ELA Common Core Standards June 25, 2014 Valerie Sanguinetti ROE 3, Alternative Education Programs Academic Vocabulary
ELA Common Core Standards
June 25, 2014
Valerie Sanguinetti
ROE 3, Alternative Education Programs
Academic Vocabulary
ELA Common Core Standards Reading Strand
Reading Anchor Standard #4
Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining
technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, analyze how specific word
choices shape meaning or tone.
Language Strand
Language Anchor Standard #4
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and
phrases by using
context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting
general and specialized reference materials as appropriate.
Language Anchor Standard #6
Acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-specific
words and phrases sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the
college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering
vocabulary knowledge when encountering an unknown term important to
comprehension or expression.
Is vocabulary that important?
From Bringing Words to Life (Beck, McKeown, Kucan,
2002):
• First-grade children from higher-SES groups knew
about twice as many words as lower SES children.
• High school seniors near the top of their class knew
about four times as many words as their lower-
performing classmates.
• High-knowledge third graders had vocabularies about
equal to lowest-performing 12th graders.
More Research
• Command of a large vocabulary frequently sets high-
achieving students apart from less successful ones
(Montgomery, 2000).
• The average 6-year-old has a vocabulary of
approximately 8000 words, and learns 3000-5000
more per year (Senechal & Cornell, 1993).
• Vocabulary in kindergarten and first grade is a
significant predictor of reading comprehension in the
middle and secondary grades (Cunningham, 2005;
Cunningham & Stanovich, 1997; Chall & Dale, 1995;
Denton et al. 2011).
Vocabulary in the classroom today? Take a couple minutes to discuss what your vocabulary
instruction looks like in your classroom.
Things to consider:
How do you choose your words?
What strategies do you use to have students learn the
words and definitions?
Are these words found anywhere else in the
classroom?
Be prepared to share.
What does it mean to know a word? Adapted from Dale (1965)
Stage 1: Never heard it, never seen it.
Stage 2: Heard it, but don’t know what it means.
Connotation, without being able to make connection
Stage 3: I recognize it, in context as having
something to do with __________.
Stage 4: I know it, I really know it, I can define it.
Careful Selection of Words to teach
• In school settings, students can be explicitly taught
a deep understanding of about 300 words each
year.
• Divided by the range of content students need to
know , of these 300 – 350 words, roughly 60 words
can be taught within one subject are each year.
• It is reasonable to teach thoroughly about
eight to ten words per week.
Which word would you choose?
Jose avoided playing the ukulele.
Avoided
Why?
• Verbs are where the action is
– Teach avoid, avoided, avoids
– Likely to see it again in grade-level text
– Likely to see it on assessments
– We are going to start calling these useful words “Tier 2 words”
• Why not ukulele?
– Rarely seen in print
– Rarely used in stories or conversation or content-area information
Academic Vocabulary
… is not unique to a particular discipline and as a result are
not the clear responsibility of a particular content area
teacher. What is more, many Tier Two words are far less
well defined by contextual clues in the texts in which they
appear and are far less likely to be defined explicitly within
a text than are Tier Three words. Yet Tier Two words are
frequently encountered in complex written texts and are
particularly powerful because of their wide applicability to
many sorts of reading. Teachers thus need to be alert to
the presence of Tier Two words and determine which ones
need careful attention.
Common Core State Standards (English Language Arts, Appendix A)
Tiers of Vocabulary
Tier 1
Basic, concrete,
encountered in
conversation/ oral
vocabulary
Store
Work
truck
Tier 2
Abstract, general
academic (across content
areas); encountered in
written language; high utility
across instructional areas
vary, relative,
innovation,
accumulate,
surface, layer
Tier 3
Highly specialized, subject-
specific;
low occurrences in texts
Photosynthesis
Carbohydrates
Hypoteneuse
Why are “academic words”
so important?
