A small pastoral intermission in amongst all the MFL and #ililc bits and pieces. I hope you don't mind.
Tutor time activity, to encourage positivity amongst KS4 students and to continue to support their socialisation. It also addresses the problems with NekNominiations that are sweeoping the world at the moment. Gladly, my tutees' responses mainly covered the "But they're idiots, Miss." response.
1. Show them the trailer for Pay It Forward, so they understand the idea.
2. Discuss NekNominations. Show them a positive response to NekNominations, for example:
3. Students then spend 5-6 minutes writing a ThankYou note to a teacher, to start them off on their 3 Pay It Forward acts.
Today we have KS4 tutors delivering notes to staff. These are some of the ones I received:
And my particular favourite:
You're amazing.
So thank YOU for all you do to inspire those around you. You truly are fantastic.
Forever in the search of ways to engage students, and now on the start of my AS teaching adventures, I was very keen to attend James Gardner's subtitling session at #ililc4, because everyone had spoken so positively about it last year.
James used to work in the subtitling world, so was keen to harness the resource in his teaching. He believes that subtitles can be used for a number of reasons:
They help students to develop transcribing skills
Videos can be made, and peers (or self) can watch the videos and translate or write captions for the performances
Using videos and captions can allow teachers to give access of videos to students
They can be used to create funny stories or videos, to encourage and develop creativity and imagination in students
It is a really good way for students to listen to Target Language and capture the essential bits of vocab and structures.
The website that James introduced us to was Amara.org which can access YouTube videos, but the finished subtitled file can't be carried back over to YouTube. They can, however, be accessed on Amara.
I am very sure that James will make his presentation available, but I most certainly will use this in the future. I chose a video on YouTube at random, which was a Harry Potter trailer in German, and went for it. It took me maybe 20-25 minutes? It was exceptionally straight forward, and by the end of it, I wanted to watch the film. And I am not a Potter fan!
It was Clare who said "You should present at #ililc4", and I knew I wanted to, but I didn't know what about. So we chatted a little, and she said "Why don't you talk about what you have done in your current role?". The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea.
I joined my current employ in April 2012, and at first, I broke a lot of the rules that can be seen (or at least could be seen in the 80s!) at the side of any swimming pool... There was plenty of bombing (when tried and tested lessons failed), plenty of times when I wanted to run, and there was plenty of pushing - of colleagues and students alike.
In the first term, I had quite a challenge, but was told by my line manager "Do what you need to do, and change it". I was more or less given free reign. It was scary at first, but I didn't have time to be overwhelmed.
My objectives were:
And ultimately I wanted to see the transition shown below:
There was a lot of things that needed to be done, but ultimately, the one thing that was very clear, was a lot needed changing. The reality check was that a lot was missing:
No Head of Department
No Schemes of Work
No means of assessing
Unreliable data
Totally disengaged cohort of students
At first, I felt like a fraud. After 3 weeks I realised that none of my previous experience really mattered, as the cohort of students in front of me on a daily basis had entirely different needs, and completely different experiences. So I basically threw all my resources out and started from scratch. And I had breakthroughs. Changing the Schemes of Work My first one, which ticked the Engagement and Project-Based SoW, was the Britain's Got Talent Project. The language skill that we were teaching the students was the Imperative. It was the week after the BGT final on tv. So the way it works is (and the delegates attending the presentation took part in this exercise):
1. Show the students the footage of Ashleigh and Pudsey, and they write down all the commands that Ashleigh would have been saying to Pudsey. It may help if students work in pairs, with one saying the command and the other writing. 2. They then assign commands in French (or whichever language you are teaching!) in the order that they have written the English in. How the students do this depends completely on their ability, how you differentiate it, whether or not you have taught the imperative before.
