Special person

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!

Special person interview begins at about the 20 minute mark in this video.