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Level I Expectations

Posted by Bryce Hedstrom

This is from Ben Lev, Spanish teacher at the Reach School in Sebastopol, California (the San Francisco area) .  It gives a good framework for describing not only WHAT students should know and be able to do, but also HOW.  Good launch point for discussion.  I plan on using something very similar to this next year. Posted on this blog with Ben’s permission.

Expectations for world language instruction                                                                  Spanish 1

February, 2012

Generally:

2010 ACTFL and 2009 California World Language Content Standards stipulate:

• Students in level 1 will mostly use formulaic language (learned words and phrases)

• Students in level 1 will mostly focus on the interpretive mode (comprehension)

• Instruction at all levels will be 90% or more in Spanish (ACTFL position statement)

Story format is used to prioritize acquisition of high frequency words #1 – 200

Emphasis on the first two communication domains: listening, reading, especially the first semester Second semester will include practice more writing and speaking

Students are not required to produce (write and speak) beyond their current level of acquisition

Class content is taught for mastery: 80% of students have acquired 80% of new material

Per Krashen: • input has to be comprehensible and compelling for our students: about them, their interests

• many words are caught in the “net” of natural language and don’t need explicit instruction

• language acquisition is the goal, not short term memorization

Grammar is rigorously taught in the context of natural language (Spanish) and via short pop-up explanations (English)

Learning languages is easy, natural and fun. This should be the tone of the classroom.

What will an observer see in the classroom?

Classroom management, procedures, routines:

• Students enter class, promptly begin an activity (bell work)

• Students converse with teacher and each other in Spanish, or ask permission to                                                                       speak English, which is limited to only a few words

• When one person talks, others listen. Students do not blurt out, especially in English

• During stories students have nothing on the desks, nothing in their hands

• All students have a binder of other system for neatly organizing songs and stories

• The tone in the classroom is of a respectful, interactive conversation led by the teacher

• Students who speak English or disrupt the class receive a “Págame” or other system for tracking their English and/or disruptions. Students stay after class to discuss briefly with teacher. Students are accountable to each other, their teacher, their parents, and the school administration.

• Closing routine or phrase or song at the end of class

Word lists are posted on wall with current target vocabulary and previously-acquired vocabulary

Use of the three steps of TPRS:

1)    Establish meaning of new target vocabulary

• TPR, PQA and/or gestures

• Spanish target vocabulary written on white board with English translation, in distinct colors

• Previous vocabulary is posted on walls and is referred to when necessary

• One word image and other techniques to associate Spanish with English

2)    “Ask” an oral story  (co-create it) with students

• Students participate actively by responding and giving answers to questions, and by ooh-ing and ahh-ing when teacher makes a statement

• Students who are actors follow the teacher’s instructions

• New target vocabulary is “circled” to provide repetition

• Point/pause, S-L-O-W, and other techniques are used to boost comprehension

• Students provide “cute” details for story. Teacher accepts his/her preferred answer

• Teacher provides unexpected details to maintain engagement

• Formative assessment with questions/instant responses/

• Students indicate with gesture to teacher when they don’t understand

• Differentiation with levels of questioning (Bloom’s taxonomy)

• Comprehension checks: “What did I just say?”  “What did I just ask?” “What does XYZ mean?”  “How would you say XYZ?”

• Teacher asks questions to whole class and to individuals

• Grammar explanations last < 15 seconds = “pop-up grammar”

• Quick quiz immediately following oral story — 10 item factual T/F assessment; one or two quiz questions are inferential to distinguish A students from B students. Star student writes quiz questions during oral story.

3)    Read a story that emphasizes repetition of the same current target vocabulary

• Pre-written stories (e.g. LICT, Cuéntame, Matava, Tripp) or teacher writes the story

• Current target vocabulary is reviewed before reading

• Read-and-discuss method is used to make story comprehensible

• Parallel characters (students) are inserted to personalize the story

• A reading assessment quick quiz is given immediately after class reading:

one or two quiz questions are inferential/more challenging, to distinguish A students from B students.

Writing: students write a story for ten minute using current and previous target vocabulary

• Once every one or two weeks beginning in November

• Teacher tracks class progress,  students track own progress

• Writing goals (# of words) are set for students. Expectation increases so that by June the average student writes 100 words using current target vocab.

• Ten minute writing is evaluated by teacher for common errors, which are then corrected in class via short re-teaching, emphasis in next story, etc.

• One or two accuracy-writing samples per semester, corrected, returned to students to re-write for a grade

Speaking One or two one-minute assessments in the second semester. None in first semester.

