VOCABULARY STRATEGIES -Awareness of words -Wide reading & extensive writing -Independent strategies

Guidelines for Teaching Vocabulary Choose words to study Highlight words on word wall Develop full word knowledge Teach mini-lessons Plan word-study activities Use dictionaries and thesauri Teach context clues Promote wide reading

More Guidelines for Teaching Vocabulary Relate new vocabulary to their prior knowledge Review the text and compile a list of words related to the story line(s) or main ideas Think about words in relation to students’ needs

When to teach vocabulary- Before reading Before reading: 1)When students are experiencing difficulty in constructing meaning and seem to have limited prior knowledge of any kind, including vocabulary. 2)When the text contains words that are not clearly a part of prior knowledge

When to teach vocabulary- Before reading Before reading: 3) When the text has usually difficult concepts 4) When students have previewed the text and have identified words they believe they need to know to understand the text

When to teach vocabulary During reading: For those students who need overall teacher support through guided reading.

When to teach vocabulary After reading: 1) To help students clarify the meanings of any words that were of interest to them during reading or that caused them difficulty 2) To expand students’ vocabularies by having them focus on interesting words related to the text

Effective approaches for ELL students General approaches Realia- real objects Models Pictures Tutoring Language Experience Approach Caution: Simply explaining the word is often ineffective

General Approaches to Teaching Vocabulary Building concepts Examples Experience Hands-on experience when developing new concepts Discussion

General Approaches to Teaching Vocabulary Noting words in journals-vocabulary journals, spelling journals Reading aloud to students Discussion groups-literature response, literature circles Word banks, word files, word books Brainstorming Graphic organizers

General Approaches to Teaching Vocabulary Writing (applying their knowledge of vocabulary when they use words in writing) Word expansion activities Bulletin boards Electronic books and software Book displays Discussing interesting words

EFFECTIVE APPROACHES

Context Clues Definition: Information from the words or sentences surrounding an unknown word that helps to clarify the word’s meaning

Types of context clues Definitions Example-Illustration Contrast Logic Root words and Affixes Grammar

On your own-Approaches Look at the word in relation to the sentence Look up the word in the dictionary and see if any meanings fit the sentence Ask the teacher Sound it out

On your own-(cont’d) Re-read Look at the beginning of the sentence again Look for other key words in the sentence that might tell you the meaning Think what makes sense

On your own-(cont’d) Ask a friend to read the sentence to you Read around the word and then go back Look at the picture, chart, table Skip it if you don’t need it

External references A source of information that falls outside the passage in which the unfamiliar word occurs  Glossary  Index  Thesauri  Encyclopedia (print, online)  Dictionary (direct instruction)

Using word study to develop vocabulary Components of word study:  Concepts and word meanings  Multiple meanings  Morphemic analysis  Synonyms  Antonyms

Cognates Similar words in two languages that have descended from the same language Recognizing cognates is a unique word-learning strategy for ELLs

Using cognates Teachers should Point out connections Talk about usefulness of cognates Add them to the word wall and highlight them Encourage students to look for cognates

Components of word study (cont’d) Homonyms Etymologies Figurative meanings

Figurative meanings and ELL Figurative meanings are especially confusing to students learning English. Have ELL students compare literal and figurative meanings of phrases and idioms so they will understand the figurative meanings and how to use them orally and in writing.

Word study activities Word posters Word maps Word sorts Word chains

Morphemic analysis Morpheme- the smallest unit of language which has an associated meaning. Morpheme analysis-a process by which readers can determine the meaning of an unfamiliar word by analyzing its component parts

Types of morphemes Free- a free morpheme can function alone as a word “some” or “thing” Bound- bound morphemes are those meaningful language units that occur only as attachments to words or other morphemes “tele” “er” “cide”

Strategies for Vocabulary Development Inferring meaning from context Concept of definition (word maps) Semantic mapping (list-group-label) Semantic feature analysis Hierarchical and linear arrays

More strategies for vocabulary development Preview in context Contextual redefinition Vocabulary self-collection Structural analysis Key vocabulary approach (ELL)

Key vocabulary approach Especially effective with ELL students and struggling readers. Teacher might sit with a small group of students Students select a word of personal importance Teacher writes word on a card

Key vocabulary approach (cont’d) Steps (cont’d) Student traces the word with a finger as the teacher records the word in a key word book Student then dictates a sentence using the key word Teacher records that sentence in the key word book

Key vocabulary approach (cont’d) Steps (cont’d) Student reads the dictation back and illustrates it Student copies the word and the sentence

Structural analysis Elements of structural analysis Base words Root words Prefixes Suffixes Inflectional endings (possessive case, gender, number, tense, form) Compound words Contractions

Vocabulary Activity Part one:  Select a text to read  Identify three vocabulary approaches/strategies you would use with the text  Develop two activities for using the strategies

Vocabulary Activity Part two: Present you activities to the class  Give book title  Identify age/grade level  Briefly summarize the text  Identify your strategies  Provide a rationale for using the strategies  Briefly describe your activities