Module 2: Content-Area Literacy

1. Module 2:Content-Area Literacy Adolescent Literacy Unit 2, Session 4

2. Supporting Vocabulary Development in the Content Areas “There is a great divide between what we know about vocabulary instruction and what we (often, still) do” (Greenwood, 2004, p. 28, as cited in Bromley, 2007). Academic Vocabulary and Strategic Word Learning

3. Essential Questions • Module 2 Question • What role can content-area teachers play in helping adolescents acquire general and discipline-specific literacy skills? • Unit 2, Session 4 Questions • What role does vocabulary play in content-area reading and learning? • What strategies and activities can content-area teachers use to help students read, understand, and use academic and disciplinary vocabulary words? Module 2: Unit 2, Session 4

4. What Are the Sources of Exposure to New Words as Students Get Older? As children grow older, TEXTis increasingly the source of new vocabulary. Module 2: Unit 2, Session 4

5. As Students Get Older… • Unlike younger students, older students need to learn words that they are unlikely to encounter at home or in conversation with friends: • General academic words: generate, hypothesis, paralysis, diminutive • Content specific words: hypotenuse, estuary, photosynthesis Module 2: Unit 2, Session 4

6. Initial Implications for Instruction • Students need repeated encounters to words in rich contexts inorder to form the lexical bases of robust word knowledge. • Conversation and discussion support word learning. • Even if students do not seem to demonstrate a complete and accurate knowledge of a word, they may have acquired the basis for future word learning. Module 2: Unit 2, Session 4

7. Warm-Up • Looking at Figure 4 (p. 10 of Time to Act) 1. What's going on? 2. What do you see that makes you say that?  Module 2: Unit 2, Session 4

8. The Challenge • What is happening to the vocabulary as we move from elementary, to middle, to high school texts on a similar topic? • Sentence structure? • Abstract ideas? • Review Questions? Module 2: Unit 2, Session 4

9. Increasing Challenges • From Elementary to Middle to High School: • Texts become longer • Reading “stamina” becomes increasingly important • Word complexity increases • Increases in the # of technical words/density of those words: vascular, fertilization, and gametophytes • Increase in # of all-purpose academic vocabulary/ density of those words: commonly, suggest, and elongated Carnegie Council on Advancing Adolescent Literacy. (2010). Time to act: An agenda for advancing adolescent literacy for college and career success. Chapter 2. Module 2: Unit 2, Session 4

10. Increasing Challenges • From Elementary to Middle to High School: • Sentence complexity increases • Longer sentences are combined with meaningful (but deceptively simple) words: which, who, that, but, if, and, or, however, although, moreover, additionally • Structural complexity increases • Several text structures (comparison/contrast, description, problem/solution) all working together • Headings, bolded & italicized words carry meaning Carnegie Council on Advancing Adolescent Literacy. (2010). Time to act: An agenda for advancing adolescent literacy for college and career success. Chapter 2. Module 2: Unit 2, Session 4

11. Increasing Challenges • From Elementary to Middle to High School: • Graphic representations become more important • Text often makes sense only when referring to figures, graphs, charts, diagrams, illustrations • Conceptual challenge increases • Increasingly abstract ideas • Text assumes background knowledge and ability to apply previous knowledge to current problems Carnegie Council on Advancing Adolescent Literacy. (2010). Time to act: An agenda for advancing adolescent literacy for college and career success. Chapter 2. Module 2: Unit 2, Session 4

12. 9 Things Every Teacher Should Know • Read/Review Bromley (2007) • Three Levels of Text Discussion • Read aloud the passage you have selected. • What do you think about the passage (importance, interpretations, connection to past experiences, etc.)? • What do you see as the implications for your work? Module 2: Unit 2, Session 4

13. 9 Things Every Teacher Should Know • Which of the suggestions from Bromley (2007) are we already doing in our classes? • Which suggestions seem reasonable for us to try in our classes? Module 2: Unit 2, Session 4

