Word Up!

On December 5, 2013, level 1 beginning teachers at NAMS, SAMS, and AHS learned and discussed ways to incorporate engaging vocabulary strategies in their classes.  The sessions were a part of the Asheboro City Schools' S.E.E.D.S. (Setting Expectations for Educators and Defining Success) New Teacher Induction Program, and were led by Betsy Hammond (Science Coach), Dubraska Stines (ESL Lead Teacher) and me.  The teachers in attendance immediately began to brainstorm ways they could take our ideas and make them work in their different content areas. We charged them with documenting and reflecting on their efforts. I'm excited to share an Animoto with work samples from most of the participants...


 Are you interested in learning about vocabulary, too?  Click here for a link to a Vocabulary Instruction LiveBinder. Below you will find the presentation they viewed with videos and links to vocabulary strategies. Please take a look and feel free to contact Betsy, Dubraska, or me if you would like additional explanation and/or support.

 

 ~Chandra

ExC-ELL

Have you ever heard of ExC-ELL?  Is your first thought of spreadsheets?  Well, that is Microsoft's Excel. ExC-ELL stands for Expediting Comprehension for English Language Learners.  It is a research-based literacy model developed by Dr. Margarita Calderon that is funded by the Carnegie Corporation and the US Department of Education.  I, along with Dubraska Stines (ESL Lead Teacher) and almost 20 other ACS teachers, attended ExC-ELL training, sponsored by NCDPI, in Charlotte, NC, August 5-7.  All of the teachers were charged with coming back to our district to share ExC-ELL strategies which help students access the text with the use of vocabulary, reading, and writing tasks.  Although ExC-ELL was designed to help English Language Learners, the work can help any student to improve their reading in various content disciplines.  

We have a great team of teachers who are willing to share.  We hope to be able to snag some dedicated PD time during the year, but if you have a particular interest and would like to start the year off with new learning, contact a team member.  Matt Edwards and Chandra Collins, both from NAMS, implemented it in their classes last year and have completed advanced training.  They are great contacts! (Check us out presenting during the closing session on Day 3.)

 

Chandra M., Dubraska, and Betsy

Chandra C., Matt, Chandra M. and Dubraska

The Power of Simple Words

Most of you are probably familiar with TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Talks.  There is subsection of videos and lessons called TED-Ed.

Check out this really brief video lesson:  "The Power of Simple Words".  When you go to the site, click on the "Think" tab on the far right to access five multiple choice and three open answer questions.

Which language anchor standard(s) can be addressed with this mini-lesson?

~Chandra

Determining Tier 2 Words

WordSift, mentioned in a previous post, is a Web 2.0 tool that can be helpful in determining Tier 2 words.  However, it does not replace a knowledgeable educator.  Click here to access an Academic Vocabulary rubric from NC DPI.  Please use it to think through which words are critical to teach for comprehension.

~Chandra

Word Walls

What is a word wall?  A word wall is a display area in the classroom devoted strictly to high-frequency vocabulary that will be used or is being used during the course of a particular unit of study.

What is the purpose? 

• Students need teachers who create an interest in words.
• In order to learn a word, students need to see, hear, and use terms in many contexts.
• Vocabulary knowledge directly impacts reading comprehension.

What are ways to make it work?
Make Them Memorable- Use text as the context for identifying key words to place on your word wall. Remember, if the key words are any old words, they are likely to be treated as such.
Make Them Useful- The more you use the word wall the more your students will do the same.  Demonstrations and think-alouds take only a few seconds, if done frequently, will give you more bang for your buck.  It is important that you show students how to use the word wall.  Putting the words up at the beginning of the year and telling kids to use it without showing them how is setting your word wall up for failure.
Make Them Practical- Incorporate words walls into your daily instruction.  By incorporating the word wall in daily instruction, students will gain automaticity in using this classroom reference.
Make Them Space Efficient- If you lack space, use three-panel display boards.  These freestanding materials don't require any wall space, and can be moved around the room and placed on a table for greater visibility.
Make Them Your Way- There is no right or wrong way to build a word wall.  What to build, what words to add, and when to add them, all depend on what your students need.  Organize your walls in a way that is practical to students.  Be creative!

What steps can I take to make it an active words wall?
Check out this packet of activities:  http://www.curriculum.org/storage/258/1334340769/World_Walls_-_A_Support_for_Literacy_in_Secondary_School_Classrooms.pdf

~Chandra

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WordSift

OK, now we understand that all teachers are responsible for vocabulary instruction.  As mentioned in the previous post, an important aspect of vocabulary instruction is in the selection of words to teach.  I have a web tool that can help you!

I first heard about wordsift.com this summer in our English/Language Arts PLC from Donna Beck, ESL teacher at South Asheboro Middle School.  It is a neat way to identify words key terms from a text to focus on for instruction.   Please watch the 5 minute video I embedded below to see how the site can be beneficial to your planning and teaching.  The video sample uses "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a text exemplar straight from Common Core State Standards.

~Chandra

New Year, New Words

It is that time when people start to set personal goals for the new year, like losing weight, getting organized, or saving money.  I am encouraging us all to set a few professional goals as well.  I am going to highlight academic vocabulary instruction for January 2013.

