Creating an Environment Where Language Flourishes
- A Resource for Elementary Classroom Teachers
Vocabulary Instruction
How do you plan opportunities for your students to use new vocabulary in a variety of contexts?
WHAT DOES RESEARCH SAY?
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"Telling is not teaching."
Perhaps the most common [misconception] is the idea that vocabulary is bound to the word level, when in fact vocabulary necessarily exists within the largest context of the phrase and sentence.
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Blachowicz and Fisher (2000) described four principles of effective vocabulary instruction. Students should
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Be active in developing their understanding of words and ways to learn them.
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Personalize word learning
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Be immersed in words
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Build on multiple sources of information to learn words through repeated exposure. (p.504)
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Content-Area Conversations: How to Plan Discussion-Based Lessons for Diverse Language Learners
by Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, et al. (p.26)
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WORD DIMENSION
"The ultimate goal in culturally responsive vocabulary instruction is to lead students to the dimension of availability-the level at which students own the word"
Cronbach's Dimension of Knowing a Word:
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Generalization-Ability to define a word
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Application-Ability to select or recognize a situation appropriately
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Breadth-Ability to apply multiple meaning
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Precision-Ability to apply a term correctly to all situations and to recognize inappropriate use
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Availibility-Ability to actually use the word
Culturally and Linguistically Responsive teaching and Learning. Sharroky Holly. (p.124-125)
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BRICK AND MORTAR WORDS
To do well in school, students must master what Dutro and Moran call "brick and mortar words" (2003). Brick words represent content, such as decimal or censorship. Mortar words are the glue that holds sentences together, such as the phrases "can be described as …."
Building Academic Vocabulary and Concepts, Brick by Brick
Lori Helman. Full text
Pause to Ponder:
Which dimension of knowing a word do you usually aim for in your instruction? Which dimension do you think your students actually achieve?
Example from Dutro and Moran (p.240)
Dr. Cynthia Lundgren (Hamline University) on Vocabulary: Bricks and mortar.
WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?
Concerns about how to build academic vocabulary and weave its instruction into curricula are common among classroom teachers. This article from Reading Rockets reviews the research and offers some practical suggestions for teachers.
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Be highly selective about which words to teach
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Provide multiple encounters with targeted words
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Provide students direct instruction on how to infer word meanings
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Promote in-depth word knowledge
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Provide students with opportunities to extend their word knowledge
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Vocabulary Instructional Strategies:
Students use a list of given words to make predictions about a book.
Watch more vocabulary lesson in action on Reading Rockets You tube Channel.
A concept sort is a vocabulary and comprehension strategy used to familiarize students with the vocabulary of a new topic or book. The teacher provides a list of terms or concepts and the kids place words into different categories.
Create word walls or flash cards.
Type in a list of words. These words will print out in large font size. They can be used for word walls or for flash cards.
Semantic gradients are a way to broaden and deepen students' understanding of related words. It helps students distinguish between shades of meaning and allows them to be more precise and imaginative in their writing.
How to use word walls
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Make words accessible
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Teachers and students work together to determine which words should go on the word wall.
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New information should be added on a regular basis.
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Use content-area material from the curriculum rather than randomly selected words.
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Word walls should be referred to often so students come to understand and see their relevance.