On Friday, I had the first hour off so I had time to print the worksheets and so on. There was only one problem, the copy machine wouldn't listen to me. In the end I had 10 boardgames instead of 5 :).
The 2nd period, I had English with the 7th grade. First they had their 'Fridaytalk'. Every pupil has to tell what he/she is going to do during the weekend.
Almost everyone was going to watch the final of X-Factor.
Then they had to do pairwork. One pupil had a page with the picture of a kitchen on it. The other pupil had almost the same picture but without the details. So they had to ask the other one where the broom was for example. They couldn't speak Danish, only English and they had to use the prepositions. I walked around, making sure they were talking English. When I saw that one group was finished, I asked them how many mistakes there were, what the mistake was and so on.
The 4th period, I had to teach the 5th grade myself. I was really excited about it, also because all the pupils were excited too. They had been asking for more than a week, when I would be teaching. The 3rd period, they had music class and the 4th period they came running to the classroom and looked very happy and they were waiting with great expectations.
I started the lesson with a story. I told them I wanted to tell them the story of how I got in Denmark. "So I started telling them that I got a letter: To Ms. Sonja Knaepen. Upper bedroom, Belgium. It was send by Sct. Severin Skole for witchcraft and wizardry. I had to take some train and I had to leave every time on platform 9 3/4. Once I got to the school, I talked with the Danish flag and he told me that I had to live in the house of 5A. ( which is the class). In the end I told them I learnt a spell to make things cosy: hygge."
They were all laughing because most of them recognized the details of the story. It wasn't my story but the story of Harry Potter. We had a sort conversation: Who likes Harry Potter? Who has read the books ? Who prefers the books and who the films? There was only one person who thought the books were better than the films so I told him, he could be my favourite today, just for fun. I also asked them in which language they have read the books. Most of the pupils have read them in Danish. I told the pupils I've read them in Dutch and English and that I've bought the first Harry Potter book in Danish. They then offered to teach me some Danish. I answered that that was fine with me if I could teach them Dutch. But they all answered: Ow but we can already speak Dutch. Apperently they thought that Dutch is the same as German, (Deutsch). It was so funny. Then I gave them some worksheets. It contained a short text about the writer, J.K. Rowling and one about Harry Potter. Two pupils read it out loud and then they had to answer the true/false questions.
Then it was time for some grammar. The point of the lesson was to learn them the difference between do/does. We started with some easy exercises and some rules. Every time they had to complete the rule themselves and there was a picture of professor Dumbledore next to it. The exercises and the explanation of the rules, didn't went very smoothly because it's still a bit difficult for 5th graders to get all the information in English. So Karin, helped me once in a while by explaining it shortly in Danish. One pupil said he didn't know what to do in an exercise. So I went standing next to him and we did the first 2 sentences together. Then he could do it on his own. I told him that he was doing a great job and he looked so happy !
I also used the names of the pupils in the exercises, which they found very funny.
When I asked a pupil to solve the exercise, sometimes he/she said she couldn' t do it. I just said she had to try and when she had tried it I gave them extra positive feedback: Good job ! See you can do it ! Super !
My production phase was a boardgame but we didn't have enough time so I will do that next lesson.
I told them the lesson was over and that they had done such a great job and that I was very proud of them. They were all smiling and it was such a nice feeling. I really felt great about this lesson. They understood most of it and they were behaving so well and you could see they really enjoyed this lesson. Some of them asked me when I would teach them again, and when I told them 'in 2 weeks', because next week, they have a project week, they looked disappointed. They wanted me next week as well. :)
Karin also said I did a great job and it was so nice to hear.
I left the classroom smiling and I was just so happy. I knew I did a good job and that they understood what I explained.
I was totally ready for my trip to Odense, which I will tell you about in my next message.
Haderslev
Haderslev- my home for 3 months
zondag 27 maart 2011
donderdag 24 maart 2011
Forårfest - Birthday party -... St. Patrick's Day !
On Friday night I had a Forårfest. Some teachers organize 4 times a year a party for all the teachers. It was a really nice party. There was a poster of it in the teacher's lounge and you had to write your name on the pedals of the biggest flower if you wanted to come.
Not all the teachers came but we still had a lot of fun. It started at 18h18. First we had dinner which was very good and then we played some games. In the beginning, when I heard that we were going to play games, I thought back at our 'leefsleutels' and I wasn't really sure I would like it, but I did. It was really fun. We had to form a line and hold hands and crawl through a hoop. We also played a "clapgame" on the table. You had to lay both hands flat on the table. The person next to you puts one hand over one of your hands. Someone starts to hit the table once. Then the hand next to it has to continue and so on. If someone hits the table twice, you have to change direction. It was really funny but so confusing. The first round, I already lost 1 hand( which actually made it simpler.)
We could also buy a bracelet and then we could drink as much as we wanted to.
Then it was time to dance ! Well, it wasn't really my type of music, but some people didn't care and just pulled me on the dancefloor. There was 1 man, the owner of the building, pulled me on the dancefloor and started to spin me around and so on. I was so dizzy when the song was over but I also couldn't stop laughing.
I also danced with some of the teachers. Really nice but still a bit weird.
On Saturday I relaxed most of the time.
On Sunday, it was partytime again. We had a birthdayparty here. Rikke has birthday on Wednesday but we already celebrated it.They invited their family and we had a great lunch. The food was so delicious. Maybe a bit too delicious because I ate way to much :).
I played outside the whole day with the children because the weather was so nice. I also played Kubb. This is really a fun game.
Here you can see how kubb is played!
On Monday it was back to school.
The 9th graders got the information about the exams, which was in Danish.
In the 5th grade, the pupils had to answer some questions about King Arthur. They read the text on Friday. When they were finished they had to draw their own shield. I assisted them while they were answering the questions. Explaining words, helping them find the things in the text, .... This is really fun to do because the pupils really like me (they even missed me on Friday) and they really want my help. They are only 11-12 years old but they try to speak English.
My lesson in the 8th grade was cancelled and in the 7th grade it was up to me.
The pupils had to do English exercices online, individually in the classroom. Carsten was in the hallway and called them one by one out to give them feedback on an assignment. I had to make sure that they were doing the English exercises and help them if they didn't understand something.
On Tuesday, the 7th graders learned about adjectives. A grammar lesson here is given both in English and Danish. First, the teacher explains some things in English and the really difficult parts are explained again in Danish.
The lesson was about the comparison of adjectives. Strong-stronger -strongest.
But then the difficult one: evil. We couldn't think about a way to make the comparative and superlative of evil. Evil-eviler-evilest or more evil - most evil. Later on, I looked it up and according to the internet, evil is the same as bad, so irregular. So evil-worse-worst. Weird.
Anyway, the pupils also played a game. it's almost the same as "weerwolven van Wakkerdam" but then with gangsters and citizens. The gangsters won. They also had to do exercises about the adjectives. They had to find as many adjectives as they could think of and I helped them if they didn't have any inspiration.
