Author Archives: Lynn

Building Community Interpersonal Activities

Provide Personalized Input and Build Community

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My day was made by a 50 second response. As part of the Agen online conference, participants were asked to record a short introductory video about themselves on Flipgrid including one fun fact.

Flipgrid was not new to me, I had used it for years to assess speaking ability and show student growth. However, I rarely responded to student videos other than to say good job, or with tips on how to level up.

And then one day in my inbox I had a reply to my video from my teacher idol, Jason Fritz.

I immediately went to Flipgrid and see what Jason had said. His 50 second response to my video made me crazy happy. The fact that he listened to my video and took the time to reply made me feel valued. Jason said that he thought we had met before, and reacted to my fun fact by adding skiing graphics and goggles in his response.

In that moment, I realized the power of this free platform for providing additional individualized input, forging relationships, and providing asynchronous interpersonal speaking opportunities to build community.

Here are some “Tips I learned from Fritz” at that awesome conference. When setting up a grid, choose your target language in the captions so that all videos recorded or uploaded by you and the students will have the option to use closed captions. You can edit the captions if the program does not capture all words correctly.

Record yourself asking the question or prompt in a video and add captions so they are reading at the same time. Then, create a sample video of the response you would like for more input. You can also provide attachments, links, sentence frames and other supports.

Students can click on the blue dot to use the immersive reader feature and listen to the text read by native speakers. Students can click on a word that they do not know and Flipgrid provides an image or translation to show the meaning of the word.

Students can use stickers, gifs, or the Snapcam app to add interest or disguise their faces. The teacher can also use the hide video option if a student requests it.

Teachers can reply to students videos for extra input and to establish relationships. You can record a response video and/or type a response. Use all characters possible in your response to provide even more input and additional personalized vocabulary.

Require students to respond to at least three other videos to build community. Train students to watch other student videos before answering for added input and ideas.

Here is another great idea from Jason. Type up student responses in Flipgrid to create readings or informational text about the class.

With Flipgrid, every student has a voice. They can record asynchronously for extra practice outside of class so class time can be used for other things. Also, by listening to each others videos first, they are getting additional input and hopefully building relationships.

Make every student feel heard this year, record personalized responses to student videos in Flipgrid to offer additional input, provide interpersonal communication opportunities, and establish community.

https://flipgrid.com/37931006
Environment supporting student learning

Class at Home

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If you are suddenly transforming a home space into a classroom here are some ideas for you. There are all kinds of free resources available to support students from home. I did a blog at the beginning of the school year with links to free resources available to support student learning while decorating your room at the same time. Now that we are turning our homes into classrooms, I thought it might be a good time to repost. I have these circumlocution posters in my classroom but decided to print out a set for my home classroom.

At first I had them taped to my whiteboard but realized this is going to be a pain going from French to Spanish. So I came up with this.

I strung a piece of twine and used clothespins so I can switch them out easier. There are lots of question word posters available for free that you can print out at home, or make your own with markers.

I had an old white board in my office that I covered with white board paint. You can see the difference in the two photos above. You can buy white dry erase paint and put it on anything to create a white board. However, an old white binder works also. Even though there is a white board function in Zoom, sometimes it’s a nice change to go old school.

I revived and old cork board by covering it with fabric and hot glued some framed postcards from Paris onto it.

Don’t forget to add plants to your work space. They help clean the air. I just went out to my yard and cut some bamboo and clipping off other plants. I like baskets and boxes for stashing miscellaneous things.

Surround yourself with things that inspire you or bring you joy. You can print inspirational quotes off the internet and frame them, or have pictures of your favorite people near by.

I wanted to change my zoom backgrounds, but couldn’t find our green screen. So I looked around the house and found a Seahawk’s blanket that works great, sheets, paper it doesn’t really matter.

This is now my recording studio.

Tina Hargaden posted a really cool assignment called where I work today. Each student added a slide to a google slide show with a picture of where we are working these days and some sentences about our space. It was really interesting to see all the different places and ways people are working. I think I am going to try it with my students this week.

Where is your work space and does it bring you joy? Post your current work space photo here with a short description.

supporting student learning

Let’s just chill!

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Let it go…the online lesson planning, the grades, the evaluations, the hysteria. Let’s just chill. A few weeks of missed instruction is not going to damage anyone in the long run.

