11/28/09

Our day of rest!

Today we decided we would sleep in and have a relaxing day on campus. First thing this morning I did some laundry and hung it all up to dry since we do not have a dryer. For lunch, we went American for the first time and went to McDonalds. Yes it tastes the same here as it does in America. They charge 5p for each pack of ketchup which stinks because I love ketchup (or as they call it here, tomato sauce).

Lauren bought the rest of the Twangers from the shop! Only £2.60!!

Dr. Batey arrived this evening and stopped by to check on us. At 8 we all went to quiz night just like the previous 2 weeks. It was a pretty early evening since we have school in the morning.

11/27/09

Finally finished the book I have been reading. It was called Songs of a Humpback Whale by my favorite author Jodi Picoult. I was stuck in bed sick all day which had carried over from the day before. Around 2 i was feeling better so I went to check my emails and inform Dr. Lupi of my being sick .

Once everyone had gotten home from their schools, we talked about what we wanted to do that evening. We decided to go to a dance at Marjon. Keith, Lauren, Katie, Fallon and I went and we had such a fun time. They kept calling us “The Americans” and surrounded us with questions all night. Our friend Luke was bartending so we got to hangout with him a little bit. We had such a fun night. I’m really glad we went and met some of the college students at Marjon.

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I am debating whether or not I am going to go to the Moors with Keith, Lauren, and Fallon. The weather isn’t supposed to be very nice so that is holding me back from going. The other girls are going to City Centre. Hmm....What to do! What to do!

11/26/09

Thanksgiving England Style

When I checked my email yesterday evening, I had a message about a doctor’s appointment. The problem was, it was scheduled for that morning at 11:30. I have called this morning to reschedule and now have an appointment at 2:30 today. Jenny Jones, Shree’s teacher, is going to drive me to the bus stop because I have no clue how to get there. They are amazingly helpful and kind here at the school. We really have been lucky. My Thanksgiving lesson for this afternoon is going to be postponed until tomorrow.

This morning Ms. Bryant had a religion lesson to teach the students. Since this is a public school, I was shocked that they were supposed to cover different religions in their classrooms. Over the course of the school year they will learn about seven different types of religions. Back in American schools, this would be unheard of since we have such a huge debate between church and state. It is amazing that this part of the curriculum in British schools. Today they were learning about different festivals of lights focusing on the Divali in Hinduism. They also made a candle that Christians make at the beginning of Advent.

After lunch, Mrs. Jones dropped Shree and me off at the bus stop to go to Elm Surgery. The building was right next to ASADA. The receptionist had me fill out paper work since I am not from the United Kingdom. We had to wait for nearly an hour before being seen. Once I got to speak with the doctor, he prescribed me the same patches that I had just run out of. The Boots pharmacy was right next door. While we were in Boots, it started hailing outside. The ground was covered. I have never seen anything like it. Shree went over to ASADA to pick up groceries while I waited for the medicine. When I went to ASADA to find her after I was done, I couldn’t. The lady at customer service did an all call for her to come to the front of the store. Ten minutes later we were reunited!!

The trip home was interesting. We got on the wrong bus and only realized it 30 minutes later. By the time we got on the correct bus we still had an hour ride home. Yes I did end up getting sick again on the bus but I had a plastic trash bag with me this time. The patch takes 4 hours to kick in so it hadn’t started working yet unfortunately.

Since today is Liz’s birthday, well all decided to go out to dinner plus it is Thanksgiving. We ended up going to a restaurant called Arribas where they serve Mexican food at the Barbican. We had no clue where it was located so we had to walk at least 2 miles until we found it. We kept laughing because 8 of us Americans were going out to a Mexican restaurant in England on Thanksgiving. Just doesn’t sound right!

The food tasted great and we had fun hanging out together. The chocolate cake for dessert was the best part of the night. We took a bus home. Some of the girls took a taxi but it would have cost a fortune.

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11/25/09

Today has to be the coldest day yet. It was raining again today so I wore my pj’s to school and changed once I got there so I wouldn’t be wet all day. When Shree and I got situated we went to the IT center to work on our lessons. I was finishing up a PowerPoint on America and one about Thanksgiving. I was also looking for a craft for the children to do tomorrow after the presentation.

Mr. Mash, the headmaster, came in this morning to talk to the class about school safety. The school has special tags that are magnetic and they unlock the doors in order for faculty and students to get in. Recently students have been holding the doors open so people can get in which obviously is not safe. Mr. Marsh wanted to make sure they realize how dangerous this could potentially be if they let the wrong person in.

The classroom was pretty crowded this morning. Ms. Bryant, myself, the two teacher assistants, and two tutors were all working with the children today. WOW! That’s a lot of adult in one classroom. It was actually overwhelming.

