Engaging Vocabulary Instruction

Engaging Vocabulary Instruction

Presented byJeffrey J. Kuntz

Punxsutawney Area Middle SchoolPunxsutawney Area School District

Mark Twain on Words

O“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a

large matter—it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the

lightning.”

Albus Dumbledore on Words

“Words are our most inexhaustible source of magic, capable of both inflicting injury and remedying it.”

The Vocabulary GapO In many ways the “Reading Gap,” especially

after 2-3 grade is essentially a Vocabulary Gap and the longer students are in school the wider the gap becomes. What can we do to close this gap?

Top Ten Essential Ingredients for Word Study

according to Word Nerds: Teaching All Students to Learn and Love Vocabulary (2013)

O 1. Some words are more important to teach than others.

O Reading vocabulary of 3,000-4,000 words per year.

O Focus on Tier Two words



O 2. Students have to learn words at more than one level.

O No knowledge to general sense of the word to narrow, context-bound knowledge to having knowledge to deep meaning



O 3. Students learn words when they experience them multiple times

O Students need multiple exposures over time. (Research shows somewhere between 6 and 12 exposures)



O 4. Asking students to look up words in the dictionary and write the definition does not help them learn words.

O Dictionary definitions often cloud a word’s meaning.



O 5. When students learn words, they build patterns and networks of meaning called “word schemas.”

O Context, root words, prefixes, suffixes, where have I seen this before, is it a verb or a noun, etc.



O 6. Students can learn some words through the use of wide reading.

O Reading texts, fiction and non-fiction trade books, newspapers, comic books, cereal boxes, etc.



O 7. Students can learn some words through rich conversation with adults and peers.

O Instructional conversation, parent/child general conversation, read alouds, television, etc.

Using a Read AloudO This comes from the picture book A Bad

Case of Stripes by David Shannon (1998)

O “The Creams were swamped with all kinds of remedies from psychologists, allergists, herbalists, nutritionists, psychics, an old

medicine man, a guru, and even a veterinarian. Each so-called cure only

added to poor Camilla’s strange appearance until it was hard to even

recognize her.”



O 8. Students can learn some words through word play.

O Vocabulary instruction that includes multisensory activity can help students internalize new words and continue to develop word schema.

O Word play is motivation

Multisensory ActivityO For the visual learner: draw a

picture, see it in your mind, jot it down, use a graphic organizer

O For the auditory learner: say it to self, discuss with a partner or group, say your thoughts out loud

O For the kinesthetic learner: show how, act it out, point to



O 9. Students can learn some words through direct instruction.



O 10. Most students need word learning strategies to become independent readers.

O Context clues, prefixes, suffixes, root words, grammar rules, parts of speech, etc.

Importance of Vocabulary Instruction

O Vocabulary GapO Children enter school with different levels

of vocabulary. (Hart & Risley, 1995)

O By the time the children were 3 years old, parents in less economically favored circumstances had said fewer words in their cumulative monthly vocabularies than the children in the most economically advantaged families in the same period of time.

O Cumulative Vocabulary (Age 4)O Children from professional families 1100 wordsO Children from working class families 700 wordsO Children from welfare families 500 words

Importance of Vocabulary Instruction

O To close the vocabulary gap, vocabulary acquisition must be accelerated through intentional instruction.

O Vocabulary instruction must be a focus in all classes in all grades.

O Adequate reading comprehension depends on a person knowing between 90 and 95% of the meaning of words in the text.

High Quality Classroom Language

O Use high quality vocabulary in the classroom.O To ensure understanding,

O Tell students the meaning of words when first used.“Don’t procrastinate on your project. Procrastinatemeans to put off doing something.”

O Pair in the meaning of the word by using parallel language.

“Please refrain from talking. Please don’t talk.”“Laws have their genesis…their beginning…in the legislative branch.”“What is your hypothesis… your best guess?”

Explicit Vocabulary Instruction-Selection of Vocabulary

O Select a limited number of words for robust, explicit vocabulary instruction.

O Three to ten words per story or section in a chapter would be appropriate.

O Briefly tell students the meaning of other words that are needed for comprehension.

Explicit Vocabulary Instruction-Selection of vocabulary

• Select words that are unknown.

• Select words that are critical to passage understanding.

• Select words that students are likely to encounter or use in the future. (Stahl, 1986)

– Focus on Tier Two words (Beck & McKeown, 2003)

– “Academic Vocabulary”

• Select difficult words that need interpretation.

