SCHOOL INTERNSHIP : Week 5 ( 20 November 2023 - 23 November 2023)

        DAY 20 : 20 November 2023

           A good start to the week

And its DAY 20 of our first phase internship. Lesson plans are progressing well and there are ten more to be written and taken. Things are going pretty smooth; there are no problems as such.

The first hour was at 8H. The activities of the poem "Song of the Flower" were discussed. An assignment was given too (to write the appreciation of the poem). The remedial reading practice for the students who face difficulty has been restarted. Training is being given in a vacant class during the lunch break.

The prose lesson "Last Leaf" was completed in 9K. An extra chapter and two grammar lessons were additionally assigned to me today. There are a number of programs that are scheduled to take place in our school. The real challenge is to manage time and finish portions accordingly. I plan to show the 9K students the film adaptation of "The Last Leaf" in tomorrow's class. This, in believe, will strengthen their understanding of the chapter.

        DAY 21 : 21 November 2023

            Changes are inevitable 

The first hour of the day was for 8H students. The next few stanzas of the prose "Nightingale and the of Rose" were discussed. One of the students summarized what was taught in the previous class very well. This was such a  great satisfaction. Also the learners. listened well with great interest.

A slight change was brought in to the class pedagogy today. As per the suggestions of my teacher, the silent reading part of the lesson plan was altered. I made the learners stand up with the textbooks in their hands and asked them to read the passages silently and note down their difficulties. Those who finished the silent reading could sit. This, I believe, has two major benefits :-

(1) The students warm up a bit and stretch their body while standing.

(2) The teacher needn't ask them if they have finished. They will sit once the reading is done.

In 9k, the film adaptation of O. Henry's "Last Leaf" was shown. I selected a video that most resembles their textbook chapter; the dialogues in it were also familiar to them. This multimedia approach was very effective. They understood the story better and some confusions were also solved. In the newly got 9D class, the activities of the poem "On killing a Tree" were completed.

       DAY 22 : 22 November 2023

             Mounting pressure !

As days pass by, there is contentment and an extra pressure too. The Christmas exams start in the second week of December. Before this, the portions are to be to be completed, and both Achievement and Diagnostic tests are to be administered. 

Cotton Hill, being a well developed school with almost all necessary facilities, most programs and events take place there. This undoubtedly gives an exposure to both the teachers and students there. However, when it comes to the academic side, such programs take up the working days which lag the portions behind. Such a challenge is currently faced by us.

A food fest was organized at Cotton Hill school today. It was a great event, much grander than we expected it to be. The students of the school came up with amazing food items. There were more than fifty stalls that sold a variety of items. Since the program began at 11 am, it went on to almost 1:30 pm. There were no classes during the forenoon hours. I missed my last hour at 9K due to some other programs. It was a busy day today. 

         DAY 23 : 23 November 2023

                  A calm Thurday 

It was a pretty calm day today. The first hour was for 8H students. "The Nightingale and the Rose" chapter was discussed. The students showed great interest in learning the story. I kept repeating the characters and their major qualities. This, I feel, etches the points in their memory for a long time. The class was satisfying.

The fourth hour was for 9K. A few paragraphs of the lesson "Last Leaf" were discussed and the reading activities of the lesson were also done in class. The day ended without much difficulties.

        DAY 24 : 24 November 2023

         The enjoyment of Literature

The day began with my hour at 8H. The prose lesson was continued. A tendency that I noted among the learners here is that they take everything literally. Thay fail to realize the fictionality of elements in literary works. For instance, in the chapter "The Nightingale and the Rose", there is an instance where the Nightingale sings with its breast against the thorn of a rose plant so that its life blood flows into the veins of the plant, thereby producing the red rose. This is something to be imagined and enjoyed while having an understanding of the fictionality in it. It occured that some learners asked me at the end, when the lover threw away the Rose, as to why blood did not come out of the rose when thrown away. I had to explain things again and also asked them to not take everything in the literal sense.

Class at 9k also went good. There weren't anything worth noting there. DAY 24 ended thus.