What To Do When Students Won't Sit Still and Pay Attention to a Skit

I got this question on email this week about a problem I deal with myself in class as well: what do you do when you're trying to narrate a skit in class with actors and a) students in the "audience" are talking, playing on their phones, not giving you input or participating, etc. and b) the "actors" are more of a distraction than a visual presentation because they also are talking, messing around, not listening to your stage directions or the narration, etc.

In my teaching situation, I have noticed this problem growing worse and worse over the past 8 years or so. With the new generations of students who are coming through our classes, TPRS (or telling a skit) just doesn't work the same way as it used to, 10-20 years ago. I have tried to address this reality, with varying levels of success, in various ways. I think it helps a little bit if you let the class choose the actors because that makes the skit into a little more of a "game." I think it helps if you don't do "circling" (asking 8-10 questions about every statement in the skit right after making the statement) or anything else that drags out the skit. I think it helps if you set up the class routine of skits right away at the beginning of the year and you coach and nag and cajole about how you want them to behave during a skit, first day.

But even with all of those ideas, some days, I just get too frustrated to keep trying to refocus a class that simply can't sit still and pay attention to the skit.

So here is what I do. When I reach that frustration point, I sit the actors down and have the class get out a clean sheet of paper so they can translate the skit. Yes, it's for a grade. Yes, you have to do it if you don't want a zero. I then project the Word document (but you could have copies of the skit prepared in advance) of the skit on my screen, enlarge the font, and set a timer for 5 minutes. "You have five minutes to translate everything on the screen into English on your paper. Go." Then all I do is stand there and tell them what a word or phrase means when they ask. And feel instantly less stressed out. Now they are doing all the work instead of me.

When the timer goes off, I tell them to draw a line so I can see how much they got translated for that section, then I scroll to the next section and give another 5 minutes. We proceed with this process until the whole skit is translated, or until the bell rings. Either way, at the end, I have them count their words. I then base their points on word count and/or whether or not they got all of each section done. (You might need to adjust the timer for a section based on how many "fast" students were able to finish in the five minutes, by the way.)

My TA alphabetizes the papers and I flip though putting points in the gradebook. Done. Next class, we get a fresh start. Either they can focus on the skit and participate, or they can translate again.

Is this the best way to provide comprehensible input? No. Is it a reasonably good secondary way? I think so. Can I preserve my sanity with this backup plan? Yes.

I hope this helps those of you who are dealing with this same issue. Let me know in the comments if you have experienced this and if you have figured out any other hacks!

My Spring End-of-Year Classroom To-Do List

Around here, it's time to print out that final End-of-Year Checklist and start wrapping things up before summer (yay!) so I thought I'd share the to-do list I use to leave my classroom well-organized and ready for Fall.

I posted my Start-Up Fall Checklists last August with this post. Some of the things on that list are unnecessary and/or fast and easy "checks" if I take the time, before I leave for summer, to do everything on my Spring End of Year list.

I have a week and a half left with students plus 3 teacher work days left, so now's the time I look at my list and see what I can start plugging away at and marking off when I get moments in my classroom to myself.

Here's my list--feel free to modify as needed to meet your own needs!

Jalen’s End of Year To-Do List Spring 2016

·       Set up gradebook for Final Exams and Final Grades

·       Grade Email Replies (Writing tests) and enter into Mastery Manager

·       Grade Speaking Tests

·       Enter Final grades in IC

·       Post Grades including TAs

·       Print gradebooks and attendance

·       Reorganize/clean out filing cabinets

·       Organize/purge AP files

·       Clean/purge/organize room top to bottom

·       Clean/organize office

·       Clean out folders in email (AP, etc.)

·       Clean desktop files, P drive, and other temp files on laptop

·       Organize/clean out props & visuals

·       Unhook all cords to laptop cart and wrap/tape neatly

·       Unplug/wipe down/open refrigerator

·       Get signatures and check out with main office

·       Celebrate!

