viernes, 16 de octubre de 2015

TCI Maine Takeaway: La estrella del día

Image result for la estrella
Update - 1/30/17 - Here is a sheet for Spanish 2. Many of the questions are similar to the ones that I share below. Feel free to make  a copy and use it.

Update - 1/8/16 - Using "La Estrella de Día" in Spanish 1 was a great success! I am going to use it second semester with my Spanish 3 and Cultura y Civilización classes and I have adapted the questions. Click here to see the question sheet and here to see the slideshow template. Feel free to make a copy and use and/or adapt.

Also, here is a doc with some possible questions in French! Thanks Alice Ayel!

Just back from my first TCI Maine conference and it was fantastic! Skip Crosby and his wife do an excellent job of organizing this small, but very valuable conference. As always, it is really invigorating to be around like-minded professionals who are on the same path.

Sr. Wooly, Eric Herman, Sabrina Janczak, Laurie Clarcq, and Anne Matava were all engaging, kind, passionate, highly skilled TCI teachers who shared a ton. My biggest takeaways are: go slow, repeat, and personalize.

There is also one thing that I am definitely going to start using. It is Sabrina's "La Estrella del Día" idea. Sabrina said that she adapted the idea from Bryce Hedstrom's "La Persona Especial" idea. The idea is this:
  • Students fill out a form with interview questions on it (with the help from the teacher). 
    • Here is a document that I created (very similar to what Sabrina shared). Feel free to make a copy and add or subtract questions.
  • The teacher collects the sheets and then "interviews" 2-4 students a week. The rest of the class listens respectfully. The question slideshow, with images to help comprehension (this one is for Spanish 1), is projected during the interview so that everyone understands.
  • During the interview, the teacher asks follow up questions to the star of the day and/or asks related questions to the class.
  • The teacher also takes a picture of them the day of the interview.
  • The day after the interview, the teacher shares the slideshow (with pictures that illustrate the answers and the picture of the student) to review the information shared the day before. See examples here.
  • At the end of the week, there is a quiz (more personalized CI!) like this. I think towards the end of Spanish 1 and/or in higher levels, I will ask them to write 3-5 facts about each person.
  • This is an ongoing activity that could take many weeks.
Here are the reasons WHY Sabrina suggested this activity:
  • Repetition that never gets boring
  • Compelling: it's always about them, their favorite topic
  • Students feel important and special --- a picture (selfie or not)
  • Make students shine
  • Authentic conversation
  • Supported output (students use notes)
    • after 4 or 5, students start to write notes
    • speaking
    • writing
  • A chance to practice 1st, 2nd, 3rd person forms
  • Higher order thinking
  • I also think this will be a way to create a positive class culture.

24 comentarios:

  1. Thank you so so much or sharing how you implement la estrella/persona especial!! I have had so many questions about how to implement this and this is a godsend!!!!! I will be starting next week!!!!!

    Mil gracias!!

    ResponderEliminar
    Respuestas
    1. :) Glad you found it so useful! In case you are interested. Check out the **update** paragraph at the top of the post for a question sheet for levels 3 and 4.

      Eliminar
  2. Hello Kara, thank you so much for sharing your questions. I want to use your document in French with my students and so I have translated your document in French: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1D0I7-8VaBkIrHUd9yCEBl1L4HzMeIJON0bVZutmipnM/edit?usp=sharing
    I hope it is ok with you :-)

    ResponderEliminar
  3. Hi Kara, Thanks for sharing this! Would you be willing to share a copy of the question templates in a way so that I can edit them for my classes? (you can email elissa (at) expressfluency.com. Thanks so much!

    ResponderEliminar
  4. I love this! Thank you, AGAIN, for the work you do that helps so many others.

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  5. What a comprehensive explanation!! Love it!! Thank you so much for sharing.

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  6. This is awesome!! thanks so much for sharing!!!

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  7. Este comentario ha sido eliminado por el autor.

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  8. At what point in the year do you start doing this with Spanish 1? Do you wait until the students know the vocabulary and the associated structures with these questions? Thanks.