In the 5th grade they had to prepare a roleplay. The starting point was the text about King Arthur. They had to perform their role play at the end of the lesson and some groups (they had to work in pairs) were so funny.
On Wednesday, I only had the 9th graders for 2 hours. They had to learn the 50 states of America and they played a game. On youtube, you can find some videos of persons who can name the 50 states in less than 20 seconds. Carsten also tried it, but he finished at 25 seconds. One of the pupils almost beat him (28 seconds).
At the end of the lesson they also played a game on the smartboard in groups. Two persons had to come up to the smartboard. There was a map of the USA and it said which state you had to find. The other groupmembers had the map with the solutions and they had to guide the other 2 by giving directions in English.
I showed the pupils the video of Yakko's world where Yakko names all the countries in the world in 1:47. They were really impressed and it was so funny because they were watching it with a lot of attention to see when he said 'Denmark'.
In the evening we went to a restaurant in Kolding. It was an American restaurant, Bone's. It was soo good ! I ordered a burger and French fries and I couldn't believe my eyes when they brought the food. The burger was gigantic but yammie !! :D
On Thursday, it was time to cook again. This time the national dish of Denmark: meatballs ! Frikadeller. It was really good.
Then I had the 8th grade. Long time that I haven't seen them because last week the teacher was ill. I was a bit disappointed back then because it was the only class of English I had on St. Patrick's Day and I couldn't do any activities. So during lunch, the teacher came to me and said we would do it today. So we went to the class and said that we were going back in time. It was not 24/03 but 17/03 today. Two pupils were sent to the library to find out some things about St. Patrick's Day. The rest of te class had to solve the worksheet. Find the rhyming word. they enjoyed it and so did I. When the 2 pupils were back they explained us a bit more about St. Patrick's Day.
I was glad that I could still do something about St. Patrick's Day.
Tomorrow I have to teach the 5th grade myself. I'm going to teach them the difference between do and does. They already know it but they make so many mistakes. So I'm off now, preparing my lesson and enjoying the nice weather outside.(14°C, here I come ;)
Vi ses !
Not all the teachers came but we still had a lot of fun. It started at 18h18. First we had dinner which was very good and then we played some games. In the beginning, when I heard that we were going to play games, I thought back at our 'leefsleutels' and I wasn't really sure I would like it, but I did. It was really fun. We had to form a line and hold hands and crawl through a hoop. We also played a "clapgame" on the table. You had to lay both hands flat on the table. The person next to you puts one hand over one of your hands. Someone starts to hit the table once. Then the hand next to it has to continue and so on. If someone hits the table twice, you have to change direction. It was really funny but so confusing. The first round, I already lost 1 hand( which actually made it simpler.)
We could also buy a bracelet and then we could drink as much as we wanted to.
Then it was time to dance ! Well, it wasn't really my type of music, but some people didn't care and just pulled me on the dancefloor. There was 1 man, the owner of the building, pulled me on the dancefloor and started to spin me around and so on. I was so dizzy when the song was over but I also couldn't stop laughing.
I also danced with some of the teachers. Really nice but still a bit weird.
On Saturday I relaxed most of the time.
On Sunday, it was partytime again. We had a birthdayparty here. Rikke has birthday on Wednesday but we already celebrated it.They invited their family and we had a great lunch. The food was so delicious. Maybe a bit too delicious because I ate way to much :).
I played outside the whole day with the children because the weather was so nice. I also played Kubb. This is really a fun game.
Here you can see how kubb is played!
On Monday it was back to school.
The 9th graders got the information about the exams, which was in Danish.
In the 5th grade, the pupils had to answer some questions about King Arthur. They read the text on Friday. When they were finished they had to draw their own shield. I assisted them while they were answering the questions. Explaining words, helping them find the things in the text, .... This is really fun to do because the pupils really like me (they even missed me on Friday) and they really want my help. They are only 11-12 years old but they try to speak English.
My lesson in the 8th grade was cancelled and in the 7th grade it was up to me.
The pupils had to do English exercices online, individually in the classroom. Carsten was in the hallway and called them one by one out to give them feedback on an assignment. I had to make sure that they were doing the English exercises and help them if they didn't understand something.
On Tuesday, the 7th graders learned about adjectives. A grammar lesson here is given both in English and Danish. First, the teacher explains some things in English and the really difficult parts are explained again in Danish.
The lesson was about the comparison of adjectives. Strong-stronger -strongest.
But then the difficult one: evil. We couldn't think about a way to make the comparative and superlative of evil. Evil-eviler-evilest or more evil - most evil. Later on, I looked it up and according to the internet, evil is the same as bad, so irregular. So evil-worse-worst. Weird.
Anyway, the pupils also played a game. it's almost the same as "weerwolven van Wakkerdam" but then with gangsters and citizens. The gangsters won. They also had to do exercises about the adjectives. They had to find as many adjectives as they could think of and I helped them if they didn't have any inspiration.
In the 5th grade they had to prepare a roleplay. The starting point was the text about King Arthur. They had to perform their role play at the end of the lesson and some groups (they had to work in pairs) were so funny.
On Wednesday, I only had the 9th graders for 2 hours. They had to learn the 50 states of America and they played a game. On youtube, you can find some videos of persons who can name the 50 states in less than 20 seconds. Carsten also tried it, but he finished at 25 seconds. One of the pupils almost beat him (28 seconds).
At the end of the lesson they also played a game on the smartboard in groups. Two persons had to come up to the smartboard. There was a map of the USA and it said which state you had to find. The other groupmembers had the map with the solutions and they had to guide the other 2 by giving directions in English.
I showed the pupils the video of Yakko's world where Yakko names all the countries in the world in 1:47. They were really impressed and it was so funny because they were watching it with a lot of attention to see when he said 'Denmark'.
In the evening we went to a restaurant in Kolding. It was an American restaurant, Bone's. It was soo good ! I ordered a burger and French fries and I couldn't believe my eyes when they brought the food. The burger was gigantic but yammie !! :D
On Thursday, it was time to cook again. This time the national dish of Denmark: meatballs ! Frikadeller. It was really good.
Then I had the 8th grade. Long time that I haven't seen them because last week the teacher was ill. I was a bit disappointed back then because it was the only class of English I had on St. Patrick's Day and I couldn't do any activities. So during lunch, the teacher came to me and said we would do it today. So we went to the class and said that we were going back in time. It was not 24/03 but 17/03 today. Two pupils were sent to the library to find out some things about St. Patrick's Day. The rest of te class had to solve the worksheet. Find the rhyming word. they enjoyed it and so did I. When the 2 pupils were back they explained us a bit more about St. Patrick's Day.
I was glad that I could still do something about St. Patrick's Day.
