After reading Chapter 7 in Tompkins on Expanding Academic Vocabulary, and the Graves, et al. article on Word Learning Strategies, there were many things I learned that I could be doing in my own classroom to expand student's vocabulary. One thing I would like to try with some of my "on grade level" students is a word study. In Tompkins, the author talks about how memorizing the definition of one word is not enough, and that in order to develop full word knowledge, the students need to learn more about the word. I would like to start doing this in not only my word work center, but in my reading, AIS groups as well. For AIS reading time, the students in my group are working on vocabulary and comprehension, as well as finding the main idea and key details. I think the word study concept would fit into this time well because the students could learn more about the words, they are seeing in all content areas. They could also use their new knowledge about words in their writing. I really liked how Tompkins gave the example of the word "brave" coming from "bravo" in Italian. It shows where the word comes, from, its' meaning and how it is used.
Another strategy I liked from the Tompkins text was the dramatizing of words. I think having the students act out words from a text they are reading is a great way to get them to understand the meaning as well as keep them engaged in the activity. For out read aloud, my class is currently reading The One and Only Ivan. by Katherine Applegate. I think this time would be a great opportunity for the students to act out the feelings and actions of the characters in the story.
In the Graves, et al. article, one thing I thought was important regarding the word learning instruction was the balanced strategy instruction. The author recommends an approach where you discuss with your students how the strategy is working for them, what they think of it thus far, and when and how they can use it in the future. I really liked this idea because I am realizing that while I do give students strategies to help them learn words and expand their vocabulary, I do not often stop and ask them how it is working for them. I think it is important to get the student's input and be able to support them in future word learning instruction.
You mention a number of strategies you liked from Tompkins. How might you begin to implement them in your own instructional routines? What might you try to implement first? What kind of additional planning might this require?
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