“Oh, they are speaking Spanish. My grandma is visiting from Puerto Rico,” was the response that my friend, Lauren, gave when I looked – with apparent fascination and confusion – as I entered her Spanish-speaking household. I remember thinking to myself, “I want to understand them.” That intrinsic desire sparked a lifelong commitment to language and culture. I lived in Florida at the start of my language studies and my curiosity continued through middle and high school. This eventually led me to a high school job at a local Mexican restaurant. I attribute so much of my fluency and confidence to the “teachers” I worked with at La Tolteca . Opportunities to learn from teachers and advocates do not just come from schools; they are all around us in every part of our community. Crafting opportunities for students to make meaningful connections through the study of a language, its people, and their way of life is my passion. It sits at the heart of my classroom. Students who learn world languages are better at understanding the perspectives of others. Using authentic sources, negotiating meaning from context, and using circumlocution to express their own ideas, my language students explore a rich culture while developing an empathetic lens through which they can view the world around them, their own world, and their own culture. For me, creating these unique experiences for my students directly correlates with the opportunities I have had as an educator to learn from others who have devoted their careers to ensuring that the value of world language education and cultural competency receives the emphasis that it merits. This appreciation for other cultures is critical in our 21st century global society. Being able to understand and interact with others across cultures while maintaining a positive attitude towards cultural differences empowers my students to connect and communicate without prejudice or bias. Connecting our students to the world starts with connecting teachers to resources and continuing education. I have always felt strongly about the need for professional development. I am steadfast and dedicated to ensuring that, in a time of critical language teacher shortage, we are connecting and networking to support teachers and helping them excel in their craft, keeping our professionals committed to world language education. Informed teaching is the key to engaging our students in making connections across complex ideas with cultural sensitivity. When networking with others to advance our own understanding, we are able to encompass the viewpoints of other cultures and other professionals in our curriculum to create that sense of curiosity to learn, grow, and understand. Passionate teachers spark that very curiosity that inspires students to persist through language study and apply the valuable skills they learn whether traveling, working, or simply conversing. In return, my students’ desire and curiosity to understand further invigorates me and gives meaning, purpose, and vibrancy to our course of study. Bringing language and culture to life for students evokes interest and helps foster their intrinsic motivation to understand our global society at the local, state, national, and international levels. In this seemingly divided world we live in, language and cultural competency are powerful bridges – true gateways to discovering and understanding the commonalities that bind us, and allow us to celebrate the differences that make each of us unique. In my classes, I focus my work to open that gateway for students and recreate each day the awakening I felt when entering Lauren’s house. I want my students to say to themselves and to the world, “I want to understand . ”
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Who doesn't love a good scare? Actually me, and my daughter (8) knows it. She tries every chance she gets to make me jump across the room (including hiding in my closet and screaming when I open the door!)
When it comes to our unit on television and cinema, we start off looking at sports/sportscasting/etc which I shared a brief few lessons on Twitter (@senoraschlegel) regarding the NFL Playoffs & the Super Bowl vs. Fifa Playoffs for the World Cup. Students loved this! We then used sports to link to art and discussed the different types of art that play a role in sports throughout history. This linked us to music and how music influences our emotions in sports and in general. We looked at the top 10 sports songs of all time (that activity is on Twitter too!) From that take on music, we switched gears and I used the Adios Textbook lesson ideas on Celia Cruz. Man that woman was amazing! I love that unit! Creative Language Classroom- you guys are insane! We wrap up the lesson looking at the Netflix series on Celia Cruz- and then link into genres of cinematography. I introduced the lesson by drawing on their prior knowledge and discussing different types of movies. We worked in groups to create descriptions of the genres we collected from watching a YouTube clip! It was fun to hear what words they knew already and their descriptions/perceptions of genres of film. Day 2 we are looking at a specific genre- HORROR FILMS!!!! In my experience you are either on one side or the other- you love 'em or you hate 'em! I hate 'em. My husband loves 'em. Needless to say we don't watch them haha! My kids were excited about looking at these clips- although a few of them shared with me that they wished we watched 10 movie trailers instead of the top 10. That was good feedback for me- maybe next year! OR Maybe I can challenge them to look up a scary movie trailer in Spanish and submit it with a description! (Pardon me while I plan out loud!) This lesson was a fun Friday lesson. It got the kids talking about their favorite and why, gave us a chance to debate, and allowed us to discuss psychology as it relates to why we like to watch scary movies! Plus they got to put their interpretive skills to the test! All in all I really liked this lesson and hope that if you too are teaching about film that you will also find this a fun engaging way to peak student interest and get them excited about language! The resources and teachers key are in the Google Drive folder found HERE. As always, I am open to feedback and ideas! The instructions/lesson plan can be found in the notes on the Google Slides! Happy Friday y'all. BOO! Spanish 4 Lesson and ReflectionsConnecting students to the content using their personal opinions is a great way to get them truly involved in the lesson.
