Module+6+Questions

Participants: Ashly Call, Lori Jones, Audra Bull, PJ Parsons - Group 2

Module 6 Questions:

1. What does research say about the topic?

AC - This chapter discusses research on a four-part vocabulary program that includes wide reading, teaching individual words, teaching word learning strategies, and fostering word consciousness. The main emphasis of this chapter is word consciousness. Basically, it points out how important it is to enjoy learning new words, playing with new words, and understanding how words are used. There are a variety of strategies that teachers can use to foster word consciousness from modeling it to assigning original investigations.

LJ - Vocabulary development is important for students to be successful. This chapter as AC says discusses a fourt-part vocabulary program that includes wide reading, teaching individual words, teaching word learning strategies, and fostering word consciousness. It is important for students to manipulate the new vocabulary and use it often so it will become part of their long term memory.

AB - Vocabulary is a key component in becoming a proficient reader. Vocabulary is one of the best indicators of verbal ability. Conversely, a lack of vocabulary development can undermine school success. The research advocates a four part vocabulary program: wide reading, teaching individual words, teaching word learning strategies, and fostering word consciousness. With wide reading, words are learned from context. Therefore, the more a child reads, the more words are learned. Teaching individual words entails providing learners with both definitional and contextual meanings of a word. Word learning strategies must be well-planned to be effective. Teaching word parts is a valid and recommended word learning strategy.

PJ--The research says one of the most powerful activities to get students to do is read, read, and read to acquire vocabulary. Most vocabulary is learned indirectly while about 1% is taught directly. Getting students interested in the words in the world and planning activities that motivate them to get involved with words helps them learn more vocabulary. Using verbal and visual instruction along with activating the five senses related to learning word meanings helps children commit new information to long-term memory. Given children extensive (intensive) opportunities to explore word usage helps them "really" get to know words. The chapter recommended a four-part vocabulary program along with activities to use to make word learning effective and fun.

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 to 68 for more information about Beck's research).

LJ - As I mention below I used a chart (should have done this question first!!) that would have 3 columns 1 - know the word, but not sure how to use it (unknown) 2- know the word and the maning but need more help (acquainted) and 3. I can use the word in context (established). My students were able to use this chart to post words to help in their learning. And it helped to guide my instruction.

AB - Words are broken into three tiers. Tier 1 words are words students are likely to know. Tier 2 words appear frequently in many contexts and Tier 3 words rarely appear in text or are content specific. A wonderful assignment for my level is to have students write something ( a poem, a short story, biography, etc...) without worrying about word choice. Then I ask the students to circle 10 words that can be ramped up and have them use a thesaurus to change those 10 words to Tier 2 words. I also use morphology. I start off by using Tier 1 morph words and build from there.

PJ--I couldn't find the slides, so I looked it up on the internet. Sifting through all that, I think the three levels of word consciousness means how well words are known: unknown, acquainted, and established (From the NRP article, //Put Reading First//). Audra's explanation is just another way of putting what Lori and I are saying. Without further adieu! __Unknown words__: Words students do not know. We could do shades of words or words on a continuum. We could learn unknown words by relating them to words we already know. We could learn them by just learning them through context reading, looking up definitions, using graphic organizers, or having word games. On the continuum, I could place two words, one at each end (I could hang these on a string and place them outside our classroom door for others to see). The students would have to supply the words in between. For example: In sports: **Victory** ....Win......Slaughter.......Pulverized.........................Fail.............Lose........Foil...........**Defeat** __Acquainted Words:__ Student has some idea of its basic meaning. I could have the students place these words in their picture dictionaries or on a word study graphic. The students could put the meaning they think works for the word into their own words, draw a picture, then write a sentence using the word. Then together, we could explore other meanings for the word and add them to our dictionaries, vocabulary notebooks, or word walls. Next, we would use our newly acquainted words in a writing activity so the students could get to know the words better. Over the week, I could point the acquainted words out and use them regular conversations or in my own modeling of writings. When the students are using the word(s) with proficiency, we could move it from the acquaintenances to established words. __Established words__: Words students know very well in their conversations, in their writings, and in their listening vocabularies, like the word MONEY. These are words students use spontaneously from their homes, their friends, and other places of knowing. They can use them in their writings and can usually spell them fairly well. In my classroom, we use these words to be able to write stories modeled after a story we've read, a drama play we've acted out, to write an alternative ending to our plays, or to tell the Rest of the Story.

AC - Wow! I learned a lot from all of your explanations. One thing I like to do with my students is to have them rate their knowledge and understanding of vocabulary words either with a thumbs up or thumbs down sign or by filling out a chart similar to the the one Lori discusses.

3. Define these terms of complexity of word knowledge into application ideas: level of word knowledge, multidimensionality, polysemy, and heterogeneity.

AC - Students have varying levels of word knowledge (never heard of the word, heard it, but don't understand it, vaguely know what the word means, or know the meaning of the word and how to use it). There are many activities that help students assess whether they know certain words or not. My favorite activity is a rating scale where students check off their level of word knowledge under heading similar to the ones listed above.

I think the terms multidimensionality and polysemy seem similar to me. They both talk about how words have multiple meanings and how those meanings can change depending on the context of the text. It could also include the various modes that words are used in prose or in word play. I think that playing with puns or reading stories that are made humorous because of multiple meaning words would be a fun way to focus on the multidimensionality and polysemy of words.

I had a bit of trouble with the last word. From the way heterogeneity was described in the book, it sounds like it is a grouping of words based on the words' function or specialized area. An example of an activity would be to have students become experts on a subject and collect words that go with that subject.

LJ - Level of word knowledge - Students have different levels of word knowledge. The beginning where they hear the word for the first time all the way to using the word in different contexts. When I taught 4th grade I had a chart that was similar to a KWL chart on the wall. We would place words under 3 different categories: 1. know the word, but not sure how to use it 2. Know the word and the meaning but need more help and 3. I can use the word in context. The students used this with words from all subjects and the goal was to get all the words on #3 by the end of the year. The students felt this was a kind way to feel that it was ok not to know exactly what the words were. We would work with the words that they questioned several times during the week and I would work the #1 words into the lessons. Multidimensionality to me means a word has many dimensions. This would be a word that could mean different things depending on where you use it. Polysemy - I like this term and like the examples in the book. This is a word with multiple meanings. For instance the example given in the book is the difference of the bank of the river and a bank where you put your money in. On the other hand giving money or giving a kiss are similar but the context is still different. Heterogeneity - To me this word means that words are the same but differnt at the same time. I would have students study the words and their parts to determine the multiple meanings of words.

AB - Level of word knowledge is refinement of one's knowledge of a word's meaning based upon the number of experiences a learner has with a word. Multidimesionality is truly understanding a word has both cognitive and affective components. Polyemy is understanding the many different meanings of a word. Heterogenity is understanding a word's meaning is dependent upon the context in which the word is used.

PJ--Not an easy question. **Define these terms of complexity of word knowledge into application ideas: level of word knowledge, multidimensionality, polysemy, and heterogeneity.** __Level of Word Knowledge:__ For each individual, word knowlege is always on a continuum from unknown to very well understood and known. The example in the chapter says young children assign meaning to words that is incomplete until they have more experience with that word until its meaning is well established in the mind of the child. This continuum is Dale's four levels of word knowledge (p. 156). Application in the classroom: The teaching of words must be "robust" and I believe words need to spiral all year long with extensive word work with the most important words and revisiting words previously learned to give more experience to students so they can capture the words into their long-term memories. Lots and lots of reading and writing activities. __Multidimensionality__: depth of meaning, precise usage, facile access (p. 156-157). Activities with word multidimensionality would have students thinking of using words in many different ways. Learning synonyms, homonyms, playing with words, analogies, and using them in conversations, writings, shared reading, word of the day activities until students can use them to express themselves adeptly in writing and speech. __Polysemy__: I love this word! It means two distinct meanings for the same word, like bank (shore) and bank (financial institution). I love activities using words that are spelled alike and have different meanings in my classroom. We do this as filler activities or Friday fun with language activities. Splash (water) and splash (of color). Worm (wriggly thing) and worm (your way into my heart). Usually they are concrete and abstract meanings for the same word. These activities blow my students' minds! __Heterogeneity__: the knowledge of specialized words needed to understand an aspect of something, like space objects or architectural terms. These types of words come up in becoming an expert (like Ashly wrote) on an animal, a process, or a possible future job. Letting students share their reports verbally and encouraging them to use their "million dollar words" helps them gain confidence in learning new words, especially specialized words. In many of the Reading Street stories, these words may be foreign words used in a story, like Spanish or French words. We read the definitions provided at the bottom of the pages when we do our story walks before reading so they can pronounce them during reading time and understand what they mean.

4. Your questions from your group.

AC - 1. What types of original investigations of vocabulary could be done in the primary grades? 2. What strategies can you use to teach word play to English Language Learners?* MS: MANY OF THE WORDS WHICH THE SPANISH ENGLISH-LANGUAGE LEARNERS MEET HAVE A COGNATE IN BOTH LANGUAGES. THUS, WORD FAMILIES WOULD BE A FUN WAY TO INTRODUCE WORDS. YOU WOULD TAKE A ROOT WORD AND EXPAND IT TO HAVE PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES. ON THE INTERNET THERE IS FREE RICE, A VOCABULARY GAME, AND OTHER GAMES. THE STUDENTS CAN CREATE THEIR OWN CROSSWORDS, ACROSTICS, AND OTHER IDEAS. POETRY AND RHYME GIVE ANOTHER ASPECT OF WORD PLAY. THE LIST IS ENDLESS.

AB - There are quite a few word parts that are the same in English and Spanish because they originate from Latin. I would start with those. The Spanish teacher in your school would be a great resource for this information. I have learned a lot working with both the Spanish and French teachers at school.

3. What are some other vocabulary strategies you use in your class? LJ - with my younger students I did a take on picture sorts where the students were given two categories and had to put pictures in the right column and it would be words that mean about the same or relate to what the word was

LJ 1. I have used the book Building Academic Vocabulary by Marzano. Does anyone else have a book they love to use (preferablly for primary grades)?
 * 2. As AC states what strategies help ELL students the most? MS: I ALWAYS START WITH SIGHT WORDS AND EXPLAIN TO THEM MOST OF THEM DO NOT MEET ANY SPELLING RULE WE KNOW IN ENGLISH. THEN THERE ARE MANY IDEAS ON THE INTERNET. AUDRA MENTIONED CARTOONS. I MENTION ALL OF THE VOCABULARY STRATEGIES WHICH YOU MET IN THIS CLASS. A PERSONAL OR PICTURE DICTIONARY IS PROBABLY THE BEST RESOURCE FOR THE STUDENTS.

3. What daily vocabulary activity have you used that worked well?

AB - I have used Vocabulary Cartoons. SOOOO much fun. I have done a variety of things with these words from writing stories, playing games, and making their own comic strips. For example one of the words was FELON. So the catch phrase was FELON MELON. The picture was of a melon trying to get away from authorities.

AC - I try to add a kinesthetic component to vocabulary. Whenever we learn new words, we come up with ways to act out the meaning of the word.

AB - *1. With over 100 years of vocabulary research, why are there not any "empirically validated procedures for teaching roots" (p. 144)? MS: I DON'T KNOW...WOULD LIKE TO START A RESEARCH PROJECT ON THIS. TIM RANISSKI (OH, I MISSPELLED IT) HAS A NEW BOOK OUT ON LATIN AND GREEK ROOTS AND THIS BOOK IS AWESOME. I THINK HIS IDEAS MERIT INCLUSION IN THE CLASSROOM EVEN THOUGH MOST OF THE BOOK IS NOT RESEARCH-BASED.

2. If "there is increasing evidence that lack of vocabulary is a key component underlying school failure for disadvantaged students" (p. 145), why does NCLB not put more emphasis upon vocabulary development?

AC - One may never know. It just goes to show that you can never get all your information from one source. The NCLB and the NRP research give us a lot of information, but it doesn't include everything, like vocabulary.

3. If vocabulary development is so crucial, why is it "not hot"?

PJ-- 1. Why did the NRP's report on Reading throw out the research on learning disabled students? They only ended up with 50 reports to examine and they established reading protocols with NCLB based on very few studies.

AC - I think the main problem (that is sometimes considered a positive) with the NRP (from what I've read) is the strict guidelines for the research allowed into report. I believe they only allowed experimental research that followed certain guidelines into the report.

2. Where could I find more information about metalinguistic awareness related to students? The chapter's remarks were inconclusive. 3. Can analyzing song lyrics build word knowledge?

AC - I think so. I think it would definitely help with teaching multiple meanings of words plus there are lots of similes and metaphors too.

Step 6 - CaseStudy #4 is due - See Wiki Swansomf.