1: My opening routine this semester is to have a question of the day that we discuss by thinking about the answer, pairing with a partner, and then sharing with the class (think, pair, share!). It’s been a great way to get them thinking and speaking in English from the beginning of class. On my Mondays my question is usually, “what did you do this weekend?” and most students reply “I did my homework”, “I played computer games”, “I went to the park.” This particular Monday my new student, who is a lovely girl from Thailand that has a very high level of English, said “I went to a coffee shop and I drank coffee.” What a sophisticated weekend this little 4th grader had!
2: Another one of my higher level students that I teach also use to be in my activity class last semester(a special class I co-teach with a couple of my teammates once a week that has an English focus but we can basically do whatever we want. This semester we are doing a “through the decades” theme which has been a lot of fun! We teach a song and dance from the time period and talk about some of the major events and inventions during that particular decade…I’m in charge of the dance each week so we’ve done The Charleston and swing dance for the 1920’s and 1930’s!). This particular student is one that always makes me laugh and we can actually have a full English conversation, however he is not in my activity class this semester. I saw him in the hallway the day after our first activity class of the semester and said “Why are you not in my activity class anymore!? I will miss getting to talk with you.” Very sincerely he replies in his cute Chinese-English accent “Ms. Katie, I know, I know. I am sorry I have signed up for a different class and I cannot be in two places at once, you see. You teach me for regular English class this afternoon though, thank you very much!” And off he went down the hallway as I am laughing to myself.
3: Our office shares a wall with the 6th grade boys bathroom and one day we were all focused on lesson planning and such so it was pretty quiet until we hear a 6th grade boy belting out “We are the world, we are the children” opera style. People of all ages in this country just love Michael Jackson!
4: Another funny but mischievous story is of a student in my class who drew on my pants. I am laughing right now because it’s so ridiculous! I was leaning down to help her with an assignment and I sort of felt something on the back of my leg and she smiled a little smirk at me, but I didn’t really think anything about it as I was trying to get to the other 32 students in the class to help them too. When I got home from school I noticed the big black pen line down my khaki pants and immediately knew who the perpetrator was. I put the pants in a bag to bring as evidence to confront her with the next day. I found her between classes and pulled her aside in the hallway and asked her if she had drawn on the pants. I had a note prepared for her to copy that my roommate helped me compose (we were laughing the whole time as we wrote it) that said something along the lines of “Ms. Katie, I am sorry I wrote on your pants. I know it is difficult to get pen out of clothing. I was not being respectful when I made the choice to do that and I will not do it again.” She denied her actions, but then I started singing the “Honesty Song” we have been learning, as honesty is our character focus this month. I asked her “Are you being honest and telling the truth?” She continued to say she didn’t do it, so I figured if anything I scared her a little bit and got the chance to share with her a little more about the importance of honesty.
Even though they can be troublesome at times, I am incredibly thankful for my student’s laughter, hugs, and the joy they bring to my life. I will miss their cute Chinese faces and the funny way some things translate when they speak. I don’t want to take for granted this precious time I have left with them this semester!
