Story builder??

This is a Google app called story builder.  You can create dialog with music and video.

http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2012/11/08/google-creates-a-rather-odd-story-builder/

Check out the website and see what you think.  Would it have any application for TPRS? More on this later.

PLEASE email me, go to fb or comment here if you try it and think it has any application for you.
Meg

Going from PQA to oral story to written story (when you're not using actors)

I thought I'd just post what I did yesterday and today in my class. Actually, it started day before yesterday.  I attended a funeral on Monday, and so I knew that I was going to be gone 5th and 7th.  I used one of Deb Read's wonderful DVDs (I don't remember exactly what you call them, Deb, but they're great).  This was one of three about her dog, Renny.  Because I'm too lazy to change lesson plans (and really because it's good for a change of pace and is packed with lots of good vocab), I played the DVD in all my periods.  For those of you that have never heard of Deb--AKA Chalkbrd--she is a great resource to have.  Deb lives in Indiana, and she writes Sub Aid videos and other videos.  My school recently purchased her entire collection. It was very reasonable and can be used throughout the levels.  I have used Hermie the skeleton, Invierno en Indiana, and Soy yo, Renny with my Spanish 2s.  She also writes materials for French and English classes.

Anyway, back to Monday.  All classes saw the video, so all classes learned that Renny's owner was named Deb.  They also learned a lot of other stuff.  The next day, I introduced the following vocab:  she knows how to, she is successful, and she fights.  I thought that this might be a good time to give the students some background info about Deb.

First, I introduced the students to the vocab using gestures and PQA.  Before I came to my current school, I never used gestures, but it's done here, so I do it, too.  After the gestures, I asked the students what they knew how to play.  One boy said that he knew how to play football.  I said, "Oh, do you know how to speak football?"  He looked at me like I was crazy, but I just waited, and then he got it.  He said, "Yes, I can speak football."  I then asked another student, "Do you know how to speak football?"  He said yes, a little.  I then asked the first one to say something to the other one in football.  I thought he was going to say "throw me a pass (in English)" or something like that.  Instead, he gestured the way that he would have on the field!  I had no clue!  I asked, "Do you know how to say that?" And the other student did!  I think it's always a plus when the student knows more than the teacher.  I show them how little I know about sports on a regular basis.  They think it's quite funny.  :)  We continued to PQA using the vocab--do the refs know how to play football?  Do you fight with the refs?  Does your coach fight with refs? Is your team successful?  Etc.

After about 20 minutes, I started into a story.  I had a picture of Deb on the smartboard, with the board on blank.  I asked the students "What was the dog's name yesterday?" Everybody knew--Renny.  Where did he live? What state did he live in?  Who was his owner?  After we got to Deb, I turned the screen on and showed her picture.  (By the way, Deb, I took liberties with your story.  I hope you don't mind).  I said that Deb was successful.  She knew how to speak Spanish and French, so she was successful as a Spanish teacher and a French teacher.  Circle circle circle (vocab--she knows how to and she is successful).  But Deb had a problem.  Deb got sick.  She had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.  I had another pic of Deb with the words in Spanish below.  I translated the words (actually, one of my students did, since they were cognates) and then we went on.  She got sick and wasn't successful.  She didn't know how to teach when she was always tired.  She knew how to teach Spanish, she knew how to teach French, but she didn't know how to teach when she was sick.  Circle circle circle.  The principal fought with her because she was absent a lot because she was sick.  She fought with the principal, but finally she stayed home.  She wasn't successful.  Circle circle circle.  She had to find a way to live, and she thought, What to I know how to do?  I know how to speak French.  I know how to speak Spanish.  And I know how to use the computer.  Circle circle circle.  Deb had a dog named Renny.  She knew how to make a video with Renny.  The video was successful.  Then she made videos about climate and the seasons, etc.  I showed all the videos I had.

After I told the story (no actors necessary--the students were focused and understood everything), I retold it and then called on individual students to help me rewrite it in the "yo' form.  I do this by saying, "?Qué es Deb? Deb es profesora.  Good, now how would you say, "I'm a teacher?" Yo so profesora.  Etc.  I keep it in Spanish as much as I can, though I admit that's a weak spot for me.  The rest of the period was taken up writing the story in the "yo" form.  The students then translated it to each other--one read the first half and the other read the second.

Today, we reviewed the vocab and then I went right into a written story using the same vocab.  This was the story about the boy starting a band that I share a couple of days ago.  I had them read and translate, but I didn't ask very many questions--another weakness.  If it weren't block day and I had them again tomorrow, I would give them an activity using the story--either t/f, fill in the blank, or cloze.

I do this pretty much every time I do a story. I try to find things that are current and interesting for them.  Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn't.

Promised Gangnam post

Here is the promised article about Psy's song "Oppa Gangnam Style."  

Psy, a singewriter that became very popular when his song, "Gangnam Style" became a phenomen on YouTube, didn't have to look far for inspiration.  Psay (real name: Park Jae-Sang) was bgorn in Seoul, South Korea, in the Gangnam district.

Psy, un cantante que se hizo muy popular cuando su canción, “Estilo Gangnam” se hizo un fenómeno en YouTube, no tenía que buscar muy lejos para su inspiración.  Psy (nombre actual—Park Jae-Sang) nació en Seúl, Corea Sur, en el distrito de Gangnam. 

Gangnam style is more than a style--it's a way of life.  Gangnam is the richest city in South Korea, and the people can do whatever they want.  A popular saying is "The guys are rich, the girls are beautiful, and everyone is cool."  To say Gangnam style is to say "swag" or "YOLO" in  English.

