In my placement, vocabulary isn't really directly used. In previous placements, I've seen some of the Dolch sight words posted throughout the classroom, and the majority of students in that classroom know most of the words. In my placement for TE 301, my CT had the Dolch words posted throughout the classroom, and each week, she focused on a specific 6 words that the students learned and identified with through writing them down, learning their meaning, and learning how to use them in a sentence. In my placement now, the only words posted throughout the room are a few words on the chalkboard on the back of the room, and they're referenced when students ask how to spell words during writing time. Another time when students use words is when they are learning their spelling words each week, however, my CT simply posts the words on the whiteboard until the test the following week.
I think that vocabulary is essential to students' learning, and posting the Dolch words throughout the classroom in my previous placement was definitely beneficial to the students. Many students struggle with reading and reading comprehension in my placement classroom now, and being able to identify with sight words and their meaning may help their reading and reading comprehension abilities. Throughout reading time, students in my placement consistently point to words in their books and ask my CT what they are. Instead of asking them to sound it out, or providing them with a meaning, she simply tells them the word. I think that providing students with a meaning or helping them to sound it out would help them retain the word for whenever they see it again, which is why I disagree with simply telling the students the word when they point to it in their book.
Vocabulary needs to be better integrated into my CT's curriculum, especially because I don't think students in my placement classroom would know how to respond to "What does _______ mean?" or "What is the definition of _______?" Even if it's something as simple as posting Dolch words throughout the classroom, implementing a few words a week into the students' vocabulary, or telling the students the meaning of the words when they ask what a word is while reading a book, expanding students' vocabulary would be possible with a few easy changes throughout spelling, reading, and writing time.
Implementing vocabulary throughout subjects that aren't related to literacy is also beneficial. Even in math class, where vocabulary doesn't seem relevant, defining words that students may not know in the directions at the top of the worksheet or a word that is within a story problem that may be unfamiliar builds vocabulary as well. I think that small implementations of vocabulary into my CT's curriculum will be extremely beneficial to the students throughout all subjects.
Vocabulary instruction in my placement classroom is very similar to the vocabulary instruction within Kaitlin’s placement classroom. There is a word wall at the back of the classroom that my CT adds new words to frequently. My students also have a list of spelling words every week and a spelling test every Friday. The students have a different assignment to do with the spelling words each day of the work. For example, one day they write each spelling word five times, another day they have to write the spelling words in alphabetical order, and another day the students have a worksheet to fill in that helps them learn the spelling words in the context of a sentence. I think that working with the spelling words everyday and then having a test every Friday is very beneficial in helping the students in my placement classroom to learn new vocabulary. There is also a classroom set of dictionaries and a small word chart above the dictionaries where my CT adds words that a hard to spell from time to time. The students in my placement classroom are also very lucky because every third grader in Lansing Public Schools receives their very own dictionary. So, at the beginning of the school year every one of the students in my placement classroom received their own dictionary.
ReplyDeleteMy CT does approach helping students with a word they are unfamiliar with quite differently than Kaitlin’s CT. When a student asks, “What is this word?” or “What does this word mean?” my CT asks them how they can figure it out and they usually reply, “the dictionary.” Sometimes my CT even turns it back to the class and asks the class as a whole what a word means when one of the students asks her. I think that these strategies are much more beneficial to the student than just telling the student the pronunciation or meaning of a word when they ask, as Kaitlin’s CT does. It is important for students to learn how to do things on their own; their teacher is obviously not around them 24/7. So what do those kids do when their teacher isn’t around? It is important for students to learn how to find answers on their own.
Also, unlike Kaitlin’s CT my CT does spend time going over new vocabulary before they begin a math, social studies, or science lesson. The student’s math, social studies, and science books each have a specific section that lists the new vocabulary for each chapter or unit. My CT always spends a few minutes asking her class what those words mean or guiding them to figure out what the new words mean. I think that my CT does a great job with vocabulary instruction in her classroom, and I am grateful to see the different ways that she helps her students to build their vocabularies.
In my placement classroom, there is not much vocabulary instruction at all. In the back of the classroom, there is a word wall, with quite a few words on it. However, I have never seen my CT refer to the word wall or explain to me why those certain words are on the wall. The biggest problem with the word wall is that a lot of words are behind the set of computers in the classroom, so all of the words that start with letter H through letter R are hidden because the computers are in front of them. I have seen students use the word wall to figure out spellings for longer words, such as because or through, but other than that, there has not been any reference to it. I think that it is very odd that vocabulary is not taught in my classroom because I remember that when I was in elementary school, we would always have a vocabulary test on our spelling words in addition to a weekly spelling test. I think that if my CT implemented some vocabulary instruction into her classroom, there would be so many students that would greatly benefit, even if there were a few activities a week.
ReplyDeleteThere are many students in my placement classroom that are still having trouble with reading and sounding out words, but then once they sound out the word, they don’t even know what it means. I find that this happens quite often with the spelling words for the week, which does not make sense to me. Each morning, my CT gives every student a spelling worksheet that usually has an activity where the students have to fill in the blanks with the words, but a lot of students have difficulty with this. I often find myself defining words for students, and sometimes it is even on the simplest words that I think a first grader should know. I try to ask questions that involve this word so that the student can piece together a definition, but sometimes I just have to tell the student the definition because it is easier. I have not ever seen my CT introduce the spelling words for the week, so I don’t know if she defines these during the introduction to the words, but I feel like she does not spend much time on it at all. I feel that even if a few activities were planned into the curriculum surrounding vocabulary, that many students would greatly benefit from them.
Like Kaitlin has noticed, I have also noticed that my CT often tells students the definitions of words and does not have them figure out the meaning by themselves. I also think that Jenn brought up a good point that students can’t have this kind of treatment in the classroom because if they do not learn how to find out information themselves, what will they do when their teacher is not there? I think that especially because my students are in first grade, these concepts should be introduced now, so that when they go to second or third grade, they are behind because they are unsure of how to use a dictionary, or how to use context clues to figure out meaning. Now that we’re into the second part of the year, I think that this is especially important because my students are getting ready to move on to second grade. I hope that with the last few weeks of placement, I begin to see some type of vocabulary instruction in my classroom because I think my students would greatly benefit from it. Maybe this could be an idea for a mini lesson?