Minute by Minute Spanish

The talented Devon Gunning invited me to write my first guest blog (below) for her Target Language Expert Interview Series.   

She interviewed me and a video of that interview is at the end of this blog.

Have you ever had a class that made you feel like a first-year teacher all over again?

The behavior is so challenging that even your disciplinarian agrees that the roster is a combination of characters that should never be scheduled together.

Your colleagues offer you chocolate and coffee gift cards as tokens of sympathy and to make sure you don’t send any students to their classes.

The last time I had such a stomach-clenching low-ability Spanish One class, my newly hired, inexperienced supervisor * interpreted  “the 90% Target Language for all levels goal” to mean that during observations, teachers earned ‘needs improvement’ scores for every student’s English utterance!

I earned five times more ‘needs improvements’ in one observation than I had cumulatively in the past twenty-five years in the classroom.

*This supervisor is no longer in the educational field.  My current supervisor is a dream – hold on if you are in a similar situation – I would never have predicted how quickly things could change for the better, but they can and do!

HOW TO ACCELERATE TARGET LANGUAGE USE IN YOUR CLASSROOM

Until then, I believed the Comprehensible Input theorists when they said to not force output.  However, I needed to accelerate target language output to avoid being put on an improvement plan.   These students were talkers! During the post-observation I asked the supervisor how to stop this challenging class from blurting out in English, and was told that was my problem to solve.

At that point, I had a daily PowerPoint presentation with my daily routines, a slide for each transition, and a few slides for each activity.  I called it my “daily tech guide” or “DTG” for short. I did a different song of the week and a daily headline from BBC Mundo. I used my remote presentation device so that I could move around the room and stand behind the students who created the most problems.

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT TIP: WORK WITH YOUR CLASS PERSONALITY

I knew enough to not try to get these students to be quiet but to be engaged.  Rather than telling them “silencio” I would always have the next activity on hand and say “listos” and they would answer ‘listos’ and quickly move to the next activity.

Once I started to analyze when they would act out and blurt out, I realized that transitions were an invitation to go off task.

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT TIP: THE POWER OF TRANSITIONS

I also realized that while I taught the usual classroom phrases of commands and requests, I wasn’t teaching them the phrases they need to talk to one another, nor was I teaching them the important self-talk phrases.   So I created The 50 Classroom Survival Expressions

TARGET LANGUAGE USE TIP: PUT IT TO MUSIC!

I also observed that anything set to music seemed to drop out of their mouths with very little effort, faster than the CI experts would have you believe. The 50 Classroom Survival Expressions were put to music.

Around this time, my friends in Venezuela were suffering financially.  I started to send songs for transitions and class routines to the unemployed music teacher to record, transition videos to the videographer, and multi-cultural clipart requests to the graphic designer.  I started to sell their creations on TpT and send them all net proceeds.

GETTING STUDENTS TO USE MORE TARGET LANGUAGE WITH VIDEO

As I started to add musical class routines and transition videos to my DTG, I added more slides with options for students’ responses.  The videos are so engaging that after hearing the “Saquen la tarea” video just once, students are able to tell me “la tengo” or “no la tengo” – after two weeks it just flows out of their mouth more easily than the English.

As my students were drenched in Spanish from minute to minute of class time, they grew to handle spontaneous speech activities after a month of instruction.  My DTG also grew and sometimes has as many as 100 slides.

I have a template for my daily lessons and label them from  “day 1 – greetings” to “day 180 – closure activities” and everything in between.

At the end of each day, I take a few minutes and discard what I didn’t use and change anything that didn’t work.  I save it as ‘rd’ for real deal – the version that will be my starting point next year.

This week was my second week of classes.  I pulled up my DTG from last year and with fifteen minutes of tweaking the date, adding school messages about Picture Day and new bus routes, and checking handouts, I was ready to teach a class worthy of a walk through or even an observation.

While many teachers are seeking unscripted, no-prep classes to better interact with their students, I have found that by having my scripted class, I am able to be more emotionally available to students.

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT TIP: WHY REINVENT THE WHEEL?

I don’t have to remember whether I taught something to period three but not period seven.  It is all in the daily tech guide, freeing me up to be more present for my students. I teach in a large building with three other level one teachers and I know that I have taught all that was required so that next year my students are prepared for new teachers.  Since using the DTG, no one has ever come back to complain I didn’t teach something.