    ResponderEliminar
    Respuestas
    1. I start it 3-4 weeks in to the class. They can use Google Translate to fill in the question sheet. I definitely do not wait until they know the vocabulary and associated structures with the questions. During this process, they will see and hear these questions and answers two times for *each* person, so (hopefully) they will acquire the vocabulary and associated structures by the end :) So, cool that they will know pudiera, tuviera, and some conditional in Spanish 1!

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  9. I'm finally going to really jump in with this activity this year-- do you possibly have a copy of the quiz in Spanish instead of French? Thanks so much!

    -Kathy Griffith

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    Respuestas
    1. Yay! Not sure why that was in French... I think my colleague may have changed my template :)

      Here is a link to an example of a quiz from Spanish 2 this past semester: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eeQl0vWEYGxQqLvKZ_tyKPu8JrWF6Eb6g49EGkMaDm0/edit

      Here are the questions that I used with that class: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1pXMj5ZuykIMsHk1Joj9WEt8OaUwAEbAWjqqu3fx8Quw/edit?usp=sharing

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  10. Excellent! Thank you for sharing how you implement this activity! I will definitely be starting out my new Spanish 3/4 class with this activity and your ideas and materials are clear and easy to follow.
    Tamara Dussault

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  11. Thank you so much for sharing this!!!!!

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  12. You are so amazing! Thank you so much for sharing...your hard work does not go unnoticed!! Due to difficult/challenging behavior of our students, I am the only language teacher in our entire high school. Our other Spanish classes have subs every day, all year long (along with 2 other subjects). Therefore, the only time I get to collaborate or have PD for Spanish is on my own time, online. I cannot thank you enough for your help, support, and generosity. You are appreciated! :-)

    ResponderEliminar
  13. Wow, this is fabulous! Thank you so much for sharing!

    ResponderEliminar
  14. Kara, un saludo desde Shanghai. He leido mucho sobre Persona Especial, pero no termino de entender, Digamos que un dia entrevisto a dos personas , las dos primeras preguntas como te llamas y de donde eres.Al dia siguiente repasamos la informacion aprendida de esos dos alumnos , y continuo entrevistando presentando la siguiente pregunta para este dia, escojo a dos nuevos alumnos por ejemplo, les pregunto unicamente la nueva pregunta, cuantos anos tienes? ... o empiezo nuevamente desde la pregunta como te llamas , de donde eres , cuantos años tienes ... y al dia siguiente repaso... y la proxima vez otro alumno y lo mismo se repite.

    Mil gracias de antemano por tu respuesta

    Monica Lopez

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    Respuestas
    1. les pregunto unicamente la nueva pregunta?, cuantos anos tienes? ... o empiezo nuevamente desde la pregunta como te llamas , de donde eres , cuantos años tienes ? ... y al dia siguiente repaso... y la proxima vez otro alumno y lo mismo se repite.

      Perdona si la pregunta es tonta es que soy super novata en este tema del CI. mil gcias !

      Eliminar
  15. Hola Kara: Really appreciate and grow from the blogs that you share. I wanted to know if you a rubric to assess the "Estrella del dia"? If so, would you mind sharing? Thanks so much!

    ResponderEliminar
  16. Thank you for this explanation. I can finally see myself doing the interviews in class! Most examples I have found are for Spanish 1 and I want to use it with Spanish 3. I am wondering if I could also have the students prepare by adding their own images to the powerpt so that it can cut down on my prep time. Can´t wait to try it!

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  17. Hello, Kara! I'm teaching high school Spanish for the first time ever this year. I'm the only world language teacher/Spanish speaker in the district, so I'm seeking resources and ideas from everyone online! I tried to follow one of your links, but it looks like I would need explicit permission. I was looking for information about La estrellita del dia. I'm pasting your words to give you an idea of what I'm referring to, (the word HERE is a hyperlink in your blog).

    From your blog: The day after the interview, the teacher shares the slideshow (with pictures that illustrate the answers and the picture of the student) to review the information shared the day before. See examples here.

    Is there a way for you to send me a screenshot of one of those examples?
    Thanks for any help you can provide.
    Elizabeth Lopez

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  18. I am excited to give this a try for the first time this week, thank you so much! :)

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