VOCABULARY STRATEGIES

-Awareness of words-Wide reading & extensive writing-Independent strategies

Guidelines for Teaching Vocabulary Choose words to study Highlight words on word wall Develop full word knowledge Teach mini-lessons Plan word-study activities Use dictionaries and thesauri Teach context clues Promote wide reading

More Guidelines for Teaching Vocabulary Relate new vocabulary to their prior

knowledge Review the text and compile a list of

words related to the story line(s) or main ideas

Think about words in relation to students’ needs

When to teach vocabulary- Before reading

Before reading:1)When students are experiencing difficulty

in constructing meaning and seem to have limited prior knowledge of any kind, including vocabulary.

2)When the text contains words that are not clearly a part of prior knowledge

When to teach vocabulary- Before reading

Before reading:3) When the text has usually difficult

concepts4) When students have previewed the

text and have identified words they believe they need to know to understand the text

When to teach vocabulary

During reading:For those students who need overall teacher support through guided reading.

When to teach vocabulary

After reading:1) To help students clarify the meanings of

any words that were of interest to them during reading or that caused them difficulty

2) To expand students’ vocabularies by having them focus on interesting words related to the text

Effective approaches for ELL students General approaches

Realia- real objects Models Pictures Tutoring Language Experience ApproachCaution: Simply explaining the word is

often ineffective

General Approaches to Teaching Vocabulary

Building concepts Examples Experience Hands-on experience when developing

new concepts Discussion

General Approaches to Teaching Vocabulary Noting words in journals-vocabulary

journals, spelling journals Reading aloud to students Discussion groups-literature

response, literature circles Word banks, word files, word books Brainstorming Graphic organizers

General Approaches to Teaching Vocabulary Writing (applying their knowledge of

vocabulary when they use words in writing)

Word expansion activities Bulletin boards Electronic books and software Book displays Discussing interesting words

EFFECTIVE APPROACHES

Context Clues

Definition: Information from the words or

sentences surrounding an unknown word that helps to clarify the word’s meaning

Types of context clues Definitions Example-Illustration Contrast Logic Root words and Affixes Grammar

On your own-Approaches Look at the word in relation to the

sentence Look up the word in the dictionary

and see if any meanings fit the sentence

Ask the teacher Sound it out

On your own-(cont’d)

Re-read Look at the beginning of the

sentence again Look for other key words in the

sentence that might tell you the meaning

Think what makes sense

On your own-(cont’d)

Ask a friend to read the sentence to you

Read around the word and then go back

Look at the picture, chart , table Skip it if you don’t need it

External references

A source of information that falls outside the passage in which the unfamiliar word occurs

Glossary Index Thesauri Encyclopedia (print, online) Dictionary (direct instruction)

Using word study to develop vocabulary

Components of word study: Concepts and word meanings Multiple meanings Morphemic analysis Synonyms Antonyms

Cognates

Similar words in two languages that have descended from the same language

Recognizing cognates is a unique word-learning strategy for ELLs

Using cognates

Teachers should Point out connections Talk about usefulness of cognates Add them to the word wall and highlight

them Encourage students to look for

cognates

Components of word study (cont’d) Homonyms Etymologies Figurative meanings

Figurative meaningsand ELL Figurative meanings are especially

confusing to students learning English. Have ELL students compare literal and

figurative meanings of phrases and idioms so they will understand the figurative meanings and how to use them orally and in writing.

Word study activities Word posters Word maps Word sorts Word chains

Morphemic analysis

Morpheme- the smallest unit of language which has an associated meaning.

Morpheme analysis-a process by which readers can determine the meaning of an unfamiliar word by analyzing its component parts

Types of morphemes Free- a free morpheme can function alone

as a word “some” or “thing”

Bound- bound morphemes are those meaningful language units that occur only as attachments to words or other morphemes “tele” “er” “cide”

Strategies for Vocabulary Development Inferring meaning from context Concept of definition (word maps) Semantic mapping (list-group-label) Semantic feature analysis Hierarchical and linear arrays

More strategies for vocabulary development Preview in context Contextual redefinition Vocabulary self-collection Structural analysis Key vocabulary approach (ELL)

Key vocabulary approach Especially effective with ELL

students and struggling readers. Teacher might sit with a small group of

students Students select a word of personal

importance Teacher writes word on a card

Key vocabulary approach (cont’d) Steps (cont’d)

Student traces the word with a finger as the teacher records the word in a key word book

Student then dictates a sentence using the key word

Teacher records that sentence in the key word book

Key vocabulary approach (cont’d) Steps (cont’d)

Student reads the dictation back and illustrates it

Student copies the word and the sentence

Structural analysis

Elements of structural analysis Base words Root words Prefixes Suffixes Inflectional endings (possessive case, gender,

number, tense, form) Compound words Contractions

Vocabulary Activity

Part one: Select a text to read Identify three vocabulary

approaches/strategies you would use with the text

Develop two activities for using the strategies

Vocabulary ActivityPart two:Present you activities to the class Give book title Identify age/grade level Briefly summarize the text Identify your strategies Provide a rationale for using the

strategies Briefly describe your activities