My current thematic unit in level 4 focuses on working and volunteering both in our community and abroad. It is my hope that this lesson is a fun addition to a unit that you may already have. This lesson serves as a way to have students interact with each other and reflect on their preconceived ideas of terms. The file folder on Google Drive has the resources you need to complete the lesson and the Google Slides presentation has a lesson plan outlined in the notes on each slide. My students loved this lesson and it really challenged what they thought about volunteering and the idea of it being "egoísta." It also enabled us to set up and talk about new vocabulary at the end of class and crafted time into the lesson to practice interpersonal skills. The Google Drive file is here! Please let me know if you have any questions! Also- I am always and forever open to feedback or ideas! February 21, 2019
Whom It May Concern: World Language education is the epicenter of cultural understanding and manifests its beauty in curricular connections that simply could not be made without the study of a language, its people, and their way of life. Studying a language not only empowers young minds by providing the unique opportunity to delve into countries and culture otherwise potentially unknown, but allows students to expand their knowledge of the world we live in and our ever changing, ever shrinking global society. It offers them the chance to better understand their own culture, their own friends, and their own community. The human aspect of World Language study is irreplaceable. A World Language classroom focused on the target culture in the target language allows students to take risks and communicate within the language. Students are in the primary phases of language acquisition when they begin their study and thus need immediate and consistent feedback. The absolute best way to learn a foreign language is to speak in the language and have someone speak with you. It would be an incredible disservice to students in the State of Maryland to offer an online computer coding program to equal a World Language Credit and negate the opportunity to embrace the target language and culture in a supportive and immersive environment with a World Language specialist who can provide written and oral feedback to students studying language. Computer Coding and World Language, both very valuable and important, are not the same and should not be regarded as the same. I am asking, as a highly qualified World Language educator and advocate, that you please oppose House Bill 1211 that would enable students to take computer programing courses to satisfy their World Language requirement. We cannot allow artificial intelligence to replace the human element of language acquisition, nor can we allow coding to replace the study of language. If we want to create culturally aware students who have the ability to negotiate meaning in more than one language, we must provide opportunities for students to speak, practice, and interact in the target language on a daily basis with consistent meaningful feedback tailored to their needs as unique learners. In this seemingly divided world we live in, language and cultural competency are powerful bridges – true gateways to discovering and understanding the commonalities that bind us, and allow us to celebrate the differences that make each of us unique. Appreciation for other cultures is critical in our 21st century global society. Being able to understand and interact with others across cultures while maintaining a positive attitude towards cultural differences empowers students to connect and communicate without prejudice or bias. Oppose House Bill 1211 and advocate for the future of our Maryland youth. They deserve access to education that builds skills to ensure they are capable of competing in a global market. Sincerely, Caroline Schlegel 2018 Maryland World Language Teacher of the Year Washington County Public Schools, Maryland "Caroline, you've got what it takes, I believe in you, and I believe you will be the next Maryland Language Teacher of the Year." My supervisor Paula Moore in Washington County is without question the consummate professional and an exemplar of what every language supervisor across the nation should strive to be. It is funny how supportive words can change your life. I have always fancied myself a reflective practitioner, a supportive and collaborative colleague, and someone who loves to share my love for teaching language and culture with others through leading and attending professional learning. Those experiences and opportunities filled my curriculum vitae. Those experiences more importantly fueled my passion to continue to fill my classroom with meaningful, engaging, and relevant opportunities to explore Spanish. To my core, I believe that professional learning opportunities are what keep teachers committed to the profession. Personally, if it wasn't Dr. Arlene White connecting me to professional learning opportunities via attending and presenting, I might not be teaching today. What I am thankful for is relationships like the one I have with Dr. Arlene White and Mrs. Paula Moore. They have shown me what it is like to love what I do and have inspired me to persevere. The lessons I plan in my classes are inspired by the opportunities I have had to network with language professionals via Washington County Public Schools, the Maryland Foreign Language Association, the Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Language, and the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language, These