Wednesday, March 18, 2009
chapter 5 & 6
How can we use the six steps to effective vocabulary instruction while creating academic vocabulary lists that are used by students cross-curricular? We must keep in mind that our definitions must be somewhat consistent when we introduce the vocabulary, students must be able to re-define while keeping an accurate meaning, a picture represenation and have opportunities to re-visit their vocabulary and discuss with other students. While each is something we can all do, how does this approach fit the curriculum crunch, are there pieces or parts that would benefit students if we can not complete all six steps?
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Before I answer Great to hear from you again Chris Hope this means you are feeling better.
ReplyDeleteNow secondly I love the appendix and lists of terms.
Again I will get on the bandwagon of integration of subjects. This seems to be a theme in the text as well as mine. Probably why I liked the book.
Having had the experience of being in Math, Science, English, Social Studies and health during my teaching career, I have seen the overlap of vocabualry. Good teaching connects terms. Just today in Math the terms reflection, rotation and dialation were introduced by connecting them to ideas the students already knew and then making them specific to Math.
Just last week, I stood back and thought about the" curriculum crunch" and my teaching. I was frustrated at how much I was covering and how little was being retained. I have changed my teaching to an interactive notebook . The left side is for a four square vocab first square is the term, definition , cartoon with bubble statement that will help students remember, second square is a picture and examples of the term, 3rd square are positives or negatives and picture, 4th square is "friends" synonyms and "enemies" antonyms students work in groups to develop the squares. The left page is divided in half a theme and definiton of the theme is on the left side and then Area of the world and examples- this information comes from notes but must be interpeted from the notes, restated in their own words. Again this is done in groups encouraging exchange of ideas.
There are many ideas in World History that overlap English, science and math and we try to incorporate them. What I have found more important than just content words are the everyday terms that the regents expects students to understand in their questions. These terms can be as easy as increase to as complicated as assimilation. We all would be helped by creating learning tools for these terms. I know we all have games that we use I like win lose and draw, jeopardy, and tic tac toe. The main problem for integrating cross curriulum teaching is time.
Wow I was impressed with your vocabulary schema,Cathy..it incorporates all the essentials and is engaging. At the MS we are struggling to help students keep terms in their memory and show what they know, I now know this is "extended mapping." We are involved in lit circles now and the vocabulary enricher is merely exposing the group to three unknown words but the other members do not learn the words. Given so little time to read and discuss, vocabulary takes a back seat to the other lit. jobs. After reading so much about repeated practice my core teacher and I will increase our emphasis on this role in lit. circles.
ReplyDeleteChris, thank for the opportunity to participate.
In my 8 years of teaching I have come to notice the massive content overlap of vocabulary words that the students encounter taking math, history, english, and science. I have struggled while teaching, trying to incorporate everyday vocabulary words mixed with content specific words, in order to appropriately prepare the students for the regents exam.
ReplyDeleteWendy and I have tossed around the idea of creating a vocabulary list of terms that we would introduce to the students before each unit of study... but the hard part is finding ways to really make the words sink in. I am a big fan of having the students define a term and then represent it in pictoral form. This seems to be helpful in increasing student vocabulary. I know one of the social studies teachers has the students keep their own personal vocabulary list in the back of their notebooks. Throughout the year, as the students discuss topics and answer regents multiple choice questions, every time they come across a word that they do not know, it is added to their vocabulary lists. I have been thinking of trying this idea in my classroom also, but of course the obvious problem- it relies on the students to, on their own, add words that are not familiar. Also, what do you do with the student who loses or doesn't keep an organized notebook? Ideas anyone?