I enjoyed doing the vocabulary activity. I have the fortune
of being able to use most of our assignments in my 5th grade
classroom but I had never thought to introduce vocabulary this way. I think it
is critical to allow our students to express understanding in numerous ways. I
appreciate that this strategy includes writing, art and higher order of
thinking by allowing the students to express their understanding by forming
definitions in their own words.
I plan to use this strategy at the beginning of more
difficult content areas such as science with electricity and social studies
when studying restoration after the Civil War. I hope that my students will add
to their charts throughout the instructions and that, each time, their
depiction of their understanding will be more and more complex.
I see that this strategy could be introduced and completed
using very minimal time yet could have lasting impacts in children learning and
retaining their knowledge. I also believe we will see an increase in the usage
of the vocabulary from content areas as students master the ability to break
words apart for greater understanding.
Frayer model is an excellent choice for those more challenging, disciplinary specific terms, Christina. Let us know how your students benefit from this strategy.
ReplyDeleteI agree with using the Frayer model for content specific words, espcially in science and social studies. Many times students memorize vocabulary words, yet have no idea about the meaning of the word.That is why I feel this model is so helpful in understanding vocabulary. Becoming familiar with the vocabulary words will allow the student to understand the text a lot easier, and help with their reading and fluency skills, too.
ReplyDeleteI have a goal of introducing 5 new words a week to my students. It's a great way to improve their vocabulary. I purposely use a word they will not know each day. I get the same response everyday, "What does that mean?" I then challenge them to use the word later in the week. It's a great way to increase their vocabulary.
ReplyDeleteChristina, I think it's great using a vocabulary strategy that is easy and quick to implement. This will allow you more time to help other students who may need more explicit instruction. I utilize small sticky notes with my students and ask them to write the unknown or unfamiliar vocabulary work on the sticky and place it on the margin. After completing the passage, they go back and write the definition of the word on the note. I then ask for each student to turn in their notes and we write them on the white board and go over them.
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