Words,+Words,+Words

Your Name: Natalie Jalovec

Strategy name: Words, Words, Words

Student appropriate grade levels: 6, 7, 8

Tags: words, vocabulary, comprehension, meaning, reading, definition, six, seven, eight, shared reading, context, discussion, visuals, students, writing

Content areas: reading, writing, language arts, science, history

Type of Strategy: pre-reading, during reading, after reading

Types of Students: General, high achievers, low achievers, LD, BD

Strategy Description: This strategy is used to help students understand new vocabulary presented to them through a text or novel. It can really be used in any grade level but is most useful for sixth through eighth graders as they begin to read novels. Together, the class will be introduced to a new text or novel that they are going to read and they will be told the subject of the text or novel. Working in groups, the students will brainstorm what words they already know that they think will be in the text or novel. This will give the teacher a better understanding on what they already know about the topic. Once they have had a discussion about what they think will be in the text or novel, the teacher will pass out a list of vocabulary words that are in the text or novel and in groups the students will analyze the words together. They will decide which words they already know, which words they think they know and which words they need more help on. The students will be able to help each other out because some students may know more than others. They will put each word in the appropriate column on a worksheet given to them by the teacher. The columns on the worksheet will be labeled as words they know, words they think they know and words they need help on. For words they know or words they think they know, they also have to provide the definition of the word. Once all students finish this group exercise it will give the teacher better knowledge on what the students know and don't know. Therefore, the teacher can develop lessons according to what the students need more help with. As they all begin reading the book, the students are also encouraged to look for the words they had trouble with and see if they can figure out the meaning by looking at the context of the word in the sentence. Students are also encouraged to use any methods that will help them to understand words better such as referring to songs, making up songs to better understand the word, using visuals and any other methods they may come up with. This is a great strategy to get students working together and in a way teaching each other. If some students know words that other students don't, they will have to explain the meaning to the other students and it will get everyone talking about what the words mean. When the students are all done reading the text or novel, they may also go back to their worksheet and correct any words that they now know the meaning of after reading the novel.

Strategy implementation example: A teacher is introducing her class to a novel on sibling rivalry. She introduces the topic to her students and many students have lots to say because they have experienced sibling rivalry. She has the students get into groups to discuss what they know about sibling rivalry. They are told by the teacher to write down any words associated with sibling rivalry that they think will be included in the novel. As the students get into groups, all the students are chatting away about words they know on the topic and sharing stories on their sibling rivalry experiences. They have all come up with great words and the class comes back together to talk about the words that they have come up with. Once they have talked about the words, they all begin reading the book and the teacher also gives everyone a vocabulary comprehension worksheet. The students all get into groups and begin analyzing some of the words in the book given to them by their teacher on the worksheet. They already have some background knowledge on what some of these words will mean based on their previous discussion on sibling rivalry. Some of these words are hibernation, baffled, failing, ruptured, gawked, retaliate, petrified, privileges and many more. The teacher walks around the room and hears the students in great discussion about lots of these words. She sees some students are confused about the word hibernation because they learned it in their science class, but it is used in a very different context in this novel. She hears two of her students referring to the song "I Will Survive" to find out what the word petrified means because they know they have heard it in that song plenty of times. The way that the students are interacting shows that they are really trying their hardest to try to figure out the words and are making very logical guesses. Once the students are done the class gets back together and go over the words they had the most trouble with. Now the teacher knows how she will have to implement her following lessons to accommodate the needs of her students. There are lots of words that she won't have to go into as depth as she thought she would because most of her students already knew the meaning. This lesson saves time and gains the attention of students because it becomes a puzzle for them to figure out the meanings of the words on the sheet as they read. They become very determined and don't give up on learning the words. This strategy can also be implemented in any content area that may be reading a novel. It can also be used at the beginning of a new unit in a textbook to get the students brainstorming on the new terms that they will learn throughout the unit.

After April 14 (after everyone's strategy is posted to the wiki then you do a search and finish the assignment.)