Exploring Emotions in Bahasa Indonesia

During the How We Express Ourselves unit, Kindergarten students learned about how to express their feeling in Bahasa Indonesia using words such as senang, sedih, marah, takut. They listened to the story of Sharky and learned about Sharky’s feelings throughout the story. We also learned that we can express ourselves through many forms of art. One of those ways is through dance. Students learned an Indonesian traditional dance called the Kuda Kepang.

Kuda Kepang: Unveiling a Traditional Javanese Dance

Kuda kepang is a traditional Javanese dance depicting a group of horsemen from East Java. The dancers use flat horses made from woven bamboo and decorate them with colorful paints and cloth. They usually ride the horse while they are dancing. Kindergarten students were inquirers as they developed their curiosity and learned with enthusiasm during this unit. They were also open-minded when they learned the Kuda Kepang dance, a piece of Indonesian culture, and they were willing to grow from the experience as it was not easy to learn the dance. 

During the Indonesian Studies class, Grade 1 and Grade 2 students learned about Indonesian money. They learned how to say the amount of money using Bahasa Indonesia. At first, for some of the students, it was hard to say the number in Bahasa Indonesia. However, they were open-minded and engaged in the learning process so that they could say the number in Bahasa Indonesia quickly. Show and Tell and Role play provided opportunities for students to use currency in real life situations. As Barry Green said, “If you have fun when you practice, you may also learn more and perform better.”

Grade 4 students learned about media during their how we express ourselves unit. Integrating with the homeroom, students created digital mini-magazine using Lucidpress. Students learned how to write persuasive writing in Bahasa Indonesia. They learned how to design a mini-magazine and what made it eye-catching and interesting. At first, they decided on the topic that they wanted to write about.

After that, they made a draft of the writing for each topic. Then, we edited the draft and revised some sentences and the design. Finally, they published their digital mini-magazine in Lucidpress. They were communicators as they expressed themselves confidently and creatively in creating a mini-magazine using Bahasa Indonesia. They were also knowledgeable when they developed and used the conceptual understanding of persuasive writing in Bahasa Indonesia.