The Family of Maldives

My new student and his family are Maldives from the Islands South of India and West of Sri Lanka.

In preparation to welcome my new student and his family I will:

-        Research and study about their country

-        I’ll inform the students in my class about their new classmate who will be joining us.

 

-        I will teach the class a little about the new student’s country.

-        I will lead the class in making decorations for our classroom. We will make a beach seen with blue water, a bright sun, coral islands, name one island Male` with a school building on it because Male` is the capital island and it is where the children go to school to learn English. We will also make coconut trees, pictures of people wind surfing and scuba diving, boats because building boats is an important business there, and fishermen because 1/3 of the people are fishermen. We will wear name tags that say, I am Sam, Divehi which means islander, and their language is also called Divehi (Spraggett, & Johnstone 2001).

 

-        I will invite the parents in to introduce their family and our new classmate to help us learn the student.

I am expecting my presentation to help my new student to feel welcomed and comfortable enough to be himself. I hope that his parents also feel welcomed and at peace to have their child in my class. I want them to feel free to ask questions, to feel free to drop in to check on their child, and to get involved in our parent group. I’m expecting my efforts to also help each student in my class to be accepting of the new student and his differences. As we carry out our class motto that everyone is important and everyone matter in our classroom culture.

Reference

Spraggett, D. & Johnstone, J. (2001). Window on the world. Three’s Company, London.