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8 thoughts on “He Talks Too Much (Matava) – French – Ben Slavic”
I did “talks too much” today in front of my Department Chair. I didn’t even have to ask a question before everyone started fighting about who talks too much (in Spanish of course).
Golden script. Golden structures.
Ben, These look infinitely more do-able. Let me know how it goes with your kids!!!!! I know that you love to free flow….and this might make you feel “tied down” so I would love to know how your kids respond to it. I’d like for us to find ways for all kinds of teachers to be successful with Embedded Readings. So speak for the free flow-ers!!!!
with love,
Laurie
I did this yesterday. The thing I noticed was exactly what you would want and expect. The bottom half of the class was able to read the third version better, not perfect, than they would have without first having read the first two versions. We got crimped on time for spinouts, but it was worth it because the repetitive reading of the same text, that movement towards unconscious CI via reading, happened a lot more than had I just had the one version. I was able, when working with the kids, to see how much you had done in terms of adding in certain words through the three levels. For example, the word “now” was the only addition from version 1 to version 2 in one sentence. I guess that’s why you call it scaffolding. It’s not that the kids were wonderfully impressed by the level of personalization – it wasn’t very personalized – but it was very effective all the same. It’s just a more user friendly and effective way to read, in a word. Thank you for your work in developing this.
Some thoughts: Maybe I’m responding to the age of my students (younger than yours), but I find it difficult to do more than one or two embedded readings in one day. If I do the third version the next day, after their brains have had time to do their “din” work (which Krashen talks about), I think we get more bang for our buck. I have more time to do the personalizing in class, too. The kids don’t get bored with “doing the same thing” all on the same day. I believe that brain research might fall down on the side of revisiting the material after 24 hours or looking at it intermittently. I do this, of course, because I follow an order of presentation but not a strict schedule of days–so I don’t try to pack everything into a five-day schedule. I just do the next activity on whatever day it hits. Does that make sense?
Yes Jody and I felt that but I really wanted to experiment yesterday. I easily could have held back the third version for today and spun a parallel story or two out. As it happens, I will present the third version today, again, then spin out a bit and then give them 15 minutes to translate a paragraph into English for a grade.
Makes sense.
Ben, just to clarify, I have a few questions about this translation assessment:
1. can they use their copy with notes on it? if so, what limitations do you give them for the notes?
2. can they choose which level of story to translate?
3. do they choose the paragraph, or do you?
4. What do the students do who finish in less than 15 minutes?
Thanks
1. I don’t give them copies. I know that Susie says to do that, but I find that a single focal point for the reading keeps us together better. So obviously they can’t take notes or anything.
2. No, we do the levels in order and I choose what paragraph we will do for the actual test. I chose from the Version 3 text today, enough to require about 15 min. on their parts at the end of class. Not surprisingly, the kids who came to class every day and paid attention had flawless translations, the others tanked their grade. The absent kids got zeroes, which are already in the book, and will have to produce an excuse to have the zero expunged and then I will make it a “no grade” since I never have kids make up tests.
3. I choose it.
4. Sit around.