Transcript Workshop_Workbook2

QUICK WRITE…

(5 MINUTES)
When I think of English Language Learners in
my class, …
THE
TO ACADEMIC SUCCESS:
IMPROVING READING COMPREHENSION
THROUGH VOCABULARY ACQUISITION
Presenter: Beth Lee
DILEMMA(S) AT HAND…
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How do I determine appropriate strategies to
help ELs?
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How do I create lessons that accommodate ELs
without creating more work for myself?
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If a student speaks English, why isn’t the
student proficient in reading and writing?
BASIC WAYS TO ADJUST INSTRUCTION
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Strive to make instruction more
comprehensible to all learners.
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Create interactive lessons for
students.
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Develop lessons that foster academic
achievement for ALL students
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Facilitate language learning in the
content area
TODAY’S FOCUS: VOCABULARY ACQUISITION
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The knowledge of stored information about the meanings and
pronunciations of words necessary for communication is referred to as
vocabulary development. The development of vocabulary is essential for
beginning reading because the process of sounding out a word is also
linked to determining if the word makes sense. Without knowing the
meaning of a word, it is nearly impossible to no if the word makes sense in a
sentence or if it belongs based on context clues. Reading comprehension is
heavily impacted by the development of vocabulary as the reader cannot
understand the content unless there is an understanding of the majority of
the words a text contains. Vocabulary instruction should be incorporated
into daily lessons in an effort to assist ELs in developing comprehension
skills beyond basic phonetic skills.
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Scientific research on vocabulary development demonstrates that children
learn the majority of their vocabulary indirectly in the following three ways:
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Through conversations, mostly with adults;
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Listening to adults read to them; and
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Reading extensively on their own (Antunez, 2002).
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Many ELLs are from families
where parents and other
adults in their lives do not
fluently speak the English
language. Because of this, it is
critical that educators of ELLs
strategically and directly
incorporate the ways that
students learn vocabulary. This
may include explicitly teaching
vocabulary words before
students read a text, how to
use dictionaries, how to use
prefixes and suffixes to
decipher word meanings, and
how to use context clues
(Antunez, 2002).
Vocabulary Acquisition Strategies :
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Before Reading
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During Reading
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After Reading
ALL TEACHERS SHOULD…
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Identify key content vocabulary
and words that may be difficult
for ELs – specifically phrasal
verbs and prepositional
phrases.
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Many languages do no utilize
these language forms;
therefore, this tends to be one
of the last language forms
acquired by ELs. It is also
imperative to identify difficult
idioms, homonyms, and slang
phrases.
Pre-teach essential
vocabulary words
and phrases.
STRATEGY 1 – PRETEACH VOCABULARY
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Identify focus vocabulary terms.
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Implement multi-modal activities to introduce these terms.
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Connect the images to the vocabulary words.
 Access Google Images and search the focus vocabulary terms.
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Use class discussions to address conceptual terms. This is more effective
than simply naming the object.
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When available, bring in manipulatives to give meaning to focus vocabulary
terms.
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Physically demonstrate verb phrases
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Ask students to role-play.
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Use relevant film-clips to illustrate vocabulary
STRATEGY 1 IN PRACTICE (VOCABULARY FLASHCARDS)
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Go to www.studyblue.com
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When creating or editing flashcards, you will notice a paperclip icon within the
‘Term’ portion of your flashcard. Scrolling over it will display icons for adding
image or audio clips no larger than 10MB.
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Create an account in order to complete this activity.
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You will create vocabulary flash cards for three focus vocabulary terms from your
first unit of study during the upcoming school term.
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This is an excellent resource for ELs who need to hear the pronunciation or associate an
image with a focus vocabulary term.
For example: simile, verb, character
Log in to your StudyBlue account and you will be brought to your main Backpack
page. At the top you will find three options including ‘Join class’, ‘Make
flashcards’, and ‘Upload files’. Select the ‘Make flashcards’ option and you will
be on your way towards creating a new deck.
These vocabulary flash cards can be accessed from any computer by any
student. Students can print the vocabulary terms and store them in their
class folders or the teacher can use them for introducing the terms during
class discussions.
STRATEGY 2 – SUPPORT META-COGNITION
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As educators who work with ELs, it is critical to support
students' meta-cognition around vocabulary. Meta-cognition
is an important aspect of learning as it forms the foundation
in which students become independent readers and writers.
As students are reading, it is important to have the students
identify confusing or unknown words. Utilizing context clues
is a complex skill that can be used in this process. In order to
utilize context clues, students may need to rely on a peer.
Discussing possible meanings with partners and keeping
vocabulary journals of newly acquired words are simple ways
to increase vocabulary acquisition. These strategies will
ultimately have a positive impact on improving reading
comprehension skills as students become familiar with a
variety of vocabulary terms.
STRATEGY 2 – IN PRACTICE (VOCABULARY JOURNAL)
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Required:
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Optional:
STRATEGY 3 – ESL READING JOURNALS
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Utilizing reading journals is another asset
that can assist students in improving
reading comprehension through
vocabulary acquisition.
Offering scaffolded tasks in the reading
journals will allow each journal entry to
build upon the next as students
incorporate newly acquired vocabulary in
the written compositions.
 As students consistently read and
write these unfamiliar terms, they will
develop their recognition of the terms
while developing confidence with the
second language (English).
The primary reason of incorporating this
particular teaching strategy is to provide
the ELs with a useful tool for future
reference.
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Supports the development of reading
comprehension through building
vocabulary, improving oral reading and
developing writing skills as students
strive to learn the English language
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Reinforces skills that have already
been learned
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Documents a variety of
topics/responses including telling the
teacher about what is read, the
reaction to the text, summarize specific
components or what is most important
to the reader, or document unfamiliar
words and/or phrases
STRATEGY 3 – ESL READING JOURNALS
TO RECEIVE CREDIT FOR TODAY’S WORKSHOP…
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Complete the StudyBlue Vocabulary Activity
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Complete the table: Key Strategies for Teachers of
English-Language Learners
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Complete the Evaluation of the Workshop
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Schedule an Observation with Beth Lee for feedback
on your role as a teacher of ELLs
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This is merely an opportunity to receive feedback on how
you are serving our students. This will not in any way reflect
your administrative observations. These observations are
confidential.