I’m working with a teacher who has been using Circling, which is the old way that some TPRS and CI teachers still use to get reps on words.
The problem is that – although teachers who still use Circling get plenty of reps on individual words – they are at the same time hampering the development of the narrative. Students need to get to closure on the story. They just want to know what happens.
Circling, then, may help students learn the individual words, but it comes at a steep price because it stalls the narrative and thus invites boredom.
Don’t circle anymore, is my advice. Learn, rather, how to develop and stay with an interesting narrative. It’s actually easy, y’all. It’s more than easy; it’s cakey.
