Besides our base schools (junior high schools), we also visit one or two elementary schools each week. We may visit the same school several times or we may only go there once in the semester. Today was my first elementary school visit. I was nervous about how it would go, since the lesson planning was entirely up to me. At the junior highs, it's usually a joint effort, but at the elementary schools it's up to the ALT.
When I arrived at school, my first task was to find the teachers' lounge. I asked someone in the hallway and they showed me the way. I had arrived really early, so I sat around for a while. A few teachers approached me and introduced themselves. When it was time for class, a group of students came to get me. I swear there were 6-10 of them. They kind of invaded the teachers' lounge for a minute or two before leading me to the classroom.
The lesson I was teaching was "I like __________." I planned some games to practice vocabulary and the key phrase, but I didn't really know how long each activity would take. It turned out that I had guessed about right when planning the games, and I didn't end up with a ton of spare time. The most uncomfortable thing for me is running out of things to do and standing around with the students just staring at me.
It was immediately apparent how different elementary school students are from junior high school students. I was working with fifth graders today, and the class was very excited to meet me. With the JHS students, I get the impression that they don't care all that much. These students were also very high energy (to put it mildly) and very willing to participate. Once I gave them a task, they set right to it. They even stayed on target, though they were very loud and a little rowdy.
After class, a bunch of students came up to me and asked me to sign things for them. The students had obviously been collecting signatures for a while because they had the names of several other ALTs on their stuff. It was fun. At the elementary schools, ALTs are a type of celebrity.
In the end, this elementary visit went very smoothly and was a lot of fun. I'm glad I only had three classes of fifth graders, because that was plenty. They are so wild! I really enjoyed working with kids who hadn't developed an attitude yet. They were willing to ask me questions and to interact with me. I have another elementary school visit on Friday, and I'm hoping it will go as well as this one.
It is fun to watch how uninhibited the younger students are. It doesn't hurt that you're a cute young thing either! It does get tiring with the decibel level (loud and louder!), but there is a type of positive energy and fun that makes it worthwhile. Way to go!!! Love you!
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