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Easily create beautiful interactive video lessons for your students you can integrate right into your LMS. Track students' progress with hassle-free analytics as you flip your classroom!

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Infografías interesantes en español (Alfredo Vela)

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This is a fundamentally great question. An embedded reading is a scaffolded series of readings. So, why are we reading all of the versions in the series? It is a question that, once we know the answer, can help us figure out what to do with the readings that we have!!

The base reading is important. That is pretty easy to understand. If students understand this version of the reading, everything else falls into place. It's the "trailer" or the summary of the piece. As students read the subsequent versions, they will "attach" all of the new details and insights on to this clear and uncomplicated version.

The second version brings the reading to a new level. There will be new details, new information and the story or text becomes a) better understood and b) even more interesting.

But after that???? Now what ?? That is what our students will want to know so we should know as well. So I offer you the TOP ________ REASONS TO READ THE LAST VERSION OF AN EMBEDDED READING !!

Reason #5: Because we have to. (Bear with me, they get better!!)

Not the best reason, but sometimes it's the most obvious one. Occasionally we are required to have our students "read" a particular piece. The department says so, or the district says so, or maybe even the state we teach in says so. So we make sure they read it. As teachers, using embedded readings to get students to better understand a piece that even we may not see as compelling makes perfect sense. Our students may not be as appreciative, so hopefully we will not have to use this reason too frequently.
Reason # 4: Because it is a beautiful piece of literature.
This is a teacher favorite. We are often well-read and have at our disposal an enormous array of beautiful pieces that we want to share with our students. Prefacing the reading of an entire text with more comprehensible versions can make this literature much more interesting and appealing to our students. We love certain pieces so much that we feel that we are shortchanging our students if we don't share these pieces with them.

My opinion on this one is only an opinion, but I think that it is worth considering. The best version of beautiful literature is one that students will understand. If the "last" version that we have prepared is above their level, it isn't valuable yet. The next to last version will be the one that resonates with them, that resides in their hearts and will open the door, down the road, for a deeper and longer-lasting experience reading the original version of the piece.

The one time this does work, is in our upper level classes (usually levels 4 and up) when the final version is lyrics to a song. In beginning classes, even intermediate years, when I use a beautiful but difficult song, we will focus only on the truly comprehensible pieces of the song, usually the chorus and the first verse. However, in upper level classes, the entire song, because it may be hear over and over again afterwards is a worthwhile version to work through.
Reason # 3: Because students wrote the details in this level.
This is a truly compelling reason for students!! One of the delightful uses of an embedded reading is to ask students to suggest embellishments, improvements or information to an existing version. Students LOVE to read their own ideas in a text!!! There are several ways to bring this about. Here are a few:

Provide students with a text electronically and ask them to enter new information or change existing text. Ask them to highlight or change the text color so that their changes are easy to find. This can be done by individual students or pairs. Students then can share their new versions with you. Next, take their suggestions and ideas to combine them with the existing text to make a new and original version !!!
After reading a text with students, ask students to submit ideas for new information, language, or ideas on a slip of paper and collect them. Use these ideas to create a new version of the text.
With a longer text, print one copy and cut it into smaller sections (1-2 paragraphs). Give each section to a small group of students and have them add (by hand) new language or information to their section. Combine the sections and share with students.
Reason # 2: Because without it, the text/story is incomplete.
Sometimes an embedded reading is created so that the true and logical ending of the text doesn't appear until the last version. Now, this is a great reason to read the "last version" of the story, and one that students will definitely buy into! Just as a trailer to a movie can give the viewer a glimpse of the film, but not the entire picture, an embedded reading can give a great deal of information or the good part of a story without giving away the ending. Reading the last version to see how it ends is very satisfying!!
Reason #1: Because the BEST STUFF IS IN THE LAST VERSION!!
This is the best reason to read the last version!! It doesn't always happen, but when it does, BOOM!! That's the really good stuff! Every reader loves a good plot twist and whether or not it is anticipated, keeping the plot twist for the final version is key!!! These already occur in so many "authentic" resources and as writers, it is a wonderful way to motivate students to read!! I want to give a shout out to Justin Slocum Bailey for talking about this in his blog post "Creating Twisted Embedded Readings"

When we know WHY we want students to read a "final version" it becomes so much easier to decide HOW we want to read that version (as well as previous versions) of a text. And that is the topic of the next post....so stay tuned....

