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.
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Friday, September 13, 2013
Update 2013
I've fallen off the blogging bandwagon! It's because I've been busy.
Here has what we've been up to in my classes:
1) Laughing so much more than last year!
The secret? New administration that listens to me when I recommend that students shouldn't be forced to take Spanish. I couldn't be happier that about 90% of my students actually asked to take Spanish and that 90% of them chose to be part of my class. In years previous, my class has been filled with students that needed to simply fill a hole in their schedule.
2) PQA'ing it up!
I am finally getting better at this! The secret? Being so over-the-top dramatic and making my questions as personalized as possible.
3) Running like a well-oiled machine!
How is this happening?! A couple reasons. I have an amazing, lovely, and Spanish-speaking teacher's aide this semester. She grades for me, organizes for me, and just generally makes me happy with her sweet smile and helpful attitude. Also, I am following Martina Bex's curriculum plan from www.martinabex.com. It is transforming the way I plan and teach. For now I am sticking to her curriculum, but it is giving me all sorts of ideas and inspiration for eventually creating my own lessons.
4) I'm treating teaching as a job rather than my life. Instead of saying to my husband, "I'm still at school," I've made a conscious effort to say, "I'm still at work." This is my day job. This is where I go each day to provide for myself and family. It's upped my sense of responsibility and lowered my expectation that teaching is some sort of "experience." It's a job, just like any other - sometimes pleasant, sometimes not.
Here has what we've been up to in my classes:
1) Laughing so much more than last year!
The secret? New administration that listens to me when I recommend that students shouldn't be forced to take Spanish. I couldn't be happier that about 90% of my students actually asked to take Spanish and that 90% of them chose to be part of my class. In years previous, my class has been filled with students that needed to simply fill a hole in their schedule.
2) PQA'ing it up!
I am finally getting better at this! The secret? Being so over-the-top dramatic and making my questions as personalized as possible.
3) Running like a well-oiled machine!
How is this happening?! A couple reasons. I have an amazing, lovely, and Spanish-speaking teacher's aide this semester. She grades for me, organizes for me, and just generally makes me happy with her sweet smile and helpful attitude. Also, I am following Martina Bex's curriculum plan from www.martinabex.com. It is transforming the way I plan and teach. For now I am sticking to her curriculum, but it is giving me all sorts of ideas and inspiration for eventually creating my own lessons.
4) I'm treating teaching as a job rather than my life. Instead of saying to my husband, "I'm still at school," I've made a conscious effort to say, "I'm still at work." This is my day job. This is where I go each day to provide for myself and family. It's upped my sense of responsibility and lowered my expectation that teaching is some sort of "experience." It's a job, just like any other - sometimes pleasant, sometimes not.
Monday, August 19, 2013
This Year I Want to Try...
I am back for another year of Spanish I and II! It's a decision I wrestled with all summer, but one that after a lot of time and thought, I knew was the choice to make.
I will commit to seeing this year through and I am hoping to make it to the other side with an improved perspective. It is a whole new year, after all.
I'm making a few small changes this year.
Planning
I'm planning using an online planning book. I can attach documents, share my planbook, copy and paste entire lesson plans, share my plan book with collegues, print it out for a sub...I am hoping that this will eliminate the "I made that quiz two weeks ago, WHERE is it?!" conundrum I seem to always find myself in.
Walking
I am going to walk outside, every day (unless its a total blizzard or -30 below). I will walk at home with my dog or during my lunch period at school. It's important that every day I get outside in the daylight. Every. Day.
Eating
I am going to try cooking larger amounts on Sunday to at least take care of the beginning of each week for lunches. Salmon with quinoa and roasted veggies is this week's brown bag contents.
Tertulia
Thursdays will be "Tertulia" in my room. Students can come in for extra help, to make up assessments, or to volunteer to help me. Students that attend four Tertulia sessions will receive 10 extra credit points per session. This hopefully will eliminate students randomly asking to make up assessments, and provide incentive to come in for studying.
Organization? Physical activity? Happy healthy food? More free time at lunch? Let's give it a try!
I will commit to seeing this year through and I am hoping to make it to the other side with an improved perspective. It is a whole new year, after all.
I'm making a few small changes this year.
Planning
I'm planning using an online planning book. I can attach documents, share my planbook, copy and paste entire lesson plans, share my plan book with collegues, print it out for a sub...I am hoping that this will eliminate the "I made that quiz two weeks ago, WHERE is it?!" conundrum I seem to always find myself in.
Walking
I am going to walk outside, every day (unless its a total blizzard or -30 below). I will walk at home with my dog or during my lunch period at school. It's important that every day I get outside in the daylight. Every. Day.
Eating
I am going to try cooking larger amounts on Sunday to at least take care of the beginning of each week for lunches. Salmon with quinoa and roasted veggies is this week's brown bag contents.
Tertulia
Thursdays will be "Tertulia" in my room. Students can come in for extra help, to make up assessments, or to volunteer to help me. Students that attend four Tertulia sessions will receive 10 extra credit points per session. This hopefully will eliminate students randomly asking to make up assessments, and provide incentive to come in for studying.
Organization? Physical activity? Happy healthy food? More free time at lunch? Let's give it a try!
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Planning for the Future
I shouldn't have even done it. I don't know why I do this to myself.
I decided to log on to our system's online attendance records and take a peek at my class roster.
I instantly felt ill. The walls of my chest started tightening and I felt an intense need to shake the jittery, jello-like feeling that was crawling up both of my legs, through my stomach and inching toward my quickening pulse.
Fifty six students were enrolled in my first period class. My others are already in the high 30s. Everyone assures me, "Oh it won't stay that way. It can't." I know this. However. One day is all it takes to absolutely and completely destroy any sense of logic or classroom order. One day of mob chaos is all it takes to squash my authority. It won't stay at fifty six. Of course not. But you can't most certainly determine it will stay at 40. Oh yes. It most certainly will.
I'm devastated by what is happening to World Languages in high schools. It used to be that World Language classes were academic electives, classes geared towards college-bound students. I am not saying that I am "above" teaching students that are not college-bound. Certainly not. Many of my students not on the college-track are some of my most devoted students. But what I simply cannot do anymore is water down the curriculum more for students that didn't ask to be in Spanish, they were simply placed there due to a lack of funding for other electives. Electives cease to be electives is students are told, "this is the only open class." Their counselors promise them "it's a fun class" and a "great opportunity."
I am tired of being asked to be an entertainer to these mob classes of students that did not ask to take a foreign language. Instead of providing a challenging and worthwhile curriculum for the capable students that want to be there, I am forced to water down my course so that students can fill an empty slot in the schedules. Only about half of my students have the study skills necessary and desire to take my class seriously. And it's the half that doesn't want to be there that is a constant drain of my time and energy: having to re-write assignments to make them easier to understand, dealing with their constant behavioral disruptions and negative attitudes, grading their absolutely atrocious assessments that only confirm that they could care less about my class.
I am done. Burned out and ready to wave the white flag. I have taught my heart out, tried to design the most engaging lessons possible. I've ran my classroom with all of the proper classroom management tools in place. I've built relationships with students and you know what? I'm good at it. Really good at it. But I am sick of having to work this hard all the time, calculate every response, every transition, predict every bad-case scenario. People say, "be less of a perfectionist." They don't understand. To keep order in my classroom of 38+ kids, many with learning disorders and behavioral problems you have to be that on top of it. There is no other option unless you are willing to accept complete chaos and not care that the students aren't learning.
