Here is what Catharina wrote to Robert. Hopefully it creates a discussion here that, in spite of eight years and almost 30,000 comments by us, we have never had. Hopefully, this starts it off: Wait Robert before you take a break. Take a minute to read what I have to say. Didn’t I give Eric […]

The little brother of the thematic units thread, largely ignored up to this point in the explosive discussion that Eric started and Robert and others have fueled for almost two weeks now on the ACTFL mega list, is the argument about reading authentic texts. Nobody in our community really focused on it except Eric and

Something really unexpected but inspiring happened yesterday. As class was about to start (my last period of the day, 7th grade) I was reminded that I needed to pack up my stuff because I needed to leave right after class ended so I asked a student to start the class for me by asking what

We basically have no reason to group kids, but a lot of observers come in to our classrooms looking for exactly that so that they can check that box on their evaluation sheet. In that interest, Judy Dubois suggests below an excellent strategy for meaningful group work for our upper level kids, maybe even level 2 kids: …I

This is a comment from Robert Harrell a few weeks ago, published here as an article so that I can link it directly to the assessment categories. Robert makes a very important point about how data collectors seem to often have to scramble to defend their jobs, or least that is the true folly he

A repost: Are there other professions in which a majority of the clients are unmotivated and forced to be clients? I’m trying to think of any. Can anyone think of any? I am aware that the term “unmotivated” is a huge umbrella that describes a lot of different aspects of our students. Some are unmotivated

I hesitate to divert our focus from the fireworks going on right now over on the ACTFL Foreign Language Educators site, as most of us have our gaze there and many of are helping light the fireworks under Eric’s leadership, but this is such a nice report from Angie that we should all read it

It took me years to decide to weigh my students grades at 65% using jGR, with the other 35% a “Quizzes” category which included all the quick quizzes and dictations and free writes together. This simple equation of 35% quizzes and 65% jGR worked for me because the heavy weight of jGR immediately, from the

This is a repost from last year: Our demeanor counts for a lot in our teaching. We can be the best CI teacher in the world, but if we are so intent on doing it right that that intensity shows up in our faces while we are teaching, the kids will pick up on it

This is one for Halloween time from Jody Noble. SE HACE DE NOCHE: http://youtu.be/N4K5uzxvBD8 Jody shares: I do not have them repeat any of the words at first. I like to do the rhyme with one actor at a time but, of course, we do it many times–so their are lots of actors during the

I am just posting this here for Margarita: jGR latest Dec. 2012

This is from Sara, who, like Margarita, hasn’t been at this stuff for very long. Both of their recent reports from the field, given how they are both new to it, are to be recognized for what they are – amazing! Here is Sara’s report: Good morning Ben, I just wanted to shoot you a