Week 24

This week we came back from winter break, which was two weeks long.  During the winter break I met with the student from the Regionalschule for two more tutoring sessions.  I then met with her again the Monday we went back to school and on that Tuesday.  It seems like what she wants from these sessions is help with homework and occasional test preparation, so I have been helping her answer questions, write texts, and practice different grammar forms.

On the first Tuesday back, February 18, I went to Frau Krumrück's 11th grade class and watched the students give presentations about the varieties of English.  On this day students presented information about British English, Irish English, and Australian English.  I also gave a short presentation about American English, although I felt that there was so much information and so much I wanted to say, it was hard to pare everything down to a 10 minute presentation.  I really enjoyed talking about American English though.

On that same Tuesday in the 5th and 6th lessons I was in class with the 12th graders.  In the first hour the students worked on a grammar activity, but in the second hour I lead a discussion with two separate groups.  It was a bit tough because the students who aren't taking the English portion of the Abitur stayed for both groups, but I still gave the second group a couple minutes to write down key words and thoughts about the subject before we discussed.  The topic Frau Krumrück gave me was "How can the problem of high unemployment be solved?"

Finally on Tuesday I did some reading tutoring and met with my group of 7th graders in the Lernzeit.  With the 7th graders I lead a discussion about what they did during the two-week break, first having them make some notes about the topic, just as I had done with Frau Krumrück's 12th graders.

Wednesday was a little more relaxed.  I went to Herr Hettig's 11th grade English classes to talk about what makes a nation.  In both classes Herr Hettig first presented a standard definition of "nation."  Then I talked about what I think makes the United States a unified country and how it differs from the standard definition, focusing on the issue of diversity.  Students then created lists of the elements of a country (culture, traditions, sense of belonging, etc.), and I walked around the room to help.

On Thursday I led another discussion with a group of Frau Krumrück's 12th graders.  This time the theme was "Who has the greatest influence on the economy?"  I am glad the students had some great ideas about this topic, since I am no economist!  In the 5th and 6th hour Herr Hettig then requested that I take groups of students into an empty classroom and just have conversations with them in English.  We ended up talking about hobbies, hopes for the future, and a little bit about American culture when the students asked questions.

- Amy

2nd Semester

Monday the 20th of January was the start of the second semester at the Deutsch-Polnisches Gymnasium, so many of the classes I observe and help started new units.  The 11th graders are now talking about the varieties of English, for example, which a double lesson I observed on Tuesday, January 21.  I am still tutoring my group of 7th graders during the Lernzeit, and we've been talking about their favorite sports and the Olympics the past two weeks.  In Herr Hettig's 11th grade English class I helped students prepare presentations about English-speaking countries on Wednesday, January 22, and then I sat in on some of these presentations on Wednesday the following week.  Frau Krumrück's 12th graders are currently talking about the "World of Work."  I sat in on one of these lessons on Thursday the 23rd and then led a discussion the following week on Thursday about how difficult it is for young people to find jobs in our areas of Germany, Poland, and the United States.  Finally, the 8th graders are now in a unit about California, which they started in a double lesson on Thursday the 30th.

On Thursday the 23rd I got to have a conversation with a few students from one of Herr Hettig's class.  He pulled me out of the hall and asked me to come talk to them about what they would do if they saw a fight start at school or what they would do to de-escalate a situation.  We talked a little bit about the actions they should take, such as going to get a teacher for help, but apparently these girls never see fights happen at school.  I asked them why they think that is and I told them about the situation at my high school (I heard about fights, but I never saw them).  We then talked a bit about the differences between schools in Germany and the United States, as well as between Germany and Poland.  The girls told me that Poland teachers are very strict in comparison to German teachers, and that they go to the teachers from Germany at the Gymnasium when they have an issue or just need someone to talk to.  My favorite part of being a teaching assistant at this school is just being able to sit down and talk to the students.

