Increasing Vocabulary and Conceptual Growth

1. Increasing Vocabulary and Conceptual Growth

2. Comprehension • Reading comprehension is the process of obtaining meaning from printed material. • It is an active process in which the reader uses background knowledge, skills, and strategies to interpret and respond to the intended message.

3. Building Background Knowledge • Direct approaches • Provide enriching experiences like visits to museums and art galleries; also travel and exchange programs • Mentoring programs • Indirect approaches • Vocabulary instruction

4. Students can have 4 different types of relationships with words: • know both the word and the concept • know the concept but not the label • have a prior meaning for a word, but now it is applied to a new concept • not know either the word or the concept

5. 8 Characteristics of Effective Vocabulary Instruction #1 Effective vocabulary instruction does not rely on definitions When people first learn words they understand them more as descriptions, not definitions Present word meanings to students in everyday language (Rosenkrans & Volk) When Words Get in the Way

6. (Rosenkrans & Volk) when words Get in the Way #2 Students must represent their knowledge of words in linguistic & nonlinguistic ways Students should represent words using graphic representations, pictures, and pictographs #3 Students gradually shape word meanings through multiple exposure Use linguistic/nonlinguistic methods Identify similarities and differences Create metaphors/analogies Classify (Rosenkrans& Volk) When Words Get in the Way

7. (Rosenkrans & Volk) when words Get in the Way #4 Teaching word parts enhances students’ understanding of terms Prefixes, suffixes, roots #5 Different types of words require different types of instruction Different syntactic function Nouns vs. verbs Concrete vs. abstract (Rosenkrans& Volk) When Words Get in the Way

8. (Rosenkrans & Volk) when words Get in the Way #6 Students should discuss the terms they are learning Vocabulary Self-Collection Strategy Increase collaborative time in the classroom #7 Students should play with words Present manageable challenges Can be used as “sponge” activities to soak up dead time in class or as exit slips (Rosenkrans& Volk) When Words Get in the Way

9. Arouse Curiosity

10. (Rosenkrans & Volk) when words Get in the Way #8 Instruction should focus on terms that have a high probability of enhancing academic success Not all words are critical for students to know Distinctions should be made between words that are critical to academic success and those that are not (Rosenkrans& Volk) When Words Get in the Way

11. Do Content Area Teachers Teach Decoding Skills? • Previewing and working with Vocabulary Building • Using Word Structure • Stressing Automaticity with Sight Words • Teaching compensatory skills

12. CSSR: ContextStructureSound Reference

13. Context • “When you come to a word you don’t know, read to the end of the sentence to see if you can tell what the word means.” • Using context clues

14. Structure • “Look at the parts of the word. Do you see any parts of the word that are familiar and help you understand the new word?”

15. Sound • “Try to pronounce the word using the sounds of the vowels and consonants you already know. Reread the sentence and think about the way the word is used. “ • By using these three steps, students can often identify the word.

16. Reference • Students may use a glossary or dictionary if the first 3 steps are not enough. • They will still need to determine how it is used in the sentence. • Model the CSSR strategy with your students.

17. Specific Questions to Build Metacognition • What makes sense here? • What does it start with? • Are these root words, prefixes, suffixes, or endings that I know? • Should I skip the word and keep reading? • Can a dictionary help me? • Should I ask someone?