Story asking 101: getting student "buy in" from day 1

Before I knew that CI/TPRS was a thing, I tried to teach my class in a similar way. I saw through my own small children at home that direct correction hardly ever changed my son's usage of "runded", no matter how badly I wanted him to use "ran". My kids would stay with me for an entire Walmart or Target trip if we made-up stories about the things we saw in the store. They would talk to me if I added sound effects to their stories. *Bing*, "Maybe I should teach Spanish this way. It's a whole lot more fun and my son's speech is improving by leaps and bounds."

That said, I had a HUGE amount of learning to do (and still do!) to really help my students. Trying to get random stories to flow in a way that promoted grammar intuition, that met my district's vocabulary standards was really hard. Thank you IWLA for having a conference to make my world complete.

Story Asking

In TPRS, we often "tell" stories, out loud, to our language students. We find tons of cognates, slowly introduce new vocabulary (that is clearly defined by writing on the whiteboard), and repeat ourselves until we are blue in the face. This can be very difficult to do on a whim and it can be difficult to "stay the course" and not let our enthusiasm take us astray.

Instead of truly telling a story, we actually make statements (There was a girl). Then we ask our students to confirm, deny/change, or add to the story.There lots of great resources, including the Green Bible, that explains this in detail.

My Struggle

I knew this wasn't going to go as well as I wanted the first few times. I didn't know how to circle "correctly" and I wasn't sure I was going to remember to hit the key grammar points like I needed to.

Spanish 1 was easy, describe a person, short interactions, problem, resolution. They had limited vocab so it was easier to manage.

Then I bought the "Look, I can talk" series from Blaine Ray and realized that scripting wasn't really for me. I LOVED the student workbook for reading and organizing my focus for the day.

What I did about it

I told my students what I was doing

I teach high school now, so my kids are old enough to have a good conversation. I told them about my textbook Spanish class in high school. They looked at me in horror. I told them:

"So here is my idea. I think it would be fun to make-up stories in class. I will be the crazy charades lady, and you will participate... and be patient. We are all new at this and I think it is going to be a ton of fun, but I am learning too. So if you promise to give it your all, to listen to me repeat myself a bajillion times, I promise not to give you grammar worksheets. If you stay focused, roll with me when I need to regroup, I promise not to give you a textbook. Deal?"  (They all agreed enthusiastically every time.)

I told my principal what I was doing

I told my principal that I was trying something new and would like a few days to practice it. He asked if I wanted him to stay out of my room. I almost said yes, I'm glad I didn't. I gave him a "this has research, this is best for my kids- promise, and I need you to come in and tally mark my questions, please". So he did. It was great. He saw me learning, he saw students learning, and the most important part: he saw a community of learners supporting in each other in a committed and focused manner.

 I found a flow that worked for me

I do not follow the "script" 100% and I deviate a little from the "core principals" on occasion, but it works for me. I am happy, my students are happy, and it flows. I would rather be a bit off-center and still be on the path than on the path filled with pain, self-doubt, and crabbiness.

Especially in my upper levels, I circle a lot less. They really want the story line to move along and see the character development. I still ask for them to change the story around, but not as repetitive. **I do some direct grammar instruction with my levels 3 and 4 (dual credit) so they develop not only an "intuition" but also a deeper knowledge of the "why".

How story asking looks now

It is my second full year into TPRS (with knowing it exists). I had my first day of classes today with my B day students. I have a large Spanish 2 class (for our school size) and was worried with going semi-deskless and full into flex seating that it would crash and burn. It was great.

I did my required syllabus stuff and then said, "Let's do a story". They cheered and adjusted to look front and center. I front loaded the vocab, gave a note sheet (this class is odd in that they want to write everything down, it works for them and I'm glad they know themselves well enough to communicate that), and then paused to review expectations.

Me: "Clase, what are my expectations of you during this story?"
Collective group: "Focus, no English, answers- the weirder the better!"
Me: "Prefecto mis estudiantes inteligentes. Una mas cosita. You need to tell me to slow down if you are sinking. Be clear about it (giving samples of hand signals) so I know you are confused and not simply gassy."
Collective group: *Giggles* "Deal."
Me: "Clase. I am trying a new story today so I have my paper out. You may need to remind me where we are at in the story at any moment. Clase, listos?"
Collective group: "Si, estamos listos."