I am actively pursuing other options. I would like to stay within the education profession but I am open to major changes, and looking everywhere. This fall I am starting my librarian certification process and I hope that moving into a specialty position could improve my attitude about education.
I am fortunate to have a job. I am grateful that I can provide for myself and understand that I am fortunate. But I am very unhappy. The only way I can walk back into that school this fall is if I have a deep commitment to a different future and understanding that I will get out when an opportunity presents itself.
This was for so many years my dream - to teach Spanish, to get students excited about language and culture and traveling! Studying Spanish brought me so much joy and filled my life with so many exciting friendships and opportunities. To shelf this dream is devastating. But I think I understand it now. To be happy in my current job my dream would need to be inspiring reluctant and distressed youth.
So, while I am still mourning the loss of this dream, I am brightening my outlook by cultivating some new dreams. The idea of having to go through another year like last year is almost too much to think about - but I know I can do it, it won't last forever, and that I'm staying to provide for myself and my family. Something good will come, but it's going to take patience and self-preservation. I'll go on through the gauntlet, but I'm holding firm to the belief that this is not it, that I'll find something better.
I'm not asking that my career be the dream I originally conjured up in my hopeful, idealizing teen-aged brain. The rose-colored lenses are off, smashed, and been replaced with a vision of reality. I'm just hoping for something I can tolerate and grow with. It can be challenging and frustrating...all jobs are! I just need my new job to have a little more hope and joy.
It's going to be okay. This won't last forever and I'm excited for a future where I am happier and living a more balanced life.
I decided to log on to our system's online attendance records and take a peek at my class roster.
I instantly felt ill. The walls of my chest started tightening and I felt an intense need to shake the jittery, jello-like feeling that was crawling up both of my legs, through my stomach and inching toward my quickening pulse.
Fifty six students were enrolled in my first period class. My others are already in the high 30s. Everyone assures me, "Oh it won't stay that way. It can't." I know this. However. One day is all it takes to absolutely and completely destroy any sense of logic or classroom order. One day of mob chaos is all it takes to squash my authority. It won't stay at fifty six. Of course not. But you can't most certainly determine it will stay at 40. Oh yes. It most certainly will.
I'm devastated by what is happening to World Languages in high schools. It used to be that World Language classes were academic electives, classes geared towards college-bound students. I am not saying that I am "above" teaching students that are not college-bound. Certainly not. Many of my students not on the college-track are some of my most devoted students. But what I simply cannot do anymore is water down the curriculum more for students that didn't ask to be in Spanish, they were simply placed there due to a lack of funding for other electives. Electives cease to be electives is students are told, "this is the only open class." Their counselors promise them "it's a fun class" and a "great opportunity."
I am tired of being asked to be an entertainer to these mob classes of students that did not ask to take a foreign language. Instead of providing a challenging and worthwhile curriculum for the capable students that want to be there, I am forced to water down my course so that students can fill an empty slot in the schedules. Only about half of my students have the study skills necessary and desire to take my class seriously. And it's the half that doesn't want to be there that is a constant drain of my time and energy: having to re-write assignments to make them easier to understand, dealing with their constant behavioral disruptions and negative attitudes, grading their absolutely atrocious assessments that only confirm that they could care less about my class.
I am done. Burned out and ready to wave the white flag. I have taught my heart out, tried to design the most engaging lessons possible. I've ran my classroom with all of the proper classroom management tools in place. I've built relationships with students and you know what? I'm good at it. Really good at it. But I am sick of having to work this hard all the time, calculate every response, every transition, predict every bad-case scenario. People say, "be less of a perfectionist." They don't understand. To keep order in my classroom of 38+ kids, many with learning disorders and behavioral problems you have to be that on top of it. There is no other option unless you are willing to accept complete chaos and not care that the students aren't learning.
I am actively pursuing other options. I would like to stay within the education profession but I am open to major changes, and looking everywhere. This fall I am starting my librarian certification process and I hope that moving into a specialty position could improve my attitude about education.
I am fortunate to have a job. I am grateful that I can provide for myself and understand that I am fortunate. But I am very unhappy. The only way I can walk back into that school this fall is if I have a deep commitment to a different future and understanding that I will get out when an opportunity presents itself.
This was for so many years my dream - to teach Spanish, to get students excited about language and culture and traveling! Studying Spanish brought me so much joy and filled my life with so many exciting friendships and opportunities. To shelf this dream is devastating. But I think I understand it now. To be happy in my current job my dream would need to be inspiring reluctant and distressed youth.
So, while I am still mourning the loss of this dream, I am brightening my outlook by cultivating some new dreams. The idea of having to go through another year like last year is almost too much to think about - but I know I can do it, it won't last forever, and that I'm staying to provide for myself and my family. Something good will come, but it's going to take patience and self-preservation. I'll go on through the gauntlet, but I'm holding firm to the belief that this is not it, that I'll find something better.
I'm not asking that my career be the dream I originally conjured up in my hopeful, idealizing teen-aged brain. The rose-colored lenses are off, smashed, and been replaced with a vision of reality. I'm just hoping for something I can tolerate and grow with. It can be challenging and frustrating...all jobs are! I just need my new job to have a little more hope and joy.
It's going to be okay. This won't last forever and I'm excited for a future where I am happier and living a more balanced life.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Light and Dark
I feel helpless to combat
the incessant
testing, data
bubbles and numbers.
graphs
that determine funding
and teacher performance.
I was armed with creativity and enthusiasm!
But have since
been stripped.
By apathetic students.
Demanding parents.
Unprofessional colleagues.
Poor leadership.
I'm a light
that has gone out.
A few of the students and a few of the teachers
their lights are still burning...
But for how long?
Until the system teaches them
mediocrity?
reduces them to a test score?
I want to turn the light back on,
But I know how much it hurt.
How empty my dreams felt
that day the light went out.
I hope you know,
I see you.
Burning
Blazing with questions
On fire, blazing through every challenge and page!
Thank goodness you are here
In all this darkness.
You comfort me.
I am happy for the hope you bring me.
but also
Sad.
For you.
That you did not go to high school
at a different time, in a different place.
When you might have been surrounded by lights.
But you,
You will be stronger and tougher than I ever was.
Able to weather any storm.
Light conceived in light fears the dark
But light raised in darkness can never be extinguished.
the incessant
testing, data
bubbles and numbers.
graphs
that determine funding
and teacher performance.
I was armed with creativity and enthusiasm!
But have since
been stripped.
By apathetic students.
Demanding parents.
Unprofessional colleagues.
Poor leadership.
I'm a light
that has gone out.
A few of the students and a few of the teachers
their lights are still burning...
But for how long?
Until the system teaches them
mediocrity?
reduces them to a test score?
I want to turn the light back on,
But I know how much it hurt.
How empty my dreams felt
that day the light went out.
I hope you know,
I see you.
Burning
Blazing with questions
On fire, blazing through every challenge and page!
Thank goodness you are here
In all this darkness.
You comfort me.
I am happy for the hope you bring me.
but also
Sad.
For you.
That you did not go to high school
at a different time, in a different place.
When you might have been surrounded by lights.
But you,
You will be stronger and tougher than I ever was.
Able to weather any storm.
Light conceived in light fears the dark
But light raised in darkness can never be extinguished.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Dear Veteran Teacher
Dear Veteran Teacher,
At first I admired you from afar with a certain degree of trepidation. You are, after all, the real deal. You have a signature teacher lanyard, a well-loved coffee thermos, and a wall full of student photos that boast your staying power. You don't necessarily make this job look easy, but you move with confidence, and its obvious to a rookie like me that you are in control.
