Here's to finding some rhythm!

Hey y'all,

Here's to another week in the books! I am absolutely exhausted, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a great week in the classroom.

Among my favorite things to do, both in the classroom and at the dinner table with the family, is to discuss our Rose, Bud, & Thorn. In other words, what are some highlights, some low lights, and some things we're looking forward to from the day/week.

In that spirit, here are some thoughts as I wrap up another week of making it do what it do

Roses:

• A MAJOR rose of mine has been that the AfroFranco Teacher Collective PLC is officially up and running, and I am just so happy about this really incredible group of inspiring, thoughtful teachers to share ideas with.

• This week I also put into practice using parallel stories that I approached with a backward design model, and it went really well. I'll be sharing more about how I use parallel stories to combine IPAs and TPRS, so keep an eye out for an upcoming webinar!

• Also, if I may toot my own horn, I feel like I did an absolutely brilliant job of scaffolding toward and using this authentic resource about Beyoncé and le Chevalier de Saint-George with my kids. Tapping into prior knowledge, teaching some literacy strategies, introducing some fun games to build it up even more, and before you know it, they were reading and understanding this really dope article all on their own.

  
  

Thorns:

• I can't stress enough just how tired I have been. Intellectually, I was aware that I would have to put in some work to establish my routines and expectations and rapport and all that when starting at a new school. I think I still underestimated just how much emotional labor goes into starting over and not having a reputation to welcome students into the space, if that makes sense. We're getting there, but it's work.

• (Mentioned this on Twitter the other day, so forgive the repeat). While I'm so beyond grateful for the work I get to do, collaborating with districts, schools and departments across the continent and all that...I can't put into words how much I despise how challenging it can sometimes be to chase down payment for that work. I really do get it...but at the end of the day, I am just a full-time teacher trying to feed my kids and pay my bills. So when months go by (especially when I had to come out of pocket to cover expenses up front), it just makes all of this that much harder to sustain. I know it's not personal... but I can't say the same for the electric company that's on my ass, you know?

Buds:

• Despite the rant, I'm really excited about some really cool projects and stuff coming up! I'll be presenting and speaking at ACTFL in Philly, which is super exciting. I also have a bunch of workshops coming up with different schools and organizations, which I sincerely am thrilled about.

• I'm putting finishing touches on this thematic unit that I plan to share in the coming weeks about Les Systèmes Électoraux. I keep hearing folks (in all disciplines) talk about how hard it will be to discuss the upcoming election as teachers. While I could not agree more (because holy sh*t!!!), I'm also a crazy person and in my mind all I hear myself saying is "Challenge accepted!" So I've been putting together resources and all that for this thematic unit that I believe will be a really dope way to approach it in a non-partisan way, but also that still doesn't compromise the linguistic, intercultural, literacy/critical thinking, and social justice goals that I am always striving toward. Keep an eye out!

So! That's what's going on over here. Definitely keep in touch..Like, Share, Comment, all that and I'll give you all some updates next week!

Thanks for the love and support, as always,

Forever grateful,

bt

Rose, Thorn, Bud (French) | CI Lesson Plan

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