December 13th-December 17th 2010
It is hard to believe that my time at Monchy Primary School has come to an end. I had an amazing experience and have learned so much from the staff and students. I became a part of an entirely different culture which allowed me to appreciate the richness and value of diversity within our world. The teachers took time to take me around the island and experience some of the natural beauty and history St. Lucia has to offer. They welcomed me into their school as if I was one of their own. I am leaving the island with not only professional mentors, but lifelong friends. I was nervous to go abroad on my own, but I think the independence allowed me to form stronger relationships than I would have if someone else were with me. I found the confidence to open up and fully embrace a life much different from my own and in all reality, I enjoyed every second of it. I formed close relationships with my students and feel that I was able to reach each of them in a productive and efficient manner. In overwhelming and sometimes chaotic situations, I was able to pull myself together and empower my students to learn. I was a supportive teacher who emphasized the importance of education to a group of students who lacked that value and support at home. They confided in me what they felt they could not tell others and looked to me for guidance. I became not only a teacher, but also a role model, mother, sister and friend.
I think saying goodbye to my colleagues and students was by far the hardest thing I had to do in St. Lucia. My last day at Monchy was spent watching and facilitating the all-school Christmas concert. It was an awesome experience and a great way to end the term. However, the day ended with lots of heartfelt goodbyes and a few a tears. The teachers and both my grade six classes gave me gifts that I will cherish forever. I plan to go back to St. Lucia and visit in the future. But until then, I will continue to be in contact with the teachers and students when I return to Wisconsin. I have created bonds with many of them that will not be severed by distance. My words of advice to future student teachers would be: Take advantage of all opportunities that come your way. Learn, Live and Explore. The world has much more to offer than what lies immediately before us.
Goodbye St. Lucia xoxo
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Week Eight: Interactive Learning
December 6th- December 10th 2010
The main focus for this week was expository writing. The students learned how to explain a process in writing using the appropriate transitional words and fillers. I wanted to make the lesson exciting and interactive for the whole class so I decided to introduce the lesson by teaching the students how to bake a cake. I brought the supplies/ingredients needed to bake a cake and wrote out the steps on large strips of paper. The students put the steps in order on the chalkboard and came forward to perform the designated step after he/she placed it correctly on the board. The students really seemed to enjoy the activity and were eager to participate.
After the cake was prepared and ready to bake, we looked over the steps listed on the chalkboard. We then spent time discussing how these steps could be put into paragraph form (introduction,conclusion,your own details, etc). Students were then asked to use these steps to write a paragraph explaining how to make a cake. After correcting the paragraphs, I reviewed the concept with the students and discussed the general errors I found when correcting their work. I shared a few examples to show the students what was acceptable and what did not fully meet the requirements. Students were then asked to correct their paragraphs and resubmit them.
I did not give grades for the cake baking paragraphs, but instead used them as practice. The students were then asked to write an instructional paragraph on how to prepare their favorite dish. I reminded them that they must explain the process thoroughly, as though I had never heard of or made the dish before. This allowed me to see how well they understood and could use expository writing. I decided that I would assess them on their favorite dish paragraph after giving them one chance to make corrections. I found that most students understood the lesson on expository writing well, but simply just needed a little more practice with it. We spent the remainder of the week building their skills and reviewing expository writing. They were also able to do some peer editing which helped many of them to see the errors they were making. Overall, I think this was a successful lesson and I used a fun and effective way to get the students to understand the concepts.
The main focus for this week was expository writing. The students learned how to explain a process in writing using the appropriate transitional words and fillers. I wanted to make the lesson exciting and interactive for the whole class so I decided to introduce the lesson by teaching the students how to bake a cake. I brought the supplies/ingredients needed to bake a cake and wrote out the steps on large strips of paper. The students put the steps in order on the chalkboard and came forward to perform the designated step after he/she placed it correctly on the board. The students really seemed to enjoy the activity and were eager to participate.
After the cake was prepared and ready to bake, we looked over the steps listed on the chalkboard. We then spent time discussing how these steps could be put into paragraph form (introduction,conclusion,your own details, etc). Students were then asked to use these steps to write a paragraph explaining how to make a cake. After correcting the paragraphs, I reviewed the concept with the students and discussed the general errors I found when correcting their work. I shared a few examples to show the students what was acceptable and what did not fully meet the requirements. Students were then asked to correct their paragraphs and resubmit them.
