I attended #SWCOLT15 and #FLENJ15 in my pajamas last week. This weekend, it was #SCOLT15 and #CLTA15. #SCOLT15: So much to learn about proficiency, project-based learning, plus connections, comprehensible input, and tech and culture! Bob Patrick’s tips on comprehensible input (with some sidenotes from Thomas Sauer) and Clarissa Adams Fletcher Read more…
Entry Events are the first step in my Alphabet Soup unit model, which combines Project-Based Learning (PBL), Target Language instruction (TL), Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS), Integrated Performance Asessments (IPA), ACTFL Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Languages (AAPPL), and Teaching Like a Pirate (TLAP).This process gives my units a Read more…
Switching to proficiency-based evaluation, one of my biggest problems was understanding the breakdown of the different levels and what tasks are actually appropriate for each. Back in the day, I would require paragraphs on Spanish I tests because I thought that’s what rigor meant, not because students had demonstrated readiness Read more…
The first three-ring circus of grades is done for this semester. Three rings, because this was my first attempt at incorporating Integrated Performance Assessments as tests instead of portfolios, and I’m trying to make use of badges in a meaningful way now too. As you can imagine, though, managing all Read more…
I attended two amazing conferences this weekend without getting out of bed! (I mean, I got up for lunch and all, but you get my point.) While there is no substitute for absorbing the good will and affection of people you admire and hope to emulate, there is something to Read more…
It’s almost time to gear up for the Lenoir-Rhyne Language Festival! In Spanish I last year, my kiddos selected two songs, developed dances and costumes, created maracas with water bottles and duct tape, and performed a mashup of “La Bamba” and “Danza Kuduro.” They also got a lot of great Read more…
Teachers don’t need another hero, but we do need teacher leaders. (Tina Turner photo) “…Or you can close the door and subvert.” This was one of the options that was offered in my Methods of Teaching High School English class over a decade ago. It seemed like kind of a heroic Read more…
Students need nourishment, and they rely on us to providetime, techniques, and sustenance their budding palates can handle In my quest to include everything as a baby teacher, I made it impossible to keep up with…well, anything. I constantly bit off more than I could chew instructionally speaking. And goodness knows if I couldn’t Read more…
My first EDPuzzle IPA mashup went pretty smoothly this week. I think it really helped students break down the listening into manageable chunks to make the overall task approachable. I’m also really glad that I chose to add in my little summary audio commentary at various intervals because students were still Read more…
My students will be singing songs from our coro starters for years to come (some proved today they still have “1977” stuck in their head from over a year ago!) The activity has proven to be hands-down THE most popular part of Spanish class, but it needed a little reworking to Read more…