At Canopy Life, we love telling stories of how the kids are growing in their character and their walks with Jesus. If you ask one of them what he or she is learning lately, you’re more than likely to hear a story about something shared at church or a passage of Scripture. We love this! But for everything happening in the hearts of our students, there’s a ton happening inside their heads too.
Canopy is blessed to have a team of amazing teachers who invest in our kids daily. Today we want to share with you about some of the lessons teachers Linah, Joseck, Pip, and Margaret have been teaching. What they do is incredible, and we think you’re going to love this glimpse into our classroom environments:
SCIENCE
Foods and Nutrition
Teacher Joseck taught Class 4 about the basic food groups, the importance of a balanced diet, and classifying locally available foods. During this lesson, students took items found in the Canopy kitchen and grouped them into their respective groups. The kids were surprised to realize that many of the foods they enjoy most aren’t necessarily the healthiest—I think that’s something many of us can relate to!
In Class 5, Teacher Margaret talked with the kids about how to identify nutritional deficiency diseases like Kwashiorkor, Marasmus, and Rickets. Students then delved into learning about the specific foods that can prevent these types of diseases. They found it especially fascinating to recall diseases they’ve experienced in their own homes and communities, and to know these things can be avoided by having a proper diet.
Energy
Class 4 learned about the effects of light on growing plants. Part of this lesson was planting two sets of seeds—the ones kept in sunlight grew green and strong and the ones planted in a dark box grew yellow and withered. Felix and Samuel were very intrigued with the process, and after the lesson was finished, asked if they could move the unhealthy to an open place to see if they would recover like the healthier, sun-exposed seedlings.
Properties of Matter
Teacher Margaret has been helping our students to learn about the properties of matter, and how things melt when exposed to heat. They investigated this principle by heating up various objects and then observing what happens to them as they cool. Students also watched a video of brass and gold being melted to create various objects.
SOCIAL STUDIES
Democracy and Human Rights
Class 4 spent time discussing how democracy can be applied in school settings, and were encouraged to have confidence as they take part in decision-making. We want our students to know how to speak up, realizing that their opinions are respected. Students also learned about the electoral process and how leaders come to power. They dramatized an election and eventually Nelly was chosen by the majority as the class “leader.”
Law, Peace, and Conflict Resolution
One of the things we love about Canopy students is their ability to work and play together with very few arguments. Recently in class, we broke down the components of conflict resolution and talked about the laws and guiding principles that contribute to peaceful societies. As the students discussed what helps them get along well together, they came to realize that Sharon is a natural mediator in many of their conflicts.
Transport and Communication
Teacher Margaret led the students in a lesson on modern forms of transportation. Involved in this lesson was an overview of the major roads that connect Kenya to other countries in Africa. Students were especially excited to see names of places they recognize, and see that they could map out a route to reach them. For instance, Rose was quick to spot the Great North Road, and point out that it leads to Cairo, where “Jesus was a refugee in Egypt.”
MATH
Geometry
All of our students have been learning about angles. In class 4, students learned to identify acute and obtuse angles, and were provided with the skills to measure different angles by using a right angle. Class 5 did a similar lesson, but used protractors to discover the angles’ measurements.
Money
For class 4 students, Teacher Margaret led students through a lesson that incorporated mathematical and life skills. The objective was to help students understand how to create a shopping list, ensuring they have enough money for their purchase, and that they get the right change. They created a makeover shop in the classroom and students participated as both buyers and shopkeepers. It was noted that Milkah is an especially good shopkeeper—a fact we love, as her mom operates her own store front as a seamstress.
ENGLISH
Writing Recipes
In this lesson, Teacher Linah taught the students how to follow a recipe, listing out the ingredients and amounts. During the time, she talked to the students about appreciating cooking as a hobby or even as a profession. The children followed a recipe to make ugali and beef stew. They also observed and created a recipe for chapatti, which is not only one of the yummiest foods in Kenya, but also a recipe that requires following several steps. The students did great keeping up with all the details!
During the lesson, James was very articulate about the ratio of water to flour being used for the chapatti, and made sure everyone go it just right. While they were cooking, James recalled making Italian pasta with our summer team, and declared that he would like to be a chef someday.
Reading and Comprehension
Canopy Life students love reading books. During breaks and quiet moments, they can often be found huddling around the bookshelves in The Imagination Room. During a recent lesson, Teacher Linah talked to the kids about reading longer books that maybe can’t be read in one sitting. The kids designed bookmarks to keep track of where they leave off in their reading, and developed a chart to record the books they are reading.
This year, it has been noted that James has grown in leaps and bounds in reading comprehension. He is often overheard laughing as he reads stories. At the beginning of the year, he would struggle to answer comprehension questions correctly; now he volunteers to lead the discussion. Way to go, James!
Adverbs of Manner
In a recent lesson on adverbs of manner (words that describe how something happens), the class 4 kids had the opportunity to act out words provided on a list. One student would pick a word from a container, demonstrate it charades-style, and everyone else would guess. Chris especially seemed to love the topic, and was very good at demonstrating how different actions are done. One highlight was when he did a theatrical rendition of how girls walk gracefully.
Most Improved
We asked our teachers to celebrate any stories of exceptional success they have seen. One of the stories shared was this one from Teacher Linah: “Samuel has improved most in English class. This has been contributed to by being able to speak and understand English better. Having come from a school where all the subjects were taught in their mother tongue, he really experienced difficulty in first term, when he couldn’t understand either spoken nor written English well. After being at Canopy where he is continually interacting in English, he has really improved in both written English and comprehension. He has performed very well even in other subjects, and in particular in English, he scored above average, which was far from reach when he first came.” Way to go, Samuel!
DESIGN THINKING
A new and exciting addition to Design Thinking class is the use of Chrome books. The students are beginning to explore a new design program called Tinkercad so that they can use it to create prototypes for projects in the future!
Linah, Joseck, Pip, and Margaret, thank you for the investment you’re making in Kenya’s future leaders. Your creativity, patience, and commitment have created a place where our students love to learn and feel safe trying new things. You’re the best!