For those working with Circling with Balls in their classrooms this week, this is a pep talk in which I compare CWB with doing a sport. When we do Circling with Balls (CWB – see category), it is like learning to snowboard or ride a bike. All we are trying to do is not fall. It is […]
So, yesterday, Bob Patrick taught the first class ever at the University of Georgia on comprehensible input. The course is called “CI and Second Language Acquisition” and Bob’s syllabus was presented in a previous post here last week: Robert Patrick Syllabus LLED 7045 Bob reported before class yesterday: Three weeks ago, there was one student
Martin has sent a report from Europe and we very much thank him for writing this up for us. Here is his email to me and also the first installment (of two) of his report: Dear Ben, I hope you are still enjoying your summer break. In Northern Germany, we are already in the second week
I just got this question this morning from a teacher who is new to CI and getting ready to start her year with CWB: Hi Ben – I just bought many balls to begin my year with Circling with Balls. I’m so looking forward to it. Your video with your son was precious and since
Diane made a comment today that sparkles: …I stopped using questionnaires because I couldn’t figure a way to use them naturally. Perhaps if I were writing a reading for them…. Like Diane, I find it difficult to use the questionnaires naturally (the perfect word to describe what happens) and also Leigh Anne indicated that we
Here is something else on the subject of seating, this one from Chris Roberts: Ben, I’m getting ready to set up my new classroom this week and I want to run an idea by you that, for some, would seem wild. This classroom doesn’t have desks, it has tables with chairs. The tables look like they
Robert shares some thoughts on seating arrangements in CI classrooms: One change in my thinking (and there have been many changes) that has occurred as I have thought about rigor is the approach to assigned seating. I have a pretty laissez faire approach to most things, and I used to think that giving students some
Robert’s mention of Michael Fullen in a comment this morning leads to a repost of this article from about four years ago here on the PLC: I was reading some of Michael Fullan’s work and saw in it support of what we are going though. We’ve talked about Fullan here before but this is a
There is a relatively new category here that is devoted to providing information to PLC members about peer coaching opportunities in their area, since people are starting to organize more on a regional level. The name of the category is “Peer Coaching Groups by Region”. There is already an article about the Chicago group (meets
In The Power of Reading, Insights From The Research, Stephen Krashen mentions the importance of flow in reading (p. 29). Why shouldn’t this same concept be a key part of our focus as we learn to get better and better at delivering listening input to our students in the form of PQA and stories? Water runs down mountains
New PLC member Jeremy Jordan talks about how CWB is working for him and has a question for the group about scheduling things in the first part of the year: Ben, I’ve read your books since starting TPRS/CI teaching 3 years ago, I just started reading your new one as well as joined your PLC
I got this nice email from Bernard that address the question of planning structures through all levels. Since I have never taught upper levels with TPRS/CI (I failed with a traditionally trained class once, badly) and also since I don’t plan anything, I defer to the group on this. Does anyone have an answer? Bonjour
