Summer Break
I won't be writing much here over the summer - maybe an occasional report from the field - but there are ten years of posts here, so no lack of stuff to read, plus the valuable Primers articles above.
Summer Homework
Over the summer I recommend that PLC members study this chart by Marianne Van Klaveren, which is an expanded version of the original Star Sequence I developed last summer (2017). It is not linear in nature, but describes a curriculum
Two Tramps at Mudtime
We need to like our work. I didn't like my work for 37 years. Then I found the Invisibles/non-targeted. Now I like it. If we can't blend vocation and avocation, as Robert Frost says in "Two Tramps at Mudtime", then
Report from the Field – Kelly Cusson
Sometimes you never know how you affect others. This makes all the craziness of the past decade worth it: Hey Ben - Your blog saved my career about 10-12 years ago, and your compassionate insights on the PLC continue to motivate me
Storybook Project Update
Julia has been giving us regular reports on how great the storybook project from A Natural Approach to the Year has been working for her. Here is the latest update: Good morning Ben! See attached. One example of several
Teachers Pay Teachers
Greg Schwab has another reader (25 stories) which is proving to be good Free Choice Reading material for level 1 and 2 students. It has an accompanying native speaker audio for when sub plans are required: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Making-the-Invisibles-Visible-Vol-2-25-Stories-for-FVR-Reading-with-Audio-3846183
(Elementary) Report from the Field – Erica Ridge
Dear Ben, I attended your workshop at Collegiate in Louisville, Kentucky one weekend in April. I very much enjoyed what you and Tina had to share with us. Before the end of the school year, I decided to try out a story
Star Expanded
A teacher has expanded the Star Sequence - thought I'd share. It's not a linear conceptualization of this work, but spatial. This means everything to me because the attempt to make what is an essentially spatial way of teaching (CI)
Love Thy Neighbor
Kids only learn things when they feel encouraged, when they are made to feel as if they can genuinely do it. They are very good at faking learning. The old model of forcing kids to sit and listen to our comprehensible
Set Your Mind Right for Next Year
If you are new to all this, before you get too nervous about the changes that you wish to implement next year, I offer one important idea to hold on to - just take an image and work with it