Appear in all sorts of texts and are highly generalized
Require deliberate effort to learn, unlike tier 1 words
They are critical to understanding academic texts
Are far more likely to appear in written texts than in
speech
Often represent subtle or precise ways to say
otherwise relatively simple things
Are seldom heavily scaffolded by authors or teachers,
unlike tier 3 words
Defined Words
• The Gentry A group known as the gentry were the
upper class of colonial society. The gentry included
wealthy planters, merchants, ministers, royal officials, and
successful lawyers. Prosperous artisans, like goldsmiths,
were often considered gentry as well. The gentry were
few in number, but they were the most , but they were the
most powerful people.
• Jr. High Social Studies, America!
Words at all Levels
"One night in a phosphorescent sea, he marveled at the
sight of some whales spouting luminous water; and
later, lying on the deck of his boat gazing at the
immense, starry sky, the tiny mouse Amos, a little
speck of a living thing in the vast living universe, felt
thoroughly akin to it all. Overwhelmed by the beauty
and mystery of everything, he rolled over and over and
right off the deck of this boat and into the sea.
Amos and Boris By William Steig - approximately 3rd
grade reading level
Criteria for selecting words
• Is this a generally useful word?
• Does the word relate to other
words and ideas that students
know or have been learning?
• Is the word useful in helping
students understand text?
• Can you explain this word using
known terms?
Johnny Harrington was a kind master who treated his
servants fairly. He was also a successful wool
merchant, and his business required that he travel
often. In his absence, his servants would tend to the
fields and cattle and maintain the upkeep of his
mansion. They performed their duties happily, for they
felt fortunate to have such a benevolent and trusting
master.
Kohnke, 2001,p.12
You try…
"The servants would never comment on this strange
occurrence [finding the kitchen clean even though
none of them were seen doing the cleaning], each
servant hoping the other had tended to the chores.
Never would they mention the loud noises they’d hear
emerging from the kitchen in the middle of the night.
Nor would they admit to pulling the covers under their
chins as they listened to the sound of haunting
laughter that drifted down the halls to their bedrooms
each night. In reality, they knew there was a more
sinister reason behind their good fortune.”
Activity: Select Tier 2 Words
The word is central to understanding the text.
The word choice and nuance are significant.
Students are likely to see this word
frequently.
Students will be able to use this word when
writing in response to the text.
It is a more mature or precise label for
concepts students already have under
control.
The word lends itself to teaching a web of
words and concepts around it.
Instruction
Implications for Instruction
Teach fewer words.
Focus on important Tier 2 (high
utility, cross-domain words) to
know & remember.
Simply provide Tier 3 (domain-
specific, technical) words with a
definition.
Planning for Instruction Rich, decontextualized knowledge
of a word’s meaning, its
relationship to other words, and its
extension to metaphorical uses,
such as understanding what
someone is doing when they are
devouring a book.
Marzano’s 6 Step Process • Step 1: Provide a description, explanation, or example
of the new term.
• Step 2: Ask students to restate the description,
explanation, or example in their own terms.
• Step 3: Ask students to construct a picture, symbol, or
graphic representing the term.
• Step 4: Engage students periodically in activities that
help them add to their knowledge of the terms in their
notebooks.
• Step 5: Periodically ask students to discuss the terms
with one another.
• Step 6: Involve students periodically in games that
allow them to play with terms.
Step 1 - Introduction *Don’t just have students look up the definition*
Create a student-friendly explanation that:
1. Characterizes the word and how it is
typically used.
2. Explain the meaning in everyday language.
Using an interactive Notebook (tiers)
Can also provide students with additional information:
•Tell a story
•Use a picture or image
•Use a current event article
•Provide a mental picture
•Create a picture
Tamper • Dictionary: to interfere in a secret or incorrect way
• Student friendly: to change something secretly so that
it does not work properly or becomes harmful
Spencer, Donna. "Canadian Olympians Watch Their Gear Closely after Tampering IncidentAdd to ..." The Globe and Mail. The Canadian
Press, 08 Feb. 2014. Web. 08 Feb. 2014.
Check student understanding
Graphic Organizers
Vocabulary Journal
- Be wary of student sentences.
According to an article in the Educational Leadership.
