Engulfed in the Tide

I have been engulfed in the tide of school lately. Has that ever happened to you before? The great thing is that a lot of cool things have been happening in class. I have countless blogs to enter, just not the time to get in here and do it right. I hope that they get here.

I visited Joe Neilson in Tuscon, Arizona and it was such a great trip. What he does is phenomenal and I really wish that more teachers knew about it. I am going to write what I can, when I can, but I must say that what I learned from Joe was enough to completely change how I approach the input of tprs. This is huge because most of what we do centers around the type of input we chose to expose our spongy students.

There will be more to come, but I am not going to stress out about it. I am sure that you understand because you are probably a teacher, too, and you know what it is like to be engulfed in the tide. I only hope that the tide will rest enough to let me express some of these cool things. I think it will…

What was I thinking?!

Today, I had a story about a dog that was swimming in a fountain. To my surprise, I had students volunteer to be the dog. For most of the students this was great and I even had them on the floor [we have new carpet, by the way] swiming like Michael Phelps.

Well, my last period I had a girl voluteer to be the dog. This was her first time volunteering and what did I do? Did I play it safe and ease her in? Did I make it a safe experience so she will want to act again? Oh no. I had her on the floor swimming like all the other classes. After it happened, I realized what I had done and I wasn’t mad at myself, but I had the reaction of, “What was I thinking!? Wake up! You can’t do that to certain students. When are you going to learn that not everyone is as crazy as you are and ready jump in with two feet?”

Well, at least it was a learning experience for me and I hope that this student will want to act again. I think I am going to be a lot more careful about this stuff in the future. I have to be aware at all times of the students that I am dealing with and what will help them to feel safe  and valued in our class.

I should be back soon…

I recently got the flu and have been out of commision. I should be back soon.

The Sigmoid Curve of tprs

At times I have often wondered, “How far am I in the process of learning tprs?” and “How much further do I have to go?” Well, after asking several teachers I have come to find that there are no real concrete answers to these questions and everyone has their own take on it. One teacher states:

The learning process for TPRS is similar to that for other skills:  a sigmoid curve.   That is, you start off learning slowly and deliberately and keep practicing, then your skills take off after a short period of time, eventually you level off and slowly improve over time.  To get good, some teachers take 5 years, but I think you can do it faster if you are fluent and if you observe others and mimic their technique.

The first thing I wondered was, “What is a sigmoid curve?” and then “Should I feel guilty for not knowing that?” Well, either way I did what any other other self respecting American would do and looked it up on wikipedia.

This is a picture of a sigmoid curve. It basically looks like an S. It fits exactly the explanation that the teacher gave on tprs development. I don’t know where I am in the curve and it really is not something I should worry about. I will know when I level out. What I do know is that I am in the growth period because I feel like I am changing so much and I am continually finding new ways to improve how I reach kids. Maybe it will always be this way, but for now it feels like a roller coaster and it can get pretty exciting. I am glad that I have chosen this for my career because every day has something new for me.

Another teacher also commented on tprs development and he said:

Don’t worry about where you are in tprs. Remeber that it is a process  that you refine as go along. It is something that you learn to do by doing, practicing, being coached, and experiencing as a student. Basically, don’t worry about where you are. You are where you are and as long as you continue to refine you will be just fine.

I found these words to be very encouraging, too. I come from a musical background and constantly expect perfection of myself. I just need to take it one step at a time. It is just like taking a walk through a garden and removing the pedals from a rose. If you try to remove a pedal from a rose before it is ready, the pedal will tear. You cannot speed up the process, you just have to let the weather elements allow it bloom. So it is with tprs. We can subject ourselves to elements of experiences, but ultimately it is something that happens over time. I am excited to see what happens and to experience the blooming process.

A Stellar Cast

When we first start the year, how do we view our students? Much effort has been made in tprs to really welcome students and to respect them as creative individuals. I know this to be true and do my best to apply it every day. In his book, Push Back the Desks, Albert Cullum describes his view on students when they walk in for the first time. He states:

A sensitive teacher is always aware of the drama inherent in his* class. Every class contains a cast ready to play their roles in every subject matter area, and  the teacher, sensing the rhythm of his group, soon find his role too. It is not necessary for the teacher to always play the lead; frequently he  can twice as well in a supporting role. As the school year proceeds, a good teacher will realize that sitting before him, around him, or next to him is a stellar cast!

*Keep in mind that this was written at a time that “he” was used universally for men and women, so it also applies just as much to women as it does to men.

