tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33005521894676083502024-03-19T04:48:25.158-04:00Flipping my Spanish ClassroomTaking a World Language flipped class to the next level with great comprehensible input, more time in the target language with the opportunity for more student choice. What are we doing with found class time? Read more and find out!Sra Wittenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00690564737411653312noreply@blogger.comBlogger140125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300552189467608350.post-20419059580774714872020-08-15T17:13:00.002-04:002020-08-15T17:13:40.091-04:007 last minute ideas for #virtualclass<p> It is almost here, FINALLY! I am so tired of professional development and agonizing over every last assignment and detail of class. I have never been more ready to get started. The 2020 school year starts here fully virtual on MONDAY! So here are some last minute tips that are helping me:</p><p>1. <b><a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1JwWAr1hQYI9YOu4kjTXlza8j79FFlx16tHy4egRgKw4/edit">Have a daily check in form.</a></b> - I will not be able to judge students moods when they walk into the room, which I think is a crucial part of how class goes for the day. I created a quick Google Form. <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1RLxtbgzxozAYtaZxaetf1PcEl1Pr_6xtrBKCwf5PV6I/edit" target="_blank">The one for the first day</a> includes some questions about their background in Spanish as well. When creating a Google Form, don't forget a question for their name.</p><p>2. <b>Print those rosters</b>. Print them in a spreadsheet format (it is a report choice in Infinite Campus) so you can quickly note nicknames, attendance, grades. Also do a run through of names so you don´t butcher them too badly on the first day. If it is a tough name make sure to ask how the student pronounces it....and try to say something positive!</p><p>3. <b>Set those alarms!</b> - The alarm to wake up is important, but I have set alarms on my phone for 5 minutes before each class starts so I can remember to get logged into the class meeting so students can get in. Did you know that if you use the class meeting code through Google Classroom, students can´t enter before you do? Works for nicknamed meetings too. </p><p>4. <b>Post ¨Getting Started¨ items</b> - There are many students and parents with questions and having a few things posted they can do right away not only makes me look organized, but makes them a little more relaxed as well. I posted the syllabus with a Google Form to indicate acceptance, the code to join Remind, and the code to join the Flipgrid class. </p><p>5. <b>Reread all the directions </b>- I know, I know. Students are not famous for their direction reading ability. However, it is our job to OVEREXPLAIN. Try not to give any excuses to a student for not doing the work. If possible, even have someone else read them to try to make them as clear as possible, especially in these first days.</p><p>6. <b>Host a live Q&A</b> - I sent a message to all parents and students with a meeting code (nicknamed of course) and a time so that they could come a a Google Meet and have the chance to ask questions. I did it on our Open House day. I had a meet from 3-4 and from 7:30-*=8. I had about twenty parents/students show up and they got the chance to ask some questions, and I had the chance for some one-on-one interaction with a few of my students.</p><p>7. <b>Have a mantra</b> - Mine is positive change. All of these changes in the world are happening because we needed to make positive changes. I am going to try to project this idea (especially the positive part) as much as humanly possible. I know virtual wasn't the start most wanted, but there are some great things about it. (How am I doing?) This also helps when there is one more meeting, one more PD, etc. Just keep saying it to yourself and try to project it.</p><p>I hope this helps. Wishing everyone a great start to the year. I know many have directives that are challenging to implement, but just focus on those relationships with the students. It will be a year of changes, but we've got this!</p><p><br /></p>Sra Wittenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00690564737411653312noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300552189467608350.post-66957402137492430432020-08-03T16:27:00.006-04:002020-08-03T16:30:30.237-04:00Let's get organized - Organizing your virtual classroomThe hardest part of planning for virtual learning is trying to organize information and assignments so that it will be easy for students, parents and me to keep up with the class information. In the spring, I just utilized Google Classroom and grouped content and assignments together week by week. This worked, for some but there were still some that were confused and used it as an excuse to give up. I knew I needed something better.<div><br /></div><div>I have seen all the Bitmoji love, and was reluctant to jump in because I know how much I love the chance to be creative and thought I would get lost down the rabbit hole. So, I decided to go with an online bulletin approach to keep things simple. I think this makes is clear for parents and students and is easy to follow. Best of all it was pretty easy to create. I started a new Google Slides presentation, chose a transparent background, drew some shapes, inserted text boxes, and linked everything. And yes....I did update my Snapchat Bitmoji to Spanish and used it a little bit. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a3yPcD9hcXA/Xyhyw5uJZoI/AAAAAAAAEZY/5Wz8bglzUnQ6IvS5uvCJo0kl01Z1dzHjgCLcBGAsYHQ/s398/me%2Bencanta.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="398" data-original-width="398" height="163" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a3yPcD9hcXA/Xyhyw5uJZoI/AAAAAAAAEZY/5Wz8bglzUnQ6IvS5uvCJo0kl01Z1dzHjgCLcBGAsYHQ/w163-h163/me%2Bencanta.png" width="163" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>My plan is to post this each week to Google Classroom and send it home via email to parents. As for the actual assignments, I am going to create a Topic for each week and then add this board and the assignments for the week as well as the recordings of the live class under that topic individually. This should simplify the view for students so there is no confusion about what is due each week.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here is a picture of the landing page. I still have a few things to do, but the ideas are there. I am excited to record myself saying all the vocabulary we will be using so students can refer back to it. I worry about connectivity issues when everyone is streaming live, so I thought this was a good backup.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ENiITR1DSmo/XyhmarBq9dI/AAAAAAAAEZA/RzIjgnQVEEAQxxlc01elojGACFX-IPnKwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1904/Sp%2B1%2Bweek%2B1%2Bboard%2Bpic.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1077" data-original-width="1904" height="290" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ENiITR1DSmo/XyhmarBq9dI/AAAAAAAAEZA/RzIjgnQVEEAQxxlc01elojGACFX-IPnKwCLcBGAsYHQ/w512-h290/Sp%2B1%2Bweek%2B1%2Bboard%2Bpic.PNG" width="512" /></a></div><div> </div><div>I added another slide for each class day. (We are going to alternating blocks with Friday for extra help.) With the block, Monday and Tuesday are together and Wednesday and Thursday are together. I made sure to have the Unit Goals and the State Standards just as I would for lessons in my classroom. You never know when an administrator will pop in! Those are both Google Docs. </div><div><br /></div><div>I decided I am going to list assignments for the day and provide links to Google Classroom. Originally I was going to link to each assignment and then I realized how much updating that would be on my end, and decided against it. By using the list, parents can follow up with students about each specific item.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S_GhBn3bmQE/Xyhnn4proII/AAAAAAAAEZM/bhakP39CnUoCqZLzRC0Kld2ns0cSYHtQgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1900/Sp%2B1%2Bwk%2B1%2Bboard%2Bpg%2B2.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1097" data-original-width="1900" height="296" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S_GhBn3bmQE/Xyhnn4proII/AAAAAAAAEZM/bhakP39CnUoCqZLzRC0Kld2ns0cSYHtQgCLcBGAsYHQ/w512-h296/Sp%2B1%2Bwk%2B1%2Bboard%2Bpg%2B2.PNG" width="512" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>It is not fancy, but clear and simple. I think it will work well and really help keep me, students and parents on the same page. If you want the template, or have any questions or comments I would love to hear from you.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><font size="5">Check out the whole board live <a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/10i64t8kG_bDlE9OapjLpFgvTp8gueBMEthCleB_ZKlk/present#slide=id.p" target="_blank">here</a>.</font></b> </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Sra Wittenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00690564737411653312noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300552189467608350.post-78765168853977129752020-07-31T16:01:00.000-04:002020-07-31T16:01:14.532-04:00Ready for Virtual Open HouseVirtual Open House is a great idea that is long overdue. It may be one of my favorite things brought about by COVID. My past experiences with Open House have shown that it is not the most productive thing teachers do. Virtual Open House give students and families the opportunity to get the basic information quickly and easily. There is great collaboration going on everywhere online about how to make the "perfect" presentation. I encourage everyone to remember there is no "perfect" presentation or video. We all want to make a good first impression, but don't stress out over it more complicated than it needs to be. <div><br /></div><div>I started small with just a video and then went a little further because technology is in my wheelhouse. All in all it took me about 1.5 - 2 hours. I might have been done sooner than that if I didn't have to keep saying, "Do I really look like that?" (Seriously those COVID pounds need to go....but I digress.)</div><div><br /></div><div>Basic intro video:</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Keep it short. You just want to be welcoming, introduce yourself , and convey excitement for the new year.</li><li>Use a recording tool you are comfortable with - that can be your phone, screencastify, camtasia, google meet, or any other tool you love. </li><li>LIGHTING...LIGHTING .... LIGHTING - One thing my (selfie queen) daughter has taught me is how lighting makes all the difference. Good lighting makes you look happy and healthy, and bad lighting makes you look like you will be teaching from prison. I recommend outside if at all possible. </li><li>Make sure you look at the camera. It is so tempting to watch yourself....but looking at the camera is more welcoming for your students. </li></ul><div><br /></div></div><div>Ok - Here is my basic video. It gets the job done and only took 4 takes.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyzL1JNC-bIJCCWVIIgsdQQQ2UYXncXnQIJz8k4ECi02aS26wqnCooow3US8ogjO4Ws0F255Xukh1TAEptpcw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>Now after I did that, I wanted to do a bit more....so I looked at sample videos with all the cute stuff. Made this little Hola video using Snapchat. I did it that way so I could easily share with my daughter (the selfie queen), but you can just record it on your phone as well. Truthfully this one took about 15 takes until I was happy. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyMjMCIaOdxrkqL3Dxei4uBO9YKvvlR2lD4pNzGAHjcsEiKfJKcuigHDKd33CQOuK2xZ3o5VKHECDS37WWYUw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>Once I did this I wanted to make it loop, but after lots of searching, I couldn't find a way to make it loop in Google. Sometimes...you just have to let it go. </div><div><br /></div><div>I found <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPChHtEVibs&t=195s" target="_blank">this video</a> that I liked, so I decided to adapt some of the ideas (and simplify). I could feel myself going down the rabbit hole. Here is the <a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1O-9TCvHgA-02z8tSldk6r1Gk4Hy4Pqzz38iCJ4F-VzY/present?slide=id.g8ecd482b71_0_0" target="_blank">final presentation</a> that I made. </div><div><br /></div><div>If you want to do something similar - I used "insert shape" then changed the fill color to match our school colors and then "insert text box" on top. There are details about linking pages if you are unfamiliar with that in the YouTube video I shared.</div><div><br /></div><div>Remember you don't need something complicated. You only need to briefly introduce yourself and convey your excitement for the new year. I would love to see your videos in the comments!