Chapter 6 Building Vocabulary

What is Vocabulary? Exploring relationships between words It is more than memorizing definitions for a test on Friday. The average first-grader knows 5,000 to 6,000 words. Approximately 3,000 words are learned each year.

Stages of Word Knowledge Task One —Learning to read known words. Task Two —Learning new meanings for known words. Task Three —Learning new words that represent known concepts. Task Four —Learning new words that represent new concepts. Task Five —Clarifying and enriching the meanings of known words. Task Six —Moving words for receptive to expressive vocabulary.

Seven Principles of Developing Vocabulary Build experiential background by providing a variety of rich experiences. Relate vocabulary words to students’ background—the words they already know. Help students explore relationships between words. Develop depth of meaning to help students see the many shades of meaning of words.

Seven Principles of Developing Vocabulary Continued Provide students with multiple exposures to words. Help create an interest in words. Teach students how to learn new words independently.

Techniques for Teaching Words Graphic Organizers Semantic maps Pictorial maps and webs SFA Venn Diagrams Dramatization Crossword Puzzles Riddles

Techniques for Teaching Words Continued Explore Sesquipedalian words—long words. Have a “Word of the Day or Week” focus Labeling Predictions Predict-o-gram Possible sentences Word Sorts

Study Special Features of Words Homophones—sound alike, but usually spelled differently Greece, grease Homographs—spelled alike, but sound different Bass voice, bass fish Figurative language Idioms Metaphors Similes

Learning How to Learn Words Words with multiple meanings Morphemic Analysis Morpheme—smallest unit of a word Believe—1 Telegraph—2 Prefixes, Suffixes, Inflectional endings, and Root words Context Clues Dictionary Usage

Most Importantly!!! Provide students with opportunities to read. Read aloud to your students.