Hungry for [English] Books

When I first moved to China, I felt deprived of English reading.  The only material I could get my hands on was the local expat magazine, and it was only published monthly.  This was also during my pre-Kindle era, where I naive to the spiffy-ness of downloading most texts with just "1-click."

For a good year, I indulged in a smattering of online reading.  It wasn't until my second winter in Kunshan that we took a trip to Shanghai and chanced upon an English foreign bookstore.  Let me tell you, what a delight it was to see something in English – It’s soooooooo delightful!

I saw children’s literature, all which I wanted to add to my classroom library.  Sadly, flipping to the back cover, I found a discouraging price tag.  Most books were priced $2-3 over their intended US price, and other’s were insanely expensive, like the Eric Carle pop-up book of the hungry caterpillar that was over $100.

I have never, and will never, pay full price for a book if there are garage sales and Half Price Books Stores!  Guess it looks like I will have fun book shopping on my US trips!  I feel a little too proud about prices back home, and do my best not to make a scene in the store when I react to the price.  (I'm used to paying $.25 - $.50 per book.)  I’m sure Chitrak is tickled pink that my spending is a little more controlled here!  J

A sincere apology to all my current and future students.  You'll have to convince the school to help build our classroom reading collection, or start donation box in town for the time being.  ;-)

Here's the address in case you're interested in taking a look:
Shanghai Foriegn Language Bookstore, SBT main branch
390 Fuzhou Road, near Shanxi Nan Rd
上海外文书店总店  福州路390号，近山西南路

Here are some pics I took for my principal to show her the variety of leveled texts that are available.  There are all sorts of books.

Life at an International School, a Teacher's Perspective

I've lived in China too long, so sometimes it is difficult for me to 

remember all the differences in our day, but I will do my best!

Housing & Transportation
Here in China, I live a lot closer to school.  Housing is provided and within walking distance.  My husband and I prefer to live off campus, and have found a nice little apartment not more than a few blocks from school.  It has disconnected me a little from knowing the staff (they all live adjacent from each other in the same apartment complex behind the school - it makes it easier for impromptu visits and dinners).  It sounds daunting to live a more secluded life, but we enjoy it.  

After waking up at 7:00 am and completing my morning routine, I turn off the heat in my apartment (which are large A/C units that jut out air) and head down the elevator 32 stories to the basement where I have charged my electric bike overnight. I bump into a building custodian on the way down.  He has his mop in hand going down to the next floor to clean the hallway.

Since it is winter, I am not in my most professional attire.  Rather, I look like I am clothed for an extreme mountain climbing expedition:  I have a scarf carefully wrapped three times around my neck in such a fashion that it covers my mouth and most of my nose.  I have my full-length, Columbia down feather jacket zipped and buttoned.  Underneath, I am wearing dress pants, with a layer or two of long johns, and a sweater for extra warmth.  That's a lot of winter wear for the 40 degrees ambient temperature, but let me tell you, that's pretty cold here!  Housing is not well insulated, apartments are usually laid with cold, hardwood or tiled floors, walls are chilling cement, and the heat comes from an A/C unit on the wall.  


I put my teaching bag towards the front of my e-bike, near my feet, and place the blanket-like leg cover around me.  I ride up the bumpy ramp out of the underground parking.  

I reach school in 5 minutes and park behind the McDonald's.  I have never had to fret over finding a parking spot.  My little "Harley" can squeeze just about anywhere.  I rest the bike on the kickstand, grab my bag and hit the wireless remote to lock the wheels.  I walk around to the security gate by 8:30.  Two men are on duty watching cameras placed strategically around the school.  There are always security present 24/7. The security room waves a good morning back to me as I use my school pass to open the gate and enter the school.  A few 8th grade students are sitting outside on their iPhone, watching video clips and listening to the latest music.

School

I walk on to the copy room.  There is a line.  Isn't there always?  Even though we only have a few teachers in the school, I dismiss the job; our copier is a Gold Medalist in slowest speed.  No problem, I didn't need it copied until later anyway.

I set my things in my classroom, turn on the heater and check my email, then head out for morning duty in the playground.  Since the school is completely fenced, and only has a front yard, students are allowed to play anywhere, as long as there is teacher supervision.  Parents walk in younger students before the buses arrive.  I'm very lucky to say hello to most of my parents daily.  Most are stay at home mothers, while others are busy business women (some stay a month or longer out of the country on business visits)!  

I line up students for class at 9:00, and they climb to the second story where they unload their book bags into their cubbies and sit down on the carpet for our morning meeting.  From then on, it is almost like a typical school day in Canada or The States.

We are too new to have an attendance or student record system yet, so I fill out a chart and send a student to the office to drop  it off with our tri-lingual administrative assistant.

Here is a brief outline of our daily schedule.  Do you notice THREE RECESSES?  :-D

Grade 1/2 Multi-age Class
9:00 - 9:15        Morning Meeting
9:15 - 10:40      Reading
10:40 - 11:00    Recess
11:00 - 11:50    Writing Workshop

11:50 - 12:40    Recess / Lunch
12:40 - 1:30      Specials (Mandarin, Art, PE, Music, Library, Computer Lab)
1:30 - 1:50        Recess
1:50 - 2:40        Math
2:40 - 3:20        Science / Social Studies
3:20 - 3:30        Pack Up for Dismissal
3:30 - 4:30        Clubs (Optional)

We have an interactive white board in each classroom

Kids wear their heavy jackets in school during winter, coupled with their long johns!
(I am just like the kids with clothing - it takes forever to strip down to your last layer pee!) 