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Sra Wittenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00690564737411653312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300552189467608350.post-1346690722760451392020-07-19T15:44:00.001-04:002020-07-19T15:44:39.158-04:00The only thing certain is change<div><i>Note: This blog has always been for my own reflection. I needed to get all of this out, but will understand if you don't want to read it. </i></div><div><br /></div> I feel as though I have been struggling through the wilderness of my career. After 12 years at Elizabeth High School in Colorado, I have moved on. As I look back on it now, I should have done it sooner. I would not trade my time there for anything, but as I reflect, I now see things more clearly and hope others can relate. If my reflection resonates, please let me know.<div><br /></div><div>1. The year before I left I was angry, actually ANGRY. Although I was one of the more senior staff members, it was made clear that I wasn't ever going to be considered for a leadership role. I had written curriculum, maintained the department standards as there was turnover and we dwindled to two staff members, and always volunteered to help with anything and everything. (Well, not the teacher vs. student volleyball game...I am NOT athletic). However, I FINALLY realized that nothing I did was going to move me to the leadership table. I could not even be named Department Chair. All I wanted was for my title to reflect the work that I had done and was still doing. </div><div><br /></div><div>2. My anger was my fault. I did not get into teaching for recognition. I knew what the school and district I was teaching in was like from the beginning. I knew that sometimes my mouth gets me into trouble (anyone who knows me can attest). It is a small district, and opportunities for advancement as a teacher were few and far between. I was able to ask questions and give feedback and my principal had my back. I know that these are things that not everyone is lucky enough to have. If I felt unappreciated by the school or district, all I had to do was look at my students and parents and I would quickly see how much I was valued. I was looking in the wrong place for validation.</div><div><br /></div><div>3. The longer you stay the harder it is to leave. Truer words have never been spoken. This is especially true in a small community where you can teach ALL the brothers and sisters. I had taught my two oldest children and got to hand them their diploma. Leaving is HARD. However, I think I had reached the point where I was looking for more from my career and my district wasn't able to provide it. I should have realized that sooner. </div><div><br /></div><div>So in the end we moved from Colorado in January of 2019. As it turned out, I was able to teach my students remotely for the remainder of the school year (which has come in handy now!). I left not for higher pursuits, but because my husband got a new job in Atlanta. We were happy because we wanted to be able to be closer to our older children who were at Auburn University, my brother in South Carolina and my parents in Florida. It is a move that has been good for everyone....bet you can't guess who has had the hardest time???</div><div><br /></div><div>People, transitioning to a new school is hard! I spent the majority of the year feeling like a new teacher again. I moved from a district that handed me a book and said good luck to a district that has a curriculum map and common assessments. It has been a bit of a culture shock. I work in a department of 5 and my coworkers are all talented teachers. Just as I felt like I was hitting my stride, we shut everything down. </div><div><br /></div><div>Now I have decided to go back to what works for me. I am going back to the flip and I have plans of using it to require mastery (but of course, COVID again) but those plans will have to wait for another year. </div><div><br /></div><div>I am teaching Spanish 1, Spanish 1 Honors, and Spanish 2. I am recommitting to using the flip to help my students learn at a pace more comfortable for them and being able to better challenge my advanced students. </div><div><br /></div><div>2020 - The Year of Change. Let's do this. </div><div><br /></div>Sra Wittenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00690564737411653312noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300552189467608350.post-50590833222561505662018-10-13T18:00:00.000-04:002018-10-13T18:00:05.278-04:00The 7 deadly sins according to CCFLT Teacher of the Year!<i>So I know...if anyone is still with me they are thinking, "Where have you been?". Well...you know....life. But I am back and ready to go!!</i><br />
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On October 6th, I was so honored to have been selected at CCFLT's Teacher of the Year. Although I had submitted an application, to be honest I really didn't think I would win. I mean seriously....there are so many more qualified people out there. But not going to lie...felt pretty good to be chosen. I had really been struggling and not feeling especially loved and appreciated at school (maybe you can relate?). So, I have decided I am going to make the most of my award and try to really make an impact.<br />
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So when considering my acceptance speech, I thought, "What can I do that someone might actually listen to and remember?" After many drafts, Googling "how to write an acceptance speech" and still not being happy, I went to my true inspiration, my students. Many years ago, I heard a group of students give a speech based on the 7 deadly sins. So I thought...that's it. The Seven Tips for Teaching based on the 7 deadly sins.<br />
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So here it is hope it brightens your day and maybe even inspired.<br />
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<b><u>Envy </u></b>- Envy all that your students have ahead of them. They are just at the beginning of their journey. Be that guide that they remember. Always help them to challenge themselves, tackle obstacles and keep going on their journey<br />
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<b><u>Gluttony </u></b>- It's ok to be a glutton. Take all the ideas offered by colleagues, at conferences, from professional development and from your students. Don't get locked in to one methodology. Use all of these ideas to help you continue to improve your teaching and make you class an even better place to be.<br />
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<b><u>Greed </u></b>- Teach your students to be greedy. Get them excited and inspired to learn more every class. Teach them to be greedy for knowledge of not just a new language, but to learn about other cultures, and to travel to faraway lands. Show them that being greedy for knowledge is not only ok, but the best way to better themselves and find the path for their future.<br />
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<b><u>Sloth </u></b>- Take downtime for yourself. Being a great teacher is hard work and we all need to recharge occasionally. Sometimes we just need to remember to put ourselves first....just like on the plane with the oxygen masks. ;) <br />
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<b><u>Wrath </u></b>- Although there are always times when we can lose our temper and be frustrated with students, classes, colleagues and administration getting angry doesn't really solve anything. Remember that sometimes the students that make us the craziest, are the exact ones that usually need us the most. Dig to find out what is going on and those students will be on your side forever.<br />
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<b><u>Pride </u></b>- Help students take pride in their work. Help them see how far they have come and that the next step may be challenging but it is attainable. Take pride in your own work. Toot your own horn occasionally...it's ok...you deserve it!<br />
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<b><u>Lust </u></b>- Not going to lie...this is my favorite. Get students excited about learning. Help them lust for everything we know and more. Help them not just be able to learn from us, but to learn from each other and on their own as well. Give them a lust for learning and they will become lifelong learners and always be motivated....even in the down times.Sra Wittenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00690564737411653312noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300552189467608350.post-5922778039591348292017-09-24T13:09:00.002-04:002017-09-24T13:20:05.499-04:00Being the champion for your studentsThere are times when as teachers we sit back and wonder why we continue teaching. More and more it feels as though we work for not just little pay, but little respect from the outside world. We are constantly working to find new ways to compete with all of the distractions in our students lives. We are trying to reach the students that seem unreachable, teach the students that can seem unteachable. Most importantly we try to give our students a base of knowledge, compassion, drive and the ability to think so they can be successful when they leave our classrooms, no matter what they choose to do later in life.<br />
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Of course in the education world driven by achievement and test scores, this often seems like an insurmountable task. As teachers we often look around and feel a sense of hopelessness because it doesn't seem like we are making a difference to anyone. We start to wonder if it is time for us to do something different-we can't imagine what. This is what drives teachers to be constantly changing and evolving what we do. To drive us to find our spark again. In 2011, this brought me to the flipped class movement.<br />
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As I look back now and reflect on how far I have come since that conference in Woodland Park with Jon Bergman, Aaron Sams and about 60 other interested flippers, I realize that the biggest change I made had nothing to do with my curriculum. My biggest change was the way I thought about my job and what I did. I stopped thinking that I taught Spanish. I don't teach Spanish at all. <b>I teach students. </b><br />
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My focus on teaching students is helped by the additional time I can spend with each of them in my flipped classroom. I am able to get to know them: how they learn, issues they are working through, challenges they face. Teaching students gives me the power to stop a lesson if someone asks an off-topic question that should be answered. To get side tracked in a good way to promote student thinking and questioning of their education and their life.<br />
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This last week I was reminded of the best part of teaching students - the influence that we have on them that sometimes we don't always realize. The best part is that sometimes these students manage to turn up right when we need them; right when we start questioning all that we do. This happened in a few ways for me last week. It started with a small thing, a huge hug from a student who senses you are having a bad day, students that bring you chocolate ice cream because they want you to have a good week, etc. Sometimes it is a Facebook friend request from a student that joined the military and wants to let you know how they are doing. Other times it is a student that contacts you to taunt you about a football rivalry, but also mentions that even though they are in college now, they learned more from you than in any other class.<br />
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Then, there are other students, the special ones that maybe you don't want to love, you know they are trouble. However they somehow find their way into your heart. They are the students you give a hard time to because you know that they can be more. The students that aren't making good choices, in school or in life, that you keep trying to get through to. The ones that other teachers, administration, and maybe even their parents don't know what to do with anymore. The ones that goes away for the summer and then doesn't come back. The ones that you find yourself thinking about and wondering about long after they are gone from your class and your school.<br />
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Sometimes these students show up out of the blue to thank you for what you did for them: for believing in them, for pushing them, even for giving them a kick in the pants when they needed it. These are the moments that we as teachers live for - to realize that we have truly made a difference. These moments, though often few and far between, can keep a teacher going for months or even years.<br />
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Teaching students is what we all do. Forging positive relationships not only makes a difference in our students' lives, but in our own. It is the reason why teachers go to school everyday, plan and grade in their free time, spend summers planning and learning. I think this quote sums up my perspective now more than ever. <span style="font-family: inherit;">"<span style="background-color: white;"><u>Every child deserves a champion</u> – an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be." - Rita Pierson</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I will continue to strive to be that champion for my students. I don't know any other way to teach.</span></span><br />