“The third step in the process is crucial—having students
represent their understanding of a new term by
drawing a picture, pictograph, or symbolic
representation. When students do this step well,
achievement soars.”
Using Graphic Organizers
Using Graphic Organizers, cont.
Using Graphic Organizers, cont.
Prefix & Suffix
Related words
Root Words
New Pictures
Videos
Poems
Analogies
Vocabulary Poetry
This activity only takes 5 – 10 minutes.
Vocabulary Poetry
Vocabulary Flashcards – A review
to add to understanding.
Containing: - Word & Definition (in own words)
- What it is not - Part of Speech
- Colored drawing - 7 Sentence, containing word & relating to the picture
Vocabulary Flashcards – A review
to add to understanding.
Word Wall
Compare & Contrast
Making Connections
Word Sort
Create a skit – 3 or 4 students
work together to create a skit
that contains at least 3 words.
Oops!
Trashket Ball
Bingo
Hot Seat
Oops! Need:
Word Wall cards
Oops Cards
Break students into groups have them
walk up, draw a card, & answer a
question.
If they draw an oops card they have to
put all their cards back!
The team with the most cards wins.
Many Options
Multiple Choice – distracters or
incorrect choices play a large part.
Deeper Levels
Ask what the word means
Have students create examples: Describe how someone acts that shows
they are diligent.
Tell about a time you were perplexed.
Describe some things that could make a
person feel miserable.
Deeper Levels
Ask students to distinguish between
an example and a nonexample of a
word. Both should be designed to present situations that
have similar features to require zeroing in on the
meaning.
Vocabulary Casserole
Ingredients Needed: 20 words no one has ever heard before in his life 1 dictionary with very confusing definitions 1 matching test to be distributed by Friday 1 teacher who wants students to be quiet on Mondays copying words
Put 20 words on chalkboard. Have students copy then look up in
dictionary. Make students write all the definitions. For a little spice, require that students write words in sentences. Leave alone all week. Top with a boring test on Friday.
Perishable. This casserole will be forgotten by Saturday afternoon. Serves: No one.
Adapted from When Kids Can’t Read, What
Teachers Can Do by Kylene Beers
Vocabulary Treat Ingredients Needed:
5-10 great words that you really could use 1 thesaurus Markers and chart paper 1 game like Jeopardy or BINGO 1 teacher who thinks learning is supposed to be fun
Mix 5 to 10 words into the classroom. Have students
test each word for flavor. Toss with a thesaurus to find other words that mean the same. Write definitions on chart paper and let us draw pictures of words to remind us what they mean. Stir all week by a teacher who thinks learning is supposed to be fun. Top with a cool game on Fridays like jeopardy or BINGO to see who remembers the most.
Serves: Many
Adapted from When Kids Can’t Read, What
Teachers Can Do by Kylene Beers
Word Definitions
http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/dictionary
http://www.wordsmyth.net/ Word Play
http://quizlet.com/ Make flash cards & games
http://jc-schools.net/tutorials/vocab/ Academic vocabulary games
http://www.vocabulary.com/ More games, including games using Latin & Greek roots
http://www.visualthesaurus.com/ Visual thesaurus
www.vocabgrabber.com
www.wordle.com www.haikudeck.com
Games http://shawms.weebly.com/uploads/1/3/0/7/13072945/int
eractive_word_wall_activities.pdf
Beck, I.L., McKeown, M.G. & Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing
Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction. New York:
The Guilford Press.
Beers, Kylene. When Kids Can't Read: What Teacher's
Can Do. S.l.: Bt Bound, 2003. Print.
"Common Core State Standards Initiative." National
Governor's Association Center for Best Practices,
Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010. Web. 23
Jan 2014.
Feber, Jane. Student Engagement Is FUNdamental:
Building a Learning Community with Hands-on Activities.
Gainesville, FL: Maupin House Pub., 2011. Print.
Marzano, R.J., & Pickering. D.J. (2005). Building
Academic Vocabulary: Teacher’s Manual. Alexandria,
VA: ASCD.
Simmons, Eileen. "National Writing Project." Visualizing
Vocabulary -. The Quarterly, 2002. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.