed to practice the vocabulary by matching the picture to the correct word.
The teacher asked me to show the kids who were done what word matched with what picture so that they could play with them. However, once I finished showing them the word/picture pairs, they wondered what to do next. Just matching the pictures and words isn't that much fun--so I showed them how to play a modified version of Old Maid.
We didn't have a card to serve as the Old Maid, but the students had to try to match the picture and word to make a pair. We took turns drawing (they called it robbing) a card from another people to try to make pairs. They were absolutely delighted by the prospect of "robbing" cards from other students, and I don't think they realized how much they were learning! Obviously, they had to have the word/picture relationship down pretty well in order to make pairs.
Another student came up to our group and asked us what we were doing. Before I could reply, one of the students said that we were playing a chulísimo (super cool) game and that he should get his cards so he could play. He proceeded to explain the rules to the new student.
After school, I met up with a few friends for some riquísima (super rich or delicious) food. We finally tried the Greek restaurant that is near my apartment. We haven't had the chance to try it because it's hours are limited. However, it was well worth the wait! We ordered three different plates to share--Sutsukia (Greek meatballs), Kotopoulo Souvlaki (a kebob), and Mousaka (Greek lasagna). All these main dishes were absolutely delicious--but by far the best was the Sutsukia! It had such a rich flavor! Then, we shared three desserts--baklava, cheesecake, and a chocolate cake. The baklava was divine! I'm a little worried knowing that the restaurant is so close! I feel like I'll need a little baklava every day!
Monday, October 31, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
Joys of Teaching... Part II
27 Oct. 2011
One of the other joys of teaching is hearing your students correctly use something that you've taught them without prompting them.
In language classes, there is sometimes a tendency to turn students into mini-robots. You want to teach them the target language, but you can teach them everything at once. So you start with something like, "How are you?" At this point, maybe you only teach them one response "I'm fine. Thank you." However, when these students are 5th graders, I feel like I'm not really having a conversation with a real person.
The whole point of learning a language is to communicate--to be able to tell someone how you are feeling and why you are feeling that way. For this reason, one of my first lessons with my older students was to teach them other responses to the question "How are you?"
I kept it pretty simple, but we covered a range of emotions--like happy, sad, angry, good, bad. I told them that I never wanted them to tell me that they were "fine" because I could never be sure if that was a reflex answer or legitimately how they were feeling. I was really interested in getting them to really communicate.
Today, I was doing a Halloween activity with my students. It was a version of 20 questions where students had to pick a Halloween object and the rest of the class had to guess using only yes or no questions.
One student got mad that another student spoke out of turn and guessed before he had the chance to answer. Out of the blue, he said, "I'm sad." Surprised, I said, "Why are you sad?" He replied (IN ENGLISH!), "I wanted to ask the question... I'm angry."
Of course, I felt bad that he was sad, but I was excited that this student was able to articulate his feelings because I taught him the words to do so. I didn't prompt him to tell me that he was sad. He just said that he was sad.
On a day to day basis, sometimes, it's hard to see how students are improving--especially when you have 27 (IN JUST ONE CLASS!). I see probably around a hundred students a day! How can I keep track of how they are all doing? But, this is the type of moment that tells me that my work with the students makes a difference.
One of the other joys of teaching is hearing your students correctly use something that you've taught them without prompting them.
In language classes, there is sometimes a tendency to turn students into mini-robots. You want to teach them the target language, but you can teach them everything at once. So you start with something like, "How are you?" At this point, maybe you only teach them one response "I'm fine. Thank you." However, when these students are 5th graders, I feel like I'm not really having a conversation with a real person.
The whole point of learning a language is to communicate--to be able to tell someone how you are feeling and why you are feeling that way. For this reason, one of my first lessons with my older students was to teach them other responses to the question "How are you?"
I kept it pretty simple, but we covered a range of emotions--like happy, sad, angry, good, bad. I told them that I never wanted them to tell me that they were "fine" because I could never be sure if that was a reflex answer or legitimately how they were feeling. I was really interested in getting them to really communicate.
Today, I was doing a Halloween activity with my students. It was a version of 20 questions where students had to pick a Halloween object and the rest of the class had to guess using only yes or no questions.
One student got mad that another student spoke out of turn and guessed before he had the chance to answer. Out of the blue, he said, "I'm sad." Surprised, I said, "Why are you sad?" He replied (IN ENGLISH!), "I wanted to ask the question... I'm angry."
Of course, I felt bad that he was sad, but I was excited that this student was able to articulate his feelings because I taught him the words to do so. I didn't prompt him to tell me that he was sad. He just said that he was sad.
