Sunday, August 12, 2018
What am I waiting for?
So, I've been doing this for a long time, but still don't feel like an expert. What will make me an expert? How good do I have to be? I am ordinary, but extraordinary, too. I have acquired so many tools, but don't use any of them as well as some people can. What does that mean?
It means I'm doing what I can, with what I have, where I am. It means I'm making the tools mine. It means I'm improvising, trying new things, and learning from my mistakes.
I am fortunate to teach in a school that allows me to make mistakes. And, bottom line, my kids are acquiring Spanish! I have evidence with their video diaries that they are advancing in their performance.
When I interviewed for department head, the US director asked me to encourage my department to present at conferences. And I thought, wow, I should share at a conference! Then I thought, what would I share about? What am I expert at? And I realized, again, that I am on a journey, and I am advancing in my skill, and I have stuff to share even if I haven't arrived.
I was thinking about doing one more PD on running the circle, and I thought, what are they going to tell me that I don't already know? Yes, it's nice to be reminded and to have reassurance, but at some point I have to pull up my big girl pants and jump in!
So, this year, that's my goal. To use the tools I have and really dive into what I know works. To more than get my feet wet, but completely submerge myself in strategies and techniques that are challenging for me, a brain-damaged introvert, but that I can do and want to do and will do!
Here's to a good year!
Sunday, November 26, 2017
ACTFL Takeaways
A short list of Takeaways from ACTFL 2017:
1. "Time is Proficiency."
It takes 150-180 hours to move between sublevels in level I languages.
2. Essential questions.
Why does this matter?
3. Themes that connect.
Relevance
Relationships
Rigor
Real
4. Share targets and can-do's.
What if I wrote the objective on the board each day?
5. Backwards design.
Know where you're going, then map how to get there.
6. For further exploration:
Restorative Practices
Social Justice in the WL classroom
Virtual fieldtrips
Responsive teaching
7. Keeping them up and engaged and speaking Spanish.
prompts at the right level
organized
appropriate amount of time
8. "The relationships are the content."
9. Games!
I've got to learn Mafia!
Sunday, September 24, 2017
Make it 100%!
Last Friday I went to Innovation Academy Charter School in Tyngsboro, MA, to observe the amazing, inspiring, and energetic Ashley Uyaguari in action. I have new ideas that I am excited to implement TOMORROW in my classes.
I like the simplified lesson plan blocks:
fun writing
v
convo > hook/topic
Within that block:
vocab
game
convos
writing
convos
So a plan might be:
Review vocab. natural disasters (hook). Make up actions for each kind of event.
Partners back-to-back. One draws then describes, other draws and names. Compare pictures, check. (volutas)
In cuaderno, rank natural disasters from bad to worse. (mal, peor, el más peor).
Cross the line activity: 2 disasters, which is worse
Hook: Watch video: https://www.facebook.com/ajplusespanol/videos/1643228742396135/
New vocab.
I/O circles with music- new partners- describe the dogs
This feels like a good way to use vocabulary we have practiced but in a more appropriate way.
It also connects with other things. We could go with pets, jobs, emergency services workers, getting help, helping-- so many threads to tug.
When I presented this topic, I was concerned about the first earthquake in Mexico, then the hurricane, then more hurricanes then another earthquake. So we talked about the events, and generated a list, associated with pictures, not actions. And there wasn't a lot to do with that vocab. because they had those words, but not words to use them with. We read Maris Hawkins' first Noticias, asking lots of CQ's as we read. It was OK, but I am more excited about tomorrow.
Monday, August 10, 2015
OWL bootcamp 2015
Wow. I was fortunate to attend bootcamp for 6 days of OWL training. My head is so full of ideas and information! Here's some of what I've learned:
We started the week with community building activities. We need the support of the community to take the risks that learning another language demands. The maze was the most powerful of the activities: there was no way out without asking for help. Even after people heard others getting out of the maze by virtue of asking for help, they were reluctant to ask.What makes our students reluctant to ask for help? How can we encourage them to take even that risk?