Despite the fact that you juggle all the responsibilities of a classroom, involve yourself in every school activity, are surrounded by mountains of papers, and answer to 150+ students daily, you've always made time for me.
You took the time to notice me, the new teacher so overwhelmed and stressed. You carved the time out of your already impossibly full schedule to introduce yourself and show that you care about my happiness and success.
We shared more than a workplace during my first years as an educator. You shared your lesson plans, your classroom management tips, and heard my every complaint, question, or doubt. You listened patiently to my frustrations and supported me in any way that you could.
Then there are all the little things you've done. You've brought me a piece of chocolate to cheer me up. You've watched my class on your prep period so I could run to the bathroom. You gave me a hug on the worst days, and a congratulatory smile on the good days. When I felt like giving up, you didn't give up on me.
And while you taught me the things it takes to be a good educator, above all things, you taught me what it means to be a good person.
Perhaps teaching is not for me, and that's okay. As young adults we are advised to pick a career and take the path that will get us there. We press on, jump through all the hoops, and finally, after perhaps years of hard work, we arrive. We work so hard to obtain the careers we desire, but where along the way do we work on becoming the people we want to be?
Knowing you has made me change the way I think. I'm less worried now about what I will achieve in the end, and more concerned about who I will be in the end. Will I be a great teacher? I will try. But more importantly, will I be generous? Will I be patient? Will I be kind?
It's perhaps the most important lesson I've ever been taught or ever will be taught.
Veteran Teacher, this is my letter of love and appreciation to you. Thank you so much for taking on one more student - me.
Gratefully,
The Newbie
At first I admired you from afar with a certain degree of trepidation. You are, after all, the real deal. You have a signature teacher lanyard, a well-loved coffee thermos, and a wall full of student photos that boast your staying power. You don't necessarily make this job look easy, but you move with confidence, and its obvious to a rookie like me that you are in control.
Despite the fact that you juggle all the responsibilities of a classroom, involve yourself in every school activity, are surrounded by mountains of papers, and answer to 150+ students daily, you've always made time for me.
You took the time to notice me, the new teacher so overwhelmed and stressed. You carved the time out of your already impossibly full schedule to introduce yourself and show that you care about my happiness and success.
We shared more than a workplace during my first years as an educator. You shared your lesson plans, your classroom management tips, and heard my every complaint, question, or doubt. You listened patiently to my frustrations and supported me in any way that you could.
Then there are all the little things you've done. You've brought me a piece of chocolate to cheer me up. You've watched my class on your prep period so I could run to the bathroom. You gave me a hug on the worst days, and a congratulatory smile on the good days. When I felt like giving up, you didn't give up on me.
And while you taught me the things it takes to be a good educator, above all things, you taught me what it means to be a good person.
Perhaps teaching is not for me, and that's okay. As young adults we are advised to pick a career and take the path that will get us there. We press on, jump through all the hoops, and finally, after perhaps years of hard work, we arrive. We work so hard to obtain the careers we desire, but where along the way do we work on becoming the people we want to be?
Knowing you has made me change the way I think. I'm less worried now about what I will achieve in the end, and more concerned about who I will be in the end. Will I be a great teacher? I will try. But more importantly, will I be generous? Will I be patient? Will I be kind?
It's perhaps the most important lesson I've ever been taught or ever will be taught.
Veteran Teacher, this is my letter of love and appreciation to you. Thank you so much for taking on one more student - me.
Gratefully,
The Newbie
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Let them do the talking!
At the start of the new quarter, I started feeling frustrated that my students could not carry on basic conversations in Spanish. My fifth hour class particularly sets me on edge because they are very smart, just lazy and prefer to chat in English and talk over me during PQA. So I decided to try a partner-based activity. It actually worked pretty well, I think because:
1) It was a break from the novel we've been heavily focusing on
2) It was a chance for them to be social and feel like they were having "real" Spanish conversations
3) I had just assigned them new table partners so they actually didn't know a lot about one another
Attached is the project requirements and some sample interview questions. I had the students doing a lot of question generation and mini interviews leading up to the day I handed out the project requirements.
What I liked about this assignment is that they took it a little more seriously because they were writing about someone other than themselves.
Appropriate for advanced level one, level two.
I'm going to post things on TpT from now on. Everything I create will be free until I create something really amazing and original. Stay tuned :)
Friday, March 1, 2013
Fun Friday "Dr. Seuss"
I picked up on a tradition from the teacher I did my middle school student teaching with. "Fun Friday." Every other Friday, provided we aren't really behind, I let my students watch a pixar movie in Spanish. It's only every other Friday, and it's only after we take quiz or do something first. So in total, they get about twenty minutes of a pixar movie in Spanish, twice a month. But you would think they get hours of it, the way they talk about it and get excited about it.
Since tomorrow is Dr. Seuss's birthday, I opted to throw out making them do quizzes and assessments before watching the movie today. Last night I went and bought "El Lorax." I actually felt pretty okay with the educational value of what we did for this "Fun Friday."
I actually got a lot of enthusiasm out for the student's in the discussion and while reading the bio. I think I'll do this every year!
1) Students responded to warm-up questions on the board for practicing familiar structures (me gustan, tengo, quiero). Students wrote their responses on a piece of paper. The questions in italics are examples of questions I asked to solicit further discussion.
1. ¿Te gustan los libros de Dr. Seuss?
(¿Cuál es tu libro favorito? ¿Tú lees los libros con tus hermanos?
¿Los libros son para adultos o para niños?)
2. ¿Tienes un libro de Dr. Seuss en tu casa?
(¿Cuáles libros tienes en tu casa? ¿Tienes unas películas de Dr. Seuss?)
3. ¿Quieres mirar "El Lorax" hoy?
(¿Es una película buena? ¿Ya has visto la película? ¿Cuántas veces?)
2. We read a Dr. Seuss biography together and completed the comprehension questions on the back. I can't remember exactly how I got the information for this mini-bio (I really need to keep better track of my sources), but I am pretty sure I just used wikipedia and condensed the info to make it level appropriate. Sorry if there are any errors! You can download this here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/127967561/Biografia-de-Dr-Seuss
3. I told them while watching the movie they needed to write down five words Spanish-English they understood on the top of the bio sheet.
Now for the next couple fun Fridays we will continue watching "El Lorax." I might even track down the book en español to read in a story circle when we finish watching the movie.
Since tomorrow is Dr. Seuss's birthday, I opted to throw out making them do quizzes and assessments before watching the movie today. Last night I went and bought "El Lorax." I actually felt pretty okay with the educational value of what we did for this "Fun Friday."I actually got a lot of enthusiasm out for the student's in the discussion and while reading the bio. I think I'll do this every year!
1) Students responded to warm-up questions on the board for practicing familiar structures (me gustan, tengo, quiero). Students wrote their responses on a piece of paper. The questions in italics are examples of questions I asked to solicit further discussion.
1. ¿Te gustan los libros de Dr. Seuss?
(¿Cuál es tu libro favorito? ¿Tú lees los libros con tus hermanos?
¿Los libros son para adultos o para niños?)
2. ¿Tienes un libro de Dr. Seuss en tu casa?
(¿Cuáles libros tienes en tu casa? ¿Tienes unas películas de Dr. Seuss?)
3. ¿Quieres mirar "El Lorax" hoy?
