When students watch the projected image of a student-created story that was created on an interactive whiteboard, and (1) see the changing comic strip panels, and (2) read it, and (3) listen to it, and (4) hear any emotion in the reader’s voice (without probably even noticing it), we at that point are approximating for […]

I have always favored delaying the reading of novels as long as possible so that there is no struggle for our slower students when they do start novels. There is nothing as defeating as not understanding what you are reading in the novels. Factored into this is that we sometimes are guilty of asking students

In the little stories made on interactive whiteboards that review the stories created in class we have: 1. changing images 2. printed words 3. spoken words 4. emotions When we learn from a textbook or a chapter book/novel, we don’t have all those things. We have no or very few static images, and therefore little

For those of us who are pressured by administrators to use technology, these apps are absolute jewels. They will almost certainly in the future become a standard part of how we use our instructional minutes in our TPRS/CI classrooms. It almost seems as if interactive whiteboards were designed specifically for what we do! It is

Interactive whiteboards electronically capture your voice and handwriting to bring to life just-completed stories in your comprehensible input classes. Students can use the iPad to visually recreate stories in much the same way that the classroom artists currently do. If a class has access to an iPad, the artist will certainly want to use it

The third goal in our series of articles here on goals for next year is for me the big one. It is about our mental health and stress and balance. I guess we should just call the goal the Mental Health Goal. Goal #3: Mental Health. The thing that those of us who embrace this

Here is the second goal I am suggesting for this year: Goal #2: This one is for department chairs but applies to everyone, really. The goal is perhaps best phrased as a question: What is my Role as a Department Chair in a department that may not have everyone on board with CI instruction? I

This article was first published in 2007, when I was just starting to formulate the idea of jobs. Time flies! I even mention the Realm in this article (2005)! The whole idea with the jobs, in development now for enough years to have resulted in a total of 61 current jobs, is the fundamental link

I would like to suggest four formal goals for us for this year. The first two goals are contained in one short paragraph I received this summer from a PLC member in Los Angeles: …at this point I need to be challenged on unconscious teaching assumptions that I probably am still carrying. I also have

Warning – rant. Long rant. Very long rant. Either get another cup of coffee or don’t read it: Those in that last nite (Thursday nite) session remember that I taught the last story of the evening. But I didn’t get any feedback. I really wanted some but I understand that the class ended at 1:30

We have an updated job, identified and described by Angie Dodd from ideas published here a year ago by Chris Stoltz and Sabrina: 24. Calendar Kid – This job is from Angie Dodd and thank you Angie! The Calendar Kid is the kid who has the job of writing up the day, the date, the weather, and “yesterday

Anyone in the Long Beach/Los Angeles area is asked to mentor a newer member of our community. Let me know at benslavic@yahoo.com