Pancho Cumacho

This is a VERY fun activity which I saw Alina Filipescu demonstrate at NTPRS this past summer. It is a great 5-10 minute activity which is a lot like Hot Potato, and it is definitely full of comprehensible (albeit fast) repetitions. My students LOVE this game and the fact that I the teacher will play the final round against them. Here is a link to a blog post which Alina has written up about Pancho Cumacho (there is also a video of the game). 

http://tprsforchinese.blogspot.com/2015/09/pancho-camacho-game.html

NOTE - for this game, even though I am using Latin words, I still keep the name Pancho Cumacho purely for the phonetics. I could not find a Latin name which would have the same effect.

Thanks, Alina for showing us this game!

The Marker Partner Game

Today, I played the Marker Partner Game with my students. This is an activity which Cynthia Hitz, a CI/TPRS Spanish teacher, mentioned in her ACTFL presentation last November. The game is a lot like Spoons, and yes, it is just as competitive and high-action! It is a great way to review a reading in the target language and to get in comprehensible repetitions of the language in a very fun way. If your class is in need of some much needed energy, this is a very dynamic activity.

The directions can be found on Cynthia's blog -http://palmyraspanish1.blogspot.com/2014/05/active-reading-review.html

Cynthia has SO MUCH good stuff on her blog. She's a wonderful woman whom I only really know through Twitter; follow her @sonrisadelcampo. I have met Cynthia a few times in person at ACTFL, and I have learned a great deal from her blog and presentations. I recommend that you bookmark Cynthia's blog, because it is definitely worth reading.  

Lesson Plan - Want to Have, Love, See. Take, Give to Him/Her

I've received a lot of very positive feedback about my Week 1 Lesson Plan. Here is my lesson which I recently used to teach the verbs want to have, love, see, take, and give to him/her; and the nouns dog, money, and baby. I chose those particular verb structures, because they are high frequency, and because students already knew the verbs want and have, I could easily add on the infinitive to have and teach it as a single structure. It is not necessary to use those particular nouns, but to me, they seemed somewhat compelling for the story.

English version
Yoda sees Kim Kardashian. Yoda loves Kim. Kim sees Yoda. Yoda does not love Kim. 

Kim wants to have a dog. Yoda sees a dog. Yoda takes the dog. Yoda gives the dog to her. Kim loves the dog, but aww shucks, Kim does not love Yoda.

Kim wants to have money. Yoda sees money. Yoda takes the money. Yoda gives the money to her. Kim loves the money, but aww shucks, Kim does not love Yoda.

Kim wants to have a baby. Yoda sees a baby. Yoda takes the baby. Yoda gives the baby to her. Kim loves the baby, but aww shucks, the baby explodes.

Latin version

Yoda Kim Kardashianem videt. Yoda Kimem amat.Kim Yodam videt. Kim Yodam non amat.

Kim canem habere vult. Yoda canem videt. Yoda canem capit. Yoda canem ei dat. Kim canem amat, sed edepol! Kim Yodam non amat.

Kim pecuniam habere vult. Yoda pecuniam videt. Yoda pecuniam capit. Yoda dulciolum ei dat. Kim pecuniam amat, sed edepol! Kim Yodam non amat.

Kim infantem habere vult. Yoda infantem videt. Yoda infantem capit. Yoda infantem ei dat.

Kim infantem amat, sed edepol!  infans displodit.

Day 1

1) Dictatio of story version #1 (dictatio directions)

Day 2

2) Teacher retells story aloud and acts it out w/ circling and PQAs (sorry, no script this time!)

Day 3

1) Readers Theater of story (if you as the teacher play Movie Director with this, you can get students to redo their stage directions after each sentence to get in more reps of the language!)

