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Monday, June 20, 2011
Lesson Plan
Purpose of the Lesson: To teach about the history, traditions and food eaten on Independence Day and Thanksgiving. I want Italian students to learn what we do for these two holidays and compare it to Italian traditions and holidays.
Key English Words/ Concepts Students Should Learn: Holiday, tradition, freedom, independence, turkey, stuffing, gravy, fireworks, bonfires, cookout, etc.
Materials: Construction paper (3 pieces per student), paints, straws, scissors, glue, markers
Procedures: I will write the history, traditions, and food eaten for Independence Day and Thanksgiving Day on posters so that students will be able to see as well as hear the information in English. After teaching about Independence Day, I will have students fold a piece of construction paper in half. They will write Independence Day at the top of one half of the page and a similar Italian holiday at the top of the other half. They will write a couple of sentences (in Italian) comparing and contrasting the American and Italian holidays and traditions and draw pictures of each holiday. They will do this same activity comparing Thanksgiving and an Italian holiday after I review it. Next, the students will be able to participate in a craft project for each holiday. They will each get a piece of construction paper and share the paint. In order to make the paint fireworks, the students will put drops of paint on their construction paper and use the straws to blow the paint in firework-like shapes.For Thanksgiving Day, the students will make the traditional hand-turkeys that American students make for the holiday. Finally, the students will get into groups and work together to create their own holiday. They must create and name, traditions, history and food traditionally eaten. These students will work together to write this in English.
Key English Words/ Concepts Students Should Learn: Holiday, tradition, freedom, independence, turkey, stuffing, gravy, fireworks, bonfires, cookout, etc.
Materials: Construction paper (3 pieces per student), paints, straws, scissors, glue, markers
Procedures: I will write the history, traditions, and food eaten for Independence Day and Thanksgiving Day on posters so that students will be able to see as well as hear the information in English. After teaching about Independence Day, I will have students fold a piece of construction paper in half. They will write Independence Day at the top of one half of the page and a similar Italian holiday at the top of the other half. They will write a couple of sentences (in Italian) comparing and contrasting the American and Italian holidays and traditions and draw pictures of each holiday. They will do this same activity comparing Thanksgiving and an Italian holiday after I review it. Next, the students will be able to participate in a craft project for each holiday. They will each get a piece of construction paper and share the paint. In order to make the paint fireworks, the students will put drops of paint on their construction paper and use the straws to blow the paint in firework-like shapes.For Thanksgiving Day, the students will make the traditional hand-turkeys that American students make for the holiday. Finally, the students will get into groups and work together to create their own holiday. They must create and name, traditions, history and food traditionally eaten. These students will work together to write this in English.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Reflection
After being back in the US a few days (and over being sick), I am more able to reflect on my entire experience. I knew from the beginning that this program would be a once in a lifetime experience and that I was going to see, hear, do and experience new and interesting things, and that I would probably come back changed in some way. I had no idea how much all of this was true until now. I still cannot believe that a few weeks ago I was having lunch in a ristorante in a back alley in Rome, a few miles from St. Peter's Basilica and the Coliseum! during my entire time in Italy, I traveled to Rimini, Rome, Ravenna, Verona, Venice, Florence, and Monteva. I saw so many beautiful things that I cannot even begin to describe them, ate amazing food, and learned so much about the Italian culture. One things that I did learn about myself while I was in Italy, though, was that although I love seeing these beautiful sights and I can now cross so many things off my bucket list, I prefer to stay at home with family or take my time traveling a city so I can know it more personally. Out of all of the experiences I had in Italy, looking back, I enjoyed myself the most when I was at home with the Verziagi's or having a casual lunch in the piazza with friends or taking my time riding the water bus through the canal in Venice. I love taking my time to take everything in, form the sights all the way to the flavor of my food.
Other than insights into my personality, I learned a lot about myself as an educator. From working in the classroom in Italy, I realized that I do like the idea of giving my students more responsibility and expecting more maturity from my students. I want to not load my students down with homework unless I see that they need to review what was learned in class at home for extra reinforcement (20 minutes max). I want to have classroom management system set up as well as specific discipline for students who need it. I will never yell at my students, only raising my voice as the final tier of discipline. There are so many things that this experience has taught me as an educator that I hope to put into practice in my own classroom one day.