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<br />Sra Wittenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00690564737411653312noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300552189467608350.post-69824382477846985542017-09-09T00:31:00.000-04:002017-09-09T00:31:11.416-04:00Student centered class through flipping<div>
With the class time I have gained since switching to the flipped class, I am able to better meet the needs of all of my students. Before the flipped class, I would stand at the front of the class and lecture, then have students practice, then go over work and lecture some more. What I found was that I had three types of students in my class - the "Got It" which was about 30%, the "Almost There" which usually was about 50%, and the "Never going to get it" which was about 20%. </div>
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Each of these groups present their own problems when lecturing to an entire class. The "Got It" kids often get bored and tune out as you try to help the "Almost There" group understand the material. The "Never going to get it" kids then start to feel hopeless because now you have explained a concept multiple times and they still don't understand. So this group will pretend to understand so they don't have to ask questions and put themselves on the spot. I just wasn't able to find a way to meet the needs of all of the students without some students being bored or frustrated. That is why I wanted to try flipped class - I needed to find a way to reach all of my students.</div>
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When I flipped my class, I was able to move the majority of the "lecture" to video. This way students could take as long as they needed to take notes. No one missed something because we had moved on and they were afraid to ask to go back or have something repeated. This meant that each student ended up with the same base of knowledge to work from when we started applying the lecture to the classroom activities.</div>
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Then, by changing the structure of my class time to allow every student an opportunity to work on assignments in a more self-paced manner over the course of a week, I found that students worked at different paces on different types of assignments. Some students were great readers, but struggled with listening. Others could write with ease, but couldn't put a sentence together in a conversation. So, by making classwork assignments assigned in a weekly time frame, rather than on a day-by-day basis, students were able to allocate their time across all of the activities and amazingly were finishing the week pretty much all in the same place. Students that needed to read a passage five times to gain the comprehension necessary could do so because they only had to do a listening selection one time to get the gist. This structure gave students a bit more freedom with their class time and I really saw an improvement in their comprehension of all of the modes of communication for all of the students. </div>
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When the students could work individually (or in small groups) on tasks, I was able to better monitor students as they worked which enabled me to be able to see errors students make BEFORE they had made the same errors repeatedly. This also allowed me to do mini-lessons on an ongoing basis to address students needs, as well as able to give students the consistent encouragement that they need to be able to have to confidence needed to keep trying. </div>
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Additionally, I have been able to use reading to be able to help students of different abilities all continue to improve. I love being able to work with students as they read and the make the connections with everything we have been learning and continue to make gains not only in their language proficiency but in their self-confidence. </div>
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This year I am working on incorporating more Google Forms to help students get the additional help they need when working on classroom tasks so I can better meet the needs of each and every student. With Google Forms, I am able to give remedial instruction right away to students as they are working on formative classwork which (so far) allows them to more quickly realize and correct mistakes. I have just begun to work with this, but so far the results have been promising. </div>
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Overall the flipped class enables me to focus on the individual students. Although I still struggle to find the time to have the individual conferences I would like to have with students on a quarterly basis, I have found more and more ways to help reach each student at their level and keep them engaged in class and language learning. Best of all, I see way more smiles now than the frustrated sighs I saw when I began teaching. ;)</div>
Sra Wittenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00690564737411653312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300552189467608350.post-86143223339465730072017-09-03T19:15:00.001-04:002017-09-03T19:18:54.393-04:00Gain more class time with Flipped World Language classI recently stumbled on a new chat on Twitter called #flipblogs. The participants had blogged in advance on the topic was "What problems have I solved in my class with flipping?" Although I had not done a post on this topic at the time, I thought that it was a great question to address. As I started writing down my thoughts, I realize this is a multi post topic for me. So, I will begin with the biggest problem and solution.<br />
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In my opinion, the greatest challenge I have as a World Language teacher is the small amount of time I have with my students. My school is on an alternating block schedule, so I see my students for about 90 minutes every other day. Therefore, I am always striving to find ways to incorporate more into our classroom time. But not just more; I was to incorporate meainginful activities that are a good use of our time together. Activities that not only help students learn the language, but activities that students enjoy. The other struggle with time is that 90 minutes is a long time for students to stay focused in a class, especially when we are trying to use as much of the target language as possible. I needed a better way to "chunk" material and activities to not lose students before our precious class time was up.<br />
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So the first problem I solved by flipping my class was that I gained more meaningful time with my students. I made activities more beneficial for each student by being able to give some assignments online so students could have as many opportunities as possible to learn, practice and achieve new skills. Flipping also gave students time to be able to work individually and receive individual help from me each class. I did this by taking all boring grammar explanations out of class and put them on idea. I stopped doing listening by playing a cd and moved those activities online so students could play them as many times as they needed to be able to get the gist of the listening and answer comprehension questions.this year, I have added more online practice for students with vocabulary and grammar so they can practice at their own speed and as many times as necessary to master the content.<br />
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So our block of 90 minutes (approx) is now often divided as follows, but not necessarily in this order:<br />
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<ul>
<li>15 minutes of warm up - this can be translation, comprehension questions from a previous day's activity, a quick writing prompt, or a conversation activity.</li>
<li>20 minutes of reading or conversation - Reading is done in reading groups with students having books appropriate for their level. Sometimes I read with them, sometimes I just listen. Conversation can be with a partner or a few classmates and be as simple as talking about the weekend, school activities, or another prompt I provide based on the theme I am teaching to the class. It can also be a fun activity like picture pages (where one student describes a picture in Spanish and the other draws what is described), for higher levels I sometimes use a picture as a story prompt and have groups come up with a story for the picture I show. I also love to use story cubes, which I have bought at Target. These cubes have pictures on each side and the student roll the cubes and create a story. www.storycubes.com </li>
<li>10 minutes of content delivery - of course this varies. Sometimes it is a review of a concept I see students are struggling with, sometimes it is a new cultural concept, vocabulary, or a colloquial phrase and its uses (I am trying hard for a phrase of the week.)</li>
<li>15 minutes of practice of new content</li>
<li>20 minutes of individual work - this is when students work on listening activities, projects, practice exercises, reading (if they are behind), etc.</li>
<li>10 minute wrap up - I try to end the day with a quick review, activity, exit slip, something to try to help them leave with a positive vibe. Unfortunately somehow this is time that still occasionally disappears from class while I am giving individual help. But, I always make it a priority on Fridays to end with something fun - usually these days it is a Kahoot deck (they love Kahoot and beg to play!).</li>
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Now of course these are approximates. I have had some days where conversations just really gets going and we switch partners and keep going for 30 minutes. I have other days where the kids don't seem to want to take at all and 5 minutes is a struggle. The point I am trying to make is that my students are actively engaged in activities for the entire 90 minutes. I always make sure to give them individual time so they can practice what they need to work on at their pace. This also gives me the opportunity to help students every class on an individual basis to help them avoid frustration that can often come with a new language. Many days I feel like the individual work time is the most reductive for the students because they can focus on their needs and not be forced to follow the class needs. Giving students that time is the most important thing flipping gives my students.</div>
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<br />Sra Wittenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00690564737411653312noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300552189467608350.post-86574451945390955742017-08-27T13:36:00.001-04:002017-08-27T13:44:10.564-04:00Beginning of the Year Assessments with Google FormsThe first week is always a time of optimism. The first week at my school was full of opportunities for my new students. The first week with a new teacher is an opportunity to leave the past behind and start fresh. My students seemed to come to their new Spanish class in three distinct groups: Fearless, Scared, and Resigned. My goal for this year is to bring them all to the group "Capable and Confident". However, before we can start, I wanted to assess the students abilities.<br />
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Too often in the past I have assumed I knew students' levels and just worked on problem areas as they came up. I have resisted beginning of the year assessments because I have been afraid that students would be dejected if they felt they didn't know everything that I asked. I was afraid I would lose some students before we even started because they felt stupid. But, since many of my colleagues have been using some type of beginning of the year assessment, I thought it was time to put my worries aside and try it.<br />
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Since we have better access to computers this year, I created an online "Intro Assessment" for each of my levels using a Google Form set up as a quiz so I could have it quickly and automatically graded. I loved that the Google Form gathered all of the responses together so I could look at student answers all together to see if their answers were a pattern of things that none of them learned, or if it was just a few students that needed review.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BJp4Aie_hGw/WaMEZHMUlOI/AAAAAAAAAoU/7B3oCm59y-wgR5EU9Zft186rKDiBywNJQCLcBGAs/s1600/gform%2Bsnip.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1144" data-original-width="1600" height="285" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BJp4Aie_hGw/WaMEZHMUlOI/AAAAAAAAAoU/7B3oCm59y-wgR5EU9Zft186rKDiBywNJQCLcBGAs/s400/gform%2Bsnip.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Although a quick written assessment isn't a total insight into students' abilities, I thought it was a good place to start. I didn't give the students in Spanish 2 the ability to see their scores, but I did let the Spanish 3 students see their results.<br />
