El examen oral

February 27th, 2015

Today, I gave my students their first speaking exam.  They were so nervous, and I felt so bad for them, but I knew that they were prepared.  Following the exam, since we had shortened classes today, the students and I worked more with the interrogatives and played a few rounds of BINGO to help them remember them.

I worked with my Senior SAP today to decorate the door to my room and relate it to a college.  We chose Worcester State--naturally--and I am SOOOO proud of how the door came out and the team work that I saw from mostly all of the students.

After returning home, I just finished correcting my first class's oral exams, and I am very pleased. They did very well, and it helped me recognize patterns of error; I need to review pronunciation and the verb "comprender" because nearly everyone thought that it ended in "ar." This sure isn't easy.

Cambio y corto,

El joven

La preparación

February 26th, 2015

Today, we went into the lab and I gave the students a practice quiz for their oral exam. We had a few technical difficulties, but we eventually figured it out. 

La vieja also taught me how to transfer rubric points and convert it to a percentage and then to my point system. It was great, and I valued it so much. How lucky am I? I just kind of feel that Worcester State failed me a little bit to that regard. 

Cambio y corto,

El joven. 

Repaso

February 25th, 2015

Today, I did a review of all the irregular verbs with my students because they have their first speaking exam on Friday. Hopefully that goes well!

At the seminar course, we had a wonderful, captivating guest speaker who discussed promoting equity. It was astounding to me how some of my peers felt about this--some responses were phenomenal, others unrealistic, and others were just scary. The guest speaker raised a good question: "we're you brought in to teach accountability, or were you brought in to teach English/math/etc.?" 

Cambio y corto,

El joven 

Defeated!

Defeated is all I can say today!

La vieja

Joven - Te extrañé hoy! Joven - I missed you today!

I was not in school today as I was involved in a cross site visit to Hopkins Academy in Hadley as part of the PLN for Teacher Evaluation.  We had a great visit and learned a great deal from our friends in Hadley.  As we were talking about colleagues observing each other and helping each other to grow professionally and as we were talking about colleagues working together to create DDMs, discussing common terms and developing a common language about student work and the assessment of it, and analyzing data and refining our practice, I couldn't help but think of how lucky I was to have el joven as my new colleague.  He is very observant, objective and comes with a great background.  It never ceases to amaze me at how professional he already is.  I am looking forward to moving ahead with all of our school and district initiatives.  La vieja is a very lucky old lady!

La Vieja

Las llamadas

February 24th, 2015

Last night, I gave the students a speaking assignment for homework.  The students had to call my Google+ Voice phone number and state three emotions they felt and why.  Today, I listened to them, and they were absolutely adorable. My mamá came home to me smiling because I was so happy.

In class today, we continued reviewing interrogatives. I am so proud of all of my students because we have been able to get very advanced: "with whom are you in love?" "To whom to they write the letters?" "At what time is the exam?" etc.

We finished a game where the students were given a statement and had to develop the question.  This game took much longer than I anticipated, but that is okay because they were learning and improving with each example. Too bad La vieja was not in school today to join in my excitement!

Cambio y corto,

El joven

Frío . . .Frío

Well here we are back at school.  It seemed like that vacation was nothing but snow and cold.  It actually is nice to be back as the day went by much faster.

All of the students were right back on task and focused.  Spanish V continues to really wow me with their discussion in the target language.  Keep up that great work!  Spanish III retained the new vocabulary words and we were just beginning to talk about bochos and peseros when the bell rang.  It will have to wait until Wednesday now because I will not be in class tomorrow.  Spanish II continued its work with querer and many of the students commented that they had the song Yo te quiero on their iPods or on Pandora.  Cool.  We also worked on the new vocabulary.

After school we had the DTLC meeting and it was extremely windy and cold when we got out at 5:00.  Tomorrow I will be with my PLN visiting another school in the area.  I love working with this group.  They inspire me.

