Assignment 8: Apply a Differentiated Vocabulary Activity
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Examples of Vocabulary Applications from Innovative Methods 2010
Assignment 3: Apply a differentiated vocabulary activity OR at least Steps 1-3 of the the 6 Step Process for Building Academic Vocabulary. (2 clinical hours)
Name Courtney Smolen Grade PRE K
Identify grade, levels of English language proficiency, subject, and content.
PreK
Proficient levels 1-4
Language arts
Children will identify opposites/antonyms
Identify the vocabulary strategy used. Explain the activity if needed.
1) I’d bring in different items that demonstrate opposites (big/small dry/wet hot/cold). We would start by passing and touching all of these things.
2) I’d then identify background knowledge by asking children to tell me the word(s) that would describe these things. I’d write them down to label each item. I’d explain that since each pair is totally different from the other we call them opposites/antonyms.
3) I’d then have each child tell me an opposite that they’d like to draw to demonstrate their knowledge. For children who can write, they can write the words of different opposites.
What is the topical understanding? (The big idea about the topic.)
We can use words to help us describe things.
What is the content objective? (not required for this assignment)
Each child will be able to identify opposites.
What is the language objective (Since the focus is on vocabulary, a language objective is sufficient.)
Children will expressively label items using the correct antonym words with minimal teacher prompts.
How was differentiation incorporated into the activity? Were any cooperative structures incorporated into the activity? Higher children can sound words out to write them along with drawing a picture
Evaluate the experience. What worked well?
Children really enjoyed touching the different items and exploring the different materials. The idea of opposites was more challenging for the children who had never heard that word before. With prompting almost all of the children were able to apply the correct word (i.e. if this is night then the opposite would be…) but when I had most of them do it without prompting they’d get a little confused with actually stating the opposites.
Is there anything you would change?
I realized that they needed more examples before drawing the picture (I had only provided them 3 hands-on examples). With the second group I tried this with, we went through steps 1 and 2 and then we played a game with opposite pictures. Then after we played the game I had them draw the pictures. For young children, drawing abstract things is nearly impossible so the game helped them get a better understanding, which then produced better pictures.
Bring examples of student work to the next class.
Note: If you want to add any student handout or classroom example to the assignment you submit, add it to the end of your assignment and submit it as one docume
Assignment 3: Apply a differentiated vocabulary activity OR at least Steps 1-3 of the 6 Step Process for Building Academic Vocabulary. (2 clinical hours)
Name Naomi Quiles Grade 1st grade
Identify grade, levels of English language proficiency, subject, and content. I teach 1st grade TBE. I have students at all levels of English proficiency from entering to developing. The vocabulary that I am doing an activity with is in Science about magnets.
Identify the vocabulary strategy used. Explain the activity if needed. Students will be creating a picture dictionary for the vocabulary. For each word students will draw a picture and write a sentence. This will help them throughout the time we are learning about magnets. Vocabulary: push, pull, attract, repel, force
What is the topical understanding? (The big idea about the topic.) Magnets have forces that attract or repel some objects made of metal.
What is the content objective? (not required for this assignment)
What is the language objective (Since the focus is on vocabulary, a language objective is sufficient.) Students will be able to define the vocabulary through pictures. Students will write sentences about their vocabulary. How was differentiation incorporated into the activity? Were any cooperative structures incorporated into the activity? Students at the beginning stages will write a simple sentence. Students at the intermediate level will write more detailed sentences. After the students draw their picture, students will be in heterogeneous groups and they will show their pictures and discuss in language of their choice what the picture is. Students will be able to discuss all of the pictures and then go back to their seats and write about it.
Evaluate the experience. What worked well? Before the vocabulary activity, I separated the students into 4 groups. They each got a magnet and a bag with lots of little things like paper clips, buttons, blocks etc. They were just allowed to explore with the magnets and share with their group what is happening with the magnet. Students began using the words stick and don’t stick to describe magnet activity. This was my lead into the vocabulary lesson. The students truly enjoyed the exploring and drawing the pictures and being able to show them and discuss them with their classmates.