On a day to day basis, sometimes, it's hard to see how students are improving--especially when you have 27 (IN JUST ONE CLASS!). I see probably around a hundred students a day! How can I keep track of how they are all doing? But, this is the type of moment that tells me that my work with the students makes a difference.
Jornadas Part II
26 Oct 2011
Even though I had a rather long day at school, I decided to go to another session of the jornada (if you haven't been reading, this jornada is a conference on getting children excited about reading). This presentation was supposed to be given by Michael Grejniec, the author of A qué sabe la luna? (What does the Moon Taste Like?)
Unfortunately, Mr. Grejniec couldn't make it to his presentation. Apparently, he missed his train, and so he'll be coming to Alicante another day.
However, the organizers for the jornada had a guest speaker come forward to tell us the story of A qué sabe la luna?. This story is absolutely precious. The animals of the earth want to know what the moon tastes like so they try to reach it. The turtle can't reach it on his own so he calls the elephant--who calls the giraffe, who calls the lion, etc. I won't give away the ending here, but you can see and listen to the story here.
The speaker who took his place, Alonso Palacios, was also a good presenter. He focused mostly on oral tradition as a cultural reference for children. He talked about things like fingerplays, fairy tales, rhymes, proverbs, sayings, etc. as the way in which children learn about their culture as well as the way in which children learn how to read and write. He meant this in the sense that it is through stories that children learn that everything has a beginning, a middle, and an end. If children don't know this, they'll find it very difficult to write or tell others what is happening in their lives.
Throughout the presentation, he would randomly say some of these well-known phrases, rhymes, and fingerplays. I tried writing them down when I could, but I often couldn't write fast enough. So here are just a couple:
This is a tongue twister.
Tres tristes tigres tragaban trigo
en tres tristes platos en un trigal.
En tres tristes trastos en un trigal,
tres tristes tigres tragaban trigo.
This is what parents say when kids have a boo boo.
"sana sana
culito de rana
si no sanas hoy
sanaras mañana"
Even though I had a rather long day at school, I decided to go to another session of the jornada (if you haven't been reading, this jornada is a conference on getting children excited about reading). This presentation was supposed to be given by Michael Grejniec, the author of A qué sabe la luna? (What does the Moon Taste Like?)
Unfortunately, Mr. Grejniec couldn't make it to his presentation. Apparently, he missed his train, and so he'll be coming to Alicante another day.
However, the organizers for the jornada had a guest speaker come forward to tell us the story of A qué sabe la luna?. This story is absolutely precious. The animals of the earth want to know what the moon tastes like so they try to reach it. The turtle can't reach it on his own so he calls the elephant--who calls the giraffe, who calls the lion, etc. I won't give away the ending here, but you can see and listen to the story here.
The speaker who took his place, Alonso Palacios, was also a good presenter. He focused mostly on oral tradition as a cultural reference for children. He talked about things like fingerplays, fairy tales, rhymes, proverbs, sayings, etc. as the way in which children learn about their culture as well as the way in which children learn how to read and write. He meant this in the sense that it is through stories that children learn that everything has a beginning, a middle, and an end. If children don't know this, they'll find it very difficult to write or tell others what is happening in their lives.
Throughout the presentation, he would randomly say some of these well-known phrases, rhymes, and fingerplays. I tried writing them down when I could, but I often couldn't write fast enough. So here are just a couple:
This is a tongue twister.
Tres tristes tigres tragaban trigo
en tres tristes platos en un trigal.
En tres tristes trastos en un trigal,
tres tristes tigres tragaban trigo.
This is what parents say when kids have a boo boo.
"sana sana
culito de rana
si no sanas hoy
sanaras mañana"
Halloween begins
25 Oct 2011
Even though Halloween isn't for another week, Halloween has begun for me! I only meet with a majority of my classes once a week. So, in order to talk to each class about Halloween, I have to start early--especially since next Tuesday there isn't school.
For my 5th graders, I reviewed Halloween vocabulary with them. I was pleasantly surprised by how many words they remembered!
After reviewing, we played the game "Two Truths and a Lie." As the name suggests, in this game, students have to write three sentences--two are true and one is a lie. I asked my students to write Halloween themed sentences using the phrase "I like..." since this grammatical structure is what they are currently working on. Then, they worked in partners--asking "Do you like...?" until they found the lie. This enabled them to work with both 1st and 2nd person.
Next, I asked for volunteers to come to the front to demonstrate. After each person shared, I would ask the class, "What doesn't he/she like?" and "What does she/he like?" This allowed them to practice the difference between 3rd person singular and all the other forms--which is really key at this level. They are just starting to learn that 3rd person singular carries the -s.
I was really surprised to find that there were students that were practically begging me to let them have a turn. They were standing up in their chairs with their hands raised as high as they could.
