Although this year is winding down, I'm getting all wound up over technology. I'm excited about incorporating more technology in my new job this fall, and doing so mindfully. There is so much work to be done, and the more I try to clarify what I know, the more expansive my search gets. Class Dojo leads me to Twitter. Edmodo leads me to Schoology to Haiku Deck. Each gem I uncover is attached to an entirely differnent universe-sized mind-map of new information. I'm getting buried.
Evernote for organizing, note-taking, sharing, digital-portfolio building...
Schoology and Edmodo for classroom learning systems, online discussion, online quizzes and assignment submission...
Class Dojo and Student Action tracker for behavioral data... motivation
Twitter... I'm still stuck on Twitter. I have no idea how to use it or why I would, why I should, and the harder I try to make myself care about Twitter, the less interested I am in figuring it out. Ugh.
Answer Underground for networking regarding real-time help requests and digital collaboration...
Flipped Classrooms
So many ideas to dive into this summer.
11 June 2013
19 March 2013
Lessons from Édith Piaf
To French IV students:
What was the personal message you got from watching the film "La Môme"?
What was the personal message you got from watching the film "La Môme"?
- The message for me was not to regret small things, and to love all people because you don't know how they got where they are.
- The message for me is that the mistakes in my life don't have power unless I give it to them.
- A lesson in the film is "you have a life" because it is her message the entire time she was sick.
- The message for me is that you can destroy a life with too much love, you must have a life with more than one important thing in it.
22 February 2013
20 February 2013
Self-imposed road blocks
Overcoming the obstacles I've created for myself in my classes is wearing on me. I want everything prefect. My goals of teaching French in context are extremely difficult. They require so much more planning, and in the end, I much prefer my courses in this style than simply when following the book. However, I find my struggle to break away from the book is increasingly difficult when it comes to scaffolding students. They need the book. They love the structure of it. After 2 years of following page by page to get them to their third year, they are reluctant to leave it.
We start each day with 90 minutes of class. Although I haven't used the book for all videos and quizzes, I've relied a lot on the worksheets and book exercises to help learn the language and grammar concepts.
The students are working on the ideal Monarch project. I need to blog about this later, how it's going and how I'd like to change it.
Things I'd like to create:
Things on the agenda this year:
We start each day with 90 minutes of class. Although I haven't used the book for all videos and quizzes, I've relied a lot on the worksheets and book exercises to help learn the language and grammar concepts.
The students are working on the ideal Monarch project. I need to blog about this later, how it's going and how I'd like to change it.
Things I'd like to create:
- Est-ce que je peux posters for all conjugations.
- Est-ce que je peux poster for various locations
Things on the agenda this year:
- Teach 6th graders French
- French Wedding reception for the Personal Finance Class
- Read Les Misérables in English
11 January 2013
Scatterbrained
There are so many things that I want to incorporate in my upcoming classes that I can't keep it straight. So I've decided to compile a list here to keep my ideas in one place. Even though I have a hundred apps for this exact thing, such as Evernote and Mindmapping software, nothing beats making a dang list.
French III Honors
French III Honors
- Context: Louis XIV, French Revolution, Napoleon.
- Text: Les Misérables annotated edition from Barnes and Noble
- Literature Circles on Fridays
- Text: Chapters 1-5 for grammar points and vocabulary building, but NOT for context.
- Using Technology to support instruction and encourage self-directed learning
- Edmodo? (create online quizzes about verb conjugation that are automatically graded)
- Evernote?
- Googlesite for the entire class
- Epals?
- Kidblogs for online portfolio
- iPad apps for instructional uses
- iPhone/Android apps for student support
- Common Core: Multiple Sources
- Les Mémoires de la Marquise de la Tour du Pin
- Daily News reports
- Radio France portions
- RFI for audio with transcripts
- Context: Studying French through film analysis
- Text: Discovering French Blanc (Nouveau!) for grammar and vocabulary resources
- Using Technology to support instruction and encourage self-directed learning
- Edmodo? (create online quizzes about verb conjugation that are automatically graded)
- Evernote?