Teachers, like first responders, are also stressed and have their own health concerns along with those of their families, children, and elderly parents to deal with. Many teachers have never used Zoom or other online formats and are stressing over an uncertain future. This is a very sensitive time for all.

Let’s reconsider mandatory online learning. Instead, let’s just regenerate, so we can be centered and fully present for our students when we return.

To expect all families and teachers to have the resources and skills to move to distance learning this quickly is beyond ambitious. Many families don’t have internet access, computers, desks, and other school supplies. The student’s home learning environments will vary greatly. Schools provide a stable, equal, and resource rich learning environment whereas homes, for those students that have a stable home, will be filled with distraction and competition for space and resources. It will not be a “Home School” environment as a majority of households are two worker families. This new learning environment will be unsupervised. We need to dial down the pressure on families and teachers right now. We should give students, “suggested activities” to do but not require it.

Students really need less screen time not more. Trying to do a mixer activity these days, where students walk around and get information from each other face to face, is painfully awkward to watch. Students are addicted to their phones and computers. The social interaction at school is a vital part of their ever diminishing interpersonal relationships. Since students in our district were provided their own computer several years ago, I have observed a steady decline in student social skills.

Let’s look at this as a sign from the universe. A time to relax, recharge, rejoice in the down time. I am looking forward to organizing my home, enjoying some neglected hobbies, and connecting with friends and family.

Let’s just all stay home for the next few weeks and enjoy the time that we never have with our families and loved ones in our own home. Cook, read, play games, take a walk, and just chill.

Comprehensible Input culture

La Familia Real

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The objective: I can describe my family and friends. This includes family vocabulary, physical descriptions, ages, birthdays, hobbies, origin, professions, and more. I like to use the royal family of Spain to embed culture and hook their attention. I print colored photos of the royal family and describe each one as I create this árbol de familia on the board. I have students follow along and fill in the names on a family tree I found on this website.

After my presentation, I have them watch this video. There are some great resources at this website including a script for this video. I love this blog because it is written by a French teacher who teachers Spanish.

¿Quién es? Then a game of who is it?

Read these descriptions to the students and have them guess which royal you are describing.

  1. Su cumpleaños es el 5 de enero, 1938. Él tiene ochenta y dos años.   Él es viejo. Él tiene pelo gris. Él no tiene mucho pelo. No es delgado.
  2. Ella tiene ojos verdes y pelo castaño.  Ella es bonita y vieja. Su cumpleaños es el 2 de noviembre, 1938.  Ella tiene ochenta y un años. 
  3. Ella es rubia.  Ella tiene los ojos azules. Su cumpleaños es el 31 de octubre, 2005.  Ella tiene catorce años. Ella es la futura reina de España.  Es la primera al trono.
  4. Él es alto y delgado.  Él tiene el pelo castaño y ojos azules.  Él tiene 51 años. Su cumpleaños es el 30 de enero, 1968.  A él le encanta la vela.
  5. Ella es guapa.  Ella tiene pelo castaño y ojos marrones. Ella tiene 47 años. Su cumpleaños es el 15 de septiembre, 1972.  Ella trabajó como periodista.
  6. Ella es rubia.  Ella tiene los ojos verdes.  Ella es bonita y delgada. Su cumpleaños es el 29 de abril de 2007.  Ella tiene doce años.  Ella es segunda al trono.

Another option is to give students envelopes with the descriptions and the pictures and have them race to match them up.

Here is a link to some on-line activities for additional practice. How is your family similar to or different from the Royal Family of Spain? Would you like or not like to be a part of the royal family?

Interpersonal Activities supporting student learning

Bracketology

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I learned a new term at ACTFL 19… Bracketology. I heard it in a presentation by Lisa Shepard. She used this example about things we can do to help the environment. Students discuss each pair of choices in order to select which will move onto the next round.

So I started thinking, this is a great format for any topic. Create a list of 8 or 16 things to be grateful for, unusual holiday traditions, things kids want for Christmas, things you can do to stay healthy, or reasons to study a language. Pair them up in brackets, and have they kids discuss and then vote on each pairing until the champion is determined.

Or, have kids create their own brackets around a topic. Then have the class debate and vote… hot dogs vs hamburgers, pizza vs tacos. Or use bracketology for hobbies: football vs. soccer, winner takes on baseball vs. volleyball.

