Tuesday, January 18, 2011
I was a bit confused about chapter 5 of the Herrera book. Are all three approaches (reader based instruction, interactive language learning, and direct instruction) supposed to be used together? They seem like they could fit together in a good lesson. I am interested in understanding this chapter as I lead a 1C reading group. I have had a hard time teaching Vocabulary to the students. I heard in class that you should only teach 5 new vocabulary words a week. I totally agree. I think that is is crazy that think that students are going to retain more than 5 words a week. Although I agree with the 5 words a week idea, I teach my 1C students at least 10 words A DAY. How in the world should I balance this with the knowledge that 5 words a week are all my students can handle? They are so low level in their knowledge that they need to know a ton of words each day to keep up with their peers.
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You're right in thinking that the three approaches Herrara presents are linked. Like I said in class, the direct instruction is what you will rely on most when teaching low level language learners. You'll want to incorporate interactive language learning into your lessons, but you'll likely be spending most of your time on "direct instruction" coupled with group activities.
ReplyDeleteWhen you teach level 2-4 all three approaches should be used in the classroom!
If you are having to expose students to many words (50 a week or more), keep a core 5 that you teach and review every day. These words should be the ones that are most essential in every day language use. You can still teach the 50, just be sure that the 5 most critical words are thoroughly learned!
Thanks - K