WELCOME

1. WELCOME Revitalizing Vocabulary: Using Vocabulary Strategies to Aid Student Comprehension November 5, 2008

2. Schedule • Wiki-feedback • How Children Learn to Read • Evidence Based Vocabulary Instruction • Break • Direct Instruction & Word Parts • Technology Integration: Stone, Trogdon, and J. Williams • What’s Next? • Lunch (11:45 – 12:15)

3. Wiki-feedback

4. Activity: Lay it all on the table . . .

5. Lay it all on the table . . . • Organize your sticky notes in a matter that makes sense to the group. Each “group” of sticky notes should be given an overall name/category. • Form groups. (grouping cards-bottom right) • Supplies: sticky notes, chart paper • List challenges related to students’ reading abilities. RICA Activity- Dump & Clump and Sticky Notes

6. Review: How Children Learn to Read

7. Stages of Reading Development • Pre-reading; pre-alphabetic (0, rare for an adolescent) • Initial reading or alphabetic decoding (1) • -Early phonetic • -Later phonetic • Confirmation and fluency (2) • Reading to learn (3)

8. Decoding: Early Phonetic (1) • Identify first consonant in work; need to learn to segment all sounds • Rely on letter names to get the sounds, especially for spelling; need to learn sounds and letter names, and the difference. (WEL = will, CLOK = clock) • Confuse similar words (horse and house); need to decode the whole word, left to right, with sound-symbol links. ? VS.

9. Decoding: Late Phonetic (1) • Can sound out regular one-syllable words; can increase speed of whole word recognition once decoding is accurate • Phoneme (smallest unit of sound in a language) awareness is well established. • Phonetic spelling is a fine art. ?

10. Confirmation and Fluency (2) • Can read more easily, attending to meaning. Need to increase speed to about 120 w.p.m. by end of third grade. • Print chunks, such as –ing, -est, high frequency words, and syllable patterns are recognized automatically. • Need to read widely. Series books are a good fit. Emphasis on daily reading very important. ?

11. Reading to Learn (3) • Build vocabulary, several thousand words per year. • Teach advanced word decoding. • Emphasize varied texts, especially expository (nonfiction) texts. • Preview and guide silent and prepared choral reading. Students in third grade need to be at this stage. If behind in third grade highly likely to remain behind. ?

12. Listening and Reading • Students’ vocabulary first develops through oral exposure to text. • Before middle grades, students can read many fewer words than they comprehend through listening. This remains true at the middle grades for at-risk students especially.

13. How Many Words Do Students Know? (cont.) Impact of Language Exposure on Vocabulary Levels Actual Differences in Quantity of Words Heard In a typical hour, the average child would hear: Welfare: 615 words Working Class: 1,251 words Professional: 2,153 words Actual Differences in Quality of Words Heard In a typical hour, the average child would hear: Welfare: 5 affirmations, 11 prohibitions Working Class: 12 affirmations, 7 prohibitions Professional: 32 affirmations, 5 prohibitions

14. Where Do We Learn Words? Adult reading matter contains words 2-3 times rarer than those hear on TV. Even children’s books have more varied and unusual words than prime time TV or children’s TV. Rarity and variety of words in children’s books is greater than that in adult conversation. Reading IF Not FOR THE Cat Big Movers ~Jack Prelutsky ~Matt Mitter Hayes & Ahrens (1998)

15. ActivitySearch and Rescue • Choose one book. • Skim/scan a few pages for unique words (scurried vs. ran, ponder vs. think). • Make a list of the unique words you find. - - - - - - - - - -

16. Picture Books • Wiki resources www.literacyplus.wikispaces.com

17. Middle Grades Symptoms • Struggling students continue to be slow readers. • Vocabulary often does not grow at expected rate. • Spelling phonetically and misspelled words continues. • Complex sentences and inference information are problematic. • Writing is sparse and disorganized.

