Hi, I just finished my first TPRS day and I am impressed! I did Circling with Balls with all 5 of my 9th grade classes and I couldn’t believe how enthusiastic and engaged they were. Even the larger classes were on task and focused – it’s usually a battle from the beginning.
The 2 boys that I met before classes officially started and thought “Oh boy…they’re going to be handfuls!” were some of my most enthusiastic participants today. I didn’t use either of their name cards in today’s activity, but they were oohing and aahing like crazy in a positive, appropriate way – not obnoxiously!
Another boy that I “offered” the football to in my last period class was practically salivating to get that thing into his hands and the boy who got the soccer boy earlier in the day actually got up and did a happy dance! I couldn’t help but laugh along with the kids at his crazy dance. Since my colleagues do not use tprs strategies, this was a first for all of my students. I had a great first week and I’m actually looking forward to going back next week. Sadly, it hasn’t been that way for a long time. I’m not naïve enough to think that every day or lesson will be a success, but boy do I feel good about what’s going on in my classroom! Thanks so much for all of the helpful resources and conversations on the blog. It has been very helpful! Kelly Clark