Luggage.  There is SO much luggage out there!  Odds are, your family has a suitcase or two laying around the house.  My parents have a TON of luggage.  Some old, some new, some big, some small, some giant.  This post is going to help lead you through the pros/cons of different types of luggage, from the perspective that you might be looking to buy a new bag for the trip, or at least trying to figure out which of the bags you have access to would be best for you to take.  Of course, you don't need to buy new luggage to travel.  And you may be stuck with whatever your family has, like it or not. ...

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If you talk to any travel experts, the one thing they will always tell you is to use a packing list.  Why? Because travel itself can be stressful and a packing list will take away one giant source of stress--the worry about forgetting something you will need. So, how do you come up with a packing list?  Here are some simple steps to developing a list that will work for you.

1. Know where you're going, when, and the weather.  This is obviously important in deciding what sorts of clothing to bring.  You don't need to know the exact daily forecast, but knowing if you should expect...
   
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As I prepare to make a 3-week carry-on-only trip this summer and find myself obsessively pouring over blogs and videos and tips for traveling light, it struck me that while I learned a lot of tips from the experts in traveling with a backpack only, most of the suggestions for packing techniques and how to not be that traveler are all things I knew. And I realized that many teachers are not incredibly experienced travelers, and our students less so.  I haven't seen a lot of articles, blogs, videos, or hacks produced from the perspective of student travel.  So this series of posts...

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Today I was reading some notes from a conference I attended a year or two ago, and realized something that hit me like a ton of bricks:  I need a system.  Truth be told, I need several systems.  And they need to work together. I work out at a great gym with franchises throughout the middle of the US called Farrell's eXtreme Bodyshaping.  I've been a member for 5 years.  (Please withhold the comments about how not so extremely my body seems shaped...I like cake.)  Anyhow, every day that I've gone there for five years, I walk...

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1.  Get. There. Early.

Yeah.  That is what I learned today.  The keynote was actually not as crowded as I've seen before, but in general I've noticed that what I considered "good" session topics are what EVERYONE considers good session topics.  The first session I thought I was going to attend a session about Classroom Management and 90% Target Language.  This session said it was based on Zaretta Hammond's writing (and since I was supposed to be reading her book for staff book club at school, seemed like a GREAT choice).  There were people standing 4 deep...outside the room! ...

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1000 sessions.  Three days. One.  Thousand.  Sessions. Just the idea of the size of ACTFL's Annual Convention is overwhelming to think about.  Even for someone who attends state (Wisconsin) and regional (Central States) conferences regularly, ACTFL is a bit overstimulating.  There are thousands of attendees.  It's insane.  How do you even approach something like this?  This will be my fifth? ACTFL conference, so I've got some experience with this, and still remember how thoroughly overwhelmed I was by some aspects of my previous conferences.

1.  Attend the Opening Session

I...

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Among several proficient and reputed experts of TPRS (Teaching Proficiency Through Reading & Storytelling), there has been some discussion about how one defines oneself. There is no shortage of acronyms to go around, of course, but recently there has been a significant number of teachers dropping the TPRS label and instead referring to themselves as CI teachers.  CI?  No, people are fans of this site enough to have become CI teachers in my honor.  In this case, CI stands for Comprehensible Input. Comprehensible Input isn't a technique.  It isn't a method.  It isn't even a philosophy. Stephen...

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When Jim Wooldridge (Sr. Wooly) asked me to review his new graphic novel, I JUMPED at the chance!! You can't blame me for not resisting a sneak peek of what he calls "...the best story I've ever created in any medium. ", right?  So I was over the moon when the book landed in my mailbox. But does it hold up to the hype?  Is it really that good? Yeah.  It is. A young girl has nightmares about her...la Dentista.  And at school the folklore continues as the world remembers the incident...so long ago...well,...

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I've noticed a recent trend among other TPRS/CI type folks to put together a list for big conferences like ACTFL of all the sessions that may be of special interest to those of us focusing on COMPELLING, CONTEXTUALIZED COMPREHENSIBLE INPUT. So, for those similarly-minded folks, here are a list of sessions at the upcoming annual conference of the Wisconsin Association For Language Teachers that might be of interest.  These are sessions presented by CI teachers, as well as some personally recommended sessions by presenters who have good stuff to say, regardless of their CI-ness.  Of course,...

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I've heard it said that people can pay attention, typically, one minute for every minute of their age. My students are 14-18. I teach on a 90-minute block. Which means that on average, after about 15 minutes, my students are physically incapable of paying attention.  I teach on a 90-minute block.  90/15 = 6. 6 changes in tempo.  6 breaks in the action.  This was a daunting number to see.  I use a lot of activities in class, I work hard to engage students.  I've even considered myself creative from time to time.  But to do 6 changes of gear during one class period? What if what...

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