TPRS / CI and Block Scheduling

*Note: Someone recently emailed me a question about using Block Scheduling. I am no expert, but I found out how to make it work for me during the 3 years that I taught on the block. Here are some ideas that hopefully are helpful below.*

A few years ago I was forced (against my will) to teach on A/B block scheduling when I was hired at a new school. I was forced because it was a bomb dropped on me after I accepted the job (if I remember things correctly). I didn't even know to ask that question in the interview! Oops!

The way that block scheduling worked at that school was 90 minute periods, 4 a day. One day was A, then next day B. Early dismissal Wednesdays A or B alternated each week. So if there were no interruptions whatsoever, then in a two week cycle, I would see each class 5 times total. (One week Monday, Wednesday, Friday and then the next week Tuesday and Thursday).

When I first started it, I hated it. Then after I left it, I sort of missed it because I could more easily see the benefits (that I was able to get out of it). Although I still believe that every day instruction is better for acquiring language (shorter more often) than a big chunk every two days.

Templates for additional activities

First semester flew by and I wasn't able to get into the rhythm that I like to create until this semester since we were still using the first 10-15 minutes of class interviewing a student (very basically about one thing they like to do) until we finished talking about everyone.

But I like to establish a routine with some additional activities. I'm only doing Spanish 1 this year, but these activities worked for other levels because you can always use more language when reacting or describing whatever it may be. And these are great to get into class mode.

Often times I pick something because it relates (well or loosely) to some words we have been going over or I simply find it hilarious and need to share it but find a way to get the high frequency words in there.

Here is what I ended up on. Since we only meet every other day (due to block scheduling), I really will only do this 10 or so times each. The thing I enjoy is I can often do some different passes of old words and/or add some enrichment vocab (for those quick kids who want more vocab) and sometimes (if appropriate) I can do some pop-up grammar.

Every day: 

• Daily report (today is) - on board
• How is everyone? - Talk in Spanish about them for 5 minutes, ask follow up questions as appropriate
• Weather report (clip off weather from espanol.weather.com) TEMPLATE

Then I also will do an additional warm up activity.

TPRS Year 4 - Hard changes

This year, I am at a new school after last year seeming like a fairly strong year for my CI teaching.  I saw a lot of growth in my friend and I collaborating (in our different schools) between creating curriculum for our Spanish 1-2 classes.

This year here are all of the new things I have had to find a way to live/work with:

1. Other teachers in my department - Good to have others to collaborate with, when you can be like-minded.  Also neat that two of the teachers in my department (out of 3) have decided to do more storytelling and Comprehensible Input after seeing gains in their Spanish 1 classes they hadn't seen before!  Yay for their success!
2. Block Scheduling - this one has been one of the hardest.  How does one go from seeing students every day (50 minutes) to seeing them every other day (90 minutes)?  It's still something I am wrapping my brain around.  Sadly, the retention doesn't seem as high.  Probably because I am not effectively teaching during the block.
3. Standards-Based-Grading - Not a bad idea.  I was probably moving towards this in my philosophy.  Still, something I have been forced to dabble with before I might have been ready.
4. New relationships - going to a new school forces you to build relationships all over again  with students, faculty, & staff. That itself makes it harder to teach and to work with others.
5. Common assessments - having others dictate what and when I assess is a big adjustment.
6. PAT - I've been trying Preferred Activity Time this year and need to tweak it next year
7. FVR - I've been letting my students read children's books at the beginning of class, also might need to tweak that next year
8. Pairs/groupwork - I have been encouraged by some to do more with pairs/group work.  I prefer input, but I must appease those above me.

And there is probably more.  But while I find things I want to do, I remind myself that next year, I can start afresh and do better.  I want to implement a more strict policy with cellphones, eye-contact, heads down, etc (a la JGr (on Ben Slavic's PLC))

Sufficed to say, I've been getting down lately.  After doing some assessments, I've been dissapointed with myself after some students' performance.  Why do I blame myself though?  Why do we as teachers take so much flak for everything?  Sometimes there are kids who refuse to be reached no matter what I do.  Why must I feel like a failure?  Can't the responsibility at some point lie somewhere else?  I can't be a scapegoat anymore...

On a positive note, here's an email I got today from a student in one of my classes:

I just wanted to thank you for all you have taught me. I feel like it is easier than i expected and that I enjoy it. I have even been starting to speak a little at home to teach my family. This has had a significant influence on me and i wanted to let you know i appreciate it. 

Block Scheduling

Oh man... so this year at my new school, after 7 years of teaching, I feel new all over again in so many ways.