Is there anything you would change? I would have students draw their pictures first instead of having them discuss after each one. Then each student could be the expert of his or her word and teach it to the small group. Also allowing students to add or change their pictures after the discussion.
Assignment 3: Apply a differentiated vocabulary activity OR at least Steps 1-3 of the the 6 Step Process for Building Academic Vocabulary. (2 clinical hours)
Name Diana Range Grade 2nd
Identify grade, levels of English language proficiency, subject, and content. I work with three students in a 2nd grade intervention group for 40 minutes each day. The students are ELL and are at the expanding English language proficiency level. The subject is Reading and I used the vocabulary strategy to introduce vocabulary words in a new story.
Identify the vocabulary strategy used. Explain the activity if needed. I used the first three steps in Marzano’s 6 step process to building academic vocabulary. The students were given a modified template of Marzano’s academic notebook. First, I modeled Marzano’s steps 1-3 so they would know what was expected of them. After I wrote a word on the board, students rated their understanding of the word. Then, we discussed what they thought each of the words meant. I wanted to do a think-pair-share, but since there are only three students in the group, we had a whole group discussion. We focused on describing the words and not coming up with an exact definition. They described the words in their own terms, drew a picture, and wrote an example. I had the students share their drawings and descriptions with the group. The students had the opportunity to re-rate their understanding of the term after filling out their templates.
What is the topical understanding? (The big idea about the topic.) The topical understanding is that it is important to understand the words that will appear in a story. What is the language objective (Since the focus is on vocabulary, a language objective is sufficient.) Students will discuss, describe, and share the new vocabulary terms in a small group to formulate a general understanding.
How was differentiation incorporated into the activity? Were any cooperative structures incorporated into the activity? I gave the students a choice in how they went about filling out the template. If they wanted to draw a picture to represent the term first, they could. If the students preferred to write a description of the term first, they could. When it was time for the students to write an example, I offered some sentence frames.
Evaluate the experience. What worked well? The students were really excited about the drawing step. They all chose to draw first, and I feel it really helped formulate ideas of how to describe the term. I also feel that the vocabulary terms will be more ingrained in their heads, especially having the academic notebook template to reference. The students seemed very engaged throughout the activity with meaningful discussion.
Is there anything you would change? We ended up spending almost 20 minutes on each term, which I feel is too much time. I think next time I would use a set a timer for each step to keep us moving along at a steady pace. I’m not sure if I would have the students rate their understanding because that seemed to confuse them more than help them. I could get a sense of their understanding just by discussing with them.
Bring examples of student work to the next class.
Note: If you want to add any student handout or classroom example to the assignment you submit, add it to the end of your assignment and submit it as one document only.
Assignment 3: Apply a differentiated vocabulary activity OR at least Steps 1-3 of the the 6 Step Process for Building Academic Vocabulary. (2 clinical hours)
Name Chi-Li Quinteros Grade 3/4
Identify grade, levels of English language proficiency, subject, and content. 4th grade science. Review of previously exposed vocabulary relating to space in a class of 20 English proficient students, one level 5 student, three level 4 students, and one level 3 student.
Identify the vocabulary strategy used. Explain the activity if needed. I used the vocabulary strategy of connect 2.
What is the topical understanding? (The big idea about the topic.) I understand that… learning how space vocabulary is connected will help me to understand that elements in space are interconnected and cause effects on other elements.
Example: Revolve is connected to orbit because the earth revolves around the sun on an orbit. As the earth revolves around the sun on an orbit it causes a year (365 days).
What is the content objective? (not required for this assignment)
What is the language objective (Since the focus is on vocabulary, a language objective is sufficient.) Students will connect words together and state how or why they are related or what effects they have on each other.
How was differentiation incorporated into the activity? Were any cooperative structures incorporated into the activity? The cooperative structure I used with this activity was Inside/Outside Circle. All vocabulary words were posted on the board on large vocabulary cards with pictures for all to see. Students held papers with sentence stems to assist them with language.
