Last week was the beginning of the p-classes!! The older kids, oh my! On Wednesday and Fridays, I teach the older kids after regular school hours. School ends at 4:10 and then all foreign teachers have a break from 4:10-4:40. At 4:40, I start teaching the first p-class. Unlike the kindergarden classes which are 30 minutes long, p-classes are 40 minutes. The first p-class goes from 4:40-5:20, 10 minute break, and the second p-class is from 5:30-6:10 p.m. My first class is P-6A; the students are around age 15. My second class is P-3A, in which the students are a bit younger about age 12. The two p-classes I teach are very different from each other like most classes are (teachers you can relate to this). I'm beginning to think I will enjoy teaching the older kids more compared to kindergarden. But, we shall see as time goes on. They are just very different from each other.
The p-classes are a lot less games and NO songs. The kids are at the level where they can understand English, but at times I must go slow for the students to comprehend and answer questions I propose. The first lesson I had with P-6A, I really enjoyed. I began class by introducing myself for a bit and then went around the room getting to know them, their name and 1 thing about themselves they would like to share. I stated my classroom rules and then asked if they had any for me or each other. Then, we went over our 10 vocabulary words for the unit. I explain the definition and such. We practiced reading and also worked from our textbook. I felt like I was actually teaching and not just playing around like I do with kindergarden. My second class, P3A, went a lot better on Friday then it did on Wednesday. My co-teacher, Angela, is the head of the school. She basically wanted me to dive into the first lesson right away, no introduction or going over classroom rules or anything. After teaching P-6 and having a great time with them, I think I was just hoping for the same in my next class. I think I just hadn't transitioned very well between the two classes. Also, Angela wanted me to cover too much content on Wednesday for a 40 minute lesson, forty minutes goes by really fast! I feel Friday went better because I cut down on the content by half; I also incorporated a fun learning activity. Angela and I both thought the activity went really well. In class we are learning the words: up, down, over, into, between, through, etc. from our story about the dragon. So, I had the students create an obstacle course in the classroom. I had one volunteer go through the course at a time, while the other kids said the path the dragon took. The kids loved it and I know it will help them remember the words better.
After three weeks of teaching kindergarden, I know have a lot more respect for kindergarden teachers. Kindergarden takes a lot of patience and the ability to entertain in a fun and creative way all day. It takes a lot more energy than I ever imagined. I'm still in the process of learning how to incorporate fun, kid games into my teaching. I know all it takes is time and practice!
I really do like the school atmosphere and teaching older kids reminds me of when I was a student. At this time in my life, I feel I can relate more with the older kids. When I'm teaching kindergarden I'm more of a babysitter than anything. .. A lot more to still learn.
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