Hi All,
I had 15 students today. Mainly, I tried to finish Lesson 8. We went over the dialogue in the Cuban restaurant, the pronunciation of l, r, rr, and z, quickly covered the preterit of ser, ir, dar, and the stem-changing verbs. We went over the Practica A (I can't figure out how to do accents on this blog's word processor!) on page 194. The preterit seems to make sense to most of the students but it's difficult for me to cover it without covering the imperfect. I didn't get to the weather expressions on page 196 but I asked the students to do Practica A on pages 196-197 as homework.
Answering questions from the students I noticed that they are still having problems with the D.O. and I.O. pronouns used together and also with por/para.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Wednesday, 4/28
Yesterday, Kara went over por/para, and brought in a great handout to supplement the books description and also a worksheet for the students. She assigned exercise E in the self test (p. 236) for HW.
Today's class lasted for only 30 minutes because there was no out count today (computers down). There were about 15 students in class. Since it was short, we went over the HW exercise and reviewed the uses of por/para. Students then worked on p. 199-200 (ex. B and C) in pairs while I responded to individual questions. I collected some l7 HWs (some still needed to work on it and others had already turned it in).
We haven't had a quiz since the last unit exam. Should we have some type of evaluation (either test, composition or presentation) before the end of the semester? And, have we decided when the last class will be?
Thanks! I hope the rest of the week's classes go well.
Today's class lasted for only 30 minutes because there was no out count today (computers down). There were about 15 students in class. Since it was short, we went over the HW exercise and reviewed the uses of por/para. Students then worked on p. 199-200 (ex. B and C) in pairs while I responded to individual questions. I collected some l7 HWs (some still needed to work on it and others had already turned it in).
We haven't had a quiz since the last unit exam. Should we have some type of evaluation (either test, composition or presentation) before the end of the semester? And, have we decided when the last class will be?
Thanks! I hope the rest of the week's classes go well.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Thursday, April 22
Hi all,
I had about 15 students in class today. We spent almost the entire class on the vocabulary for L8 on pages 187-189. I ended class with another look at sentences that use both direct and indirect object pronouns. I think that slowly but surely the students are starting to get it. Or am I being too optimistic?
I had about 15 students in class today. We spent almost the entire class on the vocabulary for L8 on pages 187-189. I ended class with another look at sentences that use both direct and indirect object pronouns. I think that slowly but surely the students are starting to get it. Or am I being too optimistic?
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Wednesday, April 21
Hi everyone-
Sorry I'm posting so late, but I'm only just getting to the computer now. We had a good class today, and the consensus seems to be that Kara did a great job explaining the indirect and direct object pronouns, but that they would like to do even more review.
We spent the last 45 minutes of class going over these issues with some examples I had prepared. I went through in a step by step process in order to show how we get from "Ricardo da la torta a ti" to "Ricardo te la da." Thus, I showed them "Ricardo la da a ti" and even "Ricardo te la da a ti" before getting to the full substitution. I did another, similar example except this time with a third person indirect object pronoun in order to teach the "le lo" to "se lo" transformation. By the end of the class, the majority of students said they understood the pronouns, but they were pretty unanimous in hoping for another review.
At the beginning of class, we reviewed "gustar" in order to explain the "gustar type" verb "encantar" that appears in lesson 8, and I went over the preterite forms with them, including the stem changing verbs "preferir" and "dormir." I think they understand the basics of the preterite, but they need more exercises, if not full conjugations.
After this review, we broke into groups of three, and I had them construct a conversation about what they did yesterday using the preterite, gustar, and encantar.
Lastly, we spoke very briefly about rules of accentuation. I pointed them to the index (pgs 450-451), and I added the rules about strong and weak vowels. However, this was too quick, and it would be good to get them a basic handout with an explanation of accentuation.
Good luck tomorrow!
Tom
Sorry I'm posting so late, but I'm only just getting to the computer now. We had a good class today, and the consensus seems to be that Kara did a great job explaining the indirect and direct object pronouns, but that they would like to do even more review.