Estilo Gangnam es más que un estilo—es una forma (way) de vida.  Gangnam es la ciudad más rica de toda el Corea Sur, y la gente puede hacer lo que quiere.  Un dicho popular es “Los chicos son ricos, las chicas son bellas, y todos son suaves (cool)”. Decir estilo Gangnam es como decir “swag” o “YOLO” en inglés.

 In the video, the people dress in ridulous clothes, yes, but did you notice that all the clothes are from the US?  Gangnam style, you could say, is American style.  Gangnam is the Beverly Hills of Korea, according to Psy.  The Gangnam people try to be American.

En el video la gente se viste en ropa ridícula, sí, pero, ¿tú diste cuenta de que toda la ropa es de los Estados Unidos?  Estilo Gangnam, se puede decir, es estilo americano.  Gangnam es la ciudad Beverly Hills de Corea, según Psy.  Los chicos de Gangnam tratan de ser americano.

Although it's a commentary on the Gangnam life, everybody, even the South Koreans, love the song because of the dance.  The video became so popular on YouTube that more than a billion people have watched it.  Long live Gangnam style!

Aunque es un comentario de la vida Gangnam, a todo el mundo le encanta la canción, inclusivo la gente de Corea Sur, por el baile.  El video se hizo tan popular en YouTube que más que un billón de personas lo han mirado.  ¡Qué viva el estilo Gangnam!

Actividad:  C/F .  Si es falso, cambiala para hacerla cierto.

1. Psy nació en Washington Heights, Nueva York.

2.Estilo Gangnam es estilo coreano

3.La gente en el distrito Gangnam traten de imitar los americanos.

4.Decir “Estilo Gangnam” es como decir “Swag”.

5.El distrito Gangnam, según Psy, es la “Phoenix” de Corea.

6.Psy demuestra (demonstrates) bien el estilo Gangnam.

7.Psy es bromista.

8.“Estilo Gangnam” es la canción más popular en YouTube.

9.La canción es muy popular porque las palabras son muy buenas.

10. Aunque la canción es muy popular en el resto del mundo, no es popular en Corea Sur.

alternatives pt 2 (or is it 3)

This will be a fairly short post, I think.  I forgot (again!) to bring my stories back from school.  Sorry about that.  Today I will update you on some of the responses that I've gotten from people who find that acting doesn't (always) work for them.

Jody Ford teaches using books.  "I've been using Mira's "Agentes secretos". I PQA with that. And I just finished Houdini with my 2s. They have to draw the story pictures and retelling from them. It just works better or me. We're reading Felipe Alou real quick in my 2nd year, kind of like Suzie Gross suggested. We read 2 chapters one day and 3 the next. Then itook a break. I do biographies with my second years. They have to research someone and we present the last couple weeks of school. That way I don't have finals to grade the last week of school. I show them Selena, La Bamba, Stand and Deliver, and PBS Frida during the year. It works for me. My first year students see the globe trekker travel series and they create power points of dream vacations they present the last week of school."  She says that she also uses "Cuentame", but they don't act from it.

Sara Chronister says this:
 I almost do all PQA with very short stories. I have started moving away from actors; or at least having them come up front. I seem to lose control of the class very easily when I have actors!  They don't seem to get it quick as quickly with PQA as they do with a story but they get the material with PQA better than when I use the textbook and workbook. I force myself to tell a story related to the vocab in the chapter at least once during the unit and I try for 2 times. Even though I feel like I'm doing a horrible job they always catch on quicker and seem to retain it better with a story. I even had data to back me up. I will give a pre-test after using the textbook; see what they need the most help on and create a story centered around that, give them the actual test and they always ace whatever the story was about.

I'm always working on keeping them focused. Since a TPRS room is so different from all their other classes they tend to think "Oh, it's just Profe's class. I can talk to my friends and do what I want and she won't care." At least once every 9 weeks I have to crack the whip and get them back in shape. I don't seem to have that problem when I'm using the textbook but... they learn less with the textbook… lol

Sara's post reminds us that acting is probably the best.  Blaine wrote quite a long post on the morelist to that effect. I don't think that anyone is questioning that.  But I want to be realistic here, and I think that we have to admit that many people find that there are just too many problems connected with acting to be able to use it with consistency.  As Sara mentioned, classroom management can become very difficult if the students don't play by the rules.  

Alicia Flores had this to say:

No more actors for me. Though I know that it helps comprehension tremendously, many of my students couldn't handle the fun. Even over time their self control was not improving. So, I do some pqa, short grammar explanations, mini readings and some independent practice that is much more "old school". I had to find a way to enjoy my students and feel happy about my profession. Maybe I'll go back to actors one day.

Again, it's better with actors but you have to work with what's best for you.

This is from Kristy Placido:

To be honest, I use actors infrequently.  I find them rather distracting.  I only really have actors come up to act out brief vignettes and then they sit down.  If I need them again they come back up.  One way I do really enjoy using actors is in reader's theater when we are reading a novel.  Jason Fritze showed me how to effectively use reader's theater and I love it!

This might be a way to get back into using actors:  using them infrequently and for specific reasons.

Jeff Klamka states:  Having actors works very well in some classes and in others it can be a real negative. I'm struggling with some students who just don't want to act, and they're some of the best students I've ever had as far as their writing and speaking skills.

