I've been working really hard on developing an English IV and Honors English curriculum this semester. I've also been trying to push Spanish II forward, and have been looking ahead to the possibility of Spanish III and IV. I've been coasting through my Spanish I, trying to catch up with everything else. On Thursday, it bit me in the temporal adverb.
I've been through this lesson a dozen times before, so I came in a little underprepared. I hadn't looked over my notes or the handout that I'd be giving--this presentation had worked every other year; why not today? Well, it didn't. It was kind of a disaster. I still don't know what happened; I wish I'd been video taping. The practical upshot is that I had to re-teach the entire lesson on Friday.
This experience got me thinking about taking things for granted. For the first time in my professional career, I haven't had to fight tooth and nail for every inch of learning my students achieve. Some of them study Spanish outside of class; many of them use my throw-away utterances in their own Spanish conversations. Most of them know better than to ask for translations or to shout out the English once they've figured something out. I have yet to send a student to the principal's office, or indeed to use any punitive measure other than a reminder of rules and procedures, maybe an explanation of why they're important, and to hold some "extreme" cases after class for a minute.
It's March now, and because of all the amazing achievements my students are making, I've been thinking that I'm doing a great job of teaching them. Also, they mostly behave really well, so I sort of thought my classroom community program was working effectively. It turns out I'm the guy born on third who thinks he hit a triple. I've gotten lazy with re-teaching expectations, positively reinforcing behaviors, reviewing content, and re-designing lessons to meet students' needs. In fact, I've almost forgotten that the students have needs. I've been teaching Spanish 1 for long enough that most of my weekly plans play on several different intelligence types, and most contain some level of differentiation of instruction. So I really have just been pulling out old weekly plans and photocopying old handouts, and calling it a day.
Thursday really was a wake-up call for me: I can't make it through the week just planning my "new" classes. My Spanish I students deserve the same level of prep that my English students do. I apologized to them on Friday as I re-taught the lesson, hopefully better. (It felt better.) If there are any students reading this now, I apologize again.
Showing posts with label activity analyisis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label activity analyisis. Show all posts
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Saturday, January 2, 2010
"So, what do you do in Spanish class?" (2 of 2)
Different kinds of activities and their educational value
This is a messy kind of post. It's the blog post equivalent of tearing everything out of your closet and shelves and throwing it in heaps on your bed and on the floor, as you install a new closet shelving system and re-organize everything you've just been cramming anywhere they'd fit for the last 3 1/2 years.
The heaps I'm going to try to throw things in look like this:
A.) Kind of activity. These, hopefully, will be broad descriptions of the sorts of things we do in Spanish class. Refinements to come as necessary.
B.) Chunk, chew, or check? Are these activities' primary value as a tool for presenting new information (chunk), as a way of processing or practicing information (chew), or as an assessment tool (check)? This is directly from Kathleen Kryza's work on co-teaching (and, indirectly, differentiated instruction) with our ISD, and thus probably from one of the several books written by Kryza, Duncan, and Stevens.
C.) Outcome, engagement, and materials. These are 3 of the 6 qualities from the last blog post. The others are less activity-specific, so I shouldn't need to include them for each activity.
A.) PAIRED and SMALL-GROUP SPEAKING ACTIVITIES. Examples: Information-gap activities, interviews, ask-and-answer sessions, etc.
Initial thoughts: This is the kind of activity where my thinking most needs clarification. I do these spontaneously all the time, and so they're probably the least structured.
B.) Chew [check]. Done with each other, they're definitely chew activities. So they require some prep work first; namely, how and why to say what they're to be saying.
C.) Outcome: Students will have the experience of performing the communicative task. In addition, some will result in new content knowledge, others will have a written element to them. In the tasks that have no written or drawn component, an oral checkout of some kind becomes necessary.
Engagement: Students are speaking in Spanish, trying out new words, asking questions, writing information as it becomes available or necessary.