We spent the last 45 minutes of class going over these issues with some examples I had prepared. I went through in a step by step process in order to show how we get from "Ricardo da la torta a ti" to "Ricardo te la da." Thus, I showed them "Ricardo la da a ti" and even "Ricardo te la da a ti" before getting to the full substitution. I did another, similar example except this time with a third person indirect object pronoun in order to teach the "le lo" to "se lo" transformation. By the end of the class, the majority of students said they understood the pronouns, but they were pretty unanimous in hoping for another review.
At the beginning of class, we reviewed "gustar" in order to explain the "gustar type" verb "encantar" that appears in lesson 8, and I went over the preterite forms with them, including the stem changing verbs "preferir" and "dormir." I think they understand the basics of the preterite, but they need more exercises, if not full conjugations.
After this review, we broke into groups of three, and I had them construct a conversation about what they did yesterday using the preterite, gustar, and encantar.
Lastly, we spoke very briefly about rules of accentuation. I pointed them to the index (pgs 450-451), and I added the rules about strong and weak vowels. However, this was too quick, and it would be good to get them a basic handout with an explanation of accentuation.
Good luck tomorrow!
Tom
Tuesday April 20th
Hello hello-
Sorry that I have tripped up on the blog-posting lately. I go to work right after teaching and often don't get back until late and forget to write. My apologies.
Anyway, I taught yesterday and on Friday. Friday's class actually went really well. It was rather small- only about 15 guys ended up showing up, so we gathered tables together and sat conference-style which seemed to keep everyone much more engaged. We went over I.O.P. again (and again) and it seemed to click for a few students. I know they've learned this over and over again, but I think each of us must present it slightly differently and hopefully the repetition helps for those who are struggling to grasp this. Because Friday's class was so small and people took a very long time to trickle in, I ended up meeting with several students individually in mini-conferences so we could discuss where they were at in the class and talk about where their individual strengths and weaknesses seemed to be. This seemed to be really helpful for the guys and I recommend we do this again later in the week for the students who there wasn't time to meet with last Friday.
On Friday Angel also gave a fantastic presentation on Spanish-language music. He had written out poster-sized lyrics of several different artists and brought some CD's to play in the class, which the other guys loved. It really helped with listening comprehension and associating particular sounds with their spellings.
A whole group of students requested the opportunity to work n some extra credit, so we spoke about a written composition that must be turned in by next Tuesday, April 27th. I'd like to write up some formal expectations for this and perhaps offer a second option for those who would rather do an oral presentation instead.
As for yesterday, we spent still more time on I.O.P., though I tried not to let that monopolize class time. I also moved into L8 and we learned the preterit of ir and ser and I also introduced them to estar in the preterit, though this doesn't appear until L9, but I thought it'd be good for them to learn ser/estar at the same time so they can continue to sort out the difference between these verbs no matter what tense they are in. We went over some of the exercises in L7, particularly those that included both D.O.P. and I.O.P. I think it'd be a good time to move on to L8's lesson about the 'order of operations' in a sentence when both types of pronouns are present. We also spent a fair amount of time reviewing the difference between demonstrative pronounts and adjectives, and this seemed to go well. I find it helpful to do short grammar lessons in English when introducing this kind of stuff, because if a student doesn't know what a pronoun is in English, it often seems to present an unnecessary stumbling block to understanding these concepts in Spanish. I also handed out L8 workbook packets to those who hadn't received them, but didn't assign anything specific yet.
That's all I can think of! I know I have been one of the worst at posting on the blog, but I would like to make a request that we try to keep each other apprised of our lessons (at least the teachers who come in the day after us), because it is difficult to go in and teach if you don't know what's happened the day before. It sounds like the students loved listening to Willie Colon yesterday, but I had no idea what happened on Monday, so it was a bit hard to know what to plan for Tuesday. If the blog isn't working out, I'm happy to return to emailing.
And one last thing: who is able to help grade?? I am drowning in homeworks, quizzes, and extraneous assignments that keep trickling in. Would love some help. Let me know and we can figure out where to meet and hand off hw- karaurion@gmail.com. Thanks!
Sorry that I have tripped up on the blog-posting lately. I go to work right after teaching and often don't get back until late and forget to write. My apologies.
