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Vocabulary Graffiti. George Washington Carver Elementary Krysta and Kaitlin. Connection to SIP. One of the goals of the SIP: To improve students’ writing (p. 12 in SIP) We will focus on vocabulary Throughout the SIP vocabulary was an area of weakness for all students
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Vocabulary Graffiti George Washington Carver Elementary Krysta and Kaitlin
Connection to SIP • One of the goals of the SIP: • To improve students’ writing (p. 12 in SIP) • We will focus on vocabulary • Throughout the SIP vocabulary was an area of weakness for all students • Grades 3-5 have limited experiences with exposure to a wide range of vocabulary (p. 4-5 in SIP)
Population • Elementary students at George Washington Carver Elementary • One 4th grade class (22) • One 5th grade class (20) now one 1st grade class (19)
Vocabulary Graffiti • students compose drawings that are related to the words they are learning Spencer & Guillaume, 2009
The Research • Edens and Potter (2001) found that students have to select, organize and represent ideas when images are drawn by the students • Bromley (2007) found that a students’ memory is supported by drawing images because the information has to be translated from one form to another • Personal associations with unfamiliar words can also form (Hopkins & Bean, 1998-1999; Standerfer, 2006)
Implementation • Introduce three vocabulary words throughout the day in different subjects • Students will be given a new vocabulary word and asked to take out their writing journals • Students will be given 5 minutes to draw their vocabulary graffiti and then we will move on • Students will have the vocabulary graffiti for reference in their writing journals
Why Vocabulary Graffiti? • Enhance students’ vocabulary, which will enhance students’ writing (this is a goal of the SIP, p. 12) • Students will have the opportunity to use their new vocabulary words in their journals • Connecting the usage of vocabulary in the different subjects throughout the day Spencer, B. H. & Guillaume, A. M. (2009). 35 strategies for developing content area vocabulary. Boston, Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon.
Pre/Post Test • Sample question (Fourth Grade): • What is the definition of waterfall? a. A steep descent of the water of a river. b. An indentation of a shoreline larger than a cover but smaller than a gulf c. A larger body of water. d. A body of water surrounded by land.
Sample question (First grade): 1. leaf
Goal • To have the students’ journal entries improve in the word choice category of the 6+1 Trait Writing Model (Education Northwest, 1980s) • How will we do this? • Compare previous journal entries before our implementation of the vocabulary graffiti to journal entries after out implementation • New goal: To have the students’ knowledge of vocabulary words increase • Compare pre tests and post tests
6+1 Traits Writing Model • Developed by Education Northwest in the 1980s because of the need for a better way to gather information about students’ writing • Seven qualities • Ideas • Organization • Voice • Word choice • Sentence fluency • Conventions • Presentation • Rubric scored from 1 to 4 • We are focusing on the improvement of the word choice trait
Research Questions • Does vocabulary graffiti increase vocabulary usage in journal entries? • Does vocabulary graffiti increase students’ knowledge of vocabulary words?
Timeline for each group member • Give pre test on Monday, October 18th • Implement vocabulary graffiti throughout the weeks of October 18th, October 25th, and November 1st • Give post test on week of November 1st
1st Grade • Discussion • Students enjoyed connecting words to pictures • Vocabulary graffiti proved effective for circling the picture in relation to the vocabulary word • Students excited when they got to do the same test again
Vocabulary words • Gullible • Bizarre • Mysterious • Juvenile • Enthusiastic • Magnificent • Obedient • Lush • Repulsive • Feeble
Pre-Post Findings: 4th Grade • N= 21 students
Distracter analysis “Which of these men would you consider “feeble”?
4th Grade • Discussion • Students enjoyed this activity • Hands on • Group work • Significant difference between scores on pre/post test • The post-assessments for was too easy- consider rewriting
Does vocabulary graffiti increase students’ knowledge of vocabulary words? • Vocabulary graffiti does increase students’ knowledge of vocabulary • Students’ scores in both 1st grade and 4th grade on the vocabulary posttests improved significantly
Does vocabulary graffiti increase vocabulary usage in journal entries? • We were not able to look into this research question because of a switch in placement • Not enough information in the journals in 1st grade • To keep consistent across grade levels, we decided to not use the 6+1 writing traits model to compare journal entries
Implications • Confounding variables • Original research design was compromised due to extenuating circumstances
Next Steps • Incorporate into first grade curriculum • Tweak design of delivery of vocabulary graffiti • Vocabulary graffiti is a fun, engaging activity that should be used to directly instruct vocabulary