Tomorrow I have to teach the 5th grade myself. I'm going to teach them the difference between do and does. They already know it but they make so many mistakes. So I'm off now, preparing my lesson and enjoying the nice weather outside.(14°C, here I come ;)
Vi ses !
maandag 21 maart 2011
Askov Efterskole - Højskole
On Friday, I went on a trip with the Erasmus students. They went to an Efterskole and a Højskole in Askov. One hour drive from Haderslev.These are typical Danish schools.
Youngsters can go to an Efterskole after the 8th grade. Then they can stay there for 1 year and complete their 9th grade in the Efterskole.
The Efterskole where I've been to in Askov was founded in 2001. In total, there are 280 Efterskole in Denmark.
I don't have so much information about the Efterskole but you can compare it with a continuation/boarding school.
Here you can see a youtubefilm about the Efterskole and it explains almost everything:
Grundtvig ( a vicar) travelled a lot around the world and had strong thoughts. During his first speech he 'attacked' everyone who was in control. He said that everyone was wrong.
The thought of democracy was quite strong at that time. But to have a democracy, you need to have citizens, individual persons. People who have their own rights and can make their own decisions.
Grundtvig said therefore : If you want a democracy with citizens, we have to educate everyone. So not only the top needs to learn how to read and write, but everyone !
Grundtvig is actually the founder of the Højskole. If you translate this, it is Free School.
You learn what you want to learn in a Højskole. There are no exams and you choose how you want to learn something yourself.
You can study journalism, art, film, ...
The people in the Højskole care about the whole person and are actually preparing for further education.
They see the Højskole as a society on his own and therefore everyone who is attending a Højskole has to participate in the society. You can't just stay in bed if you want to. Pupils also pay to be here. This is different than other education in Denmark because education is free here. All the teaching is based on how people see the world, so it might be different for some teachers. The school in Askov is open for 34 weeks and teachers are here 24/7. You can also follow classes during the summer holidays even with your family.
A day in a Højskole: 8h00 breakfast
8h45 morning singing
9h15 first classes/study time
12h30 lunch
14h00 classes/study
18h15 dinner
19h30 study until they go to bed
12h30 lunch
14h00 classes/study
18h15 dinner
19h30 study until they go to bed
To finish off, I want to give you a quote which symbolizes exactly where the Højskole stands for:
You don't become something here, but maybe you can become someone.
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| View |
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| Art class |
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| Work/relax room |
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| Glasswork |
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| Map of the Efterskole + Højskole |
donderdag 17 maart 2011
English- cooking class - no St. Patrick's day ...
On Tuesday I met the 7th grade again. They all had their duck with them. :)
They got a new assignment from Carsten. "show and tell". They have to think about an object/person/pet they love and they have to talk 1 minute about it on Friday. They can bring the object (if it's not too big) or a picture of it.
They started by making a mindmap. Some pupils got stuck and I helped them out by asking questions so then they know what else they could tell about the thing. Some pupils are going to tell something about their pet, others about Justin Bieber, their Ipod, their Iphone, footballplayers, ...
My last hour was with the 5th grade. Too bad I couldn't do a lot. They had to listen to the spoken text of King Arthur and follow in their book. The books they use is First choice. I notices that there are only text and songs in it. No grammar or anything.
On Wednesday I only had 2 hours with the 9th grade. I told them the story of Kim de Gelder and they were quite shocked. The copier worked (half) so Carsten was able to make 10 copies. So they had to work together. They had to read some texts about the Columbine school shooting and answer questions about it. When they were done with that, there were some statements which they could discuss. I walked around, to see if there were any problems, questions, mistakes (in their writing),...
In the groups who were ready I asked for their opinion of one of the statements. (I can't remember the exact statement but it was something with the national agency who wants to learn children to use a gun.) The groups were very short in their answer and it was a bit difficult to talk with them. Another group (2 girls) were quite good at discussing. I felt I could really discuus things with them, but the lesson was over before we really got somewhere.
I did notice something special. When Carsten asked a girl to read some lines of a poem out loud, she just refused. Carsten then started to talk with her in Danish ( which I still don't understand completely) but the result was that she didn't have to read. I found that very strange. But it isn't the first time this happened. While the pupils were working with the articles (which was in groups) I saw him talking with the girl seperately from the class. He later told me that the girl had some problems ( Morning issues or something) and Carsten had just told her that she has to tell him this before the lesson starts so that he doesn't have to give her a lecture in front of the whole class. I found this very friendly and this is just one of the ways you can notice that the teachers really care about the pupils and really talk with them.
After the lesson he also told me that I have to try to get more involved in the lesson. Personally I find this very difficult because I don't want to disturb the pupils while they are working and so on. So tips are always welcome and I will also talk with Carsten about it. He would also think about giving me a part of the school shooting theme, that I can teach.
On Thursday, it was time to cook. We made 2 kinds of soup. I helped 2 groups and it was really nice because the pupils also ask for my help.
My lesson in the 8th grade was cancelled because the teacher wasn't in and in the 8th grade, they don't always have a substitute. I also noticed that the English teachers don't really think about St. Patrick's day here. I talked with some English teachers and they do think it's a nice idea but they teach the pupils other traditions. So actually I had to pinch almost everyone today. Too much work ;) !
In the beginning of the week, I also gave my schedule to Karin. If someone is ill, she looks for a substitute. This way, if Karin or any of my teachers is ill, I can be the substitute and not the assistant of the subsitute.
Tomorrow I won't go to Sct. Severin Skole, but I will join the Erasmus students on a trip. They are going to a special kind of school (something special/typical Danish) and Lasse thought it would be nice for me to join them.
I'll let you know how it went !
Vi ses !
They got a new assignment from Carsten. "show and tell". They have to think about an object/person/pet they love and they have to talk 1 minute about it on Friday. They can bring the object (if it's not too big) or a picture of it.
They started by making a mindmap. Some pupils got stuck and I helped them out by asking questions so then they know what else they could tell about the thing. Some pupils are going to tell something about their pet, others about Justin Bieber, their Ipod, their Iphone, footballplayers, ...
My last hour was with the 5th grade. Too bad I couldn't do a lot. They had to listen to the spoken text of King Arthur and follow in their book. The books they use is First choice. I notices that there are only text and songs in it. No grammar or anything.
On Wednesday I only had 2 hours with the 9th grade. I told them the story of Kim de Gelder and they were quite shocked. The copier worked (half) so Carsten was able to make 10 copies. So they had to work together. They had to read some texts about the Columbine school shooting and answer questions about it. When they were done with that, there were some statements which they could discuss. I walked around, to see if there were any problems, questions, mistakes (in their writing),...
In the groups who were ready I asked for their opinion of one of the statements. (I can't remember the exact statement but it was something with the national agency who wants to learn children to use a gun.) The groups were very short in their answer and it was a bit difficult to talk with them. Another group (2 girls) were quite good at discussing. I felt I could really discuus things with them, but the lesson was over before we really got somewhere.
