“AHA” Moment #3 from Mike Peto’s Guidebook: Write and Discuss Every Day I am going back to how I started 10 years ago in my school. I always wanted students to have a notebook and pencil, and somewhere along the way this became a problem for students. So again, I will require all students to …
Category: Classroom Routines
Running Reflection Series: My Experience with Mike Peto’s Approach, My Teacher Struggles, and Next School Year ~ Post 2
As teachers, I think we all have our favorite grades or courses to teach. For me, the consistency of teaching level 4/IV Spanish to juniors in high school for 21 of 22 years, is where I am most comfortable and, perhaps, happy. It is where I am helping students to grow and hone their skills …
Running Reflection Series: My Experience with Mike Peto’s Approach, My Teacher Struggles, and Next School Year ~ Post 1
I have now been teaching for 23 years, and it is still amazing how I feel every year I continue to learn more as I hone my craft. This past school year was no different as there were some new “old” challenges thrown at me that have happened about every 3 years when I teach …
Being in a New World Language Class is like a TRIP
While traveling this summer in Rome, Italy I had an “AHA Moment:” the student experience in my world language classroom is like a trip in a big city that is foreign to someone. Let’s delve into this crazy metaphor that I thought about while walking through the “_________” neighborhood in search of a market that bears that same name (umm, I cannot remember its name for the life of me as I am writing this), and frankly that is perfect because it really makes this metaphor even better. Here are my 10 reasons why I am making this claim.
Some Food for Thought from April 2023
Written April, 16 2023 This was a post I wrote on Facebook that I feel should be on my Blog too. (No musical theatre references). This was a commentary I had after reading an opinion piece on April 16, 2023. I just wanted to post about what a joy it was to present with my …
MASTERY LEARNING using High-Frequency Verb Quizzes
The 2021-22 school year provided me a chance to try out ideas with MASTERY LEARNING and a policy about retaking assessments until an 80% average was reached. I used this idea consistently throughout the whole year with both my Spanish II and IV classes, and I am very pleased with the results. One of the …
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Reflection 2021-22 Spanish Level II 
I am finally sitting down to write this important reflection of my Spanish level II classes this past year (even if it is in July and not June or any other month throughout the school year).
Aha! Moments from IFLT 2022
Aha! Moments from IFLT 2022 I am so grateful to have returned to an in-person training conference. IFLT 2022 in Saline, Michigan gave us all an opportunity to get refreshed and ready for a fantastic 2022-23 school year. Over the past 6 years, IFLT has implemented a trifecta training model where teachers observe other teachers …
Nothing Is as Revolutionary Here as Hamilton, But These Four Things Are Making My Virtual Classes Work (So Far)
As teachers in 2020, we are all learning a new normal - whether it is 100% virtual teaching or a hybrid model, all changing how we interact with students and our subject matter. In my environment, I am teaching Spanish remotely from home with my students “zooming in” three times a week. And even though …
Webinar Online Now: Keeping CI Simple for Students
As the end of Quarter 1 is around the corner, I wanted to post this webinar that I did for Teacher’s Discovery last month on Facebook Live. For this webinar I wanted to focus on Simple CI in the classroom. I always have to remind myself how challenging it might be for students to focus …
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My Mosaic of World Language Teaching 