It has been a really busy month with report cards and getting ready for the Christmas play as well as preparing for a two week long visit to the states. I am at a new school this year, which I really love and silly me, I signed up to be the director of the Christmas play and handle all the props and sets! It has been a really amazing albeit a tiring experience so far. We are T-7 days until our performance. Luckily there have been a bunch of supportive teachers who have come to help supervise prop production after school, and there are 23 middle school and high school volunteers who have helped out with various props and set pieces.
The more I work on productions like this the more important I think that they are for the kids and the adults to experience. I have been lucky enough to have worked in schools that value the arts and drama. The school that I student taught at was an arts focused elementary school where the 5th graders wrote and performed a play as a capstone project. At my previous school we had each grade create a scene of a play based upon what the were learning and tied them all together.
This year I am very excited to say that the kids researched Christmas celebrations from around the world and wrote a scene to teach the rest of the school and the parents about what they learned. Our performance will include students from Montessori through 5th grade. A group of fifth graders will connect the various performances through vignettes where they discuss the upcoming Christmas holiday and how they celebrate it in their home countries. Having kids involved in the research, writing, technology, and staging process makes them much more invested in the production and performance of the play. They also have more fun and remember their parts better.
Up front having the kids so involved can seem daunting to teachers new to this idea, but with the little ones you can do joint research, read together, discuss ideas, and type what they say as they say it. A projector is great for this kind of project so that the kids can see their ideas appear and discuss what happens next. For me the most important part of this process is that the kids have ownership over the production, and get to experience public speaking in a fun way. Drama is a great way for kids to express themselves inside and outside of the classroom, if only we give them the freedom to try it.
Looking forward to seeing how things pull together!
What do you think about elementary school productions? Should they be based on memorization and classic scripts, classic scripts adapted to meet the kids, or all original?
Do you see them as an interruption to the curriculum or an important part of the curriculum?
I'd love to hear your thoughts. Please leave them in the comments below.
Thursday, December 4, 2014
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Teaching History in an International Setting
We have all heard the words "history is written by the victors," and to some extent that is true, but I think that leads to a fundamental lack of historical context and understanding. A few weeks ago a student of mine said, "Mrs. G. you are so lucky, your country was on the good side of WWII, Japan was on the bad side. Why were we so mean?" This really froze me in my tracks.I think that every country has something in its history that people aren't proud of. Instead of hiding those conflicts from children shouldn't they be explored? Shouldn't we questions why our countries were involved in wars and conflicts on sides that in retrospect seem absurd? Shouldn't the fact that they seem absurd now lead us to question what life was like at the time? What information the common people had access to? What might motivate them to stand where they did?
The more time I spend abroad the more I notice differences in historical understanding between students from different places.Upon reflecting on my experiences learning about history growing up I began to question some of the ways we teach history.
I grew up in Oregon, very close to the end of the Oregon trail. Oregon history, Native American History, and Pioneer History were the cornerstone of my early understanding of history. While starting locally and expanding from there makes sense to me, did I really need to go to the Pioneer School three different times for the day in the life of a pioneer school child field trip? It was a great experience to spend a day in a pioneer school making candles, and seeing what life would have been like, but three times was a bit excessive. As an American I have a pretty basic understanding of American history. We learned about the "fifty nifty United States" and the "thirteen original colonies". We learned about a variety of civil war battles, and a lot about slavery and the abolition of it. I also had Manifest Destiny drilled into me. What I learned is not what I find troubling. What I didn't learn is what bothers me. Why when teaching me about U.S. history did my teachers fail to mention Japanese Internment Camps? Why was I taught about WWII, but it was never mentioned that we stayed out of the war as long as possible, and stepped in only when we feared the war may reach our shores? Why was I never taught to think about the other side of conflicts involving the U.S. and why people would be fighting against my country? Why when we learned what a great melting pot the U.S. is didn't anyone mention Native American Boarding Schools, the fact that people were sterilized and forced to assimilate? Why was I made to feel unpatriotic when I learned of these events and asked questions?