Lunch
Our cafeteria can fit about 40 students, so we've divided lunch times to help make it smoother now that we house over 80 students school-wide.  Lunch is served the same way it always is, however here, there are vegetables galore.  Kids love them!  I do too; they are cooked in a yummy stir fry.   Rice is usually always served, along with a soup.  There is no drink offered.  Students bring in their own water bottle and are encouraged to drink throughout the day.  When they finish their water, they fill up their bottles from community water machines.  Chopsticks, forks, and spoons (for the chopstick illiterate), are placed in bins in the middle of the table.  

Dismissal
At 3:30 all formal classes end, and students leave for clubs.  It is optional, but most students choose to stay and are sent to different teachers.  There's a craft club, drama club, private piano lessons, and more.  At 4:30, teachers are responsible to make sure students are all picked up.  And all foreign staff can go home.

Group work and small instruction, just like back home!

Sharing our published writing with the class.  Kids are really excited!

Support Staff
This year, each teacher has a full-time bilingual teaching assistant, who is also required to teach Mandarin three times a week.  This year, teachers have been given the freedom to organize the teaching assistant to help in the class as we see fit.  I honestly don't know what I would be without my teaching assistant, Milly. 

When teaching in The States, I never had the luxury of having a full-time Teaching Assistant in class.  It changes the dynamic of the classroom.   I often have her pull small groups and reteach lessons to those struggling in all subjects.  We often co-teach lessons to help all students understand the curriculum.  Because of the extra help, we are able to rotate recesses and get an extra prep period.  

Milly reinforces the English I teach during her Mandarin classes.

She also helps with assisting in whole group activities and pulling out struggling students.

Curriculum & Teaching Expectations in Teaching
We don't have school-wide implemented schedules or pacing calendars yet.  I am free to teach what I want, when I want, obviously while upholding the Ontario Ministry of Education Curriculum Expectations.  We are in the process of applying for an International Baccalaureate program, so we must be flexible to change our teaching style to fit the philosophy of the school.  

I have found out that Canadians have great unions that make sure the pay scale for their teachers is high, capping at 90,000 CAD.  They even get great benefits, like one free massage a year!  (Sometimes I wonder if my calling is to help the youth who live in the cold north....).  As for their curriculum, there are no major differences.  Some vocabulary is different, for example, instead of calling the learning standards, they are learning expectations.  They call substitute teachers "supply teachers." The content is basically the same, however, I find it more laid back than The States, where everything has to be measurable.  (Teachers from The States are CRAZY about collecting and analyzing data.  I haven't found this in any other systems I've taught in.)  

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/teachers/curriculum.html

Staffing
Since we are not yet big enough to have specials teachers yet, I find myself a little over my head trying to accommodate for Art, Music, PE, Library and Technology.  I am a one-woman circus most days!

Our school currently has 8 foreign teachers, and all are classroom teachers.  There is no Reading or Math Specialist, and no Special Education Staff.  All education is done by the classroom teacher.  Next year will change, as we add ESL teachers and (fingers crossed) a floating teacher who can also aid in pullout and act as substitute if we get sick.  Our school is brand new, and we grow based on need.  Certain things need time before they can all be set in place.  

Materials & Resources
When the school initially opened, our sister school recommended text books and a starting library book list.  The school purchased all of them.  Despite the good intentions and effort of compiling these lists, our textbooks aren't easy for EFL learners to study from.  I put in a lot of time preparing for my lessons to make sure my students understand all the language and can relate to content.  

These books were all shipped from Canada.  This can make it difficult because it can take from 4-6 months to ship.  This year, the purchasing person only ordered 5 math workbooks for 5th grade.  We now have 10 students.  The books won't be here by the end of the school year, so our poor teacher must visit the copier daily.

Cool Fact:    We are the only school in Kunshan that has a English library.

I spend lots of time going over TeachersPayTeachers in hopes to help cut down on planning time.  I'm not quite sure what I would have done without this website, and all the teacher blogs, this year.  They have been the most valuable resources.  (FYI:  No teacher store here!  If you don't have it, then you have to make due with what you can scavenge for!)

Finding the resources and materials you need is not an easy task (i.e. bulletin board border, pipe cleaners, googly eyes, etc.), at least at CISK.  Usually things get lost in translation, for example, this year I ordered 6 bean bag chairs for my students, and when the order arrived, it was six sets of bean bag (you know, the kind you use for cornhole).  **Facepalm**  Now, I try to give a picture and a description, otherwise, I just do my best to improvise.

For professional development, I use Kindle on my iPad.  I try to save everything digitally now.  The less I have to carry, the better!


My Resources - Websites

General

1. TEACHER BLOGS!!
2. http://www.teacherspayteachers.com
3. http://www.pinterest.com
4. http://www.youtube.com

Reading

1. http://www.readinga-z.com
2. http://www.k12reader.com/
3. http://www.speld-sa.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=105
4. http://www.hubbardscupboard.org/printable_booklets.html

Writing

1. Writing Workshop Yearly Lesson Plans, Grades 1-5
   http://www.pps.k12.or.us/departments/curriculum/2022.htm

Specials

1. Technology:  http://www.internet4classrooms.com/
2. Art:  http://www.mrsbrownart.com/1st.htm
3. PE:  http://www.pecentral.org/

Assessment:

1. https://dibels.uoregon.edu/market/assessment/material/

Helpful Chinese Websites:

1. http://www.taobao.com/market/global/index_new.php
2. http://www.yhd.com/
3. http://www.amazon.cn/