As every school year comes to a close I love to plan hands-on science experiments for my students.
The past three years primarily involved learning about endangered animals and animal adaptations. Therefore, I always had a month long science unit were we dissected animals to learn more about their adaptations. My students have dissected dogsharks, frogs, pigeons, squid, worms and pigs. To see their excitement makes all the prep work worth it. I had one boy who missed over 70 days of school, but when we started this unit he never missed one day and was at school an hour early. He was too excited and couldn't sleep =)
And for the first time last year I held a Science Fair. Pairs of students researched a topic of interest and then we held a class science fair and over 150 people attended! The students were 100% engaged and EVERY student worked so hard to make a great project. Overall, kids love science. They love experimenting. They love getting messy. They love the freedom to explore.
This year I got the itch. I had to do something to get my students out of the classroom and get them in an environment where they could enjoy science without me lecturing them and having them learn all new English concepts to go with the project. So after much planning and endless prep periods running around the school trying to find equipment (and people that had the equipment at home or a key for this room and a key for that room) I held a Science Fun Day. I knew that I could not have all these experiments going at one time and manage it by myself, so I called on the 4th graders for help(they are also the worst students in the school, but were amazing little teacher-no behavior problems today). I was initially nervous, 55 kids in a science lab, yikes! However, my best friend teaches 4th, so she helped me prepare her 4th graders to lead 10 different science stations.
Have a look at our successful science day!
Speed/Distance...The boys of course were more interested in 2-wheeling it!
Sound waves
Volcanoes
Magnets...My first graders favorite station
Erosion
1st graders loved working with the BIG GRADE 4 BOYS!
Intently working at the magnet station
Wind...speed boat races
Springs...The 4th grade boys favorite station
Such good helpers
I constantly heard,"TEEEACCHHEERR.....LOOK!" All the magnets connected.
Demonstrating a UAE driver =)
Searching for paperclips in the sand with their magnets
About to make a volcano erupt
I ask for a smile and this is what I get...LOVE!
Miss Debbie helping at the car station
We asked 3 fourth graders to help clean up, I turn around and one has decided to scrub the counters with a toothbrush. He then told us that he loves to clean and will clean my house. FOR MONEY..Maybe 1,000AED...All 3 boys have maids at home and their mothers do not clean. Debbie says, "you know who cleans my house. Me!" The boys start laughing and one says, "Miss Debbie, poor, no money." That is right, we are poor! ha
The other cleaner has decided to.....well.....
The child has the power to teach himself - The Absorbent Mind - Maria
Montessori
Here are 20 questions to ask yourself about your school year.
What are some things you accomplished this year that you are proud
of? Being able to communicate with 50 people that were unable to communicate 8 months ago. Not 'beating' any students when they were out of control in September and October and November and and...;)
What is something you tried in your classroom this year for the
first time? How did it go? Not teaching with a computer....not so hot!
What is something you found particularly frustrating this year? No communication from the administration, constant interruptions, and no school-wide behavior management plan.
Which student in your class do you think showed the most
improvement? Why do you think this student did so well? My students that came in with NO letter or sound knowledge, no English vocabulary, no idea how the English language worked. They could not write their names, hold a book, correctly hold a pencil, etc. Improvement. They are writing sentences , holding simple conversations, and reading content words..Why.... hard work and they had no where to go but up!
What is something you would change about this year if you could? I would change how I taught the whole first trimester. Horrible, I hope to never relive that experience. I should have spent more time curriculum mapping and also finding a way to incorporate centers and projects. My boys love being independent and working in small group, I wasted too much time having a "teacher" centered classroom. Not good!
What is one way that you grew professionally this year? I have never had to design thematic units that integrated all subjects. I have had to learn how to teach English, Science and Math all within a 2 hour time frame. I have also grown professionally in working/planning with a co-teacher that does not speak my language and has totally different cultural views than I do. It has been difficult, yet rewarding to successfully plan lessons that enhance our students learning.
Who amongst your colleagues was the most helpful to you? My Arabic co-teacher who did a wonderful job signing and speaking the little English she knows to inform me what was happening at assembly, and letting me know school was out early and buses were leaving(and I was still teaching), and helping return students when they escaped my room. Also, my co-1st grade teacher, Jill. She kept me sane and we needed each other to vent =) Love these 2!
What has caused you the most stress this year? The lack of communication and my "special love child".
When was a time this year when you felt joyful and/or inspired about
the work that you do? Everyday when I see my boys quietly sitting and doing work. Especially when I hear them speak in English and see them trying so hard to write a sentence. It makes me almost cry when the boys try to explain something to me and I know they are trying to find the words and actions so I understand. They love to show/tell me what they can do in English, it makes me so happy to see their smiling faces and know that I taught them how to communicate in another language!
