[ola] Re: Progressions
- From: "Young, Lisa" <lyoung@xxxxxxxx>
- To: "ola@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <ola@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 18 Dec 2013 20:16:41 +0000
Nice ideas thank you! How about actually assessing the level though?
Comprehension questions?
From: ola-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ola-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
Cathy Bird
Sent: Wednesday, December 18, 2013 11:58 AM
To: ola@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cc: 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
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