More sub plans: Brilliant No Prep Sub Plan

Brilliant No Prep Sub Plan
This amazing sub plan is from Scott Benedict.    If you haven't yet explored Teach for June, I highly recommend that you do so.  His workshop on grading freewrites this year at NTPRS was a revelation for me.

This single  page and a master class list is all I am going to leave in my emergency plans this year.
He has graciously given me permission to repost, so here is the Brilliant No Prep Sub Plan (my title).

Sub plans...ugh.

Sub plans really challenge me.  I mean...they REALLY challenge me.  I was a sub for 3 years and suffered many, many poor plans, challenging classrooms, and humiliating days.  So I am super picky about sub plans, and you know what?  It NEVER works out.

Sub plans in the foreign language classroom are even more challenging.    On a recent SOMOS Curriculum Collaboration facebook group post (wow, what a title!), someone was wondering about sub plans, and it got me thinking.

Read and Illustrate 
A plan that I really, really love (but only works when you have a few familiar stories under your belt- so better for the end of the year) is the "read and illustrate" plan.  I wish I knew how I came up with it or who to credit.
1) Copy each typed story and post on the walls.  For multiple levels, I print the stories in different colors so students know to only read their class color.
2) Students "read the room" and fill out a short sheet with space for an illustration and caption for 4 (or 6) of their favorite stories.

3)  Then, they get into groups and illustrate the stories on 4" x 4" computer paper.  
When I return, I can either make books using this storybook template  or just select the best pictures and glue them and the original story on 11 x 17 paper, folded in half, and add them to our library.

Here are the directions I leave for the sub:  Sub Plan: Read and illustrate the room 
Here is a I leave for the sub to project for the students: Example instructions for Read and Illustrate the room
Finally, here is the sheet I have them fill out when they read the room: Student Response Sheet: Read the Room

Being a Student and the Importance of Pause and Point

Note: This is a series of posts about my takeaways from the NTPRS2016 conference.  It was life changing and teacher-affirming.

Conferences can be overwhelming.  TPRS can be overwhelming.  How do you even begin?  New people, new ideas, hotel rooms, whirlwind schedule, and more.

A few years ago, I presented at a National Safe Routes to School Conference on teaching bike safety to kids.  I had never been to a conference before and a wise colleague of mine suggested that I try to get one great aha moment out of the conference and just enjoy myself the rest of the time.  Good advice.

At NTPRS2016 I got a lot more than one great aha moment, but I also decided to focus on one discreet TPRS skill for myself.  I attended three coaching sessions as a teacher and several others as a student or observer, and tried to really pay attention to how the skill was used.

The skill: Go Slow.  (Corollary to Pause and Point).
Why: So many others have written about why we should go slow...how can I add to their brilliance?
Suffice it to say that taking Japanese with the incredibly talented Betsy Paskvan after a full day of conferencing was challenging.  And I am a fast processor!  Her speed (or lack thereof) really supported me and made me feel confident.  I also noticed that when she sped up and I couldn't understand something I got really anxious.  It was a great lesson for me about why going slow makes a huge difference.

In coaching, I found myself starting slow and then getting really excited (because let's face it, I LOVE teaching with TPRS and want to do it all, right now) and going too fast.  Slowing down, focusing on one structure, and using the time to walk over and POINT to the written word all helped my "students" feel encouraged.  Let me say that again:  for me, using the time to walk over to the board/poster/sign and POINT to the written word was a game changer for me.

Let's see if I can put it into practice now!

Diego is my mental image for GO SLOW.  He only has one speed: dignified, slow, and with penchant for belly rubs.

NTPRS! NTPRS! NTPRS!

So, as the title implies, I just got back from NTPRS 2016.  I feel like a different person.  NTPRS is one of the national TPRS conferences put on by the great folks at TPRS Books.  I have had the great privilege to attend a two day workshop previously, but five whole days of "experienced track" TPRS teaching was an incredible gift.  I took Japanese, Romanian, and Latin classes and every day experienced the feeling of being a novice student and completely clueless.  I met some amazing, dedicated teachers who are trying to repair the world, just like me, through language teaching (and oh so much more).  I made some great friends and found a whole new community to inspire me.

I have so many blog posts rolling around in my head and feel inspired to actually write them.  But first and foremost, I want to say thank you to everyone who came up to me and said that my deskless classroom helped inspire them.

I LOVE YOU.

I leaned so much this week that I can't even begin to process it.  Since I tend to process by writing, I plan on using my next few posts to process some of my aha moments and huge takeaways from the different workshops that I attended.

Suffice it to say that I was reminded just how important my work is, and that I am not alone.

Also, here's me with all the books I bought spread out on the floor of my office....I am most pleased.