My summer camp is Harry Potter themed, and I knew I was going to like it. I had everything planned and prepared a good week before camp started. I worked really hard to make everything match the theme and still be educational. Each day is like another day at Hogwarts, combining all the classes with Muggle studies. I prepared learning content, games, the movie, and movie questions to make sure they pay attention. I even made a (rather imperfect) workbook to accompany my presentations during camp. I was very excited.
Then the first day came and I was surprised. I knew I was going to like my summer camp. But I didn't know how my students were going to take it. My summer camp is difficult, even my friends think so. And my students didn't know anything about Harry Potter. Even my co-teacher had never actually seen the movies, so it is a learning experience for her, too. But I was confident in my students. They are a lot smarter than people give them credit for. I always give them more work then normal and they finish really quickly. I have high expectations, but they're realistic, so if I can explain the instructions or concepts properly, they meet them.
I didn't really expect them to be so interested in my summer camp. I designed the camp to be fun, but I am also aware that some of the students may not like Harry Potter. That's why I have so may games to go with the content, they pay attention because they know they need the information to win.
So I was really happy to see them so into it. I thought "wow, they actually like this!" I was ecstatic. They kept asking questions, they were so interested, and they paid attention to the movie even after they answered the last question. They LOVED the games because during game time I don't care how loud they are, especially because we're in an isolated building. I was shocked, but very happy, to say my camp is, as of now, a success with my students.
Each day is very structured. We start with a review quiz, referring to material from the previous day. The first period is focused solely on vocabulary. They learn words and memorize them. The memorizing is usually fulfilled or followed by a game that requires using the vocabulary. The second part is focused on grammar, but the grammar always relates to the vocabulary, so it's actually a bit of review sprinkled in. Then there's a game that requires both components. Like it starts with vocabulary, but they have to form sentences on their own. After that, they receive a page of a comic I found online. Each page is a drawing that shows the events of each Harry Potter movie. They have to write what they think will happen in Korean, and then translate it to English. Lastly, comes the movie. They watch about 15-20 minutes and answer questions while watching based on the movie. At the end, there's a short exit quiz.
The students more or less know what to expect, the only thing that really changes daily is what games we play.
I admit that if you haven't already seen the movie, the camp is really challenging. But I think that might actually be the reason why they like it so much. They're learning brand new terminology that even in English would be a bit foreign to people.
Of course, they are also learning things they can use practically. Half of the vocabulary is Harry Potter based and the other half is more practical, but still suits the theme. Even the grammar, though inspired by Harry Potter, is really useful. I taught them about shopping and asking for prices, asking about different methods of transportation, nature, and about personality traits.
Tomorrow, they'll be learning about cooking terms because we're making microwave cakes and reviewing everything from this week using a bomb game I made on PowerPoint. I decided to make it multiple choice because the vocabulary can get pretty difficult and I'd rather give them a chance to choose. Especially because I won't let them use their books.
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