[ola] Re: Progressions
- From: Thomas Hinkle <thinkle@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: ola@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 19 Dec 2013 21:43:25 -0500
Darcy,
What I find myself questioning are principles or "values" 4 & 10:
On Thu, Dec 19, 2013 at 7:45 PM, Darcy Rogers <rogersdr25@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> *Units, textbook, Progressions & Threads *
>
> This is a topic that has come up a lot recently on the listserv and I
> would like to share some thoughts with you all. I appreciated an earlier
> post about how there was a personal disagreement with OWL’s philosophy of
> not using units. Firstly, I would like to clarify that there is no official
> OWL stance on using or not using units, there is no official OWL stance on
> anything to be honest, just a series of values, created by teachers, that
> can guide us as we try to find practical strategies for our classes. (I
> have attached these values if anyone would like to see :)
>
> Starting from the values, according to the value of students guiding the
> curriculum, the biggest issue with both the textbook and pre-prepared units
> is that there is no space for student interest to drive the curriculum.
> Often times the book or units do not reflect the appropriate language level
> either, but rather pre-determined grammar sequences or topics that in
> truth, many times do not even correlate to their language level or
> interest.
>
> Our challenge is to find ways to create Threads and Progressions that
> relate to student interest AND their language level. Here are some
> definitions to guide the conversation:
>
> A* thread* is a way to connect students with students, and students with
> teacher, to create an engaging and relevant space for language acquisition
> to occur. Threads are happening everyday, all day, in our native languages.
> Creating or following a thread is what sustains face-to-face conversations,
> social media comments, text and phone conversations, magazine articles and
> the newspaper. As an OWL teacher, we practice developing the skill of
> recognizing how to pull threads from real-life happenings and build
> progressions off of them. Simply put, a thread is a topic and we react to
> any topic that comes up as we would in our native languages.
>
> A *progression* is how the thread is stretched and manipulated to
> practice, reinforce and further develop communication skills. Progressions
> can last 5 minutes or 5 weeks depending on the language level and/or
> interest of your student. Progressions are an important part of the
> post-planning process and should always include supporting literacy
> components throughout. (Essentially a progression can also be called a
> ‘mini-unit’, the difference is that is not pre-determined, and is born from
> the students. A progression lasts as long as you feel the topic has been
> explored sufficiently and/or student interest maintains. It could also
> relate to how they have used the functions in the topic. You may still want
> to encourage them to express opinion or compare or describe more with that
> topic.)
>
> The goal of a progression or thread is to reinforce the students’ language
> level and push them to the next one:
>
> What level are they currently at?
> What skills are they currently exhibiting?
> What needs to happen to push them to the next level?
> What skills / functions do they need to be able to do to
> achieve
> that?
>
> The whole goal of a typical unit is to find a way to drive curriculum.
> Thematic units are a way of taking it and making it applicable to the
> students and their lives. Those are good things. However, take it one step
> further, and think about how to create ‘mini-units’, or threads and
> progressions that are happening in response to what is happening in class.
> That elevates student interest!
>
> This post continues with some more practical applications. Stop here, or
> continue reading to see some examples. I will also attach the continuing
> part as a document
>
> ---------------------------------------
>
> *Practical Application and Example: *
>
> Units, that is ‘mini-units’ or progressions are constantly happening in a
> student-based (OWL) classroom. Essentially, a progression or thread is a
> mini-unit that occurs spontaneously, or sometimes can be something that you
> know is coming up, so you might plan for it (Again, that may or may not
> happen ;). For example, you could plan for a ‘winter’ theme, but instead
> out comes something different. Recently, I planned for Xmas vocab, but
> instead a girl wore a Batman shirt to class and out came superheroes, so my
> ‘mini-unit’ totally shifted. For the next day, I then planned an activity
> where we talked about the characteristics of superheroes, and they had to
> write about those characteristics, etc. That could lead in to a progression
> where we talk about heroes and who are heroes in our lives. We could even
> bring in famous people, and incorporate Nelson Mandela and authentic texts!
> The idea though is that we are constantly weaving together oral activities
> and literacy activities so that they are using the language at and above
> their level.
