End-of-Year Activities

In my view spring is about reading, writing and the few authentic CI games like the word chunk team game, and most importantly book making, which can eat up as many as six or even seven weeks while you put your feet up on the desk and enjoy watching them work. Maybe walking around faking […]

End-of-Year Activities Read More »

Videos

We must all acknowledge the limitations presented by books about teaching using CI. We must do more videos and live demonstrations as Sean and Alisa and Greg do in the Chicagoland TCI Group and also how they go right into weekend trainings and videotape them as much as they can as well.  We all need

Videos Read More »

New Book – pp. 6-8

A Curriculum Based on Images The Star Sequence There is an interchange between the pilot/narrator and the Little Prince in Chapter 2 of Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. When he first meets the Little Prince, the pilot says: Narrator: Mais…qu’est-ce que tu fais là?/What are you doing there?  Narrator: Et il me répéta alors, tout doucement,

New Book – pp. 6-8 Read More »

Gimkit

This is from Greg: If you want something to really get you to the end of the school year try http://www.gimkit.comYou can import from Quizlet. Kids are addicted to it.

Gimkit Read More »

The Invisibles

I was just trying to think of the most valuable aspect of the Invisibles and the Star Sequence, the single aspect that sets it apart from everything else I have ever done with comprehensible input instruction. After much reflection, I think it’s expressed here: With the Invisibles the students are not asked personalized questions, which

The Invisibles Read More »

Breakdown

According to some CI experts, “breakdown” is a concern. Breakdown is when a student answers a question but shows hesitation and the teacher, upon seeing this in the student, says to herself, “we need to practice the sentence more”. But students are there to listen and absorb what they can, not to be taught a

Breakdown Read More »

Still Circling?

This post appeared a few years ago here: There used to be, years ago, an expression that was going around the moretprs list: “Circle of Die!” Now I see that it should be “Circle and Die!” How things have changed! Now some of us are finding that if we circle or favor repetitions over real

Still Circling? Read More »

We Must Bring the Interest

As a general rule, the most effective stories contain far fewer new ideas and far fewer sentences than most teachers have employed in storytelling in the past. It is highly recommended that teachers limit the amount of new information allowed into the story. It will help everything. Moreover, kids want stories to be short and

We Must Bring the Interest Read More »

Reading

Ben Fisher – a member of our PLC – asked this question about reading and my response is below. There is no intent to be contrary in my answer – it’s just the way I think, which always has some bais in the need for equity in American WL classrooms. Here is Ben’s question for

Reading Read More »