Block scheduling is really a game changer.

We teach 4 - 90 minute classes each day.  While I don't agree with this philosophy, I just have to do what I have to do to help my kids learn as much Spanish as they can in those 90 minutes.

But I feel like there is a point at which class ceases to be productive in a 90 minute class.

So what have I done so far?  This is the flow I have tried to create.  I am working on getting better at giving Brain Breaks because if I don't give them to my students, they'll take them anyways and not pay attention.

PAT (Preferred Activity Time) Fridays

From our game "Mono Malo" where kids look for
the "Mono malo" and the rest of us count in Spanish
while they look! Based off of Bryce Hedstrom's "el bebé feo" game.

This year, I have been trying out something new after wanting to for awhile.

Don't get me wrong.  My classes are generally good as far as behavior.  I have kids who don't always look at me or try to put their heads down like in any class.  I do my best to point at the expectations and remind them when they fail them.  Letting them know that is what I expect of them because it's part of their 50%.

But I teach at a school where we use Block Scheduling (4 - 90 minute periods every day)

What I found was that classes were really long and although I've found ways to break it up, it was hard to keep the steam going all year.

TPRS year 4 - block schedule (revisited)

So I proposed a question, very unsure of myself before school started.  I now work in a school with a foreign language department that consists of more than one person (myself).

In addition, our classes are not 50 minutes like in my previous schools.  They are 90 minutes and meet every other day (alternating).   So I have 3 classes (& 1 prep) every day. I'm not complaining about the 1.5 hour prep everyday!  But I have 3 classes every day for 90 minutes.  Since there are other teachers in the department, I am a Spanish 1 & 2 teacher.

So I am back to report that I have been doing the following for class, which I'll do for the next few weeks.

5 minutes - warm up on board reviewing previously discussed words, sentences, etc
5-10 minutes - basic conversational skills with kids
25 minutes - TPR (Total Physical Response)
5 minutes-  TPR closed-eye quiz
20 minutes - PQA (getting to know you activity in Spanish)
2 minutes - brain break (in English is fine)
20-23 minutes - PQA (getting to know you activity)
5 minutes - PQA Yes/No quiz
0-3 minutes - extra time to pass out papers, chat with students in Spanish/English. Down time for them before next class

And it has been working pretty well.  I didn't do the brain break for the students for the first two or so days and I have found that it really did help their concentration after the 20 minute point.  I must remember it's 90% Spanish and even if they understood Spanish, they would need a brain break after 20 minutes.

My students are retaining the body part words + actions from TPR as the closed-eye quizzes would suggest.
And they are ok to change gears in the PQA conversational section where we talk about the other students. The best part is being able to incorporate words from TPR into the PQA to enrich it and get more passes of the structures in a new context.

But I'm sure they won't want to TPR for the rest of the year for 25-30 minutes each day.  It does wear you out after awhile.

TPRS Year 4 - Block Scheduling...?

So I am going to be teaching at a school this year where they use block scheduling.  It alternates each day to the other set of classes.  So there are 4 classes (90 minutes) one day and the other set of 4 classes (90 minutes) the next.

I have only ever taught in my 7 years of teaching with 45-50 minute periods and I have (as you might imagine) gotten quite used to it.

What concerns me is that I will see my kids every other day and we might just have way too much time.

I'm sure there are TPRS & CI teachers out there who do this and find that 90 minutes isn't enough for them. But I would like to propose the question of those who do have this situation, what do you do for the first weeks?

I am thinking of the following in the 90 minutes for Spanish 1, with a slightly modified version for Spanish 2 (since we would have to review present tense anyway with them and the quality of input could be slightly higher based on their learning last year).

5 minutes - warm up
45-50 minutes: PQA (get to know you activity, 1-2 students per day) + short quiz over what we talked about
20-25 minutes: TPR (learning body parts; some commands; at most, 9 new words a day)
15-20 minutes: kindergarten reading / description of picture / extended PQA / basic movie-talk / kid's song

In the last section, I wasn't as sure since that's still a pretty good chunk of time.  I like the idea of more time for PQA but their attention might wane.  And TPR will get them moving for a little bit.

I would say for the first 1-2 weeks, I planned on having some basic books that I read over and over to them and told them how to play the game.  I have carpet so they could feasibly gather around me.

Of course, they might not be as comfortable with me yet to do that.

I would appreciate any thoughts or feedback as this whole block scheduling might push back our reading first semester if I can't find a way to effectively use the time for acquisition.

Does my "spanish boot camp" seem like too much?