Chp. 4- Word Learning and Word Use in a Language-Rich
Environment
This chapter focused on how
teachers can create a language rich classroom environment in order to support
their student’s language development. Research has shown that explicit
instruction in and of itself is not enough to help students reach their true
potential vocabulary development. Although some novice teachers might think
creating a language rich environment always requires extra time and planning,
this is often not the case. Instead of an almost entirely teacher led
conversation, children can be encouraged to have more interaction and “have the
floor.” This helps in extending students dialogue time and in turn helps vocabulary
growth. Because of this it is important for teachers to “….find ways to balance
their own verbal directions, explanations, and feedback with opportunities for
students to practice their oral and written language.” (pg. 72) Having a
language rich classroom does not simply mean having a word wall and other print
on the walls. More important than that is that in language rich classrooms,
children are encouraged to be active participants which includes ongoing dialogue.
In other words, language rich classrooms are not quiet classrooms where you can
hear a pin drop. A positive classroom climate, teachers modeling language,
opportunities for extended conversation, teacher feedback and responsiveness, organization
and management, availability of appropriate books and materials are just some
of the ways to create a language rich environment in your classroom?
What are some of
your favorite/most successful ways you have found to create a language rich
environment? Are there any ideas you would like to try? What are some
activities that you do that allow for opportunities for extended conversation?
Chp. 5- Word Awareness and
Independent Word Learning
This chapter
stressed the importance of children being able to independently figure out
words on their own. Teachers can help with this by fostering word awareness
(which includes both metacognition and interest in words) in their students and
get them excited about learning new words. Pre readers can participate in oral
language activities instead of through written text activities. Attending to
word choice in reading (through activities like word swap and word wall
connections), attending to word choice in writing (i.e. picture captioning and
writing/revising), collecting words (using a word wall or word jar), and playing
with words (through word games like Pictionary and synonym bingo) are just some
of the suggestions the authors give for fostering word awareness. I had not
personally heard of books featuring children who love words which were brought
up in the collecting words section of the chapter. This seems like a great way
to foster excitement about word learning!
Once children get excited about words, we need to be able to help them
become independent word learners. Context, word parts, and use of reference
materials are just a few of the tools children can put in the word strategy
toolbox. They should also be taught that it’s okay to use multiple sources to
help figure out a word and to ask a teacher for help.
Even
though it was just briefly touched on, it seems like getting children to reach
out for help is a significant problem in many classrooms.
Has this been the
experience for any of you? If so, what have you done or what things do you have
in place to encourage them?
What word awareness
fostering activities do you do in your classrooms?
Chp. 10- Implementing Vocabulary
Instruction in PreKindergarten through Second Grade Classrooms
This
chapter focuses on putting together everything that has been introduced in the
book. With all of the knowledge about language rich environments, word
awareness, home-school connections, effective vocabulary instruction, etc. we
still need to be able to put all of this information together in order to make
sure students are receiving both breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge.
This responsibility is also shared by administrators, parents, and other
related service providers. It is a team effort! The optimal situation is for
the school to have vocabulary as a known priority school wide. This allows for
co-planning, grade level teams, and including other professionals such as the
special education teachers, reading specialist, ESL teachers. There are several
co-teaching models that have been met with success like The One Teaching and
One Supporting model where one teachers provides the bulk of the instruction
while the other teacher makes his/her way around the room ensuring the students
stay on task. The Station or Center Teaching Model is where the classroom is
divided into two groups (while receiving the same instruction), and then
meeting back and discussing what they have learned as a class. The Alternative
Teaching Model is where one teacher guides the class and the other teacher is
there to provide additional support for those who may need it. The Team
Teaching Model involves teachers trading off roles in the lesson with both
taking active parts. To me the Team Teaching Model and The One Teaching and One
Supporting model seem pretty much the same.
How do you as a
classroom teacher and your school community work to “pull it all together” when
it comes to breadth and depth of vocabulary?
What co-teaching
models, if any, have you used in your classrooms? What do you like/dislike
about co-teaching?
Interpreting Pictures article:
I found
this article quite interesting and slightly surprising. I have never heard
anyone bring up students having difficulty with interpreting pictures in books.
