Week 6: End of School Blues

School assembly. All the students are in rows. It was going fine until it started raining (lol).

Four girls skipping class... I made them go back of coarse.

The fourth graders and their busy streets. I wish they would be this orderly all the time...

This is how they usually are...chaotic and happy.

Each class period I literally BATHE in chalk. My dresses and skirts get covered in chalk dust and dirt. My hands feel powdery the whole day.

Lunch time for the fifth graders.

I tell them to raise their hands to let me know when they have finished writing down the phrase on the board.

Casual Friday.

They say "bye" like this to me every time I get ready to leave.

This is the fifth grade teacher. She's like an aunt to me. She also loves getting her picture taken.

100%s ALL THE WAY!

I came to school in my uncle's pickup truck once. The car was in Colombo. Those white specs in the window are my students waving to me.

Grades 6-9 lesson.

Ladies from my grades 6-9 class at 3 o'clock.

The dialogs for grades 10-11. We were learning how to talk on the phone.

Grades 10-11 photogenic as ever.

The whole 11th grade class...

A tragedy.

A teacher of the school passed away last Friday. She was one of two English teachers at the school. It unexpected so it really shook the school. There was no real school for neither Monday nor Tuesday. It was a small school - so the grief was expected. I did not get to teach five days a week like I wanted to, and it seems (for scheduling reasons - my father and I need to be in Colombo more often) I won't be able to teach five days a week in the future either. So for the future lessons I am going to just teach for one hour instead of just half-an-hour.
So by Wednesday, however, school began settling down again. I went in and taught fifth grade and then grades 6-9, and so on it goes. 
The school suffered a hard blow; I didn't expect students to be in their usual gun-ho mood but as per usual they kept their spirits up. 

Grades 3 and 4

I didn't get to teach the third graders;they had already been let out because it was the last day of school. I did however catch the fourth graders. I got to teach them two lessons: this week's as well as last week's (the one they missed because of exams). It went like normal - they are a very good bunch of kids so they participated well and did not cause me too much grief. 
The first lesson was on vehicles so they drew a street full of trucks, bicycles, airplanes, and even boats. There were some crazy looking roads. After this I went outside to wait for the third graders when I realized they were all gone. Yeah... It was as depressing as it sounds. The teacher had to go pick up her kids from the other school so she left early. The fourth graders came out and begged me to come back and teach some more so I happily agreed. The teacher was happy about it (she had some papers to grade). 
The second lesson was on "Parts of the Body" - it would be their last lesson so we took it easy. We wrote down the vocabulary  and then played Simon Says with it. 
​I've mentioned before the whole "people from abroad are legally obligated to bring everyone some sort of present" thing right? Okay I'm being hyperbolic with the whole legally obliged thing...but it's definitely an unsaid rule. I brought these kids some pencils -- mind you they are some pretty cute pencils. They went berserk over them. It was actually a bit too much excitement because they ended up getting a bit rowdy over them. 
"I want a red one! I hate orange!"
"I need one for my brother too! (sure you do...)"
"Mine is too rubbery!! (wut...)"

Grade 5

Like I said, I didn't end up getting to see the fifth graders neither Monday nor Tuesday. I taught Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. I got a good chunk of the vocabulary done - not as much as I wanted but enough to be on track to finishing all the material before I leave for America. They are slowly getting the hang of treating each phrase as pieces put together. They don't just say "I don't know" anymore. They really put in effort into trying to make something out of each phrase. It's a bit mundane - we're just learning phrase after phrase - there's no 'fun' element to it. But learning can't always be fun... especially when the stakes are this high. 

Grades 6-9 (WED - dialog class)

THIS REPORT WAS WRITTEN WEDNESDAY - THE DAY OF THE CLASS. This class was a nightmare and a dream all in one. I had five students total: Amasha, Kaveesha, Dilmi, Kalhara, and Jayashan. The ladies were very good -- they were the dream part. They came in on time and we started right away and were eager (or at least willing) to do the skits. And they did a wonderful job participating. It showed in their scores. All three got a 100%. It was adorable! I have a picture to prove it :P. We had so much fun so when class ended we went around to their school garden and they showed me all the medical plants. They have some cool stuff - from Lime to Aloe Vera. 
Now to the nightmarish bit. My dearest Kalhara and sweet Jayashan... Were literally devils. I could not control them today. They refused to write or take notes and wouldn't listen to anything I say. And Jayashan kept singing some song about his mother or something. Kalhara kind of tried to work but no way could he - not with the new candidate for Sri Lanka's Got Talent next to him. Just kidding. But really. I love having them in my class and I love them both so much - but they're making it so that other students can't learn. That is more than a bit concern. I'm going to give both of them a chance tomorrow. Good luck to myself. 