I did notice something special. When Carsten asked a girl to read some lines of a poem out loud, she just refused. Carsten then started to talk with her in Danish ( which I still don't understand completely) but the result was that she didn't have to read. I found that very strange. But it isn't the first time this happened. While the pupils were working with the articles (which was in groups) I saw him talking with the girl seperately from the class. He later told me that the girl had some problems ( Morning issues or something) and Carsten had just told her that she has to tell him this before the lesson starts so that he doesn't have to give her a lecture in front of the whole class. I found this very friendly and this is just one of the ways you can notice that the teachers really care about the pupils and really talk with them.
After the lesson he also told me that I have to try to get more involved in the lesson. Personally I find this very difficult because I don't want to disturb the pupils while they are working and so on. So tips are always welcome and I will also talk with Carsten about it. He would also think about giving me a part of the school shooting theme, that I can teach.
On Thursday, it was time to cook. We made 2 kinds of soup. I helped 2 groups and it was really nice because the pupils also ask for my help.
My lesson in the 8th grade was cancelled because the teacher wasn't in and in the 8th grade, they don't always have a substitute. I also noticed that the English teachers don't really think about St. Patrick's day here. I talked with some English teachers and they do think it's a nice idea but they teach the pupils other traditions. So actually I had to pinch almost everyone today. Too much work ;) !
In the beginning of the week, I also gave my schedule to Karin. If someone is ill, she looks for a substitute. This way, if Karin or any of my teachers is ill, I can be the substitute and not the assistant of the subsitute.
Tomorrow I won't go to Sct. Severin Skole, but I will join the Erasmus students on a trip. They are going to a special kind of school (something special/typical Danish) and Lasse thought it would be nice for me to join them.
I'll let you know how it went !
Vi ses !
Monday + Carnival presentations
On Monday I started to have a lesson with the 9th graders. They are working with the topic "School shootings". The copier wasn't working quite well so Carsten wasn't able to copy the worksheets. So instead of working with text about school shootings we started with some songs. The song 'I don't like Mondays' is a very famous song especially for the shootingincident in Clevenland. Brenda Spencer shot 8 children and her only reason for the act was: I don't like Mondays.
The teacher explained a bit about it and discussed the song with the pupils. After class I told him the story of Kim de Gelder and he asked me if I could tell the story in class on Wednesday. So task n°1 :)
The third hour I normally had classes with Karin in the 5th grade. She wasn't in so there was a substitute, but they asked me if I could participate a bit more this lesson because the English skills of the substitute weren't that great. So we taught the class together.
The pupils had to read a text about Robin Hood. They always do it in pairs or more and go and sit in different rooms. After 10 minutes or so they come back. Then it was up to me. I agreed with the substitute that I would check if they knew what was in the text and the difficult words. So I asked the pupils : " Who can tell me what the text is about, in your own words and in English? " They looked surprised at me because they sometimes have the habit to answer in Danish. But I told them they had to try. So the pupils tried. I asked some extra questions and they all answered in English.
Next to the text, there's always a glossary from English to Danish. There weren't any difficult words according to the pupils.
If I think about it afterwards I could have done some pronunciation exercise with them. So that I say the English word and they repeat after me, but I didn't really think about it at that time. After that, the substitute took over. the pupils had to translate the English text into Danish. I can't really help them with that so I just listened to them and made sure they were doing what they had to do. The last 10 minutes, they had to read the text out loud in English and 2 boys acted it out. That was quite funny to see.
The next hour I had the 8th grade but the teacher wasn't feeling so well and he just wanted to tell the pupils some important information about the renting of books and so on. So there was no English lesson.
Then there was the most exciting moment of the day. I told you in my previous blogenteries that the pupils were working on their carnival activity. On Friday I wasn't convinced that they would be ready on time but they would get 15-20' on Monday and then it had to be ready. When I entered the classroom they were already finishing it, but they still needed their 20 minutes.
Then it was presentation time. They had to present what they had made. I must say that I was quite impressed by the results. You have to imagine that these pupils don't really know carnival , or a float and so on.
Here you can see some pictures of the results. The first picture is from Team 1. They had to think of a route for a carnival parade through Haderslev. Team 2 ( picture 2 +3) had to come up with a costume for the people on the float and decorations for the street.
Team 3 had to design a float. All the groups made something in the spirit of Denmark. Team 1 calls their event Fastelavn ( = Danish for carnival) and plays Danish music. Team 2 has decorations in the colours of Denmark ( red + white) and they would give the people lego. Also their costume is a giant piece of lego. Team 3 : their float is made of lego and is a house with a garden. I think they all love their country and why not?! It is a great country !!
The teacher explained a bit about it and discussed the song with the pupils. After class I told him the story of Kim de Gelder and he asked me if I could tell the story in class on Wednesday. So task n°1 :)
The third hour I normally had classes with Karin in the 5th grade. She wasn't in so there was a substitute, but they asked me if I could participate a bit more this lesson because the English skills of the substitute weren't that great. So we taught the class together.
The pupils had to read a text about Robin Hood. They always do it in pairs or more and go and sit in different rooms. After 10 minutes or so they come back. Then it was up to me. I agreed with the substitute that I would check if they knew what was in the text and the difficult words. So I asked the pupils : " Who can tell me what the text is about, in your own words and in English? " They looked surprised at me because they sometimes have the habit to answer in Danish. But I told them they had to try. So the pupils tried. I asked some extra questions and they all answered in English.
Next to the text, there's always a glossary from English to Danish. There weren't any difficult words according to the pupils.
If I think about it afterwards I could have done some pronunciation exercise with them. So that I say the English word and they repeat after me, but I didn't really think about it at that time. After that, the substitute took over. the pupils had to translate the English text into Danish. I can't really help them with that so I just listened to them and made sure they were doing what they had to do. The last 10 minutes, they had to read the text out loud in English and 2 boys acted it out. That was quite funny to see.
The next hour I had the 8th grade but the teacher wasn't feeling so well and he just wanted to tell the pupils some important information about the renting of books and so on. So there was no English lesson.
Then there was the most exciting moment of the day. I told you in my previous blogenteries that the pupils were working on their carnival activity. On Friday I wasn't convinced that they would be ready on time but they would get 15-20' on Monday and then it had to be ready. When I entered the classroom they were already finishing it, but they still needed their 20 minutes.
Then it was presentation time. They had to present what they had made. I must say that I was quite impressed by the results. You have to imagine that these pupils don't really know carnival , or a float and so on.
Here you can see some pictures of the results. The first picture is from Team 1. They had to think of a route for a carnival parade through Haderslev. Team 2 ( picture 2 +3) had to come up with a costume for the people on the float and decorations for the street.
Team 3 had to design a float. All the groups made something in the spirit of Denmark. Team 1 calls their event Fastelavn ( = Danish for carnival) and plays Danish music. Team 2 has decorations in the colours of Denmark ( red + white) and they would give the people lego. Also their costume is a giant piece of lego. Team 3 : their float is made of lego and is a house with a garden. I think they all love their country and why not?! It is a great country !!
