Backgrounds are the biggest disappointment with Google Meet. I do have a work around for PC's and Macs, but NOT for Chromebooks(you can try it with Linux, but I can't guarantee that it will work as Chromebooks are not high end hardware). I will also preface this by saying that this will require a little work/effort, because there is a learning curve, but if you stick with it, you WILL have a beautiful set up. 

*** I recommend that you hardwire by ethernet cable to your modem. This is not to say that it won't work with wifi, but my experience has been better with ethernet cable. There will be many deciding factors, your network, number of people on your network, your computer, etc. I still think it is worth a shot!

This is going to be long and detailed and I will include video links to help you along. 

In order to use backgrounds in Google Meet, you will need to download a free software called OBS Studio. It is broadcasting software.
You can download it here: https://obsproject.com
You will also need to download the virtual camera for OBS STUDIO. Which you can download here: 
https://streamshark.io/blog/using-obs-as-a-virtual-webcam-on-windows-and-macos/
​(make sure to download the appropriate Mac or PC version)

​We are going to set up OBS Studio with your backgrounds and use it as a virtual camera that you will be able to select when you are in Google Meet. I know it sounds complicated, but stick with me, because you CAN do this and it WILL be worth it!

Once you have downloaded the software and the virtual camera add-on we are ready to begin understanding OBS Studio and how to work with it.

RE-START YOUR COMPUTER NOW!

When you first open OBS this is what you will see:

 
1= The area where you will see yourself and any backgrounds you add
2= Different scenes that you set up. I think of a scene as a segment of my class. For example, Talking about the weather, Interviewing a student, telling a story, etc.
3= The different pieces that you need to add to a scene to make it work. This will include adding video, audio and images to every scene. If you do not add audio, you WILL NOT be heard and if you do not add video, you WILL NOT be seen. You must add these to EVERY scene!
4= This is your audio mixer. It will tell you if people can hear you and if you are too loud or too soft.

Remember this is broadcasting software. So, there are details, details, details, but once it is set up, you will have it done and be able to re-use it!
​
​OBS will start you out with one scene. You can see that scene on the far left of the image below. You can right click and rename the scene to anything you like. You can also always highlight it in blue and hit delete to get rid of a scene. The image below also shows all of the possible things that you might add to a scene by hitting the + sign at the bottom left of  the source box. You do not need to know them all, but if you have a question, feel free to reach out and I will explain anything I do not include here. 

The very first choice is Audio Input Capture. ​You need to add this to every scene that you create as it adds a microphone to your scene so that you and any audio you play can be heard. Scroll up and it will turn blue and select it. This next screen will appear:

You can rename it if you like, but not necessary. Click ok and then you will see this:

Select the microphone that you will use. If you are using a laptop with a built-in microphone you will use that, unless you want to get fancy, which is not necessary. Then click ok. You will now see your microphone appearing in the 4th box labeled Audio Mixer. If the microphone is working, it should be green and moving as you speak or make noise.
​* You will not have to go through this process for every scene as you have already created this input. Next scene you create, when you select the audio input capture you will only need to select ADD EXISTING​ and you will be all set. (add existing, highlight the one you made previously and click ok.)

Now it is time to add your video. We will follow the same pattern. Hit the + at the bottom left of your source box and VIDEO CAPTURE DEVICE  will be the 3rd choice from the bottom. Highlight it in blue, select it and you will get a prompt box similar to your audio capture device:

Again, you can rename this or leave it as it is and then click OK. You will then see this screen:

This setting will help later with green screen set up!

Now it's time to add images to our scenes. Please see this video if you do not already know how to create images from PPT, Keynote or Google Slides presentations:

In OBS select the scene that you will be working with. I will choose the scene I am calling Calendar talk. In sources, I select the + and then select IMAGE​

That will bring you to this screen:

It is important to select an identifying name for your images as you will probably have several and it will make it easier to reuse them if you can identify them. *** It is important that you put your images in a folder where they will stay. OBS will use the path given when you browse to find the image and if you move it, OBS will not be able to find it. You are NOT copying images into OBS.
Once you name your image and click OK you will end up on this screen:

As you can see, I selected BROWSE and found my image on the computer and click ok. It now will appear on the large screen in OBS:

The image WILL need to be resized. This works as it does in keynote, PPT, Google slides, etc (select and drag)
***COOL TRICK: You can easily crop an image once you have it in OBS. If you select and hold down OPTION/ALT as you are adjusting the sides of the image. It is very easy to cut off unwanted borders.