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This is a fundamentally great question. An embedded reading is a scaffolded series of readings. So, why are we reading all of the versions in the series? It is a question that, once we know the answer, can help us figure out what to do with the readings that we have!!

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I decided to sit down with a video of myself reading a long block of text with one of my
One question (and variation) that I see a lot from teachers has to do with "how do I keep kids engaged?" It often goes with "how do you handle reading long blocks of texts?"
I was thinking about this because it seems to come up very often for teachers, and because it isn't something that I have spent much time thinking about, to be honest.

most challenging classes (which has improved a lot) and actually write out what I did. I was asking myself: What did I expect from kids? What did I say to them? What did I do? What did they do (or not do)? You can scroll down to a minute-by-minute guide and reflection of the video, but first, read this:

My "engagement strategies" are only about 10% of what I do to keep kids engaged.
Teaching my expectations, and practicing them is maybe 25%.
My belief (mindset) about student engagement in my class is at LEAST 65%.

Mindset for engagement in the classroom:

I control the culture of my classroom (as Jon Cowart puts it so well in his book).

Most kids *will* respond to whatever I do and ask if they are motivated to do so.

Students are motivated, not by grades, but by previous successes, a desire to engage with the community, with the discussions, and with the content (language + topic).

You can't see me doing "mindset" in a video. (Can you? I would love to know.)
What you can see is a classroom that is founded on those beliefs, and kids responding.
Here are some the strategies that you are going to see:

Gestures for many words (learned from Alina Filipescu)

Sound effects.

Class job for that one kid who really needs something that day..in this case, holding up a crocodile every time I say the word in Spanish.

Comprehension questions to confirm understanding.

Personalized questions about students and content and connections between the two.

Personalized question referring to a prior class reading.

Brain breaks.

Acceptance of L1 (English)answers to keep the communication flowing.

Denial of L1 (English) and support in circumlocution, as appropriate.

Student signals- they signal me to indicate when I am not clear, and to say it again.

Student runs out of class sick.

This is a whole class reading of a projected text, never before seen, of Lágrimas de Cocodrilo, from The Comprehensible Classroom **.
Scroll down to the minute-by-minute breakdown to see what exactly it is that I (and the students) are doing.

Click here if you have trouble playing the video.

Minute by Minute guide to what is happening:

Gestures and noise: Lágrimas, cocodrilos, lágrimas, cocodrilos

1) Student uses rewind / go back signal, so I go back and give more support:

b) cognate gesture to indicate that the word sounds the same and means the same in English, kids shout it out.

Student interrupts with a question in L1, and I respond in L2

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Engaging: shared reading and student accountability and teacher mindset

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I decided to sit down with a video of myself reading a long block of text with one of my One question (and variation) that I see a lot from teachers has to do with "how do I keep kids engaged?" It often goes with "how do you handle reading long blocks of texts?"

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If you came here from a link you can find your way back by going to www.cyber-profe.com and clicking on the Curriculum tab.

I use a LOT of youtube songs and videos in this curriculum which means I usually have 4.3 billion tabs open. I created this so I can have all my videos in one place. If you are interested in purchasing this curriculum (created by Martina Bex) you can find it on teacherspayteachers.com. I also use the songs from SenorWooly.com and have created this spreadsheetto help pair his songs with the Somos chapters. Right now the song pairings are a mix of guess work and advice from other teachers, definitely not meant to say those are the only songs that will work in that chapter!

If interested, you can join one or both of the FB groups I created: CyberProfe(moi) and Somos.

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If you came here from a link you can find your way back by going to www.cyber-profe.com and clicking on the Curriculum tab. I use a LOT of youtube songs and videos in this curriculum which means I usually have 4.3 billion tabs open.

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Storybird - Read, write, discover, and share the books you'll always remember.

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Become a better writer with Storybird's creativity tools. Online courses, challenges, and reader feedback will help you improve your writing.

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Storyboard That Classroom Edition | Teacher Trial and Resources

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Bring digital storytelling to the classroom with Storyboard That's Education Edition. Perfect for any teacher, school, or district. Try our 14 day free trial!

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Enacting the Work of Language Instruction: High-Leverage Teaching Practices Read Online

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When Schools Close

Concerns with the spread of COVID-19 (the coronavirus) have forced school leaders across the world to close their schools and dive into the deep end of the online instruction pool. We hope these free webinars provide ideas, guidance, and encouragement.

