Inbox Deleted

I just deleted my entire inbox, so if you have sent me something to attend to, it’s gone. I did it on purpose, because my inbox had become unmanageable, so it was necessary. I’m not alone on this, by the way. It has been claimed that Thomas De Quincey once lived in an apartment so […]

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jGR Defined

jGR is a way of observing certain non-verbal observable behaviors in our students that align with the national standards, in particular the ACTFL Three Modes of Communication, and in particular among the three modes, the listening skill. The term “observable non-verbal behaviors” was invented by Barbara Vallejos of Abraham Lincoln High School in Denver, Colorado

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What School is All About

Here is an article written by Stephen Krashen in 2011: What School is All About Sent to the Los Angeles Times, July 17, 2011 In addition to influencing the medical literature (LA Times, July 16), J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter has a great deal to say about current educational policy. In “Harry Potter: The Order of

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Advice to a Young Teacher

Laurie Clarcq writes to Angie in this tour de force comment, but it applies to all young teachers: The things that concern you are the same things that concern us all. There comes a point when you realize that apprehension and uncertainty are givens in the classroom. It is that way with any relationship worth

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Do Homework. Rack Up Debt.

In the homework thread from last month, Nathaniel made a point in response to something Polly said that bears repeating. His point is expressed with surgical precision: …when our daughter no longer had time for the family because she had several hours of homework in the 5th grade we decided it was time to homeschool.

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Maine Conference 2014

It’s not too late! The 9th Annual TCI Maine, New England & Beyond Fall Conference, organized by the one and only Skip Crosby, is planned for October 16 & 17, 2014. If you can get to this excellent and established conference this year, do so. The training and the contact with the Maine group is

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What To Do After a Story

Angie asked for ideas to do after the story (after the reading of Step 3, which I think is best done using ROA). David Sceggel suggested some excellent ideas: 1. Read and Draw a previous year’s story 2. Read and discuss an alternate version 3. Do a movietalk if there are some similar structures 4.

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Krashen on Motivation

This is from Eric this morning. I would highly recommend reading the link: Hey Ben – Maybe you saw Krashen post this to moreTPRS: http://skrashen.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-end-of-motivation.html Terry Waltz has responded on moreTPRS and disagrees, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out. I’ve also commented, hopefully not putting myself into the middle. haha.

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