Teaching your first novel can be a daunting task. Logistically it is quite different from the textbook chapters I was used to in the past. Some teachers integrate novels into an existing curriculum as a one day per week supplement, but I have chosen to...
When I first became a teacher I handed out study guides for tests, sent notes home telling parents to remind kids to study, and spent time reviewing in class. Over the last 11 years in the classroom, my attitude has changed significantly on this topic....
Calling all classroom world language teachers! We have an awesome opportunity for you to win a FREE classroom library or set of novels! All you have to do is give us a "PEEK" into your classroom space! We are looking for the most beautiful, creative, comfortable,...
My love of reading was rejuvenated today. A textbook adoption, followed by a Chromebook adoption, redirected the spotlight, and my novels took backstage for a couple of years. New technology is useful, and new textbooks have lots of bells and whistles, but in the end...
The goal of TPRS Publishing is to give teachers the tools and techniques to teach so effectively that their students end up LOVING to read in the target language! We are continuing our series of quick, affordable webinars for teachers who would like a little...
Rebecca (Becky) Moulton attended the iFLT16 conference in Chattanooga, Tennessee in July 2016 and presented her first Ignite® Talk in which she shared valuable insights for both new and experienced CI teachers. CIPeek invited her to share that presentation with our readers. Becky has adjusted...
When I first started teaching using TPRS/CI it was hard, it was really, really hard. In fact, for the first time since student teaching (many, many years ago) I had to script out every single word I said. For a single 15 minute story, this...
Wow! I am SO lucky that today was my designated blogger day for iFLT 16. I didn’t have time to see nearly enough sessions but the two I was able to attend were wonderful. I’ve been stalking after teachers using BreakoutEDU for a...
Whew! I have been running around like a crazy lady this morning at iFLT trying to catch a glimpse of everything that’s going on. I couldn’t get everywhere, but I made a valiant effort. Here are some tidbits and takeaways for those of you joining...
Carrie Toth presented a fantastic workshop “Advancing Student Proficiency with Novel Studies.” She began by discussing what proficiency is and what can be expected at various proficiency levels. She pointed out that only 3.7% of high school students can speak at Intermediate High level after...
The excitement in the room is palpable as the teachers prepare for the conference opening. It is always so awesome to me to think about the number of teachers who give up a week of their precious summer to learn and grow. But in...
ATTENTION!: #iFLT16 keynote with Bill VanPatten & Round table with Stephen Krashen will be LIVE STREAMED! Join us Tues., July 19 at 8:50a.m. & 1:15p.m. (EST) To join us remotely, go to www.mycsas.com. Scroll down past the iFLT announcement and click on CSAS Broadcasting. Many thanks to our host...
There are many activities that can be done while reading a story or a chapter of a TPRS Publishing novel. In my classroom, one thing I try to do is use a variety of activities to try to avoid a monotonous feeling that could cause...
Join our team of teacher-authors on July 27 for a series of live webinars! Carol will demonstrate how to connect to the character(s) and the text, how to increase comprehension and how to inspire HOT (higher order thinking). Learn how to prepare the class using strategic...
Are you attending iFLT 2016 next week? We are hoping you’ll help share the iFLT love! Tweet your favorite photos from iFLT 2016 between July 19-21 and you’ll be automatically entered into the #iFLT16pics Photo Contest. Tweet your photos for the chance to win...
After teaching with CI and TPRS for a couple of months now, I know that I can never return to my old ways. Here’s why: 1. Teaching Children with Down Syndrome I teach at an elementary school that has several students with Down Syndrome. These students are integrated into...
Creating stories with your world language students is a powerful way to help students acquire the language. Having students serve as actors in those stories catapults student engagement and takes the story to another dimension. The student actors bring the story to life, aid comprehension...
Back in March, I attended the Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Language. It was my first time to attend any such conference, and though I was not really sure what to expect, I was hoping to come back with some new tools for my...
The first part of this article shared important features of Embedded Reading. The final version of the text is one that students might not be confident of reading at first glance. The teacher reduces or limits the text to critical elements for the first version....
The power of reading as a means to facilitate language acquisition is well-supported by both anecdotal evidence and research. But what is a teacher to do when students don’t like to read? What if students give up, sure that they won’t understand a text, usually...
This is a follow up post to my original post entitled Getting buy-in for a novel: Esperanza, written when my Spanish 4/5 class was roughly halfway through the novel Esperanza by Carol Gaab. In this post, I’d like to share some of my students’ reflections...
In-joke: an esoteric joke that is humorous only to those who are aware of the circumstances behind it; cryptic allusions to shared common ground that act as triggers; only those who have shared the common ground provide an appropriate response. (source: Wikipedia) In-jokes (aka inside jokes) are an incredibly powerful way...
I have FVR program guidelines: 1) WHY? Students need to understand why we are devoting class time to reading. I have posters with quotes about reading above the classroom library to justify the time, attention and expense. And I point them out often (A wise mentor...
Rewind to me four years ago sitting in my first Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling® (TPRS) workshop. I was learning about great reading and storytelling techniques but I couldn't wrap my mind around one thing: how does this work in the elementary classroom? How do...
After a quick trip to Chattanooga to see first-hand the venues for this summer’s iFLT extravaganza, I am getting more and more excited for the summer get-together. Here are a few observations that might be helpful. The Chattanooga Airport is very nice. It’s small and compact and...
There are many different comprehensible input activities that can be done while reading a TPRS Publishing novel. My all-time favorite is Reader’s Theater. Nothing gets my students more excited and more engaged than acting out a scene. I find Reader’s Theater is also a great...
After many blog posts in the past couple of weeks regarding text or task, Can-Do Statements, this “camp”/ “that camp”/”your camp”/”my camp”, etc. I went on a quest to explore and clarify my thinking and to find where the Venn diagrams intersected. Where...
Circling is a fundamental skill for most CI teachers and a core strategy developed by TPRS practitioners. Although I am not sure exactly WHO ‘invented’ circling, I know that Blaine Ray, Susie Gross and Karen Rowan are at least a few of the key contributors...
Get Stories Out of the Hangar, in the Air, Through the Storm, and Safely Back Again in 25 Minutes For too long in TPRS we have been loading our stories up with excess weight, excess details, just at the moment when the plane is leaving...