organizations exist to advocate for teachers, students, and language programs. They provide opportunities for scholarships, professional learning, researching, networking, reflecting, traveling, advocating, and the list goes on and on! When you are involved with these entities, you can truly thrive. Elevating the status of our language profession is the responsibility of each recipient of the Teacher of the Year award at the state, regional, and national level. Regardless of whether or not I would have gone on to to be named the 2018 Maryland World Language Teacher of the Year, it has always been and will always be my responsibility as a world language educator to advocate for my students, our programs, and our profession. I would argue that it is every educators responsibility to advocate for world language! Being named the 2018 Maryland World Language Teacher of the Year is an honor. It is a privilege to represent the amazing professionals from across our state. It is also a responsibility which I openly welcome. Becoming a language teacher of the year is not just simply being chosen. It is an intense process that challenges educators to reflect, refine their craft, and redefine the boundaries of they thought was possible in their classroom and beyond. So what does this process look like? Once nominated, you are invited to reflect on and include the following items in your portfolio at the state level:
In developing my essay regarding the value of world language and cultural competency, I was able to reflect on my own story, my why. I was able to see my why come alive in my classroom. I was able to reflect on my life, the opportunities I have been afforded, the people who and the relationships that have shaped me as a person and as a professional. I was able to actually feel my sense of purpose. I bet you I rewrote that essay 10 times on my journey as a candidate for NECTFL Teacher of the Year. I received feedback from 7 different people who were patient enough to read the 10 different versions of my essay. I am indebted to my dear friend Emanuel Welsh, my supervisor Paula Moore, my dear friend, colleague, and mentor Dr. Arlene White, my lead teacher Laurie Atwell, our AP English teacher Mrs. Jane Yoder, ACTFL TOY 2017 Katrina Griffin, and last but not least my husband Ryan Schlegel. These people devoted countless hours shaping, in different ways, an essay that attests to my core values and beliefs as a language teacher. I am so fortunate to have had a team of professionals with whom I could connect and rely. Surround yourself with those who will advocate for you and support you. I learned that constructive criticism is one of the most powerful reflective tools that exist. Teachers need true, honest feedback. We need to take a look at ourselves and define ourselves through not just our opinions or thoughts, but the perceptions of others who are willing to devote time to help us reflect on our own practice we are able to see our classroom almost as a mirror. Networking and building a community of practice and reflection is absolutely critical to the success of any person in any job in any part of this world. When I drafted my curriculum vitae for the MFLA TOY competition, it was a word document, plain and simple. How boring. Update your CV, take off the things that you did not actually win, focus on the amazing things you are doing, showcase your connections to the community, and stand out. That was the gist of the feedback I received. Funny how formatting can literally change everything. Once named MD TOY, I drafted and redrafted my CV, purchased a template to use, organized, sought feedback, reorganized, and then read over it everyday for months. I wanted my regional level CV to shine. I believe it did. Since my third year teaching I have presented at professional conferences, I have networked, taught with, and learned from the best. I have engaged my students both in and out of the classroom through cultural experiences that leave lasting impressions. I have studied educational leadership and truly had the opportunity to use what I learned in my graduate studies. I have recorded 2 podcasts for the amazing We Teach Languages Podcast series with colleagues from across the state of Maryland. I have hosted 4 world language teaching interns and mentored them through the acclaimed professional development schools co-teaching model at Salisbury University. Two of these teachers serve students in the state of Maryland, another in Delaware, and the final is a leading language teacher for VIP Kid. I have mentored a native Spanish-speaking paraprofessional in our county through an alternative student teaching experience to become conditionally certified and he is now teaching Spanish to grades 6-8. Through drafting my CV, I was able to see my own accomplishments. I felt empowered by what I have done but even more so I felt inspired to continue to be invested in my students learning through my own professional growth. I am steadfast and committed to connecting language teachers with opportunities to learn and grow. I believe with every ounce of my soul that passionate teachers spark the curiosity that inspires students to persist through language study and apply the valuable skills they learn whether they are traveling, working, or simply conversing. Language programs need teachers to survive. Professional learning is the key to informed teaching and the longevity of programs. I am looking forward to continual growth and adding to that CV! I just submitted my first ever proposal to ACTFL with my colleagues and friends Dr. Arlene White and Paula