School Reports

English Literature

So having discovered on Monday that I am not actually an English teacher but really a Literature teacher things fell into place and I began to realise why they had 80 minute lessons on the passive and active voice! Negotiation and discussion completed I managed to persuade the lovely Claire, the Head of English that although I could probably put something together on complete and incomplete sentences for Year 8 and on Comprehension for the A Level class perhaps the two Year 9 lessons on passive and active could be devoted to my prepared lesson on creative writing. One sleepless night, torrential rain and a 5 o'clock wake up call later I was standing nervously waiting to start my first lesson. Amazingly the time flew by, it's incredible how once you start, teacher mode kicks in and it all becomes second nature. Classes of between 40 and 50 was an incredible challenge, especially when you know no names. Initially the classes were quite unresponsive and unwilling to answer questions although quite willing to chat to each other! However, once we set a few boundaries and they had got used to my sense of humour they opened up and hopefully came out of the lesson having learnt something! My creative writing lesson went particularly well and the pictures I took out of Uganda fascinated the students who produced some fab descriptions of their country for me to bring home and put up on display for my Bromley students to see.

Caroline

 

 

Seeds of partnership...

I was very fortunate to have a few moments with the teacher before class, which meant I could show her the storypacks I had prepared and ask her which she thought would best suit the class - a great opportunity for a seed of partnership, which is what this trip is all about. Her face lit up when I told her we would be leaving our storypacks as gifts for the school; primary classroom resources generally amount to little more than chalk, paper and pencils. The session also ended on a good partnership note, when I handed the storybook to the teacher and she practised what had been introduced that morning, by leading her class around the room with 'We're going on a Lion Hunt.'

Gemma

 

 

 

Maths Class

Today I had the opportunity to teach 3 classes at Muyenga high school. It was an experience that will live with me for many years to come. The experience in a class of 54 pupils is something I will not forget. The pupils were attentive and responsive to the content of what we were learning. I taught equivalent to year 8, 9 and 10. I introduced some puzzles which they did not associate with Maths.
I also had time to chat with the maths teachers as we shared our experiences of teaching in our different education systems. I was surprised at the similarities to the life of a teacher and we encouraged each other with the fact we are responsible for educating the next generation of ......... (Fill in the gap yourself), thus our roles though not celebrated by many, are appreciated by most of our students. Thanks for your continued prayer and support.

Edward

 

 

"Why" : Geology and Giant Frogs

 

It was a privilege to have the opportunity to teach in the High School yesterday.  My style of teaching was a challenge for my students.  I wanted them to put their hands up and I asked awkward questions like "why?"  This is difficult when you have been taught to repeat facts from memory but you have never thought about "why".  I borrowed rocks from the guesthouse garden for the geology lesson and the S2 class have written me some amazing leaflets about their own countries: apparently there are human sized frogs in Sudan...(?)

Philippa

 

 

 A Nursery Tale

 

I had a wonderful day in the nursery again.  Teaching the children "I hear thunder" (relevant as it was raining A LOT!) telling "Handa's Surprise" story and then introducing some messy crafts.  The children had never used glue like this before or been free to do just what they liked with the resources - feathers, animal print paper, straws etc. - The finished crafts looked amazing.  Lot's of fun!

Angie

 

 

Jeannie was quite at home playing with the lego!

Professor Wibblysocks on tour

I had great fun today returning to my days of teaching primary school science clubs.  I began the day with two year 5 classes on digestion.  The children really enjoyed creating an interactive model of the digestive system, looking at the coloured pictures of organs and our big quiz at the end of the lesson.
I also taught a year 6 lesson on the circulatory system which went down really well.
My favourite moment was at the end of a class when one of the children spontaneously stood up to say thank you and announce how interesting he had found the class.

Jess