Thanks Cathy, helpful! My goals this year are based on evaluating progress in all strands, reading, writing, speaking. Should be interesting. Part of my own interest in these goals is to be more proficient myself at evaluating their levels so I know where they are and where we need to go before second year. From: ola-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ola-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Cathy Bird Sent: Wednesday, December 18, 2013 12:34 PM To: ola@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [ola] Re: Progressions In a conference last year, I heard a speaker say that if you want to assess reading comprehension, you need to do it in L1 (not level but language 1). That makes sense to me, but I don't want English in my classroom. I could eval with comprehension questions as homework or as a MonkeySurvey done as HW. But really, I am not worrying about their level of 'input' but rather their output. I am evaluating their writing, their speaking, their progress on OWL skills, but not the level of language they comprehend. That type of eval usually requires use of English. I found it hard to let go of the idea of evaluating all the time, but with OWL (and I am a new, yet very passionate user) the point of reading (in my opinion) is to broaden their output, add words to their brains if possible, and to have them begin connecting what they hear with the written word. It is a tool to improve spoken and written output only. That gives me permission to have students understand to their level, ask for clarification if they need it, and then move on. Some readings just aren't that interesting. Some spark to life. If you feel you must evaluate the reading, I can think of a few traditional ways that could be adapted to fit (?) OWL: 1. have them draw what they understood in picture frames. 2. Or give them sets of words that are known and they circle which ones best fit the reading. These are the kind of things my youngest has done in K, 1st and 2nd reading classes (L1). The best way to evaluate them is to have them tell you what they understood and what think or what they can describe after reading. 3. give them a video recorder and 2 minutes to share their thoughts. Good luck! - and please shout out if this is a convo better done OFF the listserve. Cathy Bird, via iPad On Dec 18, 2013, at 1:20 PM, "Young, Lisa" <lyoung@xxxxxxxx<mailto:lyoung@xxxxxxxx>> wrote: Nice ideas thank you! How about actually assessing the level though? Comprehension questions? From: ola-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:ola-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> [mailto:ola-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Cathy Bird Sent: Wednesday, December 18, 2013 11:58 AM To: ola@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:ola@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Cc: ola@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:ola@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Subject: [ola] Re: Progressions For L1, I dip back into the text they bought (and that I no longer use as before), as there are good articles in it. I have also had them 'read' YouTube videos for young kids, where the words pop up with the song. They read each other's sentences, both in journal and on white boards. For French, I find that the more authentic the text (ie. People Magazine on-line) the more impossible it is for ME, let alone students, but I still try sometimes. I also use the Scholastic magazine that I subscribe to, which is still quite real, but is kept light, short and sweet. I still have to look up vocab, since I am no longer hip and au courant, but the topics appeal to my MS students and they are a successful struggle. I don't feel like I have good sources, really. I would love to have MORE, but don't have tons of time to find a vein that I can go back to time and again as our OWL topics shift. Anyone? Cathy Bird, via iPad On Dec 18, 2013, at 11:39 AM, "Young, Lisa" <lyoung@xxxxxxxx<mailto:lyoung@xxxxxxxx>> wrote: On the topic of L1 texts, what are you using? Also I am wondering what tools any of your are using out there to measure reading ability? From: ola-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:ola-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> [mailto:ola-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Thomas Hinkle Sent: Wednesday, December 18, 2013 8:36 AM To: ola@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:ola@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Subject: [ola] Re: Progressions To me, the issue of grammar and the issue of units are two separate issues. I think there's a *lot* to be said for focusing on competencies rather than grammar, as Arnold pointed out in a recent post to this group. I'm becoming more and more skeptical, however, of the OWL belief in not having units. For me, as a teacher, I find I can get in a rut and easily not introduce nearly enough material. Often my best days (and I'm currently *not* using units) are when I quickly grab onto something from the kids and use it as a base for teaching a particular vocabulary area (yesterday we did cleaning, for example). My current plan is to design units of vocabulary for next semester to make sure I am teaching a breadth of material and not getting bogged down with kids reviewing the same old words or topics. I'll let folks know how it goes, but I am suspicious that organizing my class into "units" will (A) give the kids a feeling of security and structure (B) improve the variety of topics and engagement that I get from kids (C) inspire me to do a better job bringing in L1 texts and materials for kids to practice with. Tom On Wed, Dec 18, 2013 at 11:02 AM, Young, Lisa <lyoung@xxxxxxxx<mailto:lyoung@xxxxxxxx>> wrote: I am another one struggling to make sure the grammar piece is included so I explain to my parents that I actually teach a modified version of the OWL program. I had a conversation recently with my feeder school teacher who told me that she is happy when the kids come in to Spanish 2 with “Lots of vocabulary” and able to conjugate verbs in present, preterite and present progressive. I guiltily will take days to explain in English certain grammar concepts that I am trying to teach in the circle. I try not to do this and am convinced as my program develops with my younger kids I won’t have to do this anymore. One thing I have done staying in the language that I think helps is showing student work examples that are correct and then modeling on the board and in the language what is not correct. My little kids are another issue because it is difficult for me to stay in the language with the discipline issues that arise. K-2 will totally tune my out in the language and it is hard to stay in the language with them and keep their attention. Maybe