Moore entitled, "Building Teacher Leadership Capacity Through Professional Learning." I hope that it is accepted so that we can share our passion for growth and what we believe are the keys to informed teaching that will keep educators committed to our profession. The letters of recommendation that I received to support my application were humbling. As a teacher you always hope that you are doing the right thing. That you are sending a positive message to your students, their families, and your community. You know your content and your students, you know how they learn and how to use strategies in the classroom that reflect the needs of all learners across all of their intelligences. But when you read, from the lens of a parent or the lens of a student, that you actually are doing those things, wow. How impactful. It makes every late night, every Saturday, every ounce of clickbait you get sucked into searching on Youtube for the perfect video clip, every article you've read, every event you have planned, coordinated, attended, or supported TOTALLY worth it. Teachers! YOU ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE! At the state level, the teacher of the year process truly allows you to reflect on your strengths, focus on your philosophy of teaching and how you take your philosophy and inspire your students to be life-long learners. I was not aware of how many other candidates were being interviewed the day I walked in to Howard County Community College, but I was confident with what I had to bring to the table to share. I have always said, I am what I am- which is constantly striving to improve. It paid off. When MFLA, my supervisor, my principal, assistant principal, lead teacher, superintendent, and a reporter with a camera came into the room that I floated into for first period in May, I was SHOCKED! Utter amazement and excitement filled the air! I couldn't stop speaking in Spanish- my supervisor finally had to politely ask me to speak English! What an honor. I'm still in shock honestly. There are so many amazing educators across the state of Maryland that are deserving of the honor to represent Maryland. In fact, in the past 5 years, 2 of my colleagues from Washington County have been named Maryland Language Teacher of year, Amber Sheffler and Ayako Shiga. If that doesn't tell you about the caliber of our programs and our supervisor Paula Moore here in Washington County, Maryland I don't know what does! I also have one of my best friends, Sherri Harkins, from Wicomico County on the Eastern Shore of Maryland (where I taught for 9 years) who won MFLA in 2010 and went on to be named NECTFL TOY in 2011. Sherri has been critical in my career. There were times in the past that if it wasn't for her, I am not exactly sure what I would have done! I am so grateful to all of my colleagues who have helped me grow and to really evolve into the passionate and dedicated professional I feel as though I am. Aubrey Swisher, Rachel Dayley, Beth Ann Shaffer, and Jenny May- you are my rocks here in Washington County! I am so grateful for your contributions to world language education and for the great things that each of you continue to do as we all learn and grow together. I am a better teacher because of you and have grown as an educator because I am surrounded by your passion for language and teaching. Stefanie Neal (a Latin teacher in Wicomico County) was the reason I survived my first year teaching. I still use procedures that she taught me to manage my classroom! Once the announcement of Maryland TOY came, it was time to focus my efforts on the additional components to elevate my application for NECTFL Teacher of the Year. At the regional level, your portfolio must contain 2 samples of student work that demonstrate the ACTFL World Readiness Standards for Learning Languages and a 4 page reflection on the student work, inclusive of your feedback and how the work informs your decisions as an educator. Selecting the samples took some help and I was grateful for the input of my colleagues in choosing which samples were best. As teachers, we formatively assess our students to make adjustments in real time. We challenge our students in all 3 modes of communication to push to the next level. We use the data we receive through assessment to inform our instruction and develop i+1 lessons using authentic resources. Through the process of applying to be NECTFL Teacher of the Year, I truly got to analyze how I use the Backward Design Model to structure my lessons, how I give my students the opportunities to practice in all three modes of communication, how I scaffold my students' experiences in the classroom to create opportunities for authentic language in a real world setting. Then, I got to look at the feedback I provided to my students and how I helped them understand the expectations of the lesson. If you are interested in looking at my reflections, you can find them here, student samples included. What I learned through this process is that, even though I already knew that providing quality feedback to students was critical, I was reminded that if you want kids to actually learn and grow, they need prompt feedback that is honest and supportive. No, we cannot take time to provide insane amounts of feedback to students via handwritten personal comments when we teaching over 150 kids a day, but we can use rubrics and feedback tools to which we can add additional information to give students a more clear view of where they are on their own path to proficiency. And if you assign an essay, you better be willing to review the essays with the effort