Starters (Bell Ringers) and Objectives

I recently posted on the tprs listerv (moretprs.yahoo.com) about my Bell ringers (I call them Para Empezars: PEs) and was startled by how many people wanted to see what I use.

I thought I'd take a moment to explain.  They are a great way for you to assess the previous day’s topic.

1) I use PEs to ease the transition from one class to another.  Since I am almost always at the door to greet my students, this gets them working right away.  Also, we don't have bells so holding students accountable for being on time is nearly impossible.
3) I do a variety of types, but they are all 2-5 tasks/sentences/errors to correct. Most fall into these categories: translate sentences (from L1 to L2 or vice versa), correct the errors, answer questions for PQA prep, fill in the blanks using target structures.It should be noted here that I use many of the PEs from Martina Bex's Somos curriculum, except when I don't. The example shown is from the La Universidad unit.


4) Students see it at the beginning of class every day. It’s got objectives, target structures, class jobs, homework, my office hours, and a place for me to write the starter.

5) I use my starters to let students get feedback on our objectives, and students track their understanding of the objectives and create their study plan almost every day. That’s the homework. The students who study progress. FYI, for me, studying means re-reading/retelling the story, unless they missed a class. Then, it’s quizlet. I also created a tracker for their notebooks that they use to record their progress. Here is what it looks like:

Please remember to share, attribute, and not profit!  (See copyright permissions on the right.)

 Click here for an editable version of the objectives.

Click here to see an example of the Para Empezar board.  Sorry, I can't provide an editable version. Since I modified it from a TPT purchase (many years ago, before I knew about things like citing), I still have to protect copyright. Thanks for understanding. But do what I did- look at my example and make your own. It will not take long. I promise! 

Update: A lot of folks requested an editable version of the Para Empezar board. Hey folks! Since I modified it from a TPT purchase, I can not share it! That would be violating copyright. Thanks.

Update: Helpless learners and the opposite

Today, after yesterday's frustrations, I sat down with two of my most motivated, unafraid-to fail at anything classes and asked:
What do you do in your head that allows you to get past your initial fear (of seeing something that you don't understand) and just get to work?  What's your process?

The answers were fascinating and led me to almost cry in joy.  These answers came from a class of 7th graders that I have only just started teaching in October, and 8th graders that I have been teaching since last year.

• I looked at the words I know and just wrote those down.  The others came to me.
• I remembered what I know about (Italian, French, from last year) and tried to figure it out.
• It's fun to figure it out.  
• It's fun to have the challenge- like a puzzle. 
• I read the words around the hard words and figured it out.

Then I asked why it was fun- what was happening in their heads or in the class to make it something that they wanted to do.  (This was where I almost started crying.)

• It's not a competition in this class.
• It's ok to get the wrong answer in this class.
• If it's challenging it means I'm learning.
• How we learn in this class isn't stressful.
• You make it fun.
• I appreciate how you make it ok to be wrong, and we get to do fun stuff.  
• We are all on the same level here.
• Even the homework is awesome.  

So, my big question is:  what did I do with those two classes?  How can I recreate that feeling of love, support, trust, fun, and safety so that all my kids feel like that?  

And also, how do I celebrate such a mind-blowing success???  WOW!!!  

Are we creating helpless learners?

My gut reaction is YES!  Especially those who are "high" academically.  And I'll tell you why:
I have a class of "faster paced" students.  They are mostly girls, mostly with great handwriting and organizational skills.  They always bring their materials to class and meticulously write things down in their planner.  They almost never forget assignments. (The fact that they are mostly girls who got accelerated is a whole 'nother post, or possibly rant.  I'll save it.)

But they can't actually do much.  No- that's not fair.  Let me rephrase:  they really, really struggle with tasks such as inference, breaking down large tasks into smaller ones (and not in an organizational way), and problem solving.

These are the students who are so afraid of getting a wrong answer that they are unable to make a guess. Or, their brain gets completely overwhelmed with anxiety that it shuts down.

 I've seen this dynamic play out a few times in one particular class, and I vacillate between being incredibly frustrated ("Where do  I put my name?"  "Where it says Nombre!" I know, not fair of me but true.) and terribly saddened (What do you mean you don't know where to put your name?  How is that possible? What have we/I done wrong?)   What I notice is that often they don't know where to put their name because they are so terrified of putting it in the wrong place and...? Getting eaten by the no-name monster?  What role have I played in creating this fear of doing anything wrong?  Or how am I allowing it to continue?