- Googlesite for the entire class
- Epals?
- Kidblogs for online portfolio
- iPad apps for instructional uses
- iPhone/Android apps for student support
- Common Core: Multiple Sources
- Daily News reports
- Radio France portions
- RFI for audio with transcripts
- Film reviews and texts relating to film
- Context: Qui suis-je, et pourquoi?
- Text: Discovering French Bleu(Nouveau!) as curriculum basis, chapters 3-6
- Using Technology to support instruction and encourage self-directed learning
- Edmodo? (create online quizzes about verb conjugation that are automatically graded)
- Evernote?
- Googlesite for the entire class
- Epals?
- Kidblogs for online portfolio
- iPad apps for instructional uses
- iPhone/Android apps for student support
- Common Core: Multiple Sources
- Daily News reports
- Radio France portions
- RFI for audio with transcripts
04 November 2012
The New Challenge: Technology
I spent this past weekend at the NHAWLT conference in Meredith, NH. It was incredible! The focus of my conference choices was technology, of which plenty were offered. I'm losing the interest of French I students after the first two weeks, which makes me sad. I am tired of teaching "J'ai faim, tu as faim?" and seeing their eyes glaze over...
After sitting in front of my laptop, and trying to mindmap digitally, on paper, in a word doc, etc... I decided to do a new blog post from my notes from the conference. Rehashing what I took down will help me sort through what my goals are... plus, it will probably be helpful to language teachers looking for a kick in the pantalons, technologically speaking...
The two most influential sessions I attended were by Becky Rush and Jocelyn Judge.
Every teacher in my building is blessed with an iPad. So here is what I learned...
I can use my iPad as a document camera. By hovering over a document, I can snap a photo to save the work. I've been doing that with my whiteboard to save notes for later. Here is a final exam from last year's senior class: The Little Prince. What is on your planet, and why?
After sitting in front of my laptop, and trying to mindmap digitally, on paper, in a word doc, etc... I decided to do a new blog post from my notes from the conference. Rehashing what I took down will help me sort through what my goals are... plus, it will probably be helpful to language teachers looking for a kick in the pantalons, technologically speaking...
The two most influential sessions I attended were by Becky Rush and Jocelyn Judge.
Every teacher in my building is blessed with an iPad. So here is what I learned...
I can use my iPad as a document camera. By hovering over a document, I can snap a photo to save the work. I've been doing that with my whiteboard to save notes for later. Here is a final exam from last year's senior class: The Little Prince. What is on your planet, and why?
I can also use my iPad to document student participation, something I do with paper, but prevents me from producing reports beyond "hey look at all these little marks I made!" The program is called Student Action Tracker, and can be found here:
http://download.cnet.com/Student-Action-Tracker/3000-20415_4-75583892.html
I'm told it can also be used on an iPhone, or iPod, which is much smaller, and useful when the students are using the iPad and I can't get to it. I've loaded it all up, and am planning on starting to use it tomorrow.
The first session I went to was about using http://www.kidblog.org as a platform. What I like about it is that there is one main blog page where all activity is posted as a sort of status update, and when you click on the activity, it takes you to the individual's personal blog. This is far more favorable to 30 people sharing ONE blog, and then blowing up the main page.
The blogs foster digital conversation, allows students to catalogue their work, upload images, mp3 links, and functions as a digital portfolio. I can correct their posts online by changing the color of errors, or making notes on their errors, for them to go back and fix. The author of the session, Becky Rush, says she only corrects once, then what's done is done.
She posts digital assignments on her blog for kids to access. She posts links to listening or reading comprehension sites and then requires students to respond on their own blogs in the target language. She uses Audacity to create soundfiles. iPad will also do a voice memo the same way, and we were also told that the website Audioboo is a great resource as well. I will save this info here to check out later.
21st Century Learning Skills require that students are literate in technology. Even though I may not know how to use the technology in minute detail, the kids will figure it out. That's part of developing the 21st CLS, no?
