Here's the evolution that I have had in my teaching.
4 years ago, I decided to stand at my door to greet students.
3 years ago, I continued to do this.
2 years ago, I thought it would be great to add in a handshake while greeting students.
1 year ago, I decided to try out a secret password with my students so that they could get in my class. (see post)
This year, I have continued with the secret password, but continue to experiment.
While I think they really helped me have something else to play around with during targeted and non-targeted comprehensible input during class last year, it also just added that extra element of fun.
Nevertheless, the way I did it last year made it a little disjointed.
As I have been reading on Bryce Hedstom's blog, I have found that there are passwords that are almost call and response. Or they are an interaction that kids have to go through before they can enter.
Last week, I tried out, "Of course!" (Claro que sí).
Showing posts with label liven up classroom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label liven up classroom. Show all posts
Saturday, October 8, 2016
Friday, September 26, 2014
TPRS year 5 - Preferred Activity Time (PAT) continued...
I posted about this awhile back (see post), but I wanted to point out something I find interesting.
I used to do games every week probably twice or so. I thought by Wednesday and by Friday we deserved a game.
I have found that with PAT, the fact that they have earned the game is so much more empowering to them. It also helps during those blocks for them to remember how valuable their attention is (of course we still do brain breaks because I am not a slave-driver).
But notice this graphic to the left. I have noticed that even with the reward of 1:00 per 15 minutes on task time and giving bonuses for people doing their jobs, we are still getting over 8:00 in some of the classes, which is really awesome for them.
They are constantly being complimented on doing their jobs and hearing that positive encouragement. This has created an environment where the classroom is charged with excitement as they are walking into my classroom (as I shake their hand and say, "Buenos días".)
The classes that get that 8:00 or more minutes are doing beyond what I could ever ask and that magical fusion creates a class where we can learn so much more that PAT (and more of it) is the best reward to give them, because they are using class time so effectively.
I just wanted to brag about my students. This is definitely an improvement on PAT since last year. I'm glad it's improving.
If you wanted to see how my board looks, here's another pic. This is after a class period. Then I add up the little bonuses (and subtract the negative 5 seconds (each tally) when I lose eye-contact). The total is circled so I could add it to the spreadsheet.
It might be a little messy, but it has been working for me so far. The numbers are crossed out since I was adding them. I also make a point to let them know why they are getting those bonuses.
If you don't use PAT in your classroom but find your class could be managed better, consider making the change! I'm glad I have.
I have found that with PAT, the fact that they have earned the game is so much more empowering to them. It also helps during those blocks for them to remember how valuable their attention is (of course we still do brain breaks because I am not a slave-driver).
But notice this graphic to the left. I have noticed that even with the reward of 1:00 per 15 minutes on task time and giving bonuses for people doing their jobs, we are still getting over 8:00 in some of the classes, which is really awesome for them.
They are constantly being complimented on doing their jobs and hearing that positive encouragement. This has created an environment where the classroom is charged with excitement as they are walking into my classroom (as I shake their hand and say, "Buenos días".)
The classes that get that 8:00 or more minutes are doing beyond what I could ever ask and that magical fusion creates a class where we can learn so much more that PAT (and more of it) is the best reward to give them, because they are using class time so effectively.
If you wanted to see how my board looks, here's another pic. This is after a class period. Then I add up the little bonuses (and subtract the negative 5 seconds (each tally) when I lose eye-contact). The total is circled so I could add it to the spreadsheet.
It might be a little messy, but it has been working for me so far. The numbers are crossed out since I was adding them. I also make a point to let them know why they are getting those bonuses.
If you don't use PAT in your classroom but find your class could be managed better, consider making the change! I'm glad I have.
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
TPRS Year 3 - Piratas - Chapter 2
For my Spanish 1 & 2 classes this year, we're easing into the novels. I didn't even bother with novels last year as my second year after my paradigm shift from grammar to TPRS, but this year, I thought it would be worth a shot.
So we're in the second novel of the year for Spanish 1: Piratas del Caribe y el mapa secreto by Mira Canion. Next year, my Spanish 2 and Spanish 3 classes will read some other (increasingly difficult books). It's definitely exciting.
I noticed that Chapter two of Piratas was incredibly long though. It is around 900 words. Granted, some of my embedded readings this year in Spanish have gotten up to around 700 words or so (which is a lot to read in a class period!), but 900 is even more so. We read the chapter on Friday and went over what it was talking about. I showed some pictures of the map and explained the separation plan. But I didn't come away from the classes feeling like my students were able to digest the chapter very well. So today, I wanted to revisit chapter two so that we could move onto chapter three. I also wanted to try a different technique. The worst that could happen is they still wouldn't understand every little part of the chapter. The best is that they could understand the chapter better.
So here's what I did:
1. I prepared some backgrounds on a PowerPoint (pirate ship, captain's cabin, open sea, Cuban beach, countryside, market)
2. Then I took the mp3 chapters from audio book and cut them up into more digestible chunks of text to work with.
3. I got the actors up in the front and we acted out the chunks and they would move their mouth with the mp3 of the characters saying the lines. Then we might have to do the scene over and I'd have someone jump in and say, "Toma #, ¡Acción!" ("Take __, Action!")