I found this to be incredibly insightful and it opened my eyes to how I view my students. Am I casting my students correctly for class? Am I paying attention to how they are as people before I put them in a certain role? These are good questions to ask because we want the right student in the right role. This will make the learning that much more powerful. With students in the right roles we will soon find that we have a stellar cast that is eagerly anticipating the next time we get together.

Students Taking the First Step

Lately, I have been noticing that some of my quieter students have been putting themselves out there and making suggestions. When I see this, I almost always choose the answer and I do this with a lot of enthusiasm.The reason I get so excited is because they are expressing trust in what we are doing and I want to let them know that it’s okay to trust our class. I want to make sure that our class is a place where students can offer up details without feeling ridiculed. I am always ready to go to bat for a student that has enough courage to suggest a detail. I feel it is my job to do so. If I don’t, who will?

When these students take a step and trust our class, it really makes the class a lot closer. I have observed that I am not the only one who notices this step. The students notice, too, and accept them into the club of creative people facing the same direction.

We Have Such an Opportunity

I have a student named “Larry.”  One great thing about Larry is that he is my best actor and never fails to have enthusiasm when performing for others. However, Larry is a different kind of student and not every teacher understands him. The truth about Larry is that he can be directed to do amazing things if you go about it the right way, but if you go about it the wrong way you may have a lot of problems. Larry is not a bad kid, a bully, or unintelligent. He is actually quite smart and creative, but different than most kids.

The other day, Larry walked into our class pretty upset. He had just come from the principal’s office because the teacher of the previous class doesn’t really understand Larry. Since it is gym class, Larry has to run a lot of laps because of his behavior. Now, I am not defending Larry’s behavior in gym. It’s true that he kind of runs his mouth a little too much. What I am addressing is how Larry is dealt with so that he can be as successful as possible.

As Larry entered the room it was clear that he was upset. He had been sent to the prinicipal’s office again and this time I think that Mr. Baker really laid into him. I knew Larry’s situation and I saw it as an opportunity to take Larry to a new level.

That day we were telling a story about a girl that couldn’t talk. She went to Anchorage, AK to Santa’s elves in order to get the secret medicine. As the girl travelled to different elves, none of them had the secret medicine and they kept telling her that different elves had it. It was during the storytelling process that I saw a window for Larry. The students kept suggesting names for the different elves. All quarter long, Larry had tried to suggest Peter Potter for every character, but I refused it. I was waiting for the perfect time for Peter Potter to enter one of our stories. As we were getting the names of the elves, I knew that Larry would suggest Peter Potter and I knew that this was the perfect day.

Well, the girl in the story finally went to the last elf. What was his name? Peter Potter, the most intelligent, wise, rich, and good looking elf of all. You should have seen Larry glow with pride that his answer was chosen and that he would get to act as Peter Potter. It was quite the performance!

It was at that moment that I realized what an opportunity we have. We  can change a person’s day in an instant with our stories. It is hard to deny that children of all ages have memories from their school days. Children will remember the good and the bad. Of course, they may not remember certain teachers at all. I am not sure which is worse, the bad or not being remembered at all. If we can sieze the moments of students like Larry, we don’t need to worry about making bad memories or being forgotten. We will be a part of countless good memories with our students. I can’t think of a better way to spend a career.

Questionnaires and Backward Planning

Starting last week I took a new direction with Backward Planning. I decided to pair them with the questionnaires that the students filled out at the beginning of the year. The results have been wonderful. Of course they will pay more attention when the class is completely about them. I already knew this, but some how missed the connection when I was first thinking about it.

At first we were making the stories about  stories about fictional characters. For example, There is a boy. His name is ____ and the students would make up some name. The students had a fun time coming up with names and I would get some of the most ridiculously funny names like Hillbilly Joe Bob IV. This is really funny, but in my opinion misplaced. My students helped me to realize that it is better if our students are the star of the show and more funny if they meet characters named Hillbilly Joe Bob IV.

The questionnaires that Anne Lambert developed are tremendous for PQA. The nice thing is that they open the window to so many story/ PQA possibilities.  Here are some things that Anne does:

Anne spends the first several weeks laying a foundation of CI to prepare them for the stories that they will tell and read later. Later, the foundation that was laid will help her students to know most of the words in the stories that they will tell and provide a way for her to introduce new vocabulary without overwhelming the students.

