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I decided that I needed some sense of progress or completion even if I don't know what my schedule will be, whether I'll be 80% or less, whether I move rooms or lose my room altogether, etc. Those are not things I can change. And while I was hung up on the frustration of knowing I had brainstormed lots about how to make the students actually use their student agendas, hold them accountable, and yet not waste a lot of classtime doing silly nonsense (taking time to stamp agendas or give check grades) AND THEN to discover that our school hasn't ordered them for this year, I decided that I wanted some sort of agenda anyway (from school or just generic) so I could just leave my policy statement as is.
OK. So here's what's done (2.5 weeks left before school, one of those for inservice, another for a trip to the coast, and this week):
* Class policies and expectations sheet (supplies needed, how I grade, my retake policy, late work policy, classroom rules, etc)
* My monstrous procedures sheet full of Latin versions of the English and a list at the end of possible commands, questions and answers to be used in class.
* My pronunciation practice sheet based on the Latin in the procedures sheet (reinforcing new material)
* My accent and syllabification sheet based on the Latin in the procedures sheet (reinforcing the new material even more)
* My action plan sheet that's part of my consequences for breaking rules/disturbing class.
Yeah, I hate that a lot of my time I spend on classroom management, but if that's running smoothly then the rest of the class goes well. If I don't have good classroom management, my best plans for a neat lesson won't work at all.
While I have been worried about the amount of Latin/oral Latin I'm introducing in the first few days of class via the procedures sheet (should I give a sample?), it just occurred to me that it will have one good benefit: it should drive off anyone that's not willing to make an effort. I don't care how low on the academic totem pole a student is, but if they can't be bothered to even try, that's just too hard a battle to fight. I'll make concessions for my special ed kids, for kids with reading issues/dyslexia/dysgraphia, but for the kids who can't be bothered, I'm out of ideas and energy. If my lively classes and sense of humor aren't enough, then leave.
I have a student returning to my 8th grade class who isn't stupid by any means. She's rather bright when she applies herself, has good mechanics, etc, but is truly determined not to participate in class, and thus, when she arrives at my door each day and I ask a question of Latin (and perhaps have it also written on a white board that I'm holding), she'll give me this stupid look and say, "I have no idea what you're talking about." Why? Because she doesn't try, and doesn't pay attention. She does NOT have the lowest grades, she is by no means my worst student, but she is the kind of student that is the most troubling because she whines and whines. I have students making A's for me and failing other classes and plenty who say I'm their favorite teacher. I'm doing everything I can to instill enthusiasm and interest, but there's always one bad apple like this girl. And, let me just add, that I like her otherwise. Nice girl. Sharp. Just can't be bothered.
So one thing I noticed with my consequences for off task behavior last year was that when it got to the third strike, writing an action plan of how to change one's behavior, that I got a bunch of nonsense. So this year there's a worksheet. At the top are the classroom rules (Be in class and on task by the bell. Respect others and their property. Follow classroom procedures. Do your own work.) plus a reminder of consequences for each infraction during a 3 week period. First, staying after class a minute. 2nd, staying after class and lunch detention. 3rd, staying after class, lunch detention and writing the action plan. 4th, all that, revision to the action plan AND a call home to discuss what can be done to encourage sticking to the plan. 5th, referral to the office. I rarely ever get to the referral.
I figure this sheet will help by having the rules on it AND the consequences so the student can see just where they went wrong (besides the obvious talking when they shouldn't be). Plus, it's documentation. But most of all, it requires more writing than before (more time spent in my room than the cafeteria!), which students will hate most of all.
Good deterrents make better students.
Tedious, eh?
For those of you who say you'd rather start the year with a really FUN Latin lesson, let me check back with you to see how the year is going by Thanksgiving. How much class time you are losing from lack of procedures and thorough plans for behavior.... Once I get going with the book, it's full tilt. I don't have time to waste on fighting students for attention or work time.
I need to start planning out the first couple of weeks. I know when I was toying with these materials at the beginning of this month that I realized I had forgotten to work in time for my naming day!!!
Gawd.... I have a feeling that this year will be off to a really rocky start because of all the changes at school. I hope, at least, my materials will be ready and useable....
OK. So here's what's done (2.5 weeks left before school, one of those for inservice, another for a trip to the coast, and this week):
* Class policies and expectations sheet (supplies needed, how I grade, my retake policy, late work policy, classroom rules, etc)
* My monstrous procedures sheet full of Latin versions of the English and a list at the end of possible commands, questions and answers to be used in class.
* My pronunciation practice sheet based on the Latin in the procedures sheet (reinforcing new material)
* My accent and syllabification sheet based on the Latin in the procedures sheet (reinforcing the new material even more)
* My action plan sheet that's part of my consequences for breaking rules/disturbing class.
Yeah, I hate that a lot of my time I spend on classroom management, but if that's running smoothly then the rest of the class goes well. If I don't have good classroom management, my best plans for a neat lesson won't work at all.
While I have been worried about the amount of Latin/oral Latin I'm introducing in the first few days of class via the procedures sheet (should I give a sample?), it just occurred to me that it will have one good benefit: it should drive off anyone that's not willing to make an effort. I don't care how low on the academic totem pole a student is, but if they can't be bothered to even try, that's just too hard a battle to fight. I'll make concessions for my special ed kids, for kids with reading issues/dyslexia/dysgraphia, but for the kids who can't be bothered, I'm out of ideas and energy. If my lively classes and sense of humor aren't enough, then leave.