La Vieja

Back in the Swing of Things

February 23rd, 2015

Today was the first day back after vacation, and I am so tired! Some great things happened today, though.  I got a Google Voice number, so I was able to add an assignment to my homework.  The students got a number to call--which goes to my email--and they can leave me a voicemail.  I told the students to state three emotions and why they felt that way.  This is cool because it's a way of getting the students to use the language outside of the classroom, rather than a written assignment for homework all the time.

I also reviewed interrogatives, and I REALLY wish that the students had a better understanding of the English language because that would really help them here.  Most students do not know that they cannot end a sentence--or, in this case, a question--with a preposition, so they want to ask things like, "Who do you live with," instead of "with whom do you live?" On the bright side, Spanish will now be helping them with their native language!

We played a game today that went over really well.  I have the students a statement (ex. I dance with my sister), and they had to come up with a question that could go along with that statement (ex. With whom do you dance?; or "what do you do with your sister?").  We will finish this game tomorrow.

Cambio y corto,

El joven

Slacker

La Vieja is definitely a slacker.  Here I am posting on Monday, my thoughts about Friday.  Oh well,  life goes on.  Friday was a great day.  Perhaps it was because it was the day before vacation.  My Spanish 5 class is really getting into some deep discussions and learning about Latinoamérica.  I hope we can continue at this pace. Spanish III has also quickly mastered a great deal of new vocabulary.  I hope we can review "Making Invitations," "Accepting and Denying Invitations" which are all review when we get back.  Spanish 2 had a quiz and it looks like we may finally be up to par with common Spanish I irregular verbs.  This class had a great time doing some cultural activities.  We listened to Yo Te Quiero and learned the refrain.  We also put some gestures to the refrain - which according to research helps individuals remember.  We had a few minutes left at the end of the class so we learned "Tin Marin."  The students knew the entire rhyme by the time we finished.  Hopefully they will be able to produce it when we return.  It is unfortunate that they didn't do this in Spanish I, since it helps so much with basic sounds.

I am really enjoying vacation but not this snow and cold.  Right now I am working on a workshop I might present during our next professional development day.  I feel I have so much to offer but where is the time (except for vacations) to put these workshops together.  Off to plan.

La Vieja (también conocida como La Floja)

Vacation is here!

February 13th, 2015

Boy did I learn today that students all learn differently.  Every lesson that I gave today was different because the students really did not all respond the way I expected. With my first class, I felt that I forced them into output before they were ready, so I changed up my lesson for the next two classes. However, as I looked at the faces if my students in my last block with my last activity, I realized that they really were not enjoying it. As a result, I completely had to improvise. I decided to make the game into a competition. Phew.

It is incredible how differently the students react to things.  I am still feeling bad for my first block class, though.  They really are my guinea pigs, but they are great students.  Having full attention of 24 students is pretty great.  Mr. Metzger--the principal--also told me today that many of the parents complimented me after the Open House.  That was awesome news!

I am so happy that vacation has arrived!

Time to sleep for a week,

El joven

La velada de vuelta al colegio

February 12th, 2015

Today I started new material: emotions! I am really happy with how the students did. They really are beginning to make me laugh a lot. It's so refreshing. 

Their opening activity was a review of ser and estar and we quickly moved on to emotions. I gave them flash cards with pictures and then did an activity where I asked students how they were and they had to base it on the emotion they saw on the board. I asked "how is he?" "How are you?" etcetera. Some students went above and beyond and even gave me reasons why they felt that way. One of my favorites: "estoy enfermo porque no tomo mi leche" "I am sick because I don't drink my milk." 

Then, we moved on to Bingo. This was so much fun. The students who won get marked in my gradebook, and--once they win 5 times--they will get a homework pass. 

I, do, however, wish I waited to start the new material until after break. Lesson learned!

Back to school night was tonight, and I am truly proud of myself. I felt very prepared and the parents seemed engaged and seemed to agree with my techniques. One parent told me that she couldn't believe how organized and detailed I was. That was a great feeling. I also got to get into specifics with some parents about their students. I definitely need to reach out to the parents of students who are doing amazingly and let their parents know. I shouldn't only reach out to parents when there is a problem/worry. 

All in all: great day! 