During break, I was busy preparing a turkey activity for my Thanksgiving lesson tomorrow. I wanted the activity to be as independent for the students as possible so I created templates for them to trace and cut out.

One thing I would like to get a chance to do next week is to observe other classes and teachers in Widey Court Primary. It would be a great experience to see other teaching strategies and other year levels at work.

The entire afternoon was lead by me today. I began by showing the students the PowerPoint about where I am from. The children loved it. I had pictures of the zoo, the Jaguars, American money, our cars, Disney World, and other American things that they would be interested in seeing. After my presentation we created a list of things in England that Americans would like to see pictures of. Then they chose one thing that they wished to draw a picture of for our book about England that I wanted to put together. They worked very hard and the pictures turned out really cute! I can’t wait to take it back to Jacksonville and show my first graders about England.

I had a very hard time managing the volume in the classroom, although Ms. Bryant said I did an amazing job. I think it’s just the fact that I am not used to having 30 students in the class at a time. The volume is always loud even when Ms. Bryant is leading. Also, since the students are encouraged to think out loud, it makes the atmosphere something that they call “organized chaos” if there is such a thing.

11-24-09

    We made it to school dry today! I went into the IT center to work on a PowerPoint of America that I am teaching the class on Wednesday.     At 9 I came back to the classroom to work with the IEP students on phonics.  They have a very hard time sitting still and following directions.  This makes instruction very hard.

    At 10 we all went outside for a football match.  Four of our students were chosen to play.  It was absolutely adorable watching them play.  Since it was wet outside, they played on the pavement.  Here are some pictures:

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   One of my students, Charlotte, has been constantly clearing her throat.  Ms. Byrant says that it is a recent thing.  Everytime she does it, I make a point of drawing her attention to it.  She says that she has tried to stop but she can’t.  Ms. Byrant wants to call her parents but I told her that I would work with Charlotte first to stop the behavior.   I told Charlotte that I am going to bring in a bag of chocolates for her.  Everytime she does it, I am going to take one away.  She will get what is left at the end of the day.  This will make her more conscience of what she is doing.

     In numeracy the children were learning multiplication.  This is fascinating to me because they are only 6 years old.   They are much more advanced in England.  Each year they are introduced all topics and they continue to build on each throughout their schooling. 

     When working with a small group during independent work time, I filled out a progress monitoring sheet on the students I was working with.  There were three levels of achievement for the objective: Achieved and is able to apply, achieved and needs further consolidation, and needs support.  There is also a place to leave comments and things we have noticed. 

    During assembly this afternoon, Mr. Marsh, the headmaster, introduced me to the whole Year 1 and 2.   He called me up to the front and asked me to describe three things that I have noticed that are different from here and America.    Then he had me present the awards for the month.  I was slightly nervous because I had no idea I was going to be called up there.     

     Again today we are having singing practice.  There has been very little educational time as usual in the classroom.  Yet these students are incredibly smart.      

     Tonight, Shree and I are going to dinner with our directing teachers at Mrs. Jones’ house!  Ms. Byrant is picking us up from Marjon and driving us there!   Miss you all!

11-23-09

      This morning has been awful. It was pouring rain and freezing cold outside. By the time we walked to the bus, my shoes, socks, and pants were dripping wet. Hopefully I wont get sick sitting around wet all day. From now on, I am bringing an extra change of clothes and a pair of shoes to school with me.

   First thing this morning, once the school day started we had literacy.  Since the country has a national curriculum and they don’t use textbooks, the teachers have much more freedom and leniency in the classroom.  They are able to come up with their own ways to teach the objective.   Right now she is using James and the Giant Peach to teach literacy.  I really like how they can use their own lessons to cover objectives.  They don’t have a script from a textbook to follow like many of our teachers in America tend to do.

      The students are really encouraged to use their voices and think out loud.   They are constantly told to turn and talk to their neighbor about the topic they are learning.

    Ms. Byrant is always making charts during whole group instruction.  This is something that I need to do more in my teaching.  It is important for the students to have a visual to look back on.  

    During work time, I worked with a small group creating sentences using speech marks which we call quotation marks.  Ms. Byrant used a really cool website called Educationcity to get extra practice with the students during the closing meeting.  She put it up on the smart board so that the students could come up and move the marks where they belonged.   This interaction and movement is great for the students, and Ms. Byrant could see if they students understood the topic or not.

      For fruit time today the students were supplied apples.   I think it is wonderful that they don’t have to bring their own snack.  When two of the girls went to throw their trash away I noticed that they had eaten the entire apple including the seeds leaving only the stem.  I couldn’t help but laugh.  I guess that is how they eat apples here.

