Getting over January...

This semester started out rough to say the least.  I'm not sure what happened, but it hit me like a ton of bricks.  I started the semester a bit differently than those previously, so maybe that is why.  I don't know if I'll start it out that way again.  Anyway, I'm finally starting to feel the groove again.  Which is a relief. 

Today I came out of a daze and started taking control again.  The beginning of the semester seemed like someone else was teaching my classes for me and I was just in my body watching it happen, which is no way to teach with TPRS/CI.  I have been sick to say the least, BUT I slept for about 36 hours over this weekend and am finally feeling like myself again.  WHEW!

This week is a tough week because 1) today is Valentine's day (so we talked about el día de la amistad so that no one felt left out!), 2) Wednesday is a late start because of PLC work, and 3) we have Friday off... among all of these I have a year 2 mentor meeting after school this week AND my post-observation conference with my AP.  Thus, it's a really good thing to be back (mentally). 

This stretch of being out of it has really made me aware of how important it is to always be on top of what is going on in the classes.  I realized last week that I need to stop during my extended readings to tell students to put pencils down because the pencils had crept into their hands over the past semester and I was getting a lot less eye contact.  Once I did that, things started to really shape up.  This week's challenge - PERSONALIZATION.  I've gotta get that personal touch back.  Here's to working hard!

Formal observations

Although I've been working on my perfectionism A LOT this year, formal observations still get my panties in a bunch.  I worry and fret, and usually get sick over nothing.  I know I'm a _____ (good? decent? second-year? average? outstanding?) teacher, and I should be ok with that.  I know I work my tail off and want the best for my students.  I try to work as a team with my colleagues and be a contributing member to teams  and committees that I'm involved with.  On the outside, I know my job will be ok.  On the inside, I worry. 

Nevertheless... I think this formal observation, while not my shining classroom moment, was a lot more stress-free than the last. It's possible that I'm just getting used to the beat of the formal observation drum.  This is my fourth now... and it helps that I really feel supported by my administrator in the method I'm using this year.  Who knows.

Despite all of the stress that comes with a formal observation, my shining moment today was when a student approached me after class and told me she dreampt in Spanish the other night!  HOLY MOLY!  No way!  I was super proud because I think that means she's getting ample comprehensible input in class (which only meets three days a week for 59 minutes!). Go me!

Hitting a wall...

All of this pertains to my sixth period class, which is why I'm perplexed.  None of my other classes are having this problem.  Since we've gotten back from winter break, the dynamic in my 6th period class has changed a lot.  Before it was a class I looked forward to every day, now I know it will be a challenge.  The students have changed a bit, and I'm not sure why this is happening.

Stories that I use in another class go very well and have good classroom participation (for February...).  I understand that stories may not go well in two different classes, but it's a struggle because I feel like my sixth period hasn't had a truly engaging class since we've returned from break! 

I'm really trying to focus on point and pause right now, because when I feel like things aren't going well, I tend to speed up in hopes of stumbling on something interesting.  When I point and pause, I feel like I get more student engagement, but that the students are still lacking engagement. 

I guess the lack of engagement is due to personalization.  I really try to get my students involved in the story.  I try to have actors, but they never really act.  They stand in the front of the room and distract. I try and use their interests, but it doesn't work.

I feel like there's this negative attitude in my classroom.  It started with one boy, then spread to another, now to a girl that sits between them.   They don't say anything, but I can read their body language. 

Any suggestions?  Is it me or is it the time of year?

Sunday, Fun day

Sundays usually come with some anxiety for me.  The past couple have been exceptionally bad.  I get anxious because I'm worried/doubtful that I've got the very best story/lesson possible for Monday's classes.  Once first and second period on Monday have passed, I'm usually much better.  And by the end of the day, I'm confident that I can make it the rest of the week.  Why is Sunday so stressful? 
This Sunday's remedy came when I finally crafted a story for my third years with the following structures: no digas (don't say/tell), no pongas (don't put), no te pierdas (don't get lost).  It's difficult to come up with a story with all three.  It was probably pretty silly of me to pick these three commands, but alas I have a story.  It involves Bill Gates eating love pills (from another story) and talking with a few of his friends and his mother about his overpowering love of Lady Gaga.  He gets better when Steve Jobs gives him a shot of hate.  There's a lot of dialogue because we're focusing on commands, so I'm banking on the fact that my students will help me out.  I hope they will.  January always makes for a tough crowd. Happy Sunday!

How to create interesting stories with time-limited classes????

Lately, I've realized that I continue to make the same mistake with my third year students - I teach too high for most of them.  Since my students only meet for an hour at a time for only three days a week, they don't have the same level of background/acquisition as other third year students.  This makes it difficult because they haven't acquired as much, but the curriculum we follow seems to disregard the lack of time/acquisition that my students have had. 
I'm struggling with creating interesting, grammar-focused, vocabulary limited stories for them.  But then again, maybe I'm not letting them play the game - I need to personalize more.

Sheltering vocabulary not grammar...

This seems to be a recurring theme for me: the struggle between covering it all and getting my students to acquire the language.  I realized that during my struggle to get myself back on track this semester, I assigned a vocabulary relevant story, but a grammatically irrelevant story (since we have a common assessment coming up).  We're currently reading the story ourselves.  So now I'm stuck in a situation where I have to navigate this mistake.  I need to get my students back to focusing on commands.  Does this mean I totally drop the story to the wayside or is there some other way to get them back on track.  The story follows a similar story line as one from Blaine Ray's LICT muchísimo book - Girl sells love pills, girl accidentally takes love pills, girl immediately falls in love with herself and never leaves the bathroom.  That's where I get into a bind - there aren't any other characters in my story, so it's pretty difficult to incorporate some sort of commands.  Any ideas out there?

TEACH high frequency, COVER the rest.

I love this quote from Blaine Ray - "TEACH high frequency, COVER the rest."  It is such a great piece of advice.  I've been stressing over all the vocabulary that I need to "teach" this semester as it seems like third year Spanish has waaaaay more grammar than is viable.  But as long as I stick to teaching the high frequency stuff, I can "cover" the rest through being random vocabulary in stories and on their vocabulary lists.  *sigh* It was just the piece of advice I was looking for today.  Sometimes I just need someone to remind me what TPRS is all about.