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For Spanish 2, there was some simple translation, vocabulary, and basic questions that students should be able to answer at the beginning of 2. In looking at the results, I could quickly see that we have a lot to do. Students seem to have some basic vocabulary, but struggled answering questions, even simple ones like "Where are you from?" and "What is the weather?". In Spanish 3, it was all translation/answer the question for Spanish 1 and Spanish 2 topics. The Spanish 3 classes fared better and although the automatic grading still gave terrible scores, the majority of the students demonstrated a firm grasp of the Spanish 1 content and a passable grasp of Spanish 2.<br />
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I was glad that I didn't let Spanish 2 see their scores. I think that many of the students would have been very upset and lost confidence in their abilities, or it would have confirmed their worst fears. In Spanish 3, I think the ability to compare their answers with the correct answers I provided provided some insight in where they needed to focus their effort. Many of the Spanish 3 students realized that they had made silly mistakes, and some asked lots of great questions about why things were incorrect.<br />
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So, as I prepare for Week 2, I am armed with some knowledge of the classes overall abilities as well as some individual struggles so I can help specific students one-on-one. I have adjusted some of my review activities to better focus on what students need to work on. I am looking forward to doing some more practice conversation activities to see how the students are able to communicate and then help them create some goals for their growth this year in both written and oral communication.Sra Wittenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00690564737411653312noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300552189467608350.post-78401846403262279762017-08-19T06:00:00.000-04:002017-08-19T06:00:02.357-04:00Can you flip listening practice?This is a common question that I get from people who are asking about the flipped classroom, so I felt it should be addressed.<br />
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In my opinion, listening is the most crucial skill in any language. It can also be the hardest to teach and practice. Before I flipped my classroom, when we worked on listening, I played the CD and students answered comprehension questions. I would play the selection three times and then we would go over the answers. Great, right? Well, not so much.<br />
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What I realized (not as quickly as I should have) was that listening to a selection 3 times was fine for 50% of the students in class. Not nearly enough students were really understanding the listening. By doing listening in a large group, quite a few students would just copy what their neighbors had written down, and a few more would just give up entirely. This method was not really helping my students learn the most valuable skill in communication. So, the second year I flipped my class, I knew that I had to better incorporate listening into the classroom.<br />
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I began by just putting listening selections online and having student answer written questions. However, now there are so many great technology methods that can be used to help with this process. My favorite is <a href="https://edpuzzle.com/" target="_blank">EdPuzzle</a>. With EdPuzzle I can easily embed questions into videos where I want them. This makes it easier for students to listen and listen again to the appropriate section to find the answers to the questions. It also means that students have to listen individually and I found that the students worked hard and really focused on comprehension of the listening to be able to answer the comprehension questions. As a result, listening comprehension scores improved, which is always the primary goal.<br />
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An added bonus of using Edpuzzle is that I was able to quickly grade student responses and see data which showed where students were struggling. Here is a snapshot of the quick grading on EdPuzzle.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qw9QsmVPXmU/WYyD4Bu1yAI/AAAAAAAAAno/PUFUrd6TX0I_g7o-LI7--0fRhtaGwHEFwCLcBGAs/s1600/edpuzzle%2Bgrading%2Bglip.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="734" data-original-width="1600" height="146" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qw9QsmVPXmU/WYyD4Bu1yAI/AAAAAAAAAno/PUFUrd6TX0I_g7o-LI7--0fRhtaGwHEFwCLcBGAs/s320/edpuzzle%2Bgrading%2Bglip.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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This enabled me to better focus my instruction and continue to help my students improve. Sometimes by looking at the student data all together, I also realize that I need to work on the wording of a question, or that the question was too difficult.<br />
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Here is a <a href="https://edpuzzle.com/media/5782c0f227ed9aaf13386466" target="_blank">sample of the video and questions </a>that I am using in the review for Spanish 2 at the beginning of the year. </div>
Sra Wittenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00690564737411653312noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300552189467608350.post-85046042098592389972017-08-12T06:00:00.000-04:002017-08-12T06:00:03.716-04:00Utilizing Google Classroom to be the teacher I want to beI am always in search of the best way to run my class website and help organize student assignments. A couple of years ago our school became a Google school, and I started using Blogger to organize class. However, it wasn't quite doing everything that I wished, so I started looking for another solution. When I started hearing about Google Classroom, it seemed like a natural step. I began using Google Classroom for my school website last year, as a test to see how it would work. <div>
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I found that I really loved Classroom, even though I wasn't using all of the available features. Students were able to easily get on the site, access assignments, and complete them. I could create an assignment in Google Docs or Sheets and have a copy created for each student. I loved that I could make students load presentations in one place that was easy to access quickly when they were giving in class presentations. No more flash drives, emailed presentations, the "I emailed it, didn't you get it?" That feature alone was a huge time and sanity saver. </div>
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I found great sites that work with Google Classroom to make assignments even easier. EdPuzzle is my favorite for listening activities. Quizlet also works with Classroom so you can assign vocabulary practice. I also found some Google add-ons that are helping me better utilize students time and research. My current favorite is Insert Learning, which enables me to take a live web page and add questions, notes, and even word/phrase translations to make it comprehensible for all levels. </div>
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This year, I have more consistent access to computers, so I am trying to incorporate even more online. I have created Google Forms for practice and quick mini-formative assessment checks. This will enable me to set up automated grading so students can get instant feedback. I am also using Forms for student goal setting and reflection for each unit, semester and for the year. I can schedule everything to make sure it is delivered on time. </div>
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All of this will hopefully give me more time for what really matters, one-on-one time with the students. I want to be able to not only more purposefully help students, but also to be able to better monitor their work, especially conversations. I also want to be able to have individual meetings with students quarterly to discuss their progress and make plans to help them to continue to grow. Basically, I am hoping that I can focus on what I should be focusing on, helping the student move up the fluency. Updates to follow.</div>
Sra Wittenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00690564737411653312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300552189467608350.post-76720750900071092012017-08-02T18:02:00.000-04:002017-08-02T18:02:01.395-04:00We're going global!Flipping my Spanish class was the best decision I ever made. Freeing up class time has given me the ability to incorporate so much more into my classes. More than anything else, I moved the focus of class from me to my students. This shift has affected me more and more as the years have gone by. Whenever I get ideas for projects or assignments, my first questions are ALWAYS:<br />
<ol>
<li>Do the students really need to know this?</li>
<li>When will the students use this again?</li>
<li>Will this really matter to the students?</li>
</ol>
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This year, I am adding a new question - <b><u>How can this help students make a global connection?</u></b></div>
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I teach in a small community at a high school of 700 students, many of which have been going to school together their entire lives. For many of them, their only exposure to other cultures comes from what as a language teacher, I provide. Many think going "all the way to Denver" (a 30 minute drive) is a big deal. Going to visit another country and/or experiencing another culture is something many of them have not experienced, and may not experience for quite some time.<br />
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This can lead to students that a)don't realize how lucky they are, and b)are unable to truly understand the rest of the world outside of our little town. This is a problem not only for me as an educator, but for me as a citizen of the world. How can our students ever hope to be prepared for life if they aren't empathetic and open to the culture of others that live in our world?<br />
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So, what does this mean for the classroom? It means that I am working hard to add more people into my classroom. No, it doesn't mean I will need more desks. I want to add other students learning Spanish, authors, politicians, sports figures, leaders and more to my classroom. I want to help them not only make global connections for class, but for life. I want my class to be the most relevant it can be by making it a part of the real world.<br />
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We are going to incorporate YouTube 360 videos. (I even bought a VR headset.) I want use everything at my disposal to get students truly immersed in the culture, and what better way then to really put them in the action. They can be standing in the middle of the Plaza Mayor, or inside of Sagrada Familia. It isn't the same as being there, but it is an awesome experience for those who need to learn to look outside of our little town.<br />
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I am going to incorporate Twitter in the classroom. If students have a comment about a character in a book, why not make that comment to the author? We will be reading more and getting more input. If they student read a story about a politician, celebrity, sports figure, why not tag them in a comment? I am working on the start of a rubric for Twitter usage, which I will finish with the help of my students, but I want it to be more about just points....it needs to generate a level of excitement because what they are learning really MEANS something.<br />
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I am also working on making connections through epals to hopefully have some pen pal correspondence for my students. Isn't learning about hobbies and past times going to be more interesting if they are sharing that information with someone abroad? Won't they be more willing to learn the vocabulary and structures necessary if they are talking to a real person?<br />
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I want to reinforce that the focus of the class is the students. I love a worksheet, or looking for that "perfect" project or activity, but won't they be so much better off if they are learning because they want to? Because they don't want to look foolish in front of a new friend? Because they wrote to someone, who actually wrote back?<br />
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Who's with me? Want to be a part of the connections? Comment below.</div>
Sra Wittenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00690564737411653312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300552189467608350.post-66925534249967598732017-06-23T16:17:00.001-04:002017-06-23T16:17:37.004-04:00Beginning planning for 2017/2018I have finally, finally convinced my admin that our department (of 2) needs to have their own computers. This means that I am going to be able to move more curriculum online and be able to kill fewer trees.<br />
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However, this begs a few questions:<br />
1. What is the best way to utilize this more readily available technology?<br />
2. How to make sure I don't use technology for things that are more easily/better done in person?<br />
