The English bulletin board for this month, February, turned out to be the most interactive board so far and also the easiest one to make. We say that “Plan your work, and work your plan” , but this time, I really did not make a lot of planning for this board. I was scanning for ideas in google images and I found the line “The Language of Love” and so I decided to, again, translate a phrase to other languages, just like what I did in November and January. And since it`s Valentines, I chose the phrase “I Love You”. I researched the translation and printed them on an ordinary A4 paper and cut them out. I also found a line that says “Fall in love with reading”, and from that came the idea of making the board interactive.
So, now I have to themes to choose from, the first “The Language of Love” and the other “Fall in love with reading”.
While cutting folded heart shapes in different sizes, I was thinking of putting the “I love you” in many languages on top but I didn`t know what to put inside. Then, like a snap, the idea of putting random words inside the cut-out hearts was born.
And came February 1st, the first day of the month, when I usually update the EB (English Board), I still couldn`t picture in mind what the final outcome would be.
What I did first, was just use the old heart cut-outs I found in the English room that`s been sitting there in the cabinets for years. I put them on the sides to create a border effect. And then I put in the center, the theme of the month, the winning second choice `Fall in love with reading`. Below that, I lined up all the heart cut-outs and on both sides I put the instruction on how to do the challenge, in Japanese and in English.
I also put up a paper and a matching pencil where students can write their names after doing the challenge.
After putting everything, there was still an empty space below so I decided to put up some pictures and explanation telling the difference of how Valentines is celebrated in Japan and other countries. I chose to write the explanation in Japanese because this is about culture, an aspect where they need to clearly understand what`s it is all about.
The school principal said she liked it and I`m happy.
In order to get the students do the challenge, I have to be near the EB during lunch break and recess time and encourage them to do it. Higher grades can basically do it, but with fourth graders, I have to teach them first or sometimes I just let them repeat after me.
The words are actually very easy, but, you know, if it is not your primary language, it is a challenge. The words I used are sing (which students tend to pronounce as `shing`), like (they know from `I like apples`, but some would still say `lee-ke`), love (most of them get it, I don`t know why), bat (which students say `bato`), ten ( I would give them hint by counting 1-9), run, and finally the word win. Then, I award them with a sticker, one that they can never get in Japan (I got from the dollar store in the US). And finally, I let them write their names on the `I did it` paper.
By the middle of the month, I got the paper full and I had to make another `I did it` paper to give space for new challengers.
Few days from now I have to update the EB for March and before that I hope I can get more students do the challenge.
March would be the last EB I`d be making for this school since I don’t know what will happen in the coming school year (in April). Contracts might change and who knows if I`m staying or what. That’s ALT life in Japan. So, I have to make the March EB, the best. Pressure pa more. 🙂
