Check for Understanding: Post after ZOOM Meetings (by 11:59)

Directions: Please record bulleted highlights, questions, and/or concerns for each of the items below. Please be prepared to use this sheet for
talking points in the instructor led ZOOM meetings.
Assigned Reading: Assigned Viewing:
 KTL article: Effective Vocabulary Instruction academic vocabulary PreK -1 "provide”

1. Vocabulary experts agree that adequate reading comprehension 1. Never skip over words even though you may think too
depends on a person already knowing between 90 and 95 percent of because it may be too difficult
the words in a text (Hirsch, 2003). Knowing at least 90 percent of
the words enables the reader to get the main idea from the reading 2. 3 step teaching routine: (provide)
and guess correctly what many of the unfamiliar words mean,
which will help them learn new words. Readers who 2 do not 1. Introduce new word from earlier text, student
recognize at least 90 percent of the words will not only have friendly definition
difficulty comprehending the text, but they will miss out on the - Clap out syllables
opportunity to learn new words. - Writes word down
- Tells student friends: to give, or to take care of
2. There is a significant gap in the vocabulary knowledge that some something
students bring to the primary grades, and that gap widens as - Connects to text: trees in forest provides us with wood,
students progress through the grades. Students who lack adequate squirrels homes, nuts, seeds, etc.
vocabulary have difficulty getting meaning from what they read, so - Shows other examples – show pictures *ex. Pig giving
they read less because they find reading difficult. As a result, they milk – provides milk for babies, river provides water for
learn fewer words because they are not reading widely enough to city
encounter and learn new words 2. Students use the word in a meaningful way, many
opportunities
3. Students with well-developed vocabularies read more, which - sentence frame, give students time to think of examples
improves their reading skill, and they learn more words. Weak to complete sentence
decoding skills (phonemic awareness, phonics and word study, - Share with partners and class
fluency) also contribute to the gap between how much good and - What is our word?
poor readers will read and encounter new vocabulary. - Asks questions: what are things your parents provide for
you? My parents provide me with ______ so that _____.
Reflection: This vocabulary gap reminds me of the Matthew - Teacher gives examples using pictures
Effect! 3. Check for understanding and students use word
on their own
 Reading Rockets Article: Vocabulary Development with ELLs - Invite students to use word on their own
- Provide or not provide, give scenarios (students do
1. Quick ideas for accommodations: Role playing or pantomiming, thumbs up or thumbs down)
using gestures, showing real objects, pointing to pictures, doing - (include gestures)
 quick drawings on the board, using the Spanish equivalent and - Build repetition “miles on the tongue” have students say
then asking students to say the word in English many times.

2. Cognates are words in different languages that are derived from 3. Student friends definitions, giving meaningful definitions of
the same original word or root. Note that about 40% of all the word, and reinforcing new vocabulary through multiple
English words have similar cognates in Spanish. modalities

3. Encourage ELLs to speak in class as much as possible.
Structure conversations around books and subjects that build
vocabulary. Instead of simple "yes or no" questions, ask
questions that are interactive and meaningful.
Reflection: So many great ideas – our ELL teacher likes to say,
“they don’t need anything, they just need to be immersed” so it is
nice to see there are actual effective strategies I can suggest!
 Reading Rockets Article: Teaching Metalinguistic awareness and
Reading Comprehension with Riddles
Reflection: can’t wait to try the 3 step routine!
morphology -baseword, prefix, suffix
1. some suffixes make words plural, some change the action,
some change how a word is used in a sentence
2. morpheme web: students draw a web with a root and then
around are prefixes with lines for new words to be written
3. activity: circle prefix, affix, or suffix in text

1. Riddles are the perfect medium for learning how to manipulate Reflection: this was a great review for me
language for many reasons, including students' familiarity with
them and motivation for reading them. 

2. Understanding that words and sentences can have more than

one meaning improves comprehension by allowing readers to
think flexibly about what the appropriate meaning may be. 

3. Comprehension monitoring benefits from training in

recognizing and reexamining the meaning of ambiguous
sentences since students are taught to consider meaning and to
reread if necessary.

Reflection: I really liked this, “evaluate and regulate

comprehension of text, it is necessary to know that the words in
a text can add up to more than one possible meaning and that
context and alternative explanations need to be considered” the
importance of manipulating and reflecting on language –
powerful!
Assigned Handouts: Discussion Forum Highlights:

n/a Reflection: I was able to really consolidate my thinking and

understanding of vocabulary instruction reading so many wonderful
newsletters and listening to all of the infomercials. The repetition
really helped me own the information.

Instructor Led Zoom Session Notes: Other:

- enjoyed breakout room activities tonight

- loved the compression machine idea – definitively taking n/a
this one back to my school!
- Intentional, use every spare minute and build rich robust
vocabulary
- Joan Sedita: MCAS words (loved the of word wizard and
making a whole school movement)
- Changing word choice in classroom (ex. Line up vs make a
linear formation perpendicular to the door)
- 2 column notes
- Centers: fccr.org