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HOW MANY WORDS DO PEOPLE KNOW?

Best estimate is that there are 88700 word families used in books up to 12 grade (US). Nagy and Anderson 1984

Lowest estimate of number of words a student knows- 17000

Research suggests we can directly teach 300-500 word per year (8-10 words per week)

If we accept Nagy and Anderson’s estimate, and that children learn half of them, this suggests that the average child learns about 3000 new words per year- we cannot teach 3000 words directly.

Most of these words must come from context

WILL CONTEXTUAL LEARNING BE ENOUGH?

If we expect children to learn 3000 words per year- this is a monumental task requiring the learning of about 8 words per day.

Nagy et al- argue that much of this learning can come from incidental learning of word meanings:

5th grade student read for an hour per day- at a rate of 150 words per min- 5 days a week= 2,250,000 words

If 2% to 5% of those words are unknown, (as in instructional level text; ) the child will have encountered from 45000 to 112,500 unknown words

Research shows children will learn between 5% and 10% of previously unknown words from a single reading

This would account for at least 2,250 new words learned from context each year.

MATTHEW EFFECTS

This suggests one of the most powerful influence on vocabulary growth is to encourage students to read as widely as possible

Good readers are better able to derive word meanings from context than poorer readers- myth!!!!

words are learned through chance encounters in the text. Words are accumulated over time through exposure and gradual learning.

Studies have found that higher ability students were not any better than lower ability students at incidental word learning

Therefore if that is so… the difference in vocab growth might be due to differences in the amount that children read

MATTHEW EFFECTS

The rich get richer and the poor get poorer

WHAT SHOULD WE DO?

Increase amount of reading

Teach word meanings- at least 300 words per year

direct teaching of word meanings

discussions about prefixes, suffixes and roots

wide reading- especially reading that challenges children’s abilities

read to children -even older children

DEFINITIONSUsing the dictionary to find definitions ?????

children cannot use conventional definitions to learn words

example: erode- ‘to eat out’

To ‘know’ a word- we know more than the word’s definition; we also know that word functions in different contexts. E.g smoke- the verb-

He smoked a cigarette

The psychologist smoked his pipe

the hippie smoked a marijuana cigarette

the 13 year old smoked his first cigarette

The fisherman smoked the fish

Multiple meanings

Full and flexible knowledge- involves an understanding of the core meaning of a word and how it changes in different contexts.

TOPIC VOCAB DEFINITION MATCHminer Somebody who works in a mine digging for materials

such as gold

prospector Somebody who explores in search of materials like gold

stockade A tall fence of wooden posts in the ground to keep out enemies

trooper Soldier or policeman who rides horses

rebellion To oppose authority by fighting

riot A time when a group of angry people become noisy, uncontrolled and often act violently

licence A printed document giving permission

gold fields An area where gold is found

settlement A place where people settle

injustice Lack of fairness or justice

confrontation Face up to in defiance

diggings A mine or gold field

DEVELOPING VOCABULARY

injustice A lack of fairness

rebellion To oppose authority by fighting

Developing definitions and understanding meaning

Google images instead of web

BEFORE READING ANTICIPATION/REACTION GUIDE WHAT DID GOLD DO FOR AUSTRALIA?WRITE A IF YOU AGREE WITH THE STATEMENTWRITE B IF YOU DISAGREE WITH THE STATEMENTResponse

before lesson

Topic: Gold Response after lesson

The discovery of gold changed the whole future of Australia.

The population of Australia stayed the same during the gold rush.

People left Australia after the gold rush

Banks did not have any money to lend.

Because of the gold rush more houses were built and cities became bigger.

CUED LISTENING TO PREPARE FOR WRITINGText – Life on the goldfields (Workbook 7- RIC Publication)

8 cue cards (the people, transport, food, clothing, health, law and order, shelter, education)

Students listen for their information and draw diagrams to help them remember

Students share their information and reformulate the text together.

Teacher focus on developing effective simple sentence structures- descriptive phrases, noun and verb groups

How did the early diggers travel to the goldfields and why?

What was the health of the miners like and why?

Cue card examples

Food- What kind of food was common and in what condition?

Health- What was the health of the miners like and why?