      Jessica is back for the first time today.   She is the young girl who broke her collar bone last week.   I let her have snack with Jacey since she had not met her yet.

        This afternoon the students worked on their All About Me book for my students in America.  It is turning out really cute!

      Keith Jones, our supervisor in England, came over to debrief with us at 5:45 this evening.  He is going to set up a doctors appointment for me!

11-22-09

   The goal for today was to find the Greek Orthodox Church of Saints Demetrius and Nikitas in Plymouth.  I took a taxi there since I had absolutely no clue where I was going.  It was only about a 15 minute ride.  Liturgy started at 9:30 and ended around noon.  It was very long! The church was very small but it was beautiful. I definitely stood out as a new comer.   

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On the way home I decided to walk and not spend money on a taxi which ended up being a huge mistake!   I had no idea where I was but I walked about a mile and ended up finding the City Centre so I figured out where I was.  At that point I found a bus stop for a bus that would take me home.  Problem was, on Sundays  there are fewer buses.  I had to wait at the stop for nearly an hour.   Once I was finally on the bus, I got sick thanks to my motion sickness issue.  It was so embarrassing.  I was in a horrible mood by the time I arrived home nearly 3 hours later to say the least.

     That evening all eight of us went to Quiz Night in the Marjon dinning hall.  There were quite a few people there.  We met a group of students at the table next to us that we talked to for most of the night.  We went to bed pretty early though since we had a long week ahead of us.

11-21-09

      Today was the first time in weeks that we were able to sleep in.   Lauren and I woke up around 9 and went to dry laundry.  While we waited we went to the library to use the computers.

       Keith met up with us a short while later.  We had talked about going to the Moors but the weather was not cooperating.  We all decided to make a trip to the mall instead.  The weather was awful and we got soaked.  Fallon and I decided to go see New Moon at the theatre since staying inside was the best idea.   It was nice hanging out and getting to know one another more.

    When we got back to Marjon we all made and ate dinner.  All 8 of us hung out and played cards while listening to the radio which is our only electronic in the house.  There is a TV but it doesn't work.  Hopefully next Saturday will be more exciting.

* I called the phone number to the Greek Orthodox Church that I found in Plymouth to find out what time liturgy starts.  I was told to be there at 9:30!

11-20-09

      First thing this morning we attended a school wide assembly. Each Friday all 600+ students squeeze into the tiny hall. It is hilarious actually. It was packed but it worked. The year 6 students put on a skit today. Each week a different class is in charge of this. The skit was amazing. I wish I had it on tape! 
       Dr. White came today to observe us in the classroom. While he was there, I was working with a small group during literacy time. We were working on retelling the story of events in James and the Giant Peach. The students were trying to use connectives in their sentences. I had them write the sentences on a white board first and then into their journals.

      During break time the teachers aide and I stayed inside to work on a memory box with Courtney. Courtney's one year old sister passed away on Tuesday from Leukaemia. She has been pretty upset throughout the week so we all came up with the idea of a memory box that she can carry with her. Courtney brought in things that reminded her of her sister such as pictures, letters, and even a little mitten. She is handling it wonderfully but it is so sad.
         The use of the same white boards that I used in literacy, is a common occurrence in Ms. Byrant's classroom. This allows all students to work out their own solutions during whole group instruction. It is more hands on and keeps all students engaged. As a teacher you can see who is understanding the topic and who is not using the white boards. 
          In Numeracy, the students were working on addition and subtraction word problems. This is what my students back in the states were working on when I left. So this is a similarity in the learning schedules of the two schools. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful.
          Today is Keith's birthday so we will all be going out tonight to dinner for his and Lauren's celebration! Tomorrow we are going to the aquarium! Hope you all are doing well! I miss everyone!

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PS. One of the students asked me if I was from Africa. I think they have their geography mixed up a little bit :)

Day 4

First thing this morning we attended a school wide assembly. Each Friday all 600+ students squeeze into the tiny hall. It is hilarious actually. It was packed but it worked. The year 6 students put on a skit today. Each week a different class is in charge of this. The skit was amazing. I wish I had it on tape!
Dr. White came today to observe us in the classroom. While he was there, I was working with a small group during literacy time. We were working on retelling the story of events in James and the Giant Peach. The students were trying to use connectives in their sentences. I had them write the sentences on a white board first and then into their journals.

