USA v.s. Germany
Anne Frank Gymnasium
I spent a total of three weeks studying at the Anne Frank Gymnasium in Werne, Germany. This was such an amazing opportunity as I have gained so much knowledge about the German education system. Here in Germany students begin at an elementary school from 1st grade to 4th grade. Kindergarten is separate from the elementary school, whereas in America our elementary schools are K-5. Once students finish 4th grade they have the option to attend three different types of schools. The school that I worked in was a gymnasium, meaning this is the highest education that is offered from grades 5-13. A gymnasium in Germany is a college prep school and means that those students want to attend university. This was very interesting to me because in America, most students attend a middle school and then a high school. For the students who do not attend a gymnasium that means the highschool they go to will prep them for a trade school or blue collar jobs. I enjoyed this experience so much and I am very excited to bring my skills I have learned back to the states and apply them in my own classroom!
Greetings
Students greet their teacher by standing behind their desk. The teacher usually says "good morning" and students will respond "good morning Ms. Fabbro". This was new to me because in the United States, students do not stand behind their desk and greet their teachers. We usually have class morning meetings with our students.
When students want to answer a question, they raise their pointer finger, rather than their whole hand.
Transportation
Since the schools are much shorter distance students either take a public bus, ride a bike, or walk. I have about a five minute bike ride to school.
For students who may live farther, there is the option of having a parent/guardian drop the student off.
My first day riding to school was so cool and a little scary! You actually ride on the road with cars which had made me nervous at first, but it was so new to me. It is so amazing to see how many students ride a bike or walk to school.
School Schedule
High schools in Germany go from grades 5-13.
The younger grades only have school until 1:15.
Students who leave at 1:15 have lunch at home.
The older grades stay until 3:30.
School starts at 8:00 a.m.
The first two classes of the day ar 90 minutes.
The last two periods before 1:15 are 45 minutes long.
Each student in the school has an assigned weekly schedule.
English Class
Other Classes
Technology
5th Grade English Class
In the 5th grade english class there are many different skills that are taught.
Grammar is a main focus topic that the students are taught.
Students practiced asking us questions using who, what, why, where, etc.
Students are taught directions like left, right, forward, backwards.
Having simple conversations and practicing vocabulary.
6th Grade English Class
In sixth grade students are still practicing grammar and the conventions of the english language.
Students are given vocabulary to practice.
Conversation and enforcing a positive environment are needed to encourage the students to practice speaking english.
This is where you really see the students growth in the language. They are able to fully begin putting their skills together.
7th Grade English Class
During the time with the seventh grade class, I was able to lead class discussions.
We worked on writing pieces such as letters and diary entries that related to content.
We had a day where we just practiced having conversations that related to topics about daily life. This involved asking each other questions.
Grammar is also continued to be taught at this level. Skills from previous years are also reviewed.
8th Grade English Class
In the 8th grade class I was able to teach all about New York City.
I was born in Buffalo, New York so I enjoyed this very much.
Students completed a project to the assigned borough that they were given.
We completed this with two 8th grade classes. They enjoyed it so much!
10th Grade English Class
The tenth grade english class was able to ask us questions and we had worked with them for just a few classes.
The students were studying the United Kingdom.
We were able to participate in a class debate about keeping or abolishing the British monarchy.
This was a very cool class to be apart of.
Sports class is similar to "gym class" in the United States.
I have been involved in the sports class while being at the school about one day a week. During this time students have been practicing a style of dancing. It is called "jump style dancing".
They have a HUGE gym that is divided into three normal size basketball courts. Three sports classes are happening at the same time usually so it can be very loud even with the wall dividers.
I have also participated in an art class. This was so interesting and fun to be involved in! A cool thing about the art class is that it was led by a student teacher from a university in Germany.
Each student and teacher in the school has their own apple ipad. Each classroom also has a smart board which teachers can project their ipad up on the screen.
The ipad's come with an apple stylist pen for each of the students to use for taking notes or when the teacher may need to write something.
Everything but class textbooks can be found on the studnets' ipad.