Explicit Instruction of Words-Selection of Vocabulary

O Tier One - Basic wordsO chair, bed, happy, house, car, purse

O Tier Two - Words in general use, but not commonO analyze, facilitate, absurd, fortunate, observation,

accountant, dignity, convenient, laboriouslyO Tier Three - Rare words limited to a specific

domainO tundra, totalitarian, cellular respiration, genre,

foreshadowing, monoculture farming, judicial review

Explicit Instruction of Words-Selection of Vocabulary

O “Goldilocks Words”O Not too difficultO Not too easyO Just right

(Stahl & Stahl, 2004)

Explicit Instruction of Vocabulary-Preparation

O Student Friendly ExplanationDictionary Definition:

compulsory (1) Employing compulsion; coercive

(2) Required by law or other ruleStudent Friendly Explanation:

-Uses known words-Is easy to understand

When something is required, you must do it, it is compulsory.

Explicit Instruction of Vocabulary-Preparation

O Use a dictionary designed for English language learners for better definitions.

O Example conglomerationFirst dictionary-The act of conglomerating.Second dictionary- The act or process of conglomerating; an accumulation of miscellaneous things.Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary-A large group or mass of different things all gathered together in an untidy or unusual way.

DictionariesO ELL DictionaryO Collins Cobuild DictionaryO http://www.ldoceonline.comO www.learnersdictionary.comO www.howjsay.com (will pronounce

the word)

http://www.ldoceonline.com/

http://www.learnersdictionary.com/

http://www.howjsay.com/

Instructional Routine for Vocabulary

Step 1. Introduce the word.a) Write the word on the board or overhead.b) Read the word and have the students

repeat the word. If the word is difficult to pronounce or unfamiliar have the students repeat the word a number of times.

Introduce the word with me.

“ This word is compulsory. What word?”


Step 2. Introduce meaning of word. Option # 1. Present a student-friendly explanation.

a) Tell students the explanation. ORb) Have them read the explanation with you.

Present the definition with me.

“When something is required and you mustdo it, it is compulsory. So if it is requiredand you must do it, it is _______________.”


Step 2. Introduce meaning of word. Option # 3. Introduce the word using the morphographs in the word.

a. Introduce word in relationship to “word relatives”.

o DeclareDeclaration of Independence

o analyzeanalyzinganalysis

o maintainmaintenance

b. Analyze parts of word.

o autobiography auto = selfbio = lifegraph = letters, words, or pictures


Step 3. Illustrate the word with examples. (Google images at www.taggalaxy.com)

a) Concrete examples.b) Visual examples.c) Verbal examples.

(Also discuss when the term might be used and who might use the term.)Present the examples with me.

“Coming to school to as 8th graders iscompulsory.”

“Stopping at a stop sign when driving iscompulsory.”


Step 4. Check students’ understanding. Option #1. Ask deep processing questions.

Check students’ understanding with me.

“Arriving to class on time is compulsory.Why do you think it is compulsory?”

“Paying taxes is compulsory. Why do youthink paying taxes are compulsory?”


Step 4. Check students’ understanding.Option #2. Have students discern betweenexamples and non-examples.


“Is going to school in 9th grade compulsory?” Yes

“How do you know it is compulsory?” It is required.

“Is going to college when you are 25 compulsory?”“Why is it not compulsory?” It is not required. You get to

choose to go to college.


Step 4. Check students’ understanding.Option #3. Have students generate their ownexamples.


“There are many things at this school that arecompulsory. Think of as many things as you can?”

“Talk with your partner. See how many things youcan think of that are compulsory.”

Practice Activity: Example A

Introduce the word.This word is migrate. What word?

2. Present a student-friendly explanation.When birds or other animals move from one place to another at a certain time each year, they migrate. So if birds move to a new place in the winter or spring, we say that the birds _________________. Animals usually migrate to find a warmer place to live or to get food.

3. Illustrate the word with examples.Sandhill Cranes fly from the North to the South so they can live in a warmer place. Sandhill Cranes _______________.

Practice Activity: Example A continued

The wildebeests in Africa move to a new place so that they can find water and grass. Wildebeests _______.

4. Check students’ understanding. (Deep processing question.)

Why might birds migrate? Tell your partner. (The teacher monitors and coaches. Then the teacher calls on someone to answer.)

Practice Activity: Example B

Introduce the word.This word is survive. What word?

