I actually really enjoyed reading chapter 6, especially about Mrs. Sanom’s Word Wizards Club- I thought that she used great ideas to enhance her students’ vocabulary, such as the word a day costumes (I thought that was perfect) and the vocabulary parade. I think too often teachers just tell students to look in the dictionary to find out what a word means- not only does this discourage students from learning new words (because of the process) but it also discourages them from asking the teacher, which can be a negative aspect if they stop being curious about new words all together. Overall, I have seen many of the examples that were discussed in this chapter throughout my schooling, various placements, and work. In all of the places, I have seen word walls- In the younger classrooms, these word walls consist of students’ names and frequently used words, while in the older classrooms, the word walls consist of high frequency words as well as vocabulary words. I have also seen hangman played at both levels- in the early grades it is usually a 3 to 4 letter word and the main goal is that the students make logical guesses regarding their letters, while at the older levels it usually can be any word. I have also seen KWL charts in the older classes, but they don’t really seem effective, because I feel like we never go back and find out what the students want to know.
Something I found very interesting was that “unfamiliar words are not equally hard or easy to learn; the degree of difficulty depends on what students already know about the word (p.190). I just thought this was a great thing to find out, especially if you are teaching vocabulary. I also found Graves’ 4 possible situations for unfamiliar words helpful as well as the 4 degrees of word knowledge. I think that both of these taught me that exposure is so important for students regarding vocabulary. Students can’t just see a word once and know what it means- they must see it, say it, read it, write it, learn about it, all numerous times before they seriously learn it.
I believe that it is so important for teachers to give students the skills and strategies to learn new vocabulary and read when they come across things they don’t know. For instance, context clues and the strategies (on page 194) are crucial, especially for ESL students. I think that ESL students (especially) struggle with new vocabulary, so if they can learn the word by using these strategies they will be much more successful. I think that ESL students also really struggle with idioms and multiple meaning words. I feel like the students just don’t see enough/aren’t exposed to these types of words enough, which leaves them lost and confused when they come across them.
Overall, I think that Mrs. Sanom had great ideas about how to teach vocabulary through her club. I also think that vocabulary can be taught through word posters, word maps, word sorts, and word chains (p. 212). I believe that vocabulary is a crucial part to students knowledge and I feel that exposure is the key factor for their learning.
-Nicki lendo
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I think that the Word Wizard Club is a great idea too. I think that one of the best ways to learn new vocabulary is to learn it in a setting where you are having fun, or a setting that you will remember. I especially liked how Mrs. Sanom would dress up to demonstrate the meaning of the words when applicable. I think that this helps the students to get a concrete picture of what the word means, which will help them to better remember what the word means. I agree with Nicki that putting to much emphasis on looking up words in the dictionary can discourage students from wanting to learn new words. Looking up words in the dictionary can sometimes confuse students even more about the meaning of a word. But, if a student were to ask a teacher about a word, the teacher would be able to put the word in a context that the student would be able to understand, which a dictionary is not capable of. It all comes down to how well you know your students.
I agree with Nicki that ESL students, as well as others, need to be taught the strategies necessary to learn new words as they come across them either while reading or in a conversation with someone else. In terms of idioms, all students will need exposure to them in many different contexts so that they will understand which meaning is implied. Idioms are especially difficult to learn, but with a lot of exposure, students will be able to learn them just like any other word.
*Lisa*
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