that the students put into them. Focusing on what the students can do is essential. They are all on different paths in different places in their lives and their path to proficiency may take a few more turns than others. That is ok! We just have to be willing as teachers to support their efforts and differentiate our lessons to meet the needs of the learners who we are lucky enough to serve, all the while providing them with feedback that fosters a growth mindset! NECTFL interviews for Teacher of the Year were just held. There are 7 other incredibly talented professionals from across the 14 states that NECTFL serves representing their respective state associations. All of whom I am certain would agree with me when I say that the process of application to become TOY is one of the most impactful experiences of my career thus far. The NECTFL Conference is upcoming on February 7-9 in the fabulous New York City. I absolutely cannot wait! Whatever the results may be when we learn who will represent the Northeast Conference in November at ACTFL 2019 in Washington, DC, I know that I am grateful for the opportunity to represent the State of Maryland. I am excited to meet and network with the other dedicated language teachers from across our region. I have had an opportunity to connect with a few of the state teachers of the year via Twitter, Rich Madel of Pennsylvania and Rebecca Blouwolff of Massachusetts. Their work is inspiring and motivating. These are the kind of people I want in my circle. Additionally, this opportunity has connected me with the Southern Conference on Language Teaching (SCOLT) 2018 Teacher of the Year from Virginia Region 4, Heidi Trude, who was among 5 candidates for ACTFL Teacher of the Year this past November in New Orleans. Her extension of kindness to me and her supportive words of wisdom are exactly how I want to network in the future with other teachers as they venture through the process of becoming a teacher of the year. I cannot stress enough to my dedicated colleagues across the state of Maryland, in the northeast, and across the nation, this process is altering in the best way possible. Noah Geisel, ACTFL 2013 Teacher of the Year discussed on a We Teach Languages Podcast, Episode 13, about his experience and how the process impacted him. I love the We Teach Languages series, Stacey Margarita Johnson is a gift to the world language profession. If you haven't given it a listen, you must! Consider contributing and sharing your expertise! We will all thank you for it and learn from it. This has been a process that has forever changed my sense of self efficacy as a teacher, my understanding of my own values and purpose, and has impacted both my students and me for the better. I look forward to continuing to serve the state of Maryland through leadership on the board of directors at MFLA and the Northeast Conference through the Advisory Council. World language needs each one of us to continue to serve our nation. Through our classes, students are able to understand and interact with others across cultures while maintaining a positive attitude towards cultural differences which empowers students to connect and communicate without prejudice or bias. The world needs more of that. NECTFL here we come! -With much respect and admiration for all that each of you do every single day, Caroline Below are some photos from the MFLA Banquet in October 2018. Pictured with me are my Supervisor Paula Moore, lead teacher Laurie Atwell and principal Gary Willow, Dr. Arlene White, and my husband Ryan. I am so thankful for all of their support through this endeavor! Running dictation is a great way to practice, well, really anything in the WL classroom. My students have been working on discussing their community and the things they do around town, errands, etc. Today we are scaffolding up to an interpersonal "quick conversations" activity (aka speed dating) and I wanted the chance for students to see a modeled conversation that they could use to structure their own questions and answers later in class. If you are not familiar with what running dictation is or how it works, Martina Bex has a great write up on it here. I explain the directions for running dictation using the slide posted above. In a 90%+ target language classroom, keeping the directions comprehensible is critical! If you lose them, classroom management crumbles, the activity doesn't work, and the frustration results in breaking down and using English! There are many variations of this activity. My students worked in groups of three. One person runs/reads/dictates, one person writes, the other person cheers on the group while also providing assistance to the writer to remember what the runner said. The students had folders labeled A-K placed around the classroom. They had to approach the folder, read the information, commit it to memory, repeat it to the writer and the cheerleader/helper. The writer scribes what the runner says. Each folder the students approach gives a chance for the group members to take on a new job. Once students have all of the information, they have to put the story in logical order together. It is a race to get everything recorded and then in order! A little competitive edge is always motivating! Students then create visuals/pictures that go along with the story and we display our stories in class! This is a nice formative assessment to check for comprehension! Because this running dictation focused on a conversation between two people, it allowed my students to see additional examples of the question and answer format regarding our thematic unit.