You will also notice that you are no longer in the big picture.
1. I will show you how to set up the green screen so that you appear in front of your images towards the end of this blog.
2. You are still on the screen, but not visible. In the list of sources for the scene whatever is at the top is what is in front. I can drag and drop sources. So, I can drag the video to the top and then RESIZE my video so that I appear in the bottom corner. (This is a valid alternative to using a green screen if you do not have or want one!)

By now, I hope that you are starting to see that adding sources to scenes follows a consistent pattern. Once you understand the pattern it is easy to work with.

You can also add multiple single images to a scene. I also added an image called DATE to my calendar talk and you will notice that I dragged and dropped so that VIDEO was #1 in order followed by my images. There is an eyeball icon to the right of each source. If the eyeball is selected it is visible (if it is in front)but if the eyeball is gray, the image is not visible. You could easily select and unselect images to travel from one to another when using them with classes. Since date is higher in my source list than days, I can simply select and unselect the eyeball on the date image to toggle between the two with my classes.

Here is a quick video demonstrating switching between single images that you might add into a scene:

The lock to the right of the sources in your scene is a great safety to use once you have things set in your scene. It will not allow things to be moved or changed if it has been selected. If you click on the lock to open it, you will once again be able to move and change them.

Google Meets will mirror anything you project through it. It will appear correctly for students!!  I reference needing to flip images in some of my videos. I have discovered that this is NOT necessary and have checked it out!

You may also want to add a slide show of images. This will follow the same basic procedure as single image, but you will now select to add image slide show in the sources for your scene.

Name your slide show:

Click Ok and then make your settings look like the image below:
Visibility Behavior: Stop when not visible, restart when visible
Slide Mode: Manual
Transition: Fade
UNCHECK LOOP
Scroll down until you see IMAGE FILES.

To the right of Image Files select the + and Add Files
Browse on your computer to find the images from your presentation and select them ​in the order that you want them to appear in the slide show you are creating in OBS.

Click Ok and the slides will now appear in the selected order in your scene.
​We now need to set "HOT KEYS" for easy transitions between the slides. On the far bottom right of your OBS screen click on SETTINGS and on the far left of that screen select HOT KEYS.

Scroll down in this screen until you see the name of your slide show presentation on the left. The last 2 choices in that area are for you to select the key(s) that will move you to the next slide and the previous slide. I usually select the right and left arrows, but choose what works for you. Then click ok and the keys you chose will move you forward and backwards through your presentation. Now is also a good time, if you are not planning on using a green screen later on, to re-order your sources so that your video box is at the top of the list in the Sources box and your video moves in front of the slide presentation. You can move and resize it however you want.

This video will demonstrate how to add single images and multiple image slide shows to OBS:

It's time for the green screen! Get that screen set up and we are ready for the adjustments to OBS!

When you make the adjustments to your Video Capture Device in one scene, if you have used the same device in the other scenes, then the changes to the device will appear in all scenes.
1.Highlight the Video Capture Device.
2. Select Filters

3. In the Effect Filters box at the bottom left select the + 
4. Highlight and select Chroma Key.

5. It will ask you to rename it and that is not necessary. Click OK.

6. Key Color Type:  Select the color of your green screen. They give multiple color choices as well as the opportunity to customize. I choose green, because my screen is green.

This is where it becomes more art than science. Much of this will depend on your set up and lighting.
7. Similarity:  You want to slide this to the right until your screen disappears and it is just you with a gray background. ​**I recommend that you adjust this screen so that you can look at it and see the main screen at the same time so that you can see what effect your changes are having!
This is the primary setting to adjust your screen, but you can sharpen, brighten, darken, make yourself see-through, etc. by scrolling and adjusting the other slider bars. They are easy to move and put back without doing any damage. You can always come back in and adjust by right clicking on your Video Capture Device and selecting filters/Chroma Key and readjusting.

What you have done to your Video Capture Device in one screen will appear in your other scenes.

