1. Vocabulary in the Elementary Classroom Vanessa Barros

2. Why teach Vocabulary? “For a text to be comprehensible to a reader, he or she must be able to quickly solve and understand the meaning of about 90% of the words (Fountas & Pinnell, 2006, p21) Countless research has shown the strong correlation between vocabulary and comprehension; a reader’s vocabulary is a good predictor of how well the reader will comprehend the text. Vocabulary instruction can narrow the gap between children in higher and lower socioeconomic groups.

3. Vocabulary Instruction Integrate!!! “Vocabulary instruction should be integrated so that students can made connections across instructional contexts (Fountas & Pinnell, 2006, p529).” – Interactive Read-Aloud – Word Study – Independent Reading (find and share an interesting word) – Writing Workshop Direct/Specific Vocabulary Lessons “Good vocabulary instruction encourages students to become actively involved in defining words by elaborating on definitions and relating words and definitions to their personal experiences (Carr, E. et. al., 2004, p19).” – Actively involve students – Activate prior knowledge and introduce new or difficult vocabulary – Teach words in context or categories (help students to identify relationships between words) – Provide multiple opportunities for practice

4. What Vocabulary Can I Teach? Early Concept Words (colors, numbers, seasons, etc.) Labels (family words, food words, animal words) Parts of Speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs) Contractions Synonyms, Antonyms, Homonyms, Homographs Word Study (multisyllable words, idioms) Content Words

5. Planning Vocabulary Lessons Source: (Fountas & Pinnell, 2006, p. 530)

6. Vocabulary Activities in the Primary Grades Concept/Unit Charts – charts posted in classroom relating to current thematic study Word Walls Word Webs Illustrations – using pictures to represent a word Create Individual “Word Lists”

7. Concept Charts

8. Vocabulary Activities in the Intermediate Grades Concept Charts “Word of the Day” Word Sorts – students categorize and sort words Semantic Maps and Word Webs Analyzing Structure of Words (prefixes, suffixes, root words) Semantic feature analysis- identify connections to other words Using a dictionary “Jeopardy” or other word/definition matching games “Personal Clues” – students identify clues to help them remember new vocabulary words

9. Concept Charts

10. Math Word Wall

11. Websites for Vocabulary Development http://vocabulary.co.il/ Merriam-Webster Dictionary games and tools http://www.wordcentral.com/games.html Word Meanings http://pbskids.org/lions/games/wordplay.html http://pbskids.org/lions/games/trampolini.html Antonyms/Synonyms/Homonyms http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/games/frog/ frog.html http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/games/frog/ frog.html Classifying http://pbskids.org/lions/games/flood.html

12. Resources Bear, D.R., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S. & Johnston, F. (2000). Words Their Way: Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling Instruction, Second Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall Inc. Bergeron, B. & Bradbury-Wolff, M. (2002). Teaching Reading Strategies in the Primary Grades. New York, NY: Scholastic Professional Books Carr, E., Aldinger, L., & Patberg, J. (2004). Teaching Comprehension, A Systematic and Practical Framework with Lessons and Strategies. New York, NY: Scholastic Professional Books Fountas, I. & Pinnell, G.S. (2006). Teaching for Comprehension and Fluency. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Mckenna, M. C., & Stahl, K. A. (2009). Assessment for Reading Instruction, Second Edition. New York: The Guilford Press. Robb, L. (1996). Reading Strategies That Work. New York, NY: Scholastic Professional Books