CI IA 2018 Heritage Speaker Presentation

Comprehensible Input Iowa- the PD we all deserve

If you haven’t heard about CIIA (Comprehensible Input Iowa), look it up here! Te prometo that you won’t be disappointed. I could go on forever about this conference (and I will later).

Truth is this is the teacher-grown, professional development we all deserve as world language teachers. You see and meet teachers from many languages, many teaching approaches in the CI

world, and everyone is there with the intent to SHARE what they do. There is a genuine feeling of community. The love and support is great. It makes you feel ready to get back in the classroom... in the second week of June.. three days after you just got done teaching... IT’S THAT GOOD.

I have been able to go to two of the three CIIA conferences and presented at both to build up as much good karma as I can; if I’m honest, I need a lot of good karma... I teach more than 400 students every two days.

2018: Heritage speakers in a CI Classroom

This year I presented on what I did with my “heritage speakers” in my CI classroom. I am refining the presentation to get a more in-depth toolkit result (I can try X in my classroom now). This presentation focuses on where the struggle really is for CI teacher with heritage students and a few things I’ve done (with varying degrees of success) to serve my students better. It also talks clearly about the difference between heritage and native speakers; each group having distinct needs from the other.

To have a really productive conversation with your admin, you need to have a clearly defined problem/solution going in to the conversation. Research shows that native and heritage students need a separate class from L2+ learners. For many of our schools, we don’t have the scheduling ability for a separate class (low numbers, departments of one, etc.).

The current solution seems to be to move kids to a more advanced level and hope it works. I did this at my small school and it was kind of helpful. There were still a lot of gaps for all students in that room. This presentation addresses ways to serve students instead of trying to fit them in somewhere.

I am lucky and have the student population numbers and a supportive admin to have heritage classes. I will write about how these classes work. I do need to be clear that not all Spanish-speaking students are in this class.

Here is the link to my presentation from this session. I appreciate any feedback and push-back. We are all learners here. I failed and did not cite the research for each of my suggestions. Most of the research came from the Teachers of Spanish as a Heritage Language Symposium in 2018. It was great to listen to current approaches and research. Most of it is geared to college-level and there are undertones of CI happening in some of the communicative roots.

Colors and numbers through literature

Thank you for entertaining my “feelings” post. I had so many teachers talk with me about transitions and it touches us all so deeply, I needed to share.

This post is much more school oriented. Primary goals being first few weeks of school, Spanish language teaching, and getting in the groove.

Holy crap, school starts and what to do!?

No matter how much experience a teacher has, the beginning of the year is stressful. What to teach?! What initiatives are we doing?! How do I learn ALL the names?!

Here is my process, followed by what I am actually doing (or as much that is planned).

Step Zero: Panic into prep

This step is generic. See the BTS ads, hoard and hide all the school supplies I buy from the hubby,

scour Pinterest and other wonderful bloggers seeing if I change it up or not. I start sneaking into my classroom and bring my janitors and office ladies treats. (Always love these people. In Iowa, love=food).

This year I also tried something a bit different. Every year wonderful people ask me, “What do you need for your classroom?” I never had a good answer and then I ended up with hundreds of glue sticks and missing key items like markers and highlighters. This year I made a wish list on Amazon. When you change the settings to public, you can share the link. I have been slowly adding my “needs” to this list. Some are nice to have. Some are true needs. You can also set the “importance” level from low, medium, high, and highest. This helps me keep track of things I still want in my room. People can purchase items and they shipped to my house. The generosity has been inspiring.

Then the serious steps come into play.

Step One: Goal setting

I believe this is when elementary teachers pick a theme and Pinterest the heck out of it. This is where I set goals and try to tie them together with a theme. It helps my very Type A brain plan.

I set several types of goals. Normally I have a “language-use” goal for each of my “levels” or preps. I also tend to have a big idea these all fit into. If you have a goal, then it is easy to machete your own path to get there. When you are really lucky, you will find parts of your path already cleared by other language teachers, different curricular teachers in your building, and sometimes by students.

There is major caveat I want to highlight about goal setting: Great goals are responsive to the needs of your students; the goals should modify based on the needs of your classes, building focus, and your well-being  and mental health. You can’t swing a machete if you’re too tired to pick it up.

My 2018-2019 School year goals

*This post is specific to my middle school but this is the process I followed in my high school days.*

I am teaching at an IB middle school in Des Moines Public Schools, grades 6, 7, and 8. I have a great administrator who is supportive of my CI path to acquisition. I am also lucky to have enough students that I have separate heritage classes (more on this later). I also recently finished my ELL endorsement. My class sizes are between 36-42. I also gain about 2 grey hairs a weeks.

I have not finalized my goals and will do a more formalized post later, but here is my generic path in my IB setting (I will also post about how my IB school is offering Spanish):

Big Goal (general direction): Learning through literature- everything will have a children’s story we read together in class. My high school kids LOVED being read to. This is NOT just a middle school thing. I actually find it harder to convince middle schoolers to realize I’m cool.

