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Eco-Literacy
Intervention:
Exploring
Academic
Vocabulary
through an Urban
Garden Project
Catherine Snow (Academic Supervision)
Jia Li (Principal Investigator)
Nick Edwards, Mary Turner,
and Souhad Zendah (Team members)
Overview
• The Problem: Academic Vocabulary and ELLs
• The Model: A Research-Driven Approach
• The Project: An Urban Gardening Initiative
• The Curriculum: Eco-Literacy
• Intended Outcomes
The
Problem
'What does the word ‘Face' mean in this sentence:
'He was only trying to save face.'
A) The front of the head. B)To look at something.
C) The surface of a solid. D) Dignity.
The Problem:
Vocabulary and Reading
• A reciprocal relationship (Stanovich, 1986)
– Vocabulary is required to comprehend text, BUT
vocabulary is built through extensive reading
– Matthew effect: “rich get richer” and “poor get poorer”
in terms of vocabulary
– Particularly a problem for ELLs, who are (by definition)
“vocabulary poor” (Nation, 2001; Laufer, 1997)
• One potential solution
– Explicit teaching of vocabulary in engaging contexts
The Importance of
Academic Vocabulary
• Academic success in middle-school is inextricably
linked with academic vocabulary knowledge
(Lesaux, Kieffer, Faller & Kelly, 2010).
• Increasing academic vocabulary is even more
important for ELLs, whose limited vocabulary
knowledge puts them at a higher risk of academic
failure (Carlo & Bengochea, 2011).
The Site: Rogers Middle School in Boston
• School statistics*:
– 75.6% free lunch, 9.8% reduced-price lunch
– 34% of students first language is not English
– 21.7% of students have limited English proficiency
*based on Massachusetts Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE)
• Students come from 17 native language backgrounds besides
English, including:
Spanish, French, Vietnamese, Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese),
Portuguese, German, Arabic, Hindi, Swahili, Yoruba, Serbian, Greek,
Somali, Creole (Cape Verde and Haitian), Nigerian Igbo, Jamaican
Patwa
The Model
The Model: Curriculum Design
• Adapted from Word Generation (Snow, Lawrence &
White, 2009)
– Academic vocabulary presented in short, informational passages
about controversial issues
– Discussion and debate activities encourage students to take a
stand and make personal connections
– Activities connected to math, science, social studies, and
English language arts
– Multiple, authentic interactions with target words
Debate Format
• Students control turn-taking and topic of debate
• Use of target academic words to express views
• Video: A Word Generation debate at Rogers Middle School
Three Points Made by Students
• Teachers better understand students
of their own gender.
• Students need to be prepared for
interacting with people of both
genders.
• Depending on the student, a co-ed
or single-gender environment
might be a better option.
8th Graders at Rogers on Single Gender Education
The Model: Project-Based Learning
• Project-based learning proven effective in teaching
vocabulary to undergraduate ELLs (Li & McComb, 2011)
• Ongoing gardening projects successful for improving
middle grade students’ scientific thinking skills (Mabie &
Baker, 1996)
– Outcomes include enhanced abilities to observe,
communicate, compare, order, relate, and infer
– More effective on these measures than lecture-based instruction
and isolated classroom activities (e.g., traditional ‘labs’)
Fulbright CanadaRBC Urban
Garden Project
Garden Project Description
• A garden with fruit trees, perennial herbs and annual
vegetable plants
– Field learning site for social studies and science education
– Supplement to school lunch menu
• Students, teachers and the principal will contribute ideas
for the garden design
• About 30 grade 8 students, 7 teachers, the principal and a
team of Harvard graduate students will build the garden
• Garden construction scheduled for May 30th, 2012
The
Curriculum
Selecting Lesson Topics
• Directly related to the school’s urban garden project
1. Urban Gardens
• Is urban agriculture a wise use of resources?
2. Organic Agriculture
• Is organic food better for the environment and our health?
3. Composting
• Should governments encourage composting? Would you
compost in your backyard?
Profiling the Text
• Texts analyzed for word frequency and type
– 1K: 1,000 most common English words
– 2K: second most frequent 1,000 words
– AWL: Words on Coxhead’s (2000) Academic Word List
– “Off-list” words: All other (relatively low frequency) words
that are not 1K, 2K, or AWL
• Typical academic text contains 76% 1K + 2K, 10% AWL
and 9% other words *
• Even 2% of unknown words can interfere with
independent reading comprehension*
*Observations made by Nation (2001)
Vocabulary Profile
• Similar profile to a typical academic text, but with about half the
academic words (5.5%)
• Reads like an
expository text
students would
encounter
• Optimal level of
challenge
• Aims at students’
Zone of Proximal
Development
(Vygotsky, 1978)
Selecting Target Words
• Words from the AWL (Coxhead, 2000) and other
difficult, high-utility words selected from color-coded
profiled text
Vocabulary in Authentic Context
• Each lesson focused
around a real life issue
that is relevant to
adolescents
• Connection to the
“bigger picture”
– Community
– Environment
Examining Academic Vocabulary
• Chart to assist teachers in the exploration of target words
• Words not taught in isolation
• Using target words in multiple ways
produce
productiveness
productively
unproductive
product
production
reproduce
producer
producible
The garden was
very productive
last year.