All of us teachers need to craft our own ‘teaching voices.’  They may be pure TPRS, ci, owl, traditional or our own eclectic blend.  But, if you are struggling with classroom management, make a slideshow with an outline of your class and start inserting musical transition videos to help keep your students on task.  Watch my template video for inspiration.

By creating a classroom management tool for a very difficult class, I inadvertently created a system for keeping any level one class in the target language.   While I still use English to discuss matters of the heart and to clarify something new, the students are accustomed to most of the class being conducted in the target language.

Click here for a preview of frequently used videos.

Click here for a collection of videos explaining the day’s daily tech guide.

Click here for the daily tech guide template – it will help you to start to create your own daily tech guide.”

This is a vintage power struggle that you will lose if you respond to the comment rather than openly acknowledging the tactic  the student is doing.

From my book “Teacher Dialogues” I post two signs up  and discuss them during a neutral time.

Now, let’s apply the four kinds of responses by students to the situation that a student is once again late to class.  The bell has rung, you are giving directions to the rest of the class, a student slips into her chair, and you neutrally tell her to see you at the end of class about being late.

DENY:              “No, I’m not!”

                        “That’s not true, just a little late . . .”

RESPONSE:

“OK, the little child part of you is reacting by denying [as I walk over to the posters].  I need you to take a step towards being a mature teenager and apologize.  Can you do that for me today?  No, well, perhaps tomorrow will be better—I believe in you.”  [Then I would continue on with the lesson and let the other students tell her to hush and not be a baby.]

DIVERT:              “Junior is texting!”

                           “But yesterday she was late.”

                           “Everyone is doing their homework before you check it.”

RESPONSE:

“OK, the little child part of you is reacting by diverting [as I walk over to the posters].  I need you to take a step towards being a mature teenager and apologize.  Can you do that for me today?  No, well, perhaps tomorrow will be better—I know you will get there.”  Then I would continue on with the lesson and let the other students tell her to hush and not be a baby.

CHALLENGE:      “Why do you always act like the first few minutes are important—you don’t do anything during them.”

                           “No other teacher cares if someone is 20 seconds late.”

” You are picking on me.”

RESPONSE:

“OK, the little child part of you is reacting by challenging me [as I walk over to the posters].  I need you to take a step towards being a mature teenager and apologize.  Can you do that for me today?  No, well, perhaps tomorrow will be better—I have seen many glimpses of you being very mature for your age, and I know I will see them again.”  [Then I would continue on with the lesson and let the other students tell her to hush and not be a baby.]

THREATEN:        “My mother says if you pick on me again she is calling the principal.”

                           “I’m gonna sue you for making fun of my being fat and walking so slow.”

                           “I’m telling my uncle the lawyer that you only single me out because I am . . .”

RESPONSE:

“OK, the little child part of you is reacting by threatening me, and it sounds like today just isn’t working well for you  [as I walk over to the posters] but I need you to take a step towards being a mature teenager and apologize.  Can you do that for me today?  No, well, perhaps tomorrow will be better. I believe you will be able to do this and have a bright future.  [Then I would continue on with the lesson and let the other students tell her to hush and not be a baby.]

After all of this repetition, you probably have the solution part memorized.  Great!  Now memorize these words: deny, divert, challenge, and threaten.  Begin to closely observe others; practice labeling reactions in your mind and soon the correct response will fall out of your mouth naturally!

Two days before I return to year 23 of my teaching middle school, I didn’t want to take the time to answer a teacher inquiry: “What behavior management tool do you use with your middle school students? I’m trying to find a way to motivate my students to participate more and to work together.”

I am learning new names, making seating charts, reading IEPs ,  and making detailed seating charts of everyone’s health alert for substitutes.  I am planning my presentation to parents while 700+ new students tour our building.

But the question haunted me and here is why.  If you put the time into prepping your lesson, setting the expectation of working together, providing many activities in class, and appeal to their innate curiosity, they will work together and be motivated.  This is not a “what” question but a “how “question “how do I prep a lesson that engages?”  “How do I set the expectation of working with everyone in the class so clearly that noone dares to whine or challenge me on their partners of the week?”    “How do I ” rather than “what will fix my not doing the how.”