Brian Barabe, my good friend in Arizona (yay, Arizona!!) has this to say:

Here's something I've done when a group was too small to make acting practical or made it unnecessary.  I would first ask a story from beginning to end--trying to reach nearly 100% comprehension.  Then I would have pairs of students draw--in this particular process:  I would read one sentence at a time, and one of the partners would represent the sentence in a drawing.  Then I'd read the next sentence, and the other partner would draw.  Note that this is following up after asking a story; my purpose was to give a quick global view of the entire story while engaging the students in a way that showed their comprehension.  I would frequently coach students to be economical in drawing:  If the magician grabbed the rabbit by the ears, the drawing could show as little as a hand wrapped around a pair of long ears.  Note that this served the purpose of taking the pressure off the drawer as far as producing "masterpieces" or being criticized goes.  A further step could be asking the partners to retell the story in the TL, taking turns, going from drawing to drawing.  I think most on this list could expand on this indefinitely.


In a large class, it might also work in three's or trios, but I think four are too many for everyone to stay engaged.

So it seems clear that at least for some of us, acting is difficult or impractical. In the coming weeks, I'll be including ways to do PQA and oral stories that don't use actors.  I'll also be including ways to bring in actors, at least in a limited way, for those of you that do want to use actors but just can't seem to get the hang of it.

To act or not to act

This is the first in a series of posts (I think) that talk about alternatives to acted stories.  To begin, I'm not in any way saying that I disagree with the importance of using actors to build interest, get repetition, and use different part of speech.  I'm simply saying that while many are successful using actors, I believe that many are not.  I would go so far as to suggest that one reason some people wander away from TPRS is the feeling that they can't be successful using PQA and actors, so TPRS can't be for them.  I strongly disagree, and I think that the people who advocate for acting and PQA would agree with me.  However, there is really nothing given for them to help them other than the suggestion to try it again until it works.  Again, I'm not saying that this advice isn't wonderful.  But if you are new at something or if you aren't new but have tried it and found that it doesn't work for you, then maybe there should be alternatives.

I have asked both on "La sirena baila" and on the Morelist for teachers who no longer use actors to come forward and tell me what they do instead.  I'm asking here, too.  I would like to share my responses with all of you--maybe you can get some fresh inspiration even if you do use actors--we all have those days when it just seems too much.

I've already spoken at length about my own experiences with actors on "Have you considered" To recap just a little, since I have a class that has discipline problems pretty consistently, I have gone away from acting.  Instead, I use storyboards, cartoons, short short stories, legends and other things to keep attention instead of having actors.  I can still go into other persons and tenses.  I often tell a story in the present tense and then work on it again whole class in the yo-form past tense.  Lots of good work on both imperfect and preterit there as well as él to yo, ellos to nosotros.  I can also bring in "t ú by asking PQA about the vocab first.

In the coming posts, I'll talk about using books as vocab and using PQA primarily instead of stories.  I'm open to your stories, too.  In fact, I crave them. We're all made better by sharing others' experiences.

If you can't respond in the comments line, PLEASE respond by email:  meggiev777@yahoo.com with what you do instead of using actors.

Also, if you have any areas that you would like to discuss that are problematic for you, please include them as well.

"specialized" stories, story using "broke, was broken, since"

Do you have a special need?  For example, do you work at a Christian school and need a Christ-based story?  Do you need stories that go with a certain book or theme?  How about writing in a certain tense or person?

From time to time, I will give examples of these, as well as more cultural stories.  Some, I think, I will just write in English--you can transfer to whatever language you wish.  Would just writing in English be easier (more preferable) to you, or should I keep writing in Spanish?

Here is a story that is primarily in the yo-form.

Vocabulary:

broke, was broken, since

It started in the morning.  I wanted a bowl of cereal for breakfast.  While I was grabbing the cereal, I tripped and fell.  The cereal box broke and there was cereal everywhere. I cleaned the floor and looked at the box.  It was broken--there was no more cereal inside.  I threw it in the trash and since there was no more cereal, I ate yoghurt.

 Empezó en la mañana.  Quería un tazón de cereal para el desayuno.  Mientras agarraba el cereal, tropecé y me caí.  La caja de cereal rompió y había cereal por todas partes.  Limpié (I cleaned) el piso y miré a la caja.  Estaba rota—no había mas cereal adentro.  La eché en la basura y –ya que no había mas cereal--comí yogur.

After breakfast, I approached the car to go to school.  I opened the door and was getting in when I heard something break!  What happened?  My purse was broken, and all my things were on the ground.  Oh no! I got out of the car, grabbed my things, and since my purse was ripped, I returned to the house to look for another.

Después del desayuno, me acerqué al carro para ir a la escuela.  Abrí la puerta y me subía ¡cuando oí algo romper! ¿Qué pasó?  Mi bolsa estaba rota, y todas mis cosas estaban en el suelo.  ¡O no!  Me bajé del carro, agarré mis cosas, y ahora que mi bolsa estaba rota, volví a la casa para buscar otra.

When--finally!--I arrived at school, my friend Carla was walking to her class.  I got out of the car, closed the door, and was running to her when I hear a sound--rrrip! I looked down--the heel of my shoe had broken!  Since it was broken, I got  the shoes and ran to my friend.  We were entering the clasroom when the teacher saw that I didn't have shoes on my feet.  Ao\lthough I explained that they were broken, she sent me to the dean since I had no shoes.  She gave me ugly boys shoes!  When I returned to the classroom, I didn't want to study.