What do you hope your students remember most about you as a teacher? I hope they remember my face and how happy I was at even their smallest achievements.
In what ways were you helpful to your colleagues this year? We supported each other with basic information that higher up people did not feel we needed to know... I felt as if I were a spy in the admin office sometimes...I always shared what I heard....most time very valuable information was uncovered =)
What was the most valuable thing you learned this year? Patience, tolerance, persistence, wisdom and respect...You will survive any God given task with these 4 by your side.
What was the biggest mistake you made this year? How can you avoid
making the same mistake in the future? Where do I begin. I am always critiquing my work. I think my biggest mistake was not giving the students hands-on project and also being to vague with directions. I need to use more picture cues next year.
What is something you did this year that went better than you
thought it would? Implementing literacy centers. I didn't have much faith in my students when it came to behaviors in small independent groups. However, they rock and are more motivated than ever to do well!
What part of the school day is your favorite? Why? 1:15pm...school is dismissed
What were your biggest organizational challenges this year? We have no resources of our own. It is difficult to run to the community resource room every time I needed a book or manipulative. Also, organizing 50 student portfolios is a bit overwhelming.
Who was your most challenging student? Why? I think we all know this one and the reason behind it.
In what ways did you change the lives of your students this year? I taught them to speak and write a new language. I taught them that school is not about worksheets and that it is about having fun and learning how things work. I taught them to always ask "why?" and find out the answer for themselves. I taught them that just because we are totally different, we still have things in common and can be friends.
Pretend that you get to set your own salary for this past year based
on the job that you did. How much do you feel that you earned (the
number you come up with should be in no way based on your current salary
- rather, come up with a number that truly reflects how you should be
compensated for your work this year)?Truely, this job has aged me 10 years. I believe that any lawyer, doctor, CEO, etc. would have ran immediately...I deserve at least $300,000 =)
Knowing what you know now, would you still choose to be a teacher if
you could go back in time and make the choice again? If the answer is
"no," is there a way for you to choose a different path now? I always say "no", but then I see their smiling little faces when they learn something new and I fall in love with teaching all over again. Oh, and it is usually the adults in education that make me want to run away from this occupation, not the students. The holidays are nice too!
April was filled with more traveling, and as I
reflect I am shocked to realize that my feet walked 4 different countries. I
started the month in India and ended it in Oman. I have had so many traveling
opportunities it is absolutely insane to me. I counted my stamps (yes, yes,
such a nerdy thing to do) and I think 11 for a new traveler is pretty good! My
friends and I have also banned together and determined we will go on more
outings during the weeks ahead. Thus far we have been to Crescent Moon Bay off the coast
of Dubai and went on a sunset cruise around the Corniche. We also host dinner
parties every week and take turns cooking. Recently, we went to the Banksy Art Exhibit, loved the graffiti art. I am becoming more and more fond of this city.
Just another yacht in the Arabian Gulf.
My bestie.
Our tiny tent in the middle of a man-made island, in the middle of nowhere, and with absolutely nothing on the island. Not even a tree or bush.
Desert style camp. No toilets or nowhere to hide to use the man-made toilet.
Iza taking the little runner boat back to the yacht.
Our little man Sean on the sunset cruise.
Corniche at sunset.
I love my city.
Banksy Art Exhibit with Kimberly, Sean, Deb, Tabatso, and Collin.
Yas Island Marina and Yacht Club on Yas Island
We have too much fun on the weekends. Collin came for a visit. He taught with Deb in Korea for 3 years. He is a character.
I love this crew-on Yas Island.
April was also the month of change! I got to change
roles and become a student in my classroom. I received a student teacher and
have learned so much about Abu Dhabi education. My student teacher loves
worksheets and despises talking to children. One day it took her over 10
minutes to even speak to the students. Not even a “Hello”. Come on. You are a
teacher. You are supposed to be teaching them how to speak a new language. I
know that she is probably teaching the way she was taught. Which goes to show
how big of a reform this truly is. She is now teaching every subject every day.
It is hard to give up my class and see everything fall apart when I finally got
it to be half -way manageable. But I am trying to just give feedback and not
jump in and take over the class. But, today was the exception. One and a half
hours of sitting in their desk and doing worksheet after worksheet was too much
for me. I had to stop. I was bored
and getting restless. I mean that is just madness. They are only 6 and 7. It
has been a huge eye opener for me. I get to experience being in my students’
shoes for a couple of months. I get to see how the work I gave students in the
beginning was too hard and too easy for some. I get to see how my directions in
the beginning of the year were too vague and too complex sometimes. I get to
see who the “real” troublemakers are. I also get to work one on one with the
students. I never get the chance to work one on one (not even for 3-5 minutes)
because of the behaviors. It has been so fun to get to know each student better
and discover what their true capabilities are.