We started Monday be reflecting on our essential question for the week. Mine was: How can I make OWL my own and implement it, fully and successfully, in my class? We had a guest presenter, Arnold, who talked about the ACTFL levels. The EQ: How does proficiency and research affect our practice? We watched samples of interviews and tried to rate them, and I got them all wrong. I need to spend more time learning the levels. Memorization occurs naturally through use, so if I use the levels more and practice making evaluations, I will get better at it. Since this will be an important part of my evaluation of students, I need to get on it and soon. Proficiency and research are the basis for all that we do in an OWL classroom. It's all about increasing my students' proficiency and moving them forward in an authentic and engaging way. Proficiency is not performance, but performance is an indicator of proficiency on a certain topic. I am not a trained OPI interviewer, but I can still evaluate my students' performance. Later in the week at a lunch table I listened to Ricardo talk about really listening to what our students can do. I said: "Listen to what they say, not what you hear." Filling in the blanks as a listener distorts my evaluation
Tuesday's EQ: How does our classroom ignite student learning? We did some circles and saw how it works. Afternoon was about literacy. There are different kinds of literacy: regular, authentic, multi. I need to remember to use more authentic resources in my classroom. I have so much bookmarked, I need to organize my bookmarks and be able to find what I need and can use.
Wednesday's EQ was How do we measure student progress and growth?
We used the ATLAS protocol to evaluate student work, and did a gallery walk to view some samples of what each other's students are doing. I am very proud of my students' video promoting MVS, but it was a project that was pretty directed by me, and students probably did not use Spanish while creating them.
We were asked to list the things we bring to the classroom. What am I passionate about? I can't re-create everything I wrote on my 3x5 card, but here is some of it: I'm passionate about teaching and learning. I love Spanish. Dedication to improvement and growth-- both personally and for my students. Commitment to social justice.
We looked at rubrics to evaluate student performance. There are several in my OWL booklet that I need to remember to use.
Thursday's EQ: How do we use student interest to drive learning? We use the students as our curriculum. We pull from their lives, from current events, from their interests. We use concept maps to "organize" ideas. I can put up a concept map during English week that the students can add to. The levels of questioning that we use push the students to the next level.
Ricardo gave us an abbreviated preview of his ACTFL presentation: using pictures to spark conversation, threads, progressions. Start with a question, picture or content that is pulled from your students. Provide a prompt or task. Students share in groups (2,3,4). Use the responses to begin taking the class in a direction. " A progression is a lot like a river, you want to flow with it, wherever it goes." We can ask complex questions, even of our novice learners.
We did the 3x5 card again, this time reflecting on what do our students bring to the table. Hormones! Interest. Curiosity. Eagerness. Enthusiasm. Intelligence. Trust. Energy. Again, I can't remember everything I wrote on my card. It is good to remember that my students have much to contribute to the class! When experienced enough, kids can even run the circle themselves.
English week was introduced to me at this bootcamp. I had heard about it in the forum, but now have an understanding of its purpose. We talk about what we are doing and why; it's that simple. We explain the ACTFL levels, discuss proficiency and set goals.
Friday we put it all together. We had one breakout session on digital portfolios, games, the intermediate circle-- and then we had to leave. When we got to the airport, we found that our flight was delayed! Julia was at the gate, and it was fun to talk with her on our way back to Dayton. She is starting her first year of teaching, and it struck me that she, too, had much to offer, even starting out.
We started the week with community building activities. We need the support of the community to take the risks that learning another language demands. The maze was the most powerful of the activities: there was no way out without asking for help. Even after people heard others getting out of the maze by virtue of asking for help, they were reluctant to ask.What makes our students reluctant to ask for help? How can we encourage them to take even that risk?
We started Monday be reflecting on our essential question for the week. Mine was: How can I make OWL my own and implement it, fully and successfully, in my class? We had a guest presenter, Arnold, who talked about the ACTFL levels. The EQ: How does proficiency and research affect our practice? We watched samples of interviews and tried to rate them, and I got them all wrong. I need to spend more time learning the levels. Memorization occurs naturally through use, so if I use the levels more and practice making evaluations, I will get better at it. Since this will be an important part of my evaluation of students, I need to get on it and soon. Proficiency and research are the basis for all that we do in an OWL classroom. It's all about increasing my students' proficiency and moving them forward in an authentic and engaging way. Proficiency is not performance, but performance is an indicator of proficiency on a certain topic. I am not a trained OPI interviewer, but I can still evaluate my students' performance. Later in the week at a lunch table I listened to Ricardo talk about really listening to what our students can do. I said: "Listen to what they say, not what you hear." Filling in the blanks as a listener distorts my evaluation
Tuesday's EQ: How does our classroom ignite student learning? We did some circles and saw how it works. Afternoon was about literacy. There are different kinds of literacy: regular, authentic, multi. I need to remember to use more authentic resources in my classroom. I have so much bookmarked, I need to organize my bookmarks and be able to find what I need and can use.
