ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
In September 2020 almost 30 students registered so we are running two classes, one for young children and one for students 8 through 13.
Primary class (ages 3 to 8 or 9) - taught by Lucie Koďousková
The lockdown has not stopped us - I teach the youngsters via Google Meet every Saturday from 9:30 to 12:00 pm.
We start each class standing for the Czech national anthem. This is followed by speech exercises -- good pronunciation requires practice, and we use breathing and mouth exercises to hone the motor skills needed to learn a language that has very different sounds.
So far this year we’ve learned the colors around us, various songs and poems, and autumn and the many holidays and special days. We always include lots of play and arts and crafts.
As the teacher of this varied class, I see the children enthusiastically taking part, and I want to thank the parents and grandparents who tirelessly help out. I look forward to each class with you and the children. Together we can do it!
Class of older children (9 to 13 years) - taught by David Beneš
Our class this year has 13 students of varying abilities in Czech - four beginners, three intermediate and five young students from the Czech Embassy in Ottawa.
So far the focus has been on Czech traditions and holidays, facts about the Czech Republic and Europe and some grammar. We hope to expand on the latter once we receive textbooks that we have ordered. Given the online format we use collaborative applications such as Google Jamboard, LearningApps.com and LiveWorksheets.com
HIGH SCHOOL AND ADULTS
Following up on last year’s theme of a cook book, we will work together on putting together a Chronicle of our Czech Roots. We will fill it with stories and memories of our Czech family, Czech friends and our own travels through the Czech Republic. This is a real project. We will then publish it and make it available for others to look at.
Online learning introduced our students to new technologies, and we are gradually becoming proficient in their use. Even our most senior students are now using online learning apps to learn new words on Quizlet, record stories on VoiceThread, sharing anecdotes on Jamboard and consulting the Czech National Corpus.