Zzzzzzzzz,

El joven

Padres . . . y Frío

Well tonight was Open House at MHS.  Unfortunately, because the weather has not been that great and  driving conditions are still not very safe with narrow streets, we didn't have that large of a turn out.  It was great to see the parents and guardians who did attend and share our foreign language program objectives and expectations with them.

I am looking forward to tomorrow when we can begin our vacation but it does seem like we were just on vacation for the end of year holidays.  I hope we can get back into a normal swing of things after this winter break.  Do you think this will be the last of the snow?  Let's hope.

La Vieja

La visita

Today was super hectic. I am really disappointed that I have to leave my last block students a half hour early on Wednesdays for this seminar course. It really should be later. The students are not getting input from me that my other classes are getting. It's really too bad. 

Today, Mr. Riordan from WSU came and observed my class. I, honestly, was not very nervous. I felt prepared, and my students were very well behaved (as always). I'm spoiled with such great students. 

Today we worked on "ser" vs. "estar" but I was only activating prior knowledge. I had the students move Shakira and Prince Royce from one country on the map to another and say where the person was from and where he/she was located. Mr. Riordan suggested having the students move the pieces, which worked much better and was much more engaging. 

Following that activity, we did a round robin with the two verbs. Every student was engaged, and I was very pleased. Then, Mrs. Barnes--that's how I know her, but I believe the students told me that her name is Mrs. Watts (sp)-- stopped by my classroom and impressed me with some very unexpected skills in the spanish language. She is now head of the curriculum for Monson Public Schools. 

All in all, today was a great, but exhausting day. 

Cambio y corto,

El joven 

Cansadísima . . . Super Tired

I feel totally exhausted.  I don't know if it is because of the cold, if it is because of the shoveling I have done this week or if it is because I feel like I cannot get going with much momentun in my teaching.  I cannot wait for warmer days and more sunshine.  I guess I really need the vacation.  Hey vieja . . . you really should clean this house.  Just finding things takes a long time because everything seems to be disorganized.

Today el joven had his first observation.  Mr. Riordan, his Worcester State supervisor, arrived at Monson High around 8:45 and we had a nice talk about what my obligations are as a supervisor and what el joven's obligations are.  I cannot believe that el joven will be a certified Spanish teacher when he finishes this practicum (and the state finally gets him his paperwork - that official license).  Seems like just yesterday el joven was a student in my class and soaring with his work.  I could not have asked for a better student teacher.  He is so innovative and conscientious.  I cannot imagine how frustrated I would be if I had someone who was not conscientious and well-prepared.
Mr. Riordan observed el joven's B Block class and before he left he stopped by my room to tell me that he felt that el joven was a true gem (like I didn't already know that).  He was greatly impressed with his observation of el joven's class and stated that el joven will be a great asset to the profession.  Mr. Riordan also commented that he feels that I have had an influence on el joven's professionalism and preparation.  That was nice to hear but I am not quite convinced of it.

A few other things we accomplished today were (1) we got the attendance warning letters and loss of credit letters sent to el joven  and (2) we checked in with the nurse to see what el joven's obligations are regarding Epi Pens.  Mrs. Goodrich was very helpful with the warning and loss of credit letters and Mrs. Ramsland got right to our questions and called me to discuss how she will follow up to clarify procedures.  We are so lucky to have wonderful colleagues who take action immediately!

Later we had another visitor.  Kate Watts stopped by my room and also by el joven's room to do a quick walk through.  It is always nice to see administrators checking out what we are doing.  It is nice to be acknowledged and to get validation for your practice and your department.

Well la vieja definitely needs to get some sleep, especially since tomorrow evening will be Monson High School's Open House.  I hope we see a good turn out of parents.  Do you think el joven will be a bit nervous?  Probably not!!

Buenas Noches!
La Vieja

Otro día más sin verde!

