BUILDING VOCABULARY USING WEEKLY READ ALOUD SELECTIONSMegan ConroyFinal Vocabulary ProjectRED 6545 Issues in Vocabulary and Word StudyUniversity of South Florida

WHY TEACH VOCABULARY USING READ ALOUDS?

Children’s books present more advanced, less familiar vocabulary than typically used in everyday speechRead alouds can help to extend children’s existing oral vocabulariesChildren can learn meanings of unknown words through incidental exposure during a read aloudChildren will learn more words with multiple readings of a bookChildren will benefit from being talked with and read with during read alouds

Blachowicz, C., & Fisher, P. (2010). Teaching vocabulary in all classrooms. (4th. ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Watts-Taffe, S., Blachowicz, C., & Fisher, P. (2009). Vocabulary instruction for diverse students. In Morrow, L. M., et al., Handbook of research on literacy &

diversity (p. 320-336). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

VOCABULARY WORD SELECTION

How do you choose words from a storybook? Beck, McKeown, and Kucan (2002) propose three tiers of words to study:Tier 1 words: common words Tier 2 words: high frequency words, that occur across a number of domains but not know by many studentsTier 3 words: academic content words

Look for Tier 2 & Tier 3 words in the storybook and choose the words you think your students need to know.

Beck, I. L., McKeown, M. G., & Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing words to life: Robust vocabulary instruction. New York: Guilford Press.

What a week’s vocabulary routine might look like…

Day 1- Introduce vocabulary words and their meanings; include examples and gestures for each word when introduced.

Day 2- Review vocabulary words, their meanings and associated gestures. Interactive read aloud of story with students playing “Snap When You Hear It.”

Day 3- Review vocabulary words, their meanings and associated gestures. Choose a vocabulary strategy to use (ideas on upcoming slides).

Day 4- Review vocabulary words, their meanings and associated gestures. Re-read story with students playing “Snap When You Hear It.” Choose a vocabulary strategy to use.

Day 5- Informal Assessment Option

All Week- Students tally word usage on a Wonderful Words chart in the classroom.

A WEEK’S VOCABULARY ROUTINE FOR THE READ ALOUD OF… THE KISSING HAND by Audrey Penn

Penn, A. (1993). The kissing hand. Broadway, NY: Scholastic Inc.

VOCABULARY WORD SELECTIONFOR THE KISSING HAND BY AUDREY PENN

First I read the story and listed all the words I thought might be words I want to teach. Then I narrowed the list down to 5 vocabulary words for the week.

Original List of Words: nuzzle, strange, cozy, secret, interested, silky, tingled, grinned, familiar, scamper

Final List for Instruction: strange, cozy, interested, grinned, familiar

THE KISSING HANDby Audrey Penn

Vocabulary Words: strange, cozy, interested, grinned, familiar

Day 1- Introduce Vocabulary Word Meanings, Gestures & Examples

WORD MEANINGS:

strange- not the usual

cozy- comfortable

interested- wanting to learn more about something

grinned- smiled

familiar- describes something you have seen, heard, or experienced before

GESTURES:

strange- make a puzzled, confused face

cozy- rub your arms like you are giving yourself a warm hug

interested- make your eyes wide and say “ooooh!” like you want to know more about something

grinned- smile widely and point to the dimples in your cheeks with your pointer fingers

familiar- wave hello to a person who you have seen or met before

EXAMPLES:strange- it would be strange if we wore pajamas to school everyday; if the floor in the classroom was made of grass not carpet

cozy- your bed at home feels warm and cozy; wearing a soft sweater when it’s cold out can make you feel cozy

interested- when you went book shopping, you chose books that interested you; you decided to go see a movie that interested you

grinned- when you meet up with a friend from another class on the playground, you grin at each other and say hello

familiar- our classroom is a familiar place for all of us; our homes are familiar to each of us, but not to everyone

Wonderful Words Chart- begin using on Day 1

After introducing the words, display the Wonderful Words chart in a prominent place in the classroom at a height accessible to the students. If students use these words correctly in their daily conversations or notice these words used in other texts or by the teacher, they may record a tally mark next to the word on the chart.

At week’s end, count up the tally marks and celebrate the class’s usage of new vocabulary words! Then move the chart to another place in the classroom that is still accessible to students; do not remove it entirely. This will encourage future use of the learned vocabulary words.

Simple to implement, engaging with active learning, and it motivates word learning! What fun word play!

How does it work?

