Sunday, December 13, 2015
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Update
By Kerryn Frazier
I have been away from my page for awhile as I've been working with my department to complete our K-12 curriculum review. After a great deal of research, self-study, and professional development, we are working toward some new goals. As we continue our focus on students' conversational opportunities in the classroom, we will also be aiming for 90%+ target language use in all of our world language classes, at all grade levels. We have set proficiency targets for all levels in all languages according to ACTFL's national proficiency scale. We are working to implement ACTFL's Can Do Statements into our curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Perhaps most importantly, we are working to involve our students in setting their goals for proficiency and in understanding the steps they need to take to move to the next level of language proficiency.
As we embark on this exciting journey, I hope to share our experiences and strategies here. I am looking forward to seeing the benefits this work brings to our students, to our teachers, and to our classroom environments.
Later this week, I will share the Can Do Stamp Sheets I have been using with my Spanish 2 class so far this year. Stay tuned!
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Maya Angelou 4/4/28-5/28/14
A nice tribute to Maya Angelou on ABC News:
10 Quotes from Maya Angelou
"You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise."
10 Quotes from Maya Angelou
"You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise."
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Human Bingo - Kerryn Frazier
By Kerryn Frazier
Students are given the following Bingo card. They walk around the room asking each classmate if s/he believes a statement on the card. The student responds using an expression of doubt or disbelief and justifies his/her answer. If a student says that s/he believes the statement, he signs the appropriate box on the card. If the student doesn't believe the statement, they find new partners.
Once the students have filled in their cards and return to their seats, I then choose some of the statements from the card and ask students to tell me who in the class believes or doesn't believe the statements using the third person.
This card may be adapted for use in almost any unit of study. This particular card focuses on doubt vs. certainty/subjunctive vs. indicative.
Students are given the following Bingo card. They walk around the room asking each classmate if s/he believes a statement on the card. The student responds using an expression of doubt or disbelief and justifies his/her answer. If a student says that s/he believes the statement, he signs the appropriate box on the card. If the student doesn't believe the statement, they find new partners.
Once the students have filled in their cards and return to their seats, I then choose some of the statements from the card and ask students to tell me who in the class believes or doesn't believe the statements using the third person.
This card may be adapted for use in almost any unit of study. This particular card focuses on doubt vs. certainty/subjunctive vs. indicative.
Extraterrestres
viven en otro planeta
|
Levantar
pesas es divertido
|
Will
Ferrell es un buen actor
|
Los
estudiantes llegarán a la escuela en carros eléctricos en diez años
|
La
fruta es mejor que el chocolate
|
Hace
mejor tiempo en el invierno que en el verano
|
Los
Red Sox juegan muy bien al béisbol
|
La
Sra. Porter comprará videojuegos y discos compactos para la biblioteca
|
El
fútbol norteamericano es el mejor deporte de todos
|
Taylor
Swift es una buena cantante
|
Un(a)
estudiante en esta clase gana la lotería
|
Pondrán
restaurantes en la cafeteria
|
La
clase de historia es aburrida
|
Hillary Clinton va a ser la próxima presidenta de los EEUU
|
Algún
día construirán una piscina en esta escuela
|
Un(a)
estudiante en esta clase será famoso(a)
|
¿Lo
crees?
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Charla libre - Kerryn Frazier
By Kerryn Frazier
Groups of 4 students receive a stack of pre-made cards. On each card I have given them a different situation in the target language. Each situation is somehow related to the theme, vocabulary, grammar, or culture that we are currently studying in class.
For example, if we are studying how to express emotions in the target language, each card indicates a scenario that might evoke a different emotion.
One student chooses a card from the pile and reads it aloud to the group. The other 3 students respond in Spanish. A second student will pick up the next card and read it aloud to the other 3 students, who each take a turn responding in Spanish. Students continue in this way until they have discussed all of the cards in the pile.
The teacher moves from group to group, listening and giving formative feedback to students as they work. The teacher should encourage students to use complex sentences, and to explain their responses as they work.
Groups of 4 students receive a stack of pre-made cards. On each card I have given them a different situation in the target language. Each situation is somehow related to the theme, vocabulary, grammar, or culture that we are currently studying in class.
For example, if we are studying how to express emotions in the target language, each card indicates a scenario that might evoke a different emotion.
- Your best friend is moving away to a new city.
- Your school principal has just announced that you are student of the year.
- Your parents told you that they're buying you a new car for your birthday.
One student chooses a card from the pile and reads it aloud to the group. The other 3 students respond in Spanish. A second student will pick up the next card and read it aloud to the other 3 students, who each take a turn responding in Spanish. Students continue in this way until they have discussed all of the cards in the pile.
The teacher moves from group to group, listening and giving formative feedback to students as they work. The teacher should encourage students to use complex sentences, and to explain their responses as they work.
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Pre-reading: Story-telling
By Kerryn Frazier
Before students begin a reading activity, I post pictures/clip art related to the story on the board or give students a hard copy. Students work in pairs to create their own stories based on the pictures, and they share them with a partner.
Another variation is to have small groups of students (4-6 students in a group) work together. Using the pictures on the board, one student in the group will come up with the first sentence of a story. The next student will continue the story. Students in the group will continue until they have used all pictures on the board, and have told the story from start to finish.
This affords students the opportunity to begin thinking about what they will be reading in the story before they actually begin to read. Having the visuals on the board, and the opportunity to speak in the target language with classmates about what the pictures represent and how they might fit together in a story gives students a preview of imagery and vocabulary, and it activates prior knowledge.