Anyway, I taught yesterday and on Friday. Friday's class actually went really well. It was rather small- only about 15 guys ended up showing up, so we gathered tables together and sat conference-style which seemed to keep everyone much more engaged. We went over I.O.P. again (and again) and it seemed to click for a few students. I know they've learned this over and over again, but I think each of us must present it slightly differently and hopefully the repetition helps for those who are struggling to grasp this. Because Friday's class was so small and people took a very long time to trickle in, I ended up meeting with several students individually in mini-conferences so we could discuss where they were at in the class and talk about where their individual strengths and weaknesses seemed to be. This seemed to be really helpful for the guys and I recommend we do this again later in the week for the students who there wasn't time to meet with last Friday.
On Friday Angel also gave a fantastic presentation on Spanish-language music. He had written out poster-sized lyrics of several different artists and brought some CD's to play in the class, which the other guys loved. It really helped with listening comprehension and associating particular sounds with their spellings.
A whole group of students requested the opportunity to work n some extra credit, so we spoke about a written composition that must be turned in by next Tuesday, April 27th. I'd like to write up some formal expectations for this and perhaps offer a second option for those who would rather do an oral presentation instead.
As for yesterday, we spent still more time on I.O.P., though I tried not to let that monopolize class time. I also moved into L8 and we learned the preterit of ir and ser and I also introduced them to estar in the preterit, though this doesn't appear until L9, but I thought it'd be good for them to learn ser/estar at the same time so they can continue to sort out the difference between these verbs no matter what tense they are in. We went over some of the exercises in L7, particularly those that included both D.O.P. and I.O.P. I think it'd be a good time to move on to L8's lesson about the 'order of operations' in a sentence when both types of pronouns are present. We also spent a fair amount of time reviewing the difference between demonstrative pronounts and adjectives, and this seemed to go well. I find it helpful to do short grammar lessons in English when introducing this kind of stuff, because if a student doesn't know what a pronoun is in English, it often seems to present an unnecessary stumbling block to understanding these concepts in Spanish. I also handed out L8 workbook packets to those who hadn't received them, but didn't assign anything specific yet.
That's all I can think of! I know I have been one of the worst at posting on the blog, but I would like to make a request that we try to keep each other apprised of our lessons (at least the teachers who come in the day after us), because it is difficult to go in and teach if you don't know what's happened the day before. It sounds like the students loved listening to Willie Colon yesterday, but I had no idea what happened on Monday, so it was a bit hard to know what to plan for Tuesday. If the blog isn't working out, I'm happy to return to emailing.
And one last thing: who is able to help grade?? I am drowning in homeworks, quizzes, and extraneous assignments that keep trickling in. Would love some help. Let me know and we can figure out where to meet and hand off hw- karaurion@gmail.com. Thanks!
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Thursday, April 15
Well, we're back on for Thursdays at SQ. The bad news is that I didn't find out until 2:10PM today. I made it to the SQ trailers (at the same time as the educational officers) just before 3PM. So, we were only able to get 7 students to class (and 2 had to leave within 20 minutes).
So, class ended up being a personalized review session. We spent a lot of time on the L7 demonstrative adjectives and pronouns. This seemed to be very confusing for the students. Also indirect versus direct object pronouns in comparison to pronouns as objects of prepositions flummoxed the students. Finally, we also covered the gustar (and related) constructions.
So, class ended up being a personalized review session. We spent a lot of time on the L7 demonstrative adjectives and pronouns. This seemed to be very confusing for the students. Also indirect versus direct object pronouns in comparison to pronouns as objects of prepositions flummoxed the students. Finally, we also covered the gustar (and related) constructions.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Wednesday, April 14th
Today I handed back the exams with the compositions graded. Most did well, but 3 students put little effort into it, which dropped their grades into the failing range. I did not have a chance to speak to them (Vinh, Luke and Evans) individually, but would allow them to write another composition. Since this was their first composition, I spent the first half of class going over some of the common errors I saw (a good way to review what we have covered up to now). We also talked more generally about using the Spanish grammatical structures that we have already learned well when writing rather than thinking in English and translating into Spanish. Students suggested that we give them a composition outside of class when they can have more time to work on it. I agree, so we should coordinate our classes to assign, collect and grade a take home composition sometime before the end of the semester.
