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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Science - Mammals and their characteristics with Year 1
Last week we played a fun activity about Mammals together.
We started off by identifying what a Mammal is. I showed some pictures on the projector of different mammal characteristics and asked the children, for example 'does a mammal lay eggs or have babies?' or 'does a mammal have hair?'. They were very good at working it out and could name a lot of different mammals!
Then we went through the images of the characteristics step by step and the students cut the characteristic picture before pasting it onto their other worksheet.
The children were very engaged and seemed to enjoy talking about their favourite mammals! They learnt the characteristics of mammals through the communicative activity and the craft one too.
I've been behind the past few weeks! I've been traveling and trying to keep my creativity alive in the classroom, so blogging has taken a back seat unfortunately but here's what we've been doing in first grade:
SCIENCE
Our plants have all been left on the patio so they are a thing of the past now. (Something I need to toss!) For the animals unit I played a class-wide version of Guess Who. I placed pictures of 8-10 animals on the chalkboard and wrote the name one on a notepad for myself. The students asked questions to guess which animal I wrote, such as "Can it fly?" "Does it live in water?" etc. They had a really great time but sometimes would just start immediately guessing. That's to be expected with young ones right?
We also completed an activity with snails where each student received a snail and several types of food to find out what the snail would eat. Those poor snails, haha! Naturally the students were excited and talkative the whole class so we made it through most of the activity and they now know the types of things snails will eat. This activity was Teacher Eduardo's creation so I squealed with the children at the site of dozens of slithering snails. I made it through though!
We also went on a field trip to a farm where the students saw live sheep, pigs, cows, chickens and donkeys. What a day! The location that we visited was highly organized and the students were whisked off into small groups as they toured the grounds and participated in several activities. For me, unfortunately, everything was in Spanish and with so many of them separated I found it difficult to jump in with any English. I think they learned a lot about the material that day...just nothing in English. :(
Now we are starting time so I'm creating some activities about daily routines for the next couple weeks.
ART
After we completed our yogurt ducks we created a beautiful tree full of birds, birdhouses, leaves and flowers...all of the student's artwork of course. One day of art was the day we traveled on our field trip so that sums up everything that has been happening in art pretty quickly. Hopefully I can add some new activities for us soon and help Teacher Carmen with ideas!
These past two weeks were slightly off schedule as we celebrated Andalucia Day on February 28 and International Women's Day on March 8. We've also had some teacher's out with various things going on so these past two weeks were definitely a lesson in going with the flow which is very important! All that said, they were very good weeks and the students had a lot of fun with the activities that were related to these two very important holidays.
SCIENCE
In first grade we have continued watching our plants grow (or not). We are having a lot of success in one class, and practically none in the other. To me, it looks like a bird may have gotten to the seeds in our second class but we will continue to watch what happens. The students are very invested in making sure their plants are getting everything they need and remind me when they need water or when we need to look at them. We have also moved onto animals and are learning how they move, where they live and what they eat! This requires a lot of interaction and motion...jumping, chomping, slithering, etc. And the kids love it as much as I do. Sometimes its hard to get a classroom of frogs back in their seats but that comes with the subject matter.
ART
These weeks we spent some time learning about instruments because it corresponded with the Andalucia Day song and other festivities. We also completed our yogurt ducks!
During our class about instruments Teacher Carmen led a game where the students sat in a circle around pictures of the wind instruments they are learning about. They were given a chance to choose the instruments we named, in Spanish and English. They enjoyed it and I also got a refresher on some instrument names...my my my high school was a long time ago! Ha!
For their yogurt ducks, we glued them to the yogurt cups and added an anchored string to the bottom. When pulled with a wet hand it creates a "quack" sound! The students were amazed and I'd bet the teachers needed some ibuprofen at the end of that day. A class full of cute little ducks!
This week in first grade we were still learning about plants and started on The Stages of Life. They were specifically focusing on BORN, GROW and REPRODUCE.
For our plants, all of our dreams came true and out of about 50 students only two beans did not sprout. We allowed those two students, and those that were absent last week, to try growing their beans in a cup again. The rest of the class was given soil in their cup and they planted the sprouted beans and placed them outside. Now we will cross our fingers again that they grow and the birds don't eat them before we get to see the results.
The students are having a wonderful time with the plants and they are showing that they understand what should and shouldn't be happening.
For the stages of life we created a foldable with four flaps. Each flap was labeled with a stage of life and I included "EGGS" as one stage because we used the chicken as our example. They folded, cut, drew and colored everything themselves and we talked about how the chicken goes through each stage.