Wednesday's EQ was How do we measure student progress and growth?
We used the ATLAS protocol to evaluate student work, and did a gallery walk to view some samples of what each other's students are doing. I am very proud of my students' video promoting MVS, but it was a project that was pretty directed by me, and students probably did not use Spanish while creating them.
We were asked to list the things we bring to the classroom. What am I passionate about? I can't re-create everything I wrote on my 3x5 card, but here is some of it: I'm passionate about teaching and learning. I love Spanish. Dedication to improvement and growth-- both personally and for my students. Commitment to social justice.
We looked at rubrics to evaluate student performance. There are several in my OWL booklet that I need to remember to use.
Thursday's EQ: How do we use student interest to drive learning? We use the students as our curriculum. We pull from their lives, from current events, from their interests. We use concept maps to "organize" ideas. I can put up a concept map during English week that the students can add to. The levels of questioning that we use push the students to the next level.
Ricardo gave us an abbreviated preview of his ACTFL presentation: using pictures to spark conversation, threads, progressions. Start with a question, picture or content that is pulled from your students. Provide a prompt or task. Students share in groups (2,3,4). Use the responses to begin taking the class in a direction. " A progression is a lot like a river, you want to flow with it, wherever it goes." We can ask complex questions, even of our novice learners.
We did the 3x5 card again, this time reflecting on what do our students bring to the table. Hormones! Interest. Curiosity. Eagerness. Enthusiasm. Intelligence. Trust. Energy. Again, I can't remember everything I wrote on my card. It is good to remember that my students have much to contribute to the class! When experienced enough, kids can even run the circle themselves.
English week was introduced to me at this bootcamp. I had heard about it in the forum, but now have an understanding of its purpose. We talk about what we are doing and why; it's that simple. We explain the ACTFL levels, discuss proficiency and set goals.
Friday we put it all together. We had one breakout session on digital portfolios, games, the intermediate circle-- and then we had to leave. When we got to the airport, we found that our flight was delayed! Julia was at the gate, and it was fun to talk with her on our way back to Dayton. She is starting her first year of teaching, and it struck me that she, too, had much to offer, even starting out.
Monday, March 30, 2015
Martes
Here is the plan I posted yesterday:
So tomorrow is the first day back after break and after my 2 days of OWL. How will it be different?
In my exploring Spanish class, we will practice with greetings and etc. From Que tal? we'll go to Que tal las vacaciones? Then talk about what they did on their vacations. Acting it out, drawing it. No English. One week of Spanish. We'll do 5x5x10, and in the air. We'll play mora as a brain break after we review numbers 0-10. I think I can pull a fair bit of vocab from them, talking about activities they did on their vacation.
In my Spanish 1A class, I will teach them new expectations. No English-o. Dibújalo, o actúalo. We will also talk about vacations, and I will pull vocabulary from them. Transitions: jump forward, backward, left, right. Hands up, hands down.
In my 8th grade classes I will do the same. Review vacation vocabulary. Review new expectations. New transitions. Do conversa y descubre activity. Tarea: cara a cara WS.
We'll see how it goes!
In my exploring Spanish class, we will practice with greetings and etc. From Que tal? we'll go to Que tal las vacaciones? Then talk about what they did on their vacations. Acting it out, drawing it. No English. One week of Spanish. We'll do 5x5x10, and in the air. We'll play mora as a brain break after we review numbers 0-10. I think I can pull a fair bit of vocab from them, talking about activities they did on their vacation.
In my Spanish 1A class, I will teach them new expectations. No English-o. Dibújalo, o actúalo. We will also talk about vacations, and I will pull vocabulary from them. Transitions: jump forward, backward, left, right. Hands up, hands down.
In my 8th grade classes I will do the same. Review vacation vocabulary. Review new expectations. New transitions. Do conversa y descubre activity. Tarea: cara a cara WS.
We'll see how it goes!
