Jamboree 2014

Bethany Ergican | Redondo Union High School

USING MINI-NOVELS IN CLASS TO ACHIEVE BIG GAINS IN LANGUAGE

ACQUISITION

Jamboree 2014

Bethany Ergican

Redondo Union High School

https://www.polleverywhere.com/my/polls#!/my/polls

Do you currently teach with mini-novels in class?

If yes, what mini-novels do you read with your classes?

What types of activities do you already utilize when teaching with mini-novels?

Why read with or tell stories to students?

The "Comprehension Hypothesis": We acquire language when we understand what people tell us and what we read. There is no need for deliberate memorization; rather, firm knowledge of grammatical rules (a feel for correctness) and a large vocabulary gradually emerge as language acquirers get more "comprehensible input," aural or written language that is understood.

In support of the Comprehension Hypothesis are many studies showing that foreign language classes that contain more "comprehensible input" produce superior results when compared to traditional classes: Comprehensible input students do far better on tests of communication and at least as well on grammar tests.

Stephen Krashen

Second Language "Standards For Success": Out Of Touch With Language Acquisition Research

Activities to use with Mini-Novels

Pre Reading Activities

During Reading Activities

Post Reading Activities

Pre-Reading Activities

Analyze the book cover

Study culture & country where book is based

Pre-teach vocabulary

Reading Action Chain

Predictions

Book Cover

Discuss characters & pictures on cover

Write a short description of book cover in

target language to read with class

Discuss plot & background of story

in great detail

Discuss book title

Translate back cover to target language

and read as a class

Probable character traits

Study Country & Culture

Geography

States, provinces & capital

Flag, colors, significance

National symbols: flowers, trees, bird,

music, dance,

Cultural words or phrases

Economy & export products

Money & value

Environment, national Parks, animals & wildlife

Traditional food & drinks

Study Country & Culture

Present information with:

a fill-in-the-blank worksheet

a bookmark to color that has space to take notes on country

a webquest

a competition using Socrative

a jigsaw

Cultural Participation & Research Project (CPR)

Cook food

Visit restaurant

Reproduce famous artwork

Create a mask

Take a dance lesson

Watch a movie

Adrián Gómez

CPR Project

Project includes:

Evidence: 7 pictures with captions in Spanish

Minimum 1 page research paper

Action, Connection, Reflection form

Parent note

Project plan

Cynthia Leathers

Pre-teach Vocabulary

Teacher needs to read book first

Select vocabulary that students don’t know

Select most high frequency words to teach

Go narrow & deep, not broad & shallow

Don’t pick too much vocabulary!

Slideshows

Stories

Personalized questions

Pre-teach Vocabulary

Slideshows

Elena López

Pre-teach Vocabulary

Slideshows

Elena López

Pre-teach Vocabulary

Slideshows

Elena López

Pre-teach Vocabulary

Personal questions

Elena López

Pre-teach Vocabulary

Personal Questions & Answers

Start with a vocabulary word or phrase

Brainstorm as many questions as possible

“Brains Crave Novelty” – Carol Gaab

Use polleverywhere.com

Four square – vote with feet

Post-it note responses

Surveymonkey.com

Gallery walk

Whiteboards

2 lines / Stand up if…

Pre-teach Vocabulary

Stories

Elena López

Pre-teach Vocabulary

Stories – Embedded Readings - MovieTalk

Martina Bex

Pre-teach Vocabulary

Total Physical Response (TPR)

TPR up to 7 words or phrases

Class creates gesture

Praise and compliment student who creates gesture

Class performs gesture when you say that word/phrase

Use notecards to review

Say word – students perform gesture

Show word – teacher says word/phrase

Teacher acts out – students say word/phrase

Reading Action Chain

Write sentences in a story-like sequence that use target structure vocabulary

Project sentences on board out of order

Discuss with partner what you think logical order is

Hand out cut up sentence strips

Students act out sentence strips in a logical order

Class must watch and say what they are acting out

Carol Gaab

Reading Action Chain

Donkey ran very fast to Princess Fiona’s house

Princess Fiona was listening to rock music and didn’t hear the phone

Donkey said, very tired, “Let’s go eat!”

Princess Fiona was very scared and screamed

Shrek called Princess Fiona to eat frogs one night

Donkey kicked down Princess Fiona’s door

Shrek yelled out, “Donkey, go get Princess Fiona!”

Reading Action Chain

Shrek called Princess Fiona to eat frogs one night

Princess Fiona was listening to rock music and didn’t hear the phone

Shrek yelled out, “Donkey, go get Princess Fiona!”

Donkey ran very fast to Princess Fiona’s house

Donkey kicked down Princess Fiona’s door

Princess Fiona was very scared and screamed

Donkey said, very tired, “Let’s go eat!”