Comprehension Checks
• Critical Thinking
– Questions that draw on students’ personal beliefs and prior knowledge
– Become more familiar with the information in the text
• For Example:
Debating the Issue
• Using academic language to express
personal views
• Developing
reasoning skills
– Using facts to
support an argument
– Considering
the issue from
multiple perspectives
Persuasive Writing
• Making connections between:
– Debate and written arguments
– Text and personal beliefs
– Vocabulary and how it is used
Personal
Beliefs
Rhetoric
Usage in
Context
• Tying it all together
Academic
Vocabulary
Oral debate
Text Content
Making Connections
• Academic literacy
across the Curriculum
• Activities that connect
target words to different
content areas
English
Language
Arts
Math
Social Studies
Science
Urban Garden Activity
• Students can see the math involved in basic
activities
– A preview of their real-life garden activity
• Using addition, multiplication, volume,
budgeting, and estimation
• Coming up with creative solutions
– Adjusting garden size to fit a budget
Organic Agriculture Activity
Science and Math Activity
• Students must:
– make a hypothesis based on given information
– think about what they don’t know
• Students can think about the validity of their
arguments
• Students ask questions about gaps in their
knowledge
Composting Activity
• Students will learn about ratios while also building their
science skills
– Compare compostable items
– Make inferences and predictions about compost
– Encourages critical questions
• What are the properties of green and brown
compost?
• What would happen if we had too much
brown compost?
Composting Activity
• Examples of potential student predictions
– More green compost is needed than brown compost
– Most compost piles have two to three times as much green
compost as brown compost
– Brown compost takes longer to decompose
Incorporating Multimedia
• Multimedia resources such as Websites and
videos recommended for lesson extension
• Reinforces content
and language
• Visual representation
provides another
entry point for ELLs
• Example: A how-to
video about making
compost*
*courtesy of Lowe’s website
Outcomes
Intended Outcomes: Development
• Improved critical thinking skills
• Greater tendency engage in
multidisciplinary thinking
• Increased motivation for learning
• Heightened confidence to express views
Intended Outcomes: Content Knowledge
• Deeper understanding of target
vocabulary
• Better understanding of expository
genres
• More nuanced understanding of
relationships between individuals,
communities, and the environment
Special Thanks
Fulbright Canada-RBC EcoLeadership Program
Students and teachers at
Rogers Middle School
Thank you!
[email protected] or [email protected]
Your suggestions
• This curriculum is a work in progress, and
we’re interested in hearing your feedback and
suggestions!
– Can you see any limitations of this program?
– Can you think of any ways we could improve it?
– Anything that you think is particularly effective?
– Any other suggestions or questions?
Selected Resources
• Vocabulary Profiler: http://conc.lextutor.ca/vp/eng/
• Vegetable product life cycle (lesson plans for grade 912):http://www.kidscom.com/pdf_files/HS_Sci_Product_Life_Cyc
le.pdf
• Basic information on organic foods:
http://altmed.creighton.edu/OrganicFood/
• Sustainable Table: NGO promoting environmental awareness:
http://www.sustainabletable.org/about/
• EPA resource for teens:
http://www.epa.gov/osw/education/teens/index.htm
• Compost activities and lessons (for teachers and students)
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/tv/printables/EPA_CompostingUnit.pdf
References
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Carlo, M., & Bengochea, A. (2011). Best practices in literacy instrction for English language learners.
In L. B. Gambrell, & L. M. Morrow (Eds.), Best practices in literacy instruction (4th ed., pp. 492). New
York: Guilford Press.
Coxhead, A. (2000). A New Academic Word List. TESOL Quarterly, 34 (2), 213-238.
Laufer, B. (1997). The lexical plight in second language reading: Words you don’t know, words you
think you know, and words you can’t guess. In J. Coady & T. Huckin (Eds.), Second language
vocabulary acquisition (pp. 20–34). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lesaux, N. K., Kieffer, M. J., Faller, S. E., & Kelley, J. G. (2010). The effectiveness and ease of
implementation of an academic vocabulary intervention for linguistically diverse students in urban
middle schools. Reading Research Quarterly, 45(2), pp. 196-228.
Mabie, R., & Baker, M. (1996). A comparison of experiential instructional strategies upon the science
process skills of urban elementary students. Journal of Agricultural Education, 37, 1–7.
Nation, I.S.P. (2001). Learning vocabulary in another language. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Stanovich, K.E. (1986). Matthew effects in reading: Some consequences of individual differences in the
acquisition of literacy. Reading Research Quarterly, 21, 360–407.
Snow, C. E., Lawrence, J. F., & White, C. (2009). Generating knowledge of academic language among
urban middle school students. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 2(4), 325-344.