Reflections and Resolutions

I've seen several teachers posting about their confessions for the last year or their hopes for the next one, so here is some of my self-reflection.

1. I had the students walk around the room today and respond to some questions about what they liked and did not like this year.  I was disappointed by the number of students who did not like the get-up-walk-and-talk activities.  I really feel that speaking is how most of them will use Spanish outside of the four walls of my classroom so I need to get them using the spoken language.  (I will say there was very little variation in a lot of answers so I think some kids just looked at what the other kids wrote and copied.)  However, they did have some good points.  I don't grade the walkarounds so kids are more likely to a) be off-topic, b) use English, and c) talk to just their friends.
     So while I am not going to stop having them talk, I am going to be more pro-active in the walkarounds.  Some will be graded now, more on just using Spanish than getting all the grammar and pronunciation right.  Others will have me participating as one of them.  I am also going to have more that require students to record data from the conversations.  I am also coming up with a chart idea that will make them be more diverse in their speaking partners.  I am actually sitting down with lesson plans from last year and looking at each walkaround activity and creating a concrete way to make students more accountable to using Spanish.

2. I do not check on-line work as well as I should.  Part of this comes from using multiple online venues (Google Classroom, Quia, Quizlet, Quizziz, Blogger/Weebly blog) and none of the venues connect into our electronic gradebook.  I usually only check the day an assignment is due or maybe once or twice after that.  If a student does work late and doesn't tell me, I don't know to go in and look for the assignment.
     I think I am going to add a spot in my room where students can turn in slips with their name, name of assignment, and date they did it to give me something physical to go and look for the activity.  Plus that makes it easier for the student to let me know the work has been completed.

3. Culture.  Culture.  Culture.  I am lacking in this area.  I actually had a student request more of it, and even had another one after the last bell rang today tell me about a Spanish show he had found on Netflix that he was enjoying.  With the need for more authentic materials in the classroom, culture is a must.
     I am going to be rewriting the Spanish I curriculum this summer, so as part of that I am going to make integrating culture a priority.  I have dabbled in using music before and want to research more of that this summer.

4. Choice.  Students need more of that especially in regards to differentiation.  With their laptops it should be even easier for me to offer a variety of online practice activities.  A greater variety of activities will also help for the kids that get bored after 5-10 minutes of the same activity.  Several students complained about not liking group projects when I picked the members, but I believe it is important to learn how to work in a group with people that aren't your friends (or that may not be pulling their weight since that is a real-life occurrence).  However, I am going to try to have the rubrics for these projects set that the majority of the grade is independent of what the other members have done.

5. Object pronouns continue to be the bane of our existence.  Any advice??

6. Reading needs to become more a part of the Spanish I and II curriculum.  However, I also need to teach Spanish I how to read for understanding.  They don't do well if words aren't in the exact same form in the dictionary as they are in the text.  I hope to also include some specific instruction on questions (what do they mean).

7. I was not good at keeping on students about their notebooks this year, partially because only level one has a physical notebook anymore.  Unfortunately, I think this led to greater disorganization on their part.
    Next year I am going to enforce a binder for Spanish I.  They are going to get a grade for bringing one to class!  Spanish II-IV keep their notes on their laptops.  I am going to require them to have a physical folder or skinny binder everyday as well.  I am also going to have them set up folders within folders in their documents on the computers.
    I think I also will need to rename notes so that they are easier to locate on the laptops when kids are searching for them.  Or at the very least keep a running document myself as a quick reference when they need to find them.

8. More self-reflection by the students.  And then--how to use that information to adjust and improve instruction.  Facing criticism or a less-than-stellar lesson is not easy but if it's not working or leading to language learning, I need to change it.  (However, I need to hold to strong expectations for the students).

9. Through it all, I need to keep pushing myself to use more Spanish.  I am nowhere near 90% in the target language even with my level IV.