October, November, and December with Nancy

We have celebrated Halloween and Thanksgiving and I have yet to introduce myself! I am very late to the blogging game. My name is Nancy and I am the English Language Assistant (ELA) this school year at ​​CEIP Antonio Rodríguez Almodóvar. I am from California, USA and this is my fifth year working as an ELA.

The first few weeks were spent introducing myself and getting to know how things worked around the school. At the end of October I was able to share with the students information on how Halloween is celebrated in the States. I didn’t expect such enthusiasm for this holiday and was pleasantly surprised at the awesome decorations all over the school!

In November, we focused on family, places and people in school, and Thanksgiving. I shared a presentation and videos with the class to show them some of the traditions that take place on the 4th Thursday every year. They learned about the food that is typically eaten on Thanksgiving, watched parts of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and got to share what they were grateful for by decorating a turkey. 

Next on the agenda is winter holidays! We will talk about Christmas and the traditions that are celebrated during this special time of year. Time has flown by and I am enjoying every minute of it. I will try to do a better job with this blog to keep you up to date on everything going on with the 1st graders and all the material they are learning in their science classes. I hope you all have a great winter break with your loved ones!

P.S. To view any of the presentations linked to this blog post, just click on the underlined word and once the tab opens click on Presentación (top right) to begin the slideshow!

Days of the Week and Months of the Year

Hey class!

Watch this video about Days of the Week and sing along :) What is your favorite day of the week?

Here is another song from Mother Hen singing the Months of the Year. Enjoy!

Let's learn about the days of the week and months of the year with some fun games.

Months of the Year games:
1. Game 1
2. Game 2

Days of the Week games:

1. Game 1 
2. Game 2 - Roy the Zebra!
3. Memory Game

Bye for now,

Daniella :) 

February

Air & Water Pollution

In February, we looked at air and water pollution. I asked everyone to take a deep breath in and out. I asked them some questions about air and if we need to breathe to survive. Then we looked at some photos of clean and dirty air and I asked them, 'is this air clean or dirty?'. They were very good at telling the difference. So then I asked them if certain vehicles or human activities make the air dirty and they had to think about the human impact of pollution. We watched a video too, which you can see here. Afterward we did a scientific classification activity where the students had to sort pictures of clean and dirty air into two piles. This was a great activity to see if everyone had learned the content. 

The following week, we looked at water pollution in the exact same way. This time, we watched a video about a Whale called 'A Whale's Tale'. This video shows a whale battling polluted water. Showing children environmental issues through animal issues is a really good way of helping them understand the effects of environmental issues and climate change, as they really care about animals. 

You can see the video here. 

Habitats and Invertebrates and Vertebrates 

This topic was great because it is all about animals! We used some interactive PowerPoints that the children could use to classify animals as invertebrates and vertebrates. There was lots of verbal communication, as I asked the children where different animals lived and got them to think about habitats. We focused on Mammals the week after, looking at the characteristics of Mammals, for example that they need milk from their mothers. Then the students had to classify the correct characteristic to the correct kind of animal. We did this step by step and they managed to do it perfectly in the end! I also showed them my pets from when I was a child and we talked about our favourite animals! We also did some flashcards where I held up pictures of different animals and my students had to tell me if the animal is a vertebrate and invertebrate. Then we watched some fun video to help them remember. 

January - Directions

Teaching directions and cardinal points was super fun with year 1, because it meant we could use our bodies to learn! 

Everyone stood up and I taught them the different cardinal points 'North, East, South and West' by using my arms to point. They copied and shouted the words out. Then I tested them by pointing to a direction and getting them to shout the correct cardinal point. I made the game faster and faster to challenge them. We also watched a song on Youtube to help remember the cardinal points. 

Then it was time for a challenge so I gave a compass picture to the students and we had to direct one student around the class. I would pick different students who would say 'Go North', for example. We made it more difficult by saying the steps as well, 'Go 2 steps North'. Some students even gave two directions! We had a picture of the correct cardinal point on the walls around the classroom so they couldn't get too lost. They found this game really funny as it was almost as if the student walking around the class was a robot being controlled by the rest of the class. 

We did an activity in the workbook to practise their writing skills and solidify what they learned. 

