Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Classroom Ideas and a Mystery


For the little ones... Today I moved their desks into a U-shape. This created a huge improvement in behavior (and was not pre-approved, but its success has paved the way for future change). I also developed several new ABC activities (doing a workbook for 40 minutes just isn't a good idea for 6 year olds). We had a lot of fun with the new alphabet "special tests".

On top of that, I asked a Korean co-worker to teach me how to say "make the sound", "please write", and "please sit" in Korean. Very helpful phrases.

For the older ones... I created some new speaking activities. I bought a Far Side book and made a "speaking/drawing" challenge. One student was the artist and the others were the "directors". The "directors" had to describe a cartoon, and the artist had to recreate it on the blackboard. Great fun.

For homework, I asked the students to find a joke or funny story to tell next class. They had some good ones. My favorite was a true story by Amy. She told us how she went on a roller coaster and during the ride, the man in front of her lost his wig... when the ride stopped, she looked back and saw a woman with the wig stuck on her face... it turned out to be her mom!

I also made a "detective" activity. The students had thirty seconds to create a "mystery". I left the room and when I returned, I attempted to solve it by asking them questions. Here is what Annie, Joy, and Wendy came up with...

Victim: Tinkerbell
Killer: Wendy
Weapon: A Pen
Location: Joy's Apartment
Weather: Sunshine, rain, and wind.
Time: 4:44:44 ("four" is considered an unlucky number in Korea)

My desk and the books I never use (except the Calvin and Hobbes).

Me solving the mystery.

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