South Africa: Revisited!

                This week I started a new unit with my students.  What better topic than geography; South Africa!  My teacher was very supportive of me coming out with lessons and activities relating to South Africa, making me very excited to find ways to teach my students about what I have just experienced this semester. Previously, I had thought that teaching about South Africa would be too much information for my students and would not be something they would find interest in.  This week I have truly learned that when a teacher has passion, drive, and genuine excitement for a topic, the students will act accordingly and follow along.  This is the recipe for a truly wonderful learning environment in any classroom.

                To introduce the topic, we spent a day talking about the location of the country and its national flag.  I showed pictures from my trip so they could get an idea of what the land and the people look like, as well as what different types of cultures are present in South Africa.  This grabbed their attention and helped them see that this place is real and not just a weird shape drawn on the world map.  Then each student colored their own flag, and we talked about the significance of each of the colors.  Ending with the national anthem from the country, students were all able to remember the name “South Africa” by the end of the lesson! 

                Other lessons were done on the animals, the history, and the culture/food of South Africa.  On the front board, there is now a large scale map of South Africa that I created, and students flags and coloring pictures of animals are proudly hung in different areas.  The capital city is highlighted, as well as some of the crops and mountains in certain areas.  This map is fun for students to come up to and interact with during the lessons.

                My favorite lesson of the week dealt with the food in the country.  Students were able to test out some of the foods, take part in the Venda way of greeting people, and prepare themselves to eat in the cultural tradition of the area I had been in.  Students listened to directions incredibly well and took some interest in the topic at hand.  One of the students who rarely participated was able to taste the food and take part in each activity willingly, which made me truly feel like the lesson was a success!

                Now much of this blogpost seems to be serving as a summary of what I have been teaching rather than a deep reflection on teaching.  But this week, I believe that this type of blogpost will suffice.  I continue learning and connecting so much of what I am doing with what I have learned in class and could write for hours on end about such things.  This week, however, I end the week taking joy in the simple things, being proud of the small accomplishments.  I have done my best to combine my own personal background and experiences with those of each of my students through these lessons.  Seeing the success of such collaborative thought and effort is something I am proud of.  Thus the point of this post. Take time to enjoy the successes in education, and be thankful each day for the strength, motivation, and glimmers of hope God provides.  Anything is possible with God!