8 Team Single Elimination Tournament Bracket : Front

Of course bracketology in not a new idea. Many world language teachers do March music madness and have students choose between popular songs. What about creating brackets for 8 holiday songs?

There are brackets created for children’s books and novels in the target language. Make your own with these blank book brackets.

One of my favorites are the brackets for Chrismas commercials by Dustin Williamson. There are resources on Teachers Pay teachers, some are free like Noel madness.

How can you incorporate bracketology in your classes?

Teacher Preparation Tpep

It’s TPEP time again, criterion # 3 revisited…

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The TPEP criterion #3 is recognizing individual student learning needs and developing strategies to address those needs.  The overlap in the three frameworks is identifying and addressing the needs of students and establishing and achieving student growth goals for subgroups.

One way to show that you are actively seeking information about students is student interest surveys.  I have gathered some on this pinterest page.  

 

Take the survey to another level by trying Back to School Scoot!  To do this, place a task card on each desk (or chair).  Students start at any number.  At your signal, have the students rotate around the desks until they have answered all of the questions. Give the students enough time to read the question and answer it before having them rotate (1-2 minutes). I find it works best in middle school to have them rotate in order, but I have tried it where I just yell “Scoot” (¡Muévanse!) and they scramble to any other seat to which they have not been and just fill in the answer to that question in the appropriate box.  Scoot could be done in English at the novice level and there are sets available in French and Spanish for upper levels.

 

Another option is to tape the questions around the room or out in the hallway, you could also have the students work in pairs, and rotate at your signal.  I use these types of activities throughout the year so this allows me to teach procedures and expectations while getting to know more about their individual preferences.  Other variations for student interest surveys include creating an on-line Google form or back to school Jenga.  

I also like the play dough idea for getting to know students from the book Teach Like a Pirate by Dave Burgess.  When students walk in on the first day of school have a can of play dough on a paper plate of each desk.  Tell the student to create something with the play dough that is in some way representative of themselves.  Tell the students that they will not have to get up in front of the room and speak but they will have to say their name and a sentence or two about their creation.  Then circulate around, show each creation, ask each student’s name and a question or 2 about the creation.  At the end of the activity offer a prize for anyone who remembers everyone’s name.  See my prior post for other ideas on making connections with students.

Criterion #3 also includes effective teacher use of formative assessment data.  Teachers can establishing student growth goal(s) and document student growth and achievement of student growth goal(s) with free writes and video recordings at various stages throughout the year.  My students have chromebooks and we use Wevideo and Flipgrid to record student growth as well as good old fashioned paper and pencils.

Here is a link to a previous post on Tpep #3.

Tpep Criterion #3: Recognizing individual student learning needs and developing strategies to address those needs.

Getting to know our students, using formative assessment data, scaffolding of information within lessons, differentiating instruction, and demonstrating flexibility and responsiveness are some of the strategies the distinguished teacher uses to address student needs.  How do you support individual student learning needs? 

Path to Proficiency Teacher Preparation Tpep

It’s TPEP time again criterion #1… revisited

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This will be the seventh year of the Washington State Teacher/Principal Evaluation project or TPEP.  Every public school teacher in the state of Washington is evaluated against eight criteria and graded on a scale from 1-4.  A rating of four means distinguished, a rating of one means you are in trouble.

I had been teaching middle school for 30+ years and figured I was starting to get the hang of it. Until seven years ago, the evaluation process consisted of establishing some professional growth goals at the beginning of the year and then meeting with an administrator at the end of the year to discuss the achievement of the self-established goals.  It was a piece of cake.  Formal evaluations were for new teachers in their first three years of the profession.  And then TPEP came along…

At first I was really nervous, lots of us were.  I know teachers who left the profession because of fear of the process and the possible ramifications.  I decided seven years ago that I wanted a four, or a rating of distinguished, and I was going to study the criteria and the rubrics for evaluation.  So I did, and I know the rubrics better than most administrators.

I still get nervous, over plan, and can’t sleep the night before my formal evaluations each year, but I did score a four and realized the eight criteria are just good teaching.

I have been sharing my learning on TPEP for many years but I am continually changing and updating the workshop.  I will be doing a free presentation Wednesday, August 14th at the University of Washington so I will be posting a series of blog posts to support the presentation.