I feel extremely lucky and privileged to have been able to participate in this study abroad program. Although the tastes of the food and details of the sights may eventually fade, I will never forget the people that I lived and worked with.
Other than insights into my personality, I learned a lot about myself as an educator. From working in the classroom in Italy, I realized that I do like the idea of giving my students more responsibility and expecting more maturity from my students. I want to not load my students down with homework unless I see that they need to review what was learned in class at home for extra reinforcement (20 minutes max). I want to have classroom management system set up as well as specific discipline for students who need it. I will never yell at my students, only raising my voice as the final tier of discipline. There are so many things that this experience has taught me as an educator that I hope to put into practice in my own classroom one day.
I feel extremely lucky and privileged to have been able to participate in this study abroad program. Although the tastes of the food and details of the sights may eventually fade, I will never forget the people that I lived and worked with.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Last Few Days in Carpi
My last few days in Carpi were a little sad. I was sick from all the weather change going from Carpi to Venice, back to Carpi, to Florence, back to Carpi; and I has really started to miss my family. Even with all of that, I was sad to leave Paolo, Nellina and Giulia. They have been so welcoming and amazing this whole trip, it made me sad to think that I would be leaving and probably never see them in person again. I am so glad that we are able to connect through facebook and email, but I will miss having lunch with Nellina and dinner with the whole family. Not only did they take me into their home, but they also helped me become immersed in the Italian culture. They answered all of my questions about Italian way of life, food, travel, music, movies, family dynamic, etc. They also asked me many questions about American culture and my own family and friends and life in South Carolina.
During my last few days, because I was sick, I stayed in the apartment a lot and just hung out with the family in the evenings. Paolo and I had a good conversation about or favorite music and guitar players--we like many of the same musicians and even introduced a few new favorites. On my last day with the family, Paolo took me to a Caseificio, or a cheese shop, and bought a block of parmesian cheese for my parents because he said after hearing me talk about my family, he figured they would love it! Later we had gnoccho fritto for dinner with prosciutto cruddo and crutto, salami and stracchino cheese. Then they took me to a lake near the house and we all walked around for a while. It was really nice to spend some quite time with the family like that before I left. After coming back to the apartment, Nell helped me pack some last minute stuff and the Paolo drove me to the bus station. I definitely cried a little on the way yo the bus station thinking about how amazing my last few weeks had been and how lucky I am to have been placed with the Verziagis. I will never forget them or my time spent in Italy.
During my last few days, because I was sick, I stayed in the apartment a lot and just hung out with the family in the evenings. Paolo and I had a good conversation about or favorite music and guitar players--we like many of the same musicians and even introduced a few new favorites. On my last day with the family, Paolo took me to a Caseificio, or a cheese shop, and bought a block of parmesian cheese for my parents because he said after hearing me talk about my family, he figured they would love it! Later we had gnoccho fritto for dinner with prosciutto cruddo and crutto, salami and stracchino cheese. Then they took me to a lake near the house and we all walked around for a while. It was really nice to spend some quite time with the family like that before I left. After coming back to the apartment, Nell helped me pack some last minute stuff and the Paolo drove me to the bus station. I definitely cried a little on the way yo the bus station thinking about how amazing my last few weeks had been and how lucky I am to have been placed with the Verziagis. I will never forget them or my time spent in Italy.
Italian vs. American Classroom Management
Participating in an Italian classroom for a month gave me so much time to make observations, conjectures, questions and even answer some of those questions. After only one day, though, I observed extreme differences between the way American and Italian teachers conduct a classroom. One of the biggest differences in the the discipline and class management setup by the teachers. In the classroom in Italy, I observed a lot of free time for the students when they were supposed to be doing book work and while some students had oral quizzes with the teacher. During this free time, students talked a good amount, but never moved from their seats or even got loud. The only form of discipline or management that I ever observed during the entire month from the teacher was yelling. When the students get louder than the teacher liked, she would bang her hand on the desk and yell at the students, when a student got an answer wrong, she yelled at him for about 3 minutes straight as the rest of the class watched. Granted, these particular examples are from one specific teacher, the other teachers I observed, though not as bad about yelling at the students, still had no other forms of classroom management in place.
