Dear Phillippe,
Thanks so much for you response. As a school, we are trying to think about ways to make vocabulary a meaningful part of the currciulum, not just a burden as it sometimes feels. From your email, I am reminded of the brick, mortar and capstone words. This is something that I used a lot in my class, as well as the Frayer model (thanks for the name correction...). I found that students were much more willing to learn words if they understood that they were vital to understanding the content (the brick and mortar words) and that some liked to enrich their vocab with the capstone words.
If I were to suggest a way to make the summer more effective for the 08 CMs, I would say that you should continue to emphasize the idea that all teachers have to have and build their toolbox. By adding techniques into their toolbox, they will be able to handle whatever may come their way.
One thing that I remember from Institute was the thought of "how does this apply to me? When will this happen in my classroom?" and, low and behold, situations come up in the classroom where you have to draw on that information. So, really stressing that while it may seem like sensory overload at the time, adding everything possible to your toolbox will make you better prepared for everything that could happen in your class.

Thanks again Phillippe, and have a great summer in Philly.
Drew

Dear Drew,
Thanks for the email and question. I am currently traveling back to Philly for another summer at institute.
I hope you have had a strong, meaningful and productive first year of teaching. Below I have created a list of some vocabulary strategies and games that I hope will help.
As I am heading back to the same position as last year, please feel free to send me any suggestions or feedback on how I could increase my effectiveness. What did you use in your first year from the sessions? What was missing? What should I do differently.
Any and all feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Philippe

Vocabulary strategies; Drew, I referenced Beer's book, Why Kids Can't Read, a great resource)
Have students categorize words in groups of bricks, mortar and capstone (you provide definition of those terms)
Review games: pictionary, jeopardy, bingo, password, charades
Vocabulary tree: draw basic tree, start with root, then move up to definition, branches are examples, opposites (from Beers, Why Kids Can't Read)
Graphic organizers (like word scrolls)
Logographic clues: on one side of the card, st write the vocab word; on other side st write definition and draw a logograph that suggests the meaning of the word. For example, a student draws someone falling off a cliff for the word precarious or a ghost for the word apparition. Basically anything that will help the student remember the word.
Frayer Model (example, non-example, characteristics): this is what I think you call the four square technique

(Drew's initial email question)
Dear Phillippe,

This is Drew, a part of your LS sessions in Philly 07. I was wondering if you had any knock-em-dead vocabulary strategies. I have used the four squares technique (I forget the name you called it...), but was wondering if you had any other super strategies. Thanks so much for your help! Sincerely, Drew

 

Dear Philippe,

What are strategies to use for decoding a text besides using context clues when a text is just full of words students might not know (like the social studies example)?

Thanks,
Zach

Dear Zach,

Thanks for turning to the journal with your question.
The social studies text is a prime example for multiple strategies (along with context clues as you mentioned); as you identified, this text presents a number of challenges.

Although it is the minority of our students that typically have difficulty with the decoding, I would like to specifically address your question since you asked about decoding.

First, prior to sharing the text I would pull out the top 8-10 words that are essential for meeting the objective and directly pre-teach them. This number could vary depending on the comprehension/reading level and specific needs of your students.

Using these 10 words, you will model how to break them into syllables. Syllable division is found in most of the research and teacher guidebooks about teaching decoding. The information below is specifically part of a program called FAST Reading Systems (www.fastlearningllc.com). Another helpful resource is Wily Blevins’ Teaching Phonics & Word Study in the Intermediate Grades (2001)

I have used the mnemonic device of COVERS to help teach the six basic syllable groups that exist in the English language;

Closed: rat, pat, hat
Open: ra, pa, hi
Vowel teams: include ea, ou, oi, oy, au
Endings: prefixes, suffixes and common roots
R-controlled: er, ir, ur, or, ar
Silent E: rate, date, mate

We let kids know that the syllable determines the sound made by the vowel.

C= short
O=long
V= sound is determined by vowel combinations
E= teach most common used and must be memorized
R= sound is controlled by R
S= long


For example, I’d pull people & places (Semitic, Mesopotamia), general history content words (nomad, trading, converts) and connecting phrases (“on the other hand,” “a slow start”).

To meet these vocabulary demands I’d definitely pre-teach these words by providing visuals and having a discussion about their meaning. Along with pre-teaching and context clues, it is important that students know how to break words into syllables. This needs to be modeled.

We will specifically discuss and examine Decoding & Fluency in SLIT 6.

Which technique do you think would work best with this text?

Sincerely,
Philippe