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Block Schedule Lesson Planner - New!

Guys! I had to post about this, because I'm so excited about it! First of all, I'm sorry I've been so absent. Clearly last school year got the best of me, and I put blogging on the back-burner so to speak. I'm setting myself a goal of 2 blog posts a month for this upcoming 2016 - 2017 school year!

Alright, back to my original reason for posting this blog. A couple years back, I posted this post about how I started using the 2 week model from Holly over at Throwawayyourtextbooks blog. It really revolutionized how I planned my lesson. Even though I learned how to write & plan effective lessons in my college methodology classes, I didn't necessarily learn to organize these lessons in a timely and efficient manner. I would think about the assessment later on, after I had already started the unit (I know- wrong way!). I would always be behind my coworker in our units. I felt like I had to fit in EVERYTHING! (I bet you know the feeling, right?) Her & I have different methods of teaching, and I like to incorporate more projects, and interactive lessons, while she's more grammar based. Nothing is wrong with either of these, it just wasn't working for me and my style. So a couple of years ago with the two-week model, I was able to stay on track with input and output weeks.  I started incorporating more music, and culture into my lessons. My students thrived with it, and often shared how much they loved the class, and  thought it was fun.

This past year, I really forged ahead with proficiency based learning. The HS had started using it, and being novice-mid was the basis for our jr. high students to pass into Spanish 2 there. This is where I started to struggle with the two-week model. I started taking things from here & there, but kind of putting the puzzle together in a not-exact order so to speak.  I was still using some explicit grammar points, and I wasn't exactly sure what days I should do vocabulary and reading. Output weeks were the hardest for me, because I didn't have a set structure, so I feel this may have even caused some confusion and apprehension in my students, since they didn't know what to expect on each exact day.

The other day I noticed through Holly's blog, that she had updated the two-week model on her TPT store Spanish Sundries for a more proficiency based classroom - AND it was digital! I was ecstatic, as I had been using digital lesson planning through Google classroom for myself. I struggled with how to use it in a block schedule format, so I wrote Holly a Q&A on TPT & she responded wonderfully! I'm so excited to utilize the changes that she's made:
  • blocks for interpretive (input so to speak)
  • blocks for interpersonal / presentational (output)
  • split blocks - b/c there's always more time in a block to move on
  • brain breaks & short games
  • spaces to write the days of the week for each day/block
  • assessment planning
  • vocabulary planning
  • links to great resources
It's so awesome, and it makes me feel excited to plan for the upcoming school year, knowing that I'll have a set guideline for myself to stay on track!  I hope this helps all of my fellow jr. high /middle school &/or block teachers!

Comments

  1. I am flattered! Thank you so much for your kind words! As I told you, having taught on a partial block schedule for 5 years, I understand the challenges and benefits that type of arrangement brings. Keep in touch with me as you start to plan and we can come back and tweak things or talk about some of the dilemmas you might be facing. I would love to talk out ideas with you because it always ends up giving me new ideas for my own classroom as well!

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  2. ¡Muchas gracias! Yes, it does have it's challenges & benefits. I would love to keep in touch! I'm glad I can inspire. I always love your ideas, everything is very concise & flows nicely! I'm looking forward to this year. 😀

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