Bob Patrick has consented to keep sending reports from his classroom. I do think it should be a regular installment here but we have to respect his time and we will take what we can get. I think he is in Week 4 down there in Atlanta but the queue was jammed so this one may be actually from his Week 3. Anyway, enjoy, and thank you Bob:
There has been so much going on. I’ve wanted to write the group every night. Today seems good to point to some highlights. I think that second year of any language is perhaps the most difficult. They have so much that they have learned already, but still are just beginners. They can feel overwhelmed very easily, so a good, steady, start is important.
This week, I started Monday by asking them a story with 4 new words. I have four sections of 2’s and each story went so differently in each class. Not a real surprise, but what was marvellous was that in my first class, one of my most challenging students from last year took the ball and ran with. I started with a “boy and a dog were walking down the street”. I asked who they were. “Nell”, an African American girl, hard exterior, my barometer student beyond imagination last year, jumped right in. She said that the boy was Chris Brown and the dog was Two Chains. Before long, Chris and Two Chains were going to see Rianna who was more intersted in Drake. Rianna knew them both, but only acknowledged Two Chain. She avoided Chris. Chris knocked on Drake’s door and they got in a fight. Chris hit Drake, but Drake threw a bottle at Chris. Drake ran to Rianna’s house and she let him in. Chris and Two Chain sat on the street and wept openly.
OMG! There was such energy. They were stunned that Nell had become the leader of the story telling, and she was delighted to be so. We all got so lost in the story! We were laughing and having such fun and then the damn bell rang! They groaned because it was over. My mistake was thinking that the other three classes would go like that. They didn’t, but that was okay. They went well enough.
On Tuesday, I decided to take the storyline and write sentences to use in Word Chunking which I introduced to them. They were in teams of 5, each with a chosen Latin name and gesture. The sentences continued the story that the first class had started on Monday with 4 new words on the board and all the previous words on the word wall. 5 multi-colored whiffle balls and a cardboard box were our goal and basket (Nell chided me for not having a proper basketball goal, so that’s now on my to do list).
They LOVED the game, and got so lost in playing it, in listening to the sentences, to each other, correcting each other, listening for others mistakes and learning so fast. I decided to write more sentences with 4 new words and play again today. Each class (3 of 4 have met now–I’m writing this during my lunch) have cheered when they come in and see the chairs and balls set up for the game. And the things they are saying! “I love this game.” “This game is so hard, but I love it!” “Can we keep playing this game?” And the coups de grace, from a goof-ball pudgy kid who just loves to hand out–“Dr. Patrick, this game makes me really want to know what the words mean–ah, not that I didn’t want to know them before–but I REALLY want to know what they mean while we are playing this game!”
Guys, I’ve said before that I’ve beeing doing TPRS as best I can since 2004, and started dabling a couple of years before that. It has not been easy, at all. This PLC has breathed such new life into me and what I am doing these first three weeks. I cannot tell you how grateful I am.
One last thing, and then I must get back to work. I was a bit skeptical about “rules on the wall” but urged on by good talks with Ben, I have my D.E.A tips on the wall, and made that a big part of first day culture in my room. This week, kids are beginning to quote from it to each other–especially about having a “good will attitude” which I consider the core of it all. Ben, thank you so much for that. Deepest thanks for all that this community is doing for each other.
Bob