Academic Vocabulary Program at Wood Oaks

November 12, 2013

Goals

• Learn about the school-wide vocabulary initiative at

Wood Oaks

• Explain Tier 2 Academic Vocabulary

• Share the District 27 model for explicit vocabulary

instruction

• Develop department vocabulary words to be used

in the school-wide vocabulary program

It’s all about the vocabulary?

• Good Math Vocabulary, Xtra Normal

School wide vocabulary program

Share Word of the Week on the announcements

Introduce Word Wall in the Library Hallway

Provide Vocabulary Bookmarks for students

Guess the mystery words around the school

Share various vocabulary games and activities

Highlight teacher vocabulary activities

Why the focus on Academic Vocabulary

• CCSS focuses on Academic Vocabulary.

• Vocabulary is a relative weakness in the District.

• We want to make Wood Oaks a vocabulary rich

school.

• We need to explicitly teach vocabulary to students

not merely through a vocabulary program but in all

contents.

What is Academic Vocabulary?

Academic vocabulary is the vocabulary that is critical to

understanding the concepts taught in school.

The strongest action a teacher can take to ensure that

students have the academic background knowledge to

understand the content is to provide direct vocabulary

instruction.

Academic Vocabulary: Three Tiers of Words

Tier 1: Basic vocabulary words: baby, book, sad, run

Tier 2: General academic words: High frequency;

multiple meanings; occur in many contents; commonly

found in texts: precise, industrious, measure, democracy

Tier 3: Content-specific words: Specific to a particular domain

or field of study: isotope, trapezoid, peninsula, personification

Vocabulary Makes a Difference• The size of a student’s vocabulary is directly related to achievement.

• Data shows there is a 4,500 – 6,000 vocabulary word difference

between 25th and 50th percentile students on standardized

assessments

• Takes the average learner 12 times hearing and using the word

before it becomes part of their natural speech.

• For students to comprehend, they should be able to read with 90%

accuracy and encounter only 1 word in 20 that is unfamiliar.

What makes successful vocabulary

instruction?A successful approach to vocabulary instruction involves directly explaining the meanings of words along with thought-provoking, playful and interactive follow-up.

Common Misconceptions

1. Definitions do the trick.

2. Weekly lists are effective.

3. Teachers should teach all the hard words,

especially the words in bold or italics.

4. Word learning is not enjoyable.

5. Merely mentioning word meanings assumes

that you have therefore taught them.

Instructional routine for introducing vocabulary: Anita Archer method

1. Introduce the word

2. Give the meaning of the word

3. Illustrate with examples

4. Check students understanding

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Instructional Routine for Vocabulary; adapted from Anita Archer

Step 1. Introduce the word humiliateDisplay the word.• Read the word and have the students repeat the

word. • If the word is difficult to pronounce or unfamiliar

have the students repeat the word a number of times.

“ The word is humiliate. What is the word?”Students repeat the word.

Humiliate is an action word, a verb.

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Instructional Routine for Vocabulary (continued)

Step 2. Teacher introduces the meaning of the word.

Provide a student-friendly definition. When someone says or does something to make you feel embarrassed or stupid, he humiliates you.

orProvide the dictionary definition.

To lower the pride, dignity, or self-respect

Instructional Routine for Vocabulary

Step 3. Illustrate the word with examples.

• Fans shouted very mean things to Jackie

Robinson.

• They humiliated him.

• Fans threw food on Jackie's uniform to embarrass

him. They humiliated him.

• For an athlete, it was an unprecedented

humiliation.

Instructional Routine for Vocabulary

Step 4. Check students’ understanding: orally or in writing

Criteria for identifying Tier 2 words

• Is the word critical for understanding?

• Does the word appear frequently in texts?

• Is the word used in multiple contents?

• Does the word relate to other words students

know or are learning?

Tier 2 words often have multiple meanings.

Department Tasks• Brainstorm with your department and determine 6-8

Academic Vocabulary words that are important to your content which meet the criteria for Tier 2 Academic Vocabulary.

• On the strips provided, write 6-8 words, one on each strip, to be used for the Word Wall or for other Wood Oaks school-wide vocabulary activities.• Create a simple activity or direct instruction technique

to share with the group for one of the Tier 2 words important in your content.• What can your department or the school do to promote

vocabulary?