After getting to know the school psychologist better during the school field trip, I asked her opinion about how the teacher discipline students. I was relieved to find out that not all teachers work that way, and that many teachers have problems with discipline because they have the same students throughout elementary school. The way many schools work in Italy is when students first come to elementary school, they are put in a class (1A or 1B, etc); throughout school they stay in the same class, with the same students, and the teachers move to them. Not only do they stay with the same classmates throughout elementary school, all the way to fifth grade, they also have to same teachers all the way through. With this class dynamic, if a teacher loses the respect or control of his/her students in the beginning, or at any time during the 5 years they are with the class, they cannot get it back. In the states, students move classes and teachers every year. This may cause some set backs with students discipline or even learning, if a student moves to an environment or teacher that doesn't cope well with them, but it may be better than a teacher's having no effectiveness with the students.
After my time observing in an Italian classrooms, I have realized that a teacher as a limited effectiveness and can lose it as well as his/her authority with the students if he/she abuses one specific method. By constantly yelling at the students, raising your voice to the students loses its effectiveness-leaving the students quiet only as you scream your lungs out.
After getting to know the school psychologist better during the school field trip, I asked her opinion about how the teacher discipline students. I was relieved to find out that not all teachers work that way, and that many teachers have problems with discipline because they have the same students throughout elementary school. The way many schools work in Italy is when students first come to elementary school, they are put in a class (1A or 1B, etc); throughout school they stay in the same class, with the same students, and the teachers move to them. Not only do they stay with the same classmates throughout elementary school, all the way to fifth grade, they also have to same teachers all the way through. With this class dynamic, if a teacher loses the respect or control of his/her students in the beginning, or at any time during the 5 years they are with the class, they cannot get it back. In the states, students move classes and teachers every year. This may cause some set backs with students discipline or even learning, if a student moves to an environment or teacher that doesn't cope well with them, but it may be better than a teacher's having no effectiveness with the students.
After my time observing in an Italian classrooms, I have realized that a teacher as a limited effectiveness and can lose it as well as his/her authority with the students if he/she abuses one specific method. By constantly yelling at the students, raising your voice to the students loses its effectiveness-leaving the students quiet only as you scream your lungs out.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Florence!
I had so much fun in Florence! We arrived in Florence at about 11 in the morning, checked in, dropped our bags and went shopping in the market. :) The market is pretty awesome, at times overwhelming. The streets are lined with vendors selling everything from souvenirs to leather jackets and purses. After walking through the market some, we had lunch at what seemed to be a nice little ristorante. It turned out to be a place that made all of it's food ahead of time and reheated it (leaving the middle of almost everything cold) after we ordered. Not at all what we expected! We had never come across a restaurant that did this until Florence, and after walking around, we realized that many places did it! We were a little bummed, but made sure to stear clear of restaurants that have pizza on display inside...
Anyways, I was continuously shocked by Florence's beauty. We saw Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, Piazza della Republica, Piazza della Signoria, Piazza Santa Croce, Piazzale Michelangelo, and so much more! I unfortunately got sick on my last day and missed mass in the Basilica di Santa Maria and tour through the Uffizi Museum. After reading some of the history of Florence, it felt so cool to stay in the place where Michelangelo and so many other amazing people once lived.
On Saturday, we went on a wine tasting and cooking class in the tuscan country side-- it was gorgeous! We tasted one type of Chardonnay, several types of Chianti (which is the wine from this area) and one type of dessert wine (which tasted just like super sweet raisins!). Along with our wine, we we served bread with olive oil from the Tuscan region. It was all so good, and I learned so much about the wine. I didn't realized before that there is so much that goes into making wine, or so much that can make one wine taste so different from another. Then I learned how to make pasta! We made spinach and ricotta ravioli and fettuccine pasta, which we ate for lunch! The program was awesome! We actually went to someone's house in the Tuscan mountains to cook and eat! While we were making the pasta, the owner of the house made the antipasti, or appetizer, (1 slice of pizza, some barley salad, a piece of zucchini keish, and some eggplant parmesan), the sauce for the ravioli (butter and sage melted together--simple but amazing), the sauce for the fettuccine (a simple tomato sauce made from scratch), and, of course, the tiramisu! Wow, it was a perfect lunch!
