Talia Block
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Top Tips for Implementing Stations

12/12/2017

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​After ACTFL this year in Nashville, I was very inspired to delve into the use of stations. I used them sparsely before but they were always more work than they were worth. My stations were rushed as I tried to squeeze too many rotations into my 30 minute class period; the instructions often took longer than the activity itself. During this years’ ACTFL conference, however, I had the pleasure of attending a session by Heather Sherrow and one by Joseph Pearson. My version of using stations pulls pieces of each of these presentations with my own personal spin. So here it goes!
 
Groupings
Work with classroom teachers, who spend all day with their students, to create strong heterogeneous groups. Since station work includes writing, reading, speaking, and listening, it is important to mix students that have various strengths. Along with the mix of academic strengths, you also want to consider social-emotional strengths. A group made completely of outwardly strong leaders can be as much of a disaster as one with all students that struggle with the target language.
 
I created a Google presentation with the groups so that it was easy to get them up for the class every day. The groups are assigned to a symbol or color that rotates each day. As a result, the groups don’t need to change, just the basket they find and the leader.

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Central States Conference 2016 Reflections and takeaways

3/19/2016

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Just a week out from Central States Conference 2016, and I think I'm finally ready to put what I've learned into words. As I reflected on my time at the conference, I realized that aside from the classroom and student focused takeaways, there are some big picture ideas that really stuck with me. My growth and learning came to more than buzzwords and targeted practices, but also in the importance of sharing time with colleagues and learning from those colleagues. We may not all be experts in anything, but we have a passion for language and teaching and we want what is best for our students. The presentations and conversations at Central States made this very clear. So here’s some stuff I picked up:

Everyone is doing their best to make learning better for their students. 
No matter where my colleagues are in their career or in the process of writing or rewriting curriculum, we are all working hard to take the baby steps necessary to make huge changes. The way we teach language has changed drastically over the past years and there is a lot to take in and learn. It isn't just about what and how to implement ideas, but an incredible shift in the way we view language teaching. Just accepting this shift is a huge accomplishment. Diving in and making those changes is just a part of the process. Each time we take a small step, we really can't have a big impact on the students learning. Just the small steps can lead us to where we want to go with her teaching to where we want our students to go. It doesn't have to happen overnight and we, As teachers, have to be OK with making one change at a time to reach our bigger goal. 

Sometimes all we need is a spark. 
As I started the weekend at Central states, I was feeling a little lost as to what I really wanted to get out of the conference. I feel really good about where we are in our curriculum as a district, but it just isn't enough. I really couldn't decide what it was I wanted to focus on. After Amy Lenord's presentation on ditching the vocabulary list, however, I realize that I wasn't looking for a solution, but a spark. Just one idea can have a huge impact in changing the way we think about curriculum and how we teach. Why was I picking vocabulary (seemingly out of thin air) when I could use my authentic resources to dictate? Add this to Laura Terrill's idea of starting with culture and content and the pieces begin to come together. Neither one had the whole answer, but each of pieces begin to fit together to help solve the puzzle of how to push students to higher language proficiency. 
 
Don't forget the conversation 
The amount and variation in the sessions offered at Central states was incredible. But sometimes conversation after and between sessions is more valuable than attending twice as many sessions. Not only is it a time to continue the learning from the session, but to brainstorm ideas and connect with other colleagues. The more connections we make, the more potential there is for sharing and collaborating down the road. I am a person that likes to process information with other people; I like to talk it out to help formulate ideas and thoughts. Without these conversations, I’m not sure I would necessarily come to the same ideas or conclusions that I do when sharing and brainstorming with others. Not only do they have different perspectives and come from a wide variety of educational backgrounds and situations, but also they have differing experiences that lead to seeing material in distinctive ways.
 
Social media isn’t just a distraction
Despite constant commentary about millennials and technology, Twitter played an extremely important role in Central States for me. Not only is it impossible to attend all of the sessions, but it is also impossible to take everything in over the three day conference. The backchannel Twitter conversation provides an archive of thoughts, ideas, conversation and more that occurred during, between, and after sessions. Days, weeks, and months later, I can return to that “archive” under the #CSCTFL16 and review these ideas or moments to spark a new idea. Not only that, it is a great way to process ideas and have conversation even if you aren’t sitting next to the person in that moment. The amount of sessions I was able to “attend” was expanded just by virtue of reading the ideas or thoughts of others. Moreover, everyone hears the information differently, even if they are in the same room. The ability to read another perspective opens my mind to greater possibilities.
 
Central States this year didn't really feel like a regional conference. It was amazing to hear from some of the top people in the field and to connect with those who are facing the same everyday struggle to make language learning more effective and authentic for our students. Looking forward to next year in Chicago!

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Top 5 Reason Language Teachers Should Travel

1/4/2016

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Winter break is over and it’s back to work, but this year, the first day back is a bit different. I spent the past two weeks in Panama, living the culture and the language. Other than having a great time and enjoying the warm weather, it made me realize how important travel is for a language teacher.
 
