Hi, This is Cathy from The W.I.S.E. Owl.
A
parent who volunteered in my classroom came in to complain. If you are going to teach our kids new words,
you should at least warn the parents.
She explained. Her son, Conner,
was stepping out of his father’s jacked-up truck and missed the step. When he fell his mom ran to him and asked if
he was ok. “I’m fine, Mom. I was standing on a precipice and
slipped.” Ahhhhh, the power of vocabulary.
I love
the Magic Tree House books. I mean I really love the Magic Tree House
books. I can teach any skill using these
books and I should write my first book about how to use them…but that’s another
post. This is about vocabulary. So, Conner, the boy from the truck, had heard
the word “precipice” when we were reading The Knight Before Dawn. We discussed the word precipice. We talked about a ledge or cliff and even
walked to the playground to stand on the top of the playground equipment. Each student stood at the edge and said, “I’m
at the precipice.” So when Jack was
hanging from the precipice above the moat, my students were on the edge (or
precipice, if you please) of their seat.
Vocabulary
is a vital part of reading instruction.
I don’t usually throw around research, but in Bringing Words to Life,
Beck, McKeown & Kucan (2002) it is the teacher’s role to “develop an
interest and awareness in words beyond vocabulary school assignments in order
to adequately build their vocabulary repertoires.” One presenter stated the average child needs
to hear a new word 14 times, but the struggling reader needs to hear it 44
times. 44TIMES. That means we have work
to do.
Here
are some ideas for sharing vocabulary.
Students in the classroom or a group are given words on a
Post-it©. They are given a
poster with categories. Students can
predict how the words are going to be used.
As the words are discovered in the text, the categories can be confirmed
or moved. Fancy charts can draw a
student in and entice them to use a word in their writing.
2.
Concept Muraling
Students are involved in the vocabulary from the
beginning. When introducing a unit on
plants, students helped build a picture with cut-out handprints (it’s more fun
to use their handprints, but that can take a lot of time from the lesson). We made a flower with dirt first. As we talked about what a flower needs to
grow, we added the sun, the soil and the water.
The next week, when the focus was on the parts of a plant, we added the
labels for seed, roots, stem, leaves, and flower.
3.
Anchor Charts for Student
Use
I have preached about anchor charts over and over and here’s
a perfect time to add anchor charts for vocabulary. Adding a picture of the book to the poster
helps students make connections.
Students are encouraged to use these words in their independent writing
and word hunts.
4.
Text Gradients
I think text gradients are fun. Most people think of text gradients for older
students, but they can be used in kindergarten classrooms, as well. Students can handle lessons on different
gradients for "big" and "little." We talk
about how big and little are great words, but they can be overused. Just like they wouldn’t want to eat the same
food every night, they don’t want to use the same words. Using paint chips in
pockets on a bulletin board or in a writing center can give students a
colorful visual cue to use “exciting” words.
5.
Frayer Model
Years ago, we had a vocabulary initiative in our school. Each week, every grade level had a focus
word. They did the Frayer Model during
the literacy block daily. This
initiative guaranteed a constant curriculum for the entire grade level. The Frayer model shows the definition and
facts, as well as the examples and non-examples. We posted the words on the poster for
classroom display and the students also had a vocabulary notebook with empty
Frayer Models to fill in the vocabulary center.
Starting at the beginning of the year, teachers must teach
students to sort by known factors.
Practice with sorting can easily evolve into the List-Group-Label
activity. This activity can develop
categorizing skills, build background knowledge, activates critical thinking
skills, and grow vocabulary skills in the process. Students are asked to brainstorm a list of
words on a topic. Then, they group and
label how they are grouped. The picture
illustrates how the same list can be labeled in several different ways.
7.
Brace Maps
Finally, I’ve talked about my love of thinking maps and a
Brace Map is perfect for developing vocabulary. Creating a brace map for a clock can help
introduce “new” meanings for a face or hands.
As with any exercise, the proof is in the pudding or the
lesson is in the writing. When students
are using the vocabulary words in their writing, then you know you made an
impact. My second favorite vocabulary
example was used in a Squiggle Center (click here to read all about Squiggles). While reading Thanksgiving
on Thursday, we discussed the word “spit,” but in early December I knew
they understood when a student used the word and illustration in their Squiggle
Book. “I see the fish kukg on the spit. The fish is ovrr the for.”
I hope you have an idea or two to add to your vocabulary instruction.
Oh my!!! I am just now getting to look at this post! It is FULL of vocab ideas!! Thank you so much for this list. It is a great resource.
ReplyDeleteEm
Curious Firsties