23, February 2010: Teaching class #2

This week our group focused on the topics of family, activities/sports and animals. I started out with a quick review at the beginning, just going over basic introductions (Je m'appelle...etc). We started the different members of the family. Then we went over sports/activities and had a video and a cool match-up game that the kids were able to play. I thought this was a good idea because the terms on the sheet were words similar to the same words they meant in English so it was easy for them to figure out and seemed to make them feel more comfortable with what we were trying to teach them. Most didn't even need any help from us. They were able to figure it out on their own which I thought was awesome!

We taught animals during the last part of the class. We had beanie babies hidden around the room and split up the remaining four girls into two teams and had them find the certain animals that were on their list. I think they all had fun doing this and when we reviewed the different animals they had, they seemed to know right away which one was which.

I feel that this class was a success. We didn't seem to be rushing around like last time and we had our topics well spaced out. Although I'm sad that we lost one of our students, I have been very happy with the overall behavior of our group so far. With just four girls left, they are all very respectful towards us and one another.

If there's anything I think we could improve on, it would be continuing to come up with engaging activities that keep the class interesting. I think we should also try to work on coming up with more ideas for their alphabet books. Maybe next class we could assign them a drawing activity or have them cut out and color things to glue inside. But overall I think everyone in our group did a great job and I can't wait for next week!

2, February 2010: Teaching Class #1

Bonjour!

Yesterday was our group's first class session at the elementary school. We went over the alphabet, basic introductions, colors, and started body parts. I was in charge of the body parts and passed out handouts and brought the game Twister from home.
Overall, I thought it went pretty well for our first class. It was a little awkward at first because the kids didn't really know what to expect and I think we were nervous too. (I know I was!) But, then we got going and it much became smoother as we went and got into the groove of things. I was very impressed by the kids who often repeated back to us what we were saying in french without having to be asked. They seemed genuinely interested, making comparisons between french and what they already knew from Spanish.
Some were also very shy and I would love to find a way to help bring them out of their shells and get them more engaged in the activities. But games definitely seem the way to go. They all seemed to enjoy playing twister and I think it would be a good idea to play it again next week as a review of colors, and body parts.
Something I would like to improve on for next week is better time management. I feel like we ought to have spent more time on introductions, (maybe helping them practise talking back and forth to each other) and giving them more time to decorate and color the front of their alphabet books. Looking back, I also feel like I really rushed through body parts, just teaching them hand and foot in order to play the game. Maybe I should have gone into more detail and waited until next week to play the game instead of going over it so fast.
However I can honestly say I really enjoyed myself and I hope the kids did too. I can't wait to go back next Tuesday!

Au Revoir!