Teaching/Learning Jan26-Feb17/09

It is a learning curve, what to teach, how to teach, what students understand and discipline.

I read Swiss Family Robinson to Class 2 and give them words from the story and meanings for a spelling test. Archana explains the story etc.in Nepali.

I discover (through trial and error) that the students are very good at memorizing words and meanings but may not understand what they have memorized in order to use the new words in sentences or to fill in the blank with the correct word.

In the initial spelling tests there are many mistakes but I can see that students are really trying to spell the words by pronounciation. Some students need more time to copy down notes from the blackboard.

I organize the art supply cupboard and count the brushes to see how many more are needed for each class.

In library period I sit with some students from Class 1. Some girls read and ask me for help with some of the words...one girl beside me reads very well.

One afternoon, Archana has to leave for the afternoon, so I have her class. They are very noisy, I am not able to get them to be quiet. It helps when you know their names to call on a particular student that is talking.

I make class seating charts, so I can start to learn the names and faces of the students. I play Simon Says to give the students a break from learning and to teach them to listen.

Outside we play Drop the hankerchief and I let students blow bubbles, but I am mobbed by the little ones as they all want to play at once so it is very chaotic.

One day I am sitting outside correcting tests, children come around, watching over my shoulder. I pretend that I am a vicious animal, I snarl at them to scare them off but of course they find this fun, so eventually I go inside to finish correcting the tests. The more homework I give the students the more work I have to correct...have to change this.

The students are more interested when they are participating instead of just listening to me, they write the present, past and future tense of words on the board and for homework have to write sentences.

I tell both classes about Terry Fox and his dream. I want to inspire them to have a dream and believe they can achieve it. They draw and write good sentences about Terry Fox.