Day 3: Third day

Today fifth grade students had to sit on an exam. To my surprise, and contrary to what I thought, the children do have books to read in English on their English classroom breaks and free time. After finishing some of their tasks, students are able to pick up a book in English and read. Another thing to point out is maybe the children are still on their silent period, reason why they do not talk as much, but still comprehend almost anything I you might tell them, which is a huge achievement for 5^th primary students.

During the second hour I talked to the teacher about my project, and how I thought developing the science project according to the book might be too challenging for the type of exam the students are used to sit on. The teacher was of my view, and we came up to the agreement of giving Standard English lessons, which would allow me to develop more sessions than planned. She was really supportive and permeable with me, and I think this weekend I will plan truly meaningful activities the children will probably learn from and enjoy.

During the break I stayed in the patio, talking to the teachers and helping some children who, in a polite way, asked me to help them pick up a ball that had been laid stocked on the basketball ring or basket. I talked to them for a while, as usual, and then went back to the 5^th grade B classroom, where the English teacher was substituting for another one. She made a review and advanced with book contents at the time she complemented these with her usual huge input of English use and productions.

During the evening the teacher had “speaking classroom”, where she had cleverly written names on the classic battleship game for the children to produce sentences, interacting with the children in English when needed. I helped a children with difficulties with a flashback activity and the other the students with the game. This afternoon I participated in the classroom more than ever, which is something I like. In the second hour the teacher left the room for two minutes and it shocked me a lot to hear the students asking me to explain the game meanwhile. And so did I, explained the game rules according to the teachers’ own preferences and modifications, and all children were listening to me, curious, while the teacher came back and allowed me to continue for a while, until I needed the worksheets to go into deeper detail. However, I managed to do it pretty well, and I think this will be a nice warming up for my future sessions with the class. Next, I helped the students with the game, and with their doubts until the lessons finished.