It doesn't get better than a male-dominated class, filled with "too cool" football players, getting excited for story time. Not just excited, but active.

When it bombs

What happens when a story flops. You get nothing from the kids, you feel it not going well, you get a quiz back showing no growth, what then?

I try to stop when the class disengages. There are three options that work: when the kids are tired, there is either 1) pause for continuation next class, 2) the story quickly ends, normally very tragically, or 3) I stop and ask the kids.

Sometimes you just feel that today really isn't the day for story telling, for whatever reason. Listen to your gut and flat out ask why they aren't into it (kindly and inquisitive, never attacking). Sometimes you learn the home game ran real late and they are tired, and sometimes you learn you accidentally skipped ahead in your lessons and they are lost.

Ask, reflect, plan better next time. Use a back-up activity or lesson plan to fill your time with valuable input.

Major Take-Away

Be authentic with your class. Communicate with them the way you want them to communicate with you. It builds community, an understanding of the learning process, highlights that they aren't the only learners in the room, and you will be amazed how empathetic and kind they can be!

The First Days Back in Spanish Class

The conversations are rolling about how to start the year in a CI/TPRS classroom. While I may not be perfect, this routine has worked fantastically for the last three years. I am the department of one in a high school so I know 3/4 of my students every year as they come back; I do believe this can work in middle school as well. For the elementary teachers, I offer no advice and believe you are a special breed of angel sent to work with young children. May the force be with you.

My simple answer to how to start the year is: teach your subject from day 1.

Here is how I plan it.

Steps to planning

1. If your school says you have to introduce certain things, do that.
2. Find out, 100%, what is your school's policy about dropping/adding/switching classes.
3. Teach rules and expectations in English: These should never be unclear in any way or leave room for "I didn't understand that".

The have-to's

I am a person who lives on the edge of "I will do what's best for my students" and "I still want to keep my job". Luckily, for the most part, I have had supportive administrators that allow me to flirt with that line and keep me in-check.

If your school requires you to preview a syllabus, do it.
If you have to rehearse and highlight emergency procedures, do it.

While you may think, "Oh, I'll do that next week. My plan is so much better," you are lying to yourself. Your plans are always better than the routine reminders, but you will forget to overview it and it is important.

Example: At my old school we had 8 period days with 48 minute classes. I taught Spanish 1 and exploratory. Students had the first 4 days to switch classes. We were also not allowed to give homework or "significant" in-class work to accommodate late schedule changes. Day 1- Required syllabus and class materials review. Introduction activity. Day 2- Required emergency procedure review (tornado, lock-down, fire, etc). Teacher naming students activity. Day 3- Required handbook policy review as selected by principal. Webquest on Spanish speaking countries. Day 4- Required (at our choice) team-building exercises. 

School policy on class changes

This is a big one. This should determine your first week's plan. You need to offer insight to the course expectations to your students and give them a genuine taste of class. If all you get through before the end of the changing classes window is a syllabus and one fun activity you will have students in your classes that may not be ready or as committed as they need to be.

My Light-bulb Example 

From my required days listed above, this was great for community building, but at mid-term I had a student come up to me in tears because class was too hard and she wasn't expecting to have to use and listen to "that much Spanish" (this was a very loaded situation). After that private conversation and midterms, I polled the class; over 90% were happy with where their grades, but over half said they didn't realize how much work it was going to be since the first days were "super fun and easy".

What I do now... and will in 7 days

Currently I teach high school in a block schedule and students have three days to change classes. Because of the order they are seen, it is possible that I don't see a student until day 3 or 4 (this has happened a handful of times).


My number 1 suggestion: teach from day 1 like it is a normal class. My Spanish 1 students walk-in and I only speak in Spanish for the first half of class; they've never had Spanish exploratory. I have them line up ("haz una linea" and I point and motion like a crazy woman). They get it every time. I also have a seating chart done before they walk in the door, I can make changes as needed. I model introductions by playing two people and then write it on the board phonetically (Oh-la, may yam-oh Profe). When the students catch-on, they say it quickly and and show them their seats. Once they all sit down, I go into English and high-five all of them for being awesome Spanish speakers. **I am aware this is not 100% CI/TPRS friendly, but it easily sets expectations of behavior among themselves, between myself and the students, and that they will survive.

