Springtime at my current school means lots of interruptions. Between field trips, concerts, AP exams, and Senior Skip Day I’ve got many students out of certain classes absent while others remain.  Some teachers may choose to move forward, but I like to use days when five or more students are absent to do something a little different. Enter…Beanboozled! I’ve played this many times in English … Continue reading Beanboozled!

I spend much of my summers reading and reflecting on the prior year (as many of you do, I bet), but my reflection readiness always comes to a halt around the time of faculty meetings. Bulletin boards, posters on wall, lesson plans, syllabi, curriculum, meetings, gradebooks, LMS pages, AND IT MUST BE DONE RIGHT NOW! If you’re in this headspace right now I encourage you … Continue reading Prioritized

When I think of what it means to go ‘slowly’ in class, I often think exclusively of my rate of speech. This week at #iflt18, however, I learned quite a bit more là-dessus. Under the tutelage of Paul Kirschling, and working beside Allison Litten as an apprentice to an Adult French class, I learned that ‘slow’ can mean so much more than just the speed … Continue reading #iflt18 and Slow

One of my favorite routines is the Friday routine in my classes. I got this idea from Noah Geisel at an ACTFL conference years before I even made the switch to CI, but he mentioned getting it from someone else.  At any rate, here’s how it looks in my class. I have papers with each letter of the word VENDREDI (Friday, in French) and a … Continue reading Friday Celebrations

Being a French teacher using CI (Comprehensible Input) methods is UNFAIR. A million resources are made and ready to go for Spanish teachers. Conferences seem to be tailored to Spanish teachers. They have SHAKIRA. They have Day of the Dead. They have el Internado. And perhaps the biggest blow of all… THEY HAVE SEÑOR WOOLY!   It seems like we have a few options given this … Continue reading The CI World is UNFAIR for French Teachers!

She doesn’t know this, but Annabelle Allen is very much my mentor. I’m lucky enough to live in New Orleans and she has invited me to observe, taught me Spanish, hung out with me to talk about school, and inspired me beyond what she can possibly know. A lot of what I’ve learned from Annabelle isn’t a tangible takethisintoclasstomorrow kind of thing, but rather more … Continue reading FRENCH Annabelle Adaptations

I really did have the best intentions to blog each night about that day’s excitement, but the excitement lasted until 11 p.m. each day, so here’s your big doozy of all 4 days of iFLT. [I learned this reflection idea from someone (eek I can’t remember who!) at an ACTFL conference long ago. SEEDS mean the ideas that need time to develop before using them, … Continue reading iFLT 2017

It’s the end of the year and my motivation (read: everyone’s motivation is waining) so when our Science Specialist approached me about a collaborative project together, I knew I had to do it.  We came up with a crime scene idea for first and second graders (our classes are multi-age) where students use Forensic science in her classes and use French to create a report … Continue reading Mystery of the Missing Crêpes! 

Set-up: I teach PK-5th grade and see grades 1/2 and 3/4 in a multi-age set up. I see 3/4 students twice per week for 45 minutes at a time. This week I felt like playing–like giving students more power to play and create and let go of the target structures I have in mind.  Oh my sweet baby Jesus, I am having the BEST time.  … Continue reading Best Day Ever!

It’s that time. That horrifying, awful, terrible, cantijuststayinbed time between Spring Break and Summer. For me, that means 25 true days of instruction (some nebulous planning/conference days thrown in there until the show’s really over, though). Usually around this time of year I give up. Completely. And I usually blame it on circumstances. Here are some of my past excuses: -The schedule is all messed … Continue reading 25.More.Days.