Read Dating

This CI reading strategy, which I got from friend and colleague Bob Patrick, is a variation of Ping Pong/Volleyball Reading  - my Rusticatio friend Justin Slocum Bailey calls it "Read Dating," and you will see why! This is a great reading activity, because it gets students moving around.

1. Organize student desks in pairs facing each other in a circular fashion around the room. You as the teacher are in the center. If there is an odd number of students, still line up desks this way.
2. The outer circle of students is labeled "A", while the inner circle folks are labeled "B". If there is an odd number of students, there will be one student who does not have a partner. Do not worry - it will all work out.
3. Every student has his/her own copy of the reading. The reading should be either a re-reading of something already read, an embedded reading or something which students can easily read at sight due to familiarity with vocabulary and language structures.
4. Like in ping pong/volleyball reading, "A" students read the first sentence aloud in Latin to their partner sitting across from them, and then immediately, "B" students translate the sentence into English
5. If "B" student needs help, then "A" student can help out. If neither student knows, then they ask you.
6. Once "B" student finishes translating, then he/she reads the next sentence in Latin aloud to his/her partner, and "A" student translates into English.
7. Partners alternate back and forth for 2 minutes. If there is an odd number of students, one student will not participate in this activity for the round. Tell him/her to read the story quietly.
8. At the end of 2 minutes, tell "A" students rotate one seat to the right. If you have a bell, ring it to signify that time is up - this make it really feel like speed dating!
9. If there is an odd number of students, now there will be a new student who does not have a partner.
10. Now that there is a new pair, the 2 students determine where they left off in the story, and they start up at the earlier of the two sentences. Yes, there is going to be repetition for one of the readers, but that is a good thing.
11. After 2 minutes, tell "B" students rotate to the right, and start up again.
12.  When students finish the story, they go back to the beginning and read/translate it again.
13. The length of time for the activity depends on the length of the passage. You want students to go through a story at least 1 1/2- 2 times.

Observations

1. As the teacher, I love this activity, because I am doing nothing but facilitating! Occasionally, I will be called upon to help with a sentence.
2. Students are helping each other out if there is something which they do not understand
3. It is a great way to to get students to move around and to interact with each other. If a student does not "prefer" his/her partner, he/she only has to spend two minutes with that person!
4. If you want to mix things up some, tell students to move 3-4 seats instead of just 1.