During break time the teachers aide and I stayed inside to work on a memory box with Courtney. Courtney's one year old sister passed away on Tuesday from Leukemia. She has been pretty upset throughout the week so we all came up with the idea of a memory box that she can carry with her. Courtney brought in things that reminded her of her sister such as pictures, letters, and even a little mitten. She is handling it wonderfully but it is so sad.
The use of the same white boards that I used in literacy, is a common occurrence in Ms. Byrant's classroom. This allows all students to work out their own solutions during whole group instruction. It is more hands on and keeps all students engaged. As a teacher you can see who is understanding the topic and who is not using the white boards.
In Numeracy, the students were working on addition and subtraction word problems. This is what my students back in the states were working on when I left. So this is a similarity in the learning schedules of the two schools. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful.
Today is Keith's birthday so we will all be going out tonight to dinner for his and Lauren's celebration! Tomorrow we are going to the aquarium! Hope you all are doing well! I miss everyone!

PS. One of the students asked me if I was from Africa. I think they have their geography mixed up a little bit :)

Day 3

This morning we arrived at school with plenty of time to spare. This gave me some time to talk to Ms. Byrant and ask her questions. We talked about how different American schools and British schools are. When the students came in the classroom and were unpacking, they all said hi to Jacey the Jaguar. It was adorable watching how caring they are. One of the students wrote a note to Jacey and brought it in this morning.
Around 10 o'clock the students get to a have a fruit snack. The fruit and vegetables each day are provided by the school. I think it is awesome of the school to do this. In my American classroom we have a fruit and vegetable snack but the students must bring their own if they wish to participate. The problem I see with that is not all students bring one or have money to since they get free or reduced lunches. The method here makes it better for all economic classes.
I also found it extremely interesting that the students were learning cursive handwriting. Typically American students don't learn this until 3rd grade. Instruction is so different over here. I am still trying to figure out which approach is better.
At 11 we had a tea break. As a teacher, I love getting 20 minutes to sit down and catch up. What I don't like about this idea is that all 600+ kids in the school go play outside at the exact same time with only 3 adults to watch them. It seems scary to me and dangerous. One of the teachers each day is in charge of first aide and documenting injuries in a journal.
At lunch today, Shree and I sat with some of the University students from Plymouth and talked to them about things to do around here in our free time. Somehow we started talking about fruit because someone had Honeydew. It was a funny conversation because the girls had no idea what cantelope and Honeydew were. They call both "melons". We also asked them for directions to Primark, since we were meeting up with our group there after school.
The students had computers this afternoon. It was amazing to me how much the students were expected to do. They are brilliant.
The school has an incredibly small library. There are not very many books. I don't know if it is a budget issue or not but I feel they are lacking. Reading is so important therefore, I feel there should be an abundant supply throughout the school.
One thing I noticed about the school is that classroom management tends to be a problem. The fact that there are 30 students in each class does tend to make the atmosphere much different. I am used to a class size around 17 or 18 students. The children here have alot more freedom. They are not instructed to work quietly and even when walking throught the halls in line it is caotic.
After school we went to the mall with everyone in our group from America! We had a nice evening together!

Translation please!

These are some words that we have had to learn since they are called different things over here:

registar- attendance
maths- math
rubber- eraser
jumper- sweater
toliet/loo-restroom
boot- truck
numeracy- math
reception- front office
staffroom- teachers' lounge
rubbish-trash
petrolium- gas

Widey Court Primary

Some of my students in England!

Day 2 in the Classroom

Hey everyone! The trip to school was much easier today than it was yesterday. We hopped on bus 28 A at 8:00a.m. and arrived at the school within minutes. Shree and I checked in at the front office. The secretary asked us if we had a CBR which is basically a background check to clear us to enter their school. In, Florida they clear us by county so we do not have a state clearance that Plymouth needs. Mr. Marsh the headmaster said he would take care of it for us. This happened to Liz and Keith yesterday at their school.
Before the children came into the classroom, I got to talk to Ms. Byrant for about 10 minutes. She asked me to work one-on-one with a few students that need extra help. She also wanted me to work on a guided reading group.
During the guided reading, I worked with six students. We read The Emperor's New Clothes. I am amazed at the reading levels of these students. They do not have leveled books like we do in America. It was mind boggling how fluent and accurate they were in their readings.
After guided reading, I pulled students who needed help with clocks and telling time. I really felt like I did a good job explaining and teaching the material to them. The students seemed to have a pretty good understanding.
At 11 we had a break. The children went outside to get some energy out before another lesson.
When lunch ended, all the students came back to the classroom. Today they were working on how to plan a burning house. They have been learning about electricity and the Great Fire of London. This activity is very creative and interactive. Today they just planed a circuit on a piece of paper and wrote about each of the steps they would take. Later this week they will actually put together the circuit with a bulb and build a house to make it look like it has flames inside. I will post pictures later of the actual activity!
Now we are off to the college basketball game on campus! Hope everyone is doing well! I miss you all!!!!!!!