Module+6

1. What does the research say about the topic? JULY 15, ONLY JM AND LYNN WERE THERE. July, 15 7PM, Lisa is here. July 18 Rebeka is here ML: Me too!

JM: Research indicates that vocabulary knowledge is one of the best indicators of verbal ability, and that vocabulary difficulty strongly influences the readability of text. Teaching vocabulary can improve students comprehension, and lack of vocabulary can be a crucial factor underlying the school failure of disadvantaged students. Students that are disadvantages are likely to have a smaller vocabulary than advantaged classmates.

Lynn: Research also shows that developing word consciousness is going to help children better understand what they read. They need to know words throroughly in order to productively use them in their speech and writing.

Lisa: As the text says, research confirms that learning vocabulary is a huge task. Students learn approx 3000 to 4000 words each year!

Rebeka: Research says that vocabulary knowledge is directly connected to reading comprehension. It is impossible to understand the meaning of the story if you dont understand what the words mean. I agree with Jenny's statement that disadvantaged students have a smaller vocabulary and I see that in my school all the time. I believe it has to do with the amount of life exposure the higher socio-economic status children have had. The most exposure and things you have had, they more words you have to describe it and then apply later to other situations. ML: Research says that vocabulary instruction aides in comprehension of text. Teaching selection vocabulary fosters comprehension. Disadvantaged students do not have the vocabulary that other students may have and could be the reason for difficulties throughout school. A four-part vocabulary program incluedes wide reading, teaching individual words, word learning strategies, and fostering word consciousness. 2. How can you apply the Isabel Beck's three levels of word consciousness in your classroom?

JM: I could not find the information on the external links, but word consciousness refers to the following: an awaeness of words, a positive attitude towards words, interest in words, and knowledge of words. Creating a vocabulary rich environmnet in a classroom to incorporate all the levels of word consciousness is important. Lynn: Part of that is modeling varied vocabulary, such as saying that the meal was "scrumptuous". Another way is by promoting word play--working with idioms, cliche's and puns. Students should be encouraged to use the new vocabulary in their conversations and in their writing. Lisa: I feel like this is a natural extension of the PA instruction we do in early childhood. Kids move from an awareness of sound to an interest in and manipulation of sounds. Word conscienceness involves becoming aware of whole words, showing an interest in them and begin able to use and manipulate words. I would apply this in my classroom by integrating vocabulary instrution into my everyday instruction as seamlessly as I do PA instruction. This means I have to be conscious of implementing the vocab strategies, plan for them and monitor my own teaching until it becomes second nature to me. RV: Students who have word consciousness are conscious of the words they read, speak, and write. They also understand why they should choose ceratin words over others. The research shows that this type of instruction should be included from Pre-K to high school and beyond. ML: Word consciousness deals with being aware of words, being interested in them, and enjoying learning about and using them. In my class I have a word of the day chart that includes a picture, definition, synonym and antonym, and a sentence using the word. When I started this I saw a rise in the students' attention to other words and an excitement for learning them. 3. Define these terms of complexity of word knowlege into application ideas: level of word knowledge, multidimensionality, polysemy, and heterogenity.

JM: Level of Word Knowledge-There are 4 levels which include: never having seen it before, knowing there is such a word, but not knowing what it means, having a vague and context-bound meaning for the word, and knowing and remembering the word. Multidimensionality- depth of meaning and precise usage Polysemy- many words have multiple meanings Heterogeneity- to know a word is dependent on the type of word in the question

Lynn: When discussing the level of word knowledge, you have to consider the number of times that a child must be exposed to a word and interact with a word before it gets to the fourth level. It probably will not happen with one exposure--in fact, even "40 high quality instructional encounters with words did not bring students to a ceiling." Multidimensionality could be applied by having children create analogies or poems using particular words. Polysemy could be applied using a picture dictionary with pictures depicting the various meanings: bank of a river, bank for money, etc. Heterogenity could be applied using a personal dictionary where students list words that are dependent on a particular topic: A page about vegetables may have the word carrot while a page about a jeweler will have the word carat.

Lisa: Without repeatig what JM stated, level of word knowlege is your comfort level with the word, are you able to use it and how well. Multidemsionality makes me think of the problems with translating from one language to another, there are subleties to each language that make it mulitdimensional, making it difficult sometimes to put words into a different langauge. Polysemy can be a lot of fun to play with, but I've noticed my younger kids don't 'get it' when I make a joke involvig words with multiple meanings. When the authors speak of heterogenity and the definition of 'if' or 'the' it boggles my mind. Our language is so complex yet precise, It would be difficult to explain 'if' or 'the' to an English language learner.

ML: Level of word knowledge: This depends on the number and type of encounter with a particular word. Hearing it, seeing it, knowing it, and using it. When a word is seen for the first time, that would be the first level. Seeing it and not knowing its meaning but knowing it is a word is the second level, vaguely knowing the meaning of the word is the next level, and then knowing it well enough to use is the fourth. Multidemensionality: depth of meaning- recognizing synonyms and antonyms, anologies and word play with the word Polysemy-multiple meanings- Bank with money vs. bank of the river Interrelatedness- knowing how a word is related to other words - whale/mammal Heterogeneity: knowing the word depends on the type of word- of vs. hypotenuse

RV: Level of word knoweldge- How comfortable you are with a word. This is hard for younger kids because they need so much exposure with a new term to begin using it in thier reading and writing. Multidemensionality- depth of word knowledge- Students would be able t fully interact and understand words and how they relate to each other. examples-synonyms, analogies, play on words. Polysemy- multiple meaning words Heterogeneity- understanding that a words meaning is based on what type of word it is 4. What are your questions?

JM: How do the four levels of word knowledge progress and change through the different grade levels?

Lynn: What evidence would show that a student is developing word consciousness?* MS: AT THE LOWER LEVELS, THE CHILD STARTS PLAYING WITH THE WORD IN SPEECH AND IN OTHER INTERCHANGES. YOU "HEAR" WHEN THE CHILD SAYS, "OH, THAT MEANS THIS AND THUS, THIS WORD MEANS THIS." ALSO WHEN THE CHILD IS WRITING, THE CHILD WOULD SAY, " I CHOSE THIS WORD TO PUT HERE BECAUSE..."

WORD CONSCIOUSNESS IS THE KEY TO GOOD READING AND WRITING HABITS. WORD CONSCIOUSNESS HAS NOT BEEN EXPLICITLY TAUGHT BUT SHOULD BE. WORD CONSCIOUSNESS IS FUN, HISTORICAL, AND HYSTERICAL (HA! hA!) THAT WAS A BIT OF WORD PLAY RIGHT THERE.

Lisa: How could teachers implement the four-part vocabulary program to teach ELL students? ML: Is there a list of words for each grade level to learn? I always wonder what words to teach beyond those in our reading text. For instance 5th grade, what words are important to learn?

RV: At what age typically can children begin to have an understanding ofmultiple meaning words? How deep should instrucion for vocabulary be in the early childhood years? What kinds of vocabulary strategies are effective for young children?