It does seem logical however that some children would struggle with this since “illustrations
are works of art that must be interpreted” (pg. 541) Just as when reading, you
must have the necessary background knowledge to interpret the illustrations
correctly. According to the author, when a child incorrectly interprets an
illustration and the teacher either ignores the comment or does not fully
explain how they should arrive to the correct conclusion, the child will remain
confused as to why their teacher disagreed with them and could likely feel
misunderstood as well. I appreciated that they gave specific examples and
included the illustrations that were in question as it would have been much
harder to understand. I’m not sure how I would respond if one of my students
exhibited this difficulty but I now have a better idea.
Have any of you
experienced a student incorrectly interpreting an illustration? How did you
handle the situation? Do you agree with the article about the appropriate
response to a child’s misinterpretation of an illustration?
Wessell-Powel et al article:
Although
historically the definition of literacy “has meant giving meaning to and getting
meaning from printed text” (pg. 167), because of widespread use of new
technologies, the Internet, etc., the definition has now become much broader.
One of ways the definition has expanded is to include children’s storytelling
performances. There is meaning behind the voices they use, the actions they
make, as well as any images they draw and props they create. This article
highlighted Literacy play shop , a curricular model, which was used by two
teachers to teach a multimodal story telling unit in their K-1st
classroom at a private charter school as part of a larger 5 year study on
teacher designed media literacy. This model mini lessons Monday-Thursday on
different storytelling elements. After each mini lesson the children had some
time to create their own projects and then came back to share as a class. On
Fridays instead of a mini lesson, a storyteller would come to model
storytelling techniques. The teachers also incorporated writing in the
storytelling lessons through discussions/lessons on character setting, story
shapes, script writing, etc. I can see how children would really enjoy Literacy
play shop and become invested especially if they were allowed to choose what
story they reenacted. I like the idea of turning the classroom into a “museum”
like they authors did, and showcasing projects like the storytelling unit.
Sometimes they would reenact parts of the story for the parents and visitors
which shows they took pride in their work. Since there are currently no great assessments
for multimodal literacy, the teachers in this study created a checklist (which
included written expression) that the authors modified and expanded. This will
help in the advancement of multimodal assessment tools in the future.
How do you feel about
using storytelling to teach literacy? How do you use storytelling in your
class? Have you already incorporated any of the ideas presented in the article
in your room?
After reading the chapter, I found to have many of the suggested language rich activities already taking place in my classroom! As an early childhood education major, morning meeting time was greatly emphasized. Not only is it a great way to build community in the classroom, but it is a great time for language development and practicing listening skills. Every morning during our meeting, our class begins with a polite greeting in a different language. The kids love this and it reiterates to them that different words can have the same meaning. Along with the greeting, we read the morning message together aloud. This message is written by myself and explains what the day will consist of. I will include vocabulary words from the week, synonyms, "sophisticated" language like suggested on p. 75, and other vocabulary terms that the students may not hear daily. We discuss the words and even find synonyms to extend the students' understandings. After going over the message, I then have a sharing time (p.78). This is an opportunity, like the text explained, for the children to share important or exciting events in their days outside of school. I usually provide feedback to the children when they share if a word is used incorrectly or respond to their stories with rich vocabulary terms through modeling.
ReplyDeleteI especially liked reading about the conversation stations on p. 92. We do center choice boards in my classroom, so I definitely can include some of these activities as a choice for my students. Kids love to talk and giving them the opportunity to just talk as a center will definitely be something that will be engaging.
Interpreting Pictures Article
ReplyDeleteMelinda,
Due to the population of students I teach, I have had numerous experiences with students misinterpreting pictures from storybooks. In fact the authors state some teachers "had no idea where in the world a child’s comment had come from" (p 451) which is exactly how I have felt on numerous occasions. At times, I think language delays impact their ability to use the correct words to explain what they see. Other times, I don't know if they have enough background knowledge to understand some of the pictures represented. Sometimes I think they see the pictures in a different way than most other children--and therefore interpret differently. I do agree with the authors examples of ways to guide children to a better understanding of pictures, especially the "reread or refer to relevant text" (p546). This strategy seems to be one I rely on the most.
Working with similar populations I am surprised I have not experienced the same thing, although I'm sure you utilize picture books in your classroom more than me. If I am reading to a student with an expressive (or receptive) language delay they are not apt to comment on pictures.
DeleteLooking forward to the rest of the conversation as there are thoughtful questions for discussion.