Here is what I will do tomorrow:
In my Exploring Spanish class, we will review the vocabulary we came up with today: las vacaciones; la escuela; (muy) bien; (muy) mal; así,así; regular; mas o menos. We'll start a circle with greetings, como estas/que tal, expand to que tal las vacaciones. Then get into the vocab. Can I pull Where did you go? How did you go? That would get us into transportation. Cross the circle like_____.
What amazed me is how SLOWLY the novice low 6th grade class went today compared to the novice mid-high 7th and 8th grade classes. Repetitions! Activities! Brain Breaks!
In 7th grade, we pulled honesto, las vacaciones, un museo, actor, and la playa. Something to start with. We'll talk more about vacations: where and what they did.
In 8th grade, we found people who_____. Then we talked about question words. Tomorrow, students will use the questions they devised at home to talk to each other about vacations. I'll have them in groups of 3 or 4 at first to check the questions, then new partners to ask the questions. We'll review places in the city. Did they go there on vacation?
Both 7th and 8th are doing an accountability exit slip with me. Maybe I should have 6th grade do it, too.
I'm over 8,000 steps, and that's usually my daily total! Woo-hoo!
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Comunidad
For much of my teaching career I operated under the belief that if we weren't using Spanish it wasn't valuable. I have come to learn that sometimes it is OK to use no language-- to engage in activities simply to build community, trust, and to have fun! Here are some of our favorites:
Asesino o rana: one person is the asesino or the rana-- asesinos "kill" by winking, and ranas kill by sticking out their tongue-- while a detective (absent from the room when the asesino is chosen) tries to identify the culprit before everyone "dies."
Achi-pachi: one person in the center, everyone closes syes, teacher selects a/some student(s) by tapping them on the back. The center person asks a question-- the same question-- of various members of the class. Students answer correctly, or, if they were tapped, answer with "achi-pachi", at which point everyone has to move to a new seat at least 2 seats over from where they were, while the person in the center also tries to find a seat. The one left standing takes the center for another round.
Two simple activities/games that leave everyone smiling!
Asesino o rana: one person is the asesino or the rana-- asesinos "kill" by winking, and ranas kill by sticking out their tongue-- while a detective (absent from the room when the asesino is chosen) tries to identify the culprit before everyone "dies."
Achi-pachi: one person in the center, everyone closes syes, teacher selects a/some student(s) by tapping them on the back. The center person asks a question-- the same question-- of various members of the class. Students answer correctly, or, if they were tapped, answer with "achi-pachi", at which point everyone has to move to a new seat at least 2 seats over from where they were, while the person in the center also tries to find a seat. The one left standing takes the center for another round.
Two simple activities/games that leave everyone smiling!
Monday, Monday....
So tomorrow is the first day back after break and after my 2 days of OWL. How will it be different?
In my exploring Spanish class, we will practice with greetings and etc. From Que tal? we'll go to Que tal las vacaciones? Then talk about what they did on their vacations. Acting it out, drawing it. No English. One week of Spanish. We'll do 5x5x10, and in the air. We'll play mora as a brain break after we review numbers 0-10. I think I can pull a fair bit of vocab from them, talking about activities they did on their vacation.
In my Spanish 1A class, I will teach them new expectations. No English-o. Dibújalo, o actúalo. We will also talk about vacations, and I will pull vocabulary from them. Transitions: jump forward, backward, left, right. Hands up, hands down.
In my 8th grade classes I will do the same. Review vacation vocabulary. Review new expectations. New transitions. Do conversa y descubre activity. Tarea: cara a cara WS.
We'll see how it goes!
In my exploring Spanish class, we will practice with greetings and etc. From Que tal? we'll go to Que tal las vacaciones? Then talk about what they did on their vacations. Acting it out, drawing it. No English. One week of Spanish. We'll do 5x5x10, and in the air. We'll play mora as a brain break after we review numbers 0-10. I think I can pull a fair bit of vocab from them, talking about activities they did on their vacation.
In my Spanish 1A class, I will teach them new expectations. No English-o. Dibújalo, o actúalo. We will also talk about vacations, and I will pull vocabulary from them. Transitions: jump forward, backward, left, right. Hands up, hands down.
In my 8th grade classes I will do the same. Review vacation vocabulary. Review new expectations. New transitions. Do conversa y descubre activity. Tarea: cara a cara WS.
We'll see how it goes!
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