Week of February 18 - 22

NATURAL SCIENCE

This week in third grade we learned about birds. I used the book and we covered the vocabulary about wings, beaks and nutrition. Then Teacher Fatima played a video with several birds in it and we pointed out all of the types of bird characteristics we could find.

This activity was simple and a strong finish for the unit. Next week we will begin reviewing the unit so this time spent reinforcing content will be good for them. I used stickers for participation and it works well to get them involved.

ART

In art we are also working with animals. Teacher Carmen had the students bring in pictures of animals and cut different body parts to create a collage of a unique animal. I explained the activity in english and let their imagination go.

I used this activity to teach them the names of animals in english and help them name their unique animals with english names. Art is a more personal time where I get to communicate with the students about many things. We get to know each other a bit more and they get to ask me about words that may help them with other classes.

Our first six weeks with Teacher Melanie!

Our first six weeks with Teacher Melanie!

Now that I’m adjusted to my new life here in Spain, let me tell you about these amazing first six weeks…

I am the Auxiliar or Culture and Language Assistant here at CEIP Antonio Rodríguez Almodóvar and my role is to encourage conversation and introduce relevant American culture into the classroom. Let me say…this is THE BEST job I’ve ever had! I am showered with love and appreciation and I get to use fun activities to get students involved in their curriculum. I think the one thing that I have been shocked by is how much I am truly able to teach the students. When I have their full attention I am able to introduce new subject matter and they walk away with knowledge and new confidence in their English. There is no better feeling!

My third graders have been fully invested since day one. They always give me their attention and are hungry to tell me new things and receive feedback. They help me to see the true difference and character of each grade level. I am always able to merge right into their lesson and they are eager to have me be a part of their class, which I appreciate very much!

SCIENCE

So far we have learned about our city around us, and the physical and political maps of Spain and Europe. These classes were helpful for me as well! I’ve learned some landforms and capitals, which is great information for me to talk with the students about. We spent a couple weeks also doing oral evaluations and I truly enjoyed that one on one time with each student. Last week we began animals and I wrote a story as a listening and logic activity. I read the story aloud and then asked for the order of animals. They did very well with this activity and next week we will build on it by having them answer more questions.

ART

In arts and crafts the students constructed their own city maps and presented them to the class. They worked carefully on these and presented some quality maps by the end of the unit.

Last week we began animals and I taught the students how to make their own hand puppet. They really enjoyed this activity and were even making more than one puppet. The goal was to create an animal puppet and make a short story with friends to present in class. I’m looking forward to hearing their stories and watching them present.

Outside of traditional classroom instruction I also took the opportunity to teach about Martin Luther King Jr on MLK Day. They all drew pictures in their notebooks about what his dream looked like to them and several of them shared their own dreams. We have some future lifesavers in third grade! They watched this video as part of the activity.

I also made sure to bring a little bit of the American style of holiday celebrations for Valentine's Day by giving the students candy and a Valentine treat to keep and to share. At the end of the school day I could see that they had shared all of their stickers with their friends and were enjoying their lollipops...ahh spreading love! :) <3