Blog 6

Determine if the activity is Learning (L) or Acquisition (A) based on Freeman & Freeman's (2004) book: Essential Linguistics, What You Need to Know to Teach Reading, ESL, Spelling, Phonics and Grammar. Chapter 2- Written and Second Language Acquisition. The student:
L	Students look up words in the dictionary to write definitions: A classroom activity supplied by those who believe in word recognition is learning vocabulary words in advance (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 25). Students are pre-taught vocabulary words that the students may not be able to figure out or are a part of their current vocabulary (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p.28). Looking up words in a dictionary and writing definitions holds true to this theory. “Pre-teaching often consists of defining words for students or giving students a list of words and having them look up in a dictionary” (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 28).
A	Students make a Venn diagram to compare two stories: Finding commonalities and differences is a strategy that can aide in comprehension. Sociopsycholinguists believe that teaching reading strategies such as, how to use a Venn diagram, will aide in independent reading comprehension (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 25).
L	Students practice sounding out words: Sounding out words is based on phonics. “Students should use phonics as the primary tool for word identification” (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p.27).
L	Students read in round~robin fashion: Two activities that word recognitionists practice is read alouds and round~robin reading (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p.28). Their belief is that reading aloud will aide in using correct words and correct pronunciation of a word (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 28).
L	Students correct peers when they make a mistake during reading: Students usually correct (other) students if they mispronounce a word during round~robin reading and read alouds (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 28).
A	Students identify words on a big book page that start with the same sound: Teachers who use big books with illustrations, help make written language understandable for students. Reading from a big book, helps students connect oral language to written print (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 25)
L/A	Students group cards with classmates' names by a criterion on such as first or last letter: This lesson could be found in both a traditional and acquisition classroom. Names are authentic and real world sources for language instruction. It also is a creative way to teach phonics, patterns, sorting and alphabetizing (Freeman & Freeman, 2004 p. 31).
L/ A	Students write rhyming poetry and then discuss different spellings for the same sound: Word recognition teachers “use phonics rules to sound out words” and then discuss different spellings for the same sound (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p.25). In a process classroom, teachers provide many opportunities for students to produce different kinds of writing; poetry is one that is taught (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 30).
L	Students ask the teacher how to spell any word they don't know: Word recognition teachers supply words when the reader does not recognize them (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 28). “In many traditional classrooms, the form of writing becomes more important than content. Students who focus on form many not even try to use new words for fear of misspelling them” (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 30).
A	Students read a language experience story they have created with the teacher: “Teachers help students say what students want to say and also give them strategies to communicate (in a variety of modes) when they do not have the linguistic resource” (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p.34). Acquisition teachers focus on meaning and help students understand and express ideas through a variety of modes (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p.33).
L/A	Students work in pairs to arrange words from a familiar chant into sentences: Teachers with a learning view teach parts to whole (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 29). This means that the teacher directs instruction so that smaller tasks build upon themselves, such as arranging sentences, until the student can independently accomplish the whole task. This activity can also be found in an acquisition classroom. Working with familiar chants for the purpose of building skills, students learn to take meaning from an authentic piece of literature (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 41).
L	Students divide words into syllables: Traditional learning view breaks language into component parts and then teaches each part (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 33.). The same holds true for those who believe in word recognition. Students learn to sound out letters. They then blend these sounds into groups of phonemes they can pronounce and identify as a word (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 24).
L	Students on a worksheet, draw a line from each word to the picture that starts with the same sound Word recognitionists believe that worksheets, drills and exercises are ways to practice the language and teach different skills (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p.33).
A	Students make alphabet books on different topics: “Students who listen and read and build up a storage of language can then later use the language to accomplish different things” (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p.34). This is true for making an alphabet book on different topics. Students must have already had learned the language to be able to use it in their alphabet book. This also is an authentic task of writing instruction (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p.29)
The teacher:
L	The teacher pre-teaches vocabulary: Teachers, who believe in word recognition, pre-teach vocabulary words they feel the student will not be able to figure out on their own. Also, they pre-teach words that are not currently in the student’s vocabulary (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 28).
A	The teacher does a shared reading with a big book: Sociopsycholinguistic teachers who read from big books make written language comprehensible for students who are following along. The student begins to connect written language with oral language for later use during independent reading (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p.25).
L	The teacher makes sure that students read only books that fit their level: Word recognitionists believe that students should read books at their current level. This is because the object of reading is to find meaning from the text. The more words a student knows, the more likely they will be able to comprehend the meaning in a text (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 25).
L	The teacher has the students segment words into phonemes: Traditional learning view breaks language into component parts and then teaches each part (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 33.). The same holds true for those who believe in word recognition. Students learn to sound out letters. They then blend these sounds into groups of phonemes they can pronounce and identify as a word (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 24).
A	The teacher writes words the students dictate for a story and has students help with the spelling of difficult words: “Teachers help students say what students want to say and also give them strategies to communicate (in a variety of modes) when they do not have the linguistic resource” (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p.34). Acquisition teachers focus on meaning and help students understand and express ideas through a variety of modes (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p.33).
A/L	The teacher asks students to look around the room and find words starting with a certain letter: “Acquisition occurs as the student uses language for a variety of purposes” (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p.35). Students who are discovering commonalities in words, such as first letters, are learning about the language. They are learning parts to whole. Teachers with a learning view teach parts to whole (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 29). This means that the teacher directs instruction so that smaller tasks build upon themselves, such as arranging sentences, until the student can independently accomplish the whole task.
L	The teacher uses decodable texts: Decodable books are phonics based and are easily comprehended by the reader. Word recognitionists believe that the job of a reader is to indentify words and apply them to oral language to find meaning (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 26).
A	The teacher sets aside time for SSR (sustained silent reading) each day: Sociopsycholinguistic’s view of reading is that it should be done silently. When students become stuck, they are to apply the scaffolding strategies the teacher provided (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p.28).
L	The teacher teaches Latin and Greek roots: One aspect of word recognition is teaching root words and word parts (Freeman & Freeman, 2004 p. 25).
A	The teacher has students meet in literature circles: Sociopsycholinguistics view of learning promotes students to participate in literature circles. This allows “students to listen and read to build up storage of a language (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 34). “Students should be able to understand, speak, read and write the language in different settings” (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 33). Literature circles also help students understand others when they are speaking, reading and writing.
L	The teacher conducts phonics drills: Word recognition believers think that for optimal learning, students need to accomplish “drills and exercises to practice language (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p.33)”. Also, word recognition believers think that “By applying phonics rules, readers can determine the pronunciation of a string of letters and change the written marks to words in their oral vocabulary” (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 27).
A	The teacher chooses predictable texts: Predictable books are necessary for teachers with a sociopsycholinguistic view. They believe that students “go through a process of sampling a text, predicting what will come next, filling in the unstated information by inferring, confirming or disconfirming their predictions and integrating the new information with what they already know” (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 26). Students need predictable books so that they can use background information to confirm or disconfirm their predictions of the book.
A	The teacher teaches students different comprehension strategies and does a picture walk of a new book: Teachers from a sociopsycholinguistic view teach students a variety of strategies that they can use to construct meaning and develop higher levels of reading proficiency ( Freeman &Freeman, 2004, p. 28).
L	The teacher uses a variety of worksheets to teach different skills: Worksheets are dominating activities given by teachers who believe in word recognition. Worksheets, drills and exercises are seen as ways to practice the language and teach different skills (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p.33).