2. Present a student-friendly explanation.When people or animals don’t die when things are very bad or dangerous, they survive.

3. Illustrate the word with examples.Look at the people on this river. It is very dangerous.However, they don’t get hurt or die, they __________.

Practice Activity: Example B continued

Check students’ understanding.

(Examples and non-examples) Get ready to tell me if this group would survive.

If the winter was very cold and all food was buried under the snow, would whooping cranes survive?________ Ones, tell your partner why they wouldn’t survive?

If whooping cranes had plenty of food and the weather was warm, would they survive? __________ Twos, tell your partner why they would survive?

(Deep Processing Questions)If a rabbit was being chased by a coyote, what could the rabbit do to survive?

Vocabulary LogsO Vocabulary WordO Student Friendly definitionO Student derived visual

representationO Knowledge Rating (revisited over a

period of time)

Vocabulary Logs…Assess Yourself

O *I am a Novice (1)I am just starting to learn this and I don’t really understand

it yet. O *I am an Apprentice (2)

I am starting to get it, but I still need someone to coach me through.

O *I am a Practitioner (3)

I can mostly do it by myself, but I sometimes mess up or get stuck.

O *I am an Expert (4)I understand it well and I could thoroughly teach it to

someone else.

Strategies In ActionO This is a introductory vocabulary

lesson from Chapter 1 of our fifth grade social studies text.

Settling the AmericasChapter 1: Lesson 1

O *a person who studies tools, bones, and remains of ancient people

O 1. Many archaeologists believe that the first people to arrive in North America crossed a land bridge from Asia.

O 2. The archaeologists found many Native American artifacts at the dig site.

archaeologist

archaeologist

*archaeologist*archaeology-comes from a word meaning ancient

-ology is a suffix that means “the study of”What other -ology words do you know?

Archaeologist-Meet the Relatives

O Archaeology-the study of ancient people.

Social Studies Log

O *a thick sheet of slow moving ice

O *the root word of glacier, glace, means “ice”

O 1. Glaciers held so much water that ocean levels dropped and land appeared in some places.

O 2. The Titanic began to sink when it hit a bank of glaciers.

glacier

glacier

O Glacier-a thick sheet of slow-moving ice.

Social Studies Log

O *a population whose people share systems of trade, art, religion and science

O 1. Over time, large specialized societies developed and became civilizations.

O 2. The Olmec civilization developed in the rain forests of Mexico.

civilization

civilization

O Remember G.R.A.P.E.SO *GeographyO *ReligionO *Art and ArchitectureO *Politics and GovernmentO *EconomicsO *Social Structure

civilization

O *civilO *civilizeO *civilized

Civilization-Meet The Relatives

O Civilization-a population whose people share systems of trade, art, religion and science

Social Studies Log

O *the method of supplying dry land with water through pipes and ditches.

O 1. Native Americans used irrigation to guide water from the rivers to the dry fields.

O 2. Today, farmers irrigate their crops using underground water pipes.

irrigation

irrigation

O *irrigationO *irrigate

O tion—state of, act ofO Migration, addition, connection,

qualification

Irrigation-Meet The Relatives

O Irrigation-the method of supplying dry land with water

Social Studies Log

*bricks made of mud and straw

Adobe comes from an Arabic word meaning “brick”

1. Some Native American homes were built of adobe.

2. There are many adobe homes in the southwestern part of the United States.

adobe

O *Adobe-bricks made of mud and straw

Social Studies Log

O *to look at closelyO *to break apartO *to think throughO *to break into pieces

O 1. The archaeologists will analyze all of the artifacts to determine the characteristics of the civilization.

POWER WORD…analyze

analyze

O *analyzeO *analysis

Analyze-Meet the Family

O *analyzeO *to look at closelyO *to break downO *to break into piecesO *to think through

Social Studies Log

O An archaeologist studies artifacts?O Irrigation will help a farmer grow crops?O Adobe bricks are made from cement?O An archaeologist studies living insects?O The study of a civilization would include

the foods a group ate and the games they played?

O You would find a glacier in the desert?O If you analyze a situation, you are making

a plan?

Let’s Review

O The people of the Egyptian __________ lived many, many years ago.

O The farmer used the __________ process to water his crops during the hot weather of July and August.

O Many ancient artifacts were discovered by the __________ during the dig.

O Many of the Native Americans of the southwest built homes of __________.

Let’s Review

O The Titanic began to sink when it hit a _________.

O After the scientists gathered the data they began to __________ the results.

