Poetry!
Our day today started out visiting a 4th grade class were they were studying poetry. The theme for today's lesson was "Springtime." And really, who doesn't love thinking about spring this time of year?
I really enjoyed the way the teacher displayed several visual images on her smartboard and had the children discuss several elements that evoke an emotional response. In their words, they used their words to describe how they felt about the pictures. She then gave them a list of key vocabulary words that they could use to pair ideas with emotions and they worked in small groups to write their own poems based on the key words they were given. Each group read their poem out loud and I was impressed at how quickly they worked to present some very good poetry. Another note, the students were all dressed very well, girls with ribbons in their hair. A parent was also there taking pictures of our event. The school has a very strong parent association that contributes greatly to the school's efforts.
If you noticed in the pictures, each student has a notebook computer to use at school, provided by the school. And, students were eager to be able to answer questions and actively participate in the classroom discussion.
"The main purpose of the poet is to awaken the best things in our hearts, the teach told the students.
As they worked on their poems, they also listened to the music of Tchaikovsky. Toward the end of the lesson, students read about French impressionist artists and discussed what aspects of their art they like/didn't like and why. At the end of class the children had a surprise for us. A few pairs got up in front of the class and recited poems in English that they memorized in honor of our visit. Wow! This is the 4th grade!
Art Class!
Examples of styles used in Russian xoxloma folk art
Our next class was a 5th grade art class. It is wonderful to see schools that still offer art and music (our next class). The teacher was giving a lesson the elements of style in Russian folk art know as xoxloma (x is pronounce as an h). When we first walked in, we were introduced and I recognized several of the students we met in the previous day's Lego robotics after school club. We then were directed to take our seats at the back of the class where we found art supplies waiting for our use. Gulp. Took off my jacket and rolled up my sleeves, this could get messy! It was explained to us that the teacher was an accomplished architect and has had several arts exhibitions of hers and of her students. I immediately fell at ease with her excellent instructions. and by the end, had produced a not so horrible plate.
Eric showing off his artistic prowess!
By the end of the lesson, the teacher had us all put our artwork on display to see whose was best. As guests, she let Eric and I choose which two were the best ones. Let me tell you, that is a very hard thing to do because you know you are going to be letting someone down. And as a gift, we got to keep the plates we chose.
Let me say something here about competition in the classrooms. At the end of each class, teachers point out the students who had the best participation and assignments in class and they point them out in class by name and say you get a 5, you get a five, you get a five. These grades (5 is the highest) go into the record book and are part of their overall grade. You can really see students get excited when they are named for a 5, others are disappointed when they are not called. So it becomes competitive to get 5s in class. Or in other words, the children to do their best.
Music! ... (or, now I remember why I prefer not to teach 6th graders anymore)
Yes, we sat in on a music class. The teacher gave an absolutely wonderful lesson on tones and the registers of different singing voices. This was all done within the context of studying the operas of Korsakov. Okay, I know that not everyone loves opera. And even on a good day, I have to try to really like it. But Korsakov, one of Russia's greats, is an all time favorite of mine and the class was studying his music in the context of his Russian fairytales. Unfortunately, the children in this class were pretty poorly behaved for their teacher. I guess on one side of the coin, it was nice to see that 6th grade boys are the same all over the world, and that good classroom management is essential for good learning to occur. It seems the students' favorite part of class was when they could get up and sing as a group songs they had already learned.
Music class
Our final class of the day was an 11th grade English class with our host teacher, Marina. She allowed Eric and I to take over the class to discuss the American educational system, particularly high school. I would say the students groaned when they heard American students only go to school Mon-Fri, but then they felt better about that when they heard that high school in the US is 9th, 10th, 11th & 12th grades. In Russian schools, high school only goes from 10th-11th grade . The students asked several good questions, mainly about US colleges and Universities, entrance exams and the exams/requirements in our states for graduating from high school.
Nothing like home-cooked food!
As a very special treat for us, the head of the cafeteria brought in some very thin home-made pancakes, filled with a type of ground meat and wrapped like a burrito! Lunches here usually consist of a salad, followed by a soup, and then a main course. I can say whole-heartedly that the meal and the pancakes were wonderful!!!! A very special Spacibo Bolshoe goes out to this very kind woman.
Mmmmmm, vkusno!
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