TPRS Presentation in nearby District

So my francophone* colleague Bess Hayles and I were invited to give demo TPRS lessons in a nearby school district.

After that we gave a talk about Comprehensible Input to those interested. There were about 24 teachers that attended and they were a very fun and kind group of teachers.

We taught 90 minute blocks and my Spanish 1 students were great kids. They were very respectful but quite unsure of me since I am so weird.  By the end of the class though, I was able to win quite a few of them over.


While I was incredibly nervous, the teachers and students were gracious to us and I couldn't have asked for a nicer group to do my first TPRS model lesson and co-lead a professional development session.


Here's what I did in my lesson plan, not knowing what to do for a Spanish 1 class, and I didn't get through it all.

My brief NTPRS story + a commercial!

So I went to a few different TPRS training workshops and was hooked. Then I found out there was this national week-long TPRS extravaganza for teachers called NTPRS.

Ever since I had wanted to go. One year it was in Kansas City, MO. This was before I decided to try TPRS.

Later it was in Chicago (8 hour drive but do-able). I had to go to my brother's wedding and wouldn't make it back in time.

Since then it wasn't a priority. Not going was easier than trying to go. Especially because it can be expensive after hotel rooms, food, and the registration (not to mention travel costs).

But I was heavily encouraged to go last summer and various kind souls helped make that happen and I was glad to go!  I got to meet so many teachers I have looked up to over the years and pick their brains about activities. I got to finally be in an environment that was friendly towards my teaching style. I have been in situations where it has gotten hostile due to closely held beliefs one what is "best" for students in the classrooms. At NTPRS, I didn't feel like I was crazy anymore.  There were others out there who were passionate about using any method possible other than the textbook who also found results.

And so when the guys at TPRS Books asked me to help them do a commercial a few weeks ago to help get people to go, I jumped at the opportunity.

I wanted others to be able to experience it as well and maybe to be prodded in that direction. I mean, if you share a hotel room with someone, carpool and are frugal with meals, it's completely do-able!

So here's what I made for them.

I hope you enjoy it and consider coming to NTPRS. Even if you aren't sure about TPRS, come!

It's a great way to get a week's worth of "input" about the method and to figure out how you could experiment with it in your classes. It's better than any video, blog post or book about the topic.

Read about my experiences at NTPRS last summer:

• Day 0 - the arrival
• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Day 4
• Day 5
• On the way home

FLAM / KSWLA presentation: Stay on Target!

So I asked awhile back about people's thoughts on what I should present at FLAM this year. And here is my title, blurb.

Stay on Target! Ten Target Teaching Techniques & Tips

Presenter: Jeremy Jordan, Lee's Summit High School, Lee's Summit, MO

Jeremy Jordan of Lee’s Summit High School explains various techniques that he uses in his classroom to push TL usage to 90% or higher, while still helping class be a fun, positive yet rigorous place to be. Examples will be straight from Spanish class, but will be relevant to any classroom.

Audience: All Language: Presented in English Theme: Best Practices

And I came up with quite a loaded presentation.

If you want to see it, here it is!  I tried to include a lot of activities I use or have used in the past to help push my students to using more TL in the classroom.

Of course, there are so many other things I have found success with, but these are some of the most powerful that I have used that have resonated with my students.

And here are my presentation notes in a convenient PDF for you!

FLAM Presentation - Stay on Target!

My first official TPRS presentation to colleagues

Today I was given the wonderful opportunity to share a little bit about TPRS with some of my new colleagues (at my new school). I think that it was an overall positive experience.  Just like in my classes, I over-planned and some things under-planned.

Here's a PDF and here's a PowerPoint file if you would like to see them.

But here's a rundown on the good and bad for me in case I ever do something similar again:

Professionalism post for forum

This was something I posted last year on a TPRS forum after noticing that teachers are not always civil to one another... I am posting it here to remind myself of the exact same things.

First allow me to say that I am a long time member, very infrequent poster of the forum and that this forum has been invaluable to me over the years to help me learn about ideas of others to try out in my own classroom as well as remind me I am not crazy for using CI / TPRS methods in my classroom instead of more “traditional methods”.

With that said, I have noticed over the last year that this forum has become a place where bullying is tolerated.  It seems as though when someone offers an opinion, others are quick to jump on that and show intolerance.

FLAM presentations

I finally presented at FLAM over some things I do in my classes!  It was a really neat conference. I got to hear the wonderfully talented Carrie Toth speak at a workshop as well as at the luncheon.

So inspiring and wonderful to hear about her experiences with her students in class!

It also reminds me that what I am doing by pushing away from a textbook IS meaningful and I am not crazy!

My presentations were over the following:

That's a Novel Idea: Using novels to shape curriculum

How I do I manage: Using PAT to shape classroom management

If you missed them, click on the presentation titles for links to my keynotes (in pdf form).

Let me know if you have any questions or comments! Thanks to everyone who attended my presentations. The PAT one was especially fun with the group of teachers. They were great sports considering what I had them doing during the presentation.

And thanks to all who took a moment to say "hello", talk to me about their classes, share with me about using my videos, listening to me rant, listening to my presentations, asking questions, presented and challenged me to continue to strive to be a better teacher.