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Wahoo 5th Graders Experience a Foreign Culture through E-Mail Pen Pals

Students Communicate with Classroom in Thailand

October 06, 2008

Students at Wat Get Pra Pa school in Lum Luka, Thailand have become pen pals with Mrs. Nancy Teetor's 5th grade students. The Thai classroom is taught by an American instructor known as "Teacher Mac".

Students in Mrs. Nancy Teetor's 5th grade are e-mail pen pals with 5th graders at Wat Get Pra Pa School in Lum Luka, Thailand.

Their American teacher, Vic Plessner, who is teaching them English, thought it might help if they had friends in America. They have exchanged several e-mails since school started, including pictures.

Mr. Plessner reports that the students are very curious about their American friends and are much more eager to practice their English. American and Thai students are learning about each other and their customs.

Below are some of the e-mails exchanged:

-----Original Message-----
From: Nancy Teetor [mailto:nteetor@esu2.org]
Sent: Thursday, September 04, 2008 10:33 PM
To: get5@vhpconsult.com
Subject: Hello from Wahoo, Nebraska, USA!

Hello!

We are 5th graders in Wahoo, Nebraska in the USA. We'd
like to share a little information about us and then you can
ask questions or tell us about your life in Thailand.

Our town of Wahoo has about 3,500 people. There are
about 400 students in our elementary school. In our
classroom we have 18 students. There are two other
5th grades. We start school at 8:05 AM and dismiss at
3:10.

The subjects we have include reading, spelling, language,
math, science, social studies, computer lab, library, music,
PE (physical education), art, and Spanish. We have a 15
min. recess in the morning and another 15 min. recess after
lunch.

We are excited to be email penpals and learn about you
and your country!

Mrs. Teetor's 5th Grade Class
----------

From: Class 5 <get5@vhpconsult.com>
Date: September 14, 2008 1:45:48 AM CDT
To: 'Nancy Teetor' <nteetor@esu2.org>
Cc: Wat Get Class5 <get5@vhpconsult.com>
Subject: RE: Hello from Wahoo, Nebraska, USA!

Hi Class 5 in Wahoo, Nebraska:

We got your email last week and are happy and excited
that you will be our pen pals.

Our school is in Lum Luka, Thailand. The population is
about 54,000. Our school has about 277 students and
goes from 3-4 year olds up to 6th grade. The name of our
school is Wat Get Pra Pa. It is located next to the Wat
(temple). Wat Get Pra Pa is a public school and all the
students must wear uniforms. We have different dress
uniforms for each day. We also have one day per week
where all the students wear their scout uniforms. All
students are scouts.

Our class 5 has 29 students. Each class has only one
teacher who teaches all the subjects except we study
English with "Teacher Mac" on Mondays and some of
us also go to his Saturday class.

We study Thai, Science, Math, Computer, and Thai
musical Instruments. We do not have a regular physical
education class but exercise once a week for about an
hour. Many of us start getting to school at 7:00 AM and
have to sweep our class room and also sweep the yard
outside. At 8:00 AM, the radio plays the National Anthem
of Thailand and we all have to stand at attention and look
at the flag. After that, we all sit in the yard by class with
girls in separate rows from the boys and the smallest kid
sits in the front and the biggest sits in the back.

After the teacher takes attendance, we are called by class
to stand up and then the musical group stands up and plays
the National Anthem and we all sing it together. After that,
we all pray to Buddha for about 10 minutes. Then we all sit
down and different kids get up each day and have a math
quiz, one English word, and reading composition. Kids are
picked from papers slips from a bucket randomly and have
to solve the problems and mention one different item from
the reading. If the kid does not know the answer, he or she
must stand up in front of the school and then pick up leaves
after everything is finished.

Teacher Mac then gets up and teaches the whole school
some English for 10 minutes. After that, one of the teachers
talks to all of us. At about 9:00 AM, we go to class. Lunch is
at 11:30. After that, we play and then at 12:30, some kids
have to sweep the yard again. We then practice
multiplication tables and pray to Buddha. At 1:00 PM, we go
back to class. At 2:00 PM, we have milk and at 3:30 we go home.

Most of the boys in our 5th grade class like to play football
(soccer), while the girls enjoy tennis and badminton. We also
like basketball.

Lum Luka has rivers that divide it. These are called Klongs.
Our school is at Klong 6. When someone asks us where we
live, we usually tell them the name of the Klong. Most of our
homes are along the river.

Our parents are rice farmers and work very hard everyday.
Right now, we are in the rainy season and it usually rains
everyday for about 1 hour. When it rains, it gets colder than
normal. It is very hot and humid in Thailand and our school
has no air conditioning.

In the future, we hope to share with you many of our
customs and hope you will also tell us about yours. Teacher
Mac said that Halloween is coming up soon in America and
we would like to know how you celebrate it and what do you
do? We will also take some pictures and send them to you in
the next email.

We learn about English grammar from Thai teachers but
Teacher Mac is the first American teacher we ever had and
we are just beginning to learn to speak English. He will
help us to read and write back and forth.

"Your Pen Pals in Thailand"
Wat Get Pra Pa School grade 5
----------

From: Nancy Teetor [mailto:nteetor@esu2.org]
Sent: Thursday, October 02, 2008 3:36 AM
To: Vic Plessner
Subject: Enjoy the pictures!

Hello from Wahoo, Nebraska!

We thought we would share a picture of our playground
and school with you today. In addition to the playground
you see, there are swings and basketball hoops. There
is also a big grassy field where some kids sometimes play
football.

We also thought you might like to see a picture of our
school building and our town water tower.

Hope you enjoy the pictures!
Mrs. Teetor's 5th Grade
----------

From: Vic Plessner <victor@vhpconsult.com>
Date: October 3, 2008 4:50:31 AM CDT
To: 'Nancy Teetor' <nteetor@esu2.org>
Subject: RE: Enjoy the pictures!

Dear Mrs. Teetor's Class:

I just wanted you to know I received the
pictures and will show them to the Class
on Monday. We will take some pictures
as well and send them to you.

This past Monday, the kids read the
email they were sending to Wahoo to
the rest of the school both in Thai and
in English. Later in the day, several kids
in Class 5 at Wat Get Pra Pa starting
asking me questions about their friends
in Wahoo. This is really great as they
very interested. They are really happy to
be exchanging information and learning
about American kids.

Another nice thing has also happened.
One of the girls asked if a boy and girl
each day could get up in front of the
school and read several sentences in
English and Thai. The rest of the class
wanted to join in and everyone wanted
to go first. We began today and the entire
school is "getting into it".

So, you can see that your emails are
really helping these kids to want to learn
English.

Teacher Mac