Working with Abu Dis Boys

Teaching both 8^th and 9^th grade classes we realized there was not much difference in their level of English and so we decided to do the same activities with both grades. In our first week we attempted to develop the concept of twinning by brainstorming their knowledge of London, England and the meaning of twinning. Although this was rather difficult the boys do understand that they are twinning with Hampstead School in London and understand the importance of this twinning relationship.

In many of our lessons we tried activities that would enhance the boy’s English vocabulary and teach them grammar in a fun and productive way. The 1^st activity consisted of making an English Facebook page on a worksheets that encouraged the boys to talk about themselves and their own lives (things they like etc). This would be a great development if they boys were to ever be in contact with their fellow English pupils, especially if the buddy idea, which we have recently thought of, goes ahead.

Some of the grammar activities involved the revision and use of verbs. This consisted mainly of board work, but in one lesson we asked the boys if they could draw a picture of a person they admire and then write 5 sentences of why they respect this person, e.g ‘He fights for freedom.’ As you can see this includes the use of verbs.

Grammar lessons can become quite boring and difficult for the boys so we tried to make them as fun and practical as possible. One idea we came up with was to ask the boys to write their names vertically in graffiti writing and to think of an adjective beginning with each letter of their name. Combining both and grammar and art together proved successful and with a little help the boys managed to accomplish the task.

 

Some of the students from grade 8.