Travel is fun. It can be relaxing, educational, inspiring and more! For language teachers, however, travel can be much, much more. For many language teachers, the opportunities to practice their target language (TL), is rare. While many of us may have chance to use our TL in our everyday lives, it is often at a surface level. Travel, on the other hand, opens us to a world of possibility to learning and practice, which we bring back to our classrooms in both planned and unplanned ways.
 
1. Brush up on your language.
Whether or not you use language in the classroom every day, I would imagine your TL could use a bit of a brush-up. Speaking classroom language to 8 years old (in my case) is not ensuring I maintain my language skills. Many of our classroom conversations are limited; travel expands the topics of conversation, challenges our language negotiation skills, and often pushes us out of our comfort zone. It is also a great reminder of what our students go through everyday as we acclimate to new vocabulary and situations.


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Top tips for Getting the Most out of Professional Conferences

12/4/2015

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It's been just a week since I've returned home from #ACTFL15, but my brain is still buzzing with everything I learned. Not only was the conference held in the gorgeous San Diego, but also it has been a while since I’ve attended a conference of this size. It was a whirlwind of learning, connecting, and sharing. At such a large conference, it can be extremely difficult to make the most of your time. There are so many sessions and so many workshops, that it can feel impossible to choose, and you certainly cannot make it to them all. To make the most of any conference, whether big or small, here are a few tips:

1. Plan ahead.
Before you go, it is essential to determine your goals. What do you need to work on the most? What are you hoping to achieve from the conference? Once you determine your goal, spend some time going over the conference guide and decide on sessions that could help you meet that goal. By focusing your attention on those sessions, you are sure to walk away with ideas and activities that support your needs. As you read over the session descriptions, search for keywords and phrases such as: activities, ready to use, and tricks and tips. Spend some time looking at the presenters. Do you teach elementary school? If so, university presenter probably won't be your best bet. It's not to say that their presentation won't be good, but rather that they may not have the boots-on-the-ground experience you're looking for.

2. Don't be afraid to meet new people.
One of the best parts about attending a conference is meeting other professionals like you. These attendees are looking for the same things you are; that's why they're there! Pick their brains, share information, and ask lots of questions! Other attendees may have suggestions on sessions to attend, great websites and blogs to follow, or, they may just provide you with great conversation. It never hurts to broaden your professional learning community (PLC). 

3. Connect with social media
Many conferences these days use Twitter as a way to connect attendees and cull information. This is a great way to share information from sessions you’ve attended and gain insights from those you couldn’t make. Further, Twitter gives a platform to reread highlights and re-explore ideas. By using Twitter during the conference, you also expand your PLC, which helps extend your learning beyond the few days spent at the conference. With so many attendees and so many points of view, the Twitter cache is sure to have tips and ideas you missed during your session. 

4. Take time to process.
Attending a conference does not necessarily mean attending a session at every time slot. While sessions are a must, so is conversation and processing time; there is only so much you can take in at one time. Attending more sessions does not necessarily guarantee taking more back to your classroom. Some of my best learning and creating, in fact, takes place between sessions or at lunch. Focus on a few ideas that truly stood out to you and spend some time thinking them through. What will the idea look like in your classroom? How can you adapt it for your students? Look back at your notes and annotate with how these ideas connect to your classroom.

Taking time to process on your own is important, but so is conversation with colleagues. Invite a new friend to lunch or to grab coffee between a session you just attended together. Take the time to not only get to know them, but to process the workshop together. The back and forth can lead to bigger and better ideas, and to ways to begin implementing ideas on Monday when you return.
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Attending a conference can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. With these quick tips, you can make the most of your time and create a scenario for continued learning and improving even once you return home. 

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Making Conversation Happen

10/14/2015

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My job as a teacher at the novice level is to provide my students with the building blocks to creating conversation. That is, to give them set questions, phrases, sentence starters, and conversation structures that they will eventually use to create their own language (pushing them into the intermediate level). Not only do I provide the language chunks, but also the opportunities to use that language. Almost every activity we do is based on creating conversation.  The distinction between conversation and speaking is important, as my goal is to encourage a language exchange between two or more people, rather than a one-sided answer.

I explain to my students that conversation is like a tennis match: the goal is to volley the ball (or the language) back and forth as many times as possible.
A tennis match isn’t very exciting if one person serves and the other is unable to return the ball. The longer the volley goes, the more intriguing and exciting the game becomes. This is our goal. 

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To review or not to review

8/25/2015

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For many of us, the start of school is just days away. The room is (almost) ready and the excitement is building, but what are you actually going to teach on the first day? Do you dive right in, or do you spend time reviewing and warming up your students’ brains? I’m always torn on how much time I should spend reviewing. While it seems to help ease the students back in, I’m not sure that it actually elevates their learning in any way. Every year, I feel like I go back and forth on how and what to review and how much time to spend.

In years past, I feel like I’ve tried everything. Some years, students create Facebook pages or write short books all about themselves. These activities pull in vocabulary, such as colors and activities, which we’ve learned the previous year. (See some samples below.) Other years, I skip the projects and do more interactive getting-to-know-you activities like human bingo. There is NOTHING wrong with these activities! It eases students back into school while allowing them to share about themselves and learn from others. (Truthfully, I think it also eases me back into the school year.)


Facebook Review.pdf
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Human Bingo.doc
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