Yes, another day without green and without full classes.  I used that title because it dates back to a student trip to Mexico. We spent the week with the same bus driver who repeatedly played the Jon Secada song - Otro día más sin verte.  Poor Larry thought it was the Desert Vacation Song because he always heard Otro día más sin verde . . . Another Day without Green. This comment certainly made me realize what a language learner might be hearing when they are not advanced in the language.
Well we had shortened classes again.  It is really hard to get into the swing of things with all of these "snow days." My Spanish 5 class surprised me with the start of their project - illustrating Latinoamérica by Calle 13.  I cannot wait to see the finished version.  Spanish III is moving along and finally into some new materials.  Spanish II should be getting into new materials tomorrow . . . I hope.
El joven and I are getting really excited about our SAP activities.  I suggested to him that we develop something about stereotypes and, as usual, he already had some activities that he has used.  We brainstormed more and hope that we can have two SAP sessions to carry these out.
We had a department meeting after school and talked about the 21st century learner.  It is sad to see that we have so little technology and we have so many resources blocked here at MHS.  The video we watched talked about "how to engage" the students of today.  We cannot even approach this. We can only hope to engage the students of the 80s at best.  We also discussed performance vs. proficiency.  A performance is based on instruction and familiar content.  Proficiency is what language learners can do when they are using language unrehearsed, in less predictable situations, outside the classroom, with people who do not know what topics the learner is currently studying.
Well off to bed!

La Vieja (who needs her sleep)

Otro día de retraso

February 10th, 2015

Today, we, yet again, had another delay after not having school yesterday.  I find this to now be super frustrating because it completely ruins lesson plans.  I plan for 84-minute classes, so only having an hour is quite frustrating.

I found myself smiling today as I realized that the students have really gotten a hang of my expectations.  They came into class, picked up their warm-up activity, put in any late work in the trays without pointing it out to me, and took their homework as they left class.  I was so proud.

My first class kind of angered me today, to be frank.  There was a lot of chit chat and disrespect, so I found my face getting red and my expressions getting serious.  I think I need to be a bit stricter with this class because it is my largest class.  I also have to worry about copying with this class, which is something for which I have zero tolerance.

I also found that I really want to change my routine a little.  I have been going over homework and the warm-up at the beginning of class, but that leaves little to no time for actual classroom learning.  From now on, I plan on having them complete the warm-up, do the lesson, and then--if there is time--go over the homework and warm-up.  If I do not get to it, I will simply have the students leave those assignments in the tray for me to take home.

I played a game with my students today that was very effective.  All the students were engaged and supported each other! I loved it! With my last class, I moved seats to better facilitate learning--which then allowed for 4 groups of 4, too--and I was very pleased with the result!

La vieja and I talked a lot about literature today; I really need to start reading more! I need to read Fuentes, El beso de la mujer araña, El coronel no tiene quien le escriba, and much more! La vieja also talked to be about performance versus something else (she is going to kill me for not remembering the word), but these are different forms of assessment.  I do not want students to constantly be memorizing, rehearsing and producing simply what the practiced.  Otherwise, they will soon forget.  I want to make sure that students can produce the language naturally and spontaneously.  Food for thought. Hoping for a full day tomorrow!

Cambio y corto,

El joven

El Carnaval del invierno

February 6th, 2015

Today, the students had their Winter Carnaval, so we only had 30-minute classes. This gave me very little time for anything. 

I handed back the quizzes, and I was so happy with the amount of 100s that the students got! I noticed a pattern of error with IR verbs, so we spent some time going over that. 

After that, the students and I went over a long homework assignment that we didn't get to finish going over and it gave me some time to go over forming questions, which seemed to have been foreign for the students. 

The winter carnival games drove me crazy in the sense that the students were all telling each other they suck and chanting that the other teams suck. On the other hand, there were some incredible moments where the students supported each other and rooted loudly for students on their team. 

La vieja and I also combined SAPs again today and did this great activity about where students are, were, and hope to be. It's hard to explain in writing, but every student participated, and it was great!

I also got my first parent email today. The email was very respectful, and I am happy that this parent reached out to me. We will see how that goes. 

El joven 

El primer examencito

February 5th, 2015

Today, I gave my students their first quiz on AR, ER, and IR verbs. The students seemed very prepared, and it took a lot less time than I anticipated. 

I did decide to move on, so we went over sequencing today. Primero, Entonces, Después, Luego, Por fin. Most of the students seemed to already know this, so we did two paragraphs on the board as a group, and then I gave them an activity with pictures to use. 