When I was in high school, all of my teachers approached vocabulary in a similar way.  They gave long lists of words, made students use the back of the book or dictionaries to look up definitions, and then gave a quiz/test on those words.  That is how I thought vocabulary was supposed to be.  WRONG!

The first goal I would like to start with is tiering vocabulary.  That simply means that we must choose words that will help students comprehend the text.  That really means that vocabulary must be rooted in the text.  Here is how:

There are several teachers who are leading the pack with this.  Here are just a couple of snapshots from teachers at NAMS. Contact me if you would like me to come to you or your PLC to provide more information.

Amy Smith, 6th grade Science 

Meredith Wolfe, 6th grade ELA

Vocabulary Tied to Text

Julie Pack, Director of Secondary Education for ACS, sent me the article below from The Forum's The Friday Report.  Please read it as it provides additional evidence for why vocabulary should not be taught in isolation.  I also added an infographic on 10 Principles for Effective Vocabulary Instruction from Eye on Education.
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NAEP Data on Vocabulary Shows Achievement Gap and Emphasizes Relation to Reading Comprehension

    

    The recently released National Assessment of Educational Progress report found further evidence to back research that vocabulary knowledge is important to text comprehension. In 2011, 4th and 8th graders performing above the 75th percentile in reading comprehension on NAEP had the highest average vocabulary scores. Likewise, those 4th and 8th graders scoring at or below the 25th percentile had the lowest average vocabulary scores.

    The NAEP report also revealed stark achievement gaps in vocabulary across racial and ethnic groups, as well as income levels. The achievement gap shown in vocabulary follows trends of the gap shown in other reported assessments of the NAEP. In 4th grade, there was a 31 point gap in vocabulary on a 0-500 scale between students who are eligible for free or reduced lunch and those who are not. In 8th grade, the gap was 28 points.

    Previous NAEP assessments have included some vocabulary questions, but the revised framework for reading set new criteria for developing vocabulary questions and increasing their number in order to allow the test to measure students' vocabulary performance and report it as a separate item.

    Words selected for inclusion in vocabulary test questions were specifically selected to be characteristic of written language (as opposed to everyday speech), used in a variety of content areas, generally familiar concepts, feelings, or action, and necessary for understanding part or all of the passage in which they appeared in the test. For fourth graders, words such as "barren," "Detected," and "eerie" were problematic, with fewer than half of students identifying their meaning correctly. "Urbane" showed the same results for 8th and 12th grade students. North Carolina students scored in line with the national average on vocabulary scores. (Erik Robelen, "NAEP Data on Vocabulary Achievement Show Same Gaps," EDUCATION WEEK, 11/6/12)

Article source:

The Forum:  Public School Forum of North Carolina.  The Friday Report.  15.23 (14 Dec 2012).  Online.

SAT Prep: Answers Imagined

Answers Imagined provides an entertaining and informative visual in addition to enhance SAT practice. The site also applies both math and English through passage-based reading, identifying sentence errors in writing, and multiple choice math problems.

Through an interactive model, students not only attempt the correct response to the question but are also provided a video walk-through that deduces, explains, and defends the correct response. It is a true think-aloud and a great support for all learners.

Answers Imagined is great for both independent practice and bell-ringers. You can locate the link here: http://sat.collegeboard.org/practice/answers-imagined#aiAnimTop or through College Board.

I have condensed the information into one resource at: http://apsaunders.wikispaces.com/SAT+Practice

Enjoy!

~Kathy Saunders, AHS English Teacher

(A note from Chandra:  Don't forget to check out the SAT Words Animoto videos that students in Kathy's AP English Literature class produces every week.  A link can be found in Monday Musings.)

Vocabulary In Action

Literacy does not only deal with written words, but also spoken words.  It is important for students to be able to recognize the important vocabulary words when they encounter them in their texts, but students should also understand how to use the words properly in conversation.  Being able to use the vocabulary words in conversation allows for a greater and deeper understanding of the words, which will translate into a greater understanding of the overall text.


Keep vocabulary instruction to about 10 words per week; then attack 2 terms per day.  Here is a guideline for choosing appropriate terms:

• Important, critical content words from the reading
• Useful words, meaning they are transferable to other content areas
• Difficult words

There are many strategies for teaching vocabulary, but to get students to use vocabulary properly, challenge them to be a Word Wizard.  This post-reading activity is highlighted in Strategies for Building Academic Vocabulary in Social Studies by Christine Dugan.  

1. Choose both specialized content and general academic words.
2. Create a Word Wizard chart.
3. Explain that you want to record how many times they see, hear, or use a focus word.  Students will have to report where they saw the word and how it was used.
4. As an incentive, assign points based on where and how the word is used.
5. Occasionally, you may want to frame the activity by asking students to find a particular word in a specific place like an advertisement, newspaper, or novel.
6. As students return with evidence of their word use, set aside time to discuss their examples.  These discussions can be whole group, but also allow time to discuss in pairs and/or small groups.

If you need more information on the Word Wizard activity, click here.  

This is also a look at how you can differentiate this activity.

~Walker Smith, AHS Social Studies Teacher