This activity can be modified for all levels of the target language. For lower level classes, I use fewer pictures, and if the class is small enough, I will sometimes do this as a whole class activity. The following pictures are taken from www.ignesscientiae.com. I've used them with upper level students prior to reading La noche boca arriba by Julio Cortazar.
Before students begin a reading activity, I post pictures/clip art related to the story on the board or give students a hard copy. Students work in pairs to create their own stories based on the pictures, and they share them with a partner.
Another variation is to have small groups of students (4-6 students in a group) work together. Using the pictures on the board, one student in the group will come up with the first sentence of a story. The next student will continue the story. Students in the group will continue until they have used all pictures on the board, and have told the story from start to finish.
This affords students the opportunity to begin thinking about what they will be reading in the story before they actually begin to read. Having the visuals on the board, and the opportunity to speak in the target language with classmates about what the pictures represent and how they might fit together in a story gives students a preview of imagery and vocabulary, and it activates prior knowledge.
This activity can be modified for all levels of the target language. For lower level classes, I use fewer pictures, and if the class is small enough, I will sometimes do this as a whole class activity. The following pictures are taken from www.ignesscientiae.com. I've used them with upper level students prior to reading La noche boca arriba by Julio Cortazar.
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Not Your Average Matamoscas - Kerryn Frazier
By Kerryn Frazier.
This is not the flyswatter game that is used in many world language classrooms. This is a system to encourage exclusive use of the target language in the classroom. I use a flyswatter because I found some big ones at the Christmas Tree Shop that were brightly colored and had fun shapes. Just about any object could be used in its place.
How it works:
The first student who speaks English in class is quietly handed the matamoscas. There is no argument or discussion about whether English was being used or should have been used. The matamoscas stays placed on this student's desk.
If another student in the class speaks English, the first student will pass the matamoscas to that student in the least disruptive manner possible.
The matamoscas will continue to pass around the room to each student who speaks English in class. The object is to be matamoscas-free at the end of the period.
At the end of class, the student who is left holding the matamoscas will pull a "consequence" out of a hat. The students submit ideas for consequences to me at the beginning of the year. These are all opportunities for the student to practice the target language. For example:
1. Explain to the class in the target language why you used English in class.
2. Draw a picture for homework and tell a story about it at the beginning of class tomorrow.
3. Give compliments in the target language to 3 classmates.
4. Write a letter to the teacher or class in the target language.
If the teacher is still in possession of the matamoscas at the end of the period, meaning that no student has spoken English, the class earns a point toward a privilege. The students submit ideas for privileges at the beginning of the year. The privileges might be:
1. After one week of speaking only the target language - everyone earns a homework pass.
2. After two weeks of speaking only the target language - everyone earns extra points on a quiz.,
3. After three weeks of speaking only the target language - the class earns a day of music and games in the target language - students must speak in the target language on this day.
4. After four weeks of speaking only the target language - the class chooses a film in the target language to be watched in class.
Of course, there are times when students might need to use English in class. I would never want to deter a student from asking a question or receiving the explanation s/he needs because the student didn't know how to ask in the target language. I give students a list of helpful expressions at the beginning of the year, including expressions for how to ask the meaning of a word or permission to use English. However, if a student asks permission to speak English and then says or asks something that s/he knew how to say in the target language, then I will hand him/her the matamoscas.
This is not the flyswatter game that is used in many world language classrooms. This is a system to encourage exclusive use of the target language in the classroom. I use a flyswatter because I found some big ones at the Christmas Tree Shop that were brightly colored and had fun shapes. Just about any object could be used in its place.
How it works:
The first student who speaks English in class is quietly handed the matamoscas. There is no argument or discussion about whether English was being used or should have been used. The matamoscas stays placed on this student's desk.
If another student in the class speaks English, the first student will pass the matamoscas to that student in the least disruptive manner possible.
The matamoscas will continue to pass around the room to each student who speaks English in class. The object is to be matamoscas-free at the end of the period.
At the end of class, the student who is left holding the matamoscas will pull a "consequence" out of a hat. The students submit ideas for consequences to me at the beginning of the year. These are all opportunities for the student to practice the target language. For example:
1. Explain to the class in the target language why you used English in class.
2. Draw a picture for homework and tell a story about it at the beginning of class tomorrow.
3. Give compliments in the target language to 3 classmates.
4. Write a letter to the teacher or class in the target language.
If the teacher is still in possession of the matamoscas at the end of the period, meaning that no student has spoken English, the class earns a point toward a privilege. The students submit ideas for privileges at the beginning of the year. The privileges might be:
1. After one week of speaking only the target language - everyone earns a homework pass.
2. After two weeks of speaking only the target language - everyone earns extra points on a quiz.,
3. After three weeks of speaking only the target language - the class earns a day of music and games in the target language - students must speak in the target language on this day.
4. After four weeks of speaking only the target language - the class chooses a film in the target language to be watched in class.
Of course, there are times when students might need to use English in class. I would never want to deter a student from asking a question or receiving the explanation s/he needs because the student didn't know how to ask in the target language. I give students a list of helpful expressions at the beginning of the year, including expressions for how to ask the meaning of a word or permission to use English. However, if a student asks permission to speak English and then says or asks something that s/he knew how to say in the target language, then I will hand him/her the matamoscas.
Kerryn Frazier teaches Spanish at Foxborough High School. Ms. Frazier will continue to post activities for use in the world language classroom. Many of these activities were created by Ms. Frazier and her colleagues in Foxborough, and others are adaptations of activities found at MaFLA and other professional development.
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