Fellow world language teachers, welcome!
Not sure what digital task cards even mean? Never heard of Boom Learning? Seeking new ideas on how to implement these paperless cards in the world language classroom? Don't believe there are really TEN ways to incorporate them into a language setting? Then, you have come to the right place! We already shared 6 ways that these paperless task cards from Boom Learning can be EFFECTIVE and now we are going to share 10 ways you can actually use them in your lesson plans. Allons-y! 1. Use as introductory material before instruction What can students figure out by themselves? Let students have an opportunity to recall previous knowledge, deduce what they see in front of them and problem solve material that is new to them. They just might surprise themselves! 2. Independent work and practice Students can work individually, at their own pace, on each deck of these digital task cards. Students receive instant feedback after each card so you know students are receiving the correct answers instantly. Teachers don't need to wonder if students missed the question AND never discovered the correct answer. Everything is already set up for you and them! 3. Whole class interactive discussion and practice Go through the deck of cards together. For example, we have some reading and listening comprehension decks that would be perfect for this. Project the reading to the whole class and go through the learning process together. Underline and circle where necessary to help guide students. Or, listen to the conversation together and pause the recording to help point out key words. Ask students to pause the recording and explain how certain key words helped in their understanding. 4. Distance and remote learning The world has changed and "virtual" has entered our vocabulary like never before. In one capacity or another, you saw how teaching and learning adapted. These Boom Learning digital task cards are extremely compatible with learning at a distance because you share a link with students and they can practice on their devices. You can hold them accountable because you have the option to track their progress. Just like stated in #3, you can share your screen and do the cards together, too. 5. Work stations in the classroom There are just some lessons where stations work best. One of those lessons for me was with clothing and fabric vocabulary. If you like to incorporate stations, make a deck of the digital cards as a station for students to complete. 6. Homework and at-home practice Share the link with students and ask them to complete the deck at home for the first time and/or for review from the class period. Begin the next class going over the cards together. 7. Skill review and individual practice One class includes students with such a range of learning capabilities and levels of understanding. Modify and meet student needs with these paperless task cards. Assign different decks to different students. Check for understanding as students interact with the cards. Use this time as students complete the task to walk around and watch them engage. Stop and ask them questions. Help with incorrect answers. Monitor cards you need to address as a class. 8. Assessments Use a deck of Boom cards as a summative assessment. Track student performance on a deck that is new to them. They receive the instant feedback and you don't have to grade! 9. Fast Finishers What can those quick students do while they wait for the other students to complete the given task? Assign some task cards as review! Keep them engaged with previous material or challenge them with concepts they haven't learned yet! 10. Sub Plans Share the link with the sub or even just share the link with the students and send them practicing while you are away. Rest assured they are interacting with that vocabulary and grammar even while you aren't there! **Which option will you choose today to make your lesson planning less stressful and your students’ learning more engaging?
1 Comment
Have you ever had a class mascot in class? A stuffed animal, puppet or doll of any kind? If you haven’t, consider giving it a try. With my middle and high school students, I had a monkey named Gaston. I used Gaston when I needed someone to “talk to” in class to demonstrate a conversation or activity I was expecting the students to do. Gaston was also there when I needed someone to “respond” to me for those same purposes: demonstrating, modeling, speaking, etc. Can I also just mention Gaston was super willing to demonstrate how faire la bise works with my beginners! Gaston was always my first volunteer to have sentences written about him. He was a good sport when my intermediate learners were learning the passé composé, for example. I shared a whole story about Gaston’s escapade with his banana on the bus. Quel désastre! I knew my boundaries when it came to secondary language learners and a stuffed animal, and I stayed within those limits. I think they just thought I was crazy for always “talking” to a stuffed animal. But did they understand my expectation of the coming partner conversation? Yes. Why? Because they had seen it demonstrated ahead of time between myself and Gaston. And now I have the experience of teaching preschoolers. And not just any preschooler. TWO YEAR OLDS. No, that was not a typo. Two-year-old preschoolers. Say what?! God asked me to do something I have never asked or imagined I would do (proof of Ephesians 3:20): He asked me to teach preschool this school year. I couldn’t deny nor ignore the opportunity and nudging. I obeyed. Side note: Boy, have I learned a lot (humility, patience, empathy, and perspective, to name a few)! I also have new gratitude for preschool teachers…wow! They are amazing. Special, one-of-a-kind. I wanted to share how I incorporate some fun French into our mornings that the children LOVE. Can you guess what I’m going to share? Yep…Introducing…drum roll… Hibou, our French-speaking owl puppet. He’s a gem, super patient and full of grace. The children listen to Hibou and look at him in wonder and curiosity. I have incorporated songs into our time with Hibou and it never ceases to amaze me how quickly the children catch on and sing the words. Even for the children who aren’t forming words yet, they sure yell “ÇA VA!” during the “Bonjour!” song. Their “ça va!” sounds like “ba ba!” but they are singing (aka yelling) and doing the motions with Hibou. They LOVE him. I’ll share three of the songs we do with Hibou:
Bonjour les enfants! Bonjour les enfants, comment ça va ? (teacher sings & waves Hibou left to right) ÇA VA ! (children throw their arms in air and sing) Bonjour les enfants, comment ça va ? ÇA VA ! (children throw their arms in air and sing) Ça va bien, ça va mal, ça va comme ci comme ça (thumbs up, thumbs down, hand slant side to side) Bonjour les enfants, comment ça va ? ÇA VA ! (children throw their arms in air and sing) Tourne, Tourne, Petit Moulin (Mes Comptines pour Danser © E&D, Night & Day Library) Tourne, tourne, petit moulin (move hands round and round) Frappent, frappent, petites mains (clap hands) Vole, vole, petit oiseau (flying motion) Nage, nage, poisson dans l’eau (swimming fish motion) Beau front (Un Deux Trois, First French Rhymes, ©Frances Lincoln Limited 1995) Beau front (point to forehead) Beaux yeux (point to eyes) Nez de cancan (point to nose) Bouche d’argent (point to mouth) Menton fleuri (point to chin) Guili-guili-guili. (tickle Hibou) This song might be their favorite simply because they get to tickle Hibou’s tummy avec un petit doigt. Gaston is loved by his middle and high school French friends. Likewise, Hibou is loved by his preschool friends. They have both brought a lot of joy and learning into our classrooms. Do you incorporate puppets into your teaching? Tell me how! At the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year, did you notice regression in your French students because of COVID-19? Did they seem more timid to speak? Less confident with their French skills?
