Day 3: Working with the stories (and activity ideas)

Day 3

This post is the third in a series about what I actually did the first 3 days of classes.  Here are posts about Day 1 and Day 2.  

In Panamá and República Dominicana (class names for my Spanish 1B classes), my plan was to finish the story we started a couple of days ago.  I was successful in one class, and the other...well,  it's a work in progress.  We sure did get a chance to practice our procedures and routines, I tell you what!  That is a nice way of saying that they needed a lot of practice- practice not talking over each other or me, practice listening, practice not throwing things, etc.  Lots of practice.  

I believe in practice.

My classroom mantra.  

 We did establish a few facts in their story, but I am going to have to finish their story another day.

I also wanted to give all the classes their interactive-ish notebooks, but not spend too much time on them.

I spent about 20 minutes at the beginning of class passing out notebooks, getting names, updating tables of contents, going over expectations for gluing, and gluing in one important rubric- that of daily engagement.  

Then, back to the stories.  In Panamá I dispensed with the notebook stuff because several kids are gone due to a mountain bike race, so we just worked with the story (and finished it!).  In República Dominicana, I focused on the notebook and we will finish their story during the next class.  

In Cuba (Spanish 1 Honors), we did Around The World with Translations and Illustrations. It went really well.   


In my Honors 2 class, Honduras, we started with the notebooks, but since they were with me last year, it took about 5 minutes.  Then, I projected their illustrations from the mural and gave them a copy of the story that I typed out.  They had to write the sentence (on whiteboards) that best described the picture I showed- and if there were different opinions, we had a conversation about it.  (Here are directions for that activity. It is one of my favorites.)

Differentiation
To differentiate this activity and get more input, I asked different students to be interviewed (by me) as a character in the story about what happened and how they felt.   I let any student volunteer, but some students got yes/no and either/or questions and others got more open ended questions.  

Here are some question examples for students who needed more support: 

• Were you scared when ___ happened?  
• Did you go to ___ or ___ afterwards?
• Did you do ___ first or ____?  

Open ended questions:

• Why were you scared?
• How did you feel when ____ happened?
• Did you want ___ to happen? Why or why not?  

Was this forcing output?  Nope, I don't think so.  They were volunteering to be interviewed (they knew that they would be speaking) and I was using different kinds of questions to make sure they were successful.  

I also added a write and discuss so they could see the 1st person forms of the words with the answers the interviewees gave.  

 I didn't even get through all the pictures of the mural when I realized if I wanted to start the movie trailer activity, I'd better move on.  We started just as Amy describes in her blog post- discussing what are the elements of a trailer, and started brainstorming important events.  

Then it was time to go to lunch!

Next week's plans

Next week, I plan on continuing to teach procedures, add in new brain breaks, and add a few procedural things to our interactive-ish notebooks.   (Passwords, birthday compliments, and performance descriptors come to mind.)  

I will use the Around the World translation and reading activity in my standard classes (with their class story) and play some kind of secret input game with the illustrations.  

I also plan on taking one whole class period and teaching them about proficiency levels. (See this post for specifics).

In addition, I will spend at least one class period with my 8th graders setting them up for Sustained Silent Reading (Free voluntary reading), but if I don't get to it until the following week, that's ok.  

Day 2, 2019: some lessons about going out of bounds

Day 2

This is a series of posts about what I actually did during my first three days of class with students.  Click here to see Day 1, and here to see Day 3. 

For some information about what I do to start the year, click here.  

I started each class today by giving students time to read the syllabus and assigned the syllabus homework that I have students do each year.  We reviewed how students enter class and practiced it with one group.  (Here is a sample of my routines and procedures.)

We spent a few minutes discussing the syllabus homework, then I taught them another brain break and we practiced that.  

Next, we continued with the story we had started the previous day. In the case of the class that had no time to start one, we started a new story.   (Here is the rough script that I was roughly following.)  

A vegetarian chupacabra and Elmo.
I LOVE TPRS!  

In Honduras, the class that looped up with me (they were Spanish 1 honors last year, now Spanish 2 honors), we spent very little time practicing procedures, but jumped straight to a complex story about a vegetarian chupacabra that wanted to be popular, but also refused to hunt. It was a classic TPRS story in that there were multiple locations and unexpected details- Mall of America, a roller coaster, and Elmo.  (If you want more information about how to ask a story, you are in luck!  We made a whole episode of our Summer Fun Club on this Story Asking-  and here is even more information! )

When the story ended but there was still class time, I turned to my favorite activity- a Cooperative Mural.   Students had 10 seconds to draw one moment of the story, then I narrated and verified what part they drew. 




