Embedded Writing

This week, I was cleaning out my files in my Google Drive and came across this activity which I had completely forgotten about and have not used for years. It is a post-reading, writing activity which I learned from a conversation that I had with Bess Hayles at NTPRS a number of years ago and then saw demonstrated by Betsy Paskvan. It is a very low-stress, low affective filter way to get students to write without overwhelming them into a full-blown timed/free write. It is very similar to an embedded reading, but this time, students are supplying the missing information. 

Instructions

1. Take a paragraph from a reading which you have been covering in class. 
2. Type the sentences out on a document as a list but leave a lined space between each sentence. 
3. The objective of the activity is very simple: Students' task is to write a sentence of their own in the target language in that lined space which makes sense between the two sentences. It can be an expansion of the sentence of previous sentence, be a transition between the two, or explain the need for the next sentence. Did something happen in the story between the two sentences that is missing? 

Observations

1. I like this activity, because although students are writing in the target language, they also have parameters in adding new details and meaning to a story.
2. For beginning levels, you may want to do this as a guided activity first to familiarize students with writing and with the activity itself. For example, for the sentence between #1 and #2, you could ask students aloud, "What is the boy or girl feeling? Happy? sad? Can you describe the boy or girl? Is the boy or girl doing anything?" This will help give students a number of different ideas and details which they could add. Many times I have found that it is not necessarily a lack of vocabulary knowledge which prevents students from writing but rather a lack of direction or ideas to follow.
3. This is actually a very good higher-order thinking activity, because students must create a sentence of their own which makes sense between two other existing sentences.
4. Depending on the level of the class and its familiarity with writing, you may choose to leave two lined spaces between each sentence as a higher-level challenge. Students must then write two sentences between each sentence.
5. I would scaffold this late in a unit lesson plan, because students do need to be familiar enough with the story that they can add new details of their own.
6. Variations of this activity could be pairing up students or having students pass their papers to another student after they complete writing a sentence, and the next student must write the next new sentence.

Again, I found this activity tucked away in a Google Drive file - I may need to see what else is in my Google Drive!

4-Word Story/Snapchat 2.0

Here is a new twist on 4-Word Story which I implemented last week. It was the second day back from winter break, so I wanted to do some review with my Latin 2 students but not make it feel like it was review. I felt that doing 4-Word story would be a non-threatening way to get students back into Latin, but I wanted to change it up a bit to preserve the novelty. For this, instead of having students draw pictures to go with their sentences, I had them create Booksnaps/Snapchats, since we had already been using this tool in class. 

Students turned in their Snapchats and sentences online to our class Dropbox so that I could edit their sentences grammatically and then cut/paste them onto Google Slides so that I could show them in class. 

Student directions

1. Create/illustrate an ORIGINAL 4-frame story which uses at least FOUR of the following words:

• in silva
• vis est
• dat
• occidit
• cibus
• avis
• saxum

     2. Write a sentence or two IN LATIN which narrates your illustration for each frame.

NOTE - you may only use KNOWN words, i.e., you may only use words which we

have learned in class these past two semesters or from last year. Any words which we
have not done this past semester or from last year are OFF LIMITS.

     3. Create a BookSnap/Snapchat for each of your sentences. You must have a minimum 

         of four pictures. DO NOT WRITE YOUR SENTENCES ON THE SNAPCHAT!

     4. This is YOUR OWN original work!

Student examples:

Observations

1. Because students were already familiar with both 4-Word Story and creating Booksnaps/Snapchat, melding the two activities did not seem to confuse them. 
2. The new piece of the puzzle was that students had to submit their sentences separately (instead of writing them on their Booksnaps/Snapchats), because I wanted to edit them and to cut/paste them to create a slideshow. I implemented our class dropbox for this.
3. As you can see, some students wrote at a novice level (basic sentences), while others were able to write at an intermediate level (compound sentences, using clauses). That is perfectly fine. All that matters to me is that students are making an attempt at  communicating in the language.
4. Those students who did not have access to a phone or to Snapchat had to do a paper copy of the activity.
5. Going over the stories in class is a great way to get in more repetitions of the language in a compelling way. 
6. Because the stories are student-created/teacher-edited, they are written at a very comprehensible level for students.

Story Library

Recently on Twitter, I was having a discussion with some other Latin teachers about the paucity of CI-based Latin stories which we could use. Although there are Anne Matava story scripts, there are very few CI-based stories which have been written in Latin by Latin teachers.

If you use a reading-based method textbook like Ecce Romani or Cambridge Latin Course, yes, you do have stories, but as those readings are not CI-based, the stories are vocabulary driven, i.e., they focus on too much vocabulary way much too quickly. The stories become rather long and have too many unfamiliar words in them, thereby, disrupting reading flow.

As a result of this discussion, I have decided to add a Story Library section to my blog (this can be found in the top menu), which are the stories which I wrote and used with my Latin 1 students this semester. This Story Library page is still a work in progress and by no means are the stories 100% representative of Comprehenisble Input. You can see, however, my attempts at writing a CI-based story and what elements I tried to incorporate.

Hope this will motivate others to write and to publish their CI-based stories online.

