Class Profile: Ikamvalesizwe Combined School Grade 5A

Grade 5A in Kenton on Sea:
Total students: 21; 10 girls, 11 boys
2 students we have suspected to have some kind of reading disability, maybe dyslexia.
Ages: Mostly 11 and 12, one 13 and one 14.
English speaking ability: All of them are far more comfortable speaking isiXhosa, but a few always volunteered to speak and try to say something.
Interests: Singing, dancing, acting, drawing.

The class was so much fun to work with. They put forth a great effort every day and almost every day they were all present. They made good progress with the vocabulary and did much better on writing their own sentences in their post-tests.

Meg Rutkowski and Fundi Fihlani

Lesson Plan: Tuesday, June 5

School: Samuel Ntsiko Primary (Class 6A)
Grade: 6
Subject: English
Lesson Topic: Vocabulary
Class size: 36
Teachers: Ms. Victoria and Ms. Julie

Objective:

• Learners will be able to construct one sentence for each of the ten vocabulary words in its appropriate context.

Materials:

• Student folders
• Vocabulary note cards
• Writing utensil buckets
• English/Xhosa vocabulary charts
• Sentence example charts
• Fill-in-the-blank charts
• WWW What=2 How=2 chart
• Who
• When
• Where
• What do character do?
• What happens next?
• How do characters feel?
• How does the story end?
• "The Black Cow" story copies

Opening Activities:

• Brain Dance (energy up)
• Xhosa/English word of choice paper chain link
• Review vocabulary words with their designated motions
• mourning
• cautious
• sufficient
• greedy
• despair
• glide
• sob
• secret
• delicious
• obliged

Procedure:

• Begin working on sentences for vocabulary words
• Students copy two example sentences for each word onto their note cards
• Students write their own sentence for each word on their note cards
• Move at a slow pace, focusing on one word at a time and giving students a sufficient amount of time to create their own sentence
• Sentences should demonstrate the learners' understanding of the meaning of the word. For example, rather than simply stating "The cake was delicious," students should write something like, "The cake was delicious because it was sweet and moist."
• Have 10 students share their sentences (one for each word) by sticking a numbered post-it to their desk and having them go to the board to write it and read it aloud
• Present five fill-in-the-blank sentences on charts (include a word bank) and review answers by having students volunteer to come to the board and fill in the correct word:

1. The baby _______ when her mother took the toy away.
2. She was _______ to complete her homework assignment.
3. Miss Victoria felt _______ after her favorite rugby team lost the tournament.
4. Birds _______ gracefully through the sky.
5. When Miss Julie's dog died she was in _______.

• Review WWW What=2 How=2 with motions
• Pass out "The Black Cow" stories; one for each students
• Have learners read the first paragraph individually and underline the who, when, and where in specific color code

Assessment/Evaluation:

• Circulating the room to check on learners' sentences, allowing several students to share, and the fill-in-the-blank activity are all methods of assessing vocabulary retention and word comprehension
• Color-coding the WWW in the first paragraph of "The Black Cow" serves as a good way to both introduce the story and assess students' ability to recognize parts of a story

Closure:

• Finish  reading "The Black Cow" aloud; have students perform vocabulary motions upon hearing them in the story
• Brain Dance (energy down)
• Round of applause

-Victoria Nolan

Lesson Plan: Monday, June 4th

Language Arts

Teachers: Miss Stephanie and Miss Angel

Samuel Ntsiko Grade 6B

On Monday, June 4^th, the first day of our second week of teaching, we had all thirty-seven students present in the classroom. Our objective was to have a few students share their stories that they wrote over the weekend for homework using the WWW W=2 H=2 and POW methods and to introduce the vocabulary words for “The Magic Horns.” Students will remember the vocabulary words by creating flash cards with the English word and Xhosa word on one side and the definition on the other.