After the foundation is laid, she initiates the next phase where she begins her backward planning. She first chooses a text that she wants to read in her class. Then, she bases her story scripts completely off of the fluency structures [ex. goes to, laughs, takes, etc.] in the reading that they will do during as well as later in the week. The result is that the students understand the reading with 90 – 95% comprehension and their confidence is increased.

What I have started to do is to pair my Backward Planning Template with the Questionnaires. I have basically been doing the same thing without the scripts and putting the backward planning into the questionnaires. This has allowed me to start reading earlier with the hope that we will read more in class and be exposed to more novels. Since the novels have a lot of repetition, the students will continually be exposed to the same words while slowly gaining new vocabulary. Also, this provides reading for the students and we know that reading will allow them acquire the vocabulary at a quicker pace than any other form of teaching.

Here has been the plan:

1. I look at my backward planning words for the day.

2. I look at my questionnaires to see if there is something that will spark a story.

• A good story has a good problem.
• Example: If a girl says on her questionnaire that she likes to talk, then a good problem would be that one day she wakes up and lost her voice.
• Also I choose a student that has not been personalized very much
• The student is maybe some one who has fallen through the cracks, but also has the potential to be positive.
• These students will become the star of the story and will be mixed with the students who want to act, which will add an extra positive vibe to the story.

3. I choose a Questionnaire that looks like it has a good problem and put it on top of the stack of Questionnaires.

4. I go into class with my Backward Planning list, Questionnaire, and a good problem with a few details.

You may be thinking, “Why don’t you just write a script?” Well, if I write a script, it takes way more time. Also this frees me to ask questions as we create different stories in the classes, rather than being tied to a script. In each class, all of the stories have similar problems, but different outcomes and details.

If I have a script, I am not as free to go with a completely different story. For example, if the problem is that a student can’t talk in one class a girl looses her voice because she is sick, while in another class the girl can’t talk because her wisdom teeth were pulled out.  Both have the same fluency structures [ex. she can't talk] with different outcomes.

Also, it is more believable because I am able to go with the current climate and situation of my students that day, which is something that can’t be planned. And we all know how our students can change from day to day. Who can predict how our students will feel? For example, I didn’t know that one of my students was going to have her wisdom teeth pulled, but I was able to identify that and make it the centerpiece of the story.

I was free because I went into the story with a few details and a good problem. The backward planning helps to keep me focused so that I can make the reading we do later 90 – 95% comprehensible and also give the students the repetition that they need. Without the backward planning template, I may go way off and it will be CI, but my students won’t understand the reading we do later. I don’t have time for that and it also decreases the confidence of the students when they read. Let’s be honest, students need all the motivation they can get with reading these days.

It has been working better so far and I am curious to see where it goes. I am glad that it continues to evolve and that it is getting better than worse.

Energy

Most people who know me would say that I have energy in class. Outside of class I am a pretty calm person and you wouldn’t know it other than seeing me in class. I guess I really turn it on because  I know that it makes the language learning more meaningful and fun. In the past I thought I had energy, but then I saw Jason Fritze and I realized that I was mediocre. Well, this year I have turned the energy dial to 11. [Reference to This is Spinal Tap] Some days the students aren’t ready for it, but most days it keeps the class going. Last week, I was a little ill and the energy was really lacking. Consequently, so were the stories.

Well, I got more rest this weekend and now the energy is borderline psycho and I may need to calm down. I actually broke my foam sword today when I was coaching a student to during Pobre Ana. I know for some teachers the intense energy is not their thing and that is okay. I think a lot of teachers really feel that they have to be a nut in order to do tprs. This is simply not true. We can have energy in different ways and we simply need to find our own style. I would say that the majority of tprs teachers are not energy fountains.  When I saw Jason teach I really identified with his style and ended up copying some things. Actually, a lot of things. It works for me as long as I don’t loose my voice…

A Surprising PAT

My two PAT choices for today were “mono loco” and “movie day.” It was a big step for me to do the “movie day” because last year I really minimized how often I played movies in my lower level classes. I never saw a huge benefit from movies because I teach lower level class and often the movie was like i + 50. I decided to throw it in as a choice today because I thought it would be good motivation for PAT, but the students really surprised me.

Of all my classes today only two of them chose “movie day.” The other 5 classes all chose “mono loco.” I was surprised by this because I thought that students would just want to relax, but they didn’t. They actually wanted the community time of interacting with others. This tell me a lot about my students. It lets me know that the power of community and mixed is what people desire and not always being entertained by pop culture. Perhaps it was just today, but my students really showed me a lot today.