How to Write a CI Story

Many teachers have asked me how to write a CI story so that they can do the same and use it with their own students in class. Quite honestly, my response is: I do not know. Maybe I should rephrase that. I know how to write a CI story, but I do not know how to write a good complelling CI story - that is what I am still working on.

I actually do enjoy writing. When I was in the 3rd grade, I wanted to be an author when I grew up. I remember my 3rd grade teacher had us write a short story about anything we wanted, but the only stipulation was that the main character had to be a potato. I do not know why my teacher chose a potato (it was not like it was an extension of something we were studying), but I wrote about the richest potato in the world who one day decided to go visit the Nile River but because it was so hot there, he dehydrated and became a potato chip. Yes, that was the entire story - and that was about how long it was too. There was no moral to the story, and I have no idea why my character had to be so rich, because it had nothing to do with the plot. We had to illustrate the story too, and my potato looked more like Mr. Peanut (complete with top hat and monocle) than a potato.

My school uses CLC, but I do not use those stories. Not that they are not interesting - oh, they are! My students always enjoyed reading the stores in Unit 1, especially anything involving Grumio. They loved the readability of the stories, plus they were light-hearted and somewhat humorous. The main issues, however, are that there is too much vocabulary in the stories (so at times it turns into decoding/translating instead of reading), too many language structures going on at the same time too quickly, and the stories themselves are just too long. 

Starting last year, I began to write my own CI stories but this year, I feel like I am doing a much better job at limiting vocabulary and getting in repetitions, but also personalizing the stories.

When crafting a CI story, one has to be incredibily deliberate, because there are so many factors involved: 

• limited target vocabulary/language structures
• repetition of target vocabulary, and in many ways, repetition of actual sentences
• an actual plot itself, which needs to include all of the above but yet be comprehensible AND compelling

I have heard Blaine Ray say that stories must have the following:

• a problem of some kind, and that you must incorporate the actual phrase "But there is a problem" in the target language in every story
• a character must go somewhere to resolve the problem, as motion is important to a story
• there must be an unsuccessful resolution the first time so that the character can go somewhere else, which is where the resolution will take place. 

According to Blaine, incorporating these elements will allow for natural repetitions of target vocabulary/language structures.

I will admit that I agree with Blaine to a degree, but I also feel like keeping to this strict pattern causes the stories to become predictable after awhile. Therefore, I tend to adhere to the principles, not necessarily the "rules" per se.

So how do I write a story?

1. Pick target vocabulary/structures first, i.e. what do I want students to acquire? Take a look at the vocabulary list for your textbook or if the purpose of this story is to "preview vocabulary" for a future reading, then select words from that reading.
2. Limit the target vocabulary/structures. I have found that 3-5 new vocabulary/structures is a good amount for students to learn per week.
3. Pick vocabulary/structures that are a good fit for a story. For example, I found that videt, vult and capit work perfectly together in a CI story. Using those target words, I wrote a story about Kim Kardashian who wanted various things, and Yoda (who loved her) saw those things and took them so that she would love him (she did not).
4. Keep the story comprehensible! Though you may want to recycle some previous vocabulary/structures, there is no need to overload your story with them; you can always create an embedded version which will use those words. Instead, focus on the your target vocabulary/structures.  
5. Personalize the story. Include students, celebrities or events in students' lives as part of the story. Students will find that much more compelling than a story to which they cannot relate.
6. The story needs to have a conflict/problem of some kind. This is true of any story.
7. Repeat the target vocabulary and language structures as many times as possible. An unsuccessful attempt at the solution to the conflict with further attempts is a good way for natural repetitions. Dialogues also allow for repetitions.
8. Keep the story short. Some folks will start with a version which is just 20-30 words and then expand from that. I have found that a story between 50-75 words is good for students, because it allows for a good number of repetitions. If the first draft of the story is longer than that, consider whittling it down to create two separate embedded readings.
9. A unexpected plot twist at the end helps so that the story is not predictable. 

For me, this story will serve as the primary lesson by which I plan to teach these target vocabulary/structures. I usually spend 3-4 days on the story, having students review it in 6-7 different ways, each time with a different focus to preserve the novelty, but each time with the goal of getting in necessary repetitions and input. After 3-4 days, then I have the class read through version #2 (embedded reading) of the story, which I call the real version.

Latin 1 example - this was based upon my students' outrage that regular Poptarts were no longer being sold in the school vending machines due to Michelle Obama's initiatives. I figured that this would make for a personal, compelling story.

Target vocabulary

1) vendit

2) iratus

3) ego + volo

Version #1

Jack poptartem vult. schola poptartes non vendit. Jack est iratus. Jack clamat, "ego poptartem volo!"

Jack ad Publix it. Publix poptartes vendit. Publix poptartes non habet. Jack est iratus. Jack clamat, "ego poptartem volo!"

Jack ad Michelle Obamam it. Michelle Obama poptartes vendit. Jack est iratus. Jack clamat, "ego poptartem volo!"

Jack poptartem capit. Michelle Obama clamat, "ego poptartem volo!" Jack poptartem consumit, et non est iratus.