Cuando--¡por fin! llegué a la escuela, mi amiga Carla andaba a su clase.  Me bajé del carro, cerró la puerta, y corría a ella cuando oí un sonido--¡rompe!  Miré abajo--¡el talón de mi zapato se había roto!  Ya que estaba roto, agarré los zapatos y corrí a mi amiga.  Entrábamos el salón de clase cuando la profesora vio que no tenía zapatos en mis pies.  Aunque expliqué que estaban rotas, ella me mandó a la deán ya que no tenía zapatos.  ¡Ella me dio zapatos feos de un chico!  Cuando revolví al salón, no quería estudiar. 

At the end of the day, I arrived home really tired and sad.  My purse was broken.  My shoes were broken.  There was no more cereal.  What else was going to happen?  When I entered the house, Mom hugged me. "The dean called me and told me that your shoes broke.  Poor thing!  Lets go shopping at Macy's.  Do you want to?"  We went to Macy's and I bought a new purse, new shoes, and some dresses and blouses, too.  What a tremendous day!

Al fin del día, llegué a casa muy cansada y triste.  Mi bolsa estaba rota.  Mis zapatos estaban rotos.  No había más cereal.  ¿Qué más iba a pasar?  Cuando entré la casa, mamá me abrazó.  –La deán me llamó y me dijo que tus zapatos rompieron.  ¡Pobrecita!  Vamos a ir de compras a Macys.  ¿Quieres?  Fuimos a Macys y compré una bolsa nueva, zapatos nuevos, y unos vestidos y blusas, también. ¡Qué día tremendo!

story: he knows how to _____, he fights, he is successful

John knows how to play a lot of instruments.  He knows how to play the guitar, the bass, the drums, the sax, and he knows how to sing.  He also knows how to dance.  He wants to be successful, so he decides to start a band.  His friend Martin knows how to play the drums, his friend Jordan knows how to sing, and his friend Carl knows how to play the sax, so they form a band.  John plays the guitar.

John says to his friends, "What do we all know how to play?"  They all know how to play "La camisa negra" by Juanes.  Juanes is very successful, so they decide to play that song so they can be successful, too.  They begin to play, but soon John fights with Carl.  "Carl, don't you know how to play the sax? You sound awful!" Carl gets mad and leaves.  John says, "That's okay.  We can still be successful.  I know how to play the sax, so I will sax."  Jordan says, "No, John, you need to play the guitar!"  Jordan and John fight and Jordan leaves.  Martin says, "John, don't you know how to be a friend?  Now we have no sax and no singer!"  John says, "That's okay.  I know how to sing and I know how to play the sax."  Martin says, "John, you can't sing and play the sax at the same time!  Nobody knows how to do that!'  John says, "I do!" Martin fights with John, but John doesn't listen.  Finally Martin gets mad and leaves.

John looks around.  How can he be successful if his friends don't play?  Then John has an idea.  He knows how to play the drums, so he records himself playing drums.  He knows how to play the sax and the guitar, so he records himself playing the sax and the guitar.  Then he records himself singing.  Then he makes a video of himself as a band and he puts it on YouTube.  The video is very successful.  John is sad, however, because even though John is successful, he has no friends.  Poor John!

John sabe tocar muchos instrumentos.  Sabe tocar la guitarra, el baso, la batería, el saxófono, y sabe cantar.  También sabe bailar.  Quiere tener éxito, así que decide formar un grupo de rock.  Su amigo Martin sabe tocar la batería, su amigo Jordan sabe cantar, y su amigo Carl sabe tocar el saxófono, por eso forman un grupo.  John toca la guitarra.

John les dice a los amigos --¿Qué sabemos tocar?  Todos saben tocar "La camisa negra" por Juanes.  Juanes tiene mucho éxito, así que deciden tocar la canción porque quieren tener éxito también. Empiezan a tocar, pero pronto John se pelea con Carl.  --Cal, ¿No sabes tocar el saxófono?  ¡Suenas horrible!  Carl se enoja y se va.  John dice --No hay problema.  Todavía podemos tener éxito.  Yo sé tocar el saxófono.  Jordan dice --No, John, tienes que tocar la guitarra.--  Jordan y John se pelean y Jordan sale.  Martín dice --John, ¿no sabes ser un amigo?-- Ahora no tenemos ni saxófono ni cantante.-- John dice --Está bien.  Yo sé cantar y sé tocar el saxófono.--  Martin exclama --John, ¡no puedes cantar y tocar el saxófono a la vez! ¡Nadie sabe hacerlo!--  John le contestó --Yo, sí.  Martin se pelea con John, pero John no lo escucha.  Al final John se enoja y se va.

John mira a su grupo.  No hay nadie más que él.  ¿Cómo puede tener  éxito si los amigos no tocan los instrumentos?  Entonces John tiene una idea.  Sabe tocar los tambores, así que graba a sí mismo tocando la batería.  Sabe tocar el saxófono y la guitarra, así que graba a sí mismo tocando el saxófono y la guitarra.  Sabe tocar el baso, así que graba a sí mismo tocando el baso.  Entonces graba a sí mismo cantando.  Entonces John hace un video de sí mismo como grupo y lo pone en YouTube.  El video tiene mucho éxito.  Sin embargo, John está triste.  Aunque tiene mucho éxito, no tiene amigos.  ¡Pobre John!

story--se mete, lo molesta, se cepilla

I wanted to share this with you all.  As you know, I am open to writing stories for anyone that wants them, and Diane Volzer took me up on it.  She gave me the structures in the title and asked for a story using them.  This is what I came up with. (By the way, if you want the English, email me.  In summary, the story is about a boy who's afraid of ducks and gets picked on by a bunch of them.  The vocab is climbs in (puts in) bothers him, brushes.  It just got too long to try to include English and Spanish both.  Sorry!!)