Speaking of change. I have been observed twice this
month. The school requires us to keep student documentation and 3 binders full of
EVERYTHING we do. So, as I was preparing my binder for my upcoming observation, I came
across the “Student Development” section. I started to tear up (I’m a dork). I
had to choose 3 students at the beginning of the year and submit their work
every trimester. As I was looking at my students work I realized how far we
have came in only a few month. At the beginning their writing was scribbles on
a page going in every direction( left to right and bottom to top or some marks
just in the middle of the page). My students couldn’t write their names much
less say them. They couldn’t open a book correctly, they couldn’t comprehend
directions, they couldn’t sit for more than 20 seconds, they couldn’t hold a
pencil correctly, they couldn’t share and they couldn’t speak a word of
English. My day was filled with “they cannot….”. Now I look at my little loves
and they are holding conversations, writing sentences about a topic, reading books,
sitting quietly for a few minutes, working in centers quietly and independently,
and making jokes with me (or about me!). They are even little mechanics and
have fixed a computer that I thought was broken. Everyday I just smile at how
far they have come and how excited they are to show me their “VERY VERY VERY
GOOD WORK” (as they say). As a teacher you are always proud of improvements and
things that your students are learning, but here it is different. I don’t know
if it is because they are younger than the 5th graders so it is
easier to see improvement, or is it the fact that we started out with no
communication and through months of frustration and lots of hard work from all
of us, we succeed and now have a common link that bonds us together. Which ever one it is, I don't think I have ever felt that I have accomplished so much in such a little amount of time. This is by far the most difficult job I have had, would I want to repeat this year again? Heck NO! I'm glad it is behind me. I hope to never have a job this difficult again. However, I can finally say I am happy I took this job. I am happy that I struggled and failed, struggled and failed, but kept trying and didn't go home. I have learned so much and I have grown a tremendous amount as a teacher. I'm happy that I can see their successes and their faces light up when they speak, read, or write in English. I am happy!
My reading center. Not pretty, but I don't have much to work with.
Writing center. I had a nice little round table, but my principal made me take it out and add THREE backpack storage container.
Math and science centers. I put this huge unit together myself (no men in the building to help!I work at a feminized school). Note how uneven the top is.
Kids love reading about themselves =) They were so excited to see their pictures and what they said in English. "Teacher...I say" Cry. Cry. I want my mum!"
Rhyming center.
My student teacher working on guided reading. Notice all of them reading. haha
I make all my own leveled reader books. Our school has no guided reading books and they must read, right! I took the sentences from the book, cut them up and then the students are required to put the sentences back together and read it to me.
Students play teacher and quiz each other with CVC words and pictures!
Look at my little loves writing away. The writing center is their favorite. I typically let them free write about any topic. They love Ferraris, iphones, cars, pepsi, cheetos and did I mention Ferraris.
This boy =) Teacher I read "Sam and the Nut.5. Nip Nip. 5 Spot. 4. He was on a roll, 14 books. Mr. Smarty earned himself a trip to Ferrari world. The top 3 boys in each class went to Ferrari World as an incentive!
"Do I like rainy? The rainy is cold! The clouds up and the rainy down. I play in rainy. The rainy is good." Completely independent, he got a sucker from the social worker for this brilliant paper. Some of the 4th grade boys can not even write this well yet!
"The cloud small. The boy play Xbox.
The boy have umbrella. The boy have kandora. The rainy small." They were
told to write about what it looks like when it rains, or what they
wear, or what activity they do when it is rainy. I difficult concept
because it is always sunny in Abu Dhabi. He did amazing!
I have even fallen in love with my “special one”. He
used to destroy my room and still does when there is only one teacher in the
room, but I have a fondness of him now. Just the other day in the middle of
class the school intercom rang….the button is pushed and you hear ”ding, ding,ding (little voice) hello!”
and again, “ding, ding, ding (little louder voice and a long…..)HELLOOOO!” and
again, “ding, ding, ding (big voice and a really long high pitched….)
HEEELLLOOOO! And yet again, “ding, ding, ding HELPPPP!!!!!!!!!) As I’m laughing
hysterically, my co-teacher comes over and says, “ I think that was….” I just
shake my head. Yes! Yes it was! Some other teacher took him to the office and
apparently left him alone in the secretary’s office. Only in Abu Dhabi!