2) Choral Reading of story

Day 4

1) Read/Draw of story

Day 5

1) Partner retell of story in Latin, using Read/Draw

2) 5-minute timed write of story, using Read/Draw as a story map

Day 6

1) Project student-written timed write endings and read as a class (pick out any endings which students wrote for their timed write, edit them for grammar purposes, and write them on a document or powerpoint)

2) Read Dating of Story Version #2

Circling Troubleshooting

With the school year having already started (or soon to be starting) for CI/TPRS teachers, many folks have asked me about circling, specifically what to do when it is not "working" and students are not responding. 

First off, let me say that this student reaction happens to me ALL THE TIME, so please do not think that it is you and that you are the problem per se. However, when this does occur when I am circling, then this does communicate a message to me. Below are a few situations with possible solutions:

Students did not respond, because they did not fully comprehend what I was asking. When I attended my first Blaine Ray workshop back in 2008, I vividly remember him saying "If you are not getting any response from students during circling, do two things: ask the question again but this time more slowly." I have always remembered that statement, because I have had to do what he said SO MANY times. In many occasions when students are not responding, it is because I, the teacher, am speaking WAY too quickly for them to process what I am asking or I am asking TOO MUCH. When that happens, I take a breath, repeat what I am saying again more slowly and if possible, I will point and pause at any words which are projected. Sometimes, I will also do a comprehension check and say, "What did I just ask in English?"

Students did not respond, because they do not want to respond. One of my class rules is that everyone is required to answer aloud during circling. NOTE - there is a difference between students who are introverted and students who do not want to be part of the class. In each case, I still require each to respond chorally with the hopes that each will feel more comfortable being part of the community as a result. 

Students gave an incorrect answer to the question. If students gave an incorrect answer, then it is possible that they did not comprehend the question itself. When this happens, usually I will point and pause at the particular interrogative which is on my wall to establish meaning, and then I will ask the quesiton again more slowly.

Students did not respond, because they have figured out the basic pattern of circling. If you hold to the basic order of circling all the time, then students will figure out the pattern, as it is very predictable after awhile. During my first year of using TPRS, I had students who figured out the pattern after 3 days! As a result, you need to keep students on their toes. Vary up the order, and ask the questions in reverse order. 

Students did not respond, because they have become bored with circling. Let's be honest: circling can get very boring both for the students hearing the questions and for you the teacher asking them. I had always run into this wall, but I never voiced my concerns, because I thought that I was circling incorrectly. It was not until I heard Carol Gaab at NTPRS 2014 say, "Circling gets really old, really fast," that I felt understood! This, however, does not mean that you should throw out circling, but rather that you need to vary up the types of questions. A few months ago, i wrote up a post about circling and how to vary it up. The key is "the brain CRAVES novelty," so you need to change things up with W questions, PQAs, and higher order thinking questions. 

Another strategy is to circle with certain groups in the class. On the first day of class, I divide the class into two groups: Bubones (the owls) and Mortuambulantes (the walking dead). To vary up things during circling, I will direct certain questions to one specific group and then ask the other group particular questions.  

I hope that this helps some of you who are experiencing some difficulties in circling. Feel free to leave some strategies which you use!

Word Wall

Last year, I implemented a word wall for the first time. After 17 years of teaching, I finally created one, and I do not know why I did not do this sooner! It is an incredibly easy concept from which you can get LOTS of mileage.

A word wall is a very basic tool - the idea is simply to post vocabulary words on the wall which will remain there for as long as you want. There are many different types of word walls in the world language classroom:

1. ones which have all of the semester words up there already and are referred to when new words are introduced
2. ones which have words for a particular unit and are then taken down after the unit has been completed
3. ones to which new words are constantly added and serve as a running, cumulative list for students

I use example #3. Once I introduce a new target word, then I add it to the wall (I add about 6-7 new words a week). 

Here is my Latin 1 word wall from last year just after a few months of instruction - note that I was limiting vocabulary.

