Group+9+Module+6

1. What does research say about the topic? PEGGY: According to the text, research argues for the importance of word consciousness as a deliberate goal of vocabulary instruction. Word consciousness is defined and eleaborated on to suggest some approaches for fostering word consciousness. MANDY: I thought this was amazing. According to the text, students learn to read approximately 3000 to 4000 words each year, accumulating a reading vocabulary of approximately 25,000 words by the end of high school. RENEE: Research also shows that: growing up in poverty can seriously restrict the vocbulary children learn before beginning school and make attaining an adequate vocabulary a challenging task. SUSANNAH: This is the first I have seen "diction" applied explicitly to vocabulary. My British step-father always emphasized the importance of good diction. Good diction certainly fosters good comprehension. I think if students have good diction, they are confident about their vocabulary. When they mumble, they are not so sure. It takes courage to speak up.

2. How can you apply the Isabel Beck's three levels of word consciousness in your classroom? (Look in External Links to view slides 51-68 for more information about Beck's research.) PEGGY: I looked under External Links and I can't find these slides, anyone know where else to go? MANDY: No, I am having a bit of trouble as well. RENEE: Could not find them, but it sounds interesting. SUSANNAH: Ditto for me! I eve put in a search for "Beck" in the website link.

3. Define these terms of complexity of word knowledge into application ideas: level of word knowledge, multidimensionality, polysemy, and heterogeneity. PEGGY: Level of word knowledge: Four levels of 1) never having seen it before; 2) knowing there is such a word, but not knowing what it means; 3) having a vague and context-bound meaning for the word; and 4) knowing and remembering the word. Multidimensionality: No single dimension along which differences in word knowledge can be considered. Polysemy: Refers to the fact that many words have multiple meanings Heterogeneity: What it means to know a word is dependent on the type of word in question.

MANDY: Level of word knowledge: four levels of meaning Multidimensionality: many different meanings of a word Polysemy: Give Bob a high-five, give Bob a lunch. Heterogeneity: knowing as much as you can about a word

SUSANNAH: Level of word knowledge: 1. incremental, as in the four levels Peggy states above 2. Multidimensionality:to use a word expressively - in more than one context with a fleibility of meaning, and depth of meaning. 3. Polysemy: multiple meanings of words. Giving Mary a kiss, or giving Mary 10 dollars = different meanings 4. Heterogeneity: knowing not only the word but all about the conext of the word. For example, if you want to buy a diamond, you should not only know the word "diamond" but also as much about diamonds as possible. Level of word knowledge is where ELL students get tripped up all the time. They know a lot of words, but only how to say them, or one meaning. Synonyms are hard for ELL students.

4. What are your questions?

MANDY: I was wondering if the "word splash" activity would be too much of a distraction for students? Student's I have worked with would be too busy decorating instead of learning new vocabulary. SUSANNAH: Yes. I think it would be quite time-consuming for my 4th graders and they would each want a turn to use the software. Maybe the word splash could be generated on promethean board, but covered with the magic pen, so as the magic pen is erased, the words are revealed and the the students have a go at guessing the meanings. I think the activity with Predict-O-Gram with the vocabulary words being put under the headings "Know it Well!", "Seen It" and "No Clue" would be more useful and to the point. PEGGY: Word splash could be distracting Mandy, however, if you put some guidelines on the decorating, remember that the more our Sp. Ed. students are hands on the more the concept transfers into long term memory. Good idea Susannah. RENEE: I am going to try the Word Splash with my students on IEPs. Mandy I work with older students than you do, so I think it just might work. You know theres always that one student!!!!! I cannot believe that we all teach special education....How did that happen????? So cool. SUSANNAH: yes, I'd like to keep in e-mail touch so if we get stuck on what to do with a kid, or we find something that works well. we can e-mail each other. What do you think?

SUSANNAH: Yes, I think, in the past, research-based strategies were not given the attention they are now. I think that a lot of the older writings have more legitimacy now than when they first were written. I wish I had paid more attention to strategies in the 1900s! PEGGY: I equate it to the McGuffy Readers, they were the first to introduce phonics then the wheel turned to whole language and is back to phonics. Go figure. Everything seems to revolve nothing really NEW just new apporaches, strategies, and teaching techniques. RENEE: Peggy I agree with you, theres nothing new out there, like we learned the one and only time week all meet together with Eeg, there has been no improvement in reading in the last 30 years. We are teaching students the same information just today we have wonderful technology like smartboards to do it with.
 * MANDY: The vocabulary topic has been disussed for a long time. The book dates some writes back to the 1800s. Is it in with the new, out with the old? Or old writing's are solid and keep them around? I am a special education teacher and it seems to moving in a circle.... around and around for years.

MANDY: Idioms, cliches, and puns.......what grade do you introduce these topics into the curriculum? SUSANNAH: Idioms are officially introduced in 4th grade in my school because they are on the benchmark tests. Then they are hit hard in 5th grade. Cliches were barely introduced in 5th grade. Our 1st graders worked on puns pretty heavily this year. PEGGY: Thanks Susannah, I had no idea when, I just know they are suppose to have been introduced before high school. RENEE: I agree 4th and 5th graders have the higher livel thinking skills for idioms, cliches and puns..but like Peggy suggested 1st grade teachers can start with their srudents.