18. Conclusions ACS Strategic Plan Goal I.  High Student Achievement1.1 Prepare students to be globally competitive1.2 Utilize technology to enhance learning 1.3 Close the achievement gap Literacy development is an ongoing process, and it requires just as much attention for adolescent learner as for beginning readers. In today’s word, literacy demands are expanding, and they include more reading and writing tasks than at any other time in history. Adolescents need high levels of literacy to understand vast amounts of information available to them. Adequate comprehension depends on the reader already knowing 90-95% of the words in a text.

19. Evidence Based Vocabulary Instruction Models: • Robert Marzano Classroom Instruction that Works & Building Academic Vocabulary • Rosemarye Taylor Improving Reading, Writing, and Content Learning for Students in Grades 4-12

20. RICA-Quick Write • You enter a classroom and on the board is written: “Read pgs. 112-132. Do the definitions and answer questions 1-9.” • Reflect on the literacy learning of this assignment in this content classroom.

21. Questions Related to Vocabulary Learning • How many new vocabulary words should be introduced at any one time? • How many times does a person need to interact with a word to own it? • Should teachers bring their academic language down to the students’ reading levels? • When should vocabulary be taught – before, during, or after reading?

22. Questions Related to Vocabulary Learning (cont.) • Should only English/Language Arts teach roots, prefixes, and suffixes? • How and when are context clues useful for understanding vocabulary? • How does oral language development in relation to vocabulary acquisition?

23. How many new vocabulary words should be introduced at any one time? • Adolescent students can process and retain 5 to 7 words at a time. • This reinforces the need to concentrate vocabulary instruction on the essential words related to any given content.

24. How many times does a person need to interact with a word to own it? • Students need to interact with a word 30 times to “own it.” • Interaction should allow students to apply and illustrate the word in the given content, as well as associate it with personal experiences.

25. Should teachers bring their academic language down to the students’ reading levels? • Academic language should always be used by the teacher. • Academic language should be accompanied with explanation and student definition (scaffolding). • Students should be expected to use academic vocabulary. • Academic vocabulary is essential to raising comprehension. to use information for varied situations and purposes to use apply

26. When should vocabulary be taught – before, during, or after reading? • Vocabulary instruction should be on-going. • Before, during, and after vocabulary instruction is necessary for long-term understanding and retention.

27. Should only English/Language Arts teach roots, prefixes, and suffixes? • All teachers should teach roots, prefixes, and suffixes. • Specific roots, prefixes, and suffixes often occur in content area instruction. • 85% of English is based on Latin, 56% of daily English usage based on Latin Health/PE vita- (vitality, vitamins) Social Studies demo- (democracy, demographics) Science -ology (biology, meterology) Careers para- (paraprofessional, paraphrase) Math dia- (diagonal, diameter)

28. How and when are context clues useful for understanding vocabulary? • The use of context clues is varied. • If a word is followed by a descriptor context clues can be useful to the reader. (The waters were stagnate, still, and polluted.) • If there are unfamiliar words, other than a specific vocabulary word, in a sentence the usefulness of context clues decreases substantially.

29. How does oral language development in relation to vocabulary acquisition? • There is a strong correlation between oral language development and vocabulary and comprehension development. • Students will write the way they speak. (birthdy – birthday) • Students will pronounce words according the way they speak. (birthday - birthdy) • Students need to hear fluent readers on a regular basis to aid in their own oral development which in turn aids vocabulary and comprehension.

30. Context Clues, Oral Language, and Vocabulary DevelopmentMiss Alaineus http://www.debrafrasier.com/pages/books/msa.html

31. Research Base • Some researchers suggest having students learn new words by exposure to and use a word six times in order for the student to learn and recall the word. Because of the large number of words students need to learn, they have suggested wide-reading as the way to accomplish this. • However, other researchers have stated that lower performing students will actually learn only 8% of the words in this format while only 16% of higher performing students will learn vocabulary this way.

32. Research Base • An analysis of the research provides a strong case for focused, systematic instruction of vocabulary at every grade level. • According to the research, the most powerful way to teach new terms and phrases is to use an instructional sequence that allows for multiple exposures in multiple ways. The bottom line is that in order for students to understand and retain meaning for future uses we must utilize purposeful, intentional exposure to language.

