June 25, 2014
ELA Common Core Standards Academic Vocabulary
Valerie Sanguinetti ROE 3, Alternative Education Programs
ELA Common Core Standards Reading Strand Reading Anchor Standard #4 Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone. Language Strand Language Anchor Standard #4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by using context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting general and specialized reference materials as appropriate. Language Anchor Standard #6 Acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when encountering an unknown term important to comprehension or expression.
Is vocabulary that important?
From Bringing Words to Life (Beck, McKeown, Kucan, 2002): • First-grade children from higher-SES groups knew about twice as many words as lower SES children. • High school seniors near the top of their class knew about four times as many words as their lowerperforming classmates. • High-knowledge third graders had vocabularies about equal to lowest-performing 12th graders.
More Research • Command of a large vocabulary frequently sets highachieving students apart from less successful ones (Montgomery, 2000). • The average 6-year-old has a vocabulary of approximately 8000 words, and learns 3000-5000 more per year (Senechal & Cornell, 1993). • Vocabulary in kindergarten and first grade is a significant predictor of reading comprehension in the middle and secondary grades (Cunningham, 2005; Cunningham & Stanovich, 1997; Chall & Dale, 1995; Denton et al. 2011).
Vocabulary in the classroom today? Take a couple minutes to discuss what your vocabulary instruction looks like in your classroom. Things to consider: How do you choose your words? What strategies do you use to have students learn the words and definitions? Are these words found anywhere else in the classroom?
Be prepared to share.
What does it mean to know a word? Adapted from Dale (1965)
Stage 1: Never heard it, never seen it. Stage 2: Heard it, but don’t know what it means. Connotation, without being able to make connection
Stage 3: I recognize it, in context as having something to do with __________. Stage 4: I know it, I really know it, I can define it.
Careful Selection of Words to teach • In school settings, students can be explicitly taught a deep understanding of about 300 words each year. • Divided by the range of content students need to know , of these 300 – 350 words, roughly 60 words can be taught within one subject are each year. • It is reasonable to teach thoroughly about eight to ten words per week.
Which word would you choose? Jose avoided playing the ukulele.
Avoided Why? • Verbs are where the action is – Teach avoid, avoided, avoids – Likely to see it again in grade-level text – Likely to see it on assessments – We are going to start calling these useful words “Tier 2 words” • Why not ukulele? – Rarely seen in print – Rarely used in stories or conversation or contentarea information
Academic Vocabulary … is not unique to a particular discipline and as a result are not the clear responsibility of a particular content area teacher. What is more, many Tier Two words are far less well defined by contextual clues in the texts in which they appear and are far less likely to be defined explicitly within a text than are Tier Three words. Yet Tier Two words are frequently encountered in complex written texts and are particularly powerful because of their wide applicability to many sorts of reading. Teachers thus need to be alert to the presence of Tier Two words and determine which ones need careful attention. Common Core State Standards (English Language Arts, Appendix A)
Tiers of Vocabulary Tier 1
Basic, concrete, encountered in conversation/ oral vocabulary
Store Work truck
Tier 2
Abstract, general academic (across content areas); encountered in written language; high utility across instructional areas
vary, relative, innovation, accumulate, surface, layer
Tier 3
Highly specialized, subjectspecific; low occurrences in texts
Photosynthesis Carbohydrates Hypoteneuse
Why are “academic words” so important? Appear in all sorts of texts and are highly generalized Require deliberate effort to learn, unlike tier 1 words They are critical to understanding academic texts Are far more likely to appear in written texts than in speech Often represent subtle or precise ways to say otherwise relatively simple things Are seldom heavily scaffolded by authors or teachers, unlike tier 3 words
Defined Words • The Gentry A group known as the gentry were the upper class of colonial society. The gentry included wealthy planters, merchants, ministers, royal officials, and successful lawyers. Prosperous artisans, like goldsmiths, were often considered gentry as well. The gentry were few in number, but they were the most , but they were the most powerful people. •
Jr. High Social Studies, America!
Words at all Levels "One night in a phosphorescent sea, he marveled at the sight of some whales spouting luminous water; and later, lying on the deck of his boat gazing at the immense, starry sky, the tiny mouse Amos, a little speck of a living thing in the vast living universe, felt thoroughly akin to it all. Overwhelmed by the beauty and mystery of everything, he rolled over and over and right off the deck of this boat and into the sea.
Amos and Boris By William Steig - approximately 3rd grade reading level
Criteria for selecting words • Is this a generally useful word? • Does the word relate to other words and ideas that students know or have been learning? • Is the word useful in helping students understand text? • Can you explain this word using known terms?
Johnny Harrington was a kind master who treated his servants fairly. He was also a successful wool merchant, and his business required that he travel often. In his absence, his servants would tend to the fields and cattle and maintain the upkeep of his mansion. They performed their duties happily, for they felt fortunate to have such a benevolent and trusting master. Kohnke, 2001,p.12
You try… "The servants would never comment on this strange occurrence [finding the kitchen clean even though none of them were seen doing the cleaning], each servant hoping the other had tended to the chores. Never would they mention the loud noises they’d hear emerging from the kitchen in the middle of the night. Nor would they admit to pulling the covers under their chins as they listened to the sound of haunting laughter that drifted down the halls to their bedrooms each night. In reality, they knew there was a more sinister reason behind their good fortune.”
Activity: Select Tier 2 Words The word is central to understanding the text. The word choice and nuance are significant. Students are likely to see this word frequently. Students will be able to use this word when writing in response to the text. It is a more mature or precise label for concepts students already have under control. The word lends itself to teaching a web of words and concepts around it.
