Title: Introducing Strategy
1Introducing Strategy 3
Expand Vocabulary
2Welcome ToThe Language Of Our Kids
- Whatever
- Ya-right
- Wassup?
- Dawg
- My bad
- Straight up
- What it is
- That rocks
3Why Teach Vocabulary?
- Learning, as a language based activity, is
fundamentally and profoundly dependent on
vocabulary knowledge.
4Why Teach Vocabulary?
- Increasing vocabulary knowledge is a basic part
of the process of education, both as a means and
as an end. At the same time, advances in
knowledge will create an even larger pool of
concepts and words that a person must master to
be literate and employable. - Nagy
5It Pays Off
- Every word learned equals one more dollar in your
yearly salaryunless you are a teacher.
6Reading Difficulties Begin Here..
- Actual Differences in Quantity of Words Heard
- In a typical hour, the average child would hear
- Welfare family- 616 words
- Working class family- 1,250 words
- Professional family- 2,153 words
7How Many Words Do Our Students Hear?
- 85 of ESCs families
- fall into the first two
- categories
- welfare
- working class
8What DoesResearch Say?
- Homes rich in communication- Children before the
age of four have heard 45 million words. - Homes that lack rich communication-
- Children before the age of four have heard 13
million words. - (Hart and Risley 1996)
9Research. . .
- Beyond the first 10,000 words used by adults, the
rest are rare words, and these play a critical
role in reading. The eventual strength of our
vocabulary is determined not by the common ten
thousand words, but by how many rare words we
understand. - (Hart and Risley)
10Finding ThoseRare Words
- Even though it is important to talk to kids, more
of the rare words are found in print rather
than oral language. - What would you guess?
- Adult talking to child __ rare words for 1,000
- TV __ rare words for 1,000
- Childrens book ___ rare words for 1,000
- Adult books __ rare words for 1,000
- Comic books __ rare words for 1,000
- (Hayes and Athens 1988)
11Without The Rich Word Background,
- Elkhart CommunitySchool students have
consistently performed lower on the vocabulary
sections of standardized tests.
12Every TeacherNeeds To Help
- Students with poor vocabularies, including
diverse learners, need strong and systematic
educational support to become successful
independent word learners. - (Baker, Simmons, Akmeenui, 1995)
13Past PracticeDictionary
- Rote memorization of words and definitions is
the least effective instructional method
resulting in little long-term effect. - (Kameenui, Dixon, Carine 1987)
14How Do We Increase Vocabulary Knowledge?
- 1. Read aloud to the students.
- 2. Give time for students to do silent sustained
reading. - 3. Encourage self-initiated writing.
15A Goal
- By middle school, if students are to make
grade-level progress (i.e. 3,000 to 5,000 new
words per year), they should be reading more than
1.1 million words a year of outside reading
(25-35 books) and about 1.7 million words in
school texts. - (Honig, 1996)
16How Do We Increase Vocabulary Knowledge?
- New words are
- 1. Encountered repeatedly in context through
reading and listening - (Stahl and Fairbanks 1986)
- 2. Linked to students prior knowledge
- (Johnson 1981)
- 3. Connected with other words that are
semantically related - (Johnson et al. 1986)
17Stretching Their World
- Students will incorporate the words that
teachers use frequently in the classroom. The
words become part of their expressive vocabulary.
18Students Need Involvement
- Considering the large number of words students
encounter and the need to learn them, it is
obvious that all of these words cannot be taught
. We need to encourage students to be aware of
and interested in words so that students develop
ownership of them. - J. David Cooper
19Levels Of Word Knowledge
- No Clue
- Have Heard/Seen It
- Think I Know It
- Know It Well/Can Use It in a Sentence
20WordstormingSteps
- 1.Students write down all words they can think of
related to a given concept. - 2.When list-making slows, increase words to the
list by asking more guided questions.
21WordstormingSteps
- 3. Ask students to group and categorize their
words. One column might be left for
miscellaneous. - 4. Introduce any words that you think should be
included. Students must decide what category in
which to place the added word.
22How Do We Develop Word Knowledge?
- Repeat words in varied contexts
- Describe words
- Support words with visuals
- Connect words to students lives
- Extend words with anecdotes
- Make associations
- Give definitions
- Compare and contrast
23How Do We Develop Word Knowledge?
- Question
- Chart characteristics
- Rephrase sentences
- Provide tactile experiences
- Give examples of correct and incorrect usage
- Make analogies
24Make A PictureLogographics
- Construct a visual image that connects the target
word with the meaning. - One connection could be auditority. Carlin
means old woman. The word part car could
generate a picture of an old woman driving a car.
Or, the student could just draw a picture of an
older woman.
25What AboutContext Clues?
- There is rich and lean context.
- Current textbooks have rich context providing
typographical clues and detailed
explanations.Students can learn from this text
structure.
26Typographical CluesAs They Read
- Have students look at
- Bold-faced, italicized words
- Footnotes
- Parenthetical definitions
- Illustrations
- Charts, graphs
- Glossary
27Contextual CluesAs They Read
- Instruct students to look at how the word is used
in the sentence, then examine surrounding
sentences. - Find
- Synonyms
- Antonyms
- Concrete example
- Descriptions
- Definitions
28Lean Context
- In real-life print, there may not be enough clues
to infer the words meaning.
29Word Parts
- Looking for roots, prefixes and suffixes will add
to students knowledge of words. - It is best done if the introduction of such words
is done school-wide. - Multiple exposures will increase the
understanding of the words. - Different content areas can explain their use of
these words.
30Repeated Exposures
- Words should be used in meaningful contexts
- 10-15 times
- Janet Allen
31Word Walls Help
- Word walls are absolutely essential in our
classrooms. - Janet Allen
32Word Walls
- Word walls could be organized alphabetically or
thematically. - The word wall is built on the theory of
masteryrepetition reinforces previously learned
principles. Regular use throughout the school
year allows you to recycle many words. - (Green)
33Lets Back Up
- What if the student cant pronounce the words
even ones fairly familiar?
34How ToPronounce A Word
- 1. Look for chunks you know.
- 2. Underline the vowel sounds.
- 3. Use the syllable patterns to break apart the
word. - 4. Sound out the word. Blend the sounds back
together. - 5. Ask yourself if the word sounds right and
makes sense.
35Enrich OurStudents Vocabulary
- When positive emotions are associated with a
learning task, the knowledge is more likely to be
retained. - Game formats for vocabulary help create that
positive connection.
36Playing With Words
- Word Jars- Students write down new words they
have seen or heard on slips. Place into jar. Each
day pull out two words and discuss. - Commercial word games such as Mad Gab, Catch a
Phrase, Scrabble - Charades, skits using words
- Pictures of words for multiple meanings bat for
sports or the mammal - Creating new words with roots
37Remember This
- The limits of my language means the limits of my
world. - Wittengsten
38Strategy 3
Expand Vocabulary