Why is addressing vocabulary so important?
Sweeny, S. M., & Mason, P. A. (2011). Research-based practices in vocabulary instruction: An analysis of what works in grades PreK-12. Report for: Studies & Research Committee of the Massachusetts Reading Association, MA, USA.
Who might need explicit language instruction?
- Vocabulary is the largest determinant of comprehension of language.
- By Kindergarten, the number of words known orally is the strongest predictor of children’s reading comprehension when they reach the upper elementary grades (McCardle, Scarborough & Catts, 2001).
- “Vocabulary knowledge is necessary for effective listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills, and a student’s ability to acquire new vocabulary is an important contributor to academic success" (Sweeny & Mason, 2011).
- After grade 2, most children can and should acquire new vocabulary from the books they read.
Sweeny, S. M., & Mason, P. A. (2011). Research-based practices in vocabulary instruction: An analysis of what works in grades PreK-12. Report for: Studies & Research Committee of the Massachusetts Reading Association, MA, USA.
Who might need explicit language instruction?
- Heart & Risley (1995) studied vocabulary size in relation to social economic status (SES)/language input; by 5 years of age, there was the potential for a 30 million word gap to develop between children from the wealthiest and poorest families.
- English language learners
- Student who do not read at grade level
- Students with Disabilities: Receptive & Expressive Language Disorder, ADD/ADHD, Intellectual Disability, Processing Disorder
- Children with multiple Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES)
- Students with frequent absences, for any reason, at any grade
How can technology assist us in improving vocabulary skills for our students?
Add (Augment) Pictures/Images to Your Spoken and Written Language
Why?
Why?
- Adding visual information to spoken or written language allows for understanding with both our eyes and our ears
- Images are less fleeting then spoken words, students who are temporarily distracted, process information at a different pace or have difficulty processing infomation presented auditorily have more access to the information with both verbal and visual presentation
- Images may initially be easier to understand than spoken words alone and may aid in activating background knowledge and assist students in connecting to and understanding new words/concepts
Adding Images to Spoken Language or Text:
- Google Images FREE
- Camera/digital photos FREE
- Websites/wikipedia FREE
- Teacher/Student drawings FREE
- Paper
- Blackboard
- Whiteboard
- Interactive White Board
- Document Camera
- Boogie Board
- Tablet
- Rubber Stamps
- Magnets
- Websites/wikipedia FREE
- Educreations iOS APP FREE (iOS)
Word Studies
- Visuwords Online graphical dictionary FREE
- Analogies
Digital Word Games
- Free Rice FREE
Word Clouds & Word Banks
Why?
Why?
- Highlight important vocabulary
- Provide easy access to correctly spelled words for writing on a specific topic
- Reduce cognitive load (assist student's storage and retreival of content relevent vocabulary)
- Increase engagement with content vocabulary
- Wordle FREE
- Taxedo FREE
Digital Text
Why?
Why?
- Add images
- Hyperlink (dictionaries/visuals/additional text/videos, etc.)
- Highlight (main idea, supporting details, important "look fors", new vocabulary, etc.)
- Bold
- Italicize
- Increase/decrease font
- Embed metacognitive hints (Example: "How does this relate to the video we watched in class?")
- Embed chapter summary/reading comprehension questions closer to the source of the information
- Cognitive rescaling
Turn PDFs and Worksheets into Digital Text
see Assistive Technology for Reading, Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
see Assistive Technology for Reading, Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
Cognitive Rescaling
- Text Compactor FREE
- Auto Summarize (Mac or PC)
- News ELA FREE