(¿Es una película buena? ¿Ya has visto la película? ¿Cuántas veces?)
2. We read a Dr. Seuss biography together and completed the comprehension questions on the back. I can't remember exactly how I got the information for this mini-bio (I really need to keep better track of my sources), but I am pretty sure I just used wikipedia and condensed the info to make it level appropriate. Sorry if there are any errors! You can download this here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/127967561/Biografia-de-Dr-Seuss
3. I told them while watching the movie they needed to write down five words Spanish-English they understood on the top of the bio sheet.
Now for the next couple fun Fridays we will continue watching "El Lorax." I might even track down the book en español to read in a story circle when we finish watching the movie.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
"Brain Breaks"
I just finished storytelling a major story today in my level one classes. It wasn't the easiest story, but because they were interested we were able to power through it. It's parent-teacher conference week so I only see each of my Spanish I classes twice this week. I was hesitant to start a new story on a short week, but in each class we were able to successfully tell and even ask the story. I think it was possible because of the fact I gave the students "brain breaks."
TPRS is an intense learning process. It's input, input, input. I've found that my students desperately need breaks scattered through the storytelling to get through a longer story. Usually I only story tell or story ask in fifteen to twenty minute intervals, but this week I was able to sustain up to thirty five minutes. During natural breaks or transitions in the story I asked the students to do a few things to help them review the story and give their brain a break.
The best thing about these activities is they take zero prep, zero copying. All your students need is a piece of scratch paper and pencil.
1) Music Walk
I play a song we recently have listened to and do a "music walk." When the music is playing, students are walking. When I hit pause, the students grab their nearest partner and share three facts about the story in Spanish. I always have the students write them down first so they for sure have something to read when the music stops. Today, I modified this activity by having them write down events individually and during the music walk they shared their facts and with their partner decided the order of their facts when combined with their partners. I saw a lot of good conversation about the story and vocabulary taking place during this activity. I let it go for about eight minutes. By then, the students had reviewed a lot of the story and we ready to taking a listening quiz on the story.
2) Partner Talk
The students turn to their table partner and re-tell the story in English. I don't love this activity since they aren't speaking in TL, but students that are struggling comprehension get a good confidence boost from this. Since the goal of these activities is a "brain break" I'm okay with it.
3) Read and Act
After the story has been told I will sometimes re-read the entire script slowly and have the students act out every vocabulary term as they hear it. Since our terms always have gestures to help learn them, the students listen for the vocabulary term and do the appropriate gesture when they hear it read.
4) True/False Quizzes
I will have the students write a series of statements about the story (usually three to five) and make some of them purposefully false. Students read the statements to their table partner and take mini-quizzes with each other.
5) Scene swap
Students draw one scene from the story and then trade with a partner. The partner must write in a complete sentence in the target language what is going on.
TPRS is an intense learning process. It's input, input, input. I've found that my students desperately need breaks scattered through the storytelling to get through a longer story. Usually I only story tell or story ask in fifteen to twenty minute intervals, but this week I was able to sustain up to thirty five minutes. During natural breaks or transitions in the story I asked the students to do a few things to help them review the story and give their brain a break.
The best thing about these activities is they take zero prep, zero copying. All your students need is a piece of scratch paper and pencil.
1) Music Walk
I play a song we recently have listened to and do a "music walk." When the music is playing, students are walking. When I hit pause, the students grab their nearest partner and share three facts about the story in Spanish. I always have the students write them down first so they for sure have something to read when the music stops. Today, I modified this activity by having them write down events individually and during the music walk they shared their facts and with their partner decided the order of their facts when combined with their partners. I saw a lot of good conversation about the story and vocabulary taking place during this activity. I let it go for about eight minutes. By then, the students had reviewed a lot of the story and we ready to taking a listening quiz on the story.
2) Partner Talk
The students turn to their table partner and re-tell the story in English. I don't love this activity since they aren't speaking in TL, but students that are struggling comprehension get a good confidence boost from this. Since the goal of these activities is a "brain break" I'm okay with it.
3) Read and Act
After the story has been told I will sometimes re-read the entire script slowly and have the students act out every vocabulary term as they hear it. Since our terms always have gestures to help learn them, the students listen for the vocabulary term and do the appropriate gesture when they hear it read.
4) True/False Quizzes
I will have the students write a series of statements about the story (usually three to five) and make some of them purposefully false. Students read the statements to their table partner and take mini-quizzes with each other.
5) Scene swap
Students draw one scene from the story and then trade with a partner. The partner must write in a complete sentence in the target language what is going on.
Monday, February 11, 2013
How I Use Simultaneous Presenting
This year my classes are huge and it makes it really difficult to assess their speaking one-on-one. I hardly ever get to do one-on-one assessments because:
1) it takes too long to hear each student speak and
2) the rest of the class has to be working independently and with minimal supervision while I am grading one-on-ones.
Sadly, I don't have any classes this year that work well independently and I always end up extremely frustrated that the class wastes time. I've applied deadlines, marked down their participation, threatened them, even given a few of them detention - it doesn't seem to matter. If I'm not watching them and directly engaged with them, at least half of them will be wasting class time.
Enter simultaneous presenting and cooperative learning structures. I have found that students learn more by listening to one another's presentations, speak more than they would during a one-on-one, and I am much less stressed because every student is doing something in the target language.
There are several cooperative learning structures that organize the students to present simultaneously. The ones I use the most are:
1) Inside-Outside Circle
This is my favorite way to simultaneously present. I usually take my students out into the hallway (perfect for a long block day to get them out of their seats) for this activity. To minimize confusion, as students walk out the door I put them in pairs of A and B. B is the little circle inside the big circle. A, the big circle, faces B, the little circle. Either circle can rotate after a set amount of time to the left or right to create a new partnership. To keep things less confusing I designate one circle as the "moving circle" and one as the "stationary circle." But if you are very organized and good at keep of track of where the students have moved you could have both circles rotating in different directions.
Students usually are presenting murals they have drawn or visuals. I try to mix it up, have them rotate 1, 2, or 3 spaces, have them do their presentation backwards, etc. to keep them thinking about what they are presenting. I always encourage them to give each other a high five as they say goodbye. This can also be done in two lines facing one another.
I've also had the students use this structure as a conversational activity with cards with personalized questions on them for discussion. Questions about a story would also be good to chop up and hand to the students as a story or chapter of a novel review activity.
2) Stand up, Hand up, Pair Up
This website includes instructions for Stand up, Hand up, Pair up:
http://www.newton.k12.ks.us/sch/ch/Structures.pdf
I always tell the students they need to be aggressive about looking for a partner and put their hands up high. This activity generally works for about five shares before I start to notice students clumping together and getting off-task
There are lots of other great structures like One Stay, Two Stray but due to the lack of space in my classroom I typically stick with these two structures.
How do you all use simultaneous presenting in your classroom? Better yet, how do you address one-on-one assessments?
1) it takes too long to hear each student speak and
2) the rest of the class has to be working independently and with minimal supervision while I am grading one-on-ones.
Sadly, I don't have any classes this year that work well independently and I always end up extremely frustrated that the class wastes time. I've applied deadlines, marked down their participation, threatened them, even given a few of them detention - it doesn't seem to matter. If I'm not watching them and directly engaged with them, at least half of them will be wasting class time.
Enter simultaneous presenting and cooperative learning structures. I have found that students learn more by listening to one another's presentations, speak more than they would during a one-on-one, and I am much less stressed because every student is doing something in the target language.
