TE+802+09-12-08

=//TE 802 - September 12, 2008// = -++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Preparing for Class
(Details for these tasks can be found under last week's housekeeping)
 * Post your rockclimbing/TL instruction photo on care2.com
 * Post your mentor interview notes to ANGEL or bring them to class
 * Watch a lesson video on learner.org and bring your notes
 * Bring a copy of the textbook you're planning from in your internship
 * Be sure you've read the updated syllabus
 * Sign up for swap shop and issue presentation
 * Post to this week's discussion board
 * Read the agenda for 9/12 and add any comments (especially for items in green)
 * Be certain you have completed this [|**Information Form**] (from two weeks ago)
 * Email Anny if you would like to meet with her before or after class
 * Remember that we'll be starting at 12:45 sharp!

Please nominate agenda items below. (Don't forget to sign your posts!)
This issue is a little tricky and I'm also not sure on school policy so here goes...

What do you do, as a teacher, when you hear students talking amongst themselves after class who are making deragatory remarks and plans to make fun of another student (who you as the teacher don't know) because that other student has a different sexual orientation than their own? Do you say something? Do you make note of it and keep an ear out for any disturbances? The students aren't disturbing class but what they are talking about is disturbing. What do you do? user:alyxx

Good question! I hear lots of awful things when I walk in the hallways sometimes. All I've been doing is shooting students dirty looks and one time someone said the f-word so when I passed I said I don't think that's appropriate for school. I haven't heard any students make fun of another YET. Also, sometimes it's hard not to laugh with students. One day a student in my class was not paying attention and I drew attention to it because he was holding up the activity I just wanted him to be a little embarrassed that I caught him off guard, but all the other students started cracking up and saying how easy the activity was. Any thoughts? user:pumer30

Good question...I was an MSU intern last year and am starting my first year of teaching at a middle school. In both middle and high school kids will talk about each other, its a given. I have heard everything ranging from making fun of someone's hair cut, shirt, clothes, etc so the sound of someone's voice, to the amount of money their parents make, to their sexual orientation to their personality. At first as I was pretty upset about everything I was hearing, and wanted to take immediate action, but what I realized is that as the teacher, you have to be a role model. And role models, the good ones, often practice what they preach so to speak. So for example, when I heard a few students swearing in class/ in the halls while I was passing by, I took that opportunity to make it part of my lesson. I made a lesson where we talked about what we wanted to be when we grew up, and the importance of being professional and using appropriate language, and what using inappropriate language make you look like. The students responded really well. Another time when students were making fun of each other for each other's clothes I did an entire unit on culturally authentic clothes from different Spanish speaking countries and basically tried to open the kid's minds to the fact that not everyone always has to look the same. Of course their are certain circumstances that should be addressed directly, confronting the student, or confronting a group of students. Keep on eye on the comments, and always speak with the student/s, AFTER class, you don't want to draw more attention to them than they are already drawing to themselves. I hope this helps some..... user:AmandaGSpanish

Can we please reiterate what it means to be your own advocate? Thank you! user:litwins5

TL issue. I have been co-teaching (in the TL) in all 3 of my mentors teacher's blocks because they are all SPN 1. The kids were all great last week and 2/3 blocks are still doing really well/ are very highly motivated. I have 3 very intelligent boys in the first block (my focus class) who are getting really discouraged by the target language and make comments like "speak spanish", "walk before you run" that bring everyone else in the room down as well. The other two blocks do not seem to be having trouble with the lessons so I don't know why it's such an issue for first block. I kept one of them after class today and explained how his attitude was affecting the class and asked for suggestions as to how I could make things better for him (other than speaking in English). He didn't have any suggestions. I'm sure I could do a better job of making the input more comprehensible. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to bring the classroom climate back to positive? user:burhopam

Parent Open House: Next week is our OH, and my mentor will not be there. I was told I didn't have to go, but I want to meet the parents, and get the teacher's experience of being at an open house on the other side of the desk. Are there any resources I can use to plan for this? Does anyone have any suggestions as to things to introduce, discuss, avoid? Thank you! user:litwins5
 * I went to the open house at my school last week and I'm really glad I did. After my mentor introduced herself to the class (where she studied, about her two kids), she introduced me and then basically I just talked about MSU and the program, study abroad, and just said that I was really excited to be working with all the kids. You don't really get a whole lot of time, usually the parents are only in each class about 10 minutes, so I didn't really have much time to say anything else. I did mention that I was available for private tutoring and reiterated the fact that I would be in the classroom with the kids, thus I would know exactly what the students were working on, the homework, the tests, etc. When discussing the class, my mentor teacher just showed the parents the book and explained the routine of a typical class day (bell activity, check homework, introduce new topic, activity, assign homework) and gave them a handout of the general topics we would cover. It's a good idea if you had any kind of parent letter to have copies of that in case anyone didn't get it, and perhaps a copy of the syllabus. These all are pretty standard things that I'm sure you know but it can be very intimidating to a big classroom of parents!

