[ola] Re: Progressions
- From: Thomas Hinkle <thinkle@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: ola@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 18 Dec 2013 11:36:16 -0500
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
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