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
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 with my students. I teach Kindergarten through 5th grade, but due to timing,
(Elementary) Report from the Field – Erica Ridge Read More »
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) into a linear process that can be followed almost like a textbook has been –
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 The old model of forcing kids to sit and listen to our comprehensible input is outdated. It needs to be replaced with a new model. What is that
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 and stay with it and don’t go into any other stuff too fast. What does
Kara has a question for the group: As I wind down my first full year of CI, I’m looking for “final words” to end the year. Most of my students came with me on this journey of learning French without grammar and vocab lists. However, I’m looking for some words that might reach those kids who
A Natural Approach to the Year (2017-18) is a sequel to A Natural Approach to Stories (2016). It is basically how I spent most of my time over the past year and a half. After six previous books over the past twelve years, these two books represent my best efforts and deepest thinking. They reflect what
I am starting to see that teaching French was only a vehicle to carry me into the battle ground of schools where I would end up fighting as hard as I could each day for 40 years. The newest book Tina and I have written is providing me with that precious insight. That book is
I just can’t see making reading competitive and that is largely what class novels/readers/chapter books do. How can the slower reading kids enjoy their learning experience when they can be seen, perceived, there is a feeling in the room, that (as usual) they are not as good as the frontrunners? This is very much about
"Everybody Shut Up – I've Got To Get My French On!" Read More »
Hi Ben, In an effort to streamline assessments, I have started an interview process for all of my 2nd year students. I do this as a personalized one-on-one NT CI. It’s kinda a farewell gift. Anyway, I have had the best French 2 class ever and some have agreed to get recorded. This is spontaneous
Q. Can you give me a student friendly explanation of the following ruleplease? Do your 50%. A. Tell them that languages are about communication, not memorization, so that in your class they are expected to show up and to try to hold up their half of the communication, since they are half of the conversation.
