Transcript Falling in Love with Words KSRA

Falling in Love with
Vocabulary
Presented by
Shannon Walker
Kimberly Allen
Fun with Words - Sniglets
Match the word with the definition or
picture

Dudnobs
(dud’ nobz)
 Adequate
 v. Consuming one’s M&M’s by
color groups.
(a’ du kwit)
 Emeneminize
 n. The metallic coating on a lottery
(em ‘n em’ en
ticket that separates you from a
ize)
million bucks a year for life.
 Dreamonium
n. The fake drawers beneath the
(dree mon’ ee
sink that everyone tries to pull open.
um)Hall, Rich ( 1987). Angry Young Sniglets. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
Taken From:
Fun with Words - Sniglets
Match the word with the definition or
picture

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Gloob
(gloob)
Rort
(rort)
Nasalstalgia
 n.
(nay zul stahl’ juh)
 n. Old sticks of gum at the bottom of
a woman’s purse.
Petroulette
(peh’ tri dent)
Special smells that bring you
back to another place and time.
 n. The item in the copier left behind
by the previous user which you
sometimes also copy (thinking sooner
or later the information could come in
handy).
Complete the Analogy
Learning a new word is like…
because…
Laura Robb

Learning a new word is like dating:
– You are introduced
– Take several months to get to know each
other
– Reach a point where you know each other
Objectives

State the importance of vocabulary
instruction

Identify tiers of words to teach

Identify instructional practices that
increase students’ vocabulary learning
Love at First Sight
Agree or Disagree

Most reading problems that we identify
as comprehension problems usually
relate to vocabulary deficiencies.
If
the meanings of just a few key words in a
passage are unknown, then there is little to
no comprehension.
Words
are the most useful learning tools
we can offer students.
The important role of vocabulary in
reading comprehension has long been
recognized. One’s vocabulary level is
highly predictive of one’s level of
reading comprehension. Words are how
we label our concepts and ideas. This
prior knowledge is key to understanding
what we read, so vocabulary is a good
predictor of how well the reader will
comprehend a text.
(Fountas & Pinnell, 2006)
There is strong evidence that the earlier word
meanings are learned, the more easily
available they are to assist in comprehension
and to use in speech and writing. It is sensible
to provide children with opportunities to gain
facility with some difficult words at a young
age. Giving children experience with such
words in oral activities allows them a head
start when they meet the words later reading
on their own. Moreover, knowing some of the
difficult words in a text may allow them to learn
more of the unfamiliar words in that text.
(Beck &
McKeown, 2005)
The Importance of Teaching
Vocabulary

Strong correlation between vocabulary
knowledge and reading comprehension.
 Becker (1977) linked the vocabulary size to
the academic achievement of disadvantaged
students.
 Definite gap between students with poor
vocabularies and students with rich
vocabularies.
Choosing Words to Love
1.
2.
3.
Review the text to identify the story
line(s) or main ideas.
Compile a list of words related to the
story line(s) or main ideas. These are
key-concept words.
Determine which key concept words
are adequately defined in the text.
These words need no direct teaching.
Cooper, David J. (1997). Literacy: Helping children construct meaning. New York:
Houghton Mifflin.
Choosing Words to Love
4.
5.
Identify the words students can determine
through the use of prefixes, suffixes, or
base words. These words need no direct
teaching.
Think about the words in relation to
students’ needs. Words likely to cause
difficulty may require direct teaching.
Cooper, David J. (1997). Literacy: Helping children construct meaning. New York:
Houghton Mifflin.
Tiers of Words

Tier One
– The most basic words
– Example: clock, baby, walk
– These words rarely need to be taught in a
school setting.
Beck, I. L., McKeown, M. G., Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing words to life: Robust
vocabulary instruction. New York: The Guilford Press.
Tiers of Words

Tier Three
– Content specific words
– An in-depth understanding of these words
would not be useful
– Best learned for specific purposes
– Example: Discussing spelunking during a
story on caves.
Beck, I. L., McKeown, M. G., Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing words to life: Robust
vocabulary instruction. New York: The Guilford Press.
Tiers of Words

Tier Two
– Words of high frequency in a variety of
contexts
– They comprise a large part of a
student’s vocabulary
– Examples: fragile, bitter, looming,
disastrous
Beck, I. L., McKeown, M. G., Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing words to life: Robust
vocabulary instruction. New York: The Guilford Press.
How to avoid a “bad choice”
1.
2.
Make sure you are able to explain the
term in your own words (student
friendly definition).
Always remember that words are
useful and interesting. Students must
find use for a word in everyday
situations.
Picking Tier 2 Words
Read the following passage. Which
word(s) would you choose to teach?
Why?
 Turn and Talk

Running down the path, he found a panda whose
leg had been injured by a fallen tree. Carefully,
Nikolai carried her into Leo’s house and made a
splint for her leg with a stick of bamboo. The
storm raged on, banging at the doors and
windows. The panda woke up. “Where am I?”
she said. “And where is my child?” The boy
ran out of the cottage and down the path. The
roar of the storm was deafening. Pushing
against the howling wind and drenching rain, he
ran farther into the forest.
excerpt from: Muth, Jon J. (2002). The Three Questions. New York, NY:
Scholastic
Things to keep in mind, when
searching for the “Words of
your Dreams”

How useful is the word in general?

Does the word relate to other words and
ideas students have been learning?