14. Bromley – Important Notes • Explicitly teach new words … make connections with other words … because it helps build from the known to the new (p. 534). • It is more effective to teach fewer words well rather than several words less well (p. 535). • Teach most new words before reading to enhance students’ comprehension (p. 535). • Use “word walls” to introduce/visually reinforce words (p. 535). Module 2: Unit 2, Session 4

15. McEwan – Using & Teaching Content Vocabulary • What are the key concepts of your discipline? • What words are indispensable to understanding the text? • What words have multiple meanings? • What are the common American idioms? • What words are needed to take tests? • What words are essential for ELL students both in your classroom and discipline? McEwan. (2007). Using and teaching content vocabulary. Module 2: Unit 2, Session 4

16. McEwan – Using & TeachingContent Vocabulary Here's how to teach words for mastery: • Post the words in your classroom in their syllabicated forms (e.g., math-e-ma-tics) to aid struggling readers who have a difficult time identifying and pronouncing multisyllabic words. • Provide a student-friendly definition of the word. • Suggest synonyms or antonyms for the word. • Put the new word into a context or connect it to a known concept. Module 2: Unit 2, Session 4

17. McEwan – Using & TeachingContent Vocabulary Here's how to teach words for mastery: • Use the new word on multiple occasions and in multiple contexts (e.g., sentence starters, games). • Whenever you say the word, run your hand or a pointer under the syllables of the word as you pronounce it, quickly cueing struggling readers to associate your spoken word with the written word on the wall. • Place several new words into a shared context. Module 2: Unit 2, Session 4

18. McEwan – Using & TeachingContent Vocabulary Here's how to teach words for mastery: • Ask questions that contain the new word so students must process its meaning in multiple ways. • Add the new word to an already existing classroom concept map, or construct a new concept map using the new word as the foundational concept. • Expect pairs of students to construct semantic word maps for new vocabulary. • Give students extra credit points for hearing or seeing content vocabulary in other contexts. Module 2: Unit 2, Session 4

19. Watch Strategies Being Used in the Classroom Middle School Math & ELA Teachers: http://dww.ed.gov/see/?T_ID=23&P_ID=59 High School Math / Science / History / ELA examples: http://books.heinemann.com/wordwise/ Middle School (Word Generation) All Content Areas: http://wordgeneration.org/array.html • What do you see that might work in your classroom? Module 2: Unit 2, Session 4

20. Extending Our Understanding • Consider the Research (Word Generation) • Dr. Catherine Snow (Harvard Graduate School of Education) • Video clip reviewing what the research says about vocabulary instruction and learning for adolescents • http://wordgeneration.org/pd2.html Module 2: Unit 2, Session 4

21. Some Consensus on Best Practices • Pick generative words. • Present them in semantically rich contexts. • Provide learner-friendly definitions. • Ensure recurrent exposures. • Encourage experimentation; expect mistakes. • Expand each word’s semantic mapping. • Provide opportunities to use the words. • Teach word-learning strategies (morphology, cognates, using contextual information). • Cultivate "word awareness“. Module 2: Unit 2, Session 4

22. Extending Our Understanding • What does an “academic word” instructional program look like? • Materials cross into all the content areas. • Focus words are selected from the Academic Word List. • The program has a democracy/citizenship theme: Join the National Conversation! A moral dilemma is introduced in each weekly unit. • Word Generation – Nuts and Bolts video clip • http://wordgeneration.org/pd4.html Module 2: Unit 2, Session 4

23. Some Additional Strategies SEDL Strategy Library • Semantic /Concept Mapping • Generative Vocab. Strategies: “Possible Sentences” • Word Analysis Strategies • Research-based strategies reviewed and described by SEDL (Southwest Educational Development Laboratory). • Also see “Building reading proficiency at the secondary level” by SEDL. Module 2: Unit 2, Session 4