We began to present the vocabulary for “The Magic Horns,” the story we would be working on for the rest of our time teaching here. We made a list of the ten vocabulary words and presented them to the students in English and also in Xhosa, followed by the definitions in English. After that, the students really enjoyed making up movements and actions as a visual aid and to remember the meaning of the vocabulary. They have quite an imaginative set of minds. We also handed out index cards so the students could make flashcards that they can review on their own and quiz one another. Again, the students are incredibly artistic; they really take pride in all of the work that we ask them to do.

Materials:

-           index cards (for flash cards)

-          pencils/erasers

-          coloured pencils

-          word chart

-          definition chart

-          sentence charts

After the students created and decorated their flash cards, they copied down some model sentences that we prepared for them that showed the meaning of the words.

For example:  There was a famine because the crops died in the bad weather.

This proved to be especially useful when we later asked the students to create their own sentences using the vocabulary words.

-Stephanie Cerniauskas and Angel Salisbury

Wednesday, June 6, 2012 @ Kenton On Sea

The objective for this day was to assess how much the students understood the vocabulary words from "The Magic Horn." We started the day with a 5 fill in the blank sentences as a warm up drill. The students was also provided with a word bank of the vocabulary word. This activity was to evaluate the students comprehension of the vocabulary words.


Instructions:
 Read the following sentences and choose the correct vocabulary word to fill in the blank.

1. My mom went on an                     to the beach last summer. (journey)
2. When i was a baby and was sick, my mother and father would                      me. (tend)
3. I asked Miss Lindsay to                      all of the pencils. (bundle)
4. Whenever I think that I am                      I take medicine or go to the clinic. (ill)
5. In class the students will                      their stories with a partner and read them. (exchange)

The objective for Math was to introduce and get the students familiar with the 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 5 and 10 multiplication tables. When doing this assignment the students was asked to recognized the pattern within each set and deliver the answers as a class. After they quickly finished this activity successful, they were assigned 10 multiplication problems that they had to solve individually. Shortly after, we had the students engage in a fun activity that allowed them to compete with each other and also familiarize themselves with addition subtraction and multiplication. This activity known as Bingo was a fun, competitive game for the students.


Another activity that allowed all students to be involved was the Math War game. The purpose of this activity was for a student from each group to solve a problem as quickly as possible. The person who answered the problem first and correctly received a point for their team.

--Jasmine Harris and Lindsay Jones

The Wheels on the Bus

The wheels on the bus
go round and round.
My head in the trees
my heels on the ground.
I asked the hard questions
and look what I found:
what hasn't been said
weighs the heaviest pound.
Silence screeches
like rusting brakes
and stops me abruptly
with the sound it makes,
but if provocation
is what it takes...
spare me a spear
and sharpen the stakes!
Ask me your questions.
Tell me your lies
and where to watch the sun
and the bread rise.
Lead me to your water.
Let me greet your skies,
sing with the children
and the mother who cries.
There is no face
on the moon here.
There is no place
where the girl feels secure.
There is no white money
for the black man in fear.
There is no bus coming
but on we steer.
There is no bus, sweetie,
coming through in the clutch.
There is no car, daughter,
sit down and hush.
There is no water,
only this dust.
There is no bus coming
for the son in the bush.

--poem by Ang la Buxton

Learning isiXhosa

There are eleven official languages of South Africa. Our students' mother tongue is isiXhosa, which originated with the Khoisan people. We are all doing our best to learn words and phrases from our students and our homestay friends. Professor Russell H. Kaschula, who heads the languages department at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, reviewed many of the sounds, rules, and general concepts of the language with us during a lecture yesterday afternoon. It is a beautiful language but definitely quite tricky: there are many different clicks and other noises that contribute to the fluidity of isiXhosa. Luckily, we have a classroom full of native speakers to help teach us, and I think that teachers and students alike are loving the give and take relationship. Here's some of the basics that we've learned thus far:

Basic sounds

• "c"  refers to a click made by pushing the tip of your tongue behind your top teeth and quickly bringing it down without exhaling. This sound is heard in the word "ncinci," meaning "small."
• "q" refers to a click that is similar to the "c" sound, however you bring your tongue to the middle of the roof of your mouth for a deeper sound. One of the vocabulary words that Julie and I have taught in our class uses this sound: "qaphela," which means "cautious."
• "x" refers to a click that comes from pushing air out of both sides of your mouth. This sound is heard in the actual name of the language, Xhosa.
• Consonant combinations unfamiliar to English speakers as well as various click combinations contribute to other basic sounds heard in the language.

