In a world where innovative, immersive, and authentic learning reign supreme, anything that could be described as “robotic” can be a little off-putting to say the least. It brings to mind the mentality of Disney’s “The Mandalorian” who, in early seasons, has good reason to mistrust droids - avoiding and even eliminating them at every turn! Yet, just like Din Djarin has to do some personal “reprogramming” to find a droid or two as tolerable, even useful entities …we are all working to come to a place where we can similarly embrace some of the practices detailed in the Science of Reading for the vocabulary instruction of older learners. How do we reconcile our own wishes to “avoid the droid” while still integrating research-based practices when called to? It starts with a healthy degree of questioning and consideration. This is the way.