Brain RulesBrain Rules

CirclingCircling

Planning a StoryPlanning a Story

Reading and DiscussingReading and Discussinga Storya Story

TPRS and GradingTPRS and Grading

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We focus on

FLUENCY

Fluency and TPRS®Fluency and TPRS®

In order to successfully In order to successfully teach teach fluencyfluency

the teacher must:the teacher must:

Focus on the details of a Focus on the details of a story story

NotNot focus on the focus on the language language

TPRS® is a method of second-language teaching that uses highly-interactive stories to provide comprehensible input and create an atmosphere of immersion in the classroom.

What is TPRS®?

Use words students know

Speak slowly

Key 1: ComprehensibleKey 1: Comprehensible

Repetitive questionsContinually start overAdd detailsMultiple locationsMultiple charactersVerify details with actors and with the class

Key 2: RepetitionKey 2: Repetition

Recycle the Story

✓ at any point, stop, go back, and review the

story✓ re-circle the recycled

parts✓ continue story when

you get back to where you left off

Surprise details“Playing the game”PersonalizationPositive exaggeration

Key 3: InterestKey 3: Interest

Teach to the Eyes!

✓teach STUDENTS not curriculum

✓look in individual student’s eyes when teaching

✓hold students accountable✓always check for

understanding

Story Retells

Have students frequently retell the story to their partners✓after the story ends✓have superstar retell story to class✓Limit the time to two or three minutes

Shelter Vocabulary

Limit vocabulary to a few hundred words per year

Don’t shelter grammar

Use whatever grammar is necessary to express meaning.

Use lessons each Use lessons each day to practice day to practice structure.structure.

Structure is the Structure is the key to fluency.key to fluency.

Teaching Teaching fluency…fluency…

Data - TeacherData - Teacher

Data - TeacherData - Teacher

Brain Rules

SHORTTERM

MEMORY

Brain Processing ModelBrain Processing Model

E

N

V

I

R

O

N

M

E

N

T

E

N

V

I

R

O

N

M

E

N

T

HEARING

LONG-TERMSTORAGE

SMELL

SIGHT

TOUCH

TASTE

PERCEPTUALREGISTER

OUT OUT OUT

WORKINGMEMORY

Sousa, David A.. How the Brain Learns. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press, 2006.

Rule #1:We don’t pay attention to We don’t pay attention to

boring thingsboring things..

Rule #2:We have 30 seconds to repeat We have 30 seconds to repeat something before it is forgotten.something before it is forgotten.

Rule #3:Students must pay attention Students must pay attention

in order to learn.in order to learn.

Medina, John. Brain Rules. Seattle: Pear Press, 2008. pp. 76, 79.

How do we get them to pay attention?

• “The novel stimuli – the unusual, the unpredictable, or distinctive are powerful ways to harness attention.”

Emotions get our attention.

People usually forget 90% of what they learn in a class within 30 days.

Rule #4Most of what we learn is visual.Most of what we learn is visual.

• Dramatize the story

• Props

dramatize the story

✓wigs & hats✓cardboard cutouts✓ funny noses✓ funny glasses✓ stuffed animals✓ toys

use props

Rule 5:The initial learning is important.

One could increase the life span of a memory simply by repeating the information in timed intervals.

Rule 6:There are two types of memories

1. Non-declarative1. Non-declarative

These are things learned by feel such as These are things learned by feel such as riding a bike, playing the piano, or riding a bike, playing the piano, or

jumping rope. These memories are not jumping rope. These memories are not in our conscious awareness.in our conscious awareness.

2. Declarative memories

“The shirt is blue” “Jupiter is a planet.”

What we remember after 24 hours…

HEAR 5%

READ 10%

AUDIO-VISUAL 20%

DEMONSTRATE 30%

DISCUSS 50%

DO 75%

EXPLAIN / APPLY 90%Sousa, David A.. How the Brain Learns. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press, 2006.

Brain RulesBrain Rules

CirclingCircling

Planning a StoryPlanning a Story

Reading and DiscussingReading and Discussinga Storya Story

TPRS and GradingTPRS and Grading

Es (it) gab (gave) ein Mädchen

There was a girl

Sie warShe was

• Was? What

• Wer? Who

• Wo? Where

Es gab ein MädchenThere was a girl

Sie warShe was

keinnot one

oderor

undand

nicht not

• Was?• What?• • Wer?• Who?•

Wo?• Where?

Es gab ein MädchenThere was a girl

Sie warShe was

Sie hatteShe had

keinnot one

oderor

undand

nicht not

• Was?• What?• • Wer?• Who?•

Wo?• Where?• • Warum?• Why

• Wie?• How

• Es gab ein MädchenThere was a girl Sie warShe was

• Sie wollte zwei Nasen habenShe wanted to have two noses Sie ist (is) nach (to) …… gegangenShe went to (gone)

• Sie hatteShe had

•keinnot one mitwith oderor undand

• Was?• What?• • Wer?• Who?•

Wo?• Where?• • Warum?• Why

• Wohin?• Where to?

