My assistantship Journal

Journal #1

May 21th, 2019

40min class

Today was my first day of assistantship at CODESA School with the kindergarten
which I’ve been observing since April. In the class there are 15 students but today 2
were absent.

The English teacher and I entered to the classroom. He greets the students: Hello!
How are you today? and kids answer in English. They worked with the book “Cookie
and friends” but first the T review the new vocabulary “toys” using flashcards.
Students had some difficulties to remember the vocabulary but it was the second
time they worked with it.

Then, they worked with a cut and paste activity. They had to cut “Lulu”, a blue
kangaroo who is one of the main characters of their English book, and some toys too.
Then they had to paste Lulu’s pouch so the toys could be stored there.

The T explained them what to do but in Spanish and also showed them how, he
repeated many times to them to be careful, especially with scissors. He started
helping a group which was having problems with the task and asked me to help and
monitory another group. Everybody was working, at the beginning I think they felt a
bit uncomfortable with me helping them but after some minutes everyone wanted me
to paste their pouch. They were calling me “seño” and sharing personal things such us
what they did the day before or stories about their favorite toys, everything in
Spanish of course. I tried to use English at some moments, but they just keep
speaking in Spanish so I gave up and keep listening to their stories.

 Reflection

I think in this class they didn’t practiced too much English but they build their own
material for practicing then the new vocabulary. I learned how much they enjoy doing
things, most children wanted to be perfect. I will definitely include tasks in which
they have to DO things.

 Connection with theory

This Lulu and her pouch full of toys they created is a great source for illustrating
meaning using the Direct Method “illustrate and demonstrate concrete objects,
avoiding translation”. I can also link this class with the Gardner’s theory about
multiple intelligences, to highlight the importance of varying the type of tasks we
assign to our Ss. We always have to bear in mind that they are all different and learn
in different ways, but they are all intelligent but some are more physical intelligent
than others or maybe they have visual intelligence or any other.

Journal #2

May 22nd, 2019

40min class

Today in my second day of assistantship many students were absent (7), I think
because of the very cold weather. The T greets the students and starts with the
class. They asked them to take out the blue kangaroo “Lulu” they were working with
yesterday. They made a review of vocabulary taking out the toys from Lulu’s pouch.

Then, they had a Story telling time, they sat in circle and listened to the T. He told
the story using flashcards, mimes, gestures and making different voices for each
character and also onomatopoeic words. While telling the story he made pauses in
order to check for understanding, he did this in Spanish.

Then they worked with the book, they had to draw their favorite moment of the
story.

 Reflection

Today I learned how to tell a story in a funny and successful way. From my point of
view, he did it perfectly. He didn’t need to use Spanish at all, just using sounds,
gestures and the flashcards as visual aids he made himself understood. The best part
was how concentrated Ss were, they were really into the story. The have a special
connection with the T, something I aim to achieve with my Ss someday.

 Connection with theory

“If you put the book away now and just tell the story, an enduring bond
forms between you and your students. Without the book as a barrier, the
teller looks directly into the eyes of the audience and is free to use
gestures, facial expressions and body movements to enhance the telling
and help listeners to understand the story better. Storytellers don’t hide
behind characters the way actors do; they reveal a great deal about
themselves by the stories they tell and how they tell them… Because
audience members are actively involved in the process, storytelling
becomes a shared experience. Thus, it brings a sense of intimacy and
 community. An extraordinary connection is made between the teller and
the listener.” The Power of Storytelling in the Classroom.
I think this paragraph sums up perfectly what happened in the class today. It
is not the same to read a story and to tell a story. They are completely
different processes and I think that for kindergartens storytelling is one of
the best inputs they can receive. This paragraph also talks about the
connection storytelling creates, and they are used to this kind of activity so
there is not a surprise the connection between the T and his Ss.

Journal #3

June 4th, 2019

Today again there were many absences. They worked with a page of the book which
had a puzzle. One more time they had to cut and paste, which they seem to enjoy. The
T explained what they had to do and they started working. The T asked me to help
the, especially with the cutting part so I walked around the classroom and helped
them when they asked me to do so.

 Reflection
I really enjoyed today class, I have a great time with the kids, they are always
sharing personal things with me and I enjoy listening. The puzzles are a great
activity for children, they have fun but today I didn’t understand what they
were learning because it was just a puzzle with the characters of the book.
But they didn’t practice vocabulary.
 Connection with theory
Puzzles could be a great tool if used in a wise way, they serve as way for
illustrating meaning using the Direct Method.

Journal #4

June 5th,2019

Today there weren’t so many absences. They worked with the book, doing a listening
activity with a song. They had to pay attention to the order of the colors named in
the song and color the balloons in the book following that order.

While there were working the English T has to go outside the classroom and he told
the Ss I was in charge until he comes back (Their “permanent T” was with me in the
classroom). Many students started finishing the task and they showed to me and
wanted me to check it. I was panicking because most of them had already finish and
started playing and misbehaving. I decided to propose that we sing all together the
song while we wait for the T to come back. They all agreed and we sang, like two
minutes later the English T was back and made the closure of the lesson.