>
> Having a pre-prepared unit, for example, on reflexive verbs, daily routine
> and clothes might feel safe, but it is often more work because you have to
> come up with activities to make it feel relevant (often forced). Although
> it is attempting to create an interesting unit for students, it usually
> happens at a level when 1)They’re not ready for that kind of grammar 2)
> They may or may not care about it 3) Memorizing lists of clothes is boring.
> How about instead, wait until something in class happens with someone’s
> morning, or there’s a disruption in a schedule (like a snow day) to talk
> about what our routines are, and who does what when (do you shower at night
> or in the morning? Who has dinner with their family? Etc.). The grammar
> would not be taught, but rather students could see the patterns of when
> they are using or not using reflexive verbs. It’s introduced and that’s it.
> Then maybe brought back later again in the year. Then again later on. The
> point is that students will be able to talk about things that actually
> matter, when it matters. You also will not need to teach every reflexive
> verb. Bring in the ones that relate to the topic, then move on. Don’t kill
> them with irrelevant grammar at an inappropriate level. When they are ready
> for it, they will begin to ask about it, if they have been exposed to it.
> Also, you do not need to teach every clothing item. Teach two or three that
> are relevant to the convo and move on. Or don’t connect clothes to it at
> all! Whatever the topics are, they can be shifted.
>
> This then leads to planning. The last set of lesson plans sent out were an
> attempt to show that planning can be simplified. If you have your base
> structure, and your toolbox of activities, then just planning in your
> ‘Thread’ or ‘Progression’ makes it happen quicker. You just plug in the
> content and authentic texts, which is constantly shifting based off the
> class. You will find that once you get your structure down, lesson planning
> will become quicker and more effective, since student interest is driving
> it!
>
> Having a student-based classroom is possible and can be more fulfilling
> since students will be truly driving the curriculum. If you were to make a
> list of all of the topics in your textbook, or pre-planned unit, that you
> want to teach, I bet you will be pleasantly surprised to see that those,
> and more, will come up in a student-centered environment. The goal is
> simply to provide a structure where there is space for student interest and
> language development to happen.
>
> *Let's share some thoughts on how this is possible in your class, starting
> with where you are right now. *
>
> Below is an example of what a thread or progression could look like. Of
> course, it could be adjusted based on language level.
>
> Examples:
> A student mentions something about the student lunches. Boom: a
> progression or thread (mini-unit if you will) on healthy food standards.
> Start the progression with:
> What do you eat for lunch?
> What does the school offer?
> Is it healthy or not healthy?
> What is considered healthy?
> How many of you eat a healthy breakfast?
> Bring in a food pyramid. Activities based around that.
> Have them bring in food pyramids from other countries.
> Compare
> health trends.
> Talk about what kinds of foods there are in different
> countries (do
> they think it’s the same as here?). Share your own stories (In Ecuador for
> example, no burritos or tacos, all potatoes, meat & veggies. Challenge
> stereotypes)
> Show the pictures of the ‘Hungry Planet’ (groceries from
> countries
> around the world)
> Where would they like to live, based on the food?
> What do they usually eat in a day? Keep track of what they
> eat for 3 days.
> Etc…..
>
> Possible assessments and/or real life application:
> -If they had to open a restaurant, what kind of
> food would
> they offer and why? How could they create a healthy restaurant?
> -What would you do to change the food in the
> cafeteria?
> Who could you talk to about that?
> -Do a food drive at school for less fortunate
> families
> -Go grocery shopping at the local store (field
> trip!)
> -Write a letter to the principal about (yes, in
> the L2-of course
> she speaks Chinese! :) about why they should change the food in the
> cafeteria.
> -Pen pal from a country of L2 about what they eat
> -Get ideas from what other classes are doing to
> see if it can
> relate
>
> See what new threads come up off of any of these possibilities, then turn
> them in to progressions! At any point and time, this may detour off in to
> something else. Follow it at the point you want, and begin a new sequence
> of questioning, mixed with oral & literacy activities that include
> authentic texts. What activities relate to the topics that are coming up?
>
> The trick also is to begin practicing questioning sequences and observing
> your students. What can you pull from them?