There are several cooperative learning structures that organize the students to present simultaneously. The ones I use the most are:
1) Inside-Outside Circle
This is my favorite way to simultaneously present. I usually take my students out into the hallway (perfect for a long block day to get them out of their seats) for this activity. To minimize confusion, as students walk out the door I put them in pairs of A and B. B is the little circle inside the big circle. A, the big circle, faces B, the little circle. Either circle can rotate after a set amount of time to the left or right to create a new partnership. To keep things less confusing I designate one circle as the "moving circle" and one as the "stationary circle." But if you are very organized and good at keep of track of where the students have moved you could have both circles rotating in different directions.
Students usually are presenting murals they have drawn or visuals. I try to mix it up, have them rotate 1, 2, or 3 spaces, have them do their presentation backwards, etc. to keep them thinking about what they are presenting. I always encourage them to give each other a high five as they say goodbye. This can also be done in two lines facing one another.
I've also had the students use this structure as a conversational activity with cards with personalized questions on them for discussion. Questions about a story would also be good to chop up and hand to the students as a story or chapter of a novel review activity.
2) Stand up, Hand up, Pair Up
This website includes instructions for Stand up, Hand up, Pair up:
http://www.newton.k12.ks.us/sch/ch/Structures.pdf
I always tell the students they need to be aggressive about looking for a partner and put their hands up high. This activity generally works for about five shares before I start to notice students clumping together and getting off-task
There are lots of other great structures like One Stay, Two Stray but due to the lack of space in my classroom I typically stick with these two structures.
How do you all use simultaneous presenting in your classroom? Better yet, how do you address one-on-one assessments?
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Simultaneous presentation - fun twist
I love assessing my students formative speaking skills using simultaneous presentation. I am guilty of probably over-using this activity simply because my classes this year are enormous and it's very difficult to to get them speaking in a controlled, easy to assess manner. At least once a week (probably overusing) I read either a chapter of our current novel or our current story script out loud to the students. The students draw the events as I read out loud to them. I always read something after we have worked and practiced extensively with the vocabulary, so this activity typically falls on a Thursday or Friday. Lately I've been rotating - one week we draw a chapter of a story, the next week we draw a the events of a story script. So far they haven't gotten tired of it.
I usually have the students present with their murals in the inside-outside circle format.
Today I had an interesting thought. By about the fifth rotation the students were starting to sound like robots, so I had them switch papers with their partner. They had to present their partners mural. I didn't expect it to have such wonderful results!
1) The students had to rethink the story with different images = more authentic on the spot language production!
2) The illustrator assumed the role of coach, helping their partner navigate their drawings (I didn't even ask them to do this - they just started nodding, encouraging, or restating with the picture was supposed to be IN SPANISH!)
3) The students were SMILING. They loved looking at eachother's silly little stick people drawings and my artists got a lot of "Wows!" from their peers.
Simple idea, so much fun :)
Happy Thursday!
I usually have the students present with their murals in the inside-outside circle format.
Today I had an interesting thought. By about the fifth rotation the students were starting to sound like robots, so I had them switch papers with their partner. They had to present their partners mural. I didn't expect it to have such wonderful results!
1) The students had to rethink the story with different images = more authentic on the spot language production!
2) The illustrator assumed the role of coach, helping their partner navigate their drawings (I didn't even ask them to do this - they just started nodding, encouraging, or restating with the picture was supposed to be IN SPANISH!)
3) The students were SMILING. They loved looking at eachother's silly little stick people drawings and my artists got a lot of "Wows!" from their peers.
Simple idea, so much fun :)
Happy Thursday!
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
El día terrible de Julia
Some days I want my students to "freewrite" and just show me what they can do. This activity worked well to span across a couple days as a filler activity.
1) First I showed students a picture of a girl screaming. I just google imaged searched "girl screaming." I told them, "Hoy Julia está muy frustrada porque muchas cosas malas pasaron ayer. ¿Qué piensan ustedes? ¿Qué pasó ayer?
The students had to invent a terrible day. First, we brainstormed different bad things that can happen at school, at home, and in your social life. We wrote the different activities on the board.
2) I gave the students fifteen minutes to write and create a terrible day for Julia. They wrote in past tense since the terrible day was yesterday.
3) I compiled their stories to create the story attached below. They students were more engaged because Julia's terrible day was a combination of all of their evil ideas. Students read the story in pairs, discussed the questions in English, and organized Julia's problems.
4) After the students finished the reading activity, we played "would you rather" with the problems Julia faced. For example: ¿Prefieres vomitar en la escuela o llorar en la escuela?" The results were funny, interesting, and got my usually hesitant level twos talking in Spanish!
Download the reading here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/124036892/el-dia-terrible-de-Julia
1) First I showed students a picture of a girl screaming. I just google imaged searched "girl screaming." I told them, "Hoy Julia está muy frustrada porque muchas cosas malas pasaron ayer. ¿Qué piensan ustedes? ¿Qué pasó ayer?
The students had to invent a terrible day. First, we brainstormed different bad things that can happen at school, at home, and in your social life. We wrote the different activities on the board.
2) I gave the students fifteen minutes to write and create a terrible day for Julia. They wrote in past tense since the terrible day was yesterday.
3) I compiled their stories to create the story attached below. They students were more engaged because Julia's terrible day was a combination of all of their evil ideas. Students read the story in pairs, discussed the questions in English, and organized Julia's problems.
4) After the students finished the reading activity, we played "would you rather" with the problems Julia faced. For example: ¿Prefieres vomitar en la escuela o llorar en la escuela?" The results were funny, interesting, and got my usually hesitant level twos talking in Spanish!
Download the reading here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/124036892/el-dia-terrible-de-Julia
Sub plan "las hermanas malas"
Below is a sub plan for these high-frequency vocab structures: toma, quiere ser, el novio, no tiene.
The activity will take about fifty minutes for a focused student to complete. It could also be using as a reading or writing assessment. Download here:
This sub activity accompanies the "las novias de mi hermano" unit that I taught from www.martinabex.com. You can purchase her lesson plan bundle at
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Las-novias-de-mi-hermano-5-day-Lesson-Plan-Bundle
I highly recommend it!
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Las-novias-de-mi-hermano-5-day-Lesson-Plan-Bundle
I highly recommend it!
The activity will take about fifty minutes for a focused student to complete. It could also be using as a reading or writing assessment. Download here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/124032388/Las-hermanas-malas
Please let me know if you find any errors in my files! I seem to always miss something.
Please let me know if you find any errors in my files! I seem to always miss something.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Little Changes
In my last blog I declared my word of 2013 as "gratitude" and promised to be grateful - at school, at home, and in all the daily hustle and bustle.
I didn't do the best job this week. However, I did remember that I was supposed to be more grateful. And in the end, I spent more time thinking about my reactions rather than just going with "irritated." I had a lot of conversations with myself this week along the lines of, "Hm. Is this (off-task student, pointless meeting, obnoxious behavior in the hallway) really worth ruffling my feathers? No. It really is not.
I have a few goals on my to-do list. I'm not putting an oppressive timeline on these items, they are just going to be "working goals" for the rest of the school year. Who knows? Maybe they will be working goals for next year too!
1) PQA
I need to improve my personalized questions asking skills. My biggest challenges are keeping students interested and engaged during the discussion and getting kids over the "giggle at each other's Spanish" or "act too cool to answer a question" stage.
