In a comment today, Alisa described a strategy that she uses with her elementary kids when they do Movie Talk. It is new to me and looks like it has good potential for the little kids, or really any age group. Find the original comment in the comment fields today. I tried to rewrite her idea below […]
This report is from Dana (pronounced Danna) Miller-Kitch, from Canada, who is just starting in the MS French position I had two years ago at the American Embassy School in New Delhi. Tina and I worked with Dana in Philadelphia this summer and she is using the Invisibles with the same kids, now 8th graders, who invented them
Señor Wooly and others (Elvira, Annabelle, etc.) differ with my post on homework, which I also posted on CI Liftoff, a site that Tina and I started a while ago in an effort to have a safe place to say things. I guess this PLC remains the only safe place to speak freely so I will
A repost: Four kinds of teachers give forced/required class homework: Those who are mean. Those who are afraid. Those who need approval. Those who can’t get the job done in the time they have. I have never given assigned/forced homework. It just seems so insulting to the kids, most of whom don’t do it anyway.
With non-targeted CI we deliver the ocean and they get it. I used to deliver cups of water and make them drink. Now, it’s the ocean! How could an ocean ever fit into a cup anyway? What was I thinking?
This idea can get the students working in the three skills of reading, writing and listening all at once. It eats up minutes if you ever need that to happen. Level 1 kids obviously can’t do it right now, but gnarly upper level classes that you are just trying to make it to the end of the
As I revisit some old posts from years ago, the one below from 2009, I see that my thinking about basic aspects of our work hasn’t changed much. I interpret that as a good thing: I think that, in curriculum design, grammar should be taught only after the lower levels of study (levels one and two) of constant
Julie asks: Hi Ben! Not sure if I’ll get a response before next Tuesday when here, in Canada, we have our first day of school. I’m really excited to get going in TPRS. One question for now: I’ve got the cardstock sheets double-sided for the personalized question/name and fave activity — but I’m wondering when
Poor auditory and kinesthetic kids! They have been like beached dolphins all those years. But when they get into a classroom where there is a lot of CI going on, and their C in other classes is suddenly an A, and the totally visual kids are struggling, then there is at least a bit of
The big fight about non-targeted vs. targeted input is a red herring. The fact is that it’s all CI. The only difference Tina and I are suggesting (Jan. of 2016) is, instead of working from words connected to a curriculum, with the focus on teaching the words, we instead work from an image, which results in
Hello, I am your grade book and I wanted to congratulate you on another year in service to me. Oh, I know, I know. You thought you were working on behalf of the kids. Hah, hah! That’s funny! We all know that you can’t serve two masters. Serve me! Let’s take for example that pesky
This one is from a parent of one of Steven’s students: Hi Ben, During the summer, I was emailed by a supportive parent. They attached a picture I took with my superstar student in the email and I realized “Wouldn’t it be cool if I ask for a testimonial?” I asked and below is the
