“I thought it was really cool, it gave me something to strive for.” “I feel like they are an effective way to let the student know how they are doing.” “I like these because it helps me see my growth.” “They are great because I feel like I learned something.” Read more…
I resolved to do less in 2015, and I achieved that, partially through Google Classroom, partially through more careful vocabulary and language selection, partially through a carefully designed focus on performance and proficiency. Some of it was just deciding to stop while I was ahead. And so this year, instead of Read more…
You really need a whole class period–and a pack of fun stickers–to update e-portfolios. You could maybe squeeze two updates into one class period, but you’re basically just handing them excuses not to finish either if you do. Not so long ago, portfolios were a thing I expected my precious Read more…
So my students were getting stuck at Novice Mid. Their writing has been so simple and repetitive, plus they’re getting a lot of simple little words confused when they’re interpreting. Of course they’ve seen and heard these words in context in multiple different infographs and our TPRS story, at least Read more…
The goal for this IPA is not just to measure performance, but also to find the right resource to inspire my students to inspire others. Here’s how. Finding the right infograph I can find SO MANY AUTHENTIC INFOGRAPHS that my students can understand halfway through their first semester of Spanish! Read more…
Teaching with interactive notebooks has made me very intentional about how and what I teach. It makes me consider what belongs in a reference resource for a class with no textbook. It makes me break down information into one-page bites and figure out the most direct ways to represent that information. Read more…
When students leave my class, they should have a record of what they’ve accomplished, tangible evidence of their proficiency. I want them to have that evidence at their fingertips when they’re applying for jobs or looking to skip some college Spanish courses down the road. A portfolio is a useful tool. Read more…
ForAllRubrics has helped refocus students’ attention on proficiency and learning. Sure, there’s still a little grade grubbing here and there, but now instead of requests for extra credit, I get requests to redo and fix–to demonstrate proficiency! Now students talk in terms of Novice Mid and Intermediate Low instead of ABC or 9/10 Read more…
We have yet to pull off a face-to-face LangCamp to get our LangChat compañeros together to plot and plan over the summer. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have our own LangCamp parties close to home! I think North Carolina’s Analysis of Student Work portfolios for teacher evaluation are pushing Read more…
Each of my students gets his or her very own personally tailored final exam this year. Students have spent the last three weeks prior to exams rounding up resources (infographs, articles, videos, and contacts–to say nothing of the Pinterest pins and Diigo list from earlier in the Genius Hour process) and Read more…