I differentiated by allowing students 3 choices each time they rotated around the circle to share their connect 2 with a new partner. 1 – They may repeat their initial connect two. 2. They may “borrow” a previous partner’s connect two. 3. They may create a new connect two. My hope was that the lower ELL students would feel comfortable repeating their initial connect two. The mid level ELL’s would listen to a neighbor and copy their language by “borrowing” a connect two. The higher-level ELL’s would generate their own language by creating their own for each rotation.
Another way I differentiated was in the sentence stems I created for the different levels of students. The stems progressively got more detailed, difficult, and specific. See student handout of leveled sentences attached:
Evaluate the experience. What worked well? I really enjoyed using inside/outside circle because all students are engaged in speaking or listening at one time. Also, it was easy for me to circulate and hear many students within a short period of time. I could challenge some students to use higher language. Because students were sharing 12 connect two’s and were listening to 12 they were exposed to many different levels of language.
Is there anything you would change?
Because of time constraints, it is always difficult to model activities as thoroughly as I would like. I modeled several examples of this activity as a whole class and allowed time for students to prepare their first connect 2. I then had to go around and one-by-one make sure the ELL Students were on the right track. If I had had more time, I would have allowed the ELL students time to practice this strategy before the actual activity so that I could be sure they would be more successful from the start. I did rely on this being a mainly verbal activity, but in the future I would allow some students to write their connect twos to re-read to a partner, at least until they got comfortable with the format of this activity.
Bring examples of student work to the next class.
Note: If you want to add any student handout or classroom example to the assignment you submit, add it to the end of your assignment and submit it as one document only.
1. ______is like ______because ______.
2. ______is connect to ______because______.
3. ______and ____can be connected because ______.
4. ______is similar to ______because______.
5. ______is related to ______because ______causes ______.
6. ____and ____are connected because when _____happens, it causes _____
7. ______, ______, and ______can be connected. When ______, ______,
and ______combine they cause ______.
8. _____ and _____ are connected because ______is a cause of ______.
9. ____ and _____are connected because _____ is an effect of ______.
Assignment 3: Apply a differentiated vocabulary activity OR at least Steps 1-3 of the the 6 Step Process for Building Academic Vocabulary. (2 clinical hours)
Name Kim Andresen 4th grade special needs.
Identify grade, levels of English language proficiency, subject, and content. I have one fouth grade dual language student on my caseload. I see her for replacement math one on one. According to WIDA, she scores as developing English proficiency. Identify the vocabulary strategy used. Explain the activity if needed. I will use the Marzano six steps process to teach the definitions and characteristics of geometric shapes. I will read Captain Invincible and the Space Shapes by: Stuart J Murphy. This will be a great introduction to the unit. Then I will ask the student to take out paper to create a Geometry Shape book. I will point out the shapes in Captain Invincible and define the characteristics of each shape. I will demonstrate how to draw them on the board and the student will draw the shape in her book and write the defining characteristics of each shape. The student will use pair share (using me as her partner) to create a matching game using index cards. One card will have a picure of the shape and the matching card will have the name of the shape and the defining characteristics. Later in the week, the student will play the matching game with me. Another activity we would do is to take out our 3D manipulatives and talk about the characteristics while feeling each shape. What is the topical understanding? (The big idea about the topic.) I understand that there are several kinds of shapes all around me in my environment. What is the content objective? (not required for this assignment) Given 10 shapes, the student will correctly name and identify 8 shapes by their characteritics. What is the language objective (Since the focus is on vocabulary, a language objective is sufficient.) Students will use the terms square, circle, sphere, cylinder, cone, triangular prism, square prism, square pyramid, triangular pyramid, rectangular pyramid, edge, face and vertex to label pictures of solid geometric shapes. How was differentiation incorporated into the activity? Were any cooperative structures incorporated into the activity? Differentiation is incorportated by the very definition of special education. Her lesson is custom made to her needs via the IEP. With any student, while I progress through the lesson, if I find that the student is not retaining the definitions, more activities with the shapes will be incorporated to increase understanding and maintain retention. Due to the nature of my classroom the only cooperative structure that will be incorporated is pair share with me. Evaluate the experience. What worked well? The lesson went well. The student loved not having paper and pencil. She loved having the manipulatives to touch and feel. I liked having the book that she could refer back to when we forget the characteristics of the shapes. Games are always fun for my students. I was able to use the matching game again for Friday Fun. Is there anything you would change? The one thing I would change is having her draw the shape on the cards for the game. It took too long and was an area of frustration for her. I think I would print pictures and have her write the name of one of the shapes on an index card and then identify the shape, cut it out and glue it to the other index card. Bring examples of student work to the next class.
