Elementary Coaches’ Network Focus on Vocabulary Instruction

1. Elementary Coaches’ NetworkFocus on Vocabulary Instruction October 23, 2013 Nancy Neusbaum, PIIC Mentor Kathleen Eich

2. Agenda • Complete Survey • Quotation Mingle • Vocabulary Discussion

3. Quotation Mingle Instructional Coaching: A Partnership Approach to Improving Instruction by Jim Knight (2007) Be ready to share… How does your quote apply to your role as an instructional coach (IC)?

4. Please Do Now… Use your picture to complete the analogy: Vocabulary is like ____ because... (Write one sentence)

5. Sharing… • Take turns: Show your picture and read your analogy to your partner. • Partner, make a statement to agree or disagree with the analogy.

6. Where are the rare words?

7. A rare word is defined as any word not in the 10,000 most frequently used words in the language. (Hayes and Ahrens)

8. Examples of Rare Words

9. Where are the unfamiliar words? Adult TV Mr Rogers Comic Books Children’s TV Adult Books Children’s Books Newspapers Cartoons/Shows Conversation between 2 college-educated adults

10. Where are the unfamiliar words? Newspapers Comic Books Adult Books Children’s Books Cartoons (shows) Adult TV Children’s TV Conversation between two college-educated adults Mr. Rogers

11. “Cognitive Verbs and the Common Core”  What is your definition of Academic Vocabulary? Compare your definition with your partner’s.  Read/Skim the article from Educational Leadershipby Robert Marzano.  Does this change your definition? How?  How do your teachers address academic vocabulary?  Share

12. Guidelines for Choosing Words • Limit the number you will teach in depth • for eternal comprehension…just a few! • Essential subject-area words • Words critical for understanding concept/text • Useful words • Words student likely to see/use again and again in many contexts and across disciplines • Difficult words • Words with multiple meanings • idiomatic expressions

13. Estimated # of Terms to Teach Building Background Knowledge by Marzano

14. Choosing words based on Tiers • Tier 3: Low-frequency words, usually specific to an academic domain & best learned in the related content area, such as isotope, photosynthesis & psychologist. • Tier 2: High-frequency words that are important for capable language learners to have in their vocabulary, such as remorse, capricious, distinguished, & devious. • Tier 1: Basic words that rarely need to be taught, such as hair, always, dress, & laugh. • Beck, I., McKeown, M., & Kucan, L. (2002) Handout – Which Words to Teach

15. Tier 2 Words in Content Classes Science unit on Earth’s Changing Surface • Suggested Words: runoff, rills, gully, drainage basin, divide, flood plain, tributary, meander, alluvial fan, delta, ground water, stalactite, stalagmite • Tier 2 Words to Add: process, feature, factor

16. Let’s Practice Choosing the Words Reading level: 8th Words: *Selected for instruction in manual The Gift of the Magi ^Defined in text Select 8 words for explicit instruction Handout

17. Let’s Practice Choosing the Words Reading level: 8th Words: *Selected for instruction in manual The Gift of the Magi ^Defined in text Select 8 words for explicit instruction

18. Helping Students Become Better Word Learners • Model what you do when you encounter an unfamiliar word • Teach about the use of word parts, context clues, and definitions • Include strategies for dealing with unfamiliar words in your comprehension strategy instruction • Give explicit explanations on when and how to apply strategies

19. Resources on the Wiki • Vocabulary Planning tool • Agenda with resources

20. Choosing Key Words • What is the students’ background knowledge and how is it assessed? • Which words are most critical for understanding the content? • How frequently is the word encountered? • Does the word require multiple strategies to comprehend? • Does the word or concept require more guided practice before students can use it independently? • What connections can be made with words students already know? • What words are difficult for students to grasp the meaning of and are frequently misunderstood?

21. Let’s Practice Choosing Words • Read the text provided • List the tier 2 vocabulary you would teach • Compare your list with the list of your partner

22. Put your Coaching Hat on… • After you have shared information about limiting the number of words for deep vocabulary instruction, a math teacher comments that in the next unit in math there are 20 technical words highlighted in the text. This limit certainly doesn’t apply to subjects like math, right? • Turn and talk…Your response?

23. Summarizer • With another coach, discuss how you might use the materials and activities shared today with your teachers? • Who will you share this with? • How will you share? • Jot down the beginning of your action plan.

24. Our elementary group takeaways… • Academic Vocabulary is…

25. Ticket out the Door • On an index card, please comment on how this session met your needs. • What worked for you? • What was not as meaningful for you? • What additional information or support might you need related to our topic today? • What words of wisdom do you have for us?

26. Our secondary group takeaways… Academic Vocabulary is… • Universal but can be content specific • Needs to be owned by someone • keich@caiu.org • nneusbaum@caiu.org