VISUAL CUES FOR REMEMBERING

PRE READING PREPARATION- (ADJUSTMENTS)

Identify for the students- key concepts and vocabulary of the text- an explicit text orientation

Word definitions-pre teachTeach the text using graphic organisersProvide synonyms and antonyms for

difficult ideasDecoding- pre teach how to decode

unfamiliar multi-syllabic words (phonological processing- syllabification) (dictionary.com)Cut out the guess work- free up

the mind for remembering

ORIENTATION TO TEXTVisual literacy What information can you get without even reading?

Pre-teach key vocabulary

Take them through the text step by step

STRATEGIES

TEACHING SYNONYMS

TEACHING ANTONYMS

REWRITING DEFINITIONS

PROVIDING EXAMPLES

PROVIDING NON- EXAMPLES

DISCUSSION THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE NEW WORD AND RELATED WORDS

e.g debris defined as trash or waste – include a discussion of the differences between debris and trash- or garbage,

HAVING STUDENTS CREATE SENTENCES CONTAINING THE TARGET WORD

DISCUSS THE MEANING OF THE SAME WORD IN DIFFERENT SENTENCES

CREATING A SCENARIO

SILLY QUESTIONS

DISCUSSION WEBS-

THE PROBABLE PASSAGES STRATEGY (FROM FOR THE LOVE OF WORDS)

Title: The promise of gold Vocabulary terms and phrases:Bark huts, tent city, chopsticks, riot, goldmine,

killed, police, stolenMake a prediction from the vocabulary

SettingCharactersProblemsEvents

Ending

The Goldfields and Aboriginal People

The Aboriginal people had been living in harmony with the land for many years without causing a great deal of change to the natural environment. They made all their tools out of stone, bone, shell and wood and therefore placed no value on gold.

The impact of European settlement had a major effect on the native people of this continent. The new settlers took their land, ate their food, depleted their supplies, introduced illness and forced their ways on the Aboriginal people. The land was sacred to the Aboriginal people. The diggers did not care; they dug it up in their search for wealth and left the area in a mess. The native way of life would never again be the same. The European people settled in Australia with a total disregard for the people who already inhabited the area.

Victoria's European Population

Victoria's Aboriginal Population

1836 226 11,500

1857 400,000 1,700

1861 540,000 2,300   

 

PRE TEACH TEXT VOCABULARY

harmony         balance

environment the circumstances or conditions that surround one; our surroundings

natural    present in or produced by nature

depleted   use up or empty out (to decrease the fullness of)

disregard to treat without proper respect or attentiveness

            PRE TEACH HOW TO WORK OUT THE WORDS SYLLABIFICATION

(DICTIONARY.COM) har     mo ny 

en  vi ron ment

poi  son ous

de plet  ed

 dis  re gard

  in hab it

VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT DOMINOES(AN ADJUSTMENT)harmony     The Aboriginal people had

been living in harmony with the land for many years without causing a great deal of change to the natural  environment.

environment    The Aboriginal people had been living in harmony with the land for many years without causing a great deal of change to the natural environment.

VOCABULARY CLOZE MATCH DOMINOES

harmony     The Aboriginal people had been living in harmony with the land for many years without causing a great deal of change to the natural__________.  

environment  The Aboriginal people had been living in __________ with the land for many years without causing a great deal of change to the natural environment.

ANTONYMS

harmony    

imbalance  

depleted   increased

disregard   notice

VOCABULARY CLINE- VISUALS

Unrest

Protest

Confrontation

Riot

Rebellion

USE PICTURES AND BOOKS- DEVELOP VOCABULARY

Nouns

Dog, crow, lake, water, bush, scrub, landscape, trees, gums, blind eye, wings, strange creature reflection,

VerbsShine, shiver, sighing, stare, look, discussed, snuffle, creep, hide,

Adjectives

Sad crow, brave dog, wise dog

Crow wakes with a rush of grief

USE PICTURES AND BOOKS TO DEVELOP VOCABULARY

What’s happening in this picture?

What’s are the characters feeling?

Why do you think that?

Crow wakes with a rush of grief

What does a ‘rush of grief’ look like to you- what do you think the author means?

* describe the characteristics, feelings, appearance of 2 characters in a text- find similarities and differences

USE PICTURES AND BOOKS TO DEVELOP VOCABULARY

CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS

* use a wide range of descriptive vocabulary to describe a literary character

PROVERBS AND SAYINGS

Proverbs and sayings are old and common phrases which are often repeated based upon experience and truth. Proverbs are used to remember complex ideas quickly and easily. The above link contains some of the most common proverbs and sayings, but it's not an exhaustive list

http://www.readingresource.net/vocabularyactivities.html

INTERESTING WORDS CHART

Word Page Any help given?