Note: If you want to add any student handout or classroom example to the assignment you submit, add it to the end of your assignment and submit it as one document only.
Assignment 3: Apply a differentiated vocabulary activity. (2 clinical hours)
Name: Mariah Taylor Grade: Fourth Grade
Identify grade, levels of English language proficiency, subject, and content. Levels of English Proficiency: According to WIDA, my students’ language proficiency ranges from Beginning to Reaching. Subject: Social Studies Content: The Southeast Region of the United States Identify the vocabulary strategy used. Explain the activity if needed. I used the Connect Two vocabulary strategy. We used this strategy to review the 10- page chapter students had already read on the Southeast Region. First, students silently made as many connections as they could between the set of vocabulary terms. Students had access to their textbook and were encouraged to reference it. Next, students stood up and found a partner in the classroom to share their connections using the language models provided. Students continued to do this two more times, each finding a different partner to share their connections. Students were encouraged not to partner with anyone that was a seatmate (students are seated heterogeneously in groups of 4.) After that, students returned to their seatmates to write and illustrate their connections on a group poster. Each student took a quadrant of the poster, then illustrated and wrote an important connection. They were encouraged to collaborate with their 3 other group members, making sure that all connections were different. Finally, student groups shared their posters with the class by each student reading aloud their connection and explaining the illustration. These posters were placed around the room and will be used for a future writing assignment.
What is the topical understanding? Geographical regions of the world can be characterized by landforms, weather, industries, historical events and the cultures of the people that live there.
What is the content objective? Students will use be able to identify relationships between 9 Southeast locations (Everglades National Park FL, Cape Canaveral FL, Jamestown VA, Memphis TN, New Orleans LA, Montgomery AL, Natchez MS, The Gulf of Mexico, and The Appalachian Region TN) and their important industries, landforms, musical influences and historical figures.
What is the language objective? Students will be able to say the prompt “______and ______are connected/similar/different because ______,” while using the vocabulary on the Southeast Region and speaking with a partner.
Students will be able to write expository sentences, using the prompts provided to show how the vocabulary terms on the Southwest Region are connected.
How was differentiation incorporated into the activity? Were any cooperative structures incorporated into the activity? In the beginning of the activity, students worked in pairs and were able to choose the vocabulary terms they were most comfortable using. Also, my Level 2 students (2 students) were allowed vocabulary cards with visual images for each term. These students were encouraged to share the two cards with their partner as a way of making connections. As a challenge, students showed the page in the textbook where they found the information. I want students to get in the habit of rereading for information, so this encouraged students to practice this skill. The end of the activity required students to work collaboratively together, sharing the ideas they heard and planning a poster that would be most useful to the rest of the class. The lower level students only had to copy the prompt, filling in the blanks with the two terms and writing how they were connected. If students had trouble with writing this, their group members supported them. The more advanced students were encouraged to elaborate on the connection, writing a short paragraph giving more information on the subject.
Evaluate the experience. What worked well? This lesson was extremely successful and I would do it again as a means of reviewing terms that have already been taught. Students were extremely engaged and loved sharing their ideas with each other. Since they were moving around the classroom, the energy of the lesson was at a constant high. When students were discussing their connections, I heard good questions being asked if someone was not sure of the meaning. Also, using visuals with my Level 2 students helped them gain a firmer grasp of the meanings. The post-activity where student groups completed a poster to show their connections was also very successful. All students were able to participate and show their learning both visually and in written language. This was a great activity!