Although everyone is evaluated on the same eight criteria, there are three different frameworks districts can choose from as an evaluation instrument.  They are the Marzano Teacher Evaluation Model, the CEL5D+ Teacher Evaluation Rubric (commonly referred to as the UW model), and Danielson’s Framework for Teaching.  I am focusing on the areas in which the three frameworks overlap.

Criterion #1 Centering instruction on high expectations for student achievement.  

The overlap of the three frameworks for criterion number one is communicating learning targets to students and celebrating success.  

I have been posting learning goals for some time, but the shift for me is constantly physically going back to the posted goals and checking in on where we are during and at the end of each class period.learning-goals-26kmx0q

I also explicitly teach the students about the path to proficiency and how to level up.  Here is an example about Seafair, a hydroplane race extravaganza held the first weekend in August each year in Seattle.  I explain Seafair to my students using the different proficiency levels.

Novice Low- Boats, airplanes, swimming, sun, fun, bathing suits, Lake Washington, food, music, drinks (At least two target language words related to the prompt, no cognates or brand names)

Novice Mid- Seafair wild  many boats  airplanes Blue Angels  Swimming in lake, food, fun, music, drinks (At least one connection to a verb related to the prompt)

Novice High- I like Seafair.  fun Lake Washington  food  races   airplanes  there is boats.  People swim in the water.   (At least two complete clauses with two different verbs related to the prompt)

Intermediate Low- Seafair is in Seattle each year.  people boats.  They watch races.  There are airplanes. water fights  I like Seafair and it is fun.  Do you like Seafair? (3-4 simple sentences related to the prompt with at least 3 details)

Intermediate Mid- Seafair is in Seattle each year.  There are lots of people in boats on lake Washington.  They watch the boat races.  There are also airplanes that fly, the Blue Angels.  I like Seafair because it is fun to have water fights with other boats.  Although it is really crowded and rough on the lake sometime, Seafair is a lot of fun. (At least two complex components with groupings of sentences)

Intermediate High- Ever since I was a little girl, my family has gone to the hydroplane races at Seafair which happens the first weekend of August in Seattle each year.  First, we load up the boat with food, drinks, water balloons, and squirt guns.  Then we put up our pirate flag, which means we are willing to participate in water fights. Then we look for other boats that want to have a water fight, and launch water balloons at them. I like Seafair because it is fun to have water fights with other boats.  Even though it is really crowded and rough on the lake sometimes, Seafair is a lot of fun. (Evidence of at least 3-4 complex components and connectedness)

Then I have the students do a matching activity where there are descriptions of a circus by proficiency level and labels for the different proficiency levels and they have to race to match them up.  Lastly, I have them describe school in groups according to the different proficiency levels and write their descriptions on butcher paper and we try to guess the proficiency level of each description.

I like to show my students how to level up with the resources at the Shelby County Schools World Language Website.

level_1_h_unit_1

level_1_h_unit_3

And then we celebrate success!  Here is a link to a former post.

Tpep Criterion #1: Centering instruction on high expectations for student achievement.

Environment supporting student learning

Free Supports for Students

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There are a lot of free resources available to world language teachers that provide scaffolding for student interactions as well as functional room decor. To start, welcome them into the classroom with these free cómo estás and comment ça va posters from the Creative Language Classroom.  They also have signs to post inside your door so you can say goodbye in different ways.  I frame them and change them up every couple of weeks. 











My opening routine each day involves the student greeter or special person.  There are special person interview posters in many languages available from Bryce Headstom.  Here are other free options for special person posters in French and in Spanish.





There are many question word posters  available in French, Spanish and other languages.  I transformed an old cork board with black chalkboard spray paint.  Here are some chalkboard style question posters in French and Spanish.  Add lists of possible answers for each of the question words below the posters as they are learned so students can refer to them in their writing and conversations.  For example, under the “where” sign, list possible responses like: in the school, at the restaurant, in the park, at the mall. 










One of the first things I focus on is high frequency verbs.  I like these “sweet 16” verb posters in French and in Spanish.  





The TPRSbooks.com website has free emoji rejoinder posters in several languages as well as lots of other goodies (click on your language after following the link).  Rejoinders are words and phrases people say to keep the conversation going.  I laminate them and have students hold them up and say the expression at appropriate times.  Here are a couple of rejoinder lists from Amy Lenord in Spanish and translated to French by Catherine Ousselin.  I use them to make my own graphics at spark.adobe.com.          








