Blogging is just the beginning. It gives students a starting point, a place to hash out what they can–and want to–say about their goals and progress. Their compañeros can check in on them too. But you may have noticed in your own learning experience: real collaboration doesn’t happen in the comment Read more…
If my students learn nothing else in my class, they will learn how to set a goal and how to follow through. Blogging is a pretty useful tool when it comes to goal setting. Blogs are a record of progress, a place for reflection, and an avenue for sharing–all important Read more…
So throwing a bunch of ideas into Common Curriculum and then sorting them out as I went, it worked super well today! I managed to connect grammar, music, and project goals as if I weren’t kind of mentally checked out before Spring Break Part 2 already. I could have been a little Read more…
Portfolios have been working really well this year. Blogs have also been working really well. After TELLcollab, though, I think they can work even better together. Think about it: no need for a whole separate Google Site. No need to create a class blog for each project. No need to Read more…
As in “for a reason.” Or “within reason.” Having a reason for each choice, an end goal in mind–but also accounting for available resources (time, experience…patience). In a way, this One Word resolution kind of combines my previous two: Word for 2014: Prepare Word for 2015: Less In order to Read more…
My Spanish students will start the year with a meaningful personal change. Here’s how. Goal Selection Day 1 we will take a look at organization issues: time, materials, and money. I’ve broken the questions down on Nearpod with a poll to introduce the issue and some possible sub categories Read more…
Puedo is for permission; quiero is for YOUR mission. Earlier in the semester, it became apparent that I needed a way for students to get what they needed, so I whipped up an interactive notebook page on Piktochart, and we ran through some gestures. (While I was at it, I included Read more…
SAT Prep doesn’t have to be about the test. Especially with the new format, it comes down to what students need and why. If they need to parse scientific, literary, or historical texts, WHY do they need to do it? What situation in their lives might demand it? What do Read more…
High school sophomores might not be ready to change the world. And novices are really only qualified to talk about themselves. That’s why, as the King of Pop said, I’m starting with me. Well, yo. The point of Project-Based Learning is learning, yes. But more than that, it’s about doing. Read more…
I’ve been assigning students to assign themselves their own weekly homework assignments based on ACTFL Can-Do Statments this year. My goal was for students to get some extra practice with the language, maybe find some enjoyable real-world application, and feel better about their skills, all while creating something they could stick in their Read more…