Grading: Reward effort or accuracy in High School?

Grading is an issue within our department (7-12). The middle school teachers (and 1 HS teacher) grade homework based on effort. The rest of us in the HS grade based on accuracy. I can see the pros and cons of each way. Because my views on grading based on effort get a little heated, I will save those for last.

Grading based on accuracy, for me, is the only way to go. It does so much to help the students in the long run. Yes, a low homework grade might hurt their ego. They might get mad at you. My students constantly say that I'm "such a hard grader," and "Why can't you just be nice?" Well, I'm providing feedback so you can learn from your mistake. I always write the correct answer on a homework if they get it wrong. Why? So they can see it and read it and learn from it. If I didn't do that, very few are going to take the time to look up the correct answer, especially if they don't like their grade. I usually find those papers balled up on my floor after class. They can be mad, I'm not here to make friends, I'm here to teach them Spanish, and to make sure they learn it correctly. Progress can't be made if they are told they are wrong but not why it is wrong. If a mistake is made, they need to learn why it was a mistake. The majority of kids will learn from their mistake. Not all, but as long as some do, I am happy. I'll keep working on the others.

Another reason I grade based on accuracy is to show that I have high(er) expectations for my students. It takes a few weeks for them to get used to it after having teachers that grade for effort, but almost all of my students rise to the occasion. I find that the few who don't adjust were never committed in the previous years either. In high school, we have the task of setting them up for college, where a wide variety of expectations are held. I would rather over-prepare them than under-prepare them and give them a nasty shock when they start their freshman year.

On to the other point of view. Grading for effort is good for first time learners. I think it's a good idea in the first year of language learning. It helps those who don't quite get it to continue to feel encouraged, and it helps those students who are still struggling to balance the multiple class, multiple teacher schedule to figure out how to do it all. But here's the catch: if you see a consistent error within their homework or classwork, ADDRESS IT!!!! I concede, language learning is difficult for some. They just can't wrap their brains around it. I get it, that's why I don't teach science! So, grading for effort is acceptable for a period of time. However, I can't stress this enough, feedback must be given! If there is no feedback, even just a general, in class "Hey, guys, I noticed a lot of you were writing Ustedes instead of ellos, those mean two different things!" then they can't fix what they have learned incorrectly. Also, make sure they are writing down things that are related to what you are learning, don't just look for pencil marks. At the beginning of one year, I had a kid hand in a class writing activity. It started out using proper vocab and grammar, then it fell off and the kid just wrote some ramble in English about how I'm not going to be reading that part anyways so he was just going to write a bunch of his favorite words. Imagine his surprise when I handed back a ramble of my own about how expectations in the HS are different.

What I'm going to say next may offend some people. I take that risk. But I feel very strongly about these things. And I'm entitled to my opinion. My biggest beef with grading based on effort ALL THE TIME is because the teacher is "too busy." Now I will admit, sometimes I get swamped and I just leaf through an assignment - but just one assignment, and it happens only once or twice a year. In my experience, "too busy" too often means 'I can't finish it within my contracted hours, and I'm not giving up my non-school hours. EVER.' If that is your thought process, then please find another career. I get that teachers can't stay late every day, but once or twice a week isn't going to kill you. Nor is grading at home. Luckily, I can count on my two hands the number of teachers I have known with this mentality. The other definition of "too busy" is that the person really is too busy, being the adviser for 4 clubs, coaching 3 sports a year, and attending every single school function. On top of being married with kids. I love the enthusiasm, but if your personal and professional commitments prevent you from doing your job properly and providing the education and feedback the students need, then you need to change some things in your life. 

There are pros and cons to all sides of the great grading debate. I have my style and my reasons, and others have theirs. Please feel free to comment on your thoughts of the grading process. I'm always open to hearing what others have to say.

Rubrics - my downfall

I have to admit that I have not changed any of my rubrics in years. Lately, I have noticed that something is sorely missing in them. I'm not exactly sure what, though. I don't think they are specific enough, or are inconsistent.

