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Building Academic Vocabulary in the Social Studies. Amy Nelson Thibaut CFISD Social Studies Helping Teacher TSSSA 2005-2006.
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Building Academic Vocabulary in the Social Studies Amy Nelson Thibaut CFISD Social Studies Helping Teacher TSSSA 2005-2006
These vocabulary “best practices” are characterized by more reading, more concepts development, explicit instruction for critical and specialize terms, increased opportunities to hear and use language in meaningful ways, and assistance in transferring that learning to other contexts. • Ineffectual instructional practices move students away from seeing words as multifaceted sources of enjoyment and information. • Janet Allen, PhD
Concept Circle • In this technique students are shown a circle • Each quarter of which contains a word or phrase. • The student must then describe or name the concept to which all the sections relate • In doing this, students have to determine the meaning of each of the words, analyze the connections among the words, and think of a concept or relationship that ties the words together.
Concept Circles • Describe or name the concept relationship among the sections • Topic: ___The Depression_______________ Dust Bowl Hoovervilles migrant Hobo
The technique works in reverse…. • Give students the concept • Then ask students to complete the concept circle with four things they have learned in relation to this concept. • This tool lets you ascertain the connections your students are able to make from their learning about a given concept.
Concept Circles • Describe or name the concept relationship among the sections • Topic: ___The Civil Rights Movement__ Church bombings Racism violence stereotyping
Opposites • Give students a list of paired words with opposite meanings • Students scour a stack of newspapers to find and cut out pictures or cartoons that could represent the words • They then glue the pictures onto a grid • This is an incredible tool for assessing whether students actually have a working knowledge of particular words.
Free Association • Teacher calls out a “Target” Term • Students take turns–as a class, in small groups, or in pairs – saying any word they think of that is related to the target term. • After a few minutes the teacher says “Stop”. The last person to say a word must explain how that word is related to the target. • Require students to raise their hands and be called upon or to ensure that they pay attention to their peers’ responses, require that they repeat the previous response before offering their own.
An alternative to Oral Free Association • Ask students to write their responses in a learning log or on scratch paper • When you say, “Stop,” they exchange papers with a partner and ask each other to explain any of the words on their lists. • In this way, students generate their own lists, but also are exposed to the thinking of another student.
A Twist on Free Association • Play the Pyramid Game • Pair students – one faces the screen and the other faces the opposite direction • The person facing the screen looks at the concept and begins giving content based clues that will solicit the answer from his/her partner • When a pair gets the answer, the person facing the screen signals the teacher to move to the next category. • When the pair completes the Pyramid, the game stops while the partnership recreates the clues given to solicit the correct concept.
200 points Bill of Rights 100 points 100 points Popular sovereignty Separation of powers 50 points 50 points 50 points Freedom of Speech Federalism Preamble
Game Activity:Talk a Mile a Minute • Teams of students are given a list of terms that have been organized into categories. • Every team designates a “talker” who is provided with a list of words under a category title. • The talker tries to get the team to say each of the words by quickly describing them. The talker is allowed to say anything about the terms, but may not use any words in the category title or any rhyming words • The talker continues until the team members identify the first term in the category, then he/she moves to the next term in the category
Comparing Terms: Format 1: Sentence Stems • This format provides sentences to be completed by students. • The first set of sentences asks students to fill in similarities between the two terms, and the second set asks for differences. • Sentence stems provide very structured guidance for students, thus helping them to avoid common errors in their thinking. Sometimes students jump into a comparison task without first identifying the characteristics on which they will base their comparison.
Sentence Stems Examples • ______ and ______ are similar because they both….. • _______________________ • _______________________ • _______________________ • ______ and ____ are different because • ______ is _____, but _______ is ________ • ______ is _____, but _______ is ________ • ______ is _____, but _______ is ________
Sentence Stems Examples • Monarchy and dictatorship are similar because they both….. • Are forms of government. • Are governments with major power given to one person. • Have examples from history in which the powerful person was a tyrant.
Sentence Stems Examples continued • Monarchy and dictatorship are different because … • In a monarchy, the ruler is often in power because of heritage, but in a dictatorship, the ruler often comes to power through force or coercion. • In monarchies today, the rulers are often perceived to be loved by the people, but in dictatorships, the rulers are often feared and hated by the people. • A monarchy can coexist with a representative government, but a dictatorship often is a police state.
Comparing Terms: Format 2: Venn Diagram Monarchy Dictatorship • Can coexist with representative government • Loved by people • Inherited power • Forms of government • Single person rule • Many are tyrants • Often perceived as police state • Rulers often hated and feared • Comes to power through coercion or force SIMILARITIES DIFFERENCES DIFFERENCES
Forms of government Co-exist with represent. government Monarchy Dictatorship Ruler is hated or feared
Comparing Terms: Format 4: Matrix • In the column headings, students place the terms they are going to compare. • In the rows, the students identify the general characteristics on which they will base their comparison. • In the cells, they briefly describe each term as it relates to each characteristic. • Finally, students look at their information and draw conclusions about the similarities and differences. • The matrix lends itself to comparing more than two terms at a time. • Its power lies in the fact that it provides an organizer for the information about a term. Once complete it guides students to think about, and discuss, the similarities and differences in some detail.
Solving Analogy Problems • A complete analogy contains two terms in the first set (A and B) that have the same relationship as the two terms in the second set (C and D). A common format for an analogy statement is A is to B as C is to D. • If only one term is missing, the field of possible accurate answers is narrowed considerably: • Martin Luther King, Jr. is to civil rights as _______ is to women’s rights
Solving Analogy Problems • When two terms are missing, an analogy can be completed with a wider variety of answers. Many different perspectives can be applied to compete the analogy: • Harry Truman is to World War II as _____ is to ______ • Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is to Native Americans as _____ is to _______
Solving Analogy Problems • As students solve the analogy problems, make sure they include a description of the relationship that both sets of terms have in common. • Use a graphic organizer to clearly highlight the importance of defining how the items in each set are related. Term A Term B AS “Relating Factor” Term D Term C
Solving Analogy Problems Synagogue Judaism AS Mosque Islam A place of worship • Analogy problems with two missing terms provide opportunities for students to think beyond the obvious relationships, thereby helping them to gain new insights into the analogy terms.
Creating Metaphors • Metaphors expose how objects or ideas that seem quite different might actually be, at a more general level, very similar. • The goal of creating metaphors is to guide students into seeing general relationships between new terms they are learning and another term which they are more familiar with although the terms seem very different.
Creating Metaphors • To engage students in metaphorical thinking try the following steps: • Step 1: List the specific characteristics of a targeted term. • Step 2: Rewrite those characteristics in more general language. • Step 3: Identify another specific term and explain how it also has the general characteristics identified during Step 2.
Creating Metaphors Helen Keller Frederick Douglas Got sick as baby, lost sight and hearing Was a slave as a young boy. Had a rough beginning. Learned to read Braille, write, and went to college Learned to read and write anyway. Achieved goals even when difficult Through speeches and writing, she inspired others to overcome disabilities Wrote books and gave speeches against slavery Worked to help other people who suffered like him.
Creating Metaphors • At first, students might need significant guidance and modeling, especially as they try to decide just how general the language in Step 2 should be • Teachers who use metaphors report that students who struggle with assignments requiring extensive writing sometimes demonstrate deep levels of insight when the focus is on this type of thinking.
REFERENCES • Allen, Janet. Words, Words, Words: Teaching Vocabulary in Grades 4-12. Portland, Maine: Stenhouse Publishers, 1999. • Marzano, Robert J. and Debra J. Pickering. Building Academic Vocabulary. Alexandria, Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2005.