After their presentations I let them hear some Dutch carnival songs and they were laughing all the time and singing along at a certain moment. =)
I also told them I was in a carnival group and I told them I had contact with them while I was here. I really did actually because I wanted to give these pupils something from Belgian carnival. So a few weeks ago I got a package with small rubber ducks in it ( yes, I know, ducks again ;) ) because that's what our carnival group throws out at the parades this year. They were really surprised and really happy with it.
After the lesson, Carsten came to me and said that it all went very well. I was really happy because it is a different way of teaching here in Denmark but I really enjoyed it and it was nice to hear that it was really good.
I will tell you my adventures of the rest of the week in another message because otherwise this one will be too long !
I will tell you my adventures of the rest of the week in another message because otherwise this one will be too long !
zondag 13 maart 2011
The national test and party !
On Friday, my pupils of the 7th grade had the national test of English, so Carsten told me I could continue with my carnival lesson the first period. So I did. The pupils had to continue working on their carnival activity. On Monday, it has to be ready. I'm a bit concerned because I don't think they will be finished. So maybe I will give them 20 minutes on Monday and then they have to present it.
Then they had the national test. This is a test the pupils if the 7th grade have to take. It's an online test and the aim of this test is to see their level of English.
The pupils enter the computer room and log on, on the computer. Then, they have to go the website. the teacher explains a bit and at precisely 9 o' clock the pupils have to press the 'start' button.
They get 45' to complete the test. Not every pupils gets the same questions. If a pupilis answering the question correctly, he/she gets a more difficult one and so on. If a pupils answers a question wrong, he/she gets an easier one. The teacher can follow the results of the pupils. On his screen he can see the names of the pupils, how many time is left and the number of question the pupil is answering. He can also see a red/yellow or green line after the pupil's name. Red means that the result is unknown. Yellow means that the result is a bit more known and green means a safe result but that doesn't necessarily means that the pupil passed the test. The teacher can also choose to give a pupil 15 minutes extra, for example when there are some problems with the computer or so.
I also met the 8th grade on Friday. I was a bit nervous especially after Tuesday but everything went just fine. The pupils were very friendly and they were quite interested in me and in Belgium. They taught that British English was our national language. After I explained that we have 3 national languages (Dutch, French, German),one of the pupils asked me if Dutch was the same as Scottish. I thought it was quite funny. Afterwards they had to do an activity about a text and I talked to some pupils or helped them.
In the evening I went to the Fridaycafe. It's a pub for college students and I was there with a couple of the Erasmus students. We really had a good time. We had a lot of fun and laughed a lot.
On Saturday I went shopping in Flensburg. It's just across the border so it's in Germany. It's cheaper than in Denmark so I bought some new clothes:). The weather was also great so I really had a nice day. In the evening I watched Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, with Danish subtitles until Lasse asked me if I wanted to join them to the disco (Crazy Daisy). We could get in for free thanks to him and we even got a bottle of (I have no clue what it was, but it was quite good) for free. We danced a lot and had a lot of fun, but still I was glad when I could go to sleep. It has been an exhausting day.
Today, I just cleaned my room, fixed my computer ( which was attacked by Trojan horses :( ) and just relaxed. Just having a lazy Sunday...
Vi ses !
Then they had the national test. This is a test the pupils if the 7th grade have to take. It's an online test and the aim of this test is to see their level of English.
The pupils enter the computer room and log on, on the computer. Then, they have to go the website. the teacher explains a bit and at precisely 9 o' clock the pupils have to press the 'start' button.
They get 45' to complete the test. Not every pupils gets the same questions. If a pupilis answering the question correctly, he/she gets a more difficult one and so on. If a pupils answers a question wrong, he/she gets an easier one. The teacher can follow the results of the pupils. On his screen he can see the names of the pupils, how many time is left and the number of question the pupil is answering. He can also see a red/yellow or green line after the pupil's name. Red means that the result is unknown. Yellow means that the result is a bit more known and green means a safe result but that doesn't necessarily means that the pupil passed the test. The teacher can also choose to give a pupil 15 minutes extra, for example when there are some problems with the computer or so.
I also met the 8th grade on Friday. I was a bit nervous especially after Tuesday but everything went just fine. The pupils were very friendly and they were quite interested in me and in Belgium. They taught that British English was our national language. After I explained that we have 3 national languages (Dutch, French, German),one of the pupils asked me if Dutch was the same as Scottish. I thought it was quite funny. Afterwards they had to do an activity about a text and I talked to some pupils or helped them.
In the evening I went to the Fridaycafe. It's a pub for college students and I was there with a couple of the Erasmus students. We really had a good time. We had a lot of fun and laughed a lot.
On Saturday I went shopping in Flensburg. It's just across the border so it's in Germany. It's cheaper than in Denmark so I bought some new clothes:). The weather was also great so I really had a nice day. In the evening I watched Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, with Danish subtitles until Lasse asked me if I wanted to join them to the disco (Crazy Daisy). We could get in for free thanks to him and we even got a bottle of (I have no clue what it was, but it was quite good) for free. We danced a lot and had a lot of fun, but still I was glad when I could go to sleep. It has been an exhausting day.
Today, I just cleaned my room, fixed my computer ( which was attacked by Trojan horses :( ) and just relaxed. Just having a lazy Sunday...
Vi ses !
donderdag 10 maart 2011
Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday-...
On Monday I started my day with a lesson with the 9th graders. They started a new topic today, school shootings. They had to look for some information about it on the internet.
Then I had a lesson with the 5th graders. They were still working with the texts about boarding schools. They got 2 pages with questions about the texts and they had to answer them. First they tried this without checking their textbooks, but that didn´t work. I was busy all the time. The pupils had questions all the time and if Karin, the teacher was busy, I helped them. It was really nice that they also wanted my help. Especially because then they also had to speak English and they didn´t mind !
In the 7th grade, the pupils continued working on their assignment of carnival. I think it will be a nice result. They have to be ready on Monday so we´ll see. I helped the pupils where necessary or just gave them some tips. I also had to solve a little problem. One group was quite small because the other group members weren´t in. At one point I heard them talking in Danish and afterwards one of them was crying. I didn´t know what happened so I asked the boy if he could come with me for a moment. He explained to me that they were saying he wasn´t doing anything and he was tired of hearing that. I asked him if he wanted to work and he said yes. Then I went to the group and told them that this was groupwork and they couldn´t complete the task if they didn´t work together. I said to them that they already had some great ideas and they were doing well, but they also had to be friendly against each other. They all looked a little bit guilty but I think I made my point clear.
Tuesday was just not my day. The 7th, 8th and 9th grade had a project day. They had to work together. Normally I had 1 lesson in the 7th grade but now it was cancelled. Three teachers would be in charge but one of them was ill, so I joined them instead.