Version #2

Jack poptartem vult. Jack ad scholam it. sed schola poptartes non vendit. Jack dicit, "O Mr. Toda, cur schola poptartes non vendit?" Mr. Toda dicit, "Michelle Obama poptartes in schola non vult." Jack est iratus. Jack clamat, "ego poptartem volo." quod Jack est iratus, Jack fit (becomes) Hulk. Hulk Mr. Todam sumit. Hulk Mr. Todam iacit. Hulk non est iratus, et fit (becomes) Jack.

Jack ad Publix it. Jack dicit, "Publix poptartes vendit." sed Publix poptartes non habet. Michelle Obama poptartes in Publixe non vult. Jack est iratus. Jack clamat, "ego poptartem volo." quod Jack est iratus, Jack fit (becomes) Hulk. Hulk Publixem sumit. Hulk Publixem iacit. Hulk non est iratus, et fit (becomes) Jack.

Jack ad Michelle Obamam it. Michelle Obama dicit, "Haha - ego omnes (all) poptartes in America habeo. ego omnes (all) poptartes in America vendo." Jack est iratus. Jack clamat, "ego poptartem volo." quod Jack est iratus, Jack fit (becomes) Hulk. Hulk Michelle Obamam sumit. Hulk Michelle Obamam iacit.

Hulk poptartem capit. Michelle Obama clamat, "ego poptartem volo." Hulk poptartem consumit, et non est iratus. Hulk fit (becomes) Jack. Jack omnes (all) poptartes capit. Jack ad scholam it. Jack omnes (all) poptartes dat. Jack est hero! sed Michelle Obama est iratus et fit (becomes) Hulk, et displodit. 

Choral Reading

When reading through a story together as a class, one technique to use is group choral reading/translation. This will require:

• projecting the story onto a screen
• a laser pointer

When you think that the class is familiar enough with the vocabulary and language structures of a particular story, project that story onto a screen. As the teacher, read the first Latin sentence aloud to the class, using the laser pointer to point to each word as you read it left to right. THEN have the students as a group chorally translate that sentence into English, while you, using the laser pointer, point to the Latin words IN AN ENGLISH WORD ORDER. After that, move onto the next sentence, repeating the process.

Now some of you may be objecting, "Hey, I thought the idea was to get away from translating Latin into English. This does not seem very CI." And quite honestly, I had some reservations about it too in the beginning. The difference, however, is that this activity is not our primary goal: All we are trying to do is establish meaning. This is why according to Bloom's Taxonomy, translation is a low-level skill.  Translating itself is not my end goal activity, but rather it is a step towards a post-reading activity in the language. NOTE - though translating may require higher level skills in order to establish meaning, the end result is still the original product just in a different language; no new product has been created in the target language, which is the sign of critical thinking.

Observations

1. Doing a translation into English helps establish meaning. Yes, I want students to be able to work with Latin in Latin, but it can become very easy for students to answer Latin comprehension questions about a story without needing to understand what is being communicated if they are savvy enough, e.g., a quis question usually is answered by the subject, a quid agit question is answered by the verb, etc. 
2. In doing a choral translation, no one is put on the spot. Therefore, students' affective filters are low.
3. Following the laser pointer in both Latin and in English helps students to see the structure of the Latin language but yet how we must construe it in English in order to establish meaning.
4. Translating chorally is a way for students to help each other out. If a student does not know a word or form, they hear others saying it.
5. Choral translations are a great time to do pop-up grammar/grammar timeouts, since everyone is focused on the screen.
6. Translating a story together aloud from a screen is so much better than having students read it from a book in front of them. In a choral translation, I am able to see students' eyes and to hear their voices. If I do not hear enough students translating aloud together, then I will call them on it.

Pictionary/Tell A Story

This is an activity which I learned at my first Rusticatio in 2010. It is part Pictionary, part Tell A Story.

1) Ask a student in the class for a letter of the alphabet.
2) Now play Pictionary with the class, where students will volunteer to draw pictoral representations of the vocabulary words beginning with that particular letter
3) Do not erase the picture after a student draws it, but keep it up on the board. In fact, students may add to the existing picture if they choose (as long as the word begins with that letter).
4) Once you have 8-9 words, then tell the class that you will tell them a story involving those words which were drawn. You can also do this as an Ask a Story.

Here is an example which I did with one of my Latin 2 classes. The letter which a student picked was "A"

The words which were drawn were: agricola, auris, audit, animal, amat, amicus, arbor, ad, aqua, aedificat

Here is the story which they came up with as an Ask a Story: agricola animal amat, sed animal agricolam non amat. ergo, animal ad silvam fugit. in silva sunt multae arbores. in silva, animal duos amicos aedificantes villam conspicit. agricola est tristis, et clamat quod amat animal. animal agricolam clamantem auribus audit et ad aquam fugit.

Observations:
1) A fun activity for students. The Pictionary aspect gives students a different way to interact with vocabulary.
2) Using only particular words for the Tell/Ask a Story can be a bit tricky since there are some specific parameters but at the same time, the parameters keep the story from getting off task
3) Since the students determined which words are going to be in the story, it gives them some ownership of the story.