International School and Miniatur Wunderland: Places where I heard so many different languages and felt like I had traveled all over the world, when in reality, I never left Hamburg.
On Tuesday, we got to spend a day visiting and observing the inner-workings of the Hamburg International School. This school is a K-12 school, where students are entirely instructed in English. Half of the school is the junior school and the other half is the older grades in secondary school. I observed at the junior school, in a first grade classroom instructed by Mr. Jim Hill, a teacher on exchange from Melbourne, Australia. He is a principal in Melbourne and seemed to really be enjoying this opportunity to explore another culture. Throughout the day, I learned about the different students who made up the class population. I heard SO many different languages throughout the day. Mr. Hill informed me that these languages included Zulu, Afrikaans, Spanish, German, Finnish, and Danish. In the morning when Mr. Hill, led them in calendar math, he took the time to let students share their mother tongue and count in their native language. It was a terrific example of culturally relevant teaching. I also watched the students participate in the P.E. program which was such fun to watch. They worked through an obstacle course full of running, climbing, balancing, tumbling, and swinging!
The most amazing thing I observed all day were the student-led conferences. These conferences were absolutely wonderful! Parents came into the classroom the last 40 minutes of the day and students showed their parents what they had been working on. Their artwork and classwork was displayed all over the classroom and their desks were filled with their workbooks and exercises they had completed. These conferences put the accountability of learning on the students. It made sense that the learners were sharing what they had been learning and NOT the teachers. The first grade students demonstrated character traits of independence, pride, and communication skills while presenting to their parents. It was amazing to watch and this is something I would love to bring back with me and do in my own classroom!
Spending time here felt more like being at home in America. The amount of English spoken here was significantly greater than in my normal placement. I could definitely see myself working in an international school like this one.
At 3:00 we left the international school and made our way to Minatur Wunderland. Minatur Wonderland is an exhibit where places all over the world have been replicated, but in very tiny form. The craft, artistry, creativity, innovation, patience and copious amount of time that went into building these masterpieces is unfathomable to me. Every single detail imaginable was thought through and executed realistically and beautifully. My words cannot do justice to these masterpiece, so I will let the pictures I took from the exhibit do the talking for me!(:
On Tuesday, we got to spend a day visiting and observing the inner-workings of the Hamburg International School. This school is a K-12 school, where students are entirely instructed in English. Half of the school is the junior school and the other half is the older grades in secondary school. I observed at the junior school, in a first grade classroom instructed by Mr. Jim Hill, a teacher on exchange from Melbourne, Australia. He is a principal in Melbourne and seemed to really be enjoying this opportunity to explore another culture. Throughout the day, I learned about the different students who made up the class population. I heard SO many different languages throughout the day. Mr. Hill informed me that these languages included Zulu, Afrikaans, Spanish, German, Finnish, and Danish. In the morning when Mr. Hill, led them in calendar math, he took the time to let students share their mother tongue and count in their native language. It was a terrific example of culturally relevant teaching. I also watched the students participate in the P.E. program which was such fun to watch. They worked through an obstacle course full of running, climbing, balancing, tumbling, and swinging!
The most amazing thing I observed all day were the student-led conferences. These conferences were absolutely wonderful! Parents came into the classroom the last 40 minutes of the day and students showed their parents what they had been working on. Their artwork and classwork was displayed all over the classroom and their desks were filled with their workbooks and exercises they had completed. These conferences put the accountability of learning on the students. It made sense that the learners were sharing what they had been learning and NOT the teachers. The first grade students demonstrated character traits of independence, pride, and communication skills while presenting to their parents. It was amazing to watch and this is something I would love to bring back with me and do in my own classroom!
Spending time here felt more like being at home in America. The amount of English spoken here was significantly greater than in my normal placement. I could definitely see myself working in an international school like this one.
At 3:00 we left the international school and made our way to Minatur Wunderland. Minatur Wonderland is an exhibit where places all over the world have been replicated, but in very tiny form. The craft, artistry, creativity, innovation, patience and copious amount of time that went into building these masterpieces is unfathomable to me. Every single detail imaginable was thought through and executed realistically and beautifully. My words cannot do justice to these masterpiece, so I will let the pictures I took from the exhibit do the talking for me!(: