Ask any non-teacher what are three things that a teacher is responsible for and they’ll inevitably say one of those is the grading/assessing of student work. It makes sense, we are the ones that went to school for this and we do have the higher level of proficiency in the language. But why should we be the only ones who hold this precious responsibility?
As I continued along my path to proficiency based teaching I realized the overwhelming importance of student buy-in. By “buy-in” I mean cuing students in on the decision making and explaining not just what is going to be done in class but also explaining why we’re doing it. I applied this approach to grading and took a step back to allow students to assess written work. To start this I took our department’s Presentational Performance Assessment rubric and gave each student a blank copy. Along with the rubrics, students received two paragraphs that mimicked an upcoming performance assessment asking them to write a Yelp Review of a local Spanish/Latin American restaurant. For this particular activity I wrote the two paragraphs because it was the first time I gave this assessment but in the future I will be saving student work to use as well. From there, students worked with their partners to grade the work according to the rubric. For most I think it was the first time they had ever really looked at the language of the rubric and began conceptualizing the difference between one category and another. The conversations started out as “oh that was so good” or “oh my that was rough” and gradually turned to debate. “This is an intermediate mid because he/she uses connected sentences”, “yes they talked about culture but it’s very stereotypical”, “do the errors really interfere with communication” were among the tremendous conversations I overheard. Later, as a full class we analyzed the two pieces of work section by section of the rubric and I continued to take a step back and not insert my opinion. After the discussion came to a conclusion I shared my opinions with the class and most of the time we were in sync in our decision making. I will admit that there is one element of this that was out of the ordinary for me and that was the use of English in the class. Normally I’m persistent on the use of Spanish 90% of the class but I chose for this class to be in English on purpose. Feedback is one of those chosen 10% times for me and this activity was a class long opportunity to give/receive feedback with students leading that discussion. As a result of this activity, the performance on the next assessment drastically changed. I saw profound cultural connections, long, connected sentences and personalized vocabulary that I believe would have been absent without this kind of activity. I also saw many kids use the “well written text” as a model in their own preparations at home and followed the format as they wrote their own Yelp Reviews.
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This year I was given the liberty to take a lot of risks in my own teaching style with my students which has been truly inspiring. One of the biggest changes that I embraced was the idea of student generated vocabulary lists and getting rid of the old fashion list of words that may or may not go with my thematic unit.
What is a student generated vocabulary list? A student generated list is a way for students to take control of their language learning and gain a sense of autonomy in their learning. I essentially hand my students a blank chart (with categories) and throughout the unit the students fill in their own glossary based on what they find necessary to communicate and complete the unit can do statements. How do I prepare for this? I plan out my objectives, performance assessments and authentic resources and develop a list of 10-15 critical words for the unit. Now, these are critical to me but may not be critical to the students. I call them critical because I consider them to be the bare minimum of what a student would need to interpret texts, speak interpersonally and write presentationally. I keep these words in a Google Doc with my lesson plans and remind myself to recycle these in instruction as much as possible. Then, in the days leading up to the unit I take the time to get some student input. As an exit ticket I give students the performance indicators for the unit and ask them what words they already know in Spanish and also what words in English they predict that they will need to complete the objective. I compile these words and keep them with my essential list and recycle these as much as possible. This ensures that my words are not the only ones that are given importance. Here's a sample of what I give my students and what I compile at the end. How do students organize their list? When we receive our unit packet, students receive a new list. The list is divided into 6 categories- Descriptions, Things, Actions, People, Places and Phrases. Students are then responsible for classifying the words. This list is kept out constantly and is encouraged in all moments of the class (except assessments). Where do they get the words? Warm Ups- Each day we do a warm up in class and often I choose to do a picture warm up. It’s simple yet sets students up to prepare vocabulary. I show six pictures on the board and students listen to my statement where I describe one of the concepts while using some new vocabulary words. Students are responsible for writing the letter of the picture I’m describing and the new word in the sentence. These words are reviewed and expanded upon. For example if the word is “fiesta de cumpeaños” we then brainstorm other kids of parties and add those on the board. If the kids don’t know the word we circumlocute until the word is clear and identified on the board. Students choose which of these words to add to their list based on the communicated can dos and what they want to be able to use. Authentic Resources: Whenever we have a new authentic resource students are being exposed to tons of new vocabulary. Sometimes the necessary vocabulary is pre-taught in the warm ups and sometimes I allow students to discover the words in the resource. Students find words through questions asking students to identify a word, questions asking them to infer meaning from context or from a word they see repeated that’s essential to the reading. While we’re working with a resource students have their list available to use and add to as needed. Cómo Se Dice- The dreaded question... But with this I’m giving them a bit more responsibility with that question. If a student has a word that they need and feel the need to ask how to say it they must show me that the word’s importance. If that question is asked in class the student must then write the word on their list. Do all students make their own list? What happens if they don’t? So, truth be told, you can’t make someone do something. In reality there will always be students that won’t fill out the list without severe motivation and encouragement. However, aren’t there also students with a traditional vocab list that don’t use it? The best way to avoid this is to show students the value of that list. For example, I will show students sample paragraphs and have them grade the writing on our department rubric. Through these little exercises, students have begun to realize the connection between a personalized vocab list and their performance. Is this actually better than a regular list? The differences are incredible between a teacher created list and a student created list. With a teacher list you can predict what every writing and speaking will be like with very little variety. With student centered lists you see such personalized variety in each student’s writing/speaking. And the best part I’ve seen is that the words they learn are recycled more frequently than from the old lists. What do the kids REALLY think? The most important question. So I took that brave step and asked them what they thought during our mid year reflections. Overwhelmingly my students LOVED their own lists. I have to admit...I wasn’t expecting that. One girl said “it’s so nice to not be told what to do and choose what I think is important and what’s not”. In other words, our students don’t want to be treated the same but instead want to be given independence and want a voice in what they’re learning. Usually my summer vacation is a time of travel and relaxation. Last year I spent most of it in Spain or by the beach. This year I'm continuing with the beach theme but decided to give myself a few goals to help me in my classroom in August/September.
So just like my honors kids who diligently complete their summer reading, I too picked up some reading with the hopes of improving my ability to teach reading. I purchased The Teacher's Handbook to Contextualized Language Teaching and spent many an afternoon sun burning and taking notes. Going into this self-driven assignment, I looked back on last year and saw great strides in my students interpersonal and presentational language but wanted to work more on improving interpretive reading in particular. Authentic texts really brought my classroom to life and lead to some thought provoking conversations and some powerful writing. That being said, I knew that input was so important so I wanted to make sure I was maximizing my time with authentic resources so I hit the books and this is my take away so far. Take Away #1: I've been doing way too many texts. I drove myself crazy looking for a different authentic text or video for every lesson last year. This lead to this bank of incredible resources and one very exhausted teacher. The more I read and research I'm realizing that I'm not doing enough with the same text and really only hitting surface level thinking. Each resource I use has the potential to be seen in multiple viewpoints and they can lead to many different kinds of tasks. So there's no need to stress next year in finding a perfect resource for every single class. Now I can find a truly excellent resource and use it to do more! Take Away #2: Don't be afraid to make a reading last multiple days. Not to try and pass the blame but I think my school's schedule last year had an impact on this practice. With only being able to see students every other day it made me feel that students didn't see the relationship from one class to another other than the theme. In the book I've been reading I learned about an approach called the Interactive Model for Interpretive Communication which would align well with my style of teaching. -Preparation phase- preview or setting background for text -Comprehension phase- skim text for gist or main idea -Interaction/Discussion phase- work in pairs/groups to discuss and use the text as the launching ground for a meaningful conversation -Creativity phase- present the information in a fun/original way -Extension phase- compare this text to another or revisit this text with new focal point Take Away #3: Students need to be prepared before the reading. This makes so much sense and is such a crucial step. Think about it. You don't pick your next Netflix series to binge by pressing a random button or having someone assign it to you. You get the background or get some preparation before jumping into it. Our students need this same kind of preparation before they start reading. My idea is to incorporate this into the warm up to set the stage for what we are going to do today. It doesn't have to be a huge production but just enough so that students don't have to interpret the text while also figuring out the context of where the article came from. The more pre-work that we can do the more work we can do with the text. By no means do I think that my first assignment is "complete" but I'm very happy with my work in progress. If you have any suggestions for assignment #2 please let me know! Have you used the "F" word lately? No, I'm not talking about some vulgar word a student said in class. I'm talking about a word so seldom heard when talking about teaching- FAILURE.
We as teachers have perfected the art of positive portrayal. In other words, we only like to showcase what went amazing, what will catch people's eyes on Twitter and what will prove to the world that you are a good teacher. And while it's essential to enjoy those glorious moments, we must also find an appropriate way to talk about what didn't meet expectations. What a scary thought, huh? Telling the world that today's lesson didn't go well. Sharing with someone that resource you chose or an activity you designed that didn't go according to plan. Does that mean they're going to think less of me as a teacher? If the answer to that is yes, then they clearly don't understand what it means to truly be a teacher. Day in an day out we have success stories but we always have room for improvement. During my student teaching my amazing supervisor from Stonehill used to say "it doesn't matter how the lesson went, it's the reflection after the lesson that shows your ability to teach". Those powerful words confused me at first but after a few years in this field I truly understand what she's saying. Everyone has bad days but it's how you reflect and implement change that demonstrates your true teaching superpowers. So here I am challenging teachers to not always share their best work but also to share what flopped. Here are two of my failures this week that I'm looking back on and changing for next time!
See I did it. Failure. Three examples on the internet for people to see. It's slightly scary to think that this is public but I'm proud of this. Am I thrilled that I failed...well I wouldn't say thrilled but I am happy those moments happened. Now I know what I did and it's time to reflect and prepare for another day! This past month I saw a challenge posted on #langchat and while I'm still new to the game, I wanted to contribute however possible.