On the last day of school before our two-week winter break, a couple of the 7th graders invited me to their Zeugnisaufgabe, or handing out of report cards.  Each student was called to the front of the room, and their class teacher gave them their report card, gave a few comments about it, and then wished them luck in their studies.  If the student had a bad grade or a grade that could simply be improved, he asked them to point to the grade on the card, so that he knew they were aware of their weaknesses, but so he didn't draw too much attention to the negatives while these students were in front of the entire class.  We then said good-bye to one of the 7th graders whose grades weren't quite good enough for him to stay at the Gymnasium.  Frau Zarnodt told me he will be going to the Regionalschule from now on.  The class speakers gave him a stuffed giraffe and some chocolates, wished him luck, and said the class would miss him.  We then spent the rest of the hour hanging out and eating sweets the students had brought.

A side note: I tutored a 9th grader from the Regionalschule in English on Monday the 27th, helping her write a text for school, but so far I haven't heard back from her about wanting to meet again, so we'll see what happens.

- Amy

Week 19

Week 19...  I can hardly believe it!

This week I went to Herr Hettig's English class to talk a bit about eating habits in the United States, which is a topic I have a lot to say about, since I love food and eating.  I also spent some time with Frau Krumrück's 11th graders as they watched "Oliver's Story," the sequel to "Love Story."  Furthermore, I played Scategories with my group of 7th graders to help them practice their vocabulary and unwind a little bit.  They might be buttering me up, but they told me that I am so cool.

I also observed a couple fun lessons in Frau Krumrück's room.  With her 7th grade class, she introduced the theme of sports by dressing up like a track star, playing "We are the Champions" and having students hold up and wave soccer scarves made out of paper.  

Soon after this lesson the 12th graders came in and Frau Krumrück introduced the topic "World of Work" in this class.  Students first discussed the question "Do you work to live or do you live to work?"  They then talked about who they would talk to to begin looking for a job and what they would need to do to prepare.  They read a text with "tips for young job seekers" and then completed a worksheet where they responded to statements about job expectations (In my job I will earn a lot of money, have a lot of vacation time, etc.).

My favorite class period of the week, however, was a 10th grade double lesson I observed.  In this class students split up into two groups depending on their home country.  I joined the "foreigner" group along with the students from Poland and one girl from Indonesia.  We went outside in front of the school, and the German students came and picked us up, introduced themselves, and then proceeded to give us a tour of the school, as if we were considering attending the school next year.  The tour had to be in English, of course, since we all spoke different languages.  While on the tour, the "foreign" students were required to also ask questions, so that they could practice their English, as well.  After the tour, we all went back to the classroom, which was set up like a long table with drinks and cookies.  One of the Polish students gave a short talk about their school and another student taught us some words in German.  We then had a discussion at the table with questions about the school and cultural differences.  Throughout this entire section, the speaker would use English, but Frau Krumrück would pretend she didn't understand English, so another student would then translate into German.  It was a lot of fun, and the students were really engaged.  In the group I was in, the students spoke only English on the tour, except when they were trying to figure out a translation, and then in the full group activity, students would switch off translating whenever someone new volunteered to try.  This is an activity I would love to do in my own classroom someday.

- Amy

Pre- and Post-Winter Break

Here are the highlights of my work (and fun) at my school during the week before winter break:

On December 16th I went to Frau Wollenberg's 8th grade class to talk a bit about Christmas in the United States.  I first presented some vocabulary and "The Christmas Song."  I then gave them a short, fun quiz about Santa, and we discussed Christmas traditions in the U.S.  Finally, I gave them some questions to use while interviewing a partner about their Christmas traditions.

I then went and helped set up in the gym for the Christmas program.

On December 17th, my husband Jesse and I took a trip to Berlin with the 11th graders.  We took a bus tour with a guide that taught us a bit about the architecture in Berlin, spent some time at Alexanderplatz, and then saw a comedian at a cabaret.