Phase 1 (novice-low): My students will be able to follow simple conversations, provide quick answers on familiar topics, and be eager to engage in Spanish language. Children’s stories- Eric Carle books- art, color, repetition to increase language acquisition

Phase 1 (novice-mid): My students will follow simple Spanish conversations, offer information on familiar topics, and ask questions in L1 to further the classroom study. Children’s stories- Eric Carle books- focusing on word order, adding details, and rhythmic reading

Phase 2 (novice- high): My students will initiate Spanish interactions, they will ask in L1 clarifying questions for deeper understanding, they will explore phrases and understand how language changes impact meaning. Children’s stories- Lil’ Libros series- simple words, major cultural components, detailed pictures for discussion.

Heritage (Spanish language acquisition): Students will develop a confidence of language skills while exploring various cultures.

Step Two: Planning the first days

There are lots of philosophies about “how to” do the first days of school. I 100% believe that fun, structure, routines, expectations, and community building CAN and should be done in the TL (Target Language) at least 50% on the first few days and increase daily. My classes should run nearly the same on day one as day twenty as day 100.

My students should want to stay in the TL because it is “more fun” than me doing English. English is for boring directions, redirecting behavior, and anything not fun. Spanish is a good-times language where the crazy white lady acts like a charades olympian.

I try not to smile, move around much, or make sound effects when I am speaking English. I laugh, smile, and use positive proximity while I speak Spanish. Students naturally catch-on that in our class we prefer Spanish so Profe doesn’t get mad and crabby.

I also think the first days have to tie in to your goals. Making it clear this is the goal we are working on and they are already SOOOOOOOOO amazing for doing so much on the first day. Wow, those classes are blowing your mind and your kids feel loved, capable, and confident. Who needs to review a syllabus on the first day if you are long-term goal setting on day one!? Amazing.

My 2018-2019 First days plan

 

I am starting all levels of my classes with the same book. Every level has different expectations for interacting with the book, but they all have a common language. Bonus if I have very advanced or low students in a class, I have varied level of difficulty assignments to meet student where they are to foster confidence in the language!

This year I will be using Oso pardo por Eric Carle (Brown Bear, Brown Bear). My interactions will be focused on “traditional” colors, numbers, and questions at the beginning of the year. Students might know them already, they might not. Some may have experienced this book, some have not. Either way, this book offers high repetition, really drives home noun/adjective placement, and uses questions on every page.

I will use Martina Bex’s randomized seating chart cards as students enter. We will do a fairly archaic version of Simon Says, and then we will read. I will read the book to them using the ELMO to project the book on the board and their papers as a follow along (I put them on the desks prior to students entering).

Phase 1 (novice low) will work on identifying the animal vocabulary and the color vocabulary. They will have a PPT 6 slide printout of the book to help.

Phase 1 (novice mid) will work on answering the questions. They may do a rewrite changing the colors of the animals.

Phase 2 (novice high) will work on partner rereads or a mixer activity depending on the class mixture.

Heritage will work on rewriting the book with animals from their home/family countries. The door will be open to allow fictional characters as well because we ill be getting into a myths and legends unit.

I will post my last year’s STEM inspired team building activity. I did a crazy short story in Spanish and they had to Save Sam before class ended. I will likely also do something like this on day one and two based on the reading. The reading won’t take too long and if I really play it up, kids will buy-in. I’m not worried about it being too childish, they are children.  

That was the big reveal?!

Well, yeah. That’s all I have so far and that’s okay because it’s summer and all of this work I am doing is volunteer hours.

The big idea is that we all wonder “what to do” at the beginning of the year and many of us teach the essential numbers and colors at the beginning of the year. This is my nod to teaching colors and numbers and doing it within the context of literature (loosely defined).

I believe that if my students hear the colors, and see the colors, in context and in the right order, it will improve their writing and accuracy.

I believe that day one “sets the stage” for the desire to learn and acknowledging how wonderful they already are at language learning. If I believe my kids are awesome, they will be awesome (because they are).

Not a come back, but... here’s my come back

It’s a personal post about negative spaces and changes.

*Edited 7/23/18 at 3:15 pm.*

For the last year, my blog has been dormant. I was in a very negative headspace for a multitude of reasons and really felt I could not put out helpful, clear, or positive contributions. I even forewent the IWLA 2018 conference because I wasn’t ready. This post is intended to help anyone else considering major changes in life or is in a less-than-supportive professional environment. 

Changes at school

I was a #deptof1 at a small rural school in Iowa. It was a LOT of work starting curriculum from scratch with no resources. Fortunately, I am a second career teacher who LOVES macro planning (curriculum development). 

I love(d) my kids and getting to see them every year. I was lucky to coach for 2/3 of my years there. My kids were the best in the school, no questions asked (yes, I taught 80% of the school at any given moment). My own two children were loved by my “big kids” and my husband was well-known in the school (bringing me coffee, coming to see my big kids’ games, trading our own children for their after school activities...). 