The following week, we played a game where the students had to direct Pepito (small blue fluffy toy) around the town. We had a big picture on the board of a map with different places in each square, for example a bakery, a police station, a school. The students had to get Pepito to a specific place like the bakery and use their English skills to tell him 'go North 2 steps and east 3 steps', for example. If they got it wrong, Pepito fell off the map and we had to start again. They really enjoyed this game. 

December

December

In December, we learned about villages, towns and cities. First I showed the students photos on a Power Point of the different kinds of place and asked them questions about Alcala. For example, 'does Alcala have a shop?' and they had to say 'yes it does' or 'no it doesn't'. Then we played a classification game where they had lots of different photos of villages, towns and cities and they had to classify them into the correct pile. For example, if there was an airport, they had to put it in the city pile. This was a great activity because they had to classify in a scientific way and think for themselves!

On the last lesson before Christmas we made Christmas cards together, which I directed in English. It was lovely because they really can't get enough of arts and crafts.

November with Language Assistant Daniella

November

Class Rules

In November we learned about class rules! We made some big gestures like love hearts with two hands and learn rules such as 'be kind', 'put your hand up', 'be quiet'. The students played Bingo with pictures of different classroom rules and also watched some fun videos about classroom rules. We asked them why we have classroom rules and despite being so young, they understood why it is important to be respectful and kind to each other in the classroom.

Chores

We also learned about Chores with a fun PowerPoint (so they could see some pictures) before playing a game where they had to come up to the blackboard and point to the correct chore that we said. They played in pairs to make it competitive and motivate them! Then we did some role play where the students acted out the chores in front of the class and the others had to guess what chore it was. This was really good for getting them to have fun and be confident in front of their classmates. They also practiced their English by asking each other 'Can you wash up / make your bed' etc. They should ask each other at the front of the class though because when they are in pairs, they start speaking in Spanish! Finally, we did some colouring of the chores so that they could consolidate what they learned before playing a game of Bingo, which they loved.

Family

We learned about family in the last week of November with Peppa Pig. I used a Peppa Pig PowerPoint which was interactive with lots of sounds (which they loved). I asked them questions about Peppa's family, for example, 'Does Peppa Pig have a Grandma?' 'Yes she does'. 'How many brothers does she have?' 'She has one' and 'Does she have a sister?' 'No she does not'. 
Then I showed them my family and asked them questions about their family. For example, 'Have you got a....' and then they reply 'Yes/no' and how many brothers/sisters etc. 'What is there name?', 'There name is'.

Then we did a scientific survey! They had to go and ask each other how many brothers/sisters/grandparents etc they had and fill in a survey table to count how many brothers the class had in total, for example. They really enjoyed this interactive, communicative activity and had to ask each other in English, which was a big challenge. 

Finally, we did a family tree where they reviewed the names of family members by filling in a family tree and colouring at the end. Using Peppa Pig was a big success as they love Peppa Pig, so I will definitely be using Peppa again in my lessons.

October at CEIP Antonio Rodríguez Almodóvar

October at CEIP Antonio Rodríguez Almodóvar

A whole month working as an English Language Assistant at CEIP Antonio Rodríguez Almodóvar has flown by. My name is Daniella and I am 23, from the United Kingdom and currently teaching English at CEIP. I am in science classes teaching science in English, which I love because the students get to practice their English through their science learning. I think I am the first British language assistant that the school has had, so I am looking forward to bringing some British culture into the classroom. This brings me to one of the most exciting days so far at school… Halloween!

Halloween at CEIP
It was so amazing to see Halloween celebrated at CEIP by all the teachers and students. I was blown away by the costumes. Halloween originated in Scotland and Ireland so it was a great festivity to intertwine with some British cultural history!

First Impressions of English & Intentions
I have been so impressed by the high level of English across the year groups! The first step to learning a new language is motivation and to be motivated the children need to be excited and confident. I hope I can make the students have fun with their English learning and not worry about making mistakes (as that is how we learn after all).

Science
With 1A and 1B we have been learning about the body in science, which is a great excuse to get the kids up and active. We have been playing games where we say the name of a part of the body and then the student has to touch that part. They love it! And it is even better when they tell each other a body part and practise their English.