The pupils were divided into groups. Every group consisted of pupils from the 7th, 8th and 9th grade. They had to make their own TV station. There were 4 groups who had an Australian TV station and 4 groups who had an American one. They had to have at least 4 interviews, they had to have a logo and a name for their station and they had to rewrite some newsitems. Every group got (up to date) newsitems and every hour or so, they got new news. I think this was really a nice activity. I had to walk around and help where necessary. But some of the pupils were very rude and didn´t want to listen to me. One group had 2 groupmembers who just walked around and they didn´t do anything. I told them that they had to get started but they didn´t. They were also making fun of me and so on, so that wasn´t a happy experience. I talked with the other teachers afterwards and maybe it was because they didn´t know who I was, but that doesn´t give them a reason to act like that.
I saw some presentations but I also had to attend a lesson in the 5th grade. There they had to sing an English song and translate it into Danish.
On Wednesday, the 9th graders continued searching information about school shooting and they had to make a short presentation about it. They were divided into groups and every group got a "continent" and the time: USA 60s-70s / USA 80s-90s/ USA 00 - now / Europe/ Canada/ Asia-Australia: They had to look for the number of incidents, how many people were killed and then they had to pick out one school shooting and explain a bit about it. Where did it happen, when, who did it, ...
On Thursday I started with cooking class. The pupils, including me ;) had to make Greek food. This time I helped another group but it was a bit more difficult than the previous lesson. This group was a bit shy and so I didn´t always know what to do because the recipe was in Danish. Finally we managed to prepare everything on time and we ate it.
Today I will also meet my class of the 8th grade for the first time: We´ll see how that goes...
Now, it´s time for lunch ( or frokost in Danish)
Vi ses !
Then I had a lesson with the 5th graders. They were still working with the texts about boarding schools. They got 2 pages with questions about the texts and they had to answer them. First they tried this without checking their textbooks, but that didn´t work. I was busy all the time. The pupils had questions all the time and if Karin, the teacher was busy, I helped them. It was really nice that they also wanted my help. Especially because then they also had to speak English and they didn´t mind !
In the 7th grade, the pupils continued working on their assignment of carnival. I think it will be a nice result. They have to be ready on Monday so we´ll see. I helped the pupils where necessary or just gave them some tips. I also had to solve a little problem. One group was quite small because the other group members weren´t in. At one point I heard them talking in Danish and afterwards one of them was crying. I didn´t know what happened so I asked the boy if he could come with me for a moment. He explained to me that they were saying he wasn´t doing anything and he was tired of hearing that. I asked him if he wanted to work and he said yes. Then I went to the group and told them that this was groupwork and they couldn´t complete the task if they didn´t work together. I said to them that they already had some great ideas and they were doing well, but they also had to be friendly against each other. They all looked a little bit guilty but I think I made my point clear.
Tuesday was just not my day. The 7th, 8th and 9th grade had a project day. They had to work together. Normally I had 1 lesson in the 7th grade but now it was cancelled. Three teachers would be in charge but one of them was ill, so I joined them instead.
The pupils were divided into groups. Every group consisted of pupils from the 7th, 8th and 9th grade. They had to make their own TV station. There were 4 groups who had an Australian TV station and 4 groups who had an American one. They had to have at least 4 interviews, they had to have a logo and a name for their station and they had to rewrite some newsitems. Every group got (up to date) newsitems and every hour or so, they got new news. I think this was really a nice activity. I had to walk around and help where necessary. But some of the pupils were very rude and didn´t want to listen to me. One group had 2 groupmembers who just walked around and they didn´t do anything. I told them that they had to get started but they didn´t. They were also making fun of me and so on, so that wasn´t a happy experience. I talked with the other teachers afterwards and maybe it was because they didn´t know who I was, but that doesn´t give them a reason to act like that.
I saw some presentations but I also had to attend a lesson in the 5th grade. There they had to sing an English song and translate it into Danish.
On Wednesday, the 9th graders continued searching information about school shooting and they had to make a short presentation about it. They were divided into groups and every group got a "continent" and the time: USA 60s-70s / USA 80s-90s/ USA 00 - now / Europe/ Canada/ Asia-Australia: They had to look for the number of incidents, how many people were killed and then they had to pick out one school shooting and explain a bit about it. Where did it happen, when, who did it, ...
On Thursday I started with cooking class. The pupils, including me ;) had to make Greek food. This time I helped another group but it was a bit more difficult than the previous lesson. This group was a bit shy and so I didn´t always know what to do because the recipe was in Danish. Finally we managed to prepare everything on time and we ate it.
Today I will also meet my class of the 8th grade for the first time: We´ll see how that goes...
Now, it´s time for lunch ( or frokost in Danish)
Vi ses !
maandag 7 maart 2011
The Danish schoolsystem
The Danish school system is completely different than our school system in Belgium.
When a child is born, the mother can take 1 year maternity leave.
Depending on the parents, the child stays home with the parents. Sometimes they go to a day-care or go to a more private institution.
80% of the children when reaching the age of 3 are going to a kindergarten. They play a lot here, also to ‘learn’ different things.
When they are 5/6 years old, they go to pre-school class or grade 0. The pupils sit at desks, learn to count, learn the alphabet, …
You can compare this with our first year of primary school.
Then, when they are 7 years old, they complete the other grades. So from grade 0 up till grade 9. This is called the primary and secondary education. Normally, they are about 15/16 years old in the 9th grade. The 9th grade can be seen as their last year.
The pupils can choose after 9th grade if they want to go to the 10th grade but they don’t have to. The 10th form/grade is an educational offer for young people who, after finishing their primary and lower secondary schooling (9th form), feel the need for additional academic qualifications and clarification of their further educational opportunities before being able to complete a post-compulsory education.
When a child is born, the mother can take 1 year maternity leave.
Depending on the parents, the child stays home with the parents. Sometimes they go to a day-care or go to a more private institution.
80% of the children when reaching the age of 3 are going to a kindergarten. They play a lot here, also to ‘learn’ different things.
When they are 5/6 years old, they go to pre-school class or grade 0. The pupils sit at desks, learn to count, learn the alphabet, …
You can compare this with our first year of primary school.
Then, when they are 7 years old, they complete the other grades. So from grade 0 up till grade 9. This is called the primary and secondary education. Normally, they are about 15/16 years old in the 9th grade. The 9th grade can be seen as their last year.
The pupils can choose after 9th grade if they want to go to the 10th grade but they don’t have to. The 10th form/grade is an educational offer for young people who, after finishing their primary and lower secondary schooling (9th form), feel the need for additional academic qualifications and clarification of their further educational opportunities before being able to complete a post-compulsory education.
There are also a lot of pupils who choose to go to a continuation school. This is some kind of boarding school. They can do it after 8th or 9th grade.