I stopped calling tests and quizzes tests and quizzes.  I made my assessments short and sweet, 5-10 questions, and usually unannounced, in the middle of the class period.  That helps reduce anxiety, but I wonder if I am helping them (by reducing their anxiety, thus allowing them to demonstrate the language that they have acquired in a low stress situation) or doing them an injustice (by caving in to their absolute lack of resilience).  I am of two minds.  On one hand, everything that I've read (see sidebar for some links to great books about assessment) and come to believe about assessment, humanizing students, and recognizing that they are only 12 years old, indicates that they don't need more stress and that stress won't help them with my goal: to acquire language.

But I have to wonder: am I helping to create their helplessness?

There is also the question: are the tasks I am giving them too hard?  If they are not being successful, one would think that yes, I haven't adequately prepared them.  However, if I, for example, ask them to translate a sentence and ask them to explain it, most can do it 100% of the time.  Today I was using the Tweetly Deet assessment from Martina Bex's Las Novias unit.  I love this formative assessment because she has done an amazing job of finding authentic text (tweets, in this case), that use the targeted structures in context, and asking great questions that involve both knowledge and inference.

I discovered that my "helpless" kids absolutely panicked.  For instance (and this is not an example from the text in order to respect copyright), they had to read Mi hermano va a la iglesia.  (My brother goes to the church.)  The question was who goes to the church (in English)?

When I pointed out that they could translate mi hermano va (my brother goes), they were able identify the brother.  The iglesia could only be a church.  Right?  So about 70% of the kids got it, but the "helpless" couldn't think past the word that they didn't know.  And those kids are the "academically advanced" in our school with high grades.

Later, we were doing a sheet that asked them to look at a diagram of a bull and answer some questions about it.  Again, total panic from the helpless, and the kids who can problem solve were finished.  Some kids couldn't get past the first question.  I tried to give some hints:  "What do you think that word indicates on the diagram?  Which body part are the words near?  Is it a cognate?"  I tried to reduce the fear:  "This isn't graded. " Still, after 20 minutes, I called a halt because some were almost in tears.

How do I teach problem solving? That inference/trusting one's instincts/lack of fear of getting it wrong? How am I not teaching it?

Good note keeping and notebook reflections

Keeping track of what we put in the interactive notebooks is tricky, as is tracking what goes on what page. I take the time at the beginning of every unit to plan it out, and I put the information on a re-usable notebook tracker (page protector + wet-erase marker). I found that having a visual for me to see the lay-out of the activities is very important. More important, however, is being able to tell the students what page to glue something on. But note: the visual aid is re-usable, so as we move through units I erase and re-use. So when a student misses a class and has to make it up, I need to know what goes on which page. For four classes. It's a lot to keep track of!

My first solution was to keep a notebook for each class. That seems reasonable, right? It turns out that it's not. I had to make extra copies of everything (wasting paper) and then take the time to a)write the class and page number on each piece of paper, and b) glue it in sometime when I had a chance (seriously poor use of time). Having my faster processing students do it for me didn't seem to help much. I still ended up with a bunch of papers and a stack of notebooks that weren't helping me or anyone else, and no time.
My solution this year is much more simple. And technological. I already use a notebook/ handwriting app all time and it's very easy to use. I simply set up an electronic notebook for each class. Now, while they are gluing in whatever it is, I take a photo of it from the app, or if it's easier, I just write/type what the activity is. So simple and since I have my iPad all the time during class, it's easy. Let's face it: I am much more likely to keep track of my device than I am of a half-sheet of paper.
Tracking notebook assignments has really helped me when it came to assessing them as well, because I could note things like "check 22 for accuracy" and "did not finish 32 don't dock points!" Maybe if I started this year being able to write myself sticky notes, this wouldn't be such a big deal, but not being able to write (or pass out papers, or carry things) has impacted so much of my teaching practice.