My English portion is handing out a welcome letter that introduces the class expectations that both the parent/guardian and the student sign and turn-into me. I don't review it with them. They can read it on their own time.

Then back into Spanish we go. I play the super catchy "buenos dias" song from YouTube and have them join in. The second class we start the exact same way and then we play a pair-dance-switch game; they LOVE it every year and sing it to me in the halls... which gets the upperclassmen singing it too. Spanish 1 goes directly into cognates and then into a "manners game" were they get a small candy by saying "por favor" and "gracias" to each other for 3 minutes straight and exchange the candies hidden in their fists.

For Spanish 2, 3, and 4, they also have to do introductions and we start right away into "real learning". Spanish 2 typically goes into story telling, then asking, then a mini "mi verano" book project, and a novel by the start of week 3 (which is class 6 for us). Spanish 3 and 4 start with review projects plus a novel (see my post here with a freebie).

Rules and Syllabus

I assume they know at this point how to behave in a classroom and they will choose to do so, because I expect it from the moment they walk in the door. I also do not have any "required" information to review with each class (we do that with our 15 minute homeroom time in the AM).

Week one: I teach my expectations as they are needed, in English.
 

Week two: I go over my serious rules (this is a judge-free zone, give it a try, ask for help or tell me to slow down) and syllabus with students in English.

I normally hand out a quick "calendar" of the quarter or semester with quiz dates and grading period deadlines. They can add things in as we get there.

Behavior expectations

I truly believe that if you start class with rules you become a dictator rather than an educator; especially at the high school level. We need to trust students that they know how to act and just expect them to do it.

My other major piece of advice is: do not let students get away with any form of poor behavior the 1st quarter when you have new students. Be tough but loving. Being firm makes them know you are keeping them accountable for being young adults. My upperclassmen will walk into one of my classes and even give younger kids the stink-eye if they are sharpening a pencil while someone else is talking or if they break into English. I never taught these rules, but they just pick-up it is part of respect.

Model the behavior and consistently expect it. Foremost, do it with love. If you don't at least tell yourself you like all your kids, it's going to be a long year with no report or respect. Always give love and respect before they've "earned it". They are humans, they deserve it.

Also, do behavior correction in English. If you need to, send the kid to the hall to remove him/her from the audience (here is a link to my behavior accountability form), I have them complete the form, and then I check-in when I'm ready, quick chat, and we walk back in with a clean slate.  

Avoid sending kids to the office (unless it is physical/verbal violence). Sending kids to the office doesn't build a report with them, and it says "you are beyond my ability and/or care". You do care, you can't "deal with" unwarranted behavior in that moment because you are teaching, not because that student isn't important. In the last 6 years I have sent 3 kids to the office (once cussed out another student, one flipped a desk into my body while I was pregnant- she was high-, and the third walked-in while I was a sub and kicked another student in the gut). Sending them to the hall and the student knowing they will be contacting their parents with me the next time they have an issue seems to deter all of it.


I hope this is helpful and you have the best year yet, or at least one coffee and donuts can comfort.

-Sam

Helping Parents Help Students in a World Language Class

And so it begins. Welcome to the almost 2016-2017 school year. I have been in my classroom more than I want to admit this summer so I have been keeping up with my emails. I already have two from concerned parents about how they can help their students succeed this next school year. As teachers we could get into a long debate about the role of parents in high school students' education paths; over-bearing vs absent, enabler vs absent, too critical vs absent... see a theme? At times I remind myself that I would rather have a parent talking to me rather than not knowing if they exist.

As world language teachers, we also know we have a special breed of parent absentee-ism until grades are due. I have received a wide range of responses from parents (from "teach me" to "how can you expect them to learn a language you grew-up speaking"- which is untrue), so here is what I have done in the past and what I am currently doing to empower parents.

Policy: talking to parents

My advice: Make a policy about talking to parents and never, ever, break it.