Questions and phrases

• "Ungubani?" is a question one may ask to inquire about someone's basic information, including name and surname, origin, how one is doing, etc.
• "Ngubani igama lakho?" asks for someone's name
• "Ngu" is an indicative question prefix
• bani= what or who
• igama= name
• lakho= your
• You would respond by saying, "Igama lam ngu[Name]." For example, I would give my name by saying "Igama lam nguVictoria."
• To ask for someone's surname, or last name, you would say "Ngubani ifani yakho?" If I were to respond, I would say, "Ifani yam nguNolan."
• Bani= who
• "Uhlala phi?" asks "Where do you stay?"
• You would respond by saying "Ndihlala eMelika."
• "Ndi" is the indicator, which combined with "hlala" means "I stay."
• "e" refers to a specific spot or place
• Melika= America
• To be more specific in regards to a town or city, one may ask "phi?" or "where" once more, to which I would respond "eBaltimore."
• eklasini= in the classroom

Class system

• There is a class system in isiXhosa that differs immensely from English. To give an extremely general overview, there are 15 classes of nouns in isiXhosa, and by determining which class a noun fits into you are able to establish what the rest of the sentence will look like. Here are examples of the first two classes:
• The first class of nouns includes to singular objects, and therefore will refer to individual people.
• funda= to read or to learn
• umfundi= learner
• uyafunda= one student is learning
• The second class of nouns essentially refers to multiple items, or the plural.
• abafundi= learners
• bayafunda= students are learning

Hopefully, this basic overview will allow you to see just a little bit more of what our daily lives entail while in Grahamstown, South Africa. Enjoy!

-Victoria Nolan

Promised Pictures

Here are some pictures from Samuel Ntsiko Primary School that I promised you all yesterday! Also, there is one picture of the beautiful elephants we were lucky enough to see :)

Cheers!

Julie

Class Profile - Samuel Ntsiko Class 6A + Other Updates

Victoria and I are at the Samuel Ntsiko school in the township directly outside Grahamstown and have a class of 36 incredibly bright Grade 6 (6th grade) students. We have been working in depth with them on Language Arts and are working on reading and writing stories - the art of story telling. We have introduced the various parts of the story and are getting ready to read the Cinderella story from India, the Black Cow, with our class. In preparation, we have been identifying vocabulary within the tale and are making sure our students have full understanding of the words. We presented the word in English and the translation in Xhosa, the first language of our students. We gave our class a definition for each word and as a group decided on motions appropriate for each word. We also showed students two sentences using the vocabulary word in context and asked them to write their own. We are on our way to reading our story with the class!! For 'Maths', we have been reinforcing good habits and I have been working on forming a strong connection between addition and subtraction. I have also used their vocabulary words in word problems and have reinforced a connection between Maths & English, which to me speaks to the importance of inter-disciplinary studies in education.

Today in class, our students had to bring in a word in Xhosa and its English translation and they really enjoy teaching Victoria and me their language (and they are not shy to laugh when we get it horribly wrong)! Another project we have been working on is a paper chain. Whenever we have downtime in class, we give students a rectangular piece of construction paper and ask them to write their name on one side and to answer a question (using English words and drawings) on the other. Some questions we have asked are favorite sport, favorite color, birthday, favorite school subject, and favorite animal. They really enjoy drawing them and were so impressed the first time we showed them the chain!! We add to it whenever we can and our goal is to get the chain all around the room by the end of our time here.

