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On Latinteach a teacher was bemoaning the prospect of teaching a split-level class. I, naturally, had to toss in my two cents worth:
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One thing to keep in mind is to take the time during the first week of school to set up PROCEDURES. (This is a biggy in Wong's _The First Days of School_.)
Split level class? Fine. Brainstorm about every single type of activity that you usually do this summer and figure out how you could plan so that many of these activities are still doable.
For instance, if you have the luxury of two overheads, put warm-ups on separate overheads and still begin class with warm-ups. Alternate days regarding which group you review the warm-up with first while the other part of the class does a different activity--vocab flash drill? Silent reading of yesterday's story? Low voice level paired practice of dialogs that focus on the new grammar? (I started a set of these the year before last but had to toss them when our periods got shorter this past year...still a good idea.)
Do you need to have the chairs facing in opposite directions? Well, that can be a PROCEDURE that the STUDENTS take care of when they come in. Give them jobs; post them daily. I had rotating jobs posted for all of my classes this year; just took 15 minutes to do before school started--well worth the organization.
What other jobs/procedures can the kids be taught during that first week to do on their own? Students LIKE responsibilities. They LIKE ownership of the class. Someone could be in charge of taking up homework or going over the answers to something on an overhead while you work with the other group.
And the best part is that if they have jobs or procedures to cover what to do in any given occasion, there will not be that deadly down time that provides opportunities for off task behavior.
I always had a person with the job of ringing a bell when there was 5 minutes left to go in class--this way we could put folders away, put desks back if we'd moved them, I could sign grade slips for athletics, etc. Also, I might mention, I had another rotating job for recording off-task behaviors (which could include anything). *I* had to be the one to say "write down so-n-so's name" but the student wrote down the name in a spiral. I had a written record of behavioral issues (and who had to stay after class when the bell rang), but only had to take 2 seconds from what I was doing to order that a name be written down.
Procedures and organization and structure. It doesn't have to be chaos. It doesn't have to mean that either group gets less of an experience with the language.
Take the summer to brainstorm and plan. If you get your procedures and organization set up, writing the lesson plans and running the class will fall into place.
****
One thing to keep in mind is to take the time during the first week of school to set up PROCEDURES. (This is a biggy in Wong's _The First Days of School_.)
Split level class? Fine. Brainstorm about every single type of activity that you usually do this summer and figure out how you could plan so that many of these activities are still doable.
For instance, if you have the luxury of two overheads, put warm-ups on separate overheads and still begin class with warm-ups. Alternate days regarding which group you review the warm-up with first while the other part of the class does a different activity--vocab flash drill? Silent reading of yesterday's story? Low voice level paired practice of dialogs that focus on the new grammar? (I started a set of these the year before last but had to toss them when our periods got shorter this past year...still a good idea.)
Do you need to have the chairs facing in opposite directions? Well, that can be a PROCEDURE that the STUDENTS take care of when they come in. Give them jobs; post them daily. I had rotating jobs posted for all of my classes this year; just took 15 minutes to do before school started--well worth the organization.
What other jobs/procedures can the kids be taught during that first week to do on their own? Students LIKE responsibilities. They LIKE ownership of the class. Someone could be in charge of taking up homework or going over the answers to something on an overhead while you work with the other group.
And the best part is that if they have jobs or procedures to cover what to do in any given occasion, there will not be that deadly down time that provides opportunities for off task behavior.
I always had a person with the job of ringing a bell when there was 5 minutes left to go in class--this way we could put folders away, put desks back if we'd moved them, I could sign grade slips for athletics, etc. Also, I might mention, I had another rotating job for recording off-task behaviors (which could include anything). *I* had to be the one to say "write down so-n-so's name" but the student wrote down the name in a spiral. I had a written record of behavioral issues (and who had to stay after class when the bell rang), but only had to take 2 seconds from what I was doing to order that a name be written down.
Procedures and organization and structure. It doesn't have to be chaos. It doesn't have to mean that either group gets less of an experience with the language.
Take the summer to brainstorm and plan. If you get your procedures and organization set up, writing the lesson plans and running the class will fall into place.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-06-04 02:05 pm (UTC)Here are some other thoughts I wrote in reply to the question about using advanced groups to teach the less advanced:
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It just depends on the group. A Latin 3/4 can be taught together more easily. Latin 1/2 not as easily. And yes, you can teach/coach together and I should have written that too. And there certainly would be days that I'd do that. But to constantly have the one group help the other would keep the first group from marching on at the faster pace required by curriculum guides, etc. We don't need to compromise the quality of the one class for the other. I had two years of Latin out of three in high school as "independent study." There was A LOT I didn't get out of class that I should have if I had been in a regular classroom environment.
MY POINT was that setting up procedures for establishing how each group can work more independently on normal classroom activities (independently running vocab drill, etc), means less of the old "do these grammar review exercises silently" or "write out translations"--that is, there's no need to keep it from still being an interactive class.
And I might add that while I have TONS OF RESPECT for homeschoolers, they are also dealing with students who do a lot of independent study already. I've been teaching in an inner city middle school, where most students arrive with little to no academic preparedness. Independent study would mean only one or two would get the material and the rest would barely float along. And the discipline issues that would arise would be a real problem without structure, procedures and organization.
But you are right; I should have mentioned having the advanced students help teach the novices because we know that saying, doce ut discas. I just wanted to point out that split levels don't have to be the compromises in quality that they sometimes slip to. It just takes a bunch of up front planning.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-09-14 06:30 pm (UTC)Just for you awesome Latin/Language teachers here. I am a third year student here at Carter Riverside Highschool in Latin. I am very surprised what you teacher's worry about. I have noticed that teacher's worry about the smallest things but then again so do students. I understand completely or at least mostly. I don't teach students but in my AVID class we have tutorial days and I normally take over the group and re-teach alot of subjects. As I am a very looked up to individual in my highschool I just wanted to show my appreciation of all you teachers here. I may not know you personally but you still work hard and I appreaciate your hard work period. to contact me email me at roseyrachel@care2.com I don't bite! promise
(no subject)
Date: 2006-09-14 10:30 pm (UTC)It may seem like we worry about small things, but classroom management is critical, esp with inner city schools (like I used to teach at). No structure, no productive work, no achievement.
I have a split class now at my new school and I have yet to do implement anything I considered in this missive. However, I'm currently reviewing them together. I start them on their own tracks soon.