Living in Japan I have been fascinated to hear and see what is taught about World War II, conflicts between Korea and Japan, and history in general. It is a very different story than what I learned. I tend to believe that history is told from multiple perspectives and that we need to have exposure to all of them to really understand all the motivations at play. It is human nature to want to shed a favorable light on a group that you belong to, but when this distorts reality it becomes problematic. The more time I spend abroad and working with kids from all over the world more I think we need to stop teaching history as one set of facts. We need to stop covering all of U.S. history in K-11 and beginning to touch on "World History" (code for British history in my experience) only when kids reach their last year of high school. Yes you need to start with local history and know it somewhat in depth before you can move on to world history, but did I need to learn specifics about so many civil war battles? Does the number of people who died in each battle really matter? Will kids remember it? Learning about your country is important, but what about these kids who are citizens of the world? Who are bi-cultural and living in a foreign country? I think we underestimate what kids are capable of. Wouldn't my time have been better spent learning about a variety of conflicts around the world from a variety of time periods and comparing and contrasting them to what has happened in my country even if that resulted in a more broad understanding of my country's history?
This year through a couple of key projects my students examined different times and places throughout history. One of the projects was a Peacemaker project. Each student named and researched a Peacemaker from history, and learned about what the world was like when they were growing up, what challenges they faced, what outcome they wanted, and how they went about achieving it. Then they had to look at the flip side. Who wanted to stop them from achieving their goals? Why did those people want things to stay the way they were, or to change in a way that went against the Peacemaker they studied? When they had completed their research they shared their learning with the rest of the class. The resulting conversations about the similarities and differences between the peacemakers and what they fought for, as well as the observations that arose regarding the way in which the same types of conflicts keep happening over and over again, far surpassed any of the textbook initiated conversations I have heard. While it is impossible for anyone to learn all of the world's history, I think that it is important that we expose kids to more global history at an earlier age, and encourage them to ask difficult questions about the various perspectives of conflicts.
The more time I spend abroad the more I notice differences in historical understanding between students from different places.Upon reflecting on my experiences learning about history growing up I began to question some of the ways we teach history.
I grew up in Oregon, very close to the end of the Oregon trail. Oregon history, Native American History, and Pioneer History were the cornerstone of my early understanding of history. While starting locally and expanding from there makes sense to me, did I really need to go to the Pioneer School three different times for the day in the life of a pioneer school child field trip? It was a great experience to spend a day in a pioneer school making candles, and seeing what life would have been like, but three times was a bit excessive. As an American I have a pretty basic understanding of American history. We learned about the "fifty nifty United States" and the "thirteen original colonies". We learned about a variety of civil war battles, and a lot about slavery and the abolition of it. I also had Manifest Destiny drilled into me. What I learned is not what I find troubling. What I didn't learn is what bothers me. Why when teaching me about U.S. history did my teachers fail to mention Japanese Internment Camps? Why was I taught about WWII, but it was never mentioned that we stayed out of the war as long as possible, and stepped in only when we feared the war may reach our shores? Why was I never taught to think about the other side of conflicts involving the U.S. and why people would be fighting against my country? Why when we learned what a great melting pot the U.S. is didn't anyone mention Native American Boarding Schools, the fact that people were sterilized and forced to assimilate? Why was I made to feel unpatriotic when I learned of these events and asked questions?
Living in Japan I have been fascinated to hear and see what is taught about World War II, conflicts between Korea and Japan, and history in general. It is a very different story than what I learned. I tend to believe that history is told from multiple perspectives and that we need to have exposure to all of them to really understand all the motivations at play. It is human nature to want to shed a favorable light on a group that you belong to, but when this distorts reality it becomes problematic. The more time I spend abroad and working with kids from all over the world more I think we need to stop teaching history as one set of facts. We need to stop covering all of U.S. history in K-11 and beginning to touch on "World History" (code for British history in my experience) only when kids reach their last year of high school. Yes you need to start with local history and know it somewhat in depth before you can move on to world history, but did I need to learn specifics about so many civil war battles? Does the number of people who died in each battle really matter? Will kids remember it? Learning about your country is important, but what about these kids who are citizens of the world? Who are bi-cultural and living in a foreign country? I think we underestimate what kids are capable of. Wouldn't my time have been better spent learning about a variety of conflicts around the world from a variety of time periods and comparing and contrasting them to what has happened in my country even if that resulted in a more broad understanding of my country's history?