Observations

1. A word wall, however, does not work unless it is reviewed constantly. Reviewing the words on the word wall serves as a great warmup activity. I point my laser pointer at the word wall and can ask a variety of questions, e.g., quid tristis significat Anglice? quid vocabulum significat Latine gives to him?
2. As a result of the word wall, students know exactly which specific words I want them to acquire. Just because I use a particular word in a story does not mean that I want them to acquire it at that particular moment (as it may be a word which I am previewing for later acquisition or it may just be an "icing" word). If students see the word on the wall later, then they know that it is a target word.
3. The wall serves as a reference for students when using the language, especially in a timed write. If students cannot think of something to add to their story, they can glance at the wall and use a word for inspiration.

HOT (Higher Order Thinking) in a CI Classroom

At NTPRS this summer, I attended Carol Gaab's session Inspiring Higher-Level Thinking Using Level Appropriate Language. I could listen to Carol all day, because she really does know her stuff, is incredibly quick-witted, and is always full of energy. Her session was on how to raise students' level of critical thinking, especially at levels 1 and 2 when students have a limited knowledge of language. 

Below is a link to Bess Hayles' blog where she has written up a post about Carol's session. I met Bess last summer at NTPRS in Chicago, and she knows her CI/TPRS stuff very well! Carol covered a lot in her 2.5 hour session, and I was in such awe as I drank everything in which she was saying that I forgot to take notes. I'm grateful for Bess's post here

http://mmehayles.blogspot.com/2015/08/higher-order-thinking-carol-gaab.html

In addition, here is a link to Carol's handout for the session:

http://schd.ws/hosted_files/ntprs2015/9f/NTPRS-HOT-Gaab.pdf

So far in the first two weeks of school, I have already incoporated a few HOT activities, and I can tell you that they work, even in Latin 1 with limited language! With my Latin 1's, I did a "Who Would Say This in the Story?" and "Is This Relevant to the Story?" It really did get students to think, while at the same time get in more repetitions of the language. And honestly, it was a lot of fun! In most situations, since students would respond in English, and I would restate their answer in very comprehensible Latin. My goal now is to do at least two HOT activities with every story which I tell.

Consider being HOT in your classes!

Latin 1 - Week 1 Lesson Plan

I am finishing up the first week of school with students – here is the lesson plan which I used for my Latin 1 class during this week. It has gone SO well! Although this is for a Latin 1 class, it can easily be adapted to your language.

If you saw my Speak Comprehensibly from Day 1 presentation at either ACL or NTPRS this summer, this is the whole lesson plan (my presentation only covered Day 1). Below is the story which I used, and my target vocabulary is vult (want), habet (has), est (is), -ne (?), tristis (sad), laetus (happy). There are links to descriptions of the activity and to the actual documents/powerpoints which I used.

Story (in Latin)

Earl elephantum vult. Earl est tristis. Aliyah elephantum habet. Aliyah est laeta.

elephantus secretum habet. elephantus est tristis. elephantus Aliyahem non vult.

Earl crustulum habet. elephantus crustulum vult. elephantus crustulum consumit. elephantus Earlem consumit.

elephantus est laetus. Earl est tristis.

Story (in English)

Earl wants an elephant. Earl is sad. Aliyah has an elephant. Aliyah is happy.

The elephant has a secret. The elephant is sad. The elephant does not want Aliyah.

Earl has a cookie. The elephant wants the cookie. The elephant eats the cookie. The elephant eats Earl.

The elephant is happy. Earl is sad.

Day 1

• Tell Part 1 of the story (vocabulary list and story script w/ circling, PQAs)

Day 2

• Tell Part 2 of the story (vocabulary list and story script w/ circling, PQAs)
• Project full story and do a class Choral Reading of story
• Play Stultus using the full story

Day 3

• Social Emotional Learning Partner Read of the full story
• Ask “Who Would Say This?” using powerpoint based on the full story

Day 4

• Find the Sentence from the story (using the pictures, students will go through the story, find the sentence which matches the picture, and write the sentence)
• Play Sentence Flyswatter using the following powerpoint
• Comprehension Check (although not a quiz,this is a way for students to indicate compehension/retention of the story)
• Ping-Pong/Volleyball Reading of embedded version #2 of story