My students really made me laugh today, and I am looking forward to moving on to new material. 

El joven

Pruebas (First Assessments of the Semester) and Carnaval

Hey joven!!  Where have you been?  So today was a day of first assessments for Spanish II and Spanish III.  I haven't corrected them yet but I am hoping for excellent results.  I hope I am not disappointed.  Well today was Winter Carnival Day.  We had very short classes in the morning followed by a long SAP period.  El joven planned another great SAP activity.  It was  Put Yourself Where.  He designated a place in the room (center) where Monson was.  He told the students where north, south, east and west were. He then proceeded to ask various questions such as Where were you when you met your best friend?  Where were you when you made your biggest mistakes?  Where do you see yourself next year?  Where do you see yourself in 10 years.  This activity - like the one he planned for last week - was excellent.  PST - I did help out a bit with both of them - mostly encouragement The students really became involved in it and shared personal reflections and comments. Nice work, joven!  After a quick lunch, we spent the afternoon in the gym watching the Interclass Competition.  It was good to see some class and school spirit.  I particularly liked the volleyball game . .. not because I was interested in it but because I liked the music.  We really need to get something new into this Winter Carnival. With all of the snow, this year would have been a perfect year to have (bring back) the snow sculptures!  Maybe that will happen when I retire and el joven takes over the world!
La Vieja

Nada que Decir (Nothing to Say)

How do you fight lack of initiative?  How do you overcome apathy?  How do you motivate?  Yes, today is a day of frustración.  Oh, joven, it is not with all of my classes.  Basically I am focusing on one particular class and of course that is all I can think about . . . the one that is not going well, that doesn't seem to be advancing.  Why can't I celebrate the great work that is happening in Spanish 5 Honors and their enthusiasm and willingness to put together a project I have only dreamed of completing.  Why can't I be proud of the improvements that I have seen in Spanish 3 students.  The only thing I can think about is those students who are so very far behind in Spanish 2.  I want them to be successful but I feel that they are not all that interested in being successful.  I want them to understand that it is hard to accomplish tough tasks but I appreciate hard work and usually hard work and focus bring about success!  How can I instill this in my students so we can really begin to learn Spanish 2?  Yes, joven, even after 42 years there are days you feel like you are Sisyphus!  Today was one of them!

La Vieja

La frustración

February 4th, 2015

Today was the first day for which I had to plan a lesson so that I could leave halfway through my last block class to attend my seminar course at Worcester State.  Honestly, this is stressing me out.  I feel bad for my last block students who are not getting the input that they need from me--input that my other two classes are, indeed, getting.

I will never, ever understand why this seminar class is at 2:30.  Any student traveling from any kind of distance cannot make it without leaving early. WHY would they want us to do that? I really do not understand it.  I, honestly, was worried about killing myself because of the velocity at which I have to travel to try to make it there for 2:30.

Today, I moved on with my classes. We started by going over the opening activity, which was a test for them to see how much they knew.  I asked them to list the days of the week, the days of the weekend, the months, the seasons, 8 Spanish-speaking countries, etc.  I was impressed that each class was able to produce what I wanted with very few errors.  My students are definitely struggling with accent marks. Ay. So much to review.  I did find, however, that the students did not know the seasons, which was good information for me.

After this review, we started an activity on possessive adjectives--my, your, his, her, our, etc. I color coded the examples--at first, I used the same two examples for each. Then, I showed a powerpoint and asked the students to fill in the blank.  After that, I gave them conjugation cards that I got from la vieja because I am quizzing them on regular verbs tomorrow.  Let's hope it goes well!

Cambio y corto,

el joven

What Were They Thinking?