Materials: Teacher-provided handouts, self-generated information, paper, pencil, etc.
2A.) WRITING CONVERSATIONS. Examples--passing notes, threaded on-line discussions (i.e., Moodle), instant messaging, text messages.
Initial thoughts: I have never, to my shame, done one of the technologically based activities. The reasons for this include a lot of bad reasons involving time management and my capacity for building online classes.
B.) Chew (check). Just like spoken conversations, these are mostly a chance for students to mount up on their new vocabulary and take it out for a test drive. It can also be used as a formative assessment--I would hesitate to use it as a summative assessment, though.
More of this in a future post. I know it says 2 of 2 in the title, and need to be getting on with my day, but I'm not done with the topic, so more to come.
This is a messy kind of post. It's the blog post equivalent of tearing everything out of your closet and shelves and throwing it in heaps on your bed and on the floor, as you install a new closet shelving system and re-organize everything you've just been cramming anywhere they'd fit for the last 3 1/2 years.
The heaps I'm going to try to throw things in look like this:
A.) Kind of activity. These, hopefully, will be broad descriptions of the sorts of things we do in Spanish class. Refinements to come as necessary.
B.) Chunk, chew, or check? Are these activities' primary value as a tool for presenting new information (chunk), as a way of processing or practicing information (chew), or as an assessment tool (check)? This is directly from Kathleen Kryza's work on co-teaching (and, indirectly, differentiated instruction) with our ISD, and thus probably from one of the several books written by Kryza, Duncan, and Stevens.
C.) Outcome, engagement, and materials. These are 3 of the 6 qualities from the last blog post. The others are less activity-specific, so I shouldn't need to include them for each activity.
A.) PAIRED and SMALL-GROUP SPEAKING ACTIVITIES. Examples: Information-gap activities, interviews, ask-and-answer sessions, etc.
Initial thoughts: This is the kind of activity where my thinking most needs clarification. I do these spontaneously all the time, and so they're probably the least structured.
B.) Chew [check]. Done with each other, they're definitely chew activities. So they require some prep work first; namely, how and why to say what they're to be saying.
C.) Outcome: Students will have the experience of performing the communicative task. In addition, some will result in new content knowledge, others will have a written element to them. In the tasks that have no written or drawn component, an oral checkout of some kind becomes necessary.
Engagement: Students are speaking in Spanish, trying out new words, asking questions, writing information as it becomes available or necessary.
Materials: Teacher-provided handouts, self-generated information, paper, pencil, etc.
2A.) WRITING CONVERSATIONS. Examples--passing notes, threaded on-line discussions (i.e., Moodle), instant messaging, text messages.
Initial thoughts: I have never, to my shame, done one of the technologically based activities. The reasons for this include a lot of bad reasons involving time management and my capacity for building online classes.
B.) Chew (check). Just like spoken conversations, these are mostly a chance for students to mount up on their new vocabulary and take it out for a test drive. It can also be used as a formative assessment--I would hesitate to use it as a summative assessment, though.
More of this in a future post. I know it says 2 of 2 in the title, and need to be getting on with my day, but I'm not done with the topic, so more to come.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Reteaching behavior through video clips
Today for the first time, we tried re-teaching and supporting positive behavior through showing students video clips and having them process what they watch. This is a technique we got from the High School PBS summit in Lansing; local giant Kalamazoo Central High School presented the idea.
We'll have a more formalized look at perceptions later. Both the students and the teachers will have a poll to express their ideas about it. But my initial perceptions are these: our initial attempts earn three stars out of five. There were the logistical difficulties, of course--any time you do anything for the first time, particularly things that involve moving students from room to room or getting 20 copies of a DVD out to teachers, some things are going to go wrong. Despite the logistical difficulties, the strategy of using high-interest video clips as instructional tools is sound.