2) Ease up on assessment
Boy oh boy, I love to give assessments!! It's a time for me to breathe and have a moment of peace. Grading all those assessments? The ten minutes of peace I got during class is not worth the hours of grading I am constantly creating for myself. To partially remedy the situation, I'm having students grade each other's papers with red pens when it is a simple assessment and continuing to grade larger assessments
3) Stop the shortcuts
I need to stop treating teaching as the means to an end. I am guilty of favoring on the side of multiple choice assessment because its easier to grade, picking a reading activity instead of a speaking activity because its easier to control, etc., etc., etc. I am very low in the energy and "joy" department lately, but when I feel up to it, I need to step it up a notch and not just take the easy route.
4) Smile more and interact with the students
I've gotten much more serious this year. It's time to tone it down a notch and laugh with the kids more.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Gratitude
Christmas break was just as it should have been. Long walks on the trails with my pup, lots of flickering fires, and daily simple indulgences. There is something soothing about each hour of the day being wide open. That 5:00 doesn't mean wake up, 7:00 doesn't mean "scramble to get your lesson ready" that 8:00 doesn't mean it's time to settle in for the night. The freedom to unwind into every hour was liberating...but oh so hard to face the reality of that first Monday morning. I was salty to say the least on the Sunday before school started.
It hit me hard, the reality of another semester. The more I kept telling myself, "Relax. It's not that bad, it's not that bad, stop being dramatic," the more the tears kept flowing and I felt the pressure of next four months weighing heavily on my heart and mind. Panic, helplessness, fear and a terrible feeling that I'm on a path I can't diverge from, not even for a minute.
It's no secret to my friends, family, and a handful of my colleagues that I'm struggling as a teacher. But in an effort to react slowly and thoughtfully (and to not uproot my entire life), I've asked myself the following questions, and answered honestly.
1. Do you have good days?
Yes. There are days when I walk out of the building and can honestly say, "That wasn't so bad."
2. Is there any time at which you enjoy teaching?
Yes. I have one class that I truly look forward to seeing. They are the glimmer of hope in my day. They are the ones that make me realize, "Wow! I get it. Now I can understand these teachers that pour their hearts into this." Their enthusiasm is contagious. Their ability to work together inspiring. I trust them. I can push forward with the content, present them with challenges. I feel like a teacher in this class.
3. Are you doing a "good" job?
Yes. Perfect? No. I have a long ways to go, but generally, if you come into my classroom you will see my students learning and you will see me effectively managing my classroom.
4. Is it getting easier?
Yes. At the rate at which I hoped it would get easier? No. But it is getting easier.
The fact that I could answer "yes" to these questions made me feel more positive. There are other questions I could ask myself, questions that I know I wouldn't like the answer to. But for now, for this week, this month, maybe even this year, I'm going to hang on to these few.
2012 was a year of blessings. My husband and I purchased our dream home (maybe more than a dream home because I honestly could not have even dreamt a home this wonderful) a new puppy, and last month we finished our barn and paddock. We now have two fuzzy Icelandic ponies ready for riding and fun adventures. I have everything I could have ever wanted, and I'm only twenty five years old. It's absurd. It's amazing.
So as 2013 enters I am going to hold tightly to the word "gratitude." I am going to find reasons to be grateful at school. I have to do this. Even if I get snarky and say that I'm grateful for my planning period, or grateful for my coffee mug, I am going to be grateful. I am going to say thank you to everyone that has worked so hard to make my life this amazing. I am going to find reasons to be grateful for my students. I am going to acknowledge that life is in full swing and that today is the day to start paying attention to how much I have. I have an abundance of joy in my life that I simply cannot allow my less-than-perfect career to distract me from. It's time to work and work and live at home. It's time to live with awareness and joy.
And just maybe, after it gets a little easier, I'll put more of my heart into my teaching practice. But for now I need to live my life as a whole person and be grateful, grateful, grateful.
It hit me hard, the reality of another semester. The more I kept telling myself, "Relax. It's not that bad, it's not that bad, stop being dramatic," the more the tears kept flowing and I felt the pressure of next four months weighing heavily on my heart and mind. Panic, helplessness, fear and a terrible feeling that I'm on a path I can't diverge from, not even for a minute.
It's no secret to my friends, family, and a handful of my colleagues that I'm struggling as a teacher. But in an effort to react slowly and thoughtfully (and to not uproot my entire life), I've asked myself the following questions, and answered honestly.
1. Do you have good days?
Yes. There are days when I walk out of the building and can honestly say, "That wasn't so bad."
2. Is there any time at which you enjoy teaching?
Yes. I have one class that I truly look forward to seeing. They are the glimmer of hope in my day. They are the ones that make me realize, "Wow! I get it. Now I can understand these teachers that pour their hearts into this." Their enthusiasm is contagious. Their ability to work together inspiring. I trust them. I can push forward with the content, present them with challenges. I feel like a teacher in this class.
3. Are you doing a "good" job?
Yes. Perfect? No. I have a long ways to go, but generally, if you come into my classroom you will see my students learning and you will see me effectively managing my classroom.
4. Is it getting easier?
Yes. At the rate at which I hoped it would get easier? No. But it is getting easier.
The fact that I could answer "yes" to these questions made me feel more positive. There are other questions I could ask myself, questions that I know I wouldn't like the answer to. But for now, for this week, this month, maybe even this year, I'm going to hang on to these few.
2012 was a year of blessings. My husband and I purchased our dream home (maybe more than a dream home because I honestly could not have even dreamt a home this wonderful) a new puppy, and last month we finished our barn and paddock. We now have two fuzzy Icelandic ponies ready for riding and fun adventures. I have everything I could have ever wanted, and I'm only twenty five years old. It's absurd. It's amazing.
So as 2013 enters I am going to hold tightly to the word "gratitude." I am going to find reasons to be grateful at school. I have to do this. Even if I get snarky and say that I'm grateful for my planning period, or grateful for my coffee mug, I am going to be grateful. I am going to say thank you to everyone that has worked so hard to make my life this amazing. I am going to find reasons to be grateful for my students. I am going to acknowledge that life is in full swing and that today is the day to start paying attention to how much I have. I have an abundance of joy in my life that I simply cannot allow my less-than-perfect career to distract me from. It's time to work and work and live at home. It's time to live with awareness and joy.
And just maybe, after it gets a little easier, I'll put more of my heart into my teaching practice. But for now I need to live my life as a whole person and be grateful, grateful, grateful.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Old School
I went "old school" on one of my most problematic students this week. It was a big risk going there, because it might have blown up in my face, but I went there.
Fueled by hormones and not enough sleep and the fact that it was the last period of the day - I was not in the mood to play games, to play the wait for them to stop talking game. I was not game.
Every day there are off-topic, unnecessary comments from this student. In his defense, he is not the only one. He just happens to be the loudest one, and perhaps the most persistent one. But on this day I had HAD it. I just looked at him, and walked over to him in front of the whole class, crouched down, got as near to him as I dared and said, "Enough. Seriously. Enough. Excuse me. Look at me when I'm talking to you. This needs to stop immediately, and I will be talking with you after class." The rest of the class looked on with eyes the size of saucers. As they worked quietly on their work I pulled out my discipline referral form. I filled it out explaining the nature of this students "generally disruptive behavior" and left it unsigned. When class was out I called the student over and we looked at the form together. This is basically what it said:
"Bobby" has been consistently disruptive in class and had several warnings and opportunities to improve his behavior. On 11/5 spoke with "Bobby" after class and we agreed that he would make great efforts to improve his behavior. If he does not, he understands that this referral will be signed and turned over to the discipline office."