Well today was the first Wednesday where I had el joven's students in my class because he had to go to a class at Worcester State University which started at 2:00PM.  By the way, this class was for students who are in the midst of their teaching practicum.   DUH . . . What were these people thinking?  Why would you want a student teacher who should spend as much time as possible in the classroom and in the school leaving early every Wednesday to go to a class?  A student teacher should be there working with his/her classes.  I strongly feel that it is not appropriate for Worcester State to pull these students out of their classrooms.  These students have become the de facto teachers of those classes and should be there directing and instructing those students.  I also feel strongly that student teachers should become a part of the entire school culture. They should become involved in after school activities to learn about that aspect of school life.  They should attend faculty meetings which are held after school so that they know what is coming up and they can hear valuable messages that are often related at teacher meetings.  They also should be there for students after school for extra help and support.  That is all part of what they should be learning at their schools during their practicum.  Wednesday is the extra help day for our foreign language department.  I guess someone else will have to work with those students who can only stay on Wednesday.  It seems that if a class is needed, it should meet at a later time - perhaps 4:00PM - so that those students in their practicum can get the entire experience of teaching.  It is not just what happens in the classroom.  I am so thankful that during my practicum my classes were at 4:00PM and they were once a month!!  It allowed me to become involved with the student clubs.  I actually worked with my supervising teacher and helped plan a French club trip to Quebec and I later chaperoned that trip along with her What a valuable learning experience that was!  Having later meetings also allowed me to help students and to attend faculty meetings.  Thanks Westfield State for your sane program!!  I know that if I had had to leave my classroom  in the midst of teaching a class it would have stressed me out a great deal.  It definitely would have impacted the continuity of my lessons and my formation as a teacher.

La Vieja (who seems very crabby tonight)

Another Delay

February 3rd, 2015

Today we had another delay. It is so frustrating because my plans are for 84-minute class periods, so cutting that in half is just not easy. 

Upon starting the day, la vieja showed me a dice activity where students would role two dice to practice conjugating the verbs based on the subject in one column and the direct object in the second column. Immediately, I wanted to do this with my classes, so she so graciously shared!

I caught up with my first-block class with conjugating irregular verbs. I had felt bad because my lesson with them wasn't as great, so I made sure to make up for that today. I am still worried about them, though. 

With my last block, I did something a bit different because they were advanced with irregular verbs: a speed-dating activity. The students asked each other questions and responded using irregular verbs. They did amazingly! With some guidance, they completed the activity exactly as I had hoped. 

After school, I went to my first faculty meeting. We discussed think time--essentially, giving the students some time to process questions. I want to implement this in my classroom by giving students more time to ponder. A student was answering a question today and started to realize he/she had made a mistake. He/she paused and other students immediately raised their hands. I want to try to limit moments likethat because students get discouraged and give up. 

I am stressed and concerned with how far behind we are with all these snow days. I am trying desperately to not rip out my hair. 

Cambio y corto,

El joven

Abrimos con un retraso de dos horas!

Well today we finally got back to school.  We did have a 2-hour delay which again goofed up classes but at least we got something accomplished.  It is difficult getting momentum when every other day there seems to be something that interferes with classes.  Now on Friday we will have shortened classes for Winter Carnival.  UGH.
Spanish V honors has been going well.  Today we read more tweets (tuits) from Latin America and the students discussed them.  They are getting used to discussions in Spanish.  Most of them had a long break since Spanish IV so they felt rusty.  I think they are starting to get back in the swing. They also had to write tuits and they had some excellent ones.

#Latinoamérica es una mezcla de paises mal entendido(s)
Yo creo que el fin del embargo inútil porque las personas no pueden viajar a Cuba y Cuba no tiene los productos más básicos #Yonoentiendo,

Spanish 3 is making progress.  They seemed much better with common level 1 and 2 verbs.  Hopefull we can start new material tomorrow.
Spanish 2 is still stumping me.  They are really far behind and struggle with simple Spanish 1 verbs.  The odd thing that most of them are doing is putting stress on the last syllable of all verbs.  ODD!!
We had a meeting after school and we did a survey about our schedule. We also completed an activity with wait/think time.  I like the idea of calling it think time.  There was a lot to think about and I plan to become a bit more aware of this in my classes.
El joven used my two column/dice activity and he says it went well.  I hope to get to it tomorrow.

I am finding it difficult planning for that Spanish 2 class.  I am definitely struggling.  I do not want to lose them.

La Vieja