Thanks to OWL (Organic World Language) for really driving home the importance of focusing on language proficiency. I love the ACTFL Can-Do Statements, but they are not always kid-friendly. I have modified them to be more age appropriate for my 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders (ages 6-8).
In the past I assessed them on vocabulary blocks, but this year the focus is on proficiency. Just a small change in approach is all it takes. Rather than listing fruits, tell me the ones that you like and don’t like. Instead of listing all the animals you know, choose a few of your favorites and describe where they live. Instead of responding to my greetings, have a conversation with a classmate.
Students will decide when they are ready to show proficiency and will put a sticker on the statement when they demonstrate that they can do it. One sticker is all it will take to motivate the whole gang. My guess is that some of the 2nd graders will want to do some of the 3rd grade prompts…all the better. These prompts should get them to Novice Mid or even further by the end of 3rd grade.
You should share again with some stickers added! Excited to hear more about this.
I will update as the year moves forward.
Josué
Pingback: World Language Classroom Resources
This is great!! Do the “1e”, “2e”, etc. correspond to novice low, mid, high or something else? Is this all within one unit?
Thank you for sharing!
The numbers actually correspond to grades 1, 2 and 3, but the prompts are novice low to novice mid.
Josué
I love this idea! I teach Spanish for Spanish Speakers 9th-12th grade and this would really work to motivate my kids. Since, each year I get students at various levels in the language enrolled in the same class, I’m thinking on individualizing it a little more and putting names rather than stickers, so that each student is working toward mastery, but at their own level and pace. Thanks for sharing!
Olga, I’d love to chat more about how to apply this to SNS, I also teach multilevel es native classes.