Teaching both 8th
and 9th 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 1st 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.
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