Jeff Brickler makes a great point that has never even come up in discussion in this community. Jeff writes:
Hey guys,
I have a question. One of my challenges is the fact that I have four different classes. I know that some of you may have this same experience. I was doing some thinking and I came up with an idea that may help me. What do you think of using a script for all my classes, but simply elevating it each time. For example, this week I am using the script, “The most important thing.”
For Latin I, I stuck with the very simple:
- went on a trip
- arrived
- left behind
- the most important thing
For Latin II, I expanded it to
- went on a trip
- when he arrived at the hotel
- left something behind
- it was an important thing
For Latin III, I then did:
- went on a trip
- after he had arrived
- he realized he left behind something
- it was the most important thing
What are your thought on this kind of idea? I am working quite hard as you know trying to improve, but there is so much that I have to do. I am trying, per Ben, to come up with a system of working rather than a set of activities. I have thought that if we had a framework to work with, we would have an easier time.
I would appreciate your thoughts.
jeff
Here is a great response from David Maust:
Jeff, I think that no matter what level you are doing, you shouldn’t give kids more than 3 new structures max per story. I don’t as much anymore in terms of levels with TPRS: language is language – as long as vocab is sheltered and reps are high students will acquire. But if you start expanding the new structures too much (I think you can go big on structures but don’t go crazy) or adding more of them them in the upper levels I doubt you will get enough reps for the kids to acquire. Whenever I give too many new structures and skimp on the reps it seems like nobody acquires anything and everyone is confused. So I think you can do the same story in each level, but I wouldn’t add more than 3 structures. On another note… For me the thing that changes most from lower levels to upper now is content.
In Latin 1 and 2 I focus mostly just exclusively on the kids (with a little Cambridge (textbook) story line): Latin 1 80 percent or more stories about kids, 20 percent or less textbook storyline. Latin 2: 60-70 percent stories about kids, 30-40 textbook storyline.
Latin 3 and 4 I combine and we do about 50 percent stories about kids and 50 percent embedded readings for some classical authors around a theme like, Julius Caesar, Roman Women, Rome the city, Love and Lovers, etc. And the main thing I am finding that drives these units are key characters that kids can start to get to know – I try to make characters the center of them. And the same principle applies – no more than 3 new structures per week, per class story for any level. The higher the level, the more details and vocabulary we can use because there is more history of acquisition, but basic story making and principles do not change. If I’m doing my job right, every word I use, even in an upper level class should be acquired already, or one of the three (or less) new structures. Maybe that’s not exactly what you were looking for, but that’s the big picture for me.
David
And Bob Patrick added:
Jeff, I have, for several years, paralleled the bones of what I am doing across levels. It gives me a common base to work from even if at different levels some of the content or sophistication changes. I am all for what you are proposing.
Bob
And John added:
I agree here that asking the same story at different levels is great for reducing our workload, and preventing us from getting scattered in our thinking from class to class. Also, it is really an example of differentiation at its best: say you had to group two of your levels together temporarily. You could still teach the class as a whole. Also, we all have students who could/should be in a different level than they currently are, and that student could be reading the story at that other class’s level if need be. All this helps us to convert the unnatural divisions between grades and levels into a [hippie woo-woo made-up terminology alert] transcendental spectrum of challenge on which each student can find their comfort and comprehension level, regardless of what level/section circumstances have dumped them in.
I’m not doing this nearly as much as I want to, but it’s a goal.
John
And Dave Talone added this:
I would love to do this as well. It would make life so much easier. From a theoretical stand-point I agree 100% that it is appropriate and sanity-saving for a teacher. In reality, it can be harder to implement. I teach 2 languages, and am expected to use the book in at least one of them (Latin) so I have to do what I can to get my kids ready for the next teacher who is definitely not CI oriented.
Is everyone else teaching in an environment where you are not expected to sync up with the following year’s (most likely not CI based) teacher? or do people just say “what the hell?” For whatever reason I find it much easier to say what the hell in my Spanish classes than the Latin ones – perhaps it is because of my rigid Jesuit training which not only taught me to decode Vergil at great speed but also eradicated any possible hippy ideals.
In any case, good luck Jeffery. I would love to hear how it goes.
Dave
And I said:
I always use the same story no matter what the level. There isn’t much difference between a level one kid and a level three kid, not really. The only thing we need to worry about is if it’s input and if it is understandable and hopefully if we can make it compelling or at least interesting and personalized to them.
Who cares about levels? Over in France, each time I go there I notice that there is no level 1, followed by a level 2, etc. And I just want to repeat what David said here, an ultra important point – “no matter what level you are doing, you shouldn’t give kids more than 3 new structures max per story.” Honestly, I can tell you that if I were in a class with more than three (2 is the best in my view) structures, I would be hating it, not keeping up. Best way to lose a class is to give them too much stuff too fast.
Ben