Singing: Students learn a new authentic or instructional song every one to two weeks

• Teacher selects songs that are level specific and free of inappropriate content

• Songs are presented in a progressive, repetitive manner that allows for understanding

• Students keep songs lyrics in binders and are organized, easy to access

• Singing is a regular part of class, at least weekly

90% + of class is in Spanish

• No English is spoken by students to other students or teacher without permission

• Students must ask for permission or ask how to say something

• Students who speak English without permission receive a “Págame” (or other system) and have to discuss it with teacher after class. Students are held accountable to teacher, other students and parents for their behavior.

Games and other activities are used occasionally to:

• review of new and previous target vocabulary

• laugh together in Spanish

• build sense of belonging to the “club” of Spanish speakers

for example: kindergarten day, reverse-charades, assassin, traditional /cultural dancing

Short novels

• class reads 2-4 novels during the year

• target vocabulary is pre-taught to boost comprehension

• read-and-discuss method used to boost comprehension

• variety of reading strategies and groupings, including reader’s theater format

• use of personalization and parallel characters to make novel engaging to students

• students read chapters for homework, given short T/F quiz next day

• assess specific target vocabulary acquired, writing,  speaking

• novels are completed quickly, in 3-4 weeks

Technology provides various ways to present compelling comprehensible input and exchange ideas

• short videos or power point presentations related to stories

• music videos of songs being sung in class

• videos, photos and content about countries/cultures being studied

• photos and other sources of CI

• class website / blog provide two-way communication about class activities

• students share content in class and post on class website / blog

• Skype-based teleconference with sister classroom

• teacher or students post on-line surveys in Spanish

• students speaking assessment from home using Voice Thread

• absent students get missing assignments via class web site, participate from home

• students collaborate in class and at home to create web-based projects

for example: music videos, karaoke videos, power point presentations

Grammar highlights for level 1

• the basic structure and syntax from stories initially told from third-person singular point of view

• points of view are acquired approximately in this order:

third person singular (va, está, quiere)

third person plural     (van, están, quieren)

first person singular  (voy, estoy, quiero)

second person singular (vas, estás, quieres)

first person plural       (vamos, estamos, queremos)

• verb/subject agreement (conjugations) from all points of view are acquired via:

1)    retelling stories from many different points of view

2)    dialogue between actors, teacher

3)    teacher confirming details with actor

• two-part verb construction with infinitives: quiere + inf., puede + inf., etc

• adjective agreement for gender and quantity

Posted in Acquisition, SLA Theory, Teacher Training | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

VERIFYING READING

Posted by Bryce Hedstrom

When we assign reading to students there is always a nagging suspicion that some of them will be fudging their answers when it comes to reporting what and how much they have read.  They may exaggerate or out-and-out lie about the reading they have done.  Typical teacher questions about verifying student reading are:

• How do we grade reading assignments?

• How do we know that students have actually read?

• How can we tell if students have understood what they have read?

• When there are so many options available (online translation programs, English versions, summaries, other students, etc.), how can students prove that they have actually read the book in the target language?

• How can students prove that they have done the work of reading on their own and that they have not just watched a movie of the book?

Here are some ideas that have worked for me:

Ramp up your Expectations Gradually: Many students are not accustomed to reading novels.  Many are not expected to read in other classes or at home. Reading for pleasure may be a foreign concept to them—especially the idea of reading in another language! So go slow. Gradually but inexorably increase the amount you expect students to read throughout the school year. If you go slowly they will adjust. By the mile it’s a trial; by the inch it’s a cinch.

Model Reading: Read when students are reading in class.  Just sit there and read.  Do not give in to the temptation to grade a few papers, check your email, straighten up the classroom or even answer student questions during reading time.  Show that reading is important and pleasurable by your own example.  A study by reading expert Jim Trelease indicated that teachers do not tend to read for pleasure very much.  Show them that you are different.  Show them that reading is important and fun for you.  If you read, they will read.  Monkey see, monkey do.

Talk about Reading: Show your enthusiasm for reading by talking about what you are reading.  Once or twice a week briefly point out some of the titles in the classroom library that they may enjoy.  Show and explain a bit of the book to your students.  Then display those books prominently and make them available to students.  If you talk about a book enthusiastically students will want to read it.

Random Paragraphs: Pull a paragraph at random from the assigned reading passage and ask students to explain what is happening in that paragraph.  This can be an indicator of whether or not they have read and understood the chapter.

Book Chats: Talk about books regularly with students.  Have them tell you individually what they have read.  See if they can elaborate when you ask them questions.  See if they are able to use vocabulary from the book when they talk to you in the target language.

