Words Of the Week Vocabulary Project

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Words Of the Week Vocabulary Project
WOW
Grant Early Childhood Center

• Cedar Rapids, Iowa

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Grant Action Research Team

• Principal
• Grade level teachers
• Special ed preschool teachers
• Reading Coach Title I teachers
• Media Specialist

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• ART process is based on a cycle called

Plan for Continuous Improvement
Plan Do Study Act
Study the Results
Try Out Improvement Theory
Analyze Causes
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Spring 2006
2005/2006 ITBS Vocabulary Subtest

• Only 64 of 2nd grade students were at the
  proficient level in vocabulary

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Why are vocabulary scores so low on 2nd grade
ITBS?
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Spring 2006

• Looked at systematic and research-based
  vocabulary programs

• Bringing Words to Life by Isabel Beck

• Elements of Reading by Isabel Beck

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Spring 2006

• How could we begin to implement a vocabulary
  program for Kindergarten and first graders in the
  fall of 2006?

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Spring 2006

• Decided to utilize childrens literature
  selections in
• Bringing Words to Life

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Fall 2006

• To develop a receptive assessment tool

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Fall 2006

• For each story at each grade level
• Collected 9 storybooks
• Created and displayed 3 Boardmaker pictures

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Fall 2006

• How to make vocabulary instruction consistent

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Fall 2006

• Were 3 words enough?

WOW Assessment 1st Trimester
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Fall 2006

• Focused on 1 book and 3 targeted words each week
• Shared teaching ideas

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Winter 2007

• To increase from 3 to 10 targeted words
• To make WOW books more accessible

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Winter 2007

• Made 10 Boardmaker pictures for each story
• Purchased classroom sets of books

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Winter 2007

• Studied weekly random assessments
• Collected feedback from teachers

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Fall 2007
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Winter 2007
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Winter 2007

• Brainstormed reasons why teaching more words was
  not effective

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(No Transcript)
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Spring 2007

• To decrease from 10 to 6 words per week
• To make completed WOW books available to students

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Spring 2007

• Adjusted number of Boardmaker pictures to 6 per
  book

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Spring 2007
Created a teacher survey for feedback
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Spring 2007

• Continued weekly random assessments and feedback
  from teachers

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Spring 2007

• Studied data collected throughout the 3
  trimesters.

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Spring 2007
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Spring 2007
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Spring 2007
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Spring 2007

• Decided to make a WOW notebook for each teacher

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Spring 2007

• Discussed developing an expressive vocabulary
  assessment

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Summer 2007

• To create WOW notebooks
• Vocabulary schedules
• Story maps
• Examples of teaching activities

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Summer 2007

• Added an implementation log to the data
  collection component

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Summer 2007

• Developed an expressive assessment tool to be
  used by each teacher

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Summer 2007

• Created common, uniform, kid-friendly definitions

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Summer 2007

• Began to study explicit instruction models and
  techniques

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Summer 2007

• Finished notebooks and presented them to teachers
  in August

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Fall 2007

• To begin explicit instruction in a more
  systematic and building-wide format

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Fall 2007

• Asked teachers to follow the daily vocabulary
  schedule

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Fall 2007

• Collected data from random assessments
• Sent home weekly word list

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Fall 2007

• Studied expressive assessment, PPVT, and weekly
  implementation logs

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Fall 2007
PPVT Gains - Fall 2006 to Fall 2007
1 year, 7 months
1 year, 5 months
1 year, 4 months
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Fall 2007
Vocabulary
Percent of Words Correct
Test Date
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Fall 2007

• Piloted an explicit instruction model and
  activities to reinforce learning

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Fall 2007

• Provided on-going staff development

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Winter 2008

• Refined weekly schedule
• Established daily teaching plan

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Winter 2008

• Created story summaries and graphic organizers
• In-serviced staff

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WOW
WOW is now part of Grants school culture with
building-wide teacher/staff/student buy-in
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WOW
Where do we go from here?
Continue to implement the PDSA cycle
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Words Of the Week Vocabulary Project
WOW
Grant Early Childhood Center

• Cedar Rapids, Iowa