Meg asks the group: I have a class that used to be super chatty and is still a bit on that side/disrespectful. But with new seating today, NOBODY raised hands with suggestions for our OWI. I should have given suggestions, or done a turn and talk, but I was so seething I had to go […]
We all will get challenged on the topic of rigor in what we do. It’s just a question of when. So when it happens to you, be ready with this post from Robert some years ago: I’m sorry to hear you are getting grief from your administrator about rigor. It sounds to me like he
Robert Harrell – Advice to an Embattled Teacher/Clarification of Rigor Read More »
Connected to the entire Invisibles year long approach is the wonderful idea that in the spring we don’t actually work, but rather just enjoy walking around the room supervising seven teams of students who are preparing for the Final Show. Can’t go into it here because it is too long to describe, but not working
Ky just joined our group. She reports: Over Christmas break I read A Natural Approach to Stories and the Bite Size Book of Classroom Management. I went to school yesterday, after not lesson planning one bit over vacation, and had the best day I’ve had in a long time. I opened with a discussion about
In some school populations, the character’s name is enough to assume the person’s gender. If it is named Bill, it is a boy, and if it is named Sally, it is a girl. However, the national culture is changing rapidly in regards to gender identity and expression. Therefore, in many school populations, it is not
Tina and I just finished our new Bite Size Book on Classroom Management. I am offering it (only here) at no charge so just follow this link if you want it. (Please keep the link private to PLC members only.) It might help some of us reset our classroom management buttons for the new year:
Just got this from Alisa. It is such a big part of Classroom Management: Ben, This is fascinating on power poses and very relevant for teachers like us. Best in 2018, Alisa
In a comment here today, Greg wrote: “When asked, a major TPRS trainer said earlier this year in a presentation that they only do oral TPRS stories until November, then they start on novels. “So that’s August, September, October of oral stories (3 months) and November, December, January, Februrary, March, April, May (7 months) of
It’s time to rest and sleep. After all, we all know what’s coming in just a few short weeks. New readers here are invited to read back through the ten years of articles and comments, search topics in the search bar, etc. Let’s regroup in January when the “fun” starts again.
Our gradebooks must reflect the following truth: All students can succeed, as long as they are being evaluated according to their own internal timeline. We must reward growth, focus, and interaction with the language. We must NOT base our grades on the ability to produce (usually memorized) language on an arbitrary timeline set by external,
Everyone can effortlessly achieve proficiency in their second language just as they did in their first. But to fully absorb that truth, teachers must finally begin to look at their work with their students through the lens of how people actually acquire languages. If we do that we will know that the only factor preventing
Those familiar with the Invisibles Star Sequence may be interested to read how Tina and I introduce it in our new book. It gives an example of what we are trying to share with teachers in the book. This segment is from Chapter 6: This sequence of five types of activities undergirds all the sessions
