Hola, Colegas, I went to a historical wedding yesterday. It’s not the kind of event that gets into history books, but it marks a change in our society that is proceeding daily. I’m sure there have been similar weddings in East L.A., Seattle, Chicago, El Paso, San Antonio, and many other cities. This one took […]
I got this email from Elissa that I wanted to share: This is so much bigger than teaching a language. I think that’s why I feel ignited about teaching Spanish in a way I hadn’t before. Its about bringing out the best in students and teacher, creativity, silliness….helping kids see their innate potential…. etc.! I
Is Sticking To A Curriculum Necessary In The Light Of The New State Standards? Read More »
I have an AP teacher friend who may actually think that the Achievement Gap is all about lazy kids. She may actually think that only the kids who do their work and who get into college should be the ones who deserve to succeed. My friend may actually think that her job is not really about speaking the language in class, but
Grant Boulanger sent this: Ben, My 5 year old was organizing her space in my office and found my teacher’s guide from Prentice Hall’s video program, “¿Eres tú, María?”. It was accidentally, but appropriately, found covered in dust behind a book shelf. This is a video mystery story that accompanies Realidades. I began to browse
The link below will explain why: 1. we sometimes have trouble reaching our kids in a reciprocal, social, participatory way in our classrooms. 2. we need not blame ourselves for not reaching them all. 3. we must work even harder to hone our TPRS skills to engage these kids on a human level in our
I was talking to Lynn in Canada and she was asking about using story scripts, how it can be easy to stay to stay too close to the story and tell it instead of asking it. She said this: …I’ve been trying to use my own scripts, but I’m telling instead of asking, and I
K writes: For all inquiring minds: I have good news and bad news. The cumulative test was today. It consisted of 100 or so vocabulary words,and conjugations of ER verbs, avoir, aller, and être. It didn’t go well. My teacher was walking around the room during the test and was surprised by the number of
I had asked Laurie for some of the activities on the Embedded Reading thread. Those now following that can find that information here: http://blog.heartsforteaching.com/2010/01/21/for-ben-by-request.aspx It’s a busy end of the week but I hope to get deeper into the EBR process over the weekend…let’s see where it goes. Jim or Thomas you may want to
Apparently this is going to become a movie. Hee hee. You know, why not? Here is this awesome girl racing down a hallway and falling just to prove a point. It could be a good movie! Here is the latest: I’m glad they liked it. I was amazed that my teacher agreed to it – she
This is a reprise of that blog when Jennifer and I were talking about pacing guides: I think that pacing guides, in general, prevent any real instructional freedom and any cogent alignment with the research of Dr. Krashen. I experienced this in Jefferson County before I came to DPS. Now that the new state standards have been
My former student has sent a fifth installment, and it is a tribute not just to her but, especially, to her teacher. I am moved by the reaction of this teacher to what was described in the 4th installment of this thread. Instead of getting defensive, like I would have done, she tried something new.
Laurie’s Not Teaching Parrots Got this from Laurie -it’s on her blog (http://blog.heartsforteaching.com) too: I’m a bit of a youtube addict and yesterday I came across this great clip about a speaking parrot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kyh8KblQrqQ The trainer is adorable and the whole schtick is about the parrot responding a certain way to the trainer’s clues. (ie.
