Learning Style Inventories are probably easy to find on the internet, but I prefer the one I have been using for years, which is very simple. It has the advantage of being able to be completed in about 20 minutes by the students. One point about the LSI is that the discussion has to be in […]

I am going to be pushing the jobs deal, doing a lot of hiring, in October, as part of my plan to set things up for even higher levels of personalization in my classroom than ever. I do believe that the more the kid feels important and necessary to the group, the more they will participate

The Learning Styles Inventory is something that I just never got around to, but I am determined to get it published here and in use in my classroom in October. I think it is the perfect thing for October to cement my positive relationship with my kids. And, of course, I want to do the

I sense that there are phases to this work.  I don’t think it inaccurate to say that August and September are really about what John is doing. We norm our rooms or we suck air in these first six weeks. That is a fact. We personalize as well. We start with stories only if we have already

Each of us should work from our own intuitions and strengths as we plan how we are going to navigate each year so that we can get through it as best we can with the highest mental health possible and the best results for our kids. We are all trying to get that balance, almost impossible

So when we think about September coming to a close, each of us must reflect on what we did in our instruction in terms of: 1. Norming the class for discipline and clarity of behaviors expected from our students. 2. Personalization in terms of the Circling with Balls cards and any other such activities that

Our group member Shannon shared with me in an email the following about the department she chairs in St. Paul, MN and I would like to share it with the group: …7 of 9 WL teachers in my building alone are TPRS/CI now. Maybe 12 of 19 district-wide. We’re certainly changing the culture around here,

For the past weeks I have been using and continuing to see greater and greater value in “the JGR”. I knew it had power when this week Annick Chen – a truly gifted CCI Mandarin teacher – came into my room (I had asked her to observe me in a reading class to clarify a few

The topic below is a good one to revisit from time to time – use of tenses. Kelly sent in this question for consideration by the group: Hi, Ben, I am really struggling with asking the stories in the past tense. It just feels so unnatural to me. When I have actors and the story is

Corinne in CA sent this: Ben, In response to your Magic Bean post, I’ve allocated some jobs this semester. The two French combined level 2&3 sections enjoy checking that they can keep in L2 as long as each other, so that timer is popular. My “barometers” (I know we don’t call them that ) enjoy

A question for anyone with some wisdom to offer… For my junior class, I had aimed to move into Caesar’s de Bello Gallico. My thought was to create embedded readings and work slowly through selections from the text. This seemed to be going well, but the fact of the matter is that the previous 2

I don’t recycle stories because of time limitations but I think Jim does. This is a question from Angie for the group: Hey Ben, My classes are starting to accumulate stories, and I’m wondering how/whether you have a method for reviewing the old ones so they don’t get forgotten.  I’ve been reading them aloud and having