December 19th brought a repeat of my Christmas lessons for the 8th grader in Frau Krumrück's room.  This lesson, however, included some supplemental texts provided by Frau Krumrück, as well as a Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer video, and spanned two periods.

On this day the entire school also went over to the gym in the afternoon to see the Christmas program.  My school has so many talented singers, musicians, and dancers.

Finally, on December 20th, I went to the 12th grader's Christmas celebration.  We had snacks, cake, and I tried a traditional Polish Christmas dish called Krokiety, which was so delicious.  One student performed some Christmas songs on her violin and another played the accordion and then juggled.

Now we are back in school after a great two-week break.  Last week I spent some time in Frau Krumrück's 11th grade watching the movie Love Story (1970) and then giving a presentation on the most up beat topic I have covered in that class so far: traditions centered around death in the United States.  I also helped proctor the Vor-Abitur and I filled in for Frau Gärtner in her 10th grade class while she was also proctoring the exam, helping those students translate a text from German to English.  Then with my group of 7th graders, I lead a discussion about their goals for the new year, which was a lot of fun.  They are so energetic and enthusiastic!

- Amy

Week 13

This week I had the chance to Frau Krumrück's 11th grade English class and talk about various topics in relation to the United States.  Some of the topics were pretty serious, so I was a little nervous going into those class periods, but overall everything went well.

On Tuesday I went in and talked about abortion in the United States.  With all of these lessons the students first explained what they knew about the topic in Germany or Poland, so I was able to learn a bit myself, and then I jumped in and gave my input about the United States.  After reading a short text about abortion in the UK, that's how this class went.  I gave some information and statistics I had looked up the night before and I talked about about seeing displays and protests on campus.  Students then filled out a chart that asked them to imagine the consequences for various people involved (would-be father, grandparents, etc.) if a woman had an abortion or not.  Students then split up according to their beliefs and had a debate.  This was the one part of the class that was a bit uncomfortable, since there were only two students on the anti-abortion side.  However, I feel that these two students argued more convincingly than the others.  If I were doing a debate in my classroom though, I would have assigned students sides.

I visited the same class on Wednesday and talked about AIDS in the United States, sharing some statistics I looked up.  Since World AIDS Day was on December 1, I was also able to explain Obama's pledge to commit up to 5 billion dollars to the Global Fund if all other countries pledge 10 billion and the allocation of an additional 100 million dollars in the federal budget to AIDS research.  In this class period, students also listened to an interview with a teenage girl with AIDS and answered questions about the text.

Finally on Thursday I went to the lesson on gays and lesbians in society.  In this lesson, students first wrote down what they know about various subtopics (acceptance, gay marriage, adoption, etc.) and their country.  Students then shared what they wrote down.  I then explained what I knew about the situation in the United States.  Most of the information I had looked up was about same-sex marriage, but I was also able to speak a bit from personal experience.  There was some tension during this class; one student was speaking out as being non-accepting of homosexuals, and his peers who sat around him, the ones who were the most outspoken overall, were arguing with him.  It made for an interesting discussion, and it never got too out of hand, but I was worried it would.  We tackled some tough subjects this week.

Backtracking a bit, on Tuesday I also went to Frau Krumrück's 12th grade class and talked a bit about the role of the media in the United States.  I shared some statistics I found about TV, radio, newspaper, and internet use, as well as my personal experience with each type of media.  Students seemed to respond well to this conversation, and once again I got to learn a bit about Germany and Poland and how my students spend their time.  Our experiences were pretty similar, and Frau Krumrück was even surprised by how much her own students watch TV.

- Amy

Weeks 11 and 12

Here are some highlights from the last two weeks at my school:

Tuesday, December 19: I went to Frau Krumrück's 7th grade class, the class that is working on the Scotland unit, and we did some arts and crafts, putting together some paper models of Scottish buildings.  I had already put together one of each model the night before, so I was able to help the students when they ran into difficulties.

