Word Consciousness

by Leigh DeHart

Chapter 13

Word Consciousness

““Students who are word conscious are aware of Students who are word conscious are aware of the words around them – those they read and the words around them – those they read and

hear and those they write and speak.”hear and those they write and speak.” (Graves & Watts-Taffe, 2002.)(Graves & Watts-Taffe, 2002.)

What?

• simply defined as interest in and awareness of words (Anderson and Nagy 1992; Graves and Watts-Taffe 2002.)

What?

Adept diction: the skillful use of words in speech and writing.

Teachers can model Teachers can model adept dictionadept diction::

in their own choice of wordsin their own choice of words

point out skillful use of words in student textspoint out skillful use of words in student texts

and encourage students to expand their own and encourage students to expand their own speech and writing .speech and writing .

(Graves 2000; Beck et al 2002; Graves and Watts-Taffe (Graves 2000; Beck et al 2002; Graves and Watts-Taffe 2002; Scott and Nagy 2004).2002; Scott and Nagy 2004).

What?

Word Consciousness con’t

Use of a successful Use of a successful vocabulary program in vocabulary program in which “words do not which “words do not appear as part of a appear as part of a classroom exercise and classroom exercise and then drop from sight.”then drop from sight.”

(McKeown and Beck 2004)(McKeown and Beck 2004)..

What?

Connect vocabulary to the world so students will come to “own” the words.

What?

What?

What?

Idioms Learning about idioms is useful in the vocabulary development of all students, but especially for the ELL students who often focus on the literal meaning of words.

What?

What?

What?

What?

Why Word Consciousness?Children learn best when they have a strong personal interest and are actively and interactively involved with learning….It is important that we incorporate word and language play activities in the classroom to stimulate, sustain, and recapture that natural interest.

- Johnson, Johnson & Schlichting, 2004.

How?fun to work withfun to work with

students enjoy students enjoy imagining the imagining the figurative meaning as figurative meaning as well as the literal well as the literal meaningmeaning

draw pictures to draw pictures to represent the literal represent the literal meaningmeaning

especially helpful for especially helpful for ELL studentsELL students

Idioms•ants in your pants

•pay through the nose

•eat like a horse

•turn over a new leaf

How?Latin Number WordsLatin Number Words

athletic events – triathlon, athletic events – triathlon, decathlondecathlongroups of musicians – duet, groups of musicians – duet, trio, quartettrio, quartetmultiples – triple, quadruplemultiples – triple, quadrupleLatin and Greek

Numbers

…often called prefixes because they appear at the beginning of words (Henry 2003).

Greek Number Wordsosides of plane figures – triangle, pentagon, hexagonoyears between events – biennial, triennial, centennial

How? Complementary AntonymsComplementary Antonymsboy/girlboy/girltrue/falsetrue/false

Gradable AntonymsGradable Antonyms dark/lightdark/light big/smallbig/small

This helps to enhance the This helps to enhance the students’ adept diction, or students’ adept diction, or skillful use of words.skillful use of words.

Antonym Scales

•among the first word relationships children learn

•help students to see and express the degrees of meaning between complementary and gradable antonym pairs

How?

How?

How?

Vocabulary Hotshot Notebook

Designed to motivate student interest in words.

Provides a place and an opportunity for students to record target words

Also keeps track of new words as they encounter them in the outside world

Motivating to students by earning points for seeing, hearing, or using target words in places outside the classroom.

How?