English & Russian Weeks

2nd graders working on a worksheet during class

2nd graders working on worksheets during class

3rd graders working on a worksheet during class

3rd graders working on worksheets during class

In most schools in Moldova, each subject has a week or two when the teachers of those subjects plan a variety of special events and activities to celebrate the subject.  The last two weeks have been Foreign Languages Weeks in our school.  Our students learn English (starting in 2nd grade) and Russian (starting in 5th grade), so the past two weeks we’ve had special activities and events every single school day.

3rd graders working on worksheets during class

4th graders working on a worksheet during class

4th graders working on a worksheet during class

5th graders working on a worksheet during class

As exhausting as the past two weeks have been, it was really exciting to see students engage in fun and engaging activities.  We had the most involvement I’ve ever seen, with students making posters and “lapbooks”, reciting poetry, writing essays about the importance of the English language and their favorite Russian authors, completing worksheets, creating crossword puzzles, conversing during breaks in either Russian or English, and singing and dancing to English and Russian songs.  For just the English-related activities we had 117 students actively participate!

5th graders working on a worksheet during class

5th graders working on a worksheet during class

2nd-5th grade poetry recital, with 8th graders as the audience

2nd-5th grade poetry recital, with 8th graders as the audience

We had a program of activities for each day, and it was awesome to see students so excited about learning English.  We spent time during classes having trivia competitions and working with partners to complete worksheets.

2nd-5th grade poetry recital, with 8th graders as the audience

2nd-5th grade poetry recital, with 8th graders as the audience

4th grade poetry recital

4th grade poetry recital

This Thursday, we did an open English lesson.  The walls of our entrance hall were covered with posters from the ground to the ceiling on every wall, including the support columns.

Open English Lesson

Open English Lesson

“Victorina” (Trivia Competition) with 5th graders

“Victorina” (Trivia Competition) with 5th graders

We culminated our 2 weeks of activities with a serata (party/ celebration/ entertainment) with students from 7th-9th grade after school yesterday.  There were competitions for Best Poetry Recitation, Best Singing Performance, and Best Modern Dance with English or Russian Music.  The best students from each grade participated in a game called “The Best Student” where 2 or 3 students from each grade competed against one another to determine who was the best student.  They each presented a speech about themselves in English, and then were asked questions about selected texts that they’ve read in lessons this year.  The competitions were followed by a dance.

“Victorina” (Trivia Competition) with 5th graders

“Victorina” (Trivia Competition) with 5th graders

“Serata”- Two 9th graders compete in “The Best Student” game

“Serata”- Two 9th graders compete in “The Best Student” game

It was a fun, if very busy, two weeks and I’m so proud of my students and all they completed and all the time they spent working with English and Russian!