On my rubrics, I have a grammar and spelling section that is set up one of two ways. Some are divided into how many mistakes are made (none, 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, errors hinder comprehension, etc), and some are divided by how bad the mistakes are (excellent work, many errors but comprehensible, errors start to slow reader, etc)

I had to throw appropriateness into the rubric at one point when a couple of bold young men, let's say, decided to test how offended I would get to certain things. You would think that handing in something appropriate would be a given. I haven't really had a problem since. However, maybe my description of the assignment should be more specific and include that, because if you teach high school students, you know that they like to push the boundaries and have their own interpretations of things!

I also found that I didn't edit some things properly. For example, I offer the same type of project for 2 chapters, so I copied and pasted the description from the previous chapter, and I thought I made the appropriate changes in wording. I guess I missed a few!

Found this one with a basic search, and I like the concept! Off to a good start!

I am going to make the rubrics and projects my focus this summer for things that need to be improved. I assign a total of 15 projects to both preps, so I have my work cut out for me. I will start by researching rubrics and make sure that I am 100% sure that I know how to use them to my advantage, I will research what other people use, and ask my coworkers as well. Then I will develop new rubrics that hopefully I can use for years to come!

Game: La Bomba

I was shown a game by a former coworker that is a good for quick review. I'm sure it can be changed and made more challenging without much difficulty. I call it La Bomba because there are bombs in the game that the students are trying to avoid.

I created a 6x6 grid in a word document, labeled the rows A-F going down and the columns 1-6 going across. Then I assign either bombs or a clue to each box. Be very careful to hide your 'answer key' from the kids! They can be such cheaters! And if you are holding it in your hand, hold something behind it so they can't see through - they can totally see where the bombs are, especially if you got all artsy with them! I typically place 8 bombs, you can do fewer or more, though putting in more makes for little review. 8 bombs is already 25% of the board. Hmm, maybe I should change the amount of bombs I use... Anyways, split the class into as many teams as you like. Project a blank bomba board for all to see. Then pick a team to go first. Someone will name a coordinate, and if it's a clue, they answer it and get 10 points if it's correct. If it's a bomb, their score goes to zero, regardless of where it stands. Here's the catch: if they get a clue wrong, they lose 10 points. But do not reveal the answer. Leave the clue open for another team to answer. When all clues are answered (regardless of whether all bombs have been exposed) the team with the highest score wins! This makes a late-game bomb a real heart breaker!

To identify that a team answered a clue correctly, I fill in the box with the color of their choice to indicate that the box is out of play and to indicate which team won the points. Typically, I assign one color to a team and that's the color always used, but if you've got the score keeping under control, then I suppose they can pick any color they want every time. This makes for more fun, as I will describe later.

Sometimes, the kids like to mix things up. I have classes that like to play the game in a non-traditional manner. One way they play is to see which team can hit the most bombs. They get all disappointed when they get a clue. Another thing some like to do is try and create an image through the coloring of the boxes. I have a student who loves telling her class that she still has the fish that her team created last year hanging on the wall of her bedroom. It's up to you if you want to encourage them to do these things, or just let them come up with these strategies on their own.

What I like about this game is its versatility. I can use it for vocab, grammar, or chapter summary. It can be easy, medium, or difficult, depending on how you want to set it up. Games like this one are a great go to when in a pinch, or just need something different because it can fit in anywhere!

Game: Scattergories for Language Learning

This is probably my favorite game to play with the kids. They have so much fun and EVERYONE is involved. It works best as a complete summative review, so probably best used at the beginning or end of the year, or as a filler day.

The official Scattergories logo/ box design. I'm probably breaking some copyright laws. I didn't mean to, officer, honest!

If you've never played Scattergories, then I'll do my best to describe how to play. Every player is given a list of general things (Boy's name, fruit, something hot, type of car, etc) and then a 26 sided die (or is it 20?) is rolled to determine the letter that all the answers to the categories need to start with for that round. Then a timer is set and everyone writes down an answer for each category. When time is up, everyone shares their answers. Points are given for unique responses, so if 2 or more people have the same answer in a category, then that one doesn't count. You play a few rounds and whoever has the most points wins!