Even though Halloween isn't for another week, Halloween has begun for me! I only meet with a majority of my classes once a week. So, in order to talk to each class about Halloween, I have to start early--especially since next Tuesday there isn't school.
For my 5th graders, I reviewed Halloween vocabulary with them. I was pleasantly surprised by how many words they remembered!
After reviewing, we played the game "Two Truths and a Lie." As the name suggests, in this game, students have to write three sentences--two are true and one is a lie. I asked my students to write Halloween themed sentences using the phrase "I like..." since this grammatical structure is what they are currently working on. Then, they worked in partners--asking "Do you like...?" until they found the lie. This enabled them to work with both 1st and 2nd person.
Next, I asked for volunteers to come to the front to demonstrate. After each person shared, I would ask the class, "What doesn't he/she like?" and "What does she/he like?" This allowed them to practice the difference between 3rd person singular and all the other forms--which is really key at this level. They are just starting to learn that 3rd person singular carries the -s.
I was really surprised to find that there were students that were practically begging me to let them have a turn. They were standing up in their chairs with their hands raised as high as they could.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
More interesting words/phrases...
cero zapatero--it literally means "zero shoemaker." It's a common rhyme used here when referring to the number zero.
flequillo--bangs
capucha--comes from the Latin word for something that covers the head; in Spanish, it means hood of a jacket
twitear--this is the verb used to say "tweet."
nana--lullaby
la hucha--piggy bank
luchar contra los molinos de viento--this phrase literally means: to fight against windmills. It comes from Don Quijote in which Don Quijote tries to fight a windmill (which he thinks is a giant). In Spanish, the phrase is used to talk about fight an impossible battle.
flequillo--bangs
capucha--comes from the Latin word for something that covers the head; in Spanish, it means hood of a jacket
twitear--this is the verb used to say "tweet."
nana--lullaby
la hucha--piggy bank
luchar contra los molinos de viento--this phrase literally means: to fight against windmills. It comes from Don Quijote in which Don Quijote tries to fight a windmill (which he thinks is a giant). In Spanish, the phrase is used to talk about fight an impossible battle.
The beginning of the jornadas...
24 Oct. 2011
This week, the Jornadas de la animación a la lectura begin. A jornada is a conference or a workshop. This one in particular is about getting children excited about reading.
Last week, one of the teachers at my school showed me a poster with information about this conference, and I was really excited about the prospect of attending! During the summer, I've worked at a public library as a Summer Reading Program (a program that tries to keep kids reading during the summer) aide. Part of my job has included helping with story time for toddlers and preschoolers. Consequently, I'm very interested in children's literature, and I wanted to know more about children's literature in Spain.
My teacher recommended going to the first day of the jornada because the presenter, Federico Martín Nebras, is quite the character. She told me that he was a little crazy (in a good way) and would turn the presentation into a spectacle. She did not exaggerate.
He looked kind of like the captain from Moby Dick. He had one of those strange grey beards that was just on his neck, and he was wearing a funny little cap. Check out a photo here.
He was really entertaining--joking that every time the microphone stopped working it was because he was saying something wrong.
But he had some deep ideas to share about what it means to read. I'll share just a few of the tidbits he imparted.
This week, the Jornadas de la animación a la lectura begin. A jornada is a conference or a workshop. This one in particular is about getting children excited about reading.
Last week, one of the teachers at my school showed me a poster with information about this conference, and I was really excited about the prospect of attending! During the summer, I've worked at a public library as a Summer Reading Program (a program that tries to keep kids reading during the summer) aide. Part of my job has included helping with story time for toddlers and preschoolers. Consequently, I'm very interested in children's literature, and I wanted to know more about children's literature in Spain.
My teacher recommended going to the first day of the jornada because the presenter, Federico Martín Nebras, is quite the character. She told me that he was a little crazy (in a good way) and would turn the presentation into a spectacle. She did not exaggerate.
He looked kind of like the captain from Moby Dick. He had one of those strange grey beards that was just on his neck, and he was wearing a funny little cap. Check out a photo here.
He was really entertaining--joking that every time the microphone stopped working it was because he was saying something wrong.
But he had some deep ideas to share about what it means to read. I'll share just a few of the tidbits he imparted.
- Read versus story-telling. Federico talked of the importance of the act of telling a story. Through telling a story, the narrator finds his or her voice.
- The point of story-telling is so that they say, "Again! Otra vez."
- It's when I am lost that I am most me. This reminded me of the philosophy of Thoreau--who says, "Not till we are lost, in other words not till we have lost the world, do we begin to find ourselves, and realize where we are and the infinite extent of our relations."
- When we are in the "other," we are so close to the "other" that we become the "other."
