In my view spring is about reading, writing and the few authentic CI games like the word chunk team game, and most importantly book making, which can eat up as many as six or even seven weeks while you put your feet up on the desk and enjoy watching them work. Maybe walking around faking it. The time for direct verbal communication in the TL is pretty much over by spring.
That’s not on us – it’s the way school has become – a very trying experience for one and all just to make it from testing to June. Nobody else really gets anything done in our buildings in April and May, so why should we try when we can’t and they don’t?
This is all made clear in A Natural Approach to the Year (ANATTY). Chapters in ANATTY that help in spring are:
Instructional Session 24 – Partner Reading and Book Groups – p. 283
Instructional Session 26 – Pencils on Paper – Eight Activities – p. 292
Instructional Session 28 – Poetry Declamation – p. 314
Instructional Session 29 – Children’s Book Projects – p. 320
Making books may not go too well, though, unless they have been trained all year with stories as described in ANATS and ANATTY and also in how to use the student jobs, especially Hub D, which hub has very specific springtime work to do to prepare for the end of year celebrations, etc. The jobs are explained in both of those books as well, and also in the new Invisibles book.
It’s so nice to not have to work in the spring, and just go in physically and smile and reap the fruits of our input efforts from fall and winter.