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My goals with the the new tech is that I will be able to do more "quick checks" of comprehension using Google Forms. Additionally I am hoping that this will give me more time to be able to spend with students one-on-one in my ever growing class sizes.<br />
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This year I also have to go back and try to create a student goals/objectives and feedback form that is easier. The one I created for last year required too much and there was no way I could keep up with it on an ongoing basis, so it was a bust. Luckily for me, the kids were so busy, that they never gave it a second thought.<br />
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In addition to the incorporation of the technology, I also need to continue the hunt for CI, as well as modifying the curriculum to include more projects with a global perspective. The more I teach at Elizabeth, the more I realize that students need more exposure to the world outside of our small town.<br />
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<br />Sra Wittenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00690564737411653312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300552189467608350.post-34967645632676098842016-06-25T12:00:00.000-04:002016-06-25T12:00:00.159-04:00Every teacher struggles, even me. My 2014-2015 school year was probably my worst. It has taken me a long time to write this. Even seeing it now, I feel like a bit of a failure. Don't get me wrong, kids learned, papers were graded, I had parent conversations, worked with peer teachers. I think that only now that I know I had a good year am I comfortable enough to really write this post.<br />
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However, I was trying new things professionally (not in the classroom). Our school had lost its focus after a search for a new principal came up empty. We operated the whole year with no principal. I knew that the curriculum needed revamping.....I have the blog posts to prove it. But, I didn't do it. I usually work hard over the summer to make tweaks, find PD and improve the curriculum. However, two summers in a row, it didn't really happen.<br />
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I coasted in the classroom, which is not like me. It is so upsetting, even now, to think that I let it happen. I have always driven myself to succeed - as much as I like gold stars, it is intrinsic motivation that keeps me going. I have thought and thought about it, and I can't pinpoint where it all went wrong. I think it was just lots of little things that I let slide by. Was it the 7 year itch? Was it time to move on?<br />
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As confirmation that it was not my best year, enrollment in the upper level classes was down for the 2015-2016 school year. The students that I did have were more difficult to motivate to work independently and to strive for continued growth because I had let them slide the previous year. I did make some changes to the curriculum for this past year to help motivate the students. However, it seemed like it was too little too late.<br />
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Thankfully, it was my Spanish 2 students that inspired me to get it back in gear. I had some great students that really love the language. Students that started to find ways to take it further without me. I was also fortunate enough to be able to attend ACTFL last November. Being able to get ideas from sessions and have some great conversations with superstars like Amy Lenord, Sara-Elizabeth Cottrell, Kara Parker, Mira Canion and numerous others helped me find my spark again.<br />
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So I have learned a humbling lesson. Every teacher struggles and can lose their way, even me. I wanted to share this because I am betting that I am not the only one who has felt this way. The key is to realize it is happening. Acknowledge the "slump" and find a way out of it. Find inspiration again in your students, your peers and make the turnaround. I did it, and so can you.Sra Wittenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00690564737411653312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300552189467608350.post-32275814019027730492016-06-15T15:28:00.000-04:002016-06-15T15:28:01.525-04:00Evaluations, goals and reflection tools, oh my!Nothing makes me happier than having to do my teacher evaluation. I know pretty much every teacher feels the same way. This year has been very different for me because I was evaluated by our new principal. Not to delve into all the details, but it was so nice to have a frank and honest conversation about my performance. It really inspired me to find the way to move forward and continue to improve. There are elements of the evaluation where points were lost not because I didn't do things, but because I didn't have the artifacts to support that it is done. There are also places where I definitely need to improve - most notably in having students create goals and do reflections.<br />
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Goal setting and reflection is something that I always try to do, but the process is very time consuming and by October I always seem to let it fall away. So, now, I am searching for a solution to make the process easier and allow the students to do their portion more independently. I have written out what I want this document to look like, however, I am struggling with finding the right tool to create the form. I am hoping for something user friendly and "pretty". Here is a basic outline of what I am thinking for students to complete:<br />
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Yearly Goals<br />
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<li>What will I do?</li>
<li>What do I need help with?</li>
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Unit 1 goals<br />
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<li>PreAssessment results</li>
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<li>Use to create Unit 1 goals</li>
</ul>
<li>How will I meet?</li>
<li>What do I need help with?</li>
<li>Formative assessment </li>
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<li>Peer review</li>
<li>Student reflection</li>
<li>Teacher feedback</li>
<li>Goal adjustment</li>
</ul>
<li>Unit summative </li>
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<li>Peer review</li>
<li>Student reflection</li>
<li>Teacher feedback (with rubric)</li>
</ul>
<li>Goals met?</li>
<li>How to remediate (if necessary)</li>
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So, now all I need is to find the tech method to be able to make this all happen. I want students to be able to complete and me to be able to give my feedback and comments without bringing piles of paper home. I have fixed it so I have to figure this out this summer because I have also told my principal that a tool like the one I want for my students would be a great way for teachers and admin to share artifacts, to collaborate and to help make the teacher evaluation process simpler for everyone. I promised this knowing that I would make sure that I found a workable tool this summer.<br />
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I thought it would be easy once I figured out what I wanted, but alas, it is not so. The problem is I can't find the right tool - I was thinking I could create something on Google Docs, but that isn't working. I have searched for ideas online and am not finding what I want. That is why I am throwing this out to my fantastic PLN. Do you know of something I can use? Have you used a good tool in the past? Any ideas and comments would be greatly appreciated!<br />
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<br />Sra Wittenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00690564737411653312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300552189467608350.post-43818692978295444132016-06-05T13:36:00.000-04:002016-06-05T13:36:39.643-04:00Planning for more!Reflecting at the end of another school year is one of my favorite things to do. I have been working hard to revamp my curriculum (so happy to have a school district and principal that gives me that freedom!) to make it have a <b>more</b> communicative focus. I want students to have <b>more</b> interest in the topics that the units cover and therefore be <b>more</b> interested in learning the content that goes with it. Most of my work this year was done in my Spanish 2 curriculum so this summer I am focusing on how I can build on that with a revamped Spanish 3 curriculum.<br />
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For example, in Spanish 2, we always do a unit on food (as many WL teachers do). Instead of just another boring food unit, I changed the focus to living a healthy lifestyle. This enabled students to ave a focus for choosing their own vocabulary - we did this as a class for the first time (I was inspired by Amy Lenord, but have to find a better way for this because it took almost an entire class period!). Students chose many words and activities that I never would have thought of putting on a list. It had the added benefit of having each class have different lists so the cross-class copying for practice couldn't continue. ;) We then did a variety of activities, interpretive reading with infographics. Like <a href="http://bazarholistico.com/mexico-un-pais-enfermo-y-obeso/" target="_blank">this one</a> and <a href="http://reddelbuencomer.blogspot.com/2015/04/alternativas-saludables-para-el-buen.html" target="_blank">this one</a>. I also used this <a href="http://reddelbuencomer.blogspot.com/2015/04/alternativas-saludables-para-el-buen.html" target="_blank">Coke commercial</a> as a CI listening introduction to the unit.<br />
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What I found was that by changing the focus of the unit to a question - "How do you live a healthy lifestyle?" - Students naturally wanted input on vocabulary and activities. They also always had an opinion and had something to say so conversation practice came more naturally. They were at first freaked out by some of the TL activities because they didn't know every word and in some cases, couldn't even find a translation for words and had to use their brain to figure out what some words meant. The summative for this unit was open to student choice. They did a presentation about healthy lifestyle. For some this meant demonstrating how to play sports, for others, a cooking demonstration of a healthy recipe, ideas to replace junk food with healthy alternatives, etc. It turned out to be one of the best units I have ever planned and some of the best work from the students. As if I didn't know that things went better this year, my enrollment for Spanish 3 tripled for next year. Yea!<br />
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Of course, in hindsight, I realized we never talked about ordering in a restaurant and asking about items on a menu, which is something "real world" that students want to be able to do, but next year, I will make sure to add an activity to help them practice this as well.<br />
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So, with this success, the question is how to I work on the other units to make them as engaging for students? I have long wanted to change my Fairy Tale unit in Sp 3 and really need to make my Future life and decisions unit better, but how.? This is part of my summer homework.<br />
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<br />Sra Wittenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00690564737411653312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300552189467608350.post-77094072070415856642015-12-04T19:00:00.000-05:002015-12-04T19:00:08.972-05:00The best part of flippingWhen I began using the flipped class, I thought the best part was that I would not have to do direct instruction of grammar. The next year, I was sure that being able to allow students to practice listening exercises at their own pace, as many times as they needed was the best part of the flip. The following year, the best part of the flipped class was being able to group students by ability to be able to better structure their learning.<br />
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It has occurred to me that through my years flipping my class, the one thing that was the BEST thing that happened was that the students became the center of the classroom universe.This has taken many forms, and has looked different as time has gone by, but the fact remains it is the student-centered aspect of the flipped class that has made all of the difference in my teaching and their learning.<br />
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What does student centered learning look like in my class?<br />
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<ol>
<li>Students have the opportunity to choose their own personal vocabulary to learn in each thematic unit. </li>
<ol>
<li>In each unit, students must choose 15 - 20 words that they want to know. For example, in the house unit, when students are creating their dream house, these words should be included. (ie - the gun room, the horse stall, the arena, mud room, etc.)</li>
</ol>
