21 minute read
Session 2: Small Talk 2
Objective
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By the end of class, you will be able to…
(NOTE: The example objectives and lesson are given in French; they can be used with any language. You can download materials in multiple languages from our Teachers Pay Teachers store (CI Liftoff), or use the examples to make your own materials.)
Beginner: answer questions with one or more words in French about the weather and date.
Intermediate: answer questions with sentences in French about the weather and date and compare the weather here with locations in the francophone world
Advanced: answer questions with strings of sentences in French, to describe the weather today and the activities that people in class are doing, and describe the weather yesterday
Norming the Class
Again, greet the students in English, review where to put their things, etc., remind them briefly that in this class we will be communicating a good deal in the language and that this is the best way for them to learn! Tell them that each day the first activity of class will be reading about a student’s dreams/goals for the school year, and then you will continue the discussion of the calendar and weather that you began yesterday.
You might want to set up your Videographer before you begin this lesson. If so, please see the HR Manual in the Appendices for the Videographer job description and some guidance on how to interview and hire for the student jobs.
Hand out (or project/display) the Reading Workshop text (an example is provided below and you can download this text in multiple languages from our Teachers Pay Teachers store (CI Liftoff). Then, share the lesson objective, check in with your Class Starter, and have them give the signal (or give it yourself) and begin speaking in the language.
Reading Workshop
Find That Cognate
Project or distribute paper copies of a short text that has many cognates. You can download these texts from our Teachers Pay Teachers store (CI Liftoff) or create your own. When preparing your own text for the Find That Cognate strategy, it is best to think of a category of words that naturally contains a lot of cognates. For instance, these examples use the cognate-heavy categories of school activities.
German Example
Italian Example
The following Reading Workshop example texts use the cognate-heavy topic of fruits, with varying degrees of difficulty for various levels of classes. Of course, here in the very first lesson, you are strongly cautioned not to choose texts that are intimidating, even with your upper-level classes.
I strongly recommend that leveled texts, like the following, be used after at least three days of super-easy, one-level-fits-all texts. See the notes in Session One for more recommendations on choosing leveled texts.
Spanish Beginner Cognate Reading
Spanish Intermediate Cognate Reading
Spanish Advanced Cognate Reading
In the sample lesson, I use the cognate reading below, in French. Again, this is a one-level-fits-all “launching lesson” text. It is designed to be super-easy and super-successful, and I recommend using it for all your classes, to build confidence and motivation at the beginning of the year.
French “Launching” All-Levels Reading
Please note that the lesson notes are written in English.
The words that are said in the class’s stronger shared language (English, for me and many teachers in the US) are written in this color.
Again, you will notice that, in the first lessons of the year, there continues to be a good deal of English used to set up and explain the lesson structure and the specific strategies/ activities/ procedures. Please be assured that, as the lessons go on, the session outlines will use less and less English, as your students and you become comfortable and familiar with the lesson framework and the “go-to” strategies, so that you can conduct more and more of the lessons in the language as time goes on.
This is one of the great benefits of a daily instructional framework for World Language teachers — it supports more communication in the languages we teach, because it cuts down on new instructions. This is due to the repeated nature of the lesson structure and the strategies within it.
Now we will move on to the lesson procedures:
Once the students can see the projected text, or they have it on their desks, you can proceed:
“Let’s read this student’s list of dreams or goals for the school year. Your job is to notice (if the students have a paper copy, you might say “mark the text”) the cognates, the words that are the same in English and French. I will read to you in French, then you will tell me the cognates you noticed (you can say them in English).”
(If you have a Videographer, have them begin the video. Have the Class Starter give the signal.)
“We will read this text and talk about the cognates, and then we will talk more about the calendar. I will read in French and remember that your only job is to listen and understand, and my job is to make it easy to understand French, by pointing and talking slowly and clearly. Shawn, let’s go!” (Shawn gives the signal. You take a deep, calming breath and center yourself to lead the class through a simple, very comprehensible task.)
