~ Zachary Warmke
Curriculum Coordinator
~ Zachary Warmke
Curriculum Coordinator
Embedded Files
Curriculum Coordinator
Studies show that kids learn more when they get to study topics they’re interested in. It’s easier to write about the things you love, and it’s more exciting to share your work with others. That’s why, at the end of last semester, we designed a project for fourth graders to show off their favorite interests and skills. In More Than a Hobby, everyone picked their own favorite interest to write about. In the end, they gave their classmates a live demonstration!
A Simple Hobby, or Much More?
We began this project by reading Trombone Shorty, the autobiography of musician Troy Andrews. In this text, Andrews shows how music has guided his whole life. From the time he began playing trombone as a five-year-old to his life today as a touring musician and music coach, music was more than just a hobby for him.
Using his story as inspiration, students discussed their own hobbies and skills. After all, Kang Chiao students are a talented group. Whether they pursue special hobbies in school, such as swimming, music, or other clubs, or outside of school, they have a huge range of amazing talents. After brainstorming and discussion, each student picked a skill they enjoy developing, then wrote about how their experience with it has impacted their life.
Interviewing Others for a Wider Perspective
As students developed their writing, they realized that they didn’t always remember details about their time engaging with their hobby. In many cases, that was because their first experience with it happened when they were very young.
To get more details as well as another perspective, students interviewed someone who guided or supported them. To do that, they first had to learn how to write deep, thought-provoking interview questions. Then they went off to ask them to their family members, teachers, coaches, and others.
The interviews helped students refresh their memories of milestones they reached in their hobby. Many interviewees also provided photos or videos of the student practicing or achieving a “first.”
A Celebration of Dedication and Talent
Equipped with more details from their interviewees, students compiled their writing into a colorful timeline diagram. Formatting the work this way was visually creative, and it also helped emphasize how long they have been working and the progress they made.
As a fun twist, students then extended their timelines into the future. They imagined the progress they will continue to make into the future. Some wrote about becoming professional athletes or musicians. Others wrote about becoming a business leader or scientist. This step in the project helped students imagine how their skill might guide the course of their life, much like Troy Andrews’s music career.
At last, everyone came together to show off their hobby to their classmates. Each student’s presentation was unique. There were live music performances, demonstrations of sports skills, mini-lessons of foreign languages, and more. It was a great way to wrap up the spring semester: with celebration of everyone’s dedication and talent.
We’ve selected some of the most impressive student work on the next page. Have a look at what our brilliant students think is more than just a hobby!
My Hobby
Joie Wang 王律喬 501
I remember the first time I held a real violin. It was as small as a pencil case. Most people thought it was a waste of money, but to me, it was very special—like something only I could have.
I was only five years old when I started playing the violin. My aunt is a violin teacher. She thought I had a good ear for music, so she told me to try the violin. My mom and aunt helped me learn. I practiced every day. My mom was so surprised when I could play "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."
At first, I had trouble using the bow, and my notes didn’t sound very nice. I felt like giving up many times, but I kept practicing until I got it right.
In third grade, I joined the orchestra and got a new violin teacher. He taught me to play many different songs. It was hard at first, but it got easier over time. When my teacher thought I was ready, he told me to join a competition. I played Vivaldi’s Summer. I was really scared, but I won first place! After that, I loved the violin even more.
In the future, I want to play the violin in front of famous people or become a violin teacher. I want to teach others how to play and help music live on.
Aston Tai 戴辰霖 504
Have you ever played soccer? I have! Soccer is a great hobby because it helps you get exercise every day. It is also a very safe sport. In fact, it is safer than many other sports. I think you should get a soccer ball and start playing too!
I started playing soccer when I was two years old. My mom told me about a soccer team called Pride. I said, “I want to join that team!” The next day, I started playing with them. I felt nervous because I didn’t have any skills yet. But I didn’t give up. I practiced every day after I got home.
After I started practicing soccer, I got better and more excited about the sport. Then one day, my mom said we were joining a new, more advanced team called MFA. I met the coach, and his name was Gerardo. He told me he was excited to see me play when the season started. My coach said I scored a lot of amazing goals. He also said I was a very good teammate.
I had some challenges. One big challenge was that I couldn’t go to practice with my team on Tuesdays. But I didn’t give up. I practiced every day after dinner. Then one day, all that hard work paid off. I scored a hat trick: three goals in one game!
We went to Kaohsiung for a tournament. It was really hot there, and not all our players could come, so I had to play for longer without taking a break. But no one gave up. We all kept playing hard until the very last second. In the end, we finished in third place!
In the future, I want to be a coach and teach other kids how to play soccer. I also dream of becoming a professional soccer player. I hope to play in big tournaments like the Champions League, the FIFA World Cup, and the Euro Cup.
Rebecca Yang 楊允熙 508
When I first tried cooking, I was 10 years old. I told my mom and dad that I want to learn how to cook, my mom took me to the cooking classroom. I was scared because when I first tried to cook cabbage at home, I had never cooked anything in the kitchen, so the cabbage was not delicious.
At first, I didn’t have any idea what I could do. The teacher told me how to cut the ingredients better. When I was ready to put the ingredients in the pot, I told my teacher I was scared to pour the oil. The teacher said "if you are scared then wear long sleeves." The problem was I was already wearing short sleeves, so I was super scared. At last, I tried, and I found that it is not so scary.
I remember the first big moment was when I cut a ham slice perfectly, because ham is soft and it is difficult to cut the ham evenly. Then, I reached my next goal, which was to cook a full breakfast. That time I was super surprised, and my family helped me celebrate it.
course, I had some problems. I think cooking rice is hard because if the water and rice are not balanced, it will taste bad. But even with problems, I never feel like quitting, and I can keep doing this hobby because I like cooking, and because my family helped me and encouraged me.
Now I am working on making cake at home and I most like cooking corn soup. And I think I will keep doing this hobby because when I grow up I can cook by myself. In the future, my new goal is to cook dinner for my family. Even now I learned to cook a few years ago, but, now I still think I am learning. I think because I am not the best cooks, I will keep learning. I will never give up and I always be confident.
Natalie Lan 藍又禹 507
One memory I will never forget is distracting my older sister while she was practicing piano. That was when I was 3. I tried to play it, too, but I didn’t understand it. I didn’t follow sheet music, I just played whatever rhythms and tunes came to my mind. Watching my sister playing, the amazing tunes made me want to learn piano correctly. My parents thought that if my sister learned the piano, I should learn it too. Well, that is how my piano journey started. At age 5, I had my first ever piano lesson. The teacher taught me notes on the piano. I enjoyed it a lot.
I moved to Shanghai, China when I was 6, during first grade. I needed to find a new piano teacher. Although I missed my old piano teacher, the new piano teacher was very nice too. But then, the songs I played were getting harder. I did not like piano lessons as much as before.
Two years later, at age 8, I came back here to Taiwan. Here I had another teacher. I liked this teacher too. This teacher held a piano performance for all her students, and I performed too! I worked very hard on the songs I performed a few months before the performance. I felt very proud as a performer.
At age 9, I went to a piano examination. I practiced every day for 1 hour. That was probably the time I work the hardest. I remember that I struggled with a song called “Sanbo”. But I played it again and again, and I finally played it smoothly. I also passed the examination!
I am turning 30 this year. It is 2045 now, and I teach many students. Sometimes I go to the National Concert Hall to perform. Piano is the most crucial thing in my life. It gave me an interest when I was a kid, a talent when I was a teenager, and a career now!
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