Bilingual/Foreign Language/ESOLEducation Department

The Importance ofThe Importance ofVocabulary in ContentVocabulary in Content

Area ClassesArea Classes

Bilingual/Foreign Language/ESOLEducation Department

Presented by:

Vivian Suarezand

Amalia Pares-Pomerantz(754)321-2950

Bilingual/Foreign Language/ESOLEducation Department

How can we address theacademic needs of our

LEP students?

Bilingual/Foreign Language/ESOLEducation Department

The Baseball GameThe Baseball Game

The professional baseball teamwon by a score of four tonothing, even though not asingle man scored. None of theplayers were women.

How is this possible?

from Stories with Holes,Levy, Nathan

Bilingual/Foreign Language/ESOLEducation Department

FocusFocus• Recognize the value of previewing

text for significant vocabulary.

• Learn and apply the use of theVocabulary Improvement Strategy(VIS) in specific content areas.

• Analyze the strengths andweaknesses of content areatextbooks as they apply to LEPstudents.

Bilingual/Foreign Language/ESOLEducation Department

ΠΝΕΡΓΨΠΝΕΡΓΨ

• What are the words?

• How did you determine thewords?

• What processes would your LEPstudents use to decipher thewords and their meaning?

Bilingual/Foreign Language/ESOLEducation Department

EnergyEnergy“The ancient Greek word for energy wasenergos, which means “active.” Until the 1900s, people thought that energy wasstored inside objects. Now we say that energy is the ability to cause change.Energy can change the temperature, speed, or direction of an object. Energycan change the shape of modeling clay or the temperature of a cup of water.”

Bilingual/Foreign Language/ESOLEducation Department

Effective ways ofEffective ways ofintroducing new conceptsintroducing new concepts

• Select the most important words forteaching.

• Activate background knowledge.

Bilingual/Foreign Language/ESOLEducation Department

...Effective ways of...Effective ways ofintroducing new conceptsintroducing new concepts

• Show students how to elaborate wordmeaning.

• Empower students with strategies thatpromote student independence andactive involvement in learning.

Bilingual/Foreign Language/ESOLEducation Department

Why should teachers previewWhy should teachers previewthe text for the text for keykey vocabularyvocabulary??

♦ Previewing the text allows the teacher to create prereadingactivities (such as vocabulary activities) that are meaningfuland useful to the learner.

♦ Previewing the vocabulary with the students activates whatthey already know.

♦ LEP students may have background knowledge (schema) ina topic, but merely need to understand the words andconcepts in English to activate this knowledge.

Bilingual/Foreign Language/ESOLEducation Department

“…there is no formula for selectingage-appropriate vocabularywords…As long as the word can beexplained in known words and canapply to what students might talk orwrite about, it is an appropriate wordto teach.”

Bringing Words to LifeRobust Vocabulary Instruction,Beck, Isabel L., McKeown,Margaret G., & Kucan, Linda

Bilingual/Foreign Language/ESOLEducation Department

Vocabulary Improvement Strategy(VIS)

Personal Clue

(4)

Meaning

(3)

Word

(1)

Sentence

(2)

Bilingual/Foreign Language/ESOLEducation Department

VISVIS Chart ChartPersonal Clue

(4)

Meaning

(3)

The ability tocause change

Word

(1)

active

Sentence

(2)

The ancientGreek word forenergy wasenergos, whichmeans “active.”

Bilingual/Foreign Language/ESOLEducation Department

VIS VIS Group ActivityGroup Activity

• Select one word from the text to pre-teach.

• Complete the VIS chart for the word.

• Use a visual as a personal clue.

Bilingual/Foreign Language/ESOLEducation Department

Keys to Using theKeys to Using the VISVIS

• Pre-select the words from the text.

• Model the use of the VIS with thestudents.

• The teacher needs to explain the fourparts prior to student use.

• The teacher can modify the VIS to fit thecurriculum.

Bilingual/Foreign Language/ESOLEducation Department

Ways to adapt the VISVIS forLEP students

• Model the strategy various times.

• Use pictures as personal clues.

• Students can work in pairs orcooperative groups to create the VISchart.

Bilingual/Foreign Language/ESOLEducation Department

Ways to adapt the VISVIS forLEP students

• Create a VIS chart on chart paper and have itdisplayed in the class for reinforcement.

• Encourage students to construct meaningthrough collaborative, student-generateddefinitions.

• Allow students to use their native language inthe personal clues column.

Bilingual/Foreign Language/ESOLEducation Department

Using Content AreaUsing Content AreaMaterials with LEP StudentsMaterials with LEP Students

How does your textbookfacilitate the teaching/learningconnection for LEP students?

Bilingual/Foreign Language/ESOLEducation Department

Strengths & Weaknesses ofStrengths & Weaknesses ofContent Area TextbooksContent Area Textbooks

Strengths Weaknesses

Bilingual/Foreign Language/ESOLEducation Department

Strategies for Selecting, Adapting,Strategies for Selecting, Adapting,and Using Content Area Materialsand Using Content Area Materials

with LEP Studentswith LEP Students

• Criteria for selecting materials

• Adapting less-than-ideal materials

• Using Materials

Bilingual/Foreign Language/ESOLEducation Department

Best PracticesBest Practices(Video)(Video)

• Are the students engaged?

• How do the students learn from each

other?

• How does the teacher address thedifferent learning styles?

Bilingual/Foreign Language/ESOLEducation Department

Best PracticesBest Practices

• Does the lesson reinforce the contentarea vocabulary?

• Does the teacher monitor studentengagement?

Bilingual/Foreign Language/ESOLEducation Department

Key PointsKey Points

• Recognize the value of previewing textfor significant vocabulary.

• Learn and apply the use of theVocabulary Improvement Strategy (VIS)in specific content areas.

• Analyze the strengths and weaknessesof content area textbooks as they applyto LEP students.

Bilingual/Foreign Language/ESOLEducation Department

NOTHING STAYSNOTHING STAYS the SAME the SAME

Timeripensallthings;noone is bornwise.

Miguel de Cervantes SaavedraSpanish writer, author of Don Quixote