Is there anything you would change? In the future, I would chunk the vocabulary into smaller parts and have my students do this activity as a pre and post reading activity. Students need to interact and discuss the vocabulary multiple times and I believe this activity is the perfect way to do it.
The Southeast Region – A Vocabulary Review
delta birds Everglades slaves The Kennedy Space Center Memphis, Tennessee cotton Appalachia petroleum Jamestown, Virginia Mississippi River The Blues New Orleans, Louisiana strip mine Cape Canaveral, Florida Sun Belt electricity rocket settlers Cajun Music Martin Luther King, Jr. farming bayou Civil Rights Movement Montgomery, Alabama fertile soil Cajun Food Blue Grass Music swamp coal plantation oil rig Gulf of Mexico alligators segregation Natchez, Mississippi CONNECT TWO
______and ______are connected because ______.
______and ______are similar because ______.
______and ______are different because ______.
Assignment 3: Apply a differentiated vocabulary activity OR at least Steps 1-3 of the the 6 Step Process for Building Academic Vocabulary. (2 clinical hours)
Name Jeanne Shin-Cooper Grade 11th, 12th US Hist. Sheltered
Identify grade, levels of English language proficiency, subject, and content 1. ESL students in my US History Sheltered class are either 11th or 12th grade. The majority of students are either in ESL 3 or LEP English. As a result, many of them are almost transitioned out of the program. However, I have a few students who are ESL 2.
Identify the vocabulary strategy used. Explain the activity if needed. 1. 3-day lesson on vocabulary and content of the Gilded Age, which eventually leads into a larger unit encompassing Progressive Era and Imperialism. 2. Vocabulary: Gilded Age, industrialization, captains of industry, robber barons, immigrants, tenements, working class, child labor, exploitation 3. Introduction to the word . I introduced the word Gilded Age by showing a picture of something covered in gold. We discussed the element of gold used in their life, such as jewelry, and discussed the malleability of gold. We also judged how gold might make something increase in value . Students were given a list of new vocabulary words and asked to create a List-Group-Label based off of their previous knowledge of the words. Students were given two categories (power and no power) and completed this in pairs. As a whole group, we discussed why certain words were placed under each category. 4. Lecture . The class took Cornell notes on a lecture about the Gilded Age which included all the vocabulary words. 5. Using word in sentence prompts/ cloze sentences . Students verbalized their understanding of the content and vocabulary words by using sentence prompts I understand that ______. The definition of ______is ______. One negative/positive aspect is ______. The Gilded Age means ______. The Gilded Age affects me today because______. 6. Connection to today . During the lecture, several connections were made to the content Influences of J.P. Morgan, Rockefeller, Carnegie Traces of tenements (Cabrini Green) Immigrant life Rights of workers back then and today (minimum wage, working hours, no child labor, worker privacy over Internet?)
What is the topical understanding? With great power, comes responsibility. The Gilded Age, Progressive Era, and Imperialism all have a notion of power and responsibility.
What is the language objective (Since the focus is on vocabulary, a language objective is sufficient.) To understand and apply key vocabulary words of the Gilded Age To verbally express understanding and connection to the Gilded Age To understand the main idea and details of the lecture
How was differentiation incorporated into the activity? Were any cooperative structures incorporated into the activity? Students worked independently, in pairs, and as a whole class Students practice reading, writing, listening, and speaking Cooperative structures used were Think-Pair-Share for the introduction and Numbered Heads for the conclusion
Evaluate the experience. What worked well? The lesson went really well mostly because I was able to successfully tie the concepts to today. By bringing up the idea that their Chase bank card can be tied to J.P. Morgan or that the gas they get from Exxon Mobile is tied to Rockefeller made the history alive. Also, the students were very interested in the lives of immigrants and their struggles. This will tie into a deliberation will we conduct at the end of the week about immigrant issues today.
