Vocabulary Instruction: Exit Tickets

Word learning is a gradual process that historically only comes with repeated encounters across multiple contexts.  Consider all of the factors included in deep word learning.  What does it mean to "know" a word? Phonological knowledge: being able to hear and manipulate the sounds in a word.  Orthographic knowledge: Being able to recall and apply the rules necessary to transfer spoken…

Focus on Word Endings!

I recently worked with a Junior in high school who had failed two recent vocabulary quizzes using her usual method of writing the word on one side of an index card and the definition on the back. On these quizzes, she was required to do two things: 1) match the word with the definition; and 2) choose the correct word to fit into a sentence (demonstrating deep comprehension of the word…

Getting to the Root of Word Meanings

"If you speak English, you know a little more than 100 languages." (Garg, 2011) Learning prefixes, suffixes and root word meanings is an important aspect of vocabulary instruction. Once my least favorite method for vocabulary, but now it is one of my favorite. Many times while working on understanding the meaning of parts of words, it is very rewarding to see the "lightbulb" moment where they…

InferCabulary at MassCue

Beth and Stephanie on their way to MassCue In October, Beth headed up to Boston with Stephanie McKew, a learning specialist at The Boys Latin School of Maryland.  We were so excited to share about how she uses InferCabulary in her language arts classroom, and learn from the 2,000+ attendees at the annual MassCUE (Massachusetts Computer-Using Educators) conference. What a blast meeting folks…

Generative Vocabulary

Did you know that the Oxford English Dictionary updates its collection of words four times a year?  Thanks to the June edition, we can now use terms such as ankle-biter, dwarven, ignorati and stress bunny with authority.  What started as a curious side track, however, turned into a deep reflection on the importance of teaching words generatively.   What is generative vocabulary? I first heard…

Previewing Texts for Reading Comprehension

Students in my private practice walk through the door with newly assigned literature texts every week. Many of them have never encountered the book they are reading before the book was placed in their hands. Getting a student ready to read a new text is something I enjoy and there are a lot of resources available today that makes that job easier. Read a text summary A book jacket or a review…

“Twerking” Has Been Around for a While

Vocabulary instruction tends to be humdrum and predictable not only for students, but for teachers, as well. Recently, the Oxford Dictionary added 500 new words to it's pages. If I find this fact interesting maybe my students will, too. Think about inspiring your students to have some fun with vocabulary by learning new words recently added and researching why.  For instance, Miley Cyrus didn't…