Since I was sick on my last day, I didn't get to enjoy as much as I hoped, but I still shopped in the market and walked around the city some. Sometimes, no matter where in the world you are, you just need a nap, so on Sunday, the best part of my day was when I took a nap waiting for the bus to come :)
Anyways, I was continuously shocked by Florence's beauty. We saw Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, Piazza della Republica, Piazza della Signoria, Piazza Santa Croce, Piazzale Michelangelo, and so much more! I unfortunately got sick on my last day and missed mass in the Basilica di Santa Maria and tour through the Uffizi Museum. After reading some of the history of Florence, it felt so cool to stay in the place where Michelangelo and so many other amazing people once lived.
On Saturday, we went on a wine tasting and cooking class in the tuscan country side-- it was gorgeous! We tasted one type of Chardonnay, several types of Chianti (which is the wine from this area) and one type of dessert wine (which tasted just like super sweet raisins!). Along with our wine, we we served bread with olive oil from the Tuscan region. It was all so good, and I learned so much about the wine. I didn't realized before that there is so much that goes into making wine, or so much that can make one wine taste so different from another. Then I learned how to make pasta! We made spinach and ricotta ravioli and fettuccine pasta, which we ate for lunch! The program was awesome! We actually went to someone's house in the Tuscan mountains to cook and eat! While we were making the pasta, the owner of the house made the antipasti, or appetizer, (1 slice of pizza, some barley salad, a piece of zucchini keish, and some eggplant parmesan), the sauce for the ravioli (butter and sage melted together--simple but amazing), the sauce for the fettuccine (a simple tomato sauce made from scratch), and, of course, the tiramisu! Wow, it was a perfect lunch!
Since I was sick on my last day, I didn't get to enjoy as much as I hoped, but I still shopped in the market and walked around the city some. Sometimes, no matter where in the world you are, you just need a nap, so on Sunday, the best part of my day was when I took a nap waiting for the bus to come :)
Classroom Experience
Ok, so the main reason for this study abroad program is so that I can participate in a school and gain a broader mindset about education. My first couple of days in the classroom were not so great (but it has definitely improved since then!). I walked into the school right on time, into a crowd of students and everyone staring at me. One of the teachers grabbed me and asked something along the lines of "Are you the American?" in Italian, as soon as I said yes, I had teacher surrounding me. I was finally introduced to the school psychologist, Cristina, who speaks English very well and helped me get situated in a class. I introduced myself in Italian then English then the students went around introducing themselves to me in English. After that, I sat in the corner of the room and tried to look attentive as I fought dozing off. The second day was very similar, minus the introductions, until the end of the day. A woman, who I assume is the support teacher for a student with disabilities, had me come with her and the student to the computer lab as the rest of the class did book work. We struggled conversation, since she speaks no English and was frustrated with my lack of Italian vocabulary, then I pulled up Google Translate. With this tool, I was able to tell her that I am there in the school as a teaching tool for them, I want to be useful, I want to help. The very next day, Cristina came up to me and told me that I will be doing my lesson the next week, and will be needed a day or two in the fourth grade English classroom sometime during my stay.
My third day in class was an all day field trip to a theme park in Rimini, Italy in Miniature. It was a really great trip because it gave me the opportunity to get to know the fifth grade teachers and some of the students better. I was also able to watch the students behavior on the trip and compare it to their behavior in the classroom, and that of American students on field trips. The students here were very excited, but well behaved. They listened to their teachers, almost more so than they regularly do in class, and all stayed together. I saw no discipline problems throughout the day, even the teachers seemed a little less worried about the students behavior.
Back in school-- my lesson went great with both classes, 5A and 5B. I wrote some English and Italian phrases on the board and told the students that they were to say these phrases only in English when speaking to me, for practice. The phrases included good morning, please, thank you, I don't understand, please repeat, etc. When I was teaching or explaining the directions for the activities, I spoke slowly and used my hands to help explain things as best I could. Most of the students seemed to understand what I was saying for the most part, but just to make sure Cristina or the English teacher, Salvatore, repeated what I said in Italian. First I explained Independence Day then Thanksgiving Day. I spoke about the history of the holiday, the traditions and the food that we typically eat. After explaining each holiday, I had the students compare and contrast the American holiday to a similar Italian holiday by writing a few sentences in Italian and drawing a picture. Next, I had to students get in groups to create their own holiday. They had to come up with a name, history, the traditions and the traditional food for the new holiday, and write it all in English. The students loved this assignment! They were all so creative and I could tell that the students enjoyed being creative and goofy for a while. Finally, the students were able to get a little crafty with my last two activities. They had to do little paint pictures of fireworks using straws (original plan was for them to blow the paint to look like fireworks, turns out blowing paint creates fat paint blobs, so they just used the straws like paint brushes..) and make the hand turkeys that every child who ever participated in an elementary class in America has made at least once. They loved it! It was hard for me to imagine, but most of the students (possibly all of them) and many of the teachers had never seen a real turkey, so they had no clue how to make their hand turkey look like one! While I was astonished, the teachers seemed a little creeped out that American children make cute little pictures of the main dish for Thanksgiving dinner. haha...