Is there anything you would change? The big change for me was to start using the sentence prompts and cooperative structures. Since this is new and I am still mastering the implementation of the strategies, I am happy with the progress of the lesson thus far.
Bring examples of student work to the next class. Assignment 3: Apply a differentiated vocabulary activity OR at least Steps 1-3 of the the 6 Step Process for Building Academic Vocabulary. (2 clinical hours)
Name: Stacie Noisey Grade: 6
Identify grade, levels of English language proficiency, subject, and content. This lesson was used with a heterogeneous grouping of sixth grade students in a language arts class. The ELL students all had an ACCESS composite score of 3.0 or higher.
Identify the vocabulary strategy used. Explain the activity if needed. The vocabulary strategy I chose was a word sort. This class has been systematically studying word structures of affixes and root words. Groups of four students were given sheets with words that contained prefixes or roots we had studied. They first discussed. Then they illustrated the words. They cut apart the words and sorted them into categories. After sorting, they had to identify the category they had defined. Students were challenged to categorize words in as many ways as they could.
What is the topical understanding? (The big idea about the topic.) Word parts can give you clues to discover the meaning of a word.
What is the content objective? (not required for this assignment) Apply knowledge of word origins and derivations to comprehend words used in specific content areas.
What is the language objective (Since the focus is on vocabulary, a language objective is sufficient.) Recognize and identify common word structures of roots and prefixes.
How was differentiation incorporated into the activity? Were any cooperative structures incorporated into the activity? I used Numbered Heads Together as a cooperative structure. I differentiated for my ELL students by using color coded highlighting of the prefixes and roots in each word. All students were able to use a reference list of roots and prefixes we had studied which included meanings and other examples.
Evaluate the experience. What worked well? The experience was good. The cooperative groups worked well, though I noticed my ELL students didn’t talk as much as I had hoped in some groups. By having students illustrate their own cards, I felt they developed a better understanding of the words. I even heard so “a ha” moments.
Is there anything you would change? In retrospect I might change some of the words because they were hard to illustrate. Some kids were very creative, but others were frustrated. Cut the strips apart and sort. Draw a picture to illustrate your word. biography photography microphone geology geography telephone photograph autobiography microscope geometry micrometer telescope Assignment 3: Apply a differentiated vocabulary activity OR at least Steps 1-3 of the the 6 Step Process for Building Academic Vocabulary. (2 clinical hours)
Robbin Bedard 8th Grade Language Arts, Reading, ESL 4 February 2010
Identify grade, levels of English language proficiency, subject, and content. o These students are 8th grade, Tier C, ESL Students. I teach Language Arts, Reading, and ESL support for the core classes of Math, Science and Social Studies. In these lessons, I was pre-teaching key vocabulary for an upcoming Math unit in the Connected Math “Growing, Growing, Growing” unit on exponential relationships.
Identify the vocabulary strategy used. Explain the activity if needed. This lesson incorporates Marzanos Six Steps to Effective Vocabulary Instruction. 1. Key vocabulary was indentified in partnership with the Math department who would be teaching the content area for the Growing, Growing, Growing Connected Math Unit (Appendix A). This vocabulary instruction was taught the week prior to the content applications in the students’ general education math class. 2. Teacher provided an explanation of each term along with a visual representation (picture or drawing) of terms to help students better understand the vocabulary (Appendix B). 3. Students completed a Frayer Model for the vocabulary terms, indicating the word, formal definition, definition in their own words, drawing to help them understand the word, and their own sentence utilizing the word (Appendix C). 4. Students learned (on separate days) two separate activities to be completed in upcoming literacy stations: . Students played “memory” with two sets of cards. One set with a word/definition pair and one set with a word/picture pair (Appendix A and Appendix D). . Students played a “Spin and Spell” activity where Student 1 chose a word from the bank and Student 2 spun to select either Spell it, Use it (in a sentence), Draw it or Define it (Appendix E). In both center activities, the other students at their tables acted as the judge on whether or not they were accurate, ensuring engagement by all students. (Students were introduced each of the activities on a separate day before they had a choice of the two). 5. Students participated in a Word Work literacy center, in which they could chose either (or both) of the above activities in a small group setting.
