Vocabulary Instruction for Elementary ELLs Grades K2 Division

Vocabulary Instruction for Elementary ELLs Grades K-2 Division of Bilingual and World Languages 1

ØWhat about our ELLs? ØWhy Teach Vocabulary? ØWhat Does Research Say? ØArticle “Six Vocabulary Activities for the English Classroom” ØVocabulary Activities 2

Reading for ELLs 3

Welcome to the language of our students! Whatever Dawg It’s mine Oops Straight up What it is My stuff Ya-right Yes/No 4

What other vocabulary might a newcomer know? Can you name others? 5

About your ELLs? What do you want to know about English Language Learners? What do you know about English Language Learners? Your own experiences, or What you’ve learned 6

Getting to Know Your Students – Implications for Teaching and Learning What language do they speak at home? How much English do they know? How much prior schooling do they have? When did they come to U. S. ? Do their parents speak English? What is the education level of their parents? 7

Why teach vocabulary? Learning, as a language based activity, is fundamentally and profoundly dependent on vocabulary knowledge. Baker, Simmons, Kameenui 1998 8

Why should vocabulary be taught? “Increasing vocabulary knowledge is a basic part of the process of education, both as a means and as an end. At the same time, advances in knowledge will create an even larger pool of concepts and words that a person must master to be literate and employable. ” Naggy 9

How vocabulary relates to ELLs For English language learners (ELLs), vocabulary development is especially important. The average native English speaker enters kindergarten knowing at least 5, 000 words. The average ELL may know 5, 000 words in his or her native language, but very few words in English. While native speakers continue to learn new words, ELLs face the double challenge of building that foundation and then closing the gap. (Honig, 1996) 10

Which Words do I Teach? ü Text factors, Word importance, Student Factors, Tier 1, 2 or 3 ü Manageable Number (approximately 10) ü Provide a Model, Definition or Synonym ü Practice (using complex texts) ü Nurture an Appreciation of Words 11

How are vocabulary words divided? Tier One Words (every day) Tier Two Words (general academic) Tier Three Words (Domain-specific) 12

Examples of Tier 1, 2 and 3 words Tier 1 words: ◦ blue, elbow, table, run, girl Tier 2 words: ◦ difference, temperate, omnivore, exaggerate, measure Tier 3 words: ◦ asphalt, couplet, revolutionary 13

Which words would you introduce? Some farmers grow blueberries in big fields. The people who live nearby can earn money by helping to pick the blueberries. Each one takes a pail out to the field and fills it with blueberries. They work fast so that they can fill many pails. They want to earn as much money as they can. When they are done picking, their fingers are blue from the juice of the berries! 14

Which words would you introduce? Some farmers grow blueberries in big fields. The people who live nearby can earn money by helping to pick the blueberries. Each one takes a pail out to the field and fills it with blueberries. They work fast so that they can fill many pails. They want to earn as much money as they can. When they are done picking, their fingers are blue from the juice of the berries! 15

Questions for you to ask yourself as you are planning Which words deserve the most attention from you and from your students? (All words are not created equal as far as instruction time and effort are concerned) How will you allocate your time so you are spending the time and effort on the words that will provide the most powerful change in student learning? Take a look at the words you are teaching this week. For each word on the list, ask yourself the following questions: 16

Important Questions Is this word important and useful, i. e. , is this a word that is going to show up throughout someone's life? Does this word have all kinds of possibilities for instruction, i. e. , can I see numerous ways to teach this word--and to bring in other language learning, too? Do my students have the background knowledge to understand this new word that I'm teaching--or do I need to provide some context for them, first? 17

Classroom strategies: Vocabulary Before doing an activity, teaching content, or reading a story in class, preteaching vocabulary is always helpful for ELLs Students will get the chance to identify words and then be able to place them in context and remember them 18

Methods to pre-teach vocabulary Role playing Pantomiming Using gestures Showing real objects Pointing to pictures Doing quick drawings on the board 19

Steps to follow prior to introducing new vocabulary words to ELLs: Pre-select words from an upcoming text Explain the meaning with student-friendly definitions. Provide examples of how it is used. Ask students to repeat the word two or three times. Engage students in activities to develop mastery. Ask students to say the word again. 20

Activity - Article Six Vocabulary Activities for the English Language Classroom (Jigsaw Activity) 21

Group Activity Four different groups ◦ ◦ Group # # 1: 2: 3: 4: pages 12 -14 (stop before: Additional…) Pages 14 -15 (stop before: Important …) Pages 15 -16 (stop before Six Voc …) Pages 16 -19 Read Summarize Present 22

Six Vocabulary Activities Keeping a running list of words Vocabulary cards Reading vocabulary items Vocabulary ladder puzzle Vocabulary sentence auction Scrambled vocabulary envelopes 23

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Comparing Frog and Toad Frog Toad 26

Comparing Frog and Toad Frogs v. Smooth, moist skin v. Live in or near water v. Good swimmers v. Make long jump v. Have teeth v. More active at night or on rainy days v. Have a long sticky tongue to capture prey Toads v Dry, rough, bumpy skin v Live mostly on land v Shorter, less powerful back leg v Have teeth v More active at night or on rainy days v Have a long sticky tongue to capture prey 27

