Book Study Seminar

I participated in a book study at Glenn Marlow Elementary that was reading through Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction by Isabel L. Beck, Margaret G. McKeown, and Linda Kucan.  The book focused on creating a vocabulary rich classroom through specific strategies.

            The book introduced vocabulary instruction to teachers by giving them a framework for understanding vocabulary.  The book mentioned that there are three tiers of vocabulary.  Tier one would be words such as mother, desk, tree, and other words that are heard every day.  Tier two words would include absurd, industrious, and fortunate.  These words are not heard every day, but are still commonly used.  Tier three words are usually subject specific vocabulary such as neutron, meningitis, or isthmus.  These words are very specific and have a low frequency in everyday language.  As teachers, our goal should be to provide instruction for tier two and three vocabulary words.

            The book emphasized the fact that the more students are exposed to vocabulary and the more they use the word, the more they will retain.  The book also advised teachers to let students come up with their own definitions for words.  Context does not always help students figure out the meaning of words, but it is one of the best ways to learn new vocabulary.  Teachers should constantly ask students to explain the meaning of words, even if they may not know what the word means.  Exploring the definition of a new word is just as important as hearing the actual meaning because it engages students in learning vocabulary and makes the students use critical thinking skills to create an appropriate definition or synonym.

            In addition to reading the book, we would be exposed to new vocabulary words.  Some words that we discussed were noggin (a small mug or cup), soporose (Sleepy; in an unusually deep sleep), and lychnobite (someone who works at night and sleeps during the day).  Learning new words enhanced our understanding of vocabulary and allowed us to use some of the techniques that were discussed in the book.

            Another part of the book study included playing vocabulary related games such as “Apples to Apples”, “Scategories”, and “Taboo”.  The games made the book study more entertaining and gave us ideas of games that we could easily include in the instructional day to help our students have fun with vocabulary. 

            Because of participating in this book study, I am more aware of vocabulary in my instruction.  I now focus on vocabulary instead of quickly hitting it and moving on.  I am also more careful of letting students create their own definitions.  I try not to guide students too much, so that they learn the process of creating their own meaning of words.  I also try to expose students to new words by including more advanced vocabulary in my own speech.  Now, when I say a word that students do not know it becomes a teaching opportunity.