<li>Students can allocate their time to activities that they feel need the most attention to obtain proficiency.</li>
<ol>
<li>If a student is an excellent writer, but struggles with listening activities, they can spend more class time on listening activities and less on writing activities. </li>
<li>Students can also be directed by me to repeat activities to ensure comprehension as many times as it takes for them to obtain proficiency. </li>
</ol>
<li>Students have the choice between different activities and assignments whenever possible to spark their interest.</li>
<ol>
<li>For example - projects about books must show comprehension, but can be presentations, posters, written assignments, cartoons, art projects, etc. depending upon the students interests. </li>
<li>Students can adapt written practice depending upon their level. If a student can demonstrate knowledge of a concept after 10 practice sentences, they don't need to do 25. If a student needs more than 25 to demonstrate knowledge, that is what they need to do.</li>
</ol>
<li>Students have the responsibility to make sure they understand the concepts presented. </li>
<ol>
<li>If a student does not understand, they must make the effort to redo assignments.</li>
<li>If they need additional help, they are responsible for speaking up and asking questions. </li>
<li>When students are assessed on the can do statements for the unit, if they cannot successfully complete the activity outlined by the can do, they need to go back and redo it until they can demonstrate comprehension.</li>
</ol>
<li>Students can ask to demonstrate their proficiency with an assessment I did not propose. </li>
<ol>
<li>If a student has another idea of how to demonstrate their proficiency of a concept, they can propose it and use that as an assessment. </li>
</ol>
<li>Students can become teachers of their peers.</li>
<ol>
<li>When a student teaches another, that is when they truly understand the material. Whether it be word choice, word, order, pronunciation, or colloquial phrases students are empowered to support their peers through peer instruction. </li>
</ol>
</ol>
<div>
The freedom that the flipped class gives the students to control the class can be overwhelming at first. However, it is the best way for them to understand their learning needs and increase their proficiency in the language. By continuing to keep the focus of the class on them, the material is relevant and inspires them to learn. </div>
Sra Wittenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00690564737411653312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300552189467608350.post-52778011652538097882015-11-23T11:08:00.000-05:002015-11-24T10:28:34.417-05:00ACTFL 2015 reflections As I am on the plane on my way back home, I can't stop thinking about all of the great sessions and conversations I was a part of at ACTFL. There is something so special about being together with thousands of World Language teachers who, like me, are looking for ways to continue to improve and be a better teacher for our students.<br />
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The best place to start my reflection is from the most basic question, which was posed by <a href="http://www.amylenord.net/" target="_blank">Amy Lenord</a> in her session this afternoon - "Why should we teach in the target language?". The question sounds so simple, but was really a fantastic way to revisit why we were all there. What are we trying to accomplish? How can we best accomplish our classroom goals? Why is it important to never give up on reaching for that 90%? The answer to her question was clear - students cannot and will not learn a language in a vacuum. It needs to be modeled and encouraged by us, their teachers.<br />
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I am thinking about the yearly goals I have my students write down at the beginning of the school year. They can write anything, they just need to focus on what they want to do, not a grade they want to achieve. I then post what they write in the wall. Their comments are all about communication. They want to speak more fluently, they want to be able to talk about their past, they want to be able to communicate with someone when they are on vacation in México. Nowhere did the student write they want to learn perfect grammar, or they want to be able to translate sentences. As a teacher, I know what they want. The question then is, what am I doing to ensure that they are getting what they want and need? How am I facilitating their learning. Am I encouraging true language learning that will follow them as they leave my classroom? Am I giving them the tools they need? Or, am I encouraging their most basic desire to just memorize and get through the assessment? Am I teaching students to parrot vocabulary I have chosen with concepts I have chosen? Am I spending their class time teaching them they way they will learn best, or what worked for me as a student in the "old days"?<br />
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As I write this, I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle. We do lots of great things that get the. Students excited and using the language and encouraging them to learn things that interest them. However, I also believe there is way too much "I" in some of the decisions I make about my class. With this honesty fresh in mind, how am I going to change?<br />
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Luckily, there is so much inspiration available at ACTFL. There were great sessions that can help me find new ways to increase the target language use in class, engage my students, and make the class more meaningful for my students. Here is a list of some of those ideas.<br />
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1. <b>Use more pictures</b> - in <a href="http://miracanion.com/" target="_blank">Mira Canion's</a> session, she described how pictures can be used to get students to use the language that they know and push for more acquisition. Show a pic upturn and have students describe what they see. Have a series of pictures to help students tell a story. Use a vanishing cloze (where words disappear from a story) to encourage students to think about what is missing. Have students create and retell stories.<br />
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2. <b>Lose the Vocab List</b> - in Amy Lenord's <a href="https://t.co/sb57YCfuoG" target="_blank">session </a>there were tons of ways to move away from vocabulary lists. One great example was to use logos of known companies and products to help students acquire words faster. Give students verbs already conjugated with English translations to help jump start conversations and get kids speaking right away. Have students create their own vocabulary notebook with their own lists of new words. Focus on production with vocabulary rather than a specific word list. Who cares what specific words our students use if they can express themselves on a topic. Don't say "Describe you house" ask "How is your house comfortable/welcoming".<br />
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3. <b>Authentic resources</b> - <a href="http://musicuentos.com/blog/" target="_blank">Sara-Elizabeth Cotrell's</a> session was full of great ideas to make authentic resources "just right" for different levels. Use <a href="https://edpuzzle.com/" target="_blank">Edupuzzle</a> to cut down videos and add questions to help students comprehend listening selections. Choose selections carefully to meet students' interest. Don't expect students to hunt for a great resource if you know it might be challenging. Give them three resources to search and choose the one that they think is best. Use target language <a href="http://musicuentos.com/2015/10/brain-breaks/" target="_blank">Brain Breaks</a>. Best of all, Sara-Elizabeth has begun <a href="http://musicuentos.com/2015/10/authres_collaborate/#comment-156350" target="_blank">a document </a>for teachers to share their great authentic resource activities. Please check it out and add to it!<br />
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4. <b>Start with culture</b> - This is going to sound like a shameless plug, but this is from my session <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4b9qf9ypisiYUJpd1UtZS0xZGs/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Flipping for Global Competence</a> with Sara-Elizabeth Cotrell and Meriwynn Mansori. Find a cultural tidbit that will interest students and lead them to inquire more. Use real world examples to make your point about a desired topic. Get the students interested and they will WANT to learn more language. Use authentic resources that are in English for the flipped portion and then students have the base information about culture to apply what they know for the in class activities.<br />
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5. <b>Use movies</b> - sometimes I still forget to factor in fun. <a href="https://prezi.com/upypo5ep9jx3/lets-movietalk/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy" target="_blank">Movie Talk</a> was a great session from Noemi Rodriguez with tons of video resources. Use movie clips, commercials, silent films or clips with no sound to get students to tell a story in the language. I know that all of my students in levels 2-4 would love to do movie talks and the resources that she has provided will help me (and you) get started.<br />
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And of course, my favorite part of any conference is being able to have those meaningful conversations with the fantastic members of my PLN (personal learning network). They help me to take my thinking to the next level, remind me that feeling like a failure is important for real growth, and just fuel my desire to continue to improve.<br />
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If you like these ideas, want to hash out some of the things I wrote, or have comments, lets chat. <a href="mailto:hawitten@gmail.com" target="_blank">Email me</a>, comment on the blog, comment on Twitter (@srawitten) or Edmodo. I am always looking for more people to join me in my quest to be the best language teacher possible and it doesn't happen in a vacuum.Sra Wittenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00690564737411653312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300552189467608350.post-78254356358965061912015-11-20T00:48:00.000-05:002015-11-20T00:48:21.926-05:00Thematic UnitsOne of the things I have often struggled with when working on thematic units is how to make them build upon one another. Too often, I feel as though the class really gets one theme and then all is abandoned as we move on to the next one. This has a variety of impacts, but the largest one is that students perceive that they know longer need the knowledge and vocabulary that they have acquired as we move to new material.<br />
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One of my goals for my Spanish two class this year was to try to improve the flow between units while still covering the necessary material. I love the flipped elements of my class and being able to know that the majority of the "why?" is covered before students come to class. I have needed to improve on the activities that go on during class time. Although I still have plans to implement PBL, it has not happened yet and my class activities and practice have become stale and aren't as interesting to the students as they once were. And, as we all know, when students don't find the material presented interesting, they lose the interest in the class and it goes back to something they have to "check off" their list.<br />
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In my Spanish 2 classes, I have revised the thematic units and it seems to be working. I have also found a class schedule that is working more efficiently and helping change things up often enough to keep students engaged. Here is what I have done this semester:<br />
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<b>Review unit - Self and Family</b><br />
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Each year I begin with a review unit. This gives me the opportunity to asses the students as a group and begin to assess them individually. We use a familiar topic - self and family. I include activities in each of the communication areas - listening, reading, speaking, writing and a little bit of culture.<br />
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<i>Can do statements for this unit include</i><br />
I can describe myself and my family (orally and written).<br />
I can tell someone what my family and I like to do.<br />
I can ask someone about their family.<br />
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<i>Grammar concepts reviewed/practiced</i><br />
Present tense<br />
Word order<br />
Agreement<br />
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Culture<br />
Appropriate addresses (formal v informal)<br />
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<i>Assessments</i><br />
Who am I writing<br />
My family presentational<br />
Speed dating - describing myself and family<br />
Reading - Piratas by Mira Canion - Orally in class and in small groups<br />
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<b>Unit 1 - Where I live</b><br />
