¿Cuál es la contraseña secreta?

Ok, so...it's Friday & while I should be enjoying my weekend (or lesson planning, sending parent/guardian e-mails, applying for a classroom grant, cleaning my e-mail inbox out...etc.)I just HAD to share a reflection and promotion of having your kids enter your room with a secret password--it's amazing! If you've ever wondered if the "TL" in my blog title also means "target language" (and the "CI" of course is "comprehensible input"), it does...BUT I wanted to combine this with what's closer to my heart...the "Tender Love and Care (Instruction)" side--and this post, has everything to do about relationships! I must confess, when I attended NTPRS, I had already read about this idea from Bryce Hedstrom & when I finally got to sit in on one of his sessions---I had decided to roll this out this year! That said, I wasn't without my reservations. I thought...the kids will HATE this. They will roll their eyes at it and just want to enter the room. Not the case...at all! We've used the following contraseñas secretas related to things we're learning so far...

However, my favorite has been one we've used for more than 5 days now, and I don't want to stop using it. I love it because if you read more about the WHY behind using a secret password on Bryce's site (click here for the link), I TRULY felt the connection with this one, and I'm learning about the kids. They LOVE that I remember the details about them. I get to look them in the eyes as they enter, see how they're feeling that day, welcome them to my room & hear about something they like...it's. just. awesome. As I presented it the first day, I told them that I wanted to know "¿Qué o Quién es "chévere" en tu opinión?"

Note: Many of them are funny and say "Soy chévere" or that the person in front of them is "chévere", but if they repeat this, I push them to tell me something that is important, unique to them---really something that helps me get to know them better. It really is the little things that count. It's all about building your classroom community. They want to be recognized and cared for--who doesn't? I am THRILLED to finally roll out student jobs and "Persona Especial" on Monday! Extra, bonus note: They also LOVE being recognized with their name on the board when it is their birthday. I thought a particular student who is very quiet was not going to appreciate the recognition but I did notice her immediately glance at the board as she walked in the class (where birthday names are listed)...and she smiled. Made my day. Keep doing those "little" things, they matter so much! :) Happy weekend!