Vocabulary Instruction

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Vocabulary Instruction

• Strategies for Word Meaning,
• Not Word Memorization

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Literacy Vision Statement

• Aiken County Public Schools demonstrates an
  unwavering commitment of the educational
  community to embrace their responsibility for
  ensuring that each student at any level becomes a
  successful reader and writer.

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Whats the difference?

• Word Study
• Phonics skills
• Spelling patterns

• Vocabulary Instruction
• Word meaning
• Contextual framework

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(Beers, 2003)
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(Beers, 2003)
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Group Chat

• Why do we teach vocabulary?
• What is our ultimate goal in vocabulary
  instruction?

Our answers to these questions should be the
guiding force of how we structure our vocabulary
instruction
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(Beck, McKeown, Kucan, 2002)
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What The Research Says

• The scientific research on vocabulary
  instruction reveals that (1) most vocabulary is
  learned indirectly, and (2) some vocabulary must
  be taught directly. The following conclusions
  about indirect vocabulary learning and direct
  vocabulary instruction are of particular interest
  and value to classroom teachers
• Children learn the meanings of most words
  indirectly, through everyday experiences with
  oral and written language.
• Although a great deal of vocabulary is learned
  indirectly, some vocabulary should be taught
  directly.
• National Reading Panel

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Strategies to Discuss

• Graffiti Walls
• Charades
• Categories
• Ordering Words
• Constructing Words
• (prefixes, suffixes)
• Selecting Words (prefixes, suffixes)
• Multiple Meaning Maps
• Probable Passage

• Context clues
• Would you cards
• Making Choices
• Word Splash!
• Is/Is Not
• Whole/Part/Whole diagrams
• Picture cards
• Concept Cards

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Model for students how they can break free of
the dictionary through Shared Reading, read
alouds, small group instruction, Independent
Reading, etc.
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Early Grade Example
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Upper Grade Example
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Would You Rather Cards
(Beck, McKeown, Kucan, 2002)
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Making Choices

• Ill say some things. If they would be
  considered quiet, put a thumbs up
• Going to church
• Going to a football game
• Going to sleep
• Riding a roller coaster

• Ill say some things. If they would be
  considered ferocious, put a thumbs up
• A quiet kitten
• A roaring lion
• A thundering storm

(Beck, McKeown, Kucan, 2002)
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Word Splash

• Select a few key words from the text
• Put words on chart paper or Smartboard
• Students write what they know about a word prior
  to reading text
• Students write what they learned about the word
  after reading the text

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(No Transcript)
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Word Splash

• Tacky The Penguin
• Odd
• Companion

• Thank You Mam
• Bully
• Victim
• Frail

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Is/Is Not Vocabulary Strips

• Students-
• Reads book that contains word being studied
• Writes a synonym for the word on the left side of
  the sentence strip
• Writes an antonym for the word on the right side
  of the sentence strip
• Illustrates Is and Is Not words

• Teacher Prep-
• Divides sentence strip into three sections
• Pre-selects words to be studied and writes word
  in middle on sentence strip (students can also
  select words from their own reading to do a
  sentence strip on)
• Writes Is (synonym) on left section of sentence
  strip and Is Not (antonym) on right side

Is
Is Not
frail
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Whole/Part/Whole Diagrams

• Select a word compound, prefix, suffix
• Write word at top of paper
• Write what the parts of the word mean
• Puts the meaning of the parts together to form a
  definition

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Picture Cards

• Write a word on the front of an index card
• Draw a picture on the back of the card
• Write a simple definition of the word

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Concept Cards
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Graffiti Wall
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Charades

• Select key vocabulary words from the text and put
  on index cards
• Give 1 card to a small group of students
• Students spend 3-4 minutes preparing how to
  silently act out the word
• Students act out word in front of class
• Class guesses the word
• Students tell WHY they acted the way they did

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Categories

• Mammal
• Bear
• Dog
• Cat
• Horse

• Tax
• Tea Act
• Sugar Act
• Stamp Act

• Mammal
• Bear
• Dog
• Cat
• Horse

• Tax
• Tea Act
• Sugar Act
• Stamp Act

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Word Scales Words

• Boil
• Simmer
• Explode

• Toss
• Throw
• Hurl

• Odd
• Different
• Unique

• Mad
• Upset
• Furious

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Constructing Words

• Index cards of prefixes, suffixes, and root words
  selected from previously read text
• Put cards in a plastic bag
• Students match the prefix and/or suffix with the
  root word
• Students use the text to find the word and
  discuss/write how it was used
• Students can write their own sentence using the
  constructed word

Mis
happy
Un
behaving
Joy
ful
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Selecting Words

• A person who is acting poorly ismisbehaving,
  misled, mistreated
• A person who is always ready for anything is
• predicted, prepared, prevented

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Multiple Meaning Maps

• My brother caught the bug in his insect net.
• My brother really bugs me when he sings loudly in
  the shower!

bug
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Multiple Meaning Maps

• Driving on a highway) There's a toll bridge
  ahead. Do you have any quarters?
• The highway death toll has declined sharply since
  police began to enforce the drunk driving laws
  more aggressively.
• The bell in the old church tower tolled four
  o'clock.

Toll
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Kindergarten 1st
2nd and 3rd
4th and 5th
(Beers, 2003)
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Questions?Thoughts?Comments?What have you
tried?
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References

• Beck, I., McKeown, L., Kucan, L., (2002).
  Bringing word to life Robust vocabulary
  instruction. New York, NY Gillford Press.
• Beer, K., (2003). When kids cant read What
  teachers can do. Portsmouth, NH Heinemann.
• http//people.bu.edu/jpettigr/Artilces_and_Present
  ations/Vocabulary.htm