Había un chico muy guapo que se llamaba Pollo Pingüino Loco. Era chico, no pinguino, pero a los padres les gustaban mucho los pájaros--por eso le llamaban así.  Pollo Pingüino  era un chico normal, pero tenía un problema.  Tenía mucho miedo de los patos.  Tenía miedo de todos los patos, pero especialmente tenía miedo de los patos amarillos y de los patos muy grandes.  Cuando era un muchacho, un pato grande y amarillo le robó de su botella de leche, y desde entonces tenía miedo.

Un día, Pollo Pinguino volvió a casa y entró su dormitorio.  Abrió la puerta de su ropero, y !había un pato enorme!  El pato se metió en el ropero porque la mamá de Pollo Pinguino lo buscaba, y ella le molestó.  Cuando Pollo Pinguino vio el pato, gritó y agarró el pato.  Lo puso en la sala y volvió a su dormitorio.

El pato enorme se enojó mucho con Pollo Pinguino y fue a su dormitorio (todos los patos vivían en un dormitorio grande en el segundo piso de la casa).  Él habló con sus amigos del problema.  Las acciones del chico les molestaron mucho.  Decidieron ayudar a su amigo. 

El día siguiente, los patos se metieron en el dormitorio de Pollo Pinguino.  Unos se metieron en su ropero, otros debajo de su cama,  y el pato enorme (que se llamaba Pedro Patón) se metió detrás del excusado. Cuando el pobre Pollo Pinguino entró, abrió el ropero y se dijo --¿Dónde está mi camiseta azul?-- Un pato le dijo --!Aquí está! y !le dio la camiseta por tirarlo a su cabeza!  Pollo Pinguino estaba enojado--lo molestó mucho.  Agarró el pato y lo metió en su propio dormitorio.  Entonces volvió a su dormitorio y se acostó en la cama para jugar con el videojuego.  Diez patos le dijeron --¿Podemos jugar también?  Lo molestaron muchísimo.  Fue a su ropero, agarró su mochila, puso los patos adentro, y los puso en su propio dormitorio.  Entonces fue al baño.  Se cepillaba los dientes cuando Pedro Patón saltó del excusado y gritó --!No me molestas más!

Pobre Pollo Pinguino.  Se asustó mucho.  Escapó de la casa y ahora vive con los abuelos.  Los patos no lo molestan más porque a los abuelos no les gustan los patos.  Ellos solamente tienen 5 elefantes de mascota, y a Pollo Pinguino le gustan los elefantes.

When Diane got the story, she customized it for her needs.  This is the final story (which can actually be a lectura after the above is used as the mini-cuento).

Había un chico muy guapo que se llamaba Pollo Pingüino Loco. Era chico, no pinguino, pero a los padres les gustaban mucho los pájaros--por eso le llamaban así.   Todos los jovenes se burlaron de él.  Esto lo molestaba

Pollo Pingüino era un chico normal, pero tenía un problema.  Los patos lo molestaron.  Tenía miedo de todos los patos, pero especialmente tenía miedo de los patos amarillos y de los patos muy grandes.  Cuando era un muchacho, un pato grande y amarillo le robó su botella de leche, y desde entonces tenía miedo.  Pero había 18 patos en su casa porque a sus padres les encantaban los patos.

Un día, mientras Pollo Pingüino estaba en el  baño, la mamá de Pollo Pingüino quería que un pato llamado Pedro sacara la basura.  Esto lo molestó porque Pedro miraba la televisión y no quería levantarse del sofá.  El pato enorme trató de meterse en la bota de Pollo Pingüino para esconderse, pero no cupo.  Por eso se metió en el armario de Pollo Pingüino para esconderse. La mamá pidió a otro pato llamado Matilda que sacara la basura.  Lo molestó porque se cepillaba las plumas y no quería dejar de cepillarse.  Matilda era la pata más pequeña así que se metió en la bota de Pollo Pingüino para esconderse de la mamá.  Matilda cupo en la bota. La mamá pidió a otro pato llamado Micah que sacara la basura.  Lo molestó porque se burlaba de otro pato y no quería dejar de burlarse de él así que entró el dormitorio de Pollo Pingüino y trató de meterse en la otra bota de Pollo Pingüino para esconderse, pero no cupo. Por eso se metió en la mochila de Pollo Pingüino.

Por fin,  un pato llamado Mack dijo que sí sacara  la basura.  ¡Pero primero metió a su hermanita Francesca en la bolsa de basura!

20 minutoes más tarde, Pollo Pinguino entró en su dormitorio.  Hacía frío afuera y quería salir entonces abrió la puerta de su armario para buscar una jaqueta.  ¡Se asustó al ver un pato enorme!  El pato se había metido en el ropero porque la mamá de Pollo Pinguino lo buscaba, y ella lo molestó.  Cuando Pollo Pinguino vio al pato, gritó y agarró el pato.  Lo puso en la tostadora y volvió a su dormitorio.  Se puso su jaqueta luego se puso sus botas.  Había un grito y se asustó otra vez.  Sacó el pie y descubrió el pato.   Lo agarró y lo metió en el refrigerador.  Tomó su mochila y le llamó a su mamá, “Voy a casa de Martín, mamá.”  Pero se asustó cuando oyo un voz de dentro de la mochila.  Abrió la mochila y vio a Micah.  Micahle dijo, “¡Te conozco, mosco!” y  salió corriendo hacia el patio.  Se metió en el agua  de la piscina y empezó a comer alga.  La piscina estaba muy sucio porque hace 3 años que Pollo Pingüino lo había limpiado.

