Math and Canada Night

Wednesday July 16^th

Up and back to school again by 8:30. This morning was my mathematics block with my co-tutor Gershon. I lead off by introducing us, the topic and what we hoped to accomplish.

As I began the first activity it started to rain in buckets! It was really hard for the participants, who were sitting at desks, to hear me. I was trying to explain the four triangle activity and how they could use it to teach fractions, geometry, data management and measurement. So I gave them the first couple of instructions and then asked them all to come to the back of the class and sit on the floor with me. I don't think that is something they do very often (their schools often have dirt floors) but they were good about it. There I was able to talk more about the applications of the activity and give them the rest of the instructions. Then I sent them back to make a new geometric shape from the four identical triangles they had created by folding the square, and then come back to the back of the room. Then I told them we were going to go on a gallery walk, and told them to follow me as we snaked around the desks to view what shapes the others had made. They didn't understand the instruction and went off in their own direction, at which point I called out “hands on top” (to which my students in Canada would call back “that means stop”) but they put their hands on their heads and kept walking. I was reminded that the hands on the head means you have lost someone! The wonders of cultural exchanges. When I finally got their attention I summed up the activity.

Gershon went next and talked about why we teach mathematics. I followed with an explanation of the fraction dominoes that I had reproduced for them. Then Gershon took them through an activity of how to use cuisenaire rods to solve adding and subtracting problems with fractions of different denominators.

Lyle led the Gender Equity workshop which was very interactive. He read gender issue questions and had them stand in one corner of the room based on whether they strongly agree, agree, disagree or strongly disagree, talk about it amongst themselves and then have one person present their views to the other groups. They had some very interesting opinions, with some men holding onto the dominant male role model.

After lunch we divided them into peers groups, k-1, 2-3 and 4-6 and gave them instructions on making some activity materials they can take back to their school. Gershon and I had given them the fraction dominoes and he showed them how to make cuisenaire rods. Unfortunately, because the union photocopying shop was trying to save money on ink they photocopied my masters very lightly and the shaded sections in the domino shapes couldn't be seen, so I had to show them what they were supposed to look like and they had to colour in the appropriate sections. This took a long time, but they displayed incredible patience and focus.

We all left by 5 and headed back to the hotel for a quick dinner. Then we changed clothes, put on our Canada shirts and stuff and loaded into the van for the ride back to school.

We spent some time hanging up Canada flags and other decorations. Ernest started the festivities with O Canada and had the words on the screen. The Ghanians sang with gusto, much better than any hockey rink. Cindy and Leah were in charge of the festivities. They lead the group through a slide show of pictures of Canada. Then Cindy showed them a map and talked about the regions. The particpants are a lively group and were very loud when something excited them, a photo, a song or a fact about Canada. Leah taught them a dance/song using spoons (Who Let the Dogs Out) and then a native song that they had to sound out, but man, they love to sing.

Then Lyle played a game with twenty people plucked from the audience, two teams of five men and five women each and had them blow up balloons and tie them around their ankles. He explained that one team was Eastern Canada and the other Western Canada and said that the west was best! They had to try to step on and break the other team’s balloons. Then he had a group demonstrate the Chicken Dance (which he had taught them earlier). This was pandemonium and lots of fun. They loved it!

Then Ernest played some music and had each group come up for a drink and a couple of snacks, a kebob and peanuts. There were a couple of hundred people there so this took a while.

After that there was a short period of dancing before the union thanked us and said goodnight to everybody.

We got back to the hotel about ten and we headed to our rooms.