7 Classroom Management Mistakes - #7 Not Giving Clear Directions

My final classroom management mistake...one I still make here and there...and one that never fails to cause a little chaos. This is:

Mistake #7 - Not Giving Clear Directions

Okay, think about the last time you went to a professional development training or meeting of some sort, particularly one you weren't that crazy about attending (which applies to approximately 99% of them, right?) Was there a moment when the trainer(s) told you to do something, everyone started talking and working, and you had to look around at your colleagues at your table and say:

"What are we supposed to be doing again?"

And then your colleagues tried to explain it, and you still didn't really understand it, so you started messing around, laughing and talking, checking your phone, wondering if it would be a good time to go to the restroom, etc.? Is it only me???

Well, that's what happens to my students in my classroom when they don't fully understand exactly what I want them to do. Now, I could say, "You should have listened the first time!" and just get mad, but that doesn't help them get on task and stop messing around any faster. No, it's best to pre-empt this problem by following these steps:

1. Get very clear in my own head what I want them to do before I say it.
2. Get the entire room's attention and eye contact (using Teacher Voice) before I explain the task.
3. Explain the task clearly and simply, say why I want them to do it, and then explain it again.
4. Go around the room and explain it again to students who are still off-task, without sounding cranky about it, which will either put them on the defensive or just make them laugh.

I promise you, half the time that your students are acting squirrely when they are supposed to be working, is because at least part of the room doesn't really know for sure what you wanted them to do. Even though you said it, and you thought you made your wishes known. You can avoid a whole bunch of headache by giving crystal-clear directions, following my steps above. Without getting upset about it.

Now, if I can just follow my own advice this coming week! Ha.

7 Classroom Management Mistakes - #6 Getting Upset

It happens so fast. You're conducting your class, then all of a sudden a student crosses the line, and you're seething. Or hurt and offended. Or caught off guard and just don't know what to do. But whatever you do, I'm going to recommend you avoid showing it because this is:

Mistake #6 - Getting Upset

I'm not going to tell you I don't get mad, hurt, offended, or intimidated in the classroom. I do. But when I feel it coming on, I do my dead-level best NOT to let those emotions get elevated, and if/when they do get elevated, I don't let it show. I might, at the most, raise my voice and tell a student to "please stop doing that." But after I address the behavior, I go back to my normal tone and keep smiling and teaching the class like nothing happened. As if nothing really fazes me.

Why? Because the generation of students we're teaching right now has a strange reaction to displays of anger, frustration, or hurt. They won't feel guilty that they made you mad or pushed you to the end of your rope. They won't settle down or change to make you feel better. If you show real anger and frustration, they'll just look at you like you're crazy. They'll possibly laugh, and will often try to make you even madder, because they think it's funny and fun. And then guess what. Your emotions get even farther out of control, and it's an endless cycle.

When I'd get to the absolute end of my rope in a class, I used to do things like just say, "Fine. I'm done teaching today. You guys do whatever you want," and go sit at my desk and pretend to work. (Not very often, but I have done it a few times over the past 15 years.) Fifteen years ago, if I did that, the class was deathly silent, not sure what to do until I decided to stand up and teach again. The last time I did that (in 2009) they just laughed it off, started talking and playing on their phones, and enjoyed the fact that they "won" the game of trying to get me not to teach a lesson so they could have free goof-off time.

I also had been known to give a class a "serious talk" the next day and let them know how frustrated and upset I was with their shenanigans in the last class, and basically plead for a change in behavior, etc. Again, that tactic did work for me 15 years ago, but now I'd be wasting my breath. Now, instead, I put all my energy into making sure they never see me sweat. They don't see me getting upset, feeling frustrated, hurt, angry, or unsure. I address the behavior and I just keep right on going with my lesson as if it's no big deal.