someone out there has some good advice for me? From: ola-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:ola-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> [mailto:ola-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:ola-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>] On Behalf Of ANGELA STEPHENS Sent: Tuesday, December 17, 2013 3:12 PM To: 'ola@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:ola@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>' Subject: [ola] Re: Progressions Calysta et all, I find that I too am leaning toward the UNIT driven class though it stresses me out because I feel like I am not being “faithful” to the OWL though we do aim for 100% Spanish and I do not have desks or chairs. Most of my kiddos have no issues sitting on the floor when we sit and they absolutely love using the small whiteboards for a variety of activities. The small whiteboards are available through Carlex and Teacher’s Discovery for fairly reasonable pricing. We also use them as hard writing surfaces, so they are multi-purpose. The grammar stuff is not an issue for me at this point because I am the only Spanish teacher in my building, but I do worry about how the kids will transition to the next level. From what I am seeing, my 6th graders are adapting to the speaking and accepting the “lack of grammar instruction” much better/easier than the 8th graders who spent time in the traditional classroom style setting. For example, my 6th graders are always trying to tell me stories about what happens in their lives in Spanish, even with their limited Spanish vocabulary. They draw, act out, point, and mimic just like we really do in authentic situations. One such story was told by a young lady who was trying to tell me that her mom, her sister, and grandparents had gone to the pier to watch the boats for someone’s birthday and her mom turned quickly and dropped her Bluetooth in the water. She knew azul and pointed to a tooth in her mouth, I was quite confused but when she pointed to her ear, I finally understood that she meant Bluetooth for her phone, and the story became funny to all of us. We then were able to add vocabulary for cell phone and technology and money, stuff we would never traditionally cover in an exploratory level class. This story stemmed from the student next to her mimicking that he likes to go fishing. Just the fact that kids are using the language, without the fear of making mistakes or looking foolish/uncool, is so awesome to me. This is what we all work so hard to accomplish. This makes changing the “rule for teaching” so worth every sleepless night! Thank you all for sharing in this journey! Angie From: ola-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:ola-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> [mailto:ola-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Calysta Phillips Sent: Tuesday, December 17, 2013 1:07 PM To: ola@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:ola@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Subject: [ola] Re: Progressions Yes! I know I am NOT ALONE in doing a traditional UNIT driven class in the CIRCLE. How do I know my circle is Unit driven? In Spanish and French 2 we are wrapping up a "Doctor/reflexive verb/body parts" unit. In Spanish and French 1, we are wrapping up "Classroom/Emotions/Prepositions of Location/estar/ir" Unit (Avancemos 1, Unidad 2 anyone?)...While I left room for a lot of "extra" stuff to come up, we were hanging ornaments on the very tips of my predetermined branches... The good news???? I FINALLY GOT RID OF MY DESKS!!!! :) I did it, Darcy! The bad news???? Still not letting it go, letting the Question Hook Sequence happen... feeling "obliged" to my department that they arrive at levels 3 and up with a knowledge of the grammar.... Who else is teaching traditional "UNITS" in the circle... bringing the agenda to the table? I have several things stopping me: Fear Department Alignment Lack of knowledge/comfort with ACTFL levels and progressions to really be able to monitor my students that way. Would love to know who else is in my boat. Thanks! Calysta On Sat, Dec 14, 2013 at 4:21 PM, Call Daniel <dcall@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:dcall@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote: Very helpful, Ricardo. I still feel that I could use a lot of practice and mentoring with this, but every little bit helps. Dan From: ola-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:ola-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> [mailto:ola-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:ola-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>] On Behalf Of Ricardo Linnell Sent: Saturday, December 14, 2013 11:46 AM To: ola@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:ola@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Subject: [ola] Progressions Hey Everybody, I wanted to take a moment to talk about progressions. I am sure that quite a few of you understand how to use them in your classes, but there are probably as many or more teachers who are unsure of exactly what it is, much less have the confidence to unleash it in your classes. I felt like that for a long time, until I was able to visualize it and draw it. A progression as a visual, looks a lot like this (see photo). You have the central topic, either dictated by vocabulary from that day, the previous day or such. For many of you who have been through one of Darcy's workshops, you probably remember the types of questions that we used in one part of the workshop. Creating relevant questions around the topic is a great way to generate interest and motivation to speak. IE: we are wrapping up a Canned Food Drive at my school and so we counted our cans and it was just an instant, built-in topic for the class. I asked them to discuss in groups the reasons for giving food during the holiday season. I gave them a couple of minutes to speak and then asked 2 or 3 of them to tell the class their reasoning. We got time, money, resources, things...etc out of the students as far as vocabulary were concerned. I asked the students to discuss the different types of resources that they felt they could offer to those in need. Again, more discussion. Finally, the last question was if they had a friend, family or if they themselves ever had a need to rely on the Oregon Food Bank or another organization for food and resources. If so, to explain what that experience was like. This all happened within the course of no more than 15 minutes. It can go longer or shorter, depending on the amount of questions, activities or depth to which the class goes. I hope that everyone has a wonderful holiday and vacation. I hope this helps. Ricardo -- Thomas Hinkle English & Spanish Department Coordinator Innovation Academy Charter School