Competency 008

Vocabulary Development

The teacher knows the importance of vocabulary development and applies that knowledge to teach reading, listening, speaking and writing.

The Beginning Teacher:

• A. Knows how to provide explicit, systematic instruction and reinforcing activities to help students increase their vocabulary, in accordance with the STR.
  • What does this mean?
    • The teacher should be prepared to expose students to 10-20 new words a day to help expand their vocabulary as this is how acquisition of new vocabulary occurs.
  • How do you apply this?
    • Exposure through listening to the teacher speak and read will help to build their academic vocabulary. Having vast genre and levels of literature for the in class library will help students expand their vocabulary on their own. Practice in class how to break down and define new words using vocabulary charts and definition sheets that allow students to write, draw, and explain in their own words what a word means to help them internalize their personal vocabulary development. 
• B. Knows how to use direct and indirect methods to effectively teach vocabulary, in accordance with the STR.
  • What does this mean?
    • Learning happens both consciously and subconsciously. We learn through listening to the speech patterns of our peers and instructors and through what we are taught.
  • How do you apply this?
    • While talking to students, the teacher can introduce vocabulary as they speak. Lessons can have related vocabulary used specifically for said lesson to be learned. 
• C. Selects and uses a wide range of instructional materials, strategies and opportunities with rich contextual support for vocabulary development, in accordance with the STR (e.g., literature, expository texts, content-specific texts, magazines, newspapers, trade books, technology). 
  • What does this mean?
    • In order to help teach and expose students to the uses of vocabulary in the different contexts that are available, we introduce students to different media and text and utilize said resources in our lesson plans. Just the same, we teach our students how to use these resources.
  • How do you apply this?
    • If a lesson is over a specific topic, have a variety of resources and texts available with overlapping vocabulary and encourage students to explore these different resources to find word meanings through context.
• D. Recognizes the importance of selecting, teaching and modeling a wide range of general and specialized vocabularies. 
  • What does this mean?
    • Teaching specific vocabularies helps build students knowledge of specific subjects but also helps them with basic academic vocabulary skills. A student with knowledge of both discourse vocabulary and standard vocabulary possess a wider range of knowledge and contexts outside of what can be learned in school; their world of learning and understanding becomes bigger.
  • How do you apply this?
    • As stated prior, discourse vocabulary is specified vocabulary over a certain topic. Teaching vocabulary focused on fine arts, specifically music in the main classroom benefits learning in the students’ music class. Likewise, with technological terms; modeling vocabulary focused on modern technologies in a lesson helps build their understanding when working with said technologies on a project or assignment or in a standard lesson.  
• E. Understands how to assess and monitor students’ vocabulary knowledge by providing systematic, age-appropriate instruction and reinforcing activities (e.g., morphemic analysis, etymology, use of graphic organizers, contextual analysis, multiple exposures to a word in various contexts). 
  • What does this mean?
    • The teacher is to provide different ways for a student to display their vocabulary knowledge. The break down of a word and it’s meaning is a start; Bloom’s Taxonomy helps us demonstrate what we know from simple restatement to creating. Use students’ work samples to see where they are in their understanding of vocabulary development.
  • How do you apply this?
    • Classroom K-W-L charts allow the whole classroom to provide input on the concept being taught or studied. Allow students to draw, write, compare, and contrast what they know about their vocabulary and what they think about their vocabulary, and be prepared to provide support for further understanding and modify a lesson to provide opportunities for students to gain a better understanding of vocabulary development.
• F. Provides multiple opportunities to listen to, read and respond to various types of literature and expository texts to promote students’ vocabulary development. 
  • What does this mean?
    • Students should be encouraged to talk about and respond to the text that is read to them and that they read themselves. This literature should invoke thought into their own reading and vocabulary development.
  • How do you apply this?
    • A varied library and the teacher reading aloud from different texts and genres exposed students to varied text and specified vocabulary but also gives students the freedom to explore said texts on their own and build their own vocabulary development. Readers circle can also give the students chances to discuss the text and vocabulary with their peers and reflect thoughts off of each other.

---

Questions:

1. What are some games that can be introduced in the classroom to benefit vocabulary development
2. When would intervention be necessary for vocabulary development?
3. What are some ways for students to display their vocabulary knowledge? 
4. How would one teach discourse vocabulary?
5. What are some ways that students can decode and define words without relying on a dictionary?
6. How well do group activities properly benefit vocabulary development?
7. How would one teach homophones, homographs, etc. with minimal confusion to students?
8. Would reteaching affixes be required before or during lessons to properly teach vocabulary? 
9. What are other ways for students to reflect on vocabulary rich text?
10. How would one teach the difference between academic vocabulary and casual vocabulary?