Over time, you really do get more accustomed to all the crazy, silly, obnoxious things that students do in class. You've practically seen it all, and it really doesn't faze you as much. But if you're a newer teacher, you want to get to that point now at least in your outer appearance. Fake it 'til you make it. Use your teacher voice, tell them to settle down so you can teach them some Spanish, and march right on with your lesson. Don't be or act surprised by the audacity of their behavior. Act like you've seen it all before. Say the names of individual kids and tell them specifically to stop talking, stay in their seat, stop picking on so-in-so, or whatever, until you can teach your lesson. Be relentless in getting that lesson taught. Have a "We've got work to do and we're doing it!" attitude, positive, firm, fun, and unruffled by their silliness.

That's my advice!

7 Classroom Management Mistakes - #5 Not Having a Well-Prepared Lesson

Okay, I hate it that this particular thing affects my classroom management so much, because fixing it is a lot of work, but this is:

Mistake #5 - Not Having a Well-Prepared Lesson.

It never fails. When I'm bumbling around at the front of the room trying to figure out what I'm doing because I don't have a well-planned lesson, my class senses a weakness in the Force, and things start going awry. They get louder and more talkative, less willing to do what I ask, more whiny, more rowdy and restless.

Or, maybe I have part of the lesson well-planned, but then there's dead time in the middle or at the end, and it takes me a few minutes to regroup and transition to something else. Or, I never do really figure out what I'm transitioning to, and it's just simply too late. They've already gone haywire.

So how do you make sure you don't get caught fumbling around trying to figure out what you're doing? Different teachers do this different ways. Some people have ready-made filler activities and games they whip out at the last minute. Me, I wrote 4 levels of lesson plan books because I hate not knowing what I'm doing and where this is all going so much. For me, a well-prepared skit lesson with smooth transitions basically runs like this:

1. A warm-up/review of the material from the last class.
2. Read something that reinforces the vocab and grammar from last class.
3. Conversation in Spanish about a question of the day or some sort of given topic, preferably something that also reinforces the vocab they have been learning. At the beginning levels, this would obviously be very scripted and guided.
4. Introduction of new vocab/vocab phrases.
5. Skit.
6. Q&A about the skit, me asking questions and them answering either as a group or getting called on one by one (if only a few are answering out loud as a group.)
7. 4-minute break.
8. Grammar, either intro of new grammar topic or a continuing practice of one that we've been working on.
9. Go over homework/new homework assigned.
10. Telenovela (right now, I'm showing Un gancho al corazón in level 3 and Al diablo con los guapos in level 4. We're all very addicted to these two shows. : - ))

Now, part of what makes me well-prepared when I run this lesson is that I do it almost every day, exactly in the same order. So my students are accustomed to this routine and so am I, and it runs pretty much like clockwork.

(For my Spanish 4/AP culture lessons, substitute the culture topic/reading/writing/conversation for #4, 5, and 6 above.)

You may need to experiment with your own lesson sequencing and content to find your sweet spot in terms of lesson planning, and you may also hate doing the same routine and need to shake it up more. I don't shake much, and that works well for me.

Another great source of lesson planning ideas is Martina Bex's awesome blog. She has a TON of resources, ideas, lessons, units, and activities there, so check her out!

What ideas do you have for last-minute activities that always go well in class? Share in the comments below!

7 Classroom Management Mistakes - #4 Not Telling Them Why

The original Pandilla de ciclistas - Trevor, Austin, and Joe.

If you're getting into a lot of arguments and having a great deal of whining in your classes, it might be because of:

Mistake #4 - Not Telling Students Why.

Why? Because they want and need to know "why" in order to have buy in.

I try to tell them "why" before they even start whining and asking me about it. In fact, nowadays I try to attach a "why" onto just about everything I tell them to do. "I need you guys to record yourselves speaking so I can tell how much Spanish I've taught you this semester." "You have to read and reply to this email so I can see if you would be able to read a native speaker's email and reply to it in Spanish if you had to." "Don't play on your phone right now so you can focus on helping your partner if they need it while they are telling the story." "Read the page with your eyes along with your partner who's reading aloud so you can learn new words, too."

