SKL Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 (edited) Particularly in a course that has never had assigned homework or outside reading [no textbook / home materials], and meets once a week?  I'm talking about Spanish.  For my kid who has memory problems, it sucks.  I could see a pop quiz to find out if the kids are doing their home reading, or an ungraded one to give the teacher feedback. But just to punish kids who forgot what you talked about a week ago?  PS this is the only grade in Spanish class so far. :/ It's hard to encourage a kid when this kind of stuff happens.  Lucky for her, she has had other exposure to Spanish so she got a C. Otherwise it would have been lower.  Grr... Edited October 2, 2017 by SKL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 Pop quizzes can also be a way to give students an incentive to review their notes from the previous class. She should develop the habit of reviewing her notes and studying vocab. A once a week foreign language class without assigned homework or reading is fairly useless because kids forget. Why is there no homework? Without reviewing between sessions, I don't see how kids are expected to actually learn the language. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted September 21, 2017 Author Share Posted September 21, 2017 Pop quizzes can also be a way to give students an incentive to review their notes from the previous class. She should develop the habit of reviewing her notes and studying vocab. A once a week foreign language class without assigned homework or reading is fairly useless because kids forget. Why is there no homework? Without reviewing between sessions, I don't see how kids are expected to actually learn the language.  I'm not aware that they have class notes for Spanish, but I will ask my kids about this. It's probably a good idea for my kid to start taking them.  I don't know why they don't have homework etc. They should at least have a study guide or something, for a class that impacts the GPA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 I'm not aware that they have class notes for Spanish, but I will ask my kids about this. It's probably a good idea for my kid to start taking them. Â I don't know why they don't have homework etc. They should at least have a study guide or something, for a class that impacts the GPA. I thought your kids were in 6th grade. Why does their GPA matter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted September 21, 2017 Author Share Posted September 21, 2017 I thought your kids were in 6th grade. Why does their GPA matter?  It isn't life or death of course, but it's a motivator for my kids. This kid is also in school sports, so her grades affect her eligibility for that.  They do announce to the whole school who got honor / merit roll (and by elimination, who didn't). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 I'm not aware that they have class notes for Spanish, but I will ask my kids about this. It's probably a good idea for my kid to start taking them.  I don't know why they don't have homework etc. They should at least have a study guide or something, for a class that impacts the GPA.  What does the GPA matter?. They should have notes or something simply because nobody can learn a foreign language from a once a week class with no work in between. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 Does your dd have a textbook or vocabulary lists?  I would encourage her to make flashcards for herself to practice the words every day between class.  Quizlet has a flashcards option and also some games for practicing terms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted September 22, 2017 Author Share Posted September 22, 2017 (edited) I asked my kids about taking notes in Spanish class. They both individually said (so I tend to believe) that they are not allowed to take notes. They are only allowed to bring a pencil to Spanish class, no paper.  No notes, no text, no study guide, no online information, how are they supposed to be prepared for a "pop quiz" ....  While I'm not trying to increase my kids' homework burden, it would be nice to have some review materials to look over on the weekends at least .... Edited September 22, 2017 by SKL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 I asked my kids about taking notes in Spanish class. They both individually said (so I tend to believe) that they are not allowed to take notes. They are only allowed to bring a pencil to Spanish class, no paper.  No notes, no text, no study guide, no online information, how are they supposed to be prepared for a "pop quiz" ....  This is ridiculous. I would bring this up with the school. How are kids supposed to learn a foreign language if they are not allowed to take notes they can review?  Is it possible they misunderstood and it's not that they are not allowed to, but simply not required? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 What do I think of pop quizzes - they are a valid way to assess if kids are learning the material and a way to motivate to study. Â In a good class, it will be known that pop quizzes are a possibility. A good class will also make the material available for students to learn outside of the classroom - whether it is handouts, homework, notes taken in class, etc. If a student isn't allowed to review outside of class then it greatly devalues the class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted September 22, 2017 Author Share Posted September 22, 2017 This is ridiculous. I would bring this up with the school. How are kids supposed to learn a foreign language if they are not allowed to take notes they can review?  Is it possible they misunderstood and it's not that they are not allowed to, but simply not required?  I could ask, but I don't want the kids to get singled out for it ... the teacher doesn't seem all that professional in various ways.  I guess this explains why they have hardly learned any Spanish in the 3 years they have had this teacher. They say the only reason they know as much as they do is because they have been exposed in other ways outside of school.  