Pedro se enojó mucho con Pollo Pinguino y fue a su dormitorio (todos los patos vivían en un dormitorio grande en el segundo piso de la casa).  Él habló con sus amigos del problema.  Las acciones del chico les molestaron mucho.  Decidieron ayudar a su amigo. 

Al día siguiente, los patos se metieron en el dormitorio de Pollo Pinguino.  Unos se metieron en su armario, otros debajo de su cama,  otros en la bañera, y el pato enorme se metió detrás del inodoro. Cuando el pobre Pollo Pinguino entró, abrió el armario y se dijo --¿Dónde está mi camiseta azul?-- Un pato le dijo --  ¡Aquí está! y ¡le dio la camiseta por tirarlo a su cabeza!  Pollo Pinguino estaba enojado--lo molestó mucho.  Agarró el pato y lo metió en su propio dormitorio.  Entonces volvió a su dormitorio y se acostó en la cama para jugar los videojuegos.  Diez patos le dijeron --¿Podemos jugar también?  Lo molestaron muchísimo.  Fue a su armario, agarró su mochila, los metió a los patos, y los puso en su propio dormitorio.  Entonces fue al baño.  Se cepillaba los dientes cuando Pedro Patón saltó del inodoro y gritó --¡Te conozco mosco!

Pobre Pollo Pinguino.  Se asustó mucho.  Escapó de la casa y ahora vive con los abuelos.  Los patos ya no lo molestan porque a los abuelos no les gustan los patos.  

The idea is this:  we can take the stories, enlarge them, reduce them, or just use the kernel as an idea to make our own story.  However it works for you is fine with me.

Guest story!!!

Hi everyone!

I'm so excited!! Bryan Kandel (bryankandeltprs.com) has sent a story to share!!  This is EXACTLY what I was hoping would happen here!

Un accidente de autobús

Target structures:

chocó – crashed

rompió el tobillo – broke his/her ankle

“así es la vida” – that’s life, such is life

Había un hombre que se llamaba David.  David era el chofer de un autobús.  El bus era grande.  Ayer, había 5 pasajeros en el bus.  Ellos querían ir a un concierto de One Direction.  David manejó el bus.  Había un problema.  David estaba cansado.  Él estaba cansado porque él tenía un bebé nuevo en la casa.  David chocó el bus.  Él chocó con un árbol. 

Después del choque, David llamó al 911.  Él dijo, <<Ayúdame.  Yo choqué mi autobús.>>  El bombero le preguntó, <<¿Dónde chocaste? ¿Cuándo chocaste? ¿Por qué chocaste? . . . etc.>>  Un bombero llegó y vio a los pasajeros en la calle. 

Pasajero #1 rompió la pierna.  El bombero le preguntó, <<¿Qué rompiste?>>  El pasajero contestó, <<Yo rompí la pierna.>>  El bombero le dijo, <<así es la vida>> y se acercó a otro pasajero.  Pasajero #2 rompió el brazo.  El bombero le dijo <<así es la vida.>>  Pasajero #3 rompió la espalda.   El bombero le dijo <<así es la vida.>>  Pasajero #4 rompió el tobillo.  El bombero le dijo <<así es la vida.>>   Pasajero #5 rompió el dedo en la mano izquierda.  El bombero lo ayudó.  Él lo puso en la ambulancia y fue al hospital.  Pero en camino al hospital, la ambulancia chocó. 

Potential for expansión:

1.     Describe the passengers

2.     Different transportation / multiple cars and drivers

3.     The bombero should ask each passenger questions (tú/yo practice)

4.     Body part practice

English translation:

There was a man named David.  He was a bus driver.  The bus was big.  Yesterday, there were 5 passengers on the bus.  They wanted to go to a concert of One Direction.  David drove the bus.  There was a problem.  David was tired.  He was tired because he had a new baby at home.  David crashed the bus.  He crashed into a tree.

After the crash, David called 911.  He said, “Help me.  I crashed my bus.”  The medic asked, “When/Where/Why did you crash?”  The medic arrived and saw passengers in the street. 

Passenger 1 broke his leg.  The medic asked, “What did you break?”  The passenger answered, “I broke my leg.”  The medic said, “That’s life” and approached another passenger.  Passenger 2 broke his arm.  The medic said, “That’s life” and moved on.  Passenger 3 broke his back.  Passenger 4 broke his ankle.  The medic said, “That’s life.”  Passenger 5 broke his little finger on his left hand.  The medic helped him.  He put him in an ambulance and drove to the hospital.  On the way, he crashed the ambulance.  

Great story with lots of room for expansion, Bryan!!

have you considered? other types of stories (with example)

I am wondering what kind of stories your class reads.  Is it always a funny story with the bizarre thrown in?  I know that's very popular, but a recent conversation with a colleague started me thinking.  She was telling me that incoming students only knew how to write stories--they had no idea how to write a serious composition, article, or letter.  I realized that there was no way that they could, since they'd never been exposed to those types of readings!  So I decided to include serious stories, articles, and letters in their reading.  Although I teach Spanish, I will not concentrate solely on Hispanic culture.  Just as the funny stories concentrate on what they like, so will the articles.  For example, my first article  is about Psy, the Korean rapper who wrote Gangnam Style.  More accurately, it's about Gangnam style itself.  I also intend to start every new song with an article about the singer.  By the way, I meant to include the article, but I forgot it at school.  If anyone is interested, comment and I'll include it after break.

