In which I get some relevant tips on encouraging critical thinking in the target language. [View the story “#FLANC50 Sessions: Round 6” on Storify] In which I am moved to engage hearts and minds from the beginning and to scaffold experiences to build confidence instead of stress. [View the story Read more…
To earn a slot on the Governor’s Teacher Network, I need to propose units I want to develop. This could be my big chance to promote projects that not only make language truly relevant but that make students lives better. So I took another look at the North Carolina Essential Standards (novice, Read more…
La Laja is a school in Icononzo, Tolima in Colombia. They have one classroom and around 50 students. Some students walk 2 hours to get there. Ayudando Ando is a charity group out of Bogotá that seeks to support the growth of this tiny school buried in the mountains of Read more…
I called up a former student who is an EMT and for whom Spanish class did not quite go far enough: excerpts of our conversation can be found under “Los problemas” in the app I made on appsbar.com as an entry event for the First Aid unit. You can see, and use, a preview Read more…
The assignment for my Advanced Expression class (2nd to last before my Master’s is done!) is to plan a lesson in which your students learn or practice/develop their ability to write a description or narrate a story. We’re to tie it to a couple of the new Common Core Essential Read more…
I’m on a roll! Not just workshops, but booths at my new district’s Teaching & Learning Conference have inspired still more driving questions. Plus I’ve been ruminating over how to phrase questions for materials I’ve used before (with minimal to moderate success but potential somewhere in there deep down). I Read more…
The first day, I’ll give students a survey to let them rate the which Driving Questions capture their interest the most on a scale of “Now that I know this is an option, I cannot enjoy class without exploring this” to “I could get into this” to “Please, I think Read more…
It seems it was a mistake not to start my English classes with the Odyssey in the past. I have had the most successful start to a year that I may have had in all my nine years of starting classes. Full disclosure: it might be the kids, not me. Read more…
We’re all over the news for our impending transition. OK, we have an article in the Hickory Daily Record. But the switch is drawing closer and closer, and we’re feeling a little like beheaded poultry. Recruitment for next year is already underway, and we don’t have a lot of answers Read more…
lckillian…MrsH_English…Huerter0…SraH_Espanol…Sra. Spanglish I graduated with a BS and thought I was an English teacher. I got Spanish certification and became a Spanglish teacher. I moved and quit teaching English (job availability, you know). I got my first English I class on top of 2 Spanish I classes and 2 Spanish Read more…