Oh goodness. I really have fallen off the face of the blogosphere, but I think that's because things are actually going, dare I say it, GREAT in my classes. I'm not needing work out as much on the blogosphere, even if there are tough days here and there.
Having (more) manageable class sizes, counselors using more discretion about what students are placed in a a foreign language class has made all the difference. I still have challenging students and large classes, but "normal" large and "normal" challenging. The fact that I have a Curriculum Principal that takes my concerns seriously has been a saving grace.
Things that are working well:
Class Stories
It IS getting easier to tell these stories and to power through them while maintaing student focus and attention. Here are a few ways I've better managed behavior during storytelling.
1. Have the students clear everything off of their desks before you start a story. Everything.
2. Always give a little refresher about the expectations for stories before starting. They've heard it now at least ten times in each of my classes, but I still go through the procedure anyways.
3. Have the students act out gestures for words as you tell the story. Or ask them to show you as you
tell the story. Example: "La niña busca su perro." Tell the class, "Show me busca." Simply moving around (even in their seats) can engage the hands-on learners.
4. Tell the narrative of the story first, then bring up an actor for the re-tell. The actors will be better prepared since they have heard the story once, and it makes the re-tell less boring for the students.
5. Give "problem" students or students that are easily bored because they are more advanced a task. You can have them tally the number of times a target word is used, stand up and act out a target word each time it is used, you can have them make a sound effect each time the word is used, you can have them draw the story for you, etc.
Reading Assessments
This is nothing new to many of you, but I started doing different things with my reading assessments. I have three sections of Spanish one and I started some playful competition when it comes to class-created stories. Often my reading assessment now involves students reading all three versions of the class-created story, comparing and contrasting the three stories, picking one to expand, picking one to summarize, etc. It's made my classes more interested in creating quality stories because they know that the other Spanish I sections will read their creation. The students also seem to enjoy the choice to expand or summarize whichever version they prefer.
