Scientist in the Classroom

Science and social studies are not taught separately here in Germany as you would find in a traditional U.S. classroom. Science, social studies, music and art are taught together through themes in most German schools. Normally Petra teaches this and I teach Bible but we have switched teaching these subjects for the next month.  This switch is due to our German student teacher from Freiburg (a post on our student teacher is to come). He is now teaching Bible so I get to teach science as I would in a traditional U.S. classroom. I only have around two hours a week to teach science. Last week was our first week in science and we did an experiment on density. It was great! The kiddos LOVED it!

*Now some, ok many, of you won’t care about the experiment, so I give you permission to skip down to the pictures. If you are a teacher read on…

Experiment Procedures:

1. Line up five glasses. Add 1 tablespoon (15 g) of sugar to the first glass, 2 tablespoons (30 g) of sugar to the second glass, 3 tablespoons of sugar (45 g) to the third glass, and 4 tablespoons of sugar (60 g) to the fourth glass. The fifth glass remains empty.

2. Add 3 tablespoons (45 ml) of water to each of the first 4 glasses. Stir each solution. If the sugar does not dissolve in any of the four glasses, then add one more tablespoon (15 ml) of water to each of the four glasses.

3. Add 2-3 drops of red food coloring to the first glass, yellow food coloring to the second glass, green food coloring to the third glass, and blue food coloring to the fourth glass. Stir each solution.

4.  Now let's make a rainbow using the different density solutions. Fill the last glass about one-fourth full of the blue sugar solution.

5.  Carefully layer some green sugar solution above the blue liquid. Do this by putting a spoon in the glass, just above the blue layer, and pouring the green solution slowly over the back of the spoon. If you do this right, you won't disturb the blue solution much at all. Add green solution until the glass is about half full.

6. Now layer the yellow solution above the green liquid, using the back of the spoon. Fill the glass to three-quarters full.

7. Finally, layer the red solution above the yellow liquid. Fill the glass the rest of the way.

Learning is FUN in grade 3!

*Pictures were taken with my ipad so they aren't the greatest quality. Many of the pictures were taken by the students. They each had a job assignment during the experiment (Supply Manager, House Keeper, Tester, and Photographer)

Tales from a bilingual classroom in Germany!

Fruit of the Spirit

My friend, Angela, made this wonderful printable which I am now using in my classroom since in Bible we are studying the Fruit of the Spirit! 

LOVE it!!!

angelamoore.typepad.com

"Ah-Ha!" Moments

In my 9 years of teaching this is my first year teaching in a Christian school; therefore, it is also my first year teaching Bible. In grade 3, Bible is taught in English. In Grade 2 it is taught in German and in grade 1 it is taught in English. So, Bible class is a bit difficult for some of my German speakers. Understanding scripture is difficult at any age but learning it in a second language adds another level of difficulty. And not all of the families at our school come from a Christian background. So, Bible class for some is totally foreign!

Teaching Bible in a classroom setting is so new to me but I just LOVE it! God’s word directs my world view. It directs how I live out my life. It directs how I teach and interact with my students. My desire for Bible class is that my students will take what they learn and transform it from head knowledge to heart knowledge. I want God’s word to direct their world view. For my students, application from Bible class happens immediately. My students aren’t just learning about the Bible or the history of Christianity.  They are learning the stories of the Bible, the characters of the Bible, and taking the lessons they’ve learned and immediately applying them to life. It is especially neat to see my students apply it to their daily life in the classroom.

Currently we are studying the fruit of the spirit: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23. For every fruit of the spirit, we memorize a verse and study a Bible character who exhibited the trait.  When studying “kindness,” my students were responsible for memorizing 1 Thessalonians 5:15, “Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.”

One afternoon while I was sitting at my desk one of my students approached me rather frustrated. She began to explain that she knows the Bible says we are not to pay back wrong for wrong and to be kind to everyone. Getting more and more frustrated as she talked to me, she continued to explain that a certain student in the class just hit her. The student at my desk was just so perplexed at what to do. She knew what she had just learned, “Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else,” but this other student was not doing what scripture had told them both to do: she was not being kind. I could tell it just took everything in the student at my desk not “pay back wrong for wrong.”  Even though she was so perplexed and had the biggest frown on her face, all I could do was smile from ear to ear. OK. So maybe I was just smiling on the inside! I was just so proud of her. She didn’t pay back wrong for wrong and was just so hurt that the other student wasn’t being kind. We talked through the situation and I praised her for listening to God!

I LOVE these moments in teaching! It’s the “ah-ha!” moment. It’s when the light bulb suddenly glows with understanding. And this is why I do what I do!

Family and Friends, THANKS SO MUCH for your love, support, and encouragement. You are helping the students in my class achieve spiritual and academic “ah-ha!” moments!

Keeping a Light On

Keeping a Light on for missing BFA grad Brian Shipley who has been missing over a week.

Theater Week

Pictures from last week's Theater Week!
The students practiced and practiced! The play was performed in German. 

Lunch afterward to celebrate!

The students enjoyed a small party after their terrific performance.

The students danced to worship music! 

Book Buffet

Thursday's Book Buffet was a blast! The first of my students' book reports were due last Thursday. Their assignment was to read a book with food in the title. Some of the books read were The Cereal Mystery, The Way the Cookie Crumbles, Pizza Mystery, James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Hot Chocolate Mystery. Each student brought in the food mentioned in the title to share with the class after their presentations. 

They did a GREAT job!

Peach yogurt!

Hot chocolate (with a secret ingredient, so I was told.) that was Delicious!  

We do have a lot of fun with our learning! 

Birthday Wishes from my Students

I have the best class and co-teacher! Each student presented me with a tulip (one of my favorite flowers) first thing this morning! They also wrote sweet birthday messages to me. 

Alles Gute zum Geburtstag! Happy Birthday!

The pictures below are a few of my German students. Some wrote their message to me in German (which I could actually read. I only had to look up one or two words.) and some in English.

Translated "I like how you teach English."

"You are funny."

"I like your scarf. I like you.You are nice."

"You are gentle."

Translated "I like your smile."