Here is a video to walk you through all of the green screen/Chroma Key adjustments:

We only have one step left to get you rocking and rolling in Google Meet!!!! This is going to be EPIC!
​
At this point, go to TOOLS on the top bar of OBS Studio and select START VIRTUAL CAMERA. Your computer is now going to recognize OBS as a virtual camera for your computer and anytime you have the ability to choose a camera to use on your computer, OBS virtual camera will appear as a choice. You will need to select this later in Google Meet.

HERE WE COME GOOGLE MEET!!!! Ready or not...

1. Start your Meeting in Google Meet.
2. Select the 3 dots at the bottom right of your Meet screen.
3. Select ​SETTINGS.

There are 3 choices in the box that pops up.
1.Select VIDEO.
2. Choose OBS VIRTUAL CAMERA.
3. Click DONE.

Your OBS screen will now pop up in your Google Meet. I suggest that if you are working on one monitor, that you make OBS small, but big enough so that you can see to switch between scenes and images and keep Google Meet large and on grid view and see your students.

Here is one more video to show you how it all comes together!

And that's it. I know, you're thinking that is A LOT....it is! But, the set-up is basically a one time thing and just think about all that time that you spent on your Bitmoji classroom...If you did that you can definitely do this! This is a full tutorial AND you can reach out with questions, because I want you to feel comfortable and successful when school starts and I truly believe that this will bring Google Meet up to Zoom level!

NOTE: I reference needing to flip images in some of my videos since Google Meet mirrors your video automatically. I have discovered that it is NOT necessary to flip those images and have checked it out! Students WILL see them correctly even though the text is backwards for you as the presenter!

Email me with questions: zonadeprofes@gmail.com

I am happy to tell anyone who will listen that Zoom is far superior to Google Meet on every level. I find myself with one problem though, my district is now saying that we MUST use Meet instead of Zoom. Regardless of my feelings on this matter, I have a job to do. While my hands may be tied by the tools I am being given to work with, I have a choice how to respond. I can either choose to complain and be mediocre or I can accept the challenge and choose to rise exceptionally above to give my students the best possible experience that I can give them. Challenge accepted. Stand back Meet here I come!

This will be the first of 2 blog posts about Google Meet. This post will be the simpler one, laying out the must have extensions for using Meet and the second post will be a little more high level technical, but I promise to walk you through it when we get there!

Google is supposed to be coming out with upgrades for Meet sometime this fall, but that is very vague and we have an immediate need as we need to be prepared to start our school years in most cases with some degree of virtual interaction. Until then let's look at some amazing google extensions that can actually make the Meet experience much more pleasant than it's base line appearance. 

Extension must have #1: Meet grid view 
chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/google-meet-grid-view-fix/dakebdbeofhmlnmjlmhjdmmjmfohiicn?hl=en
​*this is a patch for the original grid view extension that is not currently working. If it should disappear, it will be because the original was fixed and can be searched by looking for Chris Gamble Google Meet Grid View

Trying to make the appearance of Meet as close to the Zoom experience as possible, this add-on allows you to see all of the participants of your Meeting on a grid at the same time.

​Extension must have #2: Google Meet Breakout Rooms 
chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/google-meet-breakout-room/kogfdlbehkaeoafmgaecphlnhohpabig?hl=en

Breakout rooms is a great feature that Zoom is known for. This extension may actually beat the Zoom breakout rooms. It has many more functions that are pretty cool! It is definitely worth watching their video:

Extension must have #4: NOD
chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/nod-reactions-for-google/oikgofeboedgfkaacpfepbfmgdalabej?hl=en

Nod is a great extension for you and your students to get. It allows meeting participants to send real-time reactions to teachers during meetings on Google Meet.

Extension must have #5: Tactiq
chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/tactiq-for-google-meet/fggkaccpbmombhnjkjokndojfgagejfb?hl=en

Tactiq makes a full transcript of your Meet. This is a nice tool to keep track of stories created in class and details and information that has been shared.

Extension must have #6: Google Meet Push To Talk
chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/google-meet-push-to-talk/pgpidfocdapogajplhjofamgeboonmmj?hl=en

This is another great extension for Teachers and Students to have. It allows for students to be on mute, but by pressing and holding the spacebar it will unmute them.