Parent Confirmation: Formally or informally check with the parents. This may be the expectation of a signature at the bottom of a reading log. It may be an email. It may be a quick call home, or chatting at a game with a parent. Our chances for success go up when we recruit the parents to our cause, but they cannot help us if they are not informed.

Make Adjustments: Decrease the amount of reading you expect from students at key times in the semester.  Do not expect them to read a lot during homecoming, prom, or when the football team is in the state playoffs.  It won’t happen and you will be setting up a situation where even honest students will be tempted to cheat a bit.

Put it on the Student: The teacher does not have to do all of the hard work of thinking in the classroom.  Have the students come up with ways to prove to you that they have been reading. Their solutions will often be more authentic as well as more rigorous and creative than the teacher’s.

Posted in Reading, Teacher Training | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Spanish III Light Reading Backlash

Posted by Bryce Hedstrom

Some of my Spanish III students are upset about their Light Reading assignments (available on the Free Stuff  page of this website at: http://www.brycehedstrom.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/LIGHT-READING-BOOK-REPORTS.pdf).  It seems to me that their objections go to the core of the Acquisition/Learning issue, so I want to address them carefully. The biggest problem seems to be that students think they should be reading hard stuff, but they don’t–the assignment is to read a novel in Spanish (pretty much any novel) that is understandable and appealing to them.

All students in Spanish III classes are required to choose one novel to read outside of class every month. The novel must be in Spanish and they need to discuss their choices with me, but those are about the only parameters. I repeat over and over that they can pick what they want, but it needs to be both interesting and comprehensible to them.  Most students are doing well with the reading–they are enjoying the freedom of reading novels of their own choosing. But now that they see that the grade for this assignment is an important factor in their overall grade, some students are beginning to voice their concerns more forcefully.  Here are some comments:

“I need to have things spelled out like teacher X does, not just read.”

“I learn better with conjugation charts and vocabulary lists that I can just memorize.”

 ”I can’t understand anything that I read in Spanish on my own.”

“I don’t like ANY of the books you have in your classroom, señor.”

Convincing these students is going to be a challenge.  I want them to willingly get into reading in Spanish and enjoy it, but I fear that they may have be deeply infected with the ”school boy virus.”  This is the infection that is spread by causal contact with repeated high stakes tests to students whose immune systems have been compromised by teachers that teach just the facts.  These student victims have been convinced that school is about short term memorization for tests.  To the infected, education has become a veneer of paint rather than substance; formulas and lists rather than understanding.  ”Is this going to be on the test?” is their battle call.

Here are the short answers that I have come up with so far, but I think I am going to need better ones to really convince the skeptics:

OBJECTION #1: “I need to have things spelled out like teacher X does, not just read.”

I say: “We aren’t only reading in this class, and you know that.  Yes, this Light Reading assignment is a part of the class, but you know that we do a lot of talking and listening in here.  When we do Academic Reading we take our time; we talk about it and we relate it to both our lives and the world at large.  You are reading for meaning here.  You are reading for the enjoyment of a good story for this assignment.”

OBJECTION #2: “I learn better with conjugation charts and vocabulary lists that I can just memorize.”

I say: “We don’t do that here because those things mainly just help students to pass grammar and vocabulary tests.  Our goal is a bit different.  We want you to be able to speak and understand the language and that happens by listening and reading in Spanish”

OBJECTION #3:  ”I can’t understand anything that I read in Spanish on my own.”

This is a big one, but it may be the easiest objection to solve.

I say: “I bet you are choosing materials that are above your light reading level right now.”

This is important to address because it strikes at the pride of high achieving kids. They are accustomed to being advanced, so they keep choosing books that are too much for them. They are choosing books that they think they should be reading, not books that they can read and that they actually like.  When they have to go down the food chain and pick books that are labeled level II or level I, they feel dumb.

I say:  ”This is Light Reading.  It is reading that you can do on your own and feel good about.  It is not reading for content or memorization.  It is reading for pleasure, and that kind of reading is different. You have to pick something that you can read and that you like. Don’t sweat the level because you can pick up language from almost any level of material as long as you actually read it with the intent to understand. Let me help you find a book that will work for you.”

OBJECTION #4: “I don’t like ANY of the books you have in your classroom, señor.”

Some students claim that they have read many of the available novels in previous classes, so they don’t want to read them again.

I tell them:  ”You are not limited to the books in our classroom.  As I have pointed out often, the school library, our public library and the libraries in larger nearby towns are also good options.  If you like, you can also buy a book at the big chain book store in the nearby shopping center or online at Amazon.com or other online sources.”

