Past-Tense Musings
Does anyone know of an imperfect song along the lines of the
preterite song to the tune of Gilligan? My students were asking the
student teacher today and I realized that I have never used one nor
knew of one. Anyway, let me know if you have one that we can steal!
We have the Singing the Basics one, but we want a meaning-based song,
not one that is grammar-based.
And…I still can’t get over how well my students are doing with the
past tense having done it so differently this year. It’s hard
watching the student teacher do it and not getting to do it
myself…because it’s just so darned easy this year! They just GET
it for the first time! I mean my top-end students always did fine
with the past tense, but the change this year is just amazing to
watch (albeit from the sidelines now!). I have done the past tense
differently each year for 4 years with TPRS and was never
satisfied…and this way works by far the best and I will continue to
do it this way unless someone comes up with something better!
We started the year by telling the story in the present tense one
day, retelling in the past the next and doing all of the readings in
the present tense, same in chapter 2 but with the readings primarily
in the I/we forms. In Chapter 3 we started doing the stories in the
past from the get-go and reading in the present. In Chapter 4 we are
doing the stories in the past, readings in the past, and then doing a
lot of pop-up meaning and asking students for the present tense forms
of the verbs while reading. They do just know them. It’s amazing.
Not one student has complained about the class getting ‘hard’ this
year when we started the past tense as in past years.
They haven’t all reached the acquisition point with the past tense.
Although they can read it and recognize that it is past tense. A few
of the students are starting to produce the past tense in writing, a
few more will do it in speaking. We still have 9 weeks of school, so
I’m confident that even more students will be at that point or
further than those students by the end of the year.
I know it’s early…far from the year being done…but I’m just blown
away by the ability levels of my students this year. The final exam
will be the true test though. And…keeping in mind that my students
have not been doing retells all year long. I just recently asked the
student teacher to start doing retells occasionally. She typically
uses the student retell step when she has extra time in a class.
Anyway, no real point….it’s just amazing. Too bad they won’t get
TPRS in level 3…I just think how amazing they would be by 4th
year! Oh well.
Carmen 
