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What went well:
This morning in German 2, one of my students said that he felt bad for the Spanish students because their classes just seemed to be lame. Everyone was always quiet, sitting in their desks, doing their stuff, and every once in a while they would have fun. He then said that he would probably take French if I were teaching it, but if it's not me, there's no way he would take it. :) It's those kinds of things from a student who is highly intelligent but also definitely what one would call a "typical German"... not necessarily popular, verging on gothic and truly a free thinker. It is so good for me to have these badges of honor because every once in a while I wish I had those quiet Spanish classes... but I know I'm really reaching these kids where they need to be met... and that they appreciate it. That's awesome. I've had a girl who is also in that class tell me the same thing... and she took another language.

German 1, we learned spielen and some new sports today after the test. First of all, I felt good about that use of time (instead of just letting them sit around mindlessly), but second, I made the decision this year to teach the verb endings in German 2 so that the students can discover them a bit more on their own. Today I previewed the fact that we'll learn the "general rule" to how things go together, and one boy (whose sister is in German 3) was so excited that he already knew how because his sister taught him this past weekend! I think it will be great for the kids to "discover it" on their own. I'm excited about this move. Chapter 1 was full enough and this will bring some meaning to all the verbs in Chapter 2.

The Speech Team meeting went well. We had about 12-15 at the meeting... and others signed up. All of the coaches had a chance to talk, which is important as we create this team. Overall I think it went very well.

What could have improved:
In German 3 the past tense story was okay. The kids were listening and they drew well, but they didn't pick up on the words like the lady promised they would. Oh well. The rest of the hour was very productive though, and I found myself speaking a lot of German... I think it's because I had the opportunity to hear it again last week from "real" speakers! I decided internally that, like in the immersion programs, they can still speak in English when they need to, but I can still speak in German. This way they'll move into that German place when they feel comfortable.

Who I need to touch base with tomorrow:
Those 11th graders in German 1 because I don't think I'm going to have much of a German 1 class tomorrow. I don't know what we'll do... maybe I should bring a game. We'll see.