Primary Conclusions
Photo of first grader Keyla at Colegio Público Antonio Machado, Collado Villalba.
First Grade Favorites
First Grade Favorites
First grade English was easily my favorite class to teach out of all my classes this year. Students at this age are so innocent, loving, and sweet and I immediately fell in love with them all on my first day! Despite students only being six years old in first grade, my role in the classroom was supplemental to help advance their bilingual education. As a conversation assistant, I was the first person to introduce and correctly pronounce foreign jargon to these young students. Hence, they were able to quickly and correctly grasp new content without making errors, which contributed greatly to their speaking and listening proficiency.
First grade English was easily my favorite class to teach out of all my classes this year. Students at this age are so innocent, loving, and sweet and I immediately fell in love with them all on my first day! Despite students only being six years old in first grade, my role in the classroom was supplemental to help advance their bilingual education. As a conversation assistant, I was the first person to introduce and correctly pronounce foreign jargon to these young students. Hence, they were able to quickly and correctly grasp new content without making errors, which contributed greatly to their speaking and listening proficiency.
Photo of first grader Isra dressed up as Cinderella on Halloween at Colegio Público Antonio Machado, Collado Villalba.
Learning Diversity
Learning Diversity
The fun and simple approach to teaching at the primary level taught me so much about young children, learning techniques, brain development, and most importantly, learning diversity. As the year progressed, I realized that although most could, not every student was able to understand the material and follow along to my English lessons. A few students in each class had learning disabilities that prohibited them from understanding material, staying on track, or even following directions. These learning differences really intrigued me because although the majority of the class may have understood the content, there were always few students who required extra attention during a lesson.
The fun and simple approach to teaching at the primary level taught me so much about young children, learning techniques, brain development, and most importantly, learning diversity. As the year progressed, I realized that although most could, not every student was able to understand the material and follow along to my English lessons. A few students in each class had learning disabilities that prohibited them from understanding material, staying on track, or even following directions. These learning differences really intrigued me because although the majority of the class may have understood the content, there were always few students who required extra attention during a lesson.
As a teaching assistant, I was able to work closely with students who required extra attention. If the entire class was in a lesson with the main English teacher and we had not yet broke out in small groups, I tended to students who looked lost, confused, and flustered. This aid was a very rewarding part of my teaching experience. I always knew that learning disabilities existed but because I don't have one, I was never able to fully understand how they worked. Teaching at many different age levels at Antonio Machado helped me understand how learning disabilities like ADD, ADHD, and Dyslexia form and play out in the daily lives of some students.
As a teaching assistant, I was able to work closely with students who required extra attention. If the entire class was in a lesson with the main English teacher and we had not yet broke out in small groups, I tended to students who looked lost, confused, and flustered. This aid was a very rewarding part of my teaching experience. I always knew that learning disabilities existed but because I don't have one, I was never able to fully understand how they worked. Teaching at many different age levels at Antonio Machado helped me understand how learning disabilities like ADD, ADHD, and Dyslexia form and play out in the daily lives of some students.
Photo of a Madrid sunset from Azotea del Círculo Rooftop Bar, Madrid .