The generation we're teaching right now is the "why" generation. They don't like to waste their time, and if you think about it, neither do you. So "why do we have to do this," while seeming to be a really rude question that hurts my feelings sometimes, is also just human nature. I might not have felt free to ask my teachers that question back in the 80's when I was in high school, but that doesn't mean I didn't think it at times. And it doesn't mean that the empowered-to-speak-their-minds students we are teaching right now are really trying to be rude and hurtful. They just need to know why. So tell them.

I would encourage you to start saying why more, before you're even asked, and see if you don't have fewer arguments and whines in class. And when you DO get asked "why do we have to do this?" react with zero heightened emotion or anger and simply tell them why. I've said this before, but if you find yourself (as I have) scrambling for an answer to "why," you might reconsider the activity at hand. Maybe not right then in front of your class (although I have changed course in the middle of class before) but at least think about it later. I should be able to easily articulate why I'm having them do a certain task, if I have clear objectives for their learning.

So that's it, saying why. A simple thing that in my experience yields big results in classroom management!

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7 Classroom Management Mistakes - #3 Not Having a Seating Chart

Now I know teachers who swear by not having seating charts, but the few times I've dipped my toe in those shark waters, I deeply regretted it. Therefore, in my experience, this is:

Mistake #3 - Not Having a Seating Chart.

I know that making seating charts is a lot of work, and it's a hassle to enforce them. But the difference between managing a class in which I have chosen everyone's seat up front and managing a class where they sit wherever they want to is night and day. Dark and Light. Demons and Angels. Hell and Heaven, or as close to classroom management "heaven" as I can get anyway.

If you let them sit wherever they want, you inevitably have to move some talkative, off-task students around anyway, and when you do that you have to argue and listen to whining and get the eye-rolls and sullen behavior just like you do sometimes when enforcing your seating chart. So just front load that eye-rolling session with a seating chart that's ready to go the first day of class. You'll get your turf established right away, and it's much harder for them to fight against it later since your class was clearly established like that, from the get-go.

Also, talk about the seating chart in your rules and expectations on your syllabus, or if you don't like having a lot of written rules (some teachers don't,) at least talk about it while you're going over the syllabus the first day of class. I say things like, "I organize my classroom with a seating chart that I design. I do this because [telling them why up front, because they are the "WHY" generation and that's how they get a little more buy-in,] I want to choose your partners rather than having you just sit by your friends, and leave some kids out. That way everyone meets new people, works with different people throughout the year, and my class runs smoother so I can teach you more Spanish. I expect you to sit in your assigned seat, without arguing or complaining about it, when the bell rings. If you have a problem with your seat, like you can't see the board or something, talk to me about it after class."

Here are my tips for creating good seating charts:

1. Space out the boys. You can do this whether you know the students or not. In Spanish, you'll get some really boy-heavy classes at times, so it's not an exact science, but in general, you want to make your grids boy-girl-boy-girl. I try not to have two boys next to one another either side-to-side or front-to-back.

2. Rowdy boys are in front. I call these the "power seats." Meaning, I have a little more (illusory) power over a loud, rambunctious kid if he's within a few feet of me. I can talk with him, joke with him, and ask him to settle down when needed, sometimes without most of the class even noticing that he and I have an exchange going. He naturally gets more attention from me, which is sometimes all that kid is looking for in the first place.

3. Quiet girls form a padding around rowdy boys. Sorry, quiet girls. Actually, sometimes they really enjoy this, because being partners with an outgoing, energetic guy brings her out of her shell a little, gets her laughing. Or, sometimes he drives her nuts. If I see that, I'll discreetly change that arrangement with my next seating chart.

I make new seating charts at the start of the semester, and I change them mid-semester. So that's four charts per class per year. Changing at mid-semester quells some of the complaining about having a seating chart, so to me, it's worth the extra work.