Here is my twist on it: I put the kids in groups of 3 or 4 students. The categories are listed in the target language and instead of just nouns or proper names, I include actions, since they can brainstorm infinitive verbs. I also say that if half the teams or more come up with the same answer it doesn't count (so if 3 of 7 teams come up with an answer, it counts, but if 4 teams do, it doesn't.)

I don't have a 26 sided die, so I use this one I found online. It is also an iPad app, but cost 99 cents. There is a free app called 'ScatTools' that includes the randomizer, a timer, and sound effects. I'll be using it next time we play.

I offer this game through my TpT store. It includes 4 category lists.

I will definitely be playing this game again with my students. It is amazing what words they can remember from their years of language learning!

Game: Pesca (Go Fish)

Pesca is a game I like to play within the first day or two of a new vocab unit. It's a simple game and doesn't require too much thinking, which is why I put it at the beginning of a unit. I prefer more complex, thinking games towards the end of a vocab unit.

Basically, I create a MS Publisher document with pictures of vocabulary terms. I print them on card stock, laminate the pages, cut up the cards, and put each set in a baggie. I make 40 cards per set, which is 20 vocabulary terms.

The objective? Just like Go Fish!: Get as many pairs of matching cards as possible.

This is how it's played: Kids partner up and receive the baggie of cards. They shuffle them and deal 5 cards to each player. The remaining cards become the 'fishing pond' to pick from when they are told to go fish. Once everything is ready, one person goes first by asking their partner if they have a particular card in their hand. The partner either says yes and hands it over, or tells the other player to go fish. This goes back and forth until all cards are matched. All matches are removed from their hands and set aside, but keep each players' matches separate for scoring reasons.

Something I've learned over the years: You need to have the kids establish rules regarding taking another turn. My students typically play that if your partner gets a match, or if you pick up a match when you are told to go fish, you get to go again. Some people will disagree and say that it was luck, your turn is done. It all depends on the players. However, this must be established ahead of time, or you will deal with arguments and accusations that "it's not fair!".

I love that this is a game for all Foreign Languages. Because the cards are pictures, you can tailor it for your vocabulary list, and just change the words the kids say while playing. For Spanish, we use some basic vocabulary while playing: ¿Tienes...? (Do you have...?) Sí. (yes) Pesca. (go fish, familiar command form) Gané. (I won) etc. Simple vocab, but it works. You can kick it up a notch, offering the students a wider variety of things to say, such as: Busco... (I'm looking for...), Sí, lo/la/los/las tengo (Yes I have it, them), etc.

I have started putting some of my Go Fish cards on my Teachers Pay Teachers store. I haven't posted a lot because I want to make the cards as generic as possible, and my cards have vocabulary terms from my specific source. But if you can create your own template, then you are well on your way!

Game centered classroom

I know that I teach High School, but I think that playing a lot of games in class is really important. High School students are told time and again that it's time to get serious, preparation for college is very important, they're practically adults. I like to think of my class as their fun, relaxing class within a day of more serious, focused classes. But we do a lot of learning too! Although we don't play games every day, I like to make sure that there is some kind of relaxing, non-teacher led component to each day. Plus, Spanish teachers are stereo typically the crazy teachers, right?

I have a lot of go-to games. My students are highly opinionated about which games they like and dislike. Every game is usually split down the middle, unfortunately. You can't please them all!

So I think I will post a game at a time, and post links here as an all-inclusive list of games I use in my classroom. I hope some are new, though others may be repeats for some people.

Pesca (Go Fish)
Bomba (kind of like Minesweeper)
Barco de Batalla (Battleship)
Matamoscas (Flyswatter)
Scattergories
Jeopardy
Deal or No Deal
ZAP! (Bazinga)
Tengo (Bingo)
Marker Boards

Color coding is how I survive!

I have two color coding systems that help me through my school year. I'm going to talk about how I color code my classes.

To start, the color coding is for my benefit only. I don't think most of the kids have caught on to the fact that they are in a specific colored class. Some have. But most haven't.

