We Are All Sisters and Brothers

Last week the 2nd grade students visited the Hub with their religion teachers to finish their lesson “We are all sisters and brothers.” The students discussed how God made everything and everyone, and so even people who are different than us are our brothers and sisters.

First, we watched and discussed the awesome YouTube video “Ode to Earth” showcasing some of the most unique people and places in creation. Then, we identified ways we are different from one another in the class–some are the oldest in their family, and some are the youngest. Some have a pet dog, others do not. Some are taller than others, and we have different hair and different favorite colors. Students were challenged to find someone different than themselves in each category, and tell one another “God made you, and you are my brother/sister.”

Next, we considered people from around the world. Students looked at pictures around the classroom showing diverse families from many countries. After observing similarities and differences in the pictures, students marked a paper under each one with a colorful fingerprint to show “These are my brothers and sisters” while repeating the phrase. When they had used all ten fingers, they knew it was time to return to our circle. We discussed some of the things we saw that surprised us and remembered that God made all these people.

Finally, we reviewed a PowerPoint with faces inspired by the photographs of Jorge Brantmayer and recited to each image “This is my sister/brother because God made him/her.” Finally, students approached a projected wall of many faces, choose someone different from themselves, and recited the same phrase individually, marking that face with a post-it.

 

Recess sets another record!

Tuesday the Hub set a new record during 3rd recess–89 student visitors! Our students particularly love the board games, the cartoons, and the computers–and most have done an incredible job of only speaking English and asking for help to say anything they do not know how to translate.20150313_142111

Students love the board game Clue.

20150313_142129The Disney channel show “Gravity Falls” is a big hit with the elementary school boys. They come back to see another episode (in English of course) every afternoon, even though there are no subtitles! Continue reading Recess sets another record!

Personality: Let It Shine!

The 11th grade students from Ms. Ceci, Ms. Maca, and Mr. Garfield’s English classes experienced an ambitious start to the school year. Their first few classes all took place in the English Hub! The topic: personality. It would be more traditional to kick off a new year of foreign language class with a lesson on culture, grammar, key vocabulary, the importance of English in business and diplomacy, or a review of last year’s material. However this English department is more ambitious.

Mr. VanderZee explained the thinking in an anecdote about a friend of his who moved to Chile without any Spanish skills.

One of her friends said, “I am so sad that you’re going to South America. Everything that makes you you: your sense of humor, your passions, your listening to your friends, your thoughtful ideas… that will all be gone when you don’t speak the language. You aren’t going to have any personality in Spanish.” And in a sense, the friend was right. It is harder to really express yourself in a second language. It doesn’t happen overnight, and it can be awkward and frustrating. But English classes at our school are all about helping you reach a level of fluency where you can share who you really are, to let your personality shine, and really communicate.

Students watched a few intriguing TED talks about personality, and took a personality test to consider the results. One highlight for the teachers was seeing the student’s whiteboard annotations from the talks and ensuing discussion. They not only jotted down key phrases and unfamiliar vocabulary, but also diagrammed big ideas. See the links to the talks they enjoyed and more pictures below!

And just FYI, my Spanish-novice friend in Chile has been taking lessons and is doing great! Just as our students are adapting to using English full time while inside the English Hub, the entire country of Chile has been her Spanish classroom–and there’s no better environment for learning a new language than that.

TED Talk: Julian Baggini, “Is there a real you?”

TED Talk: Dan Gilbert, “The psychology of your future self”