Curriculum
July 21, 2015
Starting my interactive notebook
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Last spring we had a #langchat on some topics that kept coming up on the suggestion form and either never garnered quite enough votes to be a chat topic or were judged by the moderators to not have enough substance for an hour-long chat. So we polled for a “quick-snapper” chat. We offered eight of […]
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July 10, 2015
What if every task students did in class had a real-world application? I asked that question during last night’s #langbook chat. This summer we started what we hope will be an annual summer-break chat to encourage language teachers to read quality professional books. For the inaugural #langbook chat, we polled and participants chose the book […]
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June 22, 2015
After a year “off,” this fall I’ll be back to teaching, in a unique opportunity (homeschool co-op) that I’m really excited about. And apprehensive about. Things that worry me: Mostly, time. I’ll be seeing my students only once a week (60 minutes for elementary, 90 minutes for upper grades). I’ll be finding something for them […]
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June 15, 2015
Did you know grammar is not a skill you can practice? Read on. And watch this. It’s already time for the second videocast of the Musicuentos Black Box. Here’s the info. Ready to watch? This eight minutes (+) will help you understand what it really means to know a language and remind you in […]
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June 8, 2015
What is the point of teaching culture, anyway? Is it to get kids to realize that people are different? (They already do.) Is it to get them to try a new food? (Lengua, eww, gross. Does that have peanuts in it?) No, cultural awareness is more about perspective-taking. According to the research, children who show […]
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May 5, 2015
If you know me you know I love a good research book, particularly one that tells us in lay language what it’s going to take to help kids succeed in a world we can’t even imagine, one that’s vastly different from the one we grew up in. The other day, Zoe asked me, Mami, what’s […]
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April 6, 2015
What do you do when you’re being forced into a textbook adoption that’s stifling the creative community in your school? Sometimes you turn to someone with a generally poor opinion of textbooks for advice. One of my favorite parts of doing what I do is the conversations I get to watch and sometimes even facilitate. […]
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March 24, 2015
Do you sometimes feel like we’re working in an all-or-nothing profession? I’m not sure if it’s an artifact of social media, of tweets and blog posts designed to be punchy and petite at the same time. I’m not sure if it’s a desire to be the next big thing, the acronym everyone’s talking about. I […]
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February 20, 2015
I’m looking forward to participating in a special interview with Paulino Brener on his EPC Show in about a week. Join us online to talk about motivational aspects of our curricula. Cross-posted from Paulino Brener at epcshow.com and you’ll find out more about where to find the video here: Join me on Saturday February 28 […]
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February 18, 2015
Are you ready for the most intense, profitable workshop on curriculum planning this summer? I’ve been planning for the 2015 Camp Musicuentos workshops since the inaugural workshop ended last June, and I’m so excited to announce that registration for the events (a 2-day workshop in Louisville, Kentucky, and a one-day workshop in Warwick, RI) is […]
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February 17, 2015
Shall we talk labor and delivery a moment? I suspect I have your attention! No worries, I’m not going to get gross. I don’t think so, anyway. But you will get to know me a little bit better. When I was pregnant with my third child, some family friends were visiting, a couple and their […]
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December 30, 2014
It wasn’t even close. My post on the biggest mistake we make (and are pushed in so many ways to make) as language teachers was hit more than 40% more than the #2 post. We know we’re covering too much content, and we’re tired of being told that’s the right thing to do. Oh- and HAPPY […]
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