Extension to consider: Google Meet Enhancement Suite
chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/google-meet-enhancement-s/ljojmlmdapmnibgflmmminacbjebjpno?hl=en

This extension has some good basic features. Not must haves, but some that make things convenient.
​Push to Talk: quickly mute and unmute yourself with the press of a key
Auto Join: skip the join screen and get straight to the meeting
Quick Leave: quickly leave a hangout by pressing Shift + K
Quick Start: quickly start a new Google Meet with the click of a button
Auto Captions: automatically enable captions on calls
Auto Mute: auto mute microphone on join Auto Video Off: set video to off on join

Finally, I would also like to suggest that for best and most predictable and consistent performance with online teaching, if at all possible hardwire your computer to your modem with an ethernet cable!!! It is not expensive nor difficult to do!

I have covered what I consider to be the most important Google extensions for Meet. You will notice that I have left out the 2 (that I am aware of) extensions that allow for adding backgrounds. There is a good reason for that...THEY STINK! 
But, do not lose hope! Part 2 of Meet Like A Rock Star will be completely dedicated to getting the backgrounds set up for beautiful and seamless transitions, including green screen set up. YOU WILL LOVE IT!

I love to tell/ask stories and I love finding different ways to get my students engaged with our stories. As far as I'm concerned, there is no right or wrong way to do this if you are getting good repetition of your target structures in L2 and if everyone is having a good time!
It has been a little challenging to find our way with story asking in the remote learning world, but it is completely do-able and with a bit of determination and some trial and error even enjoyable!
I have been one of those people that has thoroughly loved all of the backgrounds from movies and tv shows that have been made available for use in virtual meetings. Well, I am going to get as much mileage out of these backgrounds as possible. I have been using Google Slides to create  storyboards.
First, I set the background of my slides as my word wall. In google slides, along the top toolbar, select background and choose image. You can choose any image as background, but I prefer to use vocabulary that I will need for the lesson I am teaching or the story I am going to be telling/asking.

Create and adapt each scene as the story develops. Add a text box and begin creating the story with your students. As details come and new objects need to be added, you can continue to grab new images and throw them in. Again, this is a great slow down as you search for objects to add, but will naturally talk more slowly with your students about the story while you search, allowing them extra processing time in the natural course of events. It has brought great laughs for students to suggest something and then to have it pop into our scene. As you build the story and need to move to new slides, it is as simple as highlighting the slide in the left hand list of slides and copying and pasting it right there (CTRL + C, CTRL + V) to create a duplicate of that slide and then adding, subtracting or changing it to move along with your story. It is also fun to move the characters around on the page to have them act along with the progression of the story.

You have so many options from here. You can copy and paste the text boxes into a document for reading practice activities. You can remove the text and have the students retell. You can share the slides and have students add or change details as a follow-up. You can continue the story and follow the characters in their adventures. I also like to put the story into Textivate for continued practice. So many possibilities! 
I hope this adds some more options for you or springboards you into even better ideas! Let me know if you come up with something else!

For those of us who will be using Zoom for synchronous learning, I am going to create a list of things that have worked for me while I was teaching with Zoom. As always, take what works for you, adjust it to work for you as necessary and leave the rest behind.

And, finally, be kind to yourself. It's technology. Something can and will probably go wrong at some point. Do the best that you can do. It does not have to be perfect for it to be a good experience for you and your students! You making connections with them is what really matters and these are just some things that you can do in Zoom to help you make those connections!

I hope that, whatever route your school district chooses, you have a FABULOUS school year!

I just spent an amazing week teaching in the language lab for the conference in the cloud . What a great learning experience for me and what a renewal of hope that this current learning situation can all work out. 

First things first, we are all dealing with some level of anxiety over what this coming school year will bring and how we will face whatever scenario plays out for our districts. The most important thing I can say is that you have to take care of yourself and the rest will fall into place. They tell you on an airplane that if the oxygen masks fall put your mask on first and then help your child(ren). If you don't take care of yourself you will not be able to take care of the children. So, please, do what you can do and leave the rest without apology, because you are enough!

