Katoh Schools: Week 11
November 11th, 2009Paul Worrell ‘10, Mansfield Foundation International Fellow in Elementary English Immersion Education
Greetings Fellows fans and Blog watchers,
It has been another busy week at Katoh Schools, and these past days have been quick, with the third grade catching up for lost time. We have had a lot of testing, and I am impressed with how well the students handled it. They do enjoy taking tests here, and they relish the chance to make a perfect score. In science we have started our new unit: Magnets! and it was fun to start the unit off by giving them magnet kits to explore. Using their magnets and other tools, the students were able to form hypotheses and test them as they uncovered everything magnetic. Giving them a chance to play and discover was great, and I hope to give them more opportunities to construct their own knowledge.
In English we are full speed ahead on our reader’s theater, and the students have taken on their animal personae from the story. We practice every opportunity we get, and have also used the story for our other English activities. Our spelling this week is all words from the jungle and the story, and their weekend journals were imaginative adventures as if they were their animals. Our spider wall to go with the main character, Anansi, is complete and it really showcases the students’ creativity.
A section of the classroom, showing our finished spider wall!
Math is where we are really rushing to catch up, and the students have a bit of a heavier workload each night. At Katoh Schools we always give math homework each night, but it is usually only one sheet. For this week, most nights have a front and a backside, so I am being careful to remind the students to do BOTH sides. Our unit is Division with large numbers, and the students are mastering their division skills. The lessons I have made present different division strategies, while incorporating review topics from other units. It is fun for both me and the kids to remember what we did in Length and Large Numbers as we tackle division story problems and the like.
In general at school we are really having fun, and it feels very natural to be the lead teacher for all of these different subjects. I have had about a week of full-time teaching, and it will continue all this month. It feels great to be in charge, and I really feel like a part of the school. This is paralleled in my host family, and I feel I have fit into the home nicely.
This last host family has perhaps the least amount of English of all my homes, but this has been great as I continue to learn some Japanese. We often speak in a mixed bi-lingual way, and we even have some fun jokes going. The many dogs at the house are a constant cause for fun, silliness, and sometimes messes. But they are quite loveable, and I enjoy spending time with them. The daughter and I are having fun playing together, and we have a lot of common interests. She has perhaps the best English of all the students I have lived with, so she acts as translator a lot.
At the Hakone-en aquarium were many beautiful animals, like this lovely duck.
Last weekend, we all went to Hakone, a mountainous region a 30 minute to an hour trip away from Numazu. We spent the day taking in the views, and going to an Aquarium and shopping complex. The animals were delightful, and to get around this area we had to take a ferry. I took some great pictures from the ferry, and this time of year the leaves are amazing in Japan. Along with the pretty leaves, however, the temperature finally dropped, and it has been cooler recently. I have appreciated the change, as summer seemed to carry on quite long enough for me.
A Japanese Maple, showing its Autumn leaves.
As this week continues I will keep teaching full-time, and surely have more fun with my host family. Keep reading to learn what I will experience next!