What is the topical understanding? (The big idea about the topic.)
Many words are important for the understanding of exponential relationships (which the students will be learning). Several of these words have different meanings in math than in everyday life.
Note that the Connected Math curriculum is based on investigations in which the students are presented the Big Idea, in this case of Exponential Relationships, through a series of investigations utilizing hands-on experiments with inductive and deductive reasoning throughout. Because I was pre-teaching the vocabulary for this unit, they Big Idea does not encompass the content portion focused on the application of the mathematical concepts. What is the content objective? (not required for this assignment)
What is the language objective (Since the focus is on vocabulary, a language objective is sufficient.)
Students will understand the meaning of key vocabulary related to exponential relationships and explain them verbally, in writing, and complete sentence frames utilizing the words.
How was differentiation incorporated into the activity? Were any cooperative structures incorporated into the activity?
Differentiation was incorporated as the students chose words to teach the class. Lower-level students were given the opportunity for first choice of the words and guided toward those words which would be easier for them.
Students worked cooperatively at several points during the lessons. Students worked in partners as they completed their Frayer Models, though each student needed to use his or her own words on the assignment. Students worked in mixed-ability small groups to create their word lesson, though each student was required to have a role in the presentation. Students worked in mixed-ability groups in their literacy stations.
Evaluate the experience. What worked well?
The students engagement throughout the work on this vocabulary was outstanding. This was the first test drive at running literacy stations in preparation for Guided Reading. I expected the students to need greater interventions both behaviorally and instructionally, however once they were in their groups and understood the instructions, they were completely engaged and productive in their work together. There really wasn’t a part that didn’t work, although they were pretty nervous when they were teaching their individual words.
Is there anything you would change?
In the beginning, I provided the students with the images that represented the words. I question if I shouldn’t have had the students work together to brainstorm what the image could be rather than feeding it to them. I feel this would have made a greater connection and ensured that they truly grasped the connection between the image and the word rather than just memorizing the association, which I felt some students did.
Additionally, since this activity, I have tried (on separate vocabulary) having students in teams of 2-3 sign up for one word on the vocabulary list and given the challenge of teaching that word to the other students in the class utilizing some creative device to help the students remember the word. They were encouraged to sing it, act it, or say it in a unique and memorable way that related to the word. Students taught their words to the class, using their own creative techniques. Most chose to act out a skit that explained the word. If I did this sequence again, I would incorporate this activity after the Frayer Model and before the literacy stations. Note: If you want to add any student handout or classroom example to the assignment you submit, add it to the end of your assignment and submit it as one document only. Appendix A: Growing, Growing, Growing Vocabulary
base
compound
decay
exponent
exponential
factor
investment
linear
rate
standard Appendix B: Visual Cues for Growing, Growing, Growing Vocabulary Appendix C: Frayer Model for Growing, Growing, Growing Vocabulary
Name: ______
Vocabulary 4-Square
Definition In My Own Words, this means:
A picture to help A sentence that me remember: uses the word:
Definition In My Own Words, this means:
A picture to help A sentence that me remember: uses the word: Appendix D: “Memory” Word Bank for Growing, Growing, Growing Vocabulary
base compound decay
factor exponential standard
linear rate investment exponent the main part of something. Other a slow loss or made up of two or things are added to breaking down of more parts it to make it larger something or complete.
