Unlock with PatreonThe Problem with CI
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Important Question
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CI and the Research (cont.)
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10 thoughts on “Important Question”
So Emeka are you planning to use ROA to process the reading? I certainly would. As you know, it is used with just-created stories. The reason they are then able to read it with such success is because they just created the story.
If you are doing this with people new to the language, I suggest that you do a story for 30-40 minute (Invisibles concept would really work here), then have someone in the audience who can do it write it in French, then give the group a short break, then project the story, and then go right to your ROA options mainly steps 5-7 and maybe even including Textivate to show the use of a little technology. This to me is the best design for demonstrating a TPRS reading class.
The success of this depends entirely on their knowing and loving something they just created with you in the form of a story. Then they can read it, because they made it! That is why I personally vastly prefer doing ROA with stories and not relying much on the novels except for SSR/FVR to start class.
So, do you not write the story together? For some reason I’ve been under the impression that you did. I’ve seen at least a few TPRS teachers let students dictate the story to you, or do a Think Aloud as you type and pretend to search for a word or just pause and let volunteers answer for you and you type what they say.
The other day I mentioned Grant did a fantastic job with this:
https://benslavic.com/blog/important-new-grant-link/
It’s a very ESL thing to do, co-write a story together. That’s a compliment, Mr. Boulanger. Very ESL.
I’m sure you co-write the text because you posted on how you use the delete button to sneak in grammar. You are doing this, right Ben?
…I’m sure you co-write the text because you posted on how you use the delete button to sneak in grammar….
That was with native speakers who had written the reading of the story, Claire.
If there is no native speaker available who wants to work on her writing, I have to write it. And yes, it is very easy to sit there and re-create the story together in writing and we all do that.
I don’t do that very much because it seems sloppy. Too many kids not involved, etc. Maybe it’s just me. I prefer to have the story ready before the class with a few planted mistakes and then go paragraph by paragraph and use, especially, Reading Option A steps 4 through 7 as per the below.
Note: Reading Option A has 21 steps but after a story due to time limitations I usually only do these steps:
1. Choral Translation with the Reader Leader (Step 4) combined with Discussion of the Grammar (Step 5)
2. Reading from the Back of the Room (Step 6) combined with Readers Theatre (Step 7)
3. Dictée (Step 13)
Okay, that makes sense.
For me, the storyasking is just an excuse to create positive experiences with reading an writing. My Newcomers don’t get to talk for most of the day, so they like finally getting to participate in this.
I love the co-writing step but I appreciate that you have lots of options to chose from.
Yes, most of the teachers are Spanish teachers so I want to do a beginning French lesson. I will follow this advice. My main worry is trying to do too much in only an hour and a half, so it will just have to be a short story! Maybe with “has” and “wants” as Sean suggested… My colleagues want me to choose a reading in advance and just model circling it, but I agree the the power is telling the story together and personalizing it. Thank you for your advice and input!
Yes, without demonstrating the interest students feel in the content (because they helped to create it), reading activities would just be a technique for asking questions.
I agree with Ben. I wouldn’t do a reading unless you’ve created a story with them. Are you doing it in French because no one in the group knows French? That’s a great idea. I was finally able to get to a TPRS workshop with Von Ray a couple months ago and he did his in German. It was great being a student in a TPRS class using a language I was completely unfamiliar with. Although he already had a preplanned reading, it was still amazing to me how easily I was able to read it as he purposely used many of those structures when we created the story together. Again, I would do what Ben said and quickly type of the story during the break. That way it’s their story that they created. I think that’s so powerful.
I also prefer doing readings from stories we made over novels. The kids are so much more interested because it’s similar to what they made up and I, personally, create these readings with one of the students in the class as the main character. Just the other day, I did a reading with my Italian III class. I have a certain kid who tends to zone out a bit lately. He’s a good kid but, well, you know…we all have them in class. Well, the last story was about him and even the students in the class noticed how on point he was! After class I heard one student say to him, a bit sarcastically, “Wow, you actually answered all the questions right away today”. (He usually says “what” every time I ask him something so I need to repeat it to him. The kids noticed that that wasn’t the case this time.) Anyway, he answered “Yeah, it was about me!” Unfortunately, I can’t write a story about him every time but this time, at least, the level of interest was unbelievable!
Glad to hear you had that experience with your otherwise zone-out kid, Keri.
Emeka, I agree with what Ben and Keri are saying. “Reading” can also happen by you writing a sentence on the board and circling it. You can talk about the importance of that kind of reading experience in a beginning level class versus, I don’t know, students reading “Hola. ¿Cómo estás?” from the first section of the first chapter of a textbook.
Maybe you can use a simple Matava script for creating the story. I also remember finding some good, simple scripts somewhere on this blog, too. I remember seeing one with “drinks” and “wants”… I don’t really remember anything else about it but it’s somewhere here and I think that one could be interesting…and it was very simple.
Yeah… mini-story scripts where student A has something that student B wants, for example. ‘Has’ and ‘wants’ as a couple of the super seven.