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<i>Can do statements for this unit include:</i><br />
I can talk about where I live.<br />
I can describe my house.<br />
I can ask questions about someone's home.<br />
I can compare my home with someone else's<br />
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<i>Grammar concepts introduced/reviewed/practiced</i><br />
Comparisons<br />
Present tense (focus on irregulars and stem changers)<br />
Word order<br />
More complex sentences using cuando<br />
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<i>Culture</i><br />
Spain webquest<br />
Euro v dollar - conversion<br />
Comparing home types in US and Spain - House Hunters International<br />
Comparing home listings in US and Spain - Internet search<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<i>Assessments</i><br />
House plan creation and written description<br />
Selling my house presentation<br />
Comparing my house to yours - conversation<br />
Listening to house descriptions and drawing floor plan<br />
Reading in small groups (aloud) - Mi propio auto, Problemas en paraiso, Fiesta fatal<br />
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<b>Unit 2 - My neighborhood and how to get around</b><br />
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<i>Can do statements for this unit include:</i><br />
I can describe places and services in my neighborhood.<br />
I can give directions to someplace in my neighborhood using a map.<br />
I can listen to directions to get to a destination on a map.<br />
I can compare my neighborhood to someone else's<br />
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<i>Grammar concepts introduced/reviewed/practiced</i><br />
Informal commands<br />
Present tense<br />
Asking questions<br />
Comparisons<br />
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<i>Culture</i><br />
How to move between tourist attractions in Spain on map<br />
When to use formal v informal commands<br />
Structure of towns - plaza, church<br />
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<i>Assessments</i><br />
Using student created neighborhoods students- give and follow directions, make comparisons between neighborhoods.<br />
Reading in small groups (aloud and silently) with comprehension checks<br />
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<b>Unit 3 - What I do in my neighborhood/free time</b><br />
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(This is a unit covered basically in Sp 1, but my students are struggling with vocabulary. Therefore I went back to this theme using more advanced vocabulary and high frequency verbs)<br />
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<i>Can do statements include:</i><br />
I can talk about what I like to do in my free time<br />
I can have a conversation with my peers about what I did last weekend<br />
I can talk about places I like to go<br />
I can write about a favorite event in my past<br />
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<i>Grammar concepts introduced/reviewed practiced</i><br />
Difference between preterite and imperfect<br />
Beginning use of past tenses<br />
Asking questions<br />
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<i>Culture</i><br />
Cuba webquest<br />
Music and leisure activities in Cuba<br />
Cuba and US relations<br />
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<i>Assessments</i><br />
Conversation with peers about free time activities<br />
Movie/ book review written<br />
Reading in small groups (aloud and silently) with comprehension checks<br />
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<b>Final exam</b><br />
Listening, reading, writing, culture<br />
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<b>Class schedule</b><br />
In my school we have 90 minute blocks, and structuring them for success is an ever changing puzzle. This year, my students work best with a short warm up activity to practice unit vocab and concepts, then 20-30 minutes of reading in small groups. Then, they work on some written practice as well as conversation and listening practice in class. As always, grammar is done for homework by watching videos and students taking notes.<br />
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Student do work independently for the majority of class. I am facilitating learning and helping the struggling students individually. I have many more students on IEPs this year and it has made class more challenging to help those students with accommodations and keep the rest of class moving at a good pace.<br />
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Reading is still my favorite way to differentiate in class and I love when I get students grouped correctly so that they can work with their peers and continue their learning process. Giving students that opportunity is what makes the class more engaging to them.
I try to give as much choice as possible with the assessments as well so students can personalize their learning. In every u to students must find personalized vocabulary which they must use successfully in assessments. This allows me to keep the required vocabulary lists short and the students to be able to invest in their own learning. It is also a great way for me to get to know my students better through the vocabulary that they choose. I have also expanded my own vocabulary learning the words and ideas that are important to my students.
Sra Wittenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00690564737411653312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300552189467608350.post-15195500813392165752015-04-12T14:47:00.001-04:002015-04-12T14:54:09.366-04:00Why give awards? <i>This is a departure from the norm for me. This is definitely a post that shares how I am feeling at this exact moment.</i><br />
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This has been a tough year. I am questioning what is going on in my class and looking to improve my game. The curriculum needs a rehash, so I haven´t been posting about the classroom as much this year. I have had many challenging kids, and frankly a part of me has been wondering if I am the teacher I was when I started. Then just when I was ready to chalk this year up and work on doing better next year this happened.<br />
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It started in February. It was the time of year where teachers are asked to nominate students for the STARS (Students Taking Accountability and Responsibility Seriously) awards. These are my favorite awards because they are not geared toward the super A students, or the most successful students. These awards are for students that (in my opinion) can slip through the cracks. These are those kids who have a great attitude, work hard, are kind to their peers, and just make being in the classroom a pleasure. Most years I have a student to nominate, and this year, I nominated two seniors.<br />
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<i>Fast forward to Monday...</i><br />
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One of the worst things that could happen to a school - the death of a student had touched our lives. One of the young men I had nominated for the STARS award was his best friend. He was completely devastated by the loss. On Tuesday, he was visibly upset and when I took him aside, he ended up in my arms crying. It is one of the hardest things about being a teacher. What can possibly be said to comfort someone whose friend died suddenly in a senseless accident?<br />
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All week, I put myself in this students´path. I checked with his other teachers and his counselor. On Thursday, he told me that he had reached acceptance and was trying to come back from the sorrow.<br />
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<i>Saturday morning - The funeral</i><br />
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What more needs to be said?<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Saturday night - The awards ceremony</i><br />
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They really make a big deal of the awards ceremony. First, there is a dinner and then each student is interviewed, like in a talk show, by the emcee. He reads what the teacher wrote about each student and then asks them some questions. Every award winner gets their turn in the spotlight.<br />
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There are about 40 award recipients between 5 - 12 grades, so the ceremony is long. Both of the students I nominated were recognized in the first half of the ceremony.<br />
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One of the first recognized was my student who had lost his friend. He was there and tried to plaster on a smile, but it was difficult. He touched my heart though by getting through it and even winking at me during his ¨interview¨. Afterwards, his mother (who is Colombian) called me his beautiful angel and was so glad that someone had recognized how special her son was. His father, who I had sat through two years of parent-teacher conferences, who was normally a gruff, no nonsense guy, hugged me! Needless to say it was very touching. The young man told me at the end of the night, ¨I never thought I was the kind of kid that would win a school award. This has given me the self-confidence to be successful. (To my credit, I did not cry....but I was so touched.)<br />
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The second young man I nominated is one of those really smart kids who is a bit of a smart-alack. He has been in my class for the last two years, and although is a whiz and math and science, he puts forth real effort in Spanish. I was surprised when he had continued to Spanish 4, and although he is not my best student, he is a hard worker that often surprises me with what he can do. When the emcee read what I had written about him, he turned around in his chair and stared at me like I must have him mistaken for someone else. I just shrugged and smiled. His parents were also so kind to me. They told me what a good influence I was on their boys (I have his younger brother as well), and how much they talk about me at home. Their father turned to me and just said, ¨You are really a great teacher.¨ I didn´t cry then, but I am now.<br />
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There was one other very special nominee that night, one I had to wait for until the end of the ceremony. That nominee was my daughter Kate. Kate is a freshman at my school and had decided to come to the school where I worked, not our neighborhood school. From the beginning, she has worked to make a difference in the school and she is kind to everyone. I have heard from many teachers how wonderful she is, but for her to receive this award, was confirmation for her that she had made the right choice. She was touched and surprised to be nominated. She handled her interview with poise and grace, and her father and I are so proud of her. I had never realized how wonderful these awards were for parents.....for someone to realize what we already knew.....that our kids is a great one.<br />
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For me, this has made me remember why I teach....why I get frustrated-angry-happy-mad-sad-encouraged.....and why it is all worth it. Although my students won the awards, I really felt like I was the real winner - for having the privilege of getting to know them as their teacher. So, to answer the question, ¨why give awards?¨, for me the answer is to show your students their worth and how much you care for them. And, if you are as lucky as I was last night, to receive some of that love and respect in return.<br />
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<br />Sra Wittenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00690564737411653312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300552189467608350.post-56801827680499728382015-03-18T18:00:00.000-04:002015-03-18T18:00:00.558-04:00Re-energizing resources Every once in a while, I actually get a chance to sit and read some of the great blog posts that come across my computer. There have been some really good ones lately and I thought I would share.<br />
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<ol>
<li>Any post that talks about ways to boost class conversation is always a winner with me. I think that there are some great reasons to focus on memorization in the class, and incorporating more advanced phrases is at the top of the list for me. Check <a href="http://www.fluentu.com/spanish/blog/advanced-spanish-conversation/" target="_blank">this one</a> out!</li>
<li>I am always looking for ways to work on how to better assess student communication without inhibiting their growth. Luckily, even though I can't ever seem to get to #langchat on Thursdays (or Saturday mornings) there is a great recap available. Here is <a href="http://blog.calicospanish.com/2015/03/02/guiding-students-increased-accuracy-levels.html" target="_blank">the recap</a> of the most recent chat about assessing student communication. </li>
<li>On a slightly different note, I love being challenged to make sure my students are not just engaged, but learning. That is why I love posts like <a href="http://esheninger.blogspot.com/2015/03/engagement-does-not-always-equate-to.html" target="_blank">this one</a>. If we are not continually evaluating ourselves, it is easy to fall into the "of course it is working trap".</li>