There are a few programs that Rush used to create products, awesome products, that require reflection and synthesis to demonstrate aptitudes. The first was Photo Story 3, which I promptly emailed my tech guy and requested that he download to every machine in the labs. Digital slide shows of photos that students narrate vocally, and can insert subtitles. It prompts you to do every little step, so there is less time spent on formatting and screwing around with settings, and more time spent on creating. It does not work on a mac, however. (sniff!)
Story Jumper: Creates a digital book. The finished product belongs to the company, however, and cannot be dowloaded, only linked to, or you can purchase a hard copy.
The iPad training by Mrs. Judge and Mr. Wong was about using 1 iPad in the class. The student action tracker was explained there. So was using the iPad as a document camera, as a white board with the app "Show Me", which allows you to save what you've done in a video. Judge prepares her notes, and plays the video for the class, and it is saved to be used next year. She also uses it for pictionary, and can upload the videos to the school website. This is helpful to students who were absent, they can get the notes. Another version of this is Explain Everything or Doodle Cast Pro, which cost money. Show me has a free version.
iCard Sort allows you to import lists of words in Excel, and gives you a desktop covered in flashcards that you can manipulate. It is great for kinesthetic learners, and helps with sentences creation and word order.
Quickvoice records students speaking for verbal assessments.
Guided Access is a setting on the iPad that prevents students from touching parts of the screen that you want to disable. Was sooooo excited to discover this!!!
Choices is an app that I downloaded that is a random generator.
Planbook.com is an online planner that I want to look into for my classes. It has a student code so students can see what they are doing. Also allows you to bump today to tomorrow if you don't complete the lesson, or if there is a snow day. $12/ year.
Polleverywhere.com is a free way to have exit polls, students can submit responses online or via text. it's free.
What to do with all this info?!!!
I had to get it out of my brain. Now that it's out... I can begin to sort.
At the conference I set up a kidblog for my French II class. Now I am going to work on developing it. Until plus tard...
08 March 2012
Taking Credit
I have been a bit sad that my year seems less productive than I wanted it to be. While I think of this, i have to keep in mind that my post-grad school exhaustion plays a factor in my lack of productivity, but I also have to acknowledge the work that I've done. Once I give myself credit for the word I've done, I should do that. Take credit for it. :) Here goes:
I re-invented the curriculum for an entire French IV immersion course, consistent with my praxis. Although this is not by any means the finalized version of my curriculum, this is one of the best courses I've ever taught, I do believe. This course utilized explicit grammar lessons, philosophical discussion, film analysis, and literature circles, all with the goal of discussing concepts in context. I also managed to bring 6 students up to speed who were far behind where they should have been after French III. Yay me!
I've been integrating technology into my courses this current semester by using Edmodo to provide an online discussion forum for my French III course. We discuss French history. Unfortunately, most of this takes place in English at this point, but at least we're getting the ideas down. I've also embraced the usefulness of the textbook as opposed to fighting it for the sake of fighting it. Another way I've embraced technology has been to start using Evernote. I'd like to learn more about incorporating it into class for my students, and I hear that some of the teachers and administrators have discussed using it for student portfolios. I love this idea. I want to be in on it.
Last, but not least, I've been working on developing an independent study version of my courses because one of my classes has only three students of various abilities and attendance patterns. In order to meet the needs of each student, they have to be individualized. One student receives highly structured activities, while the other two are given an list of objectives, and are then allowed to work on their own towards meeting them. So far my kids are all working well on their own. I have to work hard to make sure that it doesn't become a tedious routine for them.
That's 50% of the courses I teach right there, where I'm doing something great.
The rest of the time I'm sticking to the old standby. Basic language instruction peppered with intellectual discussion and conversation about concepts when I can fit them in.
Chin up, Mademoiselle! You're doing just fine. Rome wasn't built in a day.