The post-video conversation was mixed. Some classes really got into it, especially at the high school level. The middle school students started getting some good reflection, but they were too often derailed by other students goofing around. I don't think that, universally, we achieved the level of student buy-in and ownership we wanted. In my class, a lot of my students looked like they felt they were being lectured at. That was the opposite of the point. Hopefully, I'll get better at asking questions in a way that inspires the students to talk, and I'll sit down and shut up. (Maybe I'll just sit down and shut up anyway; let the kids stew in silence for a little while.)
We'll have a more formalized look at perceptions later. Both the students and the teachers will have a poll to express their ideas about it. But my initial perceptions are these: our initial attempts earn three stars out of five. There were the logistical difficulties, of course--any time you do anything for the first time, particularly things that involve moving students from room to room or getting 20 copies of a DVD out to teachers, some things are going to go wrong. Despite the logistical difficulties, the strategy of using high-interest video clips as instructional tools is sound.
The post-video conversation was mixed. Some classes really got into it, especially at the high school level. The middle school students started getting some good reflection, but they were too often derailed by other students goofing around. I don't think that, universally, we achieved the level of student buy-in and ownership we wanted. In my class, a lot of my students looked like they felt they were being lectured at. That was the opposite of the point. Hopefully, I'll get better at asking questions in a way that inspires the students to talk, and I'll sit down and shut up. (Maybe I'll just sit down and shut up anyway; let the kids stew in silence for a little while.)
Monday, June 8, 2009
Activity analysis: "¡Somos Arqueólogos!"
One of the things I should do a lot more of is examining my activities to see if they're doing what they should, and how to improve them. My methodology teacher, Michael Braun (maybe more about him someday--he also taught me Spanish in high school, and looking at his classes would probably go a long way towards explaining why I think about teaching Spanish the way I do), suggested keeping a binder with assignment sheets in it, and writing notes on post-it notes. I'm going to work on having that system in place by the start of the next school year, but in the meantime, I offer you this:
¡SOMOS ARQUEÓLOGOS!
Imagínate que eres arqueólog@, quinientos años adelante de hoy. Tú (arqueólog@) descubriste la casa en que tú (estudiante) vives.
¿Cómo es este domicilio tan raro? Identifica 5 cosas en la casa. ¿Cómo son estos artefactos? ¿Para qué crees que sirven? (Acuérdate: Tú vives en el futuro. El mundo es muy distinto. Imagina que no sabes nada de la vida actual.)
[Imagine you're an arqueologist, five hundred years from now. You (the archaeologist) have discovered the house in which you (the student) lives.
What is this strange structure like? Identify 5 things in the house. What are these artifacts like? What do you think they're for? (Remember: You live in the future. The world is very different. Imagine you don't know anything about life today.)]
LEVEL: This project was designed for 2nd-year high school students. There's no reason it couldn't be adapted for 1st-year students, or indeed for any time a description of the house becomes necessary.
OBJECTIVE: Students will describe objects in their house from the perspective of someone who doesn't know what they're for. This will help them think of common household objects in Spanish, contextualize vocabulary of common household objects, and establish background knowledge for comparisons of common household items in their house and a house in a Spanish-speaking country. It will also provide students with the vocabulary and language necessary to describe their houses to other students in Spanish.
ASSOCIATED STANDARDS:
1.1.N.RW.g Ask questions in writing about the attributes of places and things in their immediate environment and answer using a list of traits
1.2.N.R.c Understand written interpersonal communication on topics of personal interest such as preferences, family life, friends, leisure and school activities, and everyday occurrences (email, letters, messages, notes, and text messages)
1.3.N.W.c Write brief personal descriptions on familiar topics in Spanish such as self, friends, family, home and school
ASSUMED KNOWLEDGE: Students are expected to have an awareness of, but not yet be entirely comfortable with, the vocabulary of household items, and have a good working knowledge of words that describe physical features of objects (size, color, etc.).