Thursday, December 21: I visited all three 8th grade classes to give them a Thanksgiving mind map assignment.  I asked them to go to the website popplet.com and create a mind map about what they already know about Thanksgiving and some words that they associate with the holiday.  I designed the activity for the online class I am taking, Planning for Instruction, and I was excited to try it out.

Tuesday, December 26: I went to one of Frau Wollenberg's 8th grade classes and facilitated some activities about Thanksgiving.  I first asked students how they liked creating the online mind map, and we put together a mind map together on the board.  Then the students used the words they had learned to do a fill-in-the-blank worksheet that would also teach them a bit about the history and celebration of the holiday.  We ended with something fun but something that still reinforced the new vocab, a word search.  The lesson went pretty well; overall, students were really engaged.

I also used this fill-in-the-blank activity with my 7th grade group, and they had some fun with it, although it was a bit more difficult for them.

Thursday, December 28: I did my Thanksgiving lesson two more times, once in Frau Krumrück's 8th grade class and once in Frau Wollenberg's other 8th grade class.  Both classes were double lessons.  In Frau Krumrück's class my lesson was interspersed with other materials she had prepared, so it was a nice co-teaching experience.  In Frau Wollenberg's class I added a conversation, asking students how they would celebrate Thanksgiving if they were in the United States, with the extra time.

I also used the fill-in-the-blank activity with one of the Polish students I tutor.  It was nice doing something other than just reading passages together.

Friday, December 29: I visited the 7th grade German grammar class I have been going to, and I turned out they were taking a test, so I wrote the test, as well.  It was unexpected, so I didn't study at all.  We'll see how I did...!

This Friday I also had a quick chat with Frau Krumrück, because I really don't know what the teachers at the school expected as far as my roll here, and I wanted to make sure I was living up to the expectations.  She didn't directly answer my question, but it sounds as if things are going alright.  She pointed out a couple classes I helped with over the past few days and indicated that I have been helpful.  She also outlined some ways I could help in the future, so I think my relationship with the school is doing alright.

- Amy

Week 10

This week I did some more reading tutoring and I worked again with my group of 7th graders.  They had a test coming up, and they weren't sure exactly what would be on the test, but they said they had been learning about London sites, so we read a text about the two Queen Elizabeths, and I made sure to point out every London site that was mentioned in the text!

On Wednesday I went to two of Herr Hettig's 11th grade English classes and talked about about different types of graphs.  I had to do a bit of research for this one, but it turned out well.  Herr Hettig then had the students to brainstorm topics that they could survey their fellow students about and make their own graph.

I also went to Herr Hettig's 9th grade history class, and Jesse met me there!  We team-taught about the pioneers.  It was so nice having someone fill in when I had a gap in thought and nothing to say in that moment, especially since history is not my strong point.

On Thursday I went and observed Frau Zarnodt, who is doing her Referendariat at the school, give a grammar lesson to a 7th grade class.  She was also being observed by a couple people from her university and her mentor at the Gymnasium.  The lesson was about the second conditional, and she presented the form in conjunction with information about the Lock Ness Monster, so students could say things like, "If I saw Nessie, I would take a picture."  It was a fun lesson, and it was interesting sitting in on the discussion afterwards with the observers.

Then on Friday, after sitting in on another 7th grade German grammar lesson, I went and observed Frau Krumrück teach her introduction lesson on Scotland.  She used a couple great activities that I'm going to steal in the future.  One of them is the memory game she posted up on the board with magnets.  Each card/picture also had a number written underneath, so students had to practice numbers as they took turns playing.  This is such a great idea that could be used for so many different topics.  The other activity is the trip to Scotland she had the students take.  She had all the students go to another room and there, laid out on the tables, were postcards, pictures, newspaper articles, and souvenirs from her trip (or trips) to Scotland.  It was a lot of fun.

- Amy