4. The props helped make it as well to add more to the illusion and the backgrounds
5. My actors also were willing to do all that I asked, including pretending to be in a canoe all rowing together and then getting out of the canoe at the beach.
6. during the chapter I was able to ask some comprehension level questions because there was much higher energy with the actors than other reading days
7. Some students even told me we should do other chapters like that. As long as they have action, I am ok with it.
Conclusion:
Not too bad. I think we will do it for the future chapters when necessary. It saves me the time of making animations. And this gets the kids into it more and is simply more fun.
I also think that so far for the book, this is a good start. I'll keep beefing up the unit each year though (with more activities to choose from and props to get into the story with).
So we're in the second novel of the year for Spanish 1: Piratas del Caribe y el mapa secreto by Mira Canion. Next year, my Spanish 2 and Spanish 3 classes will read some other (increasingly difficult books). It's definitely exciting.
 |
| my props for the acting today (woman's scarf, cashier apron, two pistols, cardboard pirate hats, cell-phone, "silver" and fake map.) |
I noticed that Chapter two of Piratas was incredibly long though. It is around 900 words. Granted, some of my embedded readings this year in Spanish have gotten up to around 700 words or so (which is a lot to read in a class period!), but 900 is even more so. We read the chapter on Friday and went over what it was talking about. I showed some pictures of the map and explained the separation plan. But I didn't come away from the classes feeling like my students were able to digest the chapter very well. So today, I wanted to revisit chapter two so that we could move onto chapter three. I also wanted to try a different technique. The worst that could happen is they still wouldn't understand every little part of the chapter. The best is that they could understand the chapter better.
So here's what I did:
1. I prepared some backgrounds on a PowerPoint (pirate ship, captain's cabin, open sea, Cuban beach, countryside, market)
2. Then I took the mp3 chapters from audio book and cut them up into more digestible chunks of text to work with.
3. I got the actors up in the front and we acted out the chunks and they would move their mouth with the mp3 of the characters saying the lines. Then we might have to do the scene over and I'd have someone jump in and say, "Toma #, ¡Acción!" ("Take __, Action!")
4. The props helped make it as well to add more to the illusion and the backgrounds
5. My actors also were willing to do all that I asked, including pretending to be in a canoe all rowing together and then getting out of the canoe at the beach.
6. during the chapter I was able to ask some comprehension level questions because there was much higher energy with the actors than other reading days
7. Some students even told me we should do other chapters like that. As long as they have action, I am ok with it.
Conclusion:
Not too bad. I think we will do it for the future chapters when necessary. It saves me the time of making animations. And this gets the kids into it more and is simply more fun.
I also think that so far for the book, this is a good start. I'll keep beefing up the unit each year though (with more activities to choose from and props to get into the story with).
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
TPRS Year 3 - Sound effects
Ok, I always loved the show Whose Line is it Anyway. It's improv. I remember really liking it even when I was a kid and it was the British version.
So I've recently stumbled upon some episodes of the American version on Youtube and I have to say it's so similar to what we do at times. We are living in the moment with our students and creating together with them. We probably are like Whose Line is it Anyway? but on steroids. We have to take more audience suggestions way more often and actually interact with the audience during the entire show (class).
But I was watching this episode and the game was where two audience members have to do sound effects for different characters. It occurred to me that it would be kind of fun to have someone do the sound effects for the day for our story about the telephone (see story skeleton).
So I asked the the person to write the quiz, for the person to keep track of my structures, and for a person to do the sound effects! The sound effects was the new part.
In every class, someone volunteered and I told them that they would be in charge of all of the sound in class that day, including speech and anything else we needed. They were ultimately in charge of how something sounded, although we described it enough in Spanish so they understood what was going on.
Since the story was about a telephone ringing and various people/animals calling this random telephone and someone not understanding, it worked out perfectly because the sound engineer had complete control over accents and they would sync their mouth up with the actors.
I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. So if you find yourself needing something to liven up your TPRS classroom, try out getting a sound engineer for the class that day. :-)
So I've recently stumbled upon some episodes of the American version on Youtube and I have to say it's so similar to what we do at times. We are living in the moment with our students and creating together with them. We probably are like Whose Line is it Anyway? but on steroids. We have to take more audience suggestions way more often and actually interact with the audience during the entire show (class).
But I was watching this episode and the game was where two audience members have to do sound effects for different characters. It occurred to me that it would be kind of fun to have someone do the sound effects for the day for our story about the telephone (see story skeleton).
So I asked the the person to write the quiz, for the person to keep track of my structures, and for a person to do the sound effects! The sound effects was the new part.
In every class, someone volunteered and I told them that they would be in charge of all of the sound in class that day, including speech and anything else we needed. They were ultimately in charge of how something sounded, although we described it enough in Spanish so they understood what was going on.
Since the story was about a telephone ringing and various people/animals calling this random telephone and someone not understanding, it worked out perfectly because the sound engineer had complete control over accents and they would sync their mouth up with the actors.
I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. So if you find yourself needing something to liven up your TPRS classroom, try out getting a sound engineer for the class that day. :-)
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