looking closely at words
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Oral Language: Listening and talking
Dr. Sawyer
Researchers indicate that students learn many words through multiple exposures and others through word study activities that go beyond looking up definitions.
What is the best way to teach vocabulary?
50 Strategies for ESL learners “Found it” Clip
Video
Varying factors that affect or contribute to children’s vocabulary
1. Background knowledge2. Book experiences3. Parents’ vocabulary
Students’ Word knowledge
Old English-450 to 1100 AD Middle English-1100 to 1500 Modern English-1500 to present
History of the English Language
Children begin kindergarten with approximately 5000 words in their vocabularies and their vocabularies grow at a rate of about 3000 words in a year.
Through varied learning experiences, student vocabulary will increase.
Words and their meaning
A root word is a morpheme; the basic part of a word to which affixes are added to words are developed from a single root word.
Affixes are bound morphemes that are added to words and root words. Affixes can be prefixes or suffixes.
http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/english/englishA2.htm#prefixes
Root words and affixes
Antonyms and synonyms: http://www.quia.com/cb/213396.html
Synonyms are words that have the same or nearly the same meaning.
Antonyms are words that express opposite meanings.
Teach students how to use dictionaries and thesauri to find the meanings of words.
The T chart is an excellent activity for synonyms.
Synonyms and Antonyms
Homonyms are words that have sound and spelling similarities.
Homophones are words that sound alike but are spelled differently.
Homographs are words that are spelled the same but pronounced differently. Examples include: bow, close, lead, minute, record, read and wind.
Example: shout-yell, a liquid for laundry or dance in a Pentecostal church
Homonyms
Many words have more than one meaning. For example, the word bank:
Students can create posters with word clusters to show multiple meanings of words Words also assume additional meanings when an affix is added or when it is combined with another word.
Students can use context clues to determine the meaning of words: http://www.youtube.com/user/LearningUpgrade#p/u/8/qgaSmJKR9HM
Multiple Meanings
Many words have both literal and figurative meanings. Literal meanings are the explicit, dictionary meanings.
Figurative meanings are metaphorical or use figures of speech.
Idioms are groups of words such as: spill the beans that have a specific meanings. http://humanities.byu.edu/elc/student/idioms/idiomsmain.html
Figurative Language
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ou8Mi_7eEA0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=Qori7xOiH3Q&feature=endscreen
Figurative Language
Many words are borrowed from Native Americans and many countries from around the globe.
African: banjo, cola, gumbo, safari, zombie Greek: atom, cyclone, hydrogen Italian: broccoli, carnival, macaroni, opera,
pizza Turkish: caviar, yogurt Japanese: kimono, judo, origami
Borrowed Words
A continuum of word knowledge: 1. No knowledge-students are not familiar with
the word.2. Incidental knowledge-students have seen the
word but they do not know its meaning.3. Partial knowledge-students know one
definition for the word. 4. Full knowledge-students have a deep
understanding of the word’s meanings and they can use it effectively in multiple contexts.
Teaching students about words
When you choose words to teach, always select the most useful words.
There are 3 tiers of words: tier 1-basic, tier 2-useful words in school and tier 3-less common words that not all students need to learn before high school.
Word walls should be interactive. Most teachers choose the most important words from the text.
This is the most important way to focus students’ attention on words.
Choosing words to teach and Word Walls
Word posters Word maps Dramatizing words (ESL Video- “I found it.”) Word Sorts Books about words Tea party Word chains Semantic feature analysis
Word Study Activities
Teachers assess students’ word knowledge in a variety of ways. They listen while students talk or examine various work samples.
Other strategies include: 1) check reading logs, 2) listen for new vocabulary words when students give reports, 3) ask students to draw a word map, 4) check students’ reports, poems, stories, and projects, and 5) ask students to write a letter telling you what they have learned.
Assessing Students’ Vocabulary Knowledge
http://www.tumblebooks.com/LibraryTour.html
Websites
Words their way
Other resources