A Lesson in German with Miss Jordis!

Source: HMH Books for Young Readers

Last week, we started our new book 'La Mariposa'. We heard the story of Francisco, who moved with his family from Mexico to California. He struggled to settle into school, because he didn't speak any English and his teacher, Miss Scalapino, stopped him from speaking any Spanish. He felt lost and confused.

To get an idea of how Francisco felt in his lessons, we decided to try it for ourselves! Miss Jordis taught us a whole lesson in German and we were banned from speaking any English at all. It was very tricky!

 Miss Jordis gave us instructions to make and decorate a paper aeroplane- the colours and shapes were difficult to work out, but we all made a plane by the end of the lesson. Thank you Miss Jordis!

Following the lesson, we discussed (in English!) what made the lesson easier for us. We decided that some words were easier to guess if they sounded similar to the English words and that Miss Jordis' gestures and looking to see what the other children were doing were helpful tactics.

The lesson was lots of fun and gave us a taste of what the experience might have been like for Francisco. This week, we're going to write letters to Miss Scalapino to give her some advice on how she might help Francisco to settle in to school in a new country where he doesn't understand the language being spoken.

Thank you for a fun and fascinating lesson Miss Jordis!