The most fun week EVER!!!

As a whole, for teaching, this past week has been the "most fun" so far.

With first grade, we are working on appearance and how to describe people (no her hair is not yellow, it is in fact blonde). So, we played Guess Who! What a great way to not only work on appearance, but also to work on asking questions, and comprehending answers.

With second grade, we made comics! Probably one of the best lessons I have done, because ALL of the students got involved. In Korea, special education basically doesn't exist, so all students are mainstreamed. So in the traditional Korean classroom, the students with special needs just sit at the back of the classroom and teachers ignore them. With this lesson however, they could participate (I let them write in Korean). Many students here read comic books, so being able to first fill in the bubbles, then make their own comic strip was great for them. They didn't even realize they were "learning" English.

I didn't think that I was going to teach third grade this week. However, the day before, the teacher told me that my schedule was changed and I would in fact be teaching them. At that point, it was too late to send stuff to copy (I can't use the copy machine here because, "you might break something"). Sooooo, we played boggle. We had prizes for the longest list of words, as well as words with the most letters in it.

This week, our county told us they had some grant money left over, and wants us to use it. So, I will begin teaching an after school program for students with the "best English ability" in our school. We will meet after school for two hours a day, for 12 or 13 days. It has to be project based, and we will end up with a product. I think that our project will be two-fold. First, the students will write a book. "The culture and history of Korea: From the perspective of Korean Middle School students" (this idea came from a teacher last year). I hope that they will really get into this, and take ownership in it.
Additionally, there are other ETA's who regularly teach an after school program. They have put together a photography contest. Students will take pictures on their cell phones, upload the pics to a computer, and add a story (in English) to describe their pictures. They will compete against other Korean middle school students. What a cool idea?!
Wish me luck, as I embark on these projects!

It is cold here now, most mornings it is right at or below freezing. It has only snowed once, and it didn't stick..... yet.

I hope you are all doing well!

Love,
Jacque