Vocabulary and Fluency Online Assignment EDUC631 Cross-Curricular Literacy for the MS/HS

To begin To begin thinking about Vocabulary and Fluency, respond to the following in a Word document titled yourlastname_Vocab.docx When was the last time you encountered a word you didn't know. What was your first step in figuring out the word's meaning? What other steps did you take? Where you ultimately able to figure out the word's meaning?

Vocabulary and Socio-economics Recall the discussion in your text about how many words middle class children are exposed to in early childhood as opposed to children in low-SES homes. Hearing words in speech, hearing words read from books, and having opportunities to use a variety of words themselves all contribute to advancing a child’s word knowledge. When children do not have opportunities to advance their word knowledge, they enter the classroom (and life) with a distinct disadvantage. Your online forum for this assignment deals with this topic.

Vocabulary and Comprehension A broader vocabulary will make it possible for students to comprehend a wider variety of reading materials and more complex texts. Students need instruction in commonly occurring vocabulary words so that they can understand a wide variety of texts. Students need instruction in uncommon words so that they can understand specific content areas.

Word Tiers Words can be loosely categorized into three tiers based on the frequency and usefulness of the words. Tier 1 – everyday words that children learn incidentally through exposure (hat, tall, box) Tier 2 – words that occur commonly in mature language users, these occur in lots of different contexts and will help readers in many reading situations Teir 3 – content-specific words, words you would teach to help students understand reading specific to your content (but that might not be used anywhere else)

Explicit Instruction How do you decide which words to explicitly teach to your students? On the same website, click on Classroom Strategies (on the menu on the right). Find a classroom strategy for vocabulary instruction that you find useful. Respond to the following in your Word doc: What did you find most useful about this reading from the All About Adolescent Literacy website? Describe one useful Classroom Strategy that you found on the site for vocabulary instruction.

And now that you’ve selected the words… …how do you explicitly teach them? Your textbook provides several suggestions for teaching vocabulary meaning explicitly. Investing some class time in explicit vocabulary instruction will pay off. Students’ comprehension will improve, and they will learn strategies that they might apply on their own in the future.

Word Parts For middle and high school students, instruction in word parts will enable students to figure out word meanings using word they already know. Review Table 5.3 (pg. 167) in your book. How can knowing root words, prefixes and suffixes allow us to figure out, or at least approximate the meaning of a word?

An example Let’s use a word we are all familiar with: Constructivist. Oh, no! It’s not in my dictionary. (Lots of words aren’t.) What I did find in the dictionary was “constructivism.” Apparently that word has something to do with a group of early 20 th century Russian artists, or abstract design. Neither of those has to anything do with the context in which I read the word “constructivist.” Now I’m really confused. Incidentally, how many times have we told a student, or been told ourselves, to “go look it up”?

An example, continued Now I’m going to look at the word to try to figure it out. I recognize “struct” from words like “structure” and “construct”…something to do with building or making. “-ive” seems to describe something or someone, like “active” or “massive” “-ist” seems to refer to a person who has the quality or does something that the word describes. The names of many professions end in “-ist” (biologist, archeologist, sociologist).

An example, continued So maybe the definition is something like, “a person who likes to make or build something.” Still a pretty vague definition, but helpful. Next I go back to the context in which I read the word and see how my definition fits. Go to the next slide to read about the word “constructivist” from the Salem College Teacher Education Conceptual Framework. Does my approximated definition make sense?

Salem College Teacher Education Conceptual Framework Conceptual Framework: The philosophy of our Teacher Education program is grounded in the constructivist paradigm. We believe that all learners construct their understanding of the world as they look for meaning and order in their environments. Knowledge is developed through the interactions of internal and external factors. Experiences, prior knowledge, cultural tools, interactions with others, and the learner’s purpose shape learning. Learning occurs at different rates and in response to differing stimuli according to a learner’s existing cognitive structures, individual needs, interests, experiences, internal states, and motivation. The teacher’s role is to facilitate learning among all her/his students by creating the appropriate conditions in which learning is most likely to occur. Teachers create conditions of learning by setting realistically high expectations for all students, by understanding that errors are a legitimate part of the learning process, by celebrating approximations, by matching instruction to learners, by organizing the classroom effectively, and by using assessment to inform practice. Professional educators value diversity among their students and colleagues, continue their professional growth and development, and reflect upon their work as they seek to improve their practice. Professionals seeking advanced licensure use, design, and conduct research within their classrooms and assume leadership roles in their schools.

Word parts Going through the process I just went through with you in my example is time consuming. However, doing it just a few times, and helping kids identify word part meanings, maybe by making charts about word parts, will help kids figure out lots and lots of words.

Semantic Feature Analysis Semantic Feature Analysis is described on page 171 of your textbook. This strategy can be especially helpful in content area classes. Think about how unit topics in math, history, or science are presented. A chart like this could be a helpful way to teach kids a number of interrelated vocabulary words.

Demonstrations to enhance word understanding Providing demonstrations to illustrate new and content-specific vocabulary will help students understand the meaning. For example… Follow the link and read the definition of “exothermic” reactions: Confusing, huh? Now, go to the website below and watch the demonstration: Respond to the following in your Word doc: Think of a content-area concept (math, science or social studies) that is difficult to understand. What kind of demonstration could you use to help students make sense of the concept and its definition?.

Fluency Fluency is considered foundational to literacy for important reasons. Becoming a fluent reader makes the reading process easier and more productive. So what is fluency, and how is it related to vocabulary?

Three parts of fluency Fluent readers are proficient at the following: – Automatic word recognition. The majority of words that fluent readers read can be read quickly and accurately, without having to decode them. – Rate. Fluent readers can read at a reasonable rate, not too fast but not too slow. Reading rate changes depending on the reading task (if the reading is challenging, good readers will slow down.) – Prosody. Fluent readers read with appropriate expression, making the reading sound like spoken language. Prosody aids in comprehension.

Reader’s Theatre One way to increase reading fluency, while emphasizing content area learning is to use a Reader’s Theatre format. In Reader’s Theatre, students use a script, either teacher or student created, and read the script out loud to an audience, with expression. Students do not memorize lines, and they do not wear costumes. They read their script to practice prosody and appropriate reading rate. Watch this example:

Practice, Practice, Practice The best way to increase both reading fluency and vocabulary knowledge is to read. Students must be provided lots of opportunities to read a wide variety of materials, genres, and on a variety of subject matter. Find materials on the students’ reading levels if the textbook is too hard, but don’t deny students the opportunity to practice reading in the content areas.

Vocabulary and Fluency Vocabulary and fluency are important to reading in the content areas because if we neglect them, students will be slowed down, frustrated, and unable to understand the content we are trying to teach. Providing practice in vocabulary learning and fluency will enhance students’ ability to read and learn independently.