3. You then play the clip again, and the students then shout the commands at the screen, as they have written them down, to pre-empt each manoeuvre that Pudsey makes. Dare I say that the students enjoyed a French lesson? That was the first breakthrough. Assessment and Assessment Data
Tracking the progress of the students was essential. Not only did it track how the students were doing, but it was also the best measure to see if the changes I was introducing were having any impact. So we used the text book assessments as a standard control, because it meant not overburdening the work load. I also introduced data spread sheets to the department, and a standard way of working out sub-levels, based on the four skills. We also had tracking sheets and assessed (alternating formal and informal assessing) each half term. Anyone wanting to see what the tracking sheets look like, please feel free to email me! But I needed reliable, standardised testing for each year group, which would offer true and reflecting data. Students' progress is also shared in the MFL corridor, with all students' names on the level ladders, and they are moved after assessments.
Breakthrough 2 = Grease Performing Arts is massive at our school. I went on a walkabout in the summer term, and came across Year 9s working on dance routines to the Grease medley. They were loving it. We were working on the topic of Media at the time in MFL. So I knew we could link into this to increase engagement.
So I then had to find a way to justify showing Grease to the students. We did a film review, character analysis, film posters. I also wanted the students not to be afraid of the subtitles. So I switched the subtitles to German, and gave the students the bingo grids I had created, using the words from the subtitles from a 2 minute bite of the film. It was a great game, and again, students could work in pairs, with one student relaying the words from the screen, while the other crosses the words off.
What was most important was to lead a department that was in turmoil. It was about trusting colleagues when they worked on SoWs or resources. It was about challenging the behaviour and supporting colleagues on an hourly basis. While I haven't found the magic wand, we have a large number of students coming to the MFL corridor smiling, asking "What are we doing today, Miss?", which for me is a massive step forward. While this isn't the complete presentation, it has covered an awful lot of what was discussed/delivered. Feel free to ask questions or leave comments below and I will gladly get back to you.
For me, differentiation is, and remains, an area of teaching that I don't think I ever get completely right all of the time. This is partly due to the fact that the needs and abilities of the students each year are ever changing. (For example, I am teaching a Year 7 Drama group with a range of reading ages from 5-15).
Let me explain my Year 10 German group to you, if you don't mind...
There are 15 students.
10 students studied French in Year 7, then studied German in years 8 and 9. 4 students studied German in Year 7, then studied French in years 8 and 9. 1 student studied French in Years 7 and 8, then studied German in year 9.
(Only since I have been at the school will students in KS3 be studying just the one language, in the hope that the foundation and knowledge they have will be greater!)
I started teaching them this term, because of the tempestuous staffing issues of last term. To add to the complexity of the matter, out of the 6 lessons they have German, they have me 3 times and a non-German speaker for 3 lessons, as they are on at the same time as my Year 11s, so I couldn't swap.
Differentiation is, therefore, a huge part of how I teach them. I have trialled my 'colours' approach with my amazing year 8 group, and it really works, certainly from a planning point of view.
So this is what I am doing.
1. Based on class work and past papers, I assessed them in all 4 skills just before Christmas, as a baseline for the rest of the course.
2. I have split the students into 3 groups for each of the 4 skills, based on their ability and performances in the tests and coursework. You can see by the picture below that most students have strengths and weaknesses. Green = E/F/G Orange = D Purple = C
3. The students now know which group they are in for each skill, and they know who to sit with for the different types of tasks, depending on my instruction and on the task. They also have stickers on their books, so they know without having to remember!
4. For tasks that require differentiation, the resources or instructions are then colour-coded, so the students know which part to do. Below is an example of a listening task we did, and each student did the task that was relevant to their colour. It is also a good opportunity to create questions in exam-paper style.
It is an easy way to manage both mixed and ability groups, and it is an easy way to plan. The kids now no longer accuse me of being racist when I say "Right, get into your colour groups."...!!!!!
And I love colours! There may be a blog soon that doesn't centre around colours. But until that, paint me up, buttercup!!
"Miss, how long does it take you to prepare our lessons?"
"It depends on the lesson, really. For example, today didn't need much planning, because it doesn't need many resources, because you're doing the all work. What takes the time is thinking of new things to do."
"We always do something different with you, you always give us something different to do. Not like some teachers. With some teachers we do the same thing all the time."
