Master the Vocab Cheryl Hutchinson, M. Ed. Loudoun County Public Schools National Board Certified Teacher Candidate Support Provider LCPS Cluster PD September 2, 2009

Why me? Why this topic? Who are you?

Goals for our session today….. review what experts have discovered about brain research what are researched based strategies for learning and how do students learn best how to move information to long-term memory how to apply the research to assist students in mastering vocabulary

Scary Facts about Vocabulary  Literate high school graduates need to know 60,000 words.  Average student enters high school with only 5000 words  To acquire all 60,000 words, they need to learn about 4000 words a year or 70 words a week.  In 4 th and 5 th grades 1 million words of running text contains 40,000 words which only appear once or twice BUT are crucial to the meaning of the passage.  Students will learn of these words by learning them in context. Brainstorm

????? Best strategy for learning this number of words is to read a large amount narrative and information text books a year Exposure to a million to million and a half words

Memory Jam 5 Senses The Brain Short-Term Memory seconds Working Memory A few minutes – 24 hours Tollbooth Long-Term Memory LOSTLOST

The Needs of the Brain for Long-Term Memory 1.Social Interaction 2.Emotions 3.Pattern/Visual 4.Novelty 5.Relevance 6.Beginnings and Endings 7.Movement/Oxygen 8.Food/Sleep 9.Review Formula Rally-Robin

“The more fully we process information over time, the more connections we make, the more consolidation takes place and the better the memory will be.” - Pat Wolfe

Instructional Strategies Affecting Student Achievement Identify similarities and differences Summarizing and note taking Reinforcing effort/ providing recognition Homework and practice Nonlinguistic representations Cooperative learning Setting objectives and providing feedback Generating and testing hypotheses Questions, cues and advanced organizers 45% 34% 29% 28% 27% 23% 22% Instructional Strategy Percentile Gain Marzano, Pollack and Pickering in their book Classroom Instruction That Works

Research-based Steps to Assist Students in Understanding Essential Vocabulary Teacher…. 1.identifies word from essential vocabulary expressed in state and/or local curriculum documents 2.identifies the new word to students and elicits background knowledge 3.explains the meaning of the new word Students….. 1.generate their own explanations of the new word. 2.create visual representations of the new word 3.engage in experiences that deepen their understanding of the new word 4.participate in vocab games and activities to help them remember the word and meaning. Marzano in Building Background Knowledge – research on What Works in Schools

% Learning Pyramid - National Training Laboratories Ways to Teach % Lecture Reading Audio-Visual Demonstration Discussion Practice by Doing TEACHING OTHERS

Enough Research & Theory – Let’s Apply It! 1. Read, Read, Read, Read – Book Wheels 2.Similarities and Differences – If I were… 3.Visuals – Coward 4.Music – The Wheels on the Bus 5.Movement – Act it Out 6.Games – 3 Card Match 7.Extended Review Time 8.Vocab Video Clips

Fantasy Sports _____ ’s Book Wheel Directions for the Book Wheel Required: Academics – 8 Honors - 12 Required Genres Academics On Your Own 1 Non-Fiction Optional Genre (see list below) Historical or Historical Fiction In Class Biography or Autobiography Poetry 1 Non-Fiction Newbery Award or Honor Book Classic Honors On Your Own 1 Biographies or Autobiographies Poetry Historical or Historical Fiction 1 Non-Fiction Classic 3 Optional different Genres (see list below) In Class 1 Biographies or Autobiographies 1 Non-Fiction Drama Newbery Award or Honor Book Optional Genres Fiction Horror Mystery Fantasy Sports Science Fiction How It Will Be Graded Academics - Each quarter you must read a minimum of 2 books and do a report for each worth a total of 50 points. Honors- Each quarter you must read a minimum of 3 books and do a report for each worth a total of 50 points. Directions This year you must read a required number of books. You must also read from certain genres. Ms. H. must approve the book first to be counted on the book wheel. Once she has approved it, write down the type of genre in the big end of a pie piece. Write the title of the book in the remainder of the piece of pie. You must always produce a “book report” for each book. Sometimes Ms. H. will set the guidelines for the “book report”. If she does not, you may borrow her book report idea book to choose one.

If I Were….. If I were ___________________________, I would be ___________________________. I would also be _______________________. But, I would not be ____________________, because that would be __________________.

Hexagon A six-sided polygon

setting of a story Lit Terms 1 time and place Lit Terms 7 DO NOW DateHeading:

Resources Classroom Instruction that Works by Robert Marzano Brain Matters by Patricia Wolf Umm.. Studying? What’s That? by Fitzell Memorizing Strategies by LeAnn Nickelsen (Scholastic) VA DOE Website Vocab ideas

If you remember nothing else… 1.Read Read Read 2.Stop talking and get the kids talking, practicing and teaching each other 3.Review every 10 minutes, after 24 hours, after 7 days and then periodically 4.Engage the brain – episodes and emotions