33. Instruction in Content Specific Words • High-frequency word lists do not focus on the written material students encounter in school. (BICS vs. CALP) • The effects of direct vocabulary instruction are even more powerful when the words taught are those that students will most likely encounter in the new content they are learning. • Context is crucial for understanding and application of new vocabulary.

34. Marzano’s Vocabulary Instruction Process • The teacher will give a description, explanation, or example of the new term. • The teacher will ask the learner to give a description, explanation, or example of the new term in his/her own words. • The teacher will ask the learner to draw a picture, symbol, or locate a graphic to represent the new term. • The learner will participate in activities that provide more knowledge of the words in their vocabulary notebooks. • The learner will discuss the term with other learners. • The learner will participate in games that provide more reinforcement of the new term.

35. Video ASCD: Building Academic Vocabulary

36. Taylor’s Vocabulary Instruction Process • Teacher pronounces word and has students repeat word. • Teacher gives a reasonable definition. (reasonable definition-one appropriate for students’ comprehension and content) • Read and examine word in context. • Teacher creates a nonlinguistic representation (visual, movement) of word. • Student writes word and their own definition. • Student writes a sentence with the word. • Student creates a nonlinguistic representation of word.

37. Marzano & Taylor Vocabulary Instruction Processes Teach Model Practice Direct instruction from teacher Teacher offers Various models Guided practice Independent practice- only after successful with guided practice

38. Vocabulary Instruction Process(teach, model, practice) Teacher pronounces word and has students repeat word. • Students gain phonemic awareness of word. (teacher as model) • Students have opportunity to practice pronunciation. • Oral language, written language, and comprehension are connected in processing in the brain.

39. Vocabulary Instruction Process(teach) Teacher gives a reasonable definition. • Definition must be comprehensible by student. • A reasonable definition is one appropriate for students’ comprehension and content.

40. Vocabulary Instruction Process(modeling) Read and examine word in context. • Words must be applicable to unit of study. • Words chosen must be essential to understanding of content concept. • Examining word in context provides example of vocabulary application. • If applicable, provides opportunity to utilize context clues for meaning and understanding.

41. Vocabulary Instruction Process(modeling) Teacher creates a nonlinguistic representation (visual, movement) of word. • Visual/tactile learning increases understanding and retention of new information. (brain-based research) • Students need examples of how to make visual/tactile connections to new information. (modeling)

42. Vocabulary Instruction Process(guided practice) Student writes word and their own definition. • Students need to transfer academic language into their own. • Students need to feel ownership of the learning. • Student ownership increases comprehension and retention of new information.

43. Vocabulary Instruction Process(guided and independent practice) Student writes a sentence with the word. • Teachers and students should construct a sentence that applies the meaning of the given word for guided practice. • Students create their own sentence that includes application, not definition, of the word. Teacher checks for accuracy (guided and independent practice). • Student-owned compositions (written language) increase comprehension and retention by making content personal.

44. Vocabulary Instruction Process(guided and independent practice) Student creates a nonlinguistic representation of word. • Students should be able to orally explain how nonlinguistic representation is applicable to the vocabulary and their understanding of the word. (personal connections, guided and independent practice) • Visual/tactile learning increases understanding and retention of new information. (brain-based research) • Nonlinguistic representations allow students to make personal connections which are much more meaningful and memorable.

45. Process for Vocabulary Instruction Teach Model Practice Direct instruction from teacher Teacher offers Various models Guided practice Independent practice- only after successful with guided practice ongoing, meaningful exposure

46. Break

47. Vocabulary Instruction Strategies “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter—'tis the difference between the lightening bug and the lightening.” -- Mark Twain

48. Direction Instruction Word Play Nonlinguistic Representation Revitalizing Vocabulary Similarities & Difference Multiple Exposure Word Parts

49. Direct Vocabulary Instruction • Vocabulary instruction is the single most valuable aspect of comprehension. • Effective vocabulary instruction does not rely solely on providing definitions. • Students must be able to visualize the word and also connect it to other words. • Direct Instruction = word meaning + strategy ownership

50. Strategies for Direct Instruction • Expert to Expert* • Vocabulary Mapping* • Frayer Diagram/ Vocabulary Squares* *RICA strategies