Day 2-Interactive Read Aloud of The Kissing Hand with students playing “Snap When You Hear It”

Interactive Read Aloud with Think Aloud and Turn And Talk:

Think Aloud, Cover- This story is called The Kissing Hand. I’m wondering what a kissing hand might be. From the cover illustration, I think it involves a hand and a kiss, but what is it? Let’s read to find out.

Think Aloud, p. 2- Poor Chester. He looks so sad, see the tear in his eye. Shake your head yes or no if you felt the same way he did before the first day of school.

Turn & Talk, p. 6- Are any of those activities familiar to you? T&T to your partner about the ones that you’ve done before at school.

Think Aloud, p.7- Chester asked the same question I did at the beginning of this book, What’s the kissing hand? I’m interested in finding out the answer. If you are too, say “I’m interested” and make our gesture; make your eyes wide and then say “ooooh!”

Turn & Talk, p.12- Now we know what the kissing hand is! T&T to your partner about what it is and how it is done.

Think Aloud with Turn & Talk, p. 18- I think I know what Chester is going to do, he’s asking for his mothers hand. Do you have a prediction? T&T to your partner about what you think Chester is going to do next. p. 22- Confirm your prediction.

Day 2-Interactive Read Aloud of The Kissing Hand with students playing “Snap When You Hear It”

“Snap When You Hear It”

As you read aloud, students are actively listening for the introduced vocabulary words. Instruct students to snap each time the vocabulary words are read within the story or heard during your Think Aloud or Turn and Talk directions. Students may also snap throughout the day when the words are used in other contexts. Recognize and praise their listening with a thumbs up!

Pause to define words as you read aloud:

When you read aloud the vocabulary word, pause to briefly define it while making the gesture, then reread the word in context and continue with the story. Example- “Even if they seem strange and scary at first.” Pause and say- “strange means not the usual” while making the gesture (a puzzled, confused face). Reread- “Even if they seem strange and scary at first.” Then continue reading the story, providing multiple exposures to the word meanings.

VOCABULARY STRATEGY IDEAS:~SYNONYM WEB~”FOUR-SQUARE” APPROACH

Day 3 & 4 Review vocabulary words & their meanings using gesturesChoose a vocabulary strategy to use

Vocabulary Strategy Ideas:

Synonym Web “Four-Square” Approach

Vocabulary Strategy Ideas:

Word PlayWord play is highly motivating, engaging

and fun! It requires students to be active

word learners. Some strategies we’ve

used:

Gestures (acting out the word meanings)

Wonderful Words chart

“Snap When You Hear It”

Wonderful Word Chart

Day 5 Informal Assessment, Option 1:Word Associations: Which word goes with…does not go with? Why?

Examples strange- teachers wearing clown

outfits to work? students playing on the playground all day at school? no books in a classroom?

cozy- a soft sweater? comfy pajamas to sleep in? a warm hug from your parents?

interested- reading your favorite story? watching your favorite movie? having a play date?

grinned- something you do if you are happy? when you open a present? when your teacher praises your work?

familiar- the routines of our classroom? how family members look to you?

Non-Examples strange- seeing your friends at

school? going home after school? riding a bus for a field trip?

cozy- an itchy sweater? pants that are too tight? sleeping on a hard floor?

interested- swimming in freezing cold waters? cleaning the bathroom? doing the laundry?

grinned- being sad? being angry? when you get in trouble? when mom and dad give you the look?

familiar- being in a new building? going to the zoo for the first time?

Directions: Ask the above questions with the provided suggestions below. Students will make an association to one of the vocabulary words. Have students turn and talk with partners about their selected vocabulary word and why they chose to associate it with the clue in the question.

Beck, I. L., McKeown, M. G., & Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing words to life: Robust vocabulary instruction. New York: Guilford Press.

Day 5 Informal Assessment, Option 2:Yea/Nay (Beck & McKeown, 1983)

How do you implement?

Students need two cards, one that says yes and one that says no.

Words are presented in pairs and the teacher asks questions

After asking each question and allowing the students time to think, the teacher asks, “Yea or nay? 1, 2, 3”

On the teacher’s count of 3, students put up their choices and a discussion involving explanations of choices ensues.

It’s an assessment that students perceive as a game!

Beck, I. L. & McKeown, M. G. (1983). Learning words well– a program to enhance vocabulary and comprehension. The Reading Teacher, 36, 622-625.

Now it’s time to choose another book, make instructional plans

and truly enjoybuilding vocabulary using

read aloud selections!

I know what book is next for me…