The NYS-MEP Comprehension Professional Learning Community met on February 10, 2022 for the fifth meeting in a series of seven. Please see the outline below of content discussed especially regarding the selection of materials and integrating vocabulary, the meeting's PowerPoint, and additional reading resources and references.
Meeting Materials
- The PowerPoint notes can be found at the end of this page to download.
Session Outline
A. Selection
Which words are necessary to understand the content?
Are there other words for known vocabulary (e.g., comply)?
Do students need to learn the new concept/idea – not yet known idea (e.g., taxes)?
What words can we teach that we will revisit?
Are there related words that need to be taught to expand understanding?
- Topic/concept - Key words associated with recurring concepts.
- During instruction of content, teachers can ensure vocabulary use.
- Known ideas vs. New (not yet known) ideas: EXPAND: Teach new word in conjunction with the known word, emphasize the use of the new word. TEACH: Teach a new concept or idea before labeling it.
- Academic words that cross content - these words are found in various contexts and are not taught consistently in classrooms. Be sure that you can use these words often.
- Multiple-meaning words - Common everyday words have many uses. These words often cause confusion if the word is used in a way that students have not heard the word.
B. Defining
How will teachers teach the meaning of words?
- Student-friendly explanations - Explain the word so that students can access the meaning of the word and incorporate relevant examples. For instance, rebellion means “when people try to change the rules by refusing to obey them.”
- Synonyms/antonyms - Are there familiar words to connect with advanced words (Rebel – disobey, resist, go against, obey, comply)? Expand vocabulary with known and RELATED words to expand vocabulary.
- Morphology - Many English words are formed by taking basic words and adding combinations of prefixes and suffixes to them.
- Cognates - Cognates are words in two languages that share a similar meaning, spelling, and pronunciation. For English Language Learners, are there cognates to support learning the new word? 30-40% of all words in English have a related word in Spanish.
- Pictures, Demonstration, Realia
C. Organizing
What are some ways for students to organize new vocabulary?
See the PowerPoint Notes for examples of each idea below (starting on slide 25).
- Vocabulary notebooks
- Concept maps
- Semantic gradients
- Semantic feature analysis
- Morphology tables
D. Independent word learning
What are ways to build word consciousness or awareness? How can we support students’ independent vocabulary learning?
- Develop awareness/word consciousness - Having awareness and interest in words and word meanings, noticing when new words are used, and being motivated to learn and use new words.
- Cognate awareness
- Contextual analysis - Morphology (looking for familiar word parts) and Context Clues (the author provides clues – examples, synonyms, antonyms, definitions – to aid readers)
- Thesaurus/dictionary - teach how to use these resources.
- Word use - Integrate words throughout a unit in lots of ways:
- Receptive: Listening and Reading
- Expressive: Speaking and Writing
- Teachers say the word, students repeat the word
- Teachers write the word, students read the word
- Students practice the word while speaking and writing
- Decontextualize and integrate the words
E. Check the PowerPoint Notes for additional reading and resources (starting on slide 41).
References
Beck, I.L., McKeown, M.G., & Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing words to life: Robust vocabulary instruction. New York: Guilford Press.
Kintsch, W. (1998). Comprehension: A paradigm for cognition. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
Lord, K.M. & Noel, A.M. (under review). Civic concepts: Opportunities to deepen elementary students’ knowledge of democratic governance and citizenship.
Lord, K.M., Noel, A.M., & Slevin, B. (2016). Social studies concepts: An analysis of the NAEP and states’ standards. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 30, 389-405.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2018). How people learn II: Learners, contexts, and cultures. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: https://doi.org/10.17226/24783.
Sweller, J. (1994). Cognitive load theory, learning difficulty, and instructional design. Learning and Instruction, 4, 295 – 312.