I think I will ask her to inform me what curriculum she uses so we can review it at home, since the kids say they aren't supposed to take notes in class. Maybe she will correct my kids' misunderstanding and maybe I'll get some useful information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clemsondana Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 The whole 'no notes' thing sounds weird, but to answer the original question, I'm not a fan of pop quizzes but I am a fan of regularly schedule small-stakes quizzes. Without some incentive to study, many students will put it off. If they know that there is a quiz every week, they will usually do a better job staying on top of their work. Unscheduled rare quizzes seem like they may not be representative of what students are actually learning. If they are unscheduled but frequent, that could help motivate students to stay current with their studying and probably serve the same purpose as my preferred 'there's a short quiz every Monday' model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 (edited) I could ask, but I don't want the kids to get singled out for it ... the teacher doesn't seem all that professional in various ways.  I guess this explains why they have hardly learned any Spanish in the 3 years they have had this teacher. They say the only reason they know as much as they do is because they have been exposed in other ways outside of school.  I think I will ask her to inform me what curriculum she uses so we can review it at home, since the kids say they aren't supposed to take notes in class. Maybe she will correct my kids' misunderstanding and maybe I'll get some useful information.  But the real issue is not that your kids don't have review materials and that you just need to get the curriculum so you can drill them at home. The real issue is that this teacher and the school do not use best practices for teaching a foreign language, and that is something that needs to be discussed with the school because it affects all students.  If I recall correctly, it's even a private school. You are a paying customer. I would not hesitate to bring substandard instruction to the school's attention, in case they are unaware and did not endorse this. If the FL classes are scheduled for once a week only, however, it seems to be a school endorsed practice that has little academic value. Is there a parent advisory board or similar organization? Edited September 22, 2017 by regentrude 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 If the instructor verifies that she doesn't allow note-taking, ask her to provide vocabulary lists and handouts with grammar rules and verb conjugation charts, etc., for students to study at home to help with retention. Â If you don't get anywhere with the teacher, bring this up with the principal. Â If students are going to be graded, there should be some sort of learning materials available for students to use for review between classes. Â Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted September 22, 2017 Author Share Posted September 22, 2017 But the real issue is not that your kids don't have review materials and that you just need to get the curriculum so you can drill them at home. The real issue is that this teacher and the school do not use best practices for teaching a foreign language, and that is something that needs to be discussed with the school because it affects all students.  If I recall correctly, it's even a private school. You are a paying customer. I would not hesitate to bring substandard instruction to the school's attention, in case they are unaware and did not endorse this. If the FL classes are scheduled for once a week only, however, it seems to be a school endorsed practice that has little academic value. Is there a parent advisory board or similar organization?  I think the school views Spanish as a "nice-to-have" at this level, and isn't too concerned about it. Which would not really bother me if this were not a graded subject. The first couple years they did it, it was not graded.  I guess I'll see what the teacher says and maybe ask some other parents what they think. Maybe the teacher will re-think her "pop quiz" method and maybe she'll distribute some materials for home study.  While it's true that this is a private school, I tend to view that as "they can do what they want to us." I haven't yet graduated to "they need to care what I think." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted September 22, 2017 Author Share Posted September 22, 2017 OK, I sent an email to the teacher. Let's see what her take is. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 Talk to the teacher. Ours expected auditory learning via immersion. I knew my kid was in trouble when he hadn't figured out yo soy amd tu eres after eight weeks. I downloaded worksheets from another school district using same text. He needed to see it as well as hear it and write it to learn it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Have kids -- will travel Posted September 25, 2017 Share Posted September 25, 2017 What did the teacher say?  Foreign language once a week is a waste of time, unless you're very diligently studying in the week between classes.  Pop quizzes in general can be a useful tool, but I'd not have expected them early in sixth grade, honestly. I felt as a student that they were often a lazy teacher's solution to kids not caring about the class, but that was generally because the teacher never maintained consistency in pop quizzes (and the good teachers made it clear that your learning was your problem and didn't need pop quiz threats to get kids in line).  Foreign languages don't need pop quizzes anyways. Announce the quiz and do it every two weeks. Foreign language classes need lots of quizzes because cramming is utterly ineffective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted September 29, 2017 Author Share Posted September 29, 2017 Looks like the teacher is not going to respond to my email. :/  I asked another parent about it, but it wasn't even on her radar. She is happy if her kid gets Cs, and has bigger things to worry about.  