While I was pretty much left to my own devices, there was a lack of community among the teachers there. Lots of cliques, generic politeness, but I felt a lack of depth of connection. I was never sure what was said and by whom. It was uncomfortable for me but there were many great individuals there that I really enjoyed. I also believed all the teachers were doing their best to teach their students (even if I didn’t agree with methods/content, which is not my job to do). Many teachers were willing to get a bit crazy and enjoy homecoming  week, attempt inter-disciplinary units with me, and supported their students.

Our principal retired and our district hired a new one. I was excited for change (I get bored easily and like a challenge). I saw a division in staff, some seemed to try outshining other teachers by dampening others’ flames. It didn’t feel right in my soul. Students were feeling the impact (not just “new rules”). Students were telling teachers what other teachers were saying (degree of truth?). 

While I was, again, left to my own devices and was allowed to do what I saw fit with my students, my soul felt gross. I wasn’t excited to try new things, I wasn’t excited to go to work. I was also battling some health issues that added to the general crabbiness.

*Edit* Uppon the great feedback and connections I’ve made since this post went up, I feel like I left out my clear responsiblity in this post. My previous school is full of great people. Many teachers I admire still work there; I do NOT want to make it seem like it’s toxic and horrible.

I was, and am, a participant in any workplace I work in. My actions or inactions  participate in that environment. I was not in place personally or professionally to give my best in that setting. That is soley on me and no one else. IT IS NEVER ANYONE ELSE’S RESPONSIBLITY TO ENSURE MY ADULT CAREER IS HAPPY AND PEACEFUL.

I encourage people in any professional setting to look at your happiness. Are you excited to try something new? Is there one part of your day you get excited about? If you cannot answer those questions, I urge you to do self-reflection and think mindfully about you and your situation. You cannot control others, but you can control your choices. (Edit contiued in the summary section below.)

Changes at home

As previously mentioned, I was fighting personal health issues. Turns out my students weren’t exhausting, I had two autoimmune diseases... I still think they were/are exhausting. *Mom-look* to my students who know who they are.

We were also living in the country and it turns out I am allergic to everything outside. Life was rough in all first-world sense of the word.

My husband was waiting to hear about his possible job changes (and moving) when I got a phone call from a friend. A few weeks later I had a job offer to go back to DMPS and a hard decision to make.

Making the decision for a change

I had quite a few people reach out when they saw my job posted. Lots of support, what happened, and congratulations. I made the choice to go back to Des Moines Public Schools. It was also one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make.

We teach because we believe in the power of education. We teach Spanish/Language/Content because we’re nerds. Teaching lets us live our nerdy dreams. We keep teaching because of the kids. I cried, a lot, thinking about leaving my kids. Then my mom and my grandma said the same thing in different phone calls: You cannot do right by those kids if your heart is unhappy, no matter the reasons for the unhappiness.

I was physically ill, allergic to the place I lived, and felt professionally stunted.

Making the change

I remained pretty quiet on my teacher social media. I just wasn’t “over” leaving my high school kids and I felt like I was drowning in the middle school deep-end. Wow, middle school is its own beast. People who teach middle school need BOGO drink tickets to the local bar and immediate sainthood.

That said, my new school is healing my heart. While the kids are overwhelming (sheer numbers), my coworkers love kids, they love what they do, and they are good people. I feel like people are their true selves and it works. We are team at the end of the day, not matter how much we disagree. I was almost hospitalized because I quit breathing the day before spring break and when my team found out 1) they never apologized for sending texts demanding payment for having to also take on my kids :) AND 2) they checked-in on me. They asked if I needed anything (at school or home), and they continued to check-in when we got back from break.

My soul and heart are being fostered in an environment that is right for me. I can serve my kids better because of this. I am happier for this. I STILL MISS MY OTHER KIDS; and that’s okay.

Summary for the reader

Take care of you. I know it’s not that simple; you’re talking about kids, maybe making coworkers or admin unhappy, changing curriculum, maybe moving. It’s a big deal.

You have to do what’s good for your soul, what’s good for your family. Teacher burnout is real, for innumerable reasons. Care for yourself.

*Edit continued* If you feel stuck, build your town tribe. It is extra hard as a department of 1, I promise. That said, find other teachers, NOT IN YOUR DISTRICT, and know them professionally and perosnally. Plan time for shop talk. Just knowing you’re not alone can carry you a whole school year! I am always ready for new friends and to learn new things from others. Find me on Facebook or email and I am happy to say hi.

Picture is of our team at Brody Middle School and used without their permissions. These two men were so essential in helping heal my professional, and personal, life. I will miss both of them this next year as they continue with their paths (professional chior director and returning to Spain to be with family).

P.S. I took my coworks and unhealthy amount of chococlate to apologize for being gone the day before break. Always take care of yourself AND your people.