You don’t need a Spanish One Class Management tool if you do the following:

1. From day one students have a seat partner and a random weekly partner. (Here is my explanation of random partners  spoiler alert – it will help them to get along where they end up working.) At least 5 – 7 times a class period they turn to their seat partner to practice what is on the board. They are able to participate because I assign the partners and the dialogues are clearly on the board. I am able to walk around the room and circle because of #2.  There is no room for not knowing what to do – it is all on the board.  No time lost finding a partner – very neat and controlled.  From day one it is my expectation of working together, of choral responses, of always having visual support on the board.

2. Make a daily tech guide so that your class routines and the day’s activities all set up for you to use with your remote presentation device or clicker. You can be anywhere in the classroom, like behind the ones who go off task.  Stand behind them and keep on teaching.   Drench  them  choral  responses, tell  them  to  turn  and  tell  their  partner,  rarely  do  hands  go  up   for  individual  responses  if   one   student is  answering,  29  are  not  answering.  With  a daily  tech  guide  you   can  do  so  much  more.  Click  here  to  see  videos   of   my   lessons. You will be able to keep the class moving through so many more activities than usual with your daily tech guide.  Make  a  template and  save it as “day 13” and the next one “day 14” –  for ideas on such a template, go here. 

3. Your transitions (the major time for things to fall apart) are seamless with slides and transition videos.  The music releases endorphins and makes everyone happier.  They are singing during the transitions rather than going off task.  See here.  If you need help funding anything check this out: https://www.tptclassfund.com  

4. I do not want to be replaced by a computer language program, and most likely  neither do you.  Computer programs drill, excellent teachers reveal in such a way that students  want to know if they are right.  I reveal vocabulary, not just give a list.  I tell them that X  is tricky, be sure to lookout for Q and they are gleeful when they do. Many activities involve spontaneous speech where partner A see something on the board.  Partner B has his or her back to the board and makes guesses while A provides feedback.  Students love guessing and getting things right.  I have a daily review of previous vocab and will change one little detail so it doesn’t become rote – they love not falling into the predictability trap.  I frequently  wonder   aloud  how  long   something  will  take  and  they  pull  together  to  exceed  my  prediction.

In the 80’s I interviewed with a boss who explained her teaching style like this:

“Today you are going to learn X.  This is X.  That is X.  Copy X.  Repeat X.  Answer  me, what is X?  In summary, X is this.”  I think of that when I see teachers explain something, give a worksheet, and go over the answers with no joy in the process of what students were thinking.  It reminds me of that boss from over 30 years ago.

5. Once you have taught something, note the mistakes so in the next class you can generally refer to it. Otherwise any correction in class is personalized and parents are told “She hates me.”

For example, I introduce new vocabulary as a dictation, I point to vowels and they try to spell the word, then check the spelling on the other side. Students tell me ‘lo acerté’ o “no lo acerté.” I then will ask how many of you put an ‘s’ instead of a ‘c’? That is the most common mistake – relieving them of feeling bad that they didn’t get it right. Engage them with discovery.

Discovery  motivates students intrinsically and is so much better than external rewards. External rewards tell students  “this is so boring I have to bribe you” and eventually your first reward system will bore them and you will have to up the ante.  Forget the what and do the how.  You and  your students will be glad you did.

Welcome to Minute by Minute Spanish!

I am so excited to be  a part of this great bilingual blog-hop!

This resource is a deceptively simple activity for students beginning their journey to understanding that we simultaneously have similarities and differences with one another.  

Divide students into groups of 4 or 5.

The group needs three sentences of what they have in common, beyond attending the same school and having the same teachers. These are written on the plant holder.

Then each student write his or her name on a stem of the plant and in the individual leaf at the end of the stem write one thing that this student did that no other student has done. One time I went to Germany. One time I had ten stitches.

Thank you so much for stopping by and visiting.

If you like what you see, please follow me on TpT.

There’s more – visit Erin Coleman’s blog next – she inspires us all to be better teachers by connecting to our students.

There’s more – visit Erin Coleman’s blog next.

A special thank you to Monica Self of Bilingual-Classroom-Resources for organizing this amazing blog hop!