Grades 6-9

The lesson was actually really fun. The activities were great - I let the students guide me from one part of the room to another using phrases like "go straight" "go back" and "turn left "turn right". It was funny to show them their errors by pretending to walk into a wall. They did eventually get the hang of it and could guide me from the blackboard to the door (which sounds easy but the pathway water littered with obstacles). The other activity was equally enjoyable. I drew a simplified map and let the students guide an imaginary person from basic places like "beach" to "fish market" to "school" using those same phrases mentioned above. These activities were not only fun but really good practice for the material I was teaching - when you visually see something your chances of remembering are much higher. I learned this from my Spanish teacher who used to teach us using one hand motion per word. I still remember the word duchar then picture someone waving their fingers above their head (duchar = to shower). Maybe my students will remember turn left and picture me walking into a wall or something :P. 
The scores ended up really good, I graded and from what I see there are a LOT of 100%s. I will put the overall averages in the lesson plan reflection that I will link below! I was especially worried because a lot of students that didn't come the day before showed up on the second day. I plan my lessons on being two-day affairs but some forget or can only make it one day. I think the lesson might have been just a tad too much though because I felt really rushed at the end to teach all of the material. Then again I usually don't have to teach two days worth of material in one either. But overall I think it was all pretty worth it because the material is essential stuff.  
The students themselves were chocolate hungry as usual. No chocolate this week. I gave out mechanical pencils on Friday. They loved them because they came in a lot of colors. I just wish they would stop demanding so many things from me. They want chocolates and toys and the works. I don't mind complying a little. It would be straight up mean if I don't give them anything. I have gummy fruits for next week and then chocolate planned for my last week. But their constant whining puts me in a troubled mood. For example, my student, Jayashan, literally came late just in time to miss his class but with enough time to grab a pencil. I offered him to stay in the later class but he said he didn't want to. This is not unlike this boy he's been like this for almost every class. It was just kind of annoying and discouraging. I can't blame all of the students just because one or two act this way. There is some real potential here and I hope I can encourage as many students as I can. The principal's goal or me was to help at least one kid. I don't work like that. My goal is all of my kids...but I know some goals can't always be met. 

Grades 10-11

The tenth graders have been surprisingly consistent in coming to class. I was had the lowest expectations for these girls because last year I had so few of them coming. But I am so happy to be surprised like this! I have a total of five students coming in i.e. the whole entire 11th grade class. Yep. It's a total of five people. They all like coming and from what I see they learn a lot. Teaching these girls is a tad awkward but pleasant too. It's awkward because I am their age - actually younger. In Sri Lanka even if someone is a few weeks older than you they are your elder. It's weird to balance respect and telling them what to do / catching them when they make mistakes; I sometimes come off as disrespectful but I think as time goes on we see each other as friends more and more so it gets less awkward. It's pleasant because they are mature. They don't demand chocolate - they come and learn and happily accept presents when given. 
This weeks lesson was really good -- almost all of them got 100%s - three of the five (one was out for a funeral). 

After school ends...

So the kids were just let out on their term break. They get a month off. I am hosting classes for two more weeks. The principal is still letting me use the school. Here's the schedule for the next two weeks:

THURSDAY:
1:00 - 2:00 GRADE 5
2:00 - 3:00 GRADES 6-9
3:00 - 4:00 GRADES 6-9
4:00 - 5:00 GRADES 10-11
​
FRIDAY:
1:00 - 2:00 GRADE 5
2:00 - 3:00 GRADES 6-9
3:00 - 4:00 GRADES 6-9
4:00 - 5:00 GRADES 10-11

Lesson Links:

Grades 3 and 4:
Only taught fourth grade -- I taught them both lessons here though!
This weeks:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Beo5OGuiCXWazu_BPYBxVf4eW7Y0n1H-JoAKpQwbjIA/edit?usp=sharing
Supposed to be last weeks:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RlmYIynbwG8TvUOkRMzP-ngVIL-_cJNQ0ApS44kJ89M/edit?usp=sharing

Grade 5:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1T5Lso1TutBZmHvLxen2qv9onPD2Y4xbCIdvtPZ7FGqk/edit?usp=sharing

Grades 6-9
WEDNESDAY:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ctfRRXlEko-lL_bKvaixte8WsBO15_9zPOM7xwV8taI/edit?usp=sharing
THURSDAY/FRIDAY:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Y6YLqxOdJ4lAOTbIpELhOQYWlSHPowOcZLDkuhka000/edit?usp=sharing

Grades 10-11
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ms_JM08WBqVX_crnFjOtwp_pI4C79k71KC-TIkgEuE0/edit?usp=sharing