ReplyDeleteMelinda,
ReplyDeleteChapter four discusses several language-rich activities we’ve used in my special education classroom. Students in the fourth through sixth grades are social butterflies. We create a positive classroom climate through lively discussions similar to page 73. Since the majority of special needs students are kinesthetic learners, we act out vocabulary from selected text, p. 92. Our class also uses puppets for storytelling and acting, p. 94. Students usually blame the errors on the puppets when they speak in different, funny voices that represent characters from the story. We also use writing workshop, p. 96 to engage in the writing process. Students use this an opportunity to incorporate academic vocabulary and some words from home. Most recently, they were writing to pen pals at a local elementary school. They are looking forward to meeting their pen pals in person to engage in open dialogue.
I always enjoy literature circles with adults, I am interested in trying this with the students in the classroom. Although more research is needed with younger learners, it may require additional guidance due to limited independent reading abilities.
Cynthia, your examples of your literacy rich classroom got my gears turning. I love that you use puppets and storytelling as a way to support language use. I think that's a great opportunity for the students practice oral language, listening, and even a chance to use some depth vocabulary terms and introduce some and provide vocabulary breadth.
DeleteYour classroom sounds like it is filled with language rich activities for the children. We too act out the words, like stated on p. 92. It's great to watch the students interpret the words and express them to their peers.
Karen,
ReplyDeleteInterpreting pictures can be challenging for students, “It should not surprise us that young children have difficulty with storybook illustrations, because illustrations are works of art that must be interpreted.” (p.541) I agree with the authors, however, older students and English Language Learners have the same challenge. When a student read the Norman Rockwell story she perceived a lemon drop as the lemon dropping from the table to the floor instead of lemon candy. We used the vocabulary extension exercise to teach background knowledge. (p. 542)
After I read the article about interpreting pictures I mentioned it to the reading specialist at my school. She had never heard of this idea before or heard it put this particular way. I forwarded the article to her upon her request and I'm curious to pick her brain about it after spring break. She has had over 20 years teaching experience so I was surprised she didn't know what I was referring to. She's an amazing teacher.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteHow do you feel about using storytelling to teach literacy? How do you use storytelling in your class? Have you already incorporated any of the ideas presented in the article in your room?
This article really made me think of my students who struggle with traditional literacy and writing stories with paper and pencil, and how using multimodal literacies could help them to better show off their literacy strengths in non-traditional ways. I was blown away by how these children were and all that they were learning. I really need to step up my game after reading this article LOL. Another point that I really liked from the article was when it was explained that children’s story-telling performances can help develop their writing. This year I have been practicing more than ever having the students communicate their thoughts not only on paper but with their peers and I have seen so much this helps their writing. Therefore, I can see how acting out a story could greatly benefit writing as well. I couldn’t help but think of an athlete and how they just don’t write down on paper how to do a skill, but have to practice it through various drills and activities in an effort to perfect it. This article made me think that teaching literacy should be done in the same way, not just with pencil and paper but with several different modes such as multimodal story telling through.
In the past, I have used story telling in my history lessons as means for students to show me how much they truly understood from the text. Just like the children in the story, my students have loved acting out the scenes and making the props. I would be interested in knowing how others might have incorporated multimodal story telling as well.
I loved the rubric and seemed like it did a great job of differentiating the project. I was a little confused about what was meant by “gaze” especially in terms of the story backdrop on the rubric. I am probably over thinking this though lol.
Jamie,
DeleteI feel the same way--I have students who struggle with the traditional way of writing stories and who also struggle with communicating effectively with one another--which impacts their learning. We use 6 traits plus 1 but I thought if I could somehow incorporate a few ideas from this article it might be beneficial. Although I liked the checklist--I am not sure how this checklist meets criteria set by teachers? Do they need two items checked in each area to be considered proficient or have mastery? Is one item more important than another in each area?
How do you as a classroom teacher and your school community work to “pull it all together” when it comes to breadth and depth of vocabulary?
ReplyDeleteAt our school, we will do a word of the month or week. This is similar to what the authors suggested doing on page 214 where they explain the use of school wide words. Each morning we have a morning assembly. We introduce the word in the morning assembly and then try to use the word as much as possible throughout the day in various settings and subjects. The students come up during AM assemblies and talk about examples of how they may have seen others demonstrating behaviors that exhibit that word. Teachers will also write notes about students they saw exhibiting that word, and those examples are shared during the assembly as well. Like the author said, I think it is important to show to kids that as a school, vocabulary is valued and we can easily do this by using words school wide.
