Halfway point!

Today marked the halfway point of the school year which is very exciting.  I gave my Ancient China test today and overall my students did fairly well.   Last year my test for China was basic recall of facts because I really just didn't spend that much time teaching it.  This year I did a lot more fun things with them and had a more in depth test.  What I enjoyed best was how I reviewed what we learned.  I set up 8 different stations and had students do an activity at each to review and put answers on their study guide.

We learned about oracle bones and then painted a Chinese message using characters.

In this station we learned the history of chopsticks and how to properly use them.  They then tried to pick up some rice. They realized it is much harder than it looks. 

In one station they made Chinese lanterns.  They decorated them and then wrote a wish they would send up in the sky for the Chinese New Year.

At the end of the day I gave each student a job to do to help clean up.  It is so nice to have a decent looking room after doing arts and crafts all week.

First lessons of the year

This past week I only taught for two days. Although no one wanted to be back, it was a good transition in from Winter break. I eased in by taking a break from literature in Language Arts and focusing on grammar. We made a one word resolution that they had to figure out what part of speech it was and then write a paragraph about how it would guide them throughout the year.  We also played parts of speech bingo which was really fun. You could tell with more repetition of hearing examples that my students were becoming better at correctly identifying the parts of speech.

In social studies we reviewed what we had learned last year. We then added information onto the dragon we made that is hanging in our hallway.

We learned about the religions and beliefs of ancient China, including Daoism and Confucianism.  It was fun to have deeper conversations this week really connected how these beliefs shaped the Chinese culture.  In college I read The Tao of Pooh, which is a book that uses Winnie the Pooh to illustrate the Taoist principles.  I read some of a chapter to my classes and we tried to infer what the chapter was saying Inner Nature meant. It was a lot of fun because all my students knew the Winnie the Pooh characters to be able to relate to what the chapter was discussing.

Next week we will continue learning more about the different dynasties in China. I have some fun activities planned to keep them interested.  We will be having a debate, learning to say a few Chinese words and possibly trying to use chopsticks if I can find some cheap enough. 

I have added two new books to my books to read list.  For Christmas one of my friends bought me Fires in the Middle School Classroom and The End of Molasses Classes.  These are two books about better understanding middle school students.  I'm not sure when I will have time to read all that I have now but I look forward to it.

Wrapping Up Ancient China

I'm at the end of my Ancient China unit.  It ended up taking a lot longer than planned.  I probably spent 3 weeks covering it when I should have only spent about a week and a half.  However, with the Christmas break and other things going on it took much longer to get through all I wanted to.

What went well:

Getting students interested in China.  I started with teaching students a very basic Chinese phrases.  They learned how to say "hello," "how are you," "thanks," "please," and "thank you."  I also gave them a chance to practice calligraphy and write some Chinese characters.  We talked about the food in ancient China and how the housing they had then compared to the housing we have in America.

The structure of my lessons.  I have been starting each Social Studies class by watching CNN Student News, followed by a journal prompt.  My students generally enjoy watching the news and it gets them quiet and focused for the lesson.  After the news I started by teaching the content with a powerpoint, notes or an article.  I usually like to do more student directed learning but with all the dynasties and vocabulary in China, I found it better to teach and then let them do some sort of activity.

Integrating inferencing skills.  I am trying to push my students to infer rather than think on the surface. One way I did this was by teaching about different Chinese philosophers and then having my kids try to figure out which quote each philosopher said.  My students thought they were playing a game so they actually enjoyed trying to make educated guesses.


What could have went better:

My knowledge on Ancient China.  I need to study more on how to pronounce all the dynasties and terms used. I also was learning along with them so hopefully next year I will have more time to study before teaching the content.

Too much content, too little review.  I taught my students A LOT of vocabulary and events that took place in Ancient China.  I taught them so much that it became hard to find time to review what we had previously talked about.  Next time I need to teach only what is in the curriculum guide.