This review of the writing led us to talking again about indirect and direct object pronouns, their forms, their use and their order. I would encourage more review (or perhaps smaller groups and practice) with pronouns (including the pronouns of prepositions) especially before we introduce yet another set of pronouns with reflexive verbs.
In the second part of class, I taught "gustar" and other "flip" verbs. I made a handout that further explained the "gustar" construction and introduced other verbs that behave like "gustar" (encantar, hacer falta, faltar, caer bien/mal etc.). The handout had some exercises and the prompt for a writing exercise. It was a lot of new material, but I wanted to at least introduce these other forms since the book really doesn't go into it.
The students still need more time with the material from L7 to digest it, practice and clarify before the quiz. Everything except for the time expressions with "hace" has been taught, but I think more practice and individual or group work is needed to reinforce the multitude of concepts introduced in this lesson. Have a good class Friday!
This review of the writing led us to talking again about indirect and direct object pronouns, their forms, their use and their order. I would encourage more review (or perhaps smaller groups and practice) with pronouns (including the pronouns of prepositions) especially before we introduce yet another set of pronouns with reflexive verbs.
In the second part of class, I taught "gustar" and other "flip" verbs. I made a handout that further explained the "gustar" construction and introduced other verbs that behave like "gustar" (encantar, hacer falta, faltar, caer bien/mal etc.). The handout had some exercises and the prompt for a writing exercise. It was a lot of new material, but I wanted to at least introduce these other forms since the book really doesn't go into it.
The students still need more time with the material from L7 to digest it, practice and clarify before the quiz. Everything except for the time expressions with "hace" has been taught, but I think more practice and individual or group work is needed to reinforce the multitude of concepts introduced in this lesson. Have a good class Friday!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Wednesday, April 7
Today Tom and I started today's class by responding to questions about the exam. Kara had graded much of the exam over the weekend and reviewed it with students yesterday before recollecting it to finish grading the compositions. Some students raised questions about the grading, yet most felt that it was fair and comprehensive. They asked about when they would be getting them back completely graded. We weren't sure, but said we'd consult with the other teachers.
In the review, we went over changing affirmatives into negative sentences. We also returned to direct object pronouns and spent some time working through the exam questions and also the book exercises (p. 142-3).
After the break, we divided the class into two sections to continue working with direct object pronouns and to introduce indirect object pronouns. Working in smaller groups gave Tom and I the opportunity to better respond to questions and get a sense for the understanding among the students. Most students really liked the divided class for the grammar lesson and practice, asking us to do it again next week.
Students already have the Lección 7 workbook exercises. For HW, we told them to continue working on it and to study and practice DOP and IOP some more. We're now in L7 which is a really grammar intensive chapter (demonstrative adjectives and pronouns, IOP, verbs like gustar, time expressions with hacer, and preterit). It seems like a chapter that will need more like two weeks, so we told students not to feel rushed to finish the HW or study for a quiz by Friday (there will be no quiz this week).
Have a good class Friday.
In the review, we went over changing affirmatives into negative sentences. We also returned to direct object pronouns and spent some time working through the exam questions and also the book exercises (p. 142-3).
After the break, we divided the class into two sections to continue working with direct object pronouns and to introduce indirect object pronouns. Working in smaller groups gave Tom and I the opportunity to better respond to questions and get a sense for the understanding among the students. Most students really liked the divided class for the grammar lesson and practice, asking us to do it again next week.
Students already have the Lección 7 workbook exercises. For HW, we told them to continue working on it and to study and practice DOP and IOP some more. We're now in L7 which is a really grammar intensive chapter (demonstrative adjectives and pronouns, IOP, verbs like gustar, time expressions with hacer, and preterit). It seems like a chapter that will need more like two weeks, so we told students not to feel rushed to finish the HW or study for a quiz by Friday (there will be no quiz this week).
Have a good class Friday.
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