Sunday, October 23, 2011
A different way of living...
22 Oct. 2011
Since I'm going to have two weekends of traveling coming up, I decided that this weekend I would take the time to relax and get caught up. Even though I had planned to relax this weekend, I'm struck by the fact that "relax" is a relative term (at least for me).
In the United States (or at least in the rural part of the US), if I were going to have a relaxing weekend, it would probably mean that I would stay in my house for the weekend. I might rent a movie, read a book, or go for a walk.
However, in Spain, the pace of living is so different. It's much slower but also more full of activity. Part of this difference stems from a culture that values the act of enjoyment. For example, since lunch is the biggest meal of the day here, people are given a longer break to relax, eat lunch, and take a nap if they choose. In fact, stores will close at 2 or 3 PM for lunch and a siesta and re-open at 5 PM.
Another difference between life in the United States and Spain is that people spent most of their time outside of their apartments (because they tend to small), and people also stay out much later. Since dinner isn't until 9 or 10 PM, it's not uncommon to stay up until 1 or 2 AM during the week. On the weekends, people stay out until 5 AM or even all night.
That's a lot of time to fill up!
In the US, I think of relaxing as getting the chance to be by myself and do some quiet activity. Here, my "relaxing" time is always spent with other people outside of my apartment.
On a typical evening during the week, I'll meet up with someone at a café (coffee shop) or go out for tapas. Most days, I leave my apartment at 8 AM and don't go back until 8 or 9 PM.
As I mentioned before, I planned to relax this weekend. While it has been a relaxing weekend, it's also been so full of activity I wouldn't consider it relaxing in the US.
Today, a friend and I started out by going out for breakfast. We had some delicious freshly squeezed orange juice and toast with chopped tomato on top. Then, we continued on to the Market to buy produce and vegetables.
Later, we decided to go shopping because I'm trying to find a nice pair of boots--but I'm picky so it's been hard to find just the right pair. We went clothes and shoe shopping from 1 PM to 8 PM (with a break for lunch in the middle)!
In reflecting on my day, I thought about the idea of place and the role that it plays in how you live. The day that I just described is not a day that I would find relaxing in the United States. However, some aspect of living here in Spain influences how I look at relaxing.
This makes me wonder how I would find living in a city in the US. I'm sure that some of my experiences living in a city in Spain would be common to living in a city. However, I'm sure that there are some aspects that are uniquely Spanish.
Since I'm going to have two weekends of traveling coming up, I decided that this weekend I would take the time to relax and get caught up. Even though I had planned to relax this weekend, I'm struck by the fact that "relax" is a relative term (at least for me).
In the United States (or at least in the rural part of the US), if I were going to have a relaxing weekend, it would probably mean that I would stay in my house for the weekend. I might rent a movie, read a book, or go for a walk.
However, in Spain, the pace of living is so different. It's much slower but also more full of activity. Part of this difference stems from a culture that values the act of enjoyment. For example, since lunch is the biggest meal of the day here, people are given a longer break to relax, eat lunch, and take a nap if they choose. In fact, stores will close at 2 or 3 PM for lunch and a siesta and re-open at 5 PM.
Another difference between life in the United States and Spain is that people spent most of their time outside of their apartments (because they tend to small), and people also stay out much later. Since dinner isn't until 9 or 10 PM, it's not uncommon to stay up until 1 or 2 AM during the week. On the weekends, people stay out until 5 AM or even all night.
That's a lot of time to fill up!
In the US, I think of relaxing as getting the chance to be by myself and do some quiet activity. Here, my "relaxing" time is always spent with other people outside of my apartment.
On a typical evening during the week, I'll meet up with someone at a café (coffee shop) or go out for tapas. Most days, I leave my apartment at 8 AM and don't go back until 8 or 9 PM.
As I mentioned before, I planned to relax this weekend. While it has been a relaxing weekend, it's also been so full of activity I wouldn't consider it relaxing in the US.
Today, a friend and I started out by going out for breakfast. We had some delicious freshly squeezed orange juice and toast with chopped tomato on top. Then, we continued on to the Market to buy produce and vegetables.
Later, we decided to go shopping because I'm trying to find a nice pair of boots--but I'm picky so it's been hard to find just the right pair. We went clothes and shoe shopping from 1 PM to 8 PM (with a break for lunch in the middle)!
In reflecting on my day, I thought about the idea of place and the role that it plays in how you live. The day that I just described is not a day that I would find relaxing in the United States. However, some aspect of living here in Spain influences how I look at relaxing.
This makes me wonder how I would find living in a city in the US. I'm sure that some of my experiences living in a city in Spain would be common to living in a city. However, I'm sure that there are some aspects that are uniquely Spanish.
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