Predictions

Create a list of statements about each chapter

Students read & decide whether they think it is true or false

Go back to predictions after chapter and review

Correct false statements

Students write own prediction before reading

Correct & support with evidence from text

Prediction Games

Fortune teller

Magic 8 Ball

Word Clouds

Word Cloud Predictions

www.wordle.net

http://worditout.com/

www.tagxedo.com

Type text of chapter into word cloud generator

Highlights most repeated words

Students write prediction based on word cloud

Carol Gaab

More Prediction Activities

Project pictures or illustrations that portray plot of chapter

Discuss plot and make predictions

Project quotes from chapter

Guess who will say it

Guess how that character will say it

Teach/review emotions

Say quote happily, sadly, angrily, shyly, excitedly, etc…

Carol Gaab

More Prediction Activities

Project color coded sentences from story plot

Give students strips of paper in different colors

Sequence in logical order

Follow up with a writing activity

Write sentence in between each sentence to add details to and fill out the story

Carol Gaab

Methods to Read a Chapter

Group choral reading

With a partner

With a group

Listen to audio book on CD

Give word cloud of chapter

Highlight words as they hear them

Highlighter wars – competition between two students

Methods to Read a Chapter

Go slowly, circle, PQA

Check for comprehension often

Chorally translate after every paragraph

Skip some paragraphs or pages if they aren’t interesting or aren’t essential

Spin scene from paragraph

Instead of Ana studying in Spain and being worried about going to a bullfight, it’s actually your student Ben!

Ask questions. Create a new, parallel storyline. See where it takes you. Continue if the parallel story has energy. Stop and continue with book if it doesn’t.

During-Reading Activities

Key or Taboo Word

Teacher is forbidden from saying word. Only students can say it.

I heard it! (Martina Bex)

Project translations of key words or phrases

Use 1-2 per page of text

Add in 2-3 fake ones that aren’t in text – identify at end

Read chapter as class or in groups

Listen for words or phrases, raise hand, and shout, “I heard it!”

Student must read translation of quote just read

During-Reading Activities

Class vs. Student (Kristy Placido)

Select one of your top students in class. Everyone knows how smart and talented this individual is.

Make it a comprehension competition between the class and student. See who can translate a specific piece of text faster and keep track of points.

Class Comprehension Wars

Divide class into groups of 2-4

Randomly call on them to link meaning

Post-Reading Activities

Review Characters

Quotes from the novel

Running Dictation

Retell the Story

Reader’s Theater

Freeze Frame Snapshots

Games

Comprehension Quizzes

Connect to the Characters

Trait Revealed by

List characteristics

Back-up with evidence from text

Connect to the Characters

Compare the characters to yourself

Compare two characters within the book

Describe how and why the characters have changed

Connect to the Characters

Yearbook Awards

Most likely to…

succeed

become president/nun/model/teacher/comedian

go into politics

win the lottery but lose the ticket

have a reality TV show

commit a crime

solve a crime

be the victim of a crime

Carol Gaab

Connect to the Characters

Best…

dressed

hair

smile

pick-up lines

poker face

sense of humor

musician

legs

laugh

Carol Gaab

Connect to the Characters

Make students explain why character was chosen for that award

Show evidence from the novel

6 word memoir

Draw characters name from hat

Must summarize character in 6 words

Can save memoirs written by other students and use as a reading/listening activity

Use http://pic-collage.com/ to create collage and write memoir on it

Carol Gaab

Quotes from the Novel

Write the names of characters on paper bags

Hand out quotes to students and have them place in bags

Pull out quotes and read – check to see if that is for the correct character

Or ask students to write the quotes and place them in the bags

Quotes from the Novel

Who said…?

Provide list of quotes to students & they identify character

Ask students to write a certain number of quotes

Share with partner, small group or class & let others identify the character

Who would say…?

How would they say it?

To whom would they say it?

Carol Gaab

Quotes from the Novel

Review Charades

Student acts out quote while group members search for the exact quote they are performing

Say a quote with a variety of emotions

Students illustrate a story board with about six quotes from chapter

Running Dictation

Students work in partners

Teacher posts quotes or summaries from book out in hall

Students take turns reading and writing

Cannot write anything down or take a picture out in the hall

First student reads and must tell partner as much as they can remember of the quote while partner writes it down

Switch roles

Running Dictation

Bugün hava çok güzel!

Retell the Story

Rewrite & illustrate main parts of chapter using a blank story board

Write caption to match pictures

Groups of four identify the four most important events from the chapter, four most important character traits, or compare characters in a Venn Diagram

Gallery Walk – travel to different groups to review/assess their work

Use Puppet Pals, Powtoon, Cartoon Strips, Educreations, Photopeach or Voki

Or use vocabulary to create a new story

Reading Whip

Retell the Story

Storytelling Dominoes

Make 20 pictures to represent characters or main events from story

Cut up pictures into small rectangles

Students divide up cards in groups of 4-5

Student with first event will lay card down and tell the first part

Student with the second event lays next card down and narrates it etc. until all cards are side by side on the table and the story has been retold

Carrie Toth

Reader’s Theater

Reenact a short passage or action scene that you’ve already read

Select & coach actors

Use props & sound effects

Video tape, watch & show to other classes

Demand perfection

Ask other students to model it

Get more reps

Fire and hire a new actor if they aren’t doing well

Freeze Frame Snapshots

Divide students into groups of four

Read a short segment

Give students 15 seconds to freeze in a pose that depicts that scene

Class decides if their snapshot is accurate – must reposition if it isn’t

Take a picture of them

Post the picture on the wall or project it

Write caption, speech or thought bubble

Games

Peligro / Jeopardy

Family Feud

The Dating Game

Kahoot

Comprehension Quizzes

True/False

Arrange events in order

Kahoot

Photopeach

Create quiz with a built-in timer

http://coachforeignlanguageproject.org

COACH Products

Playful Literacy

Lenguaje para la vida 2