I re-invented the curriculum for an entire French IV immersion course, consistent with my praxis. Although this is not by any means the finalized version of my curriculum, this is one of the best courses I've ever taught, I do believe. This course utilized explicit grammar lessons, philosophical discussion, film analysis, and literature circles, all with the goal of discussing concepts in context. I also managed to bring 6 students up to speed who were far behind where they should have been after French III. Yay me!
I've been integrating technology into my courses this current semester by using Edmodo to provide an online discussion forum for my French III course. We discuss French history. Unfortunately, most of this takes place in English at this point, but at least we're getting the ideas down. I've also embraced the usefulness of the textbook as opposed to fighting it for the sake of fighting it. Another way I've embraced technology has been to start using Evernote. I'd like to learn more about incorporating it into class for my students, and I hear that some of the teachers and administrators have discussed using it for student portfolios. I love this idea. I want to be in on it.
Last, but not least, I've been working on developing an independent study version of my courses because one of my classes has only three students of various abilities and attendance patterns. In order to meet the needs of each student, they have to be individualized. One student receives highly structured activities, while the other two are given an list of objectives, and are then allowed to work on their own towards meeting them. So far my kids are all working well on their own. I have to work hard to make sure that it doesn't become a tedious routine for them.
That's 50% of the courses I teach right there, where I'm doing something great.
The rest of the time I'm sticking to the old standby. Basic language instruction peppered with intellectual discussion and conversation about concepts when I can fit them in.
Chin up, Mademoiselle! You're doing just fine. Rome wasn't built in a day.
12 January 2012
What are your caterpillars and butterflies?
"Il faut bien que je supporte deux ou trois chenilles si je veux connaître les papillons." says the Flower in the Petit Prince.
Or, translated, "I had better be able to deal with two or three caterpillars if I want to experience butterflies."
So I asked my six seniors to explain to me what their caterpillars and butterflies are. Here are their responses.
"I must face all people in order to find the good. The majority of people that I meet are not worth my time, but others along the way have revealed themselves to be worth it."
"In order to attend my cheerleading competitions, I have to endure many basketball games. I love the sport of cheerleading, but the basketball games are very long and take time away from homework and practice."
"I really want to have a car, but I am saving my money so I can pay for textbooks in college. I have to try to gou without a car in order to buy things that important for me later."
"When I broke my toe, I saw how much I missed out. I love to play basketball and I had to stay and watch all the games and practices. I was dependent on others and I hate that. But now that I'm back, I will never take basketball for granted."
"The caterpillars in my life are the English language. It's not important to learn the language perfectly when I'm learning a new computer programming language."
--I'm not exactly sure what his papillons are...
Or, translated, "I had better be able to deal with two or three caterpillars if I want to experience butterflies."
So I asked my six seniors to explain to me what their caterpillars and butterflies are. Here are their responses.
"I must face all people in order to find the good. The majority of people that I meet are not worth my time, but others along the way have revealed themselves to be worth it."
"In order to attend my cheerleading competitions, I have to endure many basketball games. I love the sport of cheerleading, but the basketball games are very long and take time away from homework and practice."
"I really want to have a car, but I am saving my money so I can pay for textbooks in college. I have to try to gou without a car in order to buy things that important for me later."
"When I broke my toe, I saw how much I missed out. I love to play basketball and I had to stay and watch all the games and practices. I was dependent on others and I hate that. But now that I'm back, I will never take basketball for granted."
"The caterpillars in my life are the English language. It's not important to learn the language perfectly when I'm learning a new computer programming language."
--I'm not exactly sure what his papillons are...
11 January 2012
Back at it
In two weeks I begin teaching three new classes of French I, French II, and French III Honors.
My goal for French III Honors is to survey French history from Louis XIV up to Napoleon, and then focus on WWII.
Seeing as how I have no formal training on the French Revolution, I've been doing research.
Last weekend was the first weekend after grad school when I really felt like I have my pizzazz back.
I've missed my pizzazz.
What's an improv jazz artist with no pizzazz?
No good, that's what.
