since we've been moving away from the
open court regiment and towards
standards-based instruction,
i've been teaching vocabulary a little differently.
basically, every monday the students sit on the rug and
generate vocabulary words from
looking at some kind of photo (usually from a magazine)
then, using a thesaurus,
i ramp up the students' words with more academic language.
(i.e. crack --> fissure)
next, as per dr. kate,
we practice saying the new words orally a few times;
we clap out and count their syllables;
we look for any cognates, or spanish "cousins;"
we discuss their parts of speech; then,
i model how to use each word properly in a sentence and
give my students an opportunity to practice as well.
finally, students write the new vocabulary words on their papers,
so they can do their homework for the week...
monday: they write the dictionary definition of each word.
tuesday: they write sentences with each word.
wednesday: they write synonyms for each word.
thursday: they write antonyms for each word.
friday: QUIZ TIME--they write a synonym for each word and
use each one in a sentence.
i like this method for several reasons:
first of all, my mission is to get my students
mentally ready for the challenges of middle school
(and hopefully, beyond)
so
improving cognitive academic language proficiency
is critical to my goal.
this procedure builds-in opportunities for students to
orally practice the new vocabulary, and
increasing the amount of "time on the tongue" is integral to
academic language acquisition.
the picture itself provides students an image
to associate with the more rigorous academic vocabulary,
so the new words are not so
abstract.
(besides, having students use the same piece of paper every night
builds in the responsibility piece.
not to mention, they have a handy resource
from which to study for the test.)
this method also creates
greater buy-in,
especially if the students bring in the pictures
themselves.
(like the example above)
when the students have more agency,
they feel more responsible for their education,
so
their effort increases.
this usually results in more successful
(and hopefully, in this case, more eloquent)
students.
*BICS=basic interpersonal communication skills
CALP=cognitive academic language proficiency
open court regiment and towards
standards-based instruction,
i've been teaching vocabulary a little differently.
basically, every monday the students sit on the rug and
generate vocabulary words from
looking at some kind of photo (usually from a magazine)
then, using a thesaurus,
i ramp up the students' words with more academic language.
(i.e. crack --> fissure)
next, as per dr. kate,we practice saying the new words orally a few times;
we clap out and count their syllables;
we look for any cognates, or spanish "cousins;"
we discuss their parts of speech; then,
i model how to use each word properly in a sentence and
give my students an opportunity to practice as well.
finally, students write the new vocabulary words on their papers,
so they can do their homework for the week...
monday: they write the dictionary definition of each word.
tuesday: they write sentences with each word.
wednesday: they write synonyms for each word.
thursday: they write antonyms for each word.
friday: QUIZ TIME--they write a synonym for each word and
use each one in a sentence.
i like this method for several reasons:
first of all, my mission is to get my students
mentally ready for the challenges of middle school
(and hopefully, beyond)
so
improving cognitive academic language proficiency
is critical to my goal.
this procedure builds-in opportunities for students to
orally practice the new vocabulary, and
increasing the amount of "time on the tongue" is integral to
academic language acquisition.
the picture itself provides students an image
to associate with the more rigorous academic vocabulary,
so the new words are not so
abstract.
(besides, having students use the same piece of paper every night
builds in the responsibility piece.
not to mention, they have a handy resource
from which to study for the test.)
this method also creates
greater buy-in,
especially if the students bring in the pictures
themselves.
(like the example above)
when the students have more agency,
they feel more responsible for their education,
so
their effort increases.
this usually results in more successful
(and hopefully, in this case, more eloquent)
students.
*BICS=basic interpersonal communication skills
CALP=cognitive academic language proficiency