I did not give grades for the cake baking paragraphs, but instead used them as practice. The students were then asked to write an instructional paragraph on how to prepare their favorite dish. I reminded them that they must explain the process thoroughly, as though I had never heard of or made the dish before. This allowed me to see how well they understood and could use expository writing. I decided that I would assess them on their favorite dish paragraph after giving them one chance to make corrections. I found that most students understood the lesson on expository writing well, but simply just needed a little more practice with it. We spent the remainder of the week building their skills and reviewing expository writing. They were also able to do some peer editing which helped many of them to see the errors they were making. Overall, I think this was a successful lesson and I used a fun and effective way to get the students to understand the concepts.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Week Seven: Eager to Learn
November 29th-December 3rd 2010
Every week the students review how to identify the main idea of a passage. This is a skill that they will need to use on their Common Entrance Exam. We usually do one together as a class and then students are instructed to do one on their own. After correcting them, it seems that most students are able to identify the topic and main idea of a passage. I think it is good that the teachers consistently review this with them because I have noticed that many have continued to improve over the past few weeks.
The students also have to read a weekly passage and answer the corresponding comprehensive questions. We read the passage together as a class and discussed any unfamiliar words or sections talked about. Students then must answer the multiple choice questions that follow on their own. This activity makes students think at a higher level because most of the questions cannot be directly answered by using the text. Students are forced to read, comprehend and apply their knowledge to the passage in order to answer the questions correctly.
Another main focus this week was introducing the formal letter of complaint. Students were familiar with writing a friendly letter from prior lessons, but had not yet dealt with the letter of complaint. It was nice that they at least had a frame of reference which they could compare this new knowledge to. I had to explain the components necessary to form a letter of complaint and then we constructed one on the board together as a class.
The remainder of the week had a large focus on grammar and punctuation. We discussed various topics: words with "ie" and "ei," homophones, internal punctuation (commas,apostrophes,quotations), and subject/verb agreement.I was a little nervous about teaching grammar and punctuation because I have never had to do so yet. I tried to make it as interesting as possible by allowing the students to get out of their seats and participate in partner and/or group work. Students came up to the chalkboard to write answers, which was something they seemed to really enjoy. They learned how to encourage and guide one another. Peer to peer correction seemed to really help the students understand the material.
Students at Monchy mainly use recitation and repetition to learn the curriculum, so they were very interested in any active approaches I tried to integrate into the lessons. For example, I gave each student a card with a word on it and they were asked to pair up with another student based on some type of similarity (compound words,homophones,etc.). The students really enjoyed the active participation and responded well to the activity. They also had to share a brief explanation of why they paired up with the person they did. It was a great way to start a lesson and get students interested. Not to mention, students felt that they had a sense of familiarity with the topic as a result of the opening activity.
Every week the students review how to identify the main idea of a passage. This is a skill that they will need to use on their Common Entrance Exam. We usually do one together as a class and then students are instructed to do one on their own. After correcting them, it seems that most students are able to identify the topic and main idea of a passage. I think it is good that the teachers consistently review this with them because I have noticed that many have continued to improve over the past few weeks.
The students also have to read a weekly passage and answer the corresponding comprehensive questions. We read the passage together as a class and discussed any unfamiliar words or sections talked about. Students then must answer the multiple choice questions that follow on their own. This activity makes students think at a higher level because most of the questions cannot be directly answered by using the text. Students are forced to read, comprehend and apply their knowledge to the passage in order to answer the questions correctly.
Another main focus this week was introducing the formal letter of complaint. Students were familiar with writing a friendly letter from prior lessons, but had not yet dealt with the letter of complaint. It was nice that they at least had a frame of reference which they could compare this new knowledge to. I had to explain the components necessary to form a letter of complaint and then we constructed one on the board together as a class.
The remainder of the week had a large focus on grammar and punctuation. We discussed various topics: words with "ie" and "ei," homophones, internal punctuation (commas,apostrophes,quotations), and subject/verb agreement.I was a little nervous about teaching grammar and punctuation because I have never had to do so yet. I tried to make it as interesting as possible by allowing the students to get out of their seats and participate in partner and/or group work. Students came up to the chalkboard to write answers, which was something they seemed to really enjoy. They learned how to encourage and guide one another. Peer to peer correction seemed to really help the students understand the material.
Students at Monchy mainly use recitation and repetition to learn the curriculum, so they were very interested in any active approaches I tried to integrate into the lessons. For example, I gave each student a card with a word on it and they were asked to pair up with another student based on some type of similarity (compound words,homophones,etc.). The students really enjoyed the active participation and responded well to the activity. They also had to share a brief explanation of why they paired up with the person they did. It was a great way to start a lesson and get students interested. Not to mention, students felt that they had a sense of familiarity with the topic as a result of the opening activity.
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