Unfortunately, our school doesn't have an all-school vocabulary activity. We all do our own thing, with curriculum and even classroom activities. However, after reading this chapter, it has definitely brought some ideas to mind that I really want to try to implement, like having a vocabulary word of the week or day to encourage and model its use (p. 214). That could be easily shared during the morning announcements, to ensure that everyone can hear it. This would be a great breadth of vocabulary instruction and then later the teacher could use it frequently and the students can develop a depth of understanding.
DeleteI loved the examples of vocabulary activities given on p. 229. The exploration station seems like a great way to expose children to new terms during that exploration experience. Brain Pop Jr. (p. 230) is also a great website that incorporates tier 2 and 3 science and social studies terms that children love to learn about.
My school doesn't currently have a school wide vocabulary approach but a school I covered part time last year had a "word of the day" in their morning announcements similar to what you were talking about. The principal gave the word, the definition, and an example of the word in the sentence. It got the children motivated and was neat to watch them get excited to try to figure out ways to use it.
DeleteWhat co-teaching models, if any, have you used in your classrooms? What do you like/dislike about co-teaching?
ReplyDeleteWhen reading about the co-teaching models, I couldn’t help but think of a reading specialist that worked at our school in Edmond. She inspired me to get my master’s in reading. She was a great asset to me and I loved to take in as much knowledge as possible from her. She has a level of expertise in reading that I was lacking in. One thing that she did that I hope I can do one day was to co-teach with us. When she “pushed in” to my room we often use the following models mentioned in the book: One teaching and one supporting, Station or Center Teaching Model, and the Team Teaching Model. One benefit of co-teaching like the author suggested was that it allowed me to learn from someone else who was more experienced with reading and writing. Our reading specialist made sure that although she had so much more experience than a lot of us, she never put herself on a higher level. We planned together and bounced ideas off one another and it truly was collaboration. My favorite method to use with her was the team teaching model. We were comfortable enough with one another to jump in and/or ask the other to help clarify something if we could tell the kids weren’t getting our perspectives. Sometimes the kids just needed to be taught or explained how to do something in a different way and sometimes it would click with the other explanation. The author suggests that vocabulary instruction should be a school wide activity that incorporates all members of the staff, so that each can lend to the team his/her specific areas of strength and I couldn’t agree more after my experiences with collaborating with other teachers and specialists.
Jamie,
DeleteI am glad you had such a positive experience with co-teaching. I have not been involved with co-teaching before as it was not a method used at previous schools. I have heard conflicting accounts of experiences so glad to hear a positive one.
Jamie,
DeleteWhat an inspiring team member! I am so happy that she has made such a meaningful impact on you. I have not gotten a chance to experience co-teaching during my three years, but I have heard from some peers that they love it! It's a great way to share ideas and create exciting activities for the students, like mentioned on p. 215. As a grade level of 6 teachers, we plan all together and share activities and ideas, but I'm sure it's not the same as co-teaching. Seeing the worksheets and lesson plans is great, but watching it all take place and how it can be implemented can be a great learning experience. Out of the types pf co-teaching examples on p. 215, The Station model is very similar to what I do when I have parent volunteers. I will be at my teacher table with a small group and I will have a parent work with another small group on a specific lesson or activity, while the remaining work independently. It's great to meet in small groups so they are more focused and you can get a good idea of their understandings.
I know time is valuable to all teachers, so I can see the amount of time needed to be spent on planning and developing activities can steer some away from this method. Also when teachers don't agree on each other's approaches, this could lead to miscommunication and become a disadvantage. It's an interesting concept that I would really like to look in to!
I love story telling. I think it's a great way to engage students and develop a love for literacy. The expression, facial expressions, gestures, and inflections really keep the interest of the students and allow them to use so many skills that we teach them, like visualizing, listening, interpreting meanings, exposure to vocabulary, making connections, and so much more. I loved that the activity in the article put it into the students' hands and had them develop their own stories to share. And how they gave explicit instruction on how to share then using silly voices, sound effects, and other dramatic effects. The multimodal aspect of it was also very inspiring and makes me want to incorporate it into a center activity or a whole class project.
ReplyDeleteIn my classroom, we've had opportunities to create stories and we use checklists to self evaluate our work. However, the literacy playshop described in the article was very engaging and allowed for so many aspects of literacy to be practiced. I am very motivated to use these ideas for my own activities.