Posted in Acquisition, Acquisition vs. Learning, Light Reading, Reading | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Do It Now!

Posted by Bryce Hedstrom

QUIT WAITING

“I realize now that I have been wrong. All this time, I have been waiting. Waiting for what? For someone to find me? For Indians to take my horse? To see a buffalo? Since I arrived at this post I have been walking on eggs. It has become a bad habit, and I am sick of it. Tomorrow I will ride out to the Indians. I don’t know the outcome, or the wisdom of this thinking, but I have become a target. And a target makes a poor impression. I am through waiting.”

—John Dunbar (Kevin Costner) in the movie Dances with Wolves (1990)

One thing that attracts me to TPRS has always been the agility and flexibility of the method.  If something isn’t working we are willing to change it and do something different.  We can respond on a dime to student needs.  We do not need to run it through a focus group.  The vulnerability that Blaine Ray has always modeled has trickled down and I say keep it trickling.  If we get a better idea or learn how to do something new that will work, then let’s DO IT!

The interaction with the teachers at Denver Public Schools workshop with Jason Fritze last Friday (Thank you, Diana Noonan for setting it up and inviting me down!) and the recent conversations with Ben Slavic have given me many such ideas.  And when I see a good idea, I feel like I have to apply it.  I would be negligent not to.  No need to dally until next school year.

I feel a bit like Lieutenant Dunbar in the quote above:  I am through waiting.  New meta-cognitive rules are up, more posters are on the way to help keep the biggest problem child in the room on task:  ME!

Posted in Change, Innovation | Leave a comment

Reading Questions

Posted by Bryce Hedstrom

Here are some good reading questions from Carrie Ely, a young French teacher and PhD candidate in New York, that strike at the core of reading in a second language class.  I will give some short answers here, but I would be interested in hearing other solutions and expanding on these ideas.

1. What are some interesting activities to do with in-class reading? We spend 1-3 days a week doing reading – novels, stories, etc. What can we do besides straight translation? 

• Acting out passages or whole chapters can be fun.  Ones with lots of action where the class clown’s energy can be put to use are the best.  I wouldn’t overdo it, though. Once, maybe twice per book keeps them wanting more.

• Reader’s theater a la Jason Fritze, where all students have their books in front of them and there are one or two “actors” up in front–which much of the time are mostly props.  Sort of a combination of PQA, acting and reading but they are also reading the text as we go along.

• Sometimes I let students read with a partner on the academic novels once they have had a good start and know what is expected of them.

2. How much do you expect the kids to read on their own outside of class? Is there a minimum, etc.? 

• In Spanish 1 they are required to read outside of class only when they have missed reading time in class.

• Spanish I and II students can also read outside of class for extra credit points IF they do it in front of a parent and the parent signs off on it.  Parents have to sign and say they saw it happen.  If parents are in on the cheating we cannot help kids much.

• We have used reading logs for levels 2-AP with ascending levels of outside reading time required per week. This semester in level III, students self-select a light reading novel to read each month. They have one period per week in class to read it (Tuesdays), but this is not nearly enough time, so they determine how much they need to read outside of class on their own. However the expectation was set first semester with 60 minutes to 90 minutes of required outside reading each week.

3. Do you ever have them read the ‘tougher’ novels on their own? The ones the whole class is working on? Would they be tested on this without going over it first? 

• In my classes we differentiate between Light Reading and Academic Reading. Light Reading is material they can read on their own without any help.  Academic Reading is reading with which they need the help of the teacher to understand well–could be due to language, but also to context (they may not be aware of the history, culture, geography, etc.), complexity (philosophy uses simple words to discuss complex ideas), implications, etc.

• They do not read Academic Reading level materials on their own. In level 1, first semester, Pobre Ana/Pauvre Anne would be considered academic reading, mostly because they cannot believe they could ever even read a novel in the TL–they don’t ever read a entire novel ANYWHERE else (!?).  Also, because I like to point out and expand on the cultural elements (some of them are implied and need to be expanded upon).

• We go over at least the first half of an academic novel together in class and they read the rest alone or with a partner, like Kelly Gallagher says in Readicide, the first part of the book is the deluxe tour and the last part is the economy tour–for the last half they read on their own.  But all along the way the weaker readers can get help from the best reader in the room (me!) if they need it.

• We test on the big ideas in the book to check for deep thinking and reflection rather than only facts and details.  these deep questions are handed out to students BEFORE we start reading the book so they have a reason to read. and know what to look for.