My goal for French III Honors is to survey French history from Louis XIV up to Napoleon, and then focus on WWII.
Seeing as how I have no formal training on the French Revolution, I've been doing research.
Last weekend was the first weekend after grad school when I really felt like I have my pizzazz back.
I've missed my pizzazz.
What's an improv jazz artist with no pizzazz?
No good, that's what.
05 January 2012
Ballad to my students
Dear students.
I love you dearly.
So please don't eat Doritos in my classroom. They smell terrible.
I love you dearly.
But if you start out another sentence with "Hey Mlle, you know what you should do?!....", I may just give you extra homework.
I love you dearly.
Especially when you are being your hilarious, goofy selves.
Thanks for being you.
I love you dearly.
So please don't eat Doritos in my classroom. They smell terrible.
I love you dearly.
But if you start out another sentence with "Hey Mlle, you know what you should do?!....", I may just give you extra homework.
I love you dearly.
Especially when you are being your hilarious, goofy selves.
Thanks for being you.
25 October 2011
Amélie
So I showed my favorite French movie of all times to my French IV film class: Le Fabuleux Déstin d'Amélie Poulain.
I suppose I should have known better. The group is mostly boys.
At the end, when Nino and Amélie kiss, they all laughed. Laughed! Like "Haw haw haw" laughed!
I suppose I wasn't expecting that reaction, but it tells me that they are definitely uncomfortable with displays of affection.
That's ok. I'm not bummed that they didn't get it, but it definitely changed the experience of the film.
For our project we're going to start to do bits of film. They've written, now they will create. They have to write their own introduction to the film Amélie, then film it, and narrate it themselves. Should be interesting. I'm a bit burned out on trying to find out their emotional involvement in the film. Let them play.
I suppose I should have known better. The group is mostly boys.
At the end, when Nino and Amélie kiss, they all laughed. Laughed! Like "Haw haw haw" laughed!
I suppose I wasn't expecting that reaction, but it tells me that they are definitely uncomfortable with displays of affection.
That's ok. I'm not bummed that they didn't get it, but it definitely changed the experience of the film.
For our project we're going to start to do bits of film. They've written, now they will create. They have to write their own introduction to the film Amélie, then film it, and narrate it themselves. Should be interesting. I'm a bit burned out on trying to find out their emotional involvement in the film. Let them play.
03 October 2011
Advisory
Advisory is a section that I'm supposed to lead twice a week, for 30 minutes. I have nine students, all varied ages, grades, social groups, backgrounds, everything. The one thing that they have in common is that they are all quiet, and they are all shy.
Extremely shy.
No one wants to talk.
they are all willing to participate in advisory, for the most part.
But they are terrified to talk out loud.
And I'm stuck.
What do you do with nine shy kids? Color the whole freaking time? I am realizing that I have no clue what to do with them. All of my tricks work with outgoing, social kids willing to participate and take risks.
I feel shut down by these kids because they don't want to talk. It's 30 minutes devoted to conversation. What am I supposed to do?
This frustrates me beyond belief.
I hate advisory.
Extremely shy.
No one wants to talk.
they are all willing to participate in advisory, for the most part.
But they are terrified to talk out loud.
And I'm stuck.
What do you do with nine shy kids? Color the whole freaking time? I am realizing that I have no clue what to do with them. All of my tricks work with outgoing, social kids willing to participate and take risks.
I feel shut down by these kids because they don't want to talk. It's 30 minutes devoted to conversation. What am I supposed to do?
This frustrates me beyond belief.
I hate advisory.
15 September 2011
Français IV Devinition: Power
Le pouvoir c'est l'abilité de contrôler, changer, ou faire un différence dans le monde.
Power is the ability to control, change, or make a difference in the world.
Power is the ability to control, change, or make a difference in the world.