Circling:the heart

ofTPRS®

Circling

1. Positive statement

2. ? with a yes answer

3. Either/or questions

4. ? with a no answer

5. Restate the negative and restate the positive

6. Who?

7. What? Where? When? How? Why? How much?, etc…

8. Positive statement

Teach a sentence

• Past tense to the class.• Present tense to the student actor.• Verify with both the class and the student

actor.• Student actor either says the answer or reads

it.

Step one

Add a sentenceElena was a girl.

Talk to the class in the past tense.Ask Elena:

Are you are girl?Yes, I am a girl.

Yes, you are a girl.Class, Elena was a girl.

Step two

Add a locationYou now have two sentences

Elena was a girl.She was in Arizona.

Talk to the class in the past.Talk to your student actor in the

present.Verify what she says and then talk to

the class.

Step 3Add a more specific location.Now you have 3 sentences.

Elena was a girl.She was in Arizona.

She was in Happy Valley, Arizona.

Step 4

Add another location.Elena was a girl.

She was in Arizona. She was in Happy Valley.

She was in Panda Express.

Step 5Add a parallel character. Compare

and contrast both characters.Elena was a girl in Happy Valley,

Arizona at Panda Express.Susie was a girl in Blaine, Minnesota, at Starbucks.

Compare and contrast the two characters.

Verify the details with your student actors.

Brain RulesBrain Rules

CirclingCircling

Planning a StoryPlanning a Story

Reading and DiscussingReading and Discussinga Storya Story

TPRS and GradingTPRS and Grading

Create a TPRS® Lesson Plan

A Story has two parts

Background information

Background information

Often will set up a story and give information to be

used in the story.

Background information (Monday)

1. Names, and places2. Multiple characters3. Doesn’t need to pertain to

story4. Practice any word or structure5. Use for compare and contrast6. Verify details with actors

Parallel characters are used to compare and contrast. They also make the story last much longer.

Tuesday- day 2

Every story has a problem!

Problem has 3 parts

• Introduce the problem by stating someone wants something.• Make an unsuccessful attempt to resolve the problem.• Resolve the problem.

Variables

Every story has variables. Use your variables to create surprise details. Surprise details are what make the stories interesting.

Specificity

go from the generalto the specific

general

specific

Problem: A boy wanted a cat.

Sentences: __________________________________________________________________________________

In the first line, list a fact of the story, circle the variable or variables, and list the alternative variables. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Lesson PlanLesson Plan

Start with 2 or 3 Start with 2 or 3 structuresstructures

These are the structures you want to practice.

Should be basic, high frequency words.

Always translate the words of these structures.

Problem: A boy wanted a cat.

Sentences: There was a boy. He was a boy. .

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Lesson PlanLesson Plan

Read the story

There was a boy. He didn’t have a cat. He went to Green River, Wyoming. There was a girl. The girl didn’t have a cat.

The boy went to Brooklyn. There was a cat in Brooklyn. The boy picked up the cat. He was happy because he had a cat.

Lesson PlanLesson Plan

Problem: A boy wanted a cat.Sentences: The boy didn’t have a cat. He went to

Wyoming.The boy - What don’t we know about him? Name? Where

he lives? How old is he? Favorite music? What is in his bedroom? Who are his friends? Why does he want a bird?

Information: Where did he live? (Three levels of specificity) Did he have a cat? Did he have an elephant? What did he have? What did he want? Where did he go?

Surprise details: Add proper nouns as a surprise. Kmart or Dollar Tree for locations. Add names and places that are a surprise.

Lesson PlanLesson Plan

Problem: A boy wanted a cat.Sentences: The boy went to Wyoming. There was a girl

but there wasn’t a cat.

Green River, Wyoming - Our character always goes some place. There was a girl there but not a cat.

Brooklyn - The boy went to Brooklyn. There was a cat. He picked up the cat.

Brain RulesBrain Rules

CirclingCircling

Planning a StoryPlanning a Story

Reading and DiscussingReading and Discussinga Storya Story

TPRS and GradingTPRS and Grading

x. This person will be the most experienced TPRS person in the group. Announce the three procedures.

A. Make a statement and have students say, “Ohhhhhhh”.

B. Ask a question where they know the answer and have them answer in the target language.

C. Ask them a question where they don’t know the answer and have them answer

a. in target language (Spanish because it is a Spanish story

b. Proper nouns c. surprise me(If you don’t surprise me, I will surprise you.)

Person number 1– MondayBackground information

Background information: Introduce the first character—add details about him/her by asking questions.

Name, where s/he was (be as specific as possible – name of state, city, place (proper noun?).

Choose a student actor. Verify the details with that actor and with the

class.

Person number 2– MondayBackground information

Review information about the first character by asking questions and then add another character. Add more information about the character. Verify the details with both characters and with the class.

Tuesday Introduce a problem

Review the background information by asking questions.

Your main focus is on character one. You can add more information about him/her.

Add a problem where the character needs or wants something.

Verify the details with your student actor and the class.

Tuesday - Unsuccessful attempt to solve the problem

Have the character go someplace to make an unsuccessful attempt to solve the problem.

Use dialogue. Talk to the class and tell the class what each character says.

Create a reason why the actor doesn’t get what he/she wants.

