From October 9th – October 11th, the halls of the Middle School building were bustling with excitement as Grades 3, 4, and 5 welcomed 31 visiting students and their teachers from China. The 31 students were divided among the six classes and experienced a Cedar Hill Prep education for three days.
Although most of the visitors did not have a good command of the English language, our CHP students found other means of communication to help engage the visitors in our classes.
In Language Arts and Social Studies classes, they quickly realized that although spoken English was difficult, most of the visitors could read and write some English.
Grade 3 helped the visitors play a Halloween Spelling Game and learn about the Columbus Day holiday, Transcontinental Railroad, and the differences among urban, rural, and suburban environments.
In Grade 4, visiting students participated in global explorations across various lines of latitude and longitude and listened to a read aloud of The Quiltmaker’s Gift. The visitors were captivated by the illustrations and dramatic appeal of the story, and related to the moral of the story…that kindness and compassion lead to happiness. Through this common theme, it was evident to all that although our languages were different, our basic values were the same.
The visiting students from China graciously presented the 5th and 6th grade Language Arts classroom with three poems, written in Chinese on rice paper. While in the Language Arts class, the students engaged in daily journal writing /reflection and browsed through the classroom library.
In Grades 3, 4, and 5, Math became the universal language as all students were able to perform the operations…and teach one another their mathematical languages. The students were encouraged to participate in solving mathematical questions on the SMARTBoards. Each Math class enjoyed an interactive and fun-filled experience with our visitors!
In the Grade 3 Science class, the visiting students enjoyed watching Science videos and were able to participate in a Q and A session afterwards.
The Grade 5 Social Studies students were working on adding movement and dance to their states and capitals song. Our visitors joined in the fun and were surprised by the interactivity of our Social Studies classes. By teaching them about our nation’s geography with song, our guests had a chance to practice their English in a new way.
In the Middle School Science Lab, the visitors studied animal and plant cells under the microscopes and then took part in a very popular hands-on experiment…mixing ingredients to make slime. They were quite surprised to experience the slime in their hands!
The Chinese students and teachers were very appreciative of the time they spent at CHP, sharing many gifts with their new American friends. This truly was a wonderful experience for all!
