2015 IIME REPORTCountry [ México ]School[ Comunidad Educativa Yaxunah ]Partner [ (JP) Kosaka Elementary School

Teacher [ Lucy Nava ] Grade ( 5th ) Students (16)] Teacher [ Koji Okamoto ]# Subjects, Activities and Times of the lessons
Subject
Conception of the lesson

Hours

EnglishStudents were given questionnaires so they would have to find information
about kawakawa and contrast it to our culture.

2

EnglishStudents were asked to attend to a video mapping being displayed in two
important places of the historical center of Merida, they were given aquestionnaire about the fact and their opinion towards the show.

2

EnglishThe making of a magazine that shows our culture and the important places in
Yucatan10# Theme and Message of the mural
ThemeMessage

Traditional Cultures
What we wanted to portray in the mural was that our cultures might be unique anddifferent from each other but still we have some elements that can be related or similarsuch as we both have traditional dresses, birds from our region, flowers etc. that may
make us closer.

# Effects and the Problems
Effects your students have gained
Points for further improvement
They did not have any problem by making the In general the use of English in the classroom, theyresearch, or the making of the mural, in fact I saw need to feel comfortable with the language because
them very interested and enthusiastic about it.
they have already gained it and also vocabulary so it
is only a matter of confidence.

# How has your impression toward your partner country and/or the world changed?
Change in student’s impression
Change in teacher’s impression
Our children felt so glad about this exchange, they For me it has been such an enriched experience,
were excited about receiving the mural and having having these amazing experiences had make me thinkfound the map, the photos and the origami, from their that we can have friends from the other side of theheart they felt the need to share something with world and we can make something together, also thisthem and so they started another project.
made us closer to our own culture by doing researchand by attending to different events and shows.

# Flow of the Activity
ContentMonthIntroduction

AugustResearch

October

Composition

Painting

NovemberJanuary

What you didYour students attitude/reflection

As an introduction theclassroom was decorated
with things of Japan, wehave Japanese umbrellashanging from the ceiling andwe have a cherry blossom
tree painted in our library.
They had their researchright before having the videoconference, they were given
some guided questions they
had to answer so they could
feel interested and look formore information.
To come with the ideas forthe mural in class they did abrain storm where they gave
ideas about what should beon the mural.

They were very interested about those
items, the girls immediately they saw theumbrellas they said: “teacher I want todress up as a Geisha” they know
something about the Japanese culture bywhat they have seen in movies or incartoons and the response was positive.
They came out with a lot of information,
not only the one that was the basis but
also they found that in Kanazawa people
eat ice creams with eatable gold and also
they found these amazing and beautiful
landscapes.

The students were divided
in teams and they went
regularly to draw and paint a
part of the mural.

The organization they had worked very
well, because their skill were welldistributed and the ones that are very
good drawers focused on the details, samewith the painting.

They gave interesting ideas of places andtraditions that are celebrated in Yucatan
but the ones that actually are in the mural
were the ones that show what Yucatan is.

Subject

EnglishEnglishEnglishEnglishWorkshop

Appreciation
Reflection

February

The students were asked
some questions about theexperience they had on
doing this mural.

Most of them said that they feel proud andvery happy with their work, that theirfamilies were all amazed and that they told
them that it was beautiful and that they
could see the effort they put on it. They
said that they didn’t only learned about
the culture of Kanazawa but that they also
learnt and rediscovered their own culture.

English# Aim of the Lessons and Result
Aim: Rank A to C in order you put emphasis on (A: very much/ B: much / C: not so much)
Result: Rank 5 to 1 (5: very effective / 4: effective / 3: so- so / 2: not so effective / 1: not effective at all)

Expected Effect

AimResult

Understanding our owncultures

A4

How your students have reached it
The students now have a broader view and they are looking
forward to continue with the next videoconference.

Understanding theother’s cultures

A

5

They are now aware that some things are different between
cultures and they vary depending where you go.

A

3

A

5

A

4

A

5

Attitude in learningA

3Expression ability

B

3

Appreciation ability

A

4Communication ability
in the class/with partners

IT skills
Creating friendshipin the class/with partners

Collaborationin the class/with partners

They communicate very well, but in Spanish, they are stillworking on having this switching process of speaking English
most of the time.
When they did their research they looked in different pages andalso using computers and IPad.
Students made more interactions, because of their age it is still
difficult to cooperate between boys and girls, but I think they are
working on it.
I think that they had a very collaborative work, they did very welland their effort can be seen in the mural.
Most of them were very enthusiastic about learning about a new
culture and about their own, also they developed new painting
skills and art appreciation.
For them expressing has been a little hard, because they don’t
find the right words or ways to do it so, I think this is something
we need to work on.
They became more sensitive in the way of accepting everyone’s
skills and to appreciate their work and others’.