 Reflection
Everything was okay until the T left the classroom, I was very nervous because
I didn’t know what to do. When the situation was out of control and I started
panicking was awful. But after some minutes I tried to calm down and then
calm them down, as I noticed that they loved the song because of its catchy
rhythm the idea of singing just popped up in my mind and fortunately it
worked.
 Connection with theory
Today’s experience reminds me of the text “Ten characteristics of a good
teacher” we dealt with in class. I realized how important is to have these
characteristics and train them. Today I had to use my creativity in order to
deal with the situation. According to Jack C. Richards being creative requires
to be risk-taker. As teachers we should not be afraid of taking risks and what
I did today is something that as a teacher I will have to do at some moments,
improvising is not something we should get used to but when the plans don’t
work there is no other choice.

Journal #5

June 11th, 2019

For today I offered to prepare a game for reinforcing the vocabulary about toys. We
greeted the Ss and I started with the game, I prepared a “smashing” with the
flashcards they were working with. I stacked them in the board and divided the class
into two teams, I asked Ss to form 2 rows and gave a foam glove to the first student
in each row. I gave the instructions in English but they didn’t understand so I
explained in Spanish.

After playing the teacher delivered them their book and asked them to do the
activity in which they had to color toys with a specific color. By the end of the class
most of the student had finished, we said goodbye and that was the end.

 Reflection

This was the first time I conducted a whole activity from beginning to end. I was
nervous, especially when I tried to use English and a lot of words came out of my
mouth, of course they would not understand what I was saying. But then I decided
to use Spanish and they loved the game. However, now I regret of it because I
could have used other resources like demonstration and miming and avoid Spanish.
  Connection with theory
After observing many classes I realized the T almost never makes them play,
so I wanted to do a funny activity because that is what we are constantly
saying “learn and have fun”.
According to the book we read “Teaching Very Young Children” playing is a
child’s natural way of learning. Playing is essential when teaching a foreign
language because they imply a real purpose for using the language and is an
opportunity for them to use the language in a spontaneous way.

Journal #6

June 12th, 2019

Today was not a normal day, the kindergarten has to prepare the celebration for the
17th of June. They are preparing a performance in which many of the Ss have to
participate. Thus, today many Ss were coming and going in the middle of the class and
they didn’t work too much. The T just delivered the books to those who were present
and asked them to complete the activities that were incomplete.

 Reflection

There would be times in which we as teachers, will have to collaborate with the
institution we work for and that includes helping with celebrations and all that staff.
Personally, I really enjoy preparing that kind of activities so I don’t think that would
be a problem for me. In this case the T just had to allowed some Ss to go outside and
rehearse and improvise an activity for those who had to stay in the classroom.

 Connection with theory

As we studied in the first years of “Practica” teachers do much more than just
teach, they are multitasking. Teachers work in an institution and is very
important to collaborate in as much activities that it proposes as possible, in
order to build that sense of belonging to the school and a good atmosphere
among coworkers.

Journal #7

June 25th, 2019

Today the teacher introduced new vocabulary about parts of the body. First, they
listened to a song from the book. I sang the song with the teacher while doing a
choreography, the song included things like “shake your head”/ “wave your arms”/ “pat
your tummy”/ “stamp your feet” so we did it as we sang. The T asked Ss to copy us
and they loved the singing and dancing.
After that, they worked with a puzzle from the book, they had to cut the pictures
and stick them in the right order according to the song.

It took them the rest of the lesson to do that activity, I helped them when they
asked me and tried not to use Spanish. They didn’t remember the order so I sang the
song again for them so they could remember.

 Reflection
I really had fun today. It was the first time I saw physical movement in the
class. They loved dancing and singing and they laugh at us dancing, which was
very funny. I enjoy training the kinesthetic intelligence, I consider that that’s
one of my strongest intelligences so I will take advantage of it because little
kids love moving. They have a lot of energy.
 Connection with theory
Today the vocabulary was introduced with one of my favorite methods:
TPR (total physical response) this idea of the teacher demonstrating
actions using real objects (our own body) I think it really works and it is
similar to the experience of learning the mother tongue, which these kids
are still acquiring.

Journal #8

26th, 2019

This was my last day. Today the teacher prepared another story for Ss using the
flashcards from the book. They sat in a circle and listened to the T.

After the story, which included the new vocabulary about parts of the body, they
worked with the book as usual. The T asked them to find the differences between
two pictures.

They spent a lot of time with the storytelling so when they finished with the activity
from the book the class ended.

 Reflection
I’ve already said this, but for me the way the T tells stories is amazing. The
change of voice, the sounds he makes and his body language is perfect. I really
would like to be that good telling stories someday. Ss enjoyed a lot that
moment, they are listening attentively and trying to understand, but he is so
good that they don’t need to do such an effort.
  Connection with theory

Again, I would like to talk about the importance of storytelling and not reading a
story. Once I attended a workshop in which a very recognized English teacher told as
that you can read a story many times and it will always be the same, but telling a
story is always different. We always change something, which is okay, they are unique
experiences in which there is a very deep connection between the teller and the
listener.