Who knew

I learned an important teaching lesson today- Just because lesson X worked great with group A does not mean it's going to work well with group B, in fact it may not work well at all with group B while it was a big hit with group A.

Yesterday I did a nifty little lesson at the kindergarten using a TPR strategy. TPR stands for total physical response. The idea is that saying a command, such as "stand up," in conjunction with doing an action (standing up, or moving ones arms in an upward motion) can convey meaning without having to explain in the learners native language. So, I got the kids doing a few different things, like standing up, sitting down, jumping, spinning, simple things like that. Then we played a game of Simon says, but I substituted "please" for "Simon says" (how often do we use the words "Simon says" in English...).  When the kids did something and I hadn't started the command with "please" they were out. Worked great, kids had a good time and they were able to understand a little English.

Today I strolled over to the kindergarten with a little extra bounce in my step, still riding high from my success the day before. I had lunch with my favorite table of little tikes and then played with the kids during recess.

Right from the start I could tell these kids weren't eating it up like the previous day's children were. Most were paying attention, but a few in the back were roaming around aimlessly, one spun around on the floor, and another thought it a good idea to cling to my legs the entire lesson. The real fun didn't begin until the game started, however.

The problem started when the teacher wasn't really down with making the kids that messed up sit out. It was a game after all and games have winners and losers, but the teacher wasn't keen on that. So, right from the get go I didn't have teacher support. Unfortunately, I had already explained the game and the children understand the word "out" (from baseball). A boy up front noticed a girl jump when I hadn't said please, so he pointed and yelled "Out!" Well, that was when the crying began. Her teacher took her aside and comforted her, leaving me without backup.

The rest is a blur to me...let's just say it didn't go as well as yesterday. Luckily I had to be back at the middle school quite early today, so I had an easy out.

Lesson learned. Be prepared for the worst.