The schooling (primary and secondary education) is distributed into 3 areas:
1. Subjects in the humanities
2. Practical/Creative subjects
3. Science Subjects
The schooling (primary and secondary education) is distributed into 3 areas:
1. Subjects in the humanities
2. Practical/Creative subjects
3. Science Subjects
Subjects in the humanities contains :
a) Danish in all form levels.
b) English in form levels 3-9.
c) Christian studies in all form levels, except for the year in which confirmation takes place.
d) History in form levels 3-9.
e) Social studies in form levels 8 and 9.
a) Danish in all form levels.
b) English in form levels 3-9.
c) Christian studies in all form levels, except for the year in which confirmation takes place.
d) History in form levels 3-9.
e) Social studies in form levels 8 and 9.
Practical/creative subjects are
a)Physical education in all form levels.
b) Music in form levels 1-6.
c) Visual arts in form levels 1-5.
d) Design, wood and metalwork, home economics in one or more form levels between levels 4-7.
a)Physical education in all form levels.
b) Music in form levels 1-6.
c) Visual arts in form levels 1-5.
d) Design, wood and metalwork, home economics in one or more form levels between levels 4-7.
Science Subjects are the following ones:
a) Mathematics in all form levels.
b) Natural sciences/technology in form levels 1-6.
c) Geography in form levels 7-9.
d) Biology in form levels 7-9.
e) Physics/chemistry in form levels 7-9.
a) Mathematics in all form levels.
b) Natural sciences/technology in form levels 1-6.
c) Geography in form levels 7-9.
d) Biology in form levels 7-9.
e) Physics/chemistry in form levels 7-9.
Some topics are compulsory for the programme of the primary school. These topics are Road Safety, Health and sexual education and family studies and Educational, vocational and labour market orientation.
When pupils are in grade 7-9, they can choose if they want to study German or French.
There aren´t many pupils who choose French: In my school, Sct. Severin Skole, there isn´t a class for French.
When pupils are in grade 7-9, they can choose if they want to study German or French.
There aren´t many pupils who choose French: In my school, Sct. Severin Skole, there isn´t a class for French.
When pupils have finished their 9th( or 10th grade) they can study on. This is then called their upper secondary education. They can choose between 3 programmes:
- General upper secondary programme = gymnasium. In this education, again they can choose between 4 programmes.
The aim of this education is to prepare pupils for further studies. They want to enhance the independence of the pupils and their analytical skills. If you had to compare this to Belgium, I would say you can call this ASO.
- Vocational upper secondary education and training programmes. This prepares trainees for a career in a specific trade or industry. It´s both a theoretical as a practical education. Trainees acquires theoretical, practical, general and personal skills.
There is a choice of 12 vocational clusters:
- General upper secondary programme = gymnasium. In this education, again they can choose between 4 programmes.
The aim of this education is to prepare pupils for further studies. They want to enhance the independence of the pupils and their analytical skills. If you had to compare this to Belgium, I would say you can call this ASO.
- Vocational upper secondary education and training programmes. This prepares trainees for a career in a specific trade or industry. It´s both a theoretical as a practical education. Trainees acquires theoretical, practical, general and personal skills.
There is a choice of 12 vocational clusters:
I think you can compare this with BSO/TSO
This upper secondary education is completed between the ages 16-19. But some pupils are also older.
After graduating from the secondary school, they can go to university/college.
If you want to become a teacher in Denmark, your education takes at least 4 years: The teachers here were very surprised when I told them I would be 21 years old when I graduate and be a teacher. In Denmark it´s impossible to be a teacher at that age.
As said before, they don’t have exams until the 8th grade.
They do need to complete some national tests. This is to follow the knowledge and strengths of the individual pupil.
They have to complete following tests:
- Danish, with a focus on reading in form levels 2, 4, 6 and 8.
- English in form level 7.
- Mathematics in form level 3 and 6.
- Geography in form level 8.
- Biology in form level 8.
- Physics/chemistry in form level 8.
Some general facts/differences.
- One year, a teacher can teach the 9th grade but the next year it´s possible she/he has to teach the 1st grade.
- The teachers have to go from one classroom to another, not the pupils.
- Especially in the lower grades, pupils don´t wear shoes in the classroom.
- Pupils call their teacher by their first name.
- It´s a very relaxed sphere.
- The emphasis is on independent working : a lot of group work : Learn pupils how to learn.
- There´s equality between the teacher and the pupil. Pupils cooperate with teacher on decisions concerning content and method.
- Focus on pupils, not on marks. It´s a heterogeneous group.
- Often self-made material: Teachers use student´s books but they also make a lot of things themselves. They also use the smart board very often.
With help from (http://eng.uvm.dk/~/media/Files/English/Fact%20sheets/080101_fact_sheet_the_folkeskole.ashx)
Note: Grade or (form) level is the same
After graduating from the secondary school, they can go to university/college.
If you want to become a teacher in Denmark, your education takes at least 4 years: The teachers here were very surprised when I told them I would be 21 years old when I graduate and be a teacher. In Denmark it´s impossible to be a teacher at that age.
As said before, they don’t have exams until the 8th grade.
They do need to complete some national tests. This is to follow the knowledge and strengths of the individual pupil.
They have to complete following tests:
- Danish, with a focus on reading in form levels 2, 4, 6 and 8.
- English in form level 7.
- Mathematics in form level 3 and 6.
- Geography in form level 8.
- Biology in form level 8.
- Physics/chemistry in form level 8.
Some general facts/differences.
- One year, a teacher can teach the 9th grade but the next year it´s possible she/he has to teach the 1st grade.
- The teachers have to go from one classroom to another, not the pupils.
- Especially in the lower grades, pupils don´t wear shoes in the classroom.
- Pupils call their teacher by their first name.
- It´s a very relaxed sphere.
- The emphasis is on independent working : a lot of group work : Learn pupils how to learn.
- There´s equality between the teacher and the pupil. Pupils cooperate with teacher on decisions concerning content and method.
- Focus on pupils, not on marks. It´s a heterogeneous group.
- Often self-made material: Teachers use student´s books but they also make a lot of things themselves. They also use the smart board very often.
With help from (http://eng.uvm.dk/~/media/Files/English/Fact%20sheets/080101_fact_sheet_the_folkeskole.ashx)
Note: Grade or (form) level is the same
zondag 6 maart 2011
Cooking class and my lesson
Well, I was late for my cooking class anyway. They started one hour earlier and no one told me.
It was a different teacher than my first schedule and also another class (7B). I also have this class for English so they thought it would be easier for them and for me to talk English and so.
The pupils were making Mexican food. So it's not always Danish food, but actually more international. They were making tortilla's and different kinds of sauces.
When I came in, one pupil immediately came to say hello and asked me if I was joining them for cooking. I also helped them. I had to make the fruit salad. It was really fun and the pupils really helped me because I had to follow the recipe but that was ofcourse in Danish.
