I got back from NTPRS on Friday night. I was sad to leave the people but oh so happy to be back with my family and dry heat. As I have told many people, my "cup" (brain!) has been overflowing since Monday with all the good ideas and support my fellow TPRSers offered at the conference. I have been hoping to get some down time to process it all, but it doesn't look like that will happen for at least another week because the Mr. and I are leaving on our honeymoon tomorrow morning, so I've got my work cut out for me.
Anyhow, I wanted to share my notes from my google docs. It's almost all of my notes except for the ones scrawled on the back of my notebook. Enjoy!
Showing posts with label Skills. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Skills. Show all posts
Monday, July 25, 2011
Friday, April 1, 2011
Real Progress DOES come from CCCI
I read the proof today! My district participates in PLCs, thus we have common assessments. Since I am the only TPRS in my school (and district) I feel pressure when it comes to common assessments because I worry they don't know how to "play" the game.
Before spring break, our essential learning (per the mandated curriculum) was the perfect tenses. I was feeling up-tight, under pressure and worn down, so I slipped back into the trap of "hammering grammar" (through CI). No, it wasn't a good thing. I stuck to what I had planned, what I had to say, and didn't give the students enough CCCI... in my first and second hour classes. In my fifth hour, however, I always seemed to be in a more laid-back, student-centered mode and my fifth period blew the assessment away. We had wonderful, student-centered, compelling, contextualized, comprehensible input... and they learned the perfects much better than my other classes.
As if that weren't enough, this class sometimes struggles more than my other classes because their background knowledge of the language has some gaps. I was so proud. It really set me straight.
I even changed my original lesson plan today because of what I had learned from them. Instead of using fill in the blank sentences with por and para, we talked about what we will do this weekend, when we are leaving for it, how we will get there, why we are going there, etc. The students were much more engaged in the conversation than in some sentences on the board. Much more worth our time.
CI wins again.
Before spring break, our essential learning (per the mandated curriculum) was the perfect tenses. I was feeling up-tight, under pressure and worn down, so I slipped back into the trap of "hammering grammar" (through CI). No, it wasn't a good thing. I stuck to what I had planned, what I had to say, and didn't give the students enough CCCI... in my first and second hour classes. In my fifth hour, however, I always seemed to be in a more laid-back, student-centered mode and my fifth period blew the assessment away. We had wonderful, student-centered, compelling, contextualized, comprehensible input... and they learned the perfects much better than my other classes.
As if that weren't enough, this class sometimes struggles more than my other classes because their background knowledge of the language has some gaps. I was so proud. It really set me straight.
I even changed my original lesson plan today because of what I had learned from them. Instead of using fill in the blank sentences with por and para, we talked about what we will do this weekend, when we are leaving for it, how we will get there, why we are going there, etc. The students were much more engaged in the conversation than in some sentences on the board. Much more worth our time.
CI wins again.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Keeping it simple and going SLOW among other things...
This undoubtedly has been the biggest challenge to me in my quest this year. I feel like I started the year out very simply and went very slow. However, the more exhausted I've gotten, the sloppier I've gotten. (Surprised right?) After a much needed spring break, I feel like my brain is almost a brain again and not some mush in my head, so I've been much more able to reflect on what I'm doing in my classroom.
I'm really trying to keep it about the students in my classroom. It's tough to do that if you also want to keep it simple and go slow. That's a lot to remember. It doesn't sound like much to my non-teaching fiancé, but we know it is. It's difficult because not only do we need to keep these things in mind, but we also have no idea what the students are going to throw at us in their responses to questions.
Despite TPRS being a more difficult (and effective) way to teach students to acquire language, I've noticed that if I have enough sense to reflect back on a class period rather than just discount it as a "crash and burn" then I can be proud of the fact that my students with learning disabilities and students who have failed in other classes are thriving in mine. I can also look back and realize my students are able to decode anything someone throws at them. It's a beautiful thing to watch my first years, but it's sometimes a challenge to look at my third years through the same lens because they haven't had TPRS ever before so where my first years are thriving, my third years are throwing in the towel. Interesting...
