Anticipation Guide to Reading

Spanish III is about to dive into the next chapter of the book, ¡Viva el toro! There were mixed reviews with the embedded reading the last time we did it so I wanted to engage them a bit deeper. They were also struggling with the vocabulary as there were many interruptions to the schedule this week and kids were affected by these changes in routine.

This strategy has been around for a long time, but I pulled it out again this week. The Anticipation Guide is a strategy that is revisited multiple times during a reading. The first time using this, students identify their opinion on what they think will happen in the chapter by marking "Sí" or "No" in the antes column. There is no right or wrong answer. Discussion can take place as to why they think these events will happen.

Frase del capítulo	antes	después	evidencia
El Sr. de Marco trabajaba a la plaza de toros.	Sí         No	Sí         No
Carmen no habló más con Ana	Sí         No	Sí         No
Pedro y Ana son novios	Sí         No	Sí        No
Ana era acostumbrada a todo ahora	Sí         No	Sí         No
Ana quería ver a Julio Barquero nuevamente	Sí         No	Sí         No
Ana y Julio estudiaban juntos	Sí         No	Sí         No
Ana era experta en la Guerra Civil Española	Sí         No	Sí         No
Julio conoció a unos presidentes, como Washington, Clinton, y Lincoln	Sí         No	Sí         No
Ana fue a una corrida con Julio.	Sí         No	Sí         No
Ana y Julio se casarán	Sí         No	Sí         No

After doing the first version of the embedded reading, students identify which comment can be verified in the text. Using the después column, students verify with textual evidence what is accurate or what is not. Keep in mind that to make this effective, only reveal a few facts when you choose to what to include in each version. This keeps the students wanting to read more; it keeps the versions novel and interesting. Having them identify textual evidence makes them really interact and read more analytically throughout each version. It also gives them purpose for what they are reading.

What other strategies do you use to engage students with a reading?

The Yellow Brick Road Discussion

I caught a glimpse of someone's blog post that referred to an activity called the yellow brick road. I think it was Grant Boulanger; correct me someone if you've read it and I'm wrong. There were yellow papers on the floor and students were discussing. Unfortunately I didn't read closely enough about that activity but it did spur an alternate idea for discussion.

We were about to embark on a new reading, albeit brief. I also wanted to go back and review the "Super Seven" verbs and the "Sweet 16" verbs. These became the focus of our review in Spanish I yesterday. The reading had a picture of two women meeting at a street corner. I copied this to the center of yellow paper bookended it with a verb. I placed these up and down the aisles of desks and directed students to stand, with a partner, at each paper. They had to discuss the picture on the paper for 2 minutes with their partner, focusing on the verb given on the paper. They then moved one brick to the right, one to the left, to find a new verb and discussion partner. They continued the descriptions of the same two women, but using different verbs.

There were other activities that were included in this lesson, but I loved this one as it gave them a different way to achieve the same goals. Speaking of goals, I wanted the students to:
1) communicate in Spanish
2) negotiate meaning with a partner
3) review the core verbs
4) front load what may happen in the story to better anticipate what will be coming
5) have fun

We're in Kahoot reviewing

There have been so many teachers using Kahoot. I dragged my feet resisting this site for a long time. I thought this was a slow process of quizzing students that I could do much more quickly in a traditional way, leaving time for more communicative activities.

Yesterday I thought, ok I'll bite. I set up an account to review chapter 5 of ¡Viva el toro! What I assumed was that only one question could be asked at a time. I pleasantly discovered that I could put a whole list of questions into one kahoot. My students are highly competitive so the leader boards are a great way to keep them motivated and engaged. Speaking of engagement, in a traditional setting, kids can hang back and not participate. With Kahoot, it won't go on until all students have entered a score. At least, it waits a predetermined amount of time before answering a question.

I love that students can use either their phones or their laptops to do this. It gives a purpose for them using their phones in class. Because it is interactive, engaging, and appropriately competitive, students are not texting, emailing, or off task at the same time. There was no boredom as the activity went on and everyone was checking their status - "I'm 857 points behind Pablo!" "Rebeca, I'm going to knock you out of first place; I'm coming after you!" In the end, there is also a final scoreboard posted.

Since I can write the questions, they are comprehensible to the students. After each question, we also discussed why the other answers were not accurate, addressing any misconceptions in their understanding of the chapter.

I typically don't condone any specific website or tool, but this was pretty great seeing how this activity unfolded in class. How do you use this, or similar tool in class?