I haven't posted much or even read many TPRS blogs lately because it's that wonderful time of year when the kids are crazy and everyone is itching for summer. I know that this should be a perfect time for TPRS, but I did not do a good job of setting up my classroom management in the beginning of the year, and I am paying for it now!
So, I'm "punishing" two of my classes with book work. It's not really a punishment because there are a few who enjoy the change of pace. The amazing thing that I've discovered is that I have taught my kids everything in the book (so far...). We started on page one and they are all rock-starring it. It's giving a great boost to those kids who feel like they aren't learning anything because they aren't the superstars of the class because they know the right answers. And, I'm still able to do the book work in French. We had a long discussion about Ile-de-France because that was highlighted at the beginning of the chapter. We even sang Aux Champs-Elysees together. It wasn't a homerun day, but it worked for now. I didn't have to constantly yell to have myself heard...I gave them time limits for completing the book work...and we made it through. I'm still hoping that they will get bored at the end of two weeks of this stuff and ask to go back to storytelling. We'll see...
My 9th graders/2nd years are already begging for more stories because they have had to do worksheets due to crazy schedule overlapping where I was supposed to be teaching in two buildings at the same time. I'm excited to give them something that they want and know that it's really good for them!
