Teaching Academic Vocabulary Focus on: Activities

10/29/2015

Where have we been?

On 10/1 we looked at:

● Data on an academic language gap

● Tiered Vocabulary

● Role of student talk in building academic language skills

Where are we now?

Today’s presentations focus on:

● Activities using word walls & anchor charts

● Teaching Vocabulary

● Academic Conversation

Where are we going?

On 12/10 we will return with lesson plans and reflections about how these techniques worked in our own practice.

30 Second Blast

At your group, think of various meanings and contexts for the word:

Bar

Bar

Bar graph

Place to drink

Set the bar

Place to keep bottles

Barred from entry

Pass the bar (lawyers)

Bar of soap

Crowbar

Barcode

Bar of music

Sand bar

Bar none

Bar (to stop)

How many bars do you have? (cell phone)

Bar (unit of measure for atmospheric pressure)

Window bars

Barring any unforeseen circumstances….

Reviewing Tiered Vocabulary

What do you remember from last time?

In your group.

1. Roll the dice

2. If you roll one-

Say one thing you remember or ask one question...

Use the “roll the dice” student talk strategy.

How will this make your life easier?

●Students will understand and use words important across content areas.

●Students take ownership of the learning process.

●Reading comprehension will improve across subjects areas.

Example: Explain, Excerpt, Significant, Divide

Collaborative Effort

● ALL subject areas benefit from the explicit teaching of Tier 2 vocabulary.

● Ask yourself, are the chosen vocabulary words beneficial to the “Big Picture?”

● During instruction, reference ALL the areas in which students may see the word.

Example: Value-Meaning changes depending on context

What to teach?

Tier 3 Tier 2

About 5-7 per lesson 1-5 per week.

What to think about. (Content) How to think. (Language)

Tier 3 words are for today. Tier 2 words are for tomorrow.

Tier 2 words across grade levels

The same idea becomes more sophisticated as students progress across grade levels.

and also additionally moreover furthermore ⇨ ⇨ ⇨ ⇨

so because therefore as a result consequently (Causality)⇨ ⇨ ⇨ ⇨

end last finally in conclusion to sum up ⇨ ⇨ ⇨ ⇨

I like I think ____ In my opinion Based on ____ I believe ⇨ ⇨ ⇨

Close the Achievement Gap

● By teaching a handful of Tier 2 words per week, you can build familiarity with words that show up again and again in class and on tests.

● These are transition words that all teachers look for in student writing. They are signal words when reading.

● While content vocabulary is important, familiarity with tier 2 words will remain valuable after the specifics of a particular topic have faded.

Reading Comprehension

● Research shows that the education achievement gap is directly influenced by the literacy gap (Barone, 2006)

● Affects students’ abilities to access core textbooks and communicate and write effectively within the various subject areas.

● Catches up to many of our students as they enter high school.

● “Mastery of academic language is arguably the single most important determinant of academic success for individual students.” (Francis, et al., 2006, p. 7)

90% Rule for Comprehension

Knowing 90% of the words used in a passage helps students use context clues, cognitive strategies, and inferring abilities that strengthen reading comprehension and support learning additional words.

90% Comprehension Rule:

Frustration Level: Below 90% Comprehension

Instructional Level: 90% - 95% Comprehension range

Independent Level: 95% Comprehension

Video

What is the Tier 2 word in the lesson?

Why doesn’t the teacher call on the student right away?

What is the activity for Tuesday? Friday?

How many words does he teach in a week?

How does the teacher use Total Physical Response?

What would this look like in your classroom?

Video

What is the Tier 2 word in the lesson?

Why doesn’t the teacher call on the student right away?

What is the activity for Tuesday? Friday?

How many words does he teach in a week?

How does the teacher use Total Physical Response?

What would this look like in your classroom?

Video

What makes it meaningful for students?

What makes it fun?

How much time does it take?

What would this look like in your classroom?

Use the “yes and/ yes but” student talk strategy.

Tier 2 vs Tier 3

These are parallel processes happening in your classroom every day.

By explicitly teaching and using...

● transition words

● signal words

● task words

● sophisticated multi-meaning words

...while teaching content vocabulary,

the process becomes as important as the product.

Let’s practice

● In your group choose one page from a text

● Read the text

● Choose 5 Tier 3 words

● Choose one Tier 2 word- it may not be in the text!

● Use the organizer to brainstorm activities

● Combine groups and share possible activities

Use peer feedback sentence frame.

Your turn...

Please complete the following activity:

1. In your group, please choose a mentor text.

2. Choose one Two Tier word. This word can either be in the text or support the text.

3. Next, choose two techniques to explicitly teach the Tier 2 word.

4. As a group, give everyone an opportunity to practice one of the chosen techniques.

5. Reflect as a group-what worked? what could you change?

Wrap-up

All powerpoints will be shared on the NAPS website

After 11/6 you will be able to access a document containing various strategies

Homework for 12/10/15

Select a technique from Session 1 or 2 for building vocabulary or supporting academic conversation

Develop plan(s) to implement that techniques at least three times

Implement the plans

Reflect on the implementation after each trial