So anyway, I'm focusing on keeping things simple and going SLOW and one of my classes even called me on it today. Good for them. As long as I keep working, they keep winning.
I'm really trying to keep it about the students in my classroom. It's tough to do that if you also want to keep it simple and go slow. That's a lot to remember. It doesn't sound like much to my non-teaching fiancé, but we know it is. It's difficult because not only do we need to keep these things in mind, but we also have no idea what the students are going to throw at us in their responses to questions.
Despite TPRS being a more difficult (and effective) way to teach students to acquire language, I've noticed that if I have enough sense to reflect back on a class period rather than just discount it as a "crash and burn" then I can be proud of the fact that my students with learning disabilities and students who have failed in other classes are thriving in mine. I can also look back and realize my students are able to decode anything someone throws at them. It's a beautiful thing to watch my first years, but it's sometimes a challenge to look at my third years through the same lens because they haven't had TPRS ever before so where my first years are thriving, my third years are throwing in the towel. Interesting...
So anyway, I'm focusing on keeping things simple and going SLOW and one of my classes even called me on it today. Good for them. As long as I keep working, they keep winning.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Straying...
It's been awhile since I've had the time (ie made the priority) to blog. We've made it through CSAPs and now we're staring spring break in the face: only 3 more days.
Today, in the midst of my planning madness, I had an epiphany. Recently, well very honestly since winter break, I've hit a rough patch. Especially in first year I've been struggling with personalization. Today we're (trying) to finish an extended reading. I know most people have trouble making things last with TPRS, but I have trouble making things end. I think I stray too much from the story, and don't focus on the structures enough. I know I've been doing a worse job lately, but it takes time to figure out exactly what the problem is and what to do about it.
But I think I finally did it. I need to focus on 1) Providing CI, 2) Providing Personalization, 3)Choosing structures that are high frequency. And that's where I get lost.
I'm using the LICT series with my year 1's and 3's. Year 1's, I've been mainly using Blaine's stories and his structures, but I haven't been successful with using his high frequency structures with personalization. I think this is due to me trying to "force" situations in which vocabulary from the curriculum will come up.
I need to remember: "Shelter vocabulary, not grammar" and also, "TEACH high frequency, COVER the rest."
Today, in the midst of my planning madness, I had an epiphany. Recently, well very honestly since winter break, I've hit a rough patch. Especially in first year I've been struggling with personalization. Today we're (trying) to finish an extended reading. I know most people have trouble making things last with TPRS, but I have trouble making things end. I think I stray too much from the story, and don't focus on the structures enough. I know I've been doing a worse job lately, but it takes time to figure out exactly what the problem is and what to do about it.
But I think I finally did it. I need to focus on 1) Providing CI, 2) Providing Personalization, 3)Choosing structures that are high frequency. And that's where I get lost.
I'm using the LICT series with my year 1's and 3's. Year 1's, I've been mainly using Blaine's stories and his structures, but I haven't been successful with using his high frequency structures with personalization. I think this is due to me trying to "force" situations in which vocabulary from the curriculum will come up.
I need to remember: "Shelter vocabulary, not grammar" and also, "TEACH high frequency, COVER the rest."
Monday, February 14, 2011
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!
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!
Saturday, January 22, 2011
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.
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?
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
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.
Bouncing back
Today during first period something amazing happened. I tried teaching commands through the hokey pokey. I was too scared to attempt this last year as it didn't fit my personality that I had built up between myself and my students. I remembered that if I am enthusiastic and don't care about looking stupid, neither do the kids (as much). So as we started the song I got the goofy "I'm so excited" look on my face, clapped and rubbed my hands together... and the fun started. We sang and danced, had a great time, and most importantly, we learned a few commands quickly and painlessly.
