Here is a very nice report from a new teacher to this work, Matthew Webster, who teaches in Colorado Springs: Ben, I was the quiet, deer-in-the-headlights guy sitting in the back of the Denver war room at IFLT. (Everything was pretty new to me, and people were talking exclusively in acronyms and acting like this […]
Erin Bas gives a good definition of Pictado. The key sentence is in italics: It is just like a Dictado (Dictée – see the category), but the students listen and draw. Sometimes I have them number off six boxes, sometimes it’s more free-style. I like the quiet and focus it brings to a class. A
If you have a really short story, please share it with us in a comment field below. This is the time of year for really short stories. Structure it like the one below if you can, with the variables underlined. This is the one that Catharina recommended to Aya: A Thirsty Dog is thirsty drinks
What if our classes could meet once every few weeks for ten to twenty minutes, or longer, to discuss anything they wanted that pertained to the class? We have talked about the need for self reflection by our students about how they are learning. There is a whole category on this topic called the Metacognition Piece.
I’m posting the Bear Story so I can get it into the right category for ease of reference: alone woke up Leave! Michael was sleeping alone on Saturday night. A bear came to the house. The bear opened the door with his nose. He put two feet into the house. Michael woke up and yelled,
I got this question for the group from Don Read in the San Francisco Bay area: Hi Ben, Do you know anything about the Middlebury Online Language Program? One of my students from last year chose not to take French this year. Instead she is taking the Middlebury Online Course. She is also telling other students how
Aya recently asked a truly important question that tags onto a recent discussion (in August) led by James and Leah about doing those really short stories, stories (that are really nothing more than extended PQA but a little more “story-like). They can be used to target verbs at the beginning of the year. James and
Instead of just going to a school or school district and presenting about TPRS/CI, I have made a change in how I do that. Now, I require that the entire department first be willing to get the training. This is what is so good about conferences, by the way, because we want to be there.
When I was in high school it was all about competition for me. On the sports field and in the classroom. Same with college. Then after those hard years of youth I started seeing that cooperation was better than competition. (Laurie and I talked about that this summer and how it even applies to our
Robert Harrell tried to post a response to John Bracey’s situation but it didn’t post so here it is as an article. I’m glad it didn’t post, because Robert’s comment is something each and every one of us should read if we are going to teach this way. What I laughed off as a bunch
John, commenting on the homework thread today, in so doing revealed a profound truth about the record setting speed of old guard teachers in shooting themselves in the foot: I stopped giving homework last year and my students and parents were both thrilled. A number of my kids’ parents are hugely involved in all of
Jim Tripp was asked this question, apparently from a group of middle school kids: “Hello! My name is John (made-up name). I am an 8th grade student at Decorah Middle School. I am involved in a project called First Lego League. This project entails a group of students finding a topic to meet the criteria