13 September 2011
French IV Updated Schedule
Week 1: Review
Week 2: Cinéma
Week 3: Entre les Murs: theme: Power
Week 3: Entre les Murs, and Le Scaphandre et la Papillon. theme: Power
Week 2: Cinéma
Week 3: Entre les Murs: theme: Power
Week 3: Entre les Murs, and Le Scaphandre et la Papillon. theme: Power
Small Victories
Thanks to a set of grammar books I bought from Teacher's Discovery, I'm able to pull some balance into my classroom with regards to irregular verbs. The passé composé, however, continues to be an absolute nightmare for my seniors. Ugh. Next week we will be undertaking the imperfect tense. I think that will go much better.
I had my students do a photo project based off of a Lexique du Cinéma, which can be found here:
http://www.institutfrancais.de/cinefete/IMG/pdf/CINEFETE12_Petit-lexique.pdf
They did an excellent job using the different perspectives as part of the story. Then I heard this on NPR: http://www.npr.org/2011/09/13/140403979/wonderstruck-a-novel-approach-to-picture-books
A story about an author who was inspired to illustrate his book in a cinematic way to develop the words the way that movies do.
The students all used pictures of themselves in their photos, so I can't really regenerate them here. But i wish I could. Some of them are quite brilliant.
Seems like I'm right with the times.
I had my students do a photo project based off of a Lexique du Cinéma, which can be found here:
http://www.institutfrancais.de/cinefete/IMG/pdf/CINEFETE12_Petit-lexique.pdf
They did an excellent job using the different perspectives as part of the story. Then I heard this on NPR: http://www.npr.org/2011/09/13/140403979/wonderstruck-a-novel-approach-to-picture-books
A story about an author who was inspired to illustrate his book in a cinematic way to develop the words the way that movies do.
The students all used pictures of themselves in their photos, so I can't really regenerate them here. But i wish I could. Some of them are quite brilliant.
Seems like I'm right with the times.
25 August 2011
Links: Teaching Film Analysis
My French IV course is grounded in the study of films. I'm in the process of developing the course further from my experience last year. I'm posting some links here that I found useful, but also so that I don't lose them.
This site lists all of the links below, as well as links to teaching various films in English:
http://teachfilmstudy.com/filmStudy.htm
An article about teaching film study to increase literacy: (Excellent!)
http://hhsdrama.com/documents/UsingFilmtoTeach.pdf
Companion to above article, step by step resource for teaching films:
http://hhsdrama.com/documents/OrganizingaFilmClass.pdf
A Paper by an English teacher, How to Read a Film:
http://sites.unc.edu/daniel/131spring99/papers/Mazer.html
The importance and benefits of using media correctly in class: Research Article
http://hhsdrama.com/documents/Nonoptimalusesofvideointheclassroom.pdf
PBS Resource: Analyzing Film in the classroom:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/learningresources/fic.html
The Director in the classroom: Useful site for film making, desktop movie making
http://www.thedirectorintheclassroom.com/resources.php
AFI Curriculum for Film Study (Filmmaking Course)
http://hhsdrama.com/documents/AFIScreenEducation.pdf
Yale Film Studies Guide
This site lists all of the links below, as well as links to teaching various films in English:
http://teachfilmstudy.com/filmStudy.htm
An article about teaching film study to increase literacy: (Excellent!)
http://hhsdrama.com/documents/UsingFilmtoTeach.pdf
Companion to above article, step by step resource for teaching films:
http://hhsdrama.com/documents/OrganizingaFilmClass.pdf
A Paper by an English teacher, How to Read a Film:
http://sites.unc.edu/daniel/131spring99/papers/Mazer.html
The importance and benefits of using media correctly in class: Research Article
http://hhsdrama.com/documents/Nonoptimalusesofvideointheclassroom.pdf
PBS Resource: Analyzing Film in the classroom:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/learningresources/fic.html
The Director in the classroom: Useful site for film making, desktop movie making
http://www.thedirectorintheclassroom.com/resources.php
AFI Curriculum for Film Study (Filmmaking Course)
http://hhsdrama.com/documents/AFIScreenEducation.pdf
Yale Film Studies Guide
11 August 2011
French III (Second Semester)
While working with another French teacher, I stumbled across the Essential Questions that I'll be using for French III Honors in the winter semester.