Throughout the day I did the song two more times. My fifth period was the best, I suspect because I had taken a risk. I had stepped outside the box. My kids appreciated doing something goofy and different (because I'm not that creative and amazing yet with the CI/TPRS skills as I'd like to be).
Sixth period finally felt like sixth period. No, my sixth period ROCKS. They are a great class. The reason it finally felt like sixth period is because things started to click today. I think I started going slow enough, pausing, personalizing and translating enough. During my sixth period today, I think my class exhaled because they finally had their teacher back, and I relaxed because I was finally back. I haven't felt much like myself since the beginning of this semester, but boy... It is GOOD to be back. :) I'm even kinda bummed that tomorrow is a test day!
Throughout the day I did the song two more times. My fifth period was the best, I suspect because I had taken a risk. I had stepped outside the box. My kids appreciated doing something goofy and different (because I'm not that creative and amazing yet with the CI/TPRS skills as I'd like to be).
Sixth period finally felt like sixth period. No, my sixth period ROCKS. They are a great class. The reason it finally felt like sixth period is because things started to click today. I think I started going slow enough, pausing, personalizing and translating enough. During my sixth period today, I think my class exhaled because they finally had their teacher back, and I relaxed because I was finally back. I haven't felt much like myself since the beginning of this semester, but boy... It is GOOD to be back. :) I'm even kinda bummed that tomorrow is a test day!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
You're just what I needed...
We had a wonderful 3 day weekend this past weekend. It was just what I needed after making the realization that I was/am burnt out. I've made some big shifts and so far life is much better. Today felt like I was even closer to being back on track with my classes than I have yet this semester. The main ingredient to success (especially in a high school classroom): enthusiasm.
Since I've started putting myself first, I have more enthusiasm and energy to use in the classroom. It's been a welcome shift. I've moved away from using my lazer pointer to moving around the room. I think this increases my students' learning two fold. They watch me as I move, so I know who's paying attention; and I slow down, so they have time to process. Things are coming together. I just need to become more focused on teaching to the eyes.
On another note, I'm hoping that this class I'm taking currently will pay off. I'm using the ADDIE instructional design template to design a "unit" (I guess?) around teaching my third years affirmative and negative commands through reading and storytelling. I'm hoping it'll be useful. If not, I've already made a few connections with my instructional coach at school which reaped a lot of benefits with interesting graphic organizers (which I can use in third year as reading checks/evaluations) and valuable discussions with her about the intended use of common assessments in our PLC work.
This week will go by quickly, but I feel like once I hit my stride with my first extended reading in each class, that's when I start to get comfortable again. I wonder why? Is it because I've gone through all the "steps" or is it because when we do the readings I feel like I have more of a crutch? Either way, I feel like my strength is incorporating reading. Which works out wonderfully since that's how we acquire language! :) What is your strength? How is this semester panning out for you?
Since I've started putting myself first, I have more enthusiasm and energy to use in the classroom. It's been a welcome shift. I've moved away from using my lazer pointer to moving around the room. I think this increases my students' learning two fold. They watch me as I move, so I know who's paying attention; and I slow down, so they have time to process. Things are coming together. I just need to become more focused on teaching to the eyes.
On another note, I'm hoping that this class I'm taking currently will pay off. I'm using the ADDIE instructional design template to design a "unit" (I guess?) around teaching my third years affirmative and negative commands through reading and storytelling. I'm hoping it'll be useful. If not, I've already made a few connections with my instructional coach at school which reaped a lot of benefits with interesting graphic organizers (which I can use in third year as reading checks/evaluations) and valuable discussions with her about the intended use of common assessments in our PLC work.
This week will go by quickly, but I feel like once I hit my stride with my first extended reading in each class, that's when I start to get comfortable again. I wonder why? Is it because I've gone through all the "steps" or is it because when we do the readings I feel like I have more of a crutch? Either way, I feel like my strength is incorporating reading. Which works out wonderfully since that's how we acquire language! :) What is your strength? How is this semester panning out for you?
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