Wondrous Words

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Wondrous Words

• Cherise Goodrich
• Willoughby-Eastlake Schools
• 440-944-3130
• we_goodrich_at_lgca.org

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Vocabulary Development is an integral part of a
balanced reading program.

• Research says
• As students learn more vocabulary words they
  become better readers.
• Comprehension and vocabulary development go hand
  in hand.
• Children learn the meanings of most words
  indirectly, through everyday experiences with
  oral and written language. They do so by engaging
  daily in oral language, listening to adults read
  to them, and reading extensively on their own.

• Some vocabulary needs to be taught through direct
  word instruction (teaching specific words, active
  engagement with words, and repeated exposure to
  words in many contexts, and word learning
  strategies, using dictionaries and other
  reference aids, using word parts, and using
  context clues).
• Vocabulary instruction should focus on important
  words (key words to help readers make sense of
  the text), useful words (words they will
  encounter often), and difficult words (words with
  multiple meanings, idiomatic words, etc.).

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• A significant amount of vocabulary learning
  takes place through incidental or environmental
  learning, from wide reading, discussion,
  listening, and media, for example, rather than
  from direct instruction. (Blachowicz 2002)

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What does good vocabulary instruction look like?

• Repeated exposure to words in oral and written
  contexts
• Example wardrobe in The Lion, the Witch, and
  the Wardrobe
• Use of dictionaries along with context clues and
  text features
• Using background knowledge (schema) to help
  figure out meaning
• Analysis of words in order to figure out
  synonyms, antonyms, and part of speech

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How does Wondrous Words demonstrate good
vocabulary instruction?

• Students are engaged in listening to a fluent
  reader read from text.
• Students have a purpose for readingto listen for
  unknown/confusing words.
• Students use context clues, picture clues, word
  analysis, dictionary skills, and thesaurus skills
  to determine meaning.

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How do I begin to implement Wondrous Words
Wednesday in my classroom?

• Day 1
• Create a word jar in your classroom. It can be
  on a bulletin board or an actual jar. It just
  needs to be a place where your class can collect
  their words.
• Select text to read aloud, giving students a copy
  of the text. (I do it on Wednesday). Use picture
  books, portions of chapter books, newspaper, or
  content area text.
• As you read aloud, have students mark words they
  hear/read that are unfamiliar but sound like good
  words to know/words to grow.
• After reading the story, make a list of words
  chosen by the students on the board.
• Students should choose one or two words (depends
  on how many you want to do) to vote on.

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Set Up
Words are added to the word jar at the end of
each week. At the end of the quarter the words
in the word jar are taken out and placed around
the jar on the bulletin board to make room for
the next quarter words. At the end of the year
there are over 50 new words on the bulletin board.
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Day 1
Students place Post-It notes next to the words in
which they are voting.
The words of the week are placed on a white board
before going into the word jar.
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How do I begin to implement Wondrous Words
Wednesday in my classroom?

• Day 2
• Students are given a graphic organizer page. You
  can copy it back to back if you are focusing on
  two words.
• As a class identify the sentence the word was
  used in and then decide the context clues and
  picture clues that were evident in the story. If
  there were no clues (which happens once in a
  while) then note that there were no clues given.
  
• After the clues have been identified, students
  look up the words in their dictionaries and
  decide what the part of speech is for that word.
  They also draw a picture of the words meaning
  and write the word in a sentence. The sentence
  needs to be detailed enough to show that they
  know what the word means (i.e. I am intricate.
  is not acceptable.)

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Graphic organizer for grades 1-2
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• To begin using the graphic organizer, also called
  a concept map, START SMALL at first
• Expect students to do 3-4 tasks on the organizer
  rather than the entire page. For example, start
  with
• Write word
• Sentence word was found
• Context clues
• My picture

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Graphic organizer for grades 3-5
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Day 2
Students work independently to find the words in
the dictionary and to create a sentence for the
word.
Information can be displayed on an overhead,
chalkboard, or a projector.
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Extensions or Additional Activities

• Students can take home their Wondrous Words
  binder, a binder that is divided into three
  sections as follows
• Alphabetical order
• Synonyms/Antonyms
• Theme pages (feelings/emotions, action verbs,
  solar system)
• Students can record other texts where they find
  past wondrous words that have been studied.
• The graphic organizer page can be used in the
  content areas for vocabulary lessons.
• Students can write a story, poem, skit, song,
  etc. using a variety or specified number of words
  in the word jar.
• Younger students can illustrate the words or
  create a story using pictures to show
  understanding of word meaning.
• At the end of the year the words can be given
  away, like Donovan did in Donovans Word Jar.

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References
http//www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/explore/
vocabulary.html

• The Partnership for Reading
• Blachowicz, Fisher. Teaching Vocabulary in All
  Classrooms, 2002
• Logan, Nichols, Ruley. Vocabulary instruction in
  a balanced reading program, The Reading Teacher,
  52, 336 346, December 1998/January 1999
• Word Detectives, Dodie Ainslie The Reading
  Teacher, 54, 360 362, December 2000/January
  2001