(Place your hand or pointer on the title of the text and begin reading in a slow yet fluid way, moving your hand or pointer through the text as you go. Resist the temptation to stop and establish meaning. The goal is for students to actually read through the text in its entirety with you, looking for cognates.)
(This is the contents of the sample reading text. Read aloud in the language.)
(Once you have read the entire text, point to or circle a very obvious cognate and ask for its meaning in the class’s stronger shared language.)
(Students answer. Then you write the English on the text, and spell it, saying the letters in the course language, as demonstrated below.)
(Note: This sounds like: “Oui, idée en anglais est idea. eeyy - dayyy - uhh accent aigu - uhh (saying letters in French). Idée.”)
(Moving on to another cognate,)
(Asking a more open-ended question (you might skip this in beginner classes).)
(gesture “look.”)
"means look."
(gesture)
"Show me
(gesture)
(Note: This sounds like: “Classe, regardez (gesture). ‘Regardez’ (gesture) means ‘look’. (gesture). Show me ‘regardez’ (gesture).”
(See Session One for an important note on the management of these gestures.)
(Moving on, speaking in the language and getting back to the sentence that prompted the gesturing,)
“Can you read any other words?”
(Getting back into the language, and repeating the same words that you just used in that little English aside)
Take a few more cognates, or ask questions (like the example for “ideas” above) if students do not volunteer. After a few minutes, you will want to move into the Guided Oral Input, and continue the calendar discussion.
(Students answer, probably in English.)
Take a few more cognates, or ask questions (like the example for “ideas” above) if students do not volunteer. After a few minutes, you will want to move into the Guided Oral Input and continue the calendar discussion.
Guided Oral Input
Small Talk (Calendar and Weather)
You will continue writing on the calendar that you began yesterday.
Simply put away the Reading Workshop text and move to the calendar, so that you can transition to the Guided Oral Input without needing to speak in English.
(gesture and pause to sweep the class with your eyes to check for understanding)
at the calendar (point and pause, look at the class).
(put your hand under August, which you wrote on the calendar yesterday)
(Some kids call out the word “month”)
(point to month)
(put your hand under August).
(Some kids call out “August” in French or English; depending mostly on how much of a risk-taking nature these particular students have)
(jot “22” somewhere, perhaps on the board) or August 23 (jot “23”)?”
(Some kids call out “23”)
(write 23 on the calendar).”
(point, but don’t write)
(point)
(point)
(point)
(point)
(write and spell in your course language)
(point)
(point)
(Some kids call out “Friday” )
(point)
(point)
(point)
(point)
(gesture “think.”)
(gesture).
( gesture)”
(Note: This sounds like: “Classe, pensez (gesture). ‘Pensez’ (gesture) means ‘think’. (gesture).
(gesture)
(Note: after introducing a new gesture, cycle back through any previously-established gestures (at this point, you only have one (look) from yesterday) and end with the new gesture, to transition back to the communication that prompted you to teach the new word/gesture.)
(gesture).
(gesture)
(gesture)
( put your hand on the word Friday that you just wrote on the calendar in the language)
(gesture)
(You might mime being happy as you act out thinking about Friday since most people like Fridays so much.)
(gesture)
(write on the calendar in the language and spell).
(You might mime being sad/tired/disgusted as you think about Monday, since most people dislike Mondays.)
(gesture)
(mime happy)
(gesture)
(mime yuck).
(gesture with an expansive, two-hands-out, “everyone” gesture, and then raise one hand as if to answer a question)
(if “class” is a cognate for you; if not, skip it)
(gesture)
(gesture)
(gesture)
(gesture)
(Note: This sounds like: “‘Préfère’ (gesture) means ‘prefers’. (gesture). Show me ‘préfère’ (gesture).”)
(Note: after introducing a new gesture, cycle back through any previously-established gestures (it sounds smoother if you say any other verbs in the same conjugation that the first verb naturally used in the original communication, in this case, third-person singular) and end with the new gesture, to transition back to the communication that prompted you to teach the new word/gesture.)