                      





Circumlocution is a strategy for describing or defining a concept instead of saying or writing the specific words.  Teaching students circumlocution techniques helps them stay in the target language when they don’t know a word.  I use these Free Circumlocution posters at the Teachers Pay Teachers website.  I have lists of rejoinders and circumlocution words for students to create class posters, or digital versions with images posted to a Padlet, as an emergency substitute assignment.   










 It’s always great to spend Fridays talking about what students want to, or are going to do, for the weekend.  Then we return on Mondays and talk about what students did or wanted to do.  Past tense doesn’t have to wait for second year.  Students can be given supports for the weekend conversations. Here are some free products I really like to support the weekend conversations in Spanish.  Also available for free is a weekend chat human bingo in Spanish.





I use these four corner signs to get students out of their seats and practice a little spontaneous interpersonal communication in Spanish and French.   I like to make things for my home and classroom and I recreated these direction word signs that I saw in Saint Malo, France.  These signs are also great for four  corner activities.  Check out my other free classroom decor hacks here. 










I also like to print quotes of the internet and frame them for my classroom.  Again, using the same frames, I can switch them up to go with different themes.   

























 These are a few of the free supports I have found so far.  If you know of others please share here and have a great year!




                    

                                

        


        
    

    


                

    

                



            

                

	classroom management Environment




            

            

                Free Seat Friday
            


            

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While teachers are reflecting on their routines, I wanted to share one of my favorite tips, Free Seat Friday.





In my opinion, one of the most important classroom management techniques is assigned seating, beginning on the first day of school.   A seating chart helps to make students feel safe and included.   It breaks up cliques, alleviates power struggles, and puts students at ease.   Without a seating chart, valuable time is wasted as kids come in and try to decide where to sit, usually waiting to see where their friends sit, some even ask other kids to move so their friend can sit there.  I think this undermines the atmosphere I am trying to establish.   Assigned seating sets the precedent that I am prepared and in charge of my classroom.  In addition, it allows me to grant my favorite reward: Free Seat Friday.  





 I want students to get to know everyone in the class and work well with whoever is next to them.  So I ALWAYS have a seating chart that I change every two or three weeks.  I also change the arrangement of the desks every few weeks.  The first day of school I usually just make a seating chart alphabetically by their last names.  I use that for the first few week until I figure out who works best where and I learn their names.  





However if you would like to make it more random, and introduce some animal cognates, you can use these free seat finders in French and Spanish.   I have used these animal cognates to assign seats to students on the first day of school. I printed two sets of cards: one that I hand out at the door, and one that is taped to the student desks. Students are handed a card at the door, and they must sit at the seat that has the identical card taped to it.   





After the first day, you can use these cards to form groups for any activity. You can make multiple copies and have students get in to animal groups, or you can use two sets and ask students to find the other person with their exact match. I laminate my set of cards so that I can re-use them each year and throughout the year.  








But here is the best part, if we have a good week, which means staying in the target language at least 90% of the time, then on Fridays they can sit where they want.  We call this Free Seat Friday and they love it!  They come in excited every Friday asking “Is it free seat Friday?  Can we sit where we want?”  It is the best reward and it costs me nothing.








I make a seating chart for each class and keep the charts on a clipboard.  I use this clipboard to document everything.  I take attendance on it, I document behaviors like cell phones out, I record TALK scores on it and generally write anything I want to remember on the seating charts.  During class, if I pick up my clipboard they seem to pay more attention because they think I am documenting something.  I call this the clipboard stroll.  When they are working with a partner or in a group, I grab my clipboard and stroll around the room.  Most of the time I’m not really writing anything, I’m just walking around with it, but they are very aware of where that clipboard is at all times.
 
I use a lot of movement activities in my lessons so students are never really seated too long anyway.  I also mix them up in pairs and groups frequently, intentionally, so we form connections.  If a kid tells me they don’t like where they are sitting I just say “don’t worry, you won’t be there for long.”








Even as an adult I prefer a seating chart.  When I was getting my master’s degree, I was in a cohort of students much younger than me.  The professors never made seating charts, and it was always “pick your partner or group” so after two years of meeting for the entire weekend, once a month, the class never really got to know each other and it was frustrating.  I even like seating charts for faculty meetings.  Teachers tend to stick to their departments or friends and I think we all benefit when we get to know and work with someone new, that’s how relationships are formed, and isn’t that what it’s really all about?