Vocabulary for: Alone Cheer Fine Meadow Reason Spoiled “Days With Frog and Toad” 28

Vocabulary Activity # 1 Keeping a Running List of Words Write the word Write its definition Draw a picture about the word Write a sentence with the word and draw a picture about the sentence 29

Vocabulary Activity # 2 Meadow: Grassy land The horses are grazing in the meadow. 30

Vocabulary Activity #3 Write the correct vocabulary word next to the definition Write two sentences using two different vocabulary words Draw a picture that describes one of the vocabulary words 31

Vocabulary - Matching Activity Fine Very good Spoiled Ruined Cheer Make glad Alone Not with anyone Reason Cause 32

Vocabulary Activity # 4 Compound Words Two teams: one team calls the first half of the word and the other team calls the second half If answer is correct write the new word on the post card and draw a picture about the word. Words will be posted on chart paper 33

rain bow rainbow 34

rainbow 35

Vocabulary Activities Write vocabulary word next to the correct definition Write the word and draw a picture describing it Complete sentences with vocabulary words Complete a CLOZE activity Write a story with the words Use words in a crossword puzzle Part of speech Prefix and suffix Singular and plural Compound words game 36

Classroom Vocabulary Games Learning new s vocabulary words can be a challenging task for many students. One way to overcome this challenge is to play games (e. g. jeopardy, pyramid, mimes, bingo) that will make learning new words fun by creating a competitive environment. 37

Story Select 3 Tier 2 words and write them on the board Introduce the story Introduce the vocabulary words you have chosen Read the story Review Vocabulary words by asking students how they were used in the text 38

Practice vocabulary words Favored means something that is liked or wanted more than other things. What’s the word? You are favored by your parents. Tell students: I am going to name some words. If you think the word means wanted more than other things, say favored. Otherwise, stay quiet. Ready? 39

Practice with vocabulary words Remember say favored or stay quiet Remember say Slave or stay quiet Disliked Chosen Preferred Special Undesirable Work in the fields Relax Take care of animals Have fun Get paid lots of money 40

Vocabulary - Activity In this sentence you are going to underline the word ________. Read each sentence to students. 1 - Our country is called the United States of America. 2 - The government of the country is big. 3 - You are too young to vote in this election. 4 - You should hope no one is ever a slave again. 5 - All the other children felt that John was the favored student. 41

Check your answers! 1 - Our country is called the United States of America. 2 - The government of the country is big. 3 - You are too young to vote in this election. 4 - You should hope no one is ever a slave again. 5 - All the other children felt that John was the favored student. 42

Generic questions - levels: Questions that elicit oneword answers: What’s …? Yes/no questions: Is it tall? Either/or questions: Is it smaller or larger? Questions that elicit higher order thinking: Why? How? What do you think about …? What would you do differently? Entering/Beginner Level: Developing/Expanding Level: 43

Effective ELL Strategies Use of visuals, gestures, realia, hands-on tasks Frontloading/explicit instruction for concepts and vocabulary (including academic language) Scaffolding information – modified text, graphic organizers, sentence frames and stems, modified and alternate text, note taking, listening guides, info gap activities Adjusting teacher speech - shorter sentences, use of idioms, pace and clarity of speech, saying many different ways Frequent opportunities for language practice (small group cooperative learning, think-pair-share, numbered heads) Safe environment for speaking (think-pair-share, whisper to me, etc. ) 44

What should and effective ESOL classroom include? Student-friendly definition Compare and contrast Elaboration Gestures Real, concrete objects/hands-on experiences Teacher examples Student examples Repetition Connections to students’ experiences Fun with words (Word Walls, Word Jars) 45

http: //www. fcrr. org/ http: //languageartsreading. dade schools. net/ http: //www. corestandards. org /assets/Appendix_A. pdf http: //bilingual. dadeschools. net/ 46

Vocabulary knowledge is the single greatest contributor to reading comprehension and thus a strong predictor of overall academic achievement. --Kate Kinsella, Isabel Beck, Robert Marzano, Doug Fisher, et. al. 47

Useful Websites http: //teachers. net/lessons/posts/1133. html http: //www. thevirtualvine. com/frogs. html http: //www. vrml. k 12. la. us/2 nd/ela/trophy/2 nd /book 1/frog_toad/frogtoad_interactives. htm http: //www. theteachersguide. com/booklessons /dayswithfrogandtoad/Vocab. Testdayswith. pdf 48

CONTACT INFORMATION North Regional Center Deland Innocent, Supervisor dinnocent@dadeschools. net 305 -995 -2977 Randi Russell, Curriculum Support russell@dadeschools. net Central Regional Center Cary M. Pérez, Supervisor cmperez@dadeschools. net 305 -995 -1962 Alina Plasencia, Curriculum Support aplasencia@dadeschools. net South Regional Center Lourdes Menéndez, Supervisor lmenendez 1@dadeschools. net 305 -995 -2098 Gio Stieve, Curriculum Support gstieve@dadeschools. net Emma Francois, Curriculum Support CARISFR@dadeschools. net Martha Valdes, Curriculum Support marthavaldes@dadeschools. net