Unlock with PatreonThe Problem with CI
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ROA Detail
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6 thoughts on “ROA Detail”
How do you get a lot of reps on the new vocab entered into reading the story? It seems like it would pale in comparison to the reps on the other things in which you did some PQA and story-asking.
It’s up to the individual teacher whether or not he/she wants to make one intent of the reading class to be about vocabulary size building.
Personally, I do not add any new language, because I want the students to feel like they can read the story independently – an easy and effortless reading experience.
10-15% unfamiliar words means that in a 100-word story, you then have 10-15 unfamiliar words. That would compromise comprehension. 2-5% is the amount of unfamiliar words that still allows for moderate comprehension during independent reading, which is only 2-5 new words in that 100-word story.
An approach that combines independent reading confidence with vocabulary building would be to do the reading with all familiar language and then later do a next-level embedded reading.
Who has heard of “first-trial learning”?
James Asher argued that the more reps that were needed to internalize new information, the worse the long-term retention. Asher explains the variability in the number of reps required for initial learning in terms of right vs. left brain. He says that right-brain instruction (e.g. kinesthetic learning) allows for fewer reps to initially learn a vocabulary item. Consequently, that vocabulary item will also be better remembered.
When it comes to vocabulary, there are multiple meanings, multiple collocations (those words that tend to co-occur), multiple word orders, etc. which requires that “full” acquisition of a vocabulary item take many repetitions in different contexts and therefore be a gradual process.
What I conclude is that we should be striving for ways to get that information acquired in as few reps as possible – use of right-brain tools – while also understanding that full acquisition of a word will be gradual.
That makes sense Eric. I’ve usually just added a few connector type words that help move the story in a written form (therefore, then, etc.). I think especially with the younger kids I just want them confidently reading what they just heard.
Does that few % include changing tenses? (Do most people change tenses to read?) Or adding/changing a detail (which might add a new word)?
Eric you make a subtle point that might just scroll on by but thank you for making it. I really need to consider it. It’s my AP French teacher personality who wants to go big at 10%-15% new vocabulary. Your suggestion that we reproduce the story with no new words and then make the next level of reading embedded is a very good one. I just don’t want to take the time to do that embedded reading. Because the kids are super bright, I will continue to add in the new words at 10%-15% and keep working with it to see what happens. But you have exposed my Inner Grammar Teacher in the above comment. He looks left and right to see if I catch him in class, trying to spout rules, wondering if I am going to stop him, hungrily going on knowing that the hammer is going to fall, and I stop him pretty much pf the time now before he can utter a word, but he gets in during ROA step 5 and he loves it. (If you are new and reading this, please be open to the idea that explaining grammar does no good. The kids only need to know WHAT IT MEANS.) My grammar self is a dog. I let him run around a little only in that step of ROA. He waits all day to get to the Step 5 doggie park. Yes, I love grammar. I can’t help it. So I embed new stuff in to make grammar points. Like in “Leur tante leur donne/Their aunt gives to them” in French even if that didn’t come up in the story I would put it in there, for the sheer joy of overexplaining it. Sometimes I have to bite my tongue to keep myself from saying that the first word is a possessive adjective and the second is an indirect object pronoun and both are in the third person form but they only look like the same word and how cool is that class? Oh the happiness! I don’t even care if they listen. I just like explaining it. This TPRS stuff has really put a damper on my Superachieving Overexplaining Grammar personality. “Dang it…Bobby!”
(Note: that comment above was sponsored by my Inner Grammar Dude. If I listened to reason, I would do exactly what Eric says above – don’t add grammar until I can embed some after the first pure reading.)
Wow, Eric — very nuanced discussion….
I always learn so much from this blog — I love it.