Students then drafted three get to know you questions and three additional questions about our town and the things that they can do around our community. We set up our desks in three lines, pairs of two. The left side of the line stayed put, while the right side snaked through the rows, giving the students the opportunity to each talk to 15 other people. This allowed students to practice interpersonal speaking. Students asked each other their questions they had drafted and had a chance to answer spontaneously to what their classmates asked them. I enjoyed listening to the conversations that the kids had and could see clearly that the running dictation gave them the confidence to create questions and answer questions regarding what they like to do/need to do in their town/community. Designing oral interpersonal communication tasks in one of ACTFL's 6 Core Practices and as a World Language Department in Washington County we have noticed trends in our data that have resulted in us pushing as a curriculum team to create meaningful opportunities to practice in the interpersonal speaking mode of communication. You can find the running dictation here. (it aligns with Realidades 2: 3a (tú y tu comunidad) Hope you can use it! As always, if you have any questions- I am here! Also- I am always open to feedback! :) Happy Wednesday! Happy New Year! Another year has come and gone! 2018 was a big year for me! I married the love of my life, we took amazing trips to Italy and Myrtle Beach, the CAPS won the Stanley Cup finally (and we were in DC to enjoy every second of the win,) I was named Maryland World Language Teacher of the Year (ek! still pinching myself!) and my husband and I are expecting a little girl at the end of April! I presented at both the MFLA Spring and Fall Conferences in 2018 and also at the NECTFL 2018 conference with a dear colleague and friend of mine Dr. Arlene White. She took me to see my FIRST broadway show in NYC while we were there for NECTFL- it was fascinating! I rang in 2019 with sickness. Fever, cough, chills, aches, the whole 9 yards- pregnant and sick are not a good combo! Today was the first day back to school after winter break and having just shaken the fever less than 24 hours ago, I can say it was a long one! I do find comfort in how amazing my students are when I am not feeling my best. I am usually bouncing off the walls, so as soon as I am not, they know something is up. They are kind, compassionate people and I love that we have developed a culture of caring in my classroom. Today we started class with this infographic and discussed our own New Year's Eve/Day traditions. We played a high five game that allowed students to interact with each other in the target language to recap our vacations! Students started with the question ¿Qué hiciste durante las vacaciones? When they high fived someone, they answered it for themselves, but then they took on the answer of their partner- and the next time they high fived someone, they had to tell them what their partner did. This allowed us to review the first person and the third person preterite tense. We played this game for about 2 minutes! I loved listening to the kids self-correct and peer-correct each other as they spoke. After everyone was seated, we reviewed what each other did. I asked the students, ¿Qué hizo_____?" and multiple students responded! I love this game and use it for many different purposes! It was a nice way to get them chatting in Spanish at the start of class! After this activity, we discussed New Year's goals and resolutions. We used this infographic and did an interpretive reading activity with it. Following the activity students came up with their own resolutions and outlined a brief plan on how to achieve their goals. We shared our goals as a class and discussed commonalities between what we hoped to achieve in 2019 and what was listed in the infographic. I always love learning about what the kids want to achieve and how they plan to do it! It tells you a lot about your students and who they are. Connections are so important! One of my kids, notorious for eating his lunch throughout the morning, has set a goal to not eat his lunch before his actual lunchtime. Our class is supporting him by giving him a tally mark on the board for each day he comes to 3rd period with his lunch box still full. jajajaja. Hopefully he can make a nice streak out of this! Our class is happy to help! How are you ringing in 2019 in your classes? A few nights ago I participated in the #langchat Twitter chat. I love learning from and networking with my colleagues from many places! I love connecting with others, sharing ideas, and refining my practice. Being a reflective practitioner allows us to provide meaningful opportunities for our students, allows us to learn from our weaknesses and allows us to celebrate our strengths. I pride myself on being tech savvy, integrating technology in my classroom as a means to redefine my lessons and their quality. In the #langchat, I boasted about an APP I use in my classroom for formative assessment called Recap. If you haven't used it you should- it is incredible and it has revolutionized speaking assessment in my class! None-the-less, the question was brought up about the use of technology and how students spend too much time in front of the screen. How much tech is too much? When does it actually make a difference in our classroom. I have high school students in a 1-1 environment. We went 1-1 last year with Apple iPads. Each student is responsible for their device, charging it, brining it to school, and keeping a charge all day. This is much more of a challenge than I ever imagined. Students initially loved the devices, but the novelty quickly wore off and I found students asking, "Can I just do this on