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teach vocabulary explicitly for 2 weeks.
                                                                      I  gave  her  a  scripted  weekly  lesson
            Students with a larger vocabulary                         plan  that  began  with  a  pre-assessment
                                                                      to  determine  a  baseline  for  tabulating
         lexicon are better equipped to decode                        growth data. The pre-assessment was a

         unfamiliar words and to comprehend                           list of 10 words, given each Monday, to
                                                                      determine whether the students already
                  passages in more detail...                          knew  any  of  the  words.  These  words
                                                                      were taken from a list of Tier 2 and Tier
                                                                      3 academic vocabulary terms relating to
                                                                      reading, math, and science. I chose an
                             academic vocabulary list from Vocabulary.com for each grade level. These were
                             words that each student should know at that grade level. No student knew more than
                             one of the words, and most just handed in a blank paper because the vocabulary was
                             all new to them. The lessons for the week were as follows:


                                Monday: For the pretest, to determine a baseline of how many words the students
                             already knew, each student was given a list of 10 words and asked to define each in
                             their own terms and use it in a sentence. They were required to do both for full credit,
                             but partial credit was given if they were only able to use the word in a sentence.
                             Students then listened to the teacher pronounce each word, choral pronounced each
                             word, and then pronounced it on their own. They clapped the syllables and discussed
                             the morphological origin of each word, looking at roots, suffixes, and affixes. The
                             teacher then used a visual to help the students comprehend and retain the meaning
                             of the word. Each student created a “Dictionary of Academic Vocabulary” as they
                             proceeded. The word was written at the top of the page as a header, and all notes
                             about that word were on that page. The student wrote how many syllables were in
                             the word and the origin of the word and then drew a picture/image for each word.
                                Tuesday: Led by the teacher, students worked as a group to create a student-
                             friendly definition for each word. The teacher helped them refine the definitions;
                             when they were accurate, students added them in their notebook pages. Students
                             created a semantic map for the first five words by following these steps:  In the
                             middle of the page, they wrote the word in a circle, and five rays extended out from
                             the circle to boxes. The first box listed synonyms, the second contained examples,
                             the third had antonyms, the fourth listed multiple meanings, and the fifth gave words
                             sometimes confused with this word.
                                Wednesday: The students repeated the steps to create a semantic map, but on this
                             day they focused on the last five words in the list. These new words were mapped
                             out and were added to their notebooks.
                                Thursday: Using individual word cards, students worked in pairs to sort words
                             into categories of their own choosing. They created category headings, and each
                             group  told  the  class  how  they  categorized  the  words  and  why  they  chose  that
                             approach. Following the discussion, students glued a set of the words into their
                             notebooks. A second set had been precut so that each student had a set to glue into
                             his or her notebook.
                                Friday: For the posttest, students were once again given a page listing the same
                             10 words they had been given on Monday. They were asked to write a definition in
                             their own words and use the word in a sentence. When the task was completed, some
                             students were asked to read their definitions to the class.


        40                                           The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin: International Journal for Professional Educators
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