Last Thursday my partner (Brittany) and I were given a class of 22 8th graders. We then began our individual teaching while being observed by a Namibian teacher or a different volunteer. I started my model school teaching multiplication to a class of 7th graders. I started by making sure they could visualize what multiplication is. To demonstrate this I did 2 x 5 and drew 2 groups of 5 and 5 groups of 2. The kids were very good at this. Once this was done I taught them the 9's trick. I didn't learn this trick until college and I think it is awesome. Pretty much you hold up all 10 fingers. For a problem like 4 x 9 you would start from the left and count four fingers. When you get to the fourth one you put it down. The answer is then the number of fingers on the left for the 10s digit ( in this case 3) and the number to the right of the finger is the 1s digit (6). The kids absolutely loved this, but they kept trying to use it for doing multiples of 8s and what not. So we then went outside as a class and did a game called around the world. Pretty much the kids line up in 2 lines and I hold up a flashcard to the first 2. The one to get it right goes to the back of the line and the one who gets it wrong (or doesn't shout it out first) stands with me and watches. The kids did really well with this activity especially since we were outside. Many had to count on their fingers in order to try to get the correct answer. Many got them wrong or it took them a long time to get it right. They especially struggled with 7s, and 8s.
My next math lesson with my 8th graders was one on order of operations. Here they call it BODMAS. It stands for Brackets (parenthesis) Of ( exponents) Division Multiplication Addition and Subtraction. Since my class was 8th grade I included variables like 2a and 5m. They could get the order down however they really struggled with like terms. They would tell me that 2a+5b=7ab. I tried to relate it to the idea that if you have 2 apples and 5 bananas you don't have 7 apples. They still really struggled with it. My morning class was able to move beyond this (eventually) and do problems like 15y^4 / 3y^3 with a lot of help. In my afternoon class we were unable to move past addition and subtraction with like terms. It was really interesting seeing such a gap in levels with my 2 classes.
Since I saw that my kids had a really hard time with negative numbers in regards to BODMAS I decided to do a lesson on negative numbers. This concept is very abstract and they really struggled to even add and subtract negative numbers. I started off by having them draw a number line in order to gauge what they actually knew. From there we talked about how to add and subtract negative numbers. I really stressed how -3+ (-2) is the same as -3 -2. They would continuously tell me that they were different problems because one has a + and the other doesn't. When it came to subtracting negatives I told them to turn 2 negatives signs into a plus in order to remember what to do. I had my kids repeat this multiple times to get it. Again my morning class was able to multiply and divide negative numbers where as my afternoon class couldn't move past subtraction and addition.
I'm doing Jeopardy tomorrow as my last math lesson. My categories are negative numbers, fractions, BODMAS, like terms, and multiplication.
We also had to teach non promotionals (electives). I have done 2 creative writing classes. The first I had the kids create an I am poem and the second I had them write about who they are and who they want to be. I have also done a drama lesson that went alright. I had one group that was really excited to present a skit and one that was less than thrilled.
In general my kids are pretty well behaved. Their lack of knowledge in some subjects scares me and what scares me even more is the fact that Okahandja kids are known to be above average in knowledge. When it comes to class management I give my kids one warning and if they continue to misbehave I talk to them or take something away ( 5 minutes of their break or a piece of fruit). My kids respect me, I think, and they have a healthy fear of me as well. My partner and I use a star system for rewards. The class starts off with 5 stars and if they all misbehave we take stars away. At the end of the class the number of stars represent the number of questions they can ask about us. The questions can be about anything, my life in the states, the Illuminati ( a huge fascination over here) or anything else.
My classroom has enough chairs and desks for everyone. This is something that doesn't usually happen for most schools. For some of the kids the desks are so small that the desks rest on the students knees and kind of hover off of the ground. I have a chalk board that never seems to be clean. I have 17 kids in my class which again is unusual. Generally most classes are 40 kids or more. When it is time for tea break one of the Namibian teachers ring a bell to let us know. The kids then go outside and run around for 20 minutes or buy something to eat from the memes ( women selling sweets and snacks). The trainees and teachers then go to the staff lounge where we usually have rolls with jam or cookies as well as tea, coffee, and hot chocolate (my love).
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