In other news, this experience is absolutely wonderful. I have been meeting reallly amazing people and hearing great stories. We also got a chance to get very close with elephants which was majestic and humbling at the same time. Today, we had a lecture with Russel Kaschula, the Head of Languages and Professor of African Languages at Rhodes University. He helped up with our Xhosa pronunciation and we talked a bit about the difficulties of a multilingual society--South Africa has 11 official languages recognized in their constitution yet English and Afrikaans are clearly the languages of power. Russel was insightful and I think we all would have benefitted from spending more time in the classroom with him.

I am enjoying South Africa and this experience so much and absolutely love going to the classroom everyday! I'll update this post with photos of our class tomorrow (and one of the elephants) as the internet at the cafe is very slow right now.

Cheers for now!
Julie

Day 5: Monday, June 4, 2012 @ Kenton On Sea

Today was the beginning of the first full week teaching the students at Kenton On Sea. This day was very successful because we were able to complete all activities that we had previously planned. We started the day off with the brain dance which was an activity that the students loved as it always made them motivated in the classroom.

 

The objective of the day was to introduce the ten vocabulary words from the story "The Magic Horns." As we went about this activity, we introduced the word in English and in Xhosa. Along with the words in both languages, we presented them with a simple definition of the word and a dance move that helped the students better remember the word.

1. ill
2. tend
3. bundle
4. exchange
5. journey
6. trembling
7. famine
8. fierce
9. victorious
10. harmed

After completing the 10 vocabulary words and having them create index cards that they used to study the words and definitions we decided to switch gears and assist them with the math skills. Starting this task we decided that it would be more beneficial for the students to get in a habit of not using their fingers. We decided that using counters would be a fun activity as well as visual representation for solving math problems. We assigned 10 problems to the students and had them solve each problem in small groups of 5 using the counters. The students really enjoyed this activity. After we seen that they were comfortable using the counters in groups we assigned them problems and had them work individually.

 

 

 

--Jasmine Harris and Lindsay Jones

School Visit!

These are pictures from our first visit to Samuel Ntsiko and Ikamva schools. We met the teachers, saw the schools, and donated the laptops to both schools. We also gave an iPad to each school's principal. In both schools we received an amazing welcome and felt such gratitude. After this visit we were all so ready to start teaching.

-Zack Kohn

Animal-Heid

Ferrell oxen twitch
tails at dogs with matted fur.
Still, they coexist.

(Haiku)
-Ang Buxton

Not a Hunger Strike

Sometimes, it still hurts
knowing I couldn't stop them
from killing Biko.

(Haiku)
-Ang Buxton

Grahamstownship (A Sonnet)

We huff, legs trudging pavement hills, aghast
at houses plastered, pastel splatters pinned
to mountains clustered proudly.  We run past
a bronze coin, gold sun blanket, bathed with wind.
Again we sweat when shacks are magnified:
it's wheels, this time, that brave rockier roads
through dust.  Our rolled up windows slyly eyed
by people strewn about where brick corrodes.
Grass hills, trash trails, dogs dead on their backs
secedes a metal cross cemetery,
spray painted business signs on tin roofed shacks,
razor fences and Cash and Carry's.
Clothes hang, add vibrant hues to this brown strip--
a street of many in this one township.

-Ang Buxton

Water Haikus

1.
Caution! Tap water
is not for drinking. But these
plastic jugs will do.

2.
South African Coast--
Two oceans meet at the tip.
A well-balanced wine.

3.
Keep calm and order
a Bongo at this cafe
in Kenton on Sea

-Ang Buxton

Grahamstown Township

These are some pictures from our ride in the Grahamstown Township. This is one of the most powerful experiences of our trips. While these pictures are meant to document the things we saw, it in no way will convey the reality that we all experienced in the township. I hope that these pictures will spark an interest to know more about the current state of unofficial apartheid that still exists in South Africa.

-Zack Kohn