conas atá tú, catalina? - day 11

Hola amigos. Today in school we got the kids to start looking at developing their ideas for stories based on the arrival. We weren't actually meant to be in today, but Andrew suggested we come in to take his year 8s instead of them having their drama class, to keep the flow of the week going. We decided it would be better to ask Clive if we could also take the year 7s then as well. He had no problem with that, and everyone has been really impressed with the work we've been getting done with the kids.

In our first class with the year 7s this morning, we got them to work on this sheet to develop ideas for their story:



They took to the exercise right away, and Reece and I went around to give them any help they needed. They came up with some really great ideas and had some really interesting themes and metaphors, like monkeys and  for example. Their childlike imaginations coming into play with this worksheet was great fun and it was really entertaining to see all their ideas. One group even added me as a character in their story because they really like my name and it was one of the sweetest thing ever. 

They were also asking me if Ireland had its own language, and I said yes. They asked me if I could speak some Irish for them, which I had to agree to of course! They seemed so entertained and a little confused to hear our language, and the way their faces lit up when I asked them "Conas atá tú?" was the sweetest thing. Hearing a chorus of "Dia duit" in Spanish accents was probably the highlight of my day. I promised the groups I'd teach them some Irish once we finish their stories:)))

The year 8s definitely had some good ideas but we had to kind of pull the information out of them, more so than them coming up with it themselves. I think they're a great group, but I think the majority of them just don't have as much of an interest in story writing - which isn't a diss at all! I totally acknowledge it's not for everyone, it can just be a little challenging sometimes to get them working and using their brains creatively.

Tomorrow we plan to get them to further develop their protagonist, coming up with a whole background for them and again we'll emphasise why character development like this is so important. I'm really having a great time teaching the groups :)

After school, I tried to work on an assignment I have to do, it just ended up napping instead. Priorities, am I right? (I'm not right) (Don't encourage me) (I really need to get it done) (Help).

Right now, we've got food ordered for dinner and are just waiting for it to arrive. Will update y'all on how school goes tomorrow!

Hasta luego cocodrilo ;0

Ciara