24. So, What Words Do I Teach? A practical framework from the article: Effective content vocabulary instruction in the middle: Matching students, purposes, words, and strategies By Kevin Flanigan & Scott C. Greenwood (2007) Module 2: Unit 2, Session 4

25. Level 1 (Critical “Before” Words) Words that: • Are absolutely essential to understanding the passage • Represent concepts of which students need an in-depth understanding before reading to successfully navigate the passage and construct meaning • Are few in number and represent new concepts or known concepts that need to be developed (Flanigan & Greenwood, 2007, p. 229) Module 2: Unit 2, Session 4

26. Level 1 (Critical “Before” Words) “Before” words should be reviewed explicitly before students read a text. • 15–20 minutes or more is not too much • These words might be placed on a word wall or added to students’ notebooks • Critical words such as: photosynthesis, ecosystem, separation of powers, and civil rights movement (Flanigan & Greenwood, 2007, p. 229) Module 2: Unit 2, Session 4

27. Level 2 (“Foot-in-the-Door” Words) • Students only need a basic, “foot-in-the-door” understanding of these words to successfully get the gist of a passage • New words that represent unfamiliar concepts but only need a brief introduction, where more detail can be added later (e.g., homesteader) • New words that represent familiar concepts (e.g., metamorphosis, or to change form) (Flanigan & Greenwood, 2007, p. 229) Module 2: Unit 2, Session 4

28. Level 2 (“Foot-in-the-Door” Words) • These words should be introduced before students read a new passage. • However, these words require minimal introduction/ teaching time. (Flanigan & Greenwood, 2007, p. 229) Module 2: Unit 2, Session 4

29. Level 3 (Critical “After” Words) • Words that a teacher believes are important to know “on some level,” but that are not required for understanding the passage • These words can be dealt with “after” reading • Content words that are clearly defined in the text • High-utility words that students will encounter in other settings (Flanigan & Greenwood, 2007, p. 230–231) Module 2: Unit 2, Session 4

30. Level 4 (Words Not to Teach) • Words that students are likely to know already • E.g., fault, mustache • Words that do not serve the immediate instructional goals – just because a word is italicized or bolded in a textbook does not mean it is important “right now” (Flanigan & Greenwood, 2007, p. 231) Module 2: Unit 2, Session 4

31. Consider Purposes and Text • Determine instructional goals. • Which words are most important for your lesson/unit? • Which words must students know before reading? • Which words will you highlight afterward? • Which words will you not teach “right now”? (Flanigan & Greenwood, 2007) Module 2: Unit 2, Session 4

32. Wrap-Up • Questions to Consider: • What are we already doing to teach vocabulary? • What else could we be doing? • How can we work differently in order to maximize strategic word learning and use? Module 2: Unit 2, Session 4

33. Further Study • Review the brief online article “Explicit Vocabulary Instruction” on Adlit.org • What reinforces materials we have just learned/discussed? Is there anything that conflicts? • What strategies are we already using? • What strategies introduced in earlier sessions can now be viewed as “vocabulary strategies”? • What other resources do we need to explore in order to improve vocabulary instruction? Module 2: Unit 2, Session 4

34. References Bromley, K. (2007). Nine things every teacher should know about words and vocabulary instruction. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 50(7), 528–537. Carnegie Council on Advancing Adolescent Literacy. (2010). Time to act: An agenda for advancing adolescent literacy for college and career success. Chapter 2: The challenge: What it will take to get our adolescents college and career ready. New York, NY: Carnegie Corporation of New York. Module 2: Unit 2, Session 4

35. References Flanigan, K., & Greenwood, S.C. (2007). Effective content vocabulary instruction in the middle: Matching students, purposes, words, and strategies. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 51(3), 226–238. McEwan, E. K. (2007). 40 Ways to Support Struggling Readers in Content Classrooms. Grades 6–12 (pp. 77–78). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Southwest Educational Development Laboratory Strategies: http://www.sedl.org/pubs/reading16/12.html Word Generation: http://wordgeneration.org/ Module 2: Unit 2, Session 4