I have participated in so much, this post could go forever, but I think I should end here for now...
My third day in class was an all day field trip to a theme park in Rimini, Italy in Miniature. It was a really great trip because it gave me the opportunity to get to know the fifth grade teachers and some of the students better. I was also able to watch the students behavior on the trip and compare it to their behavior in the classroom, and that of American students on field trips. The students here were very excited, but well behaved. They listened to their teachers, almost more so than they regularly do in class, and all stayed together. I saw no discipline problems throughout the day, even the teachers seemed a little less worried about the students behavior.
Back in school-- my lesson went great with both classes, 5A and 5B. I wrote some English and Italian phrases on the board and told the students that they were to say these phrases only in English when speaking to me, for practice. The phrases included good morning, please, thank you, I don't understand, please repeat, etc. When I was teaching or explaining the directions for the activities, I spoke slowly and used my hands to help explain things as best I could. Most of the students seemed to understand what I was saying for the most part, but just to make sure Cristina or the English teacher, Salvatore, repeated what I said in Italian. First I explained Independence Day then Thanksgiving Day. I spoke about the history of the holiday, the traditions and the food that we typically eat. After explaining each holiday, I had the students compare and contrast the American holiday to a similar Italian holiday by writing a few sentences in Italian and drawing a picture. Next, I had to students get in groups to create their own holiday. They had to come up with a name, history, the traditions and the traditional food for the new holiday, and write it all in English. The students loved this assignment! They were all so creative and I could tell that the students enjoyed being creative and goofy for a while. Finally, the students were able to get a little crafty with my last two activities. They had to do little paint pictures of fireworks using straws (original plan was for them to blow the paint to look like fireworks, turns out blowing paint creates fat paint blobs, so they just used the straws like paint brushes..) and make the hand turkeys that every child who ever participated in an elementary class in America has made at least once. They loved it! It was hard for me to imagine, but most of the students (possibly all of them) and many of the teachers had never seen a real turkey, so they had no clue how to make their hand turkey look like one! While I was astonished, the teachers seemed a little creeped out that American children make cute little pictures of the main dish for Thanksgiving dinner. haha...
I have participated in so much, this post could go forever, but I think I should end here for now...
Venice!
Venice was beautiful! I got a little homesick while I was there because everywhere I looked, I thought of someone back home who would appreciate what I was seeing as much as me! After the two hour bus drive and quick train into the city (because not many buses can drive in the city) we were there! All of the buildings are so close together! Many of the alleys are only big enough for one person to walk through at a time. The city is so beautiful just walking through it, then you cross over the canal or hit a major landmark--wow.Since all of the buildings are so close together and many of the allies look just alike, it is so easy to get disoriented/lost, which we did. Luckily, Venice is somewhat small and there is on main big road which everything stems off of, so we were able to make our way back with a little help from signs and English speakers. Since we were only in Venice for one night, we did a lot of walking to make sure we saw the city as much as possible. On the first day, I went with a big group of girls walking around the city, stopping in shops for Murano glass or the famous Venetian masks. We went to the Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square), Basilica di San Marco (St. Mark's Basilica), Ponto dei Sospiri (Bridge of Sighs), Grand Canal, Rialto Bridge, Doge's Palace, and so much more! The second day, I went a bit more relaxed route and took the water bus to Lido. We had lunch and went to the beach. It feels like a different city far away from the hustle and bustle in Venice. The streets were not packed with people, the beach, although crowded with people soaking up the sun, was still tranquil and nice. I also got the most beautiful view of Venice from the water bus, where I was able to sit back, feel the wind in my hair, sun on my face and enjoy the view.
I will never forgot my trip to Venice. It is a remarkable place with such a strong history--simply amazing!
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