ASSESSMENT: Students show their comprehension of the knowledge by successfully communicating with other students about the objects in their house. This is a formative assessment of vocabulary; it's also a practice activity for other activities to come.
STUDENT OUTPUT: Students' responses ranged from 3-5 word descriptions for each item to a bullet-pointed list in English.
THOUGHTS: I continually butt up against the difference between World Languages and core-content classes, just in terms of learning matter. In this activity, students aren't expected to learn anything new, they're expected to think about what they already know in a different way. This is designed to permit students' minds to focus exclusively on the language acquisition. I recently went to a conference that suggested it might be better on all levels if students are engaging in the culture at the same time as the language.
CHANGES: First, I need to clarify the expectations. Students did not know what was expected of them. Second, rather than having students imagine their own house a different way, it might be better to have them "excavate" a typical house of the Spanish-speaking world, being sure to include a few things the students probably don't have in their own house. (I still think it's important for students to look at their own activities in a new way, but maybe this isn't the format for it.)
¡SOMOS ARQUEÓLOGOS!
Imagínate que eres arqueólog@, quinientos años adelante de hoy. Tú (arqueólog@) descubriste la casa en que tú (estudiante) vives.
¿Cómo es este domicilio tan raro? Identifica 5 cosas en la casa. ¿Cómo son estos artefactos? ¿Para qué crees que sirven? (Acuérdate: Tú vives en el futuro. El mundo es muy distinto. Imagina que no sabes nada de la vida actual.)
[Imagine you're an arqueologist, five hundred years from now. You (the archaeologist) have discovered the house in which you (the student) lives.
What is this strange structure like? Identify 5 things in the house. What are these artifacts like? What do you think they're for? (Remember: You live in the future. The world is very different. Imagine you don't know anything about life today.)]
LEVEL: This project was designed for 2nd-year high school students. There's no reason it couldn't be adapted for 1st-year students, or indeed for any time a description of the house becomes necessary.
OBJECTIVE: Students will describe objects in their house from the perspective of someone who doesn't know what they're for. This will help them think of common household objects in Spanish, contextualize vocabulary of common household objects, and establish background knowledge for comparisons of common household items in their house and a house in a Spanish-speaking country. It will also provide students with the vocabulary and language necessary to describe their houses to other students in Spanish.
ASSOCIATED STANDARDS:
1.1.N.RW.g Ask questions in writing about the attributes of places and things in their immediate environment and answer using a list of traits
1.2.N.R.c Understand written interpersonal communication on topics of personal interest such as preferences, family life, friends, leisure and school activities, and everyday occurrences (email, letters, messages, notes, and text messages)
1.3.N.W.c Write brief personal descriptions on familiar topics in Spanish such as self, friends, family, home and school
ASSUMED KNOWLEDGE: Students are expected to have an awareness of, but not yet be entirely comfortable with, the vocabulary of household items, and have a good working knowledge of words that describe physical features of objects (size, color, etc.).
ASSESSMENT: Students show their comprehension of the knowledge by successfully communicating with other students about the objects in their house. This is a formative assessment of vocabulary; it's also a practice activity for other activities to come.
STUDENT OUTPUT: Students' responses ranged from 3-5 word descriptions for each item to a bullet-pointed list in English.
THOUGHTS: I continually butt up against the difference between World Languages and core-content classes, just in terms of learning matter. In this activity, students aren't expected to learn anything new, they're expected to think about what they already know in a different way. This is designed to permit students' minds to focus exclusively on the language acquisition. I recently went to a conference that suggested it might be better on all levels if students are engaging in the culture at the same time as the language.
CHANGES: First, I need to clarify the expectations. Students did not know what was expected of them. Second, rather than having students imagine their own house a different way, it might be better to have them "excavate" a typical house of the Spanish-speaking world, being sure to include a few things the students probably don't have in their own house. (I still think it's important for students to look at their own activities in a new way, but maybe this isn't the format for it.)
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