This just-published unit can be the first full story of the school year for a Spanish I class. It can be told at the beginning of the second or third week of class, or it can be saved until later. It explains how to get students reading right away. [...]
If we want student to retain vocabulary, they need to experience it over and over, not just a few times on a list or in a project. Reading does this.
'Comprehensible' and 'Interesting' nine times in kid-friendly language... Find a printable version of this post on the 'Free Stuff' page of my website, brycehedstrom.com, in the 'Reading' section.
To become fluent, students need to be reading tens of thousands of words in the target language. They need to read not just occasionally, but all the time, beginning in level 1. All of these quotes about teaching reading come from Bryce's new reading workshop. Contact him at contact@brycehedstrom.com [...]
Paper books are superior to digital, usually by a factor of 2, but if digital is all you have, they are infinitely better than nothing. .
Producing the language by speaking or writing doesn't help students internalize grammar. There are benefits to production, but acquiring grammar isn't one of them. Reading and listening can do it though—and reading is the most differentiated because self-selected reading can reach each student at their own unique level.