Then I just went for it. I told him, "I'm not sure why you are being so disruptive and constantly having outbursts. Maybe you are trying to impress someone or be funny, but the other students find it annoying, and many of them expressed their frusteration to me during parent-teacher conferences."
This nearly made him cry, but I think he needed to hear it. I think often students do not realize that their attempts to impress their peers are often not successful.
Fueled by hormones and not enough sleep and the fact that it was the last period of the day - I was not in the mood to play games, to play the wait for them to stop talking game. I was not game.
Every day there are off-topic, unnecessary comments from this student. In his defense, he is not the only one. He just happens to be the loudest one, and perhaps the most persistent one. But on this day I had HAD it. I just looked at him, and walked over to him in front of the whole class, crouched down, got as near to him as I dared and said, "Enough. Seriously. Enough. Excuse me. Look at me when I'm talking to you. This needs to stop immediately, and I will be talking with you after class." The rest of the class looked on with eyes the size of saucers. As they worked quietly on their work I pulled out my discipline referral form. I filled it out explaining the nature of this students "generally disruptive behavior" and left it unsigned. When class was out I called the student over and we looked at the form together. This is basically what it said:
"Bobby" has been consistently disruptive in class and had several warnings and opportunities to improve his behavior. On 11/5 spoke with "Bobby" after class and we agreed that he would make great efforts to improve his behavior. If he does not, he understands that this referral will be signed and turned over to the discipline office."
Then I just went for it. I told him, "I'm not sure why you are being so disruptive and constantly having outbursts. Maybe you are trying to impress someone or be funny, but the other students find it annoying, and many of them expressed their frusteration to me during parent-teacher conferences."
This nearly made him cry, but I think he needed to hear it. I think often students do not realize that their attempts to impress their peers are often not successful.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Standstill
Alright, time to get my head into the game.
I've got two classes that are difficult, two classes that are marginal, and one class that simply blows my mind.
My smallest class is my worst. They are chatty, disinterested, whine about how they don't know anything, they learned nothing last year, etc.
My largest class is so fun. There are thirty six of them and they are always all there. Every seat in my classroom is filled but they come in with this sense of community, purpose and responsibility. It is the only class that I might actually get ten minutes to sit at my desk and organize something while they are testing or doing a free write. They go for it. They act silly, they get up and dance. I feel like asking them, "Who are you people and where have you hidden the teenagers?!"
I think the powers that be knew that I needed this class this year. The truth is I am getting so discouraged. Was this the right career path for me? I get up every morning with a sense of dread rather than possibility. I try to picture starting a family with this career and I just can't even begin to imagine. The stress, the constant scrutiny from parents, the community, the general negativity of the school - it wears me down and makes me feel small. I think about the fact that I'm only twenty five and how maybe I'm too young to shoulder this kind of responsibility. I know that there are many wonderful young teachers out there, but some days I dream of sitting at a desk at an office, peacefully sipping my coffee and steadily plodding away at my work. I think about how I wouldn't be in bed at 8:30 every night, or how I could have a seven o'clock dinner with a friend. I think about how I could stay up watching a movie with my husband and if I was tired the next day I would just hunker in at my desk and not have to answer to 160+ students. I think about driving home and leaving work behind, waking up in the morning without sense of urgency or nervousness.
I think about it a lot.
I spent my whole childhood playing teacher and dreaming about my future classroom and future students. I went to college knowing exactly what I wanted to major in. I student taught and had my dream job fall into my lap. Maybe that's the problem - the idealization of it all.
I know I will finish the year. I know that I make a difference and that like any career, teaching comes with highs and lows. I've only had one job that I've liked and it might just be that I am not a strong career type. I would classify myself as a "lazy overachiever." I'd rather not spend time doing work, but if I am going to do it has to be perfect. I don't operate well around chaos and I refuse to leave any lesson to chance. So I plan, plan, plan, plan. However, rather than reveling in my perfect creation or masterpiece I resent it because it took me so long and I hated the process. That looks pretty ugly written in plain print, but it's the truth.
I've decided the negative attitude has to go. I don't like seeing it on my students and I'm quite certain it's no more attractive worn by me. Enter blogging. If I write it out I can get it out of my system, close my laptop and leave it to the cybersphere.
So now, after the blue sad thoughts I have a question that burns to be answered. At what point do I need to take a step back and really make a tough choice?
I've got two classes that are difficult, two classes that are marginal, and one class that simply blows my mind.
My smallest class is my worst. They are chatty, disinterested, whine about how they don't know anything, they learned nothing last year, etc.
My largest class is so fun. There are thirty six of them and they are always all there. Every seat in my classroom is filled but they come in with this sense of community, purpose and responsibility. It is the only class that I might actually get ten minutes to sit at my desk and organize something while they are testing or doing a free write. They go for it. They act silly, they get up and dance. I feel like asking them, "Who are you people and where have you hidden the teenagers?!"
I think the powers that be knew that I needed this class this year. The truth is I am getting so discouraged. Was this the right career path for me? I get up every morning with a sense of dread rather than possibility. I try to picture starting a family with this career and I just can't even begin to imagine. The stress, the constant scrutiny from parents, the community, the general negativity of the school - it wears me down and makes me feel small. I think about the fact that I'm only twenty five and how maybe I'm too young to shoulder this kind of responsibility. I know that there are many wonderful young teachers out there, but some days I dream of sitting at a desk at an office, peacefully sipping my coffee and steadily plodding away at my work. I think about how I wouldn't be in bed at 8:30 every night, or how I could have a seven o'clock dinner with a friend. I think about how I could stay up watching a movie with my husband and if I was tired the next day I would just hunker in at my desk and not have to answer to 160+ students. I think about driving home and leaving work behind, waking up in the morning without sense of urgency or nervousness.
I think about it a lot.
I spent my whole childhood playing teacher and dreaming about my future classroom and future students. I went to college knowing exactly what I wanted to major in. I student taught and had my dream job fall into my lap. Maybe that's the problem - the idealization of it all.
I know I will finish the year. I know that I make a difference and that like any career, teaching comes with highs and lows. I've only had one job that I've liked and it might just be that I am not a strong career type. I would classify myself as a "lazy overachiever." I'd rather not spend time doing work, but if I am going to do it has to be perfect. I don't operate well around chaos and I refuse to leave any lesson to chance. So I plan, plan, plan, plan. However, rather than reveling in my perfect creation or masterpiece I resent it because it took me so long and I hated the process. That looks pretty ugly written in plain print, but it's the truth.
I've decided the negative attitude has to go. I don't like seeing it on my students and I'm quite certain it's no more attractive worn by me. Enter blogging. If I write it out I can get it out of my system, close my laptop and leave it to the cybersphere.
So now, after the blue sad thoughts I have a question that burns to be answered. At what point do I need to take a step back and really make a tough choice?
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
TPRS in preterit
For whatever reason I have a terrible time creating TPRS class stories in the preterit.
It makes me nervous for whatever reason and the stories just seem to "lack" something that my Spanish I present tense stories have.
So I've decided to just GO FOR IT. It's a little ugly but I've got to try because I really do believe this style of teaching works.
www.martinabex.com saves my life over and over and over again. Martina's story scripts give me something to work with (or really everything because her scripts are HILARIOUS and contain fabulous high-frequency terms) so I can play with changing bits and pieces to past tense.
