Thanksgiving

I will not hide that I was a little disappointed to miss Thanksgiving in Chicago. The family, the food, and the general spirit of the day. Earlier in the week, I mentioned to my students about Thanksgiving. We had previously read a story about Native Americans, so they had a good reference point. My students declared they would be my brothers and sisters for the day, and we would have a family meal. I told each student to bring one of their favorite foods to share with the class. The students went all out and brought everything from churros to fried chicken, from chocolate cake to tortillas. Like other families we laughed, talked, and discussed why we were thankful. It was a Thanksgiving I will never forget.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is a tale set in the fictional town of Chewandswallow, where food comes from the sky instead of grocery stores. We took this story as an opportunity to exaggerate, discuss weather, and write our own tall tales. Each group of students created a meal that they would have liked to come from the sky. They also used their weather words from our science unit.

The Animal Fair

After weeks of researching and creating our dioramas, the 4th grade held an animal fair. We invited the third graders, and presented our vertebrates. Each child stood up, shared three facts from their paper, and then the third graders walked around and looked at the papers and dioramas. My students felt proud of their work. They were intelligent, and impressed their third grade teacher. At the end of the fair, they only had one question, "When can we do this again?"

Hard at Work!

I divided my students into 5 groups of vertebrates; mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians. Each group was responsible for a diorama and a research paper. The research paper consisted of 5 paragraphs, an introduction, a conclusion, and one paragraph from each student on a different aspect of their vertebrates. They worked in class for almost 3 weeks, researching, writing and rewriting their papers along with creating their dioramas. This project was new, difficult, and required group work and creativity.

Si se puede, Yes we can!

Probably across the world, one of the most exciting things of the week was the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States. The enthusiasm was felt here in Honduras as well. The day of the election, I inquired where I could get the newspaper in the morning. Apparently, they are only sold in the town plaza in the center of the city, not on every street corner. One of the bus drivers kindly offered to pick up papers for me in the morning. The next morning, when I walked into class, many of my students commented, "Ms. Michelle, Obama won!" There are a total of 5 Honduran papers, and every one had Obama as the cover story. The headlines ranged from, Obama changes the color of history, The United States votes for change and Obama changes history. Change, cambia, being the main theme. As we sat in groups and looked through the papers, which all had 4 to 8 page spreads on the election, it was not lost on my students that Obama was definitely the choice for Hondurans and all Latin Americans. The words hope and change were again used frequently.

Halloween in Honduras

I am quickly learning that when you are in a bilingual school, all American holidays are celebrated. Although elsewhere in Honduras you will not hear a mention of the holiday, at school the children are excited and ready to celebrate. Groups of two students picked a room in the house and make a picture of it for our haunted door. Each student then wrote a scary story about their room. We used the writing as an opportunity to talk about synonyms. (How many times can you use the word scary in a story?) They quickly got into the world of witches, ghosts and blood, even making decorations at home and bringing them for the classroom. On Friday, some students dressed up. We read our spooky stories by flashlight, and went to a haunted house (called a boo house) put on by the 11th graders. All cultures enjoy the chance to dress up, feel frightened, and eat candy!

I am a Vertebrate

I always say the best way to learn something is to say it and show it. All of my students know that they are a vertebrate and what things all vertebrates have. Watch and see!

The Finished Product - The Kapok Tree

We culminate the unit by putting all the sections of the tree together along with the animals that live on the tree. Quite effectively, the students created the setting of the story, the Amazon Rain Forest in South America. There are two trees by my two fourth grade classes along with a background. My students are truly artists.

Why the Kapok Tree is Important to Each Animal

The story spoke of ten animals and why the tree was important to them. While reading we made a two column chart recording what we were learning. After reading, each student had an animal that they needed to draw, and inside write why the tree and the rain forest was important to their animal.

Creating the Tree

When a tree is a central character and theme of the story, it deserves to be represented. We divided the tree into four parts, each with a group of three of four students responsible for it. Remembering our plant section, the base of the tree needed to include roots. We also discussed that towards the top of the tree the canopy would be where most of the birds were. The kids really worked hard, and brought in pictures of animals to paste in appropriate areas. They also brought supplies such as cotton balls for the clouds, brown and green tissue paper, as well as actual bark from the trees.

Animal Research

When a teacher has the opportunity to teach across the curriculum, it is beneficial for both the student and the teacher. The story of the Kapok Tree involved a variety of animals, so it lent itself perfectly to science. We picked four animals; the jaguar, the toucan, the boa constrictor and the three-toed sloth. Each of these animals, we already knew some information about from the book. We started with what we knew from our reading - four basic facts for each animal. Then independently the students did research either from a computer or a book. We then used the new information to create four facts we did not know prior to our research. This was the students' first time using research, and they definitely rose to the challenge. Then, in teams, we used a four box format to show the information. Finally, the students presented their animals to the class.

Vocabulary for Kapok Tree

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, or at least six words---as in my vocabulary lesson. Students learn in a variety of ways and a very effective method is by using pictures. The vocabulary words that I choose, reflect the story in some way. Once learning the words, the students should have a mental picture of the story. Prior to actually reading the story, the students made a vocabulary picture that incorporated all the words and the setting. This was a great introduction to the story.

Planting

My students planted bean and corn plants. In the United States I would go by packets of seeds and soil, but here in Honduras they all had seeds at home and there is dirt aplenty. We made predictions of when they would sprout, and wrote in our observation journal each day. The students learned the parts of the plant and their functions.

Our Classroom Saying

The first time I see each of my sections in the morning, one student announces, " our classroom saying 1, 2, 3". The students chant the saying in unison. On the first day, all the students signed the wall around the saying agreeing they were on board to try their hardest and do their best. This is a great way to start the day and reminds them of the reason they are in school.

Dia de Independencia

The day of Honduras' independence is September 15th. There are many parades to commemorate this event. They all involve multiple schools marching in various costumes. For the week leading up to the Saturday parade, we practiced marching at least two hours a day. There were different sections, flag holders, ballerinas, girls representing the five countries in the Central American union, classes by grade level, and the marching band to lead us all. Pictured are my students in some of their different roles.

Civic Hour

Every two weeks the school has a different virtue that they teach. Each class rotates giving a presentation on the virtue. For some reason, I was first up and our virtue was courage. Give me a chance to expose my students as smart and respectful, and I am up for the challenge. We did a little rap with movements and all. I was a proud teacher!

you’re going to speak up then SAY SOMETHING

If you’re going to stand up then STAND FOR SOMETHING

If you’re going to march on then DO SOMETHING

with the cour-age in your heart

If you’re going to smile then SMILE ON SOMEONE

If you’re going to reach out then TOUCH SOMEONE

If you want to feel good then HELP SOMEONE

Find the courage in your heart(You’ll find the) cour-age in your heart

I can do it,

I know I can,

because I am,

what I believe I am !!

La Escuela el Alba

I am in Siguatepeque, Honduras teaching fourth grade. I teach two classes of fourth grade. In each class I teach English, Reading, Science and Spelling. The school is the most expensive and well respected in Siguatepeque, so the students come from good families. They come to school clean, ready to learn, have the necessary supplies, and have parents who are involved. All of these qualities are a big change from my years in the Chicago Public Schools. Another huge benefit to my classroom is my assistant, Mercedes, who is pictured above.