Second, there are many teachers who have blazed a trail with technology and teaching strategies that can help and support you to be the best online (synchronous/asynchronous) teacher that you can be. They have all shared their resources so generously. I am going to attempt to list them here:

For brain break wisdom, even when online, please check out the queen of brain breaks, La Maestra Loca, Annabelle Williamson. Search on brain breaks and you will find endless options in her blog: 
lamaestralocablog.com

Another great resource is the queen of games, AnneMarie Chase. She has several posts with ideas for online learning:
senorachase.com

If you want to know how to use social media as a tool in your classroom or you want to know how to be the most organized teacher on the planet using your google calendar, then you MUST check out Meredith White. I will link to her school website and her google calendar is at the bottom of the page. HINT: Scroll backwards through the months on her calendar and look for conferences that she has listed. She ALWAYS shares all of her slides and resources in the calendar event!!
www.gcpsk12.org/domain/4613

Diane Neubauer also is an amazing resource and has put together a playlist with how-to videos on her YouTube channel:
www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCaX8Z4AkGZqSI9S3_NEEKfElL9jYNALt

I have some resources that may be of use to you as well. You can subscribe to my YouTube channel to get updates when I upload new videos, but here are some that may be particularly useful as you gear up for the possibility of online teaching:

Turning slides into images and using them as backgrounds: 
youtu.be/0Ykur2Sg754

Using flippity randomizers to create groups and for creating game and brain break selectors​: 
youtu.be/io9UJaUzIaw

​Using backgrounds and images for storytelling: 
youtu.be/v2sEho6IM0Y

You can subscribe to my YouTube channel Dmsspanish here:  
www.youtube.com/c/Dmsspanish/​   

My slides from the classes that I taught this week:
drive.google.com/drive/folders/1w0Twmrt9tobG-KUjCLQVjJ11VwCp8f-v?usp=sharing

Storytelling extensions and activities: 

drive.google.com/file/d/1hNuhtRwj_7HncBfTz2_duOdWeu_OYcOy/view?usp=sharing

Brain Breaks and other games:
drive.google.com/file/d/139zIlii57NZfG_8bSvqw6FvbfFXbJIau/view?usp=sharing​

My reflections: 

On my teaching... I went too fast and probably covered too much. Hindsight. If I were teaching them next week, I would stay right where I was for quite a while and play with the language that I had already introduced and take the time to taste it and savor it before adding anything else and there are so many ways to do that!
My setup included an external camera and 2 monitors for my computer. That has proved itself invaluable and I highly recommend it. I had a white board, but had no good way to display it and so, did not use it. I need to rethink my setup if this is to be long term. As I move forward, I will find a way to place it in my camera shot, as I believe that it will slow me down and give me more opportunity to play with the language that we are using.

On the situation we find ourselves in... We CI teachers are relationship builders. It is how we do what we do and why it works. All of us are asking how we will start a year off teaching and not knowing students or classes of students and how we will connect. I was given a class of students this week, none of whom I knew prior to the class and I quickly knew bits and pieces about them and felt connections with them and shared and giggled and built community. The time spent connecting before class as well contributed to our connection and by the end of the week, it was sad to say goodbye to each other. So, it is possible to connect... maybe not as easy and maybe not as we would want, but possible. We learned and we connected and we survived as will you this year! Stay positive! There is a community of teachers that feel what you are feeling and that will support you. Take the time to reach out when you need help. Take the time to rest when you need rest and take the time to acknowledge that you are doing the best that you can do and that is enough. And when you can't do something, give yourself permission to say no...here is the most important part...DO IT WITHOUT APOLOGY!

I wish you joy and health and all good things this coming year! Look for the good...it's there!

I am somewhat renegade in how I do things in my class. I like to freestyle and see where the cards fall as I go. This means that I have to always be ready for the unexpected and ready to deal with it. This means that things happen,good and bad, and we have to be ready to embrace them both and accept them as opportunities for everyone to learn, stretch and grow.

