Vocabulary Instruction for Elementary ELLs Grades K-2 Division of Bilingual and World Languages

1. Vocabulary Instruction for Elementary ELLs Grades K-2Division of Bilingual and World Languages

2. What about our ELLs? • Why Teach Vocabulary? • What Does Research Say? • Article “Six Vocabulary Activities for the English Classroom” • Vocabulary Activities

3. Reading for ELLs Expand Vocabulary

4. Welcome tothe language of our students! Whatever It’s mine Ya-right Oops Dawg Straight up What it is My stuff Yes/No

5. What other vocabulary might a newcomer know? Can you name others?

6. About your ELLs? • What do you want to know about English Language Learners? • What do you know about English Language Learners? • Your own experiences, or • What you’ve learned

7. Getting to Know Your Students –Implications for Teaching and Learning • What language do they speak at home? • How much English do they know? • How much prior schooling do they have? • When did they come to U.S.? • Do their parents speak English? • What is the education level of their parents?

8. Why teach vocabulary? • Learning, as a language based activity, is fundamentally and profoundly dependent on vocabulary knowledge. Baker, Simmons, Kameenui 1998

9. Why should vocabulary be taught? • “Increasing vocabulary knowledge is a basic part of the process of education, both as a means and as an end. At the same time, advances in knowledge will create an even larger pool of concepts and words that a person must master to be literate and employable.” Naggy

10. How vocabulary relates to ELLs • For English language learners (ELLs), vocabulary development is especially important. The average native English speaker enters kindergarten knowing at least 5,000 words. The average ELL may know 5,000 words in his or her native language, but very few words in English. While native speakers continue to learn new words, ELLs face the double challenge of building that foundation and then closing the gap. (Honig, 1996)

11. Which Words do I Teach? • Text factors, Word importance, Student Factors, Tier 1, 2 or 3 • Manageable Number (approximately 10) • Provide aModel, Definition or Synonym • Practice (using complex texts) • Nurture an Appreciation of Words

12. How are vocabulary words divided? • Tier One Words (every day) • Tier Two Words (general academic) • Tier Three Words (Domain-specific)

13. Examples of Tier 1, 2 and 3 words • Tier 1 words: • blue, elbow, table, run, girl • Tier 2 words: • difference, temperate, omnivore, exaggerate, measure • Tier 3 words: • asphalt, couplet, revolutionary

14. Which words would you introduce? Some farmers grow blueberries in big fields. The people who live nearby can earn money by helping to pick the blueberries. Each one takes a pail out to the field and fills it with blueberries. They work fast so that they can fill many pails. They want to earn as much money as they can. When they are done picking, their fingers are blue from the juice of the berries!

15. Which words would you introduce? Some farmers grow blueberries in big fields. The people who live nearby can earn money by helping to pick the blueberries. Each one takes a pail out to the field and fills it with blueberries. They work fast so that they can fill many pails. They want to earn as much money as they can. When they are done picking, their fingers are blue from the juice of the berries!

16. Questions for you to ask yourself as you are planning • Which words deserve the most attention from you and from your students? (All words are not created equal as far as instruction time and effort are concerned) • How will you allocate your time so you are spending the time and effort on the words that will provide the most powerful change in student learning? • Take a look at the words you are teaching this week. For each word on the list, ask yourself the following questions:

17. Important Questions • Is this word important and useful, i.e., is this a word that is going to show up throughout someone's life? • Does this word have all kinds of possibilities for instruction, i.e., can I see numerous ways to teach this word--and to bring in other language learning, too? • Do my students have the background knowledge to understand this new word that I'm teaching--or do I need to provide some context for them, first?

18. Classroom strategies: Vocabulary • Before doing an activity, teaching content, or reading a story in class, pre-teaching vocabulary is always helpful for ELLs • Students will get the chance to identify words and then be able to place them in context and remember them

19. Methods to pre-teach vocabulary • Role playing • Pantomiming • Using gestures • Showing real objects • Pointing to pictures • Doing quick drawings on the board

20. Steps to follow prior to introducing new vocabulary words to ELLs: • Pre-select words from an upcoming text • Explain the meaning with student-friendly definitions. • Provide examples of how it is used. • Ask students to repeat the word two or three times. • Engage students in activities to develop mastery. • Ask students to say the word again.

21. Vocabulary Activity # 1Keeping a Running List of Words • Write the word • Write its definition • Draw a picture about the word • Write a sentence with the word and draw a picture about the sentence

22. Vocabulary Activity # 2 • Meadow: Grassy land • The horses are grazing in the meadow.

23. Vocabulary Activity #3 • Write the correct vocabulary word next to the definition • Write two sentences using two different vocabulary words • Draw a picture that describes one of the vocabulary words

24. Vocabulary - Matching Activity • Very good • Ruined • Make glad • Not with anyone • Cause • Fine • Spoiled • Cheer • Alone • Reason

25. Vocabulary Activity # 4 Compound Words • Two teams: one team calls the first half of the word and the other team calls the second half • If answer is correct write the new word on the post card and draw a picture about the word. Words will be posted on chart paper

26. rain bow rainbow

27. rainbow

28. Vocabulary Activities • Write vocabulary word next to the correct definition • Write the word and draw a picture describing it • Complete sentences with vocabulary words • Complete a CLOZE activity • Write a story with the words • Use words in a crossword puzzle • Part of speech • Prefix and suffix • Singular and plural • Compound words game

29. Classroom Vocabulary Gamess Learning new vocabulary words can be a challenging task for many students. One way to overcome this challenge is to play games (e.g. jeopardy, pyramid, mimes, bingo) that will make learning new words fun by creating a competitive environment.

30. Developing/Expanding Level: Generic questions - levels: Questions that elicit higher order thinking: • Why? • How? • What do you think about …? • What would you do differently? Entering/Beginner Level: Questions that elicit one-word answers: What’s …? Yes/no questions: Is it tall? Either/or questions: Is it smaller or larger?

31. Effective ELL Strategies • Use of visuals, gestures, realia, hands-on tasks • Frontloading/explicit instruction for concepts and vocabulary (including academic language) • Scaffolding information – modified text, graphic organizers, sentence frames and stems, modified and alternate text, note taking, listening guides, info gap activities • Adjusting teacher speech - shorter sentences, use of idioms, pace and clarity of speech, saying many different ways • Frequent opportunities for language practice (small group cooperative learning, think-pair-share, numbered heads) • Safe environment for speaking (think-pair-share, whisper to me, etc.)

32. What should and effective ESOL classroom include? • Student-friendly definition • Compare and contrast • Elaboration • Gestures • Real, concrete objects/hands-on experiences • Teacher examples • Student examples • Repetition • Connections to students’ experiences • Fun with words (Word Walls, Word Jars)

33. Vocabulary knowledge is the single greatest contributor to reading comprehension and thus a strong predictor of overall academic achievement. --Kate Kinsella, Isabel Beck, Robert Marzano, Doug Fisher, et. al.