Besides the article itself, I also include activities.  For example, after the article about Psy and Gangnam style, I gave them a true or false activity, where they decided if the statement was true or false and changed the false statements to make them true.  I did this the next day and was surprised at how much of the article they remembered.

Last year, I wrote a story about Karen Carpenter, the singer who died from anorexia, with vocabulary from LICTM chapter 4.  Afterwards, the students wrote what they remembered about the story.  I used their work as an embedded reading.  In addition, I asked them to write what else they would like to know about the singer (in English), and I included that in a further reading.  We did this three times in all, with the final reading being quite long.  The students stayed interested because they were reading answers to the questions they themselves had asked.

I have also written science fiction, horror and other serious stories.  I think that my students enjoy reading them because they know that I enjoy writing them.  And of course, I write lots of the funny and bizarre, too, although I tend to go in more for irony than bizarre.

I hope that this post helps you start thinking about putting some variety in your writing--it can be a nice change of pace from the boys looking for girlfriends, the bears with problems getting on planes, and all the other things that we TPRSers enjoy writing.

Happy writing!

spanish 2 story--se llevaban bien etc. eng and sp

I've been asked to list my stories in English as well as Spanish.  I'm wondering if that wouldn't be the best solution to my Spanish as well.  Also, if you teach, say, French and translate an English story of mine, would you mind including the translation in the comments, on Sirena baila on fb, or by email (meggiev777@yahoo.com)? That way I can include it here and others will profit from it.

le invitó a cenar = Pat invited him to eat dinner

se llevaban bien = They were getting along well

le quitó el $ =        Pat took $ away from him/her

dejó a su novio = Pat dumped her boyfriend

¡Oye!                    Listen up!

There was a couple named Marcos and Celeste.  The boyfriend and girlfriend were getting along well, although Celeste always paid the bill when they went out.  One day, Marcos forgot his wallet on the dresser.  Another day, it was the day before payday.  When Celeste didn't pay, the couple had a day in the park with a picnic.

Había una pareja llamada Marcos y Celeste.  Los novios se llevaban bien aunque Celeste siempre pagaba la cuenta cuando salían.  Un día, Marcos olvidó su cartera en el ropero.  Otro día, era el día antes del día de paga.  Cuando Celeste no pagaba, la pareja tenía un día en el parque con una comida campestre (picnic). 

One day, Celeste decided the she was using too much money, and things should change.  She decided to talk with Marcos.  "Listen, Marcos!  I have a problem.  Marcos wanted to know what his girlfriend's problem was.  She told him, "When we go out, I always pay the bill.  I don't like to always pay the bill. I get embarrassed paying the bill.  Marcos smiled.  "Not a problem.  I'll pay the bill.

Un día, Celeste decidió que estaba usando demasiado dinero, y las cosas debían cambiar.  Ella decidió hablar con Marcos.  --¡Oye, Marcos! Tengo un problema.--  Marcos quería saber que problema tenía su novia.  Ella le dijo: --Cuando salimos, siempre pago la cuenta.  A mi no me gusta siempre pagar la cuenta.  Me da vergüenza pagar la cuenta.--  Marcos sonrió.  --No hay problema.  Yo pago la cuenta.--

When Marcos and Celeste went out again, they went to a very elegant restaurant.  Celeste was very excited because she knew that Marcos was going to pay the bill. She ordered expensive food.  When the couple finished dinner, Marcos asked her, "Do you have $100?"  Celeste did have the money.  She showed it to Marcos.  Marcos took the money and gave it to the waiter.  Celeste was furious and dumped her boyfriend.

Cuando Marcos y Celeste salieron de nuevo, fueron a un restaurante muy elegante.  Celeste estaba muy emocionada porque sabía que Marcos iba a pagar la cuenta.  Ella pidió comida cara.  Cuando la pareja terminó la cena, Marcos le preguntó, --¿Tienes $100?-- de Celeste.  Celeste sí tenía el dinero.  Lo mostró a Marcos.  Marcos le quitó el dinero y se lo dio al mesero.  Celeste estaba furiosa y dejó a su novio.  

Story--English and Spanish--Spanish 2--he knew, he didn't pay attention, he was lucky, etc

Vocab:  he knew (how), he didn't pay attention (ignored), he started (to…), he was lucky

Bella and Edward were a couple, It was a little difficult for them, because Edward was a vampire.  One day, Edward asked Bella, "Do you want to play golf with me?  Belly told Edward that she didn't know how to play golf, but he ignored her.  The couple went to a golf course in Forks, Washington, that was named Bear Mountain Golf Course.  They started to play, but they played very slowly.  Bella didn't know which golf club to use, where the holes were, and she also was very unlucky. It wasn't a problem--Edward never got mad or impatient with her.

Suddenly Edward said, "Bella, I need to eat.  I'm really hungry. What a problem!  Edward was a vampire--Where could he eat?  But really, that wasn't a problem.  They looked for food and soon they found it.  There was a bear that was the course mascot.  Edward ran to the course owners and shouted, "Someone is drowning in the lake at the golf course!  Rescue him!  The owners ran to the lake, but ther was nobody drowning.  When they returned, the bear had escaped!! Nobody knew where he went--nobody except Edward and Bella.

