Tips, Tricks, and Ideas

Here are various tips and tricks I use to create a classroom,  curriculum, and individual lessons centered on TPRS.  Click the links for more information and practical applications!

Story Writing 101

There is a common theme and pattern to every story in TPRS:  There is someone and they want something.  They go somewhere to get it, but they are unsuccessful.  So, they go somewhere else and resolve their problem.  Once you understand this structure, writing your stories are simple.  Here's how...

Class Story Books
Have your students create a wonderful resource for your classroom that can be used to review the next day as will be a keepsake and reading material for years to come!

Inter-class Pen Pals
Get students reading, writing, and building a class community all at once!

Spanish Nicknames
During the first week of school, students choose nicknames that they will use throughout the year.  I provide a list of nicknames, but students are also allowed to create their own as long as it's school-appropriate.  I love this activity!  It achieves many things that are critical in my classroom.  First and foremost, the students learn to "play" and develop a unique relationship in my classroom with me and their peers.  Another perk is that students have a jump-start to their vocabulary as they're already interested in what the names mean and will get many repetitions of these words throughout the year! Rather than real Spanish names, I use nicknames such as "Pato" (duck) or "Vato" (dude).

TPRS in a Week
This is an example of how I would structure my week.  Each "day" is a 45-minute period.  Because most schools in my area are on various types of block scheduling, I have combined the days into 90-minute periods, with one flexible half-day.

Structure/Word Cards
I got this idea from a fellow TPRS teacher and added my own ideas and adaptations to it.  I'd love to hear what you would do with something like this!  For me, it makes me more intentional about what I'm teaching without a lot of effort on my part as well as helps students become more engaged and focused.  Plus, we keep track of the things we've already learned and are able to continually review them as we progress!

Interactive Notebooks

Interactive notebooks are a note-taking method I plan to utilize in my classroom.  Students create their own interactive notebook out of a composition notebook.  Tabs are added to create sections, and students fill in the contents of the notebook throughout the year.  In general, students take notes (teacher input) on the right-hand page, and personalize the information on the left-hand side of the page.  At the end of the year, they will have created a comprehensive record of their classroom experience.

Teaching through Novels
There has recently been a discussion in the MoreTPRS yahoo group about doing novel-based classes, and I am very excited about it!  Similar to how I am pulling structures from the LICT extended reading stories, I would take them from the novels themselves.  It may take a week or a few weeks to complete a chapter as we ask stories in class that circle the structures and vocabulary students need to know in order to comprehend what they are reading.  In addition, I would want to choose books with which I could integrate other activities for students to explore and describe themselves and the world around them.

Games
TPRS-friendly games to play with the class!

Shopping List
The list of items I'd like for my TPRS classroom!

Positive Reinforcement (Rewarding Great Behavior!)

Kindergarten and Movie Days