They were very interactive in this activity and some even hopped out of their seats to show me a chicken "growing" or "laying eggs". They flipped through each stage of their completed foldable and spoke about it amongst themselves. The students enjoyed this activity but were far more interested in the plants, understandably so.
ART
This week in art we were reinforcing the students knowledge of animals. They are making a yogurt duck so this week they colored and cut out their ducks. They will bring an empty yogurt cup next week which will go inside the duck to create the body and Teacher Carmen has a surprise for them after that! While they colored their ducks I read This Way, Ruby! A book about an observant duck who saves the day.
The students always enjoy coloring so of course they enjoyed coloring their ducks. They're also excited about the surprise. While I read the book they did not understand much but I only wanted them to hear some familiar words. Next week, I will read it again and help them to understand what happens during each stage of the book. My plan is for them to use their completed ducks to act out the stage of the book.
Now that I’m adjusted to my new life here in Spain, let me
tell you about these amazing first six weeks…
I am the Auxiliar or Culture and Language Assistant here at
CEIP Antonio Rodríguez Almodóvar and my role is to encourage conversation and
introduce relevant American culture into the classroom. Let me say…this is THE
BEST job I’ve ever had! I am showered with love and appreciation and I get to
use fun activities to get students involved in their curriculum. I think the
one thing that I have been shocked by is how much I am truly able to teach the
students. When I have their full attention I am able to introduce new subject
matter and they walk away with knowledge and new confidence in their English.
There is no better feeling!
On my first day in the first grade classrooms, I was met
with excitement and blank stares after I spoke. I think my American accent was
surprising to them and it seems they had a difficult time understanding me. I
was nervous after this. I thought I wouldn’t be able to teach them much but by
week four I knew I’d made a breakthrough and I was confident we’d be
productively learning together for the rest of the school year! Here are some
highlights:
SCIENCE
The first two weeks we spent time getting to know each other
and I used the time to understand the routine of the classes. By week three and
four we were learning about our city and road safety. To reinforce road safety,
I created a game called “Red Man Green Man”. I used our American game “Red
Light Green Light” as inspiration. In this game the class went to the patio and
were instructed to find a partner because we should never cross the road alone.
They then had to shout “Red Man Green Man” to me and I would indicate with
words and colors whether they were allowed to cross the road or not, and
numbers to indicate how far they could go. The goal was to get to the other
side before the Red Man appeared.
The students had a blast playing this game! They used
speaking to ask for their chance to cross, listening to hear the response and
counting to take each number of steps they were given. When I could not get
them to start over I would turn into a car in the road and they were sent
running to the other side. I’m not sure if I had more fun or them! One student
even asked the following class period if we were going to play again.
In weeks four and five we learned the Three Stages of Matter
with an in-class experiment. At each table we melted a piece of ice in an oil
burner as the students observed. They recorded each phase with drawings in
their notebooks and excitedly watched as the heat turned ice into water, water
vapor and then into nothing over time!
This was a fun activity as the students were very involved
and making observations ahead of my instruction. It’s always exciting when your
students start teaching you! To go from that first day, which was likely, scary
for them and for me, to this activity where they fully understood the concept
and activity in English was a breakthrough. One of the classes was even
chanting the word “English” as I walked in the door! They’ve become excited
about learning in English...what a feeling!
In week six we started an activity to try growing our own
plants. We planted our seeds in cotton and left them to sprout over the
weekend. My fingers are crossed that on Monday we have some sprouts so that we
can do the same activity with both classes!
ART
In arts and crafts we have a more casual classroom
environment. I give instructions on the activity and then walk from table to
table assisting and asking questions. So far in this six weeks we have learned
about warm and cool colors and landscapes. They’ve created some beautiful
pieces and we sang a song in class about warm and cool colors.
Last week we began animals and I taught the students how to
make their own hand puppet. They really enjoyed this activity and were even
making more than one puppet. The goal was to create an animal puppet and have a
conversation in English with their puppet friends. I’m excited to hear from
them next week on what they talked about!
Outside of traditional classroom instruction I also took the opportunity to teach about Martin Luther King Jr on MLK Day. I also made sure to bring a little bit of the American style of holiday celebrations for Valentine's Day by giving the students candy and a Valentine treat to keep and to share. At the end of the school day I could see that they had shared all of their stickers with their friends and were enjoying their lollipops...ahh spreading love! :) <3