"I want you to walk in, not knowing what task you'll be doing."
"So do we, Miss. It's a good thing."
There is never better feedback than words from the mouths of babes. Let them be our judgers.
This was the conversation as I hovered from group to group this morning, as they made paper chains. And hereby follows the way they went about it:
Students have now covered the topic of The World of Work. They are starting their CA tomorrow. Time to reinforce!
So first they played Jenga, using all the work they have done so far as support. On the board was what they had to include in their spoken responses, by number, (ignore the colours at this stage!). This speaking task lasted for 20mins, as I moved from pair to pair, listening to their structures.
The next task was pair work again. The students pulled 8 Jenga bricks out at random, to select sentence type. Using strips of paper (you can make the perfect 1cm wide strips by folding a piece of A4 4 times and then opening it up again) the students had to write a sentence on each strip, using the appropriate colour pen - now you can use the colours on the slide! (The first group used biros and then underlined word/sentence type with the relevant colour.)
Once both students in the pair have done their 8 sentences, they then work together to see if they can create paragraphs with their strips. They then use yellow strips to link the ideas together - they soon worked out that they can use connectives, a phrase, or a whole sentence to link two ideas. They also used blank yellow strips to indicate new paragraphs. And then you have the creation of the paper chains.
This is the last piece of coursework that the cohort will be writing, so I want them to have fun with the phrases, and be confident with how they can continually improve their work.
We should all strive to not be the "not like some teachers" that the students speak of. Always be THAT teacher.
Running. I love it. And I sometimes find myself angry that I let the amount of work I have to do prevent my run from happening. I normally sign myself up for a race as motivation, as a kick up the bum. Otherwise I am a slave to homework.
This is where #Jantastic is really helping. Just a small run is enough. And knowing there are others out there, who are part of your virtual team, is incentive enough. This morning I set off at 9ish. It started to rain, but I love running in the rain.
The Punch Bowl is 1.2miles from my door. Once I get there, there is a fab choice of routes. Today I ran a different route, and had horses for company for the first 30mins. The mile of uphill is hard work, especially on loose stones. But so satisfying.
Once I was up above the old A3 on the tarmac path, I began to see other people out. It was pouring by then, but it hadn't deterred the walkers (with and without dogs) and cyclists, who exchanged cheery 'good mornings' with me as I ran past. You feel kindred spirits with these folks, a silent acknowledgment of being a member in an unwritten club.
I love running. Days like today remind me of that.
I have posted quite a few posts recently for speaking tasks. So to help balance it out, time to look at reading/writing support tasks.
I have used colours to recognise word type in reading tasks for a good number of years. One of the ideas presented at #TMWave last term was about making paper chains, using different colours for different elements of formulating a written response for RE. I could see the potential in that for MFL straight away. I will move on to paper chains soon, but for now I am looking at colours.
So, to help access longer texts in class (that is a phrase I use a lot - we have a large number of students in the school whose reading ages are below average), I have introduced posters and standard colours for word and phrase type. The classroom displays will soon mirror these colours as well. Below is one of the posters:
Students are then let loose on the text with felt tips (a pot of 12 colours per 4 students), to read through the paragraph(s) and underline words that they recognise, as shown above. Topic-specific is a good way to recognise key vocab from the lesson or chain of lessons. We are currently on The World of Work with Year 11s, so it is making them consider key verbs like "arbeiten" and "verdienen". (We had played Strip Bingo as a starter with these key words).
How you then use the key vocab and structures in the text is down to you, what you want out of the text, and how you want the students to benefit from their findings. Today I asked them to adapt the phrases to other aspects of the topic, as well as other topics.
I have also asked students to use the same technique to analyse written work. Visually it is then obvious which aspects of the language they are using readily and frequently, and which elements can be increased in frequency and depth. It gives students a visual reflection of how they can improve their work. In the build-up to CAs I find this of great benefit.
Obviously you can add colours for different tenses and other foci.
Today's choonage is a song that I cannot hear enough, and is perfect for a break in speaking tasks on here! CHOOOOOOOOOOOOON!