Instruction
Implications for Instruction Teach fewer words. Focus on important Tier 2 (high utility, cross-domain words) to know & remember. Simply provide Tier 3 (domainspecific, technical) words with a definition.
Planning for Instruction Rich, decontextualized knowledge of a word’s meaning, its relationship to other words, and its extension to metaphorical uses, such as understanding what someone is doing when they are devouring a book.
Marzano’s 6 Step Process • Step 1: Provide a description, explanation, or example of the new term. • Step 2: Ask students to restate the description, explanation, or example in their own terms. • Step 3: Ask students to construct a picture, symbol, or graphic representing the term. • Step 4: Engage students periodically in activities that help them add to their knowledge of the terms in their notebooks. • Step 5: Periodically ask students to discuss the terms with one another. • Step 6: Involve students periodically in games that allow them to play with terms.
Step 1 - Introduction *Don’t just have students look up the definition* Create a student-friendly explanation that: 1. Characterizes the word and how it is typically used. 2. Explain the meaning in everyday language. Can also provide students with additional information: •Tell a story •Use a picture or image •Use a current event article •Provide a mental picture •Create a picture
Using an interactive Notebook (tiers)
Tamper • Dictionary: to interfere in a secret or incorrect way • Student friendly: to change something secretly so that it does not work properly or becomes harmful
Spencer, Donna. "Canadian Olympians Watch Their Gear Closely after Tampering IncidentAdd to ..." The Globe and Mail. The Canadian Press, 08 Feb. 2014. Web. 08 Feb. 2014.
Check student understanding Graphic Organizers Vocabulary Journal
- Be wary of student sentences.
According to an article in the Educational Leadership. “The third step in the process is crucial—having students represent their understanding of a new term by drawing a picture, pictograph, or symbolic representation. When students do this step well, achievement soars.”
Using Graphic Organizers
Using Graphic Organizers, cont.
Using Graphic Organizers, cont.
Prefix & Suffix Related words Root Words New Pictures Videos Poems Analogies
Vocabulary Poetry
This activity only takes 5 – 10 minutes.
Vocabulary Poetry
Vocabulary Flashcards – A review to add to understanding. Containing: - Word & Definition (in own words) - What it is not - Part of Speech - Colored drawing - 7 Sentence, containing word & relating to the picture
Vocabulary Flashcards – A review to add to understanding.
Word Wall Compare & Contrast Making Connections Word Sort
Create a skit – 3 or 4 students work together to create a skit that contains at least 3 words. Oops! Trashket Ball Bingo Hot Seat
Oops! Need: Word Wall cards Oops Cards Break students into groups have them walk up, draw a card, & answer a question. If they draw an oops card they have to put all their cards back! The team with the most cards wins.
Many Options
Multiple Choice – distracters or incorrect choices play a large part.
Deeper Levels
Ask what the word means Have students create examples: Describe how someone acts that shows they are diligent. Tell about a time you were perplexed. Describe some things that could make a person feel miserable.
Deeper Levels Ask students to distinguish between an example and a nonexample of a word. Both should be designed to present situations that have similar features to require zeroing in on the meaning.
Vocabulary Casserole Ingredients Needed:
20 words no one has ever heard before in his life 1 dictionary with very confusing definitions 1 matching test to be distributed by Friday 1 teacher who wants students to be quiet on Mondays copying words
Put 20 words on chalkboard. Have students copy then look up in dictionary. Make students write all the definitions. For a little spice, require that students write words in sentences. Leave alone all week. Top with a boring test on Friday. Perishable. This casserole will be forgotten by Saturday afternoon.
Serves: No one.
Adapted from When Kids Can’t Read,What Teachers Can Do by Kylene Beers
Vocabulary Treat Ingredients Needed:
5-10 great words that you really could use 1 thesaurus Markers and chart paper 1 game like Jeopardy or BINGO 1 teacher who thinks learning is supposed to be fun
Mix 5 to 10 words into the classroom. Have students test each word for flavor. Toss with a thesaurus to find other words that mean the same. Write definitions on chart paper and let us draw pictures of words to remind us what they mean. Stir all week by a teacher who thinks learning is supposed to be fun. Top with a cool game on Fridays like jeopardy or BINGO to see who remembers the most.
Serves: Many
Adapted from When Kids Can’t Read,What Teachers Can Do by Kylene Beers
Word Definitions http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/dictionary http://www.wordsmyth.net/ Word Play http://quizlet.com/ Make flash cards & games http://jc-schools.net/tutorials/vocab/ Academic vocabulary games http://www.vocabulary.com/ More games, including games using Latin & Greek roots http://www.visualthesaurus.com/ Visual thesaurus www.vocabgrabber.com www.wordle.com www.haikudeck.com Games http://shawms.weebly.com/uploads/1/3/0/7/13072945/int eractive_word_wall_activities.pdf
Beck, I.L., McKeown, M.G. & Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction. New York: The Guilford Press. Beers, Kylene. When Kids Can't Read: What Teacher's Can Do. S.l.: Bt Bound, 2003. Print. "Common Core State Standards Initiative." National Governor's Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010. Web. 23 Jan 2014. Feber, Jane. Student Engagement Is FUNdamental: Building a Learning Community with Hands-on Activities. Gainesville, FL: Maupin House Pub., 2011. Print. Marzano, R.J., & Pickering. D.J. (2005). Building Academic Vocabulary: Teacher’s Manual. Alexandria, VA: ASCD. Simmons, Eileen. "National Writing Project." Visualizing Vocabulary -. The Quarterly, 2002. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.
