Today I am awesome. I have plenty–PLENTY–of days like my amiga Amy describes, but today? Today was not one of them. Brace yourself for a lot of typing in capitals. Today easily 90% of the class was in Spanish. Though I only actually caught about 1/3 of them using 90% target Read more…
Groups of 10-15 students had positive, productive conversations before break, conversations lasting fifteen minutes or more in the target language. What’s more is the conversations affirmed good feelings among collaborators and kept the conversation positive and the energy controlled and calm. I had been out sick most of the week before Read more…
#1 – My kids are amazing. They can do so much with the language in Spanish II!#2 – My tasks are a little off level-wise. But my kids are amazing anyway.#3 – AAPPL rubrics are also amazing. I have been extremely satisfied with my decision to switch to Integrated Performance Assessment format Read more…
‘Tis the season for awesome regional conferences! As if we didn’t learn enough from tweets from #SWCOLT15 & #FLENJ15, #SCOLT15 & #CLTA15 (even more Free PD from over the years available here), we wrap up this week with the Central States! Perhaps it is disloyal to my local region, but one of Read more…
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…
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 have been hyperconscious of my targets since the SWCOLT presentation at ACTFL ’14. The Benny Hill music with the moving targets really hit home what I had been asking of students with past incarnations of portfolios and learning objectives. So I’m spending extra time to make sure students see Read more…
I know my goal for the year is to focus more on Less, but my portfolio process demands a little bit of both. And so, after hours days weeks of retooling, I am once again overhauling what portfolios look like in my Spanish classes: MORE – proficiency expectations: we’re gonna Read more…
In case you haven’t seen it, my guide to becoming a 21st Century world language teacher is THE SINGLE MOST POPULAR THING I HAVE EVER POSTED. I collected resources from a lot of the big brains around our little Twitter PLN for this page. It’s not a “post” per se, but Read more…