Yesterday, I was asking a story. I had some illustrations and had not planned to use actors (I was asking 3 separate stories yesterday between all of my classes and was allowing myself space to breath by not planning to include actors in this one story.)however, as the story started to roll, I felt that the actors were really needed and would make it so much more fun. I didn't ask for actors. I simply addressed one of my students (who was already actively participating and enjoying the story)by the name of the character and pulled him in with me(14:30 in the video). The story was about a boy and, over the course of the story, 3 girls being interested in him for ridiculous reasons. As the girls became a part of the story one by one, I decided to have all boy actors. It would add to the silly and take away from the awkward potential if I had to pick the one girl who really wanted to act and is really awkward in her relationships with everyone in class. (This would not be a story line that I could protect her in if reactions to her behavior were off.) So all boys were acting like love struck girls. It was going really well. Everyone was engaged in the audience. Actors were having fun, but as the story progressed and we got to the last girl (who is really a boy, but supposed to be a girl) and she declares how handsome the main character is (17:30), the main student actor says repeatedly, "No. That's gay!"(17:34)(17:38)(17:40)

Did you hear the needle scratch across the record and everything stop? ( It stopped in my head, but it didn’t really stop! 😳)
I heard it and it did. He said it 3 times. I hoped it would end, but he repeated it. At 17:40 he says it for the third time and I give him my hand signal to stop.

This was my problem. I made it and I did not read my actor correctly, because as I replay the scene in my head I can tell that he is getting uncomfortable and he is not sure what to do or how to react, because just like all kids, what others think of him is sooooo important. So, what did he do? He said something hurtful to other people to protect himself. He needed to protect himself. So, there is my failure...I didn't protect him and he didn't have the right tools and had to protect himself when he felt that he needed to.

Lesson learned for me...I will do better next time.

This needs to be dealt with, and while his words were unkind, hurtful and hateful they were also fearful. I could also add that they were culturally triggered as well with a student that is trying to find his way with the USA as his home fairly recently and to fit in. I would gain NOTHING by slicing him down in class. There is too much fighting going on in this country. Everyone wants to fight about anything. But a word spoken in love is much more powerful than a harsh word.


“Hate can not drive out hate; only love can do that.”
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.


At 17:42, as I watch the tape I can clearly remember how fast my gears were turning to find the right way to address this without hurting him. I think you can see it on the tape as well. In my head it went on FOREVER, but on the tape it is a flash in the pan. It probably affected me more than anyone else.

My body language here is intentional. I do not turn and face him until I am clear in my head how I will act. I do not engage him until I am ready for him. Once I decide, I make sure he knows not to say the word again by turning straight in to face him and getting into his bubble a little so that we can have a somewhat private eye contact and understanding(17:46). I say to him firmly in Spanish, “He is a GIRL. He is a GIRL.” And he settles down. We were able to finish the story successfully and the class stayed on track.

Once class ended, as students were leaving, I called him over to sit next to me on a chair. And I had a private calm and caring conversation with him. I was able to empathize with how I had made him feel uncomfortable with the situation and then called upon his ability to 1. Empathize about what his words might make people feel and 2. Know what his belief system says and 3. Know that striking out at others in hate is not ok. In my class, We love everyone, we include everyone, we judge no one and when we mess up, we try again.


So, that big problem might be considered an epic fail by some, but I see it as an opportunity to educate students who may never hear this message from anyone else and an opportunity to assess myself and see my strengths and weaknesses and to be better at what I do.
​

I love telling stories (story-asking, story-telling, class created stories from scratch)and actors are the icing on the cake...until they go renegade.

Yesterday's class was a perfect example of that in my class and I actually have it on video (link at the bottom of this post). The students were rowdy. When class started there was a random student just sitting on the stool in the front of my class. This is always an open invitation for me to talk to them and connect with them in Spanish. It is as if they give me a personal permission slip to connect. So, I do. Then another student took over my calendar talk. He wanted to output. So, of course I let him and he did a great job. The energy was BUZZING. That is good, but it requires me to be extra on my toes as we move forward. It is time for the story. I ask the student sitting on the stool at the front of my room if he wants to act today and he confirms that he does. I tell him what roles we need to fill and as students volunteer I allow him to choose who will play which parts.

There are rules for actors. They move when you move them, have the props that you allow them and speak what you tell them to speak. They are glorified puppets that add depth and fun to a story and allow you to investigate 1st and 2nd person in a story that would generally only be in third person.

