Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mindmetoo]

Friday we have something called "club activity". I've never gotten a good definition what this is about. But I seem to get the kids the two Korean teachers don't want for two hours straight. Based on the term, I suspect it's a class where we shift gears from the week and try to do something a little bit different. Well, that's what I try to do anyway. It's not a fun way to wind up the week because the kids are tired by Friday and anxious to start their weekend. Also trying to keep the attention of eight 10-year-olds for two hours isn't so easy.

This week I had the basic students. The night before I made a batch of simple sugar cookie dough, bought some "fixin's" (M&Ms, Skittles, peanuts, and raisins), and brought it in with my toaster oven.

I gave each student a noun on a piece of paper and they had to make their cookie look like the noun. The rest of the students had to guess what the cookie looked like. Most of the kids seemed somewhat helpless with a fist full of cookie dough. I mean how hard is it to make some cookie dough look roughly like a shoe? Most of them began to work with the dough as if it were modeling clay. I had to explain to them that elaborate 3D cookie sculptures don't really bake very well. Anyway, after some teething problems, we got cooking.

The photos are kind of dark�� not sure what's wrong with my digital camera. Hrm.

[captain kirk]

Hey, that guy's wearing a plastic bowl on his head. To quote Eamo, 'I like the 8-12 set. Their agenda is very simple, have fun! And they don't judge'.
Way to 'make do'. Friday I walk into a class and the kids say 'we've finished the level test for Let's Go 3. The Korean teacher said we will play games with you for forty minutes' . Well, hey-yuh, (damn Korean teacher! )that's news to me. I copy them a handout. The wonjonim comes in, looks at the handout, says it's 'too difficult'. Says they have a subsidiary level test on Monday. So back to the Let's Go 3 (they've been over that book for 3.5 months already). But they're totally co-operative because they've heard it 'from the top', that today we do the book again.
Funny age, love 'em. One classroom, amusingly, has what looks like bits of red gummy bear stuck to the ceiling. I say to them (it's been up there the nine months I've been at the school , 'hey what's that?'. And a girl named Candy says that's her brains when her head explodes from thinking too hard .
Do you ever let your kids give themselves a funny name just for the length of class? It's hilarious. I'm like, 'so hey, what's your funny/crazy name today'. So they give me these loooooong names, like 'shabu-shabu-con-ramyon-yum-yum', etc. Then I'm saying, 'picture no 4, How long have you been studying English, Choco-pie-choco-pie-yum-yum?'.

[OiGirl]

Very cool lesson. I bet you're putting may more effort into "club actvity' than other teachers. Do you use it for a "language experience" afterwards?

[zappadelta]

Hey OP,

Where do you work? That girl in the orange shirt is identical to one of my kids.

[mindmetoo]

[zappadelta]

Nope, I'm in crappy Wonju, although nowon doesn't sound too promising either