Attack of the Campers!

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Well, I survived the first "teaching" day. I have a VERY low group of students. I'm not sure at all how much they understand of what I'm telling them or if they can follow my directions, even though I'm speaking slowly and in short, simple sentences. Some things they seemed to be able to do alright, but others, simple things like a quick skit about how to use "Please" in context was difficult for them.

The days are long. We had three hours this morning of getting to know you activities, and the first hour was spent on drawing their name and five things they like and presenting it to the class. There are only 10 kids! The next hour was doing a family tree diagram and then presenting that to the class. The last hour we spent on vocabulary--words you use to be polite, words they knew related to food, playing Simon Says and singing "Head and Shoulders".

The afternoon was also long. An hour of Western class, where I was teaching them about Canadian money, then an hour of Phys. Ed. outside in the heat, then another hour of Western class (back to the money lesson and a brief intro into Canadian music), then another hour of Dictation/Pronunciation. Whew! Long day for these kids, and then they have study hall after dinner for 2 hours! BRUTAL! I know that I'm wiped and I'm free in the evening!

I have 5 boys and 5 girls in the class, and while the girls are sweet (and probably the stronger students), there are a couple of boys who are already trying my patience. One boy took off on me at lunch, after lunch, and then was hacking at tree during Phys. Ed. with his hockey stick. Another boy fell asleep in my class and was in a bad mood all day, never smiling or wanting to do ANYTHING. Another boy just seems completely lost as he doesn't seem to understand what is going on anytime during the day. The other two boys seem okay, but lower in their language capabilities.

I have no idea what I'm going to do tomorrow with them, but I'm sure I'll muddle along. We have a workbook that the company would like us to use, and while some of it is crap, other sections are not THAT bad. I'm sure I'll think of something. Just wish I could remember all those simple songs I learned as a kid to sing with them to teach them vocab!

Well, I'm off to my classroom to tidy and organize a bit. It's after 9pm so they should be out by now, but who knows? Things do definitely seem to work differently over here!

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Comments

[mick]

crazy campers!
wow! sounds like you've got quite a group there, sue! funny how teaching BOYS can often be challenging in a different way :) i feel sorry for these kids being at CAMP and having study hall at night...don't they get to do anything fun like field trips?! sheesh! western music sounds fun...what do they think of it so far? i can just picture this group of kiddies running around you asking (or trying to) find out all they can about 'great big sea' and newfoundland!! can't wait to hear how tomorrow goes... have a great day! mick

[Sue70]

No GBS fans here!
Unfortunately, the Western music is not going over well at all. They don't seem to like it (or at least are poker-faced about it) and don't even really understand WHERE Canada is, let alone what Newfoundland is all about. Even the postcards of Toronto and Canada that I have brought over don't really seem to pique their curiosity. Either they are not interested or it's beyond the scope of their world knowledge. I thought they'd really like hearing different music. You have no idea how disappointed I am. Perhaps if I had a higher level class, they might enjoy it more because then they could understand the lyrics....