Your explanation

Dictionary (if needed)

luxuriant

5 No Plentiful, strong growth

canopy 6 Yes Like a roof

Covering highest part of the forest

species 8 Yes Types of trees

Kinds of animals and plants that are similar

pollinate

25 No Eat? Carry pollen for fertilisation

DEVELOPING TOPIC VOCABULARYTeaching vocabulary & concepts- Preparation for learning:

Vocabulary picture match (floor storm) using books and pictures to match with words- students need to justify choices

Long sticky tongue

predatorbulging eyes

camouflage

habitat

webbed Suction pads

croak

croak

lungepreycling leaplimbs

Under belly

CATEGORISING AND SORTING WORDS

Long sticky tongue

predator

bulging eyes

camouflage

habitat swim

suction pads

snout

croak

lunge

prey

cling

leap

limbs

mosquito

insect

underbelly

webbed

wet and moist

WORDS WORTH CHART

Vocabulary activities can help children when they are reading and when they are writing! Enlarge the Words Worth chart in your handout and laminate. Display in a prominent area of the classroom. When children come across new interseting words in print, place in the "dollar" column. Work backwards and help them generate words that mean about the same, but might be not as interesting as the "dollar" word. (The ”10 cents" and ”50 cents" words help children make connections between the synonyms and help them remember the meaning of the "dollar" words). This is also a helpful vocabulary activity when children are writing, place one of their words in the ”10 cents" column and add more interesting words to the ”50 cents" and "dollar" column.

WORM WORDS

Worn WordsEnlarge this template and use with "Words Worth Chart" (above). Once the Words Worth Chart is full, take off the "penny" and "dime" words and place them in the trash! Once words are in the trash, students are encouraged to use the "dollar" words when they are speaking and writing

ANTONYM CONCENTRATION

Laminate and cut out the antonym cards in the handout. Have students work in small groups to find word matches. Three different antonym levels are provided on the template.

"COLORFUL WORDS" WALL

VOCABULARY ACTIVITIES: CLASSROOMS THAT SUPPORT WORD LEARNING"Colorful Words" Wall Teaching vocabulary is important. We have space for furniture and equipment; we have space for books, backpacks, and writing utensils. If words are important, then finding places to organize and display words should take prominence in the structure of your classroom.

4 FOLD VOCABUALRY

WORD LISTS – e.g My SchoolCanteen bananas / cashier / cash register / cupcakes / fork / hot dog / lunch box / menu / milk / napkin / orange juice / pizza / salad / sandwich / soup / spoon / student / rubbish bin/ tray / Classroom alphabet / blackboard / whiteboard/ book / book bag / calendar / chair / chalk / clock / computer / desk / map / pencil / pencil sharpener / ruler / scissors / stapler / student / teacher / rubbish binHallway bannister / bell / boys' toilets / bulletin board / clock / drinking fountain / stairs / exit sign / fire alarm / fire extinguisher / girls' toilet / lock / lockers / stairs / student / teacher / wheelchairLibrary book return / books and magazines / card catalog / cassette tape / chair / clock / computer / desk / film projector / head phones / librarian / table / tape player / T.V. / VCRPlayground ball / basketball hoop / bell / bench / door / fence / flag / grass / sandpit/ school bus / seesaw / slide / student / swings / tree / cricket

IDIOMS

Many students, especially English Language Learners find our language difficult because of its infinite number of idiomatic expressions. Idioms are expressions that do not mean what they literally say. When children aren't exposed to these expressions (or when adults use them and don't explain what they mean) it can create a barrier to vocabulary and comprehension. One way to enrich your students’ background is to expose them to as many expressions as possible. The handout today contains some of the most common idiomatic expressions, but it's not an exhaustive list

PREFIX/SUFFIX CHECKERS

Purchase a checkers board and place velcro on the black squares on the game board. Print, laminate, and cut out the fprefix/suffix squares on the template in your handout and place corresponding velcro pieces on the back. Place the words with prefixes and suffixes in random order on the game board. Each time a player moves a checker they must say the prefix or suffix, read the word, and explain what it means. (The template "Common Prefixes/Suffixes" from above can help children as they are playing this game)