Hi #earlylang! Iām Dorie and I teach Spanish grades 1-5 in Glastonbury, CT. Iāll be bouncing in and out tonight as I try to convince my 4 year old that he does, in fact, need to go to bed tonight. š
R1: I view choice at the primary level to be principally about adding personalization to our activities; as well, the opportunity to make decisions & choose outcomes for a variety of activities, routines, & class community #earlylang
A1 allowing my students to guide and influence our daily interactions. Reminding myself that language learning is about the student, not about me or āmyā curriculum. #earlylang
R1: I also see choice as students having a say in what they are learning about, when appropriate. There are a number of ways students can explore more about their interests while still maintaining commonalities #earlylang
In Montessori we call this the prepared environment. Really whatever they choose, based on their needs, desires, they'll get something out of it--or even more, because the choices have been carefully planned. #earlylang
A1 Sometimes there are special activities that have taken place, run with it! They want to (try) to use vocab. Let them go and encourage them. #EarlyLang
Allowing students choice in their responses to questions, choice in who they work with on a task or choice in the way they complete a project #earlylang
I view choice as a primary element of human dignity. On the first day of class, I always tell students they can say "no gracias" if they choose not to answer a question or do a task. Of course, I take notice and use this info.
R1: I let students have as much control as possible but this is tough for me. I want them to have as much choice and voice as they do in mainstream classes but itās a challenge. Iāve been thinking of this a lot with the PBL push #earlylang
A1: Ideally, I like to start by identifying my essential question and end goals, and letting students decide how to get their. Choice in what to learn, how to learn, and how to demonstrate learning. #earlylang
Our assistant principal gave us an overview of a workshop she went to about choice-a big takeaway: w unlimited choice, many kids get overwhelmed & break down, are blocked b/c they have too many choices #earlylang
Our assistant principal gave us an overview of a workshop she went to about choice-a big takeaway: w unlimited choice, many kids get overwhelmed & break down, are blocked b/c they have too many choices #earlylang
A2: Empowers students; embedded differentiation; engages; taps into multiple intelligences; opportunity for students to work in their comfort zone and push them out of their comfort zone. #earlylang
Our assistant principal gave us an overview of a workshop she went to about choice-a big takeaway: w unlimited choice, many kids get overwhelmed & break down, are blocked b/c they have too many choices #earlylang
A2: Just to speak to the power of it, I had a student with severe social anxiety; he wouldnāt present in any of his classes. He chose to do a project for me out of leggos and was so proud of it that he volunteered to present. His mom cried when I told her. #earlylang
A2: Student choice helps significantly with student buy-in. They are more interested, engaged in the learning if they chose how or what, etc. #earlylang
R2: Students are more invested for sure when they have ownership of what they are learning. This can even pay off in the most important ways and even sometimes overlooked ones, like less problems with classroom management #earlylang
I love off-topic convo for this reason. It may seem off-topic to them, but Iām still getting in reps of high-freq structures, and vocal that is relevant to them. #earlylang
Since I allow my students to lead me, providing a choice (of 2-3) enables me to assess their comfort level, interest, and motivation. They learn by doing, I learn by watching.
A2 - choice gives Ss agency and independence. It allows you to really get to know them on a personal level - and build a relationship. Very important if you have them many years in a row like I do (8 years!) #EarlyLang
A1- Christelle in Ottawa, Canada just getting back from a walk on this beautiful evening. I teach grades 3-6 extended French. That means I see the students for a quarter of their day for the most part. #earlylang
A1- I am trying to incorporate more centres or in class. Actually planning to take my centres outdoors tomorrow for #outdoorclassroomday. I try not to force Ss to do all tasks- offer variation. #earlylang
Excellent answer :) I think with choice, extra encouragement is sometimes necessary though to get them out of their comfort zone/preferred activity and taking risks/trying something new. #earlylang
A2: Empowers students; embedded differentiation; engages; taps into multiple intelligences; opportunity for students to work in their comfort zone and push them out of their comfort zone. #earlylang
This is where 'news of the day' can be so powerful! I don't do it formally, but kids always have something to tell me when they arrive, which can lead to some hilarious, yet high learning convos! #earlylang
Yes, this is an area where #earlylang is often different than working with older Ss, we keep our kiddos for so many years! Itās important to get to know them early and keep their interests and personalities in mind.