When I first started teaching at my current school, I had 3 classes of level 2 and 2 classes of level 3. In my head, I wanted to keep the classes colored by primary/secondary, since I had all 3 primary colors. But for a few years, it just seemed like my schedule kept changing every year, and this system was getting crazy. Finally, I just said forget it to the primary/secondary coloring and simply assigned colors to the classes in rainbow order (RYGBP). And that's how it has been since. I should note that since yellow isn't exactly a paper friendly color, black is its alternative when needed.

So, what do I use the colors for? Well, the folders, of course. But I should explain how I use the folders. Folders are for graded work and unfinished work, like when a student is absent or didn't finish a quiz. Left side for unfinished, right side for handing back graded work. On a side note, when I have a power grading session and have a lot to hand back, I get out the seating chart and organize their papers so that all I have to do is hand it to them as I walk in between the desks. Saves a bunch of time. I got that idea from a student teacher I had.

I also color code my seating chart cards. I give new seats every 5 weeks. I like to mix things up! The color coding of the classes is helpful for substitutes because if they know Period 1 is the Red class, they know to look for all things red.

I color code their names on quizzes they are absent for. I color code their names on the reward pesos I hand out. This year, that has been particularly useful, as I have 2 students with the same first name and last initial, but are in different classes. I color code their names when I itemize or need to organize their college credit paperwork. Should I mention that sometimes, when it's convenient, I even use their class color paper clips? Purple is so hard to find though! Helps for when you have papers you need to refer to but need to stay together in the long term, like Parent night papers or permission slips. Instead of leafing through them all, you know which stack to grab because you know which class the kid is in.

In the end, it might be a little over the top, but for me, I need that sense of 'everything has its place.' There is a 1-on-1 aide who has sat in on my class the last two years, and she has complimented my organization several times. Glad someone appreciates my work since the kids have no idea how I'm running things behind the scenes!

First post!

After perusing a multitude of other Spanish teacher blogs out there, I have decided to start one of my own! This is a third blog that I am writing on, the other two being personal blogs. If my consistency in posting for this blog is like the other two, then I will be sporadic. However, I hope that I post enough information and ideas to make this worthwhile.

A little about myself: I have been teaching Spanish in Upstate NY since 2003. My first year teaching was a one year LTS position at a large suburban HS. It was a good experience for a first year teacher, even though I cried every other day. If I taught at that school now, they wouldn't recognize me! Then I spent two miserable years in a tiny, rural Junior/Senior HS. I hated it there so much that even though I was on a tenure track, I resigned the position. I received no support from the principal or the assistant principals, even though I begged for it. I then took a .8 position at a large suburban/urban Middle School. This was the year that transformed me professionally. I got so much help from the district, my department coworkers were fantastic, and they had a dedicated teacher coach who met with me monthly. It's very unfortunate that the position was a one year contract, and that they failed to explain to me that I had to reapply for the position. I was young and naive and figured I would be automatically considered as a candidate. But as I said, that year was the best for my professional growth, and I will be forever grateful to them.

Because I was not rehired for that position, I decided to expand my search area for my next job hunt, and received a job offer at a high school within the state but in a different region. I have been in this position since 2007. I love my coworkers, both within my department and in the entire building. I couldn't ask to work with a better group of people. The district is a small to medium sized suburban/rural district. We have children of engineers and farmers, doctors and retail workers. It is a very homogeneous district in terms of race, but largely varied in economics.

My intention for this blog is to share any and all thoughts and ideas about lesson planning, learning styles, teaching in general, organization, motivation, and not just for Spanish teachers, but all teachers. I want this blog to have a wide readership. I want new teachers to feel that they are not alone and I want experienced teachers to feel the same, but in a totally different sense! I want to inspire, I want to collaborate, I want to commiserate, I want to express, I want to do it all! I will write about anything and everything that has to do with teaching, so that new teachers can understand the process and experienced teachers can remember how far they've come, and how we all should keep learning. I hope that I accomplish this and will work hard to do so!