Korean Job Discussion Forums

[BS.Dos.]

I've just been given my boys HS winter camp dates (Jan 2nd through to Jan 22nd) which means I'll have 15-days with 3-classes per day to fill.

As this will be my first, and given that it's been suggested to me that I try and design a program of study for the duration of the camp rather than simply filling the time playing games everyday etc, I was wandering if anyone could suggest any themes or other ideas that you've used in the past etc. as I don't really know where to start.

Thanks in advance.

[xCustomx]

Run a search for 'winter camp' or 'summer camp' and you'll find plenty of pages full of ideas. I spent several hours researching for my summer camp, and am not looking forward to doing another one this winter.

[BS.Dos.]

That's reassuring to hear.

Isn't there some kind of magic winter camp wand you can buy?

[Carlyles Ghost]

How about verb tenses and sentence construction with both writing and speaking excercises. I did something similar at my last camp; run them through how to ask questions in the appropriate tense and how to respond appropriately. Not very much fun, but a good way to polish/improve their english.

[Dome Vans]

For speaking activities I go for the "waiting room" approach. For the first couple of weeks at my PS I tried giving the students a speaking activity to do. Basically after a couple of minutes you'd have the boys on one side messing around and the girls on the other side looking into mirrors and no work getting done. Found out about the "waiting room" style.

Basically you have two lines of chairs facing each other, an equal number if possible on each side. Give half the students one part of the dialogue and the other half the the dialogue.

Dialogues I've made myself:

*One is the doctor the other is a patient.
*A garage sale. One is the seller another is the customer.
*One is at lotteria. One is the sales assistant and the other the customer.
*Old friends meeting up after 20 years. (jobs, family etc)

They run through the conversation. There is usually a table at the bottom to be filled out with info that the other person tells them. Like the food order, the medical complaint, what the person bought at the garage sale etc. After a couple of minutes, when they look like they've finished with that particular partner. Get one row of students to stand up and the person on ONE of the ends moves round to the opposite end, and all the others move up one. Now everyone has a new partner. Repeat until finished.

This is winner with big PS classes, and so easy to police because you just walk up and down the line monitoring, you can listen in, and it's also good for telling students off if they mess around because they are all in reach of you.

Bit long winded B.S. Dos, sorry, but for speaking activities this is great and you can use it for a lot of situation and conversations, and the more the students change then they add their own bits in, they don't need to stick to the dialogue. Especially if it's with medical problems.

[cbclark4]

[nobbyken]

http://www.funpaperairplanes.com is good to fill a few hours.
Video demos and everything needed, even for low level kids. There are more advanced planes to try students ability and for an advanced class you can teach the dynamics of flight from the diagrams on the site.

Kids loved testing in the corridors, and getting them stuck everywhere.

[Dome Vans]

[cbclark4]

Thanks

[BS.Dos.]

Some good ideas.

Thanks.

[Kim Jong Jordan]

I haven't even heard anybody mention the words "winter" and "camp" yet at my school and:

last winter at my boys HS i did a teacher camp for 8 days, 2 hours a day. but this year I already have 8 teacher classes a week (with about 75% of the teachers who originally signed up having dropped out of class since march), so I don't think I'll have a teacher camp.

this past summer, i did a summer camp for my students (supposed to be 8 days). 12 signed up, 9 showed up on the first day, and fewer showed up as the rest of the "camp" progressed ultimately having only 2 show show up (an hour late) on the second last day and 1 show up, again late, on the last day. I canceled the last day. my gut feeling is that there won't be many, if any, students signing up for a winter camp.

what will i do then this winter? who f'ing knows, I'll wait and see.....

[BS.Dos.]

8 days sounds much better than the 15 I'm scheduled for.

Duck knows what I'll do with them for 3-weeks. Dont these bastards have anything better to do?

[xCustomx]

[Dome Vans]

[BS.Dos.]

@ Dome Vans

You're on a roll son. Keep going. Those ideas are excellent.