Alpha grade: My story.

I recently moved up to Alpha grade after successfully finishing N3 grade. So far, it is quite hard but, according to my acquaintances, it is even harder. I think it is just different from N3 and other grades. So, what are the differences between the two grades? I am going to talk to you about my journey so far, so make sure to cheer up for me.

First, N3’s vocabulary lesson consisted of the teacher showing pictures and sentences on PowerPoint, then explaining the words; after that, we would fill in the vocabulary practice at home. As for grammar, the teacher would explain the lesson both on PowerPoint and the board, then, we would practice in class together and proceed by filling our workbooks. Reading, on the other hand, we would be assigned reading homework or read in class, then fill in our workbooks again. And finally, writing consisted of us writing a normal essay with an introduction, body, and conclusion. As you can see, N3 was not too bad; My grades were always nice because I practiced hard and was serious about tests, and the rest of it was just fun.

Before I moved up to Alpha grade, I used to think that Alpha class was hard and that you would have to be smart to get to it and read lots of thick, complex books. However, I did visualize moving up one day and did not mind working hard for it and studying even harder than before.

I am now in the Alpha class; it is my first week. Obviously, it is hard but surprisingly fun at the same time! We study vocabulary differently, make our sentences in class, and have a variety of activities every week. Such as, watching documentaries, nonfiction reading, book discussions, and different types of writing practices. My favorite part is watching documentaries. Our mentor would show us two videos about a certain topic, then we would deliberate them in class, then write about our opinions or understanding in workbooks.

As for the quizzes, I was doing fine until the unit test. Unit tests are forty-question quizzes that consist of all the vocabulary words we have learned from week 1 to week 4. It was the hardest test I have ever taken. After taking it, I promised myself to be better next month and have a better score.

On the bright side, my spelling quiz was a ten on ten and I got to contribute to the Paedeaplus newspaper my mentor was preparing. I wrote an interesting article about our Paedeaplus library.

I hope I will have better grades and study harder to be a better Alpha student. I also hope we can read more interesting books like “The Tale of Despereaux” which inspired me to write a nice short story in class about a similar concept. My mentor really liked it.

As I continue to progress well in the Alpha grade, I hope you get to read more interesting blog posts by me.