What isn't working as well
In our school, it's an expectation that assessments get sent home to be signed by parents and it's much easier for the kids if those are glued in as well. And it's very easy for me to see if parents actually did sign when I grade the notebooks. That is working out fine.
What isn't working out as well is when a student re-takes a test, and misses the gluing-it-in instructions (usually the day I hand it back in class), possibly because it's in my to-be-graded file. Is it their fault then that it isn't glued in? Can they reasonably be expected to remember to glue it in once I have graded it? How can I help them remember better?
My solution for this this trimester is to place it on their shoulders, but in keeping with my "almost anything can be made up if you do it in my time frame" policy, they have the opportunity to be reminded about what they missed via the notebook rubric and turn it in again to be re-graded with no penalty. The downside is that I have to take the time to re-grade, but I also truly believe that they need the opportunity to fail and try again. They are only 12. Interestingly (at least to me), my students that I taught last year generally have no problem keeping their notebooks organized and complete.
For next trimester, I am going to try to be more systematic about telling them what and when to glue assessments, perhaps have them write it in their index, and maybe making the electronic notebook visible.
One more thing that made life easier: I graded my 8th grade notebooks last week and my 7th grade this week, giving both grades enough time to do "work improvement" if need be before grades are due. Splitting it up did make it easier on me and I am still able to give them work time to improve their work.

Going with the flow

I think that the past two weeks have seen me hit some kind of magic flow. I wish I knew why everything is working so well, but for now, let me just celebrate.

I started teaching Brandon Brown Quiere Un Perro with my smallest, most challenging class. I had no idea what to expect from them in terms of comprehension or interest. I didn't really know what kind of activities would work for me and them, what the pace would be, and how much to plan that was other than reading. I still have no idea about pacing or activities, but I am finding myself creating compelling input easily and naturally, and the students are responding in truly incredible ways.
Here's what I wrote in my little reflection that I'm keeping about teaching it.

I am clearly planning too much- tareas de la casa seems like the past already.

There is no way we'll get to the ciclovias movie...even if I desperately want to show it and talk about my friend Clarence the moviemaker.

But, I feel like they are getting SO much better at spontaneous conversations, and I'm getting better at PQA. Today, I asked them about bikes in their house, then skis, and made a quick graph on the board. We compared and discussed, then I showed them the bicicletas slideshow very quicky. We also had a hilarious discussion about pet collars, and one girl swore that her hamster had a collar while her friend disagreed. There was SO much language. I love teaching this novel.

 I love that I have the headspace to sit and write a quick paragraph about my lessons!  Of course, those 50 narrative progress reports are not being written, so there's a trade-off.

Also, I hit the local Goodwill this weekend and scored on stuffed animals, mostly cognates.  I have enough for every kid to have one.  So far, one class got to snuggle with them while we talked about ghosts and monsters and I did a Movietalk about El Cucuy (from a great unit from Martina Bex).  Another class had to explain why their chosen animal would not make a good pet.  And finally, one class got to do a spoken retell to their chosen stuffie today.  Just because it's fun!

S

Tools

NPR has been airing a special about specialists' tools, and it got me thinking about the tools that I use to do my job. Having only one hand has led me to value some tools over others. So, here's my list:

Tools for Organizing
iDoceo - iDoceo is an iPad app for teachers. I tried a couple of organizational teacher apps when I first started using my iPad and this one is by far the best. It has many features that I don't use because my school requires that I use their (horrific and unwieldy) grading system and software, but having used the gradebook functions to track classes, I can vouch for its well thought out design.

The features that I do use are the calendar (integrated with my iCal), the gradebook for tracking anecdotal notes and data that isn't worth putting in the computer grade book, and the lesson planning interface.

 I really love the lesson planner. It's just a simple layout (day, week, month) that I use the same way other teachers use their plan book, but fancier. I can take a picture of the white board and attach it to that day's plans. I can use the "bump" feature to move a day's lessons to the next period for that class, or indeed back in time if need be. I can save resources or not, take a picture of that day's seating plan, etc. Each class has a separate plan view, gradebook, notes section, seating chart, and more. Also, all your data backs up easily to most of the major platforms, although it is not an automatic sync.

My only complaint is that the initial set up of the calendar is clunky and not very intuitive. I also haven't found an easy way to input my weekly duties so they show up on the "day" view of the planner, but that seems pretty minor. I can't imagine planning on paper any more.

Dropbox- how did I ever live without Dropbox? Everything goes in my Dropbox these days, and I love that I can have my most used folders on my desktop at my fingertips.

