I am enjoying my class this year teaching year 1 (equivalent to Kindergarten). I have 18 students and they are certainly a handful, but in a good way. They are really adorable and fun to teach. At the moment I have 9 non-English or beginner English students, which is my biggest challenge. Most of them are Portuguese speaking (either Brazilian or Angolan) so at least I am able to communicate with them. However, it’s quite difficult to have class discussions or do partner work when 1/2 the class doesn’t understand the other 1/2. I’ve never had a class with such a high a ratio of non-English speakers.
Anyway, we had a good time this week learning about the origins of food, which is our current unit of inquiry. They have to learn that food doesn’t come from the grocery store, but from plants and animals all over the world. We we made shopping list for some simple foods to make in class, then we took a field trip to the local supermarket to buy all the ingredients. In class we will be making (and eating, of course) tuna sandwiches, fruit salad, chocolate milkshakes and lemonade! The kids are loving it and, although it’s a lot of work, I am too.
Here are some pics of my students at the supermarket.
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