Introducing words: a few instructional strategies

1. Introducing words:a few instructional strategies Why? What? How? York Professional Development Day 1.17.11

2. Facets ofPurposeful Vocabulary Instruction • Provide rich and varied language experiences • discussion, focused attention on words, being read to, wide and frequent reading • Teach word-learning strategies • Using context, using morphology (word parts), using a dictionary • Foster word consciousness • Awareness, interest in words and their meanings, understanding of communicative power of language • Teach individual words (Graves, 2006)

3. Why should I teach some words explicitly, and what words should I teach explicitly?

4. Effective Vocabulary Instruction • Vocabulary instruction should focus on critical words • Effective vocabulary instruction does not rely on definitions. • Teaching word parts enhances understanding. • Different types of words require different types of instruction. • Active engagement improves learning. • Repeated exposure is essential.

5. Word Knowledge prior knowledge necessary understanding Relationship to other important words morphological (word parts) semantic (categories of meaning) Frequency & Distribution rate of occurrence in English text Utility instructional potential outside of particular school context generativity Importance reading comprehension (particular selection, general comprehension) content-specific achievement Conceptual difficulty Criteria to Consider

6. Questions Worth Asking • Is this word unknown? • Is this word critical to understanding (the particular text, the particular subject matter)? • Is this a word students are likely to encounter again (in sophisticated language use, in this particular subject, in other domains)? • Is this word conceptually difficult (abstract, new concept, multiple meanings)? • Does this word have high instructional potential (morphology, connections to other words, word learning)?

7. How might I introduce different kinds of terms most effectively?

8. “Often, it will be necessary to teach words in ways that do not consume large amounts of time and do not produce the strongest possible results…

9. …In these cases, think of your initial instruction on a word as just that—initial instruction, an initial experience that starts students on the long road to learning a full and rich meaning for the word.” (Graves, 2006, p. 70)

10. Quick Introduction • Learning new words for known concepts in text • During read-aloud • Before students read text • Read-aloud • Provide known synonym/descriptive phrase after the word (without disrupting the narration) • Prior to student reading • Display or quick note with target word and known synonym/descriptive phrase • Preview descriptions provided in textbooks (supplement as necessary)

11. Reception Check Full Bars…Decent Reception…Dropped Call?

12. Introducing Specific Words • Student Friendly Explanations • Characterize word and typical use • Explain meaning in everyday language • Teacher-Created Contexts • Develop instructional contexts that provide strong clues to meaning • Active Engagement with Words • Short, playful, lively opportunities for students to interact with words and meanings right away (Beck et al. 2002 in Diamond & Gutlohn, 2006)

13. Student Friendly Explanations • Consider resist • Dictionary: “to withstand the force or the effect of” • Student-friendly: “when a person struggles or fights not to give in to something” • Write a student-friendly explanation for one word you teach.

14. Teacher-Created Contexts • Consider convey • Literary Context: “Of the Right Whale, the best outline pictures are in Scoresby; but they are drawn on too small a scale to convey a desirable impression” (Melville, Moby Dick). • Teacher Created: The speaker was successful in conveying his main ideas to the audience. They all understood what he said, and most agreed with him… • Write a few sentences using your word in context to clarify meaning.

15. Active Engagement with WordsCheck for Understanding, Review • Consider interior • Questions • Jake thought it would be fun to explore the interior of Alaska. Why might you want to spend time in the interior of Nebraska? • Example or Non-example? • Which tells about the interior of Oregon? • On their vacation, the family visited a lake in central Oregon. • On their vacation, the family visited the beaches and coast of Oregon? • Finish the idea • After a trip to the coast, we headed to the interior of the country because _____. • Have you ever…? • Can you describe a place you know about that is located in the interior of Nebraska? • Choices • If what I say could be in the interior of a big island, say “interior”… • A mountain • An ocean beach

16. Active Engagement with WordsCheck for Understanding, Review • Consider interior • Questions • Jake thought it would be fun to explore the interior of Alaska. Why might you want to spend time in the interior of Nebraska? • Finish the idea • After a trip to the coast, we headed to the interior of the country because _____. • Have you ever…? • Can you describe a place you know about that is located in the interior of Nebraska?

17. Example or Non-Example? • Which tells about the interior of Oregon? (“interior” or “NOT!”) • On their vacation, the family visited a lake in central Oregon. • On their vacation, the family visited the beaches and coast of Oregon?

18. Making Choices • If what I say could be in the interior of a big island, say “interior”… • A mountain • An ocean beach

19. Making Choices leisurely or in a hurry? • Taking a walk in the park • Firefighters getting to a fire • Runners in a race • Sitting and talking to friends • A dog lying in the sun T-P-S: Think of more situations that sound leisurely. (Beck, McKeown, Kucan, 2002, p. 57)

20. Making Choices • glimpse scrutinize • Which can you do more quickly? • inspector spectator • What would you probably call every person watching a football game? • largo ritardando • Which tells me to slow down gradually? (Beck, McKeown, Kucan, 2002, p. 80-81)

21. Making Distinctions • Would you pay homage to something tolerable? • Would you suppress a profound thought? • Would blurting out your thought be an example of indecorum? (Beck, McKeown, Kucan, 2002, p. 89)

22. Vocabulary Instructional Routine • Learning new words representing known concepts • Introduce the word • Present a student-friendly explanation • Illustrate the word with examples • Check understanding • Review a group of words (see video examples by Anita Archer, http://explicitinstruction.org/)

23. Reception Check Full Bars…Decent Reception…Dropped Call?

24. Context-Relationship • Learning new words representing known concepts • Create a brief paragraph that gives the meaning of the word. • Follow the paragraph with a multiple-choice item that checks students’ understanding of the word.   • Show the paragraph, read it aloud, and read the multiple-choice options. •  Pause to give students a moment to answer the item, provide the correct answer, and discuss the word and any questions they have.

25. Indolence Fortunately, none of my English 9 students could be described as indolent. Whereas an indolent student would try to sleep during class, slouch in her seat, procrastinate, and generally avoid exerting any effort, my students are diligent, hard-working, eager, and achievement-driven. I would be worried if someone described an English 9 R student as indolent, because it is worse than just occasional tiredness or laziness. Indolence implies a tendency to be lazy much of the time.

26. Indolent means • often lazy • sometimes lazy • often hardworking • sometimes hardworking

27. Reception Check Full Bars…Decent Reception…Dropped Call?

28. Building Academic VocabularyA Six-Step Process • Learning new words representing known or unknown concepts Introduce word Students generalize meaning Students create nonlinguistic representation Massed Practice initial word learning Engage students in word activities Discuss words Engage student “play” with words Distributive Practice all previous words (Marzano, 2004)

29. Experience & Observe • Strategy observer • What steps/processes did you observe? • Participant observer • What words, behaviors, evidence of student learning did you notice? • Participants • What did you learn? What worked for you? How did you feel as a learner using this strategy?

30. Please answer: • True or False: In linguistic study, polysemous words have different roots or etymology. • Rate your understanding of the word polysemous.

31. polysemous • etymology (analysis of word origins & parts) • poly (Latin, many) • sema(sign) • -ous (adj.)

32. polysemous Continental Divide math function

33. polysemous Ball (ME bal) • A round or roundish body or mass • Testis—often considered vulgar • A game in which a ball is thrown, kicked, or struck • A pitched baseball…that fails to pass through the strike zone Ball (OF ballare) • A large formal gathering for social dancing • A very pleasant experience: a good time

34. Please answer: • True or False • In linguistic study, polysemous words have different roots or etymology. • Words at the highest level of complexity are often polysemous.

35. Please answer: • Should teachers focus their direct instruction of vocabulary on sesquipedalian terms? • Rate your understanding of the word sesquipedalian.

36. sesquipedalian • etymology (analysis of word origins & parts) • sesqui (Latin, half as much again) • ped (foot) • -ian (one that is, one who) • Examples: • antidisestablishmentarianism • pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis • floccinaucinihilipilification

37. sesquipedalian “Nancy and Sluggo” Everything that coruscates with effulgence is not ipso facto aurous . --All that glitters is not gold. <http://www.wordsources.info/words-mod-sesquipedalian-1-16.html>

38. Please: • Rate your understanding of the word sesquipedalian. • Should teachers focus their direct instruction of vocabulary on sesquipedalian terms?

39. Experience & Observe • Strategy observer • What steps/processes did you observe? • Participant observer • What words, behaviors, evidence of student learning did you notice? • Participants • What did you learn? What worked for you? How did you feel as a learner using this strategy?

40. Massed Practice Building Academic Vocabulary Steps 1 - 3 • Introduce word • Student friendly descriptions, examples, explanations, images, etc. • Must connect to students’ prior knowledge • Students generalize meaning • Students create nonlinguistic representation • Caution! • Monitor understanding carefully • May require more than one session

41. Research on Imagery as Elaboration Students who used imagery to learn vocabulary, on average, performed… # of studies (Pickering, 2007, ASCD presentation)

42. Reception Check Full Bars…Decent Reception…Dropped Call?

43. Concept of Definition Map • Learning new words representing known concepts or those that can be accessed through student experience / prior knowledge

44. Concept of Definition Map • Teacher prepares map to clarify meaning of word in text. • Teacher models how to write a definition using the information on the word map. • e.g. “A potentate is a ruler who has a lot of power. The people do not elect potentates, and some stay in office for life. Some types of potentates are kings, dictators, and emperors.” • Students write their own definitions, verify with a dictionary, and revise or add to them as necessary.

45. Semantic map • Clarifying, enriching the meanings of known words • Teacher presents important concept before reading. • Students brainstorm related words. • Teacher records and adds. • Class classifies to show relationships. • Teacher highlights target words. • Students add during/after reading. • Discussion is essential!

46. Semantic Map