Evernote- I am using Evernote more and more, for organizing web resources, lesson ideas, reflections, to do lists (since writing is still so hard), and just about everything else. For my personal life, I still prefer the interface of AwesomeNote, but being able to go from platform to platform with Evernote is incredibly important for me at school.

Symbaloo- while th iPad app is terrible, the web version of the bookmark organizer is pretty great. It's easy to use, easy to save, and the visual lay out makes it easy to navigate. It's where I save all those great ideas that I want to come back to but aren't necessarily applicable to my lessons. I also like being able to share my "mixes" easily.

Tools for teaching
Every day, there are three things (other than my lesson plan on my iPad) that I need to have within easy reach:

NO LIDS!  (Perfect for the one-handed trying to write with the non-dominant hand)

Retractable white board markers- they come in three colors (blue, black, and red), they don't have caps to manipulate with one hand or put back on the wrong colored marker, and they last for ever. Seriously, for writing in two colors on the board TPRS-style, they help me so much. Best impulse purchase of last year.

Laser pointer- Many TPRS teachers believe that a physical pointer help you clarify and slow down. I don't disagree. But I am short and many of my posters are way beyond my reach. And I try my best to point slooowly.

Remote for the smartboard- I learned that I actually can not teach my class without this silly little device. (Someone borrowed mine...it was a rough morning until they 'fessed up.) It allows me to "freeze" the image I project on the smartboard while I take roll on my computer, find something else to project, or even check my email without displaying it in front of the class.

For the Class
Smartboard + appleTV + speakers - the smartboard is basically a really nice projector. The software is a pain and I can do twice as much with my iPad AND with the appleTV, I am not chained to a certain spot in the room. My iPad can double as a document camera (with some fussing, I admit), and I can run a slideshow while sitting on the floor with the kids. Again, having only one hand to work with, these things become increasingly important.

Whiteboards, inexpensive dry-erase markers, and pieces of old t-shirts-student whiteboards are like instant engagement tools, and I can think of a million ways to use them.

Scrap Paper Bins- I hate using paper.  I hate how much paper we use so I decided to use as much recycled paper as possible.  Our daily starters (para empezar) are almost always done on quarter-sheets of scrap paper I take from the staff copy room.  Since I rarely collect the work, they just go right back into the recycle bin...but now having been used at least twice.

The "Multi-shot" function on the copier + recycled paper- Another way I save paper is by reducing everything that I hand out to half size (if it makes sense) and then printing it on recycled paper.  Most fancy copiers do this very easily, and since almost everything gets glued in our notebooks anyway, it works out fine to have the aper copied on both sides.

So... there are my Most Important Tools, excluding my coffee mug and bicycle, which are so important I didn't even think of them because, well, I'm never without them.  (My wrist injury is the exception to this rule...3 months off the bike and counting.)  

Roses and thorns

Thorns: last night after school I had 3 pins that were holding some wrist ligaments together removed. It was an outpatient, fairly minor procedure, but it still hurt (still hurts) and I had a full day of teaching today. I hadn't really counted on the loss of the meager functionality that I had in my wrist this morning, so it was especially frustrating. Socks and zippers are beyond my skill set at the moment, so my husband had to zip me in my jacket and I had to keep wearing it until my morning duty was over. Also, I couldn't put my hair in a bun, so all day, my hair was in my face. Grrr.

Roses: a mother of a former student mentioned that in parent-teacher conferences, her child's Spanish teacher was very complimentary of his preparation and skill. Another student told a much younger kindergarten kiddo "You will love Spanish in middle school, Señora is the best."

Finally, after asking one class to work on a challenging on-line assignment, I asked them to reflect. I have noticed that many of my students, for whatever reason, are so afraid of "getting it wrong", no matter what "it" is, that they can't do anything without step by step hand holding. Throughout this assignment, I kept asking them again and again to persevere and risk writing something down that was incorrect. When I finally called it quits and we were in a circle, the students who had the most difficulty showed a great deal of self-awareness about their need to grow- to take risks, to try, to get it wrong. Other students kindly, sweetly, shared their strategies for succes, and it was a really neat moment.

Nope, it wasn't TPRS, it wasn't comprehensible input. It was a great discussion about our school's essential attributes, and I would argue that there is value in that.