The Winter break can’t come too soon at this point. Centering a classroom around communication can be exhausting. What keeps me going however is beginning to see the fruits of acquisition-centered interaction in the classroom. Trickles of output are beginning to appear, and even the most disengaged (on the surface) students are showing evidence for acquisition, especially in their timed writes. I find that every year at this time, however, I do have to devote more and more energy to classroom management and upholding classroom rules and procedures. Two weeks left!
Monday, December 3rd, Day 75
- Calendar Talk – December
Holiday Discussion (in Latin) Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Hanukah, Saturnalia (dies festus Romanus)
- Interview/Discipulus Illustris – Holiday special – ask specifically about holiday tradition.
Prep Time: 0 minutes
- Card Talk/Picture Talk two pictures (one true and one false) showing a student do their holiday
Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Write and Discuss – Holiday Traditions (based on the student interviews)
Prep Time: 0 minutes
Tuesday, December 4th, Day 76
- Calendar/Warm-up
- PQA – quomodo dies festi Decembris celebrati sunt in familia tua”
using some of the holiday vocabulary from yesterday.
Prep Time: 0 minutes
- Fabula: Tell and Draw: Saturnalia et Satunalia
Prep Time: 0 minutes
Wednesday, December 5th, Day 77
- Storytelling/Reader’s Theater/Listen and Draw: “The Myth of Saturnus et Iuppiter”
In three 8 minute sections with a Brain Break between sections 2 and 3
NOTA BENE: I attempted here “extensive listening” or “easy listening,” in which very little new vocabulary was introduced during the activity. I use actors, props, and pictures. I drew along, had the students draw, etc. I varied the activity by class as by this time of the year I have a pretty good understanding of each class’s personality. For me that is part of the power of a class focused on communication and acquisition—each class can easily be customized based on the students in the class, their experience, and their background.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Write and Discuss: A summary of the story so far.
Prep Time: 0 minutes
- Quick Quiz: verum an falsum
Prep Time: 0 minutes
Thursday, December 6th, Day 78
- Storytelling: Saturnus et Iuppiter (Pars II)
More extensive listening, the second half of the story
Prep Time: 0 minutes
- Write and Discuss: summary of the second half
Prep Time: 0 minutes
- Quick Quiz – Quis diceret?
I read a series of statements and the students write the name of the character from the story most likely to say that statement. I generally make between five and ten statements (depending on how much time is remaining in class). This is a zero prep activity for me, because I generally just improvise the statements as I go, focusing on parts of the story that I felt the students needed more exposure to.
Prep Time: 0 minutes
Friday, December 7th, Day 79
- Dictatio: Sentences based on “Saturnus and Jupiter”
NB: To save prep time, I actually just adapted these sentences from the “Write and Discuss” activity from earlier in the week.
Prep Time: 0 minutes
- Read and Draw: Saturnus et Jupiter
Prep Time: 0 minutes
- Timed Write
Prep Time: 0 minutes
