Transcript 10-15 Spice_Up_Your_Vocabulary_Instructionx

Spice Up Your Vocabulary
Instruction
Melissa Pletkovich, Hines Primary School, Peoria, IL
Illinois Reading Conference, October 3, 2015
The facts: “There is a gap in vocabulary knowledge between economically
disadvantaged and economically advantaged children that begins in preschool and
is an important correlate of poor school performance” (Blachowicz et al. 2006).
Children in
professional homes
hear an average of
382 words an hour
while children raised
in welfare homes
hear an average of
167 words an hour
(Hart & Risley,
1995).
In a month, the
difference in words
heard was 1,100
(professional) to 500
(welfare) (Hart &
Risley, 1995).
First-grade children
from higher SES
groups know about
twice as many words
as lower SES
children (Graves,
Brunetti, & Slater,
1982; Graves &
Slater, 1987).
High performing
third graders had
vocabularies about
equal to the lowestperforming twelfth
graders (Smith,
1941).
High school seniors
near the top of their
class know about
four times as many
words as their
lower-performing
classmates (Smith,
1941).
Our Mission
 Students in poverty need
access to reading and listening
material regularly
 Children in poverty need
constant exposure to a wide
variety of words
 Vocabulary development
could be the key to academic
success
Middle
Income
Low
Income
54
0-2
Listening vocabulary of
kindergarteners
(average)
20,000
3,000
Average number of
words spoken per
month per home
1,100
500
Average number of
books in the home
How to:
 Get students reading
 Read to students
 Teach conceptuallyrelated words
 Engage students in rich
oral language
 Relate new words to
known words
 Raise word
consciousness
 Encourage reading and
talking at home
 Teach important words
Words Come From . . .
Basal
andcome
text books
words
Fro
Trade books
On-line books, like
myOn
Listening centers
Interactive read alouds
Students’ own use and
interest
On line Resources
Library resources
Internet games and books
https://www.myon.com/login/
Interactive Word Walls
Teacher and student
selected words
Interactive Word Walls
Content based
Subject-Specific
Interactive Word Walls
Main word wall
• Student generated
• Starts out empty
• Stays up all year
• Is added to regularly
•Includes terms from
curriculum and
student use
Interactive Word Walls
Smaller word walls
 Amazing Adjectives/Vivid Verbs
 Science unit content
 Social studies unit content
 History studies unit content
 Setting words
 Character description words
 Literary theme terms
Using Interactive Word Walls
Games
Classroom Inclusion
•“Headbandz”
• “I Spy”
• WORDO
•Quiz-QuizTrade
• Literacy stations
• Inclusion in Daily 5
activities
• Daily journaling
• Responsive writing
Headbandz
Students write words from
wall on note cards
One student selects a
word and puts it in the
Headband.
The rest of the group gives
clues.
When the student guesses
the word, pass the headband
on to the next person.
Quiz-Quiz-Trade
• Students write on an index card the
word, synonym, antonyms, form,
morphology, or any other
information they are studying.
• Start with a partner. (Teacher
should decide who goes first.)
• Ask each other a question.
• Answer each other’s question.
• High 5 for great answers, or help
your partner.
• Trade cards. Raise hand & find a
new partner.
Liteacy Stations/Daily 5
Play “Headbandz” or “I Spy” with a partner
or small group.
Use selected words in writing experience
to write a fiction or non fiction piece, using
words in context.
teacher selected,
students selected
draw from a bowl
use a letter
Read related books on the topic and hunt
for words and forms of words.
Add related books to a listening station
Robust vocabulary
exposure
Use synonyms of basic
words
Robust vocabulary
Daily language
 Talk like an expert: mathematician, scientist, &
cartographer, etc.
 Encourage students to use “expert” terms
 Praise and reward students when they use “technical”
terms—Reward with $5 and $10 bills
http://www.kidsmoneyfarm.com/smileytemplates.htm
Robust vocabulary
Reading
 Choose and read texts that contain rich vocabulary
 Listening stations and experiences at higher reading
levels will expose students to higher level words
 Encourage students to look/listen for new words, as well
as newly learned words.
 Include a place for students to record unfamiliar words
on a Reading or Listening log
Robust Vocabulary
Change the way you talk
 Tell students to “Rotate”
 “Talk to the person adjacent to you.”
 “Evaluate and modify your answer.”
 “Disburse these papers.”
 “Dispose of your garbage.”
Repeat, Repeat, Repeat
Teach a few words at a time, then
repeat in discussion and lesson
Repeat, Repeat, Repeat
Teach a few words in a
class period
Keep coming back to
the terms
 Key terms from the text
 What’s the word for
______?
 Word wall words
 Student-selected words
 Can you think of another
word that means the same
thing?
 What would an expert call
that?
Vocabulary Quilts
Student-selected words,
defined in context from text.
Play with Words
Have fun with words and expand
students’ vocabularies
Have fun with words
Jokes
Poetry
Silly songs
Figurative language
Contact Information
 Thank you for coming.
 Enjoy the rest of the conference!
 Please feel free to contact me if you have any
thoughts or querstions:
[email protected]
 Visit my classroom website for this presentation:
www.psd150.org/Page/19111