4. When they’re doing these reading projects outside of class… How much other homework would you have them doing? 

• My students have virtually NO other homework besides reading.  The Homework Myth by Alfie Kohn  and Stephen Krashen‘s comprehension hypothesis have influenced my thinking greatly here.  Even work outside of class is geared toward comprehensible input. That was (and still is) a big paradigm shift for me.

5. What does your reading program look like on a broader scale? Quarterly, annually? I.e. how many books do you read as a class and on their own? 

• We tend to read 3 academic novels at each level each year; one first semester and two second semester.  Students in level III, IV and AP read one self-selected novel outside of class (except on reading days) each month.

• Level I’s do FVR/SSR for 15 minutes once or twice a week, but I am thinking of bumping that up to 10 minutes every day like Joe Dziedzic and other rock star teachers in the Denver Public Schools are doing–otherwise I talk too much and it is too hard on my voice.

6. The big one: How does this change as they move up in levels? 

• We read typical Blaine Ray/TPRS author novels in levels I and II for academic reading.

• In level III we start to branch out.  The students in my level III classes are reading simplified versions of Gustavo Adolfo Becquer’s classics La corza blanca  and La cruz del diablo right now.

• Level IV and AP typically read novels like El Alquimista, Esperanza renace, Senderos fronterizos, Cajas de carton.  These are not quite what some upper-level teachers would consider “authentic literature” in so far as they are not part of the Spanish literary canon and some are translations, but they are culturally relevant materials that teach culture, promote good discussion, are approaching the level required on the exams and above all are INTERESTING and COMPREHENSIBLE (which means they will actually read these books, rather than seeking other sources and avoiding reading).

Hope this helps.

Posted in Light Reading, Reading, Weekly Routine | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Light Reading Surprises in Level III

Posted by Bryce Hedstrom

My level III Spanish students are surprising me with their light reading choices.

All through the first two years of Spanish the students have chosen their light reading materials in typical SVR fashion, sometimes with light accountability, sometimes without it. In level III the accoutabilbity is still light, but now they are required to write a Light Reading Book Report.  These reports, along with materials that provide motivation and explanations are found on this site on the Free Stuff page at:

http://www.brycehedstrom.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/LIGHT-READING-BOOK-REPORTS.pdf

For light reading, students are directed to pick a novel that is interesting and comprehensible to them.  I try to say this in many different ways so they get it: you should like it and it should not be too hard to understand; it should be something that holds your interest and that you most get, etc. What surprises me is that some students are picking such easy novels.  Other students are picking what seem to be almost ridiculously hard novels for this level like Harry Potter, but at least half of the students are picking easy level I novels like Pobre Ana, Piratas, and Los Baker van Peru. I told them they could pick what they want, but for crying out loud, those are TOO easy, people! Or so I thought…

I interview each student on their book choice. I look into their eyes and try to see into their souls as we talk about it. And I have to say that I am convinced that most of them sincerely seem to want to read these books.  And when I reflect on the Comprehension Hypothesis, I also am reminded that they can get something out of a book not matter the “level”.  So this is how I am thinking about it now:

1) None of us reads at “our level” all of the time when we read for pleasure.  The average newspaper is written at the 6th grade level, the average popular novel at the 7th grade level.  So reading down a level or two is acceptable, maybe even recommended for this type of reading.

2) They can get something out of it no matter how “easy” the level. Every student has holes in their acquisition.  Nobody gets it perfectly even if we have “covered” it in class. There are verb forms and vocabulary that students need more time with in every novel. Most of the novels written by TPRS teachers also contain considerable cultural material.

3) It is SUPPOSED to be easy.  This is light reading, not academic reading.  The first time they read Pobre Ana in Spanish I, it was probably “academic reading” for them, in that they needed a bit of help learning the words as we read it.  Now they can read it easily on their own.

Here are the novels from one of my Spanish III classes that students self-selected for their Light Reading assignment last month (In some cases multiple students chose the same novel):

A toda velocidad, by Eric Walters

Los Baker van a Perú, Nathaniel Kilroy

La chica del tren, Jordi Suris

Esperanza, Carol Gaab

Harry Potter y la piedra filosofal, J.K. Rowling

Julie B Jones es una peluquera, by Barbara Park

Mi propio auto, by Lisa Ray Turner and Blaine Ray

Noches misteriosas en Granada, Kristy Placido

El nuevo Houdini, Carol Gaab

Piratas, Mira Canion

Pobre Ana bailó tango, Patricia Verano, Verónica Moscoso, Blaine Ray

Problemas en paraíso, Carol Gaab

Rebeldes de Tejas, Mira Canion

Las Tres de la madrugada, Miguel Buñuel

La verdad, Tanya Lloyd Lyi

 

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