Side note: I have described myself as running a tight loose ship in my classroom and that is the most accurate description I can think of as my class is HIGH ENERGY! I allow my students as much freedom as possible, but my boundaries are hard and fast. With the younger students, I find that it is harder to give as much freedom, because the boundary line becomes blurred for them. Yet, I still do it, because I teach them where the line is, but I have to be willing again and again to back them up to the line and re-draw it if they can't see it clearly enough. I don't assign seats, but they know that I have a chart made and can assign seats at a moment's notice if they are disrupting the class. I fire actors and when I remind them of that, the gasp of horror (as if I have slapped them) is enough to show how much they love being actors and don’t want to loose that opportunity. We speak Spanish and if they are blurting in English everything stops and we re-set. The rules of the game are clear. The follow-through is consistent.

Back to today with the actors, I had 2 students that were WIRED. I spoke calmly to call their attention. I placed a hand on a shoulder. I did my musical directer cut sign (curl fingers into a fist. 14:50 on video) and yet they continued to push. As the story unfolded and gained momentum, two of the actors grew increasingly unruly. What were my choices? 1. Allow them to derail my whole class and make it impossible for me to accomplish what I had planned or 2. Stop and do a hard reset. Name the behavior. Tell the problem causers that I was the one in control and would remain in control and that I would like them to continue to participate, but if that needed to change it could.

I chose the hard reset (15:02 in the video). This was a quick, decisive and assertive move by me. It was a flash in the pan. It took maybe fifteen seconds, and then we were right back in. Here is the key, I went on like nothing happened. I expected them to respect my boundaries, because I respect them. I didn't harp on it. I said what needed to be done and moved on without looking back AND as if nothing had happened.

At the end of the class, I approached this particular student (28:38 in the video) and told him that I love him and am proud of him for continuing to act and changing the behavior and brought closure to the incident. I told him that I was the teacher and it was my job to be in control of the class and that I love how much he wants to participate, but we just have to be more careful to stay inside the boundaries. He responded well, because I have done a great deal of relationship building with these kids. I can put a hand on a shoulder and lean in and tell a kid that I need them to not distract my class like they did yesterday and they will nod their head, apologize and we move on.

I do run a tight, loose ship. The kids know that they are here to play, have fun and learn, but they also know that I mean what I say, will correct them , move on and not hold their behavior against them. I, as the teacher, know that they will occasionally test boundaries or just have a bad day. We will work this process together to build a class that we are all comfortable in.

A friend posted on facebook today about a game she used to play as a child. Apparently, all little girls were playing this game, but I was way too busy outside playing fun stuff with the boys to have ever come across it. When I saw the post my brain immediately exploded with ideas of using it in class. For any of us that enjoy doing open-ended stories with our students but wrestle with ways to select our details, this might be just the solution and fun to boot!

Here is how the game is played: 
1.Choose your categories. The traditional categories are who you marry, number of kids, where you live, what car you drive what you live in (Mansion, Apartment, Shack or House....thus the title of the game MASH) I am tweaking all of the categories to revolve around creating a story. 
2.Choose your magic number. There are many ways to choose your number -- you can close your eyes and dot the paper until someone tells you to stop and then count how many dots you have, or tell the other person to close their eyes while you draw a spiral (from inside to outside) on the bottom half of the page. The other person should say "STOP" when they want you to stop drawing (they can open their eyes now.) Count from outside to inside the number of lines that you drew. It can help to draw a line through the center of the spiral and count how many times that line crosses your spiral. The number that you come up with is your magic number.
 

3.Start going around your paper. Using your magic number, start counting off items on your list and every time you land on an item when you hit your magic number you cross it off.
4.Cross off the item you land on and start to count again.
5. Keep going around the paper and skip over crossed off slots.
6. Circle your final choices in each category. As you keep going around the paper crossing things off, your list in each category will get smaller and smaller until you have only one selection in each category.

​From here, we take our final selections in each category and go about putting the story together as a class.  ​

My students loved doing our story this way. It was a familiar and fun way to do a class story. Not all of them knew the game but many did and the rest caught on very quickly and got caught up in the fun of which possibilities would be chosen with the magic number. 

I will share 2 video clips (first is a first year class Mash begins at the 2:30 point of the video and the second is a 3rd year class Mash begins at about the 8:00 point of the video)of us doing the activity and the beginning of weaving the story. With this particular story, we as a class created a character that is a monster in class on Monday and today was story day. We used MASH to create the basic boundaries of our story, which we will conclude tomorrow. I envision doing this again in a variety of ways. We could create stories including the main character as a category where they would list previously created characters from class or using famous people/characters. The categories would be so easy to change and adjust to your story needs. 

