I'm now in my sixth (!) week of teaching and oh what a time it has been. After giving my self-introduction PowerPoint 21 times and getting through midterm season, I started lesson planning and leading class activities a few weeks ago.
In general, class time is split into two parts: 1) a (usually PowerPoint) presentation on the material and 2) one or two activities to enhance comprehension. Since I see each class section (from two separate grades) twice each week, that means creating four lesson plans and repeating each one five times. The first time I carry out a lesson is usually a little intimidating, and almost feels like a dress rehearsal. But by the time I get to classes 3 and 4, I've hit my stride. Teaching this way can get a little repetitive, but I still prefer repeating fewer lessons to having to plan more content like my fellow ETAs who teach a wider range of grades.
Last week, I was with Doreen and the 5th and 6th graders. The 5th graders were learning about animals, so my cinephile self went into a deep dive of animal movies to find clips for the vocab PowerPoint presentation. (Prime examples included Madagascar, Spirit and Kung Fu Panda). Of course, I was pulling from my own childhood movies which all date back to the early/mid 2000s, aka years before any of my students were born. Here's to feeling old at age 23.
That week, I took the lead on presenting the PowerPoints with Doreen stepping in to provide extra information or clarify certain parts in Mandarin. In terms of teaching style, one of the biggest adjustments I've had to make is giving explanations with as few words as possible. Compared to Mandarin, English is a pretty wordy language, and my students haven't learned too many prepositions so even a few unfamiliar words can throw them off. Instead of speaking in full sentences, I try to stick to the most basic action words and nouns and use hand gestures and visual examples.
After presenting the current unit material, it's time for the comprehension activities to help the students practice. I've found that the more competitive the activity, the higher the student engagement. Sometimes the kids get really invested, and I tell you, there's nothing like seeing a group of 11-year-olds losing their mind over a game of tic-tac-toe.
1) From watching the vocab presentation to 2) A very serious game of Go Fish
My favorite activity so far has been a memory game I played with my sixth graders. I made flashcards of the vocab words and their corresponding images and stuck them face down on the blackboard. Students would approach the board and choose two cards. If the image and vocab word matched, they'd get 10 points and even if not, they'd still get 5 points by using the vocab word in a sentence. We also threw in some bonus cards, such as "Lose all your points" or "Bonus 5 points" to add more competition and suspense.
Me trying to use as few words as possible to explain this game
In addition to teaching, I've also been helping my students and LETs (Lead English Teachers) prepare for Yunlin County's annual English competitions, such as the Spelling Bee. As the leader of Jhennan Elementary's Spelling Bee entrants, my LET, Amy, tasked me to write and record sample Spelling Bee sentences for student practice sessions. To start me off, she gave me a few examples, including this memorable one: "Heart: If you break Sasha's heart, she will break your legs."
Daaaaaaang, this is some intense Spelling Bee prep, I remember thinking.
Using Amy's examples as a model, I've been writing and recording 100 sentences every week. Because writing 100 vocab sentences can add up, I've been trying to inject some fun by weaving the sentences together into one story or by using the same names and providing continuity of characters. For instance, I gave our girl Sasha a girlfriend........who I now realize will have to be super careful about not breaking Sasha's heart.
Reader's Theater is the name of another Yunlin English competition where a small group of students acts out a short skit. Earlier in the school year, I helped Doreen edit this year's script which revolves around Taiwan's May COVID-19 outbreak and the subsequent school shutdowns. 8 students will read and act out the scenes during the competition. So far, they've been rehearsing every Monday and Thursday during naptime, with Doreen leading and me giving tips on pronunciation.
Despite a busy schedule of classes and competition prep, co-teaching at Jhennan isn't all work and no play! Last week, Doreen and I joined a sixth grade field trip to Nantou, a neighboring county, to visit 車埕火車站 or Checheng Railway Station. The mountainous area is well-known for its historical role as a wood/lumber-provider, particularly under the Japanese colonial era. The railway station itself dates back to Japanese control, as we could see from the structure's intricate design. We had a good time learning about the station as well as exploring the small town next door. We also participated in a DIY footstool-making activity, which was fun and also pleased my Douliu roommates with some free furniture. Besides the lovely scenery and surprise souvenir, it was nice spending time with my students outside the classroom.
In addition to the students, I've also loved getting to know my colleagues as we chat in the teacher office, often swapping snacks and gossip. I had another chance to hang out with them during Jhennan's annual PTA banquet a week ago. For those who don't know, 10-course banquets are the norm for Taiwanese special gatherings, such as weddings, birthdays, and PTA events! 10 courses may seem like a lot, but with large groups, each person only gets a bite or two of each course so it works out pretty well in the end. I personally love eating family-style and being able to try a little bit of a variety of dishes.
I attended the banquet with Doreen and Amy as well as Jhennan's IT head, Ting-yu, and guidance counselor, Wen-jia. I loved being a part of their female squad, chatting and eating with them in the back of the banquet hall while the school and local leaders made speeches. For all the glory of the 10-course banquet, the affair was pretty casual; nobody dressed up and everyone just hung out and ate while Maroon 5 played over the speakers. (Taiwanese people really like Maroon 5; don't ask me why). People tend to bring their whole families to this type of event, so there also were kids running around. The scene was a little chaotic, but a nice chaotic.
Anyway, I'm glad to be settling in nicely into the Jhennan community!
The squad, from left: Ting-yu, Doreen, me, Amy, Wen-jia
Feast your eyes on the banquet spread. Haha pun intended.
Moment of Joy/Humor: Doreen and I were trying to teach the 5th graders some animal phrases like, "The elephant in the room" or "lion-hearted." Some of the kids were confused, which is how we ended up with gem phrases like, "The turtle in the room" and "bear-hearted." Honestly, I think the latter versions are cuter!