Disciplining Issues I have 3 classes this Trimester and all 3 classes have at least one student in them that drives me crazy! One class has students that sleep; another class has 2 girls that will not stop talking during class; and the third class has at least one boy won't stop talking. I am embarassed to admit that my nighttime reading material last night was the Secondary Education Classroom Management book we got for our TE classes at State. And for the first time, I actually found it relevant and helpful! But these kids are tricky and I guess I am struggling with how to teach around them or discipline them appropriately to ensure they still learn and the rest of the class will not be distracted. I'm a softy and it actually scares me to get in someone's face about a problem. - Doren

I know what you mean, it can be scary when you try to be nice but the students just refuse to respond so you have to take more drastic measures. Usually just the threat of something more serious will help to get the desired behavior. We have very talkative students as well and one boy in particular we have sit right up front with his desk pulled forward from the other students'. Even that doesn't seem to help him a lot, he continues to talk. We called his mom to report his behavior and that DID seem to help a little. Don't be embarrassed to use resources to help you! user:lucasme2

**A few items of business . . .**

 * My goal is to post the agenda by Wednesday night. You must read it before class!
 * How should we deal with nominating items for discussion vs. the discussion board?
 * Please regularly look at the discussion board. People sometimes post pressing issues. Please respond!
 * If you haven't signed up for swap shop, please do it asap! Please post swap shop items within appropriate categories on the wiki.

12:45 - 1:00 - Small group discussion

 * What did you learn this week about yourself as a teacher?
 * What is something you learned from your mentor?

1:00 - 1:30 - Discussion of learner.org videos

 * What language objectives did you observe? How did the teacher connect language and content objectives?
 * What "handholds" did the teacher provide for the students while using the target language?
 * How would you need to adapt the lesson if you were teaching the same lesson to your class?
 * What suggestions for improvement would you offer the teacher on the video?
 * What are one or two ideas from the video you'd like to try? (Feel free to post answers to this question before class.)
 * Acting out cultural poems, etc. to younger classmen (or elementary students!). user:litwins5
 * Transcriptions that students can choose from as bellwork in order to help them appreciate the language more and make them more autonomous learners.user:litwins5
 * Having students interpret art without reading about it first. I know nothing about art so it was useful to see a way to scaffold the activity so you as the teacher didn't need to do that much explaining. It was also helpful because we have a unit coming up about Art. user:gerouxje

1:30 - 2:30 - Planning from a Textbook
- Organization! user:Obstinada02 - For those who are using the same curriculum in the whole district, this can keep you on track. user:litwins5 - Teachers may have a harder time organizing their ideas that fit all 5 C's into a unit plan. user:Obstinada02 - Complacency - Not putting a lot of effort into contextual, etc. activities that are most beneficial to the students user:litwins5 >
 * A short history on textbooks
 * What are some advantages of using a textbook?
 * What are some disadvantages of using a textbook?
 * What challenges have you experienced in planning from a textbook? (Feel free to post answers to this question before class.)
 * I've been using the text book to get ideas and lessons, but I find some activities/suggestions in the text book to be really pointless. I try to make these more contextualized, but then I worry that my students are missing the simple explanation. So I started reading the suggested daily lesson plans that my text book has and I've started using some ideas, but they don't introduce things in a logical sense (in my opinion). Why would a student just learn I, you, he or she? I think they should be exposed to the others as well, this doesn't mean they have to use them immediately. So I think just figuring out what is appropriate in the sense of time, level, etc. for students is hard. user:pumer30
 * I have found the there is not a whole lot of variety in the activities if you always use the textbook activities. My mentor teacher teaches a lot from the book and I have noticed a lot of repitition. user:LRobertson1386
 * This is a really big deal in my school/classroom. We have a very large department, and in order for all of the students to be prepared for the next level, we all MUST teach the content from the textbook, in the order of the textbook. It's brand new and moves fast, and we simply don't have the time to add our own vocabulary or topics. It is frustrating when I get ideas for culturally-rich (but maybe not grammatically on-topic) content, and realize that we couldn't just take out a day for something different. My mentor really misses teaching TPRS, which she found to be very effective, especially when team-taught with another teacher. Because of the requirements of the textbook curriculum, she had to abandon her basic teaching philosophy. She makes up many of her own lessons, but uses activities from the text if they seem decent enough (and for the additional straightforward grammar explanation.) The book also had less than one page on telling time, which I spent an entire class period teaching in the TL. user:Katie23
 * Hands-on planning time

2:35 - 3:15 - Swap Shop
Please post your resources on the appropriate page on the wiki and then paste that link next to your name. Swap Shop Home Page
 * Aubrey
 * Lauren Picture Storytelling for All Languages
 * Alex

3:15 - 3:30 - Housekeeping & Reflection

 * What mattered most to you from today's class?


 * To Do List**.


 * Show your mentor the wiki and invite him/her to join.
 * Register for MiWLA
 * Make plans to attend the MSU tech conference (if possible)
 * Start FL teach assignment
 * Consider updating your teaching website/resource file
 * Read [|Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants] and [|Turning on the Lights] - Also, watch this 20 minute video [|How Schools Kill Creativity] Add your thoughts to next week's discussion board [|here]