At the end of class, I took pictures of the mural with my phone.  I know that I will use these in some way the next time I see the kids.  

For the other classes, I took pictures of the board again. 

TEACHER FAIL 

In Cuba, Spanish 1 Honors,  I had a terrible fail.  I used WAY too much vocabulary (went way out of bounds) and overloaded them.  Although I did a good job of making sure they understood the words (linking meaning, writing words on the board, etc.), I used WAY too many words.  I have no idea what I was thinking in that moment- all I can say is that I forgot my audience. It was a pretty epic TPRS fail and I knew I had to think of some ways to scaffold the crap out the story and make sure they felt supported.  More about that below.  

In that sense, it was ok because I showed them that I am going to make sure they understand- I did all the things that I try to do- each time a kiddo showed me they didn't understand, I clarified (and said thank you and gave them a high-five), and each time they didn't answer my questions with confidence, I clarified, and I gave them lots of processing time...so I guess it wasn't a total fail, but not an experience I hope to repeat.  I have to remember to give myself some slack, right?  

In República Dominicana and Panamá (class names), I had two incomplete stories, but we had established some hilarious facts and had some laughter in Spanish, so I was happy with that.  

End of day  

At the end of the day, I had two completed stories to finish typing out and two half-completed stories to start typing out.  Still exhausting, but I had a big block of planning time before I saw three of the four classes again, so I had some time to work.

I also had the illustrations from the mural to work with for one class.  

What I prepped for the next class:

In Cuba, the class with which I used too much vocabulary, I decided to do an input-based translation and reading activity.  I wanted to reinforce the idea that "you are going to understand everything, and I am going to help you."  This was the best way I could think of to overcome my epic fail.  

AROUND THE WORLD Translation and Illustrations

Click for examples that you can use or adapt:

Directions I post

The handout with story

Translations to put up around the room 

1) I typed up the story and divided it into 9-12 paragraphs.

2) I created a handout with the story and a space to write a number next to each paragraph. I made one for each student.  I also included a box for small illustrations.

3) I translated each paragraph to L1 and assigned each one a random number.  (This is an easy way to teach low frequency vocabulary like numbers. Just use them!) 

4) I printed up the translation paragraphs, cut them up, and put them around the room.

Students need to walk around the room, reading the story and the translations, and write the number of the translation in each box.  When they finish, they sit down and choose some scenes to illustrate.

*The reading and matching L2 to L1 is the most important part of this activity. The illustration is an extension for kids who fly through the first one, giving them something to do while slower processors take the time they need.  I will let them know that the illustrations are not meant to be completed (although I bet I have some fast finishers who will) so the slower processors don't get stressed. This is one way that I differentiate. 

On Tuesday, when I next see them, I will have them read the text again, and we will review the activity.  THEN, I will have them cut out their illustrations and we will put them in a big pile and do some variation of a Secret Input activity. I think that this group, which is boy heavy, will enjoy some healthy competition, so I need to think about how to do that.  Or maybe I will divide up the illustrations and kids into small groups, and have the students pull one illustration and their group members have to find that scene in the text and write it on a whiteboard.  I will see how I (and they) feel.

For the other class that finished the story, Honduras, I took the pictures of their mural and put them in a quick slideshow- click here for more information about that- so we can do some kind of secret input game for our next class.  

I also went back to my notes from all the PD I did this summer and decided that I wanted to try this idea from Amy Marshall, which requires no prep from me other than having a story.  Perfect!  

I also typed up my notes from the other classes, and came up with a way to end the stories we started.  

I went to bed at 8:15 that night. 

Day 1 in my classroom, 2019

I started school last week!  This year, my schedule is less convenient, I lost prep time, and I added another class.  I am doing my very best to be positive and sanguine about these changes, while looking ahead at what I will need to do to maximize my limited time.  I expect another blog post about planning time to come soon, as soon as I have lived it a bit more! Here is one planning post to get you started, if you are interested.  