I hate to take this kind of thing to the principal, but I don't know what to do at this point. I mean, it's not a huge deal, but you all are right - why bother at all with a weekly class that does not allow study between classes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted September 30, 2017 Share Posted September 30, 2017 You might forward the email you already sent to her with a "maybe you missed this" note to ask her again - she may not be avoiding you on purpose. If you don't get an answer this time, though, calling the school to ask to speak with her directly would be an appropriate response.  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathnerd Posted October 1, 2017 Share Posted October 1, 2017 Looks like the teacher is not going to respond to my email. :/  I asked another parent about it, but it wasn't even on her radar. She is happy if her kid gets Cs, and has bigger things to worry about.  I hate to take this kind of thing to the principal, but I don't know what to do at this point. I mean, it's not a huge deal, but you all are right - why bother at all with a weekly class that does not allow study between classes? Bring up your email and questions at the parent-teacher conference where they discuss her performance for the trimester. That is an occasion where they cannot evade you :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternalsummer Posted October 1, 2017 Share Posted October 1, 2017 For me, a teacher that doesn't respond to email is a much bigger deal than a teacher who gives pop quizzes on non-review-able material. No matter what I'd emailed her about, I'd *definitely* send it again, copying the first one within the text of the email if possible, and cc:ing the principal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted October 2, 2017 Author Share Posted October 2, 2017 Bring up your email and questions at the parent-teacher conference where they discuss her performance for the trimester. That is an occasion where they cannot evade you :)  Not sure I will be able to meet the Spanish teacher for P-T meetings - the way our school does it, generally you get to meet with 2 teachers (my kids have about 10 different teachers). Maybe I will figure out a way though. Having 2 kids in the same class can be an advantage. :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrganicJen Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 I do something that is similar to pop quizzes and I find it works well. When there is an assignment that lasts over a week or more like memorizing a poem for example, I will just randomly have my child show me what they know so far to make sure they aren't just waiting until the last minute to study. I find it has worked well and keeps him more on top of things.  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted October 2, 2017 Author Share Posted October 2, 2017 (edited) Teacher responded this morning:  I am so sorry it is taking me this long to respond to your message. I really do appreciate you wanting to work with ____ on Spanish at home. Let me first explain to you the nature of classwork and this quiz, and then give you a resource that ____ can work on independently at home.The girls are right; we do not take notes in Spanish class. I also intentionally do not assign homework (unless classwork is not completed during class.) This is first and foremost because I believe that children need to have lots of time to play, eat dinner with their family, and get a good night's sleep when they get home from school. They have been working hard at school all day, and too many kids have homework to do when they get home, then scheduled activities, and miss out on other important aspects of life as a kid. That said, I do have high expectations for students while they are in class. Students do a lot of reading and listening when they are in class, and are expected to let me know if they do not understand what we are doing in class using a hand signal that we have established. About once a month, we have pop quizzes at the end of class, so that students can prove what they are learning and be held accountable for doing their part during class. There is not an expectation that students study outside of class time for these quizzes (see reasons above). I do ask several times in class if there is any confusion with what we're reading or saying, but I will try in the future to specifically check in with ____, since she is struggling and is not necessarily someone who will stop me and let me know.We focus on learning the highest frequency words used in Spanish (rather than words in a textbook) because we have such limited time in class, and we need these words to be able to understand and create sentences. Here is a set of online flashcards (which I will update and add to) that will help ____ learn more of the highest frequency words used in Spanish: www.cram.com/flashcards/5th-and-6th-grade-vocabulary-6354652Thanks again for your concern and patience. I will do my best to help ___ moving forward, and feel free to contact me or meet with me at Parent-Teacher conferences if you have other concerns or questions. I hope these explanations will help give you and insight into what we're doing in class and how to help ___.   ETA: My view is that pop quizzes (for grade) are still not fair in this situation. I would also add that my kid goes to some pull-outs and sometimes they happen during Spanish class. So even ignoring her memory issues, she will miss some of the class material through no fault of her own. I plan to point that out to the teacher in the hope that she give some consideration for that. Edited October 2, 2017 by SKL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathnerd Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 I think that the teacher is doing her best given her philosophies about teaching and homework. Now that she knows that your daughter has memory issues, it seems that she will follow up with her in class to ensure that she gets personal attention. The flashcards look like a great resource and you can try to get her to use DuoLingo Spanish - it has similar vocabulary and is portable, so can be done in the car or on the bus ride. Â Request the teacher at Parent-Teacher conference to give your daughter extra help before or after school to make up for the missed Spanish periods. That seems like a fair request. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmrich Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 I still do not understand that she does not want them to take notes or study. This does not seem like a class. It is just a hang-out. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted October 2, 2017 Author Share Posted October 2, 2017 I think that the teacher is doing her best given her philosophies about teaching and homework. Now that she knows that your daughter has memory issues, it seems that she will follow up with her in class to ensure that she gets personal attention. The flashcards look like a great resource and you can try to get her to use DuoLingo Spanish - it has similar vocabulary and is portable, so can be done in the car or on the bus ride.  Request the teacher at Parent-Teacher conference to give your daughter extra help before or after school to make up for the missed Spanish periods. That seems like a fair request.  My daughter usually rides the bus to and from school, so there isn't time for extra help unless I drive her there in the a.m. which would take an extra half hour out of my day. I would rather spend some time at home working on Spanish with my kid. Or better yet, letting her study on her own as is age-appropriate.  I'll also ask my kid to be more attentive in class. I could see her not hanging on her teacher's every word if she did not know her whole grade was going to be based on pop quizzes. Also, for her, auditory learning is her weakest link. Which likely means that she will appear to be uninterested in class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 The teacher's explanation makes sense. What does not make sense is the once per week class which obviously has the blessing of the school. Â I would drop it. Really, what does the grade matter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted October 2, 2017 Author Share Posted October 2, 2017 The grade does matter to us. If this C is the only thing keeping the kid off the honor roll, I think that stinks. I would be OK with a B. I would be OK with a C or lower if due to the kid neglecting her school work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 (edited) I have been following this thread but had not weighed in until now. TBH, I was assuming (hoping really) that your daughters perhaps misunderstood the teacher's instructions. Apparently that is not the case.  While I appreciate that the teacher wants kids to have more time at home to actually live their lives, not just do homework, she apparently does not understand how most people learn. Once a week foreign language classes with NO notes allowed to be taken, NO homework, NO easy way to review the material covered means a LOT is going to get forgotten, at least for a lot of kids. I would absolutely NOT remember much from week to week if I was only being exposed for an extremely limited amount of time, not allowed to take any notes in class, and I was only exposed once per week. I think the teacher is wrong in approaching a foreign language class this way, unless it was only for a fun side thing for some general exposure with no grade tied to it. Since that is not the case I would be very unhappy with the situation.  I hope you can find a solution. Good luck and best wishes. Edited October 2, 2017 by OneStepAtATime 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 The decision for Spanish to be a once-a-week class is on the administration, surely not the teacher's decision. Given that this is a once-a-week class, how many different classes does this one teacher teach? Either she must be very part-time, or teach a rather large number of classes. If this is true, I can see why it took a while for her to get back to you, and why maybe she is reluctant to assign homework which she'd need to grade.   As far as GPA, is it weighted? Doesn't seem right to have a five-day-a-week English class have the same weight as a once-a-week Spanish class, but I don't know if middle schools are that sophisticated in their GPA calculation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 The decision for Spanish to be a once-a-week class is on the administration, surely not the teacher's decision. Given that this is a once-a-week class, how many different classes does this one teacher teach? Either she must be very part-time, or teach a rather large number of classes. If this is true, I can see why it took a while for her to get back to you, and why maybe she is reluctant to assign homework which she'd need to grade.   As far as GPA, is it weighted? Doesn't seem right to have a five-day-a-week English class have the same weight as a once-a-week Spanish class, but I don't know if middle schools are that sophisticated in their GPA calculation. I get what you are saying. I agree, this is on the administration for only scheduling it once a week. Not allowing the kids to have ways to reinforce what they are learning is on the teacher.  Even if the teacher has zillions of classes to teach so she doesn't want to have to deal with checking homework, why can't the students take notes in this class? How does taking notes harm anything? If she is worried about wasting precious, extremely limited class time, then have some other way to reinforce what they are learning in a consistent way through maybe a hand out or a link to a website or something.   I'd be in serious trouble trying to remember much of ANYTHING with no notes, no reinforcement at all during the rest of the week then boom, suddenly a week later I have a pop quiz. Frankly, I'd be screwed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 Even if the teacher has zillions of classes to teach so she doesn't want to have to deal with checking homework, why can't the students take notes in this class? How does taking notes harm anything?   