paper?" Conversely, if I assign something they are to do on paper I get, "can I just do this on my iPad?" I then found myself thinking about what the difference was between the two, was I really using technology to redefine my practice or was I giving the students the choice to complete an assignment using technology? That type of use of technology, for me, does not actually change what I do. It then started clicking. How has technology actually changed what I do? Well, truthfully it has made the language classroom come to life! Connecting to others around the world, other students from other states, and exploring places in a depth that we could not about 10 years ago with the ease of today. We can communicate with others. Apps like Recap and Flipgrid are revolutionizing formative assessment and giving the students the opportunity to actually have real and meaningful conversations with others. Ironically, as I started writing this blog today, I got a Tweet from a colleague, Maris Hawkins. She invited me to collaborate with her classes using Flipgrid, so students can converse with each other from across the nation! If you are interested in such an awesome opportunity you can check out her blog post here. My students will be joining and conversing tomorrow so that they can have the opportunity to engage in the language beyond the confines of the classroom. Think about the implications technology has on professional development and networking. I just got a Tweet from a colleague that works in a different part of the state, with whom I have never taught, to collaborate with her classes on Flipgrid and allow our students to work together. I just want to reiterate- I got a Tweet! We are using social media to connect with colleagues and improve our practice!!! That is POWERFUL! Writing this blog, I am reflecting and sharing my opinion with the hopes that others too might feel compelled to consider the importance of tech in their classroom. I participate in Twitter Chats, follow some very talented professionals in the field of World Language, and via Google Slides and Zoom Meetings I have been able to collaborate and prepare for my upcoming NECTFL 2018 Session, The POWer of Formative Assessment, with my colleague Arlene White who lives 3 hours from me. Without technology, this level of collaboration is just not possible. I think of technology as a tool to augment learning, but I still find meaningful purpose in traditional tools of the classroom. Technology has a purpose, just as a novel, a paper, a pencil, etc. do as well. The sheer quantity of apps available is dizzying. As a teacher, we must know which apps best fit who we are as a teacher and who our students are as learners. We have to be willing to do the dirty work, understand the app, play with it, step outside of our own comfort zone. We must align our Can-Dos and standards to our activities and opportunities. Just because technology is advancing and changing the world doesn't mean our traditional classroom methods are antiquated or ineffective. We must know we to use a hammer and when to use a screw driver. It is the same principal, in my opinion. We cannot use technology just for the sake of using it and saying we incorporate it in our lessons. We have to use it to drive our thought process in how to make World Language come to life in our classroom and how to redefine the lessons we can share with our students to facilitate language acquisition, excitement, and motivation. The integration of technology in the classroom is truly colorful. It's not as much about knowing when to do a hand written exit ticket versus a Google Form, and more about providing access to the culture of language and the opportunity for real world communication. Think about how you are using tech in your classroom, but more importantly WHY. I think by asking ourselves why, we have a much better shot of knowing how much is too much. (Pictured above: QR code stations with links to gruesome sports injuries. Students worked in small groups and scanned the various links- had to write a brief synopsis of the injury and make a recommendation on how to fix the problem- use of preterite tense and subjunctive. I love the faces they are making! )
Comparisons to Valentine's Day in Spain
Student lead discovery of how to form commands based on TPR activity from the beginning of the year based on classroom commands Conversations Hearts and SPEED DATES! Talk about a busy lesson! Today we celebrated Valentine's Day in class by doing a ton of super fun things! I started class wishing each student a Happy Valentine's day as they entered the room. I handed each of them a conversation heart. I found some Spanish conversation hearts online and printed 3 copies of each. I placed 1 copy atop the red paper I used to cover the desks facing each other like a romantic table and I handed out 2 of the hearts to students at random as they walked in the door. Students were instructed in their warm-up to find their group and sit down! As they made their way through the door, high energy Spanish music played and they knew they were in for some excitement! Immediately students were curious about the set up of the desks! I not only had them set up this way for the speed date activity, but also so I could have them quickly converse with a partner regarding what they saw in the quick 5 minute clip I showed them on Valentine's Day in Spain and so they could use their prior knowledge of commands together to come up with ways to use expressions of love in Spanish of Valentine's Day! Being able to negotiate meaning together is critical! I am not going to withhold, I teach A and B day classes. On actual Valentine's day, this lesson was incredibly difficult, the kids were crazy, students were in and out of class for practice for an upcoming