This year I got too much into Point and Pause and not enough into Circling. I did that consciously, thinking that Point and Pause was faster and taught more vocabulary. That is not necessarily true.
A word, any new word introduced into a story, cannot be acquired unless it is circled enough. If a new word comes up in the CI, we can’t just write it on the whiteboard, give its translation, and then expect the kids to retain it, to acquire it.
In fact, my entire attitude towards introducing new terms during CI is changed. Instead of letting in a lot new words, I need to be diligent in what I allow into the flow of the CI, remembering that circling and lots of it is necessary for acquisition.
I suppose if we had classes of kids with fly paper memories, I wouldn’t have to retool into more judicious choice of new words in CI, but we don’t. Most people need a ton of repetition. I know I do. So why wouldn’t my students?
No, it won’t make for boring stories. In fact, the interest will go up – it always does when we make SLOW Circling our highest priority. The increased level of decoding by the kids will lead to better suggestions and more fun.
Conclusion for next year – more Circling, less Point and Pause, and a little narrower feel to the content of the CI than this year. This may require more classes based on story scripts, where success is assured if the script is good, and that wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world either.
[Credit: Diana Noonan]