Jason noticed right away that his French students were exhibiting such behaviors. As we reflected the reasons behind their speaking reluctance and low confidence, we landed on potential reasons. First, for some of the students, they didn’t get a strong foundation at the beginning of their French career. Then, all students missed a huge chunk of their class time in the spring of 2020 due to eLearning. But that was not an epiphany; we could see that coming as we scrambled to figure out how to effectively teach our students from a distance in the spring due to the pandemic. (We created a webinar for language teachers if you’re interested in learning some tools for teaching languages at a distance). So, how do we combat the regression, timidness and low confidence? We came up with the following solutions: 1. Encourage them and build them up 2. Meet them where they are and show them where they can go 3. Don’t give up on them To further explain…
2. We meet them where they are. a. Jason felt like there weren’t many strong language speaker leaders in his French class, so no one knew where they could go with French. They didn’t have upperclassmen who had experience with immersion and who could carry on complete French conversations. Those who would inspire, lead and motivate the rest of the class were not there. b. So, Jason decided to meet them where they are…he started at the beginning with some pronunciation instruction to get them back to speaking French. This slowly started getting their minds and mouths used to the French sounds once again. c. Next, he had some audio recordings from last year’s advanced students. He took a recording from a previous student and shared it with his current students. This student was not the best or strongest in the class, but “average.” Jason wanted to show them where they could go if they were willing to trust his teaching and put in the effort to learn and speak the language. For some, it helped motivate. For others, it was discouraging…but what a great way to open honest and vulnerable dialogue in the classroom. One girl told him honestly that ‘there was no way’ she could ever speak like that and it was so intimidating to hear. That was the open-door Jason needed to reassure her that the student she listened to used to be in her seat, with her SAME language abilities. But by trusting him and attempting to learn, that student progressed to that recording by the end of the year. And she can, too! They all can. They need to believe in themselves and they need to believe their teachers believe in them, too. d. In light of masks and video conferencing, it is important to recognize and acknowledge that these two realities can hinder communication. There is value in stopping and acknowledging these difficulties. Giving suggestions and encouragement to be able to communicate well is beneficial to all. Being patient with one another, speaking more loudly, and understanding that we have lost a communication piece by covering our mouths are good reminders for teachers and students. It may seem obvious, but our students don’t necessarily recognize the hindrances of masks and screens, and sometimes, as teachers, we forget, too. 3. We don’t give up on them. a. Plain and simple. We don’t give up on them. They don’t know l'imparfait like they should? Instead of sighing and stressing, go back to the basics of l'imparfait and raise them up to the knowledge they need to move forward successfully. Sure, they may have had a tough introductory French year OR regressed during quarantine and the summer OR gave up on what they can attain in the French language. But we CANNOT give up on them. b. Believe in them. Believe in ourselves. Believe and hope in the good that is to come. This school year is full of learning for BOTH teachers and students. It is never too late to help our students grow and learn despite their circumstances. As hard as it might be, persevere and don’t give up as teachers, too. Don’t grow weary in doing good, for there will be fruit eventually in your French students. Bonne chance et courage, nos chers collègues! Is it a headache to get students to move and work with a partner? Is it a struggle to get students to work with different partners? Do students cringe and feel excluded when they know a partner activity is approaching? We have a solution that can help! This idea is for the teacher who likes students to get out of their seats and interact with peers. We have created something called partner squares. This idea takes effort up front but once it is organized and laid out, the headaches and student anxiety are no more. Each student is given a block of four pictures. You explain the procedure and any stipulations before they get out of their seat. Then, students are free to roam the room finding partners. They are responsible for finding four DIFFERENT people who will serve as their partners. One person will be their "owl" partner, a different person will be their "bunny" partner, a different person will be their "duck" partner, and a different person will be their "butterfly" partner. It is during this time that you roam the room, verifying students are on task, looking for a shy student who needs guidance, and/or double checking students are understanding what is asked of them. We have more tips and strategies on how to introduce this idea, how to modify the second time you use it, and activity ideas to incorporate it into the classroom in our Multiple Partner Grouping Strategy product. That particular product also includes 35 different themed partner squares (seasons, holidays, food, sports, etc.) This idea works for all subject areas and mostly all grade levels. Lower elementary students might be overwhelmed or confused with it; they would definitely need more guidance. We used this in our French classroom and it was a great way to introduce students to new, random vocabulary. It was neat to see a beginner student use the word "hibou" in his/her writing or speaking. I would wonder, "Wow, how does he/she know that word? Oh right, it's a partner square!" |
Who are the Hobbs?Originally, we are from the Midwest and the East; however, our paths took us to Angers, France where we met and fell in love. Archives
February 2022
Categories
All
|