Today I felt a little but like a genius. It happens so rarely in my Spanish II classes that I have to revel and soak in this moment. I took the story script "Una persona especial" from Martina Bex and retold it in the preterit. Before telling the story I taught the vocab first, did gestures, dictionary pictures and practice sentences.
Then - I passed out a version of it written in present tense with the verbs underlined. Students read the written version out loud with a partner. Students had to change them BACK into preterit. We reviewed the preterit verbs and then students re-read with a partner their modified past tense version.
Next, students are going to rewrite this story with their own details. This story was PERFECT for a rewrite. They had to pick a new main character, a new placed the character walked to, a new famous/special person they saw. I made them fill out a "plan" sheet of their story and show it to me for credit before they left today.
The students will write the stories on a form that contains a rubric written specifically for this writing assessment. This is an "open" writing assessment meaning that I will allow them to use notes and dictionaries but not their friend or myself. Usually I don't give these types of "assessments" since it's not really measuring what they can do, but the assessments have been a little low lately and the category could use a boost, as well as the students' confidence level.
Finally, I will quickly breeze through their writing, assign them a proficiency level based on the rubric and circle errors. Students will pick two sentences with errors and re-write them correctly on Monday. .
It makes me nervous for whatever reason and the stories just seem to "lack" something that my Spanish I present tense stories have.
So I've decided to just GO FOR IT. It's a little ugly but I've got to try because I really do believe this style of teaching works.
www.martinabex.com saves my life over and over and over again. Martina's story scripts give me something to work with (or really everything because her scripts are HILARIOUS and contain fabulous high-frequency terms) so I can play with changing bits and pieces to past tense.
Today I felt a little but like a genius. It happens so rarely in my Spanish II classes that I have to revel and soak in this moment. I took the story script "Una persona especial" from Martina Bex and retold it in the preterit. Before telling the story I taught the vocab first, did gestures, dictionary pictures and practice sentences.
Then - I passed out a version of it written in present tense with the verbs underlined. Students read the written version out loud with a partner. Students had to change them BACK into preterit. We reviewed the preterit verbs and then students re-read with a partner their modified past tense version.
Next, students are going to rewrite this story with their own details. This story was PERFECT for a rewrite. They had to pick a new main character, a new placed the character walked to, a new famous/special person they saw. I made them fill out a "plan" sheet of their story and show it to me for credit before they left today.
The students will write the stories on a form that contains a rubric written specifically for this writing assessment. This is an "open" writing assessment meaning that I will allow them to use notes and dictionaries but not their friend or myself. Usually I don't give these types of "assessments" since it's not really measuring what they can do, but the assessments have been a little low lately and the category could use a boost, as well as the students' confidence level.
Finally, I will quickly breeze through their writing, assign them a proficiency level based on the rubric and circle errors. Students will pick two sentences with errors and re-write them correctly on Monday. .
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Classroom Management
Tonight I had a great opportunity to hear the thoughts of many other language teachers on a very popular topic: classroom management.
Oh, the joy of "managing" a classroom of (if you're lucky) thirty-some adolescent learners. This year I have more students than ever. Classroom space is at a premium and between trying to keep myself organized in a room that feels more like a shoebox than a learning space has been challenging. My largest class has thirty six students and my smallest is still a healthy twenty six.
Classroom management is complex. So many factors go into having a classroom run smoothly. I am still learning every day the hazards of managing my classroom and finding out that it is an art and definitely not a science. What works with one student will not with another. Or what works in one class will fail in another. But generally, across the board, a few things have made my life as a new (and very young looking teacher - this NEVER helps) easier.
1. Seating chart. No questions, no fuss, it is what it is. Assigned seats are not a punishment, they are an expectation in my class.
2. Transitions. There cannot be "down" time in any of my classes. We ALWAYS must be do something. I also set students up with a task as I pass out papers, as I get the next activity organized. They must not sit and talk in English, getting them back is always harder once you've let them go.
3. Balancing activities. Never does an activity in my class last longer than twenty minutes. On an eighty minute day this means we do at least four activities. I mix communicative activities with writing/reading activities. The breaks help make the writing/reading activities more peaceful. I find it helpful to get out of my shoebox room and work in the hall or a common space during communicative activities.
4. Establishing a connection with students. It's harder to be a complete jerk to a teacher that makes an effort to get to know you and shows that they care about you.
5. "I" statements. It sounds like couple's therapy, but for me it works. Rather than "You can't turn that in late," or "You need to have this done," I purposefully try to place myself in a position of authority. "I accept assignments that are turned in on time for credit." "I am willing to let students have the first ten minutes of lunch to finish their assessments." "I extend bathroom privileges to students that use them responsibly." "I am available to discuss this at 2:00." I. I. I. I am the teacher :)
And so much more to learn.
Oh, the joy of "managing" a classroom of (if you're lucky) thirty-some adolescent learners. This year I have more students than ever. Classroom space is at a premium and between trying to keep myself organized in a room that feels more like a shoebox than a learning space has been challenging. My largest class has thirty six students and my smallest is still a healthy twenty six.
Classroom management is complex. So many factors go into having a classroom run smoothly. I am still learning every day the hazards of managing my classroom and finding out that it is an art and definitely not a science. What works with one student will not with another. Or what works in one class will fail in another. But generally, across the board, a few things have made my life as a new (and very young looking teacher - this NEVER helps) easier.
1. Seating chart. No questions, no fuss, it is what it is. Assigned seats are not a punishment, they are an expectation in my class.
2. Transitions. There cannot be "down" time in any of my classes. We ALWAYS must be do something. I also set students up with a task as I pass out papers, as I get the next activity organized. They must not sit and talk in English, getting them back is always harder once you've let them go.
3. Balancing activities. Never does an activity in my class last longer than twenty minutes. On an eighty minute day this means we do at least four activities. I mix communicative activities with writing/reading activities. The breaks help make the writing/reading activities more peaceful. I find it helpful to get out of my shoebox room and work in the hall or a common space during communicative activities.
4. Establishing a connection with students. It's harder to be a complete jerk to a teacher that makes an effort to get to know you and shows that they care about you.
5. "I" statements. It sounds like couple's therapy, but for me it works. Rather than "You can't turn that in late," or "You need to have this done," I purposefully try to place myself in a position of authority. "I accept assignments that are turned in on time for credit." "I am willing to let students have the first ten minutes of lunch to finish their assessments." "I extend bathroom privileges to students that use them responsibly." "I am available to discuss this at 2:00." I. I. I. I am the teacher :)
And so much more to learn.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
It takes a village to raise a teacher
I am convinced that is takes the support of an entire network of amazing master teachers to raise a novice teacher.
Where would I be without the assurance that it gets easier? The countless tips I've received by the copy machine?
I have met some truly selfless people in this profession that would do anything to help a struggling new teacher. They offer lesson plans, talk classroom management strategies, bring you cups of coffee, or offer to watch your class for you so you can run to the bathroom quickly. They even offer to meet up with you outside of school time (gasp!) and mentor you.
It truly takes a village to raise a teacher. I only hope one day I can be as much of a service to young teachers as my mentors were to me.
Where would I be without the assurance that it gets easier? The countless tips I've received by the copy machine?
I have met some truly selfless people in this profession that would do anything to help a struggling new teacher. They offer lesson plans, talk classroom management strategies, bring you cups of coffee, or offer to watch your class for you so you can run to the bathroom quickly. They even offer to meet up with you outside of school time (gasp!) and mentor you.
It truly takes a village to raise a teacher. I only hope one day I can be as much of a service to young teachers as my mentors were to me.
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