That's Just Their Face!

Mindfulness Matters 

As we learn to take care of ourselves, we should be careful not to take on the burdens of others. It is very easy to mistake someone’s tone, or expression, as a criticism. Remember that when your students are intently listening, their expressions can convey apathy, irritation, and boredom, when, in fact, they aren’t feeling any of those emotions! I purposely have a yellow sticky on my school laptop that reads, “That’s just their face!” A great way to remind me that I don’t know what emotion they are experiencing and, if I have to choose between ennui and concentration, I will choose what uplifts me, not brings me down. Remember, it’s just their face!

Story Telling Videos 

I have finished episodes 1 -10 of basic Spanish stories. The scripts came from the Comprehensible Classroom, adjusted where needed, because middle schoolers can have a gross sense of humor! They will be great for you to use as an Edpuzzle, a Movietalk, an Emotions Analysis, or just a way for them to quietly listen while you finish attendance. Here is the link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXNHpIvuW8y1wIJcBv2UBeM9tM8OCs41X If you have older students, I have started working on the first 10 chapters in Somos 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OB5QomINFWc. And coming soon, I have my Argentine voice artist working on the audio for 15 original Cyber Profe created stories.

Our Gains 

My FB friend Julie Bacher has written a new book and you can find it on Amazon. It’s called How to Fix Your Life After Screwing Everything Up. She wrote it using her pen name: Ann Cushing. She is one of the most interesting, amusing, kind, and insightful people I have met on FB and I can’t wait to read it. The link is here, and, for a brief time, the Kindle version is free: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09B394JTV/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_QD3J9C9AQGSBN82B4KCG

Unfortunate Events 

What was your failure this week? How can I help you? 

My fail is that I legit left my car running for 2 hours while I went into school to print materials for the first day of class! I get up early in the summer, about 6:30 or 7am, but I decided this week to get up at my normal work time: 5:20am. But, what I didn’t do was go to bed earlier! I have been walking around in a fog this week. Luckily, my car was still there and, while it had used 1/4 tank of gas while I was inside printing, I still had plenty to get home. I think I will start going to bed earlier! Maybe with a nice Riesling. 

For the classroom 

As language teachers, we know that are classrooms tend to be fairly inclusive. We have students at every level of emotional and intellectual development, and we need to be prepared to give everyone an opportunity to learn. Marsha BanickGraham, Intervention Specialist, has a few suggestions to help the start of the year go smoothly. If you have any questions for Marsha, comment below, and she will respond: 

As the school years begins, no doubt your mailbox will begin to fill with reams of paperwork; each one deemed Very Important by the person who put it there! One of the greatest producers of paperwork are your resident special ed teachers, also known as Teachers of Record, as they are responsible for providing a copy of their students’ Individual Education Plans to each teacher in the building. Certain parts of that IEP will be of interest to you and can make your classroom management more efficient. 

First and foremost, you will want to read through the student’s accommodations. These are minor changes that “even the playing field” so that student can access what you are teaching. It’s important to read these accommodations, understand them, prepare to carry them out, and identify issues that could arise and alert the Teacher of Record of those issues. 

Accommodations, once written into an IEP, become legally binding, and cannot be disregarded without placing you, your school, and your district in a legally vulnerable position. Typical accommodations include preferential seating; test-taking in resource room, a small group, or one on one; extra time on tests; tests read aloud; and reduced assignments.

When I first started teaching, the only book available was Pobre Ana. Now, more than 10 years later, there are oodles of books to choose from, all unique and interesting. This find by Sarah Breckley has them all in one place and searchable by several different options: https://cinovels.fandom.com/  

I would love to hear from you! send me a DM, email me, or comment below.