The lack of notes is, ridiculous. I view note-taking as an important skill to learn, not matter what the actual subject matter is, and students need to learn the different ways to take notes for different kinds of classes. If, by design, the students aren't going to learn hardly any Spanish, they might as well learn how to take notes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted October 3, 2017 Author Share Posted October 3, 2017 ..  As far as GPA, is it weighted? Doesn't seem right to have a five-day-a-week English class have the same weight as a once-a-week Spanish class, but I don't know if middle schools are that sophisticated in their GPA calculation.  GPA is not weighted. These once-monthly pop quizzes in a once-a-week class with no homework will affect the GPA the same as the math or English classes that meet daily and have daily homework and announced-in-advance tests.  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 Its good flashcards are provided and reading is done in class, but its not going to help enough b/c your dc isn't an auditory  learner. Trying going through the deck 5x per day as if it was a spelling list -- see it, say it, spell it, use it in a sentence --  and 1x per day, use 20 minutes to write out the terms preferably in a humorous sentence of her choosing. also, review the alphabet so she can use her phonics knowledge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted October 3, 2017 Author Share Posted October 3, 2017 The problem is that I don't know which words they are going to test on. She gave me a link to all of the 5th and 6th grade words. I don't see my kid knowing all of them before the next pop quiz.  And we are not going to spend an hour a day doing random practice for a 45 minute per week class. FIrst of all we don't have the time most weekdays, secondly it isn't fair and my kid won't go for it. I will try to find a sensible way to practice on on weekends and maybe Tuesdays. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternalsummer Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 It's dumb. But I thought having how good you were at basketball be a part of your middle school GPA (equivalent with math) was stupid too, so I guess to each his own. Schools are weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 What if you printed a copy of the lists and sent it in with your dd for the teacher to highlight the words that have been worked on each week so your dd could learn those? Do you think she'd go for that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Have kids -- will travel Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 It's dumb. But I thought having how good you were at basketball be a part of your middle school GPA (equivalent with math) was stupid too, so I guess to each his own. Schools are weird.  Well said. Can we call the whole middle school GPA part weird too? We were thankfully spared from that back in my day.  Which was good because I got C in homemaking in middle school. (Was deserved and is probably better than what I would get if my current homemaking skills were assessed) :lol:  Sorry, OP, seems like a rough situation without a great solution. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 I could not learn a thing without taking and reading notes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 (edited) The problem is that I don't know which words they are going to test on. She gave me a link to all of the 5th and 6th grade words. I don't see my kid knowing all of them before the next pop quiz.  And we are not going to spend an hour a day doing random practice for a 45 minute per week class. FIrst of all we don't have the time most weekdays, secondly it isn't fair and my kid won't go for it. I will try to find a sensible way to practice on on weekends and maybe Tuesdays.  She won't know them before the next pop quiz...but your goal is not getting a grade, it's learning. You want her to be ready for the time when she takes Foreign Language as a daily class, and you want her to know her root words as its helpful in lit. When January rolls around, you want her to know enough that she starts picking out words in class, and learning a few new ones.  The teacher can prioritize the word list for you. Right now, just ask your dd what she'd like to learn. Colors, body parts, food, clothing? Pick a category and about ten words. Then add the verbs so she knows the ones she hears in class... yo soy, tu eres, el/ella es; same for gustar and decir.  No, its not fair. But the school is delivering the majority of students knowing this vocab to their first year of FL. Your dd will be at a disadvantage, because the teacher that year is asumming review of basics, not new learning.  Your unprepared dd will be overwhelmed. I found this out the hard way...only it wasn't a level playing field, as those in the know were the teacher's children who took the class as afterschool enrichment, and of course the native speakers. Work now, work over the summer, or work later, but that is how it is when you don't have an auditory learner and most of the teaching is auditory. Edited October 4, 2017 by Heigh Ho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted October 4, 2017 Author Share Posted October 4, 2017 I'm not aware that FL in 9th grade assumes prior knowledge on day one.  I sure hope that in 9th grade they use a textbook the kids can study at home. Plus they meet daily.  I have some ideas to work on this. Hopefully it will be enough. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 I'm not aware that FL in 9th grade assumes prior knowledge on day one.  I sure hope that in 9th grade they use a textbook the kids can study at home. Plus they meet daily.  I have some ideas to work on this. Hopefully it will be enough.  You will need to ask an in the know person..not the teacher. I can tell you from experience that the pace will be too fast for a newb when the majority are coming in with the basics. They will be the A students learnilng more vocab words, because they have the basics down. Your dc will be the C student learning the basics the others already know, unless she has hours of study time to gap fill.  