SUSANNAH's question: I was intersted in "wide reading". I think that is mostly how my vocabulary grew as I grew up. I do not remember having to look up definitions or work on isolated vocabulary words in school. How do you think you aquired your vocabulary? PEGGY: Through reading various reading materials, magazines, newspapers, as well as various genres. When I tutor older students I have them keep a person vocab/log listing all the words that they didn't know the meaning for and then not only learn them (reading) but also how to use them. In the classroom I will try to throw out a new term just to catch their attention. RENEE: I know that children aquire vocabulary from their parents reading and talking to them before they enter school. Besides reading, students also aquire vocabulary from media like, T.V. and the internet. SUSANNAH: I like having the students log words they do not know. Thanks, Peggy!

SUSANNAH's question: I realized just this year how critical command of vocabulary is to a student's ability to function in everyday life. We had a list of words that we needed to find synonyms for. The words were emotion words such as :ashamed, regret, irritated, anxious, nervous. None of he students knew what they meant. I realized that they only knew words like mad, glad and happy, sad. No wonder they have difficulty expressing themselves appropriately when every emotion in categorized into on of those four words! This year I am starting with emotional vocabulary. Does anyone know of any resources to teach words like that? PEGGY: Somewhere is this mass of packed boxes (since I have to bring all of my** //stuff// **home) I have an emotional grid sheet with faces to define each emotion. I'll look for it. SUSANNAH: Thanks, I think I can find it somewhere. I can't believe that no one has come up with an "emotions" curriculum in the same way that there are Anti-Bullying curriculums. Maybe I need to develop one.

SUSANNAH's question: Word play is difficult for my ELL kids- they don't think it is fun and they are immeditely exhausted. I try to keep it simple. Maybe if I could find a funcomputer game that would familiarize them with idioms and cliches - do you know of any? PEGGY: N/A from here, no clue, maybe Mandy or Renee will know.** RENEE: Teaching emotions.wow..I do not remember learning how to teach that in college. I would suggest role playing the emotions in class with the students. Maybe two teachers could role play first. Also, a think aloud activity that focused on examples of situations that would make someone //ashamed.// I think it is important that the situations you use are ones that the students can relate to. SUSANNAH: Role play is a great idea. Maybe as we read aloud books, I can stop at the emotions word and discuss them and add them to our word board. Maybe just being explicit would be enough. MANDY: Yes, I have always been told to role play with peers in class to practice emotions. First start with the child and the teacher, then envovle friends, and eventually the whole class.

PEGGY'S QUESTIONS: PEGGY: In the past I have used, journal writing, word for the day, quote for the day, as warm-up activities. Do any of you have other warm-up activities that you use and would care to share? RENEE: A lot of teachers in my school uses analogy warm ups...A cat is to //meow// as a dog is to.....? They get the brain going. SUSANNAH: Whatever we do the kids like something quiet until breakfast is over (we have breakfast in the classrooms - I like that). Then I think that it would be great if they could do somekind of movement. Movement helps wake their brain up. For example, I have a vocabulary game. The students work in teams of 3 students. One goes writes a list of the vocab words. One races to the numbered medicine boxes at the back of the room and brings one back to the group. they open the box, read the definition and match it to the word on the list. Then the third student returns the box to the back and gets another one. First group to stop and has all words and definitions matched correctly, wins! Then we can sit down to do some seat work, targeted to the test! MANDY: I have also seen teachers put up a sentence on the board. Each word in the sentence is "mixed up" so the students have to unscramble the words to figure out the sentence.

PEGGY: Homophones and homographs are difficult for Sp. Ed. students to keep straight. Do any of you have strategies or suggestions to help teach these? RENEE: I think visual strategies like charts would help the students. SUSANNAH: A matching/memory game, made by the students themselves might help. I also tell the students they can help each other, and althought it os sometimes just telling the answer, my ELL kids usually want to know the difference and pride themselves on knowing the difference. As the year goes on, the students gain confidense and there is much more sharing than simply getting the answer right. MANDY: I agree with renee, the kids really respond well to visual things. Then do it over and over again until it is burned into their little brains:)

SUSANNAH: My 4th graders like idioms - if they identify an idiom at any time, they get a treat, so they start lookingout for them. It is surprising how many idioms I use, without thinking of it! MANDY: First off, I would tell the students there is a difference between the way they speak to their friends/family and how yout talk in class. Just like we as teachers have to talk differently when we are in class compared to how we speak to our husbands/children at home.
 * PEGGY: With all of the slang and street talk, what strategies are best to use to teach idioms, cliches, and puns so the students will understand these concepts?

RENEE: My question is, how can a teacher motivate parents to read more with their children to increase the childrens vocabulary skills?** SUSANNAH: My parents often ask me what they can do to help. I have many ELL students. I tell the parents that it does not matter what the kids read - newspapers, magazines, internet, books, or comics, so long as they read. Also, it does not matter what language they read in. The better they can read in their own language, the easier it will be for them to learn vocabulary in Engish. Also, parents like website suggestions. Freerice.com is a great one! MANDY: Offer their child a prize. I know sometime teachers don't like rewards like this but usually it works. For instance, for every two books read, they get a sticker, for every four books read, they get some candy, for every six books read, they get a pencial and so on. The kids will pester their parents so much for the reward that the parents will read with their child. PEGGY: I agree with Mandy. The more the students feel they will be rewarded the more excited they are and the more they stay on their parents.