Corcho del Sur is the smallest of the schools of this pilot project, with 150 students.
PreK learning the types of Transportation
The project focuses in 4th, 5th and 6th grade, but Corcho del Sur has extended the project to the lower grades. This was possible because the school is smaller and it is easier to share the equipment with additional teachers. It is also showing the strength of the school leadership and the healthy collaborative spirit that exists among the teachers. In 4th grade, I attended a module on values within the family. In pre K, the teacher had prepared a presentation on the different means of transportation. In 6th grade math, the students watched a Khan academy video to work the distribution property. In social science in 5th grade, the students watched a video on the risks and realities of using drugs, a very powerful video. I taught few English classes to the students and the teachers, as well as the monthly technology module. The teachers allocated generous time outside of their regular hours, for us all to discuss the project.
The last school I visited this week is Vera Cruz.
5th graders learning Exponents in math class
Vera Cruz is the furthest school from Xela, about 2h30, also in the lower lands. As with the other 2 schools, Indira and I had a warm welcome. I saw an English class using LearningEveryone videos as well as a math class in 5th grade, where the students learnt exponents. Here again, we had productive trainings and discussions (eventhough the opening match of the mondial was taking place, which in Guatemala is a HUGE event!). The coordinator of the ministry of education paid us a warm visit. As we are thinking of replication, working with the coordinators of the ministry of education will be essential.