Students are constantly developing
their vocabulary throughout their school days. Generally, we think of
vocabulary development as something done in an English classroom. However, in
order for our students to be successful in other subject areas, students need
to develop content area specific vocabulary. Students need content area
specific vocabulary because without it, they will find it difficult to
understand the subject being taught (McLaughlin, 2015). McLaughlin (2015) also stated that vocabulary
development is more than knowing a words definition and that in order for
vocabulary to be successfully integrated, students need to be comfortable with
the words and with using the words. In my experiences, my most meaningful
vocabulary development came from hearing/using the words in sentences versus
learning definitions. I additionally think it is important for students to read
vocabulary in texts, in varieties of texts, so that seeing the words becomes
more normal for them. Right now, content specific words might seem foreign to
many students. Many times these words, although considered content specific,
can be seen in different subject areas. Exposing students to a variety of texts
lets them see that these words are important on many levels and often have many
levels of understanding.
For part four of framing our
reading, I chose to use vocabulary self-collection strategy (VSS). I like this
strategy because in complies a variety of ways to derive meaning from a word. VSS
is also student driven which I think is critical to vocabulary development. A
teacher can give students words that they feel are important/difficult to
understand, but that is not always the case. Student selection increases
student involvement in the text. VSS involves selecting a word, provide a
skeleton definition and text context, and reasoning for why the word should be
added to the list (McLaughlin, 2015). Any word can be nominated for the class
list and through classroom discussion, definitions are refined and the word
list is narrowed (McLaughlin, 2015).
For
this assignment, I chose the same three words my partner chose; equilibrium,
amorphous, and corrosive. I like these three words because while they are
chemistry related, they can also be seen in a variety of subject texts. Below
is my example of VSS.
· Word: Equilibrium
o Word in Context: “When these two reactions occur at
the same rate, we say that an equilibrium exists.” (ChemMatters, 1983) p. 5
o I think equilibrium means that the two reactions are
happening at the same time and are stable
o I think this word should be on the class list because
it is a tricky concept to understand. I have also seen this word in other
contexts. Additionally, I think this concept is important to understanding how
reactions occur.
· Word: Amorphous
o Word in Context: “Amorphous metals are a class of
materials developed a few decades ago that are extremely tough without becoming
brittle.” (Niiler, 2016)
o I think amorphous means that the metal is very strong
and supple.
o I think this word should be on the class list because
I do not know much about this word and would like to understand it better.
· Word: Corrosive
o Word in Context: “Because of the corrosive and toxic
properties of chlorine gas…” (ChemMatters, 1983) p. 4
o I think corrosive means damaging.
o I think this word should be on the class list because
it is a word used in a variety of contexts in chemistry. It is also a property
of some elements and it is important to understand corrosive materials as they
present a health risk.
References:
McLaughlin, M. (2015). Content Area Reading: Teaching
and Learning for College and Career Readiness. Boston: Pearson.
Niiler, E. (2016, April 8). Even
superman couldn't bend this steel [Web log post]. Retrieved April 16, 2016,
from
http://news.discovery.com/tech/nanotechnology/even-superman-couldnt-bend-this-steel-160408.htm
Swimming pool chemistry. (1983,
April). ChemMatters, 4-5. Retrieved April 23, 2016, from
http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/resources/highschool/chemmatters/articles-by-topic/acids-and-bases.html
Amanda, I like this strategy, and I think it is somewhat similar to the strategy that I used: Vocabulary Bookmarks (McLaughlin, 2015). What I liked about both of these strategies is that they allow the students to choose words for themselves that they think are important. In my strategy, I would have students discuss why they chose the words they did, but I like the idea of having them write this down ahead of time. I think that this can make it easier for students to remember why they chose a word when they discuss it in class. I also like that both strategies included a student-made definition because this forces students to think about the word in the context of the text and create a meaning for it. I love that your strategy also includes where the student found the word in the text. This way, when students are discussing afterwards, it is easier for other students to relate to why this student gave the definition they did. Would you have a class discussion or a small group discussion for an assignment like this? What other activities have you considered pairing with this strategy?
ReplyDeleteJennie, you and Dani chose the same strategy and the one I chose is very similar. I really liked how this strategy incorporated the reasoning behind choosing the word. I think this assignment leans towards a whole group discussion as the ultimate goal is to create a master list for the classroom. As far as additional strategies, I think it would be interesting to pair a writing assignment with this strategy. Connecting the vocabulary back to connotation through writing would help elevate a students understanding of the words.
DeleteLike Jennie said, I really like the VSS strategy that you chose because it develops students critical thinking skills by making them identify words that are important. This activity directly relates to building word consciousness by encouraging the students to be interested in and curious about new vocabulary (Anderson & Nagy, 1993).
ReplyDeleteI think it would be interesting to have students use this strategy to identify several words, and then have them pair with another students and have a discussion about which words that were chosen are the most important. This would give students the opportunity not only to discuss the new words, strengthening their experience with the words, but it would also help students to make connections between the vocabulary that they are learning and the main ideas of instruction.
It is interesting that this strategy encourages students to make inferences about the meaning of the word based on the context. I think this is a good exercise for students, but do you anticipate that you would get any push back from them? In other words, do you think that you would have any students who would be unwilling to make a guess about the meaning?
Abi, I would more than likely have push back from students. Especially if a word is only found once in a given text. In order to avoid some of this push back, I would ensure students that this is a skeleton definition that can be built on as we encounter the word in other texts. I also think encouraging discussion about the words helps bring in other students perspectives and ideas. By combining multiple students versions, as a class we would be able to have a richer definition based on context.
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