- How are human beings valued by society?
- How do we measure this value?
- How do I value others?
- How do I value myself?
- How do I want to be valued by others?
Course Outline
The French Revolution
Films: Ridicule, Marie Antoinette, Instructional DVD: La Révolution Française (TF1)
World War II
French IV: Coming UP
So I'm planning my curriculum for the French IV film class. Here's what I'm looking at, as far as chronology:
Week 1: Language review through (film critiques?)
Week 2: Cinematic vocabulary, concepts, film study introduction
Film 1: Entre les Murs concept-Education/Cultural Identity
Film 2: Persepolis concept-Home/Family/Cultural Identity
Film 3: A La Folie, Pas du Tout -Perspective vs. Reality
Film 4: Amélie -Love and Stereotypes
Film 5: La Haine -Hate and Action/Reaction
Film 6: Student-produced film for final exam project demonstrating understanding one of the concepts studied in the course, as well as use of film techniques studied in the course.
Week 1: Language review through (film critiques?)
Week 2: Cinematic vocabulary, concepts, film study introduction
Film 1: Entre les Murs concept-Education/Cultural Identity
Film 2: Persepolis concept-Home/Family/Cultural Identity
Film 3: A La Folie, Pas du Tout -Perspective vs. Reality
Film 4: Amélie -Love and Stereotypes
Film 5: La Haine -Hate and Action/Reaction
Film 6: Student-produced film for final exam project demonstrating understanding one of the concepts studied in the course, as well as use of film techniques studied in the course.
21 June 2011
Update: the Original Immersion Kids (OIK!)
So I just got my class lists for next year. On the 17th Nov 2010 I posted about how the immersion program was working for 5 of my 8 students. These same 5 students signed up for my French III honors class.
5 OUT OF 8!
Woohoo!!!!!
Now... grammatically they are way behind....
Vocabulary-wise, they have some catching up to do...
But, THEY ARE HOOKED!
And they want BOOK WORK! They want to learn GRAMMAR! They want WORKSHEETS!
Sooooooo, I will have these students in the second half of the year next year. That means I have some time to prepare them before christmas. Maybe we will do some after school tutoring in French to get them a bit caught up...
I'm soo looking forward to being able to plan thoughtfully, structure my courses, and do it right, starting with an essential question. I'm so excited to give them a meaningful experience. :) yay Immersion! thanks Liz. You're the best.
5 OUT OF 8!
Woohoo!!!!!
Now... grammatically they are way behind....
Vocabulary-wise, they have some catching up to do...
But, THEY ARE HOOKED!
And they want BOOK WORK! They want to learn GRAMMAR! They want WORKSHEETS!
Sooooooo, I will have these students in the second half of the year next year. That means I have some time to prepare them before christmas. Maybe we will do some after school tutoring in French to get them a bit caught up...
I'm soo looking forward to being able to plan thoughtfully, structure my courses, and do it right, starting with an essential question. I'm so excited to give them a meaningful experience. :) yay Immersion! thanks Liz. You're the best.
16 June 2011
My Reflections:
I asked my students to tell me what they found difficult about the class, how they overcame this difficulty, and what they want to change.
I found planning very difficult. I was overwhelmed by the amount of work necessary to plan an immersion course, and was often exasperated and tired, desperate to make it interesting.
I also struggled with keeping the class in French because the students resisted using the French. Two out of three classes complied, but my class of juniors wore me down, and eventually I lost my energy to continue the fight for French. I gave in during World War II. Many students in this class mentioned that they liked the immersion and thought it was great, but these were the kids I fought with the most about using the French. (!) more exasperation.
