Vocabulary instruction has been on my mind for a few
months, so I decided to spend two weeks listening carefully to conversations
(both face-to-face and virtually) among family, friends, and colleagues. Below are the results of what I’ve heard and
seen in the past two weeks.
Examples of worst
practice shared with me by family, and colleagues friends from across the country
·
A high school student was asked to define 130
words before reading a short story in English class.
·
A group of middle school students were asked to
copy dictionary definitions from the teacher’s powerpoint.
·
A middle schooler was still (it’s December) on
the letter A for lists of words to define (using the dictionary) and take rote
memory vocab tests over every Friday.
·
An elementary student was provided a list of definitions
to accompany spelling words. The
definition provided for the word enclosure
= the art of enclosing.
·
A middle school student was given a crossword
puzzle worksheet and asked to define words.
·
A class of middle school students watched (while
doing nothing) a video with kids talking about definitions for a paper topic.
·
A class was assigned a list of words for each
chapter of a novel--words to be defined
and memorized.
·
A science class was asked to define all the bold
words in chapter of science textbook.
Memorize definitions & be prepared for a quiz on Friday.
Examples of best
practice as experienced by family, friends, and colleagues
from across the
country
·
Teachers facilitating class discussion of words
in context from novel being read
·
Teachers modeling academic vocabulary when
explaining directions and conducting think-alouds
·
Teachers demonstrating word analysis during
study of Greek & Latin root words
As schools acknowledge the instructional shifts for
literacy required in America’s schools because of the Common Core State
Standards, we are seeing a need for an increased emphasis on vocabulary
instruction. With all the research and
access to information via the World Wide Web, I find myself wondering why I
continue to see and hear worst practice in vocabulary instruction. Why is my list of examples of worst practice
longer than my list of examples best practice?
Maybe two weeks wasn’t long enough for me to listen and record what I
was seeing and hearing about vocabulary instruction?
