NTPRS--Events

This is the first in a series of blogs about the wonderful experience known as NTPRS. It might be especially beneficial to those of you who are like me--I don't often get to go. The last time I went was in 2006, and MAN have things changed!

The first thing I'm going to talk about is the improved way in which we can get present and past in at the same time. It was presented by Blaine and Von Ray, and it's called "Events." Events can take place in the past, present or future, and they give you the opportunity to show the students rather than tell the students. Events are not to bring in new words; they give you a chance to get more reps on the words they already know. Anything new will be written on the board. I teach Spanish 1 and 2, so I will show you how I intend to use this with students in Spanish 2.

The idea of events is quite simple.  Let's say you start with a simple premise. There is a girl named Hailey. She used to live in Goose Gulch, Kentucky, but now she lives in Miami, Florida. An event will take us back to the past and let us understand why she moved.  So you could say, "Hailey, where do you live now?" She will answer, "In Miami, Florida." "Hailey, where did you used to live?" "I used to live in Goose Gulch, Kentucky."

"Class, why doesn't Hailey live in Goose Gulch Kentucky now?" You can get as many answers as you'd like. If you like one of the student answers, you can go with that. If you don't like the answer, you can go with one of your own. Let's say that a student said that there was a monster in Goose Gulch. I would say, "Almost.  Class, there was a giant goose in Goose Gulch!"

The difference between a normal story and acting out an event is that now you go back into the story and dramatize. You can bring up more students--townspeople, friends, relatives, and the giant goose--or maybe 2 or 3 giant geese. You can have the students talk to each other about the giant goose--where does it come from, what is its name, how big is it, etc. Of course, you bring in the info either by questioning or by introducing more info, then you feed it to the students.  Finally, Hailey and her family decide that they can't stay. They are going to leave.  Where do they decide to go? You can get as many answers as you like, but the final answer has to be Miami, since you've already introduced it. Your point in deciding is to explain why Miami instead of Lexington or Tucson or Bakersfield (It's obvious--the geese don't like Miami--it's too hot!).

Events, to me, do many things.  They give a story more interest, they give you lots of opportunity to use your students as actors, and they allow you a chance to use the present tense, to name just a few.  I'm planning to try this right away in my Spanish 2. In my Spanish 1, I might wait a few days, but I'll definitely use it in the first week.

Thanks, Blaine and Von, for your great workshop!

Next--reading with Carol Gaab.

Sample of new 1st year book

Hi everyone! Again, it's been a long while since I've written. Sorry about that! But I have been busy! I'm writing a new PowerPoint (finally) for El viaje perdido, and I am almost finished with my level one SSR book.  Here's a sample of the latter.  I want to give a shout out to my artist, Sarah Kelly.  She's really good!

Hay un chico que quiere pasar la noche en una casa espantada.  Él va a la casa y se sienta en una silla.  No hay nadie.

There is a boy that wants to spend the night in a haunted house. He goes to the house and sits in a chair. Nobody is there.

El chico está sentado por quince minutos, y de repente un gato grande viene.  El gato es tan grande como un perro.  Él se sienta con el chico.  Tiene ojos grandotes y verdes.  No le dice nada.

The boy is sitting for 15 minutes, and suddenly a big cat comes in. The cat is as big as a dog. He sits with the boy. He has big green eyes. He doesn't say anything to him.

El chico y el gato están sentados por quince minutos.  Luego, alguien toca la puerta.  La puerta esta cerrada, así que el gato se levanta, va a la puerta y la abre con su cola.  Entra otro gato, aún más grande que el grande con los ojos verdes.  El gato es tan grande como un caballo.  Tiene ojos azules.  El chico mira la puerta, pero está cerrada de nuevo.

The boy and the cat are sitting for 15 minutes. Then, someone knocks on the door. The door is closed, so the cat gets up, goes to the door, and opens it with his tail. Another cat enters, even bigger than the green-eyed cat. The cat is as big as a horse. He has green eyes. The boy looks at the door, but it is closed again.

De repente, el gato grande le habla al otro gato. --¿Cuándo vamos a comer?--  El otro gato le responde—Martin no está.  Comemos cuando esté.—

Suddenly, the big cat talks to the other cat. "When will we eat?" The other cat responds to him, "Martin isn't here. We'll eat when he's here."

Los dos gatos se sientan con el chico.  No dicen nada, sólo lo miran con los ojos grandes. 

Luego, un grito: ¡Aquí estoy!  El gato corre a la puerta cerrada y la abre.  Un gato enorme entra. 

Es tan grande como un elefante y tiene ojos negros.  Se sienta con sus amigos y con el chico. 

         The two cats sit with the boy. They don't say anything, only look at him with their big eyes. The, a shout:  "Here I am!"  The cat runs to the closed door and opens it. An enormous cat enters. He is as big as an elephant and has black eyes. He sits with his friends and the boy.

Nadie le dice nada por unos minutos.  Luego el gato nuevo le dice--¿Cuándo comemos?  ¡Tengo hambre!--  Todos los gatos miran al chico.  –Martin no está.—

         Nobody says anything for a few minutes. then the new cat says, "When do we eat? I'm hungry!"  All the cats look at the boy. "Martin isn't here."

De repente, el chico se levanta y corre a la puerta.  La abre y les dice a los gatos –Lo siento.  No puedo esperar más.  ¡Adiós!—

El chico nunca regresa a una casa espantada.

        Suddenly, the boy gets up and runs to the door. He opens it and says to the cats, "Sorry, I can't wait any more. Goodbye!"  The boy never returns to the haunted house.

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--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!!

Story--Spanish 2 suena con ser, etc

This story uses the following vocabulary: sueña con ser, bella, espejo  It's for Spanish 2.  Feel free to email any comments or corrections if you can't comment on the blog (why can't you comment on the blog?  That confuses me….)

Había una muchacha que se llamaba Julia.  Ella soñaba con ser doctora.  Pidió un bolso médico, una bata de laboratorio, y un estetoscopio para su cumpleaños.  Ella se vistió en la bata y se miró en el espejo.  ¡Qué bella era! 

Un día, su amiga se cayó y raspó (scraped) el codo (elbow).  Como siempre, Julia tenía su bolso médico, y había curitas adentro y también neosporine, por eso la chica quería ayudar a su amiga.  Pero cuando miró al codo ¡había mucha sangre!  La pobre chica se enfermó y casi vomitó.  Por eso, sabía que no podía ser doctora.

Unos años después, Julia soñaba con ser cantante.  Se puso pantalones de cuero (leather), una camiseta con un dibujo de su banda de rock favorita, y se miró en el espejo mientras tocaba su guitarra.  ¡Qué bella era!  Pero cuando oyó su voz en una grabación en Youtube, ella se dio cuenta de que no pudo cantar.  Por eso, no pudo ser cantante.

Cuando Julia cumplió 16 años, ella recibió un carro nuevo para su cumpleaños.  Su papá le dijo que ella debía cambiar el aceite (oil) sola, y ella aprendió rápidamente.  Descubrió que le gustaba mucho trabajar con el carro.  Ella le pidió más instrucciones a su papá, y pronto él le dijo que no podía mostrarle (show her) más—¡ella sabía todo lo que sabía él!  Por eso, ella asistió  a las clases de reparación de automóviles. Cuando graduó, soñaba con ser mecánica, y empezó a trabajar en un taller (shop).  Hoy día, Julia está muy feliz.  También, cuando se mira en el espejo, ¡es muy bella en sus overoles (coveralls)!  Julia está contenta, y tiene muchos admiradores, también. Todos quieren ayuda con sus carros, y a ella le gusta ayudarles.  ¡Qué bella!