Lesson 4 - Building Word Wealth
ACCELERATING LEARNING FOR UNDER-PERFORMING STUDENTS
TIMING/TASKS: Video Length 13 minutes. To complete this lesson: 1) Watch video to end; 2) Read additional text below; 3) Download & complete exercise(s) in right column
Building Word Wealth
OUTCOMES
LESSONS IN THIS MODULE
DOWNLOADS / RESOURCES
RESOURCES
Shared from www.teacherleadership.org
EXERCISES
No Exercises this Lesson
I can make the connection between reading proficiency and helping students expand their cognitive capacity
I know what questions to ask about learning more about creating a word study program in my classroom that feels authentic and fun
I understand the concept of language registers and know how to incorporate them into my redesign of INPUT, IGNITE, and CHEW phases of instruction
I can identify one small area of word study to develop, to help students build word wealth
Beyond early elementary school, teachers are not taught the particulars of reading development. In secondary level, even fewer teachers know what to do with dependent learners who also struggle with reading.
There is a strong correlation between cognitively independent learning and reading proficiency, and vocabulary development. Low vocabulary (word wealth) leads to low background knowledge. Low background knowledge makes comprehension hard. When comprehension is hard, information processing gets glitchy. All of this means the cognitive load remains high because the brain is using too much cognitive energy
And let’s be clear: Frontloading vocabulary isn’t going to cut it. Research says students need 21 “exposures” to a word in order to move it into their personal dictionary. That number is 35 exposures for struggling learners. Does this mean you have to abandon the teaching of your content to become a reading teacher?
No. It simply means you have to integrate high leverage practices into the teaching of your content. I call this “hide the vegetables.”
In this lesson, I recommend some literacy practitioners who can offer more specifics.
ACTION ITEMS
Assess what vocabulary development currently looks like in your classroom (gap analysis)
Plan for all ability levels – this isn’t just for dependent learners
Engage in some design thinking to create a word study that fits your grade level, and student reading levels. Invite some other colleagues to join you in the effort.
- Use either the Tuning Protocol or Charrette Protocol to improve your first draft thinking.
- Ground feedback and critique in the language of the Ready for Rigor CRT algorithm. For example, in Step 4 of the protocol, use concepts and practices from the modules to answer the question – How do we make this better?
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