Posts in this series:

1. Easily Adaptable Activities (this post!)
2. CI Responses in Zoomwww.matermonstrorum.com/comprehensible-input/bringing-ci-into-the-online-classroom-part-2
3. Bringing CI into an empty digital class
4. Bringing CI into a traditional online Latin class
5. Using Brain Breaks Online

As of now, I've spent one semester in a fully online teaching setting. I teach for two school settings, one in a course that is already written, with tests and course materials already created, and one in a course that I have full control over. I will be pulling from both experiences for these posts. They are not meant to compare and contrast the two types of schools (or my thoughts on them), but rather to provide support for online language teachers who may find themselves in either situation. :)

In my physical classroom I would use a dictation to introduce a new unit with new vocab, review a story before a test, and practice with grammar structure. In my online classroom I use them in the same way in my Spanish class and for my Latin class (which this semester was an already formed course in a traditional way), I used it as a support for the cultural topics, vocabulary, and grammar. For example, if the author being discussed in the unit was Pliny the Elder, I'd take a passage from their coursework and adapt it for a dictation using the vocabulary and grammar present. Students would then go into that lesson with a set of notes and a video to help them work through it. ​

I won't share the full details of Ben Slavic's work, but you can join his site to read them in full and find a whole host of other activities. What I will share is that this activity includes elements of performative reading (by the teacher), choral translation, and discussion of vocabulary, grammar, and culture. Much like a dictation, it isn't always the most fun activity, but many students appreciate this take on things, particularly those who need extra support and those who want all the little details. 

Read and Discuss
This is really a broader term that encompasses everything from Reading Option A to Read, Discuss, and Draw. The blog I shared details a simpler version of this activity where you take things at the students' pace and include circling in the target language to ensure understanding. I really like this version as is is easily adapted to things like: level of class, needs of students in the room (or zoom), and likes and dislikes when it comes to various activities. 

What I did
I've done read and discuss in both my fully CI Spanish class and my mixed Latin class this semester repeatedly. The image above is from a Latin class. I've included a brief comparison below of what I did in each class. 

As I started with, this is just the beginning. There is a lot more that I've learned and continue to learn about teaching online. In this blog post, I included two strategies I visit time and again in these classes, but I'd love to share more. Here is a quick list of other activities I use regularly. Let me know in the comments if you'd like a breakdown of how I do them!

• Movie short/Movie talk (whatever you call it :) )
• Picture Discussion
• Vocabulary matching (word to image)
• Calendar Talk/Weather Talk
• Free Write (others may call/use timed write)

I have to firstly give credit to two of my students. I am sharing their work with their permission and it is because of the initiative they took that I am sharing this idea. In my ESOL class this year (sometimes called ELL or ESL) we are preparing for our final exam this semester using urban legends from their home countries. I was pulled from class on this particular day and had to think quickly on what to give students. I ended up giving them the story I intended (a story I've called The Red Flowers based on a Chilean folktale) and the choice to translate the story, write and answer their own comprehension questions in English about the story, or to draw a picture for the story). 

Two students decided to illustrate the story in a unique way. They incorporated a variety of drawings including vocabulary definitions and storyline drawings and made use of the actual text of the story. I was so impressed with their work I wanted to share it widely. The next day I gave them a story I called "The Man with a hat" (based on a Colombian version of the tale of El Sombrerón) and similar instructions. I showed a student who was struggling with the instructions their work and he was inspired to try it himself. I encouraged him to talk to the two other students and they each created another wonderful work sample. 

So, I cannot take ANY credit for this idea :). This is entirely born out of two students' creativity. Thank you Amy, Lis, and Angel. 

What I really love about Lis's work is that she truly made excellent use of the space and the story. The village is described as being next to the mountain and the river. She's drawn the river through the story so that it flows with the text. The red flowers are sprinkled throughout. She's used the flag of Chile to represent the country, gold pieces, and included a heart that partially encompasses the paragraph where the couple fall in love. 

Image Credit: Found on Google Image Search (more info coming as I find it)​

Something Amy did that I really appreciated was to include drawings of what vocabulary words meant right behind the text. She drew a heart for the word love, a large red X over "does not walk", and a lovely full moon for the word "night". Just like in the previous story, she made use of the Colombian flag. Something I observed in class was that she spoke to our Colombian students and asked them to clarify the colours of the flag. 

Something about this piece that works really well is that she shows Nico in every state of being. In the first paragraph, she has drawn him in completely black garb with his hat. In the second, she shows him walking on the street and as a ghost (complete with giant black hat). Lastly, she incorporates the warning at the end of the story to not walk alone at night. 

Image Credit: Miriam Patrick, 2022.​

I am still working on how exactly to make this work as a whole class discussion with individual work. Ben Slavic has written in the past about Reading Option B or Read, discuss, and draw. I view this as an alternative to Reading Option B and I am calling it Illustrated Texts. You can read how I am going to instruct my Latin 1 and ESOL LDC 1 classes this week in this activity and I will make a follow up post about how it went and what changes I've made to the document after. In the mean time, enjoy more of my students' work :)