We can stop during the creation of the story in Step 2 and say, “Oh, I gotta write this down!”
Doing this leads to acquisition of the subjuntive. (We don’t teach the subjunctive anymore, although I used to. Worksheets for over two weeks. Making them memorize all those expressions within each category (ndefinite antecedent, expressions of emotion, superlatives, etc.) It was a game of Who Can Keep up With the 4%er? and I always won. That’s why I became a language teacher, so that people would say that I am smart!
I ruined a lot of careers in language that way, and the worst part was that only people like me – the 4%ers – became language teachers. Sorry, that was a digression. It’s also a warning that if you plan on teaching any grammar this week don’t. Krashen told me last week
No, we just speak normally in class but sometimes throw in (we don’t plan it) questions like, “What do you want me to do?”
At some point, if you use it enough, they’ll start asking what the deal is with that funny sounding verb. Don’t dare say the word subjunctive when you answer. It only means something to the 4%ers and it really doesn’t mean anything to them.
Just tell them that sometimes the verb changes and they’ll learn well in they keep taking the class.
I really like
“Oh, I gotta write this down!”
because you can show appreciation for them and everybody likes to feel appreciated. Everybody likes to feel as we we care that they are there. We personalize our classrooms further when we show apprecation for our students in any way we can.
(Another way of teaching the subjunctive – shared by Joseph Dziedzic at the conference – during any class from level 1 to AP is to give the students classroom instructions using the subjuctive:
…I want you to sit down. I want you to take out a sheet of paper. I want you to write your name on it. I want you to draw a picture of Blaine Ray on it….
Whatever, and you can do the gesture with that, which is a good way to internalize the subjunctive.)
Besides crediting JD on this, I also want to credit a bad ass young teacher in DPS who has no fear of anybody, which is great to see in a young teacher, Jess Sandschaper.