concert, and middle school hormones were through the roof. I was left feeling less than happy with how the lesson turned out, because in my head and on planning paper it looked to be well thought out, well set up, and like a home run. Not so much. Between me feeling sick and the student's being crazy, it took everything I had to pull this lesson off on Tuesday 2-14. At the end of the day I thought to myself, what can I change, how can I make this flow better, and do I really want to do this again tomorrow? I made a few adjustments in terms of what activities were done first second and third and it REALLY made all the difference. I think too with the hype of Valentine's Day being over, it enabled us to link our experiences, what we got, what we did, what we gave, etc. to the quick clip in Spanish about what they give,do,get in Spain and then were were able to list similarities together with a more current theme. That really helped us focus and allowed an easy transition statement of, "What common sayings do we have for Valentine's Day on the ever-popular conversation hearts?" "Kiss me! Hug me! I love you! Be mine! Text me!" The list went on and on. At the beginning of the year I taught kids simple classroom commands using TPR. The movements paired with the repetition of the word allowed my students use pronouns with verbs in command form (without explicit grammar instruction!) I asked my students to give me a few of the commands we learned at the beginning of the year. As they shared them, I wrote the infinitives of the verbs on the board. Then in the partners they were seated in, I asked them to brainstorm how those verbs got from the infinitive to the command. Then I gave them a few words for Valentine's Day that were easily expressed in pictures. Besar and abrazar. I asked the students to figure out how they might say, "Kiss me!" "Hug me!" And sure enough the kids were so excited they were able to do it! We went on to push towards expressing feelings for others by discussing in groups what te amo and te adoro mean and how we arrive at expressing other feelings or sentiments. There are some elements of PACE here regarding grammar in context- drawing attention to the point and then having students co-construct meaning, however this is not a PACE lesson- just a bit of PACE influence. Students made conversation hearts in Spanish like the ever popular Valentine's Day candy, which helped me see which students understood the grammar point and which didn't. We then moved to speed dates so we could share out conversation hearts! As well as spend a solid 15-20 minutes in level 1 speaking to each other entirely in Spanish. I always station myself in the midst of the speed dates so students had to speak to me also so that I can gauge where they are, plus it is so fun! Prior to embarking on our speed date activity, as a class we shared what basic personal information questions we have learned and we made a list of questions. Student had to ask name, age, and origin of each person each time so that they could practice asking for and giving basic personal information, but they also had to ask 2 other questions, which I gave them a moment to make up. We laughed, we smiled, we played, we moved, and we enjoyed. But most importantly, we learned to make connections to culture and each other. Feliz día de San Valentín February 13, 2017
To Whom It May Concern: I believe that World Language education is the epicenter of cultural understanding and manifests its beauty in curricular connections that simply could not be made without the study of a language, its people, and their way of life. Studying a language not only empowers young minds by providing the unique opportunity to delve into countries and culture otherwise potentially unknown, but allows students to expand their knowledge of the world we live in and our ever changing, ever shrinking global society. It offers them the chance to better understand their own culture, their own friends, and their own community. The human aspect of World Language study is irreplaceable. A World Language classroom focused on the target culture in the target language allows students to take risks and communicate within the language. Students are in the primary phases of language acquisition when they begin their study and thus need immediate and consistent feedback. The absolute best way to learn a foreign language is to speak in the language and have someone speak with you. It would be an incredible disservice to students in the State of Maryland to offer an online computer coding program to equal a World Language Credit and negate the opportunity to embrace the target language and culture in a supportive and immersive environment with a World Language specialist who can provide written and oral feedback to students studying language. Computer Coding and World Language, both very valuable and important, are not the same and should not be regarded as the same. I am asking, as a highly qualified World Language educator and advocate, that you please oppose Senate Bill 458 that would enable students to take computer programing courses to satisfy their World Language requirement. We cannot allow artificial intelligence to replace the human element of language acquisition, nor can we allow coding to replace the study of language. If we want to create culturally aware students who have the ability to negotiate meaning in more than one language, we must provide opportunities for students to speak, practice, and interact in the target language on a daily basis with consistent meaningful feedback tailored to their needs as unique learners. Sincerely, Caroline Mark Washington County Public Schools, Maryland |
Author14th year Spanish teacher Archives
June 2020
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