Something really unexpected but inspiring happened yesterday. As class was about to start (my last period of the day, 7th grade) I was reminded that I needed to pack up my stuff because I needed to leave right after class ended so I asked a student to start the class for me by asking what […]
We basically have no reason to group kids, but a lot of observers come in to our classrooms looking for exactly that so that they can check that box on their evaluation sheet. In that interest, Judy Dubois suggests below an excellent strategy for meaningful group work for our upper level kids, maybe even level 2 kids: …I
This is a comment from Robert Harrell a few weeks ago, published here as an article so that I can link it directly to the assessment categories. Robert makes a very important point about how data collectors seem to often have to scramble to defend their jobs, or least that is the true folly he
A repost: Are there other professions in which a majority of the clients are unmotivated and forced to be clients? I’m trying to think of any. Can anyone think of any? I am aware that the term “unmotivated” is a huge umbrella that describes a lot of different aspects of our students. Some are unmotivated
I hesitate to divert our focus from the fireworks going on right now over on the ACTFL Foreign Language Educators site, as most of us have our gaze there and many of are helping light the fireworks under Eric’s leadership, but this is such a nice report from Angie that we should all read it
It took me years to decide to weigh my students grades at 65% using jGR, with the other 35% a “Quizzes” category which included all the quick quizzes and dictations and free writes together. This simple equation of 35% quizzes and 65% jGR worked for me because the heavy weight of jGR immediately, from the
jGR – How Much Weight Should it Get? A Suggestion Read More »
This is a repost from last year: Our demeanor counts for a lot in our teaching. We can be the best CI teacher in the world, but if we are so intent on doing it right that that intensity shows up in our faces while we are teaching, the kids will pick up on it
This is one for Halloween time from Jody Noble. SE HACE DE NOCHE: http://youtu.be/N4K5uzxvBD8 Jody shares: I do not have them repeat any of the words at first. I like to do the rhyme with one actor at a time but, of course, we do it many times–so their are lots of actors during the
This is from Sara, who, like Margarita, hasn’t been at this stuff for very long. Both of their recent reports from the field, given how they are both new to it, are to be recognized for what they are – amazing! Here is Sara’s report: Good morning Ben, I just wanted to shoot you a
I wish to clarify what is going on in this discussion, because it has gotten so big, spilling over to other lists. It is a discussion which may involve Helena Curtain directly. What is going on is that Eric Herman has turned one of the most pivotal and foundational assumptions of traditional language teaching on
Eric continues on the ACTFL list: Thank you, Robert and Catherine, for your responses. I’ve also received numerous (8?) emails in order to thank me, to agree with me, to ask permission to repost to other listservs, and to tell me it’s the “best question I have ever seen posted on ACTFL.” I also had