(gesture)
(gesture)
(gesture)
(gesture)
(put your hand on the word Friday that you just wrote on the calendar in the language).
(expansive “everyone” gesture and then raise one hand)
(gesture)
( gesture)?
(before taking answers, ask in English: What did I ask?) (students say, “Who prefers Monday?”)
(gesture)
(gesture)
(hand on Monday)
(gesture)
(gesture, hand raised)
(gesture)
(Stand with your hand up, looking expectantly at the class for raised hands to indicate who prefers Mondays. Often, this is a funny moment, since no hands are raised, or maybe only one or two people raise their hands.)
(If some hands are raised:)
(Counting on your fingers and gesturing to the raised hands to make it obvious that you are tallying the votes)
(If no hands are raised:)
(Look at the class in mock astonishment, pretend that you can only conclude that they obviously did not understand the question, and repeat, very very slowly and very very clearly as if to “correct” their understanding because clearly there cannot be a class in which no one likes Mondays (sarcasm)!)
(gesture)
(gesture)
(hand on Monday)
(gesture, raise hand)
(gesture to the class )
(gesture)
(gesture)
(hand on Monday) …(raise your hand and look expectantly at the class).”
(If still no hands are raised)
(gesture)
(gesture)
(hand on Monday)
(gesture, raise hand)
(gesture to the class)
(gesture)
(gesture)
(hand on Monday) …(raise your hand and look expectantly at the class).”
(If still no hands are raised, say in mock astonishment)
(gesture a zero with your hand)
(gesture)
(This is optional, but it can be really fun.)
(gesture)
(or two)
(mime being sad, and draw a sad face on Monday. If time permits, you can also draw a happy face on Friday and tell the class that X people like Friday, or 100% of the class likes Friday, and that Friday is happy.)
(If time permits, begin discussing the weather. Walk over to the window, or display the weather forecast, if you have no windows.)
(gesture)
(walk to the window and point).
Look
(gesture)
(gesture)
(gesture)
( gesture)
(gesture)
(gesture)
(Students answer, in English or French, depending on ability/inclination, Hot!/Cold!)
(gesture)
(Students answer, in English or French, depending on ability/inclination, Yes! Hot!/No! Cold!)
(gesture)
(gesture)
(gesture)
(Students answer)
(write and spell)
If time permits, you might continue on, using the gestures that you have already established, to ask questions like “Who in the class prefers when it is hot? Who prefers when it is VERY hot? Who prefers when it is cold? VERY cold?”
You can tabulate/record the numbers of students who respond to each option, either by counting and writing tally marks or a numeral, or by writing (and perhaps also spelling) students’ names. You can ask who is happy/sad (using the faces you drew on the calendar) when it is hot, cold, very hot, etc, or on Mondays, Fridays, the weekend.
Scaffold Oral Review
Quick Quiz
We will use the same Scaffolded Oral Review strategy that you introduced yesterday. In Session Three, you will introduce a slight variation on the Quick Quiz, a True-False Quiz.
If you find yourself feeling internal pressure to “move on to something new” or introduce more “novelty,” you might tell yourself that yes, the brain does crave novelty, but that, no, the brain does not crave chaos, and that what we are really striving to provide is novelty within safety, and that a consistent, predictable, comfortable structure provides safety.
Move to your Review Spot and ask a series of questions about what was just discussed.
Generally I ask between six and ten questions, or even more. But on the first days, you might ask only two or three, or even just one, depending on your class schedule.
Just as in the first session, you are advised to stick to literal review questions and not branch out into asking other questions. At the beginning of the year, I suggest that you stick to simple “either-or” or “yes-no” questions, and then provide two choices, one of which is correct and the other incorrect. Additionally, I recommend that you literally give students the answer as you ask the question, and also provide plenty of “hints” in the form of extra-linguistic information such as vocal inflection, gestures, pointing to visuals, and facial expressions.