Let’s Review

Turn and TalkO What have you seen or heard so far

that you can use next year in your classroom? Take a few minutes to talk to the people around you.

Let’s Take A BreakO Ready to start again in 15 minutes!

Additional Vocabulary Instruction

O Also, provide instruction on:O Idioms (a phrase or expression different from

the literal meaning)

“The car moving down the hill caught her eye.”“Jason gave Matt the cold shoulder.”“I know it is the truth. I heard it straight from the horse’s mouth.”“That can’t be right. You are pulling my leg.”


O Also provide instruction on multiple-meaning words

Words such as:solution, element, space, process, run, relation, product, positive, negative, age,jam, grounds, duck, division


O Use of context clues

O Use of dictionary, glossary, or other resource

O Use of meaningful parts of the word.O PrefixesO SuffixesO Root Words

Practice ActivitiesO Practice activities should:

O Be engaging.O Provide multiple exposures to the words. (Stahl,

1986)

O Encourage deep processing of the word’s meaning. (Beck, Mc Keown, & Kucan, 2002)

O When possible, connect the word’s meaning to prior knowledge.

O Provide practice over time.

Practice ActivitiesYes/No/Why

1. Do territories that are possessions have autonomy?

2. Can incidents cause compassion?

3. Do people always comply with their obligations?

(Beck, Perfetti, & McKeown, 1982; Curtis & Longo, 1997) Items taken from REWARDS PLUS, Sopris West.

Practice ActivitiesCompletion Activity

1. confine: to hold or keep in; to limit; imprison; restrictThings that can be confined are______________________________.

2. persistent: refusing to give up; determinedI was very persistent when ____________.

3. dispersal: send off in different directions At school dispersal might involve_______.

4. globalization: condition when something spreads across the worldToday, globalization involves thedispersal of ________________________.

(Curtis & Longo, 1997)

Practice ActivitiesMeaningful Sentence Writing

O Students write a sentence answering three to four of these questions:who, what, when, where, why, how

O Not OKIt was meager.

O OKAt the end of the month, our dinners were meager because we had little money.

Practice ActivitiesO Present a number of words.

representative . socialism . reform . revolution . tributary

O Play… I am thinking of a word……

“I am thinking of a word that goes with river.”

“I am thinking of a word that refers to a person that takes ideas to the government.”

“I am thinking of a word that means a change.”

Word SplashO Line line segment

ray

O Quadrilateral acute anglerhombus

O Pentagon diameter radius

O Hexagon octagon obtuse

Practice ActivitiesO Word Sorts

O Vocabulators

O Five Card Draw

O Tic Tac Toe

Practice ActivitiesO Swat That Spot

O Fast Facts

O Say It Again

O Splash Down

Practice ActivitiesO Vegas Vocab

O Minute To Win It

O Analogies

O Where Is It?

Practice ActivitiesO Foldables

O Concept Circles

O Comic Strips

O Name Badge Bingo

Practice ActivitiesO I Have Who Has

O Vocabulary Headbands

O Vocab On The Move

O Vo-back-u-lary

Practice ActivitiesO Beach Ball Writing

O Quizlet

O Vocabulary Lanyards

O Vocabulary Awards

Practice ActivitiesO Vocabulary Spinners

O Alphabet Boxes

Great ResourcesO Bringing Words To Life: Robust Vocabulary

Instruction by Isabel L. Beck, Margaret G. McKeown and Linda Kucan, The Guilford Press, 2013

O The Next Step in Vocabulary Instruction by Karen Bromley, Scholastic, 2012

O Word Nerds: Teaching All Students to Learn and Love Vocabulary by Brenda Overturf, Leslie Montgomery and Margot Holmes Smith, Stenhouse Publishers, 2013

Acquiring VocabularyO “Words are NOT just words. They are

the nexus-the interface-between COMMUNICATION and THOUGHT.

What makes vocabulary VALUABLE and IMPORTANT is not the words

themselves so much as the UNDERSTANDING they afford.”

O Marilyn Jager Adams

Your Journey Has Begun

O Each fall, monarch butterflies in Maine begin an unbelievable journey to a hilltop in Mexico. How do they do it? They focus on the goal, not the difficulties. Each day they take their bearings and set off, allowing their instincts and desire to steer them. They accept what comes; some winds blow them off course, others speed them along. They keep flying until, one day, they arrive.

Good Luck!

Engaging Vocabulary Instruction

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