I have a student returning to my 8th grade class who isn't stupid by any means. She's rather bright when she applies herself, has good mechanics, etc, but is truly determined not to participate in class, and thus, when she arrives at my door each day and I ask a question of Latin (and perhaps have it also written on a white board that I'm holding), she'll give me this stupid look and say, "I have no idea what you're talking about." Why? Because she doesn't try, and doesn't pay attention. She does NOT have the lowest grades, she is by no means my worst student, but she is the kind of student that is the most troubling because she whines and whines. I have students making A's for me and failing other classes and plenty who say I'm their favorite teacher. I'm doing everything I can to instill enthusiasm and interest, but there's always one bad apple like this girl. And, let me just add, that I like her otherwise. Nice girl. Sharp. Just can't be bothered.
So one thing I noticed with my consequences for off task behavior last year was that when it got to the third strike, writing an action plan of how to change one's behavior, that I got a bunch of nonsense. So this year there's a worksheet. At the top are the classroom rules (Be in class and on task by the bell. Respect others and their property. Follow classroom procedures. Do your own work.) plus a reminder of consequences for each infraction during a 3 week period. First, staying after class a minute. 2nd, staying after class and lunch detention. 3rd, staying after class, lunch detention and writing the action plan. 4th, all that, revision to the action plan AND a call home to discuss what can be done to encourage sticking to the plan. 5th, referral to the office. I rarely ever get to the referral.
I figure this sheet will help by having the rules on it AND the consequences so the student can see just where they went wrong (besides the obvious talking when they shouldn't be). Plus, it's documentation. But most of all, it requires more writing than before (more time spent in my room than the cafeteria!), which students will hate most of all.
Good deterrents make better students.
Tedious, eh?
For those of you who say you'd rather start the year with a really FUN Latin lesson, let me check back with you to see how the year is going by Thanksgiving. How much class time you are losing from lack of procedures and thorough plans for behavior.... Once I get going with the book, it's full tilt. I don't have time to waste on fighting students for attention or work time.
I need to start planning out the first couple of weeks. I know when I was toying with these materials at the beginning of this month that I realized I had forgotten to work in time for my naming day!!!
Gawd.... I have a feeling that this year will be off to a really rocky start because of all the changes at school. I hope, at least, my materials will be ready and useable....
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driving students off
Date: 2005-07-28 04:02 pm (UTC)I just took Spanish a couple of semesters ago with ADULTS who could not figure out that
ciento
dociento
treciento
etc... had the root "ciento" means "hundred", and that they began with the cardinal numbers that we'd already learned.
They were looking at them like they were brand new random words. I don't think kids look around for patterns, rules, an mnemonics enough. Like I don't know that my classmates were really looking at different conjugations like they were all the same except one change in a letter. Y'know?
Re: driving students off
Date: 2005-07-28 09:40 pm (UTC)Take a look at Blooms Taxonomy (google it) and you will realize that analysis is a higher order of thinking.
Some people have stretched and exercised their brains enough that they can figure things out on their own. Other students you know won't even crack a book and would rather have tv do all of their thinking. They need help.
Even I need to be shown the pattern before I start seeing it everywhere. How about this:
If I told you that short o in Latin goes to ue in Spanish would you then be able to see/understand what fuente or muerte mean? Let me take you one more step: fontem or mortem. (m's drop off) So fuente means fountain and muerte means death. puerco then must come from porcum (um>o). (The other white meat.)
So once *I* learned some of the most common patterns/shifts, I realized I could read a lot more Spanish. In fact, if I'm at the San Antonio Zoo, I make a point of reading all the Spanish signage to see how much I now can comprehend.
But it's same with the students. You have to lead them through what they are seeing, each step of the way, stretching them to higher levels of thinking.
My warm-ups will often be something like:
circle the tense indicators for the following words, box the personal endings, and then translate. (dormiebat, laudabamus, etc)
What I'm doing is TEACHING them how to slowly think through all the steps they need to take to arrive at meaning.
In fact, I took this one step further last year by offering extra credit on tests if students showed this kind of "rigorous reading" (circling/boxing stuff) on tests. The bribe to get them to take the steps often helped them to arrive at the right answer. The result for the students was sort of a double bonus.
I got to the point where I would regularly lecture the class (in a positive way) that the only difference between the A students and everyone else in the class is that the A students take these steps naturally. That no one was magically having the right Latin answer pop into their head without thinking it through in one form or fashion. You have to USE the language a LOT before you have automatic answers.
I do teach mnemonic devices or I make up some myself.
Here are a few I teach and so far I haven't gotten in trouble for them (esp the last one). When the Cambridge Latin Course first introduces the perfect tense it is only in the 3rd person (s & pl) using -v- stem verbs. So, you'd see portavit, laudavit, dormivit, etc. They do it in the same chapter as the imperfect -ba-. So for the imperfect I teach "ba ba ba says the 3 legged IMPERFECT sheep" plus draw on the board BA with WAS crossing down it, sharing the A. Then for the perfect I teach "Vroooom--it went *past*". IN the next chapter other perfects are shown: scrIpsit, vEnit vIdit, dIxit, docuit, etc and I teach "V L SUX-ed": so the tense indicators (so to speak) are V, l=long vowel, S, U, & X. (I later teach principal parts.) I mention reduplicatives (dat going to dedit, currit to cucurrit, etc) and that a few weirdos stay the same. But VLSUX is our main theme.
I'm worried one day that some student will object to the SUX part or a parent will. BUT students remember that!!!
In a nut shell, we can't teach well without occasionally thinking about what level of thinking of Bloom's taxonomy we're requiring. To stay at the knowledge level for everything (all vocabulary or facts) would be a waste and boring, though sadly that's what some teachers base most of their grades on. Why? Because too many students choke at the real work of Latin: READING. Reading involves analysis, synthesis and evaluation. And if you expect your students to go from low level thinking to high level thinking, you'll lose most of the class. The kids aren't dumb; the teacher is inexperienced.
STRETCH those little minds with some comprehension and application. Work their way up through analysis.