In public school, textbooks aren't helpful, because textbooks don't teach, the teacher has that job. The books have grammar rules and vocab lists, but you need supplements for practice. Sometimes the school will give you the supplements, but mostly that's after the child fails the first quarter. Meeting daily doesn't matter when your child is not an auditory learner...more practice in a method that doesn't work is useless.  Good luck with your ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted October 4, 2017 Author Share Posted October 4, 2017 Well just for context, my kid does have some knowledge of Spanish from outside of school. She is not a quick learner of new material, but she does have some basics. She was an A student in 4th and 5th Spanish, but the teacher used to give the kids study guides and announce the tests in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 5, 2017 Share Posted October 5, 2017 (edited) That's good, because one of the challenges of middle school is learning how to learn in an environment that is increasingly auditory. I learned to contact the teacher on day one, and grab the supplements at open house in week 2. My visual learner does not memorize what he hears in FL -- it goes too fast for him to process, although he can pick out words that he has learned on his own. He benefits from 1:1 with a tutor for FL, as Common Core expectations have slowed FL down -- they do what our gen did in two years in three now, so staying with the class at the B level is doable with one study hall a week with the tutor and the normal out of class study schedule. That out of class studying can't be all online flashcards w/pronunciation though...its got to include the writing and thinking. I was able to convince the lad because scouting had given him training on how to successfully teach all learners...and they don't beleive that telling the student repeatedly is enough. The supplements provided what was missing in class -- the multisensory material and the opportunity to practice sufficiently in multisensory ways. Workbook was very very effective, and CD lessons/games/videos very helpful as the pronunciation was available for all the words he was hearing in class but not seeing. (He was graded on spelling even though the class was mostly auditory as the Dept chair felt flashcarding is sufficient for good spelling).  Study guides are good. I pulled all of ours from another teacher's website..she was teaching in a state that used multisensory and her guide included all the details necessary for mastery. All my ds was getting as a study guide was core basic, enough for a pass (a D). If you get the supplementary material off the internet from the text publisher, you may find the study guides in a summary format for you to use as supervisor...ours came as laminated cardstock. It was fantastic for the kid to start a chapter knowing what he needed to accomplish, as he is a big picture fella.  Good luck, I hope you get everything you need so your dd finds the class helpful rather than headbanging. Edited October 5, 2017 by Heigh Ho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted October 12, 2017 Share Posted October 12, 2017 request permission for your dc to audio record the class--or to audio record themselves during class as they say the words that are being studied Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted October 12, 2017 Share Posted October 12, 2017 Or, have both dc tell you everything they can remember about class (and what was covered that day) when they get home on class days, and use that to study from, to identify flash cards, and so on. Â Telling you will itself be a first review. Â Â Or even better perhaps would be to have them both tell you orally and also to have them write down whatever they can. Â That would be a first written practice as well and could be used to check their spelling. Â This won't be as complete as an actual recording, but may give more learning both of the subject content, and also practice with listening, memory, and recall skills. Â Â And if one dc is there when the other is not, then either a recording or at least the one who was in class's best recollection could be better than nothing at all for the other one for that day. Â 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted October 12, 2017 Share Posted October 12, 2017 The problem is that I don't know which words they are going to test on. She gave me a link to all of the 5th and 6th grade words. I don't see my kid knowing all of them before the next pop quiz.  And we are not going to spend an hour a day doing random practice for a 45 minute per week class. FIrst of all we don't have the time most weekdays, secondly it isn't fair and my kid won't go for it. I will try to find a sensible way to practice on on weekends and maybe Tuesdays.   I tried the link you posted.  It looks to me like there are only 22 cards so far.   Seems like a manageable amount to start working on to me.  (And looks like maybe your dd's teacher is putting the cards up as they go. ??? Which is so seems like a big study help from her.)  If it were my 6th grade dd, I'd try to have her start right in with it at maybe 5 minutes every  day, or so.  And I'd emphasize the goal as being learning the language, not the grade, nor how much study is going to a one day per week class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted October 13, 2017 Author Share Posted October 13, 2017 I tried the link you posted.  It looks to me like there are only 22 cards so far.   Seems like a manageable amount to start working on to me.  (And looks like maybe your dd's teacher is putting the cards up as they go. ??? Which is so seems like a big study help from her.)  If it were my 6th grade dd, I'd try to have her start right in with it at maybe 5 minutes every  day, or so.  And I'd emphasize the goal as being learning the language, not the grade, nor how much study is going to a one day per week class.  The page that goes to only has 22 words, but other parts of the same site have many more words for grade 6. I don't believe the 22 words are the extent of it. I think she just thought that would be a helpful general resource. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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