Monday Tips and Tricks

The New Year is coming. Just kidding, it's here! For those of us in the South, the new school year is underway or near abouts. I thought I'd share a short post on the tips and tricks I live by on Mondays:

For a tired Monday. 

• Dictationes are my friend. When I am particularly tired or I know my kids are, I will turn to a dictatio. They are calm, focused, and quiet. (Here is the write up from Latin Best Practices)
• OWATS are also a good friend. These are great to review or use new words and get material for following days. 
• Picture Descriptions are another low key activity. They allow more discussion in the target language than the previous two options. 

For a "get up and go" Monday. 

• The QR code dictatio is a great Monday activity. It gets kids up and moving, requires little of you in the moment, and ignites excitement about things to come. 
• Total Physical Response is another great moving activity. You can use this on Mondays to assess, review, and teach. 

For the Monday after a break. 

• Collective Memory is an awesome way to get kids back into the groove after a break. We often do collective memory in August, January, and after Spring Break
• "Quid Agis?" activities are also great for this kind of Monday. You can teach holiday words, find out who traveled, and use key verbs to discuss what is important to kids. 
• You can also do discipulus illustris (la persona especial) on a Monday like this. It is a great way to get kids involved and engaged. 
• Personalised Question and Answer is another play on a lot of this list. It can be a great Monday activity. 

Links to Other Schedules.

• John Piazza's Weekly Schedule

What do you like to do on Mondays?