New rules were introduced to each of my classes a week and a half ago. Since then, we have worked individually, in pairs, in groups, and as a whole class. Each time, before beginning I remind the students of the rules that they created for class. Today, before we began individual work, I asked the students to tell me what rules they had written. They named each of them, and included some extras...like not drinking and driving.
Despite their attempts at humor, they worked quietly and diligently during individual work. The second half of class was devoted to paired work. Again, we reviewed the rules. There remains some chatting with other students besides their partners, but this dissipates quickly as I move through the classroom, answering questions and redirecting off-task behavior.
All four classes have accepted and applied the new rules. As I mentioned before, they are great students, and with clear expectations I can try more challenging tasks with them and know that they will respond appropriately. They will be doing individual/paired presentations in December. Though class will be over, I am excited to know that each student will feel confident and safe presenting because the other students have realized how important mutual respect is in the classroom.
Video will be posted this weekend!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
2nd update on Inquiry Plan
After introducing how to create formal commands on Tuesday, my students practiced with several different exercises. Then they completed a take-home assignment which helped them write out several commands that a teacher would give a class. This made them familiar with the wording and structure.
On Wednesday, after I presented the project to my students, they got to work right away writing out four to five rules for their specific activity. They LOVED working in groups, and I was pleasantly surprised to see how well they stayed on task. They had a strict time-line which positively affected how well they stayed on task. The students spent Thursday preparing their visual aids and creating skits about how their activity should not look during class. I spent the time checking in with groups, helping them grammatical errors and assisting in prioritizing their rules.
On Friday, the students presented their posters and skits. For each rule that they presented, they were expected to give one reason why it was important. We discussed how it was important to have rules with a purpose. Some of the main themes running through their presentations were: respect, responsibility, and successful completion of assignments. I was impressed and pleased that all students created practical and truly important rules. Not one group made light of or created silly rules for their activity. Some of the groups were truly creative with skits...others were not. However, the students had fun watching all of them.
While the theme of expectations has been presented, now I will be observing each activity over the next two weeks to see how well students follow through. For each activity, we will be revisiting their self-created rules from this point on. I will report back after observing them in each activity.
On Wednesday, after I presented the project to my students, they got to work right away writing out four to five rules for their specific activity. They LOVED working in groups, and I was pleasantly surprised to see how well they stayed on task. They had a strict time-line which positively affected how well they stayed on task. The students spent Thursday preparing their visual aids and creating skits about how their activity should not look during class. I spent the time checking in with groups, helping them grammatical errors and assisting in prioritizing their rules.
On Friday, the students presented their posters and skits. For each rule that they presented, they were expected to give one reason why it was important. We discussed how it was important to have rules with a purpose. Some of the main themes running through their presentations were: respect, responsibility, and successful completion of assignments. I was impressed and pleased that all students created practical and truly important rules. Not one group made light of or created silly rules for their activity. Some of the groups were truly creative with skits...others were not. However, the students had fun watching all of them.
While the theme of expectations has been presented, now I will be observing each activity over the next two weeks to see how well students follow through. For each activity, we will be revisiting their self-created rules from this point on. I will report back after observing them in each activity.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Classroom Update #1
Before implementing my inquiry plan, I have had to do some foundation work. First, I had to check up on video/photo release forms, and was happy to discover that 100% of my students are okay with being on videotape. To streamline my project, I decided to only video in one class. It will provide greater continuity for those of you who will watch it later. I will be implementing this plan in four separate classes, though.
This week, I taught my students to write and to say formal commands in Spanish. Today, we focused specifically on plural formal commands. This is essential for the project that they will be completing. They will be using these commands to create rules for the different activities in the classroom tomorrow. Before beginning, I will give them a list of "rules" and they will rate them from most to least important. They have also been compiling lists of verbs that could be used for rules in a classroom. I will be video-taping 1. my presentation of the project tomorrow, 2. the students' work session tomorrow and Thursday, and 3. the presentation of the rules on Friday.
I will be following up in the next several weeks by observing and taking notes while my students participate in random activities. I will have a checklist for which expectations they keep. They have been working hard this week learning the commands...I think they are excited about their new rules.
This week, I taught my students to write and to say formal commands in Spanish. Today, we focused specifically on plural formal commands. This is essential for the project that they will be completing. They will be using these commands to create rules for the different activities in the classroom tomorrow. Before beginning, I will give them a list of "rules" and they will rate them from most to least important. They have also been compiling lists of verbs that could be used for rules in a classroom. I will be video-taping 1. my presentation of the project tomorrow, 2. the students' work session tomorrow and Thursday, and 3. the presentation of the rules on Friday.
I will be following up in the next several weeks by observing and taking notes while my students participate in random activities. I will have a checklist for which expectations they keep. They have been working hard this week learning the commands...I think they are excited about their new rules.
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