My policy is not written any where except a sticky note in my desk drawer; five years later and I still look at it from time to time. My policy is: Email- I never respond to an angry email before 24 hours. I always cc my principal in the response and forewarn if needed. I respond to random, check-in emails as soon as I can. Phone- I only respond to voicemail because of our schedule at school I let all exterior phone calls go to voicemail and return later. I can also be prepared to answer questions and anticipate voice tone. Grades- I discuss grades with students first. I will tell parents what they can see on the online grade book and walk them through it, but I only talk to students about "corrective plans". If the student hasn't come in to see me, I let the parent know and then call the student in during homeroom time.

Routine Communication

I send out email blasts every 2-3 weeks for my lower level students. I copy students in if they need to . Here is a copy and editable format for my parent emails. My upper levels seems to be the week before a big grade is due, if that. They are high school juniors and seniors at this point.

I keep basics on my school webpage. It is sorted by level and I have a "Parents: How to help" section. This has hints and links to resources.

Give them resources

NEVER LEAVE A STUDENT/PARENT POWERLESS. Even if there really isn't much a student can do right now to raise the grade immediately, offer some type of help. Use a Quizlet teacher account (my kids LOVE it), assign or give YoutTube videos leveled for language learners, tell the student to play DuoLingo for fun, and to find some music in the TL they like and share it with you (this can also work as "recoop" points if you allow it).

Get out of jail "free" card

"If you have any more questions or ever wonder what class is like, please come and experience Spanish class."

Always leave that door open, and mean it. I have had irate parents that never "attack" again after that statement, I have had supportive parents say they will stop in, and I had one parent come in for fun. The one parent that came in visited a class that wasn't her student's class and loved it; then told all their friends. The best way to build relationships is to work at it, just like you do with students.

Responding to common comments: conferences

This is a quick look at how I respond to parents, especially at conferences. I try to keep it short and sweet and don't deviate from my written policies (and my mental ones). Most parents are great supporters, some are advocating for their child and are not fun to "deal with". Just remember, we don't know any more about what is causing a reaction than they know what our day to day classroom looks like.

I took (a different language) in high school

This is a great problem to have! Parents are aware that students need to study, that learning another language is hard, and most of them came from rooms where the teacher never spoke in English. Don't forget: ask them what their experiences were like. Build on this by relating what they remember and explain how your classroom works (briefly).

Example
Parent: "I took German in high school and that teacher never spoke in English. I was so overwhelmed by all the worksheets and not understanding that I quit after a year."

Teacher (you): "That is great you tried! It can be overwhelming when teachers move on and you have no clue what is happening. The way I teach, I try very hard not to move on until we are all on-board. That's why I need Johnny to let me know, somehow, if he isn't understanding. If he keeps talking with me, he should have a successful year!"

I took (this language) and don't remember anything

This is harder to address on a personal level. My suggestion is to look forward and stay focused on the current student. The easy way "out" is to respond with a playful "Hopefully Susie will have a different experience!"

Example
Parent: "I took Spanish in high school for four years and remember random things. I won't be much help."


Teacher: "I bet you will remember more if Kyle starts retelling you the stories from class. Since we don't have textbooks, a great way for Kyle to practice at home is to retell you some of the fun things that happened and then you can try to translate them. He can help if you get stuck."

You don't have a book, how can s/he study at home?

This is a valid question, especially if you don't have a textbook and their student's grade is lower than expected. I designed my class so there is a component they can prepare for outside of class. This gives both the student and the parent feeling like they can control the grade somehow. My "control" or easy points are their vocabulary quizzes (They take 25 words at a time from the top 100 words list with the ability to retake as needed until the next list. They know what list to study for and I have seen an improvement in reading speed with accuracy during novels).

I also believe that as CI/TPRS teacher I do need to provide work to recover grades (if that is your policy) that doesn't require me retelling a whole story or a ton of work on my part. I am already stretched thin, this may change as I become happier with my curricula and reuse it from year to year and as my tech in my room actually starts to work.

Example
Parent: "Lacy's grade is much lower than what is acceptable at home. I never see homework here and she doesn't know how to bring her grade up. What does she need to turn in?" There are landmine sentences in this.

Teacher: "Because of the way I teach, they have very little homework. I don't want any student to form a bad habit by practicing something incorrectly and make it harder in the long run. I am looking at her grades and she is missing a couple in-class assignments that she needs to check her binder for. She also needs to come talk to me so we can work something out and I can learn exactly where she is struggling."