After moving to the Review Spot, you will say:
(hold up one finger)
(The class calls out, “Sad!”)
(two fingers)
( The class calls out, “Friday!” or “August 23!” or “Friday, August 23!”)
Shared Writing
Write and Discuss
The actual contents of Write and Discuss will, of course, depend upon your class’s discussion from the lesson. You will follow the same procedure as in Session One. Write and Discuss is truly a powerful, low, low-prep strategy that pay off BIG in student literacy, for very little investment on your part. It’s the ultimate win-win.
If time permits, you might do a little Write and Discuss move called Writing More Than Originally Existed. See Session One for an example.
Today, you will most likely only write two or three sentences for Shared Writing. That is OK; you are building the foundation in these first lessons. You will probably notice that even in the second lesson of the year, students are already more comfortable and Shared Writing (and the rest of the lesson framework) goes more smoothly, with less need to explain/give directions in English.
Your Shared Writing might sound something like this today:
Write:
Say:
Students: French Class!
Say:
( writing and spelling in French)
Write:
Say:
Class: August!
Say:
(writing and spelling)
Reading/Recycling:
Write:
Say:
Students: Friday, August 23!
Say:
(writing and spelling)
Reading/Recycling:
Write:
(gesture)
(gesture)
Class: raised hands
Say:
(counting)
(gesture)
(gesture)
(counting).
(Note: “popular” is a cognate in many languages. If your language does not have a cognate to use here, you might say “Monday is sad” or “Friday is happy” or some other statement that comes directly from the Guided Oral Input. In languages with many cognates, the more-obvious ones can easily be used in Shared Writing to provide richer vocabulary.)
Say:
(gesture “big”)
Students: VERY!
Write:
Reading/Recycling:
Say:
(hold up finger)
(gesture)
(gesture “big/lots”)
Write:
Reading/Recycling:
Shared Reading
The “Go-To” Daily Strategies
During Shared Reading, you will work with the text that your class just created together. You will continue to use the three “Go-To” strategies introduced in Session One (or, for block classes, perhaps four strategies, if time permits). These strategies, taken together, are a daily powerful instructional sequence that combines language acquisition and conscious learning about language.
Read in the Language Choral Translation Grammar Discussion (Block Option) Reading from the Back of the Room
Today, Shared Reading might sound something like this:
(reading with expression, and pointing to the words)
(class reads: the story…of….the…class….of…French…the…month…is…August…the…date…of today…)
(you realize that the students remembered one of the teaching points from Shared Reading yesterday)
(circling it and writing “of” in English)
(circling it and writing “today” in English)
(class reads: the date…of today…is…Friday….the…23…August…?)
(sensing confusion, you circle “Le”)
(write “the” in English)
(class reads: the date…of today…is…Friday the 23…of…August. The…Friday…is…very…)
(students just read a word they were never “taught”)
(class reads: the…Friday…is…very…popular… a lot…??)
(sensing confusion, you circle “beaucoup”).
In English
(circle “de”)
(class reads: a lot…of…people…prefer…the…Friday)
(Lead a brief class discussion and circle any students’ noticings on the text, ideally using a second color, and perhaps writing the students’ name/initials by their contribution.)
To continue to Reading from the Back of the Room:
(You have walked to the back of the room)
(the class responds: French!)
(the class responds: August!)
(the class responds: August 22!)
Student Application & Assessment
Quick Quiz
Just like in the Student Application and Assessment, I want students to listen to the question twice. So, again, I do a lot of “shhhing” as I ask the question the first time, to remind them not to call out the answer. Further, the Quick Quiz is not a “gotcha.” You can still use gestures, facial expressions, or even walk to the board or Shared Writing text, to point out visuals that might make the questions more comprehensible.
Your Student Application and Assessment today might go something like this:
(The class calls out, “August!”)
(The class calls out, “August 21!”)
At the end of the period, you might want to debrief with students, congratulating them on what went well, and setting goals or perhaps telling them that tomorrow they will be able to understand and say even more.