>
> *Darcy Rogers*
> Organic World Language (OWL)
> Phone: 541.601.4509
> Fax: 541.776.4099
> Website: www.organicworldlanguage.com
> Facebook: tinyurl.com/organic-language-facebook
>
>
> El Jueves, 19 de diciembre, 2013 12:09 P.M., Ricardo Linnell <
> hurricanetumbao@xxxxxxxxx> escribió:
> Hey Everyone,
>
> I am a bit confused now because I thought this thread was to talk about
> progressions. Anyway, I will address the Text issue quickly and then we can
> set up a gotomeeting to talk about the ideas and use of Progressions in
> classes.
>
> I do not use any text from textbooks. I am not saying that the text from
> textbooks is bad to use, but I don't use it because I feel it is not
> genuine for the most part. I prefer to use authentic texts. Also, though I
> do agree that it is possible to assess student comprehension by having the
> students say what they understood from an L2 text in English, I do not
> think it is the best practice. I feel that level-appropriate questions that
> are based on the authentic text being used, are the most interactive way to
> not only assess what a student is comprehending, but also a way to get
> students to interact more with the text and with each other. That is why I
> recommend the book 21 Cuentos from Teachers Discovery. It has very short
> texts and on the other page from the reading, it has a series of questions
> (all in the L2) that students can use to interact and gauge their
> comprehension of the text.
>
> What I have found to be true about reading authentic text is that the
> students pick up the grammatical structures and those structures over time,
> show up in the students' writing. As it becomes regular in the writing,
> then the speech patterns begin to develop more (sometimes it is the
> opposite, but they both help each other out). I just feel that the L2 text
> should be addressed (in whichever way we can) by an L2 assessment piece.
> Just my two cents on this topic.
>
> "Don't kid yourself. The students understand far more than you could
> possibly imagine they do." - Ricardo Linnell
>
>
> On Thu, Dec 19, 2013 at 10:40 AM, Young, Lisa <lyoung@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> Interesting thanks!
>
> *From:* ola-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ola-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] *On
> Behalf Of *Rebecca Rice
> *Sent:* Thursday, December 19, 2013 9:30 AM
> *To:* ola@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> *Subject:* [ola] Re: Progressions
>
> Texts that work for my Spanish 2 class are short stories where there is
> some clear, identifiable vocabulary and there are obvious themes. From
> there we talk trama, do a ton of vocab repetition and tell our own stories
> with similar themes and vocabulary. We learn vocab through actions and
> drawings and "test" our understanding through games of memory or other fun
> vocab games.
>
> You can find a lot of these stories online and Blaine Ray offers some
> good stuff through the TPR stories.
>
> Becca
>
> On Thu, Dec 19, 2013 at 9:22 AM, Thomas Hinkle <
> thinkle@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Just to clarify, by L1 texts I meant L2 texts, ie target language
> texts (maybe that shows how much I've internalized the 100% L2 goal?).
>
> I have trouble finding good texts that are accessible. I try to draw
> heavily on magazines (both physical and online). For low level students,
> I've used a lot of advertisements in the past because they are heavily
> contextualized. One thing that happens to me is that I go back to the same
> kinds of texts again and again when I'm just doing a conversational class,
> which is why I want to experiment with a more unit-based curriculum,
> because I think it will actually be easier to look for an appropriate,
> accessible text that connects to "la casa" or "la política" or "las
> amistades" or what have you than it is to find a text without a clear
> anchor to begin with.
>
> Tom
>
> On Wed, Dec 18, 2013 at 11:36 AM, Thomas Hinkle <
> thinkle@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> 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> 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] *On
> Behalf Of *ANGELA STEPHENS
> *Sent:* Tuesday, December 17, 2013 3:12 PM
>
> *To:* '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<ola-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]
> *On Behalf Of *Calysta Phillips
> *Sent:* Tuesday, December 17, 2013 1:07 PM
> *To:* 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> 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] *On
> Behalf Of *Ricardo Linnell
> *Sent:* Saturday, December 14, 2013 11:46 AM
> *To:* 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
>
>
>
>
> --
> Thomas Hinkle
> English & Spanish Department Coordinator
> Innovation Academy Charter School
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
--
Thomas Hinkle
English & Spanish Department Coordinator
Innovation Academy Charter School
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