This year through a couple of key projects my students examined different times and places throughout history. One of the projects was a Peacemaker project. Each student named and researched a Peacemaker from history, and learned about what the world was like when they were growing up, what challenges they faced, what outcome they wanted, and how they went about achieving it. Then they had to look at the flip side. Who wanted to stop them from achieving their goals? Why did those people want things to stay the way they were, or to change in a way that went against the Peacemaker they studied? When they had completed their research they shared their learning with the rest of the class. The resulting conversations about the similarities and differences between the peacemakers and what they fought for, as well as the observations that arose regarding the way in which the same types of conflicts keep happening over and over again, far surpassed any of the textbook initiated conversations I have heard. While it is impossible for anyone to learn all of the world's history, I think that it is important that we expose kids to more global history at an earlier age, and encourage them to ask difficult questions about the various perspectives of conflicts.
Friday, June 13, 2014
Technology in the classroom as a resource for working with ELLs.
Working with primarily English Language Learners has challenged me to re-examine the way that I do things in my classroom. While I firmly believe that what is good for English language learners is good for all students, I also think that some extra pre-teaching of vocabulary, and access to resources like dictionaries and focus on grammar is more essential when kids are juggling a variety of languages with conflicting rules.
This past year my school invested in smart boards and they are such a wonderful resource! One simple thing that I have found very helpful is that during read aloud time I use the kindle application on the SmartBoard. That way students can follow along with me when I am reading, write down words they don't know, touch the board for the definition of the word they don't know, and we stop and discuss what is happening and make predictions along the way. They can also take turns reading aloud, but we only need to purchase one copy of the book. While my students keep a reading journal and record their thoughts, predictions, fabulous sentences, and work on visualization etc. in their journals, we also record some of our questions, connections, and predictions using the notes feature of the app. Then when we finish a book we can look back through and see what sorts of predictions and questions helped us delve deeper into the book, and what connections might be something we thought of, but didn't really impact comprehension. A definite bonus is that for a few extra dollars many of these books will allow you to download the Audible recording of the book, a necessity when you catch those fall colds and extended periods of talking or reading lead to coughing fits!
Another application that I find really helpful is the ReadWithMe application. You can use it on the computer or on an i-pad and it eliminates the paperwork of miscue analysis and stores it where you can access it at any time, from anywhere. It also allows you input comprehension questions, use their suggested short readings, and input your own. It also provides you with data on both the individual children in your class as well as a whole class overview.
With younger kids Oxford Owl, and Reading Rainbow are great apps because children can choose to read, or be read to while following along. For schools with tight budgets WeGiveBooks.org is a great resource where you can sign up for free, read a variety of books and get books donated to schools in need.
What applications, programs, and technology do you find useful in the classroom? What applications and programs do you find particularly useful in working with the ELL population? I would love to here your thoughts!
This past year my school invested in smart boards and they are such a wonderful resource! One simple thing that I have found very helpful is that during read aloud time I use the kindle application on the SmartBoard. That way students can follow along with me when I am reading, write down words they don't know, touch the board for the definition of the word they don't know, and we stop and discuss what is happening and make predictions along the way. They can also take turns reading aloud, but we only need to purchase one copy of the book. While my students keep a reading journal and record their thoughts, predictions, fabulous sentences, and work on visualization etc. in their journals, we also record some of our questions, connections, and predictions using the notes feature of the app. Then when we finish a book we can look back through and see what sorts of predictions and questions helped us delve deeper into the book, and what connections might be something we thought of, but didn't really impact comprehension. A definite bonus is that for a few extra dollars many of these books will allow you to download the Audible recording of the book, a necessity when you catch those fall colds and extended periods of talking or reading lead to coughing fits!