Bella y Edward eran novios. Era un poco difícil, porque Edward era vampiro.  Un día, Edward le dijo: --Bella, ¿quieres jugar al golf conmigo?  Bella le dijo a Edward que no sabía jugar al golf, pero él no le hizo caso a ella. Los novios fueron a un campo de golf en Forks, Washington, que se llamaba Campo de golf montaña del oso.  Empezaron a jugar, pero jugaron muy despacio.  Bella no sabía cual palo de golf usar, dónde estaban los hoyos, y también tenía muy mala suerte.

No era problema-Edward nunca se puso enfadado con ella ni se puso impaciente.

De repente, Edward le dijo:  --Bella, necesito comer.  Tengo mucha hambre.  ¡Problema!  Edward era vampiro--¿Dónde podía comer?  No había problema.  Buscaron comida y de pronto la encontraron.  Había un oso que era la mascota del campo de golf.  Edward corrió a los dueños del campo y gritó:  ¡Alguien se ahoga en el lago del campo!  ¡Rescátenlo!  Los dueños corrieron al lago, pero no había nadie ahogándose.  Cuando regresaron, ¡el oso había desaparecido!  Nadie sabía adónde fue—nadie menos Edward y Bella.

Different ways to tell a story

Okay, this isn't a story, but I think that it's something that is worth saying.

I used to always follow the same format:  Day one--PQA, then a mini-story with actors, then review, then retell.  Day two:  written story and retell, Day 3 (and sometimes 4) extended reading and written summary.  Day 5 could have been anything.  Then I moved to a different school, and things changed slightly.  Day one:  mini-story with actors, review, etc.  Day two:  written story and retell.  Day 3-4:  repeat days one and two with new vocab.  Day 5:  catch up if necessary, otherwise start a new story.  This is basically what I still do.

However, I have gotten away from stories with actors.  I still think that way is best--it allows more focus, it gives the students more opportunities to create the story themselves, and so on.  My colleague in 2H does acted-out stories every day with great success.  His students are motivated and love what they do--or at least they realize that their grades rest with comprehension and proficiency, and so they're willing to play along.

Other classes, on the other hand, do not do as well with actors.  It can become disruptive, there are classes in which nobody has the desire to act (and I think that it's important for them to at least be okay with coming up), or it simply isn't in the nature of the teacher or the students.  For these classes, you are faced with the decision:  do you continue to insist on acting and then spend time cleaning up the messes that ensue or do you try something different.

For those of you that have decided that acting isn't working out for you, here are some suggestions.

1.  Story boards.  You can start the class with an empty cartoon box with six squares.  Ask a story, filling in the squares as you go. Here's an example:
Clase, hay un chico.  El chico es alto o bajo--flaco o gord--tiene pelo largo o corto--qué color de pelo tiene--.  Then draw the boy with a thought box.  ¿Qué quiere hacer el chico?  Answer goes in the box.  Second box continues the story.  Third thought box contains the problem.  Fourth box--solution one. Fifth box--why it doesn't work, next idea  Sixth box-- solution.  As you can see, you're still asking the story, the students are still giving you information, and you still are getting lots of ci.  You can also have the students fill in their own storyboards and then use them to retell the story to their partners.

2.  Telling the story and acting it out yourself.  I sometimes do this, especially if the story I'm telling doesn't have a lot of q and a.  I know it isn't "real" tprs, but I will sometimes modify the idea and retell a legend or fairy tale in Spanish.  You still can have q and a, but it's more retelling of info (or them giving you info that they know about the fairy tale) instead of making up the story.  I think that this is doable in Sp 2 and above--not so much in Sp 1.  If you know how to tell a story well, you can keep their attention even without actors.  For example, I recently told a story of a girl who loved to dance, so she went to a hotel where there was supposed to be a dance. Nobody was there, but there were a beautiful pair of shoes.  She couldn't stop herself--she had to put them on.  The minute she did, she began to dance and couldn't stop.  As she was getting sicker and sicker, a handsome man came into the hotel.  She thought he was going to help her.  Instead, he asked her how she liked the shoes--he was the devil. She danced until she died.  I told the story in small chunks and retold it by questioning the studnets.  The students also retold it to each other.  They loved it and keep asking me when they're going to hear another legend.  It's also a good way to bring in culture.  Note--I did do this with a story board.  I like story boards because it gives them something to relate to if they get lost in the story.

3.  Using puppets or dolls.  I have lots and lots of props, enough for everyone in class to have two.  I give them the toys, GIVE THEM TIME TO PLAY WITH THEM (they get 5 minutes--that allows them to get it out of their systems.  After that, if they play instead of work, they get to use their hands as puppets), and then they use the puppets as actors.  I ask the story and then tell them to retell with changes for their animals (había una chica con pelo azul becomes había un perro con pelo blanco y negro).

4.  Skip the story--do a short reading instead.  This is tricky--you are teaching vocab and reading the vocab at the same time.  I gesture the vocab and then when reading, I do the gestures.  That helps.  I also use fairy tales or contemporary people for this, and I make a cartoon with captions, not a real story.  The captions are very content-driven, and it allows me time to ask a bunch of ci-related questions.  I recently did one of these on Snow White.  I was surprised at how easy it was to set up--I simply did a Google Image search for the parts of the story that I was telling--all the photos were there!

5.  Use real stories instead of weird ones.  Last year I did a story on Karen Carpenter for the vocab dealing with gorda, flaca, and gaining and losing weight.  I had photos of Carpenter at different stages of her life--the kids really understood, and they also learned about the problems of anorexia.

Those are just some ideas.  If you have an issue you want to discuss or would like to see more of this sort of post in this blog, please let me know by either commenting or emailing.  This blog is for you, and I'm happy to do whatever you want.  I want to see you succeed!!