a description of one of the things something the speed at which that causes becoming faster and something happens something to faster or bigger and over a particular happen bigger as it period of time continues
regularly used or some amount of in the form accepted and the money that is used of a line norm. to earn more money
a symbol that is written above and to the right of a number to show how many times the number is multiplied by itself Appendix E: “Spin ‘n Spell” Vocabulary for Growing, Growing, Growing
Spin ‘n Spell Hints & Tips
1. The “Reader” Picks a Word from the Vocab Sheet. The Reader is the only one who can look at the vocab sheet.
2. The Spinner spins and finds his or her task. “Spell it” means the “Spinner” must spell the word correctly without looking. [1 pt.] “Use it” means the “Spinner” must use the word correctly in a sentence, that helps to show the meaning of the word. [2 pts.] “Draw it” means the “Spinner” must draw a visual representation of the word, then explain the meaning of the drawing to the group. [3 pts.] “Define it” means the “Spinner” must give a verbal
3. If the Spinner lands on a line, spin again.
4. Keep score on the Score Chart.
5. The “Reader” decides if the Spinner’s answer is acceptable (using the vocab sheet).
6. Keep score on the Score Chart.
7. Use each word only one time.
8. The game ends when all words have been used.
Spin ‘n Spell Scorecard
Player 1 Name: Player 1 Name: Player 1 Name: Player 1 Name: ______
Total: Total: Total: Total: Katie McCarthy Administrator Example, Elementary Principal
Assignment 3: Apply a differentiated vocabulary activity OR at least Steps 1-3 of the 6 Step Process for Building Academic Vocabulary. (2 clinical hours).
Identify grade, levels of English language proficiency, subject, and content. I worked with a group of five fourth grade students on Monday in my office. Two students are ELLs who had been at my school since third grade. They are solid in their social language but aren’t familiar with all the words students may use in a social situation. The content area is SEL/Second Step; I learned that a bully could use words, friends, and physical contact to hurt others.
Identify the vocabulary strategy used. Explain the activity if needed. I used the first three steps of BAV to introduce the term “bully” to the students. First, I gave the traditional definition of a bully; someone who makes other people feel bad. I gave the examples of a bully asking one of them for their lunch money everyday and another about a bully punching one of them after school one day. The students all agreed those were good examples of bullies, so I asked them to give me an example of a bully, either that happened to them or that they watched happen to someone else. Each student gave me solid examples using my sentence prompt “A bully is someone who…” such as asks to copy their homework, says they were going to beat up a friend, and calls another person a mean name. This was step two of BAV because they could all give me an explanation or example in their own words. For the third step, I had students draw me pictures of what happened on Friday.
What is the topical understanding? (The big idea about the topic.) I learned that there is a connection between bullying and my own actions.
Our discussion about bullying was intended to help the students see they were acting as bullies to the student who was called the name and by persuading other students to call him the name without them actually saying it. (The two ELL students called the third child the name after two other students convinced them it was his nickname and liked being called it.)
What is the content objective? (not required for this assignment) Students will use the five problem solving steps to create an agreement on future bullying issues in their classroom (Second Step).
What is the language objective (Since the focus is on vocabulary, a language objective is sufficient.) Students will participate in a small group discussion. Students will share an example of a bully in a small group setting. Students will discuss and apply the Second Step problem solving steps to the current issue.
How was differentiation incorporated into the activity? Were any cooperative structures incorporated into the activity? The whole “lesson” was done as a small group after I was done collecting information from them in a private situation. Each child agreed to meet with the others present to get to the bottom of the situation. The conversation was differentiated in itself, as three students were already familiar with using the problem solving steps as a solution to their bullying issues. For the other two students, it was new and I spent some time reviewing the steps and had a visual poster listing the steps to help them stay focused.
Evaluate the experience. What worked well? This is my third time speaking with three of the five students for bullying each other, but the previous times were during recess. This time the setting was much less concrete and the bullying was very subtle; it was true “girl” style bullying using manipulation. I think it worked well to use the problem solving steps from Second Step with them (again) because all views were represented throughout the discussion. By our defining “bully” I learned each child did not have the same interpretation of such a person, and that some of the students felt they did not act in such a manner. I think it worked well to have the students draw pictures of what happened since I was not there; it helped me see their point of view as well as there understanding of bully-behavior.
Is there anything you would change? I would not change anything. I will admit it is a long process, though.
Bring examples of student work to the next class.
Note: If you want to add any student handout or classroom example to the assignment you submit, add it to the end of your assignment and submit it as one document only.