That's a really good point! Our gen ed teachers were talking about this recently at a staff mtg regarding book choices for reading (fiction vs non fiction, etc) #earlylang
Q3: Choice in a specific class period on how to learn about a specific topic, i.e. watch a video, direct instruction with Maestra, books, game ... all on the same topic, but they choose which one #earlylang
Q3 I've really been emphasizing the personal vocab/lang chunk list. The ss self select what they need to say on the tasks--and cannot exceed expectations without them. #earlylang
A3: With my upper level classes, they have a section of their notebook that is their personal dictionary - any words they love or want to know. #EarlyLang
A3: This year my 4th graders choose their centers each class. They are set centers, all related to a theme. Different skills (speaking, listening, creating, writing, etc.) Over the course of several classes they need to hit up a certain number of modes. #earlylang
A3: I can definitely work on offering choice to students more often. This year I let 3rd graders decide how they wanted to demonstrate learning during our Puerto Rico unit--they got to chose tech and topics shared #earlylang
A3: With my Can Do Statements for each unit, I always have blank ones so they can fill in their own goals. Sometimes they're silly goals but they;ve been getting better! ;-) #EarlyLang
Yes! This is the reason I teach them how to use a dictionary responsibily (ie not translating, but looking up words that are very specific to them). I have learned so many new words over the years thanks to them! #earlylang
A3. Ex: my 4th graders are going to present a biome to the class. While every one needs to use those same hf words: es, hay, tiene, the ss choose what biome, and the vocab to describe it, plus the visual. #earlylang
how do you manage this when they all come back together? I find w my kiddos if there is too much personalized vocab, only the one kiddo knows what they are talking about #earlylang
A3- In drama, I had a couple of Ss who would not participate in the traditional way. They chose to become stage hands, prop designers and producers. Sometimes, everyone gets a choice. Sometimes, the ones who need it most for encouragement and success. #earlylang
we have a lot of front loading of same vocab, chunks at beginning. And everyone has some experience with each biome. The variation might be with a few animal names. #earlylang
A3 I also do a lot w kids making up their own details to stories (so changing parts of the storyline) to "customize" the story; also lots of activities about themselves, their families, their pets, their preferences that allow for choice in what they want to share #earlylang
I think you can offer choice in all types of activities, but you must be vigilant. Initially choice enables reluctant learners to take chances, and gives confident students a chance to break out. But you must structure choices so that all learners are challenged & nurtured.
Ok, yes! I did a similar thing w my 3rd graders, they got to choose an animal to learn more about (from a set # of choices) & then shared out-vocab was common across different "reports", but facts were different based on animal #earlylang
A3- sometimes the choices are larger- how to present something. Sometimes they are smaller- which centre do you want to start at today? Thinking about it now, I need to keep consciously offering more choices to students in various ways. #earlylang
A3- sometimes the choices are larger- how to present something. Sometimes they are smaller- which centre do you want to start at today? Thinking about it now, I need to keep consciously offering more choices to students in various ways. #earlylang
Yes, I also offer choice in who shares. I reward those who do with reward points, but I donāt make everyone share if they donāt want to. #earlylang
Q4- Keeping Ss in TL during freer activities is one of my biggest challenges!! Sometimes if they are too excited about the topic, the sharing is more important than communicating ideas with their limited TL skills. #earlylang
A4: Creating a classroom culture that expects it, providing resources/helpful TL phrases posted in room, engaging with groups as the teacher #earlylang
A4: if I have given them many reps of the structures they want to use, they use them. When I hear English, I know I need to provide more input with those phrases. #earlylang
Agree. I also learned from @TeachArriba a couple of years ago to teach explicitly the transactional language like" please pass me a pencil, scissor,glue" "Agree?" and then practice it before the ss are working on their own. #earlylang
A4 Model before and circulate, repeating, āen espaƱolā, or āusa tu diccionarioā., encouraging them stay in TL and use their book for the words they need. #EarlyLang
I think this is the great challenge whenever kids work outside of the 'big group'... sometimes I wonder if the expectation for them to stay entirely in the TL is realistic in these situations which begs the ? 'what is my priority?' #earlylang
A4 I shared this in our last chat, but I also created a flip book of Spanish for the phrases I most often hear them use in L1 (things like āitās your turnā, āno peeking!ā, etc) #earlylang
I let students chat and have one go around recording on an iPad for accountability. It helps me hear and check more students than I can get around to. #earlylang
Most choice activities are partner or small group. Students have "solo espaƱol" badges. As long as they are wearing their badge they can only speak Spanish. They can ask permission to take of badge, but don't like to, they figure another way to solve their communication issue.
I liken it to how many times they've watched their favorite movies (100s of times!)... & you can change details w/o changing the overall structure of the activity to keep it fresh #earlylang
That is my priority also, hence why I've been reluctant to try centers, for ex. I 'd rather structure lessons they can do in the TL-there are still loads of opportunities for choice within that #earlylang
A4 I shared this in our last chat, but I also created a flip book of Spanish for the phrases I most often hear them use in L1 (things like āitās your turnā, āno peeking!ā, etc) #earlylang
A5. My goal is to use enough repetition of high frequency words that students acquire them. The more personalized vocabulary is usually lower frequency words, so I donāt generally stress about them. #earlylang
A5. My goal is to use enough repetition of high frequency words that students acquire them. The more personalized vocabulary is usually lower frequency words, so I donāt generally stress about them. #earlylang
A5 This comes back to the 'choice within structure' for me. I provide choice, but it is limited & utilizes common vocab so the whole class community can take part (understand) in hearing/sharing what has been learned #earlylang
A5. My goal is to use enough repetition of high frequency words that students acquire them. The more personalized vocabulary is usually lower frequency words, so I donāt generally stress about them. #earlylang
Q5- We do things they have had practice doing and can build on. I embrace mistakes and risk taking in the TL. If they forget or donāt use a familiar phrase on TL, I get them to repeat it after me. #earlylang
I use a lot of authentic literature, art, music, of interest to students. That provides a common vocab. and function framework for interaction. (Managed) Choice comes in how students interact with the material and each other.
Hey #earlylang chat. Betsy, Los Angeles, Spanish Grades 3-6. I am joining very late, so I'll be unofficially slow chatting in tune with west coast time.
A5 Repetition and spiraling with tightly articulated curriculum. Lessons are planned to pull together repetitive learned words and phrases. Must be meaningful planning by teacher. #EarlyLang