Another application that I find really helpful is the ReadWithMe application. You can use it on the computer or on an i-pad and it eliminates the paperwork of miscue analysis and stores it where you can access it at any time, from anywhere. It also allows you input comprehension questions, use their suggested short readings, and input your own. It also provides you with data on both the individual children in your class as well as a whole class overview.
With younger kids Oxford Owl, and Reading Rainbow are great apps because children can choose to read, or be read to while following along. For schools with tight budgets WeGiveBooks.org is a great resource where you can sign up for free, read a variety of books and get books donated to schools in need.
What applications, programs, and technology do you find useful in the classroom? What applications and programs do you find particularly useful in working with the ELL population? I would love to here your thoughts!
Friday, May 30, 2014
The Purpose of This Blog
I am an American living and teaching abroad. I am fascinated by how kids learn additional languages, the relationship between culture and education, and collaboration in education. This is my third year living in Japan, though this is only my second consecutive year here. For a while now my friends and family have been telling me that I need to start a blog to chronicle my experiences teaching in Tokyo. I have learned lot teaching abroad about myself as a person, and teacher, about working with English language learners, about schools in other countries, and about my own culture and country. I plan to use this to reflect on some prior experiences, and also to begin to post about new and upcoming experiences.
Tomorrow is Undokai at my school. Undokai is the traditional Japanese sports festival. This is my second year being involved in Undokai and it is a fascinating experience. I grew up with sports days in the U.S. but this is nothing like them. The kids go through intense training for three weeks before Undokai. They learn how to work together, and do things with their bodies that they didn't think they were able to do. They learn balance and improve extremely quickly. Last year I taught kindergarten and the kids learned two very difficult choreographed dances. My school is an international school, but we share a campus with a Japanese public school and participate in Undokai together. As a result this is a time where the kids learn a lot about one another and form new friendships, as well as grow closer with the kids they already knew. This year I am teaching fifth grade and the kids are doing gymnastic routines, as well as announcing the events, dancing, and running. The gymnastics routines are like nothing I have ever seen before. The students are creating a variety of pyramids with their bodies, one which includes more than fifty kids. Five person formations, synchronized feats of balance, and cheer battles that are call and response based are the tip of the iceberg. Some of it is unsettling for me. I worry about some of the activities being dangerous, but that is the tradition here and teachers work hard to keep the kids safe. The best part has been seeing walls come down between the kids as they work together towards a common goal. I can't wait to see the pieces from all the other classes come together tomorrow!
Tomorrow is Undokai at my school. Undokai is the traditional Japanese sports festival. This is my second year being involved in Undokai and it is a fascinating experience. I grew up with sports days in the U.S. but this is nothing like them. The kids go through intense training for three weeks before Undokai. They learn how to work together, and do things with their bodies that they didn't think they were able to do. They learn balance and improve extremely quickly. Last year I taught kindergarten and the kids learned two very difficult choreographed dances. My school is an international school, but we share a campus with a Japanese public school and participate in Undokai together. As a result this is a time where the kids learn a lot about one another and form new friendships, as well as grow closer with the kids they already knew. This year I am teaching fifth grade and the kids are doing gymnastic routines, as well as announcing the events, dancing, and running. The gymnastics routines are like nothing I have ever seen before. The students are creating a variety of pyramids with their bodies, one which includes more than fifty kids. Five person formations, synchronized feats of balance, and cheer battles that are call and response based are the tip of the iceberg. Some of it is unsettling for me. I worry about some of the activities being dangerous, but that is the tradition here and teachers work hard to keep the kids safe. The best part has been seeing walls come down between the kids as they work together towards a common goal. I can't wait to see the pieces from all the other classes come together tomorrow!
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