1. Vocabulary and Grammar Instruction
Molloy College
July 31-August 3, 2017
Blending
Vocabulary and Grammar Instruction
Amy Benjamin

2. Blending Vocabulary and Grammar Instruction:

3. decorations inappropriate accessories Tyrannosaurus Rex 48,046 185
1,376
1,212

4. d) Give students matching columns with words and definitions.
Which one of the following would be the MOST effective way to teach a word and make it stay learned?
a) Give a vocabulary test every Friday, based on words presented on the previous Monday
and then ignored.
b) Teach a single word in depth, providing a cluster of words that are related in meaning and structure. Revisit the word often, using it in a rich context.
POLL
c) Use flashcards to drill hundreds of words and brief, broad, decontextualized definitions.
d) Give students matching columns with words and definitions.

6. Explicit
Implicit

7. Effective Vocabulary Instruction Depends on the 4 E’s, anagrammed below:
Eesurpxo
Exposure: Elevate your language when you speak in class
Ennoilaatxp
Explanation: Provide ample information about a word;
Exceed brief definitions
Emslxpea
Examples Give several examples and non-examples,
especially ones that evoke a visual image
Esshmaiunt
Enthusiasm Demonstrate your own excitement and
interest in words; model yourself as a learner

8. School age:
Predictive capacity
(number of words
expected to be learned
per year)
Cumulative, by age 3
(collection of spoken
words)
Emergence:
10-18 months
(words heard per hour)
…by
age 5:
Anna
500
700
1,100
616
750 (2 per day)
3,000 (8 per day)
5 affirmative
11 prohibitive
2,000
Public
assistance
Sophie
1,251
3,000
Office and
Hospital
Workers
(not mgmt)
(4 per day)
12 affirmative
7 prohibitive
James
2,153
5,000
32 affirmative
5 prohibitive
Col. profs

9. Rote learning of definitions
“Correct the Errors” exercises
Worksheets with meaningless, unrelated sentences

10. ? I teaching grammar. I never “really” learned it.
Shouldn’t they already
have had this in the
lower grades?
Do kids really have to learn
all these terms?
I loved it! I thought
diagramming sentences
was fun!
There’s no interesting
way to teach grammar.
It’s just drill and workbook. M

11. 1. Your students are already grammar experts: Part I
Sam
never
washes
his
car 2.
washes
his
never
car
Sam 3.
washes
his
never
car
Sam 4.
washes
his
never
car
Sam 5.
never
car
his
Sam
washes

12. 1. Your students are already grammar experts: Part II
does he?
did he?
doesn’t he?
is it?
isn’t it?
didn’t he?
Sam never washes his car, ___________?
Sam always washes his car, ___________?
Sam’s car is never clean, ___________?
Sam’s new car is clean, ___________?
Sam’s brother just washed his car, ___________?
My brother Sam’s red car is not very clean, ___________?

13. 1. Your students are already grammar experts: Part II
does he?
did he?
doesn’t he?
is it?
isn’t it?
didn’t he?
Sam never washes his car, ___________?
Sam always washes his car, ___________?
Sam’s car is never clean, ___________?
Sam’s new car is clean, ___________?
Sam’s brother just washed his car, ___________?
My brother Sam’s red car is not very clean, ___________?

14. 1. Your students are already grammar experts: Part IIIhe
him it
them
they
Sam never washes his car.
Sam and Sadie always wash their cars.
Sam’s car is never clean.
Sam’s new car is clean.
Sam, Sadie’s boyfriend, just washed Sadie’s car.
My brother Sam’s red car is not very clean.

15. IT Noun phrase expansion standing over the fish bowl the
in the kitchen
adventurous
pink
adventurous
pink

16. 1. Grammar is a system of making sentences out of parts.
The parts have to match (agree):
Number (singular or plural)
Gender (masculine, feminine, neutral)
Case (subjective, objective, possessive)
Tense (past, present, future)
2. Writers and speakers place the parts in a certain order
and that order affects the impact of the message.
3. The two main parts of language are nouns and verbs.
Everything else either modifies nouns or verbs or joins words,
phrases, and clauses.

17. prepositional phrases
Use more
proper nouns,
to be specific.
2. Enriching the conversation
Use some
prepositional phrases
for detail.
This verb needs
to be
in the past tense.
Let’s talk about
what you are
writing.
We need an adverb,
not an adjective
right here.
“You need subject-
verb agreement
here.”
You’re starting too
many sentences
with pronouns.
This is an irregular
verb. It goes
like this:
Use strong
action verbs.

18. Functional Shifting: Noun to Adjective
Games
Functional Shifting: Noun to Adjective
house
window
flower
door
lawn
chimney
smoke
brick
sun
Purposes: 1. to show that, in English, nouns can serve as adjectives
(functional shifting)
2. language generation
3. following a pattern

19. Verb Pattern Game: Auxiliaries: (“helping” verbs) Have: creates
A was an apple pie…
Auxiliaries: (“helping” verbs)
Have: creates
the perfect tenses
(has sung, etc.)
Be: creates the
progressive tenses
(am singing, etc.)
B bought it.
C chewed it.
D dropped it.
E engulfed it.
F found it.
G gnawed it. H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W X Y Z
Modal Auxiliaries:
Would Will
Should Shall
Could May
Can Might
Must

20. Kinds of Information Verbs: Can Spiderman do it? Adjectives:
Anchor Charts
Kinds of Information
Verbs:
Can Spiderman do it?
Nouns:
Who?
What?
Adverbs:
Where?
When?
Why?
In what manner?
How often?
Adjectives:
Which one?
What kind?
How many?

21. (go to Parts of Speech PPT)