That same day, he was brought to my room and escaped
3 times. Earlier this year he was hanging out the second story window and
another time he locked himself in the elevator and no one could get him out for
hours. So every time he escapes panic sets in. The first time he escaped, I
left my 2 “good”boys in charge of the class and frantically went out searching
for him. I asked the two Arabic teachers that he just ran pass which way he
went. They had no idea what I was talking about. Nope they didn’t see him.
Seriously, Ok then! I look around
the courtyard and there I see a flash of white running. On the opposite side of
the building on the second floor I see the white kandora sprinting down the
hall looking directly at me, with a huge smile, yelling and flaring his arms,
“Teacheeerrrrr, Teacheeeeerrrr!!!!!” Hands to my face, only in Abu Dhabi!
My little love is also speaking English like a
natural, he will not speak Arabic to anyone only English =) The other day it
was a scorching 108F and I was waiting in the line for the bus holding his
hand. He looks up and says, “WHAT IS GOING ON?” then takes my hand and wipes
his sweaty forward. Disgusting! “HOT, HOT SUN!”, he says fanning himself. My
thoughts exactly. And then there was the day when I was reading him book after
book in the back of the room. Another boy decided he wanted to pick out a book
and have me read it to him. My little love looks at him, takes his book and
says in perfect English, “ I don’t think so….SORRY!”. Then places the book back
in the bookshelf.
One more positive change this year. I think my
principal finally likes me =) She selected me to be observed by the Cluster
Manager, which is like our Superitendent back home. That never went through
because of meetings, however, she selected me again to present a lesson to the
big chiefs of ADEC. This would be like the United States Education Department
coming into your room. All went fine. I was stressed for the whole week leading
up to the observation but was honored that I was chosen. It just gives me a
little confirmation that she trust me and respects what I do in the classroom.
After the observation I was chosen to be on the ADEC Curriculum Reference Team.
I now get to leave school and go to the ADEC headquarters to help create and
revise the new curriculum. We are also making culturally appropriate books that
align with the curriculum, developing teaching units that will be implemented
in K-12, and aligning and revising the outcomes to go with the end of the year
assessments. I absolutely love this team. It makes me motivated to stay in Abu
Dhabi and watch as the education reform continuously changes for the better.
Many positives this month =)
On another note.
I grew up in South Dakota, and we all knew the
saying, “April showers, bring May flowers.” I wasn’t sure if Abu Dhabi was
going to hold true to my Elementary School saying, but I had my fingers
crossed. At school we were teaching the sound “r” (I was thinking rain,
rainbow, etc), Plants (Spring time, rain, water), Water (back to rain…..), and
if it could rain just once in Abu Dhabi, then I could properly teach on
Seasons, Rain, Rainbows, and all the stuff that belongs to Spring.
I am pleased to announce that even in Abu Dhabi, the
saying holds true(ish). April showers DO bring May flowers. Except the showers
in AD was just 1 shower, and it was a storm. Thunder and lightening in the
middle of the night lit up the skies and gave the generator below my window a
bit of a competition of who could be louder (yes, I said generator…..the
building I live in with the rest of the teachers is powered by a generator).
The next day mud was splattered on everything, and spring time began. On the
otherhand, we skipped the spring temperatures and beautiful days and are
topping the thermometer at 111F already.
So today on May 15, I look
back on realize that maybe my month wasn’t nearly as busy as March, but I think
just as exciting. Huge strides were made in my personal growth. Being here has
caused me to change. Being abroad gets you in a place where you are open for
change. Open to be a better person. Open for new adventures and new
possibilities. Open for openness. So here I stand, wondering how on earth it
has been 1 year since I was offered a job by the council. One email I
received on May 18, 2011, from my Teach Away recruiter, Adrian, has changed
My girls and I decided to escape Abu Dhabi one weekend and we ended up in beautiful Oman.
Mountains and the Sea=my happy place
As adults, we are still like children. One of us sees a camel and screams with excitement while the rest of us our pushing our ways to the window to see it!
The girls that make my life so much happier in the Middle East: Sonia(texas), Iza(texas), Deb(new york), and Beverly (new jersey)
Iza is drowning =( We were all excited to play in the waves! Even though we live on the shores of Abu Dhabi, we never have waves...
Goats are to Oman, like Cattle are to South Dakota...They each outnumber the people
We were lost in a new country and needed to get out of the car, we stopped to explore the little cave.
But Iza spotted, "OMG, look at that goat! It is on the mountain peak!" By Sonia's expression I don't think she has spotted it quite yet!
This is what it looks like when teachers need a break from life =)
Not so easy to drink in a Muslim country. Honestly, I probably drink once a month.
Our "Lion King" tree
The serene colors of Oman!
It's the simple things in life that are the most
extraordinary. Paulo Coelho