Upcoming

Two EdTech Guys Take Questions and Share Cool Stuff, Episode 3

Richard Byrne (@rmbyrne) of Free Tech for Teachers and Rushton Hurley of Next Vista for Learning will do another episode in which they share cool resources and answer questions. For a sense of what you'd be in for, feel free to watch the recording of previous episodes below!

Register for free: Friday, April 10th, at 10:00a Pacific / 1:00p Eastern

Activities Across Grade Levels, Episode 5: Explore the World

In this half-hour episode of Activities Across Grade Levels, Rushton and Susan (@TechCoachSusan) describe ways to use a variety of tools that allow you to see places and communities around the planet.

Register for free: Thursday, April 16th, at 2:00p Pacific / 5:00p Eastern

Careers in Video '20

Ready to do a career exploration project, even while sheltering in place?

On Thursday, April 16th, at 10:00 a.m. Pacific time, we will run a half-hour webinar to help you learn about our project to gather new student-made videos on all sorts of careers. Students and teachers are welcome to learn more in this webinar.

Register for free: Thursday, April 16th, at 10:00a Pacific / 1:00p Eastern

Service via Video '20

We at Next Vista for Learning want to help people tell the stories of nonprofits making a difference in their communities, and our focus in this webinar will be on how to do so while sheltered in place at home! On Friday, April 17th, we'll explain how anyone can enter, as well as give specific advice for students taking part in the contest associated with this project.

Register for free: Friday, April 17th, at 3:00p Pacific / 6:00p Eastern

Previously

Activities Across Grade Levels, Episode 4: Reading Tools & Strategies

In this episode, we looked at a dozen-ish tools for engaging reading and activities teachers can do with them. Click below for the recording, or here for the slides, and here for the links from the chat transcript.

Two EdTech Guys Take Questions and Share Cool Stuff, Episode 2

Richard and Rushton share Wheel of Names, Book Creator, and a check-in survey for your students. Enjoy the recording, below, and feel free to look at those resources in more detail, check out the slides, or try the links we shared in the chat.

Activities Across Grade Levels, Episode 3: The Power of Voice

In this episode, Susan and I looked at a simple voice recording tool (and several like it) for taking learning to the next level, whether in person or online. Click below for the recording, or here for the slides, and here for the links from the chat transcript.

Two EdTech Guys Take Questions and Share Cool Stuff, Episode 1

Richard Byrne (@rmbyrne) of Free Tech for Teachers and Rushton Hurley of Next Vista for Learning in their first episode shared audio, tutorial, tips, and answers to questions sent their way. These are both people who keep a foot in the in-person and online teaching worlds, and they invite you each week to grab your favorite hot drink and join them for ideas and some fun! For this episode, click here for the slides, and here for the links form the chat transcript.

Activities Across Grade Levels, Episode 2: The Power of an Image

In Episode 2, we looked at using images as a simple way to launch great online activities. Susan Stewart (@TechCoachSusan), who has extensive experience with tech's possibilities for younger students, and I discussed activities for all grade levels, and added some thoughts on a few other promising tools, too. Click below for the recording, or here for the slides, and here for the links from the chat transcript.

Activities Across Grade Levels, Episode 1: The Cool and the Good

In this first episode on March 18th and 20th, we looked at activities for identifying cool stories of learning, and then stories of service to others. What can little, elementary, middle, and high school students do as a part of their online learning? Click below for the recording, or here for the slides, and here for the links from the chat transcript.

Guidance for Switching to Online Learning

On March 11th and 13th, Next Vista presented the webinar below to help schools considering closing and switching to online learning. If you have questions about the content in the recording, you are welcome to contact us. The slides for this webinar are available here.

Rushton Hurley is a former online school principal, trains teachers and school leaders around the world, has written an online guide called Emergencies and Switching to Online Learning, and over a few weeks prepared a high school in the San Francisco Bay Area for this switch. That school had to close, as it was learned that a family member of one of the students has tested positive for COVID-19, and the school community is now using what Hurley taught them.

To register for any of the above times, please click the link for the date and time you prefer, above.

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Concerns with the spread of COVID-19 (the coronavirus) have forced school leaders across the world to close their schools and dive into the deep end of the online instruction pool. We hope these free webinars provide ideas, guidance, and encouragement.