I tried to overcome these difficulties by stretching myself too far, by trying to crack down on language and by modifying the participation rubrics in order to remove some of the subjectivity from the grading. Some students accused me of playing favorites, and I understand their point of view because some students actively demanded my attention much more so than others. Other students avoided me, and in trying to accomodate them all, I lost the group in the middle, I think. I don't quite know how to go about fixing this, and that troubles me. But I think it troubles me because I want to fix all of the things that were bad this year by flipping an instant switch. I have a lot of work to do.
Next year I will be able to contribute more time to my planning. I look forward to planning more creative and shorter lessons, based on concepts that I will spend time developing and researching. I look forward to having an overview of the course before I teach it, with much more development and preparation. This year I spent so much time today just planning tomorrow. i was never ahead of the game, and many days I just wanted to let the kids do nothing because I was so exhausted, although I never gave in to this. WWII and the Ma Vie en Rose movie took waaaaaaayy too long! I have no idea of the length of time that would be necessary to go through these lessons.
In short, this year I felt like a first year teacher in many ways. I'm very angry about a lot of my shortcomings this year, and the way they negatively affected my students learning opportunities. I can only blame so much of this on being in grad school and therefore having less time. The rest is because of my over-ambition, my lack of perspective on the amount of work I created for myself, and the shallow depth that I barely managed to reach because of the breadth I expected of myself, and of my students. While they spoke more French, and experienced their dream of "less textbook", there were so many lost opportunities, so many undeveloped lessons that I taught, so much blatant return to exactly that which I was trying to avoid: meaningless information. In expanding too quickly I reduced myself.
In order to move beyond this depressed outlook, I remember the Woody Allen quote about failure. I can be uplifted by my need to improve, and as one of my students tells me "Reflect your reflections". I will continue to work forwards, but hopefully in the future, I will work smarter, smaller, and deeper.
I found planning very difficult. I was overwhelmed by the amount of work necessary to plan an immersion course, and was often exasperated and tired, desperate to make it interesting.
I also struggled with keeping the class in French because the students resisted using the French. Two out of three classes complied, but my class of juniors wore me down, and eventually I lost my energy to continue the fight for French. I gave in during World War II. Many students in this class mentioned that they liked the immersion and thought it was great, but these were the kids I fought with the most about using the French. (!) more exasperation.
I tried to overcome these difficulties by stretching myself too far, by trying to crack down on language and by modifying the participation rubrics in order to remove some of the subjectivity from the grading. Some students accused me of playing favorites, and I understand their point of view because some students actively demanded my attention much more so than others. Other students avoided me, and in trying to accomodate them all, I lost the group in the middle, I think. I don't quite know how to go about fixing this, and that troubles me. But I think it troubles me because I want to fix all of the things that were bad this year by flipping an instant switch. I have a lot of work to do.
Next year I will be able to contribute more time to my planning. I look forward to planning more creative and shorter lessons, based on concepts that I will spend time developing and researching. I look forward to having an overview of the course before I teach it, with much more development and preparation. This year I spent so much time today just planning tomorrow. i was never ahead of the game, and many days I just wanted to let the kids do nothing because I was so exhausted, although I never gave in to this. WWII and the Ma Vie en Rose movie took waaaaaaayy too long! I have no idea of the length of time that would be necessary to go through these lessons.
In short, this year I felt like a first year teacher in many ways. I'm very angry about a lot of my shortcomings this year, and the way they negatively affected my students learning opportunities. I can only blame so much of this on being in grad school and therefore having less time. The rest is because of my over-ambition, my lack of perspective on the amount of work I created for myself, and the shallow depth that I barely managed to reach because of the breadth I expected of myself, and of my students. While they spoke more French, and experienced their dream of "less textbook", there were so many lost opportunities, so many undeveloped lessons that I taught, so much blatant return to exactly that which I was trying to avoid: meaningless information. In expanding too quickly I reduced myself.
In order to move beyond this depressed outlook, I remember the Woody Allen quote about failure. I can be uplifted by my need to improve, and as one of my students tells me "Reflect your reflections". I will continue to work forwards, but hopefully in the future, I will work smarter, smaller, and deeper.
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