Jody reminds us that doing reading classes that are too difficult for the class (instructional reading) brings fewer gains than we may think:
If I know there are phrases/words/terms/whatever in the reading that the kids are unlikely “to get” from context, I write parenthetically “in bold type” the meaning in English. Hopefully, that won’t interrupt their comprehension flow very much–my goal.
Kids should be reading things (for acquisition purposes) that are 95% comprehensible–in other words, easy for them to read, permitting flow, few to zero interruptions for comprehension reasons. If there is too much need to look up words, write them down, ask what they mean, etc., the reading is too difficult; the flow is interrupted; the amount of acquisition is automatically reduced. They are reading, but at an “instructional” level–won’t add to acquisition the way easier reading would.
Having the kids orally translate the selections into English is an assessment tool for the teacher–showing us that the students understand the words they are reading. In that sense, it is probably a good meta-cognitive activity for the student–lets them know that the material is at an “optimal acquisition level” for them or NOT. I believe this is an important activity for the teacher to learn something about the students, but I don’t believe this activity helps with acquisition. It is “another” reading tool for the teacher.
My sense is that more kids, than we would like, are reading at “instructional” levels instead of “acquisition” levels in our classes. What I love about Laurie/Michelle’s embedded reading technique (for teachers) is that it gets us moving in the direction of providing all kids with material at “acquisition” levels–quite easy for them to understand–and scaffolding them to higher levels, but still with the goal of 95% comprehensible.
If reading truly contributes to acquisition, the student will not be aware that acquisition is occurring as they read. Acquisition won’t happen in a straight line nor in perfect increments. We will have to stop every month or so to help them look at their gains–the meta-cognition piece if we want them to notice that they have acquired more language through reading.
I love to throw a “hard” book at them for a few minutes at the beginning of the year so that they can notice how HARD it is. I tell them that, by the end of the year, it will be easy. They scoff. Later in the year, when they have read it, I remind them of that day. Much self appreciation takes place. You know the drill.