# 6 - Learning vs. Acquisition activities

The students:

Look up words in the dictionary to write definitions:  Learning.   Looking up vocabulary is explicit instruction, the words are not learned within the context of the text.

Make a Venn diagram to compare two stories:  Acquisition: students are using a graphic organizer to gain meaning from sources/texts.

Practice sounding-out words:  Learning.  Sounding out is a drill that focuses on phonics procedure, not overall meaning in context.

Read in round-robin fashion:  Both:  Round Robin is acquisition by the experience of reading and applyin learned strategies to gain comprehension and vocabulary.  It is Learning because Round-Robin allows teachers to step in with instruction on word decoding or corrections at any time during reading.

Correct peers when they make mistakes while reading:  Both.  Peer correction is a way to use learned rules in an authentic way.  The peers receiving the correction are learning, when they are directly receiving the reading cues from another student.

Identify words in a Big Book that start with the same sound: Both.  Students are applying rules of reading, beginning sounds which is a learning exercise.  And, the act of reading a new story is an experiential activity that promotes acquiring knowledge through the overall context of the Big Book story.

Group cards with classmates' names by a criterion on such as first or last letter.  Learning.  This exercise emphasizes identifying word parts in isolation.  There is not much context to draw from for reading acquisition.

Write rhyming poetry and then discuss different spellings for the same sounds.  Acquisition.  Creating written expression in poetry puts emphasis on the message that a student wants to convey.  Acquisition teaching includs doing mini lessons on all aspects of writing.  Discussing homonyms is a mini lesson that addresses spelling, without making it a main focus of the objective: expression through writing poetry.

Ask the teacher how to spell any word they don't know:  Learning.  Since students ask about spelling, they understand that conventions are an important objective in writing.  This is a learning view.

Work in pairs to arrange words from a familiar chant into sentences.   Acquitision.  Students are using their background knowledge of the chant, and of syntax to re-create their internalized knowledge of the chant.

Divide words into syllables:  Learning.  Manipulating word-parts without context is a word recognition method.

Make alphabet books on different topics:  Acquisition.  This encourages a meaningful activity ("Make a book") where students draw on their background knowledge to practice written expression.  According to the acquisition theory, the students will naturally self-correct their books to make them appropriately communicative for the audience.

The Teacher:

Preteaches Vocabulary: Learning.

Does a shared reading with a big book: Acquisition.

Makes sure that students read only books that fit their level: Acquisition.  This promotes comprehensible input where students best learn the new vocabulary and writing structures that will increase their reading level automatically, and produce the spillover effect in their writing.

Has students segment words into phonemes:  Learning.  Focusing on word parts is a phonetic exercise that emphasizes segmenting isolated words, instead of reading authentically in context.

Writes words the students dictate for a story and has students help with the spelling of difficult words:  Both.   The fact that students are writing a story for the sake of creating a story is an acquisiton activity.  Since they focus on spelling; and have the opportunity to correct one another's spelling it is also a learning activity.

Asks students to look around the room and find words starting with a certain letter:  learning.  This focuses on phonics, word parts and does not require contextual background knowledge or syntax skills.
Uses decodable texts: Both.  Re-coding can happen with decodable texts.  So can using background knowledge and context clues to enjoy and learn from a story.  Both improve reading ability.

Sets aside SSR each day:  Acquisition.  Students will learn new vocab and acquire syntax, background knowledge, and knowledge of conventions through SSR.

Teaches Latin and Greek Roots:  Learning.  This puts emphasis on spelling skills and not "whole picture" reading knowledge.

Has students meet in literature circles:  Acquisition.  Encourages students to learn about, share, and  recall background knowledge and use comprehension strategies (questioning, predicting, etc.) for the purpose of authentic communication.