I
was very excited to see that the chapter Mr. Clark asked me to write about was
all about vocabulary. As teachers, I think we all struggle with determining the
best way to incorporate vocabulary into our curriculum, and I was hoping for
some innovative ideas to use in my classroom. Fortunately, the book did not
disappoint!
One
of the concepts that I found most interesting was that of tiering vocabulary
words for our students. I know that in my classroom I have sometimes depended
on the vocabulary lists provided in the literature book only to realize that
there were many other words within the story that students were not familiar
with. By allowing students to work with partners or in small groups, tiering
words can also allow students to use their prior knowledge to help teach
unfamiliar terms to one another.
I
also loved the idea of having students keep a vocabulary log. I think most of
us have at some time been guilty of the "write the definition and create a
sentence" vocabulary assignment, only to discover that the students had no
better understanding of the vocabulary after completing the assignment. With
the vocabulary log, students will still write the word's meaning, but they will
also have their own personal connection to that word through their own
associations and illustration. By personalizing the learning experience,
students are actually learning more without feeling that they are doing
"busy work".
Although
there were many other helpful tips and suggestions throughout the chapter, I
think the most important thing we can do for our students is to encourage them
to read. By providing positive reading experiences, we will allow our students
to see that vocabulary is a part of the real world, not just the classroom.
When students have a chance to share their experiences with others, whether
through a word wall, classroom presentation, etc., it will hopefully spark
their curiosity and help us to create a culture of learning within our school.
I
am really looking forward to implementing some of these teaching methods into
my classroom, and I hope you are too!
Points for Discussion:
What methods for teaching vocabulary
do you currently use? Which of these work best?
Chapter 3 describes many
strategies for teaching vocabulary. Which of these do you think would work best in your
classroom? What changes would you need to make in your planning and teaching methods to implement these
changes?
Studies show that reading
comprehension and vocabulary go hand in hand. In addition to textbook reading, what
reading opportunities can you provide to your students to help spark their interest in
learning?
Methods I have used in the classroom for teaching vocabulary that have worked best are graphic organizers and providing experiences. Graphic organizers are great for demonstrating cause and effect, comparing and contrasting, or creating a visual of the word. However, I have always used the same graphic organizer for every student. I liked the idea of presenting options for my students that will allow them to choose the graphic organizer that helps them the most.
ReplyDeleteIn science, experience is a great teacher. The book mentioned the word weathering which is a concept I teach. In addition to giving my students the textbook definition, I will show them visuals of weathering and discuss what caused each one. I also video taped the process of dripping water on a bar of soap for 10 minutes and seeing the effects of weathering. We performed labs and even took a trip to Tremont where examples of weathering and erosion abound. All of these experiences allow my students to gain a deeper understanding of the concept of weathering.
I particularly like the idea of introducing more reading opportunities to the classroom. The example of one teacher reading a fiction novel to the class that exposed students to science terms was something I have not thought to do. I'm not sure I would read a work of fiction but an interesting article about a new discovery in space, etc. would expose my students to vocabulary words, build background knowledge, and hopefully keep them engaged.
I really enjoyed reading this chapter on incorporating vocabulary in the classroom. I have often struggled over the years with the best way to teach vocabulary. It seems to be a little easier in history class because the key terms from each chapter are usually addressed in various ways many times, but teaching straight up vocabulary from a random list of words given in the vocabulary book.......that's tough. Without real world reading or some context for the words, they become pointless.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter has given me four wonderful tips for teaching vocabulary that I am going to implement this school year!
1. The Learning Log- taking notes in history is common place and boring. By allowing the students more freedom in their note taking and encouraging ownership/creativity the students will hopefully become "word aware".
2. The Frayer Model and concept ladders- taking a vocabulary word and wrapping an entire lesson around it! I have done this, but will be doing it more. The students become investigators using higher-order thinking skills.
3. Real-world Connections- modifying my current events assignments to focus more on vocabulary/text application. I liked the example of the students finding real-world evidence of freedom of speech.
4. Reading more- Internet articles, the newspaper, primary sources, picture books
For the last several years, I have had my students work on math vocabulary, but have not been as creative as I should for lasting comprehension. We define the words, talk about them, and use them often. I have them all in Quizlet and assess the students through a vocabulary quiz.
ReplyDeleteI am excited to see a difference in my student's comprehension from incorporating a few of the strategies mentioned in this chapter. I think the Frayer Model would be an effective organizer to use in my math classes. I would like to incorporate a word wall and encourage students to be aware of our math vocabulary being used in other places.
I have been guilty of including nearly every vocabulary word in the text on the tests in Bible Class. The problem with that is that not every word will be important for their 7th grade vocabulary. An example of this would be the words denari and talent. One word represents a day's wage and the other a month's wage. While that is interesting, they just need to know that they both pertain to a person's paycheck in Bible times. I love the idea of a Vocabulary Wall to be left up for each Unit of Study. I also love the idea of playing Jeopardy games with the vocabulary words from the unit during the last half of class after they have taken their tests.
ReplyDeleteI think the questioning cards would be easy to incorporate in the science lab for all grade levels. I would need to create a prompt prior to each lesson for each grade level and make sure I focus on two or three vocabulary words as I conduct the lesson for the day.
ReplyDeleteStudents seemed to succeed on matching quizzes/tests using the method of writing and memorizing definitions word-for-word. However, when asked to create their own sentences or to select the correct word from a list to fill in a blank using the words properly, they struggled and were much less successful. It was obvious that this method was boring, viewed as busy work, and that students were not learning, understanding, and gaining mastery. Unfortunately, I was unaware that other strategies for teaching vocabulary were availiable.
ReplyDeleteI am very excited to discover and have the opportunity to employ so many new strategies (individual, group, and whole class) to teach vocabulary in my classroom, such as: tiering words, the word familiarity chart, questioning cards, the Frayer model, the concept ladder, focus discussions, online tools, and vocabulary walls. I do not have a student textbook, so I will be utilizing articles, current events, and primary source documents to help spark interest in learning and teach vocabulary that is relevant . Students can now begin to discover, understand, and utilize words that they encounter in practical situations, not in the boring textbook that seems disconnected from daily life and useful application.
One activity that I am excited about using: With students working in small groups, I will place the key word on a table tent and other related words on slips of paper. Students will hypothesize, using the background knowledge of the group, as to the meanings and connections of the words. Students will then research the words to discover their true meanings, relationships, and functions and present their findings to the class.
I will no longer have students write definitions word-for-word, but always in their own words. They should grow in their ability to explain the word meanings to their shoulder buddies.
I am excited about having new tools to equip and empower students to take responsibility to "decode" vocabulary, thus unlocking the meaning of content that was previously unknown or beyond their understanding.
I am contemplating the use of quizlet to enhance my students understanding of basic music terminology specific to the music classroom that is required to develop musicianship skills.
ReplyDelete