Does the word make the text become more
meaningful?
Beck, I. L., McKeown, M. G., Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing words to life: Robust
vocabulary instruction. New York: The Guilford Press.
The Dating Game:
Learning New Words
Indirect vs. Direct Vocabulary
Instruction

Indirect Instruction
– Participating in daily oral language
activities
– Listening to adults read to them
– Reading independently
Direct Instruction:
Introducing New Words

What’s the problem?
– Students lack knowledge of key words they
will encounter in a story.
– Teachers introduce words, one by one, but
the students do not retain the information.
– Students do not grasp the meanings of the
words and can not completely comprehend
the story despite the teachers’ attempts.
Introducing New Vocabulary
Introducing a word is the first step, not
the only step.
 Only offering information will not lead to
a deep understanding of a word.
 Students need many experiences over
time in order to learn a word and use it
across different contexts.

Introducing New Words
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Word Up
Semantic Impression
Expert Word Cards
Word Associations
Have You Ever…?
Applause, Applause!
Idea Completions
Word Up

Use with the youngest and most at-risk
readers.
 Select important story words, write each word
on an index card, pronounce and quickly
define the words for the students.
 Hand out a story word to each student.
 As the story is read aloud, students hold up
the story word as they hear it.
Semantic Impression

Select important story words and compile
them into a chronological ordered list and
briefly introduce them to the students.
 Students use the words (other forms of the
word are acceptable) in order to write their
own narrative story that makes sense.
 The teacher reads aloud the story.
Expert Word Cards
When using longer text or content reading
with intermediate grades, each student is
assigned a word.
2. Each student must find the word in context
and copy the sentence onto the front of a
card.
3. Then he must look up the word in a
dictionary and decide which definition fits the
context of the sentence.
4. He will write the definition in his own words
on the back of the card.
1.
Expert Word Cards
5.
6.
7.
Student composes an original sentence
using the word in a meaningful way.
Student illustrates the front of the card to
represent the definition.
Students share the words with each other.
Word Associations

After introducing new words and definitions,
students are asked to associate the new
words with other words or phrases.
 For example - After introducing accomplice
and novice, ask:
– Which word goes with crook?
– Which word goes with kindergartner?
 Students must defend their answers.
Have You Ever…?

Helps students make associations from own
experiences to new words.
– “Describe a time when you might urge
someone.”
– “For what reasons would you commend
someone?”
Applause, Applause

Students are asked to clap to show how
much they would like to be described by the
new words (not at all, a little bit, a lot).
– Example words - frank, honest, vain, stern,
loyal
 Students need to defend their applause.
Keeping the Romance Alive:
Learning More about Words
“Teachers can make vocabulary meaningful
and memorable for students by anchoring
new words in multiple contexts.”
Juel & Deffes, 2004
Framework for Vocabulary
Instruction
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Step 1 - Provide student-friendly definition
Step 2 - Provide picture or nonlinguistic
representation of the word
Step 3 - Allow students to make their own
explanation or description of word.
Step 4 - Allow students to make their own illustration
Step 5 - Provide rich, frequent & extended instruction
Step 6 - Assess students’ word knowledge
Getting to Know Each Other

What does it mean to “know” a word?

“Knowing” a word is a matter of varying
degrees. It is not “all or nothing.”

Need multiple exposures to words in a
variety of contexts - oral and written.
Getting to Know Each Other

Graphic Organizers to use in the
classroom:
– Frayer Model
– Semantic Maps
– Semantic Feature Analysis
– Linear Relationships
– Illustrating Words
Semantic Maps
Topic
Semantic Feature Analysis
Has 4
legs
Pelican
Has 2
legs
Lives in
water
Lives on
land
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Rhino
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Hippo
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Linear Relationships
Devastated
sorrowful
pensive okay
ecstatic
sad
cheerful
rapturous
melancholy
happy
delighted
“on cloud nine”
Nonlinguistic Representations
adorned
Santa Bonita Maria School District:
http://www.smbsd.org/page.cfm?p=35
Jan Richardson’s Vocabulary
Strategies

1. Reread or read on and look for clues.

2. Check the picture or visualize.
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3. Use a known part.
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4. Make a connection to a known word.

5. Use the glossary.
Knowing a Word

Rich vocabulary keeps getting richer.

“If I use the words a lot, I can remember
them.” - Sixth Grade Student
Contextual Vocabulary
Acquisition

Model word curiosity
– Read Alouds – Word Collectors
– Reading/Writing Conferences
– Morning Messages

Model it, don’t force it
– Conversations
– Directions
Online Resources
http://insidestoryflashcards.com/printabl
e_flashcards/index.php
 http://www.visuwords.com
 http://www.spellingcity.com/
 http://freerice.com/

3 - 2 - 1 Review

3 reasons vocabulary instruction is critical to
student success.
 2 things you will share with your faculty.
 1 strategy you will use in your classroom.
References
Baumann, J. F., Ware, D. & Edwards, E. C. (2007). “Bumping into spicy, tasty words that
catch your tongue”: A formative experiment on vocabulary instruction. The
Reading Teacher, 61(2), 108-122.
Beck, I. L., McKeown, M. G., Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing words to life: Robust
vocabulary instruction. New York: The Guilford Press.
Beck, I. L., McKeown, M. G., Kucan, L. (2002). Taking delight in words: Using oral language to
build young children’s vocabularies.
http://www.readingrockets.org/article/3473?theme=print
Cooper, David J. (1997). Literacy: Helping children construct meaning. New York:
Houghton Mifflin.
Diller, Debbie (2007). Making the most of small groups: Differentiation for all. Porland,
MN: Stenhouse Publishers.
Fountas, I. C., & Pinnell, G. S. (2006). Teaching for comprehending and fluency: Thinking,
talking, and writing about reading K-8. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Richardson, Jan (2009). The next steps in guided reading: Focused assessments and
targeted lessons for helping every student become a better reader. New York:
Scholastic.
Robb, Laura (1999). Easy mini-lessons for building vocabulary: Practical strategies that
boost word knowledge and reading comprehension. New York: Scholastic.