The goal is to post your top 10 go to tasks that you do in your classes with an eventual goal to have a top 100 list from teachers of all grade levels. I challenge all teachers to try this! Here is my top 10: 1. Question Master- When we watch a video I don't like giving multiple choice or basic comprehension questions (see my last blog post). Instead I ask students to listen and write questions for their group members. They can write comprehension questions, personal reaction questions or questions about unsure ideas. This helps them practice asking questions and lets them focus on different aspects of the video/audio. They then get together with their groups and ask and answer these questions. It makes these discussions much more fluid and let's me assess their comprehension in a different way. 2. Elevator Talk- This is a great warm up to gauge where students are in a unit. Imagine you are in an elevator and have 30 seconds to pitch your idea to a complete stranger. Now apply that to the language classroom. Person A has 30 seconds to answer a question with as much detail as possible. Person B has to listen and will have 45 seconds to repeat the ideas that Person A mentioned. Then the roles switch. I usually mention that when they switch they can't repeat ideas. This is a great way to introduce new sentence starters "as you said" "you have mentioned" "you discussed" "you just said" which provide new language chunks. 3. Circumlocution- This is another great activity that is similar to taboo (another go to activity). One person can see the board while their partner has two words and a picture to describe without saying the words. It's their goal to find creative yet effective ways to describe these words. I choose the practical words that are related to the theme that could be needed in real-life situations. (See this example). 4. Menti Meter- I love using mentimeter.com for so many different things. Sometimes I'll do word splashes to see what three words best summarize a reading or infographic we've looked at. There's a setting to write short posts or tweets that can also be used when summarizing. 5. Google Classroom Discussion Questions- Interpersonal writing can be a difficult thing to practice in class but Google Classroom makes that easier. I post a question and allow students to see each other's posts and respond to them. I'll assign this and ask kids to read, react and continue the conversation. 6. Interview Ladders- This is a trick I learned from Señora Shaw. Give students a sheet with a few interview questions based on the theme. Students write any key words in English (only for clarification). This helps boost confidence to make sure students know what they are asking. Then, they create a few more of their own original questions. Students then interview each other but only write simple notes to stay fully engaged in the conversation. Later, we write sentences summarizing/analyzing their data. (See this example for French 1) 7. Role Play- This is my favorite activity of them all. Asking kids to take different roles is absolutely amazing to watch. Kids really take on their new persona and you see them use personalized language, reactions, questions, vocabulary, different structures and more. My favorite so far was in my Contemporary Life unit in Spanish 4 where we did mock interviews for a company to answer the essential question of what is valued in today's workforce. 8. PACE- This is the new approach to teaching grammar as a concept (see my previous blog post). I choose an authentic resource and ask students to do simple input activities (true/false, matching, sequencing etc). Then, with guided attention and co-construction we extend the lesson to practice with new language structures in the thematic context and without direct grammar instruction. 9. Photo Circles- Students are extremely engaged when they walk into the room and notice pictures posted around the room. When it's time for the activity, each group of 2 has about two minutes to discuss their observations, their opinions or a cultural comparison. Each activity is slightly different but generates some really meaningful conversation. (See this French 2 example) 10. Bloom's Days- This sounds a lot fancier than it actually is. Each group member receives three-five tokens which is meant for each time they contribute to the conversation. On the board I put a discussion question related to our theme. The questions start at the lower end of Bloom's taxonomy and progressively increase and become more advanced and higher level. (Example 1 Spanish 4, Example 2 Spanish 3) Let's be real, as language teachers we love the joy of finding that perfect authentic resource. And as much as I love the thrill of the chase, sometimes we have to take a step back and have our students engage with them differently.
We are always talking about connecting our language curriculum to the target communities, right? What better way to do this than using the never ending resource at the tip of our fingers- Twitter! Think about how our students would define their "community". For them it would be anything in their immediate surroundings. And in most situations their immediate surroundings include a notification of a like or retweet on their phone (that hopefully doesn't go off in class). That app is the clear connection between your classroom and the outside, digital world. This year I decided to start experimenting with Twitter in class in a variety of capacities. During a unit on immigration in my Spanish 4 class we looked at a variety of articles, infographics and videos that were all very informative and often eye-opening. These were great tools to help students learn the facts but they weren't really what I'd consider the modern day way of staying informed. And how many of those kids are really reading news articles of watching videos? Maybe if we're lucky a select few. But one thing is for sure, we all know they are checking Twitter. We started the activity thinking of different hashtags that summarize our immigration unit. #inmigrantes #lamigra #coyotes #indocumentado #construyelapared were some of the ideas we came up with (which also served as a great check-in to see how students would simplify the ideas of immigration). From there I told students to go on Twitter and look up those hashtags and discover the infinite amount of information on the topic. As they found tweets, they copied them onto a shared Google Doc for everyone to see and I asked them to write a quick reaction to what they read. They found such a variety of tweets and their responses integrated perfectly our class discussions with their own personal opinions. It was a #proudteachermoment I'm so excited to try this with my other classes this year. French 1 is working with a family theme and I'm sure there are hilarious family photos out there we can tweet about. And in French 2 we are going to be talking about food waste and at first glance the infographics are jumping off the page to spark conversation. And the best part is that in the time it took you to read this post, thousands of tweets have been posted and anyone one of those could be your next #authres |