This was such a fun activity for my students as well as me. I hope you try it or it sparks some new ideas for your classroom!

101 is a fast and easy game. It is similar to Sr. Wooly's 99 game, although this game is played with 1 di instead of cards. I group students into 2's, 3's or 4's depending upon how long I want the game to take. The smaller the group, the faster the game. This game is intended to practice numbers in a fun way. Students take turns rolling the di and each person has to add their total roll to what previous students contributed, with the number getting bigger and bigger. The person who has to go over the number 101 is out. If there are more than two students playing, a new round would begin and rounds would be played until only one person remains (This is why pairs makes it a quicker game.)Here is the only twist to the game and that is that students can decide when they roll a number if it will be a 5 or a 50; a 6 or a 60; a 1 or a 10, etc. Obviously, at some point, the number gets close enough to 101 that they will only have one number option or they will get out. If you play this game in pairs and have dice at the ready, it only takes 2-3 

Whole class alternative: I divide the class into 2-3 teams and we play as a class, eliminating teams instead of individual students.

I hope your students enjoy!
​

I have “dabbled” in special person interviews for several years now. I would do them when I had extra time or when I didn’t want to start a new story right away, but I have never fully committed to the process, it just got my time scraps...until this year.

This year I have made special person part of my year’s goals and I give the bulk of two days each week to special person interviews and follow-up activities which is primarily write and discuss. I look at it on paper and think that it really doesn’t seem so exciting, and it doesn’t look too meaty in my lesson plans, but it is ALWAYS exciting and it is ALWAYS solid and meaty input!

I’m not doing anything new. I am doing exactly what Bryce Hedstrom clearly explains on his website, which I highly recommend as a resource. Why is it working so well? Not because of any magic I am weaving....although I am a little bit silly 😜 , but because of the topic of discussion. We are talking about the people they are most interested in, them! And for them it is magical. So, they invest and when they invest, it pays off dividends.

What is my game plan?

1. I use a power point presentation to help guide me. I go renegade as soon as I hit a sweet spot that they want to talk more about, but the power point helps me redirect myself if I get stuck or run dry on questions. There are so many free power point presentations out there as well as ones that you can get on Teachers pay teachers inexpensively. I have all of them, but in the end have created one that works for me.

2. I have discovered not to make it my last activity, because that puts time pressure on and you need the ability to ride the wave if it is a good one without worrying about wrapping it up to do a write and discuss. I do my beginning calendar routine on the days we do special person and then we jump in. The best plan is not to plan other activities for my forty minute class, because special person WILL FILL IT!

3. I ride the wave and jump off before it is flat. Leave on a high note! My interviews are usually 10-15 minutes long. Long enough to learn a bunch, laugh a lot and leave them wanting more!

4.. I always include at least a couple/few questions that will get me repetitions on structures I am using that week. Let’s get the most out of this interview and the PQA!

5. I respect the vibe of the student that I am interviewing. I always say, “Know your audience.” It is crucial to know your audience in this situation and you must go carefully until you do, so that this activity is a safe and enjoyable one!

6.We start the next class with a quick special person quiz. I regularly remind them that I am quizzing them on what they know about the special person and that Spanish is simply the vehicle that they are using to communicate that to me. Students correct each other’s papers. As long as they can understand the sentence without guessing, I give credit. I read them over, but do not correct them. The progress over the last few weeks is inspiring! It’s just further support that meaningful repetition and exposure to input works! They don’t need me to correct their papers, they are self correcting.

I have done this since the first week of school and it is a part of our weekly routine now. Tuesday’s and Thursday’s are special person days and Wednesday and Friday are special person quizzes. Why do I think it is going so well?

1. The proof is in their writing.

2. Each class has a list of students that have booked themselves weeks in advance to be the special person on upcoming Tuesdays and Thursdays to be the special person. There is a waiting list!!!!

3. The sense of community in my class is stronger than ever. These kids are tight groups and it is awesome!

If I could encourage you to try one new CI technique this year, it would be special person. It really is magical.

Stay tuned for my next post which will be how I am making Special person a PBL!