But what the heck did I do during my first three or four days with the kids?   This post is about Day 1 and my overall goals.  Click here for Day 2 (with some examples of activities that I do) and Day 3. (with examples of how I differentiate an activity).  

Overall Goals 

My goal for the students was to help them see that this class is fun, that they will understand the Spanish we use, and also fun.  My teacher goal was to introduce them to some procedures and routines that will be the foundation of our year (like how we return to our seats from brain breaks and how we interact with each other in class).  My academic goal was to spend enough time in Spanish to make it feel like a language class, while not overwhelming or scaring them.  

My favorite way to do this is with a story.  But sometimes it doesn't go as planned! Read on for details, and a couple of ideas of what to do with the stories once they are finished, or skip to here for detailed activity ideas.
   

Day 1 in middle school 

Short classes!  In each class, I started with teaching the procedures for walking into my classroom.  (Because that first moment is the most important opportunity to establish how it is going to go, at least in my opinion.)  I had name tags for the kids, seating cards so they had random, assigned seating with less anxiety, and directions on the board.  

Kids lined up outside my room to wait for me.  I pulled one kid who I sort of knew and had them be my helper; they stood by the materials and made sure each student saw the directions and saw where the materials are located in the room.  Meanwhile, I greeted each student, asked them their name pronunciation and preferred nickname if applicable, and welcomed them.  

I did not welcome them in Spanish.  I did not start class in Spanish.  Once I taught them my "class is starting" procedure (in English) (click here for an older post about procedures and routines) and we practiced it a couple of times, I welcomed them in English.  

Then I made a little time for them to tell me what they were excited about, what they were nervous about, and what questions they had.    I smiled a lot.  We chatted.  I answered their questions and concerns, and I shared mine.  One class had more questions, and one was silent so I had to do a think-pair-share.  

I said several times "I am speaking in English now because I want you to know what is going on in this class, and I know that we will be speaking plenty of Spanish later."  

Then we did a quick brain break- I taught them to form 2 lines quickly and we practiced that a couple of times.  Then, they made a complex handshake with their partner(s) and practiced it- they had one minute.  I did this all in English, except for the second time we formed two lines- then I gave the direction in Spanish.  

I told them this handshake partner was their compañero de Bolivia, (Bolivian partner) and whenever they heard me yell BOLIVIA they needed to run to a space in the room with their partner and do their crazy handshake.  

We practiced that a couple of times, and then practiced how I get them back to their seats. (I do a call and response, which I learned from Annabelle.)  I praised them for doing it correctly and invited them (invited is a nice way to say that I forced them, but in a friendly way) to practice it again when they didn't get it quite right.  

Then, depending on how much time that all took, we started a little Spanish story.  

In two classes (I use class names as Annabelle suggests in this post- so these classes were Cuba and Honduras, both honors classes), I had them move chairs to how I like them for story asking, and we got started. 

 Here is the outline of the script I use (and some other beginning of the year resources) but it is very loose.  And remember, I am *not* teaching beginners!  If I was teaching beginners, I would start out doing exactly what is described in SOMOS 1, Unit 1, available for free on TPT.  *

With República Dominicana, the story went nowhere, but we did establish that one kid had shoes that smelled delicious, and that it was bad behavior to eat other people's sandwiches.  

Panamá ran out of time to move chairs and start a story, so I started talking about animals.  I used my rather gigantic collection of stuffed animals to ask (in target language) "Who has a dog?  I have a dog. Jay, you have a dog?  Who else has a dog?   Who has a cat?"  I used gestures and comprehension checks and the realia of the stuffed animals to support.  When I got to a stranger animal (moose, otter, giant spider), I started asking "Who wants a ___?", again checking for comprehension and using gestures.  

At the end of each class, I took a picture of whatever I wrote on the board so I could recreate it later.  

This wasn't quite a story, but it was a lot of input!  

At the end of the day, I took a few minutes to type out as much of the story we had done, based on the photo of the board.  This is a CRUCIAL, if exhausting step, both to help me decide where to go tomorrow, and to help me remember what we talked about.  I remembered why I usually don't do storyasking at the same time in all my classes if I can help it!  

Read on for Day 2 and 3!   

*Full disclosure: I now work for Martina Bex and the Comprehensible Classroom, but I do not renummerated based on sales or commission- at all. I am recommending it because it is fantastic.