Module 6 Discussion - Vocabulary

Module 6 Discussion Post - Vocabulary My history with vocabulary is much like McLaughlin mentions in her book, stating: “Many of us can probably remember learning lists of words and their definitions and taking the dreaded Friday vocabulary quizzes.” (McLaughlin 105). Back when I was in high school, we used a vocabulary series called “Wordly Wise” all four years in our language arts courses. To help me study, I made foldables of all the vocabulary words. I would take a piece of lined notebook paper, fold it in half the long way, and write words on the outside with definitions on the inside. There were at least 30 words on each quiz, and since we only really used the words when completing the workbook exercises, the quizzes were brutal. As an experienced teacher, I now know that her method of exposing students to vocabulary is not the best approach to having them really internalize what is being taught. McLaughlin states, “The more knowledge and experience learners have with a particular topic, the easier it is for them to make connections between what they know and what they are learning.” (McLaughlin 50). Despite the fact that the vocabulary was difficult to learn, I did keep making foldables to help me study all the way through graduate school, so at least I learned a useful study strategy from this experience. In contrast, my Spanish teacher had an entirely different approach to helping her students internalize vocabulary. In addition to weekly vocabulary quizzes, we were required to meet with her privately outside of class to earn “pesos” by speaking the language and using the vocabulary of the week appropriately. I think we were required to earn 50 “pesos” each term, and they were calculated into our overall grades. My Spanish teacher also made lots of “word walls” in her classroom, which helped me to review and learn the vocabulary as well. “Word walls provide visual support for all learners in the acquisition of academic vocabulary” (Larson, Dixon, & Townsend 2). Even though it has been more than 20 years since my last Spanish class, I can still read and speak the language pretty well, and I think that this is because of the type of vocabulary instruction I received in that class. According to Merriam-Webster, the word consciousness means “the quality or state of being aware especially of something within oneself”. When I am considering literacy in science, consciousness is important because my students need to be mindful of the tools they use to read and understand texts in my classroom. Science consists mostly of informational texts, so there are rarely bits of irony, change of voice, or other nuances of the English language that you might find in literature in the humanities. That being said, my students need to understand that certain words have different meanings in my classes versus others. An example of a word that is often misused by other disciplines and society at large is the word “theory”. Like Jacqueline Beliveau, I noticed that my students had a hard time keeping track of the different meanings of words in science class versus the rest of society. She states, “Additionally. Students are confused even further with math terminology when the see a familiar words with an unfamiliar definition in the math classroom” (Beliveau 2). When students approach vocabulary in science (or any other subject), they need to make a conscious effort to raise their awareness of what a particular word might mean in a particular subject. I’ve found over the years, that it’s my responsibility to coach them and remind them of the importance of this type of consciousness in their studies. References Beliveau, J. (June 2001). What Strategies Strengthen the Connections Between Literacy and Math Concepts for Higher Math Achievement with Culturally Diverse Students? Glasgow Middle School. Fairfax, VA Larson, L., Temoca, D., & Dianna, T. (May 2013). How can teachers increase classroom use of academic vocabulary? Voices from the Middle, 20(4). doi:National Council of Teachers of English Mclaughlin, M. (2015) Content Area Reading: Teaching and Learning for College and Career Readiness. 2nd Ed. University of Pennsylvania. Pearson.