I'm going to start this post by saying that if you haven't picked up "Teach Like a Pirate" yet, you need to check it out. It is a quick read and as someone who is constantly looking for ways to improve my practice, this book really has me fired up!
Reflection # 1: Perspective, Perspective, Perspective
Right off the bat, Burgess points out that inevitably, you aren't going to be passionate about EVERYTHING in your class but you are ALWAYS passionate about something.
I'll be honest, I don't really get excited about demonstrative adjectives, direct object pronouns, sports, indefinite and definite articles and the uses of por BUT I sure as heck get excited about spending time with my Baby Hawks, making a difference and making my class one that kids want to be in. Furthermore, I think that all students start to associate certain passions with each teacher. My students would peg me as someone that LOVES school, Baby Hawks, Spanish, owls, chocolate, Grammar, squirrels, coffee, and traveling (among other things).
My best lessons are those that bring those passions to the forefront. I'll take my most recent out of the box presentation, for example. I titled it "Direct Object Pronouns...and Squirrels". In the past, teaching direct object pronouns was a disaster for me. Not because my students couldn't figure it out, but, because as I taught it I could see on every one of their faces that the lesson was a complete and total grind for them. They were soaking in the material out of loyalty to me, not because they were truly engaged or extremely jazzed about learning grammar for grammar's sake. Those lessons are as soul sucking for me as it is for them. As teachers, we want all kids to look forward to coming to class everyday. With each year, I hope to have fewer and fewer of the "Daily grind" days as I add more pizzazz to my arsenal of lessons.
In any case, last chapter, I was faced with the DOP section of my curriculum. I sat at my computer for hours determined to improve this mind-numbing lesson of mine, thinking about my Baby Hawks. My sweet baby hawks, and how they would be so "squirrely" if I didn't get this just right and then it dawned on me! Squirrels! I affectionately call my students "ardillitas" on a daily basis when I see them get all bright eyed and bushy tailed about something and they love to "push back" and deny this similarity.
I quickly googled "squirrels" and one search led to another as I hit the google images jackpot of squirrels doing everyday things. I copy and pasted as many of these photos as I could find into a Powerpoint and starting captioning them all in different tenses while using student names.
"Will lava la ropa".
As I went through the Powerpoint, we discussed the ridiculous photos. The kids were quickly eager to expand on these scenarios and descriptions. Without them even knowing it, I was able to smoothly get them to start understanding the use of DOPs and to start trying them out in their own sentences. By personalizing this lesson, incorporating a little bit of creativity and allowing them to learn through experience I effectively engaged all of the students in my room. And, guess what? DOP instruction became a rewarding experience for me too....I can't wait to try it out again next year!
In summary, Burgess is spot on. "By changing focus and activating the creative genius that resides inside each of us, there are incredible ideas all around for the taking". All it takes is a little change in perspective.
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