When they are finished making the meal, they also can eat it themselves.
Suddenly I was also invited at a table and they had made an extra tortilla for me. That was so nice of them !!
On Friday I had to teach the 7th grade (7B) myself. It was the lesson about carnival. I had made a powerpoint with some general information. A bundle with the information and with their activity. After the powerpoint they had to start with the activity.
Their activity is actually a group work. The class is divided in 3 groups. They have to make their own carnival parade through Haderslev.
Team 1 is in charge of the route through the city and an event in the city.
Team 2 is in charge for the decorations of the street and the clothing for the people on the float.
Team 3 is in charge of the Sct. Severin Skole- float.
I'm excited what the result will be.
At the end of the lesson, I didn't feel that it all went smoothly, the way it should have gone. The pupils have some difficulties thinking (in) and speaking English. And also when they write down ideas, it's in Danish. I had to tell them a few times, to speak and write English.
I also had the feeling that they didn't really understand what they had to do.
After the lesson, I talked with the teacher about this. He said that it went just fine ! I was a little bit surprised but it really made me feel better. I think I just have to get used to their way of working and so on.
In the evening I went to the Fastelavn party of the university-college together with the Erasmus students. I was dressed up as Heidi (Aus Tirol) but I had a lot of fun.
Here you can see a picture of me and Anke, a Belgian Erasmus student:
Saturday I just stayed home and on Sunday I went to the gymnastics show of the 2 smallest children here in house. It was really nice to see. I also saw the show of a school. This school is specialised in this sort of gymnastics and it was really cool to see.
In the afternoon we played outside. The sun was shining and it was so much fun. So nice weather, not too cold and really enjoyable if you were standing in the sun. We made a snowman with the last snow/ice.
It was a different teacher than my first schedule and also another class (7B). I also have this class for English so they thought it would be easier for them and for me to talk English and so.
The pupils were making Mexican food. So it's not always Danish food, but actually more international. They were making tortilla's and different kinds of sauces.
When I came in, one pupil immediately came to say hello and asked me if I was joining them for cooking. I also helped them. I had to make the fruit salad. It was really fun and the pupils really helped me because I had to follow the recipe but that was ofcourse in Danish.
When they are finished making the meal, they also can eat it themselves.
Suddenly I was also invited at a table and they had made an extra tortilla for me. That was so nice of them !!
On Friday I had to teach the 7th grade (7B) myself. It was the lesson about carnival. I had made a powerpoint with some general information. A bundle with the information and with their activity. After the powerpoint they had to start with the activity.
Their activity is actually a group work. The class is divided in 3 groups. They have to make their own carnival parade through Haderslev.
Team 1 is in charge of the route through the city and an event in the city.
Team 2 is in charge for the decorations of the street and the clothing for the people on the float.
Team 3 is in charge of the Sct. Severin Skole- float.
I'm excited what the result will be.
At the end of the lesson, I didn't feel that it all went smoothly, the way it should have gone. The pupils have some difficulties thinking (in) and speaking English. And also when they write down ideas, it's in Danish. I had to tell them a few times, to speak and write English.
I also had the feeling that they didn't really understand what they had to do.
After the lesson, I talked with the teacher about this. He said that it went just fine ! I was a little bit surprised but it really made me feel better. I think I just have to get used to their way of working and so on.
In the evening I went to the Fastelavn party of the university-college together with the Erasmus students. I was dressed up as Heidi (Aus Tirol) but I had a lot of fun.
Here you can see a picture of me and Anke, a Belgian Erasmus student:
Saturday I just stayed home and on Sunday I went to the gymnastics show of the 2 smallest children here in house. It was really nice to see. I also saw the show of a school. This school is specialised in this sort of gymnastics and it was really cool to see.
In the afternoon we played outside. The sun was shining and it was so much fun. So nice weather, not too cold and really enjoyable if you were standing in the sun. We made a snowman with the last snow/ice.
 |
| The snow/iceman and me |
donderdag 3 maart 2011
New week...
A new week, a new timetable ( sort of). The timetables haven´t changed for all the classes yet.
On Monday I followed the 9th and 7th grade. In the 7th grade they had to present their presentation about Australia. Some of them were quite good. A lot of pictures, quite an attactive lay-out. Their language on the other hand isn´t always that great. They make a lot of grammar mistakes.
On Tuesday I followed the 5th grade. Their timetables haven´t changed yet and so I have to ´mix´ my timetables. The 5th graders had to do a matching exercise : match the picture with the right sentence. Afterwards they had to do a roleplay about the pictures. The pupils were in groups of 3-4. They had to make their own sentences. I helped them if they didn´t know something. On Wednesday they had to perform it in class. It was really funny to watch, but I wonder where they learn some of the words, if you know what I mean ;). Normally I had to teach the 7th grade on Tuesday myself but they weren´t finished with their presentations, so Friday will be my day.
Due to the changes of my timetables, I don´t follow the 6th grade any longer, but the 8th grade instead. This week they are not in school so I will meet them next week.
I think I am in Denmark for about a month now and I can definitely say that the teachers have another method of teaching than we have in Belgium. The pupils don´t have any exams until 8th grade. So marks aren´t really important. The emphasis is on the independence of the pupils. A lot of projects. group work, learning things on their own, ...
I´ll tell you more about it later. I have to hurry otherwise I will be late for my cooking class.
Vi ses ! (See you)
( These are qwerty-keyboards and I´m not yet used to them, so sorry if there are some weird words ;) )
On Monday I followed the 9th and 7th grade. In the 7th grade they had to present their presentation about Australia. Some of them were quite good. A lot of pictures, quite an attactive lay-out. Their language on the other hand isn´t always that great. They make a lot of grammar mistakes.
On Tuesday I followed the 5th grade. Their timetables haven´t changed yet and so I have to ´mix´ my timetables. The 5th graders had to do a matching exercise : match the picture with the right sentence. Afterwards they had to do a roleplay about the pictures. The pupils were in groups of 3-4. They had to make their own sentences. I helped them if they didn´t know something. On Wednesday they had to perform it in class. It was really funny to watch, but I wonder where they learn some of the words, if you know what I mean ;). Normally I had to teach the 7th grade on Tuesday myself but they weren´t finished with their presentations, so Friday will be my day.
Due to the changes of my timetables, I don´t follow the 6th grade any longer, but the 8th grade instead. This week they are not in school so I will meet them next week.
I think I am in Denmark for about a month now and I can definitely say that the teachers have another method of teaching than we have in Belgium. The pupils don´t have any exams until 8th grade. So marks aren´t really important. The emphasis is on the independence of the pupils. A lot of projects. group work, learning things on their own, ...
I´ll tell you more about it later. I have to hurry otherwise I will be late for my cooking class.
Vi ses ! (See you)
( These are qwerty-keyboards and I´m not yet used to them, so sorry if there are some weird words ;) )
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