Tuesday - Solve the problem

Have the character go to another place and solve the problem.

Use dialogue. Talk to the class when adding dialogue. It is your story therefore the actors don’t know what they are going to say.

The story is over when the problem is solved.

Brain RulesBrain Rules

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Planning a StoryPlanning a Story

Reading and DiscussingReading and Discussinga Storya Story

TPRS and GradingTPRS and Grading

Wednesday Embedded Reading

Start with the first embedded reading.Translate the first embedded reading.Students write in the meaning of any new

words.

Embedded reading one

Students sit in pairs. These pairs are in groups of 6 or 8. (They sit like in an airplane.)

Student one reads the first sentence in the target language. Student two reads that same sentence in English and then reads the second sentence in target language. (Volleyball translation)

Students continue reading and translating for 2 or 3 minutes.

Students rotate. One side of the students all move up while the student in front goes to the back.

Continue until all have read with another partner.

Embedded reading 2

Repeat the same process for the second reading.

Students will have a little more time to do the volleyball translation. Continue until students have read with either 3 or 4 partners.

Person number 1– Wednesday Extended reading - Background

information

Background information: Introduce the first character—add details about him/her.

This person is playing the role of the main character in the extended reading. Add information about the character. Add his/her name, where s/he was (be as specific as possible – name of state, city, place (proper noun?).

Choose a student actor. Verify the details with that actor and with the class.

Verify the details with that actor and with the class.

Person number 2 Wednesday Extended reading - Background

informationAdd a parallel character. (Usually a student

playing himself)Compare the new character to the other

character.Add more information about both characters.

Verify the details with both characters and

with the class.

Person 3 – Extended reading Thursday

Review the details established in the background information. Read the first paragraph. Translate with the class.

Ask facts about the paragraph. Add any surprises to the story.

Dramatize the extended reading. Add surprises.

Verify the details with your student actors.

Person 5 – Extended reading Thursday

After you have acted out the extended reading, students are now ready for volleyball translation of the extended reading. Have them go through the entire story now in groups. Give them 3 minutes to read with each partner. If there is time, also do volleyball translation with the extended reading in the past tense.

Brain RulesBrain Rules

CirclingCircling

Planning a StoryPlanning a Story

Reading and DiscussingReading and Discussinga Storya Story

TPRS and GradingTPRS and Grading

TPRSTPRS®

and and SchoolSchool

A typical TPRS® week

Monday✓talk about weekend/

PQA practice with new structures

✓Establish background information and add parallel characters with surprise details.

Tuesday

✓ Start over and re-establish the background information from yesterday.

✓ Introduce the problem.

✓ Make an unsuccessful attempt to solve the problem

✓ Solve the problem✓ If there is time, solve

the problem with the parallel character

✓ If there is time, do a partner retell

Wednesday

✓Embedded readings 1 and 2

✓Add background information to the story

✓Add a student as the parallel character

✓Add background information about the student

Thursday

✓Review the details of the extended reading

✓Add more surprise details to both characters

✓Dramatize the rest of the story

✓Do the embedded reading with the extended reading

Friday

✓Timed writing✓Read a discuss a

novel✓Add surprise

details✓Add one or more

parallel character✓Read and translate

to the end of the chapter.

✓If time, do partner student retells.

TestsTests1. 50% of nine-weeks grade (40% with

reading option)2. Surprise tests3. Translation – Target language to

English4. Cumulative throughout the year5. Test words they know6. Most students get A’s or B’s on tests7. If 80% don’t get 80% or higher,

retest

Reading Option

1.Make your test grades worth 40% of their nine weeks grade.2.Earn 10% of the grade by reading. 3.First and second year students read a novel every nine weeks.4.Third year students read a novel a month.5.Fourth year students read 2000 words of literature a night.

Non-Test Grades Non-Test Grades (quizzes and homework)(quizzes and homework)

1. 25% of nine-weeks grade2. About a grade or two a week3. Quizzes4. Timed writings5. Homework

a. Retell story to an adultb. Write out storyc. Draw the story d. Write a new ending to the story

Timed writings Timed writings

A homework grade.

Speed writeSpeed write Students write for five minutes

without stopping. They write as many words

as possible.

Relaxed write Relaxed write Students write for ten minutes. They can stop, edit and ask questions.

Timed writings Timed writings

Both are graded at a point a word. Accuracy is usually not graded on timed writings.

ParticipationParticipation1. 25% of nine-weeks grade

2. Each student starts with 100 points.

3. Students are required to look engaged.

4. Looking engaged means: no sleeping, talking or writing.

5. Each infraction costs the student 5 pts.

6. When there is an infraction, teacher says the name of the student and “págame”.

Págame MakeupsPágame Makeups

1. Student can make up two págames (10 pts.) by giving the teacher a nice card.

2. Student can make up two more págames by shaking the teacher’s hand.

Págame MakeupsPágame Makeups

There is a maximum of one card and one hand shake per nine weeks.

All other págames are made up with 100 word essays in the target language:

a. Essay can be copied but it must be in the student’s own handwriting.

b. Student can only write two 100-word essays per week.