<li>The Free Tech for Teachers blog is one I always turn to when I am looking for more/better resources. This post is a great reminder about the wonderful tool we have in Google Earth. As I discussed in an earlier post, we are the teachers that really bring the world to our students, and Google Earth is a great way to do this. If you have never tried Google Earth, it can be a little daunting. Check out <a href="http://sitescontent.google.com/google-earth-for-educators/" target="_blank">this site</a> full of advice and tutorials. </li>
<li>While checking out Free Tech for Teachers, I found this great <a href="http://www.nextvista.org/collection/light-bulbs/world-languages/" target="_blank">video resource</a> for World Language teachers. </li>
</ol>
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Hope this inspire you to check out some new resources over Spring Break to re-energize for the end of the year!<br />
<br />Sra Wittenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00690564737411653312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300552189467608350.post-92031996616555426852015-03-14T05:30:00.000-04:002015-03-14T05:30:01.929-04:00My SWCOLT takeawayColorado was fortunate to host our regional SWCOLT conference at the end of February. Since it was hosted by my state language board, CCFLT, I was working the majority of the time. It was fantastic to see so many colleagues (I finally got to meet Amy Lenord and Don Doehla in person), see some interesting vendors and pop in on many sessions. I was fortunate to pop in to many sessions, but never got to see a session in its entirety. So, I have many things I want to explore further. I want to learn more about PBL from Don Doehla and have to find time to dedicate to reviewing his presentation. I want to learn more about <a href="http://www.owlanguage.com/" target="_blank">OWL</a> (they were having so much fun in that session!). There were tons of other great sessions that I was so sad to have missed out on.<br />
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But, there was one clear awesome moment for me. I had sneaked into the Avalanche room (a session where five people give 10 minute presentations and participants rotate) to check out what I could tweet about. A few minutes later, Amy Lenord came in and we began talking. We talked about the types of sessions that conferences offer and how there seems to be a lack of sessions for more experienced and frequent conference going teachers. So, this had me asking the question, What types of sessions do experienced teachers want to see? What kind of professional development can conferences offer teachers that are familiar with comprehensible input, trying to stay 90% in the TL and Can-do goals? What do I want to learn?<br />
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It is a harder question than I had originally thought it would be. How can I take what I am doing to the next level was the answer that we had come up with. I want some specific "how to" training that will show me how to better show my students not just the language, but the cultural aspects of the language. I want to be able to take comprehensible input, train the students how to derive information from it and then be able to find comprehensible input of their own. I want to be able to begin with giving my students the input and move to them finding their own input that interests them and then teaching it to all of us. Isn't that going to be more meaningful for everyone? Can't we teach vocabulary and point out grammar structures using this method? Would it give students the desire to learn, not just get through the class?<br />
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Share with me....what do you wish you could see at your conference? Comments appreciated.Sra Wittenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00690564737411653312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300552189467608350.post-38219233091076949982015-03-10T16:29:00.001-04:002015-03-11T21:18:33.672-04:00Making the best of less class time - 20% time!This last week has been a struggle for me, as I am sure it has been for many of you (or will be soon). This has been a week of standardized testing. This has turned into a completely lost week for me since 9th, 10th and 11th graders are all testing. Between kids that took the test, opted out, and just stayed home, my classes have looked like a ghost town. In hindsight I realize I should have taken this time to work individually with the students that were there (5 out of 29 in my Sp 2 classes). However, since I had missed so much of the week prior because of the SWCOLT conference and grades are due on Friday, I chose giving the kids a study hall and have been grading like my pen is on fire.<br />
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The testing has been challenging this year, and I am sure it will be a whole new ballgame when we have to do it again (yes, again) the first week in May. However, I will have a better plan when that happens. I always do my choice projects in Spanish 3 at the end of the year, but I am working on a plan for a similar project for my Spanish 2 classes as well. This way, no matter who is in class, they can be working on something for class. </div>
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In Spanish 3, the choices are wide open for the end of the year project. They can choose anything that they want to learn more about. I believe that in Spanish 2 those students will need a bit more structure. So, I am thinking about letting them choose to expand on any topic that we have covered this year. That will give them families/friends and communities, celebrations, travel and health. These are all topics that we have covered the basics of, but there is so much to learn. </div>
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Once the topic is chosen, Sp 3 is required to find two audio selections, two readings and write two letters as they research. Then the create a presentation for the class which includes something the students watching can do to interact with the topic. But again, I think that is quite a bit to expect from the Sp 2 students. Maybe I need to conference with each student about their topic choice and help steer them in the right direction as far as resources? Can I require my high achieving students to have more resources than the lower achieving students? Will I still require the audience participation portion of the presentation? I am trying to juggle what I would like to see with what the students can do and the amount of time they will have. </div>
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I would love some advice from anyone who does a 20% project. (Next year, I am doing this differently and we will work on it on Fridays throughout the semester.) </div>
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As always I will keep posting.....<br />
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PS - My PLN is the best! Check out this great idea for<a href="http://t.co/v5RRYGXbKM" target="_blank"> student created finals</a> from Sara-Elizabeth Cottrell - this is exactly what I was hoping for. </div>
Sra Wittenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00690564737411653312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300552189467608350.post-41549290537994483482015-03-08T18:31:00.001-04:002015-03-08T18:31:51.034-04:00We are the medium (This is a post I started a month ago, but only now am finishing.)<br />
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Last night, I was helping to facilitate a webinar with the inspiring <a href="http://www.sraspanglish.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Laura Sexton</a>, who is a leader in the use of project based learning (PBL) in the target language. I have seen Laura present before at ACTFL, and always look at her blog for ideas and inspiration, so I wasn't really expecting a big Ah-ha moment last night. But, I was wrong.<br />
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Laura said something that really resonated with me. We (WL teachers) are the medium for our students viewing the world. Without WL education, students rarely see and experience the culture of other countries beyond their own towns. How powerful is that???<br />
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There is so much focus on target language use and comprehensible input that I know sometimes I miss the bigger picture. I am not a just a teacher of the Spanish language. I fell in love with Spanish so many years ago, not because I can conjugate verbs or know the difference between the preterite and the imperfect. I fell in love with the Spanish speaking world....and that led me to travel to many other countries to discover a love of other cultures as well. This is what I want to do, I don't want to just teach Spanish, I want to open the world for my students.<br />
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Exposing students to culture is sometimes very easy. I plan trips to Costa Rica, Peru, etc and the small number of students that accompany me get a real picture of the world outside the US. All of my students know that almost every Hispanic movie has a sad ending. :( However, I think to really open up the world for our students we have to open the door for them, teach them something they can relate to in another country. Then, we need to encourage them to take what they learn as a stepping stone to learning more.<br />
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Students have to have time and the freedom to make some choices in their learning. That is when learning truly becomes their own and has the added benefit of wanting to continue their Spanish (or other language) learning to continue to learn more about the world around them. So, when you hear people talk about 20% projects, Project Based Learning, or other methodology, remember our job is to facilitate the learning. Just teaching is depriving our students of so much life has to offer.Sra Wittenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00690564737411653312noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300552189467608350.post-75337658624031485712015-01-11T14:32:00.002-05:002015-01-11T14:34:03.404-05:00Revealing student feedbackAs promised, I began all my classes with a discussion about last semester and how to improve this semester. Sadly many of my students just stared at me when I asked them for feedback, but some of my level 3s had some good thoughts as to what they need to work on. Many of them carefully avoided eye contact as we talked about how copying the beginning practice work of a unit didn't help the, when it came time to apply their knowledge. Many now understand that by doing that, they end up struggling on the benchmark assessments, summative assessments and the final.<br />
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However, as testament to our poor start, many said direct object pronouns are confusing, or I still struggle with the past tense, rather than the application of that knowledge. I was hoping to hear....I still really need to work on improving listening skills, or I still struggle expressing myself while speaking. This mindset is something I have to change. There is still too much focus on grammar. I feel like we spend more than 2/3 of each unit working on application of knowledge but with this feedback, there is still too much emphasis on it.<br />
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With that in mind, I have created a weekly calendar of our focus for each day. I have tried this before, but it I such a struggle with the alternating block. It is even more of a struggle in the Spring semester with days off, testing, etc. but I am determined to make it work and have enlisted the help of the students. (I know they love to tell me when we get off task.) I have written the weekly schedule on the board - Monday-writing, Tuesday-conversation, Wednesday-Conversation, Thursday-reading, Friday-listening. So the plan is to begin each class with activities with the appropriate focus. Then students will move on to their assigned work, which also includes these activities.<br />
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I also am going to do more one-on-one feedback with the students with their homework phone calls and journals. When I grade them, I almost always give comments to the students, but I know the majority of them don't really look at it. So, every week, I am going to have a mini conference with the students about these activities. My plan is to divide the class into groups of 5 or 6 so I can get to everyone once a month. With the 3s phone calls, I am thinking that after our initial feedback session, I am going to email them their audio and have them evaluate their own speaking first, and then we can go over it together.<br />
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Hopefully these things will help the students focus more on the communication, and less on the grammatical portion of speaking Spanish.Sra Wittenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00690564737411653312noreply@blogger.com0