Also, you will have many students who really like having assigned seats, having a seat that is always theirs in my class that others can't just take whenever they want to, forming clumps of "cool" kids in certain areas of the room while the "outcasts" sit in the front, back, or whatever areas aren't "cool."

To sum up, I'd say making and enforcing seating charts is one of the top priorities in my own classroom management practice. It makes a world of difference for me, but I'd be curious to know what others think, so comment below with your thoughts!

7 Classroom Management Mistakes - #2 Arbitrary Rules

Mistake #2 - Making Arbitrary Rules

The generation of students we're teaching right now is smart. And opinionated. And vocal about it. So when you decide what your official classroom rules are going to be, I recommend that you make absolutely sure you have a good reason for each one, a reason that you can defend to the death if need be and consistently enforce. Why? Because making rules that seem to have no logical reason behind them in the eyes of your students is an invitation for breaking them and getting into arguments in class. They will have a hard time buying into keeping rules that they don't view as necessary. It's simply human nature, and we teachers do it too with our administration, if we're being honest.

Examples of possibly-arbitrary rules that may be hard to defend and enforce:

1. No food or drink. I used to die on this hill, but that was before 2004ish, when there was a generation shift. Nowdays refusing to allow kids to have food and/or drinks in class is cause for all-out warfare in their eyes. In 2009, when I went back to the classroom (after working as our district's ELL coordinator for 4 years) I actually got a parent complaint that I hadn't allowed her son to drink his breakfast smoothie in class. I saw the writing on the wall. Yes, food and drink can be distracting. Yes, it spills and gets on desks. Yes, it creates trash bits on your floor. But to me, it's not worth arguing about anymore.

2. No gum. It's hard to notice that kids have gum, and therefore, you're always going to be fighting and fighting this battle. And you'll get accused of singling out and making some kids spit their gum out when others are chewing it too. And students see it as completely arbitrary, even if you argue until you're blue in the face that chewing gum hinders their ability to speak the target language, because actually, it really doesn't. You may not speak very clearly, but you technically can talk while you have gum in your mouth.

3. No cellphones in sight. Besides being completely impossible to enforce (it's like playing whack-a-mole,) this rule wears me out due to the arguing and haranguing I feel I have to do in order to have some semblance of control over whether their cell phone is "in sight" or not.

4. No talking. The generation we're teaching right now is very verbal. You'll have kids in class that literally talk themselves through just about everything they do, because that's how they process. In my class, there's plenty of talking at various points during class. I talk to them and they talk to me, and we all talk together. But I can get them to focus and quiet down when it's necessary for learning because I'm not constantly squelching ALL talking.

5. No bathroom breaks/limiting bathroom breaks. This is another one that can get you into trouble with parents, and keeping up with limited (paper) bathroom passes and the like is just not a part-time job I'm willing to take on. So I technically allow unlimited bathroom breaks. But if a kid asks me in the middle of some part of the lesson, I ask them to wait until we're done reading, writing the essay, acting out the skit, or whatever part of the lesson we are doing--unless it's an emergency, and I make sure it's not before denying the bathroom visit. That sends the message that I expect them to participate in the lesson first, but that I understand the need to be able to go to the bathroom when necessary. I honestly don't have that many students ask during the lesson, because of how I handle it. I do also give a 4-minute classroom break in the middle of my 90-minute block, and at that time I allow five students max out of the room at a time for bathroom or water. Most students wait until then to ask, and it seems to work out really well. (Plus they get that all-important brain break, so that when we reconvene I can get another "prime time" of about 10 minutes or so of new learning. See David Sousa for a full explanation of the primacy-recency effect and prime learning times.)

Those are just a few examples. I do have a couple of arbitrary rules, but they are ones that I am willing to defend and argue about. Mine are:

1. No sitting on top of desks. Once the bell rings, if anyone was sitting on top of a desk, they have to sit down in their desks. I don't know why, but I find this rule (which you could argue is kind of arbitrary) fairly argument-free in class.

2. No trash on the floor. This one is arbitrary and I admit it the first day of class when we go over my syllabus. I tell them, "You know how every teacher has their 'things,' well, this is my thing. It drives me crazy to have a messy floor because I live in this room all day and I don't like living in a trash heap." My floor isn't always spotless, but having this rule in the syllabus and talking about it does reduce the amount of trash left behind throughout the year, and it makes me feel less like a horrible nag when I ask a kid to pick up the little bits of trash around his or her desk before they leave.

So I'm not saying you can't have some arbitrary rules, but I would recommend keeping them to a minimum and thinking them completely through before you decide to put them out there. If you don't consistently enforce your rules, your students won't take you as seriously, so I personally avoid having rules that I know will be hard for me to enforce.

So that's it! Happy rules-making.

7 Classroom Management Mistakes - #1 Not Owning the Room

I've gotten a lot of requests for my classroom management techniques and suggestions, so I'm starting a series on the topic. These "mistakes" are all just my opinions, based on my own constant trial and error in managing classrooms, so please take them with a grain of salt, and feel free to share any ideas of your own in the comments.

Mistake #1 - Not owning the room

Have you ever noticed that some teachers can control a rowdy classroom simply by walking into it? And that others can't seem to make themselves heard over the din, no matter what they do? Some teachers have "presence" in a classroom, and their students magically listen and obey. I call it owning the room.

It takes a little practice, and it definitely gets easier with years of experience, but here are my best tips for how to own your classroom. (And it's never too late to reinvent yourself and start using these suggestions. I've reinvented myself multiple times in the same school year. It's better than slogging through a horrible year just telling yourself you'll do everything differently next fall, because if nothing else, you gain practice.)

1. Dress up. Go for casual business attire, and avoid slouchy, out-of-style clothes and ugly-but-comfortable shoes. (Right now I am into Creation L and White House Black Market for clothes ideas and Aerosoles for shoes, if you're in need of a visual or two. If you're a guy, try Land's End (if you want to wear ties) or Carbon 2 Cobalt (no ties) for in-style ideas and looks.)

2. Greet students as they come in your door by name. "Hola, Jared. Hola, Alex. ¿Cómo están?"

3. Watch your posture - stand up straight; try not to pace around nervously. Walk around the room slowly, with a purpose.

4. Make eye contact with students, and keep your expression friendly but purposeful.

5. Speak up. Use good Teacher Voice. Teacher Voice = loud enough to be heard over the loudest student, but not screeching or high pitched. Try to lower your tone, speak from deeper in your chest. Breathe. When you need students to quiet down, say so loudly and confidently. Some phrases I use: "Okay, quiet down please." "Okay, I'm talking now." "Stop talking for a minute." Experiment until you find the phrases that you feel you can pull off in class. Don't start giving instruction or directions until everyone is listening. Otherwise, they learn that they can just keep talking over you and you don't care.

6. Give crystal-clear directions as if you've done this a million times and you know exactly how you want things to be. Even if you're totally winging it and/or it's the first time through an experimental lesson.

7. Address behavior on the spot, as soon as you notice it and have confirmed in your mind that it really is what you think it is. ("Ashley, don't play on your phone right now please. I need you to listen to this.") But, warning--avoid griping at a kid if you aren't absolutely sure they are doing something wrong (example: you are about to tell a kid to stop talking to their neighbor, but then you notice they are helping the other kid get the vocab written down.) If you do call out a behavior (like, "Caleb, don't talk to Ryan right now please,") and the student says "I was just telling him the vocab for last class," make sure you say, "Oh, sorry. Thanks for helping Ryan then." Students these days are very sensitive and they'll hold it against you big time if you "yell" at them (that's what they call it) when they perceive themselves as innocent.

Owning the room is so crucial that if you do it well, you can get away with a LOT of other classroom management faux pas during any given class. Like I said, practice and experience make perfect, so don't be afraid to reinvent yourself right now. You don't have to make an announcement about it, just start doing it and note the differences in student behavior.

And please share any thoughts or ideas you might have in the comments below! I love to read comments.

Grammar Resources I Like and Use

I just wanted to share a list of the Grammar workbooks I like and use. I'm not big on the grammar exercises in most textbooks and their ancillary materials (and unfortunately, Exprésate's are unusually difficult to work with in class,) so I use these workbooks (available on Amazon.com) as resources:

·       McGraw Hill Practice Makes Perfect Spanish Verb Tenses – Dorothy Devney Richmond

·       McGraw Hill Practice Makes Perfect Complete Spanish Grammar – Gilda Nissenberg

·       Barron’s Spanish Verb Workbook – Frank H. Nuessel

I pick and choose from among the activities in these books and cobble together my own grammar worksheets (literally cutting and taping things together.) I talk about the grammar point and take notes on the grammar worksheets under a document camera while my class copies what I write and/or does some of the exercises by themselves for a few minutes and then we check the answers under the document camera. Nothing overly fancy. For homework, I normally write my own, making it as basic as possible (fill in the blank with a conjugated verb, usually.)

I keep my grammar lesson as the final 15 minutes or so of a 90-minute block, with the main focus of the block being the vocab gesturing and skit.

This works well for me, but please comment and share your own grammar teaching ideas below!

What To Do When the Novelty and Fun of Doing Skits Wears Off in Class

Got a question this past week about pacing and keeping skits exciting in class:

Hola Jalen.

I purchased your lesson plans for my 8th grade Spanish 1 class.  I have decided to solely use TPRS this year with your lesson plans.  My students like the stories so far and are acquiring the language quickly.  We have only done two stories at this point.

My questions are:

1.  Do you get through all 27 stories by the end of the year?  I wonder if I'm going too fast.  I see my students daily for 40 minutes.  This is the 3rd week of school.

2.  After only acting two stories, the novelty seems to be wearing off a little bit.  I am trying to do other activities in addition to the ones that you have in your plans.  Since I'm new at circling and TPRS, I'm trying to improve so that my lessons aren't boring even though they're repetitive.  Do you have any suggestions for me?

Thank you in advance for answering my questions.  I have really enjoyed your curriculum.

Liddia

Hi Liddia,

Glad to hear things are (or were) going really well with the first couple of stories! To answer your questions:

1. Each of my lesson plan books is designed to fill up one semester of Spanish, so 1A would be the first semester and 1B would be second semester, but, no, I don't always get through all of the stories in a given semester or year, and it works out okay. But if you think you're going too fast and are worried that you won't have enough stories to fill up a whole year, you may have to space them out and alternate with a reading, games, and/or culture day here and there.

2. Yes, I do have a suggestion for what to do about the novelty wearing off of doing skits. Don't do circling. I don't do it because it drives the kids (and me) nuts. Just narrate the skit all the way through with actors and a few props, then sit the actors down and do Q&A all the way through the story in Spanish, coaching them to respond chorally. That plus the reading (which I now put off until the following day’s lesson, first thing after the warm-up quiz) is enough repetition for my expectations of how much Spanish my students need to learn in a given year. Also, in my classes the skits themselves are more fun if I have the class choose the actors. For more info on exactly how I do that, see my blog posts on Getting Actors part 1 and part 2.

Another suggestion - don't do a skit every single day if they start acting bored with it. Break it up with the ideas I mentioned above.

A third suggestion - I also have a blog post on 25 Ideas for Extending the Learning With Each Story that might add some variety and spice to what you're doing.

Give yourself time and compassion as you're learning to pull off excellent skits in class. It takes a lot of trial and error to figure out how to make it fun every time, and even then, there are simply going to be some "off" days with students. Don't let it get you down. Next time you do a skit, act like everything's great and the skit they are going to act out is awesome!

Hope this helps, and let me know how it goes.

Jalen

(Thanks Liddia for the great questions! Everyone else, feel free to chime in with other suggestions that work for you!)