What Do You Do…?

…when you only have one student in class?  You get creative!  Small classes are a way of life at EISB, but every now and then, “small” becomes an understatement.  I walked into my German 2/3 class this afternoon, excited to work with my students face-to-face after weeks on Zoom. There were supposed to be two in the room and one still online, and I had purposely planned a lesson that involved some movement and “audience participation.” Long story short, the big lesson I planned didn’t take much time to explain to the one person in the room.  What now?

We improvised; we made a video to share with the others.  I won’t explain much in advance; watch it and see.  Yes, there are some glitches. Part of what I love about teaching is that I learn things, too. It’s easy to see my background is in theatre and not film; I need to make better use of close-ups. Well, something to think about for next time…

Before I close this, I feel I should thank: my capable assistant, Parnian; our camera crew, Rojin, who spent her free period with us; and my “guest lecturer,” Dave the Prepositional Pig.  Dave has helped me teach German and English prepositions in four countries over the last 20 years.