Teaching in India... & other fun things!

I am really enjoying the teaching experience in India.  The students at Delhi Public School (DPS) are so hard working and the staff here are very dedicated. It is clear that the school values giving students a quality education while also developing their moral values.

I had fun working with students in grades 5 through 10. I was able to share my presentation on what a typical day of school is like for students in Brooklyn, NY.  We played games and activities and had lots of question and answer time. 

Students in grade 6

A listening game with students

I was really impressed with Indian students' math skills during my visits to classrooms.  Their computation was very fast and their mental math and overall fluency skills were impressive.  Everyone seemed to be on grade level with math facts.  This is the result of constant studying.  I also saw great examples of hands-on math activities.  One 6th grade class was constructing their own study books for polygons and circles.  It had kinesthetic (touch) elements to it such as string and matchsticks, and vocabulary words for reference. 

Students during a math activity

Today, I got the chance to teach a 7th grade French class...in French.  My colleague, Jennice and I, were interested in just observing a foreign language class, so when the teacher turned out to be absent we were so excited to jump right in and help out.  We had no lesson planned and no prior knowledge of what students already knew, but together we improvised and came up with a great activity on French adjectives.  I think it was one of the highlights of my week.  It's a good thing we both speak a little French!  Ouah!!

One other fun thing was getting a henna tattoo.  Here, they refer to it as "mehndi".  It is so detailed and elaborate - very beautiful.  Another student also had mehndi done and we were comparing our designs:

Mehndi

I have also enjoyed all the amazing animal sightings.  We saw and fed an elephant during a city walking tour, kept our eyes open for the daily camel sighting (he pulls a cart and passes our hotel every evening), and witnessed a momma and baby monkey moment.  These animals may be every day sightings for Indians, but for me it was a real treat.