Teaching Vocabulary in the Content Areas Chapter 7 Maureen McLaughlin Scott Weninger

Objectives We will learn about teaching vocabulary to our students. Discussion on the theoretical framework about teaching vocabulary. Introduce a variety of practical strategies. Strategy-related ideas to teach vocabulary in our content areas. Essential points that will guide the development of vocabulary lessons.

What do we know about teaching Content area vocabulary?

What do we know about teaching Content area vocabulary? It is important that our students learn vocabulary because if they do not know the vocabulary, they will have difficulty comprehending what they read.

What do we know about teaching Content area vocabulary? It is important that our students learn vocabulary because if they do not know the vocabulary, they will have difficulty comprehending what they read. Current research shows that writing down words, and their definitions is not an effective way to learn vocabulary.

What do we know about teaching Content area vocabulary? It is important that our students learn vocabulary because if they do not know the vocabulary, they will have difficulty comprehending what they read. Current research shows that writing down words, and their definitions is not an effective way to learn vocabulary. Research also shows that very few people learn from definitions.

What do we know about teaching Content area vocabulary? It is important that our students learn vocabulary because if they do not know the vocabulary, they will have difficulty comprehending what they read. Current research shows that writing down words, and their definitions is not an effective way to learn vocabulary. Research also shows that very few people learn from definitions. Students need to do more than write a definition in order to make the word a part of their vocabulary.

What do students need to do to learn vocabulary?

What do students need to do to learn vocabulary? They need to talk about words.

What do students need to do to learn vocabulary? They need to talk about words. They need to feel comfortable about using words when reading , speaking and writing.

What do students need to do to learn vocabulary? They need to talk about words. They need to feel comfortable about using words when reading , speaking and writing. They need to be able to use the words in a variety of context.

What can teachers do to help students with vocabulary? How can we get students more interested in vocabulary?

What can teachers do to help students with vocabulary ? We need to motivate them.

What can teachers do to help students with vocabulary ? We need to motivate them. We need to increase students awareness, and interest using new word.

What can teachers do to help students with vocabulary ? We need to motivate them. We need to increase students awareness, and interest using new word. We need to help students become more skillful, and use words more precisely.

What can teachers do to help students with vocabulary ? We need to motivate them. We need to increase students awareness, and interest using new word. We need to help students become more skillful, and to use words more precisely. We need to engage students in content areas so they become more interested in learning.

What can teachers do to help students with vocabulary ? We need to motivate them. We need to increase students awareness, and interest using new word. We need to help students become more skillful, and to use words more precisely. We need to engage students in content areas so they become more interested in learning. We need to be able to incorporate a number of different resources to help students with their vocabulary.

How can we integrate what we know into teaching?

How Can We Integrate What We Know into Teaching? We must be actively engaged in understanding words and related strategies.

How can We Integrate What We Know into Teaching? We must be actively engaged in understanding words and related strategies. We should personalize their vocabulary learning.

How Can We Integrate What We Know into Teaching? We must be actively engaged in understanding words and related strategies. We should personalize their vocabulary learning. We must be immersed in words.

How Can We Integrate What We Know into Teaching? We must be actively engaged in understanding words and related strategies. We should personalize their vocabulary learning. We must be immersed in words. We should develop their vocabularies through repeated exposures from multiple sources of information.

How Can We Integrate What We Know into Teaching? We must be actively engaged in understanding words and related strategies. We should personalize their vocabulary learning. We must be immersed in words. We should develop their vocabularies through repeated exposures from multiple sources of information. We have to teach students vocabulary strategies.

How Can We Integrate What We Know into Teaching? We must be actively engaged in understanding words and related strategies. We should personalize their vocabulary learning. We must be immersed in words. We should develop their vocabularies through repeated exposures from multiple sources of information. We have to teach students vocabulary strategies. We should make sure the students are aware of our enthusiasm for learning.

Why is Vocabulary Important?

Why is Vocabulary Important? It is essential to our thinking and understanding.

Why is Vocabulary Important? It is essential to our thinking and understanding. It helps bring meaning to multiple literacies. (Is it critical, informational, media….)

Why is Vocabulary Important? It is essential to our thinking and understanding. It helps bring meaning to multiple literacies. (Is it critical, informational, media….) It is important for writing.

Why is Vocabulary Important? It is essential to our thinking and understanding. It helps bring meaning to multiple literacies. (Is it critical, informational, media….) It is important for writing. It is important for communicating effectively.

Teaching Strategies Ideas to help students increase their content area vocabulary.

Content clues include the following: Readers Use Content Clues to figure out meaning of unknown words. Content clues include the following:

Content clues include the following: Readers Use Content Clues to figure out meaning of unknown words. Content clues include the following: Definition Clue: Connects the unknown word to a known word or phrase.

Content clues include the following: Readers Use Content Clues to figure out meaning of unknown words. Content clues include the following: Definition Clue: Example/Illustration Clue: Provides a model or picture that shows the meaning of the word.

Content clues include the following: Readers Use Content Clues to figure out meaning of unknown words. Content clues include the following: Definition Clue: Example/Illustration Clue: Comparison/Contrast Clue: Provides information about something similar or something different from the unknown word.

Content clues include the following: Readers Use Content Clues to figure out meaning of unknown words. Content clues include the following: Definition Clue: Example/Illustration Clue: Comparison/Contrast Clue: Cause/Effect Clue: The reason/result relation allows the reader to predict the word’s meaning.

Content clues include the following: Readers Use Content Clues to figure out meaning of unknown words. Content clues include the following: Definition Clue: Example/Illustration Clue: Comparison/Contrast Clue: Cause/Effect Clue: Mood/Tone Clue: Description of the mood related to the word allows the reader to predict the words meaning.

Content clues include the following: Readers Use Content Clues to figure out meaning of unknown words. Content clues include the following: Definition Clue: Example/Illustration Clue: Comparison/Contrast Clue: Cause/Effect Clue: Mood/Tone Clue: Logic Clue: Provides a common-sense.contextual connection to the unknown word.

Graphic Organizers These are visual representations of ideas. They help by giving students tools to remember the information associated with the term. Completing the graphic organizer in a whole class or group setting promotes discussion of the word. They contain information about the word that the students can use to make oral, or written summaries.

Types of Graphic organizers Semantic Maps Semantic Question Maps Concept Definition Maps Semantic Feature Analysis Charts Semantic map is a graphic organizer the utilizes a focus word and brainstorming. Students use information, and categories from the brainstorming session to help organize the map to bring meaning to a word. Semantic Question map is similar to a semantic map but uses a fixed design Concept Definition map help students to construct meaning between prior knowledge and new topics. This helps a student make predictions about attributes related to specific words, sort by characteristics, and set purpose to reading and researching.

An example of a semantic question map is on page 312 of the text book.

Concept Definition Map More examples of concept definition maps are on pages 286 & 287 of the text book. These help a student make connections between prior knowledge and new topics. These can provide information such as a definition, description and examples. These graphic organizers can be used before, during and after reading.

Semantic Feature Analysis Chart There is another example of a more detailed version of this strategy on page 311 of the text book. This can help students make predictions about attributes related to the word, sort characters, and set purpose for reading or research. This is often used before informational text (great for science) but, can be adapted for use with narrative or story text by replacing the categories with characters’ names and listing attributes that characters may or may not possess.

Structural Analysis This is knowing how to analyze the structure of a word by recognizing it prefixes, roots and suffixes. It is important that student are able to determine What the prefix , root and suffix of a word is in order to understand a word’s meaning when it is read. Student should understand that prefixes and suffixes can have a profound affect on the meaning of a word.

Prefixes and Suffixes Prefixes are added to the beginning to the root to bring new meaning to a word. Suffixes are added after the root to help bring new meaning to the word. The following link is a list some of the most common prefixes and suffixes. http://teacher.scholastic.com/reading/bestpractices/vocabulary/pdf/prefixes_suffixes.pdf

Content Area Prefixes & Suffixes Web link for biology prefix, suffix, and word dictionary. http://www.macroevolution.net/index.html

Student Self-Selection

Student Self-Selection All the strategies mentioned will help students develop their vocabularies.

Student Self-Selection All the strategies mentioned will help students develop their vocabularies. Self-Selection encourages the student to take ownership of their learning. There are two types of strategies that utilize Student self-Selection.

Student Self-Selection All the strategies mentioned will help students develop their vocabularies. Self-Selection encourages the student to take ownership of their learning. Use Vocabulary Bookmarks. bookmark Student choose a word from the assigned reading, and should be a word that the whole class could discuss. Each book mark should contain three pieces of information. The word What the student thinks is the meaning of the word. The page number of the text where the word is found.

Student Self-Selection All the strategies mentioned will help students develop their vocabularies. Self-Selection encourages the student to take ownership of their learning. Use Vocabulary Bookmarks Vocabulary Self-Collection Strategy Self-Collect Strategy This text is used most often with informational text (good for science). Student will select word that they want to know more about, provide more information about, and nominate to a class vocabulary list.

Some Guidelines Teachers Should Follow When Teaching Vocabulary Our teaching should show we a re excited about learning vocabulary. We should encourage students to understand that